Magical Mystery Tour

I'm working on a new project. Slowly, slowly...slowly.

Of course this is no surprise. Every project goes slower than I would like. But this one is different (besides the dreaded neurotic block and all) because I'm writing in a new style. Now not all that new, my style still, I'll say a new genre.


I'm working on a mystery which takes a lot more than my usual fly by the seat of my pants way of writing. And frankly it has me panting. Heart, thumpity, thump, thump.



But, maybe that's good. One should be panting and on edge when dealing with such things.



So tell me, what are some of your all time favorite mystery, thriller or romantic suspense novels?



Best,
Kwana

Remembering Mama

I remember the book Mama by Terry McMillan very well and can't believe it was well over 20 years ago that I read and loved it. It was one of those books that really spoke to me in both its style and emotion. With all I'm going through as a writer right now I think I need to revisit it. Check out this interview with the amazing author.



Best,
Kwana

Sinning with a Scoundrel and a Giveaway!

So are you snowed in? Raise your hands if you are?

Lucky me! The mail gods and ARC gods have been smiling and in a recent book shipment I received a copy of To Sin With A Scoundrel by Cara Elliot, the first book in the Circle of Sin series. Now once again I was duped buy the old author name change switcharoo. I was like, “where have I heard that name before.” You all know me. Between the Teen Twins and Jack I can’t remember two days ago and surely not when a friend goes and writes under a pseudonym. Foul!

Cara got me with this on twitter too. I was like, “who is this Cara all over the place.” Turns out it’s my friend and bestselling author, Andrea. Duh! I really gotta get it together. Maybe ginkgo biloba, but I do vaguely remember hearing about a study saying that that doesn’t even work. Sigh. Oh well, back to today’s joy…

I got To Sin With A Scoundrel, read it, totally enjoyed it and then saw the lovely Cara/Andrea at Lady Jane’s Salon recently and she ever so kindly agreed to do a short interview with me (even though I’m a ninny that can’t remember her very famous pseudonym).

Now onto the interview:

Hello Cara thanks so much for taking some time out of your busy schedule to pop over her for a bit at Kwana Writes!

Thanks for inviting me, Kwana. You’re such a wonderful voice for the romance genre—it’s an honor to be here!

First off can you tell us a little about your background? Have you always wanted to be a romance writer or is this something that you happened on later? Do you have some fab story of “overnight success”?

Actually, I wrote my first book when I was five years old. It was a Western, complete with meticulously colored pictures of horses and cowboys. (I’ve since moved on to Regency England . . . I must have a thing for Men in Boots!) So I guess that storytelling has always been a passion of mine. However, I also loved art and ended up majoring in graphic design, which took me on a different career path for a number of years, So to make a long story short, I remained an avid reader, but didn’t return to writing until later in life. One day, about ten years ago, I decided to plunk my derriere in a chair and try my hand at writing again. And that was it—I was hooked, though I hadn’t the first clue on what I was going to do with the finished manuscript.

Getting published was a serendipitous quirk of fate. A friend introduced me to an agent and I pitched him a contemporary thriller I had written. (It’s still in a desk drawer for good reason.) He nodded politely throughout the interview and said he would take a look at it. Then, as we got up, I mentioned as an afterthought,” Oh, I also have a Regency romance, but that probably doesn’t interest you.” Well, at that his eyes lit up, and he said,” Oh, the people at the Signet Regency line are good friends. Let me show it to them.” Three days later I got the call that they had bought my book!

What’s your writing process like? Are you a plotter or a pantser? What’s a typical writing day like for you?

Oh, total set-of-the-panser! I can’t tell you how many times I finish a chapter and sit back saying, “Whoa, I didn’t know they were going to do that!”
I’m also a slow writer. On my writing days, I get up early and pretty much keep at it for 10 or12 hours (Okay, okay, with bathroom and chocolate breaks. Chocolate is an essential item on a writer’s desk. One never knows when The Muse might need a little bribe!) If I end up with 8 or 10 pages, that’s a very good day. The good news is, they are pretty clean pages. I’m not someone who writes three or four drafts.

