Karen Ball

Tis the Season for Stories!

By Karen Ballon December 10, 2014

December has to be my favorite month of the year. I love all the preparations and decorations and celebrations for the Christmas season. But two of my favorite things about the Christmas season are the books and movies we savor every year because, for those of us in the Ball household, it just isn’t Christmas without:

Books

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. (“Hey! Unto you a child is born!”)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

Debbie Macomber’s Angels series (LOVE Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy!)

Movies

Christmas in Connecticut (the Barbara Stanwyck version)

White Christmas (I sing along, of course)

Ernest Saves Christmas (Yes, I’m serious…knowwhaddImean, Vern?)

Die Hard (Hey, it’s a Christmas movie!)

Babes in Toyland (“This is the forest of no retuuuurrrnnnn…”)

A Muppets Christmas Carol (“You may be a bit of undigested beef…”)

How about you? What books or movies to you just have to read or watch when December rolls around?

Thankful

By Karen Ballon November 26, 2014

Holidays. People love them…people hate them. For my family, we fall in the “love ‘em” category. Thanksgiving always means getting together, sharing laughter and great food and playing all kinds of games. We bake and decorate and spend time watching football. Even the challenging Thanksgivings become a source of fun. Like the first time I fixed a turkey for Don and me. I made a huge bowl of …

Category: Faith, PersonalTag: Faith, thanksgiving

What’s Your First Line?

By Karen Ballon November 19, 2014

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Listen! Do you hear it? It’s been there all month, echoing in the background. The sound of hundreds of thousands of fingers tap-tap-tapping away. Yes, it’s here again: NaNoWriMo! That grand adventure of joining with other writers worldwide from November 1-30 to uplift and encourage each other as you write a novel in a month. A full novel. In one month. Sound impossible? Well, I confess I’ve never …

Category: Craft, CreativityTag: first lines, NaNoWriMo, Writing Craft

Interviews Made Easy

By Karen Ballon November 12, 2014

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Writers had a lot of things going for them, but, generally speaking, there is one thing that can work against them when it comes to doing interviews… Writers tend to be introverts. So why does that work against you? Well, most interviewers will tell you that the #1 thing they avoid is dead space. You know, those painful moments of utter silence when nobody can think of anything to say. Or when …

Category: Career, Communication, Craft, Writing CraftTag: Career, Communication, Interviews

Let’s Be Creative and Have Fun with Book Titles!

By Karen Ballon November 5, 2014

Steve Laube shared this hilarious thought from quirkbooks.com in our agency phone call last week: What if your favorite books were Halloween Candy? Such as… Mounds of the Baskervilles Oliver Twix Almond Joy Luck Club The Fault in our Starburst So with Halloween just past, and all the candy now on sale, I thought it would be fun to come up with our own titles using Halloween candy. So here are the …

Category: Fun Fridays, Humor

Creative Outlets

By Karen Ballon October 15, 2014

Ever notice how creativity has a way of coming and going? And when it goes, it always seems to be at the worst possible moment, such as when your book is due. Or when it WAS due. Weeks ago. But I’ve discovered a sure fire way to spark creativity, even at its most elusive: the Creative Change Up. There are so many ways to be creative, so when one outlet stops up, find a new one. For me, other …

Category: Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Creativity

Mispronounce at Your Own Peril

By Karen Ballon October 1, 2014

I’ve been spending some time with friends in Missouri. Since I’ve been here, I’ve learned a few things. In some areas, the state we’re in is “Mi-zur-ee.” In other areas, “Mi-zur-uh.” “That hound won’t hunt” means “you’re not getting away with that, young lady.” “Even a blind sow can find an acorn once in awhile” means “anyone can get lucky once in awhile.” “The sow found an acorn!” …

Category: LanguageTag: Language, pronunciations

Proposals: Know Your Audience

By Karen Ballon September 24, 2014

I … Love … Coffee … Love going into coffee shops, love ordering the perfect brew, love the ambiance of Starbuck’s and Caribou coffee and Seattle’s Best and Coffee People, and you name it! When my hubby wants to do something special for me, he’ll let me drag him to a coffee shop. Of course, when I’m done ordering, he bellys up to the bar, stares the barista in the eye, and says, …

Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: Audience, book proposals, Get Published

Proposals: Make Comparison Titles Work for You

By Karen Ballon September 17, 2014

When I mention adding comp titles to a proposal, this is the response I often get from both nonfiction and fiction authors: “AARRRGGHH! Why? It’s so hard!” Well, there are two main reasons as to the why: Comp titles show there’s a market out there for books like yours. Comp titles help the editor/author “get” your book better. Now, that doesn’t mean you can just grab any book that’s similar …

Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: book proposals, Comparisons, Get Published