The Salonniere's Apartments The Salonniere's Apartments

A Conversation with Margot McGovern

June 7, 2017 11:52 am LEAVE A COMMENT MarilynChin

Today’s Conversation features a fellow Australian writer!

I first came across Margot McGovern via her blog, Lectito. This site is a gem for readers, writers and anyone who loves books in general. Here, you can find book reviews, author interviews and writing how-tos, and even a little feature I love called Meet the Bookstagrammers. Bookstagrammers are some of the warmest, loveliest community of readers/writers out there and I love finding more accounts to follow from Margot’s blog!

And as if being a book reviewer and owner of a successful blog wasn’t enough, Margot has just recently signed with Penguin Random House to publish her debut book, a YA novel titled Neverland! How cool is that? I’m so excited and can’t wait to check out the book when it’s out.

In the meantime, Margot has been kind enough to take some time out to have a conversation with The Salonniere’s Apartments about reading, writing and blogging. Find out more below…. READ MORE

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Reading Room

Book Review: Molly Thynne’s Golden Age crime stories

May 18, 2017 2:11 pm LEAVE A COMMENT MarilynChin

This week is all about authors whose books I cannot put down!

As you can tell, I’m a huge fan of the Golden Age of detective fiction and I’ve been loving the new releases of lesser-known detective authors from the era, particularly the British Library Crime Classics collection. Now in the midst of searching for some new BLCC authors to come across, I’ve had the pleasure of discovering Molly Thynne and her amateur sleuth Dr Constantine. READ MORE

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Reading Room

Book Review: The Russell’s Attic Series by SL Huang

May 17, 2017 2:18 pm 1 Comment MarilynChin

I first heard of SL Huang when Tor Books announced they had picked up the North American rights to her thriller series Russell’s Attic. (Up till now, Huang had opted to self-publish her books, citing her disillusionment with the US copyright laws and her desire to make her work available on Creative Commons). Intrigued, I clicked on her website and found that she’s not only a great writer, she’s also a hell of an interesting individual in her own right – for example, not only is she an MIT graduate with a degree in math, she’s also a Hollywood stuntwoman and a firearms expert who has worked with actors like Danny Glover and Jason Momoa! How cool is that?

Also cool is her Russell’s Attic series featuring Cas Russell, a woman whose superhero power is that she’s really, really good at math. READ MORE

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WRITING ROOM

Tips on How to Cut Down Your Novel’s Word Count

March 6, 2017 4:01 pm 1 Comment MarilynChin

It’s a known fact that most writers overwrite – and especially most newbie writers overwrite. I fully admit I’m one of those – I never have to worry about meeting a word quota, more that I’ll run way over it!

Now I adore big books as much as the next person does, but when it comes to writing I have to be super disciplined with myself. I’ve had stories rejected before because they were way too long. As I’ve previously mentioned, good, strong, concise writing always packs a punch, more so than flowery, descriptive passages. And when you manuscript starts running well over 10,000 words, that’s when you know it’s time to get the pruning shears out.

So how do we kill our darlings? Let us count the ways. READ MORE

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WRITING ROOM

Writing Wednesday: Start Writing

March 1, 2017 9:28 pm 1 Comment MarilynChin

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WRITING ROOM

Tips on Editing a Novel

February 28, 2017 9:44 pm 1 Comment MarilynChin

I’ll be honest, I’ve been slacking off on blog prep for the last couple of weeks, mainly because I’ve been so consumed with the current WIP I’ve been working on. After a short dry spell where I just didn’t know where the story was going and I just wasn’t feeling it, I’ve suddenly (finally!) caught on fire and I’ve just been eager to write, write, write.

On the one hand, it’s good. It’s really good. Oh so very, very, very good to have my writing mojo on – there is nothing like the feeling in the world.

On the other hand, now that I’ve caught on fire, I don’t want to waste this elusive spark and so all I want to do is write. Which isn’t good for all my other life activities.

I just finished the first draft on the weekend and now I’m deep in the first editing round. So I thought it would be timely to share a blog post on the how-tos of editing a novel. READ MORE

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Inspiration Zone

Monday Motivation: You’re the Author of Your Life

February 27, 2017 12:01 pm LEAVE A COMMENT MarilynChin

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WRITING ROOM

Writing Wednesday: The Worst Enemy to Creativity

February 22, 2017 3:33 pm LEAVE A COMMENT MarilynChin

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Reading Room

Book Review: Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

February 22, 2017 8:25 am LEAVE A COMMENT MarilynChin

All right, first up: when I heard this book was the story of the Goblin King, my first thought was, “Shades of Labyrinth.”

And, yes, for everyone who has grown up loving the David Bowie film, this is the book for you! S. Jae-Jones’s Wintersong has met all my expectations and more. It’s a beautiful romantic tale and when I say romantic, I don’t just mean a love story, but also a story that embodies all the feels of the Romantic Era. READ MORE

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Inspiration Zone

Monday Motivation: Don’t Wait. The Time Will Never Be Right.

February 20, 2017 8:30 am LEAVE A COMMENT MarilynChin

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