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 J.S. Dewes, author of THE LAST WATCH
This week’s interview is with J.S. Dewes whose debut novel, THE LAST WATCH (available 4/20!) is a fast-paced sci-fi adventure that has been described as The Expanse meets Game of Thrones. Below, Dewes talks about some of the strangest jobs she’s had, the books she read as a child, and what she’s most looking forward to with the release of her book (hint: get your painting sets ready!). Enjoy! J.S. DEWES…
[News Flash] April 5, 2021
A huge congratulations to Denny S. Bryce whose novel WILD WOMEN AND THE BLUES is out in the world! And check out Denny’s interview with Elizabeth, up now on the Debutante Ball Instagram page. Author, Marjan Kamali, included A DOOR BETWEEN US by Ehsaneh Sadr in her reading roundup this week at WGBH Boston. THE FROZEN CROWN by Greta Kelly is one of Buzzfeed’s picks for SFF books with…
My Author Brand is Bloopers
When I first signed with my agent, Rachel Brooks of Bookends, she made a comment about my “brand,” and how my Book 2 is right on brand. I was so surprised. I had a brand? That was news to me! But apparently, I do. For my adult books, my author brand was family drama, secrets and lies, and someone always dies. And that is certainly true for my debut novel,…
[News Flash] March 29, 2021
Thanks to Leila Rafei for chatting with us this week about her novel, SPRING. Join Laila on May 26 when she will be reading with the Guerrilla Lit Reading Series. More details here. And congratulations to Denny S. Bryce, whose novel WILD WOMEN AND THE BLUES is coming out tomorrow March 30th!! Join her tomorrow night at 7pm EST for her launch party, including jazz-age decadence, prizes, and more! …
Hemingway, Proust, and the Authorial Brand
Sooner or later every aspiring author is going to be told that they need to work on building their brand, improving their platform, increasing their presence. I grate at these terms. I don’t like to think of myself as a brand. I’m a person. I have a personality. I have interests and quirks and an aesthetic and a manner of speaking, and these things transmit through my writing and my…
Interview with Leila Rafei, author of SPRING
I’m so excited about this week’s interview with Leila Rafei because I simply loved the real, flawed, and beautiful characters and storylines in her debut, SPRING that came out in August 2020. Below, Leila talks about the research she did for the book, how she’s dealing with writer’s block, and her next big project. Enjoy! LEILA Leila Rafei is an Iranian American author who was born and raised in…
Author Branding: One Author’s Journey of Failing at Instagram
One of the things that new writers hear about all the time is the need to find a brand. As if authors are breakfast cereals that can be boiled down to zingy catchphrases like ‘delicious and nutritious’ or ‘heart-healthy.’ Not gonna lie, the idea of defining my author brand was the stuff of nightmares. But it was a nightmare I knew I’d have to face… someday. Well that someday came…
[News Flash] March 22, 2021
Many thanks to Liv Arnold for talking with us this week about her novel, ETCHED IN STONE. Read the full interview here! And congratulations to Greta Kelly! She revealed the cover today for her second book, THE SEVENTH QUEEN. We can’t wait to read it! Did you know that Lyn Liao Butler has been putting the finishing touches on THE TIGER MOM’S TALE from Kauai for the last 2…
Self-Promotion, Branding, and the Bicycle Book Tour!
If you’re looking for some real pro tips on author branding and promotion, I’m going to point you to Lainey Cameron who has some of the best advice out there. I especially recommend the panel she moderated at AWP 2021 called Debuting During a Disaster with four other incredible authors and marketing geniuses including Lisa Braxton (a Former Debutante!), Eddy Boudel Tan, Barbara Conrey, and Linda Rosen. As for me,…
Interview with Liv Arnold, author of ETCHED IN STONE
This week’s interview is with Liv Arnold whose romance, ETCHED IN STONE came out in February 2020. Below, Liv talks about her dreams of flying, her job promoting shavers, the time she called the cops on herself, and a special skill she’s never learned. Enjoy! ABOUT LIV Liv Arnold has worked as a copywriter for several global companies and now runs her own freelance business. She grew up in…
