An Invitation to the RRBC Writers’ Conference & Book Expo

 

After a bit of a hiatus on my blog due to writing projects — and to life itself — I’m happy to report that this week I’ll be a participant in the inaugural RRBC Writer’s Conference and Book Expo — a virtual book fair Dec. 1-3, sponsored by the ever-innovative Rave Reviews Book Club (for more info on RRBC click here).

The live link will not be unveiled until late on Nov. 30, but come back to this post then to access the various “Author Booths” of fiction and nonfiction writers from around the world. Right before the holidays – a perfect time to find new “reads”! The conference will also feature “Vendor Booths” for those seeking professional services. There will be so many resources for writers, readers and more, all on virtual display from Dec. 1-3.

My Author Booth will feature more on my novel, Bravura, part one of The Music We Made novel series about three generations of the Driscoll family of musicians. My Vendor Booth will highlight my professional writing and editing services that are the culmiation of 25 years of high-end experience.

Hope to see you there soon. Onward!

 

 

 

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An Interview with RRBC’s “Rave Waves Buy the Book”

Yesterday I was honored to be interviewed by author Beem Weeks for one of the weekly online radio shows of the Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC). Entitled “Rave Waves Buy The Book,” the show features a different author for a half-hour each week, highlighting their latest work and taking questions from Twitter.

It’s one of the many resources for authors that comes as part of membership in the Rave Reviews Book Club. For more information on how to join RRBC, click here.

The “Raves Waves Buy the Book” show yesterday centered on my novel, “Bravura,” which I’ve shared about on this blog previously. The book follows a group of young classical musicians in 1960’s London and beyond.

But the show gives some insights into the book and my writing process which I hadn’t shared on the blog before. So I thought it would be great to have the interview speak for itself as my post this week.

Enjoy! And onward.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ravereviewsbookclub/2016/04/16/rrbc-rave-waves-blogtalkradio-buy-the-book-with-lisa-kirazian

 

 

 

The Beauty of Book Clubs

 

I’ve enjoyed three book club experiences in the past several months where my book “Bravura” was featured and read by a group of women (and men!) Each of them was markedly different and yet I learned amazing things from all of them.

What I Learned as a #RRBC Book of the Month

I had the distinct honor and pleasure of my novel Bravura being selected as a Book of the Month by the Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC) in October.

It was a tremendous month. I saw sales of the book increase. More reviews of the book came in on Amazon and other sites. Increased attention on Twitter came in the form of new followers, retweets, and so on.

But more than gaining numbers, I also learned a great deal from the Book of the Month process. The lessons will stay with me far beyond the month of October 2015:

More on BRAVURA – RRBC Book of the Month

“We love who we can, while we can.” – Maggie Crawford, BRAVURA.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m so grateful that my novel BRAVURA was selected as an October Book of the Month by the Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC). It feels like a big (early) birthday present!

UPDATE: I’m so pleased to say that as a result of being selected as a RRBC Book of the Month, more people are reading, reviewing and providing valuable feedback to me than ever before. I’m extremely grateful for this learning experience. AND I’m thrilled to be getting to know many more authors and readers out there — many of whom I perhaps would not have ‘met’ if it weren’t for this special month.

NEW: BRAVURA, and The Music We Made book series, are now on Pinterest! To visit, click here! And to visit the book’s Facebook page, click here.

This is the first time a work of mine has been selected as a Book of the Month anywhere, and recently I enjoyed having the novel selected for an east coast woman’s book club, another first, which was a joy as well.

I’m grateful for this opportunity — and thrilled that fellow readers and authors are getting to know my work better, just as I am so glad to be getting to know theirs.

Click here for more info on the three books selected as RRBC October Books of the Month, including works by authors Jason Zandri and Rea Nolan Martin.

My fellow Book of the Month-ers and I enjoyed a great online chat with the RRBC Book Club Discussion this past Thursday. Thanks to all of those who stopped by and participated!

