The Fiction Cafe

MECHANICAL ISSUES

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:33:29 GMT

How do you clean up mechanical issues? Do you have someone else look at the story you've written? Do you edit the story yourself? Share your tips!
Steph

Life in the Fantasy World 5/2009 Genre Writing Topic

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:19:18 GMT

Has anyone read a good fantasy lately?
Do you have any recommended books for a reading list?
Any websites to recommend?
I'd love to hear about them.

I think the last fantasy I read was Harry Potter, Book 7. I am reading Stephenie Meyer's TWILIGHT series. I just finished finished Eclipse. I find that Meyer blends several genres well, but would ECLIPSE for example fit into fantasy writing? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Smiles,
Steph

APRIL 09 READER'S GALLERY

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:59:30 GMT

What book are you currently reading? Why? Thoughts?

My current book is: THE CHILDREN OF HENRY VIII by Alison Weir.

PRE-WRITING THOUGHTS

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:43:56 GMT

Do you have a pre-writing checklist? Do you make character bios? Cast characters? Create soundtracks to inspire the muse? Draw maps? Does it work for you? Why or why not? Share your thoughts.

Steph

BOOKS TO MEMOIR

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:31:36 GMT

Hi all. I discussed memoir writing in my official APRIL 2009 newsletter. Are there any memoir writers out there? Has anyone read a memoir they want to talk about or recommend for a reading list I'll be putting together. If anything, I read "DREAMS FROM MY FATHER" by Barack Obama, but I don't know if that's more autobiographical or not.

Steph

APRIL/MAY 2009 CONTEST now OPEN!

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:36:07 GMT

Starting this month, I'll be doing my contests on a bi-weekly basis.

THE PROMPT: Post a 400 word book review on a book you've read recently.

The contest closes on 31 MAY at midnight, PST time

THE PRIZES:

#1 - $25.00 GC to Amazon or the equalivant in WDC GP's
#2 - $15.00 GC to Amazon or the equalivant in WDC GP's
#3 - $10.00 GC to Amazon or the equalivant in WDC GP's!

If there is only one entry, that entry will...

Book Review for "The Wicked Games of a Gentleman"

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:11:05 GMT

Here's a recent book review I'd like to share. Any other Jillian Hunter fans out there? Can to share? What was your latest Jillian Hunter book you read? Love to hear your thoughts. I really enjoyed this book and I'd love to read more.

Smiles,
Steph

***************

Book Review for: "The Wicked Games of a Gentleman"
Written by: Jillian Hunter
Ivy Books/Random House
ISBN: 0-345-48760-5
371 pages
$6.99
5...

The Soul of an Isle - A poem about St. Patrick's Day

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:21:03 GMT

Thought I'd share this with you. Enjoy. Steph
****
From Dublin to Derry,
there's one day to make merry.
Top o' the mornin' to you
on St. Paddy's Day.

It's time to wear green,
and revel in the dreams
of an Irish saint,
on St. Paddy's Day.

Irish raiders took a young lad prisoner,
but that didn't stop him from becoming a minster.
He'd walk'd the forty shades o' green
with no fear...

Steph wants to know: What are you reading?

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:24:14 GMT

Reading is an important part to writing. Reading inspires us and we all have our favorite genres. What are you reading? What's appealing about it? What do you like about it? Don't?

I'm currently reading THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL by Phillipa Gregory. I'm enjoying the book very much. It's told in the first person by Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's sister and it's very interesting to here a different viewpoint on the Anne/Henry VIII romance. Gregory's writing...

Winners for the JAN/FEB 2009 Contest Announced!

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:00:07 GMT

Here are the winners:

#1 - "When Two Saints Met" by Jyo

#2 - "I Hate Early Morning Visitors," by Write Witch.

Congrats! Hope to see you again in March!
Smiles,
Steph

Book Review for "A Woman in Berlin"

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:22:58 GMT

I thought I'd share this book review with you. Thoughts, Comments, & feedback welcomed. Once a week, I'll be posting my weekly book review for your to check out.

Smiles,
Steph

*******

Book Review for: "A Woman in Berlin"

Written by: Anonymous

259 pages

Picador

ISBN: 0-312-42611-9-51400

$14.00

5 Stars

"A Woman in Berlin" tells the amazing story of...

