RITA ® Award-Winning Author of Fantasy Romance
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Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is books we’re looking forward to in 2019.
Can I just say ALL OF THEM???
Okay, I’ll try to hone it down to a few. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the final book in my Chronicles of Dasnaria trilogy, WARRIOR OF THE WORLD, will be out January 8. A fine way to kick off 2019! Come on over for more.
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Minerva Spencer’s kitchen in Taos – isn’t it gorgeous? I’m up here visiting for the weekend and she wants me to tell you it’s normally much tidier than this but we’ve been having an eating, drinking, talking writer’s bacchanalia.
Our topic this week at the SFF Seven, to continue the contentious cycle of last week’s one vs. two spaces throw-down, is: First Person POV vs. Third – or Second – Which Do You Like to Read? Come on over for definitions, and my answer!
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This week at the SFF Seven we’re sharing a blurb from our current work in progress or a blurb from an upcoming release. Serendipitously enough, for me they’re one and the same at the moment. Come on over to read the one for THE ARROWS OF THE HEART.
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Our topic this week at the SFF Seven is The Book You Didn’t Want to Read and Ended Up Loving.
This was kind of difficult for me to answer, because most of the books that spring to mind when I cast back and try to recall which I didn’t want to read are the ones I ended up hating. If I ended up loving them, I kind of forget that initial pain. Like childbirth.
But I finally settled on HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad, which I had to read for AP English senior year of high school. The edition above is the one I read – and still have. I know a lot of you hate it, but come on over to find out why it was pivotal for me.
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Here’s me and RITA Finalist Darynda Jones at the RITA ceremonies at RWA 2018. A fabulous evening!
Our topic this week at the SFF Seven is Which “Classic” Author’s Work Do You Loathe and Why? Come on over to find out about mine.
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Our topic at SFF Seven this week is How long is your TBR list? The answer for me is easy to give. Come on over to find out more!
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The last of the light on the longest day of the year – on a hot and still summer evening.
Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus self-publishing. I feel pretty well positioned to compare and contrast the two methods (broadly – there are a lot of subsets and gray areas) of publishing books because I’m solidly hybrid. In 2016, my income was 40%/60% traditional/self-publishing; in 2017, it was the reverse proportion. Come on over to find out more!
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This is Lake Sakakawea, up in North Dakota. We just got back from a super long road trip to there from New Mexico to spend some time camping, boating and fishing with family.
This week at the SFF Seven we’re asking: How do you level up as a writer?
It’s a great question and I look forward to reading everyone else’s answers – but I’d like to address something else first. This question makes the basic assumption that all writers want to “level up” – or improve. And improving can mean a lot of things to different people. And first of all, you need to get your priorities straight.
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I’m hard at work writing THE ORCHID THRONE, the first in my new trilogy for St. Martins Press. So, naturally, I had to impulse-buy this gorgeous orchid from Trader Joe’s. It’s my new desk ornament, following the USB-plug in Christmas tree, cherry blossom tree, and foaming cauldron. This one notably does NOT require electricity, which seems appropriate for the world I’m writing. However, it does require attention to be kept alive. So far my record with orchids is pretty abysmal. (Don’t tell this gal!) We shall see. Any tips for keeping orchids alive in a desert climate?
Last week I traveled to Phoenix to give a presentation to the Desert Rose Romance Writers. This one was “A Taoist’s Guide to Staying Sane in the Writing Business.” I talked a whole lot about how the relentless push to get rich can make us crazy, and how to find a peaceful place of sane creativity in the midst of that. But, during the great discussion at the end, one gal asked if I had advice about family who don’t believe in your career, who actively interfere or dis what you’re doing, or who won’t approved of your eventual story.
This is, of course, not an easy question to answer, though several gals in the room had advice for her, too. It’s also our topic at the SFF Seven this week: How much space do you give non-writing emotional labor – or how do you save mental space for the work with a head full of mortgage and other people’s expectations? I’d call this a coincidence, but I’m a Taoist I know it’s not. Come on over to find out more.
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I’m always terribly amused by these signs. Apparently in flat, desert landscapes like we have in New Mexico, one must beware of sudden lakes.
A big mistake, to be cruising along and not realize the road ends in a cliff dive into water.
That segues pretty naturally into this week’s topic at the SFF Seven: “Looking Back: Your first book’s (published or not) most cringe-worthy gaffe.” Come on over to find out about mine…