Author Expressions

Closing the Circle

2012-02-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

Three weeks in India is barely enough time for me to get settled, unpack and get in touch with friends, but that was all I had. It was easy for me to do nothing but read, write, visit with friends, and think about where to have lunch or dinner. But I had one other task to attend to.

For over thirty-years I had the friendship of a woman who worked for me and my husband when we first lived there, and in her later years we became her main support, since she was by now a widow as well as childless. Being old and poor in India is not a good prospect, and although Lakshmee worked into her eighties in various capacities (selling wood which she stored in her house), she clearly was in decline. She died in September after an operation for a badly broken leg.

I knew this through emails, and sent money when asked and followed her medical care as well as one can from the other side of the world. When I arrived in India, I went to see one of her former employers who had been helping in her care and passing along information to me. To my surprise, Lakshmee had left something for me with one of her doctors.

The Triveni Nursing Home is an ayurvedic hospital where Lakshmee often went when she felt unwell, or, in my view, lonely and sad, and they always took her in, even if she showed no signs of having any money. I had told them I would cover her costs and they never seemed to worry about it. When I went to visit them in January, Lakshmee’s doctor informed me that she had left her puja items for me. I promised to return to pick them up the following week because the doctor’s maidservant was cleaning them (those wails of pain you hear are antiques dealers groaning across the country).

When I first met Lakshmee she was a complete surprise—someone who opened up doors to another world, a world that a colleague once told me was often unavailable to others. And at the end she was a surprise too. The puja items weren’t the usual ones I had seen her use—the steel water pots, the little lamps, the wooden incense holders. These were heavy bronze pieces that must have belonged to her parents—a heavy oil lamp and a water pot, and a small incense holder and oil votive lamp. A friend looked them over and told me which ones were the oldest and how I could tell.

I brought them back and they now sit in my library. I don’t recall ever seeing Lakshmee use them, and it may be that at one point she realized they were too valuable to have around for anyone to see; she had only a padlock on her front door, and had been robbed at least once. She was cautious with things that mattered to her, and she put away her puja items. And now I have them, an unexpected gift from someone who gave me so many over the years.

Lakshmee was, in the slang of the moment, the real deal, a traditional Nayar lady for whom the traditional culture was still more real that the modern world, and certainly made more sense. She had a clear and strong personality, and not surprisingly she shows up in some of my favorite and most vivid characters in the Anita Ray series. You’ll meet her in the next Anita Ray, coming in June 2012. If you want to know what Lakshmee was like, look for Gauri in The Wrath of Shiva. She turns the plot upside down, and then rescues it.

Perfect Users of Words

2012-01-27T06:00:00.011-05:00

     Down cellar,old timey, sing small, mitten money, hike off, kissen' cousin, grass widow

Today's youth would probably not use words like these or perhaps even understand some of them. Many are colloquialisms, but I have always been intrigued by twentieth century words such as these.I began to collect such words about ten years ago in my "writers notebook" along with character and settings photos and plot ideas. I purchased a book in 2005 called Informal English by Jeffrey Kacirk. It was both entertaining and a useful addition to my reference shelf.Kaccirk's paperback of alphabetized colloquialisms had an extensive bibliography and ended with a quote from Walt Whitman's lecture, "An American Primer":
     "Americans are going to be the most fluent and melodious-voiced people in the world,
                               and the most perfect users of words."
Whew! Of course that was written in mid-nineteenth century, but I believe most writers today are indeed striving to be 'perfect users of words'. I've blogged before about the strength and beauty of words, but I am presently looking for inspirational books to start my New Year with better health and more vigor for the craft.
I might have found a good source in a contemporary writer's newest non-fiction book, One Perfect Word by Debbie Macomber. I have not read it yet, but one reviewer says it has both spiritual and practical applications. I do know that it encourages the reader to focus on "a perfect word each year." It is on my 'to read ' list.
I do not feel I've given justice to the ideas of those who are striving to be perfect users of words, but hopefully next month's blog will have more depth and be a dight longer.

