Posts from the "Blog" Category

  • There, but for the grace of God…

    Blog

    One of the authors I follow on Twitter is Courtney Milan, who has released a series of excellent historicals over the past year and has another book, UNVEILED, coming out in January. If the cover alone wasn’t enough to seduce me, I’m quite intrigued by the premise – the hero has just found information to get the heroine (and her brothers) declared illegitimate, which means that he will inherit their father’s dukedom while the duke’s kids will be cast out of society. But, as these things happen, the hero and heroine meet and fall in love despite all that.

    Sounds lovely, right? So I was quite saddened for Ms. Milan when my Twitter feed gave me all the details of a review for her book that went horribly awry.

    Pray, tell me more! →


    Posted on 13 December 2010 * Add a Comment
    Tags: Research * Scenes from the Interweb * Writing Life *

  • What I'm Reading: December 2010

    Blog

    My fellow readers, I have a dark confession.

    I haven’t read anything new in at least two weeks. If this continues, my writer card may be revoked.

    But, there are a dozens of books waiting for me to read, and I hope to make some serious progress over the holidays. Given that I also intend to finish writing my book, write a hundred Christmas cards, switch blog hosting companies, start researching a shiny secret idea I have for a medieval-flavored young adult book, and spend time with the family I’ve shamefully neglected these past few months, I may be setting too high a bar.

    Still, I’ve got a reading list – does it match yours? What hot new books am I missing?

    Pray, tell me more! →


    Posted on 12 December 2010 * Add a Comment
    Tags: Sara's Books * TBR * What I'm Reading *

  • And now, a word on the day job…

    Blog

    So I have exciting news – I’ve decided to focus some time on my writing career. The alternative phrasing is that I quit my day job!

    I know, I’m crazy, and this is totally not recommended on any website I’ve ever seen that gives advice to writers. But, I feel strongly that giving myself a chance to focus on my writing is going to yield huge rewards, even if I don’t become self-sufficient through writing in time to avoid getting another job in the future. And, I planned ahead for this day for quite awhile, so it will be a couple of years before I starve to death.

    If you’re curious about how I made this decision, I’m blogging today at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood (http://goo.gl/Sf6M). Stop by and share your thoughts! I also expect to get a lot more vocal here in the coming weeks – stay tuned.


    Posted on 18 October 2010 * 1 Comment
    Tags: Real Life * Writing Career * Writing Life *

  • RWA 2010 Day 2: Eloisa, Agent, Etc.

    Blog

    I volunteered to report on today’s happenings at the Romance Writers of America convention for the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood (my fellow 2009 Golden Heart finalists), so I’m not going to repeat myself; you can read it here.

    I will say that the post is slightly misleading because I didn’t attend most of the events that I reported on. I know, I’m terrible. But, I had lunch with Eloisa James (squee!) and was too nervous beforehand to eat. Then, I had a meeting with my agent, and was so hungry after that that I returned to my room, ordered room service, and talked to my parents before going out for dinner with some fellow writers.

    Pray, tell me more! →


    Posted on 30 July 2010 * Add a Comment
    Tags: RWA Nationals * Thrilling * Writing Life *

  • RWA 2010 Day 1: Nora, Nora, Nora

    Blog

    The conference officially kicked off today with the Annual General Meeting of RWA, which I skipped in a desperate attempt to catch up on sleep. Unfortunately, several hundred/thousand other people had the same idea, and they apparently ended the meeting after only fifteen minutes because they didn’t have quorum to conduct official business. I feel like a slacker/user for not doing my civic duty — but then again, I’m pleased that I slept eight hours last night, so clearly my guilt doesn’t run very deep.

    Pray, tell me more! →


    Posted on 29 July 2010 * Add a Comment
    Tags: Writing Life *

  • RWA 2010 Day 0: Settling In, Catching Up, and Trying Not to Be a Fool

    Blog

    The 2010 RWA conference doesn’t kick into high gear until tomorrow, but I overscheduled myself as usual — rather than giving my poor California body clock a chance to catch up, I forced myself out of bed at 7:30am (4:30am at home, alas), into a dress AND makeup AND defrizzed hair (miracle of miracles), and downstairs in time to attend the Beau Monde retreat. The Beau Monde is a special-interest online chapter devoted to all things Regency; I joined a couple of months ago, and am consistently impressed by the quality and quantity of historical knowledge demonstrated on the loop.

    Pray, tell me more! →


    Posted on 28 July 2010 * Add a Comment
    Tags: Delicious * My Favorite Things * RWA Nationals * Writing Life *

  • On the Value of Non-Romance Writing Classes

    Blog

    I’m blogging today over at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood (the wonderful group of ladies who were fellow Golden Heart finalists in 2009) about my experience with non-romance-related writing classes and one of my favorite techniques for exploring and developing your voice. Please stop by and join the conversation!

    Beyond that, I have very little of interest to report — I’m still slogging through Madeleine and Ferguson’s story (ONE NIGHT TO SCANDAL), while my agent slogs through the submission process for ONE NIGHT TO SEDUCTION. As soon as I have any news about either of them, you’ll hear it here!


    Posted on 7 April 2010 * Add a Comment
    Tags: Scenes from the Interweb * Writing Life * Writing Process *

  • Congratulations to the 2010 Golden Heart Finalists!

    Blog

    I wanted to take a break from my regularly-scheduled silence to congratulate the 2010 Golden Heart finalists! The Golden Heart is a special contest, and the finalists are a special group of writers. If the experience of the 2010 nominees is anything like mine, you will have the opportunity to meet a wonderful group of women who are all working very hard to achieve their dreams — and are also kind, funny, supportive, generous, and eager to find kindred spirits in this strange, surreal process.

    For the latest list of names and our great cyberparty, check out the ’09 Golden Heart finalists’ blog: http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com. I’ll also post congrats to the Regency/historical finalists when the names come out.

    Pray, tell me more! →


    Posted on 24 March 2010 * Add a Comment
    Tags: RWA * Writing Life *

  • NaNoWriMo = NoNoNoNo

    Blog

    Actually, NaNoWriMo is going okay, provided that you define success in terms of what you’ve learned rather than what you’ve produced. I’ve blogged all about it on the Ruby Slippered Sister blog (the group blog for my fellow Golden Heart finalists).

    Pray, tell me more! →


    Posted on 9 November 2009 * Add a Comment
    Tags: Ferguson and Madeleine * Productivity * Scenes from the Interweb * Writing Life *

  • Melodrama

    Blog

    I’m quite dramatically blogging about the Curse of the Golden Heart today on the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood blog (the group blog I’m on with the fellow ’09 Golden Heart finalists). Check it out — commenters are entered into a drawing for a free mug or a first-chapter critique!


    Posted on 7 October 2009 * Add a Comment
    Tags: Scenes from the Interweb * Writing Life *