"What's on the Nightstand" while I wait....

Hey guys :)

As the title suggests, I am still here. Waiting. Waiting to hear from my submission for UNWILLING. No news is good news at this point but boy do I wish I had some exciting news to pass on.

The update is, I have heard from the NY editor who requested UNWILLING, and as of first week of April, she needed more time with it. I am taking this as a positive sign while I wait.

During all this waiting and inbox paranoia, I have read some great books and worked on rewriting the second book in my series. You know, all the good positive things to keep my spirits up. And frosting straight out of the tub. That helps too.

As always, give a book some love and check back with crossed fingers and toes so hopefully we can squee together when the word comes in.

Till then,
KD

Lord's Fall by Thea Harrison - The next book in Thea's award winning series is just what I have been waiting for more Dragos and Pia! An excellent read.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

A very interesting world Leigh has built and a super nice lady. I had the pleasure of meeting her along with Gennifer Albin, Marie Rutkoski and Caragh M. O'Brien when they signed at Square Books in Oxford, MS. 

*Steam Alert* Last Snippet

   T...G...I...F!

   Thank you and welcome to new friends from the Czech Republic. Hope you see something you like and visit again soon.

    Well here we are guys, at the last sneak peek. Hey now, is that a frowny face I see? None of that, Mister. No sad panda's allowed! :) I promise it was worth the wait because I picked an extra saucy one just for you. *points at you* Yeah, you.  

    This being the last one is actually a really good thing. Why you ask? Because that means the book is finished and ready for it's cyber-vacation in the Big Apple. Oh yeah, you read that correctly and have my permission to squee!  

    On November 15th UNWILLING will be on her way to New York City to be raked over the coals by a very nice lady at a major publishing house. After three years of late nights, five full revisions, many long hours bleeding all over the keyboard and plotting wall I'm pleased as punch with how the story turned out. Without a doubt, none of this journey would've been possible without the time I was blessed to spend with some of the coolest writer friends in the world who have helped bring Neely's story out of it's original steaming pile of excessive adjectives. Pals, for everything past and to come, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. <3 

    No matter how we met or what you practise, be it praying, crossing fingers or sending positive energy, on November 15th please do it for UNWILLING. I'm not picky, I'll take whatever you got! 

    So, there you go. *slumps in chair* I've shared my huge news with you all. Trust me, it's been killing me not to talk about it until now. Be sure and check back often as I wait for an answer and help me not pull my hair out or overdose on chocolate.

    I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and don't forget to give a book and it's creator some love. 

Till Then,

KD   

    His teeth nipped at my jaw.

    “You think it’ll be that easy?" I wound my fingers into his hair.

    “No," he said against my skin. "I expect it to be horrible.” Raising his face from my neck, his eyes were heavy lidded. “But right now it’s you and me in an empty house and I only want to think about you.” His fingers teased open the top button of my shirt. “Your skin, the taste of your lips, the silky feel of your hair between my fingers,” he whispered as the second button sprang free, his breath raising goose bumps on my chest. “And nothing else.”

2010 K.D. Wood

prohibited from being displayed, copied, discussed or electronically distributed without the expressed written permission of the author.

   

Chapter Snippet

Welcome new vistors and old friends! Between Halloween and a hurricane visiting the East Coast, it's been a weird week. Thankfully, Halloween is only once a year and I pray Sandy's future cousins don't make visits like this a habit. The news coming out of the affected areas has been  heartrending. Since entering the writing community two years ago I've made lots of friends from that part of the country. For all you guys, I'm lifting up prayers of safety for you. <3 

    In the days to come, hug your loved ones more often, call a old friend just to say hello and don't forget to give a book and it's creator some love. I appreciate you taking the time to visit the blog today and hope you enjoy this peek into UNWILLING. 

Till Then,

KD

    He dabbed at my cheek. “This one might need a stitch.”

    “No,” I said, wincing and pushing his hands away. “Leave it alone.” I held my breath waiting for the sting of the antiseptic to fade.

    His eyes flicked toward her then back to me. “You’ll have a nasty scar.”

    “Good,” I said, closing my eyes as tears dripped into the hollow of my ears. “I want all the wounds to match.”

What's on the Nightstand? #65-#83

     Welcome to a VERY overdue installment of “What’s on the Nightstand.” First, I need to give our new friends from Belarus a shout out. Welcome! P.S., I totally had to get out a map to find you guys. Thanks for teaching me something new and please visit often! J

    The good news of the day is that my book, UNWILLING, is once again a complete manuscript. *cheering, firecrackers and pompoms of GLORY all around!!* This revision has had me by the throat for several months but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading some great books in my microscopic amount of spare time.

    I have been awed by the talent in this batch of writers. If you’re looking for some amazing new stories, there are plenty on this list to keep you busy for a while. So give a book and its creator some love and I’ll catch you guys next week with a brand new snippet from UNWILLING.

