Oasis for YA

Songs can bring out a wide variety of emotions and feelings - and they can also make us cry. Whether it's tears of joy or tears of sadness, it's interesting to see what makes us shed a few. I asked the Oasis girls what song makes them cry, and if they ever listen to it when writing a particularly sad scene:




AE:
I Can't Live if Living is Without You by Harry Nilsson.
"That was Greg's favorite song," my sister said. Her blue eyes started tearing right there, just thinking about our brother who passed some years ago. "How can you listen to it? All I do is think about Greg and cry." I think of that conversation everytime I play the song. I can't listen to it without crying, either. But I want to cry. I want to hurt. I want to miss him. Because Greg was the best and brightest of us--he laughed and loved without equal. I don't ever want him to fade away. Like Nikki, I've never used it as a tool for writing. For the same reason--it's sacred.


Sheri:
I'm going to go with The Absence of Fear by Jewel. Why it makes me cry? On the outside, I had what appeared to be a wholesome upbringing, ushering me into and through my teenage years. I had clothes, food, a roof over my head, and a ton of friends. But so often I felt lonely. No one, excluding two uniquely close friends, knew what happened within the walls of my house. My mother was a manic depressant. Spelled H.E.L.L. for a teenager. When I first heard this song, I completely fell into it. Even though I had already moved out and was newly married, there was so much I wanted and longed for from my hidden past, from the teen years I'd lost. This song seemed to understand that.  


Jessie:
As you may or may not know, my girls are only 13 months apart. Once Samantha was born, my husband & I knew we were "done." I used to sit in the nursery at night, rocking my precious little baby (this was after the colic was over), and listening to Watercolor Ponies by Wayne Watson. It would bring tears to my eyes thinking about how fleeting those moments would be and how quickly time would pass us by. And just look, my oldest went to Kindergarten this week and little Sami is in pre-K4.

There are watercolor ponies
On my refrigerater door
And the shape of something
I don't really recognize
Drawn by careful little fingers
And put proudly on display
A reminder to us all
Of how time flies

***

But, baby, what will we do
When it comes back to me an you?
They look a little less
Like little boys every day
Oh, the pleasure of watching
The children growing
Is mixed with a bitter cup
Of knowing the watercolor ponies
Will one day ride away

Jessica:
A House Is Not A Home by Luther Vandross. THis song makes me cry every time because a LONG time ago my DH and I were having...issues. In fact we separated, but one day this song played on the radio one night as I pulled into my driveway. My house was completely dark. My son was at my mom's for the weekend. I cried my eyes out in the car in the driveway. But when I opened the door, my husband was sitting at the table with dinner ready and a bunch of lit candles. It was the day we got back together. We've now been married for almost 11 years. A sad story with a happy ending. :D

A chair is still a chair, even when there's no one sittin' there
But a chair is not a house and a house is not a home
When there's no one there to hold you tight
And no one there you can kiss goodnight...

...Pretty little darling, have a heart, don't let one mistake keep us apart
I'm not meant to live alone, turn this house into a home
When I climb the stairs and turn the key
Oh, please be there, sayin' that you're still in love with me

Nikki:
Mine is In the Arms of an Angel, by Sarah McLaughlin. It was the song I chose for the Father/Daughter dance at my wedding (I know it's a random song choice, but there was a part of the lyrics that really reminds me of him). Now whenever I hear it I start crying or turn the channel - because he passed away eight years ago and it immediately brings those memories to the front of my mind. I haven't yet tried to listen to it while writing, probably because I sort of view it as sacred, and would end up thinking of my Dad rather than the scene.

Your turn: What songs make you cry?

So seeing how I completely dropped the ball on posting this morning, I thought I'd talk about why. Normally on Monday's, Oasis for YA focuses on the many ways we can bring tranquility into our writing routines. But in all actuality, we all know that life can toss us a curve ball now and again, diverting even the most organized of writers.
Yeah, that explains it for me. Plain and simple. I know lots of kids have already begun their school year. Some have been back for a few weeks. My kids start tomorrow. Well, two start tomorrow and the other two start on Wednesday. My baby is going to be in 1st grade. Boo-hoo. (There is something wrong with that.)

