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Hollihock Writers Conference

Posted in Buzzards Bay Writing Project, Conferences, Hollihock Writers Conference, Seminars, Writing Workshops, tagged , , , , , , , on August 21, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Hollihock headerNext weekend, I’ll be attending the second annual Hollihock Writers Conference in New Bedford, MA. They are offering multitudes of classes, panels, and speakers throughout the 3-days.

This is a new conference as you can tell by the title. I found out about it this past spring at a Writers Retreat on Cape Cod. One of the other writers… Diana Grady from Buzzards Bay Writing Project… mentioned this conference because she thought I’d be interested. Diana will be leading one of the workshops.

Learning new tips and tricks about the process of creating fiction is not only a pleasure, but keeps my retired brain active and alert. There is always something to be gleaned from every class, every speaker, every panel participant.

If you live in southern New England, and haven’t yet signed up, the ‘REGISTER HERE’ button on their website still appears to be active, so what are you waiting for?

http://www.hollihock.org/

 

 

 

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More Author Talks & Book Signings

Posted in Book Signing Events, Marketing, Published, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on February 20, 2016| Leave a Comment »

book club at tableAfter the successful author talk and book signing with the local garden club, the Ugly Dog Bookstore, and a private Girls Night Out last month, I dove into chasing down additional events. Friends were anxious to advise their connections of who to ask and where to go to share my story! Most organizations need a speaker for an upcoming meeting, and have been glad that I dropped into their laps!

To entice the program director of non-bookstore organizations to schedule me into her events calendar,  I offered 15% of books sold during her event. Not only will I cost them nothing as a speaker, but they will receive a small donation as a result of their book sales!

Not every contact gets back to me on a timely basis, requiring a follow-up email or phone call. But the results have been quite satisfactory. Here’s a list of interviews/author talks/book signings scheduled for the coming weeks:

Feb 26… ‘Books and the World’ cable interview, Cape Cod, MA

March 16…Allentown Public Library, Allentown, PA

March 19…Brandywine Community Library, Topton, PA

March 22…Kutztown Community Library, Kutztown, PA

March 31…Ames Free Library, Easton, MA

 

Am I supposed to be having this much fun?

 

Happy reading and writing!

Debi

 

 

 

 

 

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Published!!!

Posted in Book Signing Events, Marketing, Published, Publishers, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 2, 2016| 3 Comments »

 

Jan 12, 2016 updated to include complete Amazon address.

 

Well, after years of plotting & writing, conferences & writers groups, TUG Front Cover Onlymy story… ‘The Uninvited Guest’… has been published through Riverhaven Books in Whitman, Massachusetts. Such a thrill to see it listed on Amazon as a paperback and e-book!

For the purpose of book signing events, I opted to print 400 books locally.  What a thrill to pick up the ten boxes from the print shop! My trunk will hold a box of books at all times for those unplanned opportunities to place my story into the hands of an avid mystery reader, along with a 2-sided bookmark.

And now onto the task of marketing. Area bookstores, local libraries, senior centers, and women’s groups are on my list to contact. Some of them are bound to be interested in a debut local author to speak about writing a mystery with a book-signing event afterwards.

As it happens, my sister is involved with her local library in eastern Pennsylvania, and has already put me in contact with their Friends president, who is excited about planning an event. After we solidify her date in late March, I’ll approach the other libraries in the Berks County system for a possible event at their location while I’m in the area.

In addition, as a member of Sisters in Crime, I have joined their Speakers Bureau, and look forward to participating in author panels around New England during the coming months.

For all of you who have been following my progress over the past few years, I hope you’re as thrilled as I am!

Happy New Year to everyone!

Debi

 

 

 

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Proof!

Posted in Book Cover, Cover Blurb, Editor, Publishers, revision, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2015| 4 Comments »

female-hand-writing-red-pen-white-background-35404047Well, the proof of my novel arrived, and for the past week, I’ve been combing through the pages to spot details that needed adjusting. Marked in red ink with the top corner of the page folded for easy locating, I noted missing punctuation, single-word changes, reversal of publisher line-editing efforts, and the return of several paragraphs dropped somewhere along the way.

This past Sunday morning, I drove the proof to my publisher’s home and we reviewed my editing requests, plus font size and format, possible reduction of pages by removing the space between lines, bookmark design, and adjustment of back cover blurb that currently gives away too much of the mystery.

So many details before making the commitment to print a supply of books for my personal sales at a local print shop! At some point in the near future, my novel will also be registered with Amazon as both an e-book and their print-on-demand version.  When that happens, I’ll provide the link for those of you who are interested in reading my story!

The road to first-novel publication has been long and educational, but eminently interesting along the way!

 

 

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Publishing Delay

Posted in Editor, Publishers, revision, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 8, 2015| 1 Comment »

A_Woman_Reading_Papers_At_Her_DeskIt’s no surprise that the lady helping me self-publish my first novel has gotten sidetracked with other projects and life itself.

