Songster and Wordsmith

In this edition... Interview, review, and giveaway for Little Red Gem, Girls With Books: Author Spotlight/Interview: D L Richardson : Author Bio.:  Music first captured the creative interest of young adult author D L Richardson. From choir, to her first acoustic guitar a... ABOUT THE AUTHOR D L Richardson is the author of speculative fiction. She has three teen novels and one short story anthology published. Her first novel reached number 2 at OmniLit and number 38 at Kobo Books. Her second reached number 1 at OmniLit. Little Red Gem is her third novel and recently won 2 nd place Best Books of 2013 Paranormal Cravings. She lives in Australia on the NSW south coast with her husband and dog. Contact information Email                    dlrichardsonbooks@bigpond.com   Blog           www. dlrichardsonwrites.blogspot.com Website            www. dlrichardson.com Facebook      http://goo.gl/560JXl   Twitter                 www. twitter.com/#!/DLRichardson1

When I edit an novel, I do about 6 to 8 edits, each focusing one one particular area. The main areas I work on are: dialogue, descriptions, showing not telling, taboo words, chapter beginnings and endings, and backstory. It's important to edit this way so you don't get swept up in the reading. Much of what we read is skimmed over. When we edit, we shouldn't skim over anything!   Here’s are some tips on how I go about editing dialogue: Conversation Are you paraphrasing what could be said? Dialogue is important, especially in YA fiction. If there is a conversation between characters, it is preferred that this be told through dialogue instead of paraphrasing. Watch for lengthy prose that can be broken up with dialogue. And the opposite is true. Watch for too much dialogue that can be broken up with prose. Informal Contractions/Catch phrases/Slang/Jargon/Accents/Native tongue Is the dialogue natural? People say ‘cause, instead of because. T

Friends, Writing is as much as about connection and promotion as it is about writing. Writers are followers of other writers, and sometimes this "followship" is for support, other times it is to keep up with promotional and writing tips and tricks. Brinda Berry  writes YA paranormal romance and when she provided a connection on her blog about where to submit a book trailer for a romance novel I said to myself "great". Then I said to myself "hang on, I don't have a romance novel to promote." Never mind. I stored that little nugget of information into my diary because I knew I was planning on writing a YA paranormal romance very soon.  D L's writing tip #1 Keep a notebook or diary or file on your computer to store bits of information that you think you might need in the future. It is time consuming, if not impossible, to track this information down later. Writers often have many ideas floating around inside their head, so you can create a fo

In today's edition... How a sprained wrist inspired this author guest post. Is it just me, or is it getting too unbelievable that characters can walk on broken legs? Read the full post here. Spellbindings: Rebecca Ryals Russell: Little Red Gem YA Paranormal Romance : Love can make you do crazy things as Ruby Parker discovers when she dies and returns from the grave to unearth how much Leo ... ABOUT THE AUTHOR D L Richardson is the author of speculative fiction. She has three teen novels and one short story anthology published. Her first novel reached number 2 at OmniLit and number 38 at Kobo Books. Her second reached number 1 at OmniLit. Little Red Gem is her third novel and recently won 2 nd place Best Books of 2013 Paranormal Cravings. She lives in Australia on the NSW south coast with her husband and dog. Contact information Email                    dlrichardsonbooks@bigpond.com   Blog           www. dlrichardsonwrites.blogspot.com Website            www

In today's edition... Christmas is fast approaching. It's time to start compiling a list of books you want from Santa.  Here's a tip! Consistently good reviews make for consistently good reading. So here's one good YA title to add to your list. Feedback gets reviewed on Sher A Hart blog. 3 out of 5 stars. Follow the link to read the full review. Sher A Hart: Written Art : Feedback Review : Feedback by D.L. Richardson Ethan James, Florida Bowman, and Jake Inala are three teenagers who receive much-needed org... ABOUT THE AUTHOR D L Richardson is the author of speculative fiction. She has three teen novels and one short story anthology published. Her first novel reached number 2 at OmniLit and number 38 at Kobo Books. Her second reached number 1 at OmniLit. Little Red Gem is her third novel and recently won 2 nd place Best Books of 2013 Paranormal Cravings. She lives in Australia on the NSW south coast with her husband and dog. Contact informati

A_TiffyFit's Reading Corner: {Book Review} LITTLE RED GEM by D.L. Richardson : Title: Little Red Gem Author: D L Richardson Publisher: D L Richardson Number of pages: 196 eBook | 250 print Cove... ABOUT THE AUTHOR D L Richardson is the author of speculative fiction. She has three teen novels and one short story anthology published. Her first novel reached number 2 at OmniLit and number 38 at Kobo Books. Her second reached number 1 at OmniLit. Little Red Gem is her third novel and recently won 2 nd place Best Books of 2013 Paranormal Cravings. She lives in Australia on the NSW south coast with her husband and dog. Contact information Email                    dlrichardsonbooks@bigpond.com   Blog           www. dlrichardsonwrites.blogspot.com Website            www. dlrichardson.com Facebook      http://goo.gl/560JXl   Twitter                 www. twitter.com/#!/DLRichardson1