With a household of four kids ranging from ages seven to seventeen, we are in constant motion. The merry-go-round doesn't stop to let one of us off. You have to jump. Period. We're pretty much used to it, but on occasion we find a break is needed. That's what we did this summer. The kids stayed away from most of their usual activities--excluding ice hockey which is seriously a sickness--and hung out at home with friends. It was a nice relaxing summer. Granted it wasn't all that conducive to me advancing any of my writing projects, but that's okay. They won't be young forever, right?

Fast forward to this morning. I DECIDED to put off all dentist, doctors, etc... appointments until these last two weeks before school started. Um, yeah...not bright on my part. So this morning as I'm speeding on the highway--shh....don't tell--to get three of the four to their pre-scheduled hygiene appointments at the dentist who is one hour away, I realized I hadn't posted anything tranquil for you Oasis Seekers.

I started thinking what can we do as writers when surprises pop up or life elements get in our way? How can we find that calm place and give ourselves permission to miss a writing goal or writing in general for a day?

1) Know who you are. You are not just a writer. Although writing is important to you, I'm sure there are other elements of your life where you are needed or wanted.

2) Don't feel guilty. Writing is a part of your life. A part. Balance is the key. (Yup, let's save that discussion for another day.)

3) Laugh about it. Did you know that laughter is our natural tension breaker? Use it. It was given to us for a reason.

I'm laughing write right now. I just have to.

What about you? Any back to school horror stories? Do you have any add-ons to our list?

I was stalking Facebook the other day and found a great quote a friend posted.

Nikki and her friends at YAKnow, modeling Mockingjay tattoos at the Midnight release party.

**Don't forget to enter to win a signed copy of Shelena's Short's new novel, The Broken Lake.**

My mom brought me an article last week and said, "It's by this author, Libbie Bray. Ever heard of her?"
"Um, it's Libba Bray, Mom. And yes, I've heard of her." Duh. Who hasn't heard of Libba Bray? *insert eye roll*
Anyway, it was a super-funny article in which Libba describes the various stages of her love affair with her novels.  It starts with infatuation in the first draft... like how your book is really clever and funny and brings you unexpected metaphors.  As she revises, she begins to think the book is losing its charm, and is maybe even trite or stupid.  Toward the end, she's happy to pass it off to a copy editor who will love it, because she doesn't want the relationship anymore. "It's not working. I'm sorry.  It's not you, it's ... actually, it's you.  You're stupid.  And I sort of hate you." (Libba says it way funnier than I did in just a few summary sentences.  You should read the article here in Delta Sky Magazine, page 144.)

But as I got to thinking harder about the love affair analogy, I realized she was missing an early step that tripped me up pretty badly.  The FEAR OF COMMITMENT and/or FEAR OF RUINING WHAT YOU HAVE and/or FEAR OF GETTING HURT.

As I wrote DESTINED, I worked pretty steadily on that first draft... until the very end.  I had like 90,000 words, knew how it was going to end, and only had two chapters left until the first draft was finished.  Completing those two chapters took me months.  Absolutely, I realized I was suffering from a psychological hang-up... but that didn't help me finish.

I was so in love with the story, and yet I couldn't bring around its resolution for months.  In the whole love affair analogy, it's sort of like holding off on having sex.  To this day, I don't know whether it was a fear of commitment: Yes, you're a wonderful book and I love you, but this is just too big of a step for me right now.  Or whether it was a fear of ruining what I had going on: What if you don't want me anymore once it's over?
Or maybe it was just my own fear of failure.  Everything's been wonderful, but I'm afraid I have to dump you before I get hurt.  I'd been telling everyone who would listen that I was writing this book.  I'd spent countless months learning the trade, attending conferences, slaving away at night.  What if I finished the book, and it sucked?  Could I live with that?

