Writer Unboxed

Today’s post comes from WU friend and author Jael McHenry. Jael’s debut novel, The Kitchen Daughter, will be released by Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books in the Spring of 2011 (and you can’t wait, trust me; it’s a delicious read). Jael is, in her own words, an enthusiastic amateur cook, blogging about food and writing at [...]

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I recently stumbled upon a funny list on CNN.com, entitled, “The top 10 geek anthems of all time.” On that list: “Weird Science,” by Oingo Boingo; and “Nerdcore Rising,” by M.C. Frontalot, among others. Which got me thinking that we really needed a top 10 writers’ anthems of all time. I was going to write [...]

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Last night my DH pulled his eyes away from the Kentucky/West Virginia basketball game and said, “I’d like to go to that Hot Tub Time Machine movie.” “What’s it about?” I was curious what could draw his attention from March Madness. I’d gotten used to the widowhood by now. He shrugged. “It’s a time- travel movie. [...]

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After several rounds, WU’s Juliet Marillier is still in the running for the BSC Reviews Tournament. She reports: Heart’s Blood has survived to the round of 16 in this British-based book tournament. Thanks to all who voted to keep my book in the contest! I bet most of the votes came from outside the UK. [...]

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There’s a persistent myth, I think, that getting published is all about who you know, that you’ll never sell a book unless you have a personal connection to someone in the publishing world. But it is a myth—I promise you, it’s a myth. If getting published was really all about who you know, I would [...]

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I’ve been thinking about movies and television shows lately: the power of their immediacy, the creative constraints screenwriters face in crafting visually rich stories, and most of all, how demanding the craft can be. While it’s the director’s and actors’ jobs to realize what’s on the page, great screenwriters deliver a vision that illustrates everything [...]

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Oh, I love doing this. Fellow blog mama Therese Walsh‘s debut, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, is a finalist for the Romance Writer’s of America’s coveted RITA award for Best First Book! And Barbara Samuel (AKA Barbara O’Neal) is a finalist in the RITA’s Novel with Strong Romantic Elements category for The Lost Recipe for [...]

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Two weekends ago, I participated in the delightful Tucson Festival of Books. While on a panel with Karen Joy Fowler, Margaret Erhart and Daniel Stolar, we fell into a discussion of the importance of setting and sense of place. We all expressed surprise and frustration at the lack of setting details that sometimes show up [...]

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Yesterday morning began with my usual rounds — email, blog, Twitter, Facebook. One of my Facebook friends posted a link–”Amazing story,” she said. Normally at that time of day I wouldn’t follow a link, because I need to get busy writing, but something made me follow this one: Fearless to the end: Remembering Margaret Moth. [...]

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Free Expressions Seminars is now welcoming applications for a full scholarship to its acclaimed Writing the Breakout Novel Weeklong Intensive, with top New York literary agent, Donald Maass. The scholarship is available for one student who wishes to participate in the September 13-19 Writing the Breakout Novel Intensive, to be held in Charlotte, NC. It [...]

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Confession time. I haven’t done my weekly WU post. Instead, I watched men’s basketball this afternoon — Cornell’s men’s basketball, to be exact. I have an interest in this program (well, all the Cornell athletic programs), and the Ivy League basketball teams are not only the underdog at the Big Dance, they are basically warthogs, blown [...]

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Juliet and Therese may have been knocked out of the Da Bwaha Tournament, but Juliet is still in the running for the BSC Reviews Tournament. Voting is easy. First, register, then vote (now through 3/25). Check it out HERE.

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