Heather Webb's Blog, page 3

What’s in a Writing Process? Here’s Mine + Giveaway

I’ve been tagged! Judith Starkston, author of Hand of Fire (Fireship Press, September 2014) invited me to participate in a blog hop tour to talk about my writing process. Many other authors are doing the same! I’d love to hear about your own process in the comments.

To kick off the hop, I’m giving away three signed copies of BECOMING JOSEPHINE on Goodreads this week. Be sure to ENTER HERE.

Without further ado, my process!

What are you working on?

I just finished revising my novel called RODIN’S LOVER about Camille Claudel–student, collaborator, and lover–to famed sculptor Rodin. It’s set during the Belle Époque, one of my favorite eras in history. There’s so much going on in terms of inventions, women’s rights, changing social structures, and, of course, fashion! I loved the gowns and accessories from this time.

 

How does your work differ from others of its genre?

I wouldn’t say my novels are what I like to call historicals of the old guard, or rather, hardcore, but more of a marriage of two genres–historical fiction and women’s fiction. I like to emphasize the main character’s inner growth as it pertains to a woman’s view of the world and that element is equal in weight to the importance of the times in which my characters struggle.

 

Why do you write what you do?

I write about France because it’s a place I adore. (I used to teach it as well.) I like to say America is my home, but France is my country. I’ve felt this way since I was a little girl. I do plan to branch out at some point. My first novel takes place during the French Revolution, but as I mentioned above, my next novel (and the one after that) is set during 1880′s Paris. To me, the character and their struggles are more important than writing only about one time period.

In terms of women’s themes, I emphasize them because I’m fascinated by growth and the way the struggles in our lives trigger big changes within. The last component, of course, is my preoccupation with the ways people lived in the past, how their environment shaped them, and how passé social norms created situations we would never face today.

 

How does your writing process work?

I’ve only written two novels so I suspect I’ll learn more about my process as I continue writing. But the first thing I do is fall in love with a topic, or, more accurately, a character.  From there I write a pitch. This seems odd to some, but writing a pitch really helps me hone in on what the point of my book will be. It changes slightly over time, but not by much. Next, I spend months researching biographies, primary sources, documentaries, traveling, etc. While I’m researching, I also draw up character maps and a historical outline. As scenes start popping into my head, I work on a scene outline as well, placing general ideas of scenes in one of the three acts. I really prefer a three act structure, myself. It makes sense in my head. Technically, much of this happens at the same time and I have many documents going at once.

Once my outlines are complete, I write my first draft. I don’t allow myself to edit at all until I’ve finished the novel. Once the first draft is wrapped up, I work in stages, focusing on certain issues in each draft. For example, draft two I make sure every scene has some sort of tension and a goal. It’s probably my heaviest rewriting phases. Draft three, I print out the entire manuscript on paper and work on voice and dialogue to ensure my characters are distinctive rather than all sounding the same. Draft four I edit for language, fluidity and pacing. Draft five I focus on deepening the emotional selves of my characters and the characters’ arcs. Often, draft six is a final sweep, and once again, printed out on paper, before my beta readers get a hold of it and  give me what for!

 

 

Be sure to hop to the next stops at these authors’ blogs!

Delilah Dawson, author of edgy books for teens and also dark romance for adults including SERVANTS OF THE STORM, The Wicked (Blud) series, and CARNIEPUNK. Beyond her fiction writing, she is an Associate Editor at Cool Mom Picks and Cool Mom Tech and can teach you to wear a baby on your back so you can pretend to be Luke Skywalker toting Yoda.

Delilah will chat about her process on March 24th. Find her HERE

 

 

 

 

Lisa Alber, debut mystery author of  KILMOON, releasing tomorrow! She received an Elizabeth George Foundation writing grant based on Kilmoon, A County Clare Mystery in addition to a Walden Fellowship. Her short story “Paddy O’Grady’s Thigh” appeared in Two of the Deadliest(HarperCollins), an anthology edited by New York Times bestseller Elizabeth George. In addition, Lisa was nominated for a Pushcart Prize for the story “Eileen and the Rock.”

Lisa will chat about her process on March 24th as well. Find her HERE

 

Author L.J. Cohen and the Making of FUTURE TENSE + Giveaway

I’m so pleased to welcome fellow author and writing partner L.J. Cohen to Between the Sheets today. Lisa recently released her YA contemporary fantasy FUTURE TENSE, a wonderful book about an inner city boy who sees the futures of those he cares about–but is powerless to stop. Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win one print copy or one e-book.

