Donna Carrick's Blog

Waiting For Sunrise ~ Donna Carrick

Is there a more perfect time of day than this? The world is hushed, children still asleep. Clock ticks quietly, reminding me of the passing of days, slowed for a moment, but soon to resume the race from week to week, year to year.

Watching for the sunrise. A thought, captured in the darkness, one crystalline piece of mind. Scooped up in the hand, placed in a jar,… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on March 19, 2010 at 11:33am — No Comments

I'm pleased to announce...

that my weekly Mystery Series, "Two Good Hands", is now being featured on The Penny Dreadful, new Serial site being launched today!

All four Volumes are now available:

Volume 1~ The Circling Fan

Volume 2~…

Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on February 8, 2010 at 1:24am — No Comments

"Two Good Hands" ~ Vol.1: The Circling Fan, by Donna Carrick

Just for fun, this week I launched my new weekly Leda And Strachan Mystery Series available for free-reading at: http://blogdc.donnacarrick.com/

This is something that I couldn't visualise as a novel, but it's been dancing around in my brain for awhile. Finally, I decided to use is as a continuing short story.

Hope you'll enjoy! As always, comments are welcome.

Best… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on January 20, 2010 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Wishing one and all a very Happy New Year...

Hope you had a wonderful holiday, and joy and peace to be yours throughout 2010.
Donna Carrick

Added by Donna Carrick on December 29, 2009 at 10:42pm — 1 Comment

Social Media and the Arts (with corrected link...)

Canadian Crimewriter Jill Edmondson (Debut novel: Blood And Groom) was gracious enough this week to host my guest-blog on the topic of social media and its effect on today's artistic community. Drop in, and please feel free to leave a comment!

Added by Donna Carrick on December 15, 2009 at 10:24pm — No Comments

The ever-changing publishing industry...

Journalist Vince Versace did an interview recently with Alex and me on the topic of 'self-publishing' our books (my The First Excellence and Alex's "Two Scoops" Is Just Right). The article is now up on Vince's site. Hope you'll pay a visit!

Added by Donna Carrick on December 15, 2009 at 10:16am — No Comments

Social Media and the Arts...

Canadian Crimewriter Jill Edmondson (Debut novel: Blood And Groom) was gracious enough this week to host my guest-blog on the topic of social media and its effect on today's artistic community. Drop in, and please feel free to leave a comment!

Added by Donna Carrick on December 15, 2009 at 10:00am — 2 Comments

The First Excellence~Donna Carrick, Review by Kirkus Discoveries, November 27, 2009

Kirkus Discoveries is about to post the following review of The First Excellence!

...compelling storylines...

A complex mystery with multiple plots and a host of intriguing characters.

When Fa-ling was a child in Guangxi, China, her birth mother—fearful that her ruthless mother-in-law would kill… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on November 29, 2009 at 2:10am — 4 Comments

National Adoption Day

Today, Saturday, November 21, 2009, is National Adoption Day.

In North America alone, so many children are currently waiting in foster care for a permanent family to come into their lives. In other parts of the world, for example in China, where our own dear daughter Tammy-Li Ming-Hui was born, countless infants and young children reside in the stasis of… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on November 22, 2009 at 3:00am — No Comments

Reminder -- Join me if you can today on Twitter's popular #LitChat

Today from 4-500 pm EST I've been asked to guest-host the very popular writers' chat group #LitChat on Twitter. The topic this week is Alternate Avenues in Publishing -- so the discussion should be lively to say the least!

If you don't already have a Twitter account, signing up is free, and fun. It's purely selfish I know, but I'd sure love to see some familiar CrimeSpace faces there.

If you are already Twitter-Savvy, then you know all you need do is to use the search… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on November 7, 2009 at 1:44am — No Comments

Coming Event -- You are all invited!

I've been asked to guest-host an hour of #LitChat, the popular and fun writers' chat group that runs from 4-5:00 Monday, Wednesday and Friday on Twitter.

