I don’t have any magic formulas for the books I selected and used as comparable titles — except if you consider reading, as I do, as a superpower. A few years ago I wanted to start sending out my own book. I attempted to take stock of what I loved to read and re-read, the books I kept returning to for inspiration and solace: The House on Mango Street by…
Before I decided to write my first novel, I never thought average people from average places doing average things could write a WHOLE BOOK. I thought that was reserved for–oh, I don’t know–people who were smarter, more interesting, older, wealthier, less female, more educated, whiter… the list goes on. So despite always writing, I spent a lot of time not sharing my work, even in my college years, because I…
The first time I ever felt crushed by rejection was in high school. I was somehow nominated for a months-long mentorship with an established poet, and as part of the decision process, I was invited to Scholastic HQ in downtown Manhattan to meet the other poets in the running. When I was called to read my poem in front of the group, I flailed my hands in passion, the plastic…
This week, we take a brief hiatus from our traditional Saturday Guest Author posts in order to introduce you to the new class of Debutante Ball authors. Drum roll, please… Mondays: Cass Morris Cass Morris lives and works in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with the companionship of two royal felines, Princess and Ptolemy. She completed her Master of Letters at Mary Baldwin University in 2010, and she…
We are thrilled to welcome Kaitlyn Sage Patterson to The 2018 Debutante Ball!! Kaitlyn will be joining Cass Morris, Kimmery Martin, Lara Lillibridge, and Julie Clark as they take The Debutante Ball by storm! Want to know more about these fabulous women and their forthcoming books?? Stay tuned for our BIG welcome post on Saturday, September 2nd! ***** Congratulations to Kelley Blair, winner of our #DebBallGiveaway of THE YOUNG WIVES CLUB by Julie…
There’s nothing quite like the total relaxation one feels in the summer! The carefree days when the schedule is wide open, and there’s all the time in the world to get caught up on reading, writing, and rest! But first, there are a just a few things to check off the list. Summer is an important time to get chores done. And the boys are all home from college and…
Happy 4th of July, everyone! I hope you all are having an awesome day of rest and reading. Unfortunately for me, it is a day of guilt and shame because the topic of the week involves a New Year’s resolutions check-in, and I’m not feeling too good about my performance six months in. I made only four, count ’em four, very MODERATE New Year’s Resolutions this year, and my score…
Congratulations to Debbi Lucas DuBose, winner of our #DebBallGiveaway of SMALL ADMISSIONS by Amy Poeppel. We were so happy to have Emily Hauser as our guest yesterday! If you haven’t already, enter the #DebBallGiveaway of FOR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL: A NOVEL OF THE WOMEN OF TROY or enter to win a copy by sharing our post on Facebook and/or retweeting the following tweet: RT to Enter! Interview w/ @ehauserwrites + #DebBallGiveaway of…
WWOWW (= wine with other women writers) has become my new favorite hobby/necessity. I write and write and write for hours all by myself, and at the end of the day, I LOVE to meet with other writers to bitch, laugh, encourage, and commiserate. The best part of being a debut writer — hands down — has been meeting my new support network of women writers. And the thing is, I’m not all…
I’m in a dark place. Leave it to me to be so direct, right? Post-publication depression, or at least angst, is a thing. I’ve been talking with a few authors lately who recently debuted, and it seems like all of us struggle with some kind of reaction in the pub day wake. I’m not just talking about sales figures and earning back advances though that can obviously be an enormous…