About the Book

In the ten years since his parents died in a fire he predicted but couldn’t prevent, seventeen year old Matt is trying to stay out of trouble, biding his time until he graduates and ages out of foster care. All he wants is for the world to leave him alone so he won’t be tortured by seeing someone’s future he’s powerless to change anyway. But his plans for keeping himself aloof fail when he interrupts a vicious attack on Amara, a girl he recognizes from school.

Despite his best attempts to push her away, he can’t ignore the connection they’ve formed. That’s when glimpses of Amara’s dangerous future start to invade the present — a future he fears is his fault. Now Matt has something to lose again . . . and something to fight for.

 

 

FUTURE TENSE is written from the first person point of view of a seventeen year old boy. While I am a fifty year old woman, this wasn’t as much of a stretch as it might have been: I am the mother of two boys, one of whom is seventeen, the other twenty. I have spent half a lifetime immersed in the culture of boys and young men, listening to how they speak, how they dress, how they move and interact with their peers. The more difficult part of writing this novel was that it takes place in an inner city setting with a highly diverse cast of characters, including African American foster parents and a Latina love interest.

My upbringing is primarily white and middle class. What made me think I could write a story so removed from my own personal experience? Would I be able to bring authenticity to the narrative? Would my depiction of this novel’s milieu capture the lived experiences of its characters without coming across as ‘message fiction’, relying on cliche, or including unconscious value judgements?

These are some of the questions I asked myself over the years of drafting and revising FUTURE TENSE.

The first question was the easiest to answer. Every time we write fiction, assuming a point of view of a created character, we are writing something removed from our own personal experience. I have written about shape-shifters, invented royalty, an empathic healer, a computer whiz-kid on a space station, and the Fae. My most basic and most important writing-tool is my imagination. And while I have no interest in writing ‘message of the week’ fiction, I also refuse to shy away from writing about problems and issues that affect our society and our lives.

I am also well aware of the problems of representation (and lack thereof) in fiction, especially fiction for young adults, in which the default assumption is white and middle-class. At its most basic, this kind of default means that if a character’s skin color is not described, that character is assumed to be white. It was important to me that I am able to reflect a more complex, more diverse world than that, because that is the world my children live in. And perhaps because what I write is fantasy/magical realism, I feel a heightened need to make sure there is broad societal representation. For too long, fantasy has had a narrow and non-diverse focus.

FUTURE TENSE was definitely a struggle to write, both because I wanted to honor my characters and because I frequently second-guessed myself, my writing choices, and my instincts.

I did research: Interviewed social workers in the foster care system. Talked to foster parents. Relied on my personal experiences as a physical therapist in inner city environments. Spoke with friends from different racial and social backgrounds.

Through it all, I revised, revised, and revised again.

Then I sent the manuscript to an old and dear friend. She is not a writer, but a reader. A voracious reader. And she knows how seriously I take my writing. She also currently lives in New York City and works with an inner-city population of severly handicapped children and their families. So she read the story with a very critical eye, focusing on its authenticity.

And the feedback she gave me was both difficult to hear and crucial to hear.

While she felt I had written a suspenseful and enjoyable story, I had also injected it with my own beliefs and opinions, both in the dialogue and in the main character’s internal narrative. She helped me see that the way I described race within the novel was not the way my main character, Matt Garrison, would describe it.

He is a white kid raised in the foster care system in an inner city.  Much of what I might notice was simply his baseline. I was reminded of when I had lived in Rochester, NY and stopped remarking about snow between December and March. It was the common condition, the normal. Even the meteorologists didn’t make much of a big fuss about the inevitable storms.

I realized I was using him to moralize and that’s never good for a story. Nor is it anything I wanted. So I went back to the narrative and stripped out several thousand words, a few words or lines at a time, across the entire story, ruthlessly eliminating any place where I had substituted my perspective for my character’s.

Have I done a good enough job of it? I don’t know. I only know that I had to write Matt’s story. And Matt was forged by his experiences as a foster kid. To honor his story and his journey, I had to meet him where he lived, both literally and figuratively. As much as I succeeded in this, I owe a debt of gratitude to my readers and consultants. Where I failed, I take full responsibility and vow to keep working.

