Bev Pettersen's Blog, page 124

Guest Author Kristina McMorris: Writing Dual Timelines

I realized from the beginning writing dual timelines was going to be a challenge; I’d never before attempted to interweave past and present storylines into a single novel. Yet due to the nature of what would ultimately become my latest release, The Pieces We Keep—in which a boy’s dreams are mysteriously linked to family secrets from WWII—I decided it was definitely worth a try. Among my greatest concerns, however, was that one storyline would outshine the other.

When I myself have read novels...

The Gift of Surprise

The end of the year caused me to reflect on the deaths in 2013 of two of my favorite writers, Robert Barnard and Margaret Frazer.

One wrote contemporary mysteries set in the west (Australia, Norway, and England) that skewered our life and times with a rapier as sharp as Jane Austen aimed at her era. The other was firmly rooted in the fifteenth century. I have shelves of both their works; I regret not being able to add to them.

It didn’t take me long to realize why both authors were favorites of...

Get Ready for the Winter Writing Festival: Goal-Setting Advice!

The Festival starts next week! The Festival starts this week!! (Friday, January 10, to be exact.)

To help you get ready, I’m re-posting a blog from last year about how to get ready:

I’m so darned excited, I could spit. Not very ladylike, but true.

One of my favorite parts of the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood’s Winter Writing Festival is the fact that you can set your own goals (see details here). But of course that means you need to think carefully about what your goals should be to make best use of...

Passages in life

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

(from The Prophet by Khalil Gibran)

Today is release day for one of my best projects ever. Dear Daughter #2 is leaving for college.

Someone asked my husband a couple of months ago what it felt like to wait for the release date of my debut book. He said, “It’s like childbirth. It’s painful, it takes too long, and then suddenly it’s over and what now?”

I’ve been thinking about his comments in the past few days. There are a l...

Ruby Release: 2 for 1 – Liz Talley and Kim Law

Ah…2014. Welcome! It’s a lovely year already, isn’t it? And I don’t say that simply because both Liz and I had a book come out yesterday. Though we did. And we both did little happy release day jigs. I suspect mine was more entertaining, though, because I did mine in my pajamas Because yeah, that’s the way I roll on New Year’s Day. Or maybe that only happened because I was doing revisions all day. Way to start the year off right, huh? (Insert sarcastic eye roll here.)

So anywho…since I was n...

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2014!

The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood would like to raise a glass and thank all the people near and far who’ve supported us in our writing endeavors and made our lives all the happier for it.
May the new year bring you happiness and hope and everything your heart desires!

Time to Blow Your Own Horn: What are you PROUD of from 2013?

This time of year, we tend to put our focus on the new year coming, and make our resolutions for how we’re going to “be better” the next go round.
But I thought it might be healthy to pause for a moment today and consider what we did RIGHT this year.
So here’s my simple question for you before you put on your glittery finery and hoist those glasses of champagne: name ONE thing you did this year in your writing life that you feel good about. (And feel free to throw in some successes from other p...

Writing Resolutions

Another year is drawing to a close. This always seems to be a natural time to take stock of how far we’ve come in the last twelve months and make resolutions for the next twelve. For the next year (or next few weeks until our resolve gets swallowed up by real life) we’re all going to eat better, exercise more, and be so kind to our fellow man we’ll make Mother Teresa look cranky. We’ll be paragons of virtue. Stand back world, we’re resolved!

But what about our writing lives? In this season of...

Merry Christmas to All!!

Happiest of Holidays to all our friends and readers!
The Ruby Slippered Sisters are taking our traditional break so we can spend time with friends and family. We hope you have a wonderful time with your loved ones as well, and will see you back here for fresh blog posts starting Monday, December 30.
Behind the scenes, we’re also getting ready for the Winter Writing Festival, which starts Friday, January 10!
Much love to you all.

Announcing the 2014 Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival!

Yipeeee!!!! It’s one of my favorite times of the year!
Not just because of the beautiful solstice holidays full of light, but because THE FOURTH ANNUAL RUBY SLIPPERED SISTERHOOD WINTER WRITING FESTIVAL IS ON ITS WAY!!!

Those who’ve taken part the past three years know that the WWF is fabulous for productivity (especially if you take part in some of writing sprints!!).

If you haven’t joined us before, jump on over and join us starting January 10, 2014. It’s completely free, and the more the merri...