tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32885036139985626232024-03-14T02:27:25.285-07:00Katherine LongshoreI'm the author of GILT, a story of friendship and betrayal set in the court of Henry VIII.Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.comBlogger168125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-44815636673964163922017-01-01T10:55:00.002-08:002017-01-01T10:55:19.784-08:00A Fresh StartHappy New Year to you all! The last year has been difficult for many, and brutal to some, but I believe we are all rallying to face what the next year brings and maintaining hope for positive developments and welcome surprises.<br />
<br />
Starting a book is like starting a new year. I’m facing page one of something new—after waffling over it for a few months—so I’m reminding myself of what a first draft requires and making resolutions. <br />
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<b>1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Imagination: </b> Just like with New Year’s resolutions, it’s a good idea to brainstorm before embarking on a book. You don’t want to make any foolish or impossible promises. Maybe I won’t <i>Climb Mount Everest.</i> But maybe I will challenge myself with a new structure and a new audience, investigating themes that feel quite personal.<br />
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<b>2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ambition:</b> You don’t want to take it too easy on yourself. Perhaps rather than a vague <i>Walk More</i>, you might resolve to <i>Walk Five Miles a Day</i>. It’s the same with a book. I don’t want to write the same book over and over, or write something exactly like someone else’s. <br />
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<b>3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Risk: </b>I would never advocate a dangerous resolution for the new year—so please avoid <i>Try Train Surfing</i> or <i>Build Up Immunity to Arsenic</i>. Books, however, are different. Readers want risk. They want to be challenged, and so do we, as writers. Stretch. Have fun. See what you think your limits are and push the edge of that envelope.<br />
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<b>4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Commitment:</b> All of us have made well-intentioned resolutions that we haven’t quite fulfilled. (<i>Sort Through All Twenty Boxes of Family Photos </i>comes to mind—for the past three years!) And many of us have started a book that we’ve never finished. Finishing can be the hardest part. It’s frightening. It’s painful. Sometimes, it’s even boring. Do it. Walk those miles, sort those photographs. Finish. That. Book.<br />
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<b>5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Fun: </b> Every year we load ourselves down with <i>shoulds</i>. <i>Lose Weight. Spend Less. Work Harder. </i> I’ve long believed that we also need to revitalize with the things that propel us forward. What have you always wanted to try? <i>Ride a Unicycle. Learn to Tap Dance. Skydive.</i> Or something simpler, but has the same effect. <i>Play a Game Once a Week.</i> Writing is the same. It’s hard. It’s painful. It’s frightening. But it also has to be fun. Play with your characters. Let yourself write a scene that has nothing to do with the plot, but lets your talents shine—dialogue, description, murder. It may never appear in the book, but something exciting may come out of it—even if it’s “only” a jump start to get you writing again. I write not for misery, but for joy. When it happens, allow yourself to experience it. The perfect sentence. The cunning plot twist. The day you surpass your word count goal without even trying. Those are all the things that keep you going and deserve to be celebrated. <br />
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I have two resolutions this year. I could make many more (those photographs aren’t going to sort themselves), but I found 2016 so overwhelming that I’m willing to let myself off the hook a little. Here they are:<br />
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<i>1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Finish the Book.</i><br />
<i>2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Celebrate.</i><br />
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Who’s with me?<br />
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Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-12818165880892108542016-11-10T09:14:00.000-08:002016-11-10T09:14:06.913-08:00Making Choices<div class="MsoNormal">
As authors, we know all about making choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Characters, settings, plot points, turning
points, dialogue tags.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every
effort—every word—is a choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Do I make this character blonde or
brunette?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does she really have an
alcoholic father?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it an apple tree or
a copper beech he can see out the window?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Sometimes, the choices seem overwhelming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like looking at all the possible paths
through the forest and not knowing where any of them leads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes, it feels like all you can do is
sit and stare at the blank page with all of those possibilities before you and
it’s so daunting, you can’t even lift a finger to type Chapter One.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now is one of those times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I look at my world and see all the things that are threatened by
recent events—the environment, people of color, refugees, women’s rights,
reproductive rights, gender identity, immigrants, gun control—I am overwhelmed
by the stands I know I must take.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the
donations I want to give.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the effort
of the choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I know if I choose
one and fight for it with all my heart, the others will not have my full
support and they all deserve it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But as humans, we cannot give all of our effort to
everything.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So this is what I must do—what we all must do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Choose one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Five, at the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And do what you can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will not all choose the same things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will not all fight the same way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if we<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
all</i> choose and we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> fight—with
our dollars, with our words, with our friendship and love and support and
encouragement and shelter—we will rewrite this story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned as an author, it’s
that no matter how you begin or with what expectations or fears or shortcomings
or limitations, you can change the outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s within your power. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You just
have to make the choice and then put in the work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We write our history as we live it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s do it well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Find some (more) ideas
on organizations and causes that can use our support <a href="http://jezebel.com/a-list-of-pro-women-pro-immigrant-pro-earth-anti-big-1788752078?rev=1478710019591&utm_campaign=socialflow_jezebel_facebook&utm_source=jezebel_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-51311739183459256462016-11-03T11:05:00.002-07:002016-11-03T11:05:30.578-07:00When Your First Draft is Like a Mountain Road<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I originally posted this on the <a href="http://yamuses.blogspot.com/p/resources.html">YA Muses blog </a>a couple of years ago, but felt it deserves revisiting. I am about to start yet another first draft, as I know many of you are with NaNoWriMo. Best of luck to you all, and enjoy the drive!</i><br />
<br />