We lost about three weeks in our timeline, but are now back on track. She provided me with the formatted manuscript, and included her own edits for the first half.

When I re-read my story, I found about a dozen places that needed to be returned to my own voice. She agreed to make the adjustments with very little resistance, but brought up two scenes that didn’t sit right with her. I saw her point, and have provided a revamp to take care of her concerns.

And so I’m waiting for her to get back to me with her second half edits, which I will then review and make further adjustments if needed.

In the meantime, I approached a recently-opened bookstore in a nearby town to ask about scheduling my book launch in their upstairs space. Before they will discuss that possibility, their buyer needs a ‘readers copy’ of my novel to determine if they will stock my novel in the local author section. If that decision is positive, then the events lady will discuss a possible book launch.

So many details, but I’m getting close!

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Cover Blurbs

Posted in Book Cover, Cover Blurb, Editor, Publishers, tagged , , , , , , on July 28, 2015| 2 Comments »

ListWell, now that the editing is nearly complete — my editor was vacationing in Maine all last week, which allowed extra time for fine-tuning –and the cover art is a done deal, it’s time to provide the remaining cover details.

1st… The Story Blurb… this is unbelievably difficult to create! It’s more or less the same as the elevator pitch. The wording needs to hook the potential reader and encourage them to purchase the story. Several versions have passed through my writing group, and it finally reads as concise and captivating as we can make it.

2nd… Author Bio… keeping this relatively simple: name, retired, first novel, where I was born, and my general location now with cat and husband.  My publisher thinks there will be room for the professional photo I had taken a while back.

3rd… Acknowledgement Page … need to be sure I thank everyone who was involved during the writing of my novel, including research sources, writing group members. and assorted friends and relatives.

Gotta go dig into my files to be sure no one is overlooked… more later!

 

 

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Malice Domestic Conference

Posted in Conferences, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 9, 2013| 6 Comments »

sketch of question personThis past weekend, I attended the Malice Domestic Conference in Bethesda, MD. Although this mystery gathering is more an opportunity for fans to meet their favorite authors, a writer can also glean valuable information from the various panels.

In addition to author breakfasts, interviews, and the Poison Lady, I chose these panels: When Secrets and Lies Descent into Murder, Mysteries with a Touch of Magic, How Seasons Effect Story, Sleuthing with the Dead, When Music and Painting Lead to Murder, and Cozy in the City.

Carolyn G. Hart, one of my favorite authors who is publishing her 50th novel this year, spoke with me about writing, and not letting anyone try to change my words into their own.

On the other hand, when I asked a panel of published mystery authors when their body drops, here are their answers: first sentence, first chapter, first paragraph, and prologue. Another author on a different panel said it has to drop no later than the last chapter you submit to an agent, which is usually the first three. That beats the crap out of my body drop 1/3 of the way through my story. So now I need to decide whether to tackle a major rewrite and move it forward…sigh.

Not sure I will attend this particular conference until my own novel is published. That could be next year or a decade from now…who’s to know?

 

 

 

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Craft of Writing

Posted in revision, tagged , , , , , , , on December 5, 2012| 4 Comments »

emotion

Traveling this long and interesting road since I decided to try my hand at writing a novel has been a real eye opener. Who knew there was so much involved in putting my story on paper? I respect authors who have written an engrossing story, then managed to find an agent and a publisher. On the other hand, I’m sometimes disappointed with the quality of writing, wondering how a book managed to get published at all.

This brings me to my fear of putting my story out there if it’s not as perfect as I can make it. Fascinating characterization, interesting setting, thoughtful plot line, and control of back story.  I’ve become a great lover of books written to educate a new writer. Most recently, I bought one called “The Emotion Thesaurus”. It  provides a laundry list of examples to write the emotions of your characters without falling into the trap of cliche. As my writing group points out on a regular basis, I sometimes forget to include my protagonist’s emotions, assuming that the reader understands what’s going on in my characters’ heads. Wrongo!

As I’ve been reading through this new how-to book, I’m inspired to go back into my story and find places where the emotional impact of a scene can be more accurately shown…never told!…to make my protagonist more human.

If you have a favorite book about the craft of writing, I’d love to hear about it. Always looking for new volumes to add to my ever-expanding library.

 

 

 

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Getting Up the Nerve…

Posted in Contests, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 3, 2012| 3 Comments »

…to send it out!!!

After many, many revisions, my story finally begins in the right place…I think.

My stronger protagonist encounters the “inciting incident” by the end of page seven.

I’ve moved evil back story into future chapters.

I’ve eliminated narrative that interrupts the plot.

I’ve eliminated duplications and replaced weak verbs with stronger ones.

I’ve been mindful that my internal and external character arc mesh and mingle.

I’m hopeful that readers will be hooked and not put it down until page 309…The End.

So why am I petrified to enter it into a contest for first time novelists!

Where do I find the nerve to JUST DO IT? …no idea.

My calendar is marked with a deadline of mid-October… will I push the button? Stay tuned.

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