Congratulations to Janice Mess, winner of our #DebBallGiveaway of THE GOOD LIAR by Catherine McKenzie. Thank you so much to yesterday’s guest, Kristina Pérez, author of SWEET BLACK WAVES. News from the 2018 Debs: Julie Clark had an amazing launch week and is looking forward to a hometown book event on Thursday! Kaitlyn Sage Patterson revealed the title of the sequel to THE DIMINISHED this week. Who’s excited…
Today it is our very own Crystal King’s turn to sit in the Deb Ball guest chair! By now you have heard the exciting news: Crystal’s debut novel, Feast of Sorrow, released this week from Touchstone. Set amongst the scandal, wealth, and upstairs-downstairs politics of a Roman family, Crystal King’s seminal debut features the man who inspired the world’s oldest cookbook and the ambition that led to his destruction. On…
You’ve probably heard us shouting it this week but… Crystal King’s novel FEAST OF SORROW is now available! It’s the kind of historical novel–about the infamous gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius and his slave Thrasius–where you aren’t simply dipping a toe into the world, you are fully emerged. Crystal’s vivid descriptions and nuances of Ancient Rome are simply immersive. So much so that I often felt like I was reading either…
This week the Debs take on the point-of-view of their characters. After a bumpy litter ride across the Palatine Hill in Rome, I arrive at the palatial home of the ancient gourmand, Marcus Gavius Apicius, to find out what makes him tick. We settle into plush couches in a corner of the villa’s expansive garden. Me: Tell us when and where you were born? Apicius: I was born on the Ides of…
This week the Debs are sharing deleted scenes, shifts in their books and all sorts of behind the curtain tidbits. When I began writing FEAST OF SORROW, I was writing a very different book, about a celebrity chef with a special set of magical knives. I wanted an origin scene for those knives and this is what happened. I kept some of this in the book, but most of it…
This week the Debs are talking about titles and covers! How we came up with our book names and/or the process we went through with our publishers for our covers. I love the name FEAST OF SORROW. Love love it. From the first moment I saw the title I knew that it was the right one for my book. But here’s the thing; I didn’t come up with it. When I…
This week’s topic is “Location, location, location — Where we write and why there?” The Debs will share photos of our workspaces or favorite space to write, and talk about how our choice of physical location influences our work. When I was young, my mom gave me her beautiful pink Olympia typewriter (which I later learned that my parents sold in a garage sale and I was heartbroken). For some…
Last week I was reading an article in the Washington Post about how my generation has been churning out helicopter parents who don’t want their kids to study literature or liberal arts. Curious, I inquired how many were history majors. Of the 24 honors students in the seminar, there were none. English? Philosophy? Fine arts? Only one. How was this possible? I asked. Almost in unison, half a dozen replied: “Our parents…
Congratulations to Maddie Woods, Sophie Woods, Chris Von Turk, winners of Amy Poeppel’s SMALL ADMISSIONS, as part of our Tag to Win contest series on Facebook. The next contest will begin on 11/17 with a chance to win Tiffany D. Jackson’s ALLEGEDLY. Beginning 9/17, you’ll have the opportunity to win our first Guest Author giveaway: Camille Perri’s fabulous debut novel, THE ASSISTANTS. From the 2017 Debs: Crystal King is finishing up…
I’ve been following The Debutante Ball since its inception a decade ago. I had always dreamed of being a Deb and I’m extra excited to be the first blogger to kick off the 2017 Debutante Ball. On behalf of the new Debutantes, I want to extend a huge THANK YOU to the 2016 Debs for all of their insight, advice and inspiration to us all. Years ago I completed my…