I love spending time in the mountains—in a little cabin with no Internet and no cell reception. Just me and my family and the hard, frosty mornings and the liquid gold light of autumn afternoons. We work in the garden and try to make pizza on the grill and hike to the river and play Monopoly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-hUqFEfR84/Up0rt_NbwiI/AAAAAAAAA7w/wlS2h2HWiYY/s1600/DSCF1373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-hUqFEfR84/Up0rt_NbwiI/AAAAAAAAA7w/wlS2h2HWiYY/s320/DSCF1373.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the deck</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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Often, we make the hour-long drive down to the nearest “big” town (population approximately 16,000) to stock up, go to the beach, and visit family. And often, we make the drive in the dark.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I think it deserves mentioning again. E.L. Doctorow’s quote. “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I love this quote, because I often feel like I’m in a fog when I’m writing a first draft. More than that, I've begun to see first drafting as more like driving at night on a mountain road. Specifically, this mountain road.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’ve driven this road at least a hundred times—in daylight and darkness, at midnight and with the setting sun shining directly into my eyes. I’ve been a passenger a couple hundred more. I know this road.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On the way down to town one day, and upon seeing the third or fourth bouquet of faded plastic flowers on the cliff-side barrier, my husband—who didn’t grow up on this drive—said, “A lot of people die on this road.” The road is steep and the way is winding. The coastal folk make the drive inland in summer to escape the chilly fog, and drive back after a day of drinking beer in hundred degree heat on the river. The mountain folk make the trip for groceries and stop on the way home in the casinos and bars. The use of marijuana in this county is commonplace, and you can sometimes smell it wafting from the open windows of cars as they pass. It is tragic—but unsurprising—that people die on this road.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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When I drive it at night, I take it easy. I know this road, but in the dark, it’s different. Because all I can see is what the headlights light up in front of me. On the mountain curves, that’s not much. Sometimes, the beams of light disappear into nothingness—the steep drop down to the river swallows them whole—until I follow that double yellow line and illuminate the rock face, the fern bank, the stand of trees that mark the spot where a little waterfall will bloom when the snow melts in March.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YR_9nc0WGV0/Up0srIw4dRI/AAAAAAAAA74/7iih8goO3ts/s1600/DSCF1382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YR_9nc0WGV0/Up0srIw4dRI/AAAAAAAAA74/7iih8goO3ts/s320/DSCF1382.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">At least it wasn't snowing, like it was last Christmas...</td></tr>
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In the dark, you don’t know what will be around the next turn, what will show up in your headlights next. Perhaps the glowing eyes of a startled deer, or the tumble of rocks from a frost-driven slide. After decades of use, the road itself is slumping in places, marked by signs that read, “Active Sink Area, Reduce Speed.” (the signs aren’t kidding—there are places where if you’re driving over fifty, the car will catch air over these “active sinks”, delighting the children and startling the sleeping dog).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Driving back to the cabin in the dark, I’m forcefully reminded of the constant, unrelenting ascent. Up and up and up and up until Lord Ellis Summit is crested and the road dives down to circumnavigate the valley by hugging its contours.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the dark, I am surprised by the well-remembered markers that tell me how far I’ve gone and how far I have yet to go. The Vista Point where the wind howls down to the foggy coast. The tiny pull-off where my car once overheated, but by some miracle I managed to get cell reception. The stoplight system where the road has slumped away leaving a single lane. The ribboning band of curves that let me know I’m only a mile from my destination. And even then, in the dark, I worry that I will miss the turning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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First drafts are like that, no matter how many times you’ve driven them. There is a long, uphill climb, when the going can be steady and even fun, but is still hard work and takes longer than expected. There’s the drop down into the circuitous mysteries of the muddly middle, when you know there’s a steep cliff on one side and a sheer rock face on the other and you’d better keep your eyes on the dimly-lit and sometimes-faded double-yellow line. All along the way, there are sinkholes and rockslides, approaching semi trucks that look set to run you down, headlights in your rearview mirror that blind you to everything else, and the occasional wild animal blinking at you from the side of the road, ready to run. And just like this mountain road, my first drafts almost always have a stretch of one-way traffic, directed by a signal, and I never know how long I’ll have to wait for green. And there are places where you can see tragedy—where darlings will be killed eventually. Fortunately, there are the instinctive markers that let you know where you are and how far you have to go. And—when you’re lucky—there’s that beautiful, stretch of ribbon you can follow to the end. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the <i>first</i> first draft--the first book you ever write--is a little more frightening. You don’t even know if the destination is <i>there.</i> Even now, on my <i>fifth</i> first draft, I worry that something will sidetrack or booby-trap me. But as the obstacles loom into the sweep of my headlights, I can sometimes recognize them, and visualize them as they are in daylight, and they stop scaring me quite so much. I am vigilant, I am careful, I move more slowly than I would in bright light. I feel my way through the dark, and there is beauty in it. Even comfort. Because I know that the destination is there—waiting for me. And because I know that when I’m ready to start revising, the sun will be up, and I will be able to see all of the road at once and that some of it will be beautiful enough to keep me coming back.</div>
Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-37122975642042249832016-10-17T14:46:00.003-07:002016-10-17T14:46:26.710-07:00The Book of My HeartI've been thinking about this a lot lately--<i>the book of my heart.</i> A few years ago, a dear friend sent me the link to <a href="http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2012/05/book-of-my-heart.html">Beth Revis's blog post</a> on the same subject. We discussed it at length--do all of us have a book that we were <i>meant</i> to write? The <i>one.</i> The writing equivalent of a soulmate. And if I don't, is there something wrong with me? Does it make me soul-less? Because at the time, I didn't have a book of my heart. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qsIx0pFk4W4/WAVGLwd78tI/AAAAAAAABN0/Csr0OFr6UaIWm9UAUN_pEV6cfs-ydjptwCLcB/s1600/IMG_2869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qsIx0pFk4W4/WAVGLwd78tI/AAAAAAAABN0/Csr0OFr6UaIWm9UAUN_pEV6cfs-ydjptwCLcB/s320/IMG_2869.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
I believe that <i>all</i> of my books contain a bit of my heart. <i>Gilt</i> is full of my own concerns about inaction, and how <i>not</i> doing anything can be as bad as doing the wrong thing. <i>Tarnish</i> is a hymn to my own adolescent feminism. And <i>Brazen</i> is testament to heartbreak and loss. I love them all, and each held its own kind of magic while I wrote. They are each, in essence, a book of my heart.<br />
<br />
Recently, though, I've been digging deeper in my writing. Because I have no contracts to fulfill, and no publisher asking for anything specific from me, I've had the freedom to choose and play around with and take the time to write stories that come from somewhere else. Not from history, but from somewhere deeper. With no guidelines and no restrictions, I can do anything I want.<br />
<br />
It's not easy. In fact, there are times that I wonder what the hell I was thinking. Why don't I just write that YA about Jane Grey? Or Joan of Arc? Or Queen Elizabeth? Why don't I stick to what I know and do well?<br />
<br />
Because as an artist--and we are all artists, my friends--I want to stretch and grow and try new things. Because if I wanted to do the same thing day after day, I would put on a green apron and a big smile and be your Starbucks barista. I'm good at that. I've had lots of practice.<br />
<br />
But I want to be a writer, so I dive into deep water. And I've loved it. Not every minute (do any of us? If you do, tell me your secret!) But I've learned to love writing again. And I'm learning that writing from the heart takes time and effort and tears, but it is so soul-satisfying. <br />
<br />
I've also learned that rejection hurts more if you have more invested. That when the book of your heart gets picked apart or worse, dispassionately, indifferently put down and abandoned, it feels more personal. One year on (and yes, it's been a year since I sent that book out, the one that came from some magical place and went nowhere in publishing), I've learned that I'm glad I wrote it, anyway. More than glad--I'm a different person. A better person. That book made me see more and hear more and find a creative place in myself that I wouldn't have otherwise. Of course, it would have been great if it had sold and I was here telling you a release date or revealing a cover. But I wrote it. And I'm proud of it. And I'll do it again. Because that's what writing is--digging deep down into your artistic well and bringing up something fresh and life-sustaining. I try to come to the well every day, with every project, but the Book of My Heart taught me to drink.<br />
<br />
<br />Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-44380063745350989192016-10-03T13:14:00.002-07:002016-10-17T14:29:28.820-07:00Where to Begin?<div class="MsoNormal">
I've written seven novels ranging in length from 60,000 words to 105,000, and I only know two things for certain: Every book is different.
And I learn something new every time.
