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A Writer’s Life: Why Plotting Doesn’t Work for Me by Amber Lynn Perry
I’m pleased to welcome my friend and fellow writer, historical romance author Amber Lynn Perry, to the blog today! Amber writes fabulous colonials with just-as-fabulous covers. If you follow her on social media, you’ll know that she acts as her own cover model and the costuming is from her own historical closet! Clearly this is a writer who lives and breathes her genre. Today she’s put together a video taking sides in the plotting vs. pantsing debate.
Carla, thank you so very much for having me and for allowing me to talk about writing. I don’t often do that these days (I spend most of my time vlogging about the colonial era) so it’s a real treat to get to discuss my other great passion in life. In this video I’m talking about the difference between plotting and “pantsing” and why plotting just doesn’t seem to work for me.
So, I sincerely want to know—even if you don’t write—do you think you are a plotter kind of person, or a “pantster”? Let me know! I love to learn about everyone’s different experience and what works for them, and what doesn’t.
Thank you again, and have a very great 2018!!
Amber Lynn Perry is a historical romance novelist, focusing on her favorite time in American history, the Revolutionary era. She received a Bachelor’s degree from Portland State University and currently lives in Washington state with her husband and two daughters. She loves to hear from readers and you can contact her through her website, www.amberlynnperry.com or through her Facebook page.
Tags: pantser, plotter, word count, writing style
Read an excerpt of Saturday Night Supper Club
Happy New Year, friends! I had all the good intentions of writing kick off posts for 2018, but I was having too much fun having my entire family home in one place for a change, so I never got to it. If I were going to make a resolution, it would be to live more in the moment, so I say that’s a good way to start things off!
However, I have a book launching in almost exactly one month. Let’s repeat that: one month. Hard to believe, especially since my last book was published in mid-2015, 2016 if you include Jilted. So I’m thrilled to give you a sneak peak of The Saturday Night Supper Club. Click here to read the first three chapters now! And don’t forget to subscribe to new posts on the left side of this page to be the first to hear about some fun promotions I’ll be hosting for launch.
Happy reading… and may your 2018 be filled with lots of big books.
The Saturday Night Supper Club ARC Giveaway
Now that we’re starting to get some December-ish weather here in Colorado after an unseasonably warm fall, I’m in the Christmas mood! Which means I want to give four lucky entrants an Advance Reader Copy of my upcoming book, The Saturday Night Supper Club.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with ARCs, they’re “unedited” not-final versions of books that are sent out to reviewers and readers ahead of time to build buzz. So this is a preliminary review copy that I’m giving away a full six weeks before it’s available in store!
The only required entry is signing up for my newsletter, but I promise I won’t spam you to death with emails… plus, I will be sharing the first three chapters to my newsletter subscribers next week, so you won’t want to miss that! And don’t forget to use the easy Facebook and Twitter entry options. The more entries, the greater your chance to win! May the odds… well, you know. 🙂
Saturday Night Supper Club ARC Giveaway
Tags: advance reader copy, contest, giveaway
No-Fail Christmas Gifts for Book Lovers
You guys… there’s twelve days until Christmas. I’m pretty sure before I blinked the last time, it was Halloween. How exactly did this happen?
I will admit, I’m a bit ahead of the game this year on Christmas presents–I started on Black Friday and finished up the first week of December–but only because I promised my kidlets that we would restart my grandmother’s annual cookie baking binge and pretty much inundate everyone we knew with traditional and not-so-traditional cookie boxes. Speaking of which, I guess I better get started on that…yeah.
Anyway, if you’re a procrastinator like I’ve been for the last five years, you’re probably wondering what to get the reader in your life beyond an Amazon gift card. Or, yourself. Because let’s face it, once you see some of these things, you’re going to want to keep them all.
Bitty Book Ornaments
Aren’t these cute? The adorable ornaments pictured here from Guteandberg on Etsy are real, live, write-on-able books (it’s a word, I’m making it a word) made with real book cloth and hand-sewn paper. Surprise a book lover with a tiny mini ornament filled with their favorite book quotes or a personal note. Or buy several to make a bitty book garland. If these colors aren’t your speed, there are several other sellers on Etsy that make similar items.
Litographs Book Swag
Litographs has been around for a while with a unique product: t-shirts, scarves, totes, and posters that contain the entire text of favorite books in miniscule print. Until recently, the inventory was limited to classics like Jane Eyre, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Hamlet. Now, they’ve expanded their designs to include modern favorites like Outlander, Wonder, and Throne of Glass. As if that’s not enough, the new Originals line reimagines illustrations of classic books in a new way. The Pride and Prejudice one in particular is stunning. The biggest problem here is not finding something for the book-lover in your life, but not taking all the rest home for yourself.
Book Cozies
Guys, I don’t know how this happened, but this is totally a thing. I can’t log onto Facebook or Instagram without catching a glimpse of one of these adorable little book cozies, meant to protect your precious literature while in a purse or backpack. Seems like the favored vendor is TheCozyLifeShop on Etsy, but she tends to sell out of inventory very quickly, so you might do a quick search and see if anything else catches your fancy.
Book of the Month Club
“Of-the-month” clubs as Christmas gifts are the punchline of bad, sarcastic jokes, but I’m pretty sure that any die hard reader is not going to be mad at you if you present them with a subscription to the Book of the Month Club. Each month, the subscriber or giftee gets to choose from a list of choices so they’re sure they’re getting something they’ll love. Or they can defer their choice and put the membership on hold for the month. These are good, popular books in hardback at a significant discount off of list price. Books are never a bad gift–even better when you can pick them yourself. This particular club has been around since 1926, but if you want your book to come along with other book-related swag, check out this list of book subscription boxes.
Handmade Ribbon Bookmarks
These are ideal for those long-distance gifts that need to be sent quickly and easily through the mail, or those people who don’t have a place to receive larger boxes. What reader wouldn’t love a handmade bookmark? There are plenty of variations, but my favorites are these pretty ones by Etsy sellers Pink Prairies, PaperExpressionCo, and StinsonPaperCo.
There you have it…ideas for every bookish member on your shopping list. Happy browsing!
Tags: book cozies, book lover, Christmas gifts, Litograph, The Cozy Life