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Five Lessons from a Book Tour Newbie — Guest: Suzanne Johnson

Picture of Suzanne Johnson

I’m in Anaheim, California this week for the Romance Writers of America (RWA) Annual Conference, but I have another great guest here today. Suzanne Johnson just had her debut release a few months ago, and she’s been on fire with her stories. Her Royal Street debut came complete with a book tour. A book […]

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July 26, 2012

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From Newbie to Published: 12 Tips — Guest: Tiffany Allee

Picture of Tiffany Allee

While I’m at the Romance Writers of America (RWA) Annual Conference this week, I’ve invited two authors who have recently debuted to share their insights. Today, I’m excited to introduce Tiffany Allee. Tiffany and I actually know each other in real life, as we belong to the same RWA chapter and I mooch […]

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July 24, 2012

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It’s (Writing) Olympics Time!

2012 London Olympic logo

The Olympics are starting in a week—while I’m in Anaheim, California for the Romance Writers of America (RWA) Annual Conference. I’m really looking forward to the confernce, but man… Did it have to fall during the Olympics? *sigh* I’m an Olympics nut. I love the pageantry of the opening and closing ceremonies. I […]

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July 19, 2012

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The Ultimate #RWA12 Conference Packing List

Stack of old-fashioned suitcases with text: The Ultimate Conference Packing List

I’m leaving in a week to attend the Romance Writers of America (RWA) Annual Conference, which is meeting in Anaheim, California this year. This will be my third conference and my second RWA National. So, why am I nervous? Oh yeah… I’m giving a workshop this time around. By myself. How […]

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July 17, 2012

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Blogiversary Winners & a Gift for All

Gift bag with text - A Gift for... You!

Yay! I officially made it to the two-year mark on my blog. Two years of comments, questions, and debates. On my post announcing my Blogiversary Contest, we had enough comments to earn three winners! The worst part of the contest was picking the names. The worst, you say? No, that doesn’t mean […]

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July 12, 2012

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How “The Amazing Spider-Man” Rocks Subtext

The Amazing Spider-Man movie poster with text added: "Subtext and" [The Amazing Spider-Man]

Subtext? In a comic book movie? Really, Jami? Yes, really. Now, I’m not calling The Amazing Spider-Man groundbreakingly genius or anything, but it’s an, er, amazingly good movie character-wise compared to… Oh, say, the Green Lantern. If you remember from my Green Lantern posts about how how not to write plot or characters, […]

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July 10, 2012

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Writing: Where Less Can Be More

Empty glass jar with the text "Less Isn't Bad...It Leaves Room for Imagination"

For many things in life, more is better. In stores, we see packaging with “Bonus 10% extra!”, “Now even bigger!”, and “Twice the number of chocolate chips per cookie!” (That last one is unquestionably better. One of my greatest achievements is making chocolate chip cookies with just enough batter to […]

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July 5, 2012

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The Hard Work of Writing: Do You Embrace It?

Woman hugging a tree bigger than she can get her arms around

When you first started writing, did you realize how much work it would take? Or were you like most of us, thinking that you’d written your share of emails, essays, or Christmas letters and that writing a whole story wouldn’t be—couldn’t be—that much harder? But at some point—maybe it’s when […]

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July 3, 2012

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Blogiversary Contest — Prize: Me! Wait…er, What?

Gift box with text "Want to win 'me'? Wait... What?"

My two-year blogiversary is coming up on July 12th.  Wow, I’ve been writing this blog for two years already? How can something feel like yesterday and forever at the same time? Mostly, I’m amazed that I found that much to blog about, not just in the number of posts but […]

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June 28, 2012

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3 Tips for Writing Heavy Emotional Scenes

Girl sobbing with text "The Emotions Are Too Much!"

Yesterday, I tweeted a link to a great post by Sally Apokedak about not cheating the reader by skipping emotional scenes. Some writers struggle with heavy scenes. They’re uncomfortable with “invading” the privacy of their characters. They worry about creating laughably cheesy scenes. Or they think a scene that’s essential […]

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June 26, 2012

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