Bev Pettersen's Blog, page 62

DIY Tiny Book Swag

What is it about tiny things that captures our attention? From doll furniture to miniature horses to tiny houses, small items, especially those with precise details, make many people stop and smile. As I was searching for swag ideas for an upcoming writer’s/reader’s conference (Moonlight & Magnolias Conference in Atlanta), I came across tiny books. Someone was taking well-known books (the classics and some colorful children’s books) and creating little reproductions to hang on a ribbon as boo...

Filling in the Paragraphs

One day while I was wandering lost in some byzantine sub-sub-basement of the internet (okay, when I was on Tumblr), I stumbled across this hilarious bit from Steve Hely’s How I Became a Famous Novelist. In case the image is frustratingly small on your phone, here’s what it says: “Writing a novel–actually picking the words and filling in paragraphs–is a tremendous pain in the ass. Now that TV’s so good and the Internet is an endless forest of distraction, it’s damn near impossible. That should...

Fangirl Friday

Happy Friday! Next week we’ll be changing it up with a new Friday feature, but this week we’re having one last Fangirl Friday – our chance to talk about book deals, new books, and books we’re newly discovering.

No new Ruby releases this week, but I do have a book coming this Tuesday. Always a Bridesmaid is the first book of my new spin-off series, The Bouquet Catchers.

Parvati Jai knows better than to pin any romantic hopes on Max Dewitt. She may have had a crush on her best friend’s older b...

Ovarian Cancer Awareness & Pushing Past the Worry Monster

September. School’s back in, there’s a hint of cooler weather in the air. Fall decor is popping up in the stores. And…

And it’s Ovarian Cancer Awareness month! Before you close out of this post because this doesn’t have anything to do with writing, please at least view the symptoms. Because when I turned 40, I really didn’t know what they were or how ignoring them would threaten my life.

We hear a lot about the Pink women’s cancer, and I’m all for breast cancer education as my mother is a 23...

HOT Reads Edition of Fan Girl Friday

Welcome to Friday! Can I get an AMEN?

And we have a long weekend. I can almost hear a gospel choir in the background. Yes, we get an extra day and that means more time for….READING!

So what do we have on tap for you this edition? Well, a few sales from two Rubies and a couple of recommendations plus a new release. You ready to check these out and then give us your recommended Labor Day weekend reads?

First the sales…let’s check out the deals:

Ruby Sister Laurie Kellogg has The Parent Pact FR...

The September Hour-a-Day Challenge starts TODAY!!!!

AND WE ARE SOOOOOO READY!!!!!

As predicted, the first three teaching weeks of the new school year have knocked me back onto my sizeable patootie, and it would be all too easy to let my writing stay down for the count until school’s out in June again. But I know from experience that carving out just ONE HOUR A DAY for my writing can work miracles. In fact, for the past two years, working one hour a day in September has set me up to finish and publish a new book each spring.

I just have to get...

Shine Theory

So I may have mentioned a few weeks ago that I love the Olympics. They can be examples of some of the most beautiful human moments – and not just the victories. From the two runners who became iconic for helping one another across the finish line to the swimmer who gushed excitedly (in Chinese) after missing out on the medals because she’d just gotten a personal best to the teenage American hurdler who said with extreme poise when she missed out on the finals that this was just the end of her...

RED HOT READS – Fan Girl Friday Edition

Hola, Rubies and Ruby friends –

TGIF! Am I right?

It’s been a loooooong week in the Talley family hacienda and I need a few things this weekend – a margarita, a morning in my PJs and, of course, a good book. I just finished up Colleen Hoover’s latest (as mentioned last week) and it has a satisfying finish. So I’m off to look for my next great read. And there’s a lot out there to choose from.

I’m counting on you for some good suggestions. Let’s start with a few Rubies and their TBR stacks:

Fro...

Announcing the 2016 September Hour-a-Day Challenge!!!

Happy End of Summer!!!

Oh, ugh. I can’t even say that with a straight face.

I love summer–I’m a sunshine and beach girl. And for my writing, summer’s also the best time of year because I’m a teacher, and the start of school means long, intense days in the classroom, plus nights and weekends full of grading and prepping new lessons. I love teaching and I love my students, but it hurts that from now to next June, writing will be catch as catch can.

Sigh.

Two years ago, as I faced the return o...

What Mama didn’t tell me

…OR IF SHE DID TELL ME, I WASN’T LISTENING

Never lug a rolling suitcase full of books to a signing. No matter how rosy your forecast, if you bring that many books, you will sell one. Okay, I sold one. The best thing I brought were my cute business cards that link to my website and weigh practically nothing. They gave me a boost in my ebook sales over the next few days. And that suitcase? I had to lug it in and out of the car and drag it up and down steps. I pulled a muscle in my back and suff...