Eventually, I did finish and I fell back in love with my story. By the time I wrote it, the epilogue was basically composed inside my head and it's (I hope) romantic, and tender, and just what I wanted it to be.  So maybe my brain was holding off, making me wait for the perfect moment to take that last step in the relationship.  You know, a waves crashing on the beach, stars twinkling overhead, with the perfect song playing in the background like a movie, kind of moment.  All I can say is, I'm glad that stage of the relationship is behind me.  Here's hoping it doesn't rear its ugly head in book 2!

I hope I'm alone in this book-relationship hang-up, but has anyone else suffered from the affliction?  How did you get past it?

**Don't forget to enter to win a signed copy of Shelena's Short's new novel, The Broken Lake.**

I'm flying solo today, but seeing as I'm kinda writerly schizophrenic lately, I figured I'm not totally alone. *snort* Hubby always said I was a split personality, now, I'm proving him right. I've been working on two totally different projects and listening to such completely different playlists, I figured I'd share a few of each list with y'all today and give the girls the day off. *grin*

First, my agent will be sending out proposals for my new YA WIP titled RESONANCE. Current tagline is One love. Two dimensions. Only one choice. Take HUSH, HUSH, strip out the angels, add the show Heroes with a dash of Fringe, and you're getting close. There's a hot, mysterious guy to fall in love with, a girl who doesn't know how deep her family secrets go, and threats on her life and the teens around her unless she embraces the truth of who she is.

RESONANCE PLAYLIST:
So Close, Jon Mclaughlin
If You Could Only See, Tonic
Beautiful Soul, Jesse McCartney
Falling Slowly, Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox
Savin' Me, Nickelback
Light On, David Cook
Somebody Like You, Pop Evil

Second, I'm revising my dark, gritty urban fantasy werewolf novel that recently sold to Samhain Publishing under my penname. It's definitely an adult story, and has a few steamy scenes, hence the penname, and not giving y'all the title here. Basically, it's Underworld, minus the prissy vampires and add MMA cage fighters. This is the story of revenge and the lengths these characters will go to, to get it. Tagline? Revenge is a bitch.

URBAN FANTASY PLAYLIST
Lose Control, Evanescence
If I Was Your Vampire, Marilyn Manson
Head Like a Hole, Nine Inch Nails
Life Is Beautiful, Sixx AM
Cryin Like a Bitch, Godsmack
The Undertaker, Puscifer
Somebody Like You, Pop Evil

Okay, so there is one song in common... Somebody Like You, by our friend's band Pop Evil. Hubby taught their bassist karate for years. For me, it's the chorus of this song that makes it an all purpose song. Regardless of which genre I write in, there's always a strong romantic theme. These lyrics say so much:

I am super excited to present my interview with Kiersten White, author of Paranormalcy - which is coming out NEXT WEEK!! And I'm lucky enough to go to her book launch party since she lives in San Diego. Kiersten is a total sweetheart and in person she is exactly like she sounds on her blog. What, you aren't a follower? Go check it out.

Here's the synopsis for Paranormalcy:
Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Where did the idea for Paranormalcy come from?
I had been wanting to write something with more of a fantastical aspect than I'd previously been working with. I started thinking, if you had a vampire and you wanted to neutralize it without killing it, what would you do? That led me to the idea for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, which led me to wonder why they would have a sixteen-year-old girl working for them, which led me to Evie and her glamour-piercing eyes. Once I got her voice in my head, the rest of the story spun itself out from there!

How long have you been writing? Was it always a passion or a craft you slowly grew to love?
I've been writing seriously for about six years now. It's definitely always been an interest of mine, but only in the last three years when I started writing YA did I get really serious about the craft--learning and improving and actually pursuing publication. I started out trying to write middle grade. And I was really good at it, too, if you like incredibly boring books! Which, oddly enough, few people do...

My writing has certainly evolved, with less obsessive first drafting and more careful writing, but I want to do it for the rest of my life. I can't imagine writing anything other than young adult novels, though. I love the category and I love the audience!

