Chapter 2 of Magical Moon out in public!

So there it is - chapter 2 is out!

Go to: http://novellesamleren.blogspot.com/#!/2012/04/novelle-148-magical-moon-af-annette.html to read both chapter 1 and 2. It's story 167.

It feels very good to publish it, only I have no idea if people actually read it??
If you do, please make a comment about what you think. It means the world to me. You can either do it on the blog, here or maybe even on facebook if you like.
Hey, feel free to yell it on every street corner or from the top of every tall building you pass - let people know it's out there - spread the word :-)

Thanks :-)

XOXO
Annette

Magical Moon is getting published

Hurray!!!

It finally happened.

Magical Moon is getting published. Not the way I hoped - in a book - but in a blog where everyone can read it for free.
And I hope as many of my friends and family and their friends and family will read it. So tell everyone you know, spred the word :-)

One chapter will be published a month, starting with chapter one - Accident - today.

Go take a look and give me a comment on the blog if you like it or not.

Thanks :-)

Enjoy everyone!!

xoxo Annette

Nye tider??

Mon man skulle prøve sig med lidt danske noveller i stedet for en engelsk roman eller tre?

Jeg har i hvert fald meldt mig ind i en gruppe, der hedder: novellesamleren.blogspot.com, hvor man kan lægge sine historier ind og få dem læst af gud og hver mand - måske endda enkelte forlag eller agents, hvis man er heldig :-)

Jeg tænker, jeg prøver lykken, så fremover vil jeg prøve at komme med et par historier - og har endda talt med ejeren om at udgive Magical Moon på hans side - et kapitel af gangen, et i måneden... Det er jo en fantastisk idé - dog er MM jo på engelsk, sååå mon der er nogen som gider læse det? På den anden side kunne det jo også vække en vis interesse, at jeg er det mere anderledes??

It's worth a shot, I think :-)

Stay tuned... I'll be back soon :-)

Annette

Finally getting published

I just put last hand on "En helt almindelig onsdag" (An ordinary Wednesday) yesterday and sent it off to the publisher - Virabooks.

I can't believe I'm finally getting published. This is a dream come true - even if it is just a small short story. It's the beginning to something bigger, I'm sure.

Since I don't have to worry about my short story anymore, I've gone back to editing Magical Moon. So far, I have split chapter one into two chapters. It's better that way. They're shorter, more exciting and easier to read.

It's a lot of work, but I'm sure it's worth it. The agents didn't want it when it had long chapters but when I'm finished with splitting them up and cutting away all the boring stuff, I'm sure they'll line up to represent me.

And if they don't, then I'll seriously consider self- publishing it as an e-book.
It's great to return to MM after being away from it for so long. I can deffinitely see all the wrongs.
I do wish I didn't have to work so much on MM because I so want to continue with MW. It's waiting for me in the back of my head but I do want to complete MM first and get it out there - again!
I'm thinking that I will be done with the first editing of MM in three months and then I just have to polish it.
After that, I can go back to MW - finally :-)
Well, that was all for now.

In just four days, I'll be off on holiday to Turkey - Yay!! I really need that...

Till next time.

XOXO
Annette

Fantastic news!!

Hi all,

Remember I told you about the writing contest I was entering? I wrote the short story: An Ordinary Wednesday (in Danish: En Helt Almindelig Onsdag)
Well, I won!!! How cool is that?
Now I'm actually getting published, and soon I can call myself a REAL writer :-)

I just can't get over how cool it is to get published, it's like it's not actually real until I get the book in hand (or online as it is since it's only getting published as an e-book)
I won't be making any money (just 5% I think) but that doesn't matter, that's not the reason why I did it. I never thought I would win even though it is a great story - Guess I do have talent!

And, I have more great news!
Just got the Magical Moon manuscript back from Jannie Solaas - my amazing editor - and she loved it. I do have some editing and rewriting to do - but that is just normal. Even the great writers have to do that... And it's not even that much work. I did really good - hooray for talent :-) '

I truly found my calling!! ¨¨

Now, let's just hope that with this short story getting published, it'll open new and bigger doors so that the next thing I get published will be Magical Moon.

Like I said a thousand times before - I will never give up!

