Bev Pettersen's Blog, page 117

I’ve Manned the Halyard!!!

As a historical writer, I jump at any chance for research that gives me a first-hand taste of life in the past–so a couple weeks ago I snapped up tickets to sail on a replica 19th-century two-masted merchant trading ship. The best part was that they (literally) showed us the ropes, and let us “haul away,” “ease,” “belay,” and “unbelay.”
Quick translations:

-haul: yank on the rope to pull it tight
-ease: let go of the rope to give it slack
-belay: whip it around a metal pin to hold it firmly in pl...

“I Feel the Need…”

Mayday. Mayday.
This is Tamara Hogan, The World’s Slowest Writer®, calling Mayday…
Mayday. Mayday. Ruby Slippered Sisterhood, do you copy?

I need your help.

Earlier this week, in the aftermath of all the RWA/RITA + GH Awards hoopla, I looked at my WIP and came to a startling conclusion: I am not on track to complete my WIP in 2014, much less publish it. I’m writing every day, making slow progress, but…GULP.

Note how, up above, I claimed to be the world’s slowest writer? I am slow. Three-toed sloth...

Clueless-The Rule of Six

For those of you who know me, you know that I spend most of my life in the state known as clueless. For example I’m mystified by the need for daylight savings time and pantyhose and signs that say, “hand dipped ice cream” because what else are you going to dip it with? But I digress…I’m here to talk about writing.

Warning: This is not for you psycho plotters who have charts and character interviews and drawings of your character’s hometown taped up on the wall. This is for we clueless who sit...

Marketing That Clicks: What Works On You?

I usually ignore Facebook ads that pop up in my newsfeed, but today, I saw one that made my heartbeat quicken.

The ad was from the Facebook page of Bulgari, the maker of several perfumes I adore, announcing the release of a new Omnia fragrance.

“Omnia Indian Garnet,” it said. “Click to Experience.”

Indian Garnet? It sounded heavenly. I began to salivate, imagining a warm, heady juice, rich with the spices of India. I wanted to smell it! NOW! But how could I experience a fragrance online?

The ad p...

Ruby Release: A Whisper in Time by Elizabeth Langston

Amanda Brice here, and I’m giddy with excitement. It’s release day for the second in Elizabeth Langston’s brilliant Whisper Falls trilogy, A Whisper in Time. I had the distinct delight of getting to read an advance copy and truly loved it. But don’t take my word for it.

I have never been useless in my life…

Rescued from a life of servitude by the boy she loves, Susanna Marsh escapes across two centuries, only to be plunged into a world she’s ill-prepared to face. Unable to work or go to school...

Things My Mother Taught Me

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One Hell of a Journey

Happy 4th of April! Are you wondering if you’ve missed some obscure holiday? Don’t worry, there’s no need to remember this day unless it’s your birthday or like me, have some anniversary to acknowledge.

Heather & Kids 2010

Three years ago today, April 4th 2011, I woke up in a hospital room from surgery to hear, “I’m sorry, but it’s ovarian cancer.” Link to OC SymptomsI call it my most horrific before-and-after moment. From that moment forward, every time I think about my past or see a photograp...

To Write or Not To Write?

To write or not to write? What do you do when life keeps throwing challenges your way?

2013: It was one of those years. Where the refrain from the Chumbawamba Tubthumping song keeps going through your head.

Got everybody singing about getting knocked down and getting up again? You’re welcome.

I’ve been knocked down before, and I’ve blogged about it before here, but that time it was about getting knocked down in your writing life. This time it was reality that kept kicking me in the teeth. Deaths...

Inspired By Actual…

They say write what you know and part of that, to me, has always been accessing your own emotional truth and applying it to your characters. We can draw from the experiences in our lives, the way those experiences made us feel, to give our characters a richer, more authentic emotional depth. Not to mention the fact that it’s good self-therapy – working through our issues through our characters. But I have to wonder, is it possible to use too much of yourself in your books? When does it cross...

Amazon Acquires the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood!!!!

We’ve got an amazing announcement today that’s been brewing for months now, but we couldn’t announce it officially until today!!
We can hardly believe it ourselves, but they literally made us an offer we couldn’t refuse: Amazon.com has just purchased the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood!!!!
Yes, Dear Ruby Readers, as of the end of this month, The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood will officially be a subsidiary of Amazon.com, operating as their official spokespeople for the Romance-Writing (and Reading) World...