Ginger Moran | Writing Coach, Writer, Single Mom |

What took so long? The Algebra of Snow is Published–What Went into Pre-Publication

I am amazed and grateful today: my first novel, The Algebra of Snow, has started to appear in the world, finding its way into the hands of people who ordered it in pre-sales. I’m getting lovely comments, including one shouted from my friend Faye’s car window as we passed each other in the parking garage on the way to a local rock and roll concert: “I just unwrapped the book! It looks fabulous!” So, after I have sat on my...

Q & A on The Algebra of Snow: Part I

Questions for Ginger Moran What inspired you to write this book? I’m a reader from way back. I think that got under my skin, along with the fact that my family is a family of good, Southern storytellers and that is what we did at the dinner table. But it still surprised me when I realized that I wanted to write. Books get started, for me, with something that irritates me, something that needs to get resolved. Maybe the oyster feels something...

How Jeeves Got Me Over My Fear of Flying and to London Before My 60th Birthday

The last time I flew I was eight months pregnant and had my 17-month-old son with me. The plane dropped 500 feet in a hurry as we came in for a landing in New Orleans. “That’s it,” I said to my then-husband. “I’m not flying anymore.” Fast forward: the son who was in my belly is now in college. The toddler towers over me. The husband is long gone. But one thing that never changed was that oath. I’ve driven five days to California...

The Algebra of Snow Press Release

A novel of grief, divorce, loss, a mother and daughter’s tangled, deep and ghost-ridden relationship, the companionship of dogs, the triumph of one woman’s spirit through the crucible of her imagination and the mythic healing of wolves, snow, mathematics, and solitude THE ALGEBRA OF SNOW (Main Street Rag Publishers; on sale Feb 2012; ISBN: 978-1-59948-360-3, 200 pages.  Cover/List price: $13.95) Amelia gets under your skin from the first...

Writing a Novel from a Short Story: Part II

I recently wrote a blog post about writing a novel from a short story. That is how I arrived at my first novel, The Algebra of Snow, which is about to appear in the world, courtesy of Main Street Rag publishers. I had written a short story, coincidentally enough also called “The Algebra of Snow,” which I liked quite a lot. I liked it so much that I didn’t want to leave it. I liked the images of snow, of the landscape of the...

How to Write a Novel from a Short Story Part I

It will perhaps be a surprise to some that novelists suffer anxiety–specifically the anxiety of writing a novel. I can’t speak for all novelists, but there is enough blood out there–along with complaints, agonizing, hand-wringing and bemoaning–to make me think I’m not alone in being anxious about writing a novel. Even though I have written three of them. I now worry about what I’m going to write next, so I...

Sample Published Personal Essay: The Orb Weaver

Creative nonfiction is the latest genre to take off in the world of publishing. I teach and coach frequently in this area. Below is an example of a personal essay I published in a literary magazine recently. Rather than simply re-telling the story, I looked for a central metaphor to express the shock I felt when my ex-husband left me with our two sons. I was bitten on the head by an orb weaver spider one night and that was the spark for this...

Coaching

Do you have a novel or memoir in mind or written and need some help taking it to the next level? From starting to finishing to publishing to marketing, I can help you develop your book.

Editing

From novels to business reports to websites, I have extensive experience with giving documents a polished and professional look.

Teaching

Are you wondering how to get started writing your novel or memoir? Do you have a great idea or great life experience and want to share it? I have just the class for you!

Speaking

Need a speaker for your event? I am an experienced fiction writer and memoirist, a teacher, and a researcher and writer on the subject of single parenting. I love talking to groups about these subjects, teaching a workshop, or being on a panel

"I first encountered Dr. Virginia Moran several years ago in a writing group, which was to prove extremely valuable to me as I work-shopped an early draft of The Illuminator. I found her critique of my raw pages energizing, her comments candid and insightful, and it was always a treat to read the fiction she in her turn submitted for consideration. She knows her stuff."