Magical Moon and Magical World are two amazing books (or they will be) on the same level as maybe even Twilight and The house of Night series - if I must say so myself; and I do!

Well, no more great news for now.

As soon as I have the release date for my short story, I'll let you know, so stay tuned :-)
(And don't forget to follow me on twitter and facebook)

XOXO
Annette

Chapter 7 - Magical World

Hello hello,

Chapter 7 is coming along quite smoothly - I guess putting it away for a while helped me get over that wall I hit a while back. Anyways, I got half a chapter already and know exactly (or almost exactly) how the rest of this chapter is going to turn out.
Participating in that short story competition has got my fingers dancing again :-)

I went to a lecture at the local library this Saturday. It was pretty good - even though they didn't say anything I didn't already know. However, it was fun to hear about how the three authers got into writing, and how they first got published - boy does it take a looooot of work + a huge bucket of patience (which I do not have much of - patience that is, I am willing to work hard though!)

This one new auther told us about how she had gotten noticed at http://www.saxo.dk/ by participating in a lot of competitions. She's currently writing her second book in a trilogy (the publisher has the first in for editing now) and the publisher (Tellerup) will not publish her book until she's written the whole trilogy - so she's pretty busy right now, writing two more books before her first can come out - but at least she has a contract.... Something I want too - in case you didn't notice ;-)

So, I guess finishing Magical World will put me in a better postition with the agents rather than with only one book ready. (As it is now, this will be a duo - Magical Moon + Magical World - but an idea for a third is in the back of my head - Magical Girl!)

I just want to finish Magical World first and then wait a little while with a possible third book, because I really want to finish my book for adults too (The Kiss of Death)

Wow, I have lots and lots of plans... Ambitious, I know, but I can do it, I know I can - and I will get an agent one day - soon!!!

Oh jeez, look at the time... time for bed.
Till next time (will probably finish ch 7 within the next two/three days - let ya know!)

Oh, and by the way, many congrats to one of my best friend - and now mommy to adorable Kasie - Annika. I love you babe :-)

XOXO
Annette

My Short Story

Exciting news :-)

I just e-mailed my short story to Virabooks, the publisher who is running the competition together with forfattervaerk.net.
Deadline isn't until April 19, but the story is finished so no point in waiting! It'll only drive me crazy to have it laying around.
It's called: En helt almindelig onsdag - An ordinary Wednesday.

I promise you, if it doesn't get to be one of the ten stories to go into the e-book, I will publish it here for you all to read - if you like, no pressure LOL!!!
(it's in Danish, but I can easily translate it if anyone would like me to)

And now, I will continue with Magical World...
Till next time.

XOXO
Annette

Writing Contest

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that I've entered a writing contest on forfattervaerk.net. It's a great oppitunity to actually get my writing career started. For the contest, you must write a short story, max 15pg, and the 10 best stories get published in a book!!!

I've almost finished my short story, and I was just wondering if any of you would like to volunteer to read it and give me some feedback on what you think about it before I hand it in.

I must warn you that this story is in Danish, not English, so those of you who don't read Danish, should probably not volunteer ;-)

Please let me know as soon as possible if you'd like to read it and give me feedback, as I have to hand it in soon.

Thanks a lot.

XOXO
Annette

Exciting news

Hello everyone,

Oh gosh, it's been quite a while since I've updated my blog... Shame on me!!

Anyhow, I have some really great news. No, I didn't get a contract with a publisher, but something almost as great as that.

I got myself a writing coach, Jannie Solaas, who is going to go through Magical Moon with me from start to end and tell me what works and what doesn't. Once that is done, hopefully MM is going to be amazing and the publishing houses are going to be lining up to publish it :-)

But that is not all. She is going to give me a writing course to teach me how to be a better writer. I simply cannot wait. I so wish I didn't have to look for a new job but that I could just concentrate on my writing and only that.

I hope Jannie will recognize my talent and help me become a spectacular writer.

I promise I will keep you informed about my progress, and that it will not be months again before I write another post :-)

Until next time...

XOXO
Annette

NaNoWriMo

Hi everyone,

In a good mood tonight :-)
Just wrote another 2000 words on Magical World and chapter 5 is close to be finished. Awesome...