Again, if you are a reader or author, please consider joining RRBC, as it is a tremendous resource for writers and writing, and a fantastic source of new works.

ABOUT BRAVURA

The first book in The Music We Made series, BRAVURA, is inspired by my experiences as a violinist. It follows a group of young classical musicians from 1960’s London to the present. We watch siblings Kate Driscoll (an inspired violinist) and Neil Driscoll (a troubled pianist) and their circle of friends and loves go from childhood auditions to conservatoire to the world stage, and the challenges they face onstage and off.

For me, the whole series is a love letter to music, a valentine to musicians.  Its theme quote is TS Eliot’s memorable line: “You are the music while the music lasts.”

The first scene of what became BRAVURA came to me after one of my violin lessons as a teenager and didn’t let me go for the next thirty years. The trajectory of how this book came about is detailed in my blog post, “The Journey of an Idea,” (click here).

You can read the first chapter of BRAVURA here.  It’s been featured on Literary Fiction Book Review here. And you can watch the book trailer to BRAVURA here:

Purchase BRAVURA on Amazon here

The next book in the series, APPASSIONATO, comes out this Winter 2016.

It follows an artist of the next generation, Jenny Driscoll, a composer and conductor, navigating her personal and professional life in London in the 1990’s. You can watch the trailer here.

I hope you take time this month to check out BRAVURA on Kindle or paperback. Thanks for all of who you already have! Feedback and reviews always welcome. And thanks again to RRBC for selecting the novel as an October Book of the Month!

Onward!

My Website

My Amazon Author Page

Twitter: @kirazian, @TheMusicWeMade.  Instagram: lisakirazian

Behind BRAVURA – RRBC Book of the Month

It’s a pleasure to share that my novel BRAVURA was selected as an October Book of the Month by the Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC). It feels like a big (early) birthday present!

This is the first time a work of mine has been selected as a Book of the Month anywhere, and recently I enjoyed having the novel selected for an east coast woman’s book club, another first, which was a joy as well.

I’m grateful for this opportunity — and thrilled that fellow readers and authors are getting to know my work better, just as I am so glad to be getting to know theirs.

Click here for more info on the three books selected as RRBC October Books of the Month, including works by authors Jason Zandri and Rea Nolan Martin.

My fellow Book of the Month-ers and I will be chatting online with host author Jan Hawke in RRBC’S Book Club Discussion this Thursday, October 15th at 2pm CST (12 noon PST) at this link.

If you are a reader or author, please consider joining RRBC, as it is a tremendous resource for writers and writing, and a fantastic source of new works.

BEHIND BRAVURA

A longform television script I wrote years ago became the basis for my first novel series, The Music We Made, about three generations of the Driscoll family of musicians in London. From 1960’s London to the present, we follow siblings Kate Driscoll (an inspired violinist) and Neil Driscoll (a troubled pianist) and their circle of friends and loves — from childhood auditions to conservatoire to the world stage, and the challenges they face onstage and off.

For me, the series is a love letter to music, a valentine to musicians.  Its theme quote is TS Eliot’s memorable line: “You are the music while the music lasts.”

BRAVURA is the first book in the series, inspired by my experiences as a violinist. The first scene came to me coming out of one of my violin lessons as a teenager and didn’t let me go for the next thirty years. The trajectory of how this book came about is detailed in my blog post, “The Journey of an Idea,” (click here).

You can read the first chapter of BRAVURA here.  It’s been featured on Literary Fiction Book Review here. And you can watch the book trailer to BRAVURA here:

Purchase BRAVURA on Amazon here

The next book in the series, APPASSIONATO, comes out this Winter 2016. It follows an artist of the next generation, Jenny Driscoll, a composer and conductor, navigating her personal and professional life in London in the 1990’s.

I hope you take time this month to check out BRAVURA on Kindle or paperback. Feedback and reviews always welcome. And thanks again to RRBC for selecting the novel as an October Book of the Month!

Onward!

My Website

My Amazon Author Page

Twitter: @kirazian, @TheMusicWeMade.  Instagram: lisakirazian

RRBC Back to School Book and Blog Block Party!