Interview With Karen McCullough by Jacqueline Seewald

2012-01-19T18:04:00.003-05:00

Karen McCullough is the author of eleven published novels in the mystery, romantic suspense, and fantasy genres and has won numerous awards, including an Eppie Award for fantasy. She’s also been a four-time Eppie finalist, and a finalist in the Prism, Dream Realm, Rising Star, Lories, Scarlett Letter, and Vixen Awards contests. Her short fiction has appeared in several anthologies and numerous small press publications in the fantasy, science fiction, and romance genres. Her most recent releases are MAGIC, MURDER AND MICROCIRCUITS, a paranormal romantic suspense now available in most electronic formats, her Christmas vampire story, A VAMPIRE’S CHRISTMAS CAROL, and A GIFT FOR MURDER, published in hardcover by Five Star/Gale Group Mysteries. She invites visitors to check out her home on the web at http://www.kmccullough.com and her site for the Market Center Mysteries series, http://www.marketcentermysteries.com

Question: I understand A GIFT FOR MURDER will be available in electronic formats in February and as a mass market paperback from Harlequin Worldwide mysteries in June. Could you tell us a little bit about the heroine and hero of your novel?

Answer: The main character in my mystery, A GIFT FOR MURDER, is Heather McNeil, assistant to the director of the Washington, DC, Commerce & Market Show Center. As assistant to the director, she spends a lot of time dealing directly with the exhibitors and attendees at the various trade shows and conferences that are held in the Market Center, fielding their complaints, helping them solve problems and just listening. She’s in her mid-twenties. She likes the job and feels fortunate to have it, since it pays reasonably well and the work is interesting. Heather is intelligent and sharp-witted, but the feature that makes her both good at her job and good at solving mysteries is that she’s the kind of person who makes others feel at ease, so they talk to her more than they would with other people.

Heather’s love interest is Scott Brandon, a former D.C. cop recently hired to be part of the Market Center security team. Scott’s past is a bit mysterious. Although he’s smart, well-spoken, and physically fit, he left the police force under a cloud, something he doesn’t like to talk about. He’s told Heather that he failed to keep his mouth shut when it would have been a better policy to stay quiet, but he doesn’t talk about the circumstances.

Question: What is the genre of your novel? Why did you select it?

Answer: Mystery, with a touch of light romance. I’ve always loved mysteries. I grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys before I moved on to Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Ngaio Marsh, and Ellery Queen. The puzzle aspect of mysteries has always fascinated me.

Question: What inspired this novel? How did it come about?

Answer: I worked as an editor for a series of trade publications for ten years or so, which means I attended quite a few trade shows. It always seemed to me that a trade show would make a fine setting for a mystery. It has a very limited time period and a limited number of people attend, including many who’ve known each other for a very long time as friends, competitors, even lovers, sometimes all at the same time. Plus the stakes are high for exhibitors at trade shows; many will write the bulk of their orders from retailers at the show or soon thereafter. It can literally make or break a business.

Question: Can you tell us about some of your other published novels?

Answer: Sure! I’ve published in a number of genres, ranging from fantasy to suspense to mystery to paranormal to romance. A lot of my books cross genres. I have two romantic fantasy novels, WITCH’S JOURNEY and WIZARD’S BRIDGE, published with ImaJinn books. My first four published books, three romantic suspense and one straight romance, were published by Avalon Books in the early 90s. I’m working on digitizing those to make them available as ebooks. I’ve had a number of other romantic mystery and suspense novels published since then, as well as a couple of paranormal stories. Of those, several are now available as ebooks, including romantic suspense novels, A QUESTION OF FIRE and SHADOW OF A DOUBT, and the paranormal romantic suspense stories, MAGIC, MURDER AND MICROCIRCUITS and A VAMPIRE’S CHRISTMAS CAROL. (My only vampire story!)

Question: What are you working on now?

Answer: I’m writing the sequel to A GIFT FOR MURDER right now. It’s tentatively titled WIRED FOR MURDER and takes place at a business technology show and conference.

Question: What made you start writing?

Answer: Wow, it was so long ago, I’ve almost forgotten. From early childhood, I’ve always had stories floating around in my head. My very first attempt to write one down happened when I was around 10 and wrote a Nancy Drew type mystery story. It was all of three pages long.

