Thankful for Thursday Meme

We know that the surest way to get good things in life is to be thankful for what you already have. So why not encourage a group thankful-fest once a week in which we send out good energy and hope to get some back in return? (And even if you don't believe in all that karma stuff, taking a minute to appreciate what you've got will make you feel better. Honest.)

The meme also helps our Oasis Seekers connect with one another. We know most of you are each on your journey to publication and there's every reason to be a team and support each other. When you participate in the Thankful for Thursday meme, hopefully other Oasis Seekers will seek you out and you can do the same. See someone who's thankful for the same things you are? Follow them! You never know what friendship may come of it.

Here are the rules to participate:
1. Do your own blog post on what you're thankful for today. It doesn't have to be book or publishing related (but it can be!)

2. Be sure to grab our badge and include it in your post.

3. Post a link to your blog in the comments here so that others can find you.

4. Go forth and share your gratitude! (And when friending new blogs, be sure to let them know you found them because of their participation in the meme.)

And there you have it -- come on out and tell us what you're thankful for today!

Critique Contest WINNER!

No, we didn't forget about you! We finally have the winner for the critique contest we held two weeks ago. The lucky person was given the opportunity to have ALL 5 of us critique either their query letter or first chapter of their manuscript. That's like getting 5 new critique partners in one fell swoop!

We had over 67 people entry, many who tweeted and posted about the contest on their blog. Thanks to Random.org (and my awesome excel capabilities) we have a winner.

Congrats to Lindsey Loucks who asked for a First Chapter critique.

Thanks to everyone who entered and I'm sure we'll have another one soon :)

TBR TUESDAY: Where She Went

You could call me a sequel girl. I love stories to continue on and on and on. But few books have left me salivating for more, hoping and ultimately praying for a sequel like IF I STAY, by Author Gayle Forman, did. My To-Be-Read pick is one of those of those stories I couldn't wait to continue reading.


I absolutely LOVED If I Stay. It was one of the first books, written in present tense, that I simply couldn't stop reading. The main character was so real to me, she could have been my friend, my neighbor, even my daughter.


Needless to say, when I saw the cover for the sequel and heard about it's release this month I was thrilled.

Title: WHERE SHE WENT
Author: Gayle Forman
Genre: YA
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (April 5, 2011)
Pages: 208


Description: It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future-and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.


Publisher's Weekly from Goodreads:


"I know it's really cheesy—crass even—to compare my being dumped to the accident that killed Mia's family, but I can't help it. Because for me, at any rate, the aftermath felt exactly the same." Forman follows up her bestselling If I Stay with a story that is equally if not more powerful, set three years after the previous book and told from the perspective of Mia's former boyfriend, Adam. Mia and Adam haven't seen each other since she left for Juilliard, deserting him just months after emerging from her coma. Adam's anguish found an outlet in songwriting, and the resulting album, Collateral Damage, has become a sensation, turning Adam and his band into bona fide rock stars, though he's barely keeping it together. Mia's career as a cellist is taking off as well, and a chance meeting in New York City gives Mia and Adam the opportunity to exorcise the ghosts of their past. Having spent If I Stay in Mia's head, readers are, like Adam, thrust into a state of unknowing regarding Mia's thoughts and motivations. It's an extremely effective device, and one that makes this reunion all the more heartrending. Ages 14 up. (Apr.)


The book is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, and your local bookstore. 


And for even more of a tease, here's an official EXCERPT.



I think it will be interesting to see where Gayle takes the story, primarily because it's through the male eyes. 


By all means, if you've been blessed to have read it already please share your thoughts. Love to hear them!