About L.J. Cohen

 

Visit her at her website HERE or Twitter HERE

A Love Note from Napoleon to Josephine

Engraved with love sincere

It’s Valentine’s Day–the one day of the year we show our loved ones how much we cherish them. Or maybe it’s a good day just to celebrate THINGS we adore like chocolate, champagne, beaches, French films…

Today I bring you one of the greatest (and most terrible) love stories of all time–that between Josephine and Napoleon. There were many letters between the couple, but here is a snippet of Napoleon’s beautiful words from the Italian Campaign:

Josephine, en Absence

Port-Maurice, April 3, 1796

“Away from you, my one and only Josephine, there is no pleasure in life: away from you, the world is a desert in which I am all alone, without even the solace of expressing my feelings. You have robbed me of more than my heart: all my thoughts are about you alone. Whenever I am bored and worried with business, whenever I am troubled as to how things will turn out, whenever I am disappointed with mankind, and feel inclined to curse the day I was born, I put my hand to my heart: there throbs your likeness; I have but to look at it, and my love is perfect happiness, and there is pleasure in every prospect but that of long absence from my beloved.

What art did you learn to captivate all my faculties, to absorb all my character into yourself? It is a devotion, dearest, which will end only with my life. ‘He lived from Josephine’: there is my epitaph. I strive to be near you: I am nearly dead with desire for your presence. It is madness! I cannot realize that I am getting further and further away from you. So many regions and countries part us asunder! How long it will be before you read these characters, these imperfect utterances of a troubled heart of which you are queen! Ah! wife that I adore. I cannot tell what lot awaits me; only, that, if it keeps me any longer away from you, it will be insupportable, beyond what bravery can bear.”

BONAPARTE

Engagement Ring

 

 

And this is just an excerpt! What a girl would give today for a letter with such passion from her beloved. I suppose we’ll have to settle for text messages and emails–except today. May your day be filled with romance, or, at the very least, surrounded by people and things you love!

 

 

 

Guest Author Marci Jefferson + Girl on the Golden Coin

I’m so happy to welcome my dear friend and talented author Marci Jefferson to Between the Sheets. Her debut novel GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN releases today! Publisher’s Weekly gave it a starred review and says ““Jefferson’s intoxicating first novel superbly draws readers into the mischief and maneuverings, loyalties and treacheries, and lust and hostility of powerful 17th century kings and scheming court sycophants…this is an exciting, solid debut.”

About the Book

In 1660, the Restoration of Stuart Monarchy in England returns Frances Stuart and her family to favor. Frances discards threadbare gowns and goes to gilded Fontainebleau Palace, where she soon catches the Sun King’s eye. But Frances is no ordinary court beauty—she has Stuart secrets to keep and her family to protect. King Louis XIV turns vengeful when she rejects his offer to become his Official Mistress. He sends her to England with orders to seduce King Charles II and help him form an alliance with England. The Queen Mother likewise orders Frances to become her son’s mistress, in the interest of luring him away from the Protestant mistress he currently keeps.Armed in pearls and silk, Frances maneuvers the political turbulence of Whitehall Palace, but still can’t afford to stir a scandal, determined to keep her family from shame. Her tactic to inspire King Charles to greatness captivates him and the two embark on a tenuous relationship. Frances survives the Great Fire, the Great Plague, and the debauchery of the Restoration Court, yet loses her heart to the very king she must control. A startling discovery will leave her with no other choice but to break his heart, while the fate of England hangs in the balance.

Your novel explores the reigning Stuart family, the court intrigue, and the subsequent wars–all through the eyes of Frances Stuart. What was it about the Stuarts that interested you initially?

Living in Yorktown, Virginia nourished my love of history. I read about the American Revolution and toured sites that played a role in our independence. Naturally I picked up some British history, and as I got older I continued reading about England’s past. But it was a visit to London, while riding atop a red double-decker tour bus, that sparked my interest in the Royal Stuarts. Somebody pointed out the Banqueting House where Charles I was beheaded. I always thought kings *ordered* the beheadings! I promptly started reading everything I could about the Stuarts.

There are a few wars mentioned in the novel. The English Civil War involved old tensions between Catholics and Protestants left over from the Tudor reign, but ultimately it was a power struggle between Parliament and the crown. As mentioned above, Charles I lost his head, and Charles II wasn’t able to assume the crown until he was Restored in 1660, which is where my novel begins.