We do too! But tell us, is there anything special you do to motivate yourself to write or conquer that infamous writer’s block?
When I'm in the middle of a story, just writing is enough of a motivator for me. It's a very nice break from reality. I don't have to make myself write because I have so very little time to do it that when I get a chance it's kind of like a reward in and of itself.

As far as writer's block, I find being able to talk about the plot with my husband or critique partners is usually enough to get the wheels turning and help things click into place. Except my husband always suggests I kill Evie, the main character. Fortunately I haven't taken him up on that suggestion yet.

That's great you have a built in critique partner, but no killing off major characters :) Can you tell us a little about your writing process and how long it takes you to write your novels?
I'm not very big on outlines. I usually have an idea of The End, and then what needs to happen in the next chapter or two from where I am, but if I have a story entirely plotted I get bored and don't want to write it!

I used to be a very, very fast first drafter. Paranormalcy took me just three weeks from when I got the idea to when I typed the last sentence. (Don't hate me--I edited it for four solid months, with at least eight or nine drafts before it ever went on submission. Promise.) However, with all of the new pressures and obligations that come with writing books under contract, I've slowed way down. Now it takes me a few months to have a working first draft, although I'm a faster editor than I used to be.

Wow. That's fast. I'll try not to hate you, but wow! That's amazing. We'd love to know, what’s your impression of the publishing world so far?
I've had such a great experience. I'm very fortunate in that my editor is very warm and friendly and brilliant; she's a joy to work with. The whole team at HarperTeen is incredible and savvy, and my agent, Michelle Wolfson, is the best possible partner for the business end of things.
It's also been really fun connecting with other authors. The young adult community is amazing--so many fun, dynamic, and incredibly generous people, united by a passion for creating stories for teens. Plus, I get to say "awesome" and "dude" as much as I want.

Speaking of Michelle, how did your relationship begin (traditional query, conference, referral) and what value has she added to your publishing experience?
It was a traditional query--no connections at all. I absolutely credit Michelle with my success. She gave me the confidence to write Paranormalcy while another book was on submission, and when that first book didn't sell, she was just as supportive and enthusiastic about going out with Paranormalcy. I have no doubt whatsoever that I got the best deal possible because of her incredible efforts. I consider her my partner and friend, and don't know what I'd do without her!

What a great relationship. Now for our last Oasis question. If you were stranded on a desert oasis, what book/author would you want to be stranded with and why?
Neil Gaiman. Who wouldn't want to listen to him tell stories for months and months?

Today we're doing a Query Critique for Sheri's manuscript, Marked Beauty. First we'll show the original query and then our critiques/edits. Hopefully this will help in your quest for the perfect query, and feel free to share your thoughts and edits in the comments below!

Original Query:

Dear Agent,

I am seeking representation for MARKED BEAUTY, a paranormal romance for young adults complete at 85,000 words. I see from your website that you are interested in fresh, new authors with a strong work ethic and hook. I feel the unique world-building in this story will interest you.

16 Year Old Ana Tate is a tenacious tomboy, yet her harrowing blue eyes hold pain and isolating secrets. She’s a strong empath, forced to feel the emotions of others…all emotions except her own. And with living in the shadow of her mother’s abandonment and her firefighter father’s depression, keeping her feelings buried is fine with her.

That is until the yuppie Viktor Castle enters her world. His haughty stares taunt her, hinting he knows about her hidden talent. He ignites her personal pain, and yet he’s nothing but a blank emotional canvas. And worse, she develops an odd attraction to him that she can’t fend off. The closer they become, the more distant he seems, and the stronger her empath grows pushing her to look at herself. But all is not as it seems.

When Viktor’s freakish, self-proclaimed girlfriend takes a creepy interest in Ana, and he disappears, Ana finds herself the center of a hidden world where lycans and countless immortal species roam as she’s entwined in an ancient curse that hungers for her gift, her life…and her sanity. Ana must embrace her abilities, let herself feel for the first time admitting she cares for Viktor, and uncover the truth of why they need each other before he sacrifices himself to the curse in her place.

