190+ Sapphic authors have chosen their favorite scenes just for you!

Picking a Favorite Child – Free Anthology and Mega-Sale News

Karin Kallmaker Book News, Events and Appearances 0 Comments

That Dreaded Question

One of the most challenging questions a writer can get is, “What’s your favorite of what you’ve written?” The answer is never easy.

Most of the time, my favorite thing is what I last imagined in my head and actually made it to the page the way I hoped it might. Or that scene that for some reason always makes me cry. Or has a writer’s tool in it that I managed to use to its best effect. It’s hard to answer “That scene – look at the foreshadowing!” and have anyone who isn’t a writer really get it.

So when I Heart SapphFic asked what my favorite scene was from a single book, I really had no idea how to answer. Plus, they wanted me to explain why – even tougher! It took some thought. Creativity hasn’t been exactly easy these past several years, and everything I’ve written has felt like a victory. I’m proud of every word.

I Finally Chose My “Favorite” Child

I finally settled on a scene from Simply the Best, edited by Medora MacDougall. It was one that was difficult to write, was also cathartic to write, and readers have said helped them get past some of the despair we feel at the many ways our community, and our world, is under siege.

Favorite Scenes from Favorite Authors cover
You can read that scene, and my reasons for picking it, along with favorite scenes and reasons why from 190+ more authors in a special free anthology put together by incredibly creative and always busy folks at I Heart SapphFic.


 
The whole anthology is a treasure hunt because it has a range of styles and genres – truly something for everyone. I’m finding it fun to browse and see who and what catches my interest. I read the scene first, and then flip back to read why the author picked it. It’s really fun as a reader, and mini-lessons as a writer.

What’s This About a Mega-Sale?

How busy are they at I Heart SapphFic? They’ve also organized the Books Bargain Bonanza you should really check out too. That link takes you to a page with a book you might find of interest, just sayin’. (Hint: It’s 60% off for just 4 days!)

 
Copyrighted Material
profile of dark-skinned black woman with natural hair wearing a sleeveless top. Golden lights are over her shoulder and a wine glass in front of her.

Finding Nikki Velvet

Karin Kallmaker Book News, Checked Out, Coin of Love Series, Covered Hearts, Knight of Nights, Velvet in Venice, Wind in Her Hair 10 Comments

I have an itchy brain, and it pokes at me when a group of things has one item not like the others. Like when all the towels but one face fold-out on a shelf – what kind of madness is that!? I wish it had kicked in a little bit earlier on my latest project, though.

One of These Things . . .

If you follow me on social media, you know I was having a crisis of “One of these Things Is Not Like the Other” about my new Coin of Love novella series cover art. It was making my brain itch.

Once the next four installments were planned and the covers set side-by-side with Velvet in Venice, the five covers looked like this:

The itch in my brain was that the lovely gondola, canal, and old building on Velvet was nothing like any of the other covers, all of which featured a character from the story inside and conveyed (at least I hope so) the time period of the story. Read More

Sapphic Book Bingo graphic

Sapphic Book Bingo Unicorns – Find Them Here!

Karin Kallmaker Events and Appearances, Readers and Libraries 36 Comments

It’s a new year and time for the 2023 edition of Sapphic Book Bingo, organized by the completely awesome Jae.

Have you not heard of Sapphic Book Bingo? Well. Here’s all the details from Jae herself and links to download PDFs of the two bingo cards – Book Unicorns and the Main Categories.

Find out everything you need to know, then come back here for ideas on my books that will help you fill your Bingo card. You could have some of them on your shelf already. Reread a favorite or find something new!

Subscribe to Jae’s recommendations, by the way. You’ll get a wide range of suggestions and for sure discover some new authors. Her weekly blog posts will have some giveaways!

My Unicorns

Just pausing a moment to say that I’ve always wanted a unicorn and thanks to Jae, I’ve realized I have many. Thanks Jae!

