Month: June 2013

Featured Author: Karen Wojcik Berner

Karen Wojcik Berner grew up on the outskirts of Chicago. She graduated from Dominican University with degrees in English with a concentration in writing  and communications.

Karen has worked as a magazine editor, public relations coordinator, and freelance writer. She is a two-time “Folio Magazine” Ozzie Award winner for Excellence in Magazine Editorial and Design. Her work has appeared in countless newspapers and magazines. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her family.

Karen writes contemporary literary fiction with a sprinkling of the classics. Her Bibliophiles series explores the lives of fictional American suburban book club members. The first, A Whisper to a Scream, centers on Sarah, a stay-at-home mother of two, and Annie, a PR executive with fertility issues, each of whom thinks the other’s life is far superior to her own. Until My Soul Gets It Right chronicles Catherine Elbert’s journey as she bounces from coast to coast in search of her true self.

To learn more about Karen, please visit her website, www.karenberner.com or her Amazon.com author page. Continue reading “Featured Author: Karen Wojcik Berner”

10 Things That Can Harsh Your Book-to-Movie Buzz

The biggest hope of many authors these days is having a book adapted to film. Screw the Big 6/5/4 (whatever) Publishers. When there’s a starburst on your book cover that reads “Now a major motion picture,” you’ve really made it.

Still, few authors are going to have the kind of clout needed to call the shots about translating the book to the screen. That is very likely going to mean the movie will be different from the book, and WAY different than you imagined it.

An author’s artistic integrity is a precious thing. We also hope that a great movie will drive book sales even higher.

Sadly, Hollywood doesn’t always get it right. Here is my list of the top ten different ways Hollywood can snatch failure from the jaws of success in making an adaptation: Continue reading “10 Things That Can Harsh Your Book-to-Movie Buzz”

Crawdad Tenacity

OK, you’re probably looking at the title and wondering: what the heck do some stupid little crustaceans have to do with writing? Well, if they are living in your office, lots. Called by many names: crayfish, crawdads, and mud bugs; they are still a multi-legged creature that looks like a lobster that got tossed in a dryer and shrunk. Not much more than 3” long, they are tiny armed soldiers clambering around their rocky battle ground. And you’re still wondering what they have to do with writing? I’ll tell you.

The “mud bug” tank in my office.

Writers are like crawdads, we need to have a tough shell to handle the pressure, criticism, and general stigma of being an Indie author. No, most of us aren’t famous; but day after day we drone away on our keyboards creating masterpieces. It takes a tough shell to do what we do and keep our heads held high. From time to time crawdads molt their shells to grow; as writers this should signify growth in our profession. Taking the time to research and produce the best quality books we can. Growing by learning new skills such as marketing and branding (oh, that still sounds painful!) to help with our sales. Growth can be venturing into new genres or experimenting with non-fiction. Continue reading “Crawdad Tenacity”

Vote Now in Our Weekly Flash Fiction Challenge Poll

The time has arrived once again for IU readers to choose their favorite entry from this week’s flash fiction challenge.

We had a number of great entries. Kudos to all the entrants. Now IU readers must decide: Who will be this week’s Flash Fiction Star?

Check out this week’s entries here. Vote for your fave then use those share buttons at the bottom of the post to spread the word.

 

Who will be this week's Flash Fiction Star?

  • Rich Meyer (64%, 7 Votes)
  • Vanessa Hancock (18%, 2 Votes)
  • Faye Hollidaye (9%, 1 Votes)
  • AL Kaplan (9%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 11

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