Nebraska Writing Workshop

June 10-15, I'll be teaching a class on story and plot at the Nebraska Summer Writers Conference. Register before April 1st and get 10% off! Hope to see you!

Workshop

The Spine or Through-line
What holds your story together?
Story/plot workshop with Carleen Brice


Have a great idea for a story, but don't know how to get started? Wrote a few pages (or a few hundred) and now you're stuck? What you need is to grow some backbone...for your story that is.

According to screenwriting instructor Robert McKee, the spine is the "primary unifying force that holds all the other story elements together." It asks the major dramatic question and then scene by scene answers it, propelling your story forward. This class will help you figure out your spine--where your story might begin; how things might be looking at the end; and help you identify some of the important scenes (set-ups and payoffs and turning points) that should happen along the way. Writing exercises, group discussion and reading will help you generate ideas and organize your thoughts to take you (and your readers) vertebrae by vertebrae through your story.

Greenwoman Magazine

I'm a writer and a gardener, so imagine my delight when I found out about Greenwoman Magazine, a literary garden! The editor conducted an interview with me for their first issue, which is hot off the presses! Please check it out. You can purchase a hard copy or read it online. For a taste, go to this blog post.

Where you can find me online

I recently started blogging at the Girlfriends Book Club along with a group of fine lady writers and at The Best Damn Creative Writing Blog. I'm still keeping the White Readers Meet Black Authors blog and am on Facebook and Twitter and SheWrites. So please check me out at those locations. As you can imagine, won't very much be happening here.

AuthorFest of the Rockies

On Friday, October 2nd, I'll be speaking at AuthorFest of the Rockies. Below is an interview I did with TalkingBooks TV to help promote AuthorFest. I think I'm going to talk about "the writer's journey." About how the concept of "the hero's journey" informs my writing and maybe even my life.


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Colorado's literacy legacy

Cool story in today's Denver Post about some of the famous writers who have lived in or wrote about Colorado. Also includes a mention of one of the less famous: yours truly!

Book Promotion in the 21st Century

I'll be on a panel with this name at the Virginia Book Festival this Saturday. I thought I'd create a resource list for attendees, and then I thought why not post it here for others who might be interested? So, here are great resources for promoting your book:

http://pimpmynovel.blogspot.com/ A guy in book sales at a publishing house discusses what happens after your book is acquired.

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/ An author tells what has worked for him and what hasn't when it comes to just about everything regarding getting published and selling books.

http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/ An author shares really great information on book marketing. Same author runs http://www.authorbuzz.com/ a service you can use to promote your books to book clubs, librarians and booksellers.

http://www.booktour.com/ A free site that lets readers know when you have appearances in person, online or on TV or radio.

http://www.goodreads.com/ Goodreads is a social networking site for people who love to read. Great place for authors to "hang out" online. You can do contests and giveaways and promote your events there.

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2009/03/12/facebook-for-authors/ A tutorial for using Facebook to promote your book.

http://www.blackbookpromo.com/ Promotes books by black authors or with black subject matter to black readers and book clubs.

http://www.edc-creations.com/ Another great marketer of black books.

http://www.shewrites.com/ Excellent site for women writers with great information, networking and services to market your book.

http://www.authorsguild.net./ The Authors Guild offers easy templates to build and maintain a web presence.

http://www.bookpromotion101.com/bp101/ Bella Stander's Book Promotion 101 really helps.

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/ Industry blog that helps keep authors up to date about book publishing.

http://mashable.com/2009/05/08/twitter-authors/ See how it's done by following these authors on Twitter.
(Though in Alice Hoffman's case it's more like see what NOT to do.)

http://twitter.com/carleenbrice Follow me on Twitter. http://www.facebook.com/carleen.brice Friend me on Facebook.

Author or writer?

(image from http://darkhourvampires.wordpress.com/)
I'm hanging up my author shoes for a bit and focusing on being a writer. What's the difference you might ask? To me, the author is about the business of writing, especially promoting. I've spent the last four years yakking, yakking, yakking about Orange Mint and Honey and two years blah, blah, blahing about Children of the Waters. I've blogged (this is my 600th blog post here! I've got another 118 over at my other blog), Facebooked and tweeted myself cross-eyed. I've talked by phone and internet to book clubs and reporters. I've flown (often at my own expense) coast-to-coast to attend book festivals, bookstore readings, industry meetings and book group affairs.

