About

About

Welcome readers!

Thank you for visiting the blog Pen in Her Hand

What will you find here?

In this blog I will write about writing. I will write about the challenges facing fiction authors who seek publication. I will write about topics I explore in my paranormal novel Moonlight Dancer:

  • Historic Korea.
  • Multi-culturalism.
  • The San Francisco Bay Area.
  • Ghosts.

Like how I put ghosts last? That power word kind of guides your eye down the page, doesn’t it?

I don’t know why ghosts fascinate me, but I think I never grew out of those fireside stories at sleep-away camp. I never met a ghost I didn’t like. Actually, I never met a ghost. That doesn’t stop me from devouring novels and movies with supernatural elements. There’s something at once so frightening and yet pathetic (I mean this word in the lesser-used sense, as in producing feelings of tenderness) about the eternal wanderer.

Maybe I just want to plaster on the “mom fix.” I want to kiss it better and make it right for that poor creature, which is what I set out to do in my novel. Here is my logline* for Moonlight Dancer: When a 16th century ghost demands help, a Korean/Caucasian woman must risk her love and her life to prevent murder.

I welcome all comments and emails. debatwood@hotmail.com

Thanks for reading! Deb.

* A logline, as I recently discovered, is a distillation of one’s entire novel into a single sentence. Yep, easier said than done.

Author

28 thoughts on “About”

  1. You needn’t be so apologetic about writing about Korean history and culture. It’s what interests you. It’s what you’re passionate about. Enough said.

  3. What a lovely blog!!!!
    I love all the contents and the pictures here. Wow~~ I like the way you write here because even I can enjoy your writing and giggle (especially “Dangun” part when the guy criticized you). Very intriguing introduction and catchy topics here!!
    You absolutely have a right to write about Korea. I know how hard you have worked for your novel. I’m sure that you know about Korean shamanism better than me (Korean). I’m glad you have made this blog to communicate with others and give them a chance to learn about you. : ) Good job!!!!

  4. Hi Deb!!
    I am too late to visite your blog. Congratulation!!
    It seems you have been writing nicely & regularly.
    I think It is really starting and I am sure you can make an awesome blog with your own style.

  5. Hello Deb,
    I wanted to Introduce myself and my work to you. My name is David A. Rollins, a self-published undependent E-Book author, and I write ghost stories. My tag line is “thrilling novels of supernatural suspense”. I found your blog through another blog titled Nail Your Novel.

    If you are interested, you can read about my novels at DavidARollins.com. I am also looking for book reviews, and I am offering a free download of any of my novels in return for a review on my Amazon or Barnes and Noble book page. I hope you choose to read one of my storiess, with or without a review, and I look forward to scaring you.
    Sincerely,
    David A. Rollins

  6. The blog “Nail Your Novel” listed your blog and I checked it out because I, too, am very interested in ghosts!! I lived in a haunted house for seven years of my life and it has left quite an impression on me. I now like to write my own ghost stories (it is true they are hard to find!). There are a lot of stories on the market about true ghost stories but I like to read the fictional ones because they are told more like a story and not as a recounting of something that happened. Matter of fact, I am getting ready to publish my first book. It will be interesting to see how it will do with the “I like ghosts” crowd. Glad I found your blog! Will link it back to mine so others can find you as well.

    1. Hi Deborah,
      It’s nice to meet you! A fellow ghost enthusiast! I would love to hear about your book. I guess you chimed in on the self/traditional publishing debate. Which did you choose?

  7. I chose to self-publish. I like the idea of being in charge of my own destiny. At least for now. I’ve nothing against the traditional, though. Maybe this is going to be the new way for writers to get “in”. Self-publish, prove your worth and then land a publishing contract.
    I’m excited about sharing my book and nervous as all heck!! Here’s a quick blurb:
    Grieving medium Tess Schafer needs to heal and a haunted resort might be the place to do it. Problem; there’s more going on than a haunting. Teaming with a skeptical ex-Marine seems like a bad idea but she does it anyway. Now to solve the resort’s problems and maybe even their own.

    1. Yes, MaryAlice, Kathy over at I Am a Reader does a nice job of the giveaways. I’m always happy to be a sponsor!

    1. I enjoy reading about other places, too, MaryAlice. And sometimes you may actually get to go there. I wasn’t sure I would someday go to Korea, but it happened.

  11. I love your cover picture, and you have a beautiful dog. I love to read about places I will never see. It is like taking a trip through someone else’s eyes. 🙂

    1. Hi Kristen. That’s so kind of you to Pin my photo. No one has ever done that before! Anywhere you leave a comment is fine; it doesn’t have to be on a particular page. Thanks for stopping by.

  13. Hi Deb, I am so glad to have discovered your website, and I share your fascination for ghosts. ‘The English Teacher’ written by RK Narayan has a strong paranormal element to it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about it. 🙂

    1. Excellent! Thanks, Deepika, for the recommendation. I just looked up The English Teacher by the author you mentioned. It appears this is the end of a trilogy. Is it important to read the two other books first?

      I had fun tooling around your site as well. It appears we like many of the same books. I’ll be back!

  14. Hi Deb,
    I really enjoyed your 31 ghost stories. What is especially good about this collection is that it brings to light overlooked works by major authors. Great stuff!!

    Have you studied the hungry ghosts of Chinese/Tibetan folk lore? These are ghosts who are forever unrequited and never satisfied.

    Also, Neil Gaiman produced American Gods, Authors preferred text. The ghost, Laura is wife of the main character, Shadow. This is a delightful book with ghosts, leprechauns, gods and more…

    1. Thanks for the mention of 31 Ghost Novels! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I do a writing assignment with students that’s sort of fun–a compare/contrast essay on the Hungry Ghost Festival and Dias de los Muertos. I haven’t heard specific ghost stories of the Ghost Festival though. I am a fan of Neil Gaiman, but I could not finish American Gods, only made it halfway through. Maybe I should watch the TV series. I did love his other ghost novel, The Graveyard Book, though.

Comments are closed.