Connecting Christian Readers with Good Storytellers
This month marks my first full year as a published author. My debut novel A GOOD EXCUSE TO BE BAD released this time last year, the sequel SOMEONE BAD and SOMETHING BLUE releases in two weeks, and book three sits on my editor’s desk being edited as I write this post to you. In honor of my small anniversary I wanted to share some helpful truths about this first year to you.
Here's your chance to sit down with me and let me help you write your book. It's free to you, because Atlanta Fulton County Library is bringing me in. So check out the details and register. I will bring enough packets for those who register. Thanks!
DATE: Monday, June 18, 2012, 6:00 PM-7:30 pm
WHERE: Adamsville-Collier Heights Branch Library Meeting Room, 3424 Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Atlanta, GA 30331
COST: Free & Open to the Public
Suggested Audiences: College, Adult, Elders
CONTACT: comments@co.fulton.ga.us
PHONE: 404-699-4206
DETAILS: Renowned author Miranda Parker will be conducting a writer's workshop at the Adamsville-Collier Heights Library.
TOOLS TO BRING: Notebook, Paper, Manuscript
Bestselling Author Reshonda Tate Billingsley states that “Angel is a good girl in a fast paced, kick butt, bad boy chase, sexy thrill-ride.” Miranda Parker is the author of the Angel Crawford Bounty Hunter Series (A GOOD EXCUSE TO BE BAD and SOMEONE BAD and SOMETHING BLUE). She has been featured in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, RT Book Reviews Magazine and Publishers Weekly. She has also made featured author appearances for the 2012 SC Book Festival in Columbia, South Carolina, the 2012 Chick Lit Festival in Decatur, Georgia, 2011 (NBCC) National Book Club Convention, Black Pearl Magazine’s Chocolate Social, The Decatur Book Festival, and the 2011 Atlanta Press Club Holiday Author Party. She is also the Social Media/Marketing Head for the ITW Debut Authors Program and a contributing editor to THE BIG THRILL Magazine. Visit her at www.mirandaparker.com or on FACEBOOK at www.facebook.com/mirandaparkerbooks
Zondervan has announced Zondervan First, a new direct-to-digital publishing imprint. The new imprint launches today with the acquisition of the first fiction title, Love in Three-Quarter Time by Dina Sleiman. I checked out the site. It’s interesting and can be a solution to traditional publishing transition into the new publishing age. Here are three things you should know about Zondervan First if you plan to submit a manuscript to them.
Why now?
Two reasons. First, traditional channels for retail are shrinking. Fewer grocery stores, drug stores, mall stores, and superstores are carrying a broad selection of titles. While there is a strong consumer market for Zondervan titles, the channels that we have always depended on to grow new voices and publish broadly are under pressure. Second, the growth of eReaders and e-books has created a new opportunity that allows us to increase the number and diversity of our list for the first time in 10 years.
Do Zondervan First authors get an advance? What is the royalty rate?
Zondervan First will not pay an advance, but authors receive a 25% royalty from the first book sold. After an e-book sells 10,000 net copies, the author's royalty rate rises to 50%. (Contracts will provide royalties for both e-book and print-to-order copies.)
Will Zondervan create covers for Zondervan First titles?
… Each Zondervan First e-book will receive a distinctive cover treatment with the Zondervan First logo, and during the publication cycle, the books will receive support from Zondervan's marketing and publicity professionals.
To learn more about Zondervan First and submit a manuscript for consideration visit the site at http://zondervan.com/first
Happy June. I was suspicious until I saw this trailer. My family loves Made so this may be our family movie. You can take your grandmom and your children and they all will laugh.
The Official Theatrical Trailer for Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection
Cast: Tyler Perry, Eugene Levy, Denise Richards, Romeo, Tom Arnold, Doris Roberts, John Amos, Marla Gibbs, Danielle Campbell, Devan Leos
Synopsis:
For years, George Needleman (Levy), the gentle CFO of a Wall Street investment bank, has been living with his head in the clouds. His frustrated second wife, Kate (Richards), has reached her limit taking care of his senile mother, Barbara (Roberts). His teenage daughter, Cindy (Danielle Campbell), is spoiled beyond hope and his seven-year-old son, Howie (Devan Leos), wishes his father were around more. But George is finally forced to wake up when he learns that his firm, Lockwise Industries, has been operating a mob-backed Ponzi scheme -- and that he's been set up as the fall guy.
Facing criminal charges and death threats from the mob, George and his entire family are put under witness protection in the safest place that Brian (Perry), a federal prosecutor from Atlanta, can think of...
His Aunt Madea's house down South.
As a result, Madea and her live-in brother, Uncle Joe (Perry), find themselves managing a completely dysfunctional family from Connecticut. But as George tries to solve the mystery behind Lockwise's finances, Madea whips the Needlemans into shape using her hilarious brand of tough love. And together, they realize they just might have what it takes to unite George's family, outsmart the mob and change everyone's lives for the better.
The best way to kick off adult summer reading is to get inspired. What better way to do that than chatting with best-selling inspirational drama author Victoria Christopher Murray. She is the author of nine Essence best-selling novels, including The Ex Files; Too Little, Too Late; and Lady Jasmine. She is also the author of the DIVA teen series, winner of the African American Literary Award for Fiction, and Author of the Year. Her newest novel, Destiny Divas(Touchstone), releases this month.
Sierra, Raine, and Liza are Destiny’s Divas, a fresh, new gospel group whose unique blend of singing and testifying has gained them fans across the country. They tell the world about how good God has been to them, but off stage, each member is living a life totally opposite to what she preaches—and each is harboring a secret that could ruin them all.
Twenty-something Sierra Dixon speaks about the joy of being single and celibate, though she is anything but, drifting from one relationship to another. Although she stresses the importance of unconditional love within the family, Raine Omari has hit her breaking point with her mother-in-law and is ready to take drastic steps. And when Liza Washington discovers that her pastor-husband is in the middle of a scandal that could bring down more than just their ministry, she knows she must do something to stop him. One fateful evening their secrets are exposed, and one diva commits an act that could land her in prison for the rest of her life. Each has motive—who will crack?
by Samuel Thomas
When you picture your typical protagonist for a thriller, a few professions come to mind. You have your detectives, police officers, lawyers, and spies, of course. Occasionally you’ll get a doctor, or a reporter thrown in there, but there is a “type.” Historically speaking they’re usually men, and they are usually in the business of figuring things out. Problems arise when a nefarious person, government agency, or criminal organization (did I repeat myself?), wants to keep them from figuring it out.
In light of this, my decision to write thrillers about a midwife seems brilliantly iconoclastic, right? What less likely protagonist could there be, except a nun? (Shout out to ITW member Nancy Bilyeau, whose recent thriller The Crown is about a nun. It’s excellent and you should read it.) In truth, I started with the midwife, and found myself writing a thriller as if it were the most natural thing in the world. How did this happen?
Literary mysteries take readers beyond the who-did-it and into the psychological playground of murder and mayhem. This Wednesday in #litchat we’ll discuss how literary mysteries differ from mainstream or genre mysteries and why they are often misunderstood. Join me on Twitter at 4PM ET. I will be the guest moderator for this session. Woohoo! Don’t forget use the hashtag #litchat http://litchat.net/
