M.L. LeGette's Blog, page 45
April 10, 2013
Spotlight on the Review #1
Happy readers make happy writers.The full review by April Holgate:
I received a copy of this book free through Goodreads First Reads.
To say I loved this book is an understatement. Mally is a wonderful character and she encounters so many quirky folks on her assignment. Very well written and engaging story! And an added bonus of a love triangle! I enjoyed it from beginning to end!! I will definitely be looking for more from this author!
April 8, 2013
Inside the Novel #1
When browsing through Pinterest, I found this photo. It is one of the first images I came across that best portrayed the setting in one of my future books (there is another, which I will reveal in the future). The creepy colors, the angle of the lens to give the illusion of being trapped, not to mention elongating the the trees to seem impossibly tall and slender — all were a perfect match for the setting in Project Maze. I couldn’t believe my luck! So, here is a glimpse into a new novel I am slowly forming:
Project Maze #1
When browsing through Pinterest, I found this photo. It is one of the first images I came across that best portrayed the setting in one of my future books (there is another, which I will reveal in the future). The creepy colors, the angle of the lens to give the illusion of being trapped, not to mention elongating the the trees to seem impossibly tall and slender — all were a perfect match for the setting in Project Maze. I couldn’t believe my luck! So, here is a glimpse into a new novel I am slowly forming:
April 4, 2013
Guest Author Bianca Sloane
Thank you, Bianca Sloane for being my guest! I don’t usually read suspense, but Bianca’s books have my fingers itching to pick one up! Thank you again for sharing your insight and passion for writing!
1) What’s your name? Where can we find you? Blog? Twitter? Facebook?
Bianca Sloane
You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/biancasloane
My blog at http://biancasloane.blogspot.com/
And on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/biancasloane
2) Where do you live?
Chicago
3) How long have you been writing? How many books have you written? They can be published or not published.
For as long as I can remember! My debut novel, “Live and Let Die,” is now available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo and my next release, “Sweet Little Lies,” will be out soon!
4) What genre do you like writing the most? What challenges do you face in this genre?
I enjoy writing in the suspense genre because of the elements of danger, mystery and surprise. Some of the challenges of writing in this genre are to come up with fresh ideas and new twists on stories we’re all familiar with. However, I love taking on that challenge.
5) Tell me a little about your current WIP.
My current WIP is called “Every Breath You Take,” which I hope to release Summer 2013. It’s a novel about obsession. I’m very excited about it!
6) How do you typically begin your project? Do you create outlines and character profiles or jump in head first with the initial idea?
I’m one of those writers who hears the characters talking to me long before they make it to the computer screen. Sometimes I just start writing because I’m so excited about the story idea or situation, that I want to get it down before it slips out of my head. Other times, I will do outlines and character profiles, but it all depends on the story.
7) What aspect of your writing do you consider your strength? Your weakness?
I think a strength of my writing is dialogue and a weakness is slashing my adverbs. I’m getting better, though!
8) Do you focus on one project or do you work on multiple manuscripts at once?
Typically, I work on one manuscript at a time, but I am always coming up with ideas for new stories.
9) Probably the editing process is our most challenging. How do you go about editing your work? Do you have any tips you’d like to share?
I usually just write so I can get the words on the page. I then take a month or so away from the manuscript, then come back to edit and polish and figure out what’s working and what’s not.
10) After publishing, the next trouble facing writers is marketing. What do you typically do when marketing your novel? Do you have tips you’d like to share?
In terms of marketing, I think the KDP Select program is an excellent vehicle for getting the word out about your book. I know it has its detractors, but it really is a fantastic way to get a lot of eyeballs on your books. I also do a fair amount of outreach to book bloggers for reviews, which has been a great experience and another activity I highly recommend authors undertake. I’m also active on Twitter and Pinterest. However, they’re less about marketing my book than they are about engagement – not to mention they’re fun! I blog regularly and will be launching a quarterly newsletter soon.
11) What advice would you give a writer who is starting out?
Write every day, write the best book you can, find a few brutal beta readers (at least one person from a reader’s perspective and another from a writer’s perspective i.e. a critique partner), hire a professional proofreader, cover artist and formatter. And then write the next book.
12) Now choose just one of your books and add a link to it.
If you are an author and would like to be my guest, click here to find out how.
April 3, 2013
Louie in Clover-Land
Note to self: Use this for next year’s St. Patty’s Day.
April 1, 2013
Calling Authors ~ Be My Guest / Books on Parade
If you are a writer (whether published or not), I’d like to help spread the word. I’ve got two features that (I hope) will be useful: Be My Guest and Books on Parade.
Be My Guest: straight forward author interview. Tell us about yourself and your process of writing.
Books on Parade: showcases one of your published novels. Show off your cover, synopsis, praise and most importantly, where we can a copy.
I post here on the blog and on my Twitter account.
Know Me Better #1
Each week Inspired Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, picks 5 questions and answers them. She then invites others to do the same. So here I go.
What story does your family always tell about you?
What kind of music do you like?
Would you rather have money or fame?
Do you celebrate Easter? If so what is one of your traditions?
Best April Fools Day Joke you have done or someone has done to you?
What story does your family always tell about you?
This is one of my favorites. Back when my parents started having children, they decided that they wouldn’t do Santa Claus. My older sister and brother went along with this easily. Then I went to pre-k and heard stories of this man — this man — who brought children gifts! I quickly informed my family of this splendid occurrence. My parents tried to tell me that it wasn’t true, etc, etc, but I wasn’t buying. I single-handedly brought Santa Claus into the family.
