Blog Archives

Cherish and Celebrate: Time

7/29/2016

Today, I'm taking part in two blog hops: the Cherished Blogfest (CBF16) and Celebrate the Small Things.

Cherished Blogfest

Photo by Kenneth Hein

This summer seems to be passing by with warp speed. One thing I've come to cherish this July is time. Time with family (see last week's post about our big reunion), time to work on my next novel (revisions are going slow but steady), and time to relax with an occasional Sudoku puzzle.

You can find other Cherished bloggers here.

Celebrate the Small Things

The small thing I am celebrating this week is an interview and a Pandemic paperback giveaway over at Book Lover's Life. You can join the celebration by entering the giveaway here.

Celebrate the Small Things is hosted by Lexa Cain, L.G. Keltner, and Tonja Drecker.

Is your summer going too slow, too fast, or just right?
How would you spend an unexpected free afternoon?

Celebrate the Small Things: Thanksgiving in July

7/22/2016

My extended family used to get together once a year to celebrate Thanksgiving. But as holiday schedules became more complicated, we came up with a new tradition: Thanksgiving in July. We rotate locations each summer among five states, and the host provides Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings. When the meal is over and the kitchen is cleaned, we put on Christmas carols and the kids open presents. Since we only see each other once a year, we have to make the most of the occasion!

What's your favorite family or holiday tradition?
I'll be celebrating at the family reunion when this post goes live, so my comments and visits to other blogs will be delayed this week.

Celebrate the Small Things is a blog hop hosted by Lexa Cain. You can visit other celebrations at the blogs listed below.

Celebrate the Small Things

7/15/2016

By Yvonne Ventresca

I recently joined the "Celebrate the Small Things" Blog Hop, so this is my first celebration post. I usually do a "Friday Five," so to combine them both this week, I'll share five small things I'm celebrating.

My phone pictures don't usually capture the moment like this!

1. Sunsets.
This is one of my favorite photos from the summer. I love the clouds reflected in the water.

2. Informative websites. This one, about book festivals, has a calendar of festival information that both readers and writers can use.

3. Blurbs. In case you're not familiar with blurbs, they are quotes from other authors who have read an advanced copy of a book. Here is a blurb from author April Henry for my upcoming YA novel, Black Flowers, White Lies.

Photo by Scott Liddell at Morguefile.com.

4. Cute animal photos. Enough said.

Photo by deemac1 at Morguefile.com.

5. Blog hops! I'm looking forward to reading other people's small celebrations. What's made *you* happy this week?

Writing Inspiration

7/8/2016

By Yvonne Ventresca

One aspect of writing that people often ask about is inspiration. Since Pandemic was officially released as a paperback this month (hooray!), I'm revisiting that question.

Pandemic's Inspiration

I had many sources of inspiration for Pandemic, including:

The Spanish Flu of 1918
My own fears and worries
An overactive imagination regarding those fears and worries
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Swine Flu of 2009
Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
A morbid fascination with emerging infectious diseases

An anecdote: At one point during the Swine Flu (H1N1) pandemic in 2009, the vaccine became available in my suburban town. Public health officers organized its free distribution at the local middle school after school hours. They were only vaccinating the children, if I remember correctly, and not the parents. The line extended for blocks. I waited with a mom who had a son the same age as mine. The boys ran off to play nearby while we chatted.

At first, it was a relatively pleasant afternoon. But at some point, they announced that there wasn't enough vaccine for all of the children waiting. Kids with asthma (or other health conditions that would make the flu more dangerous) were to be vaccinated first, and the families at the end of the line were told that they should go home.

Well.

Hell hath no fury like a woman protecting her young. The whole mood of the crowd changed. I had gotten there absurdly early (if you know me, you're not at all surprised by this) and we were within the cutoff to receive the vaccine. I watched as unhappy parents verbally accosted the public health officials who stood outside, trying to keep order. It was definitely chaotic. And--keep in mind--the swine flu, although highly contagious, was not any more deadly than regular seasonal influenza.

Later on, I couldn’t help thinking. What if? What if it was highly contagious and lethal? How would people act then? The fear and the emotion would be that much higher. What struggles would people face to survive?

There are no lines of people waiting for the vaccine in Pandemic; it’s too early in the disease timeline to have one available. But the Swine Flu pandemic was certainly a source of inspiration.

Creative Inspiration for You

In the 2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge, I blogged about writing inspiration with twenty-six posts corresponding to the letters A to Z. All my alphabetic posts are linked together on a Writing Inspiration Pinterest Board, but I’m listing a few here individually in case you’re in need of creative inspiration.

