What is your school making you read this summer? Does your school assign a book or books to read over the summer? My daughter is going into seventh grade and her school is making her choose two books from a list of about five novels. When school starts back she will have to take a… Continue Reading
More Christy Awards Fun
Jeff Gerke, my editor and the owner of Marcher Lord Press, was at the Christy Awards in St. Louis, Missouri last Saturday night. He tried to call me on his cell so that I could hear the award being announced. He told me the winners are always announced by reading the first sentence of the… Continue Reading
By Darkness Hid Wins Christy Award!
The 2010 Christy Awards presentation was held Saturday evening, June 26, 2010, at the Renaissance St. Louis Grand Hotel. Sadly, I was not there. Physically, anyway. But the Christy Awards put on a live blog feed of the event, so I was able to watch from home! You can still read the live blog feed… Continue Reading
What to Expect at a Writer’s Conference?
This month I attended my first Writer’s Conference, the Arkansas Writer’s Conference on the invitation of a writer I knew, who was the keynote speaker. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but had heard it was important to attend one to advance your career in writing. Attending one is a good idea – but… Continue Reading
To Darkness Fled by Jill Williamson
Review by Christian Miles The second installment of the Blood of Kings series will thrill, surprise, and delight readers just as much as the first. With stellar craftsmanship, the author continues to thrust her characters into a myriad of plot-driven obstacles that will have readers biting their nails late into the night. . The… Continue Reading
My Major Adventure to Nampa, Idaho and Buffalo, Wyoming
My booth! Last Thursday, I embarked on an adventure. First stop, the homeschool convention in Nampa, Idaho. I sat at a booth for Marcher Lord Press and told people all about the cool new homeschool workbook my editor, Jeff Gerke, and his friend, Mary Agius, have written. It’s a one-semester creative writing course for a high… Continue Reading
ONE WRITER’S MAJOR ADVENTURE
What a trip! And I’m STILL not home! Last Thursday, I embarked on an adventure. First stop, the homeschool convention in Nampa, Idaho. I sat at a booth for Marcher Lord Press (my publisher) and told people all about the cool new homeschool workbook my editor, Jeff Gerke, and his friend, Mary Agius, have written. It’s… Continue Reading
ENDORSEMENTS
An endorsement is a short, positive review from a published author. Once you have a book contract, you want one of these, if you can get one, but only from a well-known author in your genre. If you’re writing science fiction (unless it’s a science fiction romance) an endorsement from Francine Rivers isn’t what you… Continue Reading
THE SYNOPSIS
A synopsis is a one–two page version of your manuscript. Sometimes the agent or editor will ask for something longer. Give them exactly what they want. I was asked to provide a one-page synopsis of my novel and that is the example I have to give you. A synopsis should cover the main events and… Continue Reading
INTERVIEW WITH TEEN AUTHOR JACOB PARKER
Hello, Novel Teeners! Since this is my first post here, let me tell you a little about myself. I’m Chris, a sixteen year-old writer. I LOVE books. Currently, I’m reading eight of them. If you think that’s a bit of overkill, well, I’d agree with you. But it’s normal for me. (My mom once told… Continue Reading
THE COVER LETTER
The cover letter accompanies your proposal to an agent or editor. It is not so much a pitch, as it is a reminder of who you are and why you are sending your proposal. The same rules apply to the cover letter as far a likes and dislikes. At this point, the agent or editor… Continue Reading
THE QUERY LETTER, PART 3
Here is the actual query letter for what became By Darkness Hid. I submitted this letter with a sample chapter to Jeff Gerke at the Oregon Christian Writer’s Conference. Jeff bought my Blood of Kings trilogy and published it through Marcher Lord Press. June 11, 2008 Jeff Gerke Marcher Lord Press 8345 Pepperridge Drive Colorado Springs,… Continue Reading