Novel Writing Courses and "Novel Writing on Edge" Work and Study Forums

Welcome back to Get Rec’d! How are we all doing? I haven’t said it in a while, but thanks to all the people who lurk on these posts and interact in the comments. I hope I’m able to introduce hidden gems to your TBR pile or find that perfect book for the reader in your life. What great recommendations have you received lately? I want to hear all about ’em! Here We Are Oliver Jeffers creates some truly beautiful picture books and is my go-to for people who wants gorgeous illustrations and something more existential in its storytelling. Oliver Jeffers, arguably the most influential creator of picture books today, offers a rare personal look inside his own hopes and wishes for his child–and in doing so gifts children and parents everywhere with a gently sweet and humorous missive about our world and those who call it home. Insightfully sweet, with a gentle humor and poignancy, here is Oliver Jeffers’ user’s guide to life on Earth. He created it specially for his son, yet with a universality that embraces all children and their parents. Be it a complex view of our planet’s terrain (bumpy, sharp, wet), a deep look at our place in space (it’s big), or a guide to all of humanity (don’t be fooled, we are all people), Oliver’s signature wit and humor combine with a value system of kindness and tolerance to create a must-have book for parents. Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. The Jane Austen Escape Room Book If you have a young Austenite in your life, check out this book of Austen-themed puzzles. I’d say they can be a little on the easy side, which is why I’d recommend this as a gift for high school age or younger. An exciting new take on a literary classic, The Jane Austen Escape Room Book is sure to delight and intrigue fans, old and new, of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. This elegant book presents a chance to experience a classic piece of literature in an all-new way. The Jane Austen Escape Room Book combines the characters that you know and love with the intrigue of mystery as you solve puzzles and riddles to help Elizabeth find her way back to the arms of Mr. Darcy. This thrilling new take on the ever-adored Pride and Prejudice, exquisitely illustrated by Marjolein Bastin, is the perfect gift for the Jane Austen fan in your life! Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. Miracle Creek The comparisons to Celeste Ng (especially Little Fires Everywhere) are pretty accurate. This a literary, legal thriller with a divided community at its center. WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL The “gripping… page-turner” (Time) hitting all the best of summer reading lists, Miracle Creek is perfect for book clubs and fans of Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng How far will you go to protect your family? Will you keep their secrets? Ignore their lies? In a small town in Virginia, a group of people know each other because they’re part of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But then the chamber explodes, two people die, and it’s clear the explosion wasn’t an accident. A powerful showdown unfolds as the story moves across characters who are all maybe keeping secrets, hiding betrayals. Chapter by chapter, we shift alliances and gather evidence: Was it the careless mother of a patient? Was it the owners, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? Could it have been a protester, trying to prove the treatment isn’t safe? “A stunning debut about parents, children and the unwavering hope of a better life, even when all hope seems lost” (Washington Post), Miracle Creek uncovers the worst prejudice and best intentions, tense rivalries and the challenges of parenting a child with special needs. It’s “a quick-paced murder mystery that plumbs the power and perils of community” (O Magazine) as it carefully pieces together the tense atmosphere of a courtroom drama and the complexities of life as an immigrant family. Drawing on the author’s own experiences as a Korean-American, former trial lawyer, and mother of a “miracle submarine” patient, this is a novel steeped in suspense and igniting discussion. Recommended by Erin Morgenstern, Jean Kwok, Jennifer Weiner, Scott Turow, Laura Lippman, and more–Miracle Creek is a brave, moving debut from an unforgettable new voice. Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. The Reading List If you like books about books, and unlikely people coming together over a love of reading, check out this one! It’s very sweet and tender. An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb. Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in Wembley, in West London after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries. Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home. When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list…hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again. Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. View the full article

