Neve Maslakovic's Blog, page 2

How to Start a Chain Reaction

Created with Canva’s AI generator.

An update on the book I’ve been working on, which has nicely settled into the title THAT MURDER FEELING. The most recent feedback has been that the story remains confusing in the opening pages and so I’ve been re-writing the early chapters, all of which has me thinking about beginnings.

There’s a lot riding on opening sentences. They need to grab attention, establish the setting, hint at what’s to come. It’s the front door, ajar. Come on in, it says.

I...

Mid-March One Day Surprise Giveaway

Grif and his camp friends are VERY excited about the March giveaway.

The subject line of today’s newsletter is misleading — it’s actually a two-day giveaway. Which means that if you’ve opened this email on Saturday the 16th, you haven’t missed it! Read on for the details of this no-strings-attached (not a single one!) ebook giveaway.

The back story: A few weeks ago, fellow author Carolynn Gockel invited me to take part in a sci-fi book blast she was organizing. It sounded fun, so I said ye...

A Fortress, and How We Choose Books

This is a cellphone picture I took back in mid-December of Belgrade’s fortress, Kalemegdan. The fortress stands on a ridge above where two rivers, the Danube and the Sava, meet. That’s a view to the south, from along a fortification wall. It’s one of my favorite places to walk around in and explore. Every cobblestone drips with history, starting with Romans in the second century and with many a battle, siege, and transformation since then, layer upon layer.

It got me thinking about a subj...

It’s Time to Talk About AI

December Newsletter

I Now Have a Substack

October Update

Hope everyone is having a good fall (or spring, depending on where on the globe you are!)

First, many thanks to those of you who kindly agreed to beta read If Your Problem is Murder and waded through the rough version of the manuscript. I received a lot of helpful feedback, digested it all, and gave the book one last good editing pass. It’s now ready for its next step – querying. That’s when it makes the rounds of literary agents — and I think I’ve thought of an even better title (to be r...

Call for Beta Readers

The title says it all. Book 1 of the new speculative mystery series is done and looking for a couple of beta readers!

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, a beta reader is a generous soul who volunteers to read a pre-publication draft of a novel and provide feedback. (Alpha readers see the manuscript at an early, still-in-development stage; beta readers see a close-to-publication draft.)

If Your Problem is Murder is a speculative mystery set in 1985, the first in an intended series. (Y...

Welcome, 2023

Happy New Year! For me, January 1 always brings with it the feel of a crisp new notebook. Pages yet to be written. Moments to be grabbed, new things to be learned, adventures and struggles awaiting just around the corner.

Blue skies ahead, what’s over the horizon as yet unknown.

The ocean water picture is one I took from my cabin on the Writing Excuses Workshop and Retreat cruise, this past September in the Western Caribbean. It was an extraordinary experience. I’d never been on ...

June Update

In the Back Yard

Summer has finally arrived here in the Twin Cities after what seemed like a VERY long winter. The grass is green, dandelions are popping up all over, and the purple magnolia (Magnolia Ann) in our back yard survived its first Minnesota winter, no small feat. The picture above is from a month ago, mid-May, when the flower buds were just starting to emerge. (As to the yellow spots in the yard, well, if you have a dog you know what they are!)

Book Update

There’s now a ...