Life

Interview with Christine O’Brien + CRAVE: A MEMOIR OF FOOD AND LONGING giveaway

Saturday, November 10, 2018
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I’m so thrilled to welcome Christine O’Brien to the Debutante Ball this week! Christine is a lecturer in the English Composition Department at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, CA. She earned a BA in English at the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a double MFA in non-fiction and fiction from St. Mary’s College, where she was awarded the college’s Agnes Butler Scholarship for Literary Excellence. Christine has previously worked…

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Attacus Atlas & Other Inventions: Distracts, Distracting, Distractions

Tuesday, November 6, 2018
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“Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not.” – Ursula K. LeGuin Well, I’m in the thick of the stew now, aren’t I? I’m trying to expel 50,000 words from my brain onto the page by the end of the month for NaNoWriMo and trying hard not to be sucked in to the countdown until the Midterm Elections. By the time you read this, if you read this, We…

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Attacus Atlas & Other Inventions: Ode to the First Draft

I really want to write a rant to all the devastations of the day: the Kavanaugh vote in the Senate, the FBI’s incomplete investigation, the senator from Maine’s weak speech justifying her vote against women, the Senate’s dismissal and nullification of Dr. Ford’s courage. But I have to write for the Debs, it’s that time of the week where the Debs must cull their thoughts for the topic at hand….

Tuesday, October 9, 2018
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Attacus Atlas & Other Inventions: A Circuitous Route

Tuesday, September 18, 2018
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A Circuitous Route:   The reflection of the world is blues, that’s where that part of the music is at  – Jimi Hendrix I have no way to express how stunned I am, sitting here today, holding my newly hatched ARCs. It is surreal to see this book in galley form, it is surreal to see my family hold my debut novel in their hands. By all accounts I should…

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Attacus Atlas & Other Inventions: Origin Story

Tuesday, September 4, 2018
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Origin Story:  I am the sum of so many things and it is at once easy and difficult to place labels on myself. I’ll begin in the most obvious ways: I’m a daughter to an academic; my dad is a mathematician and was immersed in the world of biostatistics and multi-variant statistical analysis for more than a half-century before retiring this year. I saw how much he loves math —…

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The Bio I Wish I Had…Or Do I?

Tuesday, November 7, 2017
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Bios we wish we had are all about regrets and unfulfilled ambitions. Luckily, I have plenty of both.  It turns out, I do regret the things I didn’t do more than the things I did—mostly. Here are a few things I’d love to add to my bio:   Lara Lillibridge was brave enough to go with the stepsister she had never met on a burro-trip through the Grand Canyon when…

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An Introduction in Books

What better way to get to know a person than through the books that shaped their imaginations, right? When I say I grew up with my nose in a book, I really mean it. I took home stacks of books from the library every week and invariably read my way through the whole pile before our next visit. Couple that with the fact that I lived in a small town…

Friday, September 8, 2017
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What I’m into … this week

Tuesday, March 21, 2017
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This week the Debs are sharing all the stuff we love. I change my mind from time to time about what really wins me over, but here are some of my current favorite people, places, and things that make everyday life more enjoyable (in absolutely no particular order): Favorite foods: Avocado toast at Dominique Ansel and steak tartar at The Dutch, both in Soho (NYC): Favorite place to have dinner with the Obamas…

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Gratification Now! A Self-Care Guide

Tuesday, January 17, 2017
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Whenever I think about caring for oneself, I always remember the well-known, highly effective parenting technique that I utilized with my own kids, called Gratification Now. It works really well. And teaches wonderful, life-long lessons. The idea is that whenever you’re feeling depleted, low, sad, tired, hungry, or have a need of any kind, just give yourself what you need, whatever that may be, and do it without delay! Gratification…

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Election Week Debutante News Flash!

Sunday, November 6, 2016
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Congratulations to Patty Smith for winning a copy of FILL THE SKY by Kathy Sherbrooke!  We send our thanks to Destiny Soria for being our guest on The Debutante Ball yesterday! If you haven’t already, go read her interview, featuring her debut, IRON CAST. Lynn K. Hall is waiting, because sometimes that’s what being an author is all about! Waiting for pub day, waiting for early reviews, waiting to lose one’s mind…thank goodness she is…

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