Today I'm taking part in the week-long Follow Fest, hosted by Melissa Maygrove. It's not too late to join the fun! Swing on by Melissa's blog to sign up. Melissa gave us a handful of questions to help us get to know one another, so without further ado, here's all about me:Whose blog is this?
Laurel Garver, a city dweller, word nerd, Indie film enthusiast and incurable Anglophile. Professor's wife and mom to an aspiring Ravenclaw. Follower of the Good Shepherd, who is faithful when we are faithless.Fiction or nonfiction?
Primarily fiction, but I do have a writing craft book in the works.What genres do you write?
I write young adult (YA) literary fiction with Christian themes: stories about the places where life and beliefs collide. I also write poetry.Are you published?
Yes: Never Gone, a novel, and Muddy-Fingered Midnights, a poetry collection. Descriptions and links are HERE.Do you do anything in addition to writing?
I'm a professional editor with 20+ years experience in trade, association, and academic publishing. My specialty is copy editing / line editing. I make sure everything is correct at the sentence level, including grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, and idiomatic usage. If you're a non-US writer who writes American characters, I can help you Americanize not only your spellings but also vocabulary and usage. Contact me at laurels (dot) leaves (at) gmail (dot) com to discuss your project.Where can people connect with you?
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| This is how I look on Twitter. |
Google+
Author pages:
Goodreads
Amazon
BN.com
Smashwords
Is there anything else you’d like us to know?
I'm open to taking guest posts, especially those on writing / publishing tips (tie-ins with new releases are fine). I'll happily host giveaways for contemporary fiction (MG-adult) that would earn a film rating of PG-13 or below (moderately edgy and emotionally hard-hitting is okay; erotica, gore, and profanity-fests should look elsewhere). Contact me at laurels (dot) leaves (at) gmail (dot) com.Welcome, new friends! Tell me a little about yourself...
Hi, Laurel,
ReplyDeleteNice to 'meet' you and learn a little bit about you. Poetry, I like, but don't know much about.
Nice to meet you, too, L.J.! Reading poetry is one of the best ways to begin training yourself as a poet. Classes and workshops are great too.
DeleteLoved learning more about you and your writing background, Laurel.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Natalie. Melissa's Fest idea is a great way to not only make new connections but also deepen old ones.
DeleteHi Laurel!
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't write in your genre most of the time (I follow Childrens, Middle Grade, and Young Adult), I did have one of my stories published in Chicken Soup For The Soul: Angels Among Us edition this past January so I feel a connection...;~)
Good luck with FOLLOWFEST and I'm your newest fan!
Take care,
Donna L Martin
www.donnalmartin.com
Great to meet you too, Donna. I actually rewrote my description of "genre," because my work is first of all YA, though of the crossover variety because adults have really enjoyed my debut.
DeleteLove your post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating in Follow Fest! :)
Thanks for coming up with the idea, Melissa!
DeleteNice to meet you, Laurel! I'm hopping along on Follow Fest and m glad to have found you :)
ReplyDeleteGreat to meet you, too, Liz! Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteHey! It's great to meet you! Loving this follow fest- so glad you joined in :)
ReplyDeleteSame here, Rebecca. Making new friends has been awesome.
DeleteIt's so great to meet you, Laurel. 20+ years of editing experience. That's awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. Being a writing editor has its perks...and pitfalls. :-)
DeleteIt's so great to meet you, Laurel. 20+ years of editing experience. That's awesome!
ReplyDeleteHey Laurel! I think I learned some new things about you today! 20 years, that's incredible!
ReplyDeleteI've been at it since 1991, believe it or not (I thank my mom's great genes that I don't look my age. (-:)
DeleteNice to meet you! It's good to know that you're an editor!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sherry. I'm open to taking on freelance clients if you know anyone needing an experienced editor.
DeleteWhat a great idea for a blogfest! It's great getting to know everyone better. Your author photo looks so pretty, Laurel!
ReplyDeleteHappy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines
Thanks, Laura. It has been a good opportunity to stay connected with existing followers as well as meet new ones. Glad you like the photo. My photographer gave me several dozen great ones that I narrowed down to four.
DeleteAlways wondrous to meet fellow grammar-lovers. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat to meet you too!
DeleteFantastic description! Love it that you're a mom to an aspiring Ravenclaw HP ref. ( : Interested in your genre and looking forward to following.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sara. We went to the HP Experience in London in June, and that's the t-shirt my daughter picked. Luna's her favorite character. She was super sad her letter didn't arrive for this school year. Glad you're interested in my genre. Cool!
DeleteI envy you your editing skills. If I didn't have an editor. I would be begging at your bloggy doorstep. It's lovely to meet you and I really look forward to getting to know you better. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joss. Lovely to meet you too. Your story of dealing with much hardship is very inspiring. I hope you write about it someday, when you're ready.
DeleteAmericanizing? Very cool. Following you now on Twitter, FB, Goodreads, and I "liked" your Amazon page.
ReplyDeleteI do a lot of Americanizing for the journal I work on--about 1/3 to 1/2 of our content comes from non-US English professors, and our style dictates that I -ize the -ises, color the colours, "change" the 'punctuation' and all that jazz.
DeleteThere are more differences among English dialects than most people are aware of. I recently read a YA by a Kiwi trying to write an American character and saw a lot of odd terminology, so I realized there's a need for this kind of editing out there!
Hi Laurel, great to meet you through Follow Fest!
ReplyDeleteYou too, Christine!
DeleteHey Laurel,
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure reading your post and getting to know you better. You seem to be heading down the right direction and on a roll. I look forward to seeing more out of you.
M.L. Swift, Writer
Thanks, Michael. It was fun hearing about your journey so far, how you landed on your pen name, etc.
DeleteHi Laurel! It's nice to meet you.
ReplyDeleteYou too, Natasha!
DeleteSounds fun, Laurel. I love the mingling of life and belief systems.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dawn. I think our real, on-the-ground beliefs become clearest in times of trouble--just the sort of moments fiction is great at exploring.
DeleteGlad that we could connect with each other through this blog hop!Such a diverse group of writers!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. It has been a fun way to make new connections.
DeleteIt's really great to meet you. And it is great to connect with more Christian writers. I'll have to keep you in mind when I've finally completed my WIP. I am sooo good at using the wrong word! :) Have followed you all over. Writer’s Mark
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy. Great to meet you too!
DeleteHello, Laurel, nice to meet you. Sounds like you could teach me a few things when it comes to my writing.
ReplyDeleteThat's very kind of you to say, Cathrina. Feel free to dig around in my blog archives. After five years, I've covered a lot.
DeleteNice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteNew follower, looking forward to reading your posts on writing craft. :-)
Hi Misha. Great to meet you too!
DeleteI love the leaf image. I also think it's great how you write stories where faith ties in with life. Good luck with everything!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer. I customized a template from a "Simply Fabulous Blog Templates." I'm a big believer in the idea that faith should help you live better in the world rather simply escape from it. Thanks for coming by!
DeleteIt's nice to meet you, Laurel! I'm looking forward to your posts!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ashley. Great to meet you too!
DeleteGreat to be able to visit so many even if I'm behind a little.
ReplyDeleteHi Judith! Thanks for stopping by. I'll have to return the favor. :-)
DeleteHi Laurel. I'm catching up from follow fest--nice to meet you!
ReplyDelete~Skye
Hi Laurel,
ReplyDeleteI know I see you around on Facebook, but I don't often stop by here. I'm finally stopping by from the FF, and I am making notes on the participants and their genre preferences. Just for my own interest's sake, to remind myself who I have writerly stuff in common with, and whatnot. :D