Wednesday, March 10, 2010

BLOGS & WEBSITES FOR WRITERS: Author Groups

By Maria Ferrer


I am always on the look out for additions to my Directory of Blogs & Websites for Writers.

This month, I am looking at sites by Author Groups. These are groups of authors who have joined together to blog. One started as a critique group, another is chapter, a couple of others revolve around a specific genre, but all are informative and worth visiting.

TIP:   When you look at these blogs and websites, don’t just look at them for the information value. Look at them as promotional opportunities. You can Guest Blog at many of these sites. Check to see which one is best for you.



DIRECTORY OF BLOGS & WEBSITES FOR WRITERS


RWANYC Blogging in the Big Apple
“In the Heart of the Romance Industry”
www.rwanycblogginginthebigapple.blogspot.com/

A blog by the members of the Romance Writers of America New York City Chapter (aka RWANYC). Member bloggers have included President Karen Cino, Thea Devine, Cathy Greenfeder, Jeanine McAdam, Dee Davis, Polly Guerin, Wendy Corsi Staub, Isabo Kelly and Mary Miller-Lamb. Blog posts appear every Monday, Wednesday and Friday by published and unpublished members. Posts include Blog & Websites for Writers; Bits & Pieces (a twist on author profiles); Fashion History Friday; How-to Write articles; and Dreaded Author Questions. You can follow RWANYC on Facebook and Twitter, as well.


The Craftie Ladies of Suspense
“Christian Romance Authors of Fictionalized Tales of Intriguing Edginess”
http://ladiesofsuspense.blogspot.com/

This blog belongs to 15 Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense authors, including Pamela Tracy, Terri Reed, Cara Putnam, Debby Giusti, Roxanne Rustand, Margaret Daley, Lynette Eason, Linda Hall, Lenora Worth, Barbara Phinney, LeAnn Harris, Ramona Richards, Carol Steward, Dana Mentink, and Lisa Mondello. They welcome other Love Inspired Suspense authors. For February, these Craftie Ladies did a 14-day serial novel entitled, KILLER CHOCOLATE, A Valentine’s Mystery. These Ladies also have a sister blog for the Steeple Hill romance writers: The Craftie Ladies of Romance.


The Craftie Ladies of Romance
“Christian Romance Authors of Faith-based Tales of Inspiring Everafters”
http://craftieladiesofromance.blogspot.com/

All these Ladies are authors from the Steeple Hill Love Inspired line, like Lisa Mondello, Kim Watters, Allie Plieter and Roxanne Rustand. The site promotes the books, the ladies, and the craft.


The Goddess Blog
http://thegoddessblogs.com/

Fun blog by 10 romance authors, including Rachel Gibson, Claudia Dain, Julia London, Karen Hawkins Lori Handeland, Karen Rose, Sabrina Jeffries, Suzanne Enoch, Nicole Jordan and Madeline Hunter. The site features posts on writing and new books. They allow for “guest goddess bloggers.” And they have cute quirky polls. For example, what would your goddess do for chocolate? Answer: 30% of the goddesses would walk through fire, if the chocolate didn’t melt, of course. They are on Facebook and Twitter.


A History of Romance
“Passion, Adventure, Romance…and Blogs”
http://ahistoryofromance.wordpress.com/

This is the blog of Brenda Dyer, April Dawn, Sheila Stewart, Michael Matthes Bingamon, Abbey MacInnis, Tabitha Blake, G. Jillian Stone, Karenna Colcroft, Ruth Seitelman, Dominique Eastwick and Ava Delany. They blog about writing historicals, research, etc. They feature a “Monday Madness” with guest bloggers. They have reviewers available, and offer advertising opportunities via banners and author spotlights.


Hoydens and Firebrands
“Roaring Ladies Who Write About the Seventeenth Century”
http://hoydensandfirebrands.blogspot.com/

A great informative historical resource. It’s the blog of authors Alison Stuart, Anita Davison, Kim Murphy, Mary Sharratt and Sandra Gulland. They have a “Blogroll” of other great historical blogs, and feature historical portraits. They have posts on different battles, archeology, funeral practices, castles, swords, and my favorite, bathing.


