Book Coaching Blog - Page 25 of 27 - Jamie Morris Writing Coach

Mon Petit Chien

January 16, 2015

ARTIST AND DOG-LOVER JOAN MANSSON, has set up shop on Fine Art America. There, you can view (or purchase) her pencil-and-pastel portraits of pups she has met in her travels. And if you wander over to her blog, Mon Petit Chien, you’ll find adorable stories about the dogs that Joan draws.

Here, just to give you a taste, is the “bio” from Joan’s blog: In a past life, I must have been a dog. I believe my current best dog-buddy, Repeta, a Basset-Lab mix, was once my mistress. At the time, she was an opera star and trapeze artist, named Madame Celeste. I was her apricot Poodle, Jo-Jo, short for Josephine. After each performance, Celeste and I would retire to her dressing room to nibble on bonbons and sip sparkling water. Today, I am Joan Mansson, dog lover, artist, and blogger.

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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The Hourglass Project

January 10, 2015

MY FRIEND JESS HAS JUST LAUNCHED HER OH-SO-THOUGHTFUL HOURGLASS PROJECT. As she says in her introduction: The Hourglass Project is a personal venture to create balance and flexibility in [her] life as well as an increase in overall happiness. With it, Jess hopes to encourage others to make changes in their own lives.

A mental health counselor, Jess knows the importance of balancing nutrition, sleep, and activity. When we nourish our minds and souls as well, we’re able to reach our full potential. With her new site, Jess aims to help others feed their minds, love their bodies, and nourish their souls, ultimately creating a balanced, harmonious life.

What’s not to love? Visit Jess and The Hourglass Project.

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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Center for Women Writers Contest

January 10, 2015

THANKS TO DANIELLE MOROUX FOR LETTING ME AND HER writing Sisterhood know that The Center for Women Writers at Salem College, in Winston Salem, North Carolina, has announced an international literary contest with awards in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry.

The contest deadline has been extended to January 31st, 2015, so click here and take a look-see! Best of luck!

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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Left Field: Elizabeth’s Sims’ Latest in the Lillian Byrd Series!

January 3, 2015

ON JANUARY 1, LEFT FIELD, ELIZABETH SIMS’ LATEST IN THE Lillian Byrd Crime Series, was Amazon’s #1 bestseller in the Gay and Lesbian Mystery category!

Here’s why! Lillian Byrd has been searching her soul after the gut-wrenching experience of killing someone in self-defense. Scrabbling to make ends meet, she takes a job as a quasi detective, solving life’s little mysteries for a pair of eccentric women in one of Detroit’s last prestigious neighborhoods. When she spots a corpse on the next-door lawn, she jumps back into honest work as an investigative journalist.

Raves include this, from an Amazon reader: “The pacing in the book is exquisite . . . I found myself laughing out loud at the antics of Lillian and her pal Lou throughout the book. Brisk, smart writing; insightful social commentary regarding Detroit; lovable characters; and a highly original plot make for a paging-turning read.”

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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New York, New York: Love Your Bookstores!

December 27, 2014

NEW YORK, NEW YORK! BROADWAY? WELL, YES, I SUPPOSE. But, really, isn’t the romance of New York, for writers, at any rate, shoe-horned into the stacks in the city’s independent bookstores? In a series of cartoons titled, “The Endangered Bookstores of New York,” published in THE NEW YORKER in October, Bob Eckstein, writer and illustrator (and snowman expert), celebrates New York’s bookstores in image and text.

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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2015 Short Story Contest

December 16, 2014

AS PART OF THE LAKE COUNTY LIBRARY BOOKFEST 2015, Writers One Flight Up is sponsoring a short story contest. Each of the three, top-placed contestants will win a fifteen-minute interview with both agent Lucienne Diver of the Knight Agency and Random House author Amy Christine Parker.

Stories must be 2500 words or less in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, paranormal, or romantic fantasy. Find more information at the events page of Writers One Flight Up. Deadline for submission is midnight, February 13, 2015.

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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Getting Your Book “Reviewed”

December 9, 2014

SO YOUR BOOK IS FINALLY OUT! YAY, FOR YOU!!! NOW, I BET, you’re seeking reviews to help your hard-won publication make a splash in the marketplace. You may have asked your author pals to review your work on their blogs or Facebook pages, or you may have paid Kirkus to do the job.

But did you know that there are actually several levels and types of book reviews? If all you want for Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/Solstice is a just-right review, take a look at the WHERE WRITERS WIN site’s latest article on the topic, “What is an Editorial Review? And How is It Different from a Review?”

Merry, Happy, Joyous Everything, to you.

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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The Gerbil of Doom!

November 28, 2014

CONGRATULATIONS TO GERRY WOLFSON-GRANDE! Her short story “Lillian McNab and the Gerbil of Doom” and Christmas short, “Gabriel,” have both been included in Fireside Publications’ HOLIDAY TALES ANTHOLOGY 2014, now available in paperbook or e-book from Fireside Publications and from Amazon.

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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Courageous Mourning: How a Writing Coach Helped a Counselor Find Her Tribe

November 21, 2014

A GENTLE, KIND, AND EFFECTIVE COUNSELOR, MELINDA LAUS focuses on helping others work through their grief and loss. Widowed young, herself, she supports her clients through the mourning process with heart and grace.

As she worked on her new website, Courageous Mourning, I was honored to help Melinda create web copy that truly reflects her beautiful voice and the depth of her understanding. And I was so proud to receive this note from her: Jamie, I am so excited to be able to work with you again! You bring out the best in my writing and help me to define and discern my own voice. What a gift you are!

Learn more about Melinda at Courageous Mourning.

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Want to know more about hiring a writing coach? Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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Urban Mythical: The Emma Press Calls for Poetry Submissions

November 15, 2014

THE EMMA PRESS, WHOSE CHARMING SUBTITLE IS “SMALL PRESS, BIG DREAMS,” seeks submissions of poems about “urban myths and legends,” for a new anthology inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Poets are encouraged to send in poems which tell new stories and include some kind of transformation, as a nod to the original text.

Publisher Emma Wright says, “The Metamorphoses is often considered Ovid’s masterpiece. The requirements are quite exacting, but I think poets like a challenge and will hopefully come up with some brilliant stories.”

The deadline for submissions is December 31st. To submit, you must be a member of the Emma Press Club, which involves buying a book, ebook, or set of postcards from the publisher’s website. Find full submissions guidelines at the Submissions page.

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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