tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46292278469837661842024-02-18T04:42:09.270+11:00Ebony McKennaTeen romantic comedy. Embrace the crazy.Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-37782079720918793072016-09-19T17:09:00.000+10:002016-09-19T17:09:13.913+10:00Winner winner, chicken dinner!The winners of the ferrety bling and book giveaway are Carey H from Canada and Eleni K from Australia.
Both were drawn completely at random using Rafflecopter's random randomizer.
Huge congratulations!
Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-35981528023871608792016-09-12T09:38:00.003+10:002016-09-12T14:36:31.598+10:00Win ferrety bookmark bling and actual proper paperback books too!It's competition time!
Two of these paperbacks and all three cards could be yours.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
OK - slight problem I've just been made aware of. The link to leave a comment isn't working, so just leave a comment down the bottom here, then come back up and click 'I left a comment' on the section and that will work.
Join in my raffle and two lucky winners will each get:
Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-22205025510367965802016-05-21T15:33:00.004+10:002016-06-13T12:28:58.723+10:00Wheeeeeeeeee!I didn't even know I still had this blog, but there you go!
This is going to be huge!
Competition closed now:
2016 has been incredibly busy. Late last year I brought out my fifth book, 1916-ish. It was an ebook first, then it came out as a paperback in early 2016.
Right now I'm working on Robyn & The Hoodettes. I'll be bringing paperbacks of both Robyn and 1916-ish to the book Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-15704950270561778062015-03-10T09:40:00.000+11:002015-03-10T09:40:57.188+11:00My new Swiss Misses
I'm working on a new series!
Sadly, it won't be set in Brugel. It will be set in Switzerland, in an old-fashioned finishing school that has to modernise or perish.
The books will be a series of linked stories, so they don't have to be read in order. The characters are already competing for my attention (as they do), and Marina is winning so far. She's American, (Mom's American, Dad is RussianEbony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-28966610619561141482015-01-31T10:36:00.004+11:002015-01-31T10:36:46.925+11:00Protecting a dead man's reputation at the expense of a trailblazing woman's.Australian best-selling author and neurophysiologist, Colleen McCullough, best known for The Thorn Birds and Masters of Rome series, died on January 29.
News outlets around the world paid tribute to her passing, and her incredible contribution to Australian literature. Whether you read her books or not (The Thorn Birds sold an estimated 30 million, Rome sold even more), she was a Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-50025140214290676922015-01-17T16:26:00.001+11:002015-01-17T16:26:39.648+11:00Revisions and Edits
"How's the procrastination coming along?"
"Yeah good."
Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-14474586877624079192015-01-05T09:15:00.001+11:002015-01-05T09:16:11.055+11:00I'm so good at procrastina - SQUIRREL!
Happy New Year everyone!
I hope you're having a brilliant start to the year, wherever you are in the world.
Five days in and we are melting in the heat here in Melbourne, Australia. It's a tricky time of year as summer dries everything to a crisp. The country regions, and even some outer suburbs of main cities can catch alight so easily.
I generally don't make New Year Resolutions, aside Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-28293932928414037652014-12-02T11:15:00.001+11:002014-12-02T11:15:18.377+11:00Lord of the Flies SPOILERS ahoy! (Or, 7 reasons why I hated this book)
Endings are hard.
I don't know how I'm going to end this book. I know, I'll have someone rock up from the Navy and say, "I'm so disappointed in you."
Do you know how I'd end it?
I'd still have the naval bloke rock up, then the boys all get on the . . . ship? Frigate? I dunno what they're called, but they'd be on it AND THEN THESE LOST BOYS WOULD TAKE OVER THE DAMN SHIP!
That Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-38662562757114483552014-11-26T11:16:00.000+11:002014-11-26T11:20:45.451+11:00Seven Reasons Why Plagiarism is WrongIf you know me at all, you'll know my books are full of crazy. I'm all about embracing the crazy.
But plagiarism is a whole new level of crazy and I want nothing to do with it. If you steal the work of other authors, I want nothing to do with you. We cannot be friends!
There have been a couple of outstandingly hideous examples of plagiarism just recently that have set my blood boiling. An Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-20463044918280997932014-11-21T12:30:00.001+11:002014-11-21T12:30:34.930+11:00New Project. Do I still hate Lord of the Flies?We had to read Lord of the Flies by William Golding in high school and I hated it.
I was 15, I was (and still am) female. There were no characters in this book with whom I could identify, and the story itself was hideous. People were doing such horrid things to each other!
So my memories are of a horrible time, and not enjoying it at all. In fact, this is the sort of book that can turn Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-88605684039362006052014-11-20T09:12:00.001+11:002014-11-20T09:13:48.968+11:00Up all night reading
I am not a morning person.
Oh don't pretend you haven't done it either.
Stayed up all night reading something you simply can't stop.
"Just one more chapter" you tell your tired, frazzled brain.
Heh!
Then the morning comes and all you want to do is sleep. But the morning cannot be ignored, and so you drag your tired self into the world of the everyday. Meanwhile, your brain is telling you to Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-87319523871381310822014-11-15T10:51:00.001+11:002014-11-15T10:58:06.294+11:00If I admit how much I love Taylor Swift, will it make her uncool?
Because she is made of awesome. I love how she's driving her career, how she's handling fame, how she's writing songs making fun of herself. How she handled John Cleese's sexist faux pas while on The Graham Norton Show.
Her earlier stuff killed me. No, seriously. The number of times I died trying to sing Love Story. How does she Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-79162337324897688002014-11-13T12:15:00.000+11:002014-11-13T12:17:08.926+11:00Dance like nobody's watching . . . Dance like nobody's watching . . . and blog like nobody's reading it.