It wasn’t until much later that I started writing seriously. It was kind of an evolutionary process. I spent almost 15 years as a computer programmer/analyst, but when I burnt out on that, I began writing software documentation to make a living. From there I moved onto writing articles for computer magazines, then broadened out into writing more general interest articles for a variety of publications and ended up as an editor for several trade publications. Somewhere in that same time period I tried my hand at a few stories, and had a bit of success selling them to small presses. One of them, though, kept growing and growing until it was a novel. A very bad novel, but a novel nonetheless. That one will never be published. But the bug had bitten and the seed was planted to deep. haven’t been able to stop writing since then.

Question: What advice would you offer to those who are currently writing novels?

Answer: Develop a thick skin. This is a tough business. If you’re writing for publication, be prepared for lots of rejection. And don’t think that being published once means the end of it. Even once you’re published, rejections happen, bad reviews happen, etc. It’s not a profession for the timid.

I also strongly recommend a critique group or critique partners while you’re writing those first few novels. It’s hard to see your own errors and helps to have others who can show them to you.

Don’t rush to get the first thing you write out to market. Once you’ve finished the first draft, let it sit a while, then go back to it. You’ll likely find all sorts of ways it can be improved, when you go back through it again after some time.

Question: Excellent advice! Where and when will readers be able to obtain your novels?

Answer: A GIFT FOR MURDER is currently available in hardback from the standard online sites, like Amazon and B&N. I’ll be releasing it in ebook form in February, and then it will be available as a paperback from Harlequin Worldwide Mysteries in June or July. My two fantasy novels are still available in both paperback and electronic formats, either from the publisher, ImaJinn Books (http://www.imajinnbooks.com/) or through Amazon, B&N and other online booksellers, as is a romantic suspense, SHADOW OF A DOUBT, available from the publisher, (http://www.jasminejade.com/p-4317-shadow-of-a-doubt.aspx) or the online booksellers. Most of my other available books are ebook only at this point, and available from Amazon for Kindle, B&N for Nook and Smashwords for other formats.

As for WIRED FOR MURDER, I hope to have it finished by the end of February, and from there it’s up to my editor and publisher.

Thank you, Karen, for being our guest at Author Expressions. We wish you continued success with your writing career.

Comments for Karen are welcome!

Interview with Nancy J. Cohen

2012-01-17T04:00:00.000-05:00

Today our guest blogger is Nancy J. Cohen, an award-winning author who writes romance and mysteries. Her popular Bad Hair Day series features hairdresser Marla Shore, who solves crimes with wit and style under the sultry Florida sun. Several titles in this series have made the IMBA bestseller list, while Nancy’s imaginative sci-fi romances have garnered rave reviews. Her latest book, and tenth in her mystery series, is Shear Murder from Five Star. Active in the writing community and a featured speaker at libraries and conferences, Nancy is listed in Contemporary Authors, Poets & Writers, and Who’s Who in U.S. Writers, Editors, & Poets.

Joyce: Good morning, Nancy, and thanks for joining us here at Author Expressions. Let's get right to the questions. When did you start to write and how long did it take you to get published?

Nancy: Ever since I can remember, I’ve been writing. At first, it was poems and short stories. I began the submission process quite young, but it wasn’t until grad school that I decided to write a novel.

I bought a book called Structuring Your Novel and that’s how I learned. One of the most important things I did to boost my career was to join Romance Writers of America and attend conferences and monthly chapter meetings. I wrote six books before one sold. My first title, Circle of Light, won the HOLT Medallion Award. I switched to mysteries four books later when the bottom dropped out of the futuristic romance market. Thus began my Bad Hair Day mystery series featuring hairstylist Marla Shore, who lives in South Florida and solves crimes when she isn’t busy running her salon and dating Detective Dalton Vail.

Joyce: What genre or sub-genre do you write? Why did you choose this genre?

Nancy: I write humorous mysteries and sci-fi romance. I enjoy plotting the mysteries, figuring out the relationships among my characters, and incorporating Florida issues into my stories since this is where they take place. But I also love the tales of adventure I can spin when I write romance. Anything can happen in these stories that take place on other worlds, and although the focus is on the developing relationship between hero and heroine, the plots are full of political intrigue, suspense, and danger. My cozy mysteries focus on relationships, too, and the conflicts among the various suspects. Florida is a great setting with its rich and varied ecosystems, distinctive small towns, and diverse populace.