Charles II spent most of his energy making sure another Civil War didn’t erupt in England. And so does Frances in the novel. But Charles II *did* engage in the Anglo Dutch war. Essentially this was a war for lucrative maritime trading rights. In the novel, the French King Louis XIV orders Frances Stuart to prevent the Anglo Dutch war from erupting. But Louis XIV has hidden agendas, and Frances’s efforts lead to disastrous consequences.


 
What do you admire most about Frances Stuart? Do you see yourself in her?
 

Frances really stands up for what she believes. Even if it costs her own happiness, she does the honorable thing. Her struggle to assert her independence and find her voice is one that many women face. I did.

 
Depicting a lively court is a difficult task and you do it beautifully. Can you share a little about your process here.
 
 Thank you! I have a raging case of researchitis. I write in phases of research and writing. I researched the period for years before I wrote a word. That provided my foundation, but more detailed research was required for each scene. At times I felt I couldn’t write a single sentence without having to look up some fact or another. The dialogue scenes were actually easier since I could just let my characters take over. My only advice on creating a lively court scene is keep the pace fast, keep the writing active. 




If you could be a fly on the wall, which scene would you have liked to see play out in the Stuart history and why?
 

How can I pick just one? I’d love to see exactly what happened between Frances Stuart and Louis XIV. I’d have loved to see her reject James II of England. For as long as I live I will wonder exactly what transpired between Frances Stuart and Charles II to see if I got it right. I would not want to be in London for the Great Plague of 1665 or the Great Fire of 1666.

 
Can you give aspiring writers any advice?

Read the type of books you want to write, write every day, cut the parts readers skip, show don’t tell, have faith, and if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

 Speed Round

Best Place on Earth: Venice, Italy
Hidden Talent:  Making sinfully delicious chocolate chip cookies
Biggest Vice:  70% dark chocolate
Book Recommendation:  Karleen Koen’s DARK ANGELS and Tracy Chevalier’s GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING are two of my favorite novels set during the same period.

About Marci Jefferson
Years after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University, immersing herself in a Quality Assurance nursing career, and then having children, Marci realized she’d neglected her passion for history and writing. She began traveling, writing along the way, delving into various bits of history that caught her fancy. The plot for GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN evolved slowly after a trip to London, where she first learned about the Stuart royals. Marci is a member of the Historical Novel Society. She resides in the Midwest with her husband, making hair-bows for their daughter, trying not to step on their son’s Legos, and teaching a tiny Pacific Parrotlet to talk.

Find Marci here:  
Website: http://marcijefferson.com/
Twitter: @MarciJefferson
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marcijefferson/

16th Century Food Hop: Dishes Featured in The Lion and the Rose

Author Kate Quinn asked me to participate in part two of the 16th century potluck with recipes from her recent release THE LION AND THE ROSE, the second novel in her Borgia series, and I couldn’t refuse! Trying new recipes and reading a fabulous book are about my two favorite things in the world. (Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see the list of additional pot luck blog hoppers and their delectable dishes from the novel.)

Speaking of THE LION AND THE ROSE, a few thoughts:

Kate has done it again in this second novel (check out THE SERPENT AND THE PEARL)–I was gripped from the first page and carried swiftly through the novel by a turbulent current of twisting plot threads, conniving and deeply likable characters, and one dangerous pope (Rodrigo Borgia) who makes no qualms about abusing his power.  Renaissance Italy has never appeared richer or more alive. Perhaps my favorite piece is the unexpected romance that arises (I won’t say who in the hopes you will read to find out), and the way it balances the darker points in the novel as Rome becomes more and more entrenched in its blasphemous undertakings. Toss in a few dozen mouthwatering dishes cooked up in Carmelita’s (the escaped nun) kitchen which constantly made me want to eat, and I simply couldn’t put this novel down. An exquisite read, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Bring on the Food!

I made endives stuffed with goat cheese and drizzled in olive oil, though I added a bit of flare to the recipe by adding fresh herbs and chives. For dessert, I tried a blood orange tourte that was divine. I saw an alternative recipe to this in which it’s served with a homemade caramel sauce rather than honey. I may try that next time. My kids were slow to eat it because of the color, but it didn’t take them long to warm up to the flaky crust and sweet honey-fruit topping.

