A funny consequence of having a book coming out is that friends and family (and the occasional stranger on the internet) now come to me for advice on writing and publishing. It’s weird to give advice because I feel like I’m still learning these things myself. I don’t have an MFA – I literally just learned about the concept of negative capability this summer! But when I’m asked…
“It’s a black fly in your chardonnay. It’s a death row pardon two minutes too late.” Alanis Morissette was kind enough to give us many definitions of irony in 1995, and to those I would like to add, “It’s a jackhammer in your basement when you’re trying to write a blog post about writing through distractions.” We’re getting our house earthquake-retrofitted — a project that was initially supposed to take…
It’s finally here! Lyn Liao Butler’s cover for THE TIGER MOM’S TALE was released this week and it’s gorgeous! And make sure you sign up for Lyn’s newsletter so you don’t miss any updates. Elizabeth Gonzalez James’ cover for MONA AT SEA was also revealed this week at Vol.1 Brooklyn. Way to go Lyn and Elizabeth! Denny S. Bryce is interviewing Stacie Murphy, author of A DEADLY FORTUNE…
When writers talk about “world building” they mean more than just setting. Setting is where a story takes place. But a fictional world is setting, history, the special rules of that particular place, the people who inhabit that world, as well as the general tone or atmosphere that sort of floats over every page. The setting of the Harry Potter books is England, but in order to build her fictional…
I wrote last week about how I hadn’t planned on becoming a writer, and how writing was something I came to after being unemployed for a long time. So already my path to publication was a little longer and had more forking paths than some people. I completed the rough draft of my novel in about six months in 2011, and I spent the next four years first learning how…
This year, the 2021 Debs are going to do things a bit differently. I know you’re used to having a daily post from each Deb, but this year, Greta, Elizabeth, Ehsaneh, Denny and myself (Lyn) have decided to incorporate more interaction on Social Media. When The Debutante Ball was born in 2007, Instagram hadn’t been created. People weren’t on social media as much. Now, in 2020, so much happens on…
We hope you enjoyed getting to know our 2021 debs and the inspiration behind their novels! Ehsaneh Sadr’s debut novel, A DOOR BETWEEN US, released this week. You can watch an interview with Ehsaneh here, and order her fabulous book here. Greta Kelly, author of the forthcoming, THE FROZEN CROWN, will be participating in a sci-fi panel hosted by the California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA) Thursday, Sept….
I never planned on becoming a writer. What I actually wanted was an entry-level job in corporate finance. But when I graduated from the University of Kansas in December of 2008 with an MBA, the world looked very different than it had 18 months before when I started the program. Lehman Brothers had just collapsed. Countrywide imploded. General Motors needed a bailout to survive. And here I was with a…
Press Release – New Debutantes Take Over for 2021 “The Debutante Ball has introduced us to some of the best contemporary authors.” -WeHeartWriting.com For Immediate Release: August 31, 2020– Founded in 2006, The Debutante Ball celebrates the journey of five female debut authors on their paths to publication. Through discussions that range from craft and creativity to copy edits and cover designs—plus weekly guest posts by published authors—The Debutante…
