I’m doing the happy dance for two of my critique partners, Sandy Ardoin and Heidi Chiavaroli, who have made it to the semi-final round of the 2011 Genesis Contest! I’m so excited for them and proud of their work. Both are terrific writers and amazing friends. Wishing them well as they head into the next round! 🙂
Blog Highlights of the Week
There have been so many spectacular blog posts this week, I have to share! My lovely friend Caitlin Muir talked about the sliding scale of producing vs. consuming media. My agent, Wendy Lawton, has had a fantastic series running all week about the Good News of Publishing. My favorite was about publishing being a fashion industry. Must. Read. Time management is so vital to authors – especially anyone serious about a career in publishing. Author Jody Hedlund talks about making your writing schedule work. Amanda Cabot blogged on my critique partner, Sandy Ardoin’s, blog about simplifying historical research. Oh, I could go on and on. Currently reading Don Miller’s...
Review: Glimpses of Paradise
Description: Two high school kids in small town Nebraska have their dreams. Zee, a minister’s daughter, wants to be a movie star. Doyle, the son of a wealthy lawyer, is expected to follow in his father’s footsteps and practice law. But World War I explodes and changes everyone’s plans. When Doyle ends up on the battlefields of France, though he performs ably, he comes out disillusioned. Rejecting his parents’ pleas to return to school, he finds himself in Los Angeles on the bottom rung of society. Unknown to him, Zee Miller is also in L. A., having run away from her father and the religion of her youth. But when...
Review: The Silent Order
Description: Rural America – 1928. After the murder of his partner, Detective Rollin Wells hides away in an Amish home near Sugarcreek, Ohio, to find out who in the police force is collaborating with Cleveland’s notorious mob. While Rollin searches for answers to his partner’s death, he befriends an elusive young Amish woman named Katie and her young son. As Rollin learns about Katie’s past, he’s shocked at the secret Katie is hiding – a secret that has haunted Rollin for eight years. My Review: Oh this book is right up my alley. I was hooked from the beautiful cover, to the premise itself. I also know the author, Melanie Dobson, through my local writing group and...
Story Behind the Story: Linda Rondeau
I am currently rewriting my first novel. Though still unpublished, the novel concept grabbed the attention of an agent, and ultimately a contract. After ten years, I could readily see the flaws. Yet, if the story grabbed an agent, there had to have been something memorable about it. The plot idea came to me after a contact with a cousin I hadn’t seen for nearly twenty years, a cousin I was very close to growing up. In our case, we merely drifted away. I wondered about what rifts might separate two teenage cousins who were closer than sisters. Thanks for stopping by, Linda! Visit her website here!