Starting today, March 17, you can enter a Goodreads giveaway for one of twenty copies of What She Knew! Hurry, though…the giveaway ends on April 1!
books
Here’s to the Book Review Bloggers! #gratitude #bookreviews
I had a post done and ready to go. I’m eager to tell you more about What She Knew! But as I’ve worked this week, I realized I need to tell you about my new heroes…the book review bloggers. It seemed fitting to take a moment and acknowledge the time, energy, and effort they spend so we readers can find out what’s available and what’s good to read.
I’m contacting bloggers who review books in hopes they will review mine. I’ve prepared a lengthy list of reviewers to contact, and I’ve looked up the links one by one. Sometimes the websites are gone. Some don’t cater to my genre. Some bloggers are way behind and not accepting new reviews. Out of each page-long list I’ve compiled, there are about 5-6 that I can contact.
What I’ve noticed in the process is this: book reviewers are a generous lot. They are reading like crazy and sharing their opinions without compensation. In fact, it’s a no-no for me to pay for reviews (outside of industry reviewers such as Kirkus). These bloggers are doing what they do for the love of it. While some have found ways to monetize their blogs, I’m still impressed. A lot of them have day jobs, but still are prolific with their reading and blogging.
Most respond to my queries quickly. One apologized because it took her a day to get back to me.
Most post their review policies, making it clear what they will and won’t read, thus saving me time. It also helps me to know exactly what they want me to send them.
I wouldn’t have the patience to sort through endless requests…some report getting up to 500 queries in a month. That’s a lot of e-mail to read, even before accepting books!
So thank you, book review bloggers. Thank you for loving books. Thank you for taking time you could spend doing other things to read my query and consider my requests. Thank you for helping spread the word…something every author needs in order to have a chance of succeeding when so many books are available.
And, if any of you reading this blog are interested in reading What She Knew, let me know! I’d be happy to send you a copy…just click on the Contact link and tell me what format you would like and where to send a copy.
What She Knew is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Release date for the ebook version is February 29, 2016. The paperback will be available March 29, 2016. More to come!
Happy New Year! #IWSG #amwriting
It’s the first Wednesday again, and time for the next monthly installment for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. This is where we writers provide support and encouragement to each other. Join us!
Thank you to this month’s co-hosts: L.G. Keltner, Denise Covey, Sheri Larsen, J.Q. Rose, Chemist Ken, and Michelle Wallace. And of course, a special thanks goes to our fearless founder and leader, Alex J. Cavenaugh! I hope you’ll visit their blogs in appreciation for their contributions to our merry band of writers.
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January 2, 1996…twenty years ago. My then-husband and I woke up with the flu. Since we were both sick, there was no one to take care of us, and it was a nasty bug.
Three days later, he went back to work, still ailing but better. For me, though, the story was different. I didn’t get well. Day after day, week after week, month after month, I woke exhausted, my body alternating between freezing cold and burning hot, my lymph nodes swollen, my digestion disrupted.
The eventual diagnosis of CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome) didn’t help, as the cause is unknown and the path to treatment unclear.
During the months in bed, I had a lot of time to think. All my life I had wanted to be a writer but always let life get in the way. Now, with my brain addled and little ability to concentrate, I wondered: was it too late? Did I squander my chance?
I don’t often “bargain” when I grieve, but this time I did. Make me well, God, and I won’t forget.
I was one of the lucky ones. Eventually, I did get well…and I didn’t forget my promise. In 1997 I found The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, which helped me get started. In October 1999 I published my first book, When a Grandchild Dies: What to Do, What to Say, How to Cope (the link is for the 15th anniversary edition).
The life changes that resulted were extraordinary, and here I am all these years later, proud to be a novelist who has completed her second novel and sent it off to industry reviewers. There’s another novel in draft form, and I am swimming in ideas for more books.
More than anything, writing has made me more whole, more authentic, happier. As a side note, when I met my current husband, I gave him a copy of When a Grandchild Dies…it made him want to get to know me better.
It took a debilitating illness for me to wake up and live. It took that moment in time, twenty years ago, when I no longer had the choice to ignore who I really was. Every day that I can write, that I do write, is a remarkable gift. Yes, writing is hard. Yes, it’s frustrating sometimes to find readers. Yes, reviews can be upsetting.
But to be writers who do not write…that is a tragedy.
My hope for you, my fellow writers, is that 2016 brings you joy, peace, health, and a wealth of ideas to explore. May you find readers who resonate with your words. May you look self-doubt and insecurity in the eye and say, “Thanks. I’m doing this anyway.”
How was your 2015? What are your dreams/goals/plans for 2016? Do tell!
What She Knew is now available for pre-order! I hope you’ll take a look. *
The Badass Trinity Part II: Elizabeth Gilbert #IWSG #amwriting
This is a week where two events collide: the First Wednesday post of the Insecure Writers Support Group, and the second of my three-part Badass series.
They go together, I promise.