What kind of music do you like?
I’m a big fan of moody. It’s a running joke between me and my brother of how most of my iTunes is nothing but sad songs. I love mainstream and indie equally.
Would you rather have money or fame?
Money.
Do you celebrate Easter? If so what is one of your traditions?
Not any more. But when I was little we were all about the egg hunt.
Best April Day’s Fools Joke you have done or someone has done on you?
I’m not a big fan of April Fools, but I’ve got to tell this story. My sister was in kindergarten. My brother (3 yrs old) was in the back seat. When my mom picked Casie up from school, Casie promptly said, “Mama, you’ve got a bug on your shirt!” Mom quickly looked around for it before Casie cheered, “April Fools!” Well, 3-year-old Ben knew he could top that. He announced, “Mama, you’ve got an ant hill on your head!”
March 31, 2013
Melissa Muses ~ Writing Everyday
Since I recently encouraged authors to Be My Guest (and you can too!), I have been pondering one bit of advice that many of them (and others who I have met elsewhere) commonly share: write everyday.
Everyday?
As in every day?
I often feel that I am the one writer in the world who does not write everyday and will not write everyday. This is why.
For me, writing is joy. Writing is love. I would compare my affection for it closer to how one feels toward a hobby. I can write at any time on any day. I choose to do it because I want to. Not because I have to. If writing was suddenly no longer fun, I would stop writing. Simple as that. And I have come close. Frightfully close.
These close encounters with my dark side flare up when I try to see my writing as my career. So many awful, icky feelings and ideals pop up like zits on steroids. Am I successful? Will I ever be successful? What IS successful? When these zits start to swell, my drive to write is vanished and replaced with fear and anger and total discouragement, leaving me with the desire to never ever write again. I want you to realize that all of these terrible feelings crop up from one source and one source alone: The zits come when I try to make writing my job. Why?
Because jobs suck. That’s why.
Writers (especially Indie writers) have the most beautiful lives. We are our bosses. We make all the rules. All the schedules. We decide what we want to write. We decide the cover art. We decide how we go about the process. There are no deadlines unless we make them.
So why make them? Do we fear that we will not finish the manuscript unless we work on it daily? Do we fear that it will become forgotten and forlorn, forever lost under a pile of debris in the bottom-most drawer of our desks? I don’t have any of those fears. Not in the slightest. I know that I will write my book. I know that I will finish it in due time. Sure, if I wrote everyday the book would probably get finished faster, but is that worth the stress of making myself do it when I really don’t want to? Is that worth hating myself and berating myself when I don’t write once a day? Absolutely not!
When I ran away from college and decided to become a writer now rather than later, I think I might have sparked concern in some of my relatives. I remember how my mom was talking to her mom about me and my writing and Grandma brought up a question: “Do you have to make her write everyday?”
My mom was rather startled. “No,” she said. “Melissa writes when she wants to. She gets it done on her own.”
I understand the writer who wants to be efficient and produce as many novels as she can. (I would love to be that writer, but not at the cost it brings me.) I understand the series writer who wants to keep her readers engaged and craving for more. I also understand the writer who truly loves to write everyday and does so.
But we writers are not made the same. Our lives are radically different from each other. Some (maybe most of us) have day jobs and children and responsibilities. I, myself, have a full-time job that is not related to writing and now that I have published two novels, I am distracted more often than I would like to be, often choosing to market rather than write. This is a problem that I need to address as marketing is important but writing is my breath of fresh air. So what I’m trying to say in all this rambling is that I came to writing out of love for it and keeping that love is what matters to me.
March 30, 2013
Guest Author Donna K Childree
I would like to introduce author Donna K Childree to everyone. Thank you very much, Donna for being my guest! If you are an author and would like to be my guest, click here to find out how.
1. What’s your name?
Donna Karen Childree
2. Where do you live?
Ann Arbor, Michigan
3. When did you start writing?
I’ve always loved to write but have only begun sharing in the past few years.
4. What type of books do you love writing the most?
I love writing young adult, coming of age adventures.
5. Share three tips about writing or publishing.
1. Write what you love. If you’re not enjoying the process, something is wrong.
2. Write every day. Even if you only write for thirty minutes, try to sit down and write something daily.
3. Read what you write. Edit, edit, edit.
6. What was the last book that you read? How would you rank it?
The Secret Garden. I love classics. I’ve read this one many times over the years.
7. Now pick one of your books and share a link.
The Wayward Gifted – Broken Point
March 28, 2013
Books on Parade ~ Talk of the Playground
When the police have been seen at school on the second day of term, fighting breaks out amongst parents and gossip about individuals threatens to spiral out of control, can Mrs Hardy, the Headmistress at Moortulk Primary keep control for another school year?
Sophie Grey lands a self-made job where she is in a prime position to hunt out the inside story. Is this an idyllic English village school? Or is it on a par with St. Trinians?
Praise
Rosie Ambers first novel is a dry, humorous look into the world of the english school yard – the workings of a school, the children’s antics and also the parents which are considerably funnier – a real life glimpse of the minefield that parents need to cross whilst steering their offspring through their school years punctuated by the english festivals, fetes and fundraisers that make up a school year. Sometimes true life is stranger than fiction! A must read for any mums who navigate the daily trials of junior school life. ~ Paul Sherman
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If you are an author and would like your novel featured in Books on Parade, click here to find out how.
