Laura Whitcomb's Blog, page 15

Seriously, it wasn't just the candy.

I love Halloween and have all my life. Sure, the idea of a pillow case heavy with fun sized snickers was greatly appealing, but as I explain in my 10/24/09 guest blog on www.thedebutanteball.com, it was more about the atmosphere. Here's an excerpt:

"I liked the light – the laughter and sweets and playfulness of it all. But honestly, I found I preferred the darkness between streetlights. I liked not knowing precisely who was behind each mask. I liked the corny taped sound effects of moaning...

Dragons, Ghosts, and Grails

Come to a Halloween event!

I'm teaming up with YA authors Susan Fletcher (The Dragon Chronicles) and Pamela Smith Hill (The Last Grail Keeper) for spooky readings, creepy true tails, and treats.

 

 

 

Costumes welcome, but not required. There will be delightful door prizes.

Seriously, do come. We will be at Annie Bloom's Books on Wednesday night October 28th at 7:00 pm and at A Children's Place on Halloween morning, Saturday October 31st, at 11:00 am. Wee snatches from future works may even be...

If you like Hogwarts . . .

 

When I did my reading at Wordstock, a young girl from the audience asked if I had any book recommendations for Harry Potter fans. Here are a few: 

If you like that British flavor, you might like: Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, and The Story of the Amulet  by E. Nesbit; Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie; The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis; Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll; The Once and Future King by T. H. White.

 

 

On the Scifi end of...

Favorite finds at Wordstock . . .

I was only able to attend Wordstock for a few hours, but I picked up three gems.

 

 

 

 

When I did a reading from THE FETCH, I shared the stage with Blake Nelson and was delighted by his reading from DESTROY ALL CARS. Very funny. Very original. The inner workings of a teenaged boy unfold for the reader through samples of the boy's writing: journal entries, essays, and school assignments. It's brilliant. And a hoot.

When I wanted to make myself a lanyard for my nametag, I begged a piece of ribbon...

Wordstock 2009

Wordstock is a fabulous celebration of books, writers, and storytelling held in Portland, Oregon every year. They've had hundreds of writers perform and a total of over 50,000 patrons attending since 2005. I'll be doing a reading, by the way, on Saturday October 10th at 2:00 pm, just so's you know.

There are  ten author stages,  over a hundred exhibit booths, workshops for writers and for K-12 teachers, and (as they say) much much more. Not to brag about my city, but our Wordstock is the...

How I got my agent . . .

When I'd written (and rewritten) a good draft of A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT and needed to start submitting it to publishers, I knew I needed an agent. I wanted to be smart about my search, so first I read Donald Maass's book THE CAREER NOVELIST to figure out what kind of agent I wanted.

 

 

 

Then I read Jeff Herman's book on literary agents and editors because it not only told me what each agent was looking for, but all kinds of extras: their hobbies, pet peeves, backgrounds. I listed every...

Monthly Give-Away for October!

The winner of the September Give-Away (an audio book of A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT) is Cara of Portland, Oregon! Congratulations, Cara. I'll send that package off to you on Monday.

 

The October prize is a signed copy of YOUR FIRST NOVEL, the writing book I co-authored with my literary agent, Ann Rittenberg. So, all you budding writers out there, email your name and address to my website before November 1. (If you do not want to have your name and addressed added to my snail mail list, for...

An afternoon at the library . . .

This weekend, Sunday (September 27, 2009) from 3:30 to 5:30, I'll be teaching at the Wilsonville public library as part of the Northwest Author Series (hosted by WRITER MAMA author Christina Katz).

I'll be talking about some of the topics covered in my second book on writing, NOVEL SHORTCUTS. The cost in minimal ($5.00 at the door) and there's no need to register in advance. The library is located at 8200 SW Wilsonville Road, Wilsonville Oregon 97070. Call the library at (503) 682-2744 with...

Max tracks

They say that min pins are born ratters, and when Maximus (my four year old dog) was a wee thing, he would take stuffed animals in his jaws and shake his head furiously back and forth as if snapping the neck of the unfortunate  ducky/scoobydoo/froggy. It is not uncommon for him, master tracker that he believes himself to be, to follow madly after some mysterious scent, around the yard or down the street, when I take him out for his first pee of the day. And he never holds back a single...

The dark and the light of "horror"

Recently someone asked me why I write about such dark things, and I was confused for a moment. I didn't see myself as dark.  I may write about death, ghosts, demons, and hauntings, but I don't actually write horror.

No matter how seemingly dark my storylines might sound, I always write about the light. I believe there is light and love at the core of the universe and inside every human being. So there should be light at the center of every story I write, because that's why we're here on this...