[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Gold in Them Thar Hills! Plus Links & YA Question

It's Wednesday again, and I did, in fact, get to go out for a drive to see the gorgeous aspens in all their fiery fall splendor.  Unfortunately, you have to pardon the haze in the background, as we still have smoke from the various fires around the northwest.  I hope for the end of fire season very soon, and hope everyone near the fires stays safe and gets relief soon.

Before I get to the photos, I'd like to put out a couple questions for discussion.  I've been added to a panel at the Author Fest on Friday, where we'll be discussing why YA is not just for young adults, but also enjoyable for adults.  I will be posting a few questions on this topic at the end, in the hopes of getting some feedback on why you enjoy YA, no matter your age.  I've never been on a panel before, and I'd like to have plenty of discussion points should we not get enough questions to fill the 45 minutes.

On to the aspens!  I thought about making this a two-parter since there were so many photos, but decided not to.  Hope you don't mind!

You should be able to click on them to make them bigger, if you'd like.

Now for the helpful links:

Blog Hops/Fests:

The Did I Notice Your Book Blog Fest, sponsored by Ciara Knight and Alex J. Cavanaugh, will occur on October 17.  I really like the idea behind this one, as it has to do with unexpectedly featuring another blogger's book to get the word out for them without them knowing ahead of time.

E.J. Wesley of The Open Vein is having the Bury the Hatchet Blog Fest.  You can participate any time between September 21 and October 19 by blogging about someone or something you'd like to bury a hatchet in.  There will be prizes, including a Nook Simple Touch E-Reader.

The Something Wicked This Way Comes Blog Hop and Giveaway, hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings and Babbling About Books, will be occurring throughout the month of October.  Every day host blogs will blog about paranormal and terrifying creatures, and every day those host blogs will giveaway a Halloween/horror related book.  Awesome undertaking!

Carrie Ann, of Carrie Ann's Blog Hops, has several ongoing blog hops throughout the year.  Her closest one will take place October 19-22: The Alpha Male Blog Hop.  The exact blog hop is a mystery, but it has to do with discussing why we love an alpha male.  Sounds steamy.

Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer is hosting the Fraterfest Read-A-Thon in honor of Rhiannon Frater and ghoulies that go bump in the night.  Between October 5 and October 8, set a goal of scary books you'll read and discuss what you've achieved.

Spooktoberfest, put on by Bouquest of Books and Entertaining Interests, will take place October 26 through October 29.  This is a spooky flash fiction fest, which requires 5 mandatory words to be in your piece.  Winners' pieces will be posted on Halloween, and they will receive a jumbo bag of the candy of their choice.  Mmmm.

The Ghosts and the Girls Who Love Them Blog Hop and Giveaway has already started, but you have until September 30 to sign up and participate.  This is a flash fiction hop with a fun grand prize winner.

Brenda Drake Writes is hosting the Elevator Pitch Blog Fest/Contest October 15-19.  Post a video of your elevator pitch to an agent.  Winners will be viewed by agents.

Giveaways:

Jeremy, of Retro Zombie fame, is having a giveaway when he reaches 500 followers.  Show him some love and you could win some great prizes!

Contests:

The South Wales Short Story Competition is ongoing and free to enter.  Deadline is November 9.  Open to unpublished UK writers.  Winners will be published in an anthology.

WOW-Women on Writing- is hosting a flash fiction contest.  Current deadline is November 30.  Entry fee is $10.  Optional critique available for an additional fee.  Cash prizes.

Miss Snark's First Victim is hosting the Annual Baker's Dozen Agent Auction.  You enter your piece, a specific number are chosen, and they are then placed on the auction block for a collection of agents to bid on.  There is a $10 entry fee.

Submissions Accepted:

Bibliophilic Blather is seeking submissions of horror/Halloween related flash fiction pieces for Fright Fest 2012.  Submit by September 30.  Winning pieces will appear on Flash Fiction Fridays.


Other:

The Muse Online Writers Conference is a free online conference being held in the first part of October.  I looked over the classes and there are some really interesting ones.  There are also pitch appointments, though it may be too late to sign up for those.

Pikes Peak Writers is accepting proposals for workshop classes for the 2013 Pikes Peak Writers Conference.  Find the submission form here.


That's all for today, folks!

Any links to share?  Do you have aspens?  Are trees turning in your area yet?  Do you read and enjoy YA?  Why about YA speaks to you?  What sets it apart from adult fiction for you?  Any favorite YA authors/books?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Signs of Fall & Linkies

Sorry for this being late, but I had internet/network issues last night and had to give up on fixing them after a couple hours of intense frustration.  Murg.

Today I have for you some signs of fall!  I love fall; it's my favorite season of the year.  My mood always improves as soon as that little touch of briskness hits the air.  The smells change, the sensations.  Love it!

Here are some photos taken of Garden of the Gods a couple days apart (in 2012, despite what my photos say, as I did this late and utterly frustrated and aggravated with the hope that I could get it thrown up in the A.M. and, therefore, failed to check the watermark year).  At the bottom of the photos, you can see some scrub that has started changing.  In fact, there was a difference just within those couple of days.  Day 1 was misty and drizzling.  Day 2 was sunny, but with a haze.  But hark, what is that?  Snow on the Peak!  Our first official snow on Pikes Peak definitely means fall is here.

Hubby and I have a date on Friday to drive into the mountains and see the aspens changing.  We had said date last week, but then he got sick.  Poor hubby.  I'm hoping to have some gorgeous photos for you next week.

Now, for the links.

Blog Challenge:

Jane Ann McLachlan is hosting the October Memoir and Backstory Blog Challenge, wherein she asks you to blog 25 days in October, starting on Day 1 at Year 1 of your life or your child's.  The point is to cover a year in the life for each of the 25 week days.  Do it as you please: write poetry, post photos, write about a character's life instead of yours.  Make it what you'd like.

Free Story Release:

Our own Andrew Leon of Strange Pegs is releasing Part 5 of his Shadow Spinner series for free on Friday.  Read up on Tiberius for free!  However, if you download the free portion, please be sure to leave a review once you've read it.

Fun Stuff:

The Steve Laube Agency did a post entitled "Even the Best Get Rejected," detailing rejections famous people received.  I was amused by the last two, as they were rejections Steve Laube had made for someone who hit it big with someone else.

Taking Submissions:

Harper Voyager is open for submissions from October 1 to 14th.  This is a small, but exciting window with their international imprint.  You do not have to be agented.

Other:

Promocave is a new platform building website for writers.  They are in Beta now, and are looking to sign up the first 100 who register.  It sounds like it could be interesting, but I don't know any more about it than is posted on their site.

Anything to share?  Are you seeing signs of fall around you?  Excited or sad to see summer go?

May you find your Muse.