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…
Interview with Denise Williams, author of HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING
I’m absolutely thrilled to be doing this week’s interview with Denise Williams, author of the much anticipated HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING, which is romance at its swooning, heart-pounding, toe-curling best! Below, Denise shares what she’s most looking forward to with the release of her book, tells us about the story behind her title, and explains why a future novel will definitely include a haunted house. Enjoy! ABOUT DENISE…
Ode to Liane Moriarty
My family moved to the United States from Taiwan when I was seven. To help us learn English, my mom used to take my sister and I to the library and that’s where my love of reading started. I couldn’t get enough of books. I read any and everything, regardless of subject matter or genre. I plowed through books like the Cam Jansen series, Encyclopedia Brown, and then eventually the…
[News Flash] November 30, 2020
Lyn Liao Butler recorded her first podcast interview with Not As Crazy As You Think. Releasing December 2nd, she and host Jennifer Gaita Siciliano talk about THE TIGER MOM’S TALE, and lots more! Greta Kelly will be in conversation with Sasha Laurens TODAY at 3pm CST at our Instagram channel. Laurens is the author of A WICKED MAGIC, and the two women will talk witches, magic, writing, and more! Ehsaneh…
Interview with Heather Chaves, author of NO BAD DEED
This week’s interview is with Heather Chavez, whose thriller NO BAD DEED tells the suspenseful story of a woman who’s husband has gone missing and who is trying desperately to protect her family from a deadly stalker. Below, Heather shares secrets about her main character, her proudest writing moments, her daughter’s sweet reaction to her book deal, and about that time she went on Oprah! Thanks for joining us Heather!…
Tips for Navigating the NaNo Blues
We’re sharing our best writing tips this month here on The Debutante Ball, and since this happens to coincide with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo for short), I thought I’d tailor my advice for the NaNo folks out there. November is quickly running out and for many writers it’s make or break time. So what do you do if you still have 10-20k left on your word count…
[News Flash] November 22, 2020
Jody A. Forrester joined us this week to talk about her memoir, GUNS UNDER THE BED. Read the full interview here. Thank you to Eliza Nellums who took over our Instagram on Monday and shared a little about her debut novel, ALL THAT’S BRIGHT AND GONE. And Tor.com shared an excerpt (as well as the map) from Greta Kelly’s fantasy novel, THE FROZEN CROWN on their website. Read Denny…
Finding Your People: A guide for new writers
A funny consequence of having a book coming out is that friends and family (and the occasional stranger on the internet) now come to me for advice on writing and publishing. It’s weird to give advice because I feel like I’m still learning these things myself. I don’t have an MFA – I literally just learned about the concept of negative capability this summer! But when I’m asked…
Interview with Jody A. Forrester, author of GUNS UNDER THE BED
I’m so excited for this week’s interview with Jody A. Forrester, whose memoir GUNS UNDER THE BED tells of her transition in the late sixties from love child to peaceful Vietnam War protester to joining a communist organization whose ideology embraced violence against the ruling class! Read below for more about Jody’s incredible background, the story behind her book’s startling title, and her path toward writing. Thank you Jody! …
Writing Tips for Writers: Sure, I Have A Few!
Hello Friends, I’m here today writing about tips for writers. I am the social media maven for The Debutante Ball this year and lead a team of 2021 debut authors on our Instagram account. One of the things I/we focus on is creating attractive visuals. We want to snare attention from those who use and enjoy social media, especially those folks who see social media as a means to find…
[News Flash] November 15, 2020
Thank you to Vanessa Riley for joining us this week to talk about her new novel, AN EARL, THE GIRL, AND A TODDLER. Her latest book is part of the Rogues and Remarkable Women series from Kensington. The blurbs are coming in for Elizabeth Gonzalez James’ novel, MONA AT SEA, available for preorder now! Denny S. Bryce’s novel WILD WOMEN AND THE BLUES reached the top 100 on the…