Today, I begin a new blog series all about what I’ve learned (and
forgotten, and relearned). So today, I
begin at the beginning.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-568NK3DsuFo/V_K7FG7kkrI/AAAAAAAABNo/_rApF6oojzAXDmnzuw489MSi3uEVTYw3wCK4B/s1600/start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-568NK3DsuFo/V_K7FG7kkrI/AAAAAAAABNo/_rApF6oojzAXDmnzuw489MSi3uEVTYw3wCK4B/s320/start.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
The logline.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Caught you there, didn’t I?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Personally, I always
thought that I write the logline when the book is finished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve always thought the logline—the elevator
pitch—is an odious business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you
distill a 105,000-word book into two sentences?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How do you even begin?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That last is the golden question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned recently (after seven books and
goodness knows how many thousands of pages) that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">beginning</i> with the logline helps you distill your idea <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">before</i> you write it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The logline should include the essence of each
crucial element. By giving time and energy to this at the beginning, you know
what you’re in for before you even write <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chapter
One</i> at the top of the page.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s still not easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In some ways, I still find it odious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And I certainly resist it, even though I know it’s good for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m about to start work on a new novel, so I
need this reminder, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the
exercise I plan to do:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1. A logline must have the following<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>the protagonist<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>their goal<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>the conflict that could prevent them from
achieving that goal<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2. Don’t use a character name (unless it’s immediately
recognizable—say, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Anne Boleyn</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kanye West</i>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, tell us something about the
character—who she is, what she does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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-<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a literary editor<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a blues
guitarist<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3. Add an adjective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This gives us a sense of character, but also gives you, the writer, a
hook to hang your characterization on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Be creative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a maverick
literary editor<o:p></o:p></div>
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-<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a
train-jumping blues guitarist<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4. Give us a goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What drives your story—and more importantly, what drives you
character?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the promise the rest
of your 100,000 words delivers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a maverick literary editor wants to travel
around the world faster than anyone ever has<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">-<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a train-jumping blues guitarist rides
the rails to escape his past<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5. What is your conflict?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a maverick literary editor races the
country’s most famous journalist to set the record for around the world travel<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">-<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a train-jumping blues guitarist
confronts the darkness of life beyond the margins in order to escape his past<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
6. If you have a ticking clock, use it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a maverick literary editor races
time, tide, and the country’s most famous journalist to set the record for
around-the-world travel<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
7. A little world-building…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>- <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>in 1889,
when women didn’t have the vote or the ability to walk the streets of the city
unchaperoned, a maverick literary editor ventures out alone to race time, tide,
etc…</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No need to reveal the ending—you might not even know exactly
what it is yet, and the point is the logline is to entice--even if you're just enticing yourself at this point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people might
suggest you add a hint of theme, but I find I don’t always know my theme until
I’ve revised at least once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
this—your beginning—you just want the basics. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Look at what you’ve got here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can anything be improved?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that adjective really the best choice for
that character?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that character
actually the best and most unique person for that story?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe the literary editor is actually
super-heroic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe the blues guitarist
is actually a barista.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Play</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is your chance to make all the changes you want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One to three sentences is a lot easier to
alter than a hundred and five.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you want some additional ideas for writing elevator
pitches and loglines, check out <a href="http://yamuses.blogspot.com/2011/08/elevator-pitch.html">an old formula </a>I posted on the YA Muses blog, or
try Blake Snyder’s <a href="http://www.savethecat.com/todays-blog/try-this">Save the Cat logline</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-86155065436014162372016-01-11T07:06:00.003-08:002016-01-11T07:06:48.121-08:00BRAZEN Deleted SceneLast year, during the YA Scavenger Hunt, I posted a deleted scene from BRAZEN on another site. It was only up for the few days that the Hunt was going, but I recently received an e-mail from a reader (thank you, Judith!) asking if I might repost it.<br />
<br />
This scene occurs <i>before</i> the action of the novel by about six months. Mary Howard is in the coronation procession for Anne Boleyn and describes all that she sees and who she meets...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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All around me is
gold and white and crimson, the sky a surprising blue above us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The queen’s hair, brushed a hundred strokes,
hangs down her back like a thick black waterfall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anne Boleyn, as beautiful and as stony as a
statue.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The men and women of
Cheapside dressed in their best, patched and brushed and so out of place
amongst the white and gold and velvet and silver tissue that hangs from every
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the men still wear their caps
and the faces of all alike are sour and insolent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cheers of “God Save the Queen!” are few
and far between.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My horse shifts
beneath me, eager to be moving. The men and women stare, openmouthed at the
inaudible pageant performed on the street corner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I press one hand to the pocket at my
side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mother’s letter there crinkles,
the sound louder to me than the stamping of hooves and shouts of the thousands.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ungrateful wretch</i> – she began.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You dare to ally yourself with that woman – </i>she
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You will hear from me no more </i>– she
finished.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If only my mother
kept her promises.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The bleating of
the sackbut ceases and the procession moves forward again. “HA HA!” One man
crows as we depart.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I hate it when
the ignorant learn to read.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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I turn to Jane
Boleyn, Lady Rochford, to my left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
sits upright in her saddle, the crimson of her gown reflecting pink off of her
pale skin, the gold coronet of her hood sparking in a flash of sun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“What’s he
laughing at?” I ask.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The initials.”
Lady Rochford waves a dismissive hand at the white and gold canopy that shades
the queen from the sun, embroidered with the Tudor rose, a crowned falcon, and
two letters entwined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>H and A – Henry
and Anne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ha ha.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Oh.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lady Rochford
scowls, the skin around her eyes stretched by fatigue. She served Queen Katherine
for years, but she’s married to the new queen’s brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder if she, like my mother, believes all
of this pomp is just a sham.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A brave
