News
Two upcoming, in-person, Connecticut events!!!
“Make Mine Murder,” a Crime Writing Panel
Avon Public Library— April 9th (my publication day!!!) @ 7:00 PM
In honor of National Library Week, I’ll join fellow Sisters in Crime members Kathleen Marple Kalb, T.M. Dunn, and Jane Willan to discuss where our ideas come from and how we plot and develop our characters.
and…
Book Launch!
Durham Public Library—April 18th @ 6:00
If you’re nearby, come celebrate with us! I’ll be in conversation with two amazing local authors/ mentors, Leslie Bulion and Doe Boyle, and—thanks to my awesome friends and family who are helping plan it—I can confirm there will be snacks.
Maple’s Origin Story (cont’d)
I’ve been telling the story of writing and publishing my first book in each newsletter edition. If you missed it, here’s a link to the most recent one.
So, after the epiphanies in Chicago and nine months of drafting and Zoom meetings with Erin, I … finished my novel. It had a beginning, a middle, and an end. It had a compelling protagonist, an intriguing hook, and series potential.
Now, I needed a literary agent.
Fifth Semester came to the rescue again. Although they had to amend plans for an in-person follow-up due to the pandemic, in November of 2020 we gathered virtually to learn how to search for and query literary agents who might be right for our books.
Ann and Erin shared strategies for finding potential agents, crafting compelling query letters, and organizing spreadsheets (who doesn’t love a spreadsheet??? Mine was even color-coded!) to keep track of queries and responses.
Next month, I’ll share some of the best resources I found and strategies I used and will recount the wild week in which I ultimately signed with Chelsey Emmelhainz of Copps Literary, a.k.a. my agent extraordinaire!
Recent Reads
Instead of sharing one book this month, I made a whole list! “Shepherd for Authors” invites writers to pick five books they love that are all connected by a common topic, theme, or mood they are passionate about.
Before you visit the site, can you guess my theme from this photo of the five books I chose?
Click here to see it!
Thanks to fellow 2024 debut author Nicole M. Wolverton for putting this opportunity on my radar.