Till Then,

KD

65. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson – This book goes in my top ten for 2012. I love what Rae did with these characters. It’s a meaty, deep and intense ride start to finish.

66. Unicorns and Zombies (Anthology) – This was a cool read and exactly what I needed to break the YA reading rut I fell into a few months ago. All excellent writers with a zinger sense of humor.

67. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher – This is actually one I picked up at the Hernando Library on CD. And I’m glad I did. Jay weaves a very serious message in this story. By the halfway mark I found myself so heavily invested I had an actual, physical pain in my chest. Not my usual kind of read but a good one.

68. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

69. A Million Suns by Beth Revis – Beth taps into that part of me that loves Star Trek with this series. Both are excellent stories and I’m looking forward to finding out what’s next for these characters with the next installment. Nashville, TN peeps, if you’d like a chance to meet Beth and some other cool writers. She, along with Stephanie Perkins, Tessa Gratton, Victoria Schwab, Sonia Gensler, and Myra McEntire will be at Parnassus Books in Nashville on October 28^th (2:00p.m.). And if you tell me you went, I shall keel over with the envies because I want to go so BAD!

70. Wicked Game by Jeri Smith Ready

71. Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith Ready – Who doesn’t love a scintillating vampire story partnered with great music? With this series you get both! Though not wearing her YA hat for these books, Jeri has created a fantastic world for adults where vampires rule the night time radio waves.

And now for MORE from Jeri:

72. Eyes of Crow by Jeri Smith Ready

73. Voice of Crow by Jeri Smith Ready – I really enjoyed immersing myself in this story. With these books Jeri created a dystopian series that held me captivated with so many questions even after I closed the book. If you enjoyed the Hunger Games these are an excellent next step for older teens and adults.

74. Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg – This was a clean and fun story to read. It wasn’t so heavy that I slogged through it but still had texture to its bones. I highly recommend this book for teens.

75. Red Glove by Holly Black – A great next chapter for these characters. I’m anxious to see what Holly has in store for them.

76. Eternal Ones by Kristen Miller – I love books based in the south! Kristen writes excellent dialogue and that’s one of my favorite things in a story. Definitely something different from the other YA’s out there right now and worth a read.

77. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys – This is the ONLY book with “shade of gray” in its title you will see me talking about. This book is also in my top ten of 2012. It’s a fabulous story about a young girl’s experience through a very dark time in our history. My oldest son also gave the book two thumbs up. And he’s even harder to please than I am. If you haven’t read it, DO SO, immediately.

78. Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey – Zombie love story? Yes, please J I love me some zombie stories. This is a great read with excellent characters.

79. Flesh & Bone by Jonathan Maberry – My oldest son and I had been waiting for this one with baited breath. After reading it, my kid says Mr. Maberry is a bit of a sadist to his readers LOL! But hey, in my book that makes for an excellent story. Well done and I highly recommend this series for teens and adults.

80. Hourglass by Myra McEntire

81. Timepiece by Myra McEntire – Time travel with an exceptionally crafted group of characters set in a realistic, non-Gothic south? Yes, Ma’am! May I have another please! I had the pleasure of meeting Myra on her tour stop in Memphis. What a cool lady! These books are wonderful and I highly recommend them for teens and adults. Also, for Springhill, TN peeps, Myra will be at your Books A Million on October 24^th at 6:00 p.m. She’s a blast to talk to so drop by and get your copy of Hourglass and Timepiece signed.

82. The Siren by Tiffany Reisz

83. The Angel by Tiffany Reisz – Though I’m writing YA, I still read all different kinds of books. At Myra’s signing a few weeks ago, one of the ladies mentioned Tiffany’s work. I decided to give The Siren a try after she raved about it so. Boy am I glad I did. Tiffany’s writing blows that 50 sack of swill out of the water. From the first line, her writing sets hooks into your skin and won’t let go. Each line is crisp and funny and tragic all at the same time. This is exceptional, exceptional, exceptional writing and a story full of characters that will burrow into your flesh and heart. But it’s not for the prudish. Adults only.         

     

Chapter Snippet #2

    Happy Monday guys! After a very busy weekend, I'm crossing my fingers that this week will glide on by without any notes from the school, road trips or spider attacks and lots of pages prepped.

    Make sure you give your favorite book and it's creator some love this week. And as your prize for being so cool, enjoy this snippet from UNWILLING. *zooms back to the writer's cave*

Till then,

KD

    “What are you doing here?” She walked over to the gate slowly, the skin between her eyes pinched in confusion, and grabbed the bars.

     “I came for you,” I said, placing my hands over hers. “I’m not letting you go without a fight.”

2010 Property of K.D. Wood and is prohibited from being copied or electronically distributed without the expressed written permission of the author.   

Chapter Snippets!

    Hi guys! *sweeps away the blog cobwebs* Here I am epically failing at keeping my blog entries up again. Sorry about that. The reason you ask? I'm officially 4 weeks from deadline. *EEEEEE* From the way things are going, I'd even go so far as to call this a deadline dash. LOL!