I joined the NaNoWriMo, and for those of you who don't know what that is, here's a translation and an explanation.
NaNoWriMo means National Novel Writing Month.
All over the world, people join and write. We post little excerpts, give pep talks etc. The goal is to write 50,000 words in one month (November)
I just heard about this two days ago and only join then, so obviously I won't reach the 50,000 words before November 30. But, I do enjoy having a place where I can see the progress of my work in the form of statistics etc. It's rather fun really :-)
I have written 31,387 words already - not all of them in November though so I'm a bit of a cheat actually - LOL

And guess what? It's snowing in Denmark - Absolutely fantastic. I just love snow. It gets me in such good mood :-) Everything seem beautiful and even though it is wet and cold, it doesn't matter cause it's so pretty.

That was it for now - short but lovely :-)

XOXO
Annette

The future!

I just got fired from my great job :-( So sad, cause I have so many nice colleagues that I'm going to miss an awful lot. Thankfully, I don't have to stop until the end of February. I'm only a temp so I knew I had to stop, and now I'm just stopping a little earlier.
I feel sad for all my colleagues, who might have been with Vestas for many years, who lost their jobs yesterday. It is so awful when a big company has to fire so many employees.

But, I'm going to turn this around and look at it as an opportunity instead of something bad. I'm going to see if I can't get a job that has to do with books, writing and maybe even publishing. It could be extremely cool if I could get a job at a publishing house or something like that. I don't even care if all I have to do is get coffee and make copies - for a while!

Magical World is coming along pretty well. Just started on chapter fiv,e and I'm going to love writing this chapter. I'm going to introduce a lot of new funny characters who will all have their own purpose in the book. This second book in the Magical Moon series is going to be amazing :-)
I can't wait to finish it and hopefully get it published.

And how are things going with Magical Moon?
Well, slow! I still haven't heard from three agencies so now I'm going to find about ten new agencies to mail it to and hope for the best.
I will just go over chapter one, one more time and see if I can't make it even better.
And then I'm going to take another look at my sales pitch. Maybe it needs a little polish too...

Well, that's it for now.

xoxo
Annette

Copyright!

Wow, copyright is a jungle.... I've been looking into it the last hour now, and it seems that copyright is not the same in every country. So I guess, since I'm a Danish citizen, I'll have to follow the Danish rules??? Or what? Because Denmark is part of the EU and it seems they have some differnt rules!!
And what if I get an American agent and get published in America? What then? Which rules to follow??? Like I said - a jungle!
But, I don't have an agent yet, and I'm not published yet either, so I guess I don't have to worry about that just yet. Or do I? Because I have already published the title of the first two books here on this blog and since I don't have a copyright... well I guess anyone can just take it if they want... So, how do you copyright just the title?? Darn it! What to do?
If you have any ideas, please let me know.

So, did all of you have a scary halloween?
I went to see Paranormal Activity 1 and 2 not long ago, and I'm telling you, I got scared!!! I have never seen - and never will see - scary movies like that again! I got so scared I actually screamed in the theather a one point.

And how are things going with Magical World? Well, chapter four is halfway done and I'm hoping to finish it during next week.

I finished Chris Marie Green's Vampire Babylon series today. Amazing books. I hope to become just as good a write. Chris is my heroine :-)
I'm starting to read another series tonight: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason. I'm real excited about getting started on that series. It sounds great. I'll let you know if I like it :-)

Till next time

XOXO
Annette

Chapter three, done!

I was beginning to feel a little panic in my last post. I've been struggling with chapter three (not two as I wrote), but suddenly, it all came to me, and I finished it in two days. Fantastic!
I feel incredibly relieved...
I think the reason this particular chapter was so tough on me was that I had to dig into my own feelings to write something that emotional. I want the readers to really feel what Holly is going through, to feel the emotions, the tension, the loss she is feeling, like they are experiencing it all on their own body. I want them to feel the atmosphere, the nescessity of her actions.
I think, I pulled it off pretty well, but of course it will need to be reveiwed before it's perfect.
My freind Gitte read the first rough edition - and she loved it - thank goodness :-)

Now, chapter four is next, but that chapter will be much easier, funnier and lighter than the last - we need that after such a heavy, dark chapter. I will love writing this next chapter.