Spiced with the allure of Pride and Prejudice, and Phantom of the Opera, this story should appeal to fans of Ellen Schreiber and Annette Curtis Klause as love washes away stubborn pride and fears beyond the realms of an invisible world and a feisty girl who swore she’d never fall in love.

I am a member of SCBWI, the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and YAlitchat.

I have included my first five pages as requested. The manuscript is available upon your request. Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

The Oasis For YA Critiques...

Here on Oasis for YA, we like to pay special attention to the good in writing--whether correct or wrong--the positive. Always the positive. That's what I'm here to talk to you about today.


Have you heard of the site, Positively Positive? Checked them out on Twitter? Well, you should. 
Wow! What a powerful statement. 


STOP now. 


Reread it again. Think about it. Let in seep into your mind. What if...yeah...what if all that hinged on your success as a writer, as a human being was positive thoughts? Ever heard of the book THE MAGIC OF THINKING BIG or THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING?


Being thankful is a from of positive thinking. It can do wonders when your stuck in a slump of endless ideas that have no anchor. Or when you receive edits back from your editor--I'm speaking from the experience of my Oasis colleges as I have yet to be gifted an editor. But I will.


See. The moment I thought that I had a ting, a spark igniting down deep in my soul, pulling me closer to my goal of a published novelist. It will happen. Whatever goals you have set for yourself, say them out loud everyday, be thankful for those goals, and you will see yourself flourish like never before. Not to mention how it will help those around you. 


Positive energy breeds positive results.


"I'm thankful that I was able to see my grandparents this past week and the rest of my family that I haven't seen in 5 years."   Jessica


"My mom gets a HUGE shout out this week. She drove 4 hours to come get my girls, kept them for a week, and is bringing them back home so my hubby and I could grab a quick vacation. I'd be grateful enough if that were all, but my four year old has apparently been a little terror. Sorry about that, Mom. Thank You!"   Jessie


"I am singing the praises of the Samhain Publishing staff and my editor Bethany Morgan. After having my manuscript for a few months, Bethany decided to take it, and contracts were signed last weekend!! I'm putting this one under my penname, so I can't tell you everything, but this is what I can share: It's a single title, very VERY dark and gritty adult paranormal with a pack of male werewolves, a werecat cage fighter and a were-hybrid who will stop at nothing to get what she wants."   AE 


"I’m thankful to have critique partners and beta readers who are quick to review my edits, give feedback, brainstorm ... and then review it all again the next day when I change my mind!
Nikki


"I'm grateful for having entered a contest to support a great cause and in return received an opportunity to submit my query and first five pages to an amazing agent. And then, meet with her via webinar. Her devoted time is a blessing to me." Sheri


Are you able to push all the negative stimuli whirling throughout this world away from you and find the positive? How do you do it?

Funny how things can turn out so different from what we imagined... take this blog post for example. I posed what I thought was a simple question to a variety of teens, figuring I’d get some precious insight into their teen psyches in return.* The question: what’s your favorite song and why do the lyrics speak to you?

Where do I go for Writer's Sanctuary? Right now, my answer is probably not what y'all are expecting.

My agent is putting together a proposal for my current WIP and I have sooo much to do. Write. Write. WRITE!! My nerves tingle, breaths come quick, my mind seems to expand to take on the entire book at once. When I hit that word-churning mode where I disconnect from the real world, where I sleep, eat and breathe the story and finish a book in four months, I seek the sanctuary of what I've called "spankings."

Hey now, don't go thinking naughty. I'm talking about EDITS. Or better...the end result of edits.

I have a few books out with indie publishers, and I've learned so much from the edit spankings. Words I use too much (my editor calls them "slippers"): but, as, that. She once called me a but-head *_* Like Jessie's post mentioned a few days ago...passive writing. I've always described it as "something somethinged something else," where the action happens to the subject of the sentence, rather than the subject acting. And Yoda Speak. OMG Much trouble with this have I had in my years of writing. *snort* Being unique doesn't mean messing with the system that has worked for years.

