Aloha I no longer have my computer or the bulk of my writing before May 2010, but I since I started anew in 2011 I have amassed quite a stash of words that will never be published. Since I am a proud workshop junkie, I’ve had the opportunity in the past eight years to generate stacks of bad poems and two manuscript-length works of prose…
Aloha! This week we are supposed to address “what we cut from our books and why:” Well, technically I had almost everything deleted from my debut novel, The Atlas Of Reds and Blues. On May 17, 2010, the Georgia state police raided my home at gunpoint and confiscated, among other things, my laptop. Even though a state judge in Georgia dismissed all of the charges against my husband back in…
Beware of jealousy. It creeps up on a debut writer like that unexpected knife-wielding plot twist that she threw into chapter sixteen just for fun, never considering how it might feel if the knife was suddenly plunged into her sensitive debut heart. Or something like that. When I first noticed that we were going to cover the topic of jealousy this week, I pictured my post being thousands (and…
How will I limit this post to a reasonable length? The list of authors I fangirl over is long. Really long. So I’m just going to start with those at the top and stop when I think you may have passed out from reading too much gushing. You may remember, way back in September when our group took over this blog, that our very first guest…
Aloha! This week we are supposed to talk about the authors we fangirl over. I have a rather long list of writers across a wide range of genres. Instead of going on and on for a rather long time I will compile my Top 10 favorite authors and books, as of this week. These are the books I go to when I’m bored, and I want to immerse myself in…
I am so excited to welcome former Deb Lara Lillibridge back to the ball this week! I feel as though I’ve known Lara forever, although I suppose it’s been less than a year. She was the deb from last year who first emailed me to ask if I would like to be one of this year’s five, so let’s just say I’ve been fond of her ever since. She…
A debut year for any writer is exciting and joyful. And it can also be stressful, frightening, frustrating, and lonely. In my little corner of the world, it’s been hard for me to find other writers to connect with, although I’m lucky to have a small circle. Even if you live in a big city, though, with lots of different writers’ groups available, the odds of…
Aloha! It’s that time of year, when the class of 2019 looks into the near future and selects the next wave of debs – class of 2020! The year of perfect vision! Starts this fall! Please check out K.A. Doore’s wonderful post, she diligently described the Debutante Ball functions and the Debs’ tasks. It looks like a lot. But when spread among five people who will be lifelong friends, it…
Aloha! I’ve been celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month this month, albeit intermittently. Each week, I’ve posted a stack of books by authors (and friends!) whose work I love and admire. And I thought I’d end the month with a visual guide to a stack of really great books that you should check out this summer — some are upcoming titles, such as Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok…
This week’s topic: “MFA vs NYC vs Choose Your Own Adventure.” Aloha. What if my writing education has been all three? I confess I’m a bit of a professional student. I love to be in a class, I love to have homework and get direction. The underlying motivation all throughout my writing life has been my desire to find community and gain skills, to chip away at a steady pace….