I have so many great ideas for book two in the Magical Moon series. Exciting new characters, amazing new places and hair-raising adventures are what's going to dominate this other book, a book I have decided to call "Magical World"

I hope you won't have to wait too long to read them. Hopefully, an agent will come along soon and love them as much as I do.

Till next time
xoxo

Mental Block???

Oh boy...

I've been dancing around chapter two for weeks now... Why is that? Why is it that some chapters are harder to write than others?
I just want to forget about that one for a while and start writing on some of the other chapters. Maybe if I do that, the inspiration for this one will suddenly come back.
I know what I want to write in this chapter, however, I can't seem to get it "down on paper."
So, do I have some kind of a mental block?? - Perhaps.
Will I get over it?? - Absolutely.... And if not automatically, my willpower is so strong that I will fight my way through this!!

But I haven't been doing nothing. I have been doing a lot of research. OMG! It's so funny. I've been looking for inspiration about castles, medieval weapons etc. It's a whole world of it's own.

My magical world is really beginning to come to life. Once I get it down on paper, it will be amazing :-) I have no doubt about it...
Now I just have to get the agents and the publishers to believe it too :-)

'Till next time.

XOXO

Magical Moon 2

I just had an operation. I have a huge wound across my belly so I can't do much but lie/sit on the sofa. :-(
There is, however, an upside to this sick leave of mine and that is that I have a lot of time to think about and write on Magical Moon 2.

I'm almost done with chapter two. It's quite dark and I feel so extremely sorry for Jayden. I'm putting him through hell in this book.

Holly is going to meet some very interesting people/creatures during her trip to Vaillëz where she is going to try to save Jayden and his mother from his evil father.

I had a professional editor look at the first chapter of MM. She was fascinated and loved the story but she believed there were some fundamental problems with it such as the formulation. I hadn't expected anything less since this is my first book, but I still hope that there are someone out there who is going to love the story and want to publish it - after a good editing!

My vampire book is coming along pretty well too - chapter one is almost done. It's not going to be quite as long as the Magical Moon books but long enough. Maybe I should consider writing some novels??? It may be easier to get those published... who knows?

Well, this was it for now, just a small update. I feel the medicine working and my eyelids getting heavy. Bye for now...

xoxo
Annette

How is it going?

Might some of you be thinking - Well, you and me both... I've been turned down three times now, which really isn't much considering what I'm expecting, and I'm still waiting for an answer from three other agencies. I'm not expecting much, but I'm not giving up either. I'm going to get my books published!!!

So, what am I doing in the meantime??
Well, as I wrote in my last post, I'm working on Magical Moon 2. Lately, I've been really tired when I've come home from work, and with all the house/kids work as well, I haven't had much energy left for writing. It makes me so sad that I haven't been able to write much, but what can I do, I can't split myself into multiple peole and do many things at once.

Writing takes some concentration, and when you're exhausted, the writing suffers... Instead of writing every night, I have been concentrating on only writing whenever I was up for it - when I just couldn't keep my hands away from the computer, and my brain became so full of thoughts, I just had to write them down.
So far, MM2 has just about two hole chapters in total - I'm jumping a little back and forth. Chapter one is completely done, ch two is about half done and so is ch four.

So it's coming along pretty good, considering my lack of energy lately. Hopefully, it will return after my operation on Thursday... No more pain I hope!!!

Buuuut, it's not just all "bad" news! :-) I am, as most of my readers may know, a vampire freak. The other night, just when I was about to fall asleep, I got a brilliant idea for a new book (It's funny why I get my best ideas just when I'm about to fall asleep!)
And yes, I have started writing it. I just couldn't help myself, and it is turning out to become an amazing and different vampire story! I'm even trying out a new way of writing. In this book, I'm not using the I-person as I have in Magical Moon but is telling it from a third persons view - and it works perfectly!
I am dying to tell you the title of this book because I think it's fantastic, but a friend of mine told me to be careful and think about copyright! So sorry guys, you'll have to wait :-(

Those of you who love a good vampire story, will love this one with its unique twist :-) Trust me!!!

