Was it only last week that I wrote a blog post about being a terrified first-time home buyer? Seems like a lifetime ago. After I wrote the post my offer on a house was accepted! Since then, I’ve done my best to remain objective because there ARE other houses that would be just as good… Read More What Is Success Anyhow?
Halloween’s here, and I’m participating in a spooktacular blog hop-athon giveaway with my crew of fantabulous writer friends. We call ourselves the “Author Co-op,” and we support each other on our publishing/writing journeys. We hope you’ll hop along and leave comments on all our posts to enter our giveaways. Please see the bottom of this… Read More Spooktacular Blog Hop Giveaway (Lots of Giveaways!)
Or, as I like to call it, the Cheers factor. Remember the 1980s sitcom about a bar named Cheers and its crew of quirky characters? Remember how Norm would stroll in and everyone would say, NOOOORMMM, and he’d always have a great one-liner such as: Woody: “How’s it going, Mr. Peterson?” Norm: “It’s a dog… Read More High Probability Random Encounters at Bouchercon
Last week on The Debutante Ball we talked about the importance of a novel’s first sentence. The hook factor, in other words. By the end of the week, I was annoyed with the whole thing. First sentence, shmirst sentence–what about the first paragraph? Or first page? It was fun little rant, hehe. A Contrarian’s Rant… Read More I Like to Rant Every Now and Then
Yesterday it struck me that some people are blessed with social intelligence. They know how to express the perfect sentiments at the perfect moments. They have gracious communication styles so that whether they’re at funerals or bumping into not-quite-remembered acquaintances on the street, they always know what to say. I’m not one of these people.… Read More Silly Debut Author Thoughts of the Week
All year long, I’ve been struggling with my second novel, which I call GREY MAN. I also call it the hot mess from hell. During the revision process, I’d reach Chapter 42, throw up my hands, and start again from the beginning. I’d flayed the plot so badly I had nothing but plot chunks and… Read More My Love Affair With an Excel Spreadsheet
I wouldn’t say I’m a group-oriented person. In fact, I shy away from anything that seems cliquey and insular. That said, I’m a huge fan of local writing communities. You never know what may happen when you get to know your fellow writers. For example, Anthony-award winning author Johnny Shaw sent me a note out… Read More Serendipity Will Meet You Along The Way
Lately I’ve experienced a few quiet moments of happiness and relief. I’ve still got my writing mojo. It’s in there somewhere, peeking out at me more and more. You may be thinking: But you have a novel coming out in March, how can your writing mojo be an issue? It goes like this: I wrote… Read More How To Get Your Writing Mojo Back
For those of you who don’t know, the publishing industry calls endorsements “blurbs.” I have no clue why. Perhaps because it’s more genteel. We like to pretend that novels aren’t really products, which would mean they’d require salesmanship (phooey) and … uh … endorsements blurbs! I received a fabulous blurb from fabulous novelist Bill Cameron.… Read More KILMOON Novel Update — Nice Words and Novel Excerpt
Getting out of the house helped today. I’ve been moldering within the first 50 pages of a revision for a few weeks now. Let me clear: This isn’t a revision of the genteel sort. This is a massive overhaul. This is a rewrite, a restructuring, an upheaval. Just now I cleared my way through the first… Read More View From the Writer’s Desk
Lisa Alber's Words at Play 