show to try to justify a fabricated marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Like a conjurer’s trick, mother said, to make the people believe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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From the faces of
the people around me, it doesn’t seem to be working.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Things are a
little more cheerful at Gracechurch Street, where Mount Parnassus looms over an
archway where a marble fountain spouts Rhenish wine from four spigots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One man – his left hand an open sore – lies
on his back with his head directly underneath a spout while Apollo and the
Muses entertain us, proclaiming all of Queen Anne’s virtues, but especially her
ability to bear sons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many believe she
already carries one, her belly overlarge beneath the white of her gown.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My brother is near
the head of the procession, standing in for our father who is away in
France.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never one to stand on ceremony,
he Hal turns his horse and comes to me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Mary.” We are
virtual strangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is better friends
with the king’s son – his obligatory childhood companion – than he is with
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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“Did Mother
contact you?” he asks.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I nod.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No need to tell him what she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Did she threaten
never to speak to you again?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I lift my eyes to
his. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“She did, didn’t
she?” Hal laughs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What else did she
say?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“That I should
think long and hard about who I am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
about where my loyalties should lie.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“In other words,
she reminded you of your Stafford descent, that you are royalty in your own
right, and that you should not allow yourself to be taken in by a woman who
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Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-8942770662339338102015-04-15T08:43:00.001-07:002015-04-15T08:43:52.873-07:00YASH Follow-upThanks to all of you who stopped by on the YA Scavenger Hunt, and to all of you who just stopped by to read PJ Hoover's exclusive content!<br />
<br />
Congratulations to the <span style="color: #bf9000;">GOLD</span> team winner, Rena Malik, who won twenty signed books from each member of the team. And congratulations, as well, to Barbara Gordon, the winner of my giveaway!<br />
<br />
I asked for comments as an entry to my giveaway, answering the question: What is your favorite coming-of-age novel and why? I received over one hundred responses, and I was delighted by how enthusiastic everyone was about their favorite books! I have definitely added some of them to my own TBR list, and I hope that you might stop by and <a href="http://katherinelongshore.blogspot.com/2015/04/ya-scavenger-hunt.html">check out some of the answers</a>, too.<br />
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Unsurprisingly, the book that had the greatest number of recommendations was <i>The Fault in Our Stars</i>, by John Green. What did surprise me was that it was tied with <i>Fangirl</i> by Rainbow Rowell. Not because Rowell's book isn't as good, but because I would have guessed one of her other books! <i>I'll Give You the Sun</i> by Jandy Nelson was the next leading contemporary novel.<br />
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By far the majority of the other books were futuristic and/or fantasy, with <i>Shatter Me</i> by Tahereh Mafi leading the pack, followed closely by <i>Throne of Glass</i> by Sarah J. Maas, <i>The Mortal Instruments</i> and <i>Infernal Devices</i> series by Cassandra Clare, <i>Vampire Academy</i> by Richelle Mead, and, of course, <i>The Hunger Games</i>, <i>Twilight</i>, and <i>Harry Potter</i>.<br />
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A few of you especially loved historical novels, including the <i>Bloody Jack</i> series by L.A. Meyer, <i>The Agency</i> by Y.S. Lee and <i>All the Light We Cannot See</i> by Anthony Doerr (which was also one of the only books written for adults that made the list.)<br />
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But probably the most surprising answer was "No fav. I don't really read them." This made me wonder why this person was on the Scavenger Hunt in the first place! But perhaps he or she mistook my question.<br />
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Thanks again for coming by and recommending books to me. I'm looking forward to reading them!Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-66658652839251777192015-04-02T12:00:00.000-07:002015-04-05T12:48:54.273-07:00YA Scavenger Hunt!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><i>The YA Scavenger Hunt is over! But my giveaway will be active until midnight, Pacific Time, Sunday, April 6th.</i></b></div>
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<b>Hello, I am Katherine Longshore, hostess of this leg of the hunt! I love travel, history and chocolate (though not necessarily always in that order) and am the author of three novels of friendship, love and betrayal set in the court of Henry VIII (GILT, TARNISH, and BRAZEN) and the "Downtonesque" MANOR OF SECRETS. </b>There will be a super-secret, exclusive deleted scene from BRAZEN on another blog stop, so keep searching!<br />
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<b>You are currently hunting on Team Gold!</b></div>
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<b><u>SCAVENGER HUNT RULES</u></b></div>
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During this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue at each stop. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive <b>one book from each author on the hunt in my team</b>!<b> </b>But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!<br />
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<b>Directions:</b> Somewhere in this post, I have listed my favorite number (HINT, it is highlighted in <span style="color: #bf9000;">GOLD</span>.). Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the <span style="color: #bf9000;">gold team</span>, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!). </div>
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<b>Entry Form:</b> Once you've added up all the numbers, <a href="http://yascavengerhunt.blogspot.com/p/enter-here.html">make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize</a>. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.</div>
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<b>Go to the <a href="http://yascavengerhunt.blogspot.com/">YA Scavenger Hunt</a> page to find out all about the hunt. </b>There are EIGHT contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the <span style="color: #bf9000;">GOLD TEAM</span>--but every team offers chances to win entirely different sets of books!</div>
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<b>Rules:</b> Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by <b><span style="color: red;">Sunday, April 5th</span></b>, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.</div>
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But be sure to read all the way to the bottom of the post--I'm hosting an additional giveaway and I'd love it if you enter!<br />
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<b><u>P. J. HOOVER!</u></b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TQhJkvUnN2c/VROENpe27NI/AAAAAAAABJ4/1PG43EXiYt0/s1600/pj_hoover_head_shot_only_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TQhJkvUnN2c/VROENpe27NI/AAAAAAAABJ4/1PG43EXiYt0/s1600/pj_hoover_head_shot_only_2.jpg" height="320" width="230" /></a>Today, I am hosting the fabulous <span style="color: red;">P.J. Hoover </span>for the Scavenger Hunt!<br />
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After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer, P. J. Hoover started writing books for kids and teens. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing kung fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek. Her middle grade novel, Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life (Starscape/Macmillan, September 2014), tells the story of a young immortal King Tut, who's been stuck in middle school for over 3,000 years and must defeat an ancient enemy with the help of a dorky kid from school, a mysterious Egyptian princess, and a one-eyed cat. Her first novel for teens, Solstice (Tor Teen/Macmillan, June 2013), takes place in a global warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own. </div>
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Find out more by checking out <a href="http://www.pjhoover.com/"><span style="color: red;">P.J's website</span></a> and find out how to buy <a href="http://www.pjhoover.com/books_solstice.php#Buy"><span style="color: red;">SOLSTICE here</span></a>! </div>
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Piper's world is dying. Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom.<br />
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Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed—a sphere of gods and monsters—and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis. While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper’s life spirals out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that has been kept from her since birth.<br />
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Tricia is sharing with us the exclusive opening chapter of a sequel to SOLSTICE, and I, for one, am <i>hooked...</i><br />
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<i>Tricia's exclusive YASH content is no longer available, but I hope you'll still look her up, and check out SOLSTICE!</i><br />
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<b><u>CONTINUE THE HUNT</u></b></div>
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Continue the hunt and enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, <span style="color: red;">P.J. Hoover</span>, and more! Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the <span style="color: #bf9000;">gold team</span> and you'll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize!<br />
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To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/8130603-ya-scavenger-hunt">Alexandra Monir</a>!<br />
