tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88626291787870277442024-03-13T21:19:34.661-07:00Virginia SmithVirginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comBlogger443125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-85591979717282395452021-06-07T13:30:00.000-07:002021-06-07T13:30:02.839-07:00 When I first started writing, I was told many times, “Write what you know.” Wise advice, and I’ve taken it to heart. But how do you write a story about scuba diving if you’ve never been scuba diving? The answer – you research!I’m something of a fanatic about research. Here are some of my most memorable research activities:The Zookeeper’s Daughter – Kelli is forced to work as a zookeeper to Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-33811281782228428272021-05-08T07:30:00.001-07:002021-05-08T07:30:20.514-07:00Not A Typical Amish Book - and On Sale The Amish Widower was my 21st or 22nd novel, and my 4th
Amish book with Harvest House Publishers. The first three were a humorous romantic
series, co-authored with Lori Copeland, about Amish in the Old West, which was
different from the typical bonnet fiction that had become so popular. Even
though my brother-in-law was raised Amish, I’d always told my Harvest House
editor that I would Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-87382039254366988792021-03-17T07:33:00.006-07:002021-03-17T07:33:46.499-07:00Free Kindle and Audiobooks My Latest Newsletter announcing two free kindle books and free audiobooks!March 2021Dear Friends,Two newsletters in one month? This has got to be some kind of record for me!I had a couple of last-minute things pop up that I wanted to make sure you're aware of because who doesn't love free stuff? Two of my books are free, but only for the next few days. Read on to find out about them.Can I Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-17862908845328492312021-03-12T07:48:00.003-08:002021-03-12T07:48:31.200-08:00New Children's Illustrated Book It's always a good day when I can celebrate the release of a new book, and this one is especially fun. I love speaking to kids at school, but since I write books for adults, grade school students aren't too interested. During the month of December I'm often invited to speak to students about being an author and I can read The Last Christmas Cookie, so I wanted something that I could Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-91784149046874226402021-02-20T11:42:00.006-08:002021-02-20T11:42:54.111-08:00Typing The EndThere are fewer things more satisfying to a writer than typing The End on a manuscript. Well, okay, getting a box of her latest books is even better, but finishing the first draft of a book is pretty awesome. So far 2021 has been stellar for me in terms of that kind of awesomeness. In January I finished a book called Raised for a Purpose: Talia's Story. That one is Biblical fiction Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-53476705331556303432020-07-19T10:35:00.003-07:002020-07-19T10:35:57.703-07:00How Salt Lake City Won the Bid to Host the World Fantasy Convention - And How We Lost It(cross posted from World Fantasy Convention 2020's blog)
The year was 2015. World Fantasy Convention was held in Saratoga Springs, NY that year. As always, the attendees list was a Who’s Who of fantasy authors, editors, artists, and agents. I attended the convention with my long-time friend, Dee Ann Larsen. Dee Ann and I had traveled to London, England to attend World Fantasy Convention 1997, Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-42147719061541782712020-05-28T06:40:00.003-07:002020-05-28T06:40:36.428-07:00The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Cross-posted from the World Fantasy Convention blog
Review by Ginny Smith
Four young men from the Blackfeet reservation head out to hunt elk. Their search is unsuccessful until they enter a restricted area where they find a small herd in a ravine with no avenue for escape. They open fire. The resulting massacre does provide meat for their families and others on the reservation—but at a Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-65058199398158554092020-05-07T03:00:00.000-07:002020-05-07T03:00:05.299-07:00My First WFC by Steve Rasnic TemCross-posted from "A City of Salt and Fantasy" - www.WFC2020.org
My first World Fantasy Convention was in 1981. That was number seven, held at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley California. It was my third year selling professionally and 1981 had been particularly good with the publication of 13 short stories. I’d worked with a number of editors at that point, including Charlie Grant, Roy Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-23681020654907808792020-04-30T03:00:00.000-07:002020-04-30T03:00:08.752-07:00Halfway There by Mary Soon LeeCross-posted from "A City of Salt and Fantasy" www.WFC2020.org
In recent years, there’s been an increasing awareness of the importance of diversity in fiction, including diversity in gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, wealth, and age. Along with this has come a discussion of own voices, and the extent to which it matters whether a story about, for instance, a lesbian unicorn, Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-18143663555364566252020-04-23T03:00:00.000-07:002020-04-23T03:00:06.554-07:00My First World Fantasy Convention by Paul GenesseCross-posted from "A City of Salt and Fantasy" - www.WFC2020.org
