Author Archive for ecmyers

teen writing workshop & book signing

Posted by ecmyers on 05/13/2012 in Novels, Writing and Young Adult.

On Saturday, May 19, I will be joining two other Apocalypsies to host a teen writing workshop at Chester County Book & Music Co.:

ATTENTION TEENS!
Sign up for a writing workshop
with three young adult authors,
members of the Apocalypsies,
and be eligible for a fabulous door prize!
K.M. Walton, author of CRACKED
Elisa Ludwig, author of PRETTY CROOKED
E.C. Myers, author of FAIR COIN
Saturday, May 19
Workshop 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ($10)
Signing 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 pm (free and open to the public)
Cost includes a buffet lunch.
Hurry!  Space is limited!
You MUST register in advance.
Chester County Book & Music Company
975 Paoli Pike
West Goshen Center
West Chester, PA 19380
For more information
call 610-696-1661, ext. 29
Please help spread the word! I hope to see you and/or your teen writers on Saturday!
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crits for critters!

Posted by ecmyers on 05/09/2012 in Novels, Short Stories and Writing.

I’m offering up a short story critique (up to 5000 words) or a critique of a query letter and the first 30 pages of your novel, in the Pens for Paws Auction to raise money for Fat Kitty City, a no-kill, cage-free cat sanctuary in El Dorado Hills that also rescues dogs (as foster homes allow). I am happy to aid our feline overlords, even at this great personal sacrifice.

If you’re wondering what makes me qualified to critique anything you write, that’s a very good question! I have at least a little bit of experience with writing and publishing short stories, through the rigorous Clarion West Writing Workshop (in the incredibly talented class of 2005); my participation in New York’s finest team of superwriters, Altered Fluid; and as a submissions reader for Sybil’s Garage and several editions of Ellen Datlow’s Year’s Best Horror. Many of the stories and novels I have critiqued have been published and received awards and critical acclaim, and I’m totally claiming some of that credit.

I also wrote a query letter and a novel that fooled at least one agent into taking me on as a client, which eventually resulted in my novel getting published, so let’s call that a 100% success rate, shall we? I’ve heard from more than one person that I’m pretty good at writing query letters, which are tricky things. My “specialties” are in science fiction, fantasy, and young adult fiction, but whatever your genre, this is a rare opportunity to get feedback from someone who should know better than to critique a stranger’s work. But hey, I’ll do almost anything for money that will support a good and worthy cause.

In any event, you’re almost guaranteed to get value for your dollar, depending on how much you bid and some definitions of value.

Bidding is open internationally through May 11, 11 p.m. EST. Please spread the word to anyone who might be interested and consider bidding. If you don’t have a story or novel ready yet, you can claim your prize whenever you do.

Best,
Eugene

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north, miss tessmacher! north!

Posted by ecmyers on 05/01/2012 in Books, Reading, Science Fiction and Fantasy and Young Adult.

I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but my next reading from Fair Coin will be this Thursday, May 3 at 7:00 p.m. at Water Street Books, 26 Water Street, in Williamstown, MA. This event is generously co-sponsored by the Religion and English departments at Williams College.

If you live anywhere near Williamstown, I would love to see you there! A discussion and signing will follow the short reading, and there will be plenty of swag for the taking. I expect it to be a fun event, what with all the smart college kids and teachers around.

Apparently Christopher Reeve often performed in theatrical productions in Williamstown and was married there, so that’s kind of cool. Other notable individuals with links to Williamstown include quantum physicist William Wootters (best name ever!), the Barclay Jermain Professor of Natural Philosophy at Williams College; songwriter Cole Porter; Welsh actor Roger Rees; actor Matthew Perry; and SFF writer Paul Park.

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The YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes, Part II

Posted by ecmyers on 05/01/2012 in Novels and Young Adult.

[ETA: As of 5/8/12, this giveaway is now over! Thank you to everyone who participated in any leg of the race and for sharing your comments and wishes. I will randomly select the prize winners in the next few days, and will post your wishes on Tumblr in the weeks and months to come.]

