The Debutante Ball, established in 2007, is a group blog for authors making their debut in the literary world. We are now in our twelfth season of celebrating up-and-coming authors. Former Debs include bestsellers in the genres of women’s fiction, mystery, literary fiction, nonfiction, young adult, and more. Click on any of the photos above to learn about The Debutante Ball Class of 2019 and their books. Read about the bestselling…
Giveaway Alert!
September 19, 2020 A winner has been chosen for Ehsaneh Sadr’s wonderful new book A Door Between Us. If you missed her interview, be sure to follow this link to catch up! If you missed out on the giveaway, but still want to know more about MUSICAL CHAIRS, what Ausma Zehanat Kahn, author of Among ruins calls “A deeply compelling story about the struggle for democracy in Iran. The broken dreams of a generation…
The 3Ps of my Publishing Journey: Partners, Polishing, and Patience
Thanks so much for stopping by the Deb Ball! This time we’re talking about our paths to publication. Join in the conversation by sharing where you’re at on your own path. Do you have dreams of writing but are having trouble putting pen to paper? Do you already have several full novels written but are struggling to find an agent? Are you somewhere in between? We hope you’ll find some…
Interview with Anita Kushwaha, author of SECRET LIVES OF MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS
We are thrilled to welcome Anita Kushwaha to The Debutant Ball this week! SECRET LIVES has been described as “a breathtaking novel about the ties that bind mothers and daughters together and the secrets that tear them apart.” Read below about her advice for her younger self, how she deals with writer’s block, upcoming projects, and more! Share or comment below for a chance to win a copy of her…
The Road to Publication is Paved with Vampires, Witches, and Romance!
Think of this as a slide show. One of those old-school slide shows that happen during trips to family or friends on a holiday, and they pull out the photos from their latest trip–well, that’s what’s about to happen here so settle in, relax, and enjoy the ride. It is almost painful to look back at my path to publication. Not because it was literally painful, but part of the…
[News Flash] September 13, 2020
We hope you enjoyed our first interview of the 2020 – 2021 season, Eddy Boudel Tan talking about his forthcoming novel, AFTER ELIAS, which is available for purchase right now! Denny S. Bryce is a co-mentor in this year’s Pitch Wars and her wishlist is live right now. Pitch Wars is a mentoring program where published or agented authors, editors, and industry professionals choose a writer and guide them…
My path to publication: A comedy of failures
I wrote last week about how I hadn’t planned on becoming a writer, and how writing was something I came to after being unemployed for a long time. So already my path to publication was a little longer and had more forking paths than some people. I completed the rough draft of my novel in about six months in 2011, and I spent the next four years first learning how…
Interview with Eddy Boudel Tan, author of AFTER ELIAS
Eddy Boudel Tan is our first guest to kick off this new Deb year and I am so thrilled to have him!! Eddy is the author of AFTER ELIAS which is a heart-wrenching story of loss and growth and resilience. I’m about halfway through and am just loving it. Eddy’s book comes out this Saturday, September 12th so be sure to pre-order now! ABOUT EDDY: Eddy Boudel Tan is…
Lyn’s Path to Publication
I started writing my first novel on January 1, 2015. I finished that book in June of 2015 and immediately started querying. No one but me had read it. No betas, critique partners, husbands (I only have one), dogs or friends. Somehow, I thought I had written a best seller and I would sell it immediately. When no agents requested from my queries, I started googling “how to get an…
New Year, New Format
This year, the 2021 Debs are going to do things a bit differently. I know you’re used to having a daily post from each Deb, but this year, Greta, Elizabeth, Ehsaneh, Denny and myself (Lyn) have decided to incorporate more interaction on Social Media. When The Debutante Ball was born in 2007, Instagram hadn’t been created. People weren’t on social media as much. Now, in 2020, so much happens on…
[News Flash] September 6, 2020
We hope you enjoyed getting to know our 2021 debs and the inspiration behind their novels! Ehsaneh Sadr’s debut novel, A DOOR BETWEEN US, released this week. You can watch an interview with Ehsaneh here, and order her fabulous book here. Greta Kelly, author of the forthcoming, THE FROZEN CROWN, will be participating in a sci-fi panel hosted by the California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA) Thursday, Sept….
