The Call and then some!

My agent Christine Witthohn of Book Cents Literary Agency rocks!!!!

The series I thought would sell--one that an editor loved and wanted--ended up not going through at the last minute because a book with a similar element tanked two years ago. So here I was at my lowest low.....and then a different editor at the same house said she loved my writing and what else did I have. So my agent gave her a 60 page partial of another series I have, and within 48 hours ...

She just got me 3 book deal for the first 3 books in the series!!!!

So now I am once again on cloud nine! And even better, my agent has some awesome connections in hollywood. I signed with hollywood actor, writer, director (Doug McKeon who was the kid in On Golden Pond and was in a bunch of other movies and TV shows, then turned to directing 10 years ago). He loves the story and wants it to be his next big project in the fall. He said it was high concept, had tremendous potential, and he thought I had a fantastic voice with a real knack for comedy (his words not mine, but I'm still eating them up;)) so once I finish the manuscript, I send it to him and his people adapt it to a screenplay for a feature film and then attach talent to it, then pitch it to their contacts in hollywood, increasing the chances of it actually getting made into a movie by a ton. Even if it never gets made into a movie, he at least brainstormed books two and three with me which is awesome since I didn't have a clue what those would be about. LOL!

So here's the deal. I have a 3 book deal with Sourcebooks Jabberwocky YA line and Rebecca Frazer is my editor (she was formerly with S&S, Random House, and Harper teen). The books are slated to come out in November 2010.

The series name will be THE DIGITAL DIVA SERIES with book one being called DIGITAL DIVA: TALK TO THE HAND!

It's about a teenage girl who is obsessed with technology and has the latest and greatest cell phone that can do anything. But on her way home from her friend's house, she sees this strange glowing object in the woods that is not "of this world" and of course touches it, only to get zapped and knocked out cold. When she wakes up, she can't find her cell anywhere. She soon discovers she has turned into a walking breathing piece of technology with internet capabilities. She has a GPS in her brain, camera in her eyes, and cell phone in her palm, giving new meaning to the words "talk to the hand". Somehow she's tapped into a 911 line, and every time the cute boy she's been crushing on since forever makes her hormones rise too high, she blocks a call and her GPS rerouts her, sending her to the rescue whether she likes it or not. Digital Diva is born and a team of scientists are hot on her heels as she strives to keep her hormones under control and her identity a secret while she desperately tries to find a way to reverse her uniqueness.

Anyway, that's pretty much it in a nutshell. And I get my first sale ribbon at nationals and I'm already approved for my PAN membership. Yay! I'm still in shock it actually happened but thrilled beyone belief!

Just had to share :-)

-- Kari Lee Townsend

Action * Adventure * Romance * Laughter
Fun & Exciting Stories For Any Age!
http://www.karileetownsend.com/

New Cover for Dreams and Desires Vol. 3

I am so excited! This is the new cover for the Dreams and Desires Volume 3 book I am a part of. The book comes out on February 1st in both ebook and print from: http://www.freyasbower.com/ , or from your local bookstore by giving them the ISBN # 978-1-935013-63-1 and the proceeds go to help battered women. This is such a great cause and a wonderful collection of stories from some fabulous authors.

Just had to share :-)

Kari

Dreams and Desires: Volume 3

I am so excited to be a part of the latest Dreams and Desires anthology collection of romance stories. It's for such a good cause. All the proceeds go to battered women, and so far, volumes 1 and 2 have done really well.

Volume 3 comes out in February 2009 by Freya's Bower. Look for the new book cover coming soon.

My story is called LOVE LESSONS about a braniac mathematician named Mandy who can't put two and two together when it comes to figuring out who her secret admirer is. Enlisting the help of her best friend Gavin from the archaeology department in uncovering the mystery of the clues, he teaches her a thing or two about love along the way.

Hope you all are doing well. Now back to work;))

Cleveland Rocks Romance Conference 2008

o, a couple weeks ago, Barb and I went to Cleveland to their conference. It was a blast. It was small like a mini-con, but that was what was so nice about it. Intimate enough where you really got to mingle and get to know people. As you can see, after a 5 1/2 hour drive, we were more than ready to par-tay! And I've got my camera ready. I am a picture freak;)) Here are just few of the many pics I took!!




