Amberly Smith

No Longer Here

A Smith — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 01:24:07 +0000

Now I’m here

amberlysmith.com

We’re Moving

A Smith — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 16:20:28 +0000

I’m working on a new website.

Come visit me at

amberlysmith.blogspot.com

Mayhem in the Grove Accepting Speaker Proposals

A Smith — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:35:18 +0000

Awesome local conference and speakers get in free plus $50.

http://murderinthegrove.com/workshop.html

The chaos and the Dreamspinner

A Smith — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:38:55 +0000

Started another semester at Kaplan today. Three classes at 18 credits instead of 2 at 12, which is slightly crazy. One class called Tools for the Digital Age is all about social media, blogging and how communication within companies has changed because of those things. Should be interesting. The bigger load is in hopes that I’ll be able to graduate in January 2011, six months ahead of schedule.

Got a J O B but I ain’t saying where only that I’m slightly terrified and still looking for something else.

Oh yeah and I sent a partial of RNR to a great epublisher called Dreamspinner. They publish some of my favs like Andrew Grey and Lyn Gala. And they requested a full, which means they wanted to see the rest of it.

Mayhem in the Grove 2011, which is a writing conference I’m on the board for, is coming along nicely. Sherrilyn Kenyon is our Guest of Honor and Michael Hauge is the Master Class Presenter. Check out the new website courtesy of local kilt wearing NaNoWriMo leader Sam Justice.

Exposition Class

A Smith — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:00:12 +0000

I’m teaching an exposition workshop June 9th 6:30 pm at Rediscovered Bookshop as part of Boise’s Novel Orchard group.

Here is a snippet from the handout.

Information the character already knows or should know, shouldn’t be told to the reader. She took every form of martial arts? Great. We will see that as she fights. She can tell that to someone who questions her. She can’t tell us and another character shouldn’t tell her either. “Well you know with your seven different black belts and ability to bench press 200 pounds, I figured you could take care of yourself.” WRONG.
Come to the class and I’ll clue you into better ways of giving information to the reader that doesn’t slow the pacing and doesn’t sound unrealistic.

Boise Novel Orchard Contest

A Smith — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:18:53 +0000

Boise Novel Orchard is sponsoring a contest! With prizes! For North-West writers and artists!
What do you need to do to win? First, you need to enter. To enter, you’ll need to write something using the theme “bridges.” Fiction and non-fiction should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words, poetry no more than 22 lines. We’re looking for black and white cover art too! There’s a $10 entry fee, with one entry per person.

What are we offering up? Winners will be published in a chapbook, due to be released in May. There’s also a cash prize. Entries are due no later than March 20, 2010.

There are more details here, on the website.

Commercials

A Smith — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:28:41 +0000

These are the commercials I used for one of my final projects. Check them out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4kNl7cQdcU – Folgers (Christmas)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNScRM_NzLI – Victoria Secret and Michael Bay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFDOI24RRAE – Chiquita Banana

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLdFreZRw0s – Condom Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yqlTMvp8 – Herding Cats

School Breather

A Smith — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:31:39 +0000

Just finished my first term with Kaplan University Online and (though its not official yet) will be getting A’s in both classes. Ya me. I’m 70% done with Christmas stuff and am ramping up for the online class I’ll be teaching for Popular Fiction about exposition.

Hope everyone is having an awesome month! Happy Chanaukah.

Recomends Wanted

A Smith — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:33:12 +0000

I’ll share a few recommendations but don’t leave me hanging. What are you listening to, reading or watching that I should be checking out?

Any fans of obscure movies? Check out the RoughCuts on YouTube.

The Decemberists. A musical group self described as victorian punk. A co-worker and fellow Smith got me listening to them.

Chart Jackers Project. A group of British YouTubers decided to use the internet and their subscribers to create a song to raise money for children’s week, a big event in UK. I’ve been following since day one and love the final version of the song.

Carlotta and Saving Abel still on continuous loop.

Rediscovered Bookshop. Okay, if you are within 20 miles of Boise you should be a regular customer. They know their stuff and promote the stuffing out of local authors and events. 2nd year in a row voted Boise’s Best.

Castle – A tv show about a writer who plays poker with other best selling authors and shadows a NYC homicide detective. Great dialog and Nathan Fillian (Mal from Firefly and Captain Hammer) is perfect for the role.

Twitter. Does it work? No clue. But it is so easy to text a short pithy comment once in a while from my cell phone.

Mt. Dew Horde. I’ve tried the Alliance flavor too but the cherry Horde is better. Don’t tell my husband. His level 80 can kick my can. Last year when he was still job hunting, he created a character named Drhorrible and I had a Captnhammer. We pvp’d War Song gulch like nobodies business. So a kid dressed as Arthis for Halloween, did a spot on good job with the costume.

The Growing 2B Read Pile

A Smith — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:07:47 +0000

As a fiction addict I’ve been getting my fix via Castle, Mentalist and Doll House all of which I totally recommend. I can DVR them on my Directv Receiver and watch at my leisure when the kids are sleeping. But I’d like to read more. Whose on my pile and whose been knocked down?

ZA Maxfield – soooo good at the gut twisting emotional impact with a side of sex.

Suzanne Brockmann – never makes it to the actual pile. I read her the first week they come out.

Jan Hambright’s – besides just being an all around great chapter mate she’s the guru of plot twists.

Right now I’m reading a ton of Silhouette Nocturne because I think my Amazon series would be a good fit with that line and I’m ‘researching’.

Books knocked off the pile unfinished?

I’ve tried to read (name with held to protect the writer) Again. There is no story question. If I hadn’t read the back of the book, which I never do, I would have no clue there was supposed to be some great world ending conflict. They do the dead on page 55, it should have happened on page five, and then what? Why should I continue? She is often placed on my pile, I’m intrigued by the story concept or a friend recommends a series by her but I have yet to finish one.

Harry Dresden, which is a dorky, wizardly version of Elvis Cole. I have a strong geeky side and I like the first person detective series. But there were soooo many characters and I haven’t decided if I care enough about any of them to read book 2.

So if you are one of the two people still reading this blog, tell me what’s just been placed on or knocked off your to be read pile and why.