All I know about real debutantes I learned from reading Susan McBride’s yummy YA series The Debs, and from one episode of the O.C. where a hapless and suddenly destitute Mischa Barton dons a white dress and a fight breaks out over her father’s embezzling. It’s a pretty good episode, actually. (You’ve got to skip to the end for the white dresses and drama. But then you may miss out…
Now that we’ve chosen our lovely new class of debs and are getting close to handing them the reins/reigns, I have a terrible case of senioritis. We’ve all debuted, the cotillion was glorious, my pristine white frock fit fine, my tiara was nice and shiny and I didn’t tumble over forward during my big curtsy. So. Who exactly is going to keep me from jumping into the lake in my…
This week’s topic is all about what you (and I) don’t know. And no wonder it’s a topic of conversation for writers. If it weren’t for what I don’t know, writing and reading wouldn’t hold nearly the charm they do for me. I find not knowing something–how a sweepstakes works, how to make a forced out in baseball, how to shuck an oyster–the most inspiring part of writing. Of course…
So, Deb Kerry talked about not enjoying the process of writing endings in this week’s post, and Dana’s mentioned that too now. Well, guess what–I love it. My first drafts tend to be super-short, so writing endings feels a little like rolling down a hill. With a huge boulder right on my tail, Indiana Jones style. I’m writing like mad away from all the plot threads I know I’ll have…
I hope you all read Deb Dana’s post (scroll down one). Among other things I was nodding my head about (crazy pre-baby expectations anyone?) I totally agree with her about the navel-gazing, stare out the window, think about nothing time being some of the most important writing time I used to have–and don’t really have anymore. There’s one thing I do in my job as a writer she didn’t mention…
Have you heard the news? It’s Deb Susan’s launch week! Claws of the Cat hit the stands yesterday, and Shinobi Mania starts today. What the bleep is a shinobi, you ask? Yeah, been there. Until I read CLAWS OF THE CAT. Now I know that Ninja, that word with the awesomest of connotations, is actually a Chinese-influenced translation of Japanese characters. (Susan, did I get that right? Boy am I…
We are honored to have New York Times bestselling author Meg Waite Clayton visiting us today, sharing with us a tasty morsel from her new release, The Wednesday Daughters, a long awaited sequel to the book club favorite The Wednesday Sisters, available July 16th. A finalist for Barbara Kingsolver’s Bellwether Prize (now the PEN/Bellwether), her books have been translated into languages from German to Lithuanian to Chinese. She’s written for…
I have been waiting all year for my turn to take the Deb Interview! It’s finally here. The book is finally out, and I am, like magic, a real author. An author who gives interviews. Including this one, which I’ve asked of so many wonderful authors over the last year. And now it’s my turn. It’s just… it’s all so amazing. This week has been better than I could have…
I’ve often joked that the worst part of being a writer is letting people read your work. For a long time I didn’t let anyone have it, and then when it became apparent that the only way to get paid for your writing was to let other people actually gaze upon it, and worse, that those gazers would, possibly, tell you what they actually thought of it, I gave my…
Don’t read too much into this but there are no dads in my books so far. They aren’t bad or absentee or off at work. They just don’t exist. In THE GOOD LUCK GIRLS OF SHIPWRECK LANE the two main characters, Janey and Nean, are both fatherless from day one, don’t know who their dads are, don’t give it much thought on the page. Sure, there is a whole prequel…
