SHUT UP Review at Totally Bookalicious

4 out of 5 stars!
WOOT!

Here's the link: http://totallybookalicious.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/book-review-shut-up-by-anne-tibbets.html#.T8fhB794K_U

Author Interview with Anne Tibbets at The Blonde Who Reads

Author interview with Anne Tibbets at The Blonde Who Reads

http://theblondewhoreads.blogspot.com/2012/05/interview-with-anne-tibbets.html

My Agent Search Stats

78 query letters
Rejections: 35
Requests for partial manuscript submission: 4
Requests for full manuscript submission:15
No responses: 30

Queries and/or full submissions pulled back after offer: 12

3 offers of representation

I realize the numbers don't all add up, but most partial requests resulted in a full submission request, and then some read full submissions and rejected - so they were counted more than once.

I'm pleased to announce that I have officially signed on with Bree Ogden of D4EO Literary Agency.

If you are a writer in search of an agent, my advice to you is this...
1) Have a killer query
2) Be professional
3) Research agents before sending a query so you know who you are asking! Don't ask a romance agent to represent your action/adventure - get the idea?
4) If you are getting NO requests for fulls, at all (!) then there is something wrong with your query
5) Don't give up

Original 'Shut Up' Diary Entry from 'Mary' at The Blonde Who Reads

For you fans of 'Shut Up' - here's an original and NEW diary entry from 'Mary' exclusive to The Blonde Who Reads

http://theblondewhoreads.blogspot.com/2012/05/dear-diary-page-from-marys-diary.html?m=1

'Shut Up' Review at Chasing Empty Pavement

Here's a great review of 'Shut Up' at Chasing Empty Pavement!

http://www.chasingemptypavements.com/2012/05/shut-up-by-anne-tibbets-review.html

'Shut Up' Excerpt at The Blonde Who Reads Book Blog

The Blonde Who Reads Book Blog is starting a WEEK of 'Shut Up' awesomeness!

Here's today's post:  An actual excerpt from the book!
http://theblondewhoreads.blogspot.com/2012/05/shut-up-teaser.html

Stop by and make a comment! :)

Review of "Shut Up" at Doodles Book Blog!

Another wonderful review of SHUT UP, this time at Doodles Book Blog!

There's also a giveaway too!

Here's the link: http://doodlesbookblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-giveaway-shut-up-by-anne-tibbets.html

Creative Quandry

Creative direction.

That's where I'm at.

I stand at a creative crossroads leading in several different directions that will have a LARGE influence on where my career and my life will lead.

It's exhilarating and petrifying and totally overwhelming.

I'm hoping for a sign.

News to follow next week.

The new word: Oxymoronic = Me

I'm having an oxymoron day.

Definition of oxymoron: A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.

Think: Jumbo shrimp.

While simultaneously getting interviewed, receiving fan mail, positive reviews, and personal notes of thanks from reviewers about SHUT UP, I am also shopping THE LINE (my YA Dystopian) to select literary agencies in the hopes of cracking the traditional YA book market, and with that comes a seemingly never-ending flow of emails that read something like this...

"This is great, but..."
"We love your writing, however..."
"We enjoyed reading this. Unfortunately..." 

There were those of you (you know who you are!) who told me that landing a traditional market literary agent was a pain in the ass, and I don't mind admitting out loud, that they were correct.  It is.

It does not matter if you are freaking Mark Twain (and I'm nowhere close), but unless you find the right agent, in the right mood, with the right list, looking for the right kind of manuscript, who also happens to like your query - then MAYBE you MIGHT get lucky enough to submit a draft of your work.

Then, this said agent has to love your work, present it to their co-workers, who also have to love your work, and evaluate the market to see if they know the right people to buy your work, and 9 times out of 10 they will ask you to re-write your work, (and 9 times out of 10 their notes are steered toward making it more "traditional"), and even then that's no guarantee they will ask you to sign with their agency, even if you do change it, and jump through all the right hoops.

As one friend put it so astutely: "It's a craps shoot."

So -

Rejections one minute.
Fan mail the next.

"We appreciate your contacting our agency, BUT..."

"I bawled through one whole section of your book..."

Yeah.

It's a roller coaster over here, and I wish I were having more fun.

Don't mind me.
I'm oxymoronic.

4 out of 5 Stars for SHUT UP from Amazon Top 50 Critic

**doing a happy dance**

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3KAIUWANJ88D5/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1937957365&nodeID=283155&store=books

Radio Interview with Anne Tibbets

My first radio interview - ever!

Here's the link:http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ewenprime/2012/05/22/lois-w-stern-on-todays-author-hosted-by-david-ewen

Where I speak with David Ewen on the Today's Author program at BlogTalkRadio!

Be kind.
:)

"Shut Up" Review at The Cover by Brittany

YAY!

Not only did I give my first radio interview last night (link to follow at a later date), but I also got another good review this morning courtesy of The Cover by Brittany!