Endives Stuffed w/ Herbed Goat Cheese

Ingredients

4 Oz soft goat cheese

2 Tab heavy cream

1 1/2 Tab finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 1/2 Tab finely chopped fresh thyme

1 1/2  Tab finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 Tab fresh chives, minced

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large head endive, or 2 small heads

1 Tab olive oil

Directions

In a medium bowl, cream the goat cheese with the back of a kitchen spoon. Add the cream, rosemary, thyme, parsley, chives, and pepper and mix until smooth and creamy. Add more cream if the cheese is particularly thick. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Bring to room temperature before assembling.

Core the endive and separate into spears. Spoon the filling into 20 endive spears, filling each spear about halfway. Assemble on a plate and sprinkle with the paprika, if using. Cover and refrigerate. Before serving, drizzle with olive oil.

 

Blood Orange Tourte Drizzled with Honey

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, the stick cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled

3 tablespoons ice water

8 to 10 blood oranges (about 5 ounces each) [I only needed 7]

1 large egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons of water

Honey for serving

1. In a food processor, pulse the 1 cup of flour with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the baking powder and salt. Add the stick of cold butter and pulse several times, just until it is the size of peas. Sprinkle the dough with the ice water and pulse just until moistened crumbs form. Turn the crumbs out onto a work surface, knead once or twice and pat the pastry into a disk. Wrap the pastry in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

2. On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to an 11-inch round, about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the pastry to a parchment paper–lined flat cookie sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes, or until chilled.

3. Meanwhile, peel the blood oranges, removing all of the bitter white pith. Thinly slice 2 of the oranges crosswise; remove the pits. Transfer the orange slices to a plate. Working over a sieve set over a bowl, cut in between the membranes of the remaining oranges, releasing the sections into the sieve. Remove the pits and gently shake out as much juice as possible without mashing the sections; you will need 1 cup of sections. Reserve the orange juice for another use.

4. Arrange the orange sections on the pastry, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar over the oranges. Using a paring knife, thinly slice the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over the oranges. Fold up the pastry over the oranges, leaving most of the oranges uncovered. Brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Arrange the orange slices on top, leaving a 1-inch border of pastry all around. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar on top. Freeze the tart until solid, at least 4 hours or preferably overnight. (****This is obviously a modern addition used to help keep the crust from getting soggy.)

5. Preheat the oven to 375° and position a rack in the center. Place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drips. Bake the tart directly from the freezer for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the pastry is deeply browned. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack and let the tart cool for 30 minutes. Carefully slide the parchment paper onto the rack and let the tart cool completely. Drizzle with honey and serve.

***I used the photo from smittenkitten.com because it was a lot prettier than mine.
Pot Luck Hoppers

Kate Quinn: tourte of walnuts and pecorino cheese

Taking On Magazines: venison in cream and brandy sauce & Tortellini with Basil and Parsley Filling

Island Vittles: Potato chips and candied walnuts

Inn At The Crossroad: Roman-style tenderloin with bacon and bay leaf

Little White Apron: fennel,orange, & olive salad and the beef en brochette

Long Past Remembered: fish pie flavored with oranges, nutmeg and dates

 

Writing & Touring Retreat in Ireland: Registration Open

I am so pleased to announce I will be leading a writer’s retreat in Galway, Ireland this summer. Both beginner and advanced writers are invited to attend, (though by beginner, this means a work must be in progress in a real way). Group workshops as well as one-on-one meetings will be scheduled to discuss pages and if interested, platform and marketing advice.

**** I will be reading and editing pages in advance so I may be able to properly tailor the coursework for the group. If everyone is advanced, I will create workshops to target more in-depth concepts.

WHEN: July 6-13

WHERE: Galway, Ireland

REGISTRATION LIMITATIONS:  Only 12 participants may enroll for each session, so get in early

PRICING & OTHER IMPORTANT DETAILS: go to the website HERE.  

That’s not all! We will spend working hours most mornings and tour fairy hills, cliffs, ancient abbeys, dine in a castle, and participate in some raucous pub crawls.  So it’s a 2-for-1 tour!

THERE’S STILL MORE

There are THREE OPTIONS of tours:

1.) Meet with me, Heather Webb, editor and published author in July

2.) Meet with mystery author Susan Spann who will workshop the intricacies of mystery writing as well as crafting a series in June

3.) Meet with bestselling historical author Stephanie Cowell in September

I am looking forward to making new writer friends to share the beauty of Ireland and flex our writing skills!

