Irene Ziegler's Blog, page 21

In Which I Invite You to Come Into my Parlor

Where do you write?

I get asked that sometimes. It's a question I like answering, because I love my office. Want to come in? Okay, but I have to warn you, I found a dessicated mouse in my voice booth, so...

What's a voice booth? Well, it's a tiny cubbyhole in my office where I record voiceovers. Okay, let's start there. To the left is my voice booth. Impressive, huh? I am the voice you hear when you're stuck in an endless loop of bureaucratic doublespeak."If you'd like to speak to a human...

Come Into my Parlor

Where do you write?

I get asked that sometimes. It's a question I like answering, because I love my office. Want to come in? Okay, but I have to warn you, I found a dessicated mouse in my voice booth, so...

What's a voice booth? Well, it's a tiny cubbyhole in my office where I record voiceovers. Okay, let's start there. To the left is my voice booth. Impressive, huh? I am the voice you hear when you're stuck in an endless loop of bureaucratic doublespeak."If you'd like to speak to a human...

In Which I Give Away my Book on Goodreads

In keeping with my compulsive need to give Ashes to Water every advantage while in its infancy, I'm trying to tap into the phenomenon that is Goodreads.  Do you belong?
If you don't know about Goodreads, it's a giant book review/swap site where people friend each other and talk about books.  It's like Facebook for readers. I was in a twitter chatroom with the founder, (he SAID he was the founder, anyway) and he was tweeting about all the ways Goodreads promotes authors and book launches...

In Which I Get to Create a Character in a New Play

Last night, I got paid the ultimate compliment. David Robbins (books by this author) told me that in his novel, Scorched Earth, he created the character of the Judge with me in mind.
How cool is that?
And here's the other thing. David has adapted his novel for the stage, and wants me to play the Judge!
What's her character like? Well, she's officious, menopausal, curmudgeonly, snarky, sarcastic, and generally P-Oed. In other words,
I'm perfect.
After the table reading in late May, David asked if...

In Which I Cope with Post-Publication Depression

A big box arrived yesterday. Even though the June 16 publication date for Ashes to Water isn't here yet, there it was, that box, resting on the frame behind my mailbox. Oh, be still my fluttering heart.

When my first book, Rules of the Lake was published, I didn't see the book until I stumbled across it at Barnes & Noble. I don't know what happened there. I eventually got my personal shipment, of course, but by then I'd already held it for the first time, so I didn't really have that open-the...

Busboys & Poets

On Friday last, Graham and I trekked to Busboys and Poets, a restaurant/bookstore in Washington, DC, where we met with five smart, witty young women. We drank, ate dinner and discussed my first book, Rules of the Lake.

Going around the table from the left are Stephanie, Amy, Chelsea, Graham, Lauren and Shannon. Chelsea, my stepdaughter, arranged the event, and Busboys and Poets accommodated nicely.
Rules of the Lake is a collection of linked short stories which, when read together, form an...

Book Promoting in a Blue Ocean, or Why I'm Done Kissing Sharks

A while back, I had lunch with Stephen Moegling, VP of Franklin St. Marketing. (Hi, Stephen.) Stephen is writing a first novel, and had some ideas about marketing. He pitched me his ideas over calamari, so I was a little distracted, but I came away thinking about book promotion in a new light.
Stephen introduced me to a concept he called Finding Your Blue Ocean. He credited Renee Mauborgne, co-author of "Blue Ocean Strategy" with coming up with the theory. She says most American companies...

Are Virtual Book Tours Better Than the 'Real Thing?' Putting Ashes to Water to the Test.

If, like me, you're of the Pong Generation of Technology, you probably thought a Book Tour was where your publisher's marketing team sent you to a venue in ten or more cities, where, you hope, adoring fans await you with your book clutched to their chests.

Book Tours are virtual, now. You don't have to "go" anywhere. Instead, you troll the web for book bloggers, query them in much the same way you might query an agent, and if they're interested in reviewing your book, you send one.
Until I...

My interview in the International Thriller Writers Newsletter

(June 1, 2010)
Ashes To Water by Irene Ziegler By Debra Webb | Permalink Wow! I'm very pleased to be talking to Irene Ziegler this month about her new book, Ashes to Water, from Five Star Publications. Ashes to Water explores a very emotional situation with a protagonist who must make a very difficult decision. Please share your journey of how this plotline came to you and developed.

Let me start by saying thank you so much for your interest. Ashes to Water

How My Blog Almost Killed Me, and How Crocs Saved My Life

I used to hate Crocs. You know what I'm talking about; those butt fugly shoes made from tires? See the holes in them? That's from people touching them with ten-foot-poles. (Ba-dump.)

I haven't kept my hatred for Crocs a secret. In fact, I've been pretty darn vocal. Crocs, in my opinion, are fashion faux pas, like tube tops and muffin pants; they should have enjoyed their fifteen-minute life spans and dutifully disappeared. Instead, what do we get? Croc Mary Janes. Oh, the horror.

I own a pair o...