Friday's Odds and Ends

Today's Odds and Ends are going to be a little different. I'm going to have a couple of guests on my blog this coming week and I wanted to give a little introduction today.

Monday, Linda Faulkner will be here to offer some tips on the business side of writing. As much as we hate to admit it, this is a business, and the more informed we are about how to work in that arena, the better. We can all wish for the return of the day when writers wrote and someone else did the marketing and promoting, but that day will never come back.

Linda is a prolific writer who has published fiction, non-fiction, and technical writing in a number of genres and formats.  In addition to spending over 30 years in the insurance industry as an education provider, insurance agency owner, insurance consultant, and founder/owner of three insurance businesses, Linda has been writing since childhood. Her mystery, Second Time Around, was released in January 2009 and was nominated for a 2010 EPIC Award.  Her non-fiction book titled, Taking the Mystery Out of Business: 9 Fundamentals for Professional Success was released earlier this month.

I'm sure Linda will be happy to answer questions, so check back on Monday if you want help with a marketing issue.

On Wednesday, Evelyn David will be my guest to share their experience at collaborating. Yes, Evelyn David is really two people. The authors of The Brianna Sullivan Mysteries, Murder Off the Books, Murder Takes the Cake, and the short story Riley Come Home, Evelyn David is the pseudonym for Marian Edelman Borden and Rhonda Dossett.

Marian lives in New York and is the author of 11 nonfiction books on a wide variety of topics ranging from veterans benefits to playgroups for toddlers! For more information on Marian's books, please visit her Web site at http://www.marianedelmanborden.com 

Rhonda lives in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is the director of the coal program for the state, and in her spare time enjoys imagining and writing funny, scary mysteries. Marian and Rhonda write their mystery series via the Internet. While many fans who attend mystery conventions have now chatted with both halves of Evelyn David, Marian and Rhonda have yet to meet in person. 



This is going to be another very helpful post for any writers who are considering collaborating. There are a lot of benefits to a collaboration. I know, I have collaborated with several other writers, but there are some pitfalls to avoid. This should prove to be a lively discussion, so plan to stop by if you have a question or two.