Contact me for questions or the tour leader HERE

 

A Book Deal & Much Excitement about Rodin’s Lover

I am so excited to share this amazing news with you! (I’m cartwheeling all over the place!) My second novel, RODIN’S LOVER, a book about art, love, and madness, will follow the story of Camille Claudel, sculptress, lover, and collaborator to Auguste Rodin set to the backdrop of 1880′s Paris. The book will be published by Plume/Penguin once again as a winter title of 2015. This book has been a labor of love so I’m THRILLED to share it with you! The pictures I have attached are pieces of Camille’s.

Here’s a bit more about the book:

RODIN’S LOVER

Camille Claudel loves nothing more than plunging her hands into clay and leaps at the opportunity to study art in Paris. In Belle Époque France, sculpture is at its height of popularity, but as a woman Camille must first fight to win a place in the male-dominated art world. She secures the support of one tutor, but plenty of male critics and her ultra-traditional mother, make sure everyone recognizes her limitations.

But luck is on Camille’s side. Her art tutor departs for Italy indefinitely, leaving her in the care of his trusted friend, Auguste Rodin.

When Rodin enters Camille’s studio, lightning strikes. The jaded sculptor has never met such a talented young novice, or one so beautiful. As their passion grows to a fever pitch, Camille draws inspiration from him and Rodin creates ground-breaking new works. Yet despite Camille’s certain level of newfound success, she finds herself cast in the shadow of her lover’s rising star. Worse still, some deem her work a mere duplication of his.

Soon Camille faces a tragic dilemma from which she cannot escape. Her obsession with her work—and her lover—crosses the line into madness, and Camille must struggle to save her sanity or lose everything she holds dear.

 

I hope you will love her story as much as I do.

 

Becoming Josephine Goes on Tour & A Holiday Toast

Here we are, in the month of December–a time for holiday cheer and the month of my book launch! In preparation, I’m celebrating all over the web. In many locations I’ll be giving away copies of BECOMING JOSEPHINE so be sure to stop in and comment.

Below, check out my schedule of interviews and guest posts! For signings and other book events, please see my EVENTS page.

Also, in celebration of the holidays, I leave you with a recipe of a delicious holiday drink–the Crimson Crush. I’ll see you all next year!

 

Dec 9: In the Writer’s Studio

Dec 10: Deanna Raybourn’s blog HERE

Dec 16: Whims & Tonic

Dec 18:  A Novel Review

Dec 27: What Women Write

Dec 30: New England Literary Radio,podcast

Dec 31: AuthorExposure.com

Jan 3: Romance University.org

Jan 4:  The Debutante Ball

Jan 5:  Writer Unboxed

Jan 7:   Jungle Red Writers

Jan 8:  The Other Side of the Story

Jan 22: Great New Books

FACEBOOK RELEASE PARTY: Jan 4  For this online party, I’ll be giving away all kinds of goodies including gift cards, sharing fun photos, and talking Josephine’s life and French Revolution.

HISTORICAL FICTION VIRTUAL BOOK TOURS: Jan 1-Feb 7

FRANCE BOOK TOURS: Jan 2-11

 

CRIMSON CRUSH

1.5 oz (BELVEDERE)RED vodka

½ oz St Germain Elderflower liqueur

3 bar spoons of pomegranate seeds

4 chunks pink grapefruit

Muddle pomegranate seeds and grapefruit with the elderflower liqueur. Add Belvedere and top with crushed ice. Churn.

***More holiday drinks here: Holiday Drink Recipes – Christmas Drink Recipes – Cocktail Recipes – Marie Claire

#PitchWars: Why You Want Me As Your Mentor

It’s that time of year again–#Pitchwars! This is a massive contest put on by author Brenda Drake in which aspiring writers work with a mentor to ready their manuscripts for a BIG AGENT ROUND. Mentors and mentees work together for one month on their entries. Agents peruse the entries and if they like what they see, they request pages. The mentor-mentee team with the most requests wins the whole contest and fabulous prizes like gift cards, etc! It’s a MASSIVE contest that had over one thousand entries last year.