Joyce: What motivated you to write your latest book and what’s it about?

Nancy: Shear Murder is the tenth book in my Bad Hair Day mystery series. It’s the culmination of a personal journey for my hairstylist sleuth, Marla Shore. It’s about weddings and new beginnings. Just when Marla is planning her own nuptials, she gets caught up in another murder investigation. Marla is a bridesmaid at her friend Jill’s wedding when she discovers the matron of honor—the bride’s sister— dead under the cake table. She has a lot going on in her life, but when Jill pleads for her help in solving the case, Marla can’t refuse. It’s a fast-paced tale with humor, romance, and suspense as Marla races to find the killer before her wedding day arrives.

As for what inspired this story, I wanted to give my series a happy ending. My fans kept asking when the next Marla Shore mystery would be coming out, but my former publisher had cancelled the series. As the markets changed, I decided to finish this book to give readers the closure they deserved. So I really wrote it as a response to readers and in gratitude for their support. I hope they are pleased with Shear Murder. It was a delight to write, and I had fun bringing back all the secondary characters that we’ve grown to know and love. And now that I have a new publisher, it doesn’t have to be the end.

Joyce: Tell us about your other works and where readers can buy your books.

Nancy: The Bad Hair Day Mysteries have ten titles. Killer Knots and Perish by Pedicure are the most recent before Shear Murder. They can be found at any online bookstore in multiple formats. Silver Serenade, my latest sci-fi romance, can be bought directly from The Wild Rose Press or elsewhere online. This story is about a beautiful assassin and a desperate fugitive who join forces to catch a terrorist and prevent an intergalactic war. My backlist romance titles are at Backlist Ebooks, or are listed on my Amazon Author Page. This is your best site to locate all my works. And of course, check out Shear Murder.

Joyce: How do you write? Are you a pantser or a plotter? Is it your characters or your plot that influences you the most?

Nancy: I’m a plotter, most definitely. I do my character development up front, filling in their info on some tools I’ve developed, and then I’ll work on research and plotting. Once the story is in my head, I’ll write the entire synopsis. This acts as my writing guideline.

Joyce: What is your typical day like?

Nancy: I do my writing very early in the morning, taking exercise breaks, until around ten or so. Then I spend the rest of the day on marketing/promotion. That can consume all of a writer’s time. This is when I’m on a roll and the story is flowing. If not, the writing part may take longer. I set a daily quota of five pages a day or twenty-five pages a week. Once the book is done, I do several read-throughs for line editing, consistency, etc. Usually I have time free in the afternoons if I have plans with friends, but I’m fortunate to be able to write full-time.

Joyce: What has surprised you about being a published author?

Nancy: It surprises me how many people come up to me and say they have an idea for a novel. Either they are under the mistaken impression that I am dying to write it for them and split the millions we’ll make, or they want to know right off the bat how to get an agent and submit their masterpiece without being willing to do their homework.

Joyce: What one thing do you like most about writing? Least?

Nancy: I love feedback from fans. That’s what keeps me going. I save all the mail I get and it inspires me to keep writing. The least? All the marketing we have to do. It’s never enough, and it takes hours from the time we could spend writing.

Joyce: How do you do research for your books?

Nancy: Some of the research for my mysteries is based upon personal experience. Re the settings, I visit the towns in my stories and take detailed notes and photos. I ask a retired police detective to verify my crime related facts and have attended Citizens Police Academy. I’ve visited beauty schools, trade shows, salons, and more to learn about the hairstyling profession. Probably one of the most interesting experiences was at the Russian shvitz, where I ran around in a swimsuit with my notebook and camera under my towel. I’ve visited a biohazard waste disposal facility, an aquaculture center where they breed tilapia, and joined a fitness club, all in the name of research.

Joyce: What do you like to do when you aren't writing?

Nancy: Reading, outlet shopping, fine dining, cruising, cooking.

Joyce: What advice would you give aspiring writers today?