HELLO FRIENDS!

So happy to welcome you to my blog today, from San Diego, California! Thanks to the Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC) for the opportunity to share more about my work! The RRBC Back to School Book and Blog Party in September has been a blast of inspiration so far, visiting so many great author sites, and I’m so happy to be involved! Click here for all the other participants this month so you can visit their blogs too. And if you’re not one one already, consider becoming a member of RRBC!

I would love to receive your comments — not only because writers encouraging writers is the BEST thing, but also so that you can be rewarded! Anyone who leaves me a comment today (9/21) is eligible for these prizes:

My GIVEAWAYS today are:

1. One Amazon $25 gift card!! (WINNER: John Fioravanti)

2. One Starbucks $15 gift card! (WINNER: Amy Reece)

3. One Hard Copy of BRAVURA, first novel in “The Music We Made” series (WINNER: Michael King)

4. One Kindle E-Book Copy of BRAVURA, first novel in “The Music We Made” series (WINNER: clynsg)

Total Winners: 4 (Will ship anywhere!)

THANKS RRBC!

I’ve been an RRBC member for just under a year but have been blessed to meet many of you and read your fine work as a result. I look forward to getting to know you better. RRBC founder Nonnie Jules recently encouraged me to engage more, helping me see the difference between support (which I had been doing with reviews, tweets, etc.) and engagement (discussing authors’ works on the RRBC website, commenting on blogs, getting to actually know some of you, and sharing more about my own writing, which I hadn’t been doing). It was an A-Ha! Moment I truly appreciate. It’s made my experience even deeper and more satisfying, and I can’t wait to keep going “Onward!” (as I like to say at the end of all my blog posts).

Earlier this year, I was also very fortunate to have a piece in the first volume of the RRBC anthology, Rave Soup for the Writer’s Soul (available here) and to have my blog win “Best Blog – Third Place” in RRBC’s contest! That was a real affirmation, since I’ve only been blogging for about a year and a half. Thank you! I appreciate your inspiring examples and kind support.

My Website

My Amazon Author Page

Twitter: @kirazian, @TheMusicWeMade, @ReflectionDay1.  Instagram: lisakirazian

A BIT OF BACKGROUND!

I’m a longtime writer and director of plays and films and a more recent fiction author. I’ve also edited books for publishers and audiobook producers for several years and have published numerous nonfiction articles. All of these experiences — plus growing up an avid reader, the daughter of an English professor, and studying writing/literature at Stanford — truly informed me when I finally started writing fiction seriously.  In all forms, however, I love writing about women, artists and anyone who is facing a crossroads of character or faith. I feel I was put on this earth to encourage people to learn more about God, themselves and each other, through my writing, speaking and relationships. (Bio at end of post).

MY BOOK SERIES

A longform television script I wrote years ago became the basis for my first novel series, The Music We Made, about three generations of the Driscoll family of musicians in London. From 1960’s London to the present, we follow siblings Kate Driscoll (an inspired violinist) and Neil Driscoll (a troubled pianist) and their circle of friends and loves — from childhood auditions to conservatoire to the world stage, and the challenges they face onstage and off.

For me, the series is a love letter to music, a valentine to musicians.  Its theme quote is TS Eliot’s unforgettable line: “You are the music while the music lasts.”

The first book in the series, years in the making, is BRAVURA, released December 2014. It was inspired by my experiences as a violinist. How this book came about is detailed in my blog post, “The Journey of an Idea,” (click here).

BRAVURA on Amazon

You can read the first chapter of BRAVURA here.  It’s been featured on Literary Fiction Book Review here. And you can watch the book trailer to BRAVURA here:

The next book in the series, APPASSIONATO, comes out this Winter in late 2015/early 2016. It continues the story of the next generation: Jenny Driscoll, a composer and conductor, navigating her personal and professional life in London in the 1990’s.

