Congratulations Spookygirl & Jill Baguchinsky!!

Congratulations to Jill Baguchinsky, winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards young adult division! You did it!!!

I have to say, I'm incredibly excited that she won. Not only was the excerpt great but this is the first paranormal/urban fantasy novel to win in the competition in general, let alone in the YA division.

We'll all be watching for this novel with extreme excitement, as well as for any further works by you!

Violet Addison can chat with the dead, but what really frightens her is starting her sophomore year at a new school. Still reeling from the loss of her mother, Violet is about find herself in the company of ghosts . . . both playful and deadly evil. Standing at the threshold to an unseen world with newfound friends at her side, only Violet can uncover the truth behind her mother’s death and save the family business--paranormal investigation.

Pre-order Spookygirl here!

Vote Spookygirl in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards!

Hi everyone! It's been a busy month for me, but I promise I'll be better next month!

I'm just stopping in to promote one of the books that's currently competing in the final stage of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. It's called Spookygirl & it looks fantastic! Click on the above image to go to the amazon page where you can download a free sample of the book for the kindle!

Unlike many of the previous winners that I've seen, this isn't the typical "teen/child coming of age & getting all touchy feely" type of book. I'm sure it has that in there as well, but this book goes the distance & also gives us ghosts. Yep, ghosts!

The populars at Palmetto High call sophomore Violet Addison "Spookygirl," and it's not hard to see why. As if living with her funeral director father in a tiny apartment above his mortuary weren't enough to make her a social outcast, there's a rumor going around that Violet can talk to the dead. Unfortunately, that rumor's true. Violet's not interested in crossing anyone over; she's as cool and impatient with the deceased as she is with the living. The dead can be incredible pests, though, and despite her reluctance to help the spirits who seek her out, soon she's reuniting a ghost jock with his goth girlfriend and investigating a hellgate in the girls' locker room. Each experience puts her closer to discovering the truth behind the paranormal investigation that killed her mother. Along the way, Violet begins to recognize that real people with interesting secrets hide behind the high school stereotypes she assigns her classmates and teachers. She needs all the allies she can find -- after all, surviving high school is tough enough without a bunch of dead people spooking around. Ghostbusters meets a gothed-up Glee in this mix of high school drama and supernatural snark.

Let's all make Spookygirl the first paranormal YA book to win the ABNAs! Click on the ABNA symbol below to go to the main page where you can make your vote!


If you're curious to know more about the author, check out her blog!

NaNoWriMo & Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards

Happy NaNoWriMo!!!

Everyone, celebrate this month by either spending it writing or by encouraging your favorite authors to keep plugging away on their own books. Know someone who wants to write & is doing NaNoWriMo? Feel free to mention them in the comments!





When you (or someone you know) is finished with the next big book, why not prepare it for submission to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards? This is a wonderful contest where an unpublished author can submit his or her book in the hopes of getting it published by Penguin or by one of the other companies out there! Many people have gotten published after being in this contest & getting lots of praise from their peers & reviewers rating their books, so this can be a wonderful opportunity for potential authors!


The #1 requirement is that your manuscript not be previously published. If it is a self-published book, you can still submit it- just make sure to stop offering it for sale during the time of the contest. (Here's the wiki entry for ABNA, which contains info about all of the steps to the contest.)

Down in the ABNA forums you'll find tons of people who will be more than happy to help you with your writing & with the pitch you'll have to write for the contest. The next contest isn't until next year, but the earlier you start with this stuff the better.

I hope to see you in the next ABNA contest!