Here's the link: http://thecoverbybrittany.blogspot.com/2012/05/shut-up-by-anne-tibbets.html

SHUT UP Giveaway and Blurb at I Just Want to Sit Here and Read

Wow - Monday morning is turning out rather busy!

Here's a SHUT UP Giveaway and blurb here at I Just Want to Sit Here and Read!

http://www.sithereandread.com/2012/05/shut-up-by-anne-tibbets-character.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IJustWannaSitHereandRead+%28I+Just+Wanna+Sit+Here+And+Read!%29

"Shut Up" Review at Christi the Teen Librarian

Woot!
Perfect way to start the day!

http://christitheteenlibrarian.blogspot.com/2012/05/shut-up-by-anne-tibbets.html

Great Review for "Shut Up" at Book Pleasures

YAY!

This particular reviewer picked up on things I wasn't sure if anybody would...Kudos!

http://www.bookpleasures.com/websitepublisher/articles/4926/1/Shut-Up-Reviewed-By-Lois-Henderson-of-Bookpleasurescom/Page1.html#.T7gHyL94K_U

5 Star Shut Up Review at Cubicle Blindness

WOOT!
Another 5 Star Review thanks to Cubicle Blindness Reviews!

Here's the link: http://cubicleblindness.blogspot.com/2012/05/shut-up-by-anne-tibbets.html

Guest Blog: The Bully in You by Anne Tibbets at Gimme the Scoop

Here's the link!
http://gimmethescoopreviews.blogspot.com/2012/05/guest-post-bully-in-you-anne-tibbets.html?spref=tw

Review of SHUT UP from Curled Up With Books

WOOT!

It's the day of reviews, apparently - here's another good one!

http://curledupwithbooks.blogspot.com/2012/05/ya-review-shut-up-by-anne-tibbets.html

Review and SHUT UP Giveaway at Book Absorption

Here's the link!

http://bookabsorption.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-giveaway-shut-up-by-anne-tibbets.html

Sassy Peach Reads Reviews SHUT UP

Another great review for Shut Up!

Check it out: http://sassypeachreads.blogspot.com/2012/05/shut-up.html

Not-So-Manic Monday

Mondays...The days I wish I had a pair of brain jumper cables.
I'm not entirely sure why, but Mondays are notoriously slow for me.

I'm usually tired from being "on" all weekend.  Company visiting.  Or going to work functions, or dinners with my man, or just running all over town, running errands, or catching up on the never ending pile of laundry...Then comes Monday morning, and there is never enough coffee or Diet Coke in the world that could to get my brain to function at full capacity.

Honestly, I was thinking so slowly I hardly moved all day.
Perhaps I should have taken a nap, or something.

I did manage to re-read my Work-in-Progress (WIP), the yet to be titled Supernatural Mystery that I'm telling my writer's group is Nancy Drew meets Ghost Hunters.  When I got ever-so-distracted with rewrites on another project, and then the release of Shut Up, the WIP sat in limbo (languishing at 18,000 words on page 75).

SIDE NOTE: My 10 y/o daughter asked me one day what my next book was about, so I told her.  What I didn't know was that she then went to school and told all her friends I was working on a "ghost story" and now everyday after school (no joke!) she asks me if I'm done yet because her friends want to read it when I'm through. 
Oh, kids!
If only it were that simple!
The last time she asked I actually snapped at her, the poor kid.
"Don't nag me!"

Anyway, I re-read it today and as I had stated in a previous blog post, the voice is strong, the story is creepy, it's still fun - it still made me laugh (I haven't written the part that will make you cry, yet), and then I re-examined the outline and plot scene breakdown to see if I could just pick up where I left off, and silly ole' me - I should have figured - it's Monday Brain Dead Day!

What's the expression?

No way in hell!

Despite my best efforts, I wrote only 1,000 new words, and even then, I was phoning it in.  Hence, I will have to come back on a full-powered brain day and repair the scene, but at least it's a start.

I always over-estimate how "easy" it will be to pick up right where you left off.  It's not.  It takes me days of thinking to get back into the new book groove, and even then, I'm kind of hoping I'll have news on another project by then, and will (hopefully) have to put the WIP on the back burner AGAIN, so I might just be wasting the brain power anyway - but at least I attempted, and at least I have a 75 (now 80) page head start, and a workable outline and scene breakdown, and at least I have the ability to sit down and do it...

Eventually...
After my brain kicks in...
When ever that might be...

Let's be frank - I do my best work on Thursdays and Fridays.
I know this and yet I still try to recreate that productivity on a Monday.

Silly me.

Guest Post on Musings of a Writer Reader Blog

What I would like to say to Mary...

http://triciakristufek.com/2012/05/11/guest-post-anne-tibbets/

4 out of 5 Star Review for Shut Up at Musings of a Writer Reader Blog

Yay!

