Three Links 2/13/2020 Loleta Abi

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Three Links 2/14/2020

Loleta Abi

Writing:

1. https://stevelaube.com/4-things-i-learned-from-rejection/ “Nobody likes to be rejected. Not middle-school dance attenders. Not job applicants. And definitely not writers.

Unfortunately, however, rejection pretty much comes with the territory for writers—at least for writers who are brave enough to submit their work to agents or editors for publication. And it hurts. Every. Single. Time. Take it from me, I know. I’ve been rejected hundreds of times, and not only in the distant past. (I know, I know, it’s hard to believe that, at my current level of success and respect, I would continue to suffer rejection. ’Tis a puzzlement.)

But I’ve learned from rejection. Really, I have. Why are you still looking at me like that? I can even quickly list four things I’ve learned from rejection:” I’m learning to never give up.

2. https://jamigold.com/2020/02/boring-love-scene-3-pitfalls-to-avoid-guest-roni-loren/ “No matter our genre, at some point in our career, we might need to write depictions of intimacy. Almost any genre can include a love interest, which might mean a love scene is in order (even if it’s light on the sex aspect).

I’ve written before about how to get over our dread and write sexy scenes for our stories as well as how to decide the “right” level of intimacy for our story. But just because we’ve accepted the need to write love scenes doesn’t mean that we know how to write them well.

In fact, the Bad Sex in Fiction Award calls attention to the many ways our love scenes can go wrong, leaving readers to just skip those scenes. Not good. A reader skipping pages isn’t immersed in our story and might even close the whole book.

Luckily, contemporary romance and erotic romance author Roni Loren is here to help us. Roni is a NYT bestselling author and expert at writing love scenes with emotion and sexiness—seriously, check out her phenomenal The Ones Who Got Away series, including the latest The One For You—and today she’s sharing tips to improve our sexy scenes, regardless of our scene’s style or level of intimacy. (And stick around to the end of the post to get an exclusive discount for her class!)”

3. http://booksbywomen.org/on-being-a-writer/ “When I dreamed of becoming a writer many, many years ago, I swung between it being an unachievable goal and imagining myself walking into bookshops and seeing my books on the shelves. However, all of that all got put aside as life took over. When I revisited my dream some forty years later, with the encouragement and support of my family and late husband, it was just about completing a novel and seeing what happens next.

I have several finished manuscripts, of different genres, sitting on my laptop; some will never see the light of day without some serious editing. Each one of them I thought was wonderful when it was completed, but when I read them back now I realise they need crafting into shape and I’m pleased they didn’t get published, which shows how my learning has progressed.

My first venture into publication was short stories, and I believe this is an art in itself. It teaches you about word count and choices. Magazines are looking for specific story lengths so it’s no good sending something that’s a thousand words over, and you still need to have a structure as you do in a full novel. It’s a challenge but one definitely worth doing. When my first short story was published I couldn’t believe someone actually wanted to buy something I had written, it was an amazing feeling and gave me a real boost to continue writing.”

Research & Fun Tidbits:

1. https://franceandvincent.com/2020/02/12/psychology/ “

2. https://scvincent.com/2020/02/13/whispering/

3. https://thepbsblog.com/2020/02/12/the-effort-will-release-its-reward-if-you-do-not-give-up/ “I published my first book in 2008 and the first book I ever sold in 2010. But it wasn’t until 2015 that I learned to define what my author’s voice was, to establish an author platform, to reach people, and to truly understand what it meant to be an Independent Author. In the beginning, my books were poorly edited and formatted. I didn’t know anything about Amazon, reviews, buying my own ISBNs, imprints, nothing. (I wasn’t even on Social Media, so I couldn’t take advantage of this free platform).”

Some Things More Serious:

1. https://www.booksandsuch.com/blog/be-anxious-about-nothing/ “nxious? Unless you live in a cave you have been bombarded with negative, anxiety-producing information of late.  In less than one hour of listening to news today, I heard more doomsday-type news than a body can stand. The icecaps are melting. Animals are becoming extinct at a frightening rate. Politics gets uglier each day. Plastic straws may spell the demise of our oceans. The sky is falling. Oh yes, and we have a new pandemic to worry about.

And how about publishing? Not a day goes by without a discussion of the demise of publishing as we know it. Authors are getting lower and lower advances. Publishers aren’t promoting the books they contract anymore. If an author’s sales figures aren’t up to par, he’ll never get another contract. Kids aren’t reading anymore. No one’s willing to pay for a book these days. Information should be free. Brick and mortar stores are a thing of the past. I could go on and on, but I’ll let you fill in the rest. It would seem the publishing sky is falling as well.