Being "spanked" by my editors eventually sunk in. It helped cut the fat from my sentences, cull the weak words from my vocabulary, and burn the chaff of silly arrangements. Now, I can settle into the groove, and a little alarm will ring in my head if I reach for those "slippers", or allow something to something something else. Yoda is now in Star Wars, where he belongs.

I know many of you Oasis Seekers haven't been published, or been through edits. If you want the sanctuary, the comfort of knowing you're doing it right, please seek out a writer's group, or a few betas you trust. There are groups on YAlitchat.org to help you spiff up your first pages, spiff up your query, your synopsis, there is even a group for finding critique partners. While friends will read for you, you need someone who is going to be honest, and tell you what does and doesn't work. I warn people that I edit with the gloves off. It's not to be mean, because I try to compliment as much as I can. I edit with a firm hand because I want those writers to be improve, so they can find the sanctuary of confidence and comfort in just knowing...

So what about you Oasis Seekers? Do you have any helpful hints to make the writing smoother?

Shelena, thank you so much for joining us at the Oasis. I’ve never met anyone named Shelena before. It’s a beautiful name. Does it have a story behind it?



Where did your ideas for THE PACE come from? Did your characters just start talking to you one day?


Outline or no?


Now, we don’t want to give anything away, but the ending of THE PACE was a bit of a cliffhanger. Do you enjoy torturing your readers? Just kidding. ((HUGS))

Book two in the series, THE BROKEN LAKE, is described like this:


Let me just say, OMG!, can I have it now?? But seriously, how hard was it to write a sequel to THE PACE? Did you feel any pressure to make the second book better or different?


Can you give us a hint about what’s next for Wes and Sophie?


We’re curious about how the writing process changes (or doesn’t) when you go from an unpublished author to a published author. Did you learn anything along the way you’d like to share to other aspiring writers?


We know you teach high school, so we’re curious how your students have reacted to the books. Do you use them as Beta readers? Have the books made the approved curriculum list where you teach?


We see from the playlists on your website that you’re a Secondhand Serenade fan. *awesome* Do your students’ musical tastes influence you at all?


Like many of us, you have a job and little ones running around the house. How have you managed to balance it all? Do you recommend writing on a schedule or when inspiration strikes?


BONUS QUESTION: You’re stranded on a desert Oasis, but a magic butler offers you one dessert that you can eat for the rest of your life. What do you pick?


Shelena, thank you SO much for joining us. Folks, please, JOIN Shelena's mailing list and share the news about Shelena’s awesome books. It wasn’t so long ago that she was one of us: waiting to have that amazing first novel published. To buy her books on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, click the links.

And NOW, you can enter below for a chance to win a **SIGNED** copy of The Broken Lake from Shelena's personal stash. Contest closes at 9 p.m. EST on August 26th.

As authors we're always told to establish our character's voice, find a unique way of having our character say things. So today, instead of saying "Thank You" or listing the things that we're thankful for, I thought I'd show you 67 new ways to express thanks!

Perhaps you can use this in your writing or in your own life :)



Image Source

Yeah, so Trends in YA. I didn't say Trends in YA writing. I'm here to toss around some of the real world elements that paint our young adult fantasy canvases into believable settings. How often do you Google what's hot in teen fashion today? OR check out the makeup they wear or how they apply it?

For those of us who remember using Bic lighters to soften the end of our goth black eyeliner, not to mention capture the essence of a ballad at a rock concert...um, they don't do either anymore. They sharpen their eyeliners--or most are self-sharpening, anyway--and they use their lighted cell phones to pay tribute to a melody at a concert.

The fashion and material they prefer also differs from girls to guys. I'm fortunate to have four kids ranging from age 6 to 16. My two oldest are boys (13 & 16). Their main attire is a graphic tee, torn pair of jeans, and most probably and depending on the weather a pair of ratty flip-flops. Sneakers when they're roughhousing. Then, of course, we have all the athletic gear. Herein too, do the research. All my kids play hockey and you'd think all hockey sticks are alike. Wrong. And let me tell you, the kids know the difference with their eyes closed. Drives me nuts.

