Bev Pettersen's Blog, page 61

Planning to NaNo? Get Ready NOW!!!

It’s October, and that means it’s time for NaNoWriMo!!!

Silly Elisa, some of you may be saying right now. National Novel Writing Month is in NOVEMBER, honey. You’re jumping the gun.

But nooooooo, my friends. I’ve learned through trial and error (lots and lots of error) that waiting until November 1 to get started is a big mistake. I’m a pantser by nature, but when it comes time to pump out 1667 useful words a day for 30 days straight, a little planning is actually in order.

Take heart, those...

Serendipity: A Spooky (and Inspirational) Story for Halloween Month

This is Halloween month and while what happened to me this week might be serendipitous, it’s also kinda spooky! And whatever else, I absolutely love it and was inspired by it, and you’ll see why as you keep reading!

I’ve got to love social media and the Internet these days because I learn the most interesting things! So much information just a click away is like crack to an information junkie like me. But this time, the discovery was one of those spooky, serendipitous things when I learned th...

Poltergeist Anyone?

Hello everyone! I write light paranormal romance, both historical and YA contemporary. I love the idea of magic in the world, especially the kind that exists right under our noses where everyday people, too wrapped up in their idea of reality, miss it. I am a relatively average mom of three, ovarian cancer ass-kicker, creative wife (wink, wink), author of romance, and lover of chai lattes. I also totally believe in ghosts, mostly because I lived in a haunted house for five years.

Yes, really!...

MAKE IT GOLDEN Winners Announced!!!

All the votes are all in, and it’s time to name our winners! Every year, the ten finalists make our choice very, very, very difficult, and this year was as tight a race as we’ve ever had. The expanded entries were AWESOME, and we wish we could just keep reading the entire books!

For those of you who may just be joining us, the Make It Golden Contest celebrates excellent beginnings in unpublished romance novel manuscripts. Round 1 asks for entries of the first 50 words (max) of the very openin...

7 Crucial Items to Bring to Conference

Hello everyone! Today I am packing for the Moonlight & Magnolia Romance Writers conference in Atlanta this weekend (http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/...). Georgia Romance Writers puts on a fabulous three-day conference, which brings in a couple hundred romance writers, editors and agents, as well as readers for their grand book signing. I love this conference, because it is big enough for great networking opportunities but also small enough to bring a type of intimacy to it, so...

MAKE IT GOLDEN Finalists Announced!!

It’s time to announce the top ten finalists for the 2016 MAKE IT GOLDEN CONTEST!! Finalists: be sure to post your EXPANDED entries in the comments below (a maximum total of 250 words, starting with the exact opening lines you showed us already, plus what immediately follows) by 12:01 a.m. September 27 to stay in contention for the final round. In other words, you’ll have 24 hours from the time this post appears. Please put the word ENTRY in all caps at the top again (and, no, that doesn’t cou...

It’s ENTRY DAY for the 2016 MAKE IT GOLDEN Contest!!!

Welcome to the SEVENTH Annual MAKE IT GOLDEN Contest!! The MAKE IT GOLDEN contest is designed for unpublished authors who are polishing up their entries for RWA’s Golden Heart Contest. We all know how important a strong opening is in grabbing the attention of Golden Heart judges, and this contest is a great chance to test yours out!

Check out the finalists from 2015’s contest, 2014’s contest, and 2013’s contest , (plus 2012’s contest here, 2011 here, and 2010 here).

Any time between now and 1...

Happy SEVENTH BIRTHDAY to the Ruby Blog!!!

It’s Our Birthday!!! Our Lucky SEVENTH!! You heard right—the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood blog has been rolling for a full SEVEN YEARS!!! We’ve been here with our regular posts (2,227 so far!!) offering inspiration, advice, and support. Plus we’ve got the Winter Writing Festival, the Make It Golden Contest (entry day is tomorrow!!!), our annual Rita / Golden Heart Announcement Day Cyber Party, the September Hour-a-Day Challenge, interviews with each new class of Golden Heart Finalists, and much,...

Announcing the 2016 MAKE IT GOLDEN CONTEST!!!

The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood will celebrate our SEVENTH blog birthday tomorrow!! On Thursday, we’ll be opening our seventh annual MAKE IT GOLDEN CONTEST, and giving our Golden-Heart-eligible readers a terrific chance to shine (plus have a chance to earn more great prizes!!)

The MAKE IT GOLDEN contest is designed for unpublished authors who are polishing up their entries for RWA’s Golden Heart Contest–the contest that brought the Ruby Sisters together when we were finalists in 2009.

We all kn...

Sometimes All You Need is a Good Shove

When we were kids, my brothers and I were horrible. I mean, how many children can say they were so bad, other trailer trash would not let their children play with them? That was us. As is often the case with horrible children, one of us caught the brunt of every wild idea that ever came into our mean-spirited, hey-y’all-watch-this heads. That would be my youngest brother. The fact he is not a serial killer, but a law-abiding, upstanding citizen is nothing short of a miracle, because we tortur...