Queen in Exile

*the perfect combination

of fantasy and romance*

Don't miss your chance to win a copy of this thrilling tale!

by Award-winning Romance Author Donna Hatch

I've read nearly every one of Donna's books and they're all fabulous.

Queen of Exile takes you into a magical time of queens and knights and unique, mysterious creatures. I promise you'll be intrigued from the very start by Princess Jeniah's story.

Rumors of war hang over Princess Jeniah's peaceful country of Arden, a land that shuns both magic and warfare. Following a lifelong dream,Jeniah forms a telpathic bond with a revered creature called a chayim,
who is prophesied to save her kingdom. But when a Darborian knight comes upon Jeniah with her chayim, he sees only a vicious monster about to devour a maiden, and he slays the beast.

Devastated by the loss of her chayim, and fearing that her own magic is evil, Jeniah doubts her destiny. When an enemy invades Arden City, they slaughter the people,
storm the castle, and execute the entire royal family except the princess. Rescued by the knight who slew her chayim, Jeniah is now heir to the throne of Arden and the only hope for freeing her people from tyranny.

On the run and hunted by enemy soldiers, Jeniah must place her life and the fate of her kingdom in the hands of this trained killer. Torn between embracing her destiny as queen of Arden, and her love for a mere knight, she must ultimately rely on her magic to save herself and her people from death and tyranny.

BUY IT HERE!

FOLLOW QUEEN IN EXILE'S BLOG TOUR already in progress:

March 7-Peggy Urry

March 8-Janette
Rallison

March 9-Lydia
Lindsey

March 12-Anna Arnett

Barbara White Daille

March 14-Valerie Ipson

March 15-Valerie
Steimle

Want to win one of three copies of Queen in Exile? It's easy.
1. Visit the fabulous reviews and leave
a comment letting us know why you're excited to read Queen
in Exile. Remember to include your email address.

2. If you tweet about the blog tour, post about it on your blog or facebook,

or become a fan of Romance Author Donna Hatch on Facebook, leave the link in the
comments section and you'll receive an additional entry.

All entries collected at Midnight
MST, Sunday, March 18, 2012

WHAT-DID-I-WEAR?

Remember last year around this time when I was stressing over what to wear for my pitch session at the ANWA Writers Conference I was attending? (If you need a refresher, click-a here-a.)

Well I pitched again at this year's conference *TWICE IN FACT* and didn't give my wardrobe much thought. Didn't even purchase a single new item. I was much more at ease. (Thank you, Lisa & Linda!)

Here was my Friday pitch outfit:
(Pitched to Publisher Shadow Mountain)

Notice the comfy flats I wore this time around

And here was Saturday's:
(Pitched to Publisher Walnut Springs

Broke free of the must-wear black and wore dark brown. Daring I know!

BOTH REQUESTED FULL MANUSCRIPTS which is the goal for any pitch--get them to ask for pages!

I've also been sending my manuscript out to a few agents since the end of January. One rejection so far and it was a quick "Thanks, but it's not for me" rejection. Standard.

And I should note that my novel has graduated...it's no longer a WIP (Work In Progress). Something new is taking its place (YAY!) because IDEAL HIGH is DONE!!!*

*at least done till an editor asks for revisions!

Too True...

This is too good and too true not to share...

http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Grin-Tonic/How-to-Write/ba-p/6713

What are you really doing when you tell yourself you're writing???

IDEAL HIGH UPDATE

Taryn Young’s plans for an amazing senior year are over before they begin. Grieving the deaths of several of her classmates, she has no intention of taking her late boyfriend's place as student body president...until she finds out who is running in her place. If Chelsea Manor becomes president it means nothing changes. Ideal High remains less than ideal...and Taryn doesn’t want to let that happen. She owes that much to Blake’s memory.

As president, she butts heads with a principal who doesn’t want his school labeled, a bullied student who doesn’t want to be rescued, and a student body suspicious of her motives. Throw in a hot cowboy-type, who is totally not her type, and Chelsea with all her angst over the accident, and it’s not long before Taryn is wondering why she dragged herself from the safety of her warm bed where at least she could grieve in private.

Good news in the WIP department.

NOVEMBER: Sent manuscript to a professional editor and paid for a Content Evaluation. It was just what I needed...in black and white...the good, the bad, the ugly.

DECEMBER: Mulled over the evaluation while I shopped, wrapped, entertained, cooked, fed, played games, became a grandma, enjoyed...you get the idea.

JANUARY: Revised and set goal to be finished (and I mean in capital letters FINISHED, so, for reals FINISHED) by January 23rd.

JANUARY 22 at midnight Eastern (so 10 PM Arizona): Submitted manuscript to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest (ABNA).

So here's to IDEAL HIGH, all 75,984 words of it. We've spent a lot of time together over the years and, hopefully, this is only the beginning. I have no expectations for the contest, passing even the first round would be great, but it gave me a deadline and I MADE IT!

What goal have you accomplished?

Writing tip #23

(as discovered yesterday)

Beware the cooking of food items on the stove while at the same time editing your manuscript, lest you become too involved in said edit. It makes for a wasted, burnt food item and a very non-writerly, smoke-filled environment.

In such cases, one is forced outdoors which works if you live in Arizona and it's a beautiful, warm winter day.

What have you ruined, missed, forgotten because you were working on your manuscript?

Writing tip #39

While revising a novel in the bathtub generally makes for a very damp manuscript, it proves to be a productive use of editing time.

Where's the most unusual place you've worked on your manuscript?

2 WIDGET WINNERS!

Joyce DiPastena and Stacy Johnson are the winners of $20 worth of Vinyl Expressions Vinyl Lettering!!! I will be contacting you personally to get your order!

And while I have everyone's attention...please click on the sidebar widget to get all the information about the upcoming ANWA Writers Conference. It is open to the general public so please tell everyone you know that is interested in writing at all. We have something for everyone--fiction writers, copy writers, poets, magazine writers, blogging, news writing...the list goes on...