You can read the first chapter of APPASSIONATO here. And you can watch the trailer to APPASSIONATO here:

The final book in the series, CADENZA, will come out in Fall 2017.  It takes the series to America in the present day, where Jenny Driscoll’s grown son, opera tenor Brian Martin, travels to find out what he never knew about his grandmother, the famous American soprano, Maggie Crawford.

The entire Music We Made series of books is also being adapted for television, which I’m thrilled about. As all writers know, it’s a marathon to get our work to be the best it can be — and to get it to the right audience, but I’m willing to stay the course! I hope you are, too.

OTHER WORK

Just for a little change, I also wanted to share about my most recent film, REFLECTION DAY, which I wrote (adapted from a stage play) and directed:

REFLECTION DAY is about an African American woman with Alzheimer’s and her young male caregiver. It screened at several film festivals last year across the US and is being used as a teaching tool for nurses and caregivers at various schools and facilities. I was proud to be a part of this production. You can watch the trailer here.

                                                          Rich Pierre-Louis and Edythe Davis in “Reflection Day.”

We never know what direction our creativity will take us, but all I know is that we have to follow it, no matter what the risk or challenge. That’s all for now, Friends! Keep going, keep writing, and don’t forget to leave a comment! Thank you!

ONWARD!

I’m proud to say that the fantastic artist Natalie Kaldjian designed all my book covers and can be reached at http://www.nataliekaldjian.com.

LISA’S BIOGRAPHY

Lisa Kirazian is a writer of plays, screenplays, articles and a new novel series.  Her scripts have been produced and published nationwide and she directs for stage and screen.  Her articles have also appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Performing Arts Magazine, NPR/KPBS Radio, Student Leadership Magazine, and the San Diego Union Tribune.

Lisa was born and raised in San Diego and is a graduate of Stanford University.  Her writing mentors have included Anna Deavere Smith, Paul Peterson, Janet Tiger, and Paula Vogel.

She resides with her husband Steve in San Diego, California, and their two daughters.  Lisa serves on several arts boards, is active in her Armenian community, and is a popular speaker.  She blogs weekly about writing and creativity and is currently at work on a new play, a new novel, and a book about mentorship.

True That: Fiction vs. Nonfiction

I can’t believe how much this issue has come up in my life and work.

Acquaintances and distant relatives of mine still say, “Yeah, I prefer nonfiction because it’s TRUE!” And I wince.

Sometimes our kids ask, when they read a book or watch a movie: “Mom, is this real? Is this true? Did this really happen?”

Or in the wonderful film Sideways, when Paul Giamatti’s character meets his friend’s future in-laws (Armenian, I’m embarrassed to say) and they tell him they prefer nonfiction to novels like his, because nonfiction is true, based on real life.

And fiction isn’t based on life?

What is true about anything a writer writes?

If It Weren’t For…

I’m thrilled to share that this Wednesday I’ll be interviewed on the creative blog, Clockwork Conversations, by February Grace, author of wonderful books such as Godspeed and Of Stardust (Booktrope, amzn.to/1pQmCBT).

It’s been a joy getting to know the lovely “Bru” a bit better on Twitter, and sharing thoughts about our writing careers, latest projects, and life in general. She is a talented writer and painter, a generous spirit, and a brave, wise woman.

She’s also a perfect example of why I’m glad I joined Twitter: I’ve grown as a writer and person as a result of meeting her and reading her work. And if I hadn’t joined the Twittersphere, I would not have known about her and would have lost out on all of that growth.

Sometimes when we step out toward a new path or venture, we cannot see the benefits right away. But after the last two years, I can now point to numerous writers, books, conferences, publications, opportunities and resources I found on Twitter that I never would have found otherwise — or it would have taken me months longer, at best, to find all of it online in random searches.

And who would think that as a result, two years later, I’d have the chance to share a creative exchange with such a talented lady. I look forward to having her on this blog soon as well!