Let’s look at more about the contest:

Rules & Regs

1. Writers submit their applications to up to FOUR mentors. Be sure to research the mentor list to choose those who want to represent what you write. (List is below)

2. Mentors read their submissions and choose one lucky writer and two alternates.

3. Manuscripts MUST BE COMPLETE. No fudging this. Mentors work with you on your entire manuscript.

4. Writers may submit more than one manuscript–as long as they are finished.

5. Submission guidelines are at Brenda’s site HERE.

 

The Schedule

11/20 Mentor’s post bios and wishlists
12/2: Submission Window
12/3 -12/10: Mentors read their applications
12/11: Mentor’s announce their picks
12/11 -1/17: Mentors work with their writers
1/22-1/23 Agent Round

 

So why should writers apply to me to be their mentor? 


Brag Time

1. My mentee and I won the ENTIRE CONTEST last year with a grand total of 8 agent requests. Also, my mentee signed with her agent Mollie Glick of Foundry Literary as a result! I wanna go double or nothing!

2. I’m a freelance editor and work with LOADS of manuscripts, pitches, and queries in many, many genres.

3. I have an agent from a high brow literary agency and I’m pubbed (soon-to-be) by a traditional publisher–Plume, an imprint of Penguin.

4. I’m a contributor to award-winning sites WriterUnboxed.com and RomanceUniversity.org, as well as TheDebutanteBall.com.

 

What I’m Looking For

ADULT NOVELS:

1. Historical Fiction

2. Women’s Fiction

3. Literary (especially with suspense, thriller, & mystery elements)

4. Romance (adventure stories & plot-driven romance, think Outlander by Diana Gabaldon)

5. Time Travel or multi-era books

 

***Like an agent, I’ll be looking for the story that appeals most to me and has writing that is as tight as possible. Remember that this is a contest for mentors as well. I want to win!!!

 

What I’m NOT Looking For

1. YA, NA, or MG—Sorry. I did YA last year and I’d like to mix it up.

2. Sci-Fi

3. Epic Fantasy

4.  Christian or Inspirational Fiction

 

The List of Agents

 

1.       LouiseFury – Bent Agency

2.       SuzieTownsend – New Leaf Literary

3.       NicoleResciniti - The Seymour Agency

4.       JohnM. Cusick – The Greenhouse Agency

5.       SarahLaPolla – Bradford Literary Agency

6.       VictoriaMarini - Gelfman Schneider Literary Agency

7.       JessicaSinsheimer - Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency

8.       Pamvan Hylckama Vlieg - Foreword Literary

9.       QuinlanLee - Adams Literary

10.    JenUdden – Donald Maass Literary Agency

11.    EmilyKeyes – Foreward Literary

12.    Brianne Johnson – Writers House

13.    CarlyWatters – P.S. Literary

14.    LanaPopovic and Natasha Alexis - Zachary Shuster Harmsworth

15.    MollyJaffa – Folio Literary Management

16.    EvanGregorgy - Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency

17.   Stefanie Lieberan - Janklow & Nesbit Associates 

18.   Rena Rossner - The Deborah Harris Agency

SECRET WORD: NO

The Other Mentors

 

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Cora Carmack

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Stacey Lee

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Heather Webb

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Elizabeth Briggs

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Agent Assitant Lioness

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Susan Spann

7.

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Marieke Nijkamp

8.

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Shelley Watters

9.

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Erica Chapman

10.

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Jennifer Malone

11.

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Veronica Bartles

12.

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Brent Taylor

13.

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Molly Lee

14.

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Lindsey Sprague

15.

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Megan Whitmer

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Michelle Painchaud

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Fiona McLaren

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Tina Moss

19.

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Joy McCullough-Carranza

20.

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Monica Bustamante Wagner

21.

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Sarah Henning

22.

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Mina Vaughn

23.

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Skylar Dorset

24.

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Meredith McCardle

25.

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Jen Swann Downey

26.

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Jaye Robin Brown

27.

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Gail Nall

28.

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Dannie Morin

29.

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Elizabeth Penney

30.

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Natalie Knaub

31.

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Jessie Humphries

32.

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Stephanie Garber

33.
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S.P. McConnell

34.

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Veronica Park

35.

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Trisha Leaver

36.

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Lori Goldstein

37.

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Rin Chupeco

38.

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Evelyn Ehrlich

39.

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Lindsay Currie

40.

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Naomi Hughes

41.

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Laura Tims

42.

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Julie Sondra Decker

43.

