Angelia Almos

**Thought my writerly friends would be interested.** I'm trying not to bug you...but I'm just so darn excited! The auction starts in THREE days. And there's a lot I need to tell you! 1. There will be prizes! Each day I will draw a name of at least one shopper who has placed a bid that day and give him/her something fun. 2. The person who places the most bids during the first week will win an Apple iPad, an autographed Advanced Reading Copy of my new book, WHITE HEAT (which won't be out until July 27th), and a VIP invite to my cyber launch party. 3. To celebrate the auction, I'm currently giving away a trip for two to Curacoa on my web site. The prize includes air transportation from any major airport inside the US and a four-night stay at the brand new Hyatt Regency Curacao Golf Resort, Spa and Marina in the luxurious Santa Barbara Plantation between natural harbor Spanish Water and the romantic Caribbean. Enjoy beautiful white-sand beaches and spectacular...

Okay, I admit it, I am completely and absolutely a rabid fan of the movie How To Train Your Dragon . I have seen it three times in 3-D no less. Each time I go I enjoy it just as much as the first time. Not only does the hero's journey of Hiccup always touch a cord with me, I still get teary eyed at the end (I'm such a sap), but I can't get enough of the dialogue. It is the dialogue that makes me want to watch it over and over, and yes, I do want to go see it again. The dialogue in this movie is great. No word is wasted. Every word reveals character. Oh, to be able to write like that is something I aim for. I remember in one of my screenwriting classes we had to evaluate a movie on the dialogue alone. Watch the movie and read the script. How was it that the writer's were able to convey so much information and character to the viewer in the opening sequence through dialogue. I picked American Outlaws while the rest of my classmates picked Oscar winners. Yes, my rebel...

In case you didn't know, Brenda Novak has an online charity auction every May to benefit diabetes research. Lots of trips, books, and other writerly items are auctioned off, including reads and critiques by published authors, editors, and agents. She just sent out a note to my writing chapter to let everyone know she is adding on a mentorship with her. I've heard from others that she is an excellent mentor and really takes a lot of time to help whoever she is mentoring at the time. Here's her message and please feel free to forward to any writerly friends or groups.: This year I'm offering something new at my online auction for diabetes research (which starts in less than two weeks!). It's a writing contest, the winner of which will win a six-month mentorship with me, including guaranteed reads from my agent and editor. The entries will be judged by national bestselling authors, including Barbara Freethy, Dianna Love, Susan Mallery, Karen Rose, Karin Tabke, an...

If you've never seen Big Trouble , you really should. It's a super funny movie based on the book of the same title. Though I guess I should add that reviewers and viewers either love it or hate it. It's just one of those movies. Be prepared for subtle, very sarcastic, and slapstick humor all rolled into one movie. Ever since I saw the movie the first time a couple of years ago I have wanted to read the book which I finally did last week. The book did not disappoint as sometimes happens. Interestingly, really good movies often were not so great books and really good books often make not so good movies. One of my favorite hobbies, I guess you could call it, is to watch a movie, read the book, and read the script. It's a great tool to teach you basic storytelling and to see what is changed and what is the same. If the movie isn't based on a book try to read the original screenplay and see what has changed between the written word and what made it on screen. Back to...

I'm working on a submission package for one of my stories and I've hit a block. It's called the logline which is a one sentence description about your book. Generally speaking, I like loglines, I learned how to write them in my screenwriting classes where you HAVE to have a logline. Usually that is the first assignment in the class after you introduce yourself. What is your book/movie about? And no ramblings responses allowed. One instructor, wish I could remember who so I could give credit, referred to it as that line in the TV Guide that describes what the movie or show is about. In fact, as I recall, our homework was to go study the TV Guide to figure out how a logline works. My ya fantasy's logline is a sheltered princess discovers her remarkable gifts with horses on a dangerous quest to find her father’s murderer. My space opera's logline is a space pirate almost loses everything she cares about when she’s blackmailed into running a dangerous mission for ...