Hello! The previous YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes was so fun and successful, we decided to do it again. If you’re here at my stop on the blog hop, you probably know what it’s all about already. But if you’re lost or have no idea what I’m going on about, please visit the Apocalypsies website to read the complete rules and get started. Please note that the contest does not begin until Wednesday, May 2 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

FAIR COIN by E.C. Myers

Sixteen-year-old Ephraim Scott is horrified when he comes home from school and finds his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. The reason for her suicide attempt is even more disturbing: she thought she’d identified Ephraim’s body at the hospital that day.

Among his dead double’s belongings, Ephraim finds a strange coin—a coin that grants wishes when he flips it. With a flick of his thumb, he can turn his alcoholic mother into a model parent and catch the eye of the girl he’s liked since second grade. But the coin doesn’t always change things for the better. And a bad flip can destroy other people’s lives as easily as it rebuilds his own.

The coin could give Ephraim everything he’s ever wanted—if he learns to control its power before his luck runs out.

In addition to the signed copy of Fair Coin and the prize pack I’m offering in the Race, I’ll be giving away a signed bookmark, postcard, bookplate*, and custom Fair Coin coin case to three lucky winners on my own blog. All you have to do to enter for a chance to win is flip a coin, then leave a comment in this post telling me whether it came up heads or tails. (Don’t worry, the outcome won’t have any effect on your chances of winning. And I’m just going to take it on faith that you actually flipped a coin; you’re the one who has to live with yourself if you fudge it.)

You can also get up to 5 additional entries by completing one or all of the following:

  1. Like my Facebook page at http://facebook.com/flipthecoin or, if you don’t do Facebook, link to this contest on your blog. (+1 entry)
  2. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this contest. Be sure to mention me (@ecmyers) and include the hashtag #faircoin. (+1 entry)
  3. Add Fair Coin on Goodreads. (+1 entry)
  4. Pop over to my Tumblr page and make a wish! (+2 entries)

Make sure you tell me which of the above you do for extra points in your comment so I can tally up your entries correctly! And don’t worry, if you already follow me, you still get credit for it. I’ll use some randomizer-thingey to select the winners.

My blog contest will be open until Tuesday, May 8 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

When you’re ready to move on, click your heels three times (or this link once) to be whisked away to the quiz. Thanks for coming by, and good luck!

___________________________________________

*Still working on making those bookplates, but they should be ready soon!

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assigned reading

Posted by ecmyers on 04/25/2012 in PSA.

My delight that Fair Coin has been selected as a book for classroom discussion at a Bronx middle school is moderated by sheer horror–one of the things I learned in school is that nothing takes the joy out of a book and reading more than it being assigned as homework. Still, I am honored and intrigued; from what I can tell, what recommends Fair Coin most at the moment is that none of the class has read it yet, and probably hadn’t even heard of it before this.

I don’t know about how well Fair Coin will promote literacy, but I do know how thrilling it is to discover a new book and a new author, especially at a young age, and how much books have shaped the person I am today. I also know how difficult and challenging it is for teachers to get the texts they want for their students. When I was in high school, some of my teachers actually broke the law and photocopied some books at their own expense, because there was no room in the budget for classroom copies. I just can’t believe that schools and libraries have to cut back so much on books and reading programs when developing good reading and reasoning skills is so vital to lifelong success.

I do feel conflicted about personally advertising a Donors Choose project to raise money for a teacher to buy copies of my own book, since it seems a little self-serving. But it’s also, you know, for kids. So if you do have some money you can part with to get children excited about reading and young adult literature and science fiction, I hope you’ll consider donating. Or even consider giving to another classroom for a worthy cause; I’ve given to other projects at Donors Choose to purchase needed books, and the teachers and students have always been very appreciative–and I like knowing that my gift is having a direct impact on learning.

Gratefully,
Eugene

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