Book B-Day With The Boy Who Loved FIRE!

GRAFFITI PROMOTIONS is a regular feature on Writer's Alley for members of the publishing world to share valuable wisdom and experience, and to promote their work. Features include Author or Character Interviews, Book Promos, Seven Sneaky Secrets, and Guest Posts. Just signup to be featured!

***pompom cheers*** Technically yesterday was this Boy Who Loved FIRE's birthday, so here's an extra-whopping b-day wish from Writer's Alley! ***tosses confetti*** But I've saved some frosting for the real b-day person, here:
YA Author Julie Musil  Julie Musil has been putting words to paper since she was ten years old, when she'd write poetry for anyone with a pulse. She's wife to her high school honey, and the mother of three teen boys. She's an obsessive reader who loves stories that grab the heart and won't let go. She writes from her rural home in Southern California. Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Goodreads/The Boy Who Loved Fire | Goodreads/Julie Musil | Pinterest
One major quick splatter first ~ This is release Day 2 for Julie and guess what she's decided to do? Donate all of today's proceeds to a special charity - Carousel Ranch, where they provide equestrian therapy for disabled children. WOOT! So share this post away so more peeps buy her book and help her help this program! Even you can do that. For more on the program itself, click here and watch the slide show.
Now, before we get to sharing your book with the Alleywalkers, let's quench their pallets for a little Julie in her own words. Where you one of those 'child readers'? This will sound strange, but I didn't become an avid reader until I was around 10 years old. My book choices were not Nancy Drew mysteries or The Hobbit. I loved reading about love, mainly Danielle Steel novels. I've always been a big fan of romance. If you're a mom with a daughter who reads lovey dovey stories at a young age, fear not. I'm relatively normal!
I'm a firm believer in we all come into ourselves at our own time. Describe yourself using five fruits, vegetables, TV shows, Movies, books, or a combination of them. Oooh, fun question!
1. Peach, because I try to be sweet but don't always succeed. 2. Cucumber, because I try to be cool under pressure but don't always succeed. 3. Seinfeld, because I love the little absurdities in life. 4. Pride & Prejudice, because I love love & Mr. Darcy. 5. Grease the movie, because I love to sing out loud (even though I have a terrible voice).
Lover of all things Mr. Darcy, you and I will get along just fine. ;)
On to your authorship - what are the three most important elements of writing? 1. Character development. I've had to study a lot on this issue because I feel it's one of my weaknesses. I create worksheets on each character and get to know them well before starting the story. 2. Fleshing out a great story idea. I have notebooks full of ideas; the trick is to make them novel-worthy. 3. Pushing through "the wall," as James Scott Bell calls it. This happens to me during draft one, somewhere toward the middle. I feel as if the idea is terrible, the book is terrible, and that I have no idea what I'm doing.
One piece of writing advice. Keep learning. I appreciate the fact that even seasoned pros keep learning. No writer knows it all, and no matter where we are on our journeys we must keep learning and growing. Our readers deserve nothing less.
Well said. Well said. Now, let's share your new baby!

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the boy who loved FIRE by Julie Musil Genre: Contemporary with a splash of ghosts Released: January 28, 2014 Description: Manny O’Donnell revels in his status at the top of his high school food chain. He and his friends party in the mountains on a blustery night, sharing liquor and lame ghost stories around a campfire. The next morning, as a wild fire rages in those same mountains, Manny experiences doubt. He was the last of the drunken crew to leave the cave, and he’s uncertain if he extinguished the flames. Within hours, he becomes the number one arson suspect.
Santa Ana winds + matches = disaster. You’d think he would've learned that the first time he started a fire.
As he evades a determined arson investigator, Manny, a modern-day Scrooge, is visited by ghosts of the past, present, and future. He’s forced to witness the fate of his inadvertent victims, including Abigail, the scarred beauty who softens his heart. Manny must choose between turning around his callous, self-centered attitude, or protecting his own skin at the expense of anyone who gets in his way.

Manny, Manny, Manny ... ;) 
Care to share what you're working on now? Manny, a modern teen Scrooge, faces 3 ghosts as he outruns arson charges, falls for his fire victim, & battles for redemption.
Whoa ... Thanks so much for joining us today, Julie! 
Julie has gracious offered up an eCopy of the boy who loved FIRE to a random commentor, so make sure to leave your thoughts! Spreading the word won't get you extra entries, but it will get you a cyber hug from me!! (((HUGS)))

The FIRE Of A Good Critique Partner: Segment I

If you are a writer then you know the value of a good critique partner. An effective CP has attentive eyes, ears, and emotions. He/she has x-ray vision, spotting the outer structure of scenes and chapters. Even the crumbs you scatter as you knit the overall plot throughout the story glows visible to them. 

 

Amazing how they can see the flaws through your forest of phrases, where all you saw was your story coming together.

Over the last few weeks, my critique partners have been reading my current middle grade manuscript. A few days ago, I began studying their notes and comments, jotting down my observations of their findings. As I was doing so, I had a thought: Why not share this journey with the Alleywalkers? I mean, I did tell them I'd start sharing more from my Sheriism box.
This is the first post in my series, Studying A Critique Partner's Notes. I'll dissect how I shift through their comments to find what works for me and the intended meaning of my story, overcome the fear of axing some of their valuable advice, and show how I apply it all to my final draft. 
Here goes: 
Baby Steps:

• After typing 'THE END', I let the manuscript sit until after I received notes from a few CPs.
• I opened the document from CP #1 and read each comment/observation, taking my own handwritten notes as I went along until I reached the end. (In this case, I sent my CPs the manuscript in four separate docs, so I'm going through the first doc.) 
• I then did the same with my other CPs' documents. 

Doing this gave me a road map, an outline of what may or may not need fixing, especially when more than one CP made the same suggestion.

I waited until I received at least two CPs' suggestions back before I began this process. Each was fresh in my mind, which made it much easier for me to compare any similarities between the two. Within a day, I received a third CP's suggestions, so I included hers as well. 

With this manuscript, I had four people reading for me. I hadn't received #4's suggestions yet, so I decided to use this last CP's notes as a check at the end of my revisions.

NEXT week: In The Trenches - of taking those notes.

Do you have a system to initially read your CP's edits?