Mind-blowing Overhaul

Last week, I promised you a BIG announcement. You better sit down.

"Nah." You shake your head. "Bret...you're being over dramatic...again."

Suit yourself. Can't say you weren't warned.

Come Monday, the YA Muses is getting a mind-blowing overhaul.

"What do you mean?! Mind-blowing??" You stumble to the nearest chair.

You shoulda sat when I told ya. Allow me to explain...

First--and most exciting--there'll be NEW MUSES. That's right. New voices. New perspectives. New support and insight. A whole new set of Muses.

"Who are these New Muses?" You lean forward.

Now what fun would it be if I just TOLD you?

Each of us "original" Muses will be introducing a new Muse next week.  So you'll have to check back each day to meet them.

You peer at me through the corner of your eye. "How'd you pick these New Muses?"

These new folks are just plain awesome and were selected based on a number of factors. They're all committed to the craft, business, and community of children's book writing. They all have unique voices and perspectives. They all understand the beauty and the beast that writing can be. And they're all in a similar place, career-wise, as where the Original Muses were at the inception of this blog. Some of them you may remember from guest blogs. You may follow some of their personal blogs. Some may be strangers (for now). Either way, we're thrilled (and hope you'll be too) that they agreed to lend their voices and minds to the Muses' community.

"C'mon, just tell me who they are."

Sorry. Like I said, you're just going to have to visit next week to meet them. 

"What happens to you, Donna, Katherine, Talia, and Veronica?" You ask, sweat beading on your forehead.

Now, you won't be getting rid of the Original Muses that easy. Instead, we will be alternating weeks with the New Muses. That aspect of the format remains the same. You'll be stuck with me on Friday...just every other Friday. And a New Muse handles the alternate weeks.

"Will there still be a weekly theme?" You wring your hands.

The theme of the week format will stay, though the theme now stretches over two weeks as to let all the Muses weigh in.

"Whew, Bret," you say, starting to stand again. "That is quite a change."

That's not all.

"Huh?" You butt slams back down on the chair.

Along with the New Muses, we are going to have a sleek new look on Monday too. One that will have easy to navigate tabs on top with links to a calendar, bio page, book list, etc.

The addition I'm most pumped about is The Archives tab. There you'll be able to click a number of handy dandy topics (Plot, Business, Character, Life, etc.) and it'll send you to all of our related posts from the archives.

"Enough with the changes!" You shake a fist at me, though I see your grin of anticipation.

Ok. Ok. Ok. That's it. For now.  

And while there may be a new look and new voices, the YA Muses will always  strive to be a positive and supportive community of children's book authors discussing craft, publishing, books, and life.

We hug.