Posts Tagged ‘novellas’
My Work is Eligible for a Hugo for the First Time Ever: It’s Nomination Season!
Posted on: February 28, 2018
I am very excited to announce that Reenu-You is eligible for nomination for a Hugo Award this year! It is my first time having a book out that is eligible. I am thrilled at the prospect that it might be considered for a Hugo.
For those not in science fiction writing community, you may be scratching your head and asking: What’s a Hugo? The Hugo is considered “science fiction’s most prestigious award. The Hugo Awards are voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”), which is also responsible for administering them.” http://www.thehugoawards.org/about/
I would love to see Reenu-You make it on to the next stage in the awards process. If you are eligible to nominate Reenu-You, I encourage you to do so. Nominations are currently being accepted through March 16th. More information about the Hugo Award Nomination process can be found here.
The novella Reenu-You is the culmination of a lot of hard work, creative energy, and determination. Reenu-You explores what happens when a mysterious virus is transmitted through a “natural” hair product. Set in the 1990s, the novella explores hair, the politics of beauty, female friendships, corporate conspiracy and unlikely heroines.
It has been such a pleasure to share this story with others since the book was first published last March. I have shared its story at book talks, on a television segment, and even at an author “speed dating” event. It is such a joy to know that Reenu-You is reaching new readers.
If you are not eligible to nominate for The Hugo Awards, there are still ways that you can help! Spread the word about Reenu-You‘s eligibility by word of mouth or to your social media pages. Below is a short post you could share.
“Reenu-You,” by Michele Tracy Berger is eligible for nomination for this year’s Hugo Awards. If you are eligible to nominate this thrilling sci-fi novella, I encourage you to do so!
Or, of course feel free to make your message your own.
Thanks so much for your continued support of me and my work. I am so grateful for my creative community!
Besides being published by Book Smugglers Publishing, I have found that another wonderful perk has been discovering other fantastic authors in the BSP family. One of them is Dianna Gunn. In May, I discovered Diana’s novella, Keeper of the Dawn. Dianna’s was the first novella released in the Book Smugglers Novella Initiative. I loved it and also wrote a review of it. Dianna and I have many overlapping interests and I have enjoyed getting to know her work.
Dianna Gunn is a freelance writer by day and a fantasy author by night. She blogs about writing, creativity and books at http://www.thedabbler.ca.
I’m delighted to welcome Dianna Gunn to The Practice of Creativity.
– Tell us about your recent novella, Keeper of the Dawn. What are you hoping readers will connect to in this story?
Let me start by sharing the blurb:
Sometimes failure is just the beginning
All Lai has ever wanted is to become a priestess, like her mother and grandmother before her, in service to their beloved goddess. That’s before the unthinkable happens, and Lai fails the trials she has trained for her entire life. She makes the only choice she believes she can: she runs away.
From her isolated desert homeland, Lai rides north to the colder, stranger kingdom of Alanum—a land where magic, and female warriors, are not commonplace.
Here, she hears tales about a mountain city of women guardians and steel forgers, worshiping goddesses who sound very similar to Lai’s own. Determined to learn more about these women, these Keepers of the Dawn, Lai travels onward to find their temple. She is determined to make up for her past failure, and will do whatever it takes to join their sacred order.
Falling in love with another initiate was not part of the plan.
Keeper of the Dawn is a tale of new beginnings, second chances, and the endurance of hope.
# # #
If there’s any one thing I want readers to connect with, it’s the idea that the path to success is rarely straight forward. I also hope Keeper of the Dawn will serve as a reminder that we all deserve love, even—especially—if we have to seek it outside the bounds of “normal” relationships.
-How did you get bitten by the ‘writing bug’? Did you always wish to become an author?
I always loved telling stories—I used to read to my stuffed animals—but I didn’t realize “writer” was a valid career path until JK Rowling made a lot of money. I was quickly disillusioned about making my own fortune, but I’ve never let anyone dissuade me from the idea that I can’t make it a career.
–You manage to pack a lot into your day! You’re a blogger and freelance writer, and you’re working on a non-fiction book. How do these activities support your creative work?
Being a freelance writer by day comes with its own set of challenges, but it also has special advantages. The flexibility of my schedule means that if I’m on a roll, I can work on my fiction WIP for several days, and do my freelance work at the absolute last minute.
On the other hand, if I’m struggling with my fiction, I always have something else to do.
Also, I’m writing that non-fiction book VERY SLOWLY and blogging large parts of it. Some of it is also reworked from blog posts I wrote 2-3 years ago, allowing me to write the book efficiently. Albeit still slowly, because fiction is my true love.
-In your ‘Inspirations and Influences’ essay for Book Smugglers, you mentioned that you were writing a parody novel that you eventually abandoned, but kept Lai as a character. What allowed you to abandon that project and dive deeply into Lai and build a story around her?
Hahaha, I never had a problem abandoning projects. Which might sound strange if you know that I’ve also been working on my full length novel, Moonshadow’s Guardian, for 9 years, but I have happily thrown away dozens of other manuscripts. And I always keep the notes so I can reuse ideas in new stories.
-What’s on your bookshelf, next to your bed (or in your e-reader)? What are you reading right now?
I finished reading Cog and the Steel Tower by W.E. Larson last night, so now I have to pick a new book. Which is going to be tough, because I picked up the LGBT Story Bundle a couple weeks ago and I’ve also got several print books friends loaned me…
– What’s your best writing tip that you’d like to share?
Don’t take criticism of your stories personally, and ignore anyone that uses flaws in your fiction to attack you as a person. I know it doesn’t FEEL like our books are separate from us, but they are. We should treat them that way.
When she isn’t helping her clients bring their dreams to life, Dianna can be found busily working on her own dream of being a successful fantasy author. Her first YA fantasy novella, Keeper of the Dawn, came out on April 18th, 2017. She has several other novellas and novels in the works, and hopes to announce a second release date soon.
You can also follow her on Twitter @DiannaLGunn or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dlgunnauthor/.
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I know many authors that choose to not ever look at their reviews. I’m not there yet! My new novella, Reenu-You has been garnering some lovely reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and I am super happy. Check in with me on the day I receive a 1 star review and I am sure my tune will change. Until then, however, I am celebrating.
I’m grateful to writing buddies (and customers) who have taken the time to write an honest review. Writing a review is such an important way to support an author. And, they don’t have to be long! Most people take a peek at reviews before purchasing a book. Reading others’ reviews can generate excitement for the book. Also, from what I understand, having lots of reviews (preferably good ones), helps with the algorithms Amazon uses to promote books.
Also, since editing the novella and getting it into production took longer than either the publisher or I expected, we didn’t get a lot of time to generate early reviews. So, again I’m pleased that reviews are starting to come in.
Below, I’m highlighting two reviews that appeared on blogs:
Nice review @ Black Girl Nerds–they did my cover reveal in May.
Engaging review @ Fraser Sherman’s blog. Fraser Sherman, is a writer and prolific blogger. He runs a fantastic blog that reviews speculative novels, movies, comics, and films both past and present. And, he writes about many other topics.
If you’re a speculative fiction lover and interested in reviewing Reenu-You this summer, drop me a line at mtb@creativetickle.com and I’ll get an ARC to you.
