Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Balticon

Hi folks,

I'm back from Balticon and juggling kids, work, the other work, cat-that-needs-to-go-to-the-vet, and all the other aspects of daily life.

But I wanted to put in a few words about conventions. Cons are so much fun, a place to let our inner nerds out to play without worrying that the real world will chuck dodgeballs at our heads. I sat in the Green Room for an hour in a lively, multi-person discussion of the continuity issues among the various Star Trek franchises... and it was AWESOME!

I also got to talk about my books--and about all of Spencer Hill's stuff--for hours with people who love that kind of stuff. It's a wonderful place to network, promote, and also have a lot of fun--all as part of being an author.

So, my advice to you is, if you write spec-fic (that's "speculative fiction," i.e., sci-fi, fantasy, alternative history, dystopian, horror, paranormal, etc.), then find a local con and try it out. Some are more tame than others, and even if the weirdness coefficient exceeds your normal tolerances, you can always use it as inspiration for interesting characters. You don't have to be weird to attend, just okay with being weird-adjacent.

And if "local" for you is the Boston area, come to our launch party for Kelly Hashway's Touch of Death at Arisia in January 2013--we're going to have a zombie prom, and we're asking you to be our bait--um, date.

Thursday, May 24, 2012






Grab it! Share it! Angelina's Secret will be all over the web next month!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Betas and Crit Groups

Hi folks,

Aspiring writers and published authors out there--quick question: how did you find your beta readers and/or crit groups? I know a new author who is looking for some feedback for a YA PNR.

In fact, let's make that a thing. If *you* are looking for a crit partner or beta reader, please send me a message through the Ganzfield contact form: http://www.site.ganzfield.com/Contact.html

Include your genre, your contact info (just an email is fine), and where you are in your writing career, e.g. "unpublished with completed YA paranormal manuscript." If I have someone who is in a similar position, I'll send you each other's contact info and you can trade sample chapters or something, just to see if you are a good match.

And that's how I became the Writing Matchmaker!


Disclaimer: I'm making no promises here, just trying to help writers find other writers who can help them improve their craft. Don't exchange home addresses or other personal info up front--writers are crazy, or at least weird, and you might not know how weird/crazy at first, but then they show up at your house dressed like the character in your book, and...well, that probably wouldn't end well. I'll also eventually stop doing this, but this specific offer is good through June 30, 2012.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Writing Workshop

Hi folks,

I'm emerging from the editing cave long enough to let everyone know that Trish Wooldridge and I will be conducting a full-day writing workshop at Annie's Book Stop in Worchester, MA on August 11th.

Details: http://anniesbookstopworcester.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/286/

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Worlds Collide

My last post was about the *other* Jennifer's blog posts about Fifty Shades of Grey, and now Texas TV is suggesting *our* Jennifer's book to people who liked Fifty Shades!

Wow. That's like a mobius strip in my brain. Anyway, check out those Texans with good taste in books:


http://www.wfaa.com/good-morning-texas/What-to-Read-Next-If-You-Liked--149830085.html