B is for Butt in Chair, J is for Jealousy, K is for King, Q is for Quotations, R is for Routine, X is for Xenocryst, Z is for Zig Ziglar

Writers: What inspires you to write? Is the news a source of story ideas?
Readers: Do you like books that relate to the news or current events?

Why Pintip Dunn Writes Books On Her Cell Phone

7/1/2016

Happy Book Birthday to Pintip Dunn's The Darkest Lie! To celebrate, here's a guest post from Pintip.

Why I Write All My Books On My Cell Phone by Pintip Dunn

My junior year of college, my hands froze. Not good-God-the-library-is-cold froze. Not even I-have-no-idea-what-to-write-next froze. I mean, my hands physically froze, as in the muscles from my neck to my shoulders to my elbows to my forearms locked up, so that I couldn't move them. And they stayed that way for a week. I couldn't brush my hair. I couldn't bring a fork to my mouth. All I could do was lie in bed, terrified that my life was never going to be the same again.

It wasn't. And a part of me couldn't be more grateful.

Oh, I don't mean the physical stuff. I wouldn't wish that on anybody. I was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia/RSI. I got through college and law school by hiring a typist and taking my exams -- even the bar exam -- orally. To this day, I can't type on a keyboard or lift heavy things without considerable pain. During flare-ups, the pain is so unbearable, I want to curl into a fetal position and scream.

This disability, however, led me to my true calling. There was enormous pressure on me to have a secure and lucrative career, and I became a litigation attorney at a corporate law firm. I was good at it. I was also miserable, but no matter. I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

And then, I had a flare-up. This one landed me flat on my back for six months. In the midst of this suffering, I had an epiphany. My body wasn’t punishing me. It was talking to me, in a way I couldn't ignore. It was telling me: Get off of this path. This isn’t what you’re supposed to be doing.

I've wanted to be an author since I was six years old -- but I put that dream aside because it was too frivolous, too impractical. I focused on other pursuits because I wasn't going to succeed as a writer, anyway.

I think the voice inside me was sick of being ignored. It had to speak louder and louder, in the only way it knew how, until I finally listened. Until I finally understood that I had no choice but to pursue my dream.

Once I had this realization, I left the legal profession and never looked back.

I still can't type. But I can tap on my cell phone if it's locked in portrait position. I've written my last six books this way, and I hope to write many more.

So, thank you, body, for talking to me. I'm so glad I listened.

ABOUT THE DARKEST LIE:

“The mother I knew would never do those things.
But maybe I never knew her after all.”

Clothes, jokes, coded messages…Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe’s been the subject of whispers and taunts ever since. Now, at the start of her high school senior year, between dealing with her grieving, distracted father, and the social nightmare that has become her life, CeCe just wants to fly under the radar. Instead, she’s volunteering at the school’s crisis hotline--the same place her mother worked.

As she counsels troubled strangers, CeCe’s lingering suspicions about her mom’s death surface. With the help of Sam, a new student and newspaper intern, she starts to piece together fragmented clues that point to a twisted secret at the heart of her community. Soon, finding the truth isn’t just a matter of restoring her mother’s reputation, it’s about saving lives--including CeCe’s own…

THE DARKEST LIE: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Giveaway

There are 2 prizes! One winner will win a signed copy of THE DARKEST LIE (US only), and another winner will receive a $50 gift card to Amazon or Book Depository (international)! Click here for the giveaway.

ABOUT PINTIP DUNN: Pintip Dunn graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. She also published an article in the YALE LAW JOURNAL, entitled, “How Judges Overrule: Speech Act Theory and the Doctrine of Stare Decisis.”

Pintip is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. Her debut novel, FORGET TOMORROW, is a finalist in the Best First Book category of RWA’s RITA® contest. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Washington Romance Writers, YARWA, and The Golden Network.

She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. You can learn more about Pintip and her books at www.pintipdunn.com.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Cherish and Celebrate: Time

Cherished Blogfest

Celebrate the Small Things

Celebrate the Small Things: Thanksgiving in July

Celebrate the Small Things

Writing Inspiration

Pandemic's Inspiration

Creative Inspiration for You

Why Pintip Dunn Writes Books On Her Cell Phone

Why I Write All My Books On My Cell Phone by Pintip Dunn

Giveaway

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Cherish and Celebrate: Time

Cherished Blogfest

Celebrate the Small Things

Celebrate the Small Things: Thanksgiving﻿ in July﻿

Celebrate the Small Things

Writing Inspiration

Pandemic's Inspiration

Creative Inspiration for You

Why Pintip Dunn Writes Books On Her Cell Phone

Why I Write All My Books On My Cell Phone by Pintip Dunn

Giveaway

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Celebrate the Small Things: Thanksgiving in July