Introducing Clash of the Titles!

I'm really geeked about today's post. I always like presenting you with cool information and exciting new sites for writers. You've all heard of Clash of the Titans, right? Of course you have. Well, let me introduce you to the brand new site, CLASH OF THE TITLES. (Is that clever, or what?) Clash of the Titles is the ultimate literary challenge, where authors battle and readers judge. Curiosity piqued? Mine, too!

It's my pleasure to introduce you to Michelle Massaro, a new homeschooling parent, a member of her church's worship team, and an aspiring author of Contemporary Christian fiction. Above all, she is a follower of Christ Jesus, unashamed to stand upon the Word of God from beginning to end! Michelle is on-staff at Clash of the Titles (otherwise referred to as COTT) and is here to answer a few questions about this brand new site.

Take a moment to visit Michelle's blog at: www.michellemassaro.blogspot.com

Also connect with her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/editapps.php?ref=mb#!/group.php?gid=142201822468664&v=info&ref=ts

What is Clash of the Titles all about?

Clash of the Titles, or COTT, is the brain-child of April Gardner. The idea is to have a weekly showdown between two authors/novels in which readers judge and decide on the “worthiest” excerpt in a given category. For example, our first week will focus on Best Hook—Opening Pages and readers will vote on which one best leaves them “intrigued, breathless, and begging for more”.

What excites you most about COTT?What excites me most about COTT is the chance to connect with so many book-lovers who are also Christ-lovers. Being a part of something new and different is always a thrill, and the anticipation of wondering what lies ahead is exhilarating. I’m looking forward to forming new relationships with Christian authors I may have never heard of before- just like all the other readers out there will be able to do!

How do you see COTT expanding the Christian fiction market?

The opportunity to go to the COTT website each week and be able to read a couple pages of new novels in all kinds of genres, all in one place, is going to do a lot to expose readers to books they otherwise might never come across. Often you can find a sample chapter up on an author’s webpage, but unless you are already familiar with that author (or at least with their genre), you aren’t going to find yourself on their site reading their excerpt. COTT will appeal to the widest audience possible, cast a large net, and bring those readers to those writers. I guess you could say that COTT is like the kitchen – it’s the hub of activity, the place everyone congregates within the home. There is a lot to feast on, and plenty of new things to try! So of course the market is going to see the results as readers break their mold and buy more books outside their “norm” and begin recommending these new books to friends. Isn’t that what we always do when we discover something new we love? We want to share it!

How can COTT generate a buzz for an author's book?

When an author is featured on COTT, the sparring nature of the site is going to generate a distinctive buzz in that good-natured “Go, team!” kind of way. Readers will be rooting for their favorite to win, and often those readers will be brand-new to that author and/or genre. COTT is so new and different that it stands out from the usual blog-tours and announcements. We are unique. And that always garners extra attention and buzz.

How can COTT help increase sales of older titles?

What I think is going to happen, is many readers are going to discover a love for an author and a genre they’d previously not known, and that is going to whet their appetite. Once a new reader becomes a fan, they will of course want to read other books by the same author, easily increasing sales of previous titles. It’s a no-brainer.

Are all the featured books published?

No, actually. Most of the time, the featured excerpts are from published books immediately available for purchase. But occasionally, about every 6 weeks or so, we give unpublished authors the opportunity to put their work out there and see what happens. We want to encourage new authors and new talent and watch the Christian fiction market expand all the more.

What cost is there to participating authors?

The only cost is one copy of the participating author's book, and the shipping to send it to the winner. That’s it!

How do authors go about getting their excerpts onto COTT?

First, they check our submission page and look at our upcoming schedule for your genre and theme. Then they should prepare their excerpt according to our guidelines and email it to us. We will notify them if your excerpt is chosen. Please be sure to read all the guidelines! To keep things fair, we do take steps to ensure the author's identity is secret during the submission process.

How can we keep up-to-date on what is going on over at COTT?

We’ve set up a Facebook page and Twitter account, in addition to our main website, so keeping up-to-date is easy!

SO COOL! Thanks so much for the information, Michelle, and much success to you in this venture!

Ready to check it out? Me, too! See you there!

CLASH OF THE TITLES

Let's Talk about Tweens and Teens

Got girls? More specifically, tweens or teens? Then I have a great resource for you.

Nicole O'Dell is one of my critique buddies. Nicole is my hero, not only because she is a mother of 6 (including 1-year-old TRIPLETS!) but because she is a published author who took the bull by the horns and acquired a multi-book publishing contract - without an agent! Now, I don't think I'd be brave enough to sign a contract without an agent, but I really admire Nicole for it. It's been working wonderfully for her and I'm proud to say I'm her crit buddy.

So anyway, Nicole has this series out for girls. And it's becoming more and more popular and gaining tons of attention. With good reason. First, the series is about real girls making real choices. Yes, the books are fiction. But the characters are faced with tough decisions that Christian girls encounter every day.

