Join Me for a Free Planning Your Novel Workshop

Start the new year off with a writing bookshop!


If you're in the Atlanta area this January, I'm giving a free novel-planning workshop at the Northeast Spruill Oaks Library.

Planning Your Novel in 10 Easy Steps will cover the key turning points of plot and how to find those points in your story idea. You'll learn a simple process to find and develop the key novel elements, from creating characters to determining the conflict to crafting the major plot points. Explore how to use goals, conflicts, and stakes to build a story and develop characters, and how to approach a story in a way that will make it easier to write and be more marketable to agents, editors, and readers.

There will be a mix of lectures, discussion, and writing exercises, so bring pen and paper (or laptop or pad).

When: Saturday, January 10, 2015 from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Where: Northeast Spruill Oaks Library, 9560 Spruill Road, Johns Creek, GA

Cost: It's FREE!

To register:
Contact Stephanie Moody, Southern Breeze/SCBWI Local Liaison at Moodyviews@Bellsouth.net or phone Karen at NESO 770-360-8820. You must register to attend.



Sponsored by The Friends of the Northeast Spruill Oaks Library, The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and Southern Breeze in association with the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library system.

Book Signing Event: Janice Hardy is Coming to Hiram Bookstore on October 24th

I'll be signing books (both the novels and the writing book) and chatting with readers and writers at Hiram Bookstore in Hiram, GA on October 24, from 5-8pm. If you're in the area, come on down and say hello!


Where: Hiram Bookstore
5077 Jimmy Lee Smith Pkwy #109
Hiram, GA 30141
(770) 943-6800

When: Friday, October 24, 5:00 - 8:00 pm


The Shifter Made This Year's List of Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read!

Exciting news!

I'm thrilled and honored to announce that last week, my teen fantasy novel, The Shifter, was chosen by the Georgia Center for the Book for this year's Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read list (squee!).

Not only did I receive a beautiful glass trophy, but golden stickers that make the cover pop (just look how pretty it looks there on the book). You can't beat that, except by having writer pal Vicky Alvear Shecter also make the list with her wonderful YA historical, Cleopatra's Moon.

A huge thanks to GCB for selecting The Shifter, and to Joe Davich and Zachary Steele for organizing the award ceremony and a great evening. You guys rock.

The lists are selected by the writers, educators, librarians, and media representatives who comprise the Georgia Center for the Book Advisory Council. They represent a compilation of some of the best Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and children's literature by Georgia writers and artists. This year marked the fifth edition of the "Books All Georgians Should Read", and the second of the "Books All YOUNG Georgians Should Read".

Here's the full list for both adult and young readers:

Writing Workshop: Plotting Your Novel

If you live in or near the Woodstock, GA area, I'm holding a plotting workshop at FoxTale Book Shoppe on August 23rd. This workshop benefits all ages and writing levels, so come on down and spend an afternoon with me and the great gals at FoxTale.

Workshop: Plotting Your Novel With Janice Hardy 

Ideas are only the first step to writing a novel. Once that spark of inspiration hits, we need a great plot to support our great idea. In this workshop, you'll learn tips on how to create a solid plot for your novel and develop a process to make future plotting easier. Hands-on exercises will help you dig deep and find the goals, conflicts, and stakes, to hook readers, as well as determine which scenes are the right scenes for your story.

When: Saturday, August 23, 2014
Time: 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Where: FoxTale Book Shoppe
105 East Main Street, #138
Woodstock, GA 30188
770-516-9989
Cost: $80, includes Janice's craft book, Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure.

Register at the FoxTale Book Shoppe website. Walk-ins welcome (space permitting)

Writing Workshop: Build Your Story World at the Turner Cassity Literary Festival

For those in the Douglasville, Georgia area, I'm doing a worldbuilding workshop at the Turner Cassity Literary Festival on July 12th. There are events and gatherings all weekend where guests can mix and mingle with the presenters, so it should be a lot of fun. 

The Turner Cassity Literary Festival provides aspiring writers in West Georgia an opportunity to develop their writing skills and prepare their works for publication under the guidance of expert and experienced authors. There's a full weekend of Workshops, Critiques, Readings, and a special performance of the winning verse play! They also honor the poet Turner Cassity whose work and dedication to literary excellence in Georgia inspires their endeavors.

Just Released: Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure


It's here!

I'm thrilled to announce the release of Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, book one in the Foundations of Fiction Series. It's been a long time coming and I'm excited it's finally out and in the world. (See what they're saying on Goodreads)

There's so much information on my writing site (Fiction University), and one of the challenges of crafting books to support it was figuring out how to organize everything. I wanted this series to be more than just a collection of articles, and to accomplish the same goals as the site--to offer writers tips they can apply right to their works in progress and see results.