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And as you go through the hunt, be sure to <a class="twitter-hashtag-button" data-related="bethrevis" data-size="large" data-url="http://YAScavengerHunt.blogspot.com" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?button_hashtag=YASH&text=Check%20it%20out%20RIGHT%20NOW!%20The%20YA%20Scavenger%20Hunt%2C%20with%20over%20fifty%20signed%20books%20as%20a%20grand%20prize!">Tweet #YASH</a><br />
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<b><u>ADDITIONAL GIVEAWAY!</u></b></div>
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As you go through the Hunt, you will learn more about my book, BRAZEN (and read a deleted scene from the original manuscript), on <a href="http://amymcnulty.com/blog/">Amy McNulty's blog,</a> but I wanted to give all the hunters an exclusive opportunity to win a full set of all <b><span style="color: #bf9000;">FOUR</span> </b>of my books--GILT, TARNISH, BRAZEN and MANOR OF SECRETS. The stories feature love and death, manipulation and romance, loyalty, loss, and most importantly, learning to be yourself. As an added bonus, the Tudor books are the matching paperbacks printed only in the UK.<br />
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Entering is easy--all you have to do is one (or all!) of the things listed in the Rafflecopter below. But while you're here, the easiest of all is to comment! <br />
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I'm always on the lookout for a fabulous new read, so tell me: <br />
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What is your favorite YA or coming-of-age novel? And if you've got the time, tell me why!<br />
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="f44e98bf6" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f44e98bf6/" id="rcwidget_amzhakn5" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com98tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-5698057972453171252015-03-23T09:30:00.000-07:002015-03-23T09:30:55.507-07:00Come Join the YA Scavenger Hunt!<div style="text-align: center;">
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I'm so excited to be participating in this year's YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was first organized by author <a href="http://www.colleenhouck.com/">Colleen Houck</a> as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive <b>one book from each author on the hunt in my team</b>!<b> </b>But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!<br />
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<b>There will be</b> EIGHT contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I will be joining the <span style="color: blue;">GOLD TEAM</span>--but there are seven others, and you can participate in all of them for a chance to win books!<br />
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The Hunt will begin at 12 NOON Pacific time on Thursday, April 2nd and ends at noon on April 5th. I'll be posting exclusive content from BRAZEN on another author's site and giving away special additional prizes right here, so stay tuned!<br />
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Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-29025582435590219302014-09-25T11:59:00.000-07:002014-09-25T11:59:35.098-07:00My Favorite Banned Books as a Teenager<i>I originally posted this blog with the <a href="http://yamuses.blogspot.com/p/resources.html">YA Muses</a> in September of 2010. Of course, much of it remains true today, except that my dad passed away two years ago, and I can no longer call on him to recommend challenging books to me. Now it's my job to do the same for my teenager.</i><br />
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On my first day of Sophomore AP English, I brought home the extracurricular reading list. I had chosen the “new” teacher – young, foreign, different. She had big ideas. Eccentric tastes. Expansive theories.<br />
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My dad grew up in the deep South in the 1940s and 50s amongst people who had fixed opinions and a strong sense of tradition. People who didn't question their faith or the government.<br />
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My dad took a long look at that list. Graham Greene. Ernest Hemingway. Kurt Vonnegut. John Steinbeck. Ken Kesey. William Golding. J.D. Salinger. Anthony Burgess. <br />
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He sighed.<br />
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“I loved these books,” he said. And showed me his favorites.<br />
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In honor of Banned Books week and in honor of my dad (on whose opinion I still pick up certain titles), I’d like to share a few of those books with you. I read them in high school. The “classics” were my books of choice. They, and my parents, made me who I am. The reader. The writer. The person. All of these have been banned or challenged at one time or another.<br />
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<u>A Farewell to Arms</u> by Ernest Hemingway. Burned by the Nazis. Banned by the Italians for its accurate portrayal of the retreat from Caporetto. Challenged for being a “sex novel”. This was my favorite Hemingway. A brilliant love story. Tragic. I may have thrown it across the room when I finished it, though. I was a little volatile as a teenager.<br />
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<u>One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest</u> by Ken Kesey. Banned and challenged for language, promoting criminal activity and “secular humanism”. Quite possibly one of the most heart-wrenching books I’ve ever read (another one that hit the wall when I read the final page). I read it on my dad’s solid recommendation. Then we watched the movie together. Jack Nicholson rocks.<br />
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<u>Of Mice and Men</u> by John Steinbeck. I seriously fell in love with Steinbeck and Hemingway in high school. This book was banned and is still challenged for profanity (damn!), violence and being defamatory to women and differently-abled people. It was also pulled from shelves in one community because Steinbeck was known to have an “anti-business” attitude and “questionable patriotism”. You can’t question his technique, though. George and Lenny live in my mind 20 years later.<br />
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<u>To Kill a Mockingbird</u> by Harper Lee. This book is consistently challenged for language (damn again!) and racial epithets. Also for its portrayal of the treatment of blacks by racist whites in rural Alabama. Huh. I may have read it when I was sixteen, but wasn’t that kind of the point? Lee wrote the book so eloquently she showed us what that community was like. Her use of language fit the setting. Those characters were unlikely to wander around calling blacks “African-Americans”. My dad thought her portrayal of the South was acutely accurate.<br />
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This is a short list of my favorite books when I was a teenager. I still count them as such today. (Yes, I was a nerd. And a drama geek. Double whammy). I can’t countenance removing them from the shelves of libraries and classrooms. Or any other book that encourages a child or teenager to think, to question, to discuss. To read.<br />
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The Long List (favorite banned books I read as a teenager):<br />
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<u>The Great Gatsby</u> by F. Scott Fitzgerald<br />
<u>Catch-22</u> by Joseph Heller<br />
<u>Animal Farm</u> by George Orwell<br />
<u>The Grapes of Wrath</u> by John Steinbeck<br />
<u>For Whom the Bell Tolls</u> by Ernest Hemingway<br />
<u>The Lord of the Flies</u> by William Golding<br />
<u>Gone with the Wind</u> by Margaret Mitchell<br />
<u>Sophie's Choice</u> by William Styron<br />
<u>The Color Purple</u> by Alice Walker<br />
<u>The Catcher in the Rye</u> by J.D. SalingerKatherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-48027214295899229532014-09-10T13:20:00.001-07:002014-09-10T13:23:09.314-07:00What I'm Reading NowI seem to be failing at my Reading Challenge. I admit it. I am addicted to buying books.<br />
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That said, I'm still doing the mental math required to keep up with it.<br />
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This week, I've read four books, but only two were off of my TBR shelf:<br />
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<i>We Are the Goldens</i> by Dana Reinhardt. I met Dana during the summer at Linden Tree Books in Los Altos, and immediately decided to buy her most recently published book. She's knowledgable and kind and incredibly articulate and she writes with glowing restraint. <br />
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<i>The Rules for Disappearing</i> by Ashley Elston. I love reading a good thriller, and this one kept me up at night and away from my revision during the day. It delves into the murky world of witness protection in an entirely new way, and I loved the nuances of Anna's personality. Looking forward to reading the sequel (once I catch up on all the books I have to read before buying another one!)<br />
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I also read two as-yet unpublished manuscripts, both utterly captivating, with unique premises and fascinating settings. Can't wait to talk about them more!<br />
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My complicated calculations follow thusly:<br />
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Read one, buy one (check, but also acquired one)<br />
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Read two, buy one (I read three, but bought two)<br />
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Read three, buy one.... (I really only read two....)<br />
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So, if all of this follows on, I need to read five more books before buying another one. I've decided to discount all books I borrow from the library, because they don't actually weight down my TBR shelf because I read and return them. :) Of course, that also means that the book I'm reading now--<i>100 Sideways Miles</i> by Andrew Smith, which I LOVE--doesn't count toward the challenge.<br />
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So. Still five books to go!Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-3028426666000004272014-08-29T04:00:00.000-07:002014-08-29T04:00:05.330-07:00Reading Challenge UpdateSo I've already confused my accounting for my <a href="http://katherinelongshore.blogspot.com/2014/08/tbr-shelf-reading-challenge.html">TBR Shelf Reading Challenge</a>, because I didn't take into account books that I borrow from friends or the library! It means that this week looks like a three-steps-back week as far as my reading-and-donating record is concerned.<br />