Lady Scribes
“Shhh, I’m Writing Romance”
http://ladyscribes.blogspot.com/

This group of historical romance authors came together initially as a critique group, and launched their blog in January 2010. The Ladies include Jerrica Knight-Catania, Amy De Tempe, Lydia Dare, Heather Boyd, Gail, Julie Johnstone, Melissa Dawn Harte and Samantha Grace. Their posts focus on writing historical romances, including Regencies. One of their best features is Crit Friday. Once a month, they post a topic (i.e., first kiss, first meeting, first paragraph, etc.) and invite their readers to post their work for the Ladies to critique.  They promise to be "gentle and constructive." This online critique is a great resource tool. Follow the Ladies on Facebook and Twitter.


The Lipstick Chronicles
“Just keep reading and nobody gets hurt”
http://thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com/

A blog by mystery writers Nancy Martin, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Elaine Vlets, Sarah Strohmeyer, Kathy Sweeney, Harley Jane Kozak and Margie Mancini. The site has lots of great tips for mystery writers, and a long list of other mystery blogs. You can follow them on Twitter.


Petticoats and Pistols
“Romancing the West”
http://petticoatsandpistols.com/

The “fillies” include Pat Potter, Linda Broday, Winnie Griggs, Tanya Hanson, Karen Kay, Margaret Brownley, Victoria Bylin, Stacey Kayne, Pam Crooks, Tracy Garrett, Cheryl St. John, Elizabeth Lane and Mary Connealy. They have lots of historical posts; most recent ones have included the Johnstown flood, Indian dress, the McGuffey Reader and mail-order brides. Note: they have a guest author every weekend so stop by and check them out.  And, you can follow them on Twitter.


Plot Monkeys
http://www.plotmonkeys.com/

This is the website of Carly Phillips, Leslie Kelly, Janelle Denison and Julie Leto. They are “friends, plotting partners, friends, mothers, friends ... well you get the gist.” The ladies post daily about anything and everything. They have a Saturday Craft Series with guest author-bloggers.


Pop Culture Divas
“Writers dishing about books, TV, movies, music and more…”
http://www.popculturedivas.com/

This group began with another blog called missmakeamovie, but moved to Pop Culture Divas in 2009. The Divas are numerous, including Leanna Renee Hieber, Laurie Sanchez, CJ Lyons, Cate Masters and Kayla Perrin. And these ladies do blog about their writing, pirates, movies and Fabio. Remember him?


Romance Bandits
http://romancebandits.blogspot.com/

These “Bandits” write all kinds of romance – historical, contemporary, suspense, category. They have a long list of contributors, including authors Suzanne Welsh, Loucinda McGary, Trish Milburn, Cassandra Murray and Joan Kayse. They post about creativity, heroes, book covers, booty, etc. They also feature guest bloggers.


Seekerville
“The Seekers. Escape from Unpubbed Island…writing, contests, publication and everything in between.”
http://seekerville.blogspot.com/

This is the blog of 15 unpublished and newly published Christian writers, including Camy Tang, Audra Harders, Janet Dean and Missy Tippens. They offer “support, encouragement and information for the writing journey.” They have daily posts and a weekend edition. They have lots of great writing info, and they are on Twitter.


Sizzling Scribes
“Enter our world…See the Difference”
http://www.sizzlingscribes.blogspot.com/

Fantasy authors have united to form this blog. They include Tara Nina, Titania Ladley, Arianna Hart, Diana Hunter, Lynn LaFleur, Cait Miller, Nikki Soarde, Trelle St. Clare, Ruby Storm and Cynthia Williams. These authors have been blogging about fantasy since 2007.


The Whine Sisters
“Rise and Whine”
http://whinesisters.com/

Founded in 2004 by seven “whiny writers” – their tag line, not mine. They include Dee Davis, Jacquie D’Alessandro, Julia London, Kathleen O’Reilly, the late Kathleen Givens, Sherri Browning Erwin and Julie Kenner. They talk about writing, life, the Oscars, et al. Some of their features include a Writer’s Corner, Fashion Friday and Question of the Week. You can follow them on Twitter.


Women of Mystery
http://www.womenofmystery.net/

These ladies “share the trek, travail and tangles of writing and publishing, along with the magic of language and story.” They are Laura k. Curtis, Nan Higginson, Clare2e, Terrie Farley Moran, Elaine Will Sparber, Cathi Stoler, Gail Stockton, Kathleen A. Ryan and Lois Karlin. They offer lists of resources like medline and the graveyard shift; plus, links to Writers Beware and various writing organizations. And, they feature a Two-Sentence Tuesday, where anyone can post two sentences they’ve read and two sentences they’ve written for commentary. ♥



Maria Ferrer has been published in short fiction, but that was years ago. She hopes to add to her writing credits in the New Year. Keep your fingers crossed for her.  As always, please leave a comment and let her know of any other blogs and websites for writers that you think belong in this directory.