As a traveler, I’ve migrated throughout the United States—from Michigan, to Hawai’i and in between—landing, finally, in Portland, Oregon. I was chasing that dream we were all told we wanted, only to realize my own. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois-Chicago, I landed a laboratory position along the Gulf Coast of Texas, analyzing wastewater and soil samples. When I’m not testing what comes out the other end of the toilet, I’m writing. Currently, I am working on a speculative fiction novel in which humans have discovered an exotic fuel source that burns clean and renews itself, sparking a war with galaxy-traversing space rats. ----------Interview by Renee Roberson WOW: Hi Aubrey, and welcome! Your essay really made me stop and think, so thank you for sharing such a personal experience. What are you hoping readers take away from “How to Measure Maximum?” Aubrey: With this essay/personal experience, I would like for readers to understand the plight of a woman during times of extreme stress and lacking basic necessities such as housing. We live in a tumultuous time for the economy and it's getting worse. Population rates rise but available and affordable housing has not kept pace. This tragedy steadily unfolds in the United States and elsewhere as more and more hardworking people find themselves out on the streets. The median house price in the Portland, Oregon area alone hovers around $400k. I don't know many people that can qualify for a mortgage at that rate. Furthermore, rent averages around $2k a month for a typical two bedroom apartment. Only recently, have businesses begun applauding themselves for paying closer to $15 an hour. At that pay rate a few years ago, I struggled to find housing and slept in my car for over two years. WOW: I agree on all points. Reading about it in a firsthand account such as yours makes the crisis all the more clear. When did you first decide you wanted to pursue a career in science? Aubrey: In college, I originally planned to major in History or Anthropology. The job market for those fields seemed extremely competitive so I switched to Biology. At the time, I felt like studying something practical would lead me to a job that paid the bills with a little left over for traveling or other leisurely activities. WOW: Could you share some life lessons you’ve learned from your travels? Aubrey: Probably the greatest life lesson I have learned by traveling is just that: to travel. I think it is imperative to discover how other humans live around the country and around the world. In the United States, I have been lucky to have met folks from other countries, learn their cultural values and world perspectives, expanding my own in the process. When I talk to people back home (in Michigan), many of whom have never left the state, or even the town, it is as if I am speaking to the past. They seem stuck and unchanged, encapsulating ideologies and worldviews of a nostalgic sort. I like to think of myself as a continuously evolving creature that craves change and spontaneity. Life is about growth and learning and the best way to do that, in my opinion, is to go out and wander the world. WOW: You are currently working on a speculative fiction novel. What do you think is the hardest part of creating a body of work in this genre? Aubrey: Besides finding time to actually do the writing, probably the most challenging endeavor of writing speculative fiction is the research. Though it is fiction, I want to write stories that sound as if they could happen in our lifetime. Space exploration, rudimentary and largely confined to our native solar system, could be a possibility. Discovering exotic fuels that might power that prime directive is also possible. Encountering other life forms that grew up on other planets is also probable at some point. Writing speculative fiction, to me, fuses the imagination with the real. Making that world seem as believable as possible, despite all the aliens and advanced technology, is an arduous journey that, with the proper diligence, can have great incentive. WOW: That's a great overview and I love that you are working so hard on the research aspect of it as well. Who are some authors who inspire your writing? Aubrey: I love reading so my personal list is long and spans genres. A few on the top shelf are: Anne Rice's dark fantasies, Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," the hilarious writings of Douglass Adams ("Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" and "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series). Also ranking high are: Dan Simmons' "Hyperion" series and Philip K. Dick, whose wildly imaginative stories have provided a lot of inspiration for me. Becky Chambers is becoming a new favorite of mine ("A Closed and Common Orbit"). More women writing "traditionally" male genres is vital to the literary universe because a lot of science fiction out there caters more towards men than women. Chambers not only provides a female perspective but she also explores non-binary genders, a very significant topic in a country that actively fights for and against the rights of LGBTQIA+ communities. A good writer can weave words of gold and honey but a great author can spin a tale so vivid and real that you forget your own life when reading it. WOW: Losing yourself in a story--that's the absolute best, isn't it? Thank you so much for being here today and we wish you all the luck with your writing endeavors!(C) Copyright wow-womenonwriting.com Visit WOW! Women On Writing for lively interviews and how-tos. Check out WOW!'s Classroom and learn something new. Enter the Quarterly Writing Contests. Open Now![url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Scene: Chapter Four. Jo returns to New York from visiting Madeleine in Florida after receiving a telegram from Orson Welles asking to meet. He wants to premiere "Citizen Kane" at the Palace Theater and needs someone to show him around. The scene captures Jo's passions and core decency - and why the movies matter to her. He wanted to meet at midnight.docx