Here's the link: http://triciakristufek.com/2012/05/11/review-shut-up/

Another Mary Lost

Terrible, awful, horrible news out of Minnesota today.
A thirteen year old girl, bullied by classmates, has taken her own life.

I wish there were words I could tell the parents to ease their pain. But there aren't any.
I wish there were words I could give to the bullies, so that they might fully empathize with their victim.  And if they do, I wish I had the words to empathize with them to ease their guilt and shame.

I wish I had been able to talk to this girl, so that she might understand that taking your own life, though it might solve the immediate problem of stopping your emotional pain, it is NOT the only choice.

I feel like I lost a Mary today, and it completely and totally and utterly breaks my heart into a million pieces.

To all those out there that understand this girl's pain, I raise my hand to you in appreciation.
PLEASE - hang in there.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/rachel-ehmke-13-year-old-_n_1501143.html?ref=mostpopular

5 Star Review for "SHUT UP" from Gimme the Scoop Reviews

Thanks for the incredible review!

Here's the link: http://gimmethescoopreviews.blogspot.com/2012/05/shut-up-by-anne-tibbets-released.html

The Avengers Roll Call

I love super heroes!
The bravery -
The self sacrifice -
The kick ass moves -
The pectorals -
The tight uniforms -

**sigh**

Did I mention I love super heroes?

The latest installment is Joss Whedon's (of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) new super hero flick THE AVENGERS - which is taking the worldwide box office prisoner.

You've got Iron Man - snarky Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) sporting his trademark goatee, and a killer mind able to talk science stuff up the wahzoo (jeepers, he's smart AND good looking) - oh, and he has a nearly indestructible flying metal suit.

Then you've got Captain America - pure of heart Steve Rogers (Chris Evans - yummmm) sporting his lovely boxing skills, super strength and military strategy know-how - oh, and a nearly indestructible metal shield.

And I would be remiss if I didn't add this picture as well...

Yeah...

I'm a happily married woman, and I'd love the opportunity to corrupt Captain America's innocence.  Just saying...

Then there's Thor.  Prince of some far off planet, played by Chris Hemsworth, sporting his flowing locks of hair, control over the elements, and oh (again) - a nearly indestructible magic hammer.

Then you have the chick of the group, Black Widow, played by voluptuous Scarlet Johannson, sporting a skin-tight black leather outfit, mixed martial arts skills humanly impossible (my 10 year old MMA blue belt daughter left the theater saying, 'She's got to be a 20th degree black belt!'), and a nearly indestructible...Wait.  She's not indestructible in any respect. Although, one could argue her psyche is pretty indestructible.

Throw in a bow and arrow dude and you have Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner, who sports a black skin-tight leather outfit, a bow and arrow that DOES run out of ammo (thank you Joss Whedon for that), and an aim that never misses.

Last, but certainly not least you have the Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo, who as soft-spoken doctor Bruce Banner, has a sky-high IQ and scientific genius-status, and as the Hulk, a bad temper, super human strength and a nearly indestructible physique.

My favorite fight in the whole movie was the Hulk versus Loki, the villain. Classic Hulk. Very awesome!

Each character had flaws, each character had great strengths (both emotionally and physically), and each super hero character contributed just as much as the other - making this a rock solid Earth-saving team well worth the dough to see in a real theater.

And I'm not just saying that because you get to see Chris Evans in a tight white tee shirt, but that certainly does help. *wink,wink*

As a lover (and creator) of super heroes myself (see THE BEAST CALL if you like kick-ass warrior chicks that can control animals), I have to give THE AVENGERS  two thumbs up, one drool, one 'I wish I could do that' (ie. Black Widow), and a whole lot of creative admiration.

Huzzah!

Glowing Review for SHUT UP from Bookaholics Anonymous

WOOT!

Things like this make my day.
Thanks to Bookaholics Anonymous for the glowing review.
And as a side comment: the one scene that bothered her most was the only one I'd admit to as being true!

Here's the link:http://bookaholic-anonymous.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-shut-up.html

Two Steps from Hell - Archangel

I make no apologies - I am a writer, which is an artist of sorts - and I derive my inspiration where ever and when ever I can.  I make no bones about this.

Therefore, I am sharing with you the link to 'Two Steps from Hell' - "Archangel" the song responsible for helping me finish THE BEAST REIGN (which is now in the hands of a trusted advisor - fate to be decided).

Try to image Dray as the Queen of Madis, and listen to this song - and you'll see why it speaks to me.

Have a good listen...
Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGn5bBaFOfw

Author Interview with Anne Tibbets at Comfort Books

Here's the link!

http://paigebradish1996.blogspot.com/2012/05/author-interview-anne-tibbets-author-of.html

Thanks for the interview, Comfort Books - it was fun!

5 Star Review for SHUT UP at Comfort Books Blog

Here's the link!

http://paigebradish1996.blogspot.com/2012/05/shut-up-by-anne-tibbets-review_03.html

Thanks for the review, Comfort Books!