Today, I am donating 425 signed books to Soldiers’ Angels. This is a wonderful organization devoted to providing love and comfort to soldiers, veterans and their families.
Check out this important cause and spread the love if you can!
Official Web Site of Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling and award-winning fiction author
Today, I am donating 425 signed books to Soldiers’ Angels. This is a wonderful organization devoted to providing love and comfort to soldiers, veterans and their families.
Check out this important cause and spread the love if you can!
I was drawn to dark and frightening books — much to my parents’ dismay. I loved to be scared. And my parents never sought to censor what I read; if I could reach a book on their shelf, and decipher the words within, it was mine. So I read (avidly, voraciously) books wildly inappropriate for my age – Stephen King’s Carrie, Christine, Cujo. V.C. Andrews’ Flowers in the Attic. Peter Straub. Dean Koontz. The more depraved and twisted, the better. I think my parents hoped a lot of it was going over my head. It wasn’t.
Are you in a book club?
For a chance to win signed copies of SLIVER OF TRUTH for everyone in your group, tell me something about your group… You can post on Facebook, Twitter or email me directly at lisa@lisaunger.com
Just a small way of celebrating the mass-market release of SLIVER OF TRUTH, and saying “Thanks” to all the book clubs out there!
Last night, I had the pleasure to join a wonderful group of women from Palm Harbor, Florida for a book club discussion of HEARTBROKEN – aboard a beautiful 60 ft yacht.
Over the years, I have joined many book groups in person or online for discussions of my work, and I have always had a great time. But, this was truly a unique and amazing experience!
We watched the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico and talked for hours over wine and hors d’oeuvres. They had so many great questions, and we had a lot of laughs as well. Thanks so much to everyone who attended and to our hosts Captains Mike and Angela, and a special thanks to Angela Ashe for the invitation!
I was recently asked to participate in Greenroom.com, a site pioneered by Dr. Drew Pinsky where fans can interact one-on-one with actors, athletes, writers and experts. I thought this was a great idea, especially when I learned that I could donate 100% of the proceeds to the charity of my choice. To celebrate my signing on, Greenroom is giving away a free live chat with me.
So, if you’d like to enter to win a live video chat with me, just post a question for me on Facebook or Twitter. It could be about anything – my process, my novels, my path to publishing, etc. I will draw the winner on November 1. The winner gets his or her question answered, and a 15-minute personal video conversation with me.
Last week, I had the opportunity to visit with some terrific young writers who live at Brookwood, a group home for girls in St. Petersburg. It was an amazing evening, and an honor to spend time with this funny, smart and talented group of girls. Today, I have shared my thoughts in a guest blog at Jungle Reds. READ IT HERE and don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of my latest novel, HEARTBROKEN!
The days before a new release are so super-charged! I’m doing lots of interviews, guest blogs, posts and getting ready to go on the road. Meanwhile, I’m knee deep in revisions on the next book. Crazy times! I’m excited and nervous all at once! You’d think after so many years of doing this, I would be more immune to the hills and valleys of pre-publication time. But I’m not! My book is on its way to the stores and digital storage for downloads. And, now, there’s nothing more I can do for it. It’s all up to you!
I have sometimes offended people with my work. Occasionally, I have received angry letters from readers who feel I did not paint a flattering portrait of their geographic area. (Characters have opinions that I do not share and make observations of their own.) I have even lost a longtime friend who did not care for my naming a character after her. (Actually, it was just an initial. But really? Toss a seventeen-year friendship for what I considered the ultimate act of love? ) I have had a woman approach me with glee, thinking I had lampooned her ex-husband who also happened to be my dentist. (No, certainly not. Though I did use his name. Why, oh why, did I do that? So not intentional.) My mother wonders (aloud and often) why so many of the mothers in my work are dead or evil. (Is that true? I’m sure I don’t know.)
In the controversy over e-book pricing, it might be important to recall that when you buy a book, the form it takes is the least important element of the purchase. You are buying a story, a work of art. It takes the author a year (or sometimes much longer) to create something that will transport, entertain, enlighten or educate you. It takes the publishing company a year to provide multiple edits, design, production, marketing, and author tours for each story. The actual binding and shipping of the book is a small part of the overall cost.
I spent this past weekend at Sleuthfest, one of Florida’s best writers conferences. It was a dynamic gathering of writers, professional and aspiring, as well as some of the most important agents and editors in the business. I was struck that it’s probably one of the best things you can do as an aspiring writer, spend a weekend with other writers and publishing professionals. You learn so much about craft, the industry and even yourself. I’ve been attending Sleuthfest for ten years, and many of the people I have met there have become my dear friends and valued colleagues. Publishing is a business of relationships – and lots of those relationships begin at conferences.
Copyright © 2013 Lisa Unger