Nancy: Follow the 3 P’s: Practice, Professionalism, and Perseverance. Know the marketplace. Join your professional writers organizations and attend conferences and workshops. Networking is crucial in this business, and writing is foremost a business these days. It’s not enough to write a good book. You have to be market savvy, establish yourself in the social networks, and meet as many people in the industry as you can.

Joyce: What will be your next project?

Nancy: My next book will start a new paranormal romance series based on Norse mythology. Warrior Prince is book one in The Drift Lords series. I've written three books so far in this universe, and I'm eager to share these stories with readers. After I get this project going, I’ll turn my attention to another mystery.

Thank you so much for inviting me to appear on your site.

Joyce: Thank you for joining us here on Author Expressions, Nancy. Come back any time.

<><><>

Shear Murder

Who knew weddings could be murder? Hairstylist Marla Shore is weeks away from becoming a bride herself when she walks down the aisle as a bridesmaid at her friend Jill’s ceremony. Things take a turn for the worse when the matron of honor ends up dead, the cake knife in her chest. Now what will they use to cut the cake?

Watch the Book Trailer

BUY NOW

Follow Nancy on her Social Networks:

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Leave a comment during Nancy’s blog tour in January and enter to win a set of Paua shell jewelry and a signed copy of Shear Murder.

Tighten up your Prose

2012-01-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

By B.D. Tharp

Is your writing flabby? Are there too many words that don’t really move the story along? Need some advice on how to tighten things up? If you’re like me, the answer is YES. A writing buddy shared an editing tip sheet with our group several years ago and it really comes in handy. We need reminders occasionally and this one you can print and put on your wall or tack board.

BACK: Often a given if the subject of the sentence is doing one thing and then does another. Also note in the example, down was unneeded.
Jessie shook her head as she gazed back down at the child.
*Jessie shook her head as she gazed at the child.

TO BE: Another example of wordiness.
He needs to be scrubbing.
*He needs to scrub.

DOWN: If the verb implies down, "down" is unnecessary.
She sat down in the chair.
*She sat in the chair.

UP: If the verb implies up, "up" is unnecessary.
He stood up.
*He stood.

OUT: If the verb implies out, "out" is unnecessary.
The cloth was spread out over the table.
*The cloth was spread over the table.

THEN: If an action follows, "then" is implied.
He aimed the gun then fired.
*He aimed the gun and fired.

THERE: Generally weak and should be removed when possible.
If there are men that close--
*If men are that close--

BEGAN - STARTED: He lifted the pen and started to write.
*He lifted the pen and wrote.

FELT - FEEL: Weak words can often be replaced to create a clearer image
The chill of the night air had little to do with the cold she felt.
*The chill of the night air had little to do with the cold swirling inside her.

BACK - RETURNED: Sometimes "returned" can signal going back to a previous action.
He turned his attention back to the raging storm.
*He returned his attention to the raging storm.

PASSIVE VOICE: Various methods of torture developed by his ancestors were contemplated by Thomas.
ACTIVE VOICE: Thomas contemplated various methods of torture developed by his ancestors.

INSTEAD: Often unnecessary. It's a given that he didn't land on the chair if he landed on the floor.
He'd land on the floor instead of the chair.
*He'd land on the floor.

TO THE: Often causes wordiness
The door to the office.
*The office door.

SUDDENLY: Seldom needed. If it's the next action, writing it as such often eliminates the need for the word.
Suddenly the bull lurched forward.
*The bull lurched forward.

BE -ING: Sometimes makes for longer, weaker sentences.
I suppose I should be thanking you.
*I suppose I should thank you.

COULD: Determine if the sentence conveys the information without it.
He could see her walking toward him.
*He saw her walking toward him.
*Even better: She walked toward him.

WAS (and other linking verbs): Signals a possible weak sentence that can be punched up with a stronger action verb.
His only fear was--
*He feared--

WOULD: Determine which sentence is stronger and if "would" is needed. Sometimes it is might be.
Occasionally, he would catch her watching him.
*Occasionally, he caught her watching him.

SEEMED: Use only when you want to create an image of doubt.
Andrew's presence seemed to dominate the camp.
*Andrew's presence dominated the camp.

