I have to admit, the research for The Dream Peddler wasn’t particularly intense, and that’s probably just because I chose not to do tons of research. Despite the historical setting, I had read enough books from the time and learned enough in school to at least sketch out what the world of my characters would be like. I stopped writing now and then to google things like images of…
Most of the time—to my surprise—I look forward to writing my weekly post for The Debutante Ball. This week, however, I dreaded it. This was for two reasons: first, last week’s post on the differences between the expectations and realities of publishing a novel completely drained me; and second, on today’s topic, I got nothing. Well, almost nothing. We are supposed to be writing about research: how much we did,…
I. Love. Research. I mean, if you’ve read From Unseen Fire, you could probably guess that. As much as I’m a writer, I’m also a historian. It was my second major in undergrad, and my Master’s degree certainly relies heavily upon it as well. I live with my head as much in the past as the present, and while it’s not always the Roman past, for the past seven years,…
This week the Debs are writing about technology. What do we use to help our writing, what couldn’t we live without? What do we love and hate about technology? How do we use social media? Do we stress over it? I have written a zillion articles on social media since I work in community and social media for my day job, so I’m going to skip that and talk about…
Congratulations to Elle G. for winning a copy of THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES by Mindy McGinnis! News from former Debs 2016 Deb Louise Miller is “thrilled, honored & crazy-happy” that THE CITY BAKER’S GUIDE TO COUNTRY LIVING was in last Sunday’s NYT Book Review!!!!! – Check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/books/review/female-protagonists.html?_r=0 2014 Deb Lori Rader-Day, author of LITTLE PRETTY THINGS and THE BLACK HOUR will be a keynote speaker at the 2017 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference. Congratulations, Lori!…
Fun facts abound this week! Which is kind of a lot of pressure. What if my facts aren’t fun? What if the fun* parts aren’t facts? I’ve told you all so much already. What is there possibly left to spill? Normally this is where I’d retreat to my bourbon and gummy bears to find my inspiration, but husband and I have decided to try to modify our diet in hopes…
Ooh, how fun! I get to be the guest author this week. I’ll just make myself cozy here. Why, yes, those cookies look lovely. I’ll have twelve. How could I say no to a cup of tea? Sure, go ahead and splash a dash of bourbon in there. Now, let’s settle in for a nice chat. For each of our launch weeks, we will be interviewed by our fellow Debs….
I will forever remember this week as one of the happiest, craziest, intensely gratifying and exciting weeks of my life. To every single one of you reading and commenting and sharing your positive energy with me—I’m eternally grateful. As a thank you, I’m sending a signed copy to one commenter—details at the end of this post! So…before I get too mushy (too late? I can’t seem to help it this…
Today we’re excited to have mystery writer Julie Hyzy on The Debutante Ball! A relentless snoop and mystery seeker since childhood, Julie Hyzy gets to play detective by writing amateur sleuth adventures. She’s thrilled to have won the Anthony, Barry, Lovey, and Derringer Awards, and still can’t believe that she has “New York Times Bestselling Author” across the front of her books. Julie writes the White House Chef Mysteries and…
We’re very happy to have Karen Dionne as our guest author today. She’s the founder of Backspace, an Internet-based writers organization with over 850 members in a dozen countries, and Freezing Point is her first novel. When it comes to thrillers, readers are often drawn toward fiction that mirrors their real-world concerns. During the Cold War, spy thrillers were popular. Now that environmental concerns have gained the ascendency, we’re seeing…