    So just to let you know I am thinking about you and not ignoring you guys, I thought I'd post a few chapter snippets this month to tide you over. Everyone can thank my friend Danyell for putting in the request. Over the next few weeks, check back often because there will be more tasty tidbits to share. :) 

Here goes and hope you like!

Till then,

KD

“Your lips,” he whispered, holding a piece of my hair to his nose. “I taste him in your kiss and smell his sweat on your skin.” He squeezed his eyes closed and turned away. “It hurts so much more than I imagined.”

2010 Property of K.D. Wood and is prohibited from being copied or electronically distributed without the expressed written permission of the author.   

Crazy Town, Table for 50 please...

    Welcome to our new visitors from Jordan and Georgia! I hope you find something on the blog you enjoyed and want to visit again.

    It’s official. My poor blog is suffering from deadline neglect. We rolled over the 6000 mark this week folks and I missed it. Can you believe that!!! I can't. I thank you all so much. Without your visits that number wouldn't be possible. To say thank you, I’m hoping this odd post makes up for my lack of blog discipline.

    For those who write, you will understand when I say my characters are constantly chatting away inside my head. Some are kind and wait their turn but others don’t have such good manners. It’s been a busy few weeks in my noodle. I’ve spent half of my work time trying to shut the characters that aren’t on deck up and coax the ones who are onto the pages. Sometimes they win, sometimes I win. Like I said, it’s been busy.

    As the title suggests, I have A LOT of characters to sift through. They are sorted over eight different manuscripts which are in various stages of completion. To give you a better idea (and to relieve some of the pressure they’re putting on me) I agreed to let them ALL visit the blog today since lately I’ve been focused on one particular manuscript. So here goes.

    To set the scene: imagine a living room. This is the place inside my head that my characters reside. It’s a comfortable place with lots of chairs, supple brown carpet and exactly eight mahogany tables. The lights are soft and the walls are painted a soothing caramel. There’s a huge fireplace made of river stones. I’m tired today so the usually roaring fire of my imagination is down to glowing embers. Each table has a lamp with a black number embroidered on the shade. Scattered on the tables are various games; Uno, Boggle, Scrabble, Candy Land and Poker to name a few. There’s everything but Monopoly because K.D. can’t stand the Monopoly. Plus, Book Five’s characters are always fighting over the damn racecar and paper money.

    There are lots of people too. The folks at Table One are really tired because we worked from midnight to six in the morning on their manuscript before starting this post. They’re lounging, eating donuts and waiting for me to stop fiddling with this blog and go to bed.  Everyone else is chatting away. Dear readers, this is your chance to eavesdrop on a very secret place in my head. Enjoy!

(Book One)Hayden: How long is this blog crap going to take?

(Book Six): Shut it Dude! *A cheese puff lands on Hayden’s arm and laughter erupts* You had your turn.

(Book One)Hayden: Real immature Six

(Book Six): We’re a Young Adult novel; it’s sort of a requirement

(Book One)Hayden: Smart mouth

(Book One)Nathan: Where’s Five? Nib owes me twenty bucks from last night’s Poker game.

*From the darkest corner of the room, a lamp snaps on. Eight pairs of slanted eyes focus on Nathan. Black wings uncurl and tentacles shiver when table five’s occupants begin to yawn and stretch.*

(Book Five): Come and take it flesh-bag…if you’re brave enough.

(Book One) Nathan: Hey man … you can give it to me when you can. It’s cool.

*The kids at Table Six snicker and make chicken sounds until those alien eyes turn in their direction*

(Book One)Neely: Thanks for waking them up Nathan. Now K.D. will never fall sleep.

(Book Five): We will do our best to respect our mistress’ slumber today.

KD: Thank you Nib

(Book Five)*He smiles large enough to show the double row of fangs in the back of his mouth* As my mistress wishes.

(Book Four) *props his boots on the table* It’s getting deep in here today.

(Book Five) *Hisses* Four, being shelved has made you abnormally grouchy.

(Book Four) *flips Five off*

(Book Seven) Come on over here with us Nib. We’ll keep you company. *The Chick Lit girls raise their glasses and cackle with laughter* Plus, we have mimosas!

(Book Five)*A feminine tentacle smacks the back of Nib’s head when he starts to stand* I’m afraid I must decline, but thank you for the offer ladies.

(Book One) Nathan: I’ll be over in … I mean … at Seven if y’all need me.

(Book Seven) *Naughty cougar cheer*

KD: Okay guys, it’s time for you to play nice on your own. I’m off to bed.

(Book One) Neely: Thank goodness. Hey, can rest my head on your shoulder Hayden?

KD: Come on Eight, we have a few things to discuss.

(Book Eight) Can I bring my gun?

KD: Of course.

So there you go folks. Hopefully this little peek into a writers mind will help you understand us a little better. Especially when we stare at a wall and say huh when you ask us a question.  

Till then,

KD