Textnovelblog

Editor's Choice!

Hello Textnovel family once again!

Congratulations to our Editor's Picks this issue who have demonstrated great writing quality, narrative style, plotlines and well developed characters (alphabetical order):

 

Broken Dreams by christopher shaw

Half-Written Wishes by John Doe

Honey Moon Marmalade ⌊蜂蜜 ムーン マーマレード⌉ by Clover

I Did it For You by Chevy Rose

Starwort - the Adventures of a Space Bum by C. J. Abbot

The Soupy Team Vs. Project Yggdrasil by Serpent Feathers

 

Make sure to show them some loving! :)

Thank you also to our new volunteer Editors who have helped keep an eye out for Textnovel gems and contributed to picking the winners this time!

We are glad to have people on board and interested in helping out.

 

For Editor's Picks next time, I would like to remind you that we keep an eye out for all works on Textnovel. However, it is important that stories have 1000 words or more for it to be considered, so although we see many great stories it is sometimes unfortunate that there is not enough total words for us to make a decision! We require this because it gives us a better idea of the plot and character development and the consistency of style and quality, etc. So keep it up and keep writing!

 

---

 

As a reminder, once again we are open for volunteers!

 

1) We are recruiting:

    - EDITORIAL TEAM: we are looking for a few more members to join our Editorial Board. The main role would be to read stories on Textnovel with certain criteria in mind and help pick award winners such as the bi-weekly/monthly Editor's Choice, as well as other future awards. Another role would be to support the community by posting encouraging comments and feedback. Towards the future, our editorial board will also review and edit manuscripts prior to publishing processes. (If you are an editor with professional job experience, please let us know, as we would love your help - as an Editor-in-Chief perhaps)

    - FORUM MODERATORS: to keep the forums clean and alive with posts and ideas for threads, as well as encouraging members to come to the forum from the main site.

    - GENRE CAPTAINS: Receive a genre captain badge and be in charge of your genre of choice much like a book club. Interact, support, encourage fellow writers of the same genre; manage your own section in the forum with activities, fun threads, discussions and more; take care of your genre family well!

     - BLOGGING TEAM: If you have a passion for writing just about anything, let us know. We will be starting up newsletters and blogs once again soon as we are rebuilding our team. To recap, we had sections such as advice and tips for writers, life or personal stories that could inspire others, news articles about the publishing industry, interviews with published authors or textnovel members among other topics. We just ask for commitment and self-initiative to submit articles regularly (monthly or bi-weekly).

Let us know if you are interested by sending an email to info@textnovel.com with these details: Name, Role Interested, Why you are interested/Why you would fit the role, How long you have been on the site

Thanks!

 

More to come! Stay tuned!

 

Textnovel Team

Editor's Choice Mar 4th!

 

New Editor's Choices are up!

Congratulations to all our winners who all were selected for their quality in writing, originality, writing style, storyline concept and publishing potential! Great work!

 

Below are the Editor's Choices in alphabetical order:

Abandoned~The ones the world forgot to love~ Forever Midnight

Arpeggio Athena Lyso

IT'S A SALAD BOWL OF FREAKS Ryan Brad

My Lips Are Stained Red SoulChica95

PERCY'S SHADOWS S.N. Parish

The Rugby Match F. Jean Thomas

The Time of Cherry Blossoms Lady Charlotte

 

Congratulations! Never stop writing!

- Textnovel Team

 

Editor's Choice Feb 15th!

 

Happy Valentines to all of our Textnovellers!

Congratulations to all our winners who all were selected for their quality in writing, originality, writing style, storyline concept and publishing potential! Great work!

 

Below are the Editor's Choices in alphabetical order:

Airships & Alchemy - K.A. Laity

Blind Faith - Kimberley Reeves

Call To War - Michelle Markey Butler

Enchanted with you - ergelina

Eyesore - Michelle Markey Butler

Father - DouglasClarke

The Luzhang Bridges

 

Congratulations! Never stop writing!

 

 

Updates:

-Newsletter has been sent out. Please comment below if you haven't received it. View an online copy here: February Issue Please check it out and read!

-Volunteer and Get involved! See newsletter for details.

-Mobile Site is moving along, looking for beta testers! See newsletter for details.

 

 

-Textnovel Team

From Screens to Pages: 13 to Life - Interview with Shannon Delany

 

  Shannon Delany may have gotten her big break when she won the 2008 contest on the first-ever Western cell phone novel site, Textnovel.com with her book 13 to Life, but this month the second volume in her YA paranormal novel series Secrets and Shadows will hit bookstores everywhere in a traditional novel format. 

