Bev Pettersen's Blog, page 108

Romancing the Author

I love writing posts for the Ruby blog but for whatever reason nothing was readily coming to mind when I sat down to write this post. And then I realized I had a ready source of wisdom, playing in the background as I wrote – the 1984 romantic adventure, ROMANCING THE STONE.

I’m a huge fan of the film and have been since I saw it the year it came out. We have our heroine, Joan Wilder, the tepid, scared romance novelist who treks off to South America out of love and loyalty to her sister. And, i...

On Writing Strike

As busy writers, we sometimes forget that the reason we wanted to start writing in the first place was because we loved to read. We forget that books are what inspire and provoke and excite us. Instead, we pick up a few deadlines and then it becomes almost fashionable to make excuses about why we’re NOT reading in writerly circles:

“I just bought that book! But I have a ginormous TBR right now.”

“Oh, I totally want to read that! But who has the time?”

“It’s so sad that I don’t have the time to r...

Ruby Release: Sprinkles on Top by Kim Law

Happy release day to me!!! It’s been almost eight months since my last release, and that feels like forever!!! I know it isn’t, but given that during the first fourteen months of my publishing career I had five releases, waiting eight months is a stretch!

But the day has finally arrived, and I’m dancing and partying here at my house. And if you follow me on Facebook, you’ll know that I’m often sans pants. But today, for this very special occasion, I not only showered, but I even put on pants!

S...

WHEN THE WORDS WON’T COME…

Several weeks ago, I signed up to post today and my blog topic was TAKING IT TO HEART. I’ve been struggling with this topic ever since. I had an idea of what I wanted to convey, but the words just wouldn’t come. I wrote, revised, and rewrote. I tried taking different directions with it, and I still couldn’t get the post to take shape.

I wanted to have it written and uploaded by Friday afternoon. We were leaving town Saturday morning to celebrate my nephew’s birthday, so if I didn’t have it rea...

Co-writing: genesis of an idea

[My author-friend Lisa Amowitz and I are co-writing a YA historical/magical realism book, set during the American War for Independence, featuring Nathan Hale (America's first spy) as one of the characters. She and I have decided to blog about the experience of writing a story together. Here is our first article, primarily told by Lisa.]

Lisa: There’s a lot of background to my collaboration with fellow Spencer Hill Press author, Elizabeth Langston. We’d first bonded when I worked as the cover d...

You’ve Got To Move It, Move It!

There is a new first-world disease spreading in the US and across the globe. I read about itin my local paper but it’s national news. It can cause heart disease, diabetes, obesity and lead to cancer. You could have it right now and not even be aware the danger to which you are exposing yourself. It is known as the Sitting Disease.

“Even if people meet the current recommendation of 30 minutes of physical activity on most days each week, there may be significant adverse metabolic and health effe...

Touring with a book in mind

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to travel, particularly to visit historic sites. Like every other writer, I’ll walk into a building or garden or field and the story will start to grow. I thought I’d share some of the sites I used to write The Counterfeit Lady, which came out August 5th.

First off, if you’re going to have a murder, it has to occur somewhere. When I decided Lady Phyllida’s cousin was going to be murdered and her husband blamed, I knew they had to have a period home. It...

What’s Your Favorite Line?

As I prepare to jump into the self-publishing world under the name of Jacie Floyd in the next few days, I’ve been thinking about what makes a book memorable for readers. What makes it stand out? What do I look for when I’m reading? An amazing, creative plot? Sure. Great characters? Maybe. Fast pace? Unusual premise? Setting? It’s hard to focus on just one element, isn’t it?

But when I looked at my keeper shelf filled with Janet Evanovich, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Mary Balogh, and so many more...

Read a Romance Month

(I’m hi-jacking this post….but Darynda can keep her cute pic up there because she’s the blogger on RARM TODAY – go check out her post!)

So this is Liz Talley and just in case you didn’t know, August is the month of romance! SO this is OUR month, people. It’s our chance to stuff the good wonderfulness of romance books down the throats of all those prigs who scoff and turn their uppity noses to the sky at us and our inferior product. Oh, you didn’t know? Romance is trashy.

Which is why it totally...

You. Your Life. Your Writing.

My children came into the world withtwo sets of grandparents and two sets of great-grandparents. Safe within the nurturing embrace of their large and loving family, they thrived.

I can’t recall whether Son was in kindergarten or first grade, but one day, he arrived home confused and agitated. A classmate claimed to have no grandparents.How could that be?

The shattering of normal had begun.

This is one of my favorite memes (sorry, Angelica, but Carolyn will always be Morticia to me). In one pithy...