Why are there a hundred people in line to get signatures
from that guy? Who is he? Neil Gaiman you say? I haven’t heard anything about
him. That was in 2002, when I attended my first World Fantasy Convention
(WFC) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I had no clue about most of the “famous”
fantasy and sci-fi writers. I felt like Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-22260782225415744392020-04-16T03:00:00.000-07:002020-04-16T03:00:10.735-07:00My First WFC by Carol BergCross-posted from "A City of Salt and Fantasy" - www.WFC2020.org
When my first novel, Transformation, was published in August 2000 and I discovered that the sky did not open and reveal a whole new dimension of existence, I asked my agent, “What do I do now?”
“First, put up a website,” she said.
“Done.”
“And you could start going to conventions.”
Visions of Galaxy Quest!
In horror, I Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-14315918492613569122020-04-09T03:00:00.000-07:002020-04-09T03:00:06.844-07:00A Conversation with Ann ChamberlinCross-posted from "A City of Salt and Fantasy" www.WFC2020.org
Today we’re talking with author and playwright Ann Chamberlin. Ann is a member of the World Fantasy Convention and is also serving as the Registration Committee Head for WFC 2020!
Ann spent big blocks of time as a child in Europe where her father was professor of mathematics. She has traveled across North Africa, Turkey, Syria andVirginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-69026115202259764822020-04-02T03:00:00.000-07:002020-04-02T03:00:05.548-07:00Throwback Thursday - WFC 1996Cross-posted from "A City of Salt and Fantasy" www.WFC2020.org
My first World Fantasy Convention was way back in 1996. I was an aspiring writer with a bunch of short stories and stack of rejection letters under my belt. I wasn’t interested in costumes or games, so the well-known fan cons held little appeal. What I wanted were contacts in the publishing industry, the more the better. A friend Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-18554015229851488752020-03-19T06:00:00.000-07:002020-03-19T06:00:10.745-07:00A Conversation with Joe Haldeman
Cross-posted from www.WFC2020.org
Today we have the pleasure of chatting with Joe Haldeman, a legendary writer who is a mainstay at the World Fantasy Convention. Named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Joe Haldeman has earned steady awards over his 50-year career: his novels The Forever War and Forever Peace both made clean sweeps of the Hugo and Nebula Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-84095511087314388062020-03-12T06:00:00.000-07:002020-03-12T06:00:06.779-07:00Valley of Lights by Stephen Gallagher
Cross-posted from www.WFC2020.org
Until a couple of years ago I thought of Stephen Gallagher, author Guest of Honor at WFC 2020, primarily as a screenwriter. He’s been instrumental in many creepy-and-fascinating shows, some of which you can read about on his Guest of Honor bio page posted on the WFC 2020 website and in even more detail at www.stephengallagher.com. Being a confirmed Whovian, IVirginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-30819874828463538862020-03-05T06:00:00.000-08:002020-03-05T06:00:06.983-08:00 An Unusual First WFC by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Cross-posted from www.wfc2020.org
Unlike most of today’s fantasy writers, I didn’t attend any conventions until more than ten years after my first story was published. My first World Fantasy Convention didn’t occur until twenty-five years after I sold that first story… and that was in 1997. The 1997 WFC was held in London at the International Hotel in the Docklands, which back then wasVirginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-72253628547962843062020-03-03T06:00:00.000-08:002020-03-03T06:00:11.321-08:00As many of you know, I wear many hats. I'm one of the co-chairpersons running the 2020 World Fantasy Convention. WFC2020 has recently launched a blog dedicated to this year's convention, its guests, and members. The blog is called A City of Salt and Fantasy. I plan to cross-post the content here because I think you'll enjoy hearing from a variety of fantasy enthusiasts as much as I do. You can Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-77236975105127256812020-01-19T15:38:00.003-08:002020-01-19T15:38:57.573-08:00Our Panama Canal CruiseI took over 400 photos on our recent Panama Canal cruise! I selected some of my favorites and put together a video. Watch it here:
Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-91239281189250574532019-11-21T08:20:00.000-08:002019-11-21T08:20:06.440-08:00A New Oldie-But-Goodie!I'm pleased to announce a new book release! Well, it's not exactly new. It's a book that came out waaaaay back in 2011, but she's had a makeover and now she's ready for her second public appearance. Introducing...