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I read <i>Love and Leftovers</i> by Sarah Tregay, my Class of 2k12 sibling. I've had this book for a while, and I've been saving it for just the right moment. It's a novel in verse about a girl who is struggling to learn what true love really is, as well as the importance of friends.<br />
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I also finished <i>The Grand Tour</i> by Tim Moore. Way back when, I wanted to be a travel writer, and read dozens (if not hundreds) of travelogues covering all seven continents. This was a wonderful return to those roots, but also a lesson in history as Moore follows the path of Thomas Coryate, who traveled from England to Venice and back again--mostly on foot--in 1608. The first "Grand Tourist". Moore also inserts bits and pieces of accounts written from the heyday of the grand tour (the 18th and 19th centuries), and it's amazing to see how many things have stayed the same over hundreds of years. Made me want to return to Europe.<br />
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So I finished two books, which entitles me to buy one and....I bought two.<br />
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<i>Can't Look Away </i>by my dear friend Donna Cooner. I read and early draft of this and can't wait to read it again.<br />
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<i>Maid of Deception</i> by Jenn McGowan. I read McGowan's first book, <i>Maid of Secrets</i> last year and loved it. Mystery and romance in Elizabeth's court? Yes, please!<br />
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I also borrowed the ARC of <i>Mortal Heart</i> by Robin LaFevers from my friend Beth Hull and, inspired by The Grand Tour, <i>Around the World in 80 Days</i> by Jules Verne from the library.<br />
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So this week, the total is:<br />
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Read: 2<br />
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Acquired: 4<br />
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Not sure how this is going to help lessen the burden on my TBR shelf, but at least I'm enjoying it!Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-87263817404867743382014-08-22T09:06:00.001-07:002014-08-22T09:06:42.439-07:00TBR Shelf Reading ChallengeOne of the best parts of being a writer is that I get to be a reader, too. It's part of my job. I love to read, and always have. <br />
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(Actually, no, that's a lie. When I was five, I swore I'd never learn to read because when my older sister did, she got boring and never played with me again. But then my mom got me Cat in the Hat out of the library and I ignored my best friend during a playdate so I could read it again and again.)<br />
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The drawback to the love of books is that they start to take over the house. We are currently in a frenzy of (long overdue) clearance and organization at my house, so I decided to add my TBR shelf to the list.<br />
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It's not just a book<i>shelf</i>, it's the entire book<i>case </i>(with the exception of a few research books down at the bottom. Note the Dictionary of Slang. Best. Research. Book. Ever. Unless you're on a deadline. When you open it, it's like going down a rabbit hole.)<br />
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So I've taken a leaf out of my friend Anna Billings's book, and decided to set myself a reading challenge. <br />
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I read one book off my TBR shelf, and I can buy a book.<br />
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Then I have to read <i>two </i>TBRs before I can buy a book.<br />
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Then I read <i>three</i>.<br />
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And so on.<br />
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I shall try to check in on Fridays, hoping that keeping myself accountable will help.<br />
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This week, I read <i>Burial Rites</i> by Anna Kent. Fascinating historical fiction for adults set in early 19th Century Iceland. History and culture I knew nothing about. Great stuff.<br />
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I bought (on Anna's recommendation, curse her) <i>The Magicians</i> by Lev Grossman. <br />
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I acquired <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After </i>by Stephanie Perkins (also from Anna!). However, I also read it in one day and gave it to a friend, so that's a free pass, right?Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-19209578476857526382014-06-12T13:27:00.003-07:002014-06-12T13:27:34.722-07:00BRAZEN is Here!Today I'm celebrating the publication date of my third (and final!) Tudor historical, BRAZEN. The series has been a crazy roller coaster journey, made ever so much fun by my friends, by the opportunities to meet other writers, and by my readers. Thank you all for getting me to this day.<br />
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And many thanks to all of you who came to the early launch party at the Avid Reader in Davis! I love reading aloud (probably comes from all those years of acting followed by several years of being a preschool teacher!) and the response to BRAZEN was heartwarming!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many thanks to Mona Dougherty for<br />taking pictures!</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_992813851"></span><span id="goog_992813852"></span>I have a few more events coming up (http://katherinelongshore.com/news-events.php), so drop on by--I'd love to see you there! Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-18192267737792383342014-05-19T10:51:00.002-07:002014-05-19T10:51:17.291-07:00Anne Boleyn's Execution<i>The queen</i><i> steps up onto the scaffold, exposing a crimson kirtle beneath her gown. The color of blood. The color of martyrdom.</i><br />
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<i>I realize I’m holding my breath and try to let it out slowly, but can only suck it back in again with a gulp. And another. I can’t get more than a mouthful of air into my lungs at a time.</i><br />
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<i>Fitz was right. I shouldn’t be here.</i><br />
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If you're a Tudor nut like me or even just follow any of the Tudor history blogs, Facebook accounts and Twitter, you probably already know that today marks the 478th anniversary of the execution of Anne Boleyn.<br />
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You can read about the actual events in any Anne Boleyn biography or book of Tudor history (my favorites are <i>The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn</i> by Eric Ives, <i>Six Wives</i> by David Starkey and <i>The Lady in the Tower</i> by Alison Weir.) You can read instantly on <a href="http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/">The Anne Boleyn Files</a> or any other blog dedicated to true history. And, of course, there are numerous fictional accounts--one of the best being Thomas Cromwell's account in Hilary Mantel's <i>Bring Up the Bodies</i>.<br />
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It's difficult not to be repetitious with so much information out there. So why did I want to give an account from Mary Howard's perspective? <br />
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I think it's because I felt that someone who loved Anne should have been there. She made many enemies and many courtiers wished her gone and forgotten. Mary is known as one of her supporters, and I figured Anne needed one on this day in 1536.<br />
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And, of course, she continues to have supporters. Including one who <a href="http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/queen-anne-boleyn-19th-may-1536/">sends flowers to the Tower of London every year</a>.<br />
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Whether or not you believe Anne was a traitor (or a bitch or a gold digger or a saint), she has certainly made an impression. And I think she deserves to be remembered.<br />
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<br />Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-34306630657291212362014-04-28T04:00:00.000-07:002014-04-28T06:55:55.485-07:00The Writing Process Blog TourI’m so excited to be taking part in the Writing Process blog tour. I think all writers have a feeling they are somehow doing things “wrong”, that it must be easier for everyone else, that I must be the only one who stews over a plot point until it comes out my pores. But reading previous posts (including <a href="http://gretchenmcneil.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html">this one by Gretchen McNeil</a> and <a href="http://swardkehoe.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-writing-process-blog-tour.html"><span id="goog_1462779475"></span>Stasia Ward Kehoe’s last week<span id="goog_1462779476"></span></a>) makes me realize we’re all in the same situation. We have strengths and weaknesses, victory and despair, elements that just flow and others that have to be pulled kicking and screaming into the limelight. And I read their books (like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Letting-Stasia-Ward-Kehoe/dp/0670015539/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1371677717&sr=1-1">THE SOUND OF LETTING GO</a> by Stasia Ward Kehoe) with renewed insight and something akin to awe.<br />
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<b><i>What am I working on?</i></b><br />
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I am currently working on something completely different—a contemporary novel set in a situation far removed from the English Tudor court or a country manor house. Though my characters are still bound by social constraints, they have an illusion of freedom that gives the novel a completely different kind of energy. I’m also brainstorming ideas for future novels ranging in time period from the 17th Century to present day…<br />
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<b><i>How does my work differ from others of its genre?</i></b><br />
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I write historical novels, but do my best to give them a contemporary feel. It’s my belief that people who lived five hundred years ago aren’t so very different from people today—they had hopes and dreams, fell in love and rebelled against injustice (and social restrictions) just as we do today. As a result, my writing voice is very contemporary, as well (for instance, I use contractions!), which I hope makes my characters relatable to modern teens, without affecting the believability of their situation.<br />
