I’m so excited to welcome Sam Hawke to the Debutante Ball this week! Sam is a delightful human being who writes epic fantasy in Canberra, Australia, where she lives with her two dogs, two small ninjas, and her husband. Her debut novel CITY OF LIES, the first in the Poison Wars series from Tor, came out just this past July to critical acclaim and lots of excited hand wavings. It’s been…
I’m so excited to introduce everyone to Rebecca Fish Ewan, author of By the Forces of Gravity. I met Rebecca last year at Hippocamp, Hippocampus Magazine’s annual Creative Nonfiction conference. She approached me after my breakout session on Experimental Writing and talked about her work, which combined drawings and free verse. It was exactly the type of thing I wanted to add to my presentation, so I was extremely grateful! She even…
I love that my normal posting day is Tuesday, which is the day new books come into the world. (No one knows why this is, not even Judy Blume. I know this because I was in her bookstore on a Tuesday when they were shelving new books and I asked Judy Blume why books always release on Tuesdays and she said that she had no idea. Investigative journalism at…
I first met Dr. Laurie Jean Cannady at HippoCamp—Hippocampus Magazine’s 2016 writer’s conference. I have to admit that I was so awestruck to meet her in person that I didn’t talk to her for more than 96 seconds. Writers are my rockstars, and I’m easily intimidated. It’s not that she was that terror-inducing as a person, it’s just that I loved her book, CRAVE: SOJOURN OF A HUNGRY SOUL so…
I was first introduced to Dr. Thrity Umrigar’s work last spring when she and I both had the honor of having pieces we wrote performed in Lit Cleveland’s staged reading, Crossing Borders: Immigrant Narratives, a part of Cleveland State University’s Cleveland Humanities Festival. Intrigued to discover that my local writing community included a writer of her caliber, I ordered her latest novel, EVERYBODY’S SON. Umrigar’s book is a complex and…
I’m pleased to introduce everyone to one of the books I’ve talked the most about this summer, and by talking I mean to real people in real conversations in physical locations—not online. Just today I was talking about dog rentals, the run-pee app that tells you the best times during a movie to go to the bathroom, and self driving cars that come equipped with coffee machines. On the other…
You’ve heard the news, but I’ll say it one last time: BECOMING BONNIE, our fifth and final 2017 Debutante Ball book, launched this week!! BECOMING BONNIE is the untold story of how Bonnelyn Parker became half of the infamous duo, Bonnie & Clyde. Here’s my favorite review of Jenni’s excellent novel: “A dazzling and compulsively-readable adventure of self-discovery, with a voice both singular and irresistible. I dare you not to fall in…
This week I had the privilege of interviewing Thelma Adams, the author of the historical novel The Last Woman Standing. It is the first biographical novel about Josephine Marcus, Wyatt Earp’s wife, the gutsy Jewish beauty who captured the lawman’s heart in 1981, the year he fought the legendary gunfight at the OK Corral. NY Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt says, The Last Woman is “a wild west story made even…
This week’s guest to the Debutante Ball is Katherine Sherbrooke, the author of the novel, FILL THE SKY (SixOneSeven Books) and a family memoir, Finding Home. She is also the proud owner of the Hemingway House writing retreat in SouthEastern MA. She lives outside Boston with her husband, two sons and black lab. Her novel, FILL THE SKY is about three dear friends, one whose cancer has exhausted the reaches of…
In the guest chair today is publicist guru Dana Kaye! Dana is the owner of Kaye Publicity, Inc. and author of Your Book, Your Brand: The Step-By-Step Guide to Launching Your Book and Boosting Your Sales. Known for her innovative ideas and knowledge of current trends, she frequently speaks on the topics of social media, branding, and publishing trends, and teaches online courses at KayePublicity.teachable.com. It’s a real treat having…
