Birthdays: Michel de Montaigne (1533), Marcel Pagnol (1895), John Tenniel (1820), Stephen Spender (1909), Walter Tevis (1928), Steve Martini (1946), Megan McDonald (1959), Colum McCann (1965), Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) (1970),
Quote: “There are many, many types of books in the world, which makes good sense, because there are many, many types of people, and everybody wants to read something different.” – Lemony Snicket
Tip: In the best stories, the main character has to not only overcome the external problem, but internal ones as well. She should change as a person—grow and become better. What conflicts does your character face?
Jumpstart: Make a list of places you would like to visit. Now do the research. Besides money, what would you need to go there? Why do you want to visit them? If you can’t go, how much can you find out about them through research? Put your main character there, or have her dreaming about it.
Birthdays: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807), Laura E. Richards (1850), Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. (1888), John Steinbeck (1902), James T. Farrell (1904), Peter De Vries (1910), Lawrence Durrell (1912), Irwin Shaw (1913), N. Scott Momaday (1934), Ralph Nader (1934), Uri Shulevitz (1935), Ken Grimwood (1944), Alexandra Bracken (1987),
Laura Richards won the Pulitzer for a biography of her mother Julia Ward Howe
John Steinbeck won both the Pulitzer for Fiction and 1962 Nobel for Literature
N. Scott Momaday won the 1969 Pulitzer for Fiction for “House Made of Dawn”
Uri Shulevitz won the 1969 Caldecott Medal for “The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship”
Quote: “Write what you want to read and don’t even THINK about trying to be published until after you’ve produced something you love and believe in. Easier said than done, but when you genuinely love something it comes through in your writing.” – Alexandra Bracken
Tip: Writing is not supposed to be torture. Yes, there are days when it’s difficult, but if you are dreading it, then you may be writing the wrong thing. Try changing your point of view and try to have fun with it.
Jumpstart: Watch TV without the sound on, using closed captioning. Do you feel like you’ve missed anything? Then turn the sound on but turn away from it so you don’t see it. Again, your feelings? (Note, for those who are hearing or visually impaired, try doing something that tests a different sense)
Birthdays: Christopher Marlowe (1564), Victor Hugo (1802), Fanny Craddock (1909), Theodore Sturgeon (1918), Christopher Hope (1944), Sharyn McCrumb (1948), Elizabeth George (1949), Michel Houellebecq (1956), Atiq Rahimi (1962)
Victor Hugo is best known for his books “Les Miserables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”
Quote: “Essentially and most simply put, plot is what the characters do to deal with the situation they are in. It is a logical sequence of events that grow from an initial incident that alters the status quo of the characters.” – Elizabeth George
Tip: Don’t be your own worst enemy. Forget about “But first…” syndrome (I want to do this, but first I need to…). The mind can find five hundred different excuses that stop you from writing. Tell it to shut up and let you get to work.
Jumpstart: This is national Tell a Fairy Tale Day. What’s your favorite fairy tale? Why? What makes it so memorable? Write a character who could fit into the story and rewrite it with that character.
Birthdays: Perry Miller (1905), Anthony Burgess (1917), John Lanchester (1962), Peg Bracken (1918), Sister Wendy Beckett (1930), Cynthia Voigt (1942), John Saul (1942), Amin Maalouf (1949), Jack Handey (1949),
Perry Miller won the Pulitzer Prize for History. Margaret Atwood dedicated her book “The Handmaid’s Tale” to her.
Anthony Burgess is best known for his book “A Clockwork Orange”
Sister Wendy Beckett wrote “The Story of Painting” and is well known for her TV series on art
Cynthia Voight won the 1983 Newbery Medal for “Dicey’s Song”
Quote: “Every idea is my last. I feel sure of it. So, I try to do the best with each as it comes and that’s where my responsibility ends. But I just don’t wait for ideas. I look for them. Constantly. And if I don’t use the ideas that I find, they’re going to quit showing up.” Peg Bracken
Tip: How badly do you want to be a writer? If you want to be one, you have to make writing a priority. What are you willing to give up to be a writer?
Jumpstart: What happened on the day you were born? What is the history of that particular day? Write a scene from that day.
Birthdays: Wilheim Carl Grimm (1786), George More (1852), Etel Adnan (1925), Kent Haruf (1943), Lesley Pearse (1945), Jane Hirshfield (1953), Gillian Flynn (1971), Rainbow Rowell (1973)
Quote: “Read all the time and keep writing. There are a million talented writers out there who are unpublished only because they stop writing when it gets hard. Don’t do that— keep writing.” – Gillian Flynn
Tip: Be consistent. If your character has green eyes in chapter one, make sure they’re not blue in chapter ten (or give a very good and plausible reason for the change). Also note hair color, car, home, names.
Jumpstart: Imagine you’re an elf. What kind are you? Are you the tall willowy kind as in Lord of the Rings? Or small and pixie-like? Do you have magical powers? What are they? Are you kind? Or nasty? Where do you live?
Blurb: He’s the broody brother in the family whose temper can go from zero to death row in a heartbeat. She’s the sexy television producer who stops him in his tracks. Are these two opposites nothing more than a one night stand? He didn’t mean to give Elyse pleasure during the important studio party. Because they could never be anything more than friends, right? And even though she was drop-dead gorgeous and flaunted her sexy-as-sin charm, he should’ve kept his hands to himself and looked the other way. Until he walked into that party and his gaze landed on her barely-there dress. At that moment he never wanted anything so badly in his entire life. He’s worked hard to protect his family and call his life his own, but when they become trapped together during a freak snowstorm, all bets are off. She’s made it clear she’s a city girl, and not interested in settling down in a small town like Langston Falls. But watching her on the farm, he starts to see another side of her that has him wishing she’d reconsider. Will the bond they share be enough to overcome a long distance relationship? Or will his chance at happily ever after explode, leaving him angry and alone?
