Laura Whitcomb's Blog, page 16

Give-Aways

For this academic year (2009/2010) I will be giving away one prize per month.

 I'll announce it on my website and in my blog. I'll gather the names of people who email in entries and draw one from a hat at the end of each month.

 

The first give away is an audio book of A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT (CDs.) If you would like to be in the drawing, send me your name and address via my website "email Laura Whitcomb" feature before October 1st.  (If you are under the age of 14, please ask your parents...

More books I love . . .

Even though I write supernatural novels, I have non-supernatural favorite books, too.

Three newish novels that I loved:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen – not only a great story and a fabulous setting (the circus) but it made me cry twice. And at moments I was not expecting. So well done.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows — what an original premise. And beautifully written. Delightful. It delivered (among other things) three such satisfying...

To cram or not to cram?

Some of my fans who discovered SLANT when it was new, and who were in ninth grade at the time, may now be starting their freshman year at college. And to you I pass along my seven tips that helped me not only survive college life, but almost make a 4.0. Now, I don't know if these tips would work for some majors (maybe not P.E., Biology, Chem) but for the bookier ones (Literature, History, PoliSci) I think they would still work great. Some of these suggestions may sound dorky. Just be...

For lovers of supernatural books . . .

Here are some other books I recommend if you like the supernatural. 

One for Sorrow (Christopher Barzak) is about a boy who becomes a little too attached to the ghost of a former classmate–really interesting and spooky.

 

 

 

 

Skellig (David Almond) is deceptively simple, but very effect. Hard to describe. When read aloud it sounds like a children's book, rather than YA or adult, but it's very cool. All I can say is, try it.

Alphabet of Dreams (Susan Fletcher) has a wonderful dream magic in it...

A work in progress, part two

I have been working on my newest project UNDER THE LIGHT (a sequel to A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT) and I've been finding the process fascinating, like remembering a forgotten dream or finding that deja vu is actually not a trick of the mind. Hard to describe. As I discover who Jenny and Billy are, and the emotions that rock their relationship, as I lead them down the path of discovery toward the possibility that ghosts inhabited them, I get more and more excited about scenes later in the story. (I'

One weekend, one novel

Many of you have probably already heard of and participated in Nanowrimo (the national novel writing month) which starts November 1st (go to www.nanowrimo.org to read all about it) but there's also the International 3 Day Novel Writing contest which begins next Friday night at midnight  (September 5th) and finishes at midnight Monday (September 7th.) That's right, 72 hours to write a whole novel. I did this very thing about ten times.  (www.3daynovel.com)

In ye olde days it was called the Anvil P

About fan fiction . . .

One of my online friends clued me into the fact that there is A Certain Slant of Light fan fiction being written out there. I am flattered. But I have decided (at least for now) not to read it. If you are a fanfictioneer, please forgive me. It's not you, it's me. I'm afriad I'll be influenced, since I'm writing a sequel to SLANT and may someday write a sequel to FETCH.

Let the mighty pen fly!

Thank you thank you thank you for being so passionate and productive. And I hear that fanfictioning can be

Sharing book recommendations . . .

If you've already read A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT . . .

 

 

 

 

 

. . .  and THE FETCH . . .

 

. . .  and it seems like a long time before UNDER THE LIGHT comes out . . .

 

(Can you tell I love Pre-Raphaelite paintings?)

 

 

 

. . . and you are looking for ideas of other good books to read . . .

I suggest:

TITHE by Holly Black (fairly recent) and THE PRINCESS BRIDE by William Goldman (not recent at all—more of a modern classic.) There are other reading suggestions for lovers of supernatural romance on the website

What I did with my summer vacation, part three

My family (siblings, nieces, nephews, their sweeties, spouses and kids) came to Oregon for a week.

We laughed and told stories and took turns holding baby Lizzy (the newest member of the family)

Lizzy North with her dad

and played dominoes and did puzzles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and took a day trip to Cannon Beach.

Wendy, me, Cyn

There were people sleeping in EVERY room. We also made music together – piano playing, group singing—we even created a bell choir with Wendy's single octave kids' bell set. We managed to play

What I did with my summer vacation, part two

I'm at bottom, second from left.

I dressed up like a wench and sang madrigals with my choir, the Sherwood Renaissance Singers, at various northwest fairs. If you've never been to a Ren Faire, it's an event usually held in a large, grassy park with shade trees and set up with (hopefully) period looking tents and pavilions. Renaissance style entertainers perform (jugglers, Morris dancers, magicians, actors, jousters, pirates, puppeteers, and singers) and vendors sell ye olde wares (swords, toys, je