It’s been a busy week at Casa Raybourn and Tuesday’s blog obligation passed me by completely! By way of apology, I offer you an excerpt from TWELFTH NIGHT, the Lady Julia digital novella that pubs THIS WEEKEND. Have you pre-ordered, chickens? Because Brisbane is coming… January 2, 1890 Chapter One   I have very poor…

I have emerged, chickens–my post-conference funk has lifted and I’m busy beavering away at LOTS of things. The RT convention in NOLA was something of a mixed bag. I got to see loads of folks I adore and met some truly lovely readers. The organizational aspects were a little hit or miss, but if the…

I am currently recovering from the RT convention in New Orleans. This post is from the archives. Regular posting resumes Thursday. Enjoy! In the same way that I love armchair travel, I adore books that deal with the reclamation of houses. I am secretly envious of people who move to foreign countries–or even from city…

I am currently in New Orleans for the RT Convention. This post is from the archives. Enjoy!   As I was waiting for my flight to Boston the other day, I started musing on the things I never travel without, my must-have list for leaving home.   *Red lipstick. You can be travel-weary, jet-lagged, dehydrated,…

I’m currently in New Orleans for the RT Convention. This post is from the archives. Enjoy! Here are a few of my favorite warm weather things:   *Watermelon Margaritas. I tweeted about this and got several requests for a recipe. I found it in one of Martha Stewart’s magazines and it’s very simple: bring to…

If you’re a reader/writer who couldn’t make RT this year, Amy Jo Cousins has the BEST idea–RT Bingo! She has created bingo cards for the homebound crowd, and you can play along via Twitter. Just print off your card–or make your own!–and when someone tweets one of the squares with the hashtage #RTbingo, fill in…

A few days ago I was contacted by the lovely folks at RedEnvelope to participate in their Book Moms Mother’s Day project. They’re asking author moms to offer up some snippets of advice in honor of the day, and I was so delighted they invited me. (Have you shopped at RedEnvelope? They have gorgeous gifts–and…

And for writers that means crawling out of our yoga pants and pajamas and peasant skirts to put on more professional attire and sometimes even real shoes. This year at RT–next week! In New Orleans!–I’m keeping things VERY simple but hopefully chic. Superskinny jeans in black or white with a contrasting jacket and simple silk…

Some of y’all may remember the SCRIBBLING WOMEN anthology I participated in earlier this year. Well, there’s a Pubslush campaign running right now to raise money for WIN. Check out the link and you’ll find some great prizes for different support levels. (It’s rather like donating to your local PBS station with gifts for the…

Alright, chickens–I spent my Fridays in April conducting a series of experiments with my author page reach. Each Friday I posted a query and offered an incentive for readers to post comments. The rationale behind this is that FB throttles your page reach. Not every post you make gets in front of every person who…