Bev Pettersen's Blog, page 94
March 17, 2015
Show & Tell Wednesday: Foreign Covers
Got foreign editions? The Rubies do!
When I put out a call for foreign covers, I was struck by the diversity. Sometimes the publisher kept the same cover. Sometimes it was completely different. Sometimes the title was a literal translation from English, and sometimes it’s completely new.
I hired translators for Spanish and Portuguese editions of CODENAME: DANCER, but have a publisher for Chinese. I went with the same cover for the ones I produced, and the publisher did something entirely new...
March 16, 2015
Catch Your Muse & Win a Pot of Gold
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Do you have your green on? This fun holiday has a number of myths associated with it, one being the elusive Leprechaun. Considered a fairy who likes to cause mischief, yet also brings luck and riches, this little fellow has the makings of a great literary muse.
Originally a Muse was any of the nine sister goddesses in Greek mythology presiding over song and poetry and the arts and sciences. The term has come to mean “a source of inspiration, especially: a gui...
March 15, 2015
Tools of the Trade: Empathy
When writers think about the tools of our trade, our thoughts might understandably go to craft: words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, word choice. Characters, plot, setting, tense. Point of view, goal/motivation/conflict, dialogue, pace. And yes – all these things all need to be taken into account, all these things and more.
But I’d like to add to the list something that I consider to be an essential character development tool: empathy.
Dictionary.com defines...
March 12, 2015
Fangirl Friday (3.13.15)
Welcome, ladies and gents, to another edition of FANGIRL FRIDAY! The day when we Rubies gather to gush about books. New books, cheap books, free books, or books we’re just excited to be reading right now. (And encourage you to post your book news as well!)
New Ruby Releases This Week:This weeks I am thrilled to celebrate the exciting contemporary DEBUT of our very own web guru Elizabeth Bemis. (Congrats, Liz!)
Love and Oreos by Elizabeth BemisMarch 11, 2015
In One and Done
In One and Done
So here’s the thing, I have a secret.
My first draft is my only draft.
When I sit down to write a story, I write the story. I’m not bragging or saying that my process is better than others, I’m just saying that whatever writing process gets the job done, is the right one.
For a long time (I mean like 9 years), I thought something was wrong with me because my writer friends would bemoan their revision process. I’d write the book and then rack my brain trying to figure out how to re...
March 10, 2015
Show and Tell Wednesday: Ancient Texts Revisited
When I was at UCLA, I took an honors seminar on the history of medicine that was taught in the rare book room in the library. I imagined there would be old dusty tomes laying about, inscribed by hand with archaic illustrations. Turned out all the really rare volumes were locked away, but it was still way cool to be there.
It’s every bookish person’s fantasy to explore old monasteries and libraries, uncovering huge manuscripts with hidden knowledge inside. I think that’s why plots that feature...
March 9, 2015
Love & Oreos Debut
I’m so, so excited to host this Ruby Debut today! The fantastic, creative Liz Bemis has finally revealed her oodles of talent in a whole different way. I mean, look at this website and you’ll see just how creative she is everyday in her “other” job. But website designing wasn’t her first love. Nope. This all started with a dream to write. And today, Liz has fulfilled that dream. It’s time to find what’s over the rainbow with our very own Wizard Liz. With the thought of Oz, slippers and yellow...
March 8, 2015
What Did You Learn from Judging Contests?
I always find that judging clarifies “craft” for me. Reading a stack of contest entries, I see patterns in what works well, and what doesn’t work well, and notice how subtle factors can make the difference between a merely-competent entry and one that’s truly award-worthy.
This year my experience was much like last year–the entries I judged in the...
March 5, 2015
Fangirl Friday (3.6.15)
Welcome to another edition of FANGIRL FRIDAY! The day when we gush about books. New books, cheap books, free books, or books we’re just excited to be reading right now.
New Ruby Releases This Week:
This weeks we have a new paranormal release by Shea Berkley and we’re also featuring the previous book in the series (which had a very quiet release last month):
Dark Secrets: Edge of Evil by Shea Berkley
What if nightmares, best kept in the dark, refuse to stay hidden?
Dr. Maya Kelbeck believes no matt...
March 4, 2015
Reflections on the Fifth Winter Writing Festival
As always, though, we’re looking ahead to next year, and thinking about how to make it work even BETTER.
So what worked well? And wha...