Sammi Carter's Blog, page 5

Watch Out, J.K., Here I Come

There I was, hard at work on my current work-in-progress, when someone on the Sisters in Crime loop posted a link I just couldn't resist! All I had to do was plug in a few paragraphs of something I'd written. Something more substantial than Facebook posts or Tweets from Twitter.

Since I was right in the middle of an actual novel and had text to spare, I clicked the link, pasted in a few paragraphs, and got my results.

It's official, folks …

I write like
J. K. Rowling

I...

Avoiding Author Intrusion

THERE'S NOT ROOM ENOUGH FOR THE TWO OF US: Back by popular demand! Author intrusion is one of fiction's deadliest diseases. it jars readers, slows the pace of your work, and puts a barrier between your story and the reader. Learn how to avoid contrived or impossible situations, and how to keep yourself off the pages of your novel.

In this workshop you'll also learn to identify and avoid:

Ineffective point of view; The information dump; The elusive spy syndrome; Smoke and...

Update about the Candy Shop Series

Sorry for leaving this blog unattended for so long. Life's been kind of out-of-control since late September and blogging hasn't been high on my list of priorities. 

I've been getting lots of e-mail lately about the candy shop series. Thank you all for writing! I love getting your e-mails and appreciate so much knowing how many of you have enjoyed the series. Unfortunately, my publisher decided not to continue the series, so there won't be a sixth book about Abby, her family and friends. 

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What's Your Myers-Briggs Personality Type?

I just took the Facebook version of the Myers Briggs personality test, and I'm a little surprised by the results. I took the Myers-Briggs test several years ago when I was working in the federal court system and the Clerks of Court arranged for specialists to administer the test to everyone who worked at the two different courts housed in the building.

At that time, I came out a strong INFJ--introverted, intuitive, feeling, and ??? Judging? Yeah, I think that's it.

Tonight, my results indicate

Everything is Amazing, Nobody is Happy

I've been the world's worst blogger lately, and I promise to catch up soon with a real entry -- but I had to share this video a friend sent to me this morning.

Agatha Nominees Announced

In case you haven't seen this yet ... I hadn't, but I've recently discovered that I'm seriously, sadly out of touch with the news.

Malice Domestic has announced the nominees for the 2009 Agatha Awards (named in honor of Agatha Christie) for works published in 2008. Winners are voted on by attendees of Malice XXI (21): May 1-3, 2009 and will be announced at the Agatha Banquet on May 2.

The Agatha Award honors the best in "cozy" or traditional mystery. The 2008 Agatha Nominees are:

Best Novel:

Six

I Hate Windows Vista

** Note: I originally wrote this post on Thursday, but then my computer shut down mid-post, and I thought I'd lost it. I just found it buried deep in a weird folder while preparing to restore my computer to its factory settings in the hope that I can finally resolve this problem I'm having.

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I don't often lose my temper, but I lost it today and I lost it big. A year or so ago, I bought a new laptop computer after my old one crashed and burned. My new computer came loaded

The Future of Publishing

I read a blog post by Mark Tavani, Senior Editor at Random House today, and I was interested in his take on the current state of the industry, and also on the comments offered by other blog readers who got there before me.

Tavani suggests that the current shake-up has been caused by the build-up of past events, not necessarily by the current state of the economy. I agree with him completely, but then I don't even think the current economic was caused during the past 8 years alone. Events this big

The Selling Synopsis

February 2 - 27, 2009
Registration Fee: $40 (includes critique)
For more information, or to register, go to DancingOnCoals

THE SELLING SYNOPSIS: A synopsis is one of the most valuable tools in your writer's toolbox, but to write a successful one, we need to shift gears and forget almost everything we've learned about writing a great novel. Learn how to show editors and agents that you can put together a compelling story filled with sympathetic characters. That you understand motivation and know how

Thirteen Random Things from My Week

1. My oldest daughter went downstairs for something the other night and discovered that the sewer was backing up into our basement.

2. We discovered the sewer issue at about 7:00 in the evening. The plumber left at 2:30 in the morning.

3. While the plumber was here, he asked my daughter to fill the washer with water and then drain it so he could see if the drains were working again. While the washing machine was trying to pump out the water, it began smoking. Badly.

4. The fix for the washer we ho