Now I know your schedule is extremely busy since you are currently teaching a class at Yale (yes folks, that Yale) called “Reading the Historical Romance Novel” along with New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willing. Can you tell me a little on how this came about?

Mix two romance writers with several glasses of chardonnay . . .
Lauren and I are both Yale grads, and one evening at Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC we started talking about how romance should be treated as a serious genre of literature, and how we would structure a class. Laughing, we both said, “Oh, wouldn’t it be fun to teach a seminar at Yale on the subject.” But the laughter quickly died away as a simultaneous spark lit in our eyes . . and so we decided to submit a proposal. After months of drafting a detailed syllabus, complete with critical readings, and being interviewed by a committee of students and professors in New Haven, our idea was accepted! We started teaching in January, and are really enjoying the experience.

It’s actually great to see that we are part of a growing movement to focus attention on the fact that great authors are writing great stories in the romance genre. Now, we readers have always known that, but it’s heartening to see the rest of the literary world, as well as the academic community, start to sit up and take notice!

Now onto To Sin With A Scoundrel which as I said I thoroughly enjoyed. Lady Ciara Sheffield is not your typical Regency heroine. She’s been married and has a child and is an intellectual. What made you decide on this type of heroine and the Circle of Sin as an idea for a series?

I’ve always liked creating unconventional heroines . . . maybe because I’ve always been a little quirky myself. So I tend to write stories with characters who dare to be different and who challenge the rules of their Society. It allows me to explore an emotional complexity, which I feel allows me to add depth and texture.

The Circle of Sin is a group of brilliant, beautiful female scholars who meet each week to share their knowledge and their friendship. They are all scientists—now, don’t ask me why! I was absolutely hopeless in math or science in school. (But hey, that’s part of the fun of fiction, and I did do my homework studying up on the basics so as not to make a fool of myself.) That said, I really enjoyed playing with the “chemistry” of pairing each of the three brainy heroines with heroes who were, on the surface, their opposites. Lady Ciara Sheffield, who stars in the first book of the new trilogy, is wary of men, however she has no choice but to accept help from a rakish rogue in order to save herself from scandal . . . and they both learn some unexpected lessons on love.

What was your inspiration for the dashing and sexy Lord Hadley?

Oh, I have a real soft spot for Lucas, who is one of my favorite heroes. He’s a charming rake who cheerfully admits to having no interest in anything but sybaritic pleasure. But at heart, he’s far more sensitive than he cares to admit, and as his best friend Jack says, he simply needs a challenge to bring out his better nature. As for inspiration, well, don’t we all dream of turning our scoundrels into noble heroes!

I can’t wait for the next book To Surrender A Rogue and Alessandra and Jack’s story. The sparks fly with these two from page one. Tell us a bit about them.

Oh yes, things get a little hot between Alessandra and Jack in To Sin With A Scoundrel. Having been burned in the past, she’s mistrustful of the handsome devil who tries to ride to her rescue—especially when Jack ends up tying her young daughter to a tree. (Note: he has an excellent reason for doing it, but still, what mother would not be a tad upset at such heavy-handed measures!)
So in To Surrender To A Rogue, when they find themselves working at the same archeological excavation of Roman ruins in Bath, they are none too happy about it. But when fellow member of the expedition threatens to dig up a dark secret from Alessandra’s past, she finds herself in desperate need of a hero . . . I hope you enjoy their story! (Oh, and then there’s free-spirited Kate, the botany expert, whose story will be told in To Tempt A Rake.)

Thanks so much for being here today. I can’t wait to see you at the next Lady Jane’s.

Thanks for having me, Kwana! See you at the Salon in March.