Imperfect sex: Car Pool The chili pepper scene, one of the few in my books based on personal experience. Enough said. In A Fish Out of Water sex invokes a terrible curse, so I would say, yes, something goes wrong.Read More

Golden brown cookies with cracks and sugar sparkle on a white plate that features a green-hatted and green-scarf wearing snowman.

Seattle Ginger Spice Cookies

Karin Kallmaker Chocolate and Inspirations, Favorite Things, LIFE + STYLE 7 Comments

Why Seattle?

This recipe was stumbled upon by my wife, Maria. She thought it would be a tasty treat for everyone at her brother’s house up in Seattle. Somehow I was the one who ended up making them and DANG they turned out perfectly the first time, so preen for me. Everyone loved them.

Five days later they were getting a little bit dry, but still tasted good, especially dipped in a warm beverage. The ginger kick is there, but it’s not “hot.” The final taste is ginger with other warm spices and the rich goodness of dark sugars mixed with butter. Read More

The skyline of Venice from approaching from Murano Island to the Grand Canal

A Rainstorm in Rome and Self-Portrait of Brain Exploding

Karin Kallmaker Book News, Coin of Love Series, Covered Hearts, Knight of Nights, Velvet in Venice, Wind in Her Hair 0 Comments

I Lose My Heart to Venice

few years ago, before pandemic restrictions, my wife and I traveled to Italy. Our first stop was Venice where we were picked up by boat at the airport and whisked to our hotel on Murano Island, with the familiar skyline of Venice in the distance.

We were there for all of a few hours before I knew I’d write about Venice through the eyes of a smitten tourist. So many places can’t ever live up to their hype, but for me Venice was all that and so much more. Read More

Star Wars character Rey holds her yellow light saber

The Short Life and Excellent Death of Darth Lumpius

Karin Kallmaker LIFE + STYLE 48 Comments

The Force Was With Me

Back in August I knew I would be writing this post and that this would be the title.

Darth Lumpius had visions of immortality. Its evilness was about the size of two Cheerios. A routine mammogram screening discovered the nasty little bugger. Three weeks later Darth Lumpius was no more, aspirations of takeover all for nothing, thanks to a crack team of Resistance fighters: one surgeon, one radiologist, one radiation oncologist, one therapeutic oncologist, and a platoon of technicians and nurses. They each had their own light saber and the Force was with them. Read More

Cover Cowboys and Kisses written by Karin Kallmaker, narrated by Ann Shanks Etter

Now in Audio – Cowboys and Kisses read by Ann Shanks Etter

Karin Kallmaker Book News, Cowboys and Kisses 56 Comments


Drawing and comment period is now closed. Winners announced in this comment.


It’s always a little weird to hear someone else read my work aloud. Having lived with the voices of the characters in my head, sometimes for years, it’s like hearing familiar music but in a very different key.

So it’s a real relief when a narrator matches my sense of timing, hits the right notes on the humor, and adapts to the story tone to match my words. Ann Shanks Etter has done all that for the brand new release of the audiobook of Cowboys and Kisses. The audiobook is available at Audible, at iTunes, Nook Audio, Scribd, Spotify, Kobo and Walmart, Audiobooks.com, and many other retailers and library catalogs. It’s also available directly from me in mp3 and m4B formats. Read More

Close up of the face and hands of black business woman as she laughs and claps. Behind her another person also claps.

Surviving that First Panel – Moderators and Panelists

Karin Kallmaker Business of Books, Events and Appearances, Resources 0 Comments

Panels are a terrific way in the sapphic fiction world to boost your professional street cred and talk about your work. You’re in the midst of a group of other pros – some of whom might be real rock stars in the room – and you get to learn from them about both their work and how to manage the panel experience.

Panels can be live as part of a larger conference, or a one-off hosted by a bookstore or library. They can be online during a weekend writing course, or an hour of a fun topic organized by authors or publishers as a way to engage readers. Each event will be different, and each will have its own audience.

Please consider this a wide-ranging set of tools you can customize to each event as needed.

Read More