How to use this Page

... Kelly Quinones Miller!

Kelly, wrote: "The only way I can achieve balance (on any day) is to delegate. I used to feel that something was wrong with me if I couldn't, literally, do it all. But I've come to realize there's strength (and necessity) in sharing the burdens. I decide what I really need/want to do myself, and I ask others to help me with the rest. It's changed my life!"

Kelly wins an autographed copy of JUST ADD MAGIC, lots of JUST ADD MAGIC goodies (including bookmarks, recipe cards, and wooden spoons), and an autographed PB of THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON.*

Thanks, Kelly, and for everyone who entered!


*Full disclosure: Kelly and I went to grad school together at Emerson. But CINDY picked the winner, and she didn't know that about Kelly until AFTER she picked her.

Add a Comment

All week, my friend and debut author Cindy Callaghan has been blogging here at "Girl Uninterrupted" to celebrate the release of her new book, JUST ADD MAGIC.

Originally, Cindy and I had talked about Friday's post being a sort of run-down of a "Day in the Life" of a busy working mom/author. But alas, Cindy got snowed under with non-author-y job stuff and didn't have the time to work in an extra post.

This got me thinking about balance, and how bad I am at achieving it. I marvel at how adept Cindy is at juggling all of her various commitments: she has husband and three kids, a full-time non-writing job, volunteer work, AND she coaches soccer for her daughter's team. Plus, Cindy is one of the most prolific writers I know; she writes constantly and is already doing a polish edit on her second book.

So, the prize pack part:

Leave a comment either on LiveJournal or Facebook with your best tip for achieving balance in a busy day. Enter by 11:59 p.m. this Saturday, October 16th for your chance to win:

• Autographed copy of JUST ADD MAGIC


• Lots of JUST ADD MAGIC goodies, including bookmarks, recipe cards, and wooden spoons


• Autographed paperback of THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON

Cindy will pick the winner, which will be announced on Monday.

Congratulations, Cindy Callaghan! You are a true inspiration.

You can read all of Cindy’s guest posts here. Also: Cindy will have some upcoming appearances in DE and NJ - so be sure to check her blog and mine for more info!

Add a Comment

Today continues a week-long series of guest blogging posts by Cindy Callaghan, whose first MG novel, JUST ADD MAGIC, was released today! You can order the book here, here, here, or here. And you can read yesterday’s post here.



Cooking Up a Little Mystery: My Book from Concept to Contract
By Cindy Callaghan

It all started with an idea. I thought it was a pretty darn cool and original idea: A SECRET COOKING CLUB.

Think about it:

• COOKING – Who doesn’t love a little fun in the kitchen?


• A CLUB – Who doesn’t want to be part of a cool club?


• SHH … IT’S A SECRET – I mean, hello? It’s got to be better than any old club if it’s secret, right? All the best stuff in the world is secret. That’s why it’s a secret, because it’s awesome, right?

And I had a name: Kelly Quinn. I knew that her name was going to be Kelly Quinn, but I didn’t know much else about her, except that she would have a friend who rollerbladed and her mom would be supercool (you know, the kind of mom I am.

I wrote the original first draft of JUST ADD MAGIC in about six weeks.

Then, I rewrote it for months. I’m part of a critique group, which is a very important part of my writing. They critiqued JUST ADD MAGIC over and over and over. And I edited it based on their comments. My dad read countless drafts. I kept rewriting.

Finally, I thought it was ready to send to a literary agent. But, since I only had one chance to make a first impression, I hired a professional editor. Once I received the editor’s comments, I pulled the manuscript apart again and sewed it back together. It took about a year before I thought it was ready to send out to literary agents.

I spent a lot of time on the Internet researching agents. I wanted a small highly targeted list. I did this in a few ways. I looked at books I thought had a similar personality to mine, and tried to find out who represented those authors. I also looked at who was speaking at SCBWI conferences because I thought they’d be open to reading manuscripts. I also looked at literary agencies and carefully researched what types of genres each agent was interested in. I made my list which included Greenhouse Literary Agency.

Enter the query letter: I toiled over the query for weeks trying to get it just right. I sent out my submissions adhering to each agent’s individual specifications. I heard back from Sarah Davies (founder of Greenhouse) almost immediately, requesting the entire manuscript. In her email I think she wrote, “Don’t get too excited.” But, I did anyway.

Just a few days later, we connected on the phone. She liked the story, but identified areas where it needed work. However, she was willing to work with me on the revisions.
So, once again, with Sarah’s advice and encouragement, I reworked the story. I sent it back to her about three months later on a Sunday night. By ten o’clock Monday morning she called me to tell me that she wanted to represent it.

Things really took off there. Sarah pitched it very quickly and we had a bite from Aladdin, whi

Add a Comment