Tina Ann Forkner
Learn to Write Anywhere
Learning to write anywhere is really important. On most mornings after the sun has come up, I undock my laptop from its station and move into my living room where the sun pours through an East facing window. In Spring I can hear birds chattering from an evergreen tree off the back deck and with…
Querying With an Unfinished Manuscript
AS A FIRST TIME AUTHOR, should you finish your manuscript before you query an editor? I have been asked this question by all kinds of hopeful writers, and the answer is, sorry Kids, but yes. I know, I know. I’m not exactly the most experienced “published” novelist on the block. After all, my book isn’t…
Organize Your Writing Life
What used to be a simple routine of writing in the morning before going to work has morphed into a full-time job of writing as often as possible while also keeping track of a whole list of publicity appointments, editing, more writing projects and, of course, being a mom and a wife. I am here…
Our Books in Libraries
This weekend I attended the American Library Association Mid-Winter Meeting in Denver with my library. Some of you might really be surprised at how much libraries have changed in the past decade. From automatic check in systems to new and innovative ways to catalog books and organize DVD collections, signs were everywhere that the future of libraries…
Christmas Traditions
Over at my blog, I’ve been talking about giving (time or money since both count) to charity and supporting books for the holidays. It’s been an enlightening holiday season and like many of my author friends, readers, and blogger buddies I’ve been trying to get away from the excess and get back to the true meaning…
What is Happening to the Book Industry?
Everywhere one turns these days, people are bemoaning the state of the book publishing industry. Even non-book people can be heard citing news reports of the downturn in sales for publishers and book stores. Downsizing, low sales, bankruptcy, returns, closures of independent mainstream and Christian bookstores–all bad news. And then one of the worst reports arrived in…
Write for the Reader
“I write what I would like to read–what I think other women would like to read. If what I write makes a woman in the Canadian mountains cry and she writes and tells me about it, especially if she says ‘I read it to Tom when he came in from work and he cried too,’…
Book Endorsements
The subject of endorsements seems to be a hot one, but especially among debut novelists and more and more often even among un-contracted writers. It seems that no matter what writing circle I am in, new and aspiring authors are stressed out about finding an endorser. As a debut novelist myself, I am nowhere near…
Sharing the Writing Journey
Be nice to your writing pals because the world of publishing grows smaller and smaller as you go. Not only do you want your friends beside you, but you never know where you will each end up years down the road. A few months ago I participated in a book signing at Barnes and Noble Cheyenne with…
Learning to Love Books
“…When I was old enough to check out books from our school library I discovered more stories at my fingertips, but they seemed very limited compared to the books at grandma’s house. When grandma started to let me choose one book per month from her books-by-mail library program, I could hardly believe my luck. One…