Folks you can check out Cara’s website here

And if you are in New York on Monday March 1st don’t miss Lady Jane’s Salon where Cara will be reading from To Sin With A Scoundrel. Check out the site here.

Oh and one lucky commenter will win a signed ARC (advanced reader copy) of To Sin With A Scoundrel from Cara. So please leave your comments. The only rule is you must be a follower of ye old blog kwanawrites. Oh and please leave your email so I can get back to ya and enter by midnight Thursday. Thanks.

Best,
Kwana

You Picking On Me?

So I’m sitting in my car and waiting for the DD to get out of dance and I'm wondering what to blog about for today. Should I go with pictures of my Christmas tree? Yeah, that would be nice. Besides, I have been doing a decent job with posting nice sweet posts lately. I’m proud of myself especially with so much to be annoyed about with Tiger and all his tigresses on the prowl and all.

Image from here.




And then there was suddenly talk on the radio about Ashley Dupre getting her own advice column in the New York Post. You know Ashley? The hooker from the Governor Spitzer scandal. Now, I’m not normally one to knock anyone's hustle, but please. There are folks laid off all over the place and I need a paying job bad (preferably one where I write, but reading would be good too) and she gets an advice column? Dang. Makes it hard to write about that Christmas tree.



Now so sorry for the bad transition but then I go decided to check twitter. Darn you tweets! There’s all this talk about this controversial PW cover. Hmm... At first I thought I hadn’t read the article. But guess what, I did. I just didn’t know it since they didn’t correlate. The article talked about the economy and the upcoming downward trends in publishing. Ok, sad, but tame.

The cover is a 1999 art piece by Lauren Kelly from the book Posing Beauty on the representation of African American beauty from 1890’s to the present. Which on its own looks like a pretty good book. But this for a PW cover on African American literature I think is a huge fail. You can read the senior news editor’s response over here at Galley Cat.




As I said in a blog comment, this just further widens the already segregated shelves. It's a shame. As a Black writer writing multi-cultural romance and finding it so hard to break in and find a spot on the shelves this is upsetting. And I know some will say just lighten up, but no. Sorry.

An earlier agent that I had and later broke up with didn’t get my writing. He wanted me to make it more of what he considered urban. Spice up the language to I don’t know what, but I do know it was something I wasn’t and couldn’t do. Now I'm not saying this is the only reason I'm not published yet but it may be part of it. This not fitting into a preconceived box. Why do we have to fit these boxes?

All I wanted and all I can do is write what I feel and write what I live, which is a multi-cultural life. I’m a Black woman from New York now living as a sort of suburban failed housewife in a not at all black town just outside of New York.

I write books where the Black Women have White and Black friends or Asian or Hispanic friends because that’s just who she is. That is also me. And I’m starting to feel like I may never find a publishing home.

One of the best compliments that I ever got was from a good friend of mine and chic knitting buddy. Me: Black woman from Harlem. Her: Jewish woman from the Bronx. I had her read sample pages from a detective story idea that I have working on. I pitched it Lethal Weapon meets Thelma and Louise. There are two main characters one is Black and the other is White. Well, I was so thrilled when my friend told me that, one it was funny and sexy, but what she liked the best was that I just write real women and it didn’t matter what color they were because I showed real situations that all women could relate to.

That’s the problem I have with this cover. It somehow makes African-American writers different. Very different. Foreign even and therefore not the norm. It reinforces a stereotype that we need to drop. As art it’s beautiful, but as a message to the industry I think it says give these books their own section in the bookstore, if you buy them at all and pray a select few will wander over. I say it sets up failure.

If you look at my post below from yesterday you’ll see that I put two pretty hot guys up for my romance obsession, Denzel and Richard Armitage. Hot is hot. It really doesn’t have a color to most Black or White women for that matter and not so hot is, well, not. That’s just how it is.

It’s time to work on bridging this divide. Mixing up the shelves and just focusing on good books.

