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 lived in New York City for over fourteen years and have worked there for over twenty-five years (wow I’m old). So it was only natural for me to set my debut, THE TIGER MOM’S TALE, in Manhattan. But I was born in Taiwan and knew I wanted to portray my homeland, so I had my MC, Lexa, travel back to Taiwan to claim her heritage. The Upper East Side…
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…
It is my pleasure to introduce Elizabeth Gonzalez James, who will be taking on the the role of News Flash Organizer and Topic Whisperer which I have managed for the past Debutante season. Elizabeth is the author of the forthcoming MONA AT SEA, a sharp and witty debut launching in the Summer of 2021 that asks, When we find what gives our life meaning, will we be ready for it?…
Greetings and salutations and welcome to the Debutante Ball! I was so excited when I read the first words of the email I received on a Sunday morning in early August of 2019 informing me that I’d been chosen as one of the 5 debut authors who would chronicle her “big dance” toward publication. I had been following the Debutante Ball blog for more than a year and eagerly…
What a treat to welcome Lauren Ho to The Debutante Ball today! Lauren’s debut novel, Last Tang Standing, is billed as Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones’s Diary, and wow — if that doesn’t sound about perfect for a summer read. She’s racking up all the buzz and great reviews. One of my favorite bookstagrammers says it’s laugh-out-loud with non-stop one-liners and the Library Journal’s starred review says, “The combination…
I’m so pleased to welcome A.H. Kim to the ball today! I met Ann in a Facebook group for debut authors, and I quickly became her Instagram fan. This month, she’s featuring a book recommendation per day in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Check out her feed here, and get your TBR ready. Ann’s debut novel, A GOOD FAMILY, releases in July, but we’re teaming up for an…
What a treat to welcome my friend and agent sister Alison Hammer to the dance today! I met Alison in a group for querying writers, and she signed with my dream agent, Joanna MacKenzie about two weeks before I had my own “the call” with Joanna. Then, Alison and I proceeded in tandem through every stage of the publishing process: revisions, submissions, more revisions, copy edits, final pass pages, covers,…
R. Eric Thomas may be the funniest current events writer around. In “Eric Reads the News” at Elle.com, he presents his unique take on pop culture and politics, like Watch Donald Trump Explain How a Dog Works or Once Again I Am Delighted To Spend My Entire Check On Oprah’s Favorite Things. I’m so excited for his memoir in essays, HERE FOR IT, or How to Save Your Soul in…
You never realize how important publication day is until you have one yourself. I can’t begin to think of how many book parties I’ve been to, how many friends’ books I’ve bought, how many invites I’ve received — and didn’t realize their import until I wrote a book of my own. No, until I published a book of my own. At that’s the important thing in this writing life —…
