Archive for July, 2009

Interview: Carleen Brice, Part 2

If you missed part 1 of my interview with author Carleen Brice, the remedy is just a click away. Carleen is the author of the highly regarded novel Orange Mint and Honey–which was just optioned by Lifetime TV–and has just released her second novel, Children of the Waters. Read a two-chapter excerpt of her new [...]

Why giving it away is okay

Today we welcome author and online marketeer J.C. Hutchins to Writer Unboxed! J.C. is not only the author of a brilliant, multimedia thriller novel, Personal Effects: Dark Art, his technothriller trilogy, 7th Son, has become the most popular podcast novel series ever. Yes, really. Today he’s going to tell us about his unboxed road to [...]

6 tricks for writing when you don’t feel like it

In a perfect world, all writers would always get exactly enough sleep. In the morning, we’d drift down to a nutritious, leisurely breakfast prepared by someone else, then amble into our beautiful study to write with joy and abandon on the current project(s).  In a perfect world, no writer would be awakened three times in [...]

That’s Right. It’s Contest Time.

Yo, listen up, peeps. Therese and I’ve been Twittering. We’ve been hinting. And now, here it is: our THIRD (somewhat regular, whenever we get our butts in gear to do it) ANNUAL CONTEST. Whoop! Whoop! Holla! Our last contest invited you to come up with the funniest made-up word ever. This year, we’ve decided to [...]

Interview: Carleen Brice, Part 1

Carleen Brice‘s debut novel, Orange Mint and Honey, was incredibly well received by critics, became a Target Bookmarked Break Out Book, and just this past week was optioned by Lifetime TV for the Lifetime Movie Network. Her second novel, Children of the Waters, has been garnering praise as well: “compelling and difficult to put down.” [...]

Writers Looking for Answers

Sherri — a regular reader at my weblog — asked me recently what books I’d recommend to somebody who has just started writing fiction. It’s a reasonable question, as there are about a bazillion how-to-write-a best-selling-novel-and-get-published books out there. There are several distinct subcategories of the writing-related how-to books — craft, theory, inspiration, marketing/sales, reference, [...]

From the Mailbox: good news & more

Valued contributor Sophie Masson is on a hot streak! Here’s her latest: When it rains it pours–got more good news yesterday–a new book of mine, JACK OF SPADES (a fun spy thriller for kids set in Paris in 1910 against a background of anarchist attacks) has just been bought by the UK publisher Chicken House–but as they [...]

The Secret

Exactly one year ago today, my manuscript sold to Random House in a two-book deal. Something started happening after that, and it’s something that continues to happen with increased frequency. Situation 1: A friend of a friend’s gardener–who is a great guy, I’m told–wants to publish a book. He doesn’t know how to do it. [...]

Every Word Counts: Writing for Children

Note: Today’s guest blogger is children’s book author Ann Whitford Paul, whose works have appeared on The New York Times Notable Books List, and won awards such as the Carl Sandburg Award for Children’s Literature, and the National Parenting Centers “Seal of Approval.” Welcome, Ann! Every Word Counts One often hears this phrase “every word [...]

Good News!

Valued contributor Sophie Masson dropped us this line: Just to let you and Therese know: I got some exciting news last week: I’ve been granted a residency in Paris next year, by the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts, Australia’s premier grant-giving body for the arts. It’s in the Cite Internationale des [...]

Snippets

So I got my hiney handed to me over this one space verses two spaces poll we ran last week. My DH argued in favor of one space; I am an ancient crone who cannot stop typing two. But one space clearly won the day 64% to 29%. The gloating I’ve had to listen to [...]

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Anna Elliott, part 2

Birthing seems to be a bit of a theme for historical author Anna Elliott. In part one of our two-part interview with Elliott, she revealed that she was four months pregnant with her daughter when she dreamed she would write what became the first installment in her Avalon trilogy.  Now finishing the second title, which will continue the story of [...]