Month: February 2013

Some of you may remember my friend and fellow author Tammy Salyer. I interviewed Tammy last year about her debut novel, CONTRACT OF DEFIANCE, Book 1 of the Spectras Arise series (which also won the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Colorado Gold Writing contest in 2010). I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of the second Spectras Arise novel, CONTRACT OF BETRAYAL, which continues the adventures of kick-ass heroine Aly Erikson,  space Corps deserter turned smuggler, whose search for her kidnapped brother turned into an unexpected (and unwanted) mission into the heart of Corps territory. CONTRACT OF BETRAYAL was originally scheduled for

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Today we welcome Dana Bate, whose debut novel THE GIRLS’ GUIDE TO LOVE AND SUPPER CLUBS would make a great Valentine’s gift for … you! (Or, if you’re in a giving mood, for anyone who loves humor, food, and a great fun read.) Dana Bate is a writer and former Washington producer and reporter for PBS’s Nightly Business Report, where she won the Gerald Loeb Award for a series she produced on the Indian economy. She studied molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University as an undergraduate and received her master’s degree from Northwestern’s Medill School

Welcome back to the continuing Wednesday series on negotiation. Today we’re taking a look at another important negotiating tactic: learning how to listen. Many people “listen” to someone else talk without actually listening. They spend the time preparing what they intend to say when the other person finishes speaking. It’s an important distinction because we don’t absorb what someone else is saying when we’re focused mostly on our own response. So, how do we break this habit? In three steps: 1. Practice listening. When talking with other people, focus on their words. If you find yourself thinking about your response,

Some weeks, the tank reminds me that nature, too, has a sense of humor. I thought I’d share few of the recent smile-inducing moments: The little female seahorse, Ceti, likes to hitch to a powerhead outflow near the top of the tank. Cygnus tried to copy her, only to learn that an eight-inch seahorse can’t quite fit in a four-inch space: (He spent ten minutes repeating this “slip and fail” until he finally gave up and hitched elsewhere – at which point the female immediately hitched on this very spot.)   Emperor Maximus Angryfish continued his perpetual disapproval of all

No clue how this month got so far advanced without me noticing, but I’m going with “deadlines can be distracting.” There’s still time to celebrate February’s observances, though – so with no further ado, I’ll remind you that February is: Bake for family fun month (and in some cases, fun for the fire department too!) Pull your sofa off the wall month (one might ask why you duct-taped it there in the first place, but I digress…) Sweet Potato Month (badly behaved potatoes need not apply) Expect Success Month (no joke here…this one I’m actually fond of) and, last but

Please welcome Mary Burns, author of the new historical novel PORTRAITS OF AN ARTIST (Sand Hill Review Press, February 2013) Mary F. Burns writes historical novels, is a member of and book reviewer for the Historical Novel Society and a member of the HNS Conference 2013 board of directors. Her debut historical novel J-The Woman Who Wrote the Bible was published in July 2010 by O-Books (John Hunt Publishers, UK). Ms. Burns was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb where she earned a BA and MA in English; she also has a law degree from

Welcome back to our continuing Wednesday series on negotiations. Today we’re looking at one of my mother’s favorite sayings: “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” The phrase means exactly what it sounds like, and it applies not only to negotiation but to every part of an author’s career. Whether you’re just starting out or have “New York Times Bestselling Author” forever in front of your name, you’ll get farther in life if you treat other people with kindness. Negotiation is no different. After preparing your list of terms to negotiate, spend some time thinking about most polite

Thank you to everyone who entered last week’s blog and Facebook contests for a copy of Kerry Schafer’s fantastic new fantasy novel, BETWEEN. Kerry and I appreciate your support. I’ve done random number drawings from the comments and Likes, and here are the winners! The winner of the blog contest is Comment #6: Candie Campbell (8:13pm). The winner of the Facebook “Like” contest is Shannon Baker. Congratulations to the winners  – if you’ll contact me by email (SusanLSpann (at) gmail (dot) com) or via a Facebook message, and give me your addresses, I’ll send your copies of BETWEEN ASAP! I

Please help me welcome Kerry Schafer, author of the recently-released fantasy novel BETWEEN (Ace, January 2013). Kerry Schafer lives in Colville, Washington, with her family, which includes two cats, a rescue fish, and a preternaturally large black dog. A self-styled perpetual student, she earned an RN from Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta; a BA in English (Honours) from York University in Toronto, Ontario; and an M.Ed. in counseling psychology from Washington State University. I met Kerry through the Debutante Ball, where she and I are members of the “Class of 2013.” We share a number of quirks, including a