Today, I want to talk about Layne Fargo’s TEMPER, a book that came out just a few days ago and has already set my summer on fire. I usually stick to literary fiction, and I’ve read some popular psychological thrillers years ago like GONE GIRL and GIRL ON THE TRAIN and LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE. I liked those books, but Layne’s book, which is filled with complex yet totally relatable…
This week, I am very excited to welcome Loan Le to the Debutante Ball! Loan is a good friend, a fantastic writer, and a superb editor, and her upcoming book A PHO LOVE STORY is out in 2020. A PHO LOVE STORY is Loan’s debut novel, a YA romantic comedy about two Vietnamese-American teens who fall in love and must navigate their newfound relationship even as it causes an uproar…
Today, we are talking about the authors we’re fangirling over in June! Below are the books that are currently on my bookshelf. These three authors are all fabulous, and I highly recommend you buy each of their books! You can do it! It’s only three! GINGERBREAD By Helen Oyeyemi Helen Oyeyemi’s work is weird and twisted and brilliant, and I’m thoroughly enjoying her latest novel filled with gingerbread, dolls, and…
I’ve moved around a lot in the past decade, and I’ve had to cull my writing friends from a number of different sources. The first time I joined an actual writing group was when I moved to the outskirts of Philadelphia and found one through Meetup that was only a few minutes from my children’s school. In many ways, Just Write changed my life. I had started a…
Aloha! Unlike the family you’re born into, your writing community is comprised of humans of your own choice. I’ve been so lucky in this regard, I’ve made so many great friends along the journey of becoming a published poet and novelist. It was not quick nor easy, finding these chosen family members. Yet these people have become my lifeline, and those friendships have sustained me during some dark years. Since…
The Debutante Ball is looking for a new cohort of authors to take the reins on this blog for next year! If you are a woman/non-binary author and you have a book coming out in 2020, you should definitely consider applying. Blogging about your experience publishing a book is not only a great practice in writing consistently, it’s also a wonderful chance to share what it’s like to put a…
I’m not usually one for “beach reads.” I mean, I’m always reading, but I also would almost always prefer a big, heavy, literary tome to something light and funny. I see no problem with sobbing over the ending of Anna Karenina while sipping a Mai Tai on vacation. When I was eleven, I took on the task of reading The Executioner’s Song because I was looking for something…
Looking to write a book? Here are some places I recommend you check out. While the offices for the following schools are based in New York City, I think they all offer online courses, so you can be based anywhere and still get a great writerly education! Sackett Street Writers Workshop – I took a novel generating course here and I am so glad I did! The course I took…
It’s been a long time since I’ve been here, sadly, and it seems very relevant that we’ll be talking about time this week, given that I’ve spent so little of it here. I just came back from a nice, eight-night-vacation far away from New York, and it was only after disconnecting from all the apps and emails and browsers (not entirely willingly–I had zero cell phone service in the woods…
Aloha. I started writing poetry when I was nine years old. I remember writing in bursts. I had a wonderful teacher that year, and she was encouraging us to write beyond what the class assignments required us to do for the poetry unit. I first learned about haiku and sonnets and I was hooked! I wrote anywhere and anytime, and on any surface — from napkins to spiral notebooks. By…