Right now, I'm eager to just write. That's what a writer does. Write and read and daydream about writing.

The irony is that before I got published I daydreamed about doing all this yakking and traveling and seeing my book in people's hands and the title in the newspaper (and on screen!). Those are all great things. Fabulous things! And I'll continue doing some of it. I've got a book club event tomorrow evening, another Sunday, next week I head to the VA Festival of the Book and later this month I do a local morning show. I'm grateful for every opportunity I get to try to sell one more book, especially in this economy. (For example, thank you to the OOSA Book Club for this profile.)

But truth be told I'm more interested right now in just writing. Not conferencing calling with my agent or doing interviews or trying to get one more person to pick up one of my poor little books.

Just writing.

So I'll be doing a little less blogging, Facebooking and tweeting for a while. A little less authoring and (I hope) much more writing.

Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant in Denver March 12

Invite generated with Smilebox

Heidi Durrow in Denver March 11

Invite created with Smilebox

Talking about bad habits

Blogging over at The Debutante Ball about the upside of bad habits. I think there just might be some.

Also, FYI, "Sins of the Mother" airs again tonight Saturday, February 27 on LMN. Check your local listings. And if you don't have LMN, watch it online.

What do RuPaul & I have in common?

Besides being tall.

This is why I have this stuck in my head.

Tracking word count

is one way to motivate yourself to write. Inkygirl is holding a 1,000 words a day challenge and a 500 words a day challenge and a 250 words a day challenge. Check it out.

iPhone users check this ap

Children of the Waters is an iPhone ap! (it and Orange Mint and Honey are also both available via Kindle and Kindle for iPhone, fyi)

Facebook peeps, we're doing a 32-day writing challenge to write every day for the first 32 days of the year. Happened spontaneously based on this essay by Ann Patchett. It's not too late to join us and share in the encouragement!

Dealing with doubt

I received a message on Facebook the other day from a writer. Part of what it said follows:

You are really encouraging and inspiring. It takes discipline to write a novel and so many times I started and stopped, started and stopped, (listening to voices saying I can't do it, it's too hard, I'm not good enough, etc.) My goal in 2010 is to finish my draft and the arduous process of rewriting, etc.

I wrote back to tell this writer that I still hear those voices. I thought I would share here what I told her:

You know what's funny is that people think because I'm published I don't hear those voices. Not true! Even with 2 novels under my belt while I'm looking at my current work in progress I'm hearing all that same stuff about how I'm not good enough. I'm not disciplined enough. It's too hard. I've gotten myself in over my head. I'm not talented enough. The trick is to keep going any way. My tips for coping with those voices are praying, crying and listening to uplifting music to pump myself up before I start work. Jill Scott's song "Try" is a good one.

That got me thinking. "Try" isn't the only song I listen to. I posted some suggestions a few years ago. Here's a few new additions I've added.


"They said no you can't. We said yes we can."


"Keep your head up high. Believe in you, believe in me."



"I don't worry cause everything's gonna be alright."


"Well let the sun shine on your face And don’t let your life go to waste"


"I'm ready to go right now!"

Quote of the day

Just got a card from a writer-buddy with this great advice:

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Christmas Eve!

Encouragement from a fellow writer!

Some of my writer-buddies and I have been kind of blue lately. If you have too, read this from LaConnie Taylor-Jones:

Authors, we are sixteen days away from a New Year. Forget the challenges you grappled with in 2009. Instead, concentrate on the opportunities that await you in 2010. Wrap yourselves in your dreams. Constantly remind yourselves that you will not respond to failure. Continue to bob (adversity) and weave (the threads). In the end, a custom-designed quilt (your story) will emerge.

Go here to read the rest (and lots of other uplifting & interesting info. Blogging in Black is looking great lately!). It's balm for a writer's soul!

Welcome Jessica Brody!

I'm looking forward to reading Jessica Brody's new book Love Under Cover. I'm lucky: I'll even get a signed copy because Jessica will be reading at the Tattered Cover tonight. If you like FREE BOOKS, check out Free Book Friday, Jessica's site where authors giveaway free books.

About Love Under Cover

In her job, she’s an expert on men…

In her own relationship, she doesn’t have a clue.

