When I first began writing, several authors generously shared their unwritten rules for forging a successful career. They unanimously recommended: Writing in a popular genre Thinking long and hard before using a pen name Sticking with one genre Being a newbie to the business, their advice seemed reasonable and sound. After all, they’d played it safe, signed with agents, and landed long-term publishing deals. Fast-forward a year later, and I’d finished my first terrible, awful

Day 2 of Publish 15 was just as fun and fulfilling as Day 1. In all, more than 500 people from Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Alabama attended the event in Cumming, Ga. During the convention, I talked to so many great aspiring authors about self-publishing, traditional Stephanie, Me, & Holly Agent pitch sessions went on all weekend, and it was really exciting to find out that writing duo Stephanie Erbesfield and Holly Hearn had a request for a full manuscript and a req

Book enthusiast? Aspiring author? Interesting in pitching a literary agent? Consider attending Publish15! If you live near Atlanta, there’s still time to attend today (Sunday, June 14). If you’re outside the area, make plans to attend next year’s event! Jonathan, David, Me, & Bennett Publish15 is a 2-day convention for new and experienced writers — featuring topics like blogging, book proposals, and the business of being an author. On Saturday, I participated in two panels, G

It’s been a whirlwind week! It began Tuesday evening with a fun and (always) informative book club night @ Page & Palette in Fairhope, where the fantastic book store employees there talk about hot new novels and give away ARCs (Advance Reader Copies). Here are my winnings ~ I can’t wait to read them, especially The Truth and Other Lies, which is supposed to have a deliciously evil main character! Later in the week, I spent part of Thursday at the Fairhope Yacht Club signing L

Harper Lee’s new book, Go Set a Watchman will NOT ruin my life. Yes, you read that right. Here’s the story … About a month ago, I attended my local book club meeting and was deep in discussion about the novels we might select for the upcoming six months. A friend of mine, an English professor, tossed out a few ideas, including To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman. Nods all around. Another friend asked when it was being released, and after a quick Google search, one of