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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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

3 Ways Writing a Book Transported Me to the Twilight Zone: Guest Post by Colleen M. Story

I’m thrilled today to welcome author Colleen M. Story to my blog. Her post explores the experience around her latest release, Rise of the Sidenah, and her Writing and Wellness website is a must-read for authors seeking balance in their life and work. She is a delight and an inspiration.

Welcome, Colleen!

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3 Ways Writing a Book Transported Me to the Twilight Zone:

Think of the Twilight Zone, and words like “other worldly,” “spooky,” or “magical” may come to mind. Most likely you’ll imagine something with no rational explanation.

And of course, there’s that popular theme song. (Do-do-do-doo…do-do-do-doo…)

I found myself humming that song several times while working on my first book, Rise of the Sidenah. Things would happen that I couldn’t explain. Were they really magical, or were they just coincidence?

See what you think.

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?

Go There.

If there’s a place that has inspired you in the past — to write a specific story, or to revel in a great life experience, a place where you somehow feel free and most yourself, a place that you always come away from refreshed, better than you were before, then guess what?

“Bravura” – Chapter One

Kathleen adored the meadow outside her house in Somerset. The rustling, the chirping, the sweet smell of earth whispered music to her. Her mother could see this and decided it was time.

That night—no bomb scare on the radio, no blaring overhead—Mrs. Driscoll put five-year-old Kathleen to bed with great anticipation.

“Promise me you’ll listen,” Mrs. Driscoll said.

“All night?” Kathleen asked.

“Until you sleep. Like you do with the sounds of the meadow. Don’t get out of bed.”

“Why?”

“If you do as I ask, I’ll have a surprise for you in the morning.”