Isabelle Drake

The past couple months were filled with conference travel.  In early March, I attended an academic/literacy conference in Baltimore. It's an event I've attended on and off for over a decade. When I first started attending, I went as an MFA student. The faculty of the MFA program I was attending told us the event was a blast - super fun! I am, and was back then, all about having fun especially if it involves books and writers. So, expecting the sort of fun I typically had at a writing event, off I went.  As it turned out, as I figured out the first time I went, it was not that kind of fun. I found the other attendees to be a tad stuffy at times. No laughing in the halls. Very literary. As it turned out, it was a serious event filled with serious people. I did have the promised "good time" but it took some rethinking on my part. Once I caught on to the serious nature of the event, I decided not to tell anyone I was a romance author. Meanwhile, over the years, I continue...

  Hit here for the April newsletter. In 2008, I headed off to LA for my first “big” signing. I was writing for Ellora’s Cave and the signing was part of BookExpoAmerica. The book expo was huge, filled with (maybe) hundreds of publishers that were there showing off the books they currently had available and the books to be published in the upcoming year. The idea was to connect with booksellers and other book distributers in order to get the books—old fashioned paper books—on the shelves—old fashioned actual shelves—in the stores—old fashioned brick and mortar stores. At the time I was new to publishing. The posts I wrote about the trip were among the very first posts I published on my blog. The first photo in the block below is of me at the Friends coffee shop while on a studio tour.  I was, obviously, excited to be in LA, signing books and being part of the sparkling excitement that is LA and the buzzing excitement that was BEA. BEA doesn’t exist any longer. COVID, no need to...

 In 2008, I headed off to LA for my first “big” signing. I was writing for Ellora’s Cave and the signing was part of BookExpoAmerica . The book expo was huge, filled with (maybe) hundreds of publishers that were there showing off the books they currently had available and the books to be published in the upcoming year. The idea was to connect with booksellers and other book distributers in order to get the books—old fashioned paper books—on the shelves—old fashioned actual shelves—in the stores—old fashioned brick and mortar stores. At the time I was new to publishing. The posts I wrote about the trip were among the very first posts I published on my blog. I was, obviously, excited to be in LA, signing books and being part of the sparkling excitement that is LA and the buzzing excitement that was BEA. BEA doesn’t exist any longer. COVID, no need to say more, right? But I attended a couple times, and it was always Big Fun and attending often made me feel like I’d Made It. This past...

  Looking forward to spending the day, Saturday, July 27, at Sterlingfest’sannual author book sale . I’ll be there all day, 10-4, at the Greater Detroit Romance Writers table. Location: Sterling Heights Public Library.

Saturday, June 1 Farmington Author & Book Festival in Farmington, Michigan I'll be signing books 10 - 5 and speaking on a panel about romance books at 3. Friday, June 14 Hamburg Family Fest Hamburg, Michigan: June 2024 Saturday 27 SterlingFest Art & Music Fair Sterling Heights, Michigan: July 2024

  Had fun with Marty Vee who I met at Rally of Writers. I was happy to accept her invite to join her on Romance Writers Therapy and chat about scene structure, critique partners' best practices and The Sixth Sense. Enjoy this craft heavy episode!

June will start off with my first event of the summer, the Farmington Author & Book Festival book signing on Saturday, June 3 in Farmington Michigan. This will be my first time attending this festival. I hear its huge, so I'm planning to arrive early...so I don't get lost. You are are in the metro Detroit area, come find us. The address is 33430 Grand River Avenue, Farmington, Michigan. Hit here for the June newsletter

  Saturday, June 3, I'll be attending the Farmington Author & Book Festival.  When: 10 am - 7 pm EST Where: 33430 Grand River Ave. Farmington Michigan For more details, check out the events Facebook page.

Here is my no nonsense reading of Chapter 12 from the Disciple of the Undead, Tribe of the Undead book 3. I know, the camera angle is not great. I couldn't find my camera stand, so I had to find a spot where I could prop up the phone that also had good lighting. Look for a better angle next time. Meanwhile, if you'd like to hear, just tap. Disciple of the Undead, Tribe of the Undead - Book 3 The city of Boston has a new infection, the Tribexx fandom. Tribexxers imitate the perverted and cruel lifestyle of the Tribe of the Undead, the mythical sex-cult zombies that capture humans to use as sexual servants. Its all fun and games, they say, because no one actually gets hurt. Reluctant rich kid, Nidhi Bansal, made some mistakes. Now out of rehab and in a prestigious graduate program, she’s walking the straight and narrow path to a respectable professorship. Hooking up with a tantalizingly dangerous girl who seems to have two things Nidhi wants—sexual adventure and inside informatio...

