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About Mariam Kobras
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Blog postLet me start by saying that you were all wonderful. No really, fantastic. All of you. Yes, even the two teenage boys in the row right in front of me. It was okay that you kept your seats all the way back, even through the meals, and that you were restless. I understand. It was a very, very long flight. But taking off your shoes and sticking your feet up over the headrest, that was not okay. Your socks positively reeked. It took me a while to figure out that the obnoxious stench wafting thro
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Blog postOnce again I’m packed… Tomorrow I leave on another trip across the ocean to visit friends in Canada and America. This is my fourth big trips on my own, and I thought I’d be cooler about it by now, but no; last night was pretty sleepless, and I’m sure tonight will be as well. This morning, as I was packing, I thought of fellow writer Ellie Dias and her upcoming book, Big Red, her affectionate name for the huge suitcase she lugged—stuf
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Blog postDear Publisher,
As I sort and iron my clothes before I pack my suitcase to travel across the ocean to visit you yet again there are a few words that I’d like to say to you.
Working with you over the past five years wasn’t always easy.You made me write blog posts for blog hops, you made me write blurbs for book covers and Amazon pages, you wanted me to write my own bio, and hold still while my picture was taken. Me, the -
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Blog postToday I'm very honored and thrilled to interview Sue Barnard, the author of The Ghostly Father, Nice Girls Don't, and The Unkindest Cut of All.
Sue and I met on twitter many years ago. We started our writing career almost at the same time, and it's been fun to watch our books being picked up and published!
Hi Sue, before we get down to the real author questions, tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you f -
Blog postMy new novel, For the Fireflies, is being released via my NEWSLETTER! We're eleven chapters in, but it's not too late to catch up!
Also, there's a MAJOR announcement in this weeks newsletter. The subscription form is right here, in the right-hand column of the blog!
Welcome to Key West!At last, the family is reunited.While Josh can’t believe his parents bought an RV and drove all the way from Brooklyn, Allie can’t wait to be on the -
Blog postMost people in and around Manhattan couldn’t walk away from the city after 9/11, they had to stay and deal with what happened on that day. For those who remained, the sorrow may never pass, the memories may never dim, yet life goes on the same way Spring follows Winter. Everywhere, tiny buds of new life blossom into renewed hope for the future. Buildings are rebuilt, babies are born, and the music of the city flows through the canyons between the skyscrapers.
In the same way, Jon and -
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Blog postLet me share this lovely day with you.
My walk today took me past the magnolia tree again. Sadly, all its wonderful blooms have gone, and it looks tired and limp like it was to a wild party and now is suffering from a murderous hangover.
There are other blooms out now though, like this beautiful azaleas (maybe they're rhododendrons, don't ask me!):
And this dandelion, totally ignoring the park fence and growing where it wants:
A bit farther dow -
Blog postLast night I was trying to explain description to a friend. You know what I’m talking about, right? Description is when your characters see something and describe it to the reader. Or when you, the author, want to describe something to the reader. It’s what you do to get whatever you want to describe getting across? Is it enough to say the ocean was blue and rough or the trees were tall, and the mountains were high? The reader will know what you mean, but will they enjoy reading it? Will it tran
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Blog postDid you know that I'm writing a novel exclusively for my newsletter subscribers?
It's a sequel to the Stone Trilogy, and it tells the stories of Joshua and Allie, Jon and Naomi's children.
If you want to read along, sign up for my newsletter! At this point we're releasing a new chapter every Friday.
I promise that you'll NEVER be spammed! You can find the subscription field right here >>>> at the top of the right-hand column of this blog! < -
Blog postRemember when I promised you photos of the magnolia tree across the street?
Well, here they are! The tree is in full bloom.
The owners were sitting outside on their front steps, enjoying the lovely spring day, when I stopped to take the pictures. I asked if it was okay and they replied, "Of course! Go right ahead!"
I think they're quite proud of that tree.
And if you ask me, with good reason.
When that magnolia tree bursts into bloom the enti -
Blog postIt's April 1st. and spring has finally showed its pretty face!
My hubby and I took a walk around the neighborhood today, and this is what we found:
An amazing blue sky!
And that blue sky and the birch tree look like a painting, but they're real!
The magnolia tree isn't in full bloom yet, but it will be soon! And I'll make sure to visit it again and take a photo when the blossoms are open.
We went a different route today and found this blo -
Blog postBeing an author is the hardest job in the world. Yes, it is.Not the writing part, mind you. Writing is easy; it’s like breathing, like sipping hot chocolate, with whipped cream or the 100% Arabica coffee that I love. Writing is like sailing along on a morning breeze over a silvery ocean in the opaque light of a sun bleached by a night of storm and rain. It’s the sweet, scent of roses in a balmy sunset or that slice of pizza you really, really wanted. It’s an escape, a
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Blog postThere is nothing harder for me than promoting my books and myself.It’s like walking on the edge of a knife: How much is enough, and how much is too much? When do you reach the point where asking nicely turns into spamming, and consequently disgusting my friends?I try very hard to entertain you, but I never want to get on your nerves, ever.I hope you enjoyed my Mad about March with Mariam #MMM promo.Soon, the Stone Series will conclude with the novella, For the Fireflies, told
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Blog post“What would you like to do for the promo?”