Most boys between 14 and 19 aren't all that interested in fashion. You may find a few, which would make for an interesting character. Do your research first, though. Make sure it's accurate. I could list sites for you to view, but really there are a million.

Girls within those ages are much different, running the fashion gamut from tomboy to prom queen to executive. The only daughter I have is 11, and she is by no means a fashion queen. Give her a holey pair of jeans, a tank top and over-sized sneakers, and she's happy. Oh, don't forget the hair elastic. Geez...wouldn't want her to go off on me, now. But I find her friends opinions about clothes so diverse.

Note: when writing YA match your female character's personality with the proper teen fashion. I know that sounds like common sense, but when it comes to girls, isn't it always more complicated?

Then you have accessories.

What really is a BKE Studded Purse? Or the matching System Lizard Shoes? Seems as if these are hot items, for those teens who can afford them. But then we have knock-offs. Right?

We'll save that for another post.

We're borrowing the concept of a Blog Carnival from the talented ladies over at YA Highway, but ours is more in the nature of a writing prompt. The assignment: You've just graduated from high school and your awesome parents have taken you and your boy/girl-friend on the trip of a lifetime to the Seychelles Islands off the coast of Africa.  This (picture above) is the view from your hotel window.  You have ONE paragraph to describe the setting, and you can use only ONE of your senses. GO!

Join the carnival tour to see how we Oasis Ladies flexed our creative writing muscles.
And we hope you'll join us.  Post your own description on your blog and link to it in the comments.  We'd love to see what inspiration you find from our prompt.

I'm not sure, but I think I've been at this writing thing longer than the rest of the Oasis girls. January of 2000 I signed my first contract with a teeny weeny literary agency in Mississippi. Since then, I have a few books with Samhain and a couple other indie publishers, and will hopefully be able to post some good news along those lines soon. *runs to check email box for the 100th time*

I fully understand how solitary the business of writing can be...unless you count all the people talking in your head. *snort* While I have connected with a few other writer-types in the adult world of Romancelandia, I never felt the depth of support and encouragement that I found when I turned to writing YA and joined Georgia McBride's then-budding YAlitchat Ning community. For the first time, I felt on the same level with people, I felt that people were honestly interested in each other as peers, and in helping each other grow in this business. I felt like I'd found a home, a sanctuary of sorts.

On this Thankful Thursday, I asked the girls who, or what, in this publishing business are they thankful for. Me? I'm going with Georgia McBride and the YAlitchat community for providing me sanctuary, and the Oasis gals and Heather Howland for the invaluable feedback on RESONANCE. You. Girls. ROCK.

Nikki said: I’m thankful for beta readers and critique partners who keep me on track and make huge red slashes on my manuscript to help me improve my writing. I’m thankful for my agent, who believes in me and my writing as a career. I’m thankful for the editors who are reading, or have read, my manuscript. Even if they pass, at least they thought the idea was worthy of exploring further, and their comments are invaluable in the journey to getting published.

And someday ... I hope to be able to thank my readers and fans :)

Jessie said: I'm thankful for my awesome co-author who has made writing less
solitary, more creative and more fun. You know who you are!

Sheri said: I'm thankful for any success my Oasis ladies have experienced this past week. Gives me hope. And I'm also thankful for vacations, which I'll be taking next week. Fully unplugged for the first time in two years. Hubby and kids' ordered.

Jessica said: I'm grateful to my new friends Cate Hart, Alice Gilmartin and Kaelee Morgan for rooming with me at Nationals. We were all newbies and it was wonderful to have such a fantastic group of woman to talk with, follow around, and just generally be lost together with. I love you guys and I hope we'll be able to do it again next year!

So, dear Oasis Reader. What about this wild world of YA publishing are you Thankful for today? Please share!