Publishing is rife with fear. Fear of bad reviews, fear of being dragged, fear of being forgotten or never published again or having our books canceled. And the thing is, some of these fears will, inevitably, be realized. We writers aren’t perfect, and the publishing industry certainly isn’t perfect. Something is bound to go wrong. I realize that, as I write this, I’m in the calm before the storm. I’m done…
At the end of my MFA thesis defense, someone asked me what I wanted to do next. I’d been thinking about this question for a while, and I told the committee that I thought I might try my hand at writing for young people. After a few moments of resounding, deeply uncomfortable silence, someone told me that I should stick to poetry and literary fiction. The underlying implication, that books…
Happy Friday the 13th! And in October, too! Spoopy! This week we’re talking about creativity. Where do we find it? How do we cultivate it? How do we hang onto it? This week we’re talking about creativity. Where do we find it? How do we cultivate it? How do we hang onto it? I’m having a rough week, y’all. For the last year and a half or so I’ve been…
Y’all. I didn’t get home until almost 7 last night. I’ve only spent one entire day at home since August 13th, and I am a homebody. I (try to) maintain a full-time job, a healthy marriage, and I’m currently actively working on THREE manuscripts. And that’s not taking into account the dogs, or exercise, or eating real, healthy food on a regular basis. I clearly did not get the memo…
There are a great many people to whom I owe a hefty debt of gratitude for the fact that in just a few months I’ll be able to walk into my local indie and see a piece of my heart on the shelf. Each and every one of those people (Hopefully! Good glory, you would not believe the nightmares!) will be thanked in my acknowledgments. But there are a…
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…
I am so thrilled to present fellow Debutante Tiffany Jackson, author of the newly launched YA novel ALLEGEDLY, to the guest chair. I’m so fortunate that Tiffany lives in New York, as I have had the opportunity to meet her in person, share a drink (or two), and get to know this lovely, smart, fabulous author. I read her compelling, suspenseful book and loved every page and every twist and turn. Thank you, Tiffany!…
By now, you’ve heard our exciting news: it’s launch week for Tiffany D. Jackson’s ALLEGEDLY!! ALLEGEDLY has been killing it in trade reviews. In fact, it’s earned FOUR starred reviews. (That’s sort of a big deal.) And for great reason. My favorite is this line from Kirkus: “Searing and true.” Those two words sum up Allegedly so succinctly. Allegedly is a book that will make you feel, which will stay with…
It’s Launch Day for Tiffany! Mary B. Addison killed a baby. Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: a white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it? There wasn’t a point…
This week the Debs are celebrating the launch of Tiffany D. Jackson’s incredible debut book ALLEGEDLY, available at booksellers on Tuesday, January 24th! Orange Is the New Black meets Walter Dean Myer’s Monster in this gritty, twisty, and haunting debut by Tiffany D. Jackson about a girl convicted of murder seeking the truth while surviving life in a group home. Like clockwork, Momma arrives at 2:35 every other Sunday, right after…
