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Showing posts from March, 2021

When Readers Love And Hate Your Characters

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One of the weirdest things about publishing a novel is knowing people are reading it but not being able to talk with them about the story. Maybe this doesn't bother other authors, but after years of participating in writing critique groups, I'm accustomed to people talking with me about my characters. It's a joy when someone starts discussing them as if they are real. They are real--at least to me. I have heard from a few people close to me though, and it intrigues me what each one picks up on. One of the first readers to talk to me about the books made the following statements: My favorite character is Kiffen. I think Montee is going to die. I really want to know who's going to kill Maligon. I don't like Pultarch. He needs to die. Leera is a pain. I don't like Shana. She's evil. Then he'd try to tempt me into giving information away by asking questions: Please, just tell me this. Is Pultarch is going to die? A really painful death? My brother's favo

An Interview with Author, Claire Buss

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  It's been awhile since I've featured a guest author, but never fear, I have one for you today. I met Claire Buss during an online fantasy writing event. When she offered to interview authors for her blog, I reciprocated. She lives in the UK, so I thought it would be interesting to hear about her writing during lockdown experience. (Note: I kept the British spelling of several words to maintain authenticity in her story.) About Claire Buss Claire is a multi-genre author and poet. She wanted to be Lois Lane when she grew up but work experience at her local paper was eye-opening. Instead, Claire went on to work in a variety of admin roles for over a decade but never felt quite at home. An avid reader, baker and Pinterest addict Claire won second place in the Barking and Dagenham Pen to Print writing competition in 2015 setting her writing career in motion. Claire has written quite a few books including The Gaia Effect which won the 2017 Raven Award for Science Fiction and Fantas

A Fantasy Author Plus A Women's Fiction Author Equals?

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A great time and fun conversation!  At least that's how I felt about this event I shared with Barbara Claypole-White last month. Many thanks to Hub City Bookshop in Spartanburg, SC for hosting the two Barbaras. Maybe we should call us B&B! Here's a video of the event from February 9. Author conversations are great fun! I've participated in several and have another one coming up next week on March 24 with Bookmark's 4 on 4th event. This month's event is called Mirrors & Mystics and features: Barbara V. Evers, The Watchers of Moniah Rhonda Browning White, The Lightness of Water and Other Stories Neal Owens, Mirrors of Life, Part 2: The Fight for Political Power Sarah C. Patten, The Measure of Gold Register here . Hey you! Yep, you. I'm running a SWAG contest in my newsletter and you can enter it by checking the newsletter out here .  Just subscribe, then submit your answers. Easy, peasy!

Meet the Newest Giraffe at the Greenville Zoo

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 On February 21, the Greenville Zoo's giraffe, Autumn, gave birth to a sweet little girl. I finally got a chance to visit her on March 4. Below are some pictures and a YouTube video of my visit. If you look closely in this one, you'll see that the calf has inherited what I like to call Autumn's bowtie. All of her calves have had a similar spot arrangement at the base on their neck. Like Mother, Like Daughter Nursing for a short moment Voguing for the camera My favorite photo so far Video Now that you've seen how cute she is, check out this video as I arrived at the zoo and saw this cutie for the first time. You get to see the whole giraffe family and this little girl doing some zoomies.

A Writing Lesson From a Child, a Book Launch, a Contest, and More!

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I have FOUR important points to share with you today, including a very important writing lesson  at the end of this post. You don't want to miss out on any of this! (The message is powerful whether or not you write.) First: Release Day! The Watchers at War , the exciting conclusion of The Watchers of Moniah epic fantasy trilogy, is available today.  Get it here ! Second: Get Free Books There's still time to enter the book launch contest and get personalized copies of The Watchers of Moniah and The Watchers in Exile for free! PLUS some great SWAG! Hurry, the contest ends at midnight on Mar. 1, 2021. Enter the Contest ( Note: you receive 5 entries if you subscribe to my newsletter. If you already have subscribed, type "Duplicate" in the How did you find us question so you don't get extra newsletters. ) Third: Pitch Workshop I'm presenting a workshop on how to pitch your manuscript on March 2 at noon through South Carolina Writers' Association. It's f