losers and winners.

I am a loser.

1. Epic blog fail happened when I didn't post the winners of my lovely little TITLE contest. Lame-o.
2. My sister nominated me for a blog award days ago. And, yeah, I just realized.
3. I went to Las Vegas and put on 7 pounds thanks to Jessie at B-Word Blog and her freezer full of ice cream.

Please forgive me for my complete and total lameness this last week. To make up for it, I've chosen more than one winner.

I LOVED all your titles. Seriously. They were so much better than anything I came up with.

And now . . . (insert drum roll) . . . the WINNERS!

For the title I've chosen to smack on my manuscript and query: 

Leslie Pugh

Deceive Me Once

For the titles that made me laugh out loud: 

Iain

A Mole in Sheep's Clothing

Cathy

Whack a Mole

For the title I would use if I hadn't chosen Leslie's:

Jeigh

The Erin Summerill Book of Awesome

For the winners:

You have just won yourself a head shot shoot with me, Erin Summerill. I will shoot you and it will be awesome. Then you can use the picture as a head shot for facebook, blogger, your upcoming super awesome book . . . you get the picture.

If you don't live in Utah, you can pass your award along OR you can come to Utah OR you can wait till I'm in your neck of the woods. I travel a lot so it's not a stretch. England is on the list of places to go in the next year.

Email me whenever you want to cash in on your prize of awesomeness. Erinsummerill(At)hotmail.com.


Thank you to everyone who sent in titles! I LOVED them. And if you happen to see me out with my camera, just pull me aside and I'll shoot you.

give me a title and i will shoot you.

My Ma, the gloriously white-haired woman I'm often with, used to ask me, "Is that a threat or a promise?"

Hopefully this post is the latter. But either way, I want to walk away from this post with a title and I need your help. So threat or promise, I will shoot you if you're the one to help me.

Here's my BIG-O PROBLEMO: I have a book I want to query, but I have NO title. I used to have the world's greatest title, but then another author who is far cooler and better paid than I had an epiphany to use a title that's just like mine. She has an agent. I don't. 

So I need a title. 

Here's the DEAL-O: If you provide a title that I like the most, I will shoot you. (See pic below. That's my best Shooter McGavin.) I am offering a free headshot photo shoot to the one person that provides me a new title for the book that I describe below. 

Rules:
Enter as many times as you like. I'll pick a title in one week. Hopefully it will be yours. If it is, you win the shoot. If you live out of state, you can schedule your head shot for when I'm in your neck of the woods, or you can fly to Utah. Or, be generous and give away your prize. It's up to you.

My Book in a NUTSHELL-O: 
Seventeen-year-old Milla spent the last eleven years at the Youth Training Facility--a private school that prepares kids to become CIA operatives. But when she fails the CIA entrance exam, she's devastated to find out she's going to be Released to live as a Civilian. A nightmare, since the only home she's ever known is with the CIA.
When a face from the past shows up and offers Milla a place in the DOA, a deep-cover operation for the Department of Defense, she signs up. The catch is she isn't one of the team until she passes Induction--training for all new recruits. Sounds easy enough until missions go awry and training kicks her butt, as well as breaks a few bones. To make matters worse, Milla finds herself in the middle of a mole hunt. She must figure out who she can and can't trust at the DOA Compound, and how the hot combat trainer is involved in all the mole mystery, before she's Released from the program, or worse, her life is compromised.

**The old title was: Deceive Me (Which is too similar to Shatter Me and Destroy Me)

DISCLAIMER-O: In the off chance I have an epiphany of my own and come up with my own title, I'll still choose the title I like second best to my own. Then that person will still win! 

Thank you!

Random Act of Kindness BLITZ!

A smile. An encouraging word. A thoughtful gesture. Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community. 

Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers council, advice and inspiration when asked.

So many people take the time to make us feel special, don't they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums and wish us Happy Birthday on Facebook.

Kindness ROCKS!