On the first Wednesday of every month, the IWSG members post encouragement and support to other writers. Join us!
This month’s co-hosts are:
Sandra Hoover, Mark Koopmans, Doreen McGettigan, Megan Morgan, and Melodie Campbell
And, special thanks to Alex J Cavenaugh, the founder and fearless leader of this group.
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Now, on to Badassery. Last week I posted Part I, in which I opined on Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes. This week, I feature another Badass: Elizabeth Gilbert.
Are you feeling discouraged, confused, or disappointed with your writing career? If so, I can offer you nothing better than Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.
Big Magic isn’t a self-help book per se. Gilbert doesn’t offer a series of exercises, nor does she give you the secret keys to success. However, as she shares her own writing journey, you’ll learn from her.
She calls Big Magic her “permission slip” to writers…the thing that says, “do it” when those sneaky, clever self-doubts threaten to upend our dreams. Most importantly, she puts our writing in perspective. Yes, it’s hard work, but so are other jobs. Yes, sometimes our writing is received more at other times than others. Yes, some days we don’t want to do it. But if we persist, we can find those moments of Big Magic.
Filled with compassion, Big Magic also provides a gentle, but loving, kick in the pants. By demystifying and deromanticizing the creative process, Gilbert makes it easier for us to approach it.
Best of all, Big Magic is beautifully written. After reading some books lately that weren’t so good, sitting down with Gilbert’s chatty, humorous, literary style felt like I’d walked into a fresh spring day. Reading it, I found myself nodding my head…a lot. I said yes, over and over. Sometimes she hit a nerve. I kept on reading because this book is pure pleasure to read.
Gilbert has strong opinions, which is why I include her in the “badass” category. She doesn’t like it when we talk of our writing as though it’s our baby. After all, what if someone tells us our baby is ugly?
She’s also not impressed by Hemingway’s counsel to “open a vein and bleed” on the page. We don’t have to suffer for our art…just apply regular practice and discipline to the process.
In short, she sticks pins in the balloons of what we’re told as writers, those things that cause us to cut and run (or, as I’ve seen a lot of lately, to whine on Facebook instead of writing).
I’ve no doubt I will turn to Big Magic over and over again when I need motivation. I hope you will, too.
Nadine Galinsky Feldman is the author of The Foreign Language of Friends and the upcoming What She Knew, available March 2016. If you enjoy this blog, please consider purchasing a book or signing up for the newsletter to learn about upcoming promotions and giveaways.
The Badass Trinity Part I: Shonda Rhimes
Happy Thanksgiving! May you have a wonderful holiday with friends and/or family.
Before we enjoy our turkey and trimmings, let’s dish about a topic so big it needs three separate posts.
Are you a badass?
The Urban Dictionary says (among other things) that a badass is:
“The epitome of the American male. He radiates confidence in everything he does, whether it’s ordering a drink, buying a set of wheels, or dealing with women. He’s slow to anger, brutally efficient when fighting back.
The badass carves his own path. He wears, drives, drinks, watches, and listens to what he chooses, when he chooses, where he chooses, uninfluenced by fads or advertising campaigns. Badass style is understated but instantly recognizable. Like a chopped Harley or a good pair of sunglasses: simple, direct, and functional.”
Why I Write Romance — by Special Guest Toi Thomas #itslikethefullmoon #IndieBooksBeSeen
Today I welcome Toi Thomas to my blog! I “met” Toi through the Insecure Writers Support Group, and she has just finished a blog tour to promote It’s Like the Full Moon (written under the name Glorie Townson). Today she joins us on a special post-tour stop.
If you want to visit the other tour stops to learn more about Toi, click here for a complete list. The giveaway is over, but the fun continues!
It’s Like the Full Moon is my first foray into contemporary romance as a writer, and even my readership of the genre is fairly young. For as long as I could remember, romance as a genre seemed to be overly simplified into either erotic, dramatic, and or naïve subplots mashed together to bring “the boy and the girl” into each other’s arms at the end. While this is true for some stories, I soon realized just how wrong I was in my narrow-minded assumptions.
Romance is more than the stuff that happens to bring upon a happy ending; it’s the journey of love and the discovery of all the different paths people can take to find it. To be able to tell the story of how people overcome the obstacles of life in order to share themselves with someone else is no easy task and is in many ways a great responsibility. Writing romance is a platform for relationship therapy and self-discovery.
While the entertainment value of these stories is unquestionable, the deeper meaning and the ability to connect to reader’s baser instincts is an empowering experience. Some people never develop a passion for politics, never comprehend the appeal of superpowers, never feel invested enough to track clues in hopes of solving the crime, and so much more, but everyone on some level identifies with love and the pursuit of it. Romances take these pursuits and focuses them on uniting soulmates, kindred spirits, convenient companions, bold lovers, and more.
I write romance because it gives me a chance to tell the world that making love is worth ending all other pursuits and battles; and for those fortunate enough to freely pursue happiness, hopefully romance is part of the package.