Debut author Janci Patterson joins us to talk about contemporary young adult fiction. Her first book, Chasing the Skip, hit the streets October 2nd, 2012, and while Janci writes fantasy, this tale has no fantastic elements in it. Apparently bounty-hunting is plenty exciting without adding magic. We talk about the genre, the research Janci did, […]
Writing Excuses 7.42: Contemporary YA Fiction Read More »
Huh… I could actually say, “What a weanie,” in 1817 and it would not be that far off the modern sense. Not that I’m going to.
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Protected: Valour and Vanity draft: 26 Read More »
Well… my computer free period did not last very long. Several of you offered to loan me an old laptop. Thank you. You are all amazing people. Last night, my dear friend, Shanna Germain dropped off her old MacBook Air for me to use for the next month while mine was in the shop. I was
Computerless no longer Read More »
I safely arrived in Portland. It is very strange and not entirely comfortable to be without my computer. I suspect that means it is good for me to be without it. I did get part of a short story written on the plane, but really want to be doing editing. Le sigh Anyway. I’m in
Sandra Tayler is one of my favorite people. She has an utterly charming children’s book out called Hold on to Your Horses. I’m not going to say too much, because when Sandra explains why she wrote the book, you’ll understand why I think it is so wonderful. Here’s her Favorite Bit. SANDRA TAYLER: The moment
My Favorite Bit: Sandra Tayler talks about Hold on to Your Horses Read More »
I’m heading off to the Surrey International Writers Conference in Surrey B.C. today. Well… actually, first I’m going to Portland, OR and then Seattle, and THEN Surrey, but the SiWC is my real reason for going. It is one of my favorite conferences, ever, in part because the focus is on single presenters giving workshops
Off to Surrey International Writers Conference without my computer Read More »
Oh my! You guys. Guys! So… I sort of have this hero worship thing for reference librarians who seem to be able to find the answer for everything and they work in book temples. I still use the Multnomah County Reference Librarians because they rock and they have a handy chat window where you can
Librarians rule the world. Or they should. Read More »
Dealing with a malfunctioning keyboard on my 2-month old laptop/primary computer Being on hold with the store where I bought it. Still on hold. Being told that it will be 8 days before they can look at it and that they might not be able to fix it. No, actually. They say I have to
Ways I do not want to spend my day before a trip out of town to a writing conference Read More »
My guest this week is Steve Bein to talk about his debut novel, Daughter of the Sword. The publisher’s description of the novel is: Mariko Oshiro is not your average Tokyo cop. As the only female detective in the city’s most elite police unit, she has to fight for every ounce of respect, especially from her new
My Favorite Bit: Steve Bein talks about DAUGHTER OF THE SWORD Read More »
I just turned in the copy-edited manuscript for Without a Summer and am now starting work on Shades of Milk and Honey. What? Haven’t I written that book already? Yes, but Constable & Robinson is bringing out a UK edition and when my editor there, Sarah Castleton, asked if I wanted to make any changes I jumped at
The UK edition of Shades of Milk and Honey Read More »
If you’ve ever had difficulty outlining something, this episode might be a perfect fit for you. We discuss the Seven-Point Story Structure, an outlining system Dan uses in which the story moves forward along seven sequential points. Dan originally acquired this from a role-playing book, but it also sees regular use in screenwriting. Dan walks
Writing Excuses 7.41: Seven-Point Story Structure Read More »
If you are interested in my process of going through a copy-edited manuscript, you can listen to me read aloud from Without a Summer. Mostly it’s catching things like repetitions or unintentional rhymes, but sometimes you’ll get to see my curse my own prose. I try to explain what I’m fixing and why. I’m starting
The continuing read-aloud of WITHOUT A SUMMER – Google+ Read More »
Like many authors, I use a lot of different social media sites to make it as easy as possible for folks to keep up with me. Some of them make it easy for me to stay in touch with others, some seem to just frustrate me. What I want to do today is talk about
Debut Author Lesson: On Facebook Read More »
I’m reading Tina Connolly’s debut novel Ironskin and loving it. It’s been described as Jane Eyre with fairies, and I can see why, but that doesn’t do justice to the fascinating world building that she’s done in creating a world where the Great War was fought against the Fae. Here’s Tina to talk about her Favorite
My Favorite Bit: Tina Connolly talks about IRONSKIN Read More »