The main reason we went was to meet our good friend Rhonda Stapleton in person, and she truly is Rhonda Fabulonda! She did an amazing job coordinating the conference, and she was soooooo fun-nay! Her Simon Pulse romantic comedy Stupid Cupid is going to fabulous! The only thing missing was our other good friend Amanda Brice who's up for a Golden Heart for her YA time travel. She was supposed to go, but couldn't make it. Bummer. I can't believe I'm going to miss her at nationals this year, but next year you can be sure my butt will be in DC. for sure.

And of course, it was awesome as always seeing my fabulous agent, Christine Witthohn of Book Cents Literary Agency. No one, NO ONE, works harder than she does! Okay, so maybe her assistant Judith Ann works as hard as she does. Seriously, they make an awesome team!

And here we are with Kris Yankee, another Book Cents Babe and Romance Diva. Very sweet woman, and her hubby was pretty cool too;))

Barb, Kris and myself really did get to know each other. Fun, fun, fun!!!! Especially picking our raffle baskets;) Hope we didn't scare you too much, Kris!

OMG Holly Jacobs and Susan Gable are amazing women. We had soooo much fun hanging out with them. They are so talented. They gave a great workshop, and their books are must reads. Holly has a couple out now and Susan has one coming out in February that I cannot WAIT to read. You can bet I'll be hanging out with them again the next time I see them. Poor women;))

Barbie had as much fun as I did with them. I repeat.....poor women;)) They didn't know what was comig when they met us!

Harlequin editor Birgit Davis Todd was a lovely woman. Authors Stephanie Bond and Jamie Denton were also very nice people. All in all, one of the best conferences I've been to in a while. Only now I'm going through conference withdrawl :-(

Karitown out!

The Latest!

Whew! I'm back again. I've been busy writing a new proposal (a synopsis and 60 pages) for a YA fantasy. My agent loves it and has sent it out to only two editors, but one already loves the concept and is going to read it this weekend. I really hope to hear something next week or the week after at the latest. My chick lit mystery proposal is out to several, and I'm still awaiting word on that as well.

I've learned you can't control what happens in this industry, and you can't hurry the process along, no matter how much you want to, so why stress over it. The best advice is to keep writing and keep submitting new proposals while you wait. You just never know what project might be "the one," but I truly believe if you never give up, then it will happen for us all. And, hey, I'm having a ball with all these new stories;))

Meanwhile, I'm headed to the Ohio Romance Writer's chapter conference this weekend, and it should be a blast. Some fellow Book Cents clients will be there, as well as my agent. I can't wait to see everyone again, and I'll be posting pictures when I get back. I only wish I could go to nationals in San Francisco to cheer for fellow Book Cents Babe, Amanda Brice, since she finaled in the Golden Heart with her YA time travel. If any of you are there, say hi for me;) Sigh. I will definitely go to next year's nationals in DC!

In the meantime, have a good one, folks, and keep writing!

New Direction / New Website / New Blog!

If you can believe it, I am still waiting. Ugh! Isn't this the name of the game.

But I have learned that my story is more chick lit mystery than true cozy mystery. So I am staying true to my voice and sense of humor by going in the chick lit mystery direction. The editor says she publishes both and thinks it's a wise decision for me to go this route instead of the other, so we'll see what happens when I finish. She now wants to see the full.

In the meantime, I still have a women's fiction out there. And I turned of couple of my old stories into Older YA chick lit and Older YA rom com. I'll keep you posted on what happens with those. But no matter what I write, all my books are funny. That's why I decided to go with a website and blog that reflect my personlity and all that I write.

Check it out and let me know what you think. www.karileetownsend.com Hopefully it won't take me so long to get back for another post this time;)

Kari

Still Waiting!!!!

Yes, I'm still waiting!!!

I have been going round and round with an editor on revisions she wants for my chick lit mystery. It's been quite the learning experience, to say the least. I am learning so much about the genre and myself in the process, that the whole experience has been worthwhile. Believe me, I will fill you all in just as soon as anything has been finalized.

On another note, I did not advance in the Amazon Breakout Novel Contest, but then again, no romance novels did. Hey, at least I got a PW review on my very first book. That, in and of itself, is pretty cool.

Okay, back to writing more of book one of my mystery series. I really can't complain. The book isn't even finished and yet it's generating a lot of interest, so hopefully, this will be my year. Again, I will keep you posted as I hear anything. You all know waiting is the name of the game, unfortunately.

Karitown out;))