A blog tour is a marketing campaign that involves coordinating a series of blog posts and online promotions to create buzz and generate exposure for your book. It typically involves collaborating with bloggers and influencers who have an audience that aligns with your target readership. These bloggers will read your book, write reviews, host author interviews, and feature guest posts or excerpts from your book on their blogs. The goal is to reach a wider audience and generate interest in your book within their established community. The Blog Tour Framework Here's a breakdown of the framework for a typical blog tour: Identify and contact bloggers: Research and compile a list of relevant bloggers who cater to your book's genre or niche. Reach out to them via email or through their website's contact form, expressing interest in collaborating on a blog tour. Provide review copies: Offer a digital or physical copy of your book to the interested bloggers, allowing them time to read and review it before the tour begins. Create tour schedule: Coordinate with the participating bloggers to create a schedule for the tour. Each blogger will have a designated day to feature your book on their blog and share their review, interview, guest post, or any other agreed-upon content. Create content: Prepare author interviews, guest posts, or excerpts that you can provide to the bloggers to publish on their respective blogs. These pieces of content should be engaging and relevant to your book, enticing readers to learn more about it. Promote: As the blog tour progresses, actively promote each blog post across your own social media channels and any other platforms you use. This will help generate more visibility and encourage your existing followers to visit the blogs hosting your content. Engage with readers: Throughout the blog tour, make an effort to engage with readers who leave comments on the blog posts. Responding to their comments and answering their questions will help build a connection and potentially lead to more interest in your book. Blog Tour Benefits The benefits of a blog tour can be significant for your book launch or generating interest long after your book has been released. Some potential advantages include: Increased exposure: By leveraging the established audiences of bloggers and influencers, you can reach a wider audience that may not have been aware of your book otherwise. Social proof: Positive reviews and endorsements from bloggers can lend credibility to your book, encouraging readers to take a chance on it. Networking opportunities: Collaborating with bloggers and influencers can expand your network within the literary community, opening doors to potential future partnerships or opportunities. Enhanced online presence: The blog tour generates online content related to your book, increasing your online presence and searchability, which can have long-term benefits for your author platform. When to Plan a Blog Tour Determining the best time to have a blog tour for your book largely depends on your specific goals, timeline, and the nature of your book. However, there are a few general considerations to keep in mind when planning the timing of your blog tour: Book launch date: Ideally, you'll want to schedule your blog tour around your book's launch date. This ensures that the tour generates maximum buzz and attention during the critical period when your book becomes available to the public; however, a book tour can also help reignite interest in your book long after it’s been published.. Pre-launch promotion: Consider starting your blog tour a few weeks before your book's official launch. This gives bloggers and influencers ample time to read and review your book, and it allows you to generate buzz and anticipation leading up to the release. Pre-launch promotion can help build excitement and generate pre-orders or early sales. Availability of review copies: Ensure that you have review copies of your book available and ready to send out to bloggers well in advance of the blog tour start date. This allows sufficient time for bloggers to read the book and prepare their content for the tour. Consider providing digital copies for ease and quick distribution. Audience availability: Take into account the preferences and availability of your target audience. If your book caters to a specific season, genre, or holiday, it might be beneficial to align your blog tour with that theme or timeframe. For example, a romance novel might benefit from a blog tour around Valentine's Day. Other marketing efforts: Consider coordinating your blog tour with other marketing initiatives you have planned. This could include social media campaigns, advertising, or other promotional activities. A coordinated approach can amplify your book's visibility and impact. Blogger availability: Reach out to bloggers and influencers well in advance to secure their participation and confirm their availability for the tour. Keep in mind that popular bloggers may have busy schedules, so it's beneficial to plan ahead and be flexible with scheduling to accommodate their availability. Ultimately, the best time for a blog tour is when you have everything in place, including review copies, promotional materials, and a solid plan for engaging with bloggers and readers throughout the tour. Take the time to strategically plan and execute your blog tour to maximize its impact on your book launch or relaunch. Did you know WOW! Women on Writing offers blog tours as part of our marketing services? If you're interested in exploring professional assistance for your blog tour and other book marketing endeavors, check out WOW! Women on Writing's book marketing packages. We offer comprehensive and tailored solutions to help authors like you navigate the world of book promotion. Our team of experts can guide you through the process, provide valuable insights, and connect you with influential bloggers and reviewers in your genre. By leveraging the expertise and network of WOW! Women on Writing, you can enhance the effectiveness of your blog tour and ensure your book receives the attention it deserves. Learn more here or contact blogtour@wow-womenonwriting.com with questions. (C) Copyright wow-womenonwriting.com Visit WOW! Women On Writing for lively interviews and how-tos. Check out WOW!'s Classroom and learn something new. Enter the Quarterly Writing Contests. Open Now![url={url}]View the full article[/url]

It’s time to wrap up May with our second Whatcha Reading! It’s also Memorial Day weekend in the States, which seems like a perfect excuse to get even more reading done before the month is over. Sneezy: I’m reading Right Wing Women by Andrea Dworkin. She takes no prisoners. Sarah: What’s that? The library has the next Veronica Speedwell audiobook? Don’t mind if I do! Currently listening to A Murderous Relation ( A | BN | K | AB ) and having a splendid time. The audiobook performance by Angele Masters is terrific. A | BN | KShana: I just finished a YA romcom that gave me the biggest book hangover, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert. So much banter and sweetness! I’m now reading The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older, and liking it so far. Elyse: I just finished The Daydreams. ( A | BN | K ) Some of it was how awful tabloids were to young female stars in the aughts (Lindsay, Britney etc), but each of the main characters does something really shitty to another so it’s hard to really like any of leads. It was meh. Lara: Elyse recommended Loreth Anne White’s The Maid’s Diary ( A | BN ) and I’m hooked. No romance, but the suspense is phenomenal so far. Whatcha reading? Let us know in the comments! View the full article

Another fundamental that makes a whole lot of sense, esp marketing wise.

I've been trained. It works!

If you knew how many writers this has positively impacted, you'd say, it's no wonder. Fundamentals like this are too often neglected.

The transcript for Podcast 564. Bunny Aliens in Space: Cover Design with JL Logosz has been posted! This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks. ❤ Click here to subscribe to The Podcast → View the full article