To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ.  And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I'm participating too!

I’ve decided to blitz Peggy Eddleman. 

I picked Peggy because she is first my number one writing partner. And Second, she's a great friend. Without her, I wouldn’t be the consistent writer I am today. She’s has encouraged me more times than I can say because I’m pretty much a twit that loses writing confidence ALL THE TIME! But Peggy pushes me. She keeps me going. And I wish I could give her the world. But today I’ll be giving her...(insert drum roll) 
Can you feel the tension as you wait for me to reveal my gift?
Without further ado, I am offering Peggy Eddleman:
 FREE photography for LIFE! (HA…lame. She already has that). 
So I will also be giving her a gift card from HARTS. Our favorite little gas station.

PEGGY EDDLEMAN http://peggyeddleman.blogspot.com/. If you have a minute, please stop in and tell her how awesome she is!

Do you know someone special that you'd like to randomly acknowledge?

Don't be shy--come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round. :)

Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up.

Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act Of Kindness?  Let me know in the comments!

a ridiculously awesome conference and hot people.

Of course I'm the last to post. Thank you ADD-brain, I'm always the last. But better late then never, eh?

If you're not from Utah then you may have missed the LDS Storymakers conference. (If you are from Utah and you missed it, there's no excuse. Shame. What could be more important?)

Public bashing aside, I want to now discuss my roll at the conference. Like last year, I was the photographer, and most definitely like last year, I'm sure a few of my friends picked up agents. (Cue Snow White: one day my prince agent will come...) Whatever. I'm not sad, or jealous, or pulling my hair out in angst in the hopes that one day, ONE FREAKING DAY, someone will offer me representation. No. Not at all.

I'm cool like that.

And to prove it, here are some of the pics I snapped at LDS Storymakers of people I'm so not jealous of. Because, I'm chill. I can appreciate how awesome they are by staring at their photos All Day Long! (Cue music from Psycho).
Really, though, I was surprised with all the awesome things people had to say about me. Here are some snapshots and quotes.

Howard Taylor: I believe I can fly when Erin is nearby

 Jessie Humphries: You're looking good, you good looking photographer, you.

 Weronika Janczuk: Now if everyone could write like Erin . . . 

 Julie (JUDO) Donaldson and Nichole Giles: We love Erin. 

 Michelle Wolfson: Had Erin pitched to me, my blog post wouldn't have gone viral. 

 Peggy Eddleman: Erin, my your shoes look nice.

 Molly O'Neill: I think the next big thing out there is Erin's Contemporary Spy novel.

 Janette Rallison: You look hard at work just like me. Hence the pink construction hat.

 DPK and the Duckett: Did you hear how awesome Erin's story is?

Ok, so in all honesty, maybe those weren't the exact phrases I heard, but they were close. Other than listening to people talk about me *wink, I shot a few head shots. Check out the awesome writer and agent and editor ladies below!

Writing Conferences and SECRET 27

As I write this I'm sitting in a blogging seminar at LDS Storymakers 2012 (a writing conference for anyone who wants to learn anything about writing). I'm here as the official photographer, not just a creepy person with a big-A camera.

What I'm learning is apparently I shouldn't have left my blog dead for a month and a half. Sorry about that.

So here I am, jumping back in with both feet, sharing secrets like a secret BOSS.

Secret 27: I do voice exercises in the shower

Fourteen years of teaching aerobics have shot my vocal chords to hell. Honestly, sometimes when I wake in the morning I sound like an old man with smoker's lungs. My voice is scratchy, deep, and manly. Give me you're phone number and I'll call you first thing (say 10:30 am) and you'll see. Full man mode.

It helps to warm up those vocal chords in a hot shower. Warmups include random sounds, sometimes a song, other times screechy noises that might have a feline-like quality.

Either way, if you're ever listening to me shower and I sound like a screechy cat, then you shouldn't be judging, but asking why you're the creepy hanging by my bathroom door. Just saying.