I'll be presenting: Scene Structure 101 Feel lost in the plotting process? Need to tighten up the sagging middle? Scene structure may be what you need.  This session explores the function and structure of scenes, the elemental building blocks of plot. Attendees will gain insight into types of scenes, how to craft effective and well-paced scenes, and how to use concepts to revise and strengthen early drafts works.  ********* I'll be signing paperbacks: Servant of the Undead , Satisfaction Guaranteed , and Make Me Blush .  ***** ***** A Rally of Writers is one of Michigan's longest held writer events. It's the perfect blend of genres and experiences. A great way to meet up with other writers and get and stay motivated.  Would you like to join us?   Link to Register

The Monster's Ball at Once Upon a Book in Frankenmuth, Michigan was a monster themed costume event...so naturally I dressed as one of my own monsters, Matte, from my Tribe of the Undead series. No chains or fur cloaks were easily available online, unfortunately. Then again, carrying the chain around might have made dancing difficult. It was a great time! The events took place over a two days. Some highlights included: Keynote from Eric Asher . A hour in the garden at Ashes & Ales . I had an old-fashioned even though the beer selection was pretty great. Classic Frankenmuth chicken , eaten on an outside patio.  A wonderful signing on Saturday afternoon. Thank you everyone who stopped by my table! Watching and navigating around the many families at the event hotel. The hotel featured 4 pools and a giant waterslide. I did not get to the water slide; however, I get get to enjoy the sign in the elevator. Yes, reading the sign did make me want to run through the hallways, yelling. I d...

Last month, I had a great time in Chicago at Spring Fling 2022, I had the absolute treat of sitting down with Shay Baby from Brown Book Series .  We talked about books, what the world was like when I first started writing, and my advice to my 15-year-old self.

A few weeks ago, I attended the Association of Writing Programs conference in Philadelphia, PA. For me, the conference was a mix of attending sessions (on poetry! on writing reviews for graphic novels! on new approaches to workshopping!), visiting tables at the book fair, doing work on the room, and walks. I took most of my walking photos on my last day. The center photo in the collection above was my personal favorite. I was walking through the arch surrounding City Hall, snapped the guy walking with his bike, just because I liked the contrast and the colors, and then when we continued through the hall, we came upon the bridal party waiting to be photographed. Like a little story, right? Of course, I took a selfie as well. If I look a tad worn out, or serious, no surprises there. LOL. It was the last day of an academic conference. You can see the collection of postcards I'd made. I picked them up at the conference book fair and sent them to everyone who'd asked for one. If you...

Minda and Jenna chat with author of several romance and erotic novels, Isabelle Drake. Drake’s latest works- Servant of the Undead and Mistress of the Undead- veer into a lesser known realm of paranormal erotica: Zombies. Watch out, sparkly vampires. The zombies are coming. Hit here to listen to my hour long chatty interview on Spotify.

I am not a competitive person by nature, but I had a great time on the Pub Experience Trivia podcast. There were enough pop culture questions to keep me feeling at home. Pub Experience Trivia strives to bring the best parts of Pub Trivia: good Trivia, fun times with friends, and drinking! Hit here to listen on Spotify or here to listen on podbean or here for other places .

  hit here for the October newsletter Includes subscriber only before and after photos! 

Get your copy. Every year @Romance Writers of America hosts the “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing, all proceeds of which are donated to adult literacy organizations. This year they are supporting ProLiteracy, Literacy Partners, and The Literacy Assistance Center. Come see me and hundreds of other authors on July 27 from 3-5 p.m. at the New York Marriott Marquis to help support this important cause. Admission is free! Find a full list of signing authors at www.rwa.org/literacy. Here's what I'll be signing: Workaholic accountant Elizabeth Sewell needs a man. According to her well-laid-out life plan, it’s time to find Mr. Right and move on to the next phase of her life. The problem is, she’s been so busy working her way up the career ladder, she wouldn’t spot Mr. Right even if he were carrying a neon sign. So, being an organized businesswoman, she comes up with a strategy. She’ll hire a man to provide her with a variety of experiences. That way, she’ll kno...

A colleague asked me to write up my publishing story...this is what happened. This unedited, unfiltered, all-around-unpolished one-person chat.

Hayley, the main character, has left her small hometown and started a new life for herself in the city of Detroit, Michigan. She wants to hide everything about her country past and reinvent herself as a hip city woman. Problem is, she doesn’t really know who is she. Back home, she always did what her family and friends thought she should do, rather than what she wanted to do. So, when she arrives in the city, she doesn’t have much of an idea of who she really is or what she really wants. The perfect man for her? Nick. A country guy who sees through her city pretenses and encourages her to be herself. His insistence that she accept who she is creates conflict for two reasons. One, the only things she knows about herself, her country past and her part in the scandal, she doesn’t like and two, she doesn’t know how to start in figuring out who she really is. Hayley’s struggle to accept her past and discover her new self is at the heart of the story. Using Nick as part of the con...

Writing about Relationships: The Tricky Bits Date: February 14 Time: 2:00 pm — 5:00 pm Cost: $20 for members, $30 for non-members Location: CADL Okemos Library, 4321 Okemos Road, Okemos, MI 48864 Just like in real life, the relationships between your characters can be tricky and fraught with emotional landmines. Whether you’re writing about romance, siblings, friends, or the parent-child relationship, each character’s actions and baggage has an effect on the characters around him. Struggling with intimacy and conflict? The twisting and turning arcs of different characters? Writing a love scene? We’ve got you covered!  Join us for this premier workshop featuring romance authors Alyssa Alexander, Diana Stout, Isabelle Drake, and Malea Powell (And don’t worry. We’ll get you out in time for date night with your honey.) Alyssa Alexander: “The 12 Steps of Intimacy…Modified” Diana Stout: “Character Motivation & Conflict: How Does It All Drive Plot?” I...