“I’m a Cyber Cinderella,” Delany confesses. “If it hadn’t been for Textnovel.com I’d probably still be just poking at my story ideas instead of seeing my second novel—the second now in a series of five books being published by a major NYC house—release February 15th.”

The original book in the series, 13 to Life, has been called “your next fiction addiction,” by bestselling author Ann Aguirre and “a new spin on an old legend,” by NYT bestseller Maria V. Snyder.  It is already being enjoyed by readers of all ages.   According to Delany, this exciting next book in the series, Secrets and Shadows, continues where the first book left off, and “friendships are formed, choices are made, and allies become enemies–as the supernatural stakes increase as werewolves and more prowl about the town of Junction.” 

 

With the launching of the second book of the series, the Textnovel Team could not contain their excitement for Shannon and have asked her to join us for a brief interview!

 

Textnovel: We are very honored to have Shannon Delany with us today for a brief interview. As an author, what makes you passionate about writing? What does writing mean to you?

Shannon: In which I sound like a megalomaniac: Writing is one of the most amazing ways of creating something out of nothing--it is the ultimate method of creating, evolving and potentially destroying entire worlds and populations. It is an amazing catharsis and the cheapest therapy you can find. But what makes me passionate about writing is building worlds and characters I can share with others.

 

Textnovel: Where or what is your favourite place to write?

Shannon: I can write nearly anywhere once the ideas are flowing, but I especially love the pre-writing and visualization that tends to occur when I'm engaged in absolutely mundane farm chores like feeding the sheep or cattle. If I could stay warm long enough (and had an amazing extension cord) I'd probably love writing most in the hay tent down the hill from my house. My current favorite location is at my captain's desk in my home's den when no one else is around.

 

Textnovel: What is different in your life now that you are published?

Shannon: A lot! I spend more time on promoting, writing, connecting with readers and my editor and agent than I ever expected! I wish I could say my self-confidence as an author's improved, but that's something all authors seem to fight with.

 

Textnovel: How long have you been writing and what are the key steps that have gotten you where you are today?

Shannon: I've been writing since I was a kid and was first officially published in 8th grade. the steps that led to my success? Writing frequently, reading a wide variety of books (fiction and non-), and maintaining a faith in my own ability to hone my skills and eventually find the right opportunity to showcase them.

 

Textnovel: How did Textnovel impact your writing career?

Shannon: Winning the first Textnovel contest helped launch my career. It provided an important talking point in the press and yielded a great press release which caught the eye of a publishing house and movie producer.

 

Textnovel: What is your favourite author or book or greatest inspiration?

Shannon: I like different authors equally for different reasons. Mercedes Lackey and Anne McCaffrey for world-building and character construction, Orson Scott Card for creative recreating of history, but they're only the tip of the my-favorite-authors iceberg.

 

Textnovel: What advice would you give to an aspiring author to help them become a better writer?

Shannon: Read a lot and write even more. Indulge your creative side and stay strong in your desire to improve and your belief in your own abilities and story. Everyone has at least one amazing story to tell--you just need to discover yours.

 

Secrets and Shadows has a release date of February 15, 2011 from St. Martin’s Griffin. Shannon Delany can be found online at http://www.ShannonDelany.com and http://13toLife.us/blog and through Twitter at http://twitter.com/Shannon_Delany

 

Get your copy here:

 

Check it out!

Editor's Choice Feb 1!

As you know, we select Editor's picks every two or so weeks and you have probably seen the selections on the site! Congratulations to all our winners who all were selected for their quality in writing, originality, writing style, storyline concept and publishing potential! There is an amazing amount of talent on textnovel and we're glad to be able to read them all. Keep up the great work!

 

Below are the Editor's Choices in alphabetical order:

38 Minutes - Jody Whitaker

Diamonds in the Rough - Fool in the Rain

Drive Me Wild - P_Knightingale

Mind over Matter - Marion Renee

Soundless - Re.i

Twenty Eight Days - Suzanna Smith

VELVET 66 - Domino

 

Congratulations! Never stop writing! Let's work together to reach our dreams :)

 

 

For some updates:

- We are sorting out the email system so we can send out the newsletters!

- Great blog articles coming up! Stay tuned!

- TN Question of the Day has started on twitter. Join us on twitter and tweet us your answers! Questions+Answers will be recorded and posted weekly.

- Don't forget to check out our super fun Textnovel Poetry Collab Story !