Oh and Christmas tree pics to come soon:-)

Best,
Kwana

Holiday Romance at Lady Jane's

It was another wonderful night for romance at Lady Jane's Salon last night. As usual I was happy to get out share some romance book talk with friends over drinks and Madam X is the perfect place to do that.

The holiday celebration was combined with a celebration of Harlequin's 60th anniversary so Lady Jane was happy to welcome lots of folks from both Harlequin's New York and Toronto office. Here they are here accepting a champagne toast on their anniversary. Cheers!

We were fortunate to have a reading from the wonderful Stacy Agdern. Stacy is a Romance fiction reviewer, bookseller, and an author. She read from her lovely Hanukkah novella.

Then the fabulous Hope Tarr read from her newest release Twelve Nights. A December Harlequin Blaze release which is the sequel to her wonderful book Bound to Please.

All in all it was a wonderful night. I'm so grateful to the founders of Lady Jane's: Hope, Maya, Leanna and Ron for always putting together such a wonderful and worthwhile evening.

Check out Lady Jane's site here. And if you're in NY come on by.

Best,

Kwana

And I'm Done

What’s Jack up to? Jack is doing well. He’s up and at ‘em and ready for a relaxing week after having a long and wild weekend with the family. At least I hope so. I know I'm ready for a fairly relaxing week so I hope Jack is on board with that.

Well, it’s November 30th the last day for NaNoWrimo 50,000 word challenge and I’m happy to report that I’ve completed it with 54,194 words. I went a little over since I started with a few words in this story. This was my first Nano and it was one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences of my writing life.

Speaking of hardest I had one crazy day on Friday in my post Thanksgiving stupor where I wrote 10,000 words. I would not recommend this for anyone. I think I was sleep writing at one point and had to get up and hop around the house a bit. Splash some water on my face.
In my head I was Rocky and had a little Burgess Meredith pushing me on. Making sure I wouldn’t give up and there were plenty of times I wanted to. At 20,000 and again at 27,000 and again at 35,000 words. But once I got close to 40 I knew there was no turning back.

A life saver, well, NaNo saver for me was Write or Die over at Dr. Wicked’s writing lab. It really forced me to write without thinking and let go of that inner critic. At one point when I was complaining about how hard it was to think up something else to write my son gave me a great reminder when he said, “You don’t write what you think Mom, you write what you feel.” Such wise words.

Now I know that this story will take about 20- 25,000 more words to finish and at least 10,000 of the hot mess I'm-so-tired words will be cut, but hey, I'll be crossing that bridge next month and maybe even next year. Yeah, probably into next year.

Well, that’s it for me and my NaNo journey. I want to thank all of you for your encouraging words. They meant so much and to my RWA/NYC NaNo crew a big thanks too. I’m so glad I joined you for the ride. Oh and all my NaNo tweeting buddies. You rock hard!

Now onto that layer of dust that had been sitting for the past month.

Best,
Kwana

Unsettled

What's Jack up to? Jack is doing good. Feeling a lot like his old self and getting back into trouble again. I've had to shoo him away from the trash one too many time lately so I'd say he's on the mend.


As for me I'm feeling unsettled. It's a word I tweeted yesterday about the uproar over folk's responses and RWA's response to Harlequin Horizons. Yes, I still see both sides of the argument but RWA taking away Harlequin's status does leave me just that, unsettled. Don't throw tomatoes please. I know the bylaws and the rules. I do get it both sides and the whole protection thing (ish).

But it also brings to my mind the many fine writers that write for Harlequin and how they must feel and the legitimacy of the RITA's if Harlequin writers are not included (hmm). I mean it is called Romance Writers of America, a pretty broad name, and am I correct in saying that Harlquin is the largest romance publisher?

Now I could go on and on bringing up how it would be nice for fine e-pubs to be included too and let's level the writing playing field but the whole thing is a slippery argument slope and I got Mammogram 40 or 50 confusion to be pissed about too today. So there is plenty of unsettled to go around don't cha think?