Boyfriend behaving badly? Suspect your husband of straying? Jennifer Hunter can supply the ultimate test. She runs a company which specializes in conducting fidelity inspections for those who suspect their loved ones are capable of infidelity.

An expert on men, Jennifer can usually tell if they're single, married or lying... Unfortunately, her new boyfriend, Jamie, is one of the few men that she's never been able to 'read.' Has she finally found the perfect man or is he too good to be true?

A captivating new novel from the bestselling author of The Fidelity Files.

Available November 10, wherever books are sold.

Praise:

Currently in development as a TV series by the executive producer of Crash!

"With a complicated, sympathetic protagonist, worthy stakes and a clever twist on the standard chick lit narrative, Brody will pull readers in from the first page." – Publisher’s Weekly

"Those who enjoyed Brody's debut will be eager to catch up with Jennifer, but newcomers will be intrigued, too...an honest, witty portrayal of modern love." - Booklist

“With her usual smart, deft, and witty prose, Brody delves deep into the psychology of a woman who tests the fidelity of strangers for a living but struggles with commitment in her own life." - Joanne Rendell, author of Crossing Washington Square and The Professors’ Wives’ Club







About the Author:
Jessica Brody graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts with degrees in economics and French. In 2005, she left her job at MGM Studios in Los Angeles to become a full-time freelance writer and producer. Jessica currently lives in Los Angeles, where she is working on her next novel. Visit Jessica's website at: www.JessicaBrody.com

A Q&A with Jessica:

What was your inspiration behind Love Under Cover?

As soon as I finished writing my first novel, The Fidelity Files¸ I knew that Jennifer’s journey wasn’t over yet. Although she had seemed to find her happy ending there was so much more fun stuff I had in mind for another book. Setting Jennifer up with an entire agency of fidelity inspectors was definitely the first and foremost on my mind for the next instalment.

Plus, I really wanted to explore what a fidelity inspector would be like in a committed relationship. After everything she’s seen—all the cheating, dishonesty, and betrayal—would she really be capable of settling down herself? So that’s what I set out to focus on in this book.

What is the most memorable first line you've ever read in a novel?

There’s a very powerful young adult novel called The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams that I read last year. It’s about a fifteen year old girl who grew up on a polygamist compound and it opens with this: “If I was going to kill the Prophet,” I say, not even keeping my voice low, “I’d do it in Africa.” I read that line and didn’t put the book down until the end. I knew from that line that it was going to be a heart pounding read. And it was.

Which scene (or scenes) in your novel did you love writing? Why?

I love writing any of the scenes with Jennifer’s friends. They’re all fun in their own way. Zoë  has a terrible road rage problem and she has a habit of talking on the phone while driving so those conversations with Jen and Zoë on the phone are always really entertaining for me. I get to channel my inner turrets patient. Sophie is totally neurotic. I love going over the top with her. 

And John is the flamboyant gay boy from West Hollywood who is always quick with his sarcasm and wit. Sometimes I don’t know where his remarks come from. I must be channelling my inner gay man because I’ll write something that he says and think, “That’s really funny. Where the hell did that come from?”

Which 'craft' book has inspired or helped you the most throughout your writing career?

SAVE THE CAT, by Blake Snyder. It changed my life. People tell me my books read like movies. Well, that's probably because SAVE THE CAT is actually a book for screenwriting. But I've found it translates exceptionally well to novels. A well-told story is a well-told story, regardless of the medium and a fast-moving story keeps the pages turning. Blake Snyder lays out a simple (yet effective) step-by-step beat sheet of how to tell any story and I'll never write another book without it! He's very well-respected in the industry and I know many writers (screenwriters and novelists alike) that utilize his books. Plus, the book is extremely funny and entertaining to read!

Since becoming a writer, what’s the most glamorous thing you’ve ever done?

When my first book, The Fidelity Files, came out in France last year, my French publisher actually flew me out to Paris to promote it! It was a dream come true! I speak French almost fluently so I was able to conduct all my interviews in French, which was both nerve wrecking and exciting at the same time. Paris has always held a special place in my heart. I was a French major in college and I lived in Paris my junior abroad. Plus, I spent a month in Paris in 2005 finishing the novel so it was all very magical and kismet to be back there to see it in French book stores!