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<b><i>Why do I write what I do?</i></b><br />
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I write realistic historical fiction (mostly based on actual people and actual events) because if it wasn’t real, it would seem like fantasy. Henry VIII is so much like a Bluebeard character, and the conniving and manipulations in his court are so Mean Girls. I love it. And I love inventing the fictional character who can fit into those shoes.<br />
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But mostly I write what I do because I love the characters. I can see them in my mind’s eye, hear their voices in my head, follow their actions. I love building a character from the ground up and living in that fantasy world for as long as it takes to write and revise the novel. <br />
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<b><i>How does my writing process work?</i></b><br />
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Very messily! I am definitely more of a pantser than a plotter. I generally start with just a seed—for BRAZEN, it was: I want to write a book about Mary Howard, who was Henry VIII’s daughter-in-law. I look at the whys—because she became an independent woman in a world where women were treated as chattel. I look at the history and put together a thin, basic framework of the historical events. And then I write. I put characters into situations. I create scenes for them to interact. I build what I imagine to be the pivotal moments in the narrating character’s life. I eventually get up to about seventy or eighty thousand words.<br />
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Then I cut the first fifty pages, rip the rest of the “zero draft” apart into basic components, kill dozens of darlings and start over. Kind of like tearing apart a LEGO creation and building something new from all those blocks.<br />
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Like I said, messy. And definitely not something I’d suggest you try at home unless you’re a glutton for punishment. But I love writing, so having to cut 40k out of an 80k manuscript doesn’t make me despair for long. Because it means I can keep creating. <br />
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By the end of the second draft (which is really the first, because the first eight thousand words I write are really not a draft at all), I have a much better handle on the story and structure, and that’s when everything really takes off. Because my favorite part of the process is the fine-tuning in later drafts—words, sentences, microtension. So many little inspirations and surprises.<br />
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If it sounds like a bit of a hassle, I suppose it is. But I think that knowing my process has definitely helped me move forward with every book. For instance, I tried my damnedest to start BRAZEN in the right place, so I wouldn’t have to cut the first fifty pages. But I got stuck. Stalled. For weeks. And I had to go back and write fifty pages of what happened before the beginning, just so I could cut it and move on. <br />
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Yeah. Definitely a hassle. <br />
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I’ve enjoyed reading other writing process posts along the tour, and I hope you do, too.<br />
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Want more craft? <a href="http://www.jennifermcgowan.com/">Jennifer McGowan,</a> author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Maids-Honor-Jennifer-McGowan/dp/1442441380/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359574787&sr=8-1&keywords=jennifer+mcgowan">MAID OF SECRETS </a>and the upcoming <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Deception-Maids-Honor-Jennifer-McGowan/dp/1442441410">MAID OF DECEPTION,</a> will be telling us all about <a href="http://www.jennifermcgowan.com/category/news/">her writing process </a>on May 5!<br />
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Are you a plotter? A pantser? An in-betweener? What part of the process gives you the most joy? I’d love to hear your process, too!<br />
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Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-64334213677598950092014-04-22T11:34:00.000-07:002014-04-22T11:34:36.479-07:00BRAZEN Blog Tours!Seven weeks 'til BRAZEN publication, and I'm crafting all kinds of reveals and teasers and exclusive content for two different blog tour events.<br />
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Kathy Coe at <a href="http://glass-of-wine.blogspot.com/">A Glass of Wine</a> is conducting the <a href="http://glass-of-wine.blogspot.com/2014/04/tudor-tuesdays-is-now-tudor-thursdays.html">Tudor Thursdays</a> (formerly Tudor Tuesdays) tour, a six-week stretch preceding the publication date. Each post includes a taste of information about my favorite historical sites in England, as well as a (mostly) related teaser excerpt from BRAZEN. Keep a lookout!<br />
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Jaime Arnold at<a href="http://www.rockstarbooktours.com/"> Rock Star Book Tours</a> is hosting a two-week BRAZEN blog tour right around the publication date, which will include reviews, interviews and exclusive guest posts. More information about participating bloggers will be updated shortly!<br />
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<br />Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-623719330624221332014-04-10T03:00:00.000-07:002014-04-10T03:00:00.918-07:00One Day Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Cambria, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;"><i><span class="dropcap" style="color: black; font: normal normal normal 27px/27px Georgia, Cambria, serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">M</span>ary Howard has always lived in the shadow of her powerful family. But when she's married off to Henry Fitzroy, King Henry VIII's illegitimate son, she rockets into the Tudor court's inner circle. Mary and "Fitz" join a tight clique of rebels who test the boundaries of court's strict rules with their games, dares, and flirtations. The more Mary gets to know Fitz, the harder she falls for him, but is forbidden from seeing him alone. The rules of court were made to be pushed...but pushing them too far means certain death. Is true love worth dying for?</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Cambria, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Want to know more about <a href="http://www.katherinelongshore.com/brazen.php">BRAZEN</a>? I'm giving everyone who comments on this blog special access to what goes on inside Mary's head and between the covers of the book!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Cambria, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Today, for one day only, if you leave a comment--any number between 3 and 512--I will reply with one sentence from that page of the book!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Cambria, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 23px;">One comment per person (so choose your number wisely!), and every comment gets TEN entries. Tweets, Twitter follows and Facebook likes all get one point each. This giveaway is open internationally, but be aware that the giveaway is scheduled for EST and there may be times during the day that I'll be sleeping or otherwise occupied so there may be a delay in my reply!</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Cambria, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 23px;"><br /></span></span><a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f44e985/" id="rc-f44e985" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-26008016303348810662014-04-07T03:00:00.000-07:002014-04-07T03:00:06.826-07:00Get Ready for the One Day Giveaway!This coming Thursday, I'm hosting a one day giveaway right here on the blog! All day long (until midnight EST), you can leave a number between 3 and 512 in the comments section of Thursday's blog post, and I will reply with a single sentence from that page!<br />
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A few facts about BRAZEN:<br />
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It's 512 pages long, but some pages are just locations and/or dates. Choose wisely!<br />
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It's about friendship.<br />
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It's about love.<br />
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It's about following the rules--and defying them.<br />
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All the characters in it actually lived, and many of the major events actually happened.<br />
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There will be kisses and rejections, arguments, laughter, marriage, divorce, beheadings, betrayals and reconciliations.<br />
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It was the hardest book I've ever written. You'll find out why.<br />
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I can't wait to share it with you!<br />
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Find out more on my <a href="http://www.katherinelongshore.com/brazen.php">website</a>.<br />
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<i>Mary Howard has always lived in the shadow of her powerful family. But when she's married off to Henry Fitzroy, King Henry VIII's illegitimate son, she rockets into the Tudor court's inner circle. Mary and "Fitz" join a tight clique of rebels who test the boundaries of court's strict rules with their games, dares, and flirtations. The more Mary gets to know Fitz, the harder she falls for him, but is forbidden from seeing him alone. The rules of court were made to be pushed...but pushing them too far means certain death. Is true love worth dying for?</i>Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-73225116861147594932014-03-28T04:00:00.000-07:002014-03-28T04:00:06.854-07:00BlurbageOne of the more terrifying steps on this publishing journey has been, for me, having other writers read my work. I think most of us want our work to be appreciated--even valued--by our peers, so when any other writer (published or unpublished) writes or tweets me that they like one of my books, I get this special glow that can last for days. But asking someone to read--with a mind to blurb--my books is as much of a cliff jump as querying agents and submitting to editors were. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YyhN5-4k-FI/UzOba5BHPAI/AAAAAAAABBY/5uCwxjD2rDE/s1600/9780545427630_custom-9f5fab1eef7622544eaa03f5a24802f3285766f3-s6-c30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YyhN5-4k-FI/UzOba5BHPAI/AAAAAAAABBY/5uCwxjD2rDE/s1600/9780545427630_custom-9f5fab1eef7622544eaa03f5a24802f3285766f3-s6-c30.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a>I'm not sure why. I am honored--thrilled--to be asked to blurb a book, and I've just been devastated the times I had to refuse for whatever reason. And so far 99.99% of all the authors I've ever met have been enthusiastic, thoughtful, considerate and encouraging. So why am I afraid to reach out to them? <br />
