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Modern Speech
A couple weeks ago we discussed local flavor in expressions. It got me to thinking that I grew up in an era where no one thought anything of saying, "He should be shot," or "My father is going to kill me," for minor infractions. One of my friends noted that if a teenager said that today about her father, someone would call Social Services. After the Columbine tragedy that left so many dead or …
Let Creativity Flow (Part Five)
As promised last week, when all else fails to spark your creativity, give one of these a try. They almost always work!
1. Do something relaxing. Take a pad and pencil or a mini-recorder along to capture ideas when they spark. Some relaxation ideas:
A nice, long bath
Play with your pet. If you don’t have one, go to the dog park and borrow one!
Go to a movie
Cook something you …
News You Can Use – Feb. 7, 2012
Author Says McGraw-Hill Cheats on Royalties - Details of a pending lawsuit.
What is Pinterest? - The latest craze in Social Media Networks. AuthorMedia shows you the simple steps to sign up and tips on how to use it in the next article below.
Three Ways an Author Can Use Pinterest - Last week an editor told me how she was following a couple of her authors on Pinterest and how much she liked …
Fresh Formulas
Some have a hard time appreciating the talent involved in writing genre fiction. By genre fiction, I mean novels that fall into a defined category such as contemporary romance, historical romance, romantic suspense, or cozy mystery. Many of these novels are published by mass market publishers (like Harlequin) and fit in lines they have formed for the sole purpose of selling the genre.
These are …
Let Creativity Flow (Part Four)
Great discussions on creativity, everyone. Just reading your comments is sparking my creativity! So here are the last of my thoughts on what you can do when that well of ideas seems to have run dry:
Take a Time Out. Remember how that works? Time outs? When you were a kid and got a little out of control, Mom sent you to the Time Out chair to cool off. Well, this is a similar principle. Too often …
News You Can Use – Jan. 31, 2012
Amazon's Hit Man - The is a very good article about Larry Kirshbaum the new head of Amazon's Trade Publishing division. Every serious writer should read this article. Take the time, it is only 3,400 words. Source is Blomberg's Business Week magazine.
Is There Hope for Barnes & Noble? - an interesting take by Rich Adin.
Why Are We Obsessed with What's New? - Maria Popova reviews a book …
Clarification on Sale of Heartsong to Harlequin
New information has surfaced regarding the sale of Heartsong to Harlequin.
In my post on Friday I made the assumption that the sale included all the backlist and the currently contracted titles. This was reflected in point #5 in the post.
That is not the case. Harlequin did not buy the backlist or the currently contracted titles. Those will remain the property of Barbour Publishing. Thus …
Barbour Sells Heartsong to Harlequin
Today Barbour Publishing announced they have sold their Heartsong Presents line of inspirational romances to Harlequin.
For those of us who have been wondering about the eventual buyer, this comes as no surprise. We have known they were being sold since last Fall. In December I spoke with Barbour's president, Tim Martins, and he confirmed that the sale was in its last stages of negotiation but …