- And our Sharing and Recommendations Corner where you can share which stories you enjoyed on Textnovel!

 

 

 

-Textnovel Team

Textnovel & Dorchester's "Next Best Celler" Semi-finalist, Lancelot's Lady, is Published

Thank you, Stan, for hosting me during the exciting launch of Lancelot's Lady, my contemporary romantic suspense that began HERE on Textnovel.

A couple of years ago, I was approached by the founder and CEO of Textnovel, Stan Soper, after he read a press release about me using my iPhone to write a novel. He invited me to join the site, submit my work and enter contests, and he told me how Textnovel started.

I accepted Stan's invitation and added some of my short stories on Textnovel. I was honored when my novelette Remote Control (now published as an ebook), made it to the finals of Textnovel's writing competition. Then in 2009, Textnovel partnered with Dorchester Publishing to offer the "Next Best Celler" romance contest.

At first I thought I might pass on the contest. After all, I was known for writing mystery and suspense, not romance. But I recalled an older manuscript I had filed away. It was titled Reflections and it wasn't completed. Since Dorchester Publishing was a publisher I was hoping to catch the attention of, I decided to take the plunge and enter the contest.

In the first three months, my romantic suspense, now renamed Lancelot's Lady, was voted #1 Most Popular by readers. It made it to the semi-finals, the only entry by a Canadian writer to make it that far. The contest was exciting and challenging. What emerged in the end was far better than the original.

 What made the contest even more meaningful for me was reading the comments that people left on my novel's pages. They loved the journey of Rhianna and Jonathan. Reading the tips and suggestions that Dorchester's editors left on other author's pages gave me more ideas on how to improve my manuscript and jacket copy.

 Now, almost a year later, Lancelot's Lady is published and available in full for readers who enjoy a sizzling love story and an element of looming danger. And all thanks to a contest held by Dorchester Publishing and Textnovel.com. 

 My experiences with Textnovel have all been positive. I've found interested readers who not only love to share their thoughts and ideas on my work, but they also eagerly await the next story. And the next. Writers may write the best possible story they can, but readers make these stories truly great.

 Thank you to all my Textnovel friends and fans. Thank you to Dorchester Publishing and everyone at Textnovel, especially Stan. You all inspired me to take a detour that has proved to be exciting and rewarding. Lancelot's Lady wouldn't exist without all of you.

 If you're a reader, sign up for a free Textnovel account and check out some free stories. If you're a writer, why not add a work and get some feedback? If you're already a member of Textnovel, what has your experience been like?

 ~Cherish D'Angelo

Lancelot's Lady ~ A Bahamas holiday from dying billionaire JT Lance, a man with a dark secret, leads palliative nurse Rhianna McLeod to Jonathan, a man with his own troubled past, and Rhianna finds herself drawn to the handsome recluse, while unbeknownst to her, someone with a horrific plan is hunting her down.

Lancelot's Lady is available in ebook edition at KoboBooks, Amazon's Kindle Store, Smashwords and other ebook retailers. Help me celebrate by picking up a copy today and "Cherish the romance..."

You can learn more about Lancelot's Lady and Cherish D'Angelo (aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif) at http://www.cherylktardif.com and http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com.  

Prizes & Giveaways: Follow Cherish from September 27 to October 10 on her Cherish the Romance Virtual Book Tour and win prizes.

Leave a comment here, with email address, to be entered into the prize draws. You're guaranteed to receive at least 1 free ebook just for doing so. Plus you'll be entered to win a Kobo ereader. Winners will be announced after October 10th.

Note: if your an active Textnovel author and would like to be featured in a Guest Blog, please send your Guest Blog draft to Textnovel via the Contact Us link on the website or to support at textnovel.com. 

TEXTNOVEL PRIZE WINNER “13 TO LIFE” RELEASED BY ST. MARTIN’S PRESS

PARK CITY, Utah, June 22, 2010—Shannon Delany’s first book, “13 to Life,” was officially released by St. Martin’s Griffin today and is available at bookstores everywhere.    It can also be ordered at Barnes & Noble or Amazon and many other online bookstores.

The author got her big break when she won the first-ever online cell phone novel contest in the western world at Textnovel.com.  “I’m a Cyber Cinderella,” Delany confesses. “If it hadn’t been for Textnovel.com, I’d probably still be just poking at my story ideas instead of seeing my first novel—the first in a series being published by a major NYC house—released today.”