For our Clockwork Conversations blog interview, please click here starting on Wednesday, Oct. 29: http://www.clockworkconversations.blogspot.com/

February Grace is on Twitter at @FebruaryGrace. Although Clockwork Conversations will go on hiatus after my interview, you can visit her own ongoing blog and website at http://februarywriter.blogspot.com/.

Try venturing into something new this week, online or elsewhere. Onward!

P.S. One adventurous suggestion: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) begins this weekend on Nov. 1. Your chance to write a first draft (50,000 words) in 30 days. It is an amazing experience! (nanowrimo.org)

P.P.S. My book BRAVURA is out on Kindle — the first in the “The Music We Made” series about a group of classical musicians in 1960’s London.  You can order it here. Paperback coming before the holidays.

My Worst Trip Ever and Why I Loved It

I currently chair a national Armenian women’s organization that helps sustain our cultural heritage, develop Armenian women leaders and support Armenian families around the world.  Some would call it a sorority, but I consider it much deeper and stronger than that. However, one similarity is that fellow members call each other ‘sisters.’

And let’s just say that my fellow ‘sisters’ and I had an interesting travel adventure this past week, to say the least. As I write, we national officers are on the final leg of a very long trip across multiple cities and airlines.

In two weeks, we visited five chapters of our organization across the east and midwest. On our most recent trip, we had to travel through seven cities to visit three chapters. We missed two flights due to weather and plane delays. We were twice told the planes would be held for us, only to see the plane slowly back away from the gate the minute we got there, after we ran — yes, ran — through multiple terminals.

The gate agent on one end said, “Oh yes, we called already; they’re holding the flight for you; go, go, go!”

The gate agent on the other end said, “We never got a call…”

These and other snafus resulted in two unexpected overnight stays in two different, non-visitation cities.

“But you can get your luggage at Terminal E….” And a half hour later:

“Oh, no your luggage isn’t at Terminal E; it’s at Terminal C, and you can’t access it until tomorrow.”

Then we were delayed 2.5 hrs on another flight because the pilot never showed up and the airline had to search for another pilot last minute.

In another case, our flight was delayed 4.5 hours because Vice President Joe Biden was landing at the airport on Air Force Two for a last minute visit, grounding all scheduled flights for the entire morning.

Sometimes, our luggage made it to our destinations when we did; in other cases it did not. At one point, we got our luggage after being redirected multiple times, only to open two suitcases to find the contents soaking wet — apparently left out in the thunderous New England rain. Two of my officers caught colds and also injured their back and shoulder. And I’m not sure we ever slept more than 4 hours on any given night — and not always in a bed.

Those who have seen the film, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, about a frazzled father and his unexpected friend, overcoming hurdle after hurdle, trying to make it home for Thanksgiving, will certainly understand the frustrations we felt.

But we love our ‘sisters.’

That’s what kept coming back to our minds.

But we love our sisters, our fellow members. And we did not want anything to get in the way of our visiting them, after they had been planning and preparing for weeks with warm anticipation.

Sure enough, the visits to the gals of Worcester, Providence, Boston, Milwaukee and Chicago, were some of the loveliest, laughter-filled times we’ve ever had in the organization. Truly, we will never forget them. Those loving times of warm welcome and fellowship, celebration of common history, partnership in a shared vision — and laughter about all our craziness, into the wee hours — are what our organization is all about. They are what service and friendship are all about.

When our relationships, life situations, or writing projects take us on all sorts of unexpected delays, detours, or outright stoppages, we have to remember:

But this is who I love; this is what I love; this is why and how I love.

And that sense of love-centered purpose is what enables us to keep going, to see the journey through to completion — and to be grateful, especially as Thanksgiving nears. The pockets of love that we open along the way of a disjointed journey are worth all the headaches. Most of the time.

But don’t get me wrong: I’m still writing a few letters to United Airlines and US Airways. Soon as I finish this blog. They’re gonna have to show me some love too.

Onward!

P.S. My book BRAVURA is out on Kindle — the first in the “The Music We Made” series about a group of classical musicians in 1960’s London.  You can order it here. Downloads are free through 10/20!!