ATWN Weekend Covers - May Playlist

Preview of our new look
coming soon...

This past month we started something new on our Twitter account called "ATWN Weekend Covers." On the weekends throughout May we tweeted some of our favorite cover tracks along with the hashtag, #ATWNWeekendCovers. The obvious next step...a playlist for you! So, for those who are always in search of something new to listen to, we will be creating a monthly playlist on our YouTube channel from our tweets and posting it here at the end of each month.

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In our inaugural #ATWNWeekendCovers playlist, we feature covers by artists such as Stereophonics, Gorillaz, The White Stripes, and The Joy Formidable. Enjoy, and keep your eyes out for our new look coming this week!

My Newest Obsessions

Please excuse me for this super short post. The last few weeks have been insane around my house. I was out of town, then we had family visit, then my husband went out of town. Then I got sick, and right in the middle of all that, a new book idea just won't leave me alone. Oh, and then there is also the fact that I'm 28 weeks pregnant (YAY!!!) and we are expecting our third little boy this August.

And then, in the midst of all that excitement, my husband introduced me to two new-to-me artists: Alpha Rev and Passenger. I cannot get enough. I find myself sitting and listening to the lyrics over and over again. Do the singers really mean the words they are singing to be taken literally or are the meanings deeper? I LOVE IT.

If you haven't already discovered one or either of these, definitely check them out!

Query/Submission Playlist

CAN YOU SAY, "EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER?"

Querying to find an agent or being on submission to editors can be simultaneously 

heart-wrenching and joyful.

Scary and liberating.

Puke-inducing and fulfilling.

To help you survive as you dig your way through the query trenches, searching for that perfect agent, or endure weeks of awaiting news from editors who love your characters like their own children, as you do, I've put together a playlist. This playlist echoes the emotional trauma I endured while I queried and 

am currently embracing *sarcasm* as I have a novel out on submission to editors.

1. Beautiful Day by U2 - because the day you send your finished, polished manuscript that you've labored over for hours over and poured your heart and soul into is, indeed, a BEAUTIFUL DAY!

2. Dragula by Rob Zombie - the first three words: Superstition, Fear, & Jealousy. You're freaked out. You wish upon a shooting star, cross your fingers, say a prayer, stick needles in a voo-doo doll, you do anything and everything to bring you and your manuscript good luck. You're scared. And those witches who get a major book deal on their first novel and only querying 5 agents suck. (Besides, it's Rob Zombie.)

3. Shake It Out by Florence + The Machine - "And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back, so shake him off." You have a lot to be happy about. You've finished a frickin' book! Stop pouting, shake that devil off, and dance!

4. Dancing Queen by ABBA - You are elated. You want to celebrate. You just want to dance and sing.

5. It's the End of the World As We Know it by REM - It hits you - what if your manuscript sucks? What if you have no talent what-so-ever and you've just been fooling yourself? It's the end of your world.

6. Swim Until You Can't See Land by Frightened Rabbit - No. Stop being a Debbie Downer. Just keep going. Stay the course. Don't give up.

7. Faith by George Michael - Because ya gotta have-a faith, faith, faith- ah!!! (Have faith in yourself and your work.)

8. Gogal by Gonzales - This song plays in my head as I'm staring at a blank wall. I'm numb to all emotion. It's all so overwhelming I try to shut if all off. I shut down.

9. Get Up! by by Korn (feat. Skrillex) - Shut the *@#% up, GET UP! What are you saying? Stop it. Get your $#*+ together.

10. Alcohol by Brad Paisley - Self explanatory. You've gotten to the point where you just need a stiff drink.

11. Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys - After a drink, you can conquer the world. Your book is going to break records, you are going to be famous. This girl (or guy) IS ON FIRE!!!

12. Up In the Air by Thirty Seconds to Mars - Your not quite so on fire. You realize exactly where you are. You're up in the air. "Up in the air, chasing a dream so real. I've been up in the air."

13. This Too Shall Pass by OK Go - This will be over at some point. Not just the searching for an agent or editor, but the feeling that you suck as a writer, that your dream will never come true. It will pass.

14. Just Say Yes by Snow Patrol - At the end of the day, you want one person to JUST SAY YES!

This is the emotional roller coaster one can feel while querying/on submission....

And that's just the first day!

Just hang in there though. You can do it. Cheerleader out, yo!