Happy Pub Day Shauna Roberts!

Monday is a happy day at The Pajama Gardener. One of my very best blog friends, Shauna Roberts, publishes her first novel! Like Mayflies in a Stream is part of a series of historical novels about ancient peoples--the book is a highly researched and well-written story about Mesopotamia during the time of Gilgamesh (in a similar time as The Red Tent, and, unlike The Red Tent, this book will appeal to women and men). It begins with quite a bang: boy meets lion. Actually, a hungry lion desperately searching for food during a drought meets a village full of humans!

I was lucky enough to score an advanced copy, but I'm still buying a copy. I hope you will too. Shauna is good people and a great writer. She blogs at her own place and also at the group blog Novel Spaces. Support this brand new novelist and this small press.

Huge congratulations to Shauna!!!

Welcome Joanne Rendell!

I'm introducing authors all over the place! Got interviews up at my other blog, and over here I'm pleased to tour the Girlfriends of the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit. This week, please welcome Joanne Rendell, author of several novels, including Crossing Washington Square.

1. New readers want to know about your book! In 2-3 sentences, can you tell us the basic premise?

Crossing Washington Square is a story of two very different women and their very different love of books. Rachel Grey and Diana Monroe are both literature professors in the old boys club of Manhattan University. While this should create a kinship between them, they are very much at odds and when a brilliant and handsome professor from Harvard comes to town and sets his sights on both women, sparks really fly!

2. What was the inspiration behind your latest novel?

The idea for Crossing Washington Square evolved over a few years. As someone who has lived the academic life (I have a PhD in literature and now I’m married to a professor at NYU), I’ve always loved books about the university – novels like Michael Chabon’s Wonder Boys, Richard Russo’s The Straight Man, Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, and Francine Prose’s Blue Angel. But what I noticed about such campus fiction was the lack of female professors in leading roles. Even the female authors like Francine Prose's and Zadie Smith’s novels focus on male professors. Furthermore, most of these male professors are disillusioned drunks who quite often sleep with their students! I wanted to write a novel with women professors taking the lead and I wanted these women to be strong and smart and interesting – instead of drunk, despondent, and preoccupied with questionable sexual liaisons!

3. Who’s your favorite character and why?

That’s a tough one! My knee jerk response is to say Professor Rachel Grey because, out of the two female leads, I identify most with her. Rachel teaches chick lit in her classes and has to defend her work and the genre to her stuffy colleagues who think only the classics and literary fiction should be studied. As a grad student, I would be reading classical literature and poetry by day, but then secretly read popular women’s fiction at night (Bridget Jones’ Diary, I have to say, is one of my all time favorite books!). Rachel is also flawed and emotional, yet good and honest and brave. I like that about her. Every time I revisit the book, however, I like Professor Diana Monroe more too. She’s super smart and has great poise and grace as a teacher. She’'s the kind of uber-professor that every academic secretly wants to be. She’s also pretty darn scary in her austerity and brilliance. But she has a vulnerability too and her life started out pretty tough and therefore, every time I revisit the book, I like her more.

4. What is one of the nicest compliments that you have ever received about your book(s)?

One of the nicest compliments I've gotten for Crossing Washington Square (so far… I hope there are more to come!) was from Lawrence Grossberg who is a distinguished professor at The University of North Carolina. He is a very big deal in the world of academia and I was so excited that he not only read it, but also said the book “admirably reveals the hypocrisy of an academic culture that claims to want to understand people and the world they live in, but refuses to take seriously the forms of culture that matter to them.” The book is not just for “high fallutin” professors, of course! But it was exciting for me that a distinguished professor liked it.

5. What’s next for you?

I'm working on final edits for my third novel (which was bought by Penguin last fall). The novel tells the story of a woman who thinks she might be related to the nineteenth century writer, Mary Shelley. On her journey to seek the truth and to discover if there really is a link between her own family and the creator of Frankenstein, Clara unearths surprising facts about people much closer to home – including some shocking secrets about the ambitious scientist she is engaged to. The book is told in alternating points of view between Clara and the young Mary Shelley who is preparing to write Frankenstein.

AWP coming to Denver in April!

This will be my first time at a AWP Conference and that's because it's coming to Denver next April. (Great opportunity for local writers.) You can register for early bird rates between now and December 15.

Anybody else planning to be there?