An author shooting (oh my) and a little review

Where have I been?

I've been exacting the plan of all plans. (Muah ha ha.)

I've been away cultivating friendships with authors so at the next writing conference I attend (check out LDS Storymakers) I will have the power of grayskull . . . which translates in the writing world to name-dropping power. Because you see friends, if you're not a name dropper, then you're nothing. 

So, in light of my wisdomish-wisdom, I spent the last month working on my plan to make friends and influence people. 

How's it going?

Quite well. (drums fingers together like Mr. Burns) In fact, I put the plan into action. When Rachelle Christensen (hello namedrop) came into my life, I knew I had to add her to my list of name-drops friends.

Here is what I did:

1. stalk her  casually met her at a writing conference.

2. shot her, later photoshopping my face over hers for obvious jealousy reasons took a lovely new headshot for her.

3. tricked her into thinking my blog is read by more than one person offered a blog tour on my ridiculously-popular-and-good-looking blog.

Really, my plan is quite genius. You can see below in my review of CALLER ID!


DETAILS:

Paperback, 272 pages

Published March 13th 2012 by Sweetwater Books

CALLER ID is a suspense-filled fast-paced read that had me on the edge of my seat. It's one that you could read in one sitting. You'll be drawn in by the witty characters and tight plot.

The book blurb: 
When twenty-three-year-old Courtney Beckham is abducted near her home, the search turns up more than just a kidnapping crime. FBI agent Jason Edwards investigates the ten-million-dollar ransom and stumbles upon something he wasn't meant to find. When Courtney catches a glimpse of the caller ID in her kidnapper's home, what she sees turns her world upside down.


My take: 
CALLER ID is full of plot twists that surprised me and hand me reading without a break. Just when I thought I'd figured it all out, Rachelle expertly threw in a twist that had me reeling. Seriously reeling guys! Ugh, I want to talk about the ending, but I can't give it away. Basically, I thought I'd figured it out and I was so wrong. 


And if that weren't enough, to top it all off is the sweet romance. For me that's the icing on the cake and makes the book all the more enticing to read. Rachelle's writing style is concise and clear. It would be a great read for any teenager or adult. It's clean and suspense-packed. So unless you suffer from high-blood pressure, this is the perfect book for you to read. 

Thanks Rachelle for letting me feature your book on my blog!

Friday Five: because I'm a 12 year old boy.

I've been completely swamped this week,

Visitors, work, and viewing a bit' of internet cheek. 

I loved a particular post about the subject of poo. 

If you're kind of a 12 year old boy, you'll love the rest too.

1. 

Funny 

2.

From Here

3.

Or Here

4. 

5.

Favorite-est

So, basically I've wasted a lot of time this week. And you? What have you done?

A winner. A SECRET. A birthday.

1.

Holla' ya'll! We have a WINNER for the head shot contest.

Congratulations Leigh Covington! 

(I'll be contacting you to set up your shooting time. Start digging through your closet for awesome outfits. Or go to Nordstroms. Nordy's is my fav.)

2. 

My secret: I once got a fake ID so I could go clubbing. Sorry Mom, I've failed you. Truth is, the ID was a lame card stock knockoff and the security guy at the club could totally tell. He let me in anyway, but told me to stay away from the bar and out of trouble. I was good with that because all I wanted to do was DANCE. (Cue Abba, Dancing Queen).

3. 

My boys had their birthday's last week. I had them almost exactly two years apart. So basically for one week in March I'm an insane shooting, baking, birthday-planning Momma. 

Inspired to Write-Free Writing Workshops

If you live in Utah and you haven't heard about the Orem Library Free Writing and Blogging workshop, then you're seriously missing out on something spectacular. Don't fret though. There is still time left to pop on over and check them out. 

My good friend SOPHISTIMOM (name drop much?) will be presenting on March 29 at 7:00pm

You can check it out below. 

Are there any writing workshops going on in your neck of the woods?
If not, where do you go for inspiration?

