Books
My First Book-Signing: Photos
Saturday was my very first book-signing. Yeah! I was so tickled as so many friends made the effort to come by. Here I am signing a book for my friend Heather Corbin. She was one of the gals in a Bible study two years ago that I dared to risk this dream, too. That group…
Interview with Dean Koontz
When he was a senior in college, Dean Koontz won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition and has been writing ever since. His books are published in 38 languages. He has sold 325,000,000 copies, a figure that currently increases by more than 17 million copies per year. Ten of his novels have risen to number one…
Marketing Fiction
Last week this post by Chip MacGregor got me thinking about marketing my fiction and what makes a reader grab a book off the shelf. Is it the book itself or is it the story? According to Allen Arnold, a Senior Vice President and the Publisher of Fiction at Thomas Nelson, Hollywood does a better…
Bringing Evil to Life
If you write suspense, somewhere along the storyline you’re probably going to introduce the bad guy, the evil creep bent on mayhem or bloodshed or carnage of some sort. But these bad dudes pose a challenge for many authors. How bad is bad enough? Or too bad? How do I bring my antagonist to life?…
The Dead Whisper On by H.L. Hines
Tony is the author of the acclaimed Waking Lazarus. He has been an advertising agency owner/principal, a trade amgazine editor, and now a novelist. He has been a professional writer for more than 15 years with articles appearing in publications as varied as Log Homes, Conservative Theological Journal, and Travel & Leisure. He is also…
Sushi For One?
It is September 1st, time for the FIRST Day Blog Tour! (Join our alliance! Click the button!) The FIRST day of every month we will feature an author and his/her latest book’s FIRST chapter! This month’s feature author is: CAMY TANG and her book: Sushi for One? (Zondervan, September 1, 2007) ABOUT THE AUTHOR:…
The New Library
Last night, I had the huge privilege of attending a test opening of my local library. Because I am a member of the Foundation Board of Directors, my family was invited to visit and use the library along with many others who work with there. When I walked into the library, I was amazed at…
Not Such a Bad Idea!
I just started reading Todd and Jedd Hafer’s book Bad Idea, and I’ve got to say when I read the back cover about a guy on a cross country trip, it didn’t appeal to me. Then the buzz started. “This book is hilarious,” someone said. “It blew me away,” said another. So when I had…
Is Print Going to Die?
Several years ago, the National Endowment for the Arts warned America: Reading is at risk. They proclaimed that literary reading is declining rapidly among all groups, especially the very young. Two weeks ago, in one of the breakout sessions at Book Expo America, Jeff Gomez wondered about that study. Is print really going to die?…
The Three Chapter Rule
The Three Chapter Rule By Gina Conroy In a recent critique I was told my opening needed to move quicker. I thought I had done that after scrapping the first opening. But I heeded their wise advice and went back and hacked and pushed things up, and I’m very happy to say the pacing starts…