Author: esmeraldajstone
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Happy National Donor Day!
While waiting in line with my husband to get apple cider donuts, I noticed a sign on the wall of the little building. The sign advertised the need of a kidney donor with the same type of blood that I have. I looked at the sign for a minute, and then pointed it out to…
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Share Your Thoughts – Author Engagement…
Public engagement is tricky. Too much is annoying. Too little and you fall off the edge of the planet. Being on the wrong platform becomes the equivalent of screaming at the sky. I don’t mind posting on a website or social media if I have something to say. But, as a person, I’m not all…
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Need Something Sweet? Try The Brownies From ‘Lasting Remains’…
My newest book is fighting me. Or, more to the point, I’m fighting with myself, trying to get the beginning of the book right. And not perfect, just introducing the characters in the right way, without making too much happen all at once. It’s only going okay, so I did what any sensible writer does…
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Anyone looking at ProWritingAid?
This is just a quick post to let anyone out there know that ProWritingAid’s Black Friday sale is going on now and lasts for another thirteen days. $199 (regularly $399) for the lifetime premium program and an even more exuberant price for the premium pro program. Am I getting something from ProWritingAid for letting you…
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The Sand Is Always…Greener?
I’m seven chapters away from being done (hopefully) with the heavy editing of Lasting Remains. Yay! Then I’ll pass it off to my beta readers and see what they think. Which means I have to figure out what I’m going to write next. This wasn’t even a question until a few days ago. I knew…
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Happy Veterans Day!
Before going to bed last night, I edited a scene from Lasting Remains that has this car (a 1966 Rambler American wagon—and those who know him are saying his name right now) in it, so I thought it only appropriate I used the picture for my Veterans Day post. I’ve been writing stories for as…
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Do You Want To Build A… Wait? What Did I Change It To?
November 9th, and we have our first real snow on the property. We had some weird sleety stuff the other day that was more of a rain. But this morning, we have snow accumulating on the ground. Why is the picture weird? Well, I took it through the door of my office, so you can…
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When They Have Nothing To Do, Make Them Bake Cake!
A discussion I recently had with a reader—okay, it was with my husband—was about why my characters do so much cooking and baking in my books. I have a few reasons for this. The main one being I’ve always enjoyed reading books that involve food. Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me and Agnes and the Hitman are…
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Killing Your Darlings And Their Cousin…
A well-known piece of writing advice from Stephen King is ‘kill your darlings.’ What does this mean? It means after you’ve spent hours creating the most perfect scene (or paragraph) with witty dialogue, intriguing action, and immense tension, only to find out it does nothing to move the story forward—you kill it. Delete it. Erase…
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Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween to all who celebrate! May your pumpkins stay lit, your candy bag stay full, and your pointy nose stay attached! See you in November! Esmeralda Stone