Book Reviews, the Subject We Cannot Discuss

Book reviews.  Seems like a simple subject, right?  You read a book, you tell friends you liked it or didn’t, and in this day of social media, you do it online so lots of people can read your opinion. If you’re the author of the book in question you read the review and you. .…

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Cast of Characters–a Novelist’s Inc. Anthology

It’s always such a pleasure to tell you about good books.  Today’s is no exception.  Cast of Characters, an anthology of stories written by twenty-eight of my esteemed colleagues, is now available.  Cast of Characters is the quintessential satisfying read because no matter how limited your reading time, you can pick it up, enjoy a…

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Writers on the Beach

I’m at the Novelist’s Inc. conference on St. Pete Beach this week, with old friends and new.  I attended last year and learned more in a day than I’ve learned in all the previous conferences I’d ever attended.  So back I went. Ever wonder what writer’s talk about when we’re together? (And I don’t mean…

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Ebooks, Treasured Novels, and Becoming My Own Publisher

So there I was last October, in a packed room with treasured colleagues, authors I love, authors I’ve admired, and newish authors with infectious enthusiasm for this crazy career of ours.  And in the front on the panels?  Some of the most powerful people in publishing.  Novelists, Inc., an international group of multi-published authors, is the only…

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You Say You Want A Digital Revolution?

If you read my recent blog on writers and friendship, you know I spent last week at the Novelist’s Inc. workshop on St. Pete Beach, my old stomping grounds.  It’s always a surprise when I go home to find not the huge changes we sometimes see, but a re-creation of the past.  My neighborhood looks much the…

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With A Little Help From My Friends

Earlier in the fall I asked my Facebook  readers what topics they would like to see here at Southern Exposure.  Brandi Jones asked about my relationship with other authors.  She wondered if we critique or brainstorm together, help each other out of writer’s block or even lend ideas.  She was surprised at the lack of…

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Iron Lace: A Book of the Heart

I received two interesting emails this morning.  One from a writing student who participated in a class I taught last summer, and one from Fresh Fiction, a website for book lovers.  Fresh Fiction generously reminded me I have a book coming out tomorrow . . . EEEEEEK. . . . Okay, I KNEW I had…

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There Be Pirates: Illegal Downloads and Why They Affect You

Free books are a treat we all enjoy.  Books given as gifts.  Books won in contests, like the ones I frequently offer here and on my website.  Books loaned to us by good friends.  Even books checked out at the library, although, of course, your taxes support that fabulous institution, so technically those books aren’t…

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