Secret 25 of 100

There's something about nice, simple fractions that makes me want to celebrate today! A quarter of my life's secrets are now exposed for all the Internet to see. Ur . . . that doesn't sound as exciting as I first imagined it would. But I'm not a quitter. 

So here goes SECRET number TWENTY FIVE. 

One summer, a cute golden-hared boy asked me out on a group date. Thrilled, I spent hours trying on every combination of shorts and summer tops that I owned. By the time Golden-boy came to pick me up, my room looked like it was the epicenter for a 8.1 earthquake, and I still wasn't totally ready. 

Ugh. I didn't want to leave Golden waiting. So I rushed out the door.

We went out to dinner (with our group), and then a movie (with our group). But while the other couples were fun, I really just wanted to hang out with Golden--without our group. 

After the movie, someone suggested a bonfire nearby. So Golden and I piled into ONE car with our entire group. At first I was bugged. But then, I realized being squashed up next to Golden with our limbs tangled in a tight space wasn't all that bad. Nope, I didn't mind the group thing at all by then.

We arrived at the destination, and slowly people started exiting the car, until Golden and I were the only two left. 

He leaned in close, the warmth of his breath brushing my cheek. "Erin," he said.

"Yes?" My heart fluttered to a frenzy. If I turned just an inch, his lips would be close enough to kiss.

"Um, I think my leg is velcro-ed to yours."

I pulled back, blinked a couple times. "What?"

He ran his hand over my exposed shin. So un-romantic. "Don't you shave? I swear my leg hairs were sticking to yours. They're like the straight end of the velcro . . . "

At this point I tuned him out as he explained his ridiculous velcro theory in which my straight leg hairs and his curly leg hairs might dangerously stick together. 

Seriously? I sat there, lost for words, and utterly mortified.

In my pre-date prep-frenzy, I had forgotten to shave. And I'm not talking days. I'm talking, I just got home from a week long camp. 

And Golden didn't waste a moment. He was out of that car and sharing his findings with our entire group before I could say, "holy hairy legs."

Needless to say, I didn't go out with Golden again. 

Do you have any shaving secrets you want to share?

Humps and a sorta weird but kinda cool CONTEST

Today is Hump day. I'm in somewhat of a slump.
I should be writing, but I've been spending time shooting and editing.

I figure, why not shoot some more. Maybe if I shoot till I'm sick of holding a camera, I'll want to write instead of shoot.

Thus: the not-so-normal writer's blog contest. 

I'm not giving away a book, a critique, or an agent pitch. (For that you need to hang with me at any given writer's conference. It's worked for all my other friends. Did you check out Julianne Donaldson's post on Peggy's blog? Yep, I practically kicked that puke-head girl out of Jaime's truck when I was the gal sitting between her and her future agent. Alright. So maybe it wasn't all my good luck mojo. Judo's practically a ninja when it comes to writing leave-me-on-the-edge-of-my-seat-in-tears romance. But I still like to think that hanging with me = Agent and book deals!)

Sorry for the digression, back to my CONTEST.

I'm giving away a headshot!

Most of the time I shoot pics like this: 

But now and then I shoot pics like this: 

Contest details:

Enter to win a chance at a free photo shoot with me for a spectacular headshot that will make you look unbelievably cool and author-esque. After the photo shoot you'll receive a DVD with your high resolution images, and a release to print and enlarge.

Disclaimer: If you don't live in Utah (where I'm offering the photo shoot), you can hold your winnings for up to a year. Then, if I'm out near you, or you come this way  you can then have your shoot. Or if you're really nice, you can gift your winnings to another person that lives in Utah!

How to enter: 

You can have multiple entries by: 

1. Follow this blog AND leave a comment. 

2. Post about this weird, but sorta cool contest on your blog. 

3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about it. 

4. Buy me a Coke Zero . . . ha ha...ok, this one isn't for real. But you can Facebook about my contest. 

Leave a link to each of the things you've done in the comment portion of my blog so I can go creepily stalk er, check it out. 