(Cheers! Balloons going up! Confetti fills the air!)
This book was previously published as A Daughter's Legacy, but in my mind the title has always been The Zookeeper's Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-49188211740263877882019-11-19T08:35:00.002-08:002019-11-19T08:39:46.258-08:00Pray Your Way Through AdventFor my friends who celebrate Christmas as a Christian holiday, I've put together a devotional booklet.
Each year, thousands of Christians celebrate the season of advent. The weeks leading up to Christmas are a time of expectation and preparation for the day we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child.
Join me on a personal prayer journey using the candles of the Advent wreath as a guide. Daily Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-82614456591185472642019-11-17T09:50:00.002-08:002019-11-17T09:50:56.196-08:00Another Kentucky Book Festival in the Books!The Kentucky Book Festival was Saturday, November 16. The event is held each year in November, and it's one of my favorites. Almost 200 authors gathered at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park to meet readers, sign books, and enjoy a day full of literary fun! I first attended KBF in 2006, the year Just As I Am was released, and I've only missed one year since then.
This year I shared a Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-57413409721272809592019-10-29T13:15:00.000-07:002019-10-29T13:15:13.049-07:00eBook Sale!I love a bargain, and I love books. It's an exciting day when I can get a bargain on books!
One of my publishers recently informed me they're running a Virginia Smith eBook Sale. Woo hoo! If you've missed some of my books, now's your chance to catch up without breaking the bank. Click on a title below to hop over to the book's Amazon page. (But all eBook versions are on sale, so if you read on Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-33589470898176709202019-09-30T11:03:00.000-07:002019-09-30T11:34:41.665-07:00Want to know what accomplishment I'm most proud of?I recently participated in a fun interview on a blog called The Christian Writers World. The blogger is a lovely writer I've known for many years, but haven't caught up with in a while, so it was a pleasure being a guest on her blog. I thought you'd enjoy reading the interview.
Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.
In my 36 (so far) books, there have been very few Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-41409838669673977022019-02-04T18:21:00.000-08:002019-02-04T18:21:09.388-08:00Writer Stats and Pats on the BackI admit it. I'm addicted to numbers. That's a pretty drastic admission for a novelist, a person who makes her living with words, but it's true. I love analyzing the statistics behind the writing.
My latest book is a perfect example. I just typed The End on my thirty-sixth novel, a cozy mystery with the working title As the Bee Stings. I worked hard on this book, and as always, I kept a Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862629178787027744.post-84242867166357484232019-02-01T18:01:00.002-08:002019-02-01T18:27:51.873-08:00The Schizophrenic Writer
Writers are always talking about 'branding,' or establishing your place in readers' minds and hearts with one particular style of book. For instance, if you pick up a Stephen King novel you expect a chilling, supernatural horror story. You know Nora Roberts is going to deliver a satisfying romance. John Grisham will take you into the deep south and a legal thriller, while C.J. Cherryh Virginia Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00590793841929997484noreply@blogger.com6