Much love and keep breathing y'all. Remember dialogue is good and I hope there is a solution to this soon where this off feeling stops and the love flows.

Best,
Kwana

On The Horizon

Yesterday the romance publishing world (or at least my little tweet corner of it) went into a bit of a tailspin with the announcement of Harlequin going into the self-publishing business with the launch of Harlequin Horizons (see site here). There were arguments a plenty and plenty more over if this was a good decision for Harlequin and if self publishing is a respected option at all for writers (Check out Smart Bitches post and comments here). Interesting on both sides but the initial anger is upsetting to me.

Now I’m not going to give an opinion, ok I’ll give something (I can’t resist). I’d like to be traditionally published. It’s a dream of mine. I’d love to be published by a house like Harlequin or Avon or Berkley I could go on and on here and I’m not ready to give up on that dream (some dark days maybe) despite many years of work, numerous manuscripts and countless rejections.

But let's play What If for a moment here. What if you’ve been this close for so long and the playing field keeps getting smaller and smaller? Or what if what you write doesn’t fit into any box that said dream publisher is looking for? Or what if they already have your box ticked off? Maybe the slot is already filled for that African America romance or interracial romance or they don’t publish any of what you write. Then what? Do you keep submitting? Change what you write or take a chance on self publishing to get your work out there? Notice I’m not saying have fame or fortune here.

Now I know the argument of the good stories will someday get published and it’s just a matter of time. Or the one about the reason that most manuscripts get rejected is because they are not up to snuff and I do think that’s true for the most part. But I also think there are those few gems that may never get a chance because they don’t fit into any open box on that special given day when the stars align for subjective publishing dreams to come true.

Honestly, I don't know my final thoughts on this. It makes my dreamy writer head spin but all that said. Here is my question for you:

Do you have an opinion on self/vanity published fiction books? Have you read any lately?

Please all you non-writers speak up. I want to hear from you too.

Best,
Kwana

P.S. Update please go to Smart Bitches blog to read comment from Harlequin's Malle on the subject here. I do think there are many sides to a story and breathing through is key.

Mojo Monday

What’s Jack up to? Jack had a very happy 3rd birthday yesterday. Filled with fun and new toys. I even let up on his special diet and got him a birthday cupcake which though his was happy to eat, didn’t stay down. Oh, well at least he enjoyed himself.
Jack, says thanks for all the well wishes yesterday!




I’m back from the NJ romance writer’s conference and happy to report that I had just THE BEST time. It’s such a well run conference full of friendly people with top speakers and presenters. The only downside? The 4 and 5 am fire alarm. That stunk. Here is some of the NY crew at dinner lunch. Notice the wine on the table. The hotel thought it would make up for lack of sleep. It did not. That cute little sweetie there did not partake.
But as you can see I think the rest did.

(Carolyn, Isobo (holding other the cutie Jack) Leanna, Stacy)

Upside. Rooming with my PIC Megan and Liz M. too for a hot minute. Sorry I don't have a picture of Liz. Hi Liz! Here are Megan and I in the hotel's faux Soho lounge. It's pretty. The only pic I have of Liz was taken during the fire alarm. I think it's nice. I'm afraid she may not.



Some of the great workshops I attended were:
One on digital publishing with super smart Icantalkdigitalinmysleep and, yes, I think she can, Angela James.
Darn, how did I let her leave without telling me what format was best for my Sony.


A dialogue workshop with Bestselling author Karen Rose. Here is Karen with friends and fans Louise and Danielle.

