If you hadn’t guessed already, I’m a little bit of an extrovert. That’s not always a plus in the writing world—sure, having “chatterbox” as an honorary added middle name helps when I’m hanging out in the hotel bar at a book festival or at a coffee place with my writing besties, but it sure doesn’t help when I’m back home alone, staring at the blank cursor with silence rapping on…
This upcoming holiday season many of us will gather around tables with food lovingly prepared and spend precious time with loved ones. We’ll reflect on what we are thankful for. Family, friends, community, and good health, will likely top the list. As a writer, I have an additional list of items to include. As the months wind down and I move ever closer to publication—I have six months to go—it…
I remember when I went to my writing group after my agent got the offer from Penguin, and a writer friend asked me if I was happy. He wanted to know if selling the book was as great as I thought it would be, or if it was somehow disappointing. A let-down. I told him it’s every bit as great as I hoped. It’s a dream…
This Thanksgiving week, the Debutantes are expressing their thanks. Like Crystal mentioned in her post, the acknowledgments at the end of BECOMING BONNIE are going to give some specific shout outs, but on this day of thanks I wanted to acknowledge the fact that this book has been touched by so many wonderful people and groups. While writing a novel can be solitary at times, I’ve been extremely fortunate to…
It didn’t matter how many times I took a crack at the acknowledgements for Caged Eyes, the note felt distressingly inadequate. There simply wasn’t enough space to convey the magnitude of my appreciation for the many, many people who played a part in my story becoming a memoir. Book publishing is a team sport. And memoir? It’s even more so. I’m immensely proud that Caged Eyes will be the first…
This Thanksgiving week, the Debutantes are expressing their thanks. I think that most authors will tell you that writing their acknowledgments is one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the publishing process. I hemmed and hawed and changed it at least 20 or 30 times. And I do worry. Are there people I forgot? There are many people in my life that I love dearly and are thankful for them…
Congratulations to Rhonda Lomazow for winning a copy of LAST WOMAN STANDING by Thelma Adams! We send our thanks to Georgia Clark for being our guest on The Debutante Ball yesterday! If you haven’t already, please pick up a copy of her book,THE REGULARS. You can also enter a giveaway to win her online book marketing course The Pro-Active Author! Simply RETWEET on Twitter, and/or SHARE on Facebook using the hashtag #DebBallGiveaway by noon (EST) November 25th for your…
What am I thankful for?? Well, first let me tell you what I’m not thankful for, and that’s posting the day after Jennifer, because everything she wrote about public displays of gratitude, saturating Thanksgiving meals with bourbon, and warmly thanking everyone she loves had me going, “Oh, yeah.” “Yup.” “Yep, that, too.” So I apologize in advance for doing exactly what Jennifer did, only not so wittily nor so well. No, wait…
After reading Louise’s heartfelt post yesterday about all the people who have helped her along the way, I’m tempted to go schmaltzy and do the same. But the thing is, that’s not me. I have a reputation among my friends of not being a terribly emotional person. I’m the kind of person you come to when you want a problem solved, not the person you turn to for a good…
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of talking to newly-minted National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson, about her prize-winning memoir, BROWN GIRL DREAMING. Along with being an amazing writer, Woodson is a loving partner and parent. And she said something during our chat that stuck with me: “This is the moment, this is the now, and we don’t get this back. With writing, it’s so much what I love…
