Mia’s nest is out! Mia’s nest is a Dutch Little Golden Book about a girl with tangles in her hair. When her mom decides it’s time to have Mia’s hair cut short, she needs to find a way to prevent that. Because short hair is silly, short hair is for boys and boys are silly. Will anyone help Mia to keep her hair long? Find out in Mia’s nest! The story idea and illustrations for this wonderful and sweet Little Golden Book are from the amazing, talented Angela Pelaez Vargas. I added the words and I am beyond proud that Angela let me share in this delightful project of hers. We will see more of her soon, as she is one of the most talented illustrators…
Mina Witteman – author | editor | teacher of creative writing
Posts by Mina Witteman
The Daily Distraction: Manuscripts, Saving Cats and Other Writerly Hitches
Mina Witteman
Posted on August 24, 2014
Straatjutter I know, I know! I had promised to resume publication of DARK FIBER, but … life caught up with me. Mainly good things, but nonetheless things that need my immediate and full attention. Like deadlines. Manuscripts that need to be finished. Other manuscripts that need to be revised. Books which need to be read. In particular SAVE THE CAT, the book about writing that makes every other book superfluous. That’s actually not true, but I can vouch for it now: it’s pretty darn good and it generates a lot of ‘Eureka’ moments and Aha-Erlebnisse. It also revealed some of the most annoying black holes in my YA manuscript. A Very Important Person, who will remain unnamed for now, told me to have a peek…
Categories: A Bit of Everything
Daily Distraction: DARK FIBER – a serial thriller, episode 29
Mina Witteman
Posted on August 18, 2014
Before he ventured on the net, Matt scanned and filed the fifty plus emails that had landed his inbox during his ride home. Most messages dealt with Dallas Bard and about Giddyap’s brightening future, ranging from covert inquiries to undisguised prying. He’d deal with them later. First he had to color in the life of his avatar. From now on Jonathan Groen was the illustrious Dallas Bard. Pasting in pictures and uploading documents, forging chats and email exchanges, he thought back to the day Victoria suggested to recruit a total stranger for the job. He’d been skeptic, had preferred an actor, someone he could pay and ditch as soon as the job was done. Victoria had laid out the threats of his plan: a contract, a honorarium, endless drivel over expenses, not to mention…
Tagged: algorithm, Amsterdam, Dark Fiber, Each man kills, Feuilleton, Gavin Friday, palo alto, serial, Silicon Valley, Stanford, thriller, Turing
Duty calls. My publisher eagerly awaits the final version of my middle grade novel BOREAS, so I have locked myself away in the not so proverbial tower to spend my days writing and revising. Publication of DARK FIBER will resume on August 18. I wish you all a fruitful and inspirational summer or winter!
Categories: Books, Children's books
Matt was with his car in fifteen minutes and in less than thirty he covered the twenty-five miles to his home. Not the cramped apartment he had rented in Palo Alto to keep his boss, his co-workers and business partners away from his personal life, but the Woodside villa, the only place where he could seclude himself from the world. The Vet, top down, did what it was supposed to do: the speed and the wind blew his brain free of the tension that had built up in Amsterdam. If only for a short while. The solid steel fence slid open, triggered by the remote sensor in the car. Matt zoomed into the driveway. Inches before he’d crash into the veranda that circled the house, he hit the brakes.…
Tagged: algorithm, Dark Fiber, Feuilleton, palo alto, Silicon Valley, thriller, Turing, Woodside
The customs officer responded like he heard Pavlov’s bell ringing. He might have let Matt off the hook with a warning or a stern look, maybe a lecture about courtesy and god knows what, but that option went up in smoke when Matt uttered his curse. Instead, the officer slapped the scratched aluminum table behind him. “Open up,” he barked, pointing at the suitcase. Matt hoisted the suitcase and the duffel on the table. Without waiting for permission the man zipped open the bag and emptied its contents on the table. As submissive as possible, Matt unlocked the suitcase and stepped away from the table in what he hoped would look like a respectful manner. The latexed hands of the customs officer grabbed through Matt’s laundry and when he couldn’t find fault,…
Tagged: algorithm, Dark Fiber, Feuilleton, Internet, serial, SFO, thriller, Turing
Categories: A Bit of Everything
Mina Witteman 