Author’s Note: A steamy standalone romance about two opposites who can’t keep their hands to themselves. One-click if you love a broody small town hero who’s ready to put down roots, and an independent heroine who won’t be tied down. Sexy Add-ons include: Insta-lust that turns into so much more, a mountain blizzard trapping them together, public displays of desire, decimated turtlenecks. This love story comes with a guaranteed Happily Ever After.
Fall in love at Bennett Farms, where majestic mountains, family loyalty, and true love come together in the charming small town of Langston Falls. Filled with heat, healing, and heart—and always a happily ever after—these steamy stories are perfect for lovers of small town romance!
Dubbed, “The Singing Author,” KG Fletcher lives in her very own frat house in Atlanta, GA with her husband Ladd and three sons.
As a singer/songwriter she became a recipient of the “Airplay International Award” for “Best New Artist” showcasing original songs at The Bluebird Café in Nashville, TN. She earned her BFA in theater at Valdosta State University, and has traveled the world professionally as a singer/actress.
KG currently gets to play rock star as a backup singer in the National Tour, “Remember When Rock Was Young – the Elton John Tribute,” www.almosteltonjohn.com She is also a summer artist-in-residence at her alma mater performing roles in musicals for the Peach State Summer Theatre program, her favorite roles to date being Donna in Mamma Mia!, and Marmee in Little Women the Musical. During lockdown and all through the pandemic, KG got creative using a bedroom closet and used her BFA to full advantage narrating and producing the first four books in her Reigning Hearts Series. (Now available on Audible.) She plans on narrating and producing ALL of her stories!
KG is a hopeless romantic. When she’s not on the road singing, she’s probably at home day dreaming about her swoony book boyfriends, or arranging a yummy charcuterie board while sipping red wine and listening to Frank Sinatra.
KG loves to interact with readers on social media and share about her writing and singing journey. She is also a two-time Maggie Award Finalist. For more info about tour dates (and FREE concert tickets), go to www.kgfletcherauthor.com/contact.html
Birthdays: James R. Lowell (1819), Christian Nestell Bovee (1820), Charles M. Andrews (1863), Hugo Ball (1886), Duff Cooper (1890), Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892), Sean O’Faolain (1900), Morley Callaghan (1903), Edward Gorey (1925), Joanna Russ (1937), Ishmael Reed (1938), Gerald Stern (1945), Richard North Patterson (1947)
Charles McLean Andres won the 1935 Pulitzer Prize for History for “The Colonial Background of the American Revolution”
Edna St. Vincent Millay won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Gerald Stern won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer for Poetry
Quote: “No one says a novel has to be one thing. It can be anything it wants to be, a vaudeville show, the six o’clock news, the mumblings of wild men saddled by demons.” – Ishmael Reed
Tip: Some evening, light a single candle and turn off all other lights. How are your surroundings different? Imagine this is all you have for lighting. What would be different for you? This is especially helpful for historical or fantasy novels.
Jumpstart: She wasn’t always afraid of the dark… (use: suitcase, yarn, clock)
I did it! Thanks to a recent intense writing retreat weekend. I beat the 30K for the New Jersey February Writing Month and passed the 50K mark on my current WIP – the fourth book in my Galactic Danger series. I still have 15K to go, but the end is finally in sight.
Birthdays: Andre Breton (1896), Kay Boyle (1902), Louis Slobodkin (1903), Maurice O’Sullivan (1904), Carson McCullers (1917), Ross Thomas (1926), Terry Carr (1937), Homer Hickman (1943), Patricia O’Conner (1949), Amy Tan (1952), Siri Hustvedt (1955), Helen Fielding (1958), Laurell K. Hamilton (1963), Jonathan Lethern (1964), Jeff Kinney (1971), Marissa Meyer (1984),
Quote: “It’s a very daunting thing to think you’re going to sit down and write a whole book out of thin air, but you have to work, even when you’re not inspired.” – Laurell K. Hamilton
Tip: Your best characters will rise from personal experience. Dredge up everything bad – or good – that ever happened to you and let your characters experience it.
Jumpstart: Write a scene using: I found out something about my grandfather, whom I adored until then. Or: How could my grandmother…?
Birthdays: Jean Jules Jusserand (1855), Nikos Kazantzakis (1883), Wallace Stegner (1909), Jack Gilbert (1925), A.R. Ammons (1926), Len Deighton (1929), Toni Morrison (1931), Audre Lorde (1934), Janette Oke (1935), Jean M Auel (1936), Pure Leith (1940), Lisa See (1955), George Pelecanos (1957), Douglas Rushkoff (1961), Frances Osborne (1969),
Jean Jusserand was the first winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1917.
Nikos Kazantzakis is best known for his novel “Zorba the Greek”
Wallace Stegner won the 1972 Pulitzer for Fiction for “Angle of Repose”
Jack Gilbert was a 2013 finalist for the Pulitzer for Poetry
A.R. Ammons won the Nat’l Book Award in Poetry in 1973 and 1993.
Toni Morrison won both the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize
Quote: “The best writing advice anyone has ever given me was to get a first draft down and then edit and re edit afterwards, and then re edit again, and again…” – Frances Osborne
Tip: Re-read one of your stories. Highlight adjectives that merely label or explain and replace them with descriptive nouns that evoke concrete sensory qualities.
Jumpstart: How might your main character react to his or her reflection in a warped mirror or window? Why?
Sparkling Book Reviews 