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…
[News Flash] December 16, 2018
Thank you so much to yesterday’s guest, Wendy Heard! If you haven’t already, enter the #DebBallGiveaway to win a copy of Hunting Annabelle. You can enter by sharing our post on Facebook and/or retweeting the following tweet (make sure you follow @DebutanteBall on Twitter too!): So psyched to feature #PitchWars mentor + @UnlikeableFCPod host & all-around fave person @wendydheard this week on @DebutanteBall! RT & follow for a chance to win…
Interview with Wendy Heard and Hunting Annabelle Giveaway
Thrilled to welcome Wendy Heard to the Deb Ball this week! Wendy Heard is an author of psychological thrillers. She was born in San Francisco but has spent most of her life in Los Angeles, which is on fire more than she would honestly prefer. When not writing, she can be found haunting local bookstores, hiking the Griffith Park trails, and (apparently) writing about herself in the third person. You…
Blogs and podcasts and everything nice
Over the years, I’ve read a number of books on writing, and I can highly recommend the following (and I have no doubt most of you will have heard of all of them already): Stephen King’s On Writing, Natalie Goldberg’s Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life, Anne Lammott’s Bird By Bird. I don’t…
How to Find Inspiration Anywhere (& a new short story!)
This week, Barrelhouse featured my short story “Urban Legend” in their seasonal issue. I’ve pasted the first paragraph below: It was the week of her performance review, and Adrienne was ready for a promotion. That Monday morning, at the 12th Street Gym, all the lockers in use were fastened with locks. When she joined months ago, they told her she could buy one at any hardware store, but Adrienne had…
My Writing Library
I’ve been waiting for this week on the Debutante Ball! I love to read craft books. They’re not a substitute for actually doing the work of course, but I turn to them whenever I need an extra boost or perspective shift. In no particular order, here are my current favorites: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott – This book taught me about shitty first drafts, and without Anne’s wise words on…
Attacus Atlas & Other Inventions: Go-To Books, Podcasts, Blogs
It’s that time of year, when we resolve to do better when we change out the wall calendar in a few weeks time. No matter which book you pick up and how many exercises you skim and skip, just remember one thing: you have to write. Preferably for a little bit every day. Here are a few podcasts, blogs, books that may interest you: My favorites remain…
Two Blogs and a Podcast: My Favorite Writing Resources
I started to take writing more seriously sometime in 2012. Between making daily writing goals and setting timetables for when I’d get drafts done, I decided it was finally time to read a few craft books. Of the dozen or so I borrowed from the library, Stephen King’s On Writing and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird were the only ones I read all the way through, and Bird by Bird was the only one I actually…
[News Flash] December 9, 2018
Thank you so much to yesterday’s guest, Stephanie Elliott! If you haven’t already, enter the #DebBallGiveaway to win a copy of Sad Perfect. You can enter by sharing our post on Facebook and/or retweeting the following tweet (make sure you follow @DebutanteBall on Twitter too!): So excited to talk to @stephanieelliot this week about her beautiful YA novel SAD PERFECT, called “a well-written page-turner whose sensitive topic is covered with finesse…
Interview & Giveaway with Stephanie Elliott, Author of SAD PERFECT
This week, we’re speaking with Stephanie Elliot, the author of young adult novel SAD PERFECT (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). SAD PERFECT tells the story of sixteen year old Pea, who struggles with a little known eating disorder known as Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). The novel was in part inspired by Elliot’s daughter’s real-life experience with the disorder. Called “a well-written page-turner whose sensitive topic is covered with finesse and grace”…
What John Steinbeck Said That Helped Me
I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit—John Steinbeck I spent my blog post last week advising everyone not to pay too much attention to writing advice. I guess it…