Also a super workshop on Collages with Jennifer Crusie that blew my artist mind. I already do story boarding but this will have me taking it to the next level. I knew Jennifer was Ms. New York Times Best Seller but now that I know she was an art teacher and is quite an artist I think I’m more in love. Notice it says behind her "creativity is play" something to keep in mind.
Finally I spent many an hour hanging around Bestseller (I was doing that a lot trying to get some mojo to rub off) Madeline Hunter. She had 2 workshops


1. Surviving Almost There (a place where I seem to have been hanging out for quite a long time)

2. Alaso a double session on conflict that rocked my world. I learned so much. She really got the gears working.
Now I just about thought I’d swoon when I went to the book signing later and gave Madeline my card and she said that she had been to ye little old blog before. Oh happy, swoony day! Thanks for that moment Ms. Hunter.



And now for your viewing pleasure a few more pics from the signing:

Golden Leaf Winner YAY!!! Anna DePalo. Congrats Anna.

Leanna Renee Hieber







Isabo Kelly






Janet Mullany. Lucky me getting her last copy of: A Most Lamentable Comedy.

So as you can see I've had quite a weekend. Now time to put all that inspiration and fun into practice. Gotta hit the writing cave. Will be popping out for brief sips of air.
Bye!

Best,

Kwana

Writerly Weekend

Happy Friday! I'm off to New Jersey! Hmm... is that usually followed by an exclamation point? Oh stop, Kwana that's such a New Yorker joke! Who are you, Conan?

But, really, I'm thrilled to be off to NJ for a writerly weekend at the Annual New Jersey Romance Writers Put Your Heart In A Book Conference.

It's sure to be jam packed with fun and inspiration. I'll get to see many old friends and go all fan girl on writers that I admire at the Literacy book fair and signing which is open to the public on Saturday. You can check out the list of authors here.

I can't wait to attend workshops like: Painting Colorful Characters, The Magic of Words, Writing with Passion and My Writing May be Art...But My Kids Need Braces.

Here's hoping I wake up my lazy muse this weekend and you have a wonderful weekend.

Best,

Kwana

Fashion on the Brain

I've got fashion on the brain. It's that lovely in between time in New York right now when you just don't know what you'll get weather wise at any given moment so you need to be ready for anything.

I'd love some easy pants, comfy driving shoes in a few great colors, a fab trench coat and of course a to die for bag (you all know me). This lovely lady was taken from The Satorialist and she totally fits my bill.



Friend and author Melissa Walker was featured on NPR talking about her picks for fashion books. You can listen here:


You can read the full article and read more about the books here.




Melissa is the author of Violet On The Runway YA series.

Best,
Kwana

Golden Apple

Happy Friday! You and me made it another week. Whew. Yeah baby! Don't be tardy for the party. Ooooo Ooooo. About 6 of you will get that. The rest will think I'm cra-a-zy. Please excuse me. How dreadful. LOL.

Well, I am happy it's Friday as you can tell. Last night I had a very un-dreadful night slipping out of Freshchester, as my dear friend calls it, and heading down to the city to celebrate some very fine people in the romance writing industry at my local RWA/NYC chapter's Golden Apple Awards.

The honorees were:

Lifetime Achievement: Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

Author of the Year: Patt Mihailoff-

Go Patt!!

Editor of the Year: Brenda Chin(Harlequin)

Publisher of the Year:Harlequin

Agent of the Year:Miriam Kriss

(The Irene Goodman Literary Agency)

Bookseller of the Year: Clove Lake Book Store (Staten Island)

Librarian of the Year: Jeanne Sylvester (Nutley Public Library)

What a wonderful night for an industry that I love. Big congrats to all the honorees!

Best,

Kwana

Bad Writing

Happy Friday!

What's Jack up to? As I write this (late Thursday night) the Jackster is right under me up under my bed snoring lightly. Poor thing, he's worked so hard. Trying to sneak into the trash multiple times, but I was up on my game and thwarted him each time. I'm sure today he'll come for me with extra strength. I'll be ready. I hope.

What is bad writing?

I find it hard to define, but it's something you know when you read it. Now being in a book club the subject of bad writing has become an interesting and lively debate.