Second, the series is interactive. Which means that each story has two endings. The reader can then choose which choice they would make and see the consequences of it played out. There is even a "contract" at the end of each book for the girls to sign.

As I said, the whole concept is so cool!

This series is published by Barbour and so far, there are two books available: Truth or Dare and All that Glitters. The third and fourth books in the series, Magna and Making Waves, will be released in April, 2010.

Nicole has just launched her website (Nicoledoell.com) and blog (which already has 94 followers - Go, Nicole!). Visit her website to learn more about her, as well as the books she's writing. Her blog is titled Girl Talk and offers devotionals, advice, reviews, and giveaways. Here is her current blogging schedule:

Monday: Post to Parents
Tuesday: Girl Talk
Wednesday: Writer's Corner
Thursday: Thoughtful Thursday
Friday: Friday Fun

So if you have tween or teen girls, you'll want to alert them to Nicole's website and blog and, of course, her books!

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Nicole O’Dell lives in Illinois with her husband and six children, three of whom are triplets. With a heart for young girls and a special passion for the relationship between mothers and daughters as they approach the teen years, Nicole created the Scenarios: Interactive Fiction for Girls series to help girls develop sound decision making skills. Her writing also includes devotionals and Bible studies for women of all ages.

My Top Five Favorite Sites...

To the average bystander, it would probably seem I'm on a mission. A mission to see how many sites I can join before I turn 40.

Oh wait. I already am 40.

No I'm not.

Ok, I am.

Now that we have that out of the way, on to more important things. Like websites.

I've heard people say they refuse to join yet another networking site. They already belong to a bazillion, they don't have the time, yada, yada. And I can understand that. In fact, for a while, I was joining sites left and right. Then I started receiving notices - daily - from sites asking where I was. "We miss you!" the subject lines read.

I was touched. Really, I was. Especially because my own kids don't say that even when they go camping for a week without me.

But I digress.

When these notices started appearing in my email inbox, I wondered if I might just be joining more sites than I could handle. Hey - my hair may flip up on the ends and I may dress a little strangely from time to time (just ask my kids), and my name may be Lynda with a "Y" but I'm no Wonder Woman.

So I whittled down a little, picking and choosing the sites I can't live without. I ended up with five, which isn't bad, as long as I am able to appropriately balance my time on each of them. That's not always easy - and sometimes I fail - but I refuse to give them up. So here are my top five favorite sites:

FaithWriters - I joined over four years ago and FaithWriters is, singlehandedly, the site that rejumped my writing career. I can't even tell you how many opportunities have come to me through FaithWriters. And don't even get me started on the members. They are the warmest, most genuine group of Christians I've ever met. And I am proud to call them some of my closest friends.

GodLinked - Ok, I'm a little biased here, because I am site administrator at GodLinked. It's my baby...well, not exactly MY baby, but I did play a (very) small part in its start-up, such as the name and the motto: Connecting our faith, one link at a time.

I don't do MySpace, even though my kids do (and we monitor their activity, believe me). GodLinked is similar to MySpace but without all the junk. The people are fabulous, we've got some great groups started (including Authors, Comedians, Desperate Moms, Weight Watchers, Lighter Moments, Teens, Prayer Intercessory, Scrapbookers Corner - just to name a few - and the forums are also beginning to pick up steam. So if you're looking for a Christian networking site, check out GodLinked. It's relatively new but there's a lot of potential there.

Twitter - Who thought of this name, anyway? Doesn't matter. I personally love the name and love the concept. The point is to type blurbs about what you're doing at the moment - up to 140 characters (which aint a lot, trust me! Really tests a writer's chopping skills). You can follow as many Twitterers as you'd like and respond to their posts. You can twitter from your computer, ipod or phone. As of right now, I am following 27 and have 20 followers. This is nothing compared to most, but give me a break - I'm just getting started.

Facebook - I felt so out of the loop...all my friends had a Facebook and I didn't. So, basically giving in to peer pressure, I joined. I didn't think I'd like it. Honestly, I hoped I wouldn't like it. But, guess what? I LOVE IT. Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with high school friends and keep in touch with far-away cousins. Lots of fun stuff there...so beware, it is a potential time-waster. But it's quickly becoming a favorite.

ACFW - I shouldn't even need to explain why American Christian Fiction Writers will always be listed in my "favorites." Loaded with all the tools and resources I need on my journey towards "published author", I wouldn't dare stray far. And the message boards are fun - where else can I rub shoulders with the authors I love? Sometimes I feel so unworthy to be in the presence of such greatness...

So there you have it. Five sites I won't be giving up anytime soon (if ever!). So what are your top 5 irresistable and addicting sites? I might check them out and I might not, depending on how much space I have left on my balancing scale.

Now, excuse me. I have to go twitter.