The contest will be open from NOW until March 24. 

Happy Entering!

Secret 24 of 100

I'm a geek. 

I know, surprising right? Here's the thing. I feel like I just hit puberty--in the geekiest way possible.

Evidence? Here it is: 

1. I've noticed a strange smell. As in body odor smell coming from my pits! Shocking, I know. I've never worn deodorant. Even after a sweat-drenching workout, my pits don't stink. That is, up till a few months ago they didn't. But things are changing. And by "things" I mean my hormones, because every now and then my underarms smell. 

2. Zits. In high school I had three. I remember them well because they were traumatic. But as of late, it seems like three zits have become my forehead's standard. Ewwww! It's so gross. Can you recommend a good face wash? Apparently my bar soap and water just aren't cutting it. 

3. I'm a brace-face. At first I was stoked about the idea of straightening my teeth and fixing my bite. I'm still stoked, but I'm not loving how un-awesome I look. Every time I look in the mirror I repeat, "This too shall pass."

4. My confidence is shaken. Usually I feel pretty good about who I am. But last night I spent an hour on the phone with crit-partner Jessie listening to her positive affirmations. Next to Stuart Smalley, Jessie is the best. 

Should we ever meet, make sure you keep my geekiness a secret . . . at least when we're talking face to face. Then I'll really feel like I've returned to high school

Inspired to Write - Change

Today I'm going to change. And not just in some abstract metaphorical, spiritual way. But in the tomorrow-mean-girls-will-call-me-metal-mouth way.

Confused? Here's the deal: 
When I'm not writing, I'm shooting people--mostly brides and grooms. You can check all that out HERE. Alright, enough self-promotion, back to the story. When a particular fabulous bride and groom said, "hey let's workout an awesome brace trade." I said, "Fo' sure!" (Conversation may have been dramatized for artistic purposes.)

Basically, I'm getting braces. 

Up until this morning I was stoked about the whole ordeal. Today, not so much. My insides are fluttery and panicked and disorganized. I'm a scrambled mess that's soon to be a brace face!

To the point: 

I was thinking about my characters and how they deal with change. Sure there's conflict in my book, but sometimes I overlook the physical manifestations that change (particularly stress) can cause in a person. Though I react to stress one way, I found that stress in other people doesn't always look the same. The helpguide.org is a great site for researching nearly anything. Stress reactions can be viewed in three ways:   

• Foot on the gas – An angry or agitated stress response. You’re heated, keyed up, overly emotional, and unable to sit still.
• Foot on the brake – A withdrawn or depressed stress response. You shut down, space out, and show very little energy or emotion.
• Foot on both – A tense and frozen stress response. You “freeze” under pressure and can’t do anything. You look paralyzed, but under the surface you’re extremely agitated.

I'm usually one of the first two responses. But my characters aren't. I'll have to keep these ideas in mind when I'm writing.

What about you? 

How do you're characters deal with stress?

Credits: (http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm) 

Lucky 13!

First off, I want to say THANK YOU to all you guys that are new followers. I feel so happy, and weird, and weirdly happy about all your cyber-friendliness. I'm pumped to read blogs tomorrow and see what's going on in the blogger world. Today though, no reading for me.

Why?

Today is my lucky 13.
Mark, my hunky hubby, and I were married on this day thirteen years ago.

So if you'll excuse me, I have someone to go hang with. And when I say "hang" I really mean "make out" . . . and when I say "make out" I really mean we're going to the movies. Because that's what you do when you've been married for thirteen years.

Check you later.

Secret 23 of 100 . . .

And the secret is: 

I'm getting busy HERE

If you didn't catch that clever pun, I'm so excited to to be a guest blogger on Emily R. King's "Get Busy Writing" blog. Come on over and say hi. And while you're there, I'll share another secret.