For me it's writing that doesn't flow or hold my attention. It's definitely writing that I have to go back and read a few times in order to understand or writing that doesn't ring true and I don't mean in a fantasy way I mean in an authentic way.

I'm very interested in this documentary Bad Writing with George Saunders and David Sedaris.



So how would you describe Bad Writing? This post maybe? Ouch!

Have a great day.

Best,
Kwana

Doubt

“You need to learn to Doubt your Doubts.”

These were the best words that I heard over this weekend. They were spoken by my pastor in church this Sunday. The sermon topic was: “Faith that conquers fear”.

Fear. My own dear friend and late night snack companion. Then the question came up: well, what do you do when you have doubts?

Doubts. Those insidious little creatures that seep into your head telling you that you: can’t write it, have no talent, it won’t work out, you won’t succeed, all is lost, your looks are gone, your body is shot, you don't have the smarts, it's over or whatever else your nasty little creature like to whisper.

We all have Doubts. But a good way to deal with doubts is to learn to doubt them.

Hmm… Doubt the Doubts. Put them on the defensive (eek I hope I used that term right DH). Break the paralyzing hold they have, making them less effective and faith more powerful. Tell that little creature critic to SHUT UP. Brush it off your shoulder and move on. There is work to do. I’m feeling powerful.

Sidebar: Um, friends remind me to give this speech to myself again in about 3 or 4 days when I'll no Doubt (ha) be needing it again.

On another note: I was quoted in The New York Times from my earlier post on Frank McCourt. You can read the Times article here. Thanks to all the new visitors who have stopped by. Welcome. I hope you come on back or better yet follow me. Gasp.

The best parts about being in The Times?

1. Honoring Mr. McCourt
2. It’s not that far a stretch from The Bestseller List.
3. Being called a romance writer without a bit of snark or a ripped bodice. WIN!

Best,

Kwana

One Word At A Time

Going on right now is the annual Romance Writers of America conference in Washington DC. No, I'm not there this year I'm here in NY, but keeping up vicariously though twitter. Sigh. Of course this would be the year that they give out the most awesome conference bag ev-ah.

Thanks to Sarah from Smart Bitches for the twitpic of the bags from Harlequin. How cool are these? Like I need another tote, but... Sigh again.

Oh well, that is not what this post is about. This post is all about my love of Nora Roberts/ J.D. Robb. See Nora is a member of RWA too and is always in attendance being most gracious in her fab shoes and giving out very meaningful advice. Here she is at a Washington Post event. Click here to read the full article. Oh, and check out the beginning. Is that my friend Laura there? Hi Laura!!





Best,
Kwana

P.S.
Shout out to Nana. I promise to make up for the lack of signed a Nora book next year. Love ya!

P.P.S.
That muse can kiss my, well, ya know.

P.P.P.S
Thanks Twitter and YouTube for the clip.

Write Right

What's Jack up to? Mr. Pushy has been just that lately. Pushing his luck with the early wake up calls and coming over to my side of the bed giving it a bit of a hard shove. He may look small but that dog is strong. Oh Jack, you know I'm not a morning person. Lord knows you get quite the attitude when folks come around messing with your afternoon naps.

Twitter can be the devil, but it can also be a wonderful thing if used correctly. Last week I posted a Friday tweet question.

What are your favorite writing books? Please RT.

I'm happy to say I got lots of good responses and some of the books were new to me. Here is the list in pretty pics. Some that got multiple nods: Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, Steven King's On Writing and Forest For The Trees by Betsy Lerner.

And you thought you could just sit and write. Well, I know I at least hoped.

Please share some of your faves that were not on the list or tell me if you're a writer that just wings it. I have to say, though I have a few of these and reference back to them often I have the hardest time getting through a writing book. Maybe that's my problem. Hmph!

Now if you're not a writer what sort of tools do you use to hone your craft?

Best,

Kwana