Friday, February 8, 2013

Your help needed!

Happy Friday, dear readers! Man oh man, what a week it's been. I survived my first full week at my new job, I discovered my new regular bar (karaoke, check! hot Irish bartenders, check!), I found Nemo...

No, not that Nemo. This Nemo:
Richard Perry/The New York Times

I'm sorry, fellow New Yorkers, I am underwhelmed. There's barely enough snow for a snowball fight.


But I haven't sunken so low in my new blogging career (har, career. Like I make money doing this) that I'm going to devote an entire post to the weather, unless we get another Frankenstorm. No, today I need your guys' help on something.


So most of you probably don't know that Paladin has been selected to be a "Featured" story on Wattpad. As background for the one person who reads this blog who isn't from Wattpad and isn't also my mother, featured stories are hand-selected by the Wattpad editorial staff. According to Wattpad, "To be considered for featured placement, the story must be complete and full-length (30 pages). Other factors taken into consideration: should have a strong and unique plot, no major spelling and grammatical errors, and should be well written."


I'm pretty excited about it--I know there are readers who only read from the featured list, and in general it's great visibility since Wattpad promotes featured stories through their various social channels--and I'm rubbing my hands together in eager anticipation of the new readers and reads Paladin will get. Mwahahaha.


Here's what I need you for, Paladin fans--the powers that be at Wattpad have asked me for two things: 1) a 100-character--yes character, not word--teaser/description of the story and 2) three quotes from the story. I'll figure out the first part--eventually--but I would love your input on the quotes.


They didn't give me a specific character limit on the quotes, but they did say they the shorter the better. I'm trying to keep them to under 200 characters, in case Wattpad wants to use them for social media purposes. Which is too bad, because I tend to write in long sentences vs. short ones, which makes finding good quotes tricky!


I've pulled, with the assistance of Mommy Slater (my secret editor, consultant and #1 fan), some quotes from the manuscript that I'm thinking about including. Which three of the below do you like best? Remember, I can only give Wattpad three! And if there's a quote that you like better than these, by all means suggest it!

  1. It's strange, thinking your life is going to turn out one way, then finding yourself headed in an entirely different direction.
  2. Braeden began contemplating death, and he couldn't be sure if their demise or his own was preferable.
  3. Braeden dragged his dagger along the length of his forearm, drawing a thin line of blood.
  4. What blood runs through your veins doesn't matter to me.
  5. I owe humanity a debt, for what I am and what I've done.
  6. I don't feel I should have to ask for permission to follow my heart, though I find myself begging for yours.
  7. Your father slept with women who couldn't say no to him any more than they could say no to paying their taxes.
  8. Hunger makes thieves out of most men.
  9. His hand twitched at his side, his fingers curling into claws, eager to rip away the flesh that contained his inner monster.
  10. The demons fell on them in droves, colliding with one another for a chance to taste human flesh.
  11. I can handle myself. Go find your own demons to kill.
  12. Friends didn't eat friends, even if they were a little deranged.
  13. "You should have killed me.” He brushed his thumb against her cheek. “But I’m glad that you didn’t."
  14. This -- thing -- between them didn’t smolder; it burned like fallen leaves set aflame.
  15. I would rather bleed until my body is dry and empty than draw a single drop of your blood.
  16. Love is a fickle thing, but fear will never desert you.
  17. If this were a fairy tale, I'd be my own damned knight.
  18. He was beautiful to watch, a whirlwind of man and sword, blood spraying in a never-ending spiral as he moved.


34 comments:

  1. Hola! My faves are: 15, 16 and 6.
    But I like a lot more!
    Cheers, Steph (ShadyLady on Wattpad)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Steph! Now I've got two votes for #6. I'm getting closer!

      Delete
    2. 4, 11, and 17, with 17 being my most favorite!

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  2. 7, 12, & 17. The first two of my selections are just so funny, and #17 really embodies who Sam is. :)

    Good luck with all your new readers/voters/fans that will be sure to start flocking to "Paladin" - hope you'll be able to keep track of them all. Hahaha, then again, maybe it would be better if you weren't able to since you'll have so much. (^ー^)ノ

    -Nikkisha16

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    Replies
    1. I've got two votes for 12 and five for 17 now! So 17 for sure is going to make the cut.

      Haha, it would be nice to have so many readers I couldn't keep track...

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  3. My favorites are #'s 11 and 17. I just LOVE strong, righteous female characters. Happy Writing!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! Really appreciate you weighing in. It makes my decision easier :)

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  4. 11 and 17 for sure. ;-) love Paladin forever<3<3<3<3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 17 is a shoe in :) And thank you! I have the best readers.

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  5. 15 because it gave me chills while reading it, 17 because that sums up Sam perfectly and lastly 12 cause it made me giggle

    I absolutely love Paladin so sad that it ended can't wait for the sequel!!!!:-D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! At this point, 17 is definitely a shoe in.

      Got a ton more editing to do on Paladin 1, but I'll turn to planning the sequel soon.

      Delete
  6. 11, 16 and 17... Believe me, it was a hard choice! Good luck with writing the 100 character summary/teaser! <3

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  7. My take is #s 6, 11, 12..
    #6 for the romantic angle..
    #11 for being Paladins and their personal conflicts..
    #12 for the humor you inject in the book..

    I also have other favorites that are not included in your list but i think there are ample choices already..


    BlackOrange28

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I think 12 might be the second most popular choice after 17. I'll have to tally it all up and see what I come up with.

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  8. 12, 14 and 18 most definitely! Those are different enuff to catch people's eyes to read this great story!

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    Replies
    1. I think you're the first to vote for 18! 12 is getting a lot of love.

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  9. I like 1, 4, and 17. 1 because its mysterious, and most people would probably be curious as to what Sam is talking about (and therefore read it). 4 because that was kind of like the start of Sam and braeden's relationship-when she said that she didn't care what he was. And 17 because its just totally Sam . Hope it helped. <3 (:

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  10. My favourites are 5 9 and 16. That's awesome news, and Paladin definitely deserves to get on the featured list! Congrats

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank yo! I'm excited about it since I'm greedy for new readers (although the ones I currently have are the best out there :) )

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  11. Sally, I like 1, 4 and 5

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  12. 5 and 6 definitely and I'm conflicted between 2, 12, and 13 for the third. If I hadn't already read Paladin and I read quote 5, I'd be on my way to the book store (After you get it published, obviously) as soon and as fast as humanly possible. I'd probably sit down and read it in the book store before buying just so I wouldn't have to wait any longer to read it.

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    Replies
    1. I rather like 5 myself, so I'm leaning towards it. 12 is a very popular pick, it seems, so maybe I'll make it 5, 12 and 17. Hmmm...

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  13. That's so cool! The book deserves it! I think 11, 12 and 17 are the best.

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  14. Replies
    1. More for 12 and 17! I've decided to go with those 2.

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  15. Hi Sally, I'd say 11 12 & 17 are the favourites.

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  16. Hi Sally! I just have to say that I'm rooting for you, and hope that Paladin will become a book!

    4. What blood runs through your veins doesn't matter to me. (my favorite)

    6. I don't feel I should have to ask for permission to follow my heart, though I find myself begging for yours.

    17. If this were a fairy tale, I'd be my own damned knight.


    These three are well written and slip off the mental tongue in a nice manner.

    ReplyDelete