That was the question I’d been dreading when my publisher and I (well, mostly the publisher. Like, 99% mostly. Okay, all of it.) setup the three -week March promo for The Distant Shore.I hear her say that, and I hear in my head the answer she wants: Write blog posts.I hate blogging. I’m sorry, I know I’m not supposed to say that, but it’s the hard, cold truth. I hate blogging. Every time I say this—mostly uttered in a pathetic, w -
Blog postHi all, today, to celebrate the first daffodil that just showed up in my garden, I'm giving you a short story that I recently wrote. It's a mystery snippet, and it's just a bit creepy. Enjoy! Image by Sue FarrantThe SecretI woke to find mother already dressed and bustling around the kitchen. She was wearing her good red skirt and embroidered blouse, with her best, white kerchief tied around the fat knot of hair at the back of her head. She hummed while she put water and roasted
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Blog postI know I'm late to the party, but I'll soon be launching my brand-new, sparkling and shiny Newsletter!
Since I have no idea what to actually do with a newsletter (I'm sure this will change soon!) I'll just write a lot of short stories and side stories from my novels which means you'll get exclusivestuff to read. Sign up if you want more stories about Jon and Naomi, about Liese and Duncan and Sunset Bay or if you want to be the first to know when a new book will be released!
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Blog postIt is true that changing your profile pic on Facebook or twitter or anywhere else to show the French flag really changes nothing. Neither does changing your cover photo to #NousSommesUnis.
Neither does visiting the sites of the attacks and laying down flowers or lighting a candle. You see, it's the same thing. We aren't in Paris. Most of us don't have a French embassy around the corner where we can go to pay our respects. What we CAN do though is share our stunned grief r -
Blog postOn writing. Just start.
One morning you’ll wake up and find that this is the day and you’ll sit down and write.
Don’t think too much. Don’t worry. Don’t read writing advice, never, ever!
Don’t let anyone read it while you’re still writing the story, and don’t tell anyone. You’ll only end up getting asked stupid questions.
Don’t lose faith.
Don’t be afraid!
There are no shortcuts. It -
Blog postI took a walk today. Now that’s probably not a big thing. You go outside and walk all the time, and that’s as it should be, but since I broke my back five years ago, walking is a major undertaking for me. Not a call for sympathy, please. I’m fine!But today, I walked. It wasn’t a long walk, or a dynamic one, but you have to start somewhere, right? And so I did. I walked my husband to his workplace. It’s only 500 yards from our house, but going there and back adds up to a 1000 yards, and
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Blog postThis is a story that has been sitting unedited in my desk drawer for over three years now. It was my first tentative step into mystery writing.
I'm re-blogging it now, rewritten and polished (by my editor at Buddhapuss Ink LLC). Hope you enjoy it!
(Art: Eric G. Thompson – used with permission)
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Blog postA moment ago my author friend Lynn Shepherd (you can find her here: http://www.lynn-shepherd.com) tweeted this:
“Don't you just love #Motive? Canadians of Twitter - is Vancouver really that stunning?”
Now I’m not Canadian, and I’ve not really watched Motive, but yes–Vancouver really is that stunning. Lynn’s simple tweet resulted in a nostalgic flash-back for me.
Oh yes, Vancouver, and Vancouve -
Blog postDo you know how I got my first book deal? No?
Let me tell you about it.
It all began on twitter. I’d been working on The Distant Shore for a while when I met a publisher who had been tweeting about her new puppy, her sleepless nights, and how much she loved coffee. We didn’t talk about my novel; I wasn’t ready to submit, and I didn’t want to impose. It was unreal enough that I was talking to an actual publisher.
But then, one day in January 2011, some other writer -
Blog postWe don't go into Hamburg very often anymore. Once that we gave up the car it became a major undertaking, especially with so many of the subway stations under construction right now. My bad leg isn’t happy with those stairs!
But today we went, and that means a Thai lunch. I love Thai food, and so does my hubby. The kid, not so much. He brings his burger and fries—bought at one of those fast food places owned by a clown—with him to the Thai restaurant. No one minded. I think they're used to -
Blog postFor some reason I always end up in New Jersey.
Of all the places I've visited in the US, New Jersey is probably the grittiest. It's where pretty meets ugly, where hip and dingy are next-door neighbors.
Jersey City in particular, makes me stop and stare, and wonder why people would want to live there. It doesn't even have a bookstore! It's always hot and humid, not even the AC can keep out the humidity.
I had the most expensive BLT ever in Jersey City, in a small, totally nondes
Titles By Mariam Kobras