It's 9pm and the family is gathered around the dining table. We're here to celebrate an 83rd birthday and we've just had a feast of seafood. We've caught up on what's been happening in our lives. They all know I'm a writer but I try to avoid talking about my books because I'm deathly afraid of becoming one of those people who stand out front of supermarkets and won't let you pass by until they've told you what they have to sell you. The conversation leads to talk of books anyway. Don't you just love it when you have a table full of people who enjoy reading. This is how we ended up having an informal book club meeting. These are sort of like the minutes. The conversation started with Game of Thrones. Lots of good recommendations to read the books. I haven't read them yet, but I've seen the first series. Books are always better so I'll add these to my list. The greatest tip I got about this series was - don't fall in love with

Review by Geekory Do - Little Red Gem  is a nice little read with plenty of interesting characters, teenage blundering, and in the end, some solid life tips - particularly for young women. The tone is overall light (maybe a  little  somber) despite the dramatic theme, so it won't be too heavy for younger readers. GeekeryDo: Book Review: 'Little Red Gem' by DL Richardson : [ Thanks for stopping by for my stop on the Little Red Gem blog tour! This book review is also joined by an interview with the author! B...

Writers should be reading many different genres. Much like we can't really live on bread alone - as delicious as bread is our bodies do need other nutrients, and our brains need other nutrients too. Besides, reading othe genres expands our characters and settings and makes us better writers. As a reader, I purposely choose to read a book that is different to the last. As a writer, I purposely choose to read a book that is different to the last Here is a list of books I've read so far this year. The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan (currently reading) Robocalypse- Daniel H Wilson The Husband - Dean Koontz The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins Mockinjay - Suzanne Collins Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson (partway through) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larrson The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larrson ABBA The Name Of The Game - Andrew Oldman, Tony Calder, &Colin Irwin (non fiction) The Mystery Of Mercy Close - Marian K

I'm starting to think my books are curses. I fell over today and sprained my left wrist. My character Ruby breaks her left wrist. Coincidence? I don't believe in them. Anyway, here's a review to check out. GeekeryDo: Book Review: 'Little Red Gem' by DL Richardson : [ Thanks for stopping by for my stop on the Little Red Gem blog tour! This book review is also joined by an interview with the author! B... ABOUT THE AUTHOR D L Richardson is the author of speculative fiction. She has three teen novels and one short story anthology published. Her first novel reached number 2 at OmniLit and number 38 at Kobo Books. Her second reached number 1 at OmniLit. Little Red Gem is her third novel and recently won 2 nd place Best Books of 2013 Paranormal Cravings. She lives in Australia on the NSW south coast with her husband and dog. Contact information Email                    dlrichardsonbooks@bigpond.com   Blog           www. dlrichardsonwrites.blogspot

Movie makers and actors aren't the only ones who get to reveal what happens behind the scenes. Sometimes book blurbs provide only the back story and the book picks up where the blurb left off, so a reader would never know more than what is contained within the pages. There are so many behind the scenes books available, it's a wonder why things are left out of books and movies. But only so much can go into the final product. It's obvious then that what isn't included in a book is often as interesting as what is. Here I take a look at five things that aren't featured or explained or included in Little Red Gem . Welcome to this behind the scenes look at  Little Red Gem 1. What happened to Audrey while she was trapped in limbo. Audrey never tells Ruby what happened while she was trapped in limbo while Ruby took over her astral projection. And because it wasn't relevant to the story, the conversation between Ruby and Audrey while walking from the h

Looking for love? Don't like dating agencies or night clubs? How about a love spell like the one that features in Little Red Gem? This spell is under the spotlight today at The Cover Contessa. Read all about it here.  The Cover Contessa: Book Promo: Little Red Gem by D.L. Richardson :          ABOUT THE AUTHOR D L Richardson is the author of speculative fiction. She has three teen novels and one short story anthology published. Her first novel reached number 2 at OmniLit and number 38 at Kobo Books. Her second reached number 1 at OmniLit. Little Red Gem is her third novel and recently won 2 nd place Best Books of 2013 Paranormal Cravings. She lives in Australia on the NSW south coast with her husband and dog. Contact information Email                    dlrichardsonbooks@bigpond.com   Blog           www. dlrichardsonwrites.blogspot.com Website            www. dlrichardson.com Facebook      http://goo.gl/560JXl   Twitter                 www. twitt