Well, this was it for now, my fingers are itching to getting back to work :-)

xoxo
Annette

Second book in the Magical Moon series

I've just shipped Magical Moon off to six different agencies. I've already heard from two of them who immediately responded after reading the sales pich/query letter that it wasn't what they were looking for at the moment. But that doesn't matter - nothing I hadn't expected anyway!

It is all very exciting and I keep checking my mail several times a day, just in case, you know. Wouldn't want to miss anything - but so far, just the two turn-downs...

And yes, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, I have started on the sequel to Magical Moon. Just putting last hand on chapter one, and I'm loving it already.

The other night I stayed up half the night because I was so caught up in writing the synopsis for this second book. I have so many great ideas, and I hope you'll all love this one as much as I hope you'll love Magical Moon.
I think it may actually be better than Magical Moon... from a fantasy perspective that is. Magical Moon has a lot of love in it, this one, will be more about the power and the magical world I have created.
We will get to see Holly from in a more controllable powerful role, and William will be more visible in this one too.
And, I will try to write from different points of views as well, so I think it is safe to say that the second book will be pretty cool - if you ask me!

I plan to write three books in the Magical Moon series, and it is my intention that they're all going to be named Magical (something) - Cool, isn't it?

Anyways! I will write again soon - I promise :-)
BTW, please add yourselves as followers here, it will  make me very happy..

Bye for now.

xoxo
Annette

Literary Agents - hard to get???

I've written, rewritten, corrected, edited and is finally reaching the end - for now anyway. Magical Moon is close to being ready to go out into the world, into the hands of literary agents. Will it pass their high demands? Only time will tell...

I have been searching the Net for information on agents, and boy are there many - think I said that more than once! First you have to find the ones who are actually interested in fantasy. Then you'll have to see if they accept anything for YA (young adults) If you're lucky, the two will match, if not, continue looking! And, some of them don't even accept submittings for the moment + some only accepts from already accepted writers... *BIG SIGH*

But, not to worry. I already have a long list of agents who accept books like Magical Moon. Sunday, the big event will happen. Sunday, I will send out the first queries!!! Yay.... Can't wait to Sunday!

Oh and by the way, I have started on chapter one in the 2. book in the series.... I don't know what to call it yet but I'm sure I'll come up with it sooner or later.

Well, that was it for now. Hope you're all as excited as I am.

xoxo
Annette

The end is near

Finally! We've almost reached the end which means that I now can start looking for a literary agent - so all of you fantasy agents out there, beware... I might be knocking on your e-mail ;-)

But it is a huge jungle... There are so many different agents, and I need to find precisely THE ONE who will love Magical Moon and publish it. So, if you know one, please do not hesitate to let me know :-)

My girls have read the entire book by now, and they LOVE it. I will have to remember to thank them for all their work on my acknowledgments page. They've been a tremendous help in the editing process.

And the second best ting about the end being near is that I now can begin on the follow-up to Magical Moon... Aren't you all excited??? If not, you should be *grinning wide*

Well, I'm off to find myself an agent. Wish me luck :-D

XOXO
Annette

Chris Marie Green

She, along with Faith Hunter, Jeaniene Frost and Karen Chance, is among one of my most favorite writers whom I'd love to some day meet and perhaps compare myself with.
They are amazing writers, if you love the fantasy genre, and I cannot recommend you enough to read some of their books.
Chris with her Babylon serie is deadly fantastic, and I can't wait to read more of her books. Just entered a contest on her website, and if I'm lucky, I might win one of them :-) Buuuut, with my luck, naah...

Enough about other writers and back to what is the most important part - Magical Moon :-D

MM is coming along pretty well. I'm going to finish ch. 15 tonight. That leaves me with only 7 chapters left to edit and send to my amazing friends.
I think I'll be able to keep my "deadline" which is to finish this last round of editing by the end of June / early July. Then I'll use the rest of July to fix the mistakes my friends find, and write a sales pitch I can send along with MM to an agent.
Sounds like a plan?? Yep :-)

Well, if I have to finish ch. 15 by tonight, I should get started. Another update coming up soon :-)

Bye for now..

Annette