Writing a career bucket list seems in direct opposition to my New Year’s Resolution to take one thing at a time. But, I’m nothing if not a rule-follower, and my assigned topic this week is a bucket list, so here we go. It’s a writer’s dream: I’d like to buy a fancy new dress in order to attend a Hollywood party celebrating the successful adaptation of my work. Let’s take…
For years I dreamed of writing a book and getting it published. Now that I’m only months away from publication, I’ve been dreaming about my wish list for my debut year. Some items on the list are pure fantasy. Some others might actually happen. Getting The Talking Drum reviewed in the New York Times Sunday books section—No elaboration needed Winning The Boston Authors Club Julia Ward Howe Prize—The prize, named…
If you haven’t already, enter the #DebBallGiveaway to win a copy of THE ENVY OF PARADISE BY Jocelyn Cullity @JocelynCullity @InannaPub! You can enter by sharing our post on Facebook and/or retweeting the following tweet (make sure you follow @DebutanteBall on Twitter too!) Interview and Book Giveaway: Jocelyn Cullity, Author of The Envy of Paradise @DebutanteBall #ClassOf2020 #guest #author #giveway News from the Class of 2020 Debs: Lisa Braxton is…
I am pleased to introduce Jocelyn Cullity to the Debutante Ball this week! Jocelyn Cullity’s English family lived in India for five generations. A sequel to the award-winning Amah & the Silk-Winged Pigeons, her second novel about the takeover of India by Britain is an exquisitely told tale of 19th-century India—a deep rendering of the moment that India as a country was colonized; a brilliant illustration of Hazrat Mahal’s fearless…
In 2020 I’m looking forward to reading The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President’s Black Family, by Bettye Kearse, MD. I met Dr. Kearse, a retired pediatrician, a couple of years ago after we both had essays featured in the anthology, Black Lives Have Always Mattered, published by 2Leaf Press. She and I gave readings together at Porter Square Books and were featured panelists on Boston Neighborhood Network….
We’re talking about the hardest part of being a writer this week. But all things considered, being a writer isn’t particularly hard, at least compared to the other jobs I’ve had. In contrast, the challenges in teaching are myriad (and well documented, may I say, in Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes, out in just twenty-seven (!!OMG!!) days from Berkley). I miss a lot of things about teaching–daily interactions with my…
I am thrilled to welcome Molly Greeley to the Ball this week! I met Molly virtually in an online group for debut authors, and she strikes me as kind, genuine, and hardworking. Follow her on Instagram for a sneak peek at the writing life alongside three children, a couple of cats, and whole lotta Jane Austen enthusiasm. Her novel, THE CLERGYMAN’S WIFE has many rave reviews, but I especially like…
Yesterday, Lisa wrote about how she doesn’t do New Year’s Resolutions. I’m the opposite. I’m usually 100% all in on resolutions. I’m also in on relentless self-improvement, overwhelming workout plans, and just-in-general pushing of myself. This year, though, I’m going to chill. Ok, but I’m looking at that sentence now and thinking “chill” seems like a weird and sort of inadequate resolution. In fact, I’m declaring right now that it’s…
I’ve never been interested in making New Year’s resolutions, resolving at the end of the year to change an undesirable behavior or characteristic beginning on January 1st. I’d much rather review goals and accomplishments that are ongoing and tweak and fine tune them where needed. My writing goals for the upcoming months include: Spending extensive time working on my second novel. Life was so busy for me this year with…
I’ve been scanning the lists popping up recently of favorite books of the decade. I can’t do a full decade because I didn’t “reclaim my reading life” and resolve to read 52 books per year until 2014. But, since then, I’ve been recapping my reading in a series of year-end blog posts. I thought it would be fun this week to choose the five novels from my own personal “best”…
