As you might have noticed, I have added some sidebar graphics for the short stories Tyson’s Corner, The Chameleon Missive, and The Dun Cat of Mill Bridge, as well as a new graphic to add mood to the master page for all of the Observer Tales.

I will probably work something up for Reading Cats, too.

And, before we get to the main links, two contest announcements:

♦ First up, in honor of the release of Rock Paper Tiger, Nathan Bransford announces a contest to (in his words) “write the most compelling chase and/or action and/or suspenseful sequence. It may be something you have written for the purpose of the contest or from a work in progress.”  The prizes?  Hey, I didn’t put that link up there for nothing!  Go, go!

♦ Rachelle Gardner also announces a combination contest and exercise, to write a one-sentence summary of your book.

Now, on to the (other) links!

♦ Author/agent Lucienne Diver confesses to suffering from Writer’s Syndrome: constantly creating conversations and scenarios in one’s head.  (I also “suffer” from this.)

From BookEnds LLC:
♦ Intern Lauren lets you in on how she first reads your manuscript,
♦ while agent Jessica tells you when it’s time for a new agent, and breaks down the 61 emails in her query inbox.

From Dystel & Goderich:
♦ Jim asks whether knock-offs of popular titles (like The Da Vinci Code or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) are just a “gimmick that gets old after the first time,”
♦ Jessica discusses the business passion of book publishing,
♦ Jane ponders just how relevant Book Expo America is, and
♦ Chasya engages D&G readers on the subject of works that retell previous stories.