What I want to tell you is this: Don’t believe everything you hear.”

2. https://killzoneblog.com/2020/02/writers-group-trolls.html “In the mid-1990s, about the time when Nathan’s Run was first being published, AOL was pretty much synonymous with the internet for me.  Those were the days of squealing telephone modems and pay-by-the-hour access.  I remember jumping out of my skin the first time that AOL voice said, “Welcome” through the speakers that I didn’t even know my computer had.

There seemed to be no end to the rabbit holes of information diving. As a trivia junkie and a procrastinator, I’d stumbled upon the ultimate time suck.  It was fabulous!  But it wasn’t until I discovered the wonders of the chat room that I truly understood the addiction of internet rabbit holes.  AOL chat rooms provided opportunities to “speak” real-time with real people all over the world.

My favorite of those chat rooms was the AOL Writers Club.  Run by a husband-and-wife team out of their apartment in Arlington, Virginia, the Writers Club provided my first opportunity to interact with writers of all stripes.  Since the chats were real-time, the topics we discussed were the kinds of things you’d discuss in a coffee shop with friends.  We got to know each other as we talked not just about craft, but about our families and whatever came to mind.  Tom Clancy was probably the most famous person to pop in from time to time, but other regulars included Harlan Coben, Tess Gerritsen, Dennis Lehane and others who were just starting their careers.  More than a few of those Writers Club denizens became face-to-face friends and remain so to this day.

Then the trolls arrived.”

3. https://nicholasrossis.wordpress.com/2020/02/11/more-americans-go-to-the-library-than-to-the-movies/ “I recently wrote about Millennial reading habits. It turns out that they do love books.

This is further supported by a new report by Literary Hub, that highlighted a surprising fact: in 2019, more Americans went to the library than to the movies. At a time when the 2021 US budget seeks to eliminate funding for libraries, this is striking news indeed.

As Dan Sheehan reports, a recent Gallup poll (the first such survey since 2001) found that visiting the local library remains by far the most popular cultural activity for Americans.

And Justin McCarthy of Gallup continues:”

Teaser Fiction & Poetry:

1. https://colleenchesebro.com/2020/02/13/love-is-gogyohka/

2. https://trentsworldblog.wordpress.com/2020/02/12/another-person-another-place/

3. https://charmedchaos.com/2020/02/12/haiku-open-flower/

Book Reviews, Cover Reveals, & Author Interviews:

1. https://awriterofhistory.com/2020/02/13/the-girl-with-seven-names/ “Those of us who live in the West know that North Korea is a brutal regime. But what is that world actually like? I read The Girl With Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee for book club. And what a read it was. Here’s the premise:

As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal totalitarian regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and to realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed surely her country could not be, as she had been told “the best on the planet”?

Aged seventeen, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be twelve years before she was reunited with her family.

She could not return, since rumours of her escape were spreading, and she and her family could incur the punishments of the government authorities –”

2. https://mariacatalinaegan.com/2020/02/13/dungeon-corps-crypts-of-phanos-by-jaxon-reed-genre-epic-fantasy/ “Deep under the city of Phanos, the crypts are filled with monsters. Dungeon Corps works hard to contain them.

Recruited from prisons, outcasts, misfits, those expelled from academies and even rare volunteers, Dungeon Corps produces outstanding fighters.

When an ancient threat troubles the Queen’s Land once more, a grizzled veteran leads his young team down into the depths to rescue the lost and slay a horror known as Ludge.

But two on his team hold closer ties to the monster than anyone realizes. They are elves, running from assassins tracking them relentlessly since birth.

Ludge should have died 50 years ago. Now it’s up to the team to finish the job. In doing so, they uncover startling secrets known only to a chosen few.

They discover the elves’ forbidden existence and their raw untapped power can reshape the world.

If they survive.”

3. https://whenangelsfly.net/2020/02/12/it-has-arrived-yay/ “This enchanting fairy tale, Shadow and Friends Visit the Enchanted Forest, brings forth children’s vivid imaginations after receiving an Enchanted Invitation and Enchanted Key that unlocks a hidden door in an Enchanted Tree. Finding the secret door, they open the door with the magical key, and are greeted by an Enchanted Fairy, Lisa, whom they give the key to. Amazing sights are seen such as a Mushroom Family, a beautiful Festival of Lights with speaking butterflies and flowers, time spent at an Apple Harvest Festival, and Mushroom Houses. Truly a land of make-believe and children’s faces alight with pure joy. Children love amazing adventures and this one is full of all kinds of make-believe stories.

I’m giving away eProof copies for those who wish to enjoy.”