Kate Lansing's Blog, page 8

The New Book I’m Sneezing About

In Marketing, a ‘sneezer’ is a term for someone who promotes products word-of-mouth, and word-of-mouth marketing is still alive and well in the book world (just ask John Green and his army of Nerdfighters). I’ve been a book sneezer for a long time. In fact, if we’ve had a prolonged conversation about books recently, chances are I’ve [...]

Let’s Play A Game…

I found Rory’s Story Cubes in the Calico Cat Toy Shoppe on Bainbridge Island. I first picked them up because the name Rory reminded me of Gilmore Girls, and Gilmore Girls makes me happy. I’ve since found that these Story Cubes are *perfect* for days when my imagination needs a boost. Today was such a [...]

It’s Raining Books

Over the past week something has shifted in Colorado. There’s a crisp chill in the early morning air, the days are noticeably shorter, and leaves are changing into a fiery bouquet of warm colors. That’s right, autumn has arrived. Which means football (go Broncos!), pumpkins, that spicy smell of discarded leaves, and reading. Lots of [...]

Post Writing Conference Buzz

I attended the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Colorado Gold Conference this past weekend and, jeez, my head’s still spinning! The conference was AMAZING, the best one yet, jam packed full of sessions on things like conflict and verbs, critique workshops, and pitching opportunities. But more important than all that were the wonderful people in attendance. [...]

On Writing Realistic Dialogue

I’m sure we’re familiar with the frustration, the horror, of reading a truly great novel only to be pulled out of the story by inauthentic dialogue. You’d think if the author could get everything else right, they could nail the dialogue. But dialogue, like so much of writing, is harder than it seems. Here are my [...]

Second Date Cookies

Back when I was a burgeoning adolescent, my mom used to advise me to make cookies for the boy I liked. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, after all. She’d encourage me to do this every few months, and each time I’d reply vehemently, and probably with an annoying eye roll, [...]

Happy Birthday Blog!

Holy cow, I can’t believe it’s already been a whole year since I started this blog! The time has flown by. Thank you, dear readers, for following along with me on this journey. Your thoughtful comments and support mean more than you know. Every week for the past year, I’ve posted tidbits from my life: random [...]

There And Back Again — The Setting Conundrum

I had an amazing vacation in Seattle last week. It was wonderful to tour the city, enjoy the delicious seafood, and catch up on some reading. But it wasn’t all fun and games. Seattle also happens to be where my cozy mystery takes place. While I was there, I took notes on things I wanted to [...]

Girl on a Plane

On the airplane traveling home from Seattle (more on that next week!), I witnessed the most heartwarming reunion. I’m one of those people on airplanes who immediately puts on headphones and buries my nose in a book. It’s not that I’m unfriendly, it’s just that flying is one of my favorite times to read. I play soothing [...]

The Next Gen of Fandom

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to see Veronica Roth and Margaret Stohl speak at the Tattered Cover in Denver last week. To be honest, I didn’t see them so much as listen to them as my seat was in the nosebleed section, approximately a football field away from the front. Nonetheless, it was so [...]