Friday Five...leaving on a jet plane

I'm leaving on a jet plane, 

On Monday I'll be back again, 

The place I'm going is not a vacay top five, 

For plot settings, though, it might just jive!

 TOP Five Locations for Setting in a Book:

Hawaii's mythological history in a picturesque place,
Makes the perfect backdrop for a story well-paced.

The Sahara is a desert that's more dead than alive,
Already I spot conflict into which characters will dive.

Beth Revis wrote a book about great outer space,
Since then I've wanted to try my hand at an alien race.

But if Earth is my target, then I can't forget Africa,
A story about the wild where there is no traffic-a (I know...you're killing me smalls)

Last no matter the season, Alaska is a unique sight.
freakishly cold, but full of beauty like northern lights.

What are your favorite pics for story location?

writing inspiration - editing

A year and a half ago I wrote a book.

Three months ago, I re-wrote the same book.

A month ago, I revised the re-written book.

Now, I'm editing the revision of the re-written book.

And I'm starting to feel like my life is made up of Coke Zero and this:

Tips to stay sane and accomplish quality editing while you're in the throws of editing:

1. Take breaks. The longer you stare at the screen and re-read the same paragraph will only make you crazy. Sometimes a fresh look on a later day will help you see how to clearly clean up your sentences.

2. Don't delete. If you're not using track changes, then make sure you save each edit, so your earlier versions aren't destroyed. Sometimes you'll go back and find you liked your original better.

3. Share it. When you get stumped, pass it onto a friend or a beta-reader to flush out the issues.

4. Read. When you're boggled, pick up a good book. Sometimes reading someone's edited work helps you see where you're work lacks the finesse it needs.

Do you have any editing tips to share?  

The reason I didn't post yesterday...

I was busy all day creating a list, an order of sorts, that will help me figure out who I'll eliminate first down to the last after a world war turns our nation into a blood-thirsty dictatorship in which I'm then forced to kill you to bring food to my pathetic family and hovel of a home. 

These things are important to have thought out. You never know what's going to happen. 

My list would be something like this:
1. Girl from high school that called me Mcfatty-pants. (I'm still having a hard time getting over that one.)
2-1000. FB friends that aren't real-life friends.
1001. Then my writing buddies: Peggy, David, Rob, and Jason. (Sorry guys. I gotta eliminate the competition.)

Anyone you'd take out first? Last? 

Friday Five: motivation.

Five Things I do to Motivate Myself

Shoes

I love shoes like I love my hubby, 

Without them I might be a bit more tubby.

When I'm lacking motivation to exercise.

I get moving as soon as new shoes are my prize.

Cadbury Mini Eggs

You know those little chocolate, candy-shelled eggs.

They're the devil because they fatten my legs. 

So when I'm trying to write, but facebook lures me in,

I give myself one egg for each paragraph I fin---ish. (ok, so not the perfect rhyme. No judging.)

Music

Sometimes I feel like I'm stuck in a rut, 

I have no motivation to get off my butt. 

Whether exercising, shooting, or trying to write, 

If I blast my iTunes, it gives me a boost in the night...or day. (again, no judging on the rhymes here)

Books

If it were up to me I would read all day long, 

I love books like a photographer loves a Fong. (Uh, it's a tupperware looking flash filter-random, I know.)

If I have something to do that's horrid and no fun, 

I promise myself reading time as soon as I'm done.

Now You

If you're reading my poems, you'll see this is the end, 

But I've only written four instead of five, my friend. 

That's because I want to know what you like to do

when you're lacking motivation and you feel like poo!

I have a friend who is always on time.

I have a friend that is always on-time or ten minutes early wherever he has to go. Ridiculous, right? Who does that?
Not me. No, not by a long shot. I was born with late genes. Something about my make-up has a love hate relationship with PROCRASTINATION.

In December I set a goal to finish my WIP by the end of February. This is kind of how that's going:

So, in other words, I'm not sure if I'm going to meet that deadline.

As Joey from friends would say, "How you doin?"