I just read a terrific and succinct article giving 10 reasons to persist with a blog even if it seems like nobody is reading it.
Here's my take home:
1. People do still read blogs.
2. People don't have as much time to comment any more.
3. People would rather 'retweet' and pass on information than comment.
4. The empty space Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-37449636095367414552014-11-12T11:21:00.000+11:002014-11-12T11:21:18.582+11:00Active, Reactive & ReflectiveIn my continuing proselytising of all things structural, I come to this.
A hero (I use the term in the gender neutral sense) must always be in one (or more) of the following states:
Active
Reactive
Reflective
Grab yourself a cuppa and I'll explain.
As the story begins, it's highly likely that they are simply 'reactive', in that the story begins, we see a little of the 'normal world' they are Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-69899492617102749232014-11-10T15:12:00.003+11:002014-11-10T15:12:46.732+11:00Breaking All The Rules
I'm a huge fan of structure, as you may have noticed.
I'm also a fan of 'show, don't tell', where the reader gets to see things happen, rather than be told about them having happened.
Show is: Balancing her weight on the branch, Beverley reached out to the hissing kitten and grabbed it by the scruff. Eyes wide with fear, the kitten bristled and lashed out with the teeniest little 'mew'. Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-5864544109861377222014-11-07T10:49:00.001+11:002014-11-07T10:49:44.601+11:00In Other News . . . My divorce came through.
No, not the marriage one (love the hubbs!) but my publishing divorce with Egmont UK.
It was completely amicable (because Egmont are professionals and staffed with decent human beings) and now the paperwork is through. I get full custody of the kids, they keep the pretty clothes they bought for them.
My first two Ondine novels, which were published with Egmont, had begunEbony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-12670577420595256852014-11-06T13:04:00.002+11:002014-11-06T13:04:39.196+11:00Brave New WorldHow cool was my high school eh? Well, my year 11 English Teacher at any rate. He gave us Aldous Huxley's Brave New World to read that year and it totally rocked my world.
I loved the idea of compartmentalising people into tribes, so they knew what was expected of them and everyone had a place. And of course, the story kicks off because several people feel out of place, like they don't fit in. Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-80701854795813597422014-11-05T10:54:00.001+11:002014-11-05T10:54:23.503+11:00Have fun storming the castle!There are so many great lines in The Princess Bride, but one which has extra meaning is when Miracle Max says, "Have fun storming the castle!"
The extra fun is that 'storming the castle' is a structural turning point in the three act model. You'll see this in movies and books all the time. It's either a literal storming of the castle (like The Princess Bride) or the good guys attack the baddies'Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-11292220636830666132014-11-04T10:28:00.000+11:002014-11-04T10:28:34.154+11:00Hayfever, the most glamorous of all conditionsYeah but no.
Anyway, the sun is shining here in downtown Melbourne, Australia and the pollen is flying straight up my nose and into my eyes.
Which means I stay indoors, which means I write. And read a whole heap too.
What Am I Reading?:
What are you reading at the moment?Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-66576847046054988562014-10-06T16:42:00.000+11:002014-11-01T13:32:29.439+11:00New Competition! Win Stuff!
New Competition!
Your chance to win ebooks of the Ondine series and some seriously cute ferrety swag.
First prize winner will receive:
A pack of assorted cute ferret notecards and matching envelopes.
Plus
A ferret ornament
Plus
A pewter ferret pin
AND
All three Ondine ebooks for your reading pleasure.
Winner takes all. Comp starts October 17 and ends October 31.
*OPEN INTERNATIONALLY*
aEbony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-90899585558814965192014-09-22T12:44:00.001+10:002014-09-22T12:44:48.349+10:00Seven steps to strangling pirates.
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Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-24999643173333149522014-09-20T11:10:00.002+10:002014-09-20T11:11:35.746+10:00Talk Like A Pirate Day can kiss my aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrse.It was international Talk Like A Pirate Day one of the days this week. It was all over facebook and twitter.
I was busy dealing with actual pirates, who are stealing my book and giving away copies for free. It began in April and has been a thorn in my side ever since.
Some authors may throw up their hands and say, "I can't do anything about it, it's too hard." Others try and look for some kind Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-84697064486218177892014-08-22T12:36:00.002+10:002014-08-25T21:59:54.284+10:00Make Your Middle Sing!Recently, I attended a sensational workshop given by James Scott Bell. It was at the Romance Writers' of Australia conference in Sydney.
A seriously helpful how-to.
JSB is a huge fan of structure, which greatly appeals to me. One of the topics that resonated with me at this workshop was the "Mirror Moment". Up until now, I've always known it as the Midpoint in story structure. It happens Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-81295408896801491122014-08-13T10:23:00.002+10:002014-08-13T10:24:32.015+10:00Ondine's going on tour!This is a thing! A proper thing! The Summer of Shambles is going on a blog tour. October 20-25.
Would you like to be part of it? Sign up here and join in the fun. You get a copy of the book in exchange for your honest review.
I'm organising giveaways to coincide with the tour, which will include fun things like copies of my ebooks, post cards and cute little ferret pins. You can never haveEbony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4629227846983766184.post-23922047730023897502014-08-12T14:17:00.000+10:002014-08-12T14:17:46.331+10:00Back to Basics: What is a scene?I presented my workshop on The Staircase of Turning Points at the Romance Writers' of Australia's 2014 conference in Sydney this past weekend.
I talked about creating lots of forward momentum by making sure each scene has turning points.
Afterwards, I was chatting to a writer who'd been in the workshop, and she admitted she wasn't entirely sure what a scene actually was.
It really got me Ebony McKenna.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.com0