By the time this gets posted, I’ll be on a trip to attend two speculative fiction conventions, Au Contraire in New Zealand and AussieCon 4 in Melbourne. I have a busy schedule at both, appearing on panels, giving a workshop and fronting up for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards, for which my novel Heart’s Blood [...]

Please welcome guest Meryl Evans to WU. Meryl was one of our quarter-finalists in our search for an unpublished contributor. When we asked Meryl what she could bring to WU that would be uniquely her, she wrote: A writer who happens to be missing a major sense (hearing) has made a successful career out of [...]

Therese here. Today’s guest is Jane Porter, author of SHE’S GONE COUNTRY. Jane has been in the enviable position of having several of her books adapted for various mediums. She’s with us today to tell us a little about that, and how she manages her writing when these other opportunities wait in the wings. Enjoy! [...]

Facebook is now used by more than 500 million people, and the fastest growing demographic is in the 35+ range—which also happens to be a book-buying demographic. (Keep up-to-date on Facebook stats here.) People, whether they realize it or not, use Facebook as a personalized news stream. That means rather than searching out the news, [...]

Today’s guest post is by one of our semi-finalists for WU’s unpublished writer position, Christy Hayes. Christy wrote: I’ve been at this for awhile and have seen my writing improve, made small and encouraging steps toward my ultimate goal of publication, and have come to rely upon the invaluable support of fellow writers. I don’t [...]

Tidbits on the publishing industry from around the ‘web. Barnes and Noble is being put up for sale. What’s happening? This from The New York Times: For years, Barnes & Noble has been battered by large shifts in the publishing industry and the retail environment. Book sales have moved toward big-box stores like Costco, Wal-Mart [...]

I was thirteen when I learned I’d switched the voices of the ABBA women by giving the blonde’s lyrics to the redhead’s, and vice versa. It shouldn’t have mattered. Frida and Agnetha continued to harmonize; their melodies remained the background music as my sister and I washed the nightly dishes. In truth, though, it took a [...]

In Part I of WU’s interview with MacAllister Stone, owner and CEO of Absolute Write, we spoke of minions, the challenges involved in herding 25,000 writers towards publication, and threats such as lawsuits.  In an abrupt and unforeseen twist, this concluding post will cover more optimistic territory. Jan for Writer Unboxed: Is there a special meaning to the avatar you use on AW and Twitter? (top [...]

Confession: I was shoulder-deep into the manuscript revision of my fourth book, which has a deadline of, oh, one week from now, when I realized I had to write this blog post. And for the life of me, I could NOT come up with something to discuss. That tends to happen when I fully immerse [...]

That title is spot on for what I want to talk about today. First, let’s discuss our own egos. It can be easy to get puffed up because someone liked a book, or because we passed a milestone. But it’s important to stay in touch with reality — not to let our own hype cloud [...]

Lydia Sharp, a finalists in our WU Unpublished Writer search, sent a note to tell us she’d not only had a short story accepted for publication in the FLESH & BONE anthology from Pill Hill Press, she also won FIRST PLACE in their anthology contest! Want to read her award-winning story? Said Lydia: To celebrate, [...]

Therese here. Please welcome author Amanda Lee to Writer Unboxed. Amanda is the author of a new mystery novel, The Quick and the Thread–the story of a new shop owner thrust into the role of prime suspect when her shop’s old owner turns up dead. According to her bio: Amanda is the lady next to [...]

In 2000, just as I was starting to get serious about pursuing a career in fiction, I attended my first writer’s conference.  Out of all the seminars and talks I went to, the one that was the most lightly attended was the one on e-publishing.  The editors for Ellora’s Cave, St. Martin’s e-press (which folded a [...]

I’ve made no secret about my gratitude for certain literary communities — among them, Absolute Write . Its forums are a sprawling network where one can as easily receive critique on erotica as greeting cards; speak to industry people, such as agents or small press publishers; or joke around with other, writerly loons. (Guess where you’ll [...]

This may be the longest–and coolest–post I’ve ever written for WU. Not including my interview with Brunonia Barry. So I know you already know that The Last Will of Moira Leahy releases TODAY in trade paperback, with a lovely new cover and an even lovelier recession-friendly price tag. You’ll be able to find the book [...]