22 comments:

  1. Maria, this is great! Lots of great new blogs to check out!

    If I may, I would love to clarify crit Friday at Lady Scribes...we actually accept submissions from our *readers* for critique. Once a month, we post what the "topic" will be for that month's Crit Friday (first kiss, first meeting, first paragraph, etc...) and then you get feedback from all of us. I promise we're gentle and very constructive, so I hope we'll get lots more participants!

    -Jerrica :)

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  2. Thank you for the clarification, Jerrica. I have made the change so as not to confuse future readers. ---Maria

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  3. What a great list. I'll be sure to check out all these blogs. And thank you for including our blog, the Lady Scribes, on your list.

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  4. Maria,

    A veritable bonanza of info. Thanks so much for gathering these fabulous blogs and websites.

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  5. Hi, there. I'm on Seekerville and Petticoats & Pistols. We have waaaaaaaaaay too much fun over there. Thanks for mentioning us.

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  6. Another Seekerville resident chiming in. Thanks for including us! And did we mention we are always serving up the most deeee-licious cyber-buffet?

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  7. Marie!!!

    Dudette, seriously, you rock. I'm a Seeker, one of the gals from Seekerville and this is a lovely shout out!

    AND... I'M THE ONLY SEEKER TOTALLY UNAFRAID AND EXPERIENCED IN THE BIG APPLE...

    Yup. I've bought nuts in Battery Park, tramped Fifth Avenue and I've even (almost) gotten myself to NOT LOOK UP...

    Such a tourist think in New York. Sigh...

    :)

    Thanks again, Marie. And hey, I'm sending up prayers for you. Keep writing... Keep trying... And toss that work into some cool contests, get some regional feedback. Never a bad thing!

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  8. Thank you for including A History of Romance. I always appreciate those who spread the blogging fun.
    April

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  9. Thanks for the Petticoats and Pistols mention! We host a guest author every weekend, so any western/cowboy authors out there, check us out!

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  10. Thank you for including Women of Mystery. I look forward to visiting the other blogs on this post.
    I'm going to tweet this - it's a great list you have assembled.
    Thanks!

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  11. Thank you for including Petticoats and Pistols. If you love Western history and heavy doses of cowboys, this is the place for you. We have tons of fun and love visitors to "Wild Flower Junction."

    Thanks again,
    ~Tanya Hanson
    www.tanyahanson.com

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  12. Thanks for mentioning Seekerville and the Craftie Ladies. And thanks for all the other great sites! Lots of them are new to me, and I can't wait to visit.

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  13. Thanks for the shout out for Seekerville. Great to be mentioned with such awesome blogs!

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  14. Thanks for including Seekerville! What a variety of writing blogs. Can't wait to start site-seeing!

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  15. Maria, thanks so much for including The Romance Bandits! It was awesome being included among this group of great blogs!!

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  16. I'm a Woman of Mystery, and thanks very kindly! What a great list, most of all because I see some new (to me) links I'm going to have to check out! WoM are all in New York and thereabouts, so we tend also to have that Big Apple-y scent, something like a taxicab air freshener. You made my day!

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  17. Thank you, everyone, for your comments.

    I am so glad you have found this directory useful. I will continue to add to it monthly, so please do stop back and check out the new additions.

    Ruth Logan Herne -- I hereby make you an "honorary" New Yorker since you are not afraid to take a bite out of the Big Apple. :D

    Happy Writing and Blogging! --m

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  18. I'm a Craftie Ladie on both the the suspense site and the romance site. We're thrilled you mentioned us. Thanks!

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  19. Another Bandita swinging by to say THANX for the shout out!

    We are 20 writers who met when we were finalists in the 2006 Golden Heart contest. We do have guests bloggers, give away lots of prizes, and have regular readers from all over the US, Canada, Australia and Europe.

    AC

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  20. Another bandita here. What a great list. Thank you for the compiliation. The truly unique thing about Romance Bandits is that we cover so many genres. We have published authors in historicals, suspense, mystery, category, young adult...something to please everyone. We've both published and unpublished authors and a nice variety of voices. I do hope everyone will stop by and say hi.

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  21. The Lair and the Banditas are proud to be included in your list, Maria!

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  22. Thanks for mentioning us :) It's a pleasure to be included in your list!
    Cait Miller (Sizzling Scribes)

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