Cat Winters's Blog, page 32

Winter Greetings from Winters

My mascot, Winifred, enjoying the holidays.I'll be taking a break from blogging and the computer in general over the weekend. I hope the holidays find everyone happy, safe, and healthy.

Below is a virtual holiday greeting I created last year. I distorted one of my photographs of a San Diego landmark that appears in In the Shadow of Blackbirds to give the picture a supernatural feel. If you're familiar with that particular region of California, see if you can guess where it is.

Scary Ghost Stories at Christmastime

I've always been fascinated with our tendency to be drawn to dark subject matters during the holidays. Think about our most cherished Christmas movies—the films watched over and over and imitated countless times—and the dark themes they entail:

A Sinister Old Man Who Sees Ghosts A Christmas Carol
A Sinister Old Man Who Provokes Suicide Attempts It's a Wonderful Life
A Sinister Old Monster That Steals Christmas How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Why do we frequently veer toward the scary when it comes to...

My Long, Grueling Writing Road and the 21 JUMP STREET Writer Who Gave Me Advice

Once upon a time, when I was a teenager and some good-looking guy named Johnny Depp starred in a TV series called 21 Jump Street, I met a writer of that series at my friend's house. The writer knew my friend's parents, and I remember him sitting on their couch and telling me, "The best writing advice I can give you is to never give up." I believe I responded, "I won't," for I knew deep in my gut that I wouldn't and couldn't.

Decades passed, hairstyles dramatically improved, a recession came an...

Best Reads of 2011

It's the 13th day of the month, which means there's another 13th-Day Question for us 2013 debuts over at The Lucky 13s . This month's question: " What is your favorite book of 2011 ?"

I had a hard time picking just one book, and I certainly didn't get a chance to read everything I wanted to read in 2011. You can find my selection over at the Lucky 13s post , but I'm also sharing a quick rundown of my top three favorite YA novels right here.


Shine by Lauren Myracle Myracle has it all in this...

YA Bliss's Ubercool Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

It's no secret that I strongly believe historical fiction rocks (see some of my previous posts on this subject: Five Reasons Why Historical Fiction Rocks , You Know You're a Historical Fiction-Writing Geek When... , History, Sexypants-Style ).

Thankfully, I'm by no means the only person who shares this opinion about the genre. The amazing Sab H. over at YA Bliss runs an annual Historical Fiction Reading Challenge , and she's just posted info about the 2012 challenge:

a

December Question of the Month: Have You Ever Captured a Ghostly Image?

One of my ghostly Maine photos.I'm launching a new feature today: The Question of the Month. Unless I'm bogged down with revisions, I'll try to launch a reading, movie, or ghost-related question on the first day of every month.

Here's the December question:


<a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/5717038/&qu... a ghostly image ever appeared in one of your photographs?</a>

Spirit communication, especially spirit photography, plays a huge role in the plot of In the Shadow of Blackbirds. In t...

IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Is on Goodreads!

I've heard legends about a Goodreads Fairy who enters recently acquired books onto the Goodreads site. Well, I just discovered In the Shadow of Blackbirds is one of her recent additions ( click here to go to the novel's Goodreads page ). Thank you, Goodreads Fairy!

If you have a Goodreads account, I would be honored, humbled, and grateful if you added In the Shadow of Blackbirds to your bookshelf to help me start spreading the news about the book. I'm working on getting myself added as a Goodr...

Kickin' off the Holiday Season...and My WAR HORSE Obsession

I didn't get a chance to pop on here and say "Happy Thanksgiving" earlier this week, so a belated Happy Turkey Day to all you Americans and anyone else who decided to feast yesterday. I'm thankful for so many things this year: my kidlets and husband, the fact that my dog survived an attack by another dog, my family (far away as you all are), my friends, my writing buddies, my blogosphere pals, and all the wonderful and amazing people in New York who are helping me bring my writing to the worl...

Book Soundtracks & Music for a Haunted World

This week at The Lucky 13s , we're sharing book soundtracks for our 2013 releases.

If it seems a little early to be discussing such a thing for novels you won't be reading for at least another year, keep in mind that author soundtracks usually consist of songs that inspire writers during the actual writing process. Sometimes a single song can trigger an idea for an entire novel. As we revise our upcoming releases and prepare to launch them into the world, it often helps to go back to the music ...

The Lucky 13s

I joined The Lucky 13s , a group of children's and young adult fiction authors debuting in 2013. That year might seem eons away right now, but 2013 books will have cover reveals, advance review copy giveaways, and other fun treats during the next twelve-plus months. Furthermore, all year long we'll be interviewing The Apocalypsies , kid-lit authors with debuts in 2012.

In honor of the 13th day of the month today, we Lucky 13s are offering 13-word summaries of our books. If you want a glimpse in...