MJ Greenway

When I need a break from writing, I bake! We have peaches on our tree and frozen berries. This is the perfect recipe for using both. Versions of this recipe are all over the internet. This is my version that is tweaked a little to use less cake mix to make it more of a crumble than a cake. Here is the recipe: Peach/Berry Cobbler Grease 8X8 pan 3-4 cups of fresh or frozen peaches and berries 1 1/4 cups of yellow cake mix 1/4 cup of melted butter Put the fruit in the pan and sprinkle the cake mix over the top. Drizzle the butter over the top of the cake mix. Bake for 45 minutes at 375. If you have super tart fruit, like blackberries, feel free to toss them with sugar before adding the topping. I find peaches are sweet enough and don't need the added sugar. We like to serve it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Bon Apetit!

I'm thrilled to announce that my debut contemporary romance novel DATING MAGGIE will be published by  Limitless Publishing . A few days ago I signed my contract! It was such exciting news to find a publisher willing to take a chance on my first novel. I'm also so grateful to my beta readers (Nicole and Debbie) for helping me with edits along the way.  I will post updates as I learn more about my next step in the publishing process. Woohoo!

Amber and I met in college. Our common interests have included college theatre department rebellion, living abroad, creative urban dwelling and writing. She's one of the most talented writers I've encountered. Her writing is compelling, emotionally raw, it's simply spell-binding. She's just published her novel, Reaching Prague and will soon have her second title, How the fat girl got thin published. If you're in the market for a sweet spring read, check out the synopsis and the link to her website below: Reaching Prague is a darkly psychological tale of adultery set in contemporary Prague. Betrayed by her husband, Sarah Billings flees to Prague in an effort to cope his duplicity and to figure out the rest of her life. In Prague she meets Mikul, a handsome bar owner with mafia ties, who at first seems to be exactly what she needs. Soon they are conducting an illicit affair filled with erotic tension, painful awakenings and looming violence. Slo

Here's a fun info-graphic list of six word stories   I took a stab at one, here it is: Summer end, I'm ready for fall!

Yesterday I just participated in #pit2pub, a Twitter pitch fest where publishers hop on and favorite book pitches that they'd like to see. This is my third time pitching via Twitter and it's kind of fun and nerve wracking. I was thrilled to get some favorites and submitted a to a few more publishers. Now the wait begins again. In addition to connecting with publishers and agents, the Twitter contests seem to be a good way to connect with other writers. I found out about these contests through Heather Ayris Burnell's Facebook Group, Sub it Club. It's been an amazing resource. She recently wrote an article about platform building for writers. It was helpful to me as I'm learning how to do this while submitting my manuscript. Here's the link to her article: The Push and Pull of Platform by Heather Ayris Burnell

We just took our family to see Inside Out . It made me think a lot about plot and conflict. This film is has an intriguing premise. However, it seemed that there were too many conflicts piled on and the high concept-ness was almost too much. The funniest moment was seeing inside the head of the girl's father and mother. Now a movie just about that is one I'd like to see! Here's a trailer:

This was an interesting article I found about why rejections sometimes come as form letters. It is written from the prospective of an agent. She receives over 500 queries a week. Reading it made me glad that I don't work as an agent, that's a lot of queries! Read the full article here: Anatomy of a Query Letter .