A Few Things...

This week, I'm also over at Unicorn Bell. I found a couple weekly reading and writing bloghops you may not be familiar with.

Normally, I'd do blog tours, but... um... well, I kind of wasn't aware my week was imminent until it was on top of me, so to speak. But, my next week is April 4-8, so if any of you have a book to promote, let me know.

In other news, I have a pair of fingerless texting gloves/mittens that are up at my Etsy shop...

Lacy Fingerless Texting Gloves

...that are getting no views. Nada. Which means I'm doing something wrong. But I'm not sure what. 

So, I have a couple questions for all of you. What would you call these things? I've been calling them lacy fingerless gloves, but that isn't getting them found. And secondly, does the picture detract from these gauntlets in any way? (And if you see anything else that I could fix, let me know.) 

I finally finished the hat from two weeks ago. It didn't quite work out. Although, it might look good on a child. Back to the drawing board. 

And since I've been showing off my backdrop as it's grown from...

...this...

...to this...

This week, it's... 

...this big.

It measures about 20 inches long now. So, progress. 

Do you know of any good bloghops? How are your projects going?

Some Housekeeping

Hiya. That's me, keeping my head down. Sort of.

This week I'm trying an experiment over at Unicorn Bell. You know Unicorn Bell. It's that writers' blog that I'm a part of. Occasionally. Please stop by and let me know what you think.

I've also heard that today is the day that the April A to Z Challenge sign ups begin. I'd link to it and all, but I write these posts ahead of time, so there are no links to link to. Yet. But the plan is to sign up early this year as I plan on participating (although that might change if things get too hectic on my end).

I'm not sure when the day to reveal your theme is, but since it'll be business as usual here, I don't see any reason to hold that back. There'll still be what if Tuesdays (X falls on a Tuesday this year, so look forward to that what if), some #ThrowbackThursdays, the occasional random quiz Friday, but mostly, it'll be all about the #subfiles.

We're supposed to give advice to those joining the challenge for the first time, so I'll reveal my secret.

My #subfiles posts are left to chance, but the days seem to cooperate with the letter of the day. *knocks wood* I've been incredibly lucky that way. But I don't write them daily. I write them a week in advance, spending the week plotting and planning. And figuring out how to shoehorn the day to fit the letter.

I also have a backup plan. If things go horribly awry, I have another post waiting. Just in case.

So, please stop by Unicorn Bell today. And the rest of this week. I'll be ever so grateful. And make sure to sign up for the A to Z Challenge if you are so inclined. See you there.

I Now Do Book Tours

Occasionally I get requests to host a stop on a virtual book tour. (Although, more often than not, I see these requests on the blogs of people I follow.) While I'm willing, I always give the same caveat--this blog doesn't get all that many hits.

As you may or may not know, I'm on of the contributors at Unicorn Bell. For the new year, we've made a few changes. The biggest change is that each contributor now has a regular feature.

My feature is book tours.

So now, if someone needs a place to promote their book, I have a place for them. And bonus, Unicorn Bell gets a whole lot more hits than this blog.

If you're interested in having Unicorn Bell host a stop on your virtual book tour, you can find the details here.

What Do You Think of These Queries?

This is workshop week for the query contest over at Unicorn Bell. 26 brave souls have submitted their queries, and all they ask is for your feedback. If you have a moment, take a look at one or two (or 26) and let them know how they can make them better.  

Here's the list with direct links: 

1. Relic
2. Golden Dawn
3. Casualties of Work
4. The Legacy of the Eye
5. What Silence Heard
6. The Proper Way to Say Goodbye
7. Bound
8. Running Down the Dragon
9. The Curse Merchant
10. Times None
11. Finding Meara
12. The Refugee
13. And Jakob Flew the Fiend Away
14. Let My Life Be Proof
15. ...
16. Tagestraum
17. Darkling
18. Joshua's Tree
19. Soul Driver
20. Wish
21. Revival: The Donald Braswell Story
22. Who is Audrey Wickersham?
23. On Common Ground
24. The Very First
25. The Eldritch Tales
26. The Curiosity
27. Race to Butch Cassidy's Gold

The finals are next week. Help them get these queries ready for judging.  

Query Contest

Do you have a completed manuscript? If so, make sure to head on over to Unicorn Bell for the School's In Query Contest.

Week 1: Study Hall
It's a week devoted to getting you up to speed on how to write a query. If you have no idea what to do when it comes to querying, this is the week to learn. If you do know, you may still learn something.

Week 2: Workshop
It's time to show off what you've learned. Submit your query for feedback. Get it ready to submit to agents.

Week 3: Editor Judging
Time for final queries. Judging by guest judges.

Make sure to head on over starting August 13th.