Debutante Ball

[News Flash] December 8, 2019

Sunday, December 8, 2019
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Thank you so much to yesterday’s guest, Hannah Orenstein  @hannahorens, author of romantic comedy LOVE AT FIRST LIKE! Interview with Guest Author Hannah Orenstein @DebutanteBall #ClassOf2020 #guest #author   News from the Class of 2020 Debs: Lisa Braxton was contacted this week by the marketing director of her publisher, Inanna Publications. Publication of The Talking Drum is five months away and Inanna wants to begin promoting Lisa and publicizing the…

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Best Writing Advice Ever On Your Worst Enemy

Friday, December 6, 2019
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“What should I do?” I began my session with my mentor. See, I was in a low-residence MFA, where we had two weeks in school (then the rest of the semester remote.) “I mean, I kind of like this beginning,” I said, showing her a printout of an essay I began, “but maybe this one makes more sense,” I said, whipping a different version out of my backpack. I often…

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Writing Mentor, aka, Author Life Support

Thursday, December 5, 2019
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My writing mentor, Valerie Hayes Perry, has given me guidance and support for my writing voice from even before I had an idea for a novel. I was a very insecure new writer when I first attended her meetup workshop in 2014. What I will never forget is how after a reader had shared their piece, she would pause, taking a moment of reflection with her eyes closed. And then,…

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Interview with “Byline Bible” Author Susan Shapiro

Saturday, November 30, 2019
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  Not only is Susan Shapiro a great writing mentor to many (including me!) she’s the bestselling author/coauthor of 12 books her family hates including Five Men Who Broke My Heart, Lighting Up, Unhooked, The Bosnia List & the new inspiring writing guide The Byline Bible. She and her husband, a scriptwriter, live in Greenwich Village, where she teaches her popular “instant gratification takes too long” classes at The New School, NYU and in private…

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So Much to Be Grateful For (And Yet…)

Friday, November 29, 2019
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“You have a book coming out. Aren’t you excited!” “Excited” is not the word that I or anyone around me would use. A chicken running around without her head, is more like it. Others wouldn’t be so kind. But the run-up to a book can be very fraught. You have to get blurbs, those advanced praise quotes you see on the back of books and on websites like Amazon and…

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6 months to publication and I am so thankful…

Thursday, November 28, 2019
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I just had my first call with my publicity team to discuss marketing and touring for my book. Yo, that sentence is WILD! After the call, I had to sit for a minute, my head swimming in the glow of gratitude. The fact that there have been so many people, including seasoned professionals, who have thrown in their passionate support for my novel has me gob smacked. I know they’re…

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Interview with Emma Sloley, Author of Disaster’s Children

Saturday, November 23, 2019
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Yay for Emma Sloley, author of Disaster’s Children, a gripping dystopian novel recently published by Little a! An accomplished writer of short fiction and creative nonfiction, Disaster’s Children is Emma’s first book. She has the endorsements of some of the most prominent writers of literary fiction today. Jinmin Han calls Emma’s novel “lush” and “mesmerizing.” Rebecca Makkai says, “Sometimes a new author will sidle up and whisper in your ear,…

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Interview with Kristin Harmel, Author of The Winemaker’s Wife

Saturday, November 16, 2019
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I am so excited to welcome Kristin Harmel to The Debutante Ball. Kristin’s latest novel is The Winemaker’s Wife, an instant #1 bestseller from The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star. It’s a story of forbidden love, shocking secrets, and devastating betrayal, set amid the champagne vineyards of northern France during the darkest days of World War II. Kristin Harmel is the #1 international bestselling author of The Winemaker’s…

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Querying tips for the modern writer

Thursday, November 14, 2019
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So, you want to query an agent, huh? It’s a gamble, yet an exciting one, dear writing, fishing with your art as bait. You must 1) catch the attention of an agent and 2) entice/persuade them into giving you a longer look as a potential client and money maker. The publishing industry is all about the money, but the more knowledge you have before you dive in, the better off…

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When a Purple Rose Blooms – Guest Author Jenee Darden

Saturday, November 9, 2019
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When a Purple Rose Blooms (Nomadic Press, 2018), is a collection of essays and poetry about Black womanhood from Jenee Darden’s personal experience. She writes about love, sex, race and mental health with honesty, humor, and insight. This is Jenee’s first book and we are so excited to have her share some of her brilliance with us today. Follow Jenee: Website Twitter: CocoaFly Twitter: JeneeDardenFacebook Instagram *** What is one…

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