Valerie Fraser Luesse

Join me August 5 for a free online author event with Baker Book House. Get your FREE (count 'em, FREE!) tickets here: eventbrite.com/e/virtual-auth…

Loved doing this interview with Alison Treat at Historical Fiction: Unpacked! alisontreat.com/2021/07/29/sou…

Writer Stuff: Whether they're pitching a magazine story or a book concept, all writers have to answer the dreaded "Eternal So What."

Writer Stuff: You write magazine stories from the outside looking in, but you write fiction from the inside of a character, looking out.

Writer Stuff: First rule of travel writing, bestowed on the young guns by one of my favorite Texans, writer Les Thomas: "Make 'em laugh, make 'em cry . . . tell 'em where it is."

Writer Stuff: Follow the Sesame Street Principle. Remember "one of these things is not like the others"? If that's true of your story or even your paragraph, it's time to edit. That is all I have to report at this time.

Writer Stuff I've Learned: It's almost never about the "what." It's almost always about the "why."

Writer Stuff I've Learned: Never pitch a story idea to a magazine you haven't . . . you know . . . read. And preferably in the last year because it might've been redesigned two months ago. That is all. Enjoy your day.

@SDosier Thank you, my friend!

Attn, Word Nerds: Follow #fiction #author @VLuesse. You’ll get tips like this.

Writer Stuff I've Learned: Read your work out loud. You'll hear things you can't see. (Tip: Do it inside or the neighbors will think you're talking to yourself.)

Hair wisdom from Leta LeJeune in Under the Bayou Moon, releasing August 2021. Available for preorder wherever books and ebooks are sold.

Spoken like a woman who knows her own mind. Meet Gabby in Under the Bayou Moon, releasing in August.

Today through April 15, you can buy ebook versions of The Key to Everything for $2.99 at the usual spots (Amazon, BN, iTunes, etc.) #ebookdeals #Kindle #NookBN

@spann Thanks so much for talking with me, James! Great information for everybody.