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Diana Gallagher

44.

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Sarah Nicolas

45.

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Nazarea Andrews

46.

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Shannon Duffy

47.

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Author Lynn Cullen & MRS. POE

I am delighted to welcome author Lynn Cullen to the blog today. She is a multi-award-winning author and a very lovely person. I had the pleasure of meeting her in person at her book launch party in Manhattan. And what fun that was–a gothic clothing gallery housed the event. I gobbled up the delicious cheese and later, her evocative novel Mrs. Poe.

About the Book

New York, 1845. Mr. Poe’s “The Raven” is all the literary rage-the success of which a struggling poet like Frances Osgood can only dream. As a mother trying to support two children after her husband’s betrayal, Frances jumps at the opportunity to meet the mysterious Poe, if only to help her career. Although not a fan of his writing, Frances is overwhelmed by his magnetic presence-and the surprising revelation that he admires her work. What follows is a flirtation, then a seduction, then an illicit love affair. But when Edgar’s frail wife Virginia-a cousin half his age-insists on befriending Frances as well, the relationship becomes as dark and deceiving, as full of twists and turns, as one of Poe’s tales…and maybe, as Frances fears, every bit as deadly.

Have you always been a fan of Edgar Allen Poe, or did something about Frances Osgood’s life inspire you to write this story?

Before I got the idea to write about this book, I knew no more about Poe than the average American—like everyone else, I had to read his stories and poems in school.  It was only after I’d read about Frances Osgood that I wanted to tell Poe’s story. I loved that Frances was a single mother who was trying to support her children by her writing—a hard enough feat in our times and a nearly impossible one in theirs.   And then I saw that she and Poe were suspected of having an affair during the year ‘The Raven’ came out.  Overnight, ‘The Raven’ made Poe the darling of the New York literati and indeed, the rest of the U.S.   He became a celebrity of modern-day movie star proportion, yet within a year, he was a social outcast who had to flee to the countryside in disgrace.  I wanted to know Frances’s part in his downfall—and the effect the affair might have had on her.

What’s your favorite piece by Poe and why?

‘Ulalume’ is by far my favorite.  I based the book on it, in fact.  It’s weird, but every time I read ‘Ulalume,’ I hear a low roar like that of flowing lava in my mind—the sound, I think, of grinding mental anguish and loss.  Poe’s emotions in this poem are real (and even audible!) and because of the timing of the writing of the poem, I theorize that they were a product of his loss of Frances and their child.  I will acknowledge that my theory comes from reading between the lines of this poem, but there are many bits of evidence from their lives that point to my conclusions.  As a novelist, I simply connected the dots.

 

What was the biggest challenge in writing this novel?

Staying absolutely true to each character was the biggest challenge I gave myself.  I wanted to be very, very careful about not manipulating my characters into doing things that fit my story but rather to let their personalities show me how they would behave in a situation.   I was lucky to be able to base my characters on real people for the most part, which meant that I had ready-made raw material from which to spin my characters.  I would examine their real-life portraits and their writings and go from there.  My website, www.lynncullen.com, contains a gallery, with bios, of all the real people mentioned in the book so you can see what they actually looked like.

Can you share what your next project is?

I’m working on a novel about Mark Twain and the women in his life.  Like Poe, our common perception of the man has a large disconnect from reality.

What advice would you share with aspiring writers?

One of the best pieces of advice I got for writing was from Michael Martone, a childhood friend and now a professor of English at the University of Alabama.  He told me about 30 years ago to “love your characters.”  That means not looking down on them or scorning them or mocking them, but to truly love and empathize with them, even your villains.  It took me awhile to understand what he meant but now it’s my first rule of writing.  The more you love and respect your characters, the more readers will, too.

 

About the Author

Lynn Cullen is the author of The Creation of Eve, named among the best fiction books of 2010 by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and as an April 2010 Indie Next selection. She is also the author of numerous award-winning books for children, including the young adult novel I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter, which was a 2007 Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” selection, and an ALA Best Book of 2008. Her novel, Reign of Madness, about Juana the Mad, daughter of the Spanish Monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand, was chosen as a 2011 Best of the South selection by the Atlanta Journal Constitution and was a 2012 Townsend Prize finalist. Her newest novel, MRS. POE, examines the fall of Edgar Allan Poe through the eyes of poet Francis Osgood.