13 to Life, which has been called, “your next fiction addiction,” by bestselling author Ann Aguirre and “a new spin on an old legend,” by NYT bestseller Maria V. Snyder is already being enjoyed by readers of all ages. “From nine years old to those in their forties and fifties—it seems like it gives people a much needed escape,” Delany says. “And that’s what I hope it does: Give people an escape and encourage them to ask the questions the narrator, and her behavior, raises.”

So what’s it all about? “13 to Life is a tale of teenage love, loss and—oh, yeah—werewolves,” Delany says with a smirk. “People are quick to say it’s a werewolf story, but really, it’s the story of a girl who has lost someone very dear to her and how she struggles to move forward. When she meets Pietr (pronounced “Peter”) she starts to wake up from the nightmare she’s been wallowing in. And, as she starts to really think about the issues dogging her, she realizes he has issues of his own, including an understanding of tragedy which binds them together.”

Since winning Textnovel’s 2008 contest, things have moved quickly for Delany. “We handled interest from a movie producer and a couple publishers soon after I won. Luckily my winnings included an agent, Stan Soper of Soper Literary Agency, and he handled the interested parties while I typed my fingers off fleshing out the sparse prose style that’s more common in cell phone novels. I wanted 13 to Life to be a quick, consumable read, but in a more traditional style of prose, too. It was a stylistic compromise of sorts. And as soon as I had the manuscript complete, we sent it forward.”

Delany went with St. Martin’s Press (an imprint of Macmillan). “I was impressed with their interest, quick response and communication skills. It’s paid off. I work with some of the very best people in the publishing industry.”

            Michael Homler, editor at St. Martin’s, commented “ Shannon is a wonderful writer.  She gets who she is writing for and keeps things interesting for her characters and her readers.   I think this is the start of what will hopefully be a very popular series.”    

            Stan Soper, founder of Textnovel.com, commented “We have been so excited about Shannon’s book release.  It was an incredible experience to watch her create the first draft of this novel online, with reader input.  She is a very talented author and this is such a great book.  I can’t wait to see how readers and fans react.”

13 to Life was released today (June 22, 2010) from St. Martin’s Griffin. Shannon Delany can be found online here and at her blog and through her Twitter account.

ABOUT ST. MARTIN’S PRESS

St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the iconic Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press (mainstream and bestseller books), St. Martin's Griffin (mainstream paperback books, including science fiction and romance), St. Martin's Minotaur (mystery, suspense, and thrillers), Picador (specialty books), Thomas Dunne Books (suspense and mainstream), and Truman Talley Books (business and specialty books).

 

 ABOUT TEXTNOVEL

Textnovel is a social network for authors and readers of serial fiction and the first English language cell phone novel website, allowing members to write and read fiction with their cellphones or computers, using text messaging, email and online tools. Textnovel runs contests for fiction writers, allowing them to demonstrate the market potential of their work through its unique serial publication and voting format.  Textnovel.com was founded by Stan Soper, who offers literary agency services to aspiring writers at http://www.soperagency.com.

 

© 2010 Textnovel.  All rights reserved.

Best Selling Canadian Suspense Author Cheryl K. Tardif Chooses Textnovel.com

  Cheryl Kaye Tardif, a bestselling Canadian author, has chosen Textnovel.com for her serialized novellete, REMOTE CONTROL.  She plans on posting a new chapter every day (but don't be upset if she misses a day here or there).  Fans can visit Textnovel.com to subscribe to the story and vote. 

Ms. Tardif has recently gained attention for writing a novel entitled Finding Bliss on her iPhone.  You can learn more at http://www.findingblissbook.com.  Ms. Tardif's most recent novel Whale Song was published by Kunati Inc. Book Publishers in April 2007, launching Kunati’s UNA trade paperback imprint. Whale Song, an emotional mystery that explores the controversial issue of assisted suicide, has captured the attention of numerous film companies, including many from Hollywood. A screenplay, which Tardif wrote with co-writer Alison Neuman, was completed in 2006. In September 2005, Tardif’s gripping action-packed techno-thriller The River was released. Tardif is also the author of the 2004 “sizzling psychic suspense” Divine Intervention, a 'psi-fi' suspense thriller (or paranormal romance) that has been compared to works by authors such as Iris Johansen, Kay Hooper and Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb’s ‘In Death’ series. All 3 novels have made Amazon.com's bestsellers list.

Here is a list of more websites about Ms. Tardif:

http://www.cherylktardif.com
http://www.whalesongbook.com
http://www.findingblissbook.com
http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com

We're happy to have you on board Cheryl!