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Because I'm asking them to put their credibility on the line, as well. I'm asking them to put their faith in me, and to put their <i>readers'</i> with in me, too. That's a huge thing to ask. And a privilege to receive.<br />
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So it is with great joy (and even greater gratitude) that I can announce that BRAZEN has received these responses from two of my absolute favorite authors.<br />
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<a href="http://www.donnacooner.com/index.html">Donna Cooner</a>, author of SKINNY and the upcoming CAN'T LOOK AWAY has this to say:<br />
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<i>"Longshore has written an exquisite story of falling in love for the first time amidst the chaos of Henry VIII’s court. BRAZEN will captivate readers with history and heart."</i><br />
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And <a href="http://www.robinlafevers.com/">Robin LaFevers</a>, author of GRAVE MERCY, DARK TRIUMPH and the upcoming MORTAL HEART, said:<br />
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<i>"BRAZEN is historical fiction at its best--crisp and elegantly written while delivering a powerful emotional punch. I adored this book and readers cannot help but be pulled into Mary Howard's world and feel the web of the Tudor court's conflicting loyalties tighten around her as she struggles to have some control over her own life. Her ultimate triumph is palpable and had me cheering in my seat! A must read for fans of historical fiction or anyone who has ever struggled to find the courage to defy others' expectation or society's conventions."</i><br />
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It's enough to make an author swoon. :)<br />
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Stay tuned the week of April 7th for a chance to win an advance reader copy of BRAZEN for yourself!<br />
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Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-8960043327107283222014-03-22T11:15:00.001-07:002014-03-22T11:28:49.037-07:00News and Events and Giveaways, Oh, My!This coming Friday, I'm delighted to be visiting <a href="http://www.bookpassage.com/event/katherine-longshore-manor-secrets-0">Book Passage in Corte Madera</a> to meet with their teen reading group, Must Be 14, to discuss MANOR OF SECRETS. The event will begin at 6 pm, and I've heard rumors there will be tea and scones!<br />
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On Thursday, April 10, I will be doing a special one-day giveaway of an ARC of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18668016-brazen">BRAZEN</a>, just for fun. All day (until midnight EST), you can leave a page number in the comments of the blog, and I will reply with just one sentence from that page. Every comment will count toward the drawing! Looking forward to seeing you there!<br />
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And right now, Penguin is offering <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/77738-brazen">FIVE galleys of BRAZEN</a> to entrants on Goodreads. The giveaway ends April 1.<br />
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Finally, the most fun I've had so far this year was also the rainiest weekend California has seen in a long time. I was invited by the Canyon Hills branch of the <a href="http://library.anaheim.net/Library/">Anaheim Public Library</a> to give a book talk and was utterly blown away by the welcome I received. I got to have dinner with some lovely ladies from the Friends of the Orange County Libraries, a personal tour of <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/founders-park-anaheim">Founder's Park</a> in Anaheim, and an enthusiastic, inquisitive crowd at the book talk. I can't thank all of them enough.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s2zlUfLCHfY/Uy3SpJ_o9ZI/AAAAAAAABAg/INeLxv5SbL0/s1600/Edwardian+Hat+Contest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s2zlUfLCHfY/Uy3SpJ_o9ZI/AAAAAAAABAg/INeLxv5SbL0/s1600/Edwardian+Hat+Contest.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The library hosted an Edwardian<br />
hat contest in honor of<br />
MANOR OF SECRETS.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Pef-d1YNfM/Uy3S6WXHrjI/AAAAAAAABAo/spSFtvfZHGc/s1600/Katy+and+Marge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Pef-d1YNfM/Uy3S6WXHrjI/AAAAAAAABAo/spSFtvfZHGc/s1600/Katy+and+Marge.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
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Many, many thanks to Margaret Cargo for extending the invitation, to Cynthia Hicks, the head librarian at Canyon Hills, the Friends of the Library, and all of the people who ventured out on that cold, wet day!Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-87945369890950679052014-02-06T11:24:00.003-08:002014-02-06T11:24:20.837-08:00Got Valentines?There's still time to make them! Join me, Corrine Jackson and Talia Vance at Books Inc. in San Francisco on Thursday, February 13 for a craft party (and probably talk about boys and kissing).<br />
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Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-37602481680735247482014-01-01T08:39:00.001-08:002014-01-01T08:39:31.893-08:00Happy New Year!Wishing all of you a year full of hope and happiness and lots and lots of good books!<br />
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Thanks to all of you who entered the MANOR OF SECRETS New Year giveaway! Shelley Summers has won the ARC and the books by my fabulous blurbers. I'll be giving away more books as we get closer to the launch of BRAZEN, so stay tuned!Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-31025509761745651132013-12-26T00:00:00.000-08:002013-12-26T00:00:06.495-08:00Happy New Year Giveaway!So how many of you out there are looking forward to 2014? For me, this past year has gone by in a blur, so it comes as a surprise that we are at the end of it. And that there is <i>only a month</i> until MANOR OF SECRETS is out in the world. (for information about the launch party, see <a href="http://katherinelongshore.blogspot.com/2013/12/launch-party.html">here</a>.)<br />
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To celebrate, I'm giving away not only a signed ARC of MANOR OF SECRETS, but also two books by the amazing authors who read it early and provided blushingly enthusiastic blurbs. I'm a keen enthusiast of the 1920's, so of course I had gobbled up both Jillian Larkin's VIXEN and Teri Brown's BORN OF ILLUSION when they were published. I'm delighted to be able to share them with you, too.<br />
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From Goodreads: <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">If you love</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">The Great Gatsby</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">, you'll want to read the Flappers series.</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination.</span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">From Goodreads: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i>From Teri Brown comes a world bursting with magic, with romance, and the temptations of Jazz Age New York—and the story of a girl about to become the mistress of her own destiny.</i></span></div>
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Most writers I know are nervous about their books going out into the world. I worry, especially, when I know my book is being read by someone I respect and admire. Which is why the following blurbs brought tears to my eyes when I read them:<br />
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<i>"There's no secret about it: I loved this book! From its glittering start to its breathtaking finish, Charlotte and Janie are intriguing, wonderful protagonists. Downton Abbey, watch out! Adventure awaits!"</i><br />
—Jillian Larkin, author of The Flappers series<br />
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<i>"Manor of Secrets is a delicious Edwardian novel loaded with exquisite historical detail. Longshore's characters are nuanced, well drawn and enjoyable through and through. A must read!"</i><br />
—Teri Brown, author of Born of Illusion<br />
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They definitely make me look forward to the new year!<br />
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But of course, I'm not just looking forward to my own books coming out next year, I'm looking forward to many, many more, including A MAD, WICKED FOLLY by Sharon Biggs Waller, INTO THE STILL BLUE by Veronica Rossi, THE SOUND OF LETTING GO by Stasia Ward Kehoe, LADY THIEF by A.C. Gaughen...And those are just in the next few weeks!<br />
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So leave a comment below, telling me what books <i>you</i> are most looking forward to in 2014, and enter to win! (open to U.S. and Canada only--sorry International folks! Hopefully the next one!)<br />
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f44e984/" id="rc-f44e984" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>
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Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288503613998562623.post-52756911923463065322013-12-20T13:15:00.001-08:002013-12-21T08:23:25.619-08:00LAUNCH PARTY!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><b>Save the date!</b></span><br />
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I've just confirmed that the MANOR OF SECRETS launch party will be held at the <a href="http://www.avidreaderbooks.com/">Avid Reader</a>, 617 Second Street, Davis, CA 95616 on<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Saturday, January 25 at 3 pm.</span></div>
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That is three days <i>before</i> the actual release date! So if you want an <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">early</span> copy, some cake, a lot of book chat and maybe a reading or two, I'd love to see you there!</div>
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If you have any questions, want to reserve a copy (or even have one sent to you), call the Avid Reader (530)758-4040</div>
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And heck back here on the 26th for a special giveaway!</div>
Katherine Longshorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434375950274553481noreply@blogger.com0