The Black Hour

News Flash: Best Sellers, Giveaways, Writer’s Digest and Meet-Ups

Sunday, August 3, 2014
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Congrats to Marci & Sharon, who won copies of DESOLATION ROW from Kay Kendall!   From the 2014 Debs… Heather Webb is so excited! She hired an artist—her former high school student who is now a professional artist—to do charcoal renditions of Camille Claudel’s works for her novel RODIN’S LOVER. (Photo rights were astronomically expensive and impossible to obtain) They’re utterly gorgeous—completely breathtaking! She can’t wait to share them! Lisa Alber is…

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Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: “The Syndrome”

Monday, July 28, 2014
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A comedy in one act. *** LORI RADER-DAY, a writer getting ready for her debut novel launch party, sits at her computer in pajamas and unkempt hair. A long list of things to-do rests at her side. She opens the document where the calendar of Debutante Ball topics are listed. She hums softly to self, scrolling through the list. LORI: What the—? CLOSE UP of laptop screen. The screen reads…

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News Flash: Romance Writers, Hometown Libraries, Yahoo She and Book Festivals

Sunday, July 27, 2014
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Congrats to Ronna, who won a signed copy of BLADE OF THE SAMURAI from Susan Spann!   From the 2014 Debs… Natalia Sylvester did an interview with the Los Angeles Review of Books, in which CHASING THE SUN was described as “an important and moving addition to the literature chronicling the brutality suffered by Peruvians during President Fujimori’s decade in office.” Also, she got some pictures from her Univision appearance last week!…

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#sorrynotsorry

Monday, July 21, 2014
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The truth about guilty pleasures is that I don’t really believe in guilty pleasures. I believe in PLEASURES. I just don’t believe I should feel any guilt about them. That being said, there a few things maybe I could be a little embarrassed by, if I wanted to. My love for the Goonies. I’ve seen it over 200 times, easily. My feelings about this chocolate bar. This flavor, specifically, is…

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Barely Able to Write a Post About Not Writing About…You Know

Monday, July 14, 2014
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A while back I talked about how my friend and first reader Yvonne saved my book by wondering what the heck two of my characters were so mad about. I knew what they were mad about, and my characters knew. But I hadn’t been—explicit about the reason. Because the reason was, uh, explicit. I added the scene I hadn’t wanted to write, and all was well. Nothing to see here….

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News Flash: Debut Launch, Book Events, Edits, and Perfect Drinks

Sunday, July 13, 2014
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Congrats to Larry, who won a signed copy of GRAND CENTRAL from Erica Robuck and Alyson Richman! From the 2014 Debs… Lori Rader-Day sends you all a postcard from New York City, from Thrillerfest, and from the other side of her launch date. This has been one crazy adventure, launching THE BLACK HOUR. Thanks to the Debs and to all of you for everything! Susan Gloss is eyeball-deep in edits on her…

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Characters, Surprises, Happiness, Advice: Lori Rader-Day Sits in the Guest Chair to Launch THE BLACK HOUR + GIVEAWAY

Saturday, July 12, 2014
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So here I am in the red Deb Ball chair. Putting up my Chucks. (I always sit cross-legged, like a five-year-old.) Comfy. Are we allowed wine in the chair? Why not, right. Might as well celebrate. This week has been the culmination of so many years of dreaming (and then finally doing something about it). A lifetime. I’ll get to the questions my fellow Debs have selected for me in…

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THE BLACK HOUR by Lori Rader-Day Is An Amazing Mystery Too

Friday, July 11, 2014
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I love the posts about Lori’s THE BLACK HOUR this week. Natalia, Susan, and Heather have said everything I was thinking about this wonderful novel. In fact, I was hard pressed to come up with a unique topic. My issue — which is a non-issue — is that I read The Black Hour straight through, my critical brain on hiatus because I enjoyed the story that much. As a result,…

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Sometimes Craft Trumps All & The Black Hour More than Delivers

Thursday, July 10, 2014
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I finished reading The Black Hour last weekend, yet it still clings to me. I could philosophize about the violence that has gripped our country (because Lori did a brilliant job capturing this sentiment), or the fascinating mystery set to the backdrop of an environment I still hold near and dear–the college campus, or even the many questions that arise in the narrative about what it means to lose something…

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No Ping Pong Here: Dual Points of View in The Black Hour

Wednesday, July 9, 2014
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Tackling more than one point of view is a difficult thing to do well, for any author. It’s especially difficult for a debut author. And when the points of view are of opposite genders… well, let’s just say that a first-time novelist might be biting off more than she can chew, getting in over her head, or [insert other cliche here]. You get the point. Deb Lori Rader-Day took on…

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