MARCH 2009 Writing Contest now OPEN

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:21:14 GMT

I just wanted to ANNOUNCE my official writing contest forMARCH 2009 and thank everyone who entered JAN/FEB's contest. All the entries were great and I hope to see you guys enter this month!

This contest's prompt is: St. Patrick Day Poems

Write a poem about St. Patrick's Day.

RULES:
#1 -You can only enter once.
#2 - This is for poems only
#4 - Put who you are and the name of the poem in the subject line. Example
"StephB,...

77th Writer's Digest Winners were announced !!

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:30:47 GMT

Hi all - I just wanted to share with you that the winners for the 77th Annual Writer's Digest Competition were announced and two of the 4 stories I submitted placed. Here were the results:

"The Watch Tower" was #22 in Genre Fiction.

"Spontaneous Decision" was #8 in Mainstream/Literary. (A shocker for me because I didn't expect it to do as good as it did!) I won a deluxe edition of Writer's Market, A year's subscription to Writer's...

Winners for the NOV/DEC Contest announced!

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:24:22 GMT

Here are the winners for the NOV/DEC Poetry Contest:

#1 - 1st Place $25. GC to Amazon - "Time," by Warrior Mom

#2 - 2nd Place $15. GC to Amazon - "Leave No Reply," by Simply Complex

#3 - 3rd Place $10. GC to Amazon - "Fading Rose," by Jyo.

Thanks to all who entered. Hope to see you enter the JAN/FEB contest!
Steph

Writing Contest for JAN/FEB 2009

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:23:06 GMT

I just wanted to ANNOUNCE my official writing contest for JAN/FEB 2009 and thank everyone who entered NOV/DEC's contest. All the entries were great and I hope to see you guys enter this month!

This contest's prompt is: Romance!

Write a romance short story that involves Valentine's Day.

RULES:
#1 -You can only enter once.
#2 - This is for SHORT STORIES only. There is a word count of 4,000 words.
#3 - Word Count must be included in the...

All That Remains - Internet Book Signing.

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:11:03 GMT

Welcome to my Internet Book Signing for "All That Remains."

"All That Remains" was published in 2002 and it is a contemporary romance that takes place in Manchester, NH. Darrin Banning is a widower who get sued by his in-laws for custody of his little girl. He hires a lawyer, Kristina Rivera, and the sparks fly! Will a romance between Darrin and Kristina ruin his chances of retaining custody over his little girl? You have to read the book! hehe

Thanksgiving Thoughts & A Book Review

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 11:09:11 GMT

It's been a couple of days and I just wanted to touch bases with you all. We celebrated Thanksgiving last Thursday. My son, who is in first grade, came home about two weeks ago and told me Thanksgiving was "lame." Well, I couldn't have that. I got him involved. First we planned a menu and compromised a little. We had "White Castles" on it and Turkey of course. I also whipped some banana smoothies for him which he enjoyed. We baked cookies, cake, and a...

Save the Date - 2 DEC 08 - All That Remains Internet Book Signing!

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:45:47 GMT

I'll be in the forum all day on 2 DEC promoting my book, "All That Remains." It's a contemporary romance set in Manchester, NH. Written in 2002, it tells the story of a widower, Darrin Banning, who is being sued by his in-laws for custody of his little girl. He hires a spunky lawyer, Kristina Rivera, to represent him, but when the sparks fly, Darrin's not sure how Kristina fits into his life.

I'm selling the book complete with autograph, book mark, a set...

I'm back! hehe NOV/DEC 2008 Writing Contest

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:53:38 GMT

Just wanted to let you all know I'm back. It was a very long summer with a lot of interuptions and I'm just now getting back my Internet legs.

June seemed to fly by. I forgot to renew my website that hosts my graphics and the credit card ran out. Needless to say it took until Sept to figure out how I could renew. My graphics site is now up and running and I hope to have NOV's newsletter out to...

Writing and Current Publishing Trends

feeds@yuku.com (BotrinaBuchanan) — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:19:11 GMT

There are a couple of agent that blog which I like I read. One guy is Nathan Bransford.

You can find him at http://www.nathanbransford.blogspot.com/

He comes across as honest, decent and departs a lot of practical knowledge about the traditional publishing arena which I'm trying to break into.

He put up a link to an article in the NY Times were it was talking about books and publishing. Over 400,000 books were published last year, up from 300,000 the previous year....