The Writing Life
Book Signing Fun at the Local Barber Shop.
So, as I’m leaving the grounds of our summer place, after I’ve already flashed my gate pass and been waved out, I remember: “You idiot, you don’t have your camera!” Of course I didn’t have my camera. As usual I had waited until the last minute to get ready for the six o’clock book signing in…
Read MoreReviewing A Novel. Should You or Shouldn’t You?
Recently I found myself reviewing a novel on Goodreads. Do you read book reviews? Do you write them? Every time we add a book to our lists at that website, Goodreads reminds us to review, and for some reason, this time I listened. Sometimes I do what I’m told. As an author I make a point…
Read MoreThe Write Way: An Author’s Control Over Content and Production
Years ago, when I started my writing career, I signed contracts for a number of romance novels. None of those early contracts discussed e-books because e-books were in the future. When asked my publisher graciously agreed I had the right to publish these books as e-books myself, and so far I’ve re-edited, revised and put…
Read MoreThe Write Way: How Much Control Does an Author Have Over Covers?
Recently I received several emails in response to my last newsletter complaining that my newly reissued romance, The Unmasking, was only available as an e-book and wasn’t in paper–unless a reader can find the original paperback, which is almost a collector’s item. While I sympathize, and wish I could magically produce books in all formats,…
Read MoreNext Week, Same Time, Same Place
I’m so busy doing the edits and revisions of one of my first novels, The Unmasking, that I wasn’t able to blog yesterday, but please stay tuned for another preview of the book this week on Fiction Friday, in honor of Mardi Gras. I hope to have The Unmasking online at all your favorite bookstores…
Read MoreWatering the Newly Planted Seeds of a Novel
Next to “where do you get your ideas?” the question I am most asked is how long it takes me to write a book. That question is asked a variety of ways. Some people, when learning I’ve published more than seventy novels, seem to believe I walk into my study every morning, press a button and…
Read MoreQuestionable Topics
Okay, I know what you’re thinking after reading my title today. Emilie’s going to address the touchy and therefore juicy subject of “things writers should never write about.” Well, actually I might, now that I’ve thought of it. Another day, though. Today I’m answering a few questions I pried out of my Facebook buddies. The…
Read MoreBrainstorming 2013
This week I’ve welcomed my brainstorming buddies to our Chautauqua hideaway to spend four days tossing around ideas about upcoming novels, everything from entire plots to key ideas we need help with. If you missed my previous posts about previous brainstorming sessions and the way we conduct them, you can find them here and here…
Read MoreThose Difficult Chapters in Life and in Novels
I am on a deadline. So what else is new? In college when I had an “end” in sight, a paper, a test, a project, I had a bad habit of waiting until the last minute, a habit I unlearned by my senior year. When I began to write I had learned my lesson. I worked…
Read MoreAgendas in Fiction. Really?
I always enjoy receiving email or letters from my readers. But a recent email really made me stop and think. Not so much because the questions were particularly disturbing, but because of the message behind them. Here’s how the email ended: Does your publishing company encourage a certain style of writing? A certain viewpoint? Do most…
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