I'll be there on Friday, November 6 at 4:00 EST. It would be a real thrill to see some of my CrimeSpace friends there to offer support (or even good-natured razzing!)

The topic that week will be the process of self-publishing -- the hurdles and… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on October 27, 2009 at 9:56am — No Comments

A Little Write-Humour (getting all Mozart-y on you!)

They say the first step toward self-improvement is admitting one has a problem. To that end, I stand in front of a virtual room of perhaps thirty people on this cool fall morning, somewhere in Canada…

Me: Hello. My name is Donna and I am a writer.

#Group: (Mild applause.)

Cindi (the moderator): Welcome, Donna. What brings you to our… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on October 19, 2009 at 2:10am — No Comments

Research-- A labour of love, or just one more diversion?

Some people share a popular misconception that fictional stories appear fully formed in the mind, waiting to be dropped casually onto a page, as if the writer is nothing more than an automaton, a vehicle through which fiction can flow.

There are, in fact, many aspects to creating any written work. Take for example the art of research. I’m often asked how much research I do and what resources I use. Depending on the type of story being told, at some… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on October 13, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Review of Gold And Fishes, by Madhouse Family Reviews

I was deeply honoured by this review of Gold And Fishes, by Madhouse Family Reviews. Just wanted to share it with you all.

Best in writing,
Donna

Added by Donna Carrick on October 5, 2009 at 1:49pm — 3 Comments

The First Excellence, printed proof has arrived!

I couldn't be more excited!

Added by Donna Carrick on September 26, 2009 at 9:00am — 6 Comments

Writing and Parenting: An "excerpt from Trish"-- Part 1 of 3

As an author, wife, mother of 3 and office manager, I am often asked how I find time for my craft. On the surface, it seems to most people that being a parent takes a toll on one's ability to write, or at least on one's productivity. The following is Part 1 of a 3-part article that hopes to capture some of the essence of what it means to be a parent and a writer.

Trish was born in Ontario, and now… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on September 15, 2009 at 9:47am — No Comments

Gypsy Love Song - something different by Donna Carrick

Long ago in my mis-spent youth, I used to spend a great deal of my passion in writing poetry. Every once in a great while I dust off some of those old sheets -- just to remind myself who I've been.

Gypsy Love Song

Thank you for the kind words that

You rained like silver on my head.

They made me laugh until I cried.

Too bad they were so insincere.… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on September 14, 2009 at 2:21am — No Comments

Recalling a shared sorrow-- September 10, 2009

Well, folks, here we are again, 1 day away from the anniversary of a dark mark on our history. If you're like me, you will remember quite vividly where you were on that fateful morning.

I work for a large multi media firm, and on that awful day I was at my desk, as usual. At 9:05 one of my staff members call to say she was held up in traffic on the highway.

"But Donna," she added, "there's something really wierd going on. Everything's really quiet out… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on September 11, 2009 at 4:00am — 2 Comments

Toot! Toot! My bit of news...

My latest mystery is finally scheduled for release in late September! "The First Excellence" is set in China and features a young Chinese-Canadian woman, Li Fa-ling, who returns to the land of her birth. There she encounters murder, kidnapping, political intrigue and troubling memories of her years in an impoverished orphanage prior to being adopted. Along with Detective Wang Yong-qi and his brilliant but uncouth partner, Cheng… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on August 29, 2009 at 4:16pm — 2 Comments

Confused about Networking and Self-promotion? Don’t ‘drop your pants’ just yet – there may be hope!

With so many social networking sites available on the Internet, I thought I’d do some research to discover the emerging Do’s and Don’t’s of Self-Promotion. After all, one doesn’t want to become known as a Dreaded Spammer. On the other hand, we all know that “Bench Advertising Works”, so in that spirit, I set out to uncover the mysteries of Global Networking.

According to the experts, the following are the… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on August 23, 2009 at 2:30am — 4 Comments

Donna Carrick's Blog (46)