THAT: A word we all overuse; sometimes it's necessary, often it's not. Always try the sentence without it and see if it means the same.

JUST: Another word we overuse. Try some of the synonyms like merely, only.

Enjoy the writing journey, my friends. And please share your tightening tips, too!

Speaking of Shoes

2012-01-09T12:41:00.000-05:00

Today I’m blogging about shoes. And Oh what shoes! I saw a pair in a museum in Venice. Just looking made my feet hurt.

In early modern Venice, around the mid-fifteenth to mid-sixteenth centuries, the footwear of Venetian women drew the eyes of every visitor downward, and no wonder. Chopines, the impossibly high clogs considered the latest fashion, were worn by any woman who could afford them, usually courtesans or the wealthy, as they were hardly attire for a cleaning woman or baker's daughter.

The shoes were made of wood or cork, with leather or man-made material for the tops. The platforms were frequently decorated with jewels and extravagant designs, and sometimes tassels hung from the toes.

Women wearing chopines had to be supported either by men or servants so the wearer would not slip or fall as they strolled along the Grand Canal to see and be seen.

There is controversy over just where the style originated; some say it came from China, where the women prided themselves on small feet, an indication of wealth and helplessness. Others argue the fashion came from the Turkish baths, where women wore slightly elevated shoes.

No matter the origin, the fashion eventually died out, and I suppose today spike heels would be considered just as dangerous, especially if strolling on cobbled streets and crossing the Rialto Bridge.

Discoveries and a New Book

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

On Friday morning, as you open Author Expressions blog and scan down to see who is writing and what she has to say, I'll be flying to India, staggering through an airport to change planes and landing in Trivandrum after almost twenty-four hours, still vertical as I wait in line to show my passport, nod when the customs officer glances at the number of stamps, number of visas, and my age. (They always check my age--perhaps they expect me to keel over from exhaustion, which I am sorely tempted to do.)

Thanks to a wonderful group of readers and libraries, I am able to travel to India each year to visit friends, catch up on some local art, and eat a lot of Indian food (three times a day usually). And I call this research. And it is. I sit on a bus and ride around Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala, gazing out the unglazed window and soaking up ideas for locations to use in my next book. Sometimes a figure catches my eye and I know that would be a great character in a story--just the way he looks back over his shoulder, shifts his turban and grasps his cotton bag--but more importantly I know he will contribute some twist to the story.

I keep a journal during every trip, mostly for notes of ideas and shorthand for story ideas. Rereading these after I return recalls the feelings and imaginings I had at the time and I fall more easily into writing the story.

A couple of months ago I had an image of a young woman running down a city street at night in her bare feet and glancing back over her shoulder. I knew who she was, some of what had happened, but not what would happen to her. I have to see that street during this visit, and I have to see it at three a.m., which is a terrible time for women to be out and about in an Indian city. But I have friends, and I figure I can manage it.

Trivandrum was hit with an unusual rainstorm this December--a typhoon/hurricane instead of the light drizzle that usually shows up in November, as the tail end of the monsoon drifts back over the state of Kerala and out to the Arabian Sea. That rain will play a part also--the wildness of the storm, so out of character for this time of year, has something to give.

Piece by piece the story is emerging. Somewhere in here is a child, a little girl, who knows something, and a young boy/man who is always eager to help. Seeing the innocent in danger always makes me nervous, so I'm not sure how this part will play out.

It will take a while--a few months, at least--before I know the whole story, but I know it's waiting for me, on one street or another, in the corners of Trivandrum. And I will ferret it out over the next three weeks while I'm in India. And then I get to write it.

Chasing History

2011-12-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

When I research for books it seems I am often chasing history, so it was dejavu when an essay I submitted to a magazine was accepted and published with the title,"Chasing History". The article can be found in the "New Books" section of the holiday issue of Mystery Scene magazine. I was thrilled, of course, so I choose to sharethe essay in my blog today.

CHASING HISTORY
"Would you believe a picture on the wall of a defunct cotton mill could inspire a series? Could a New England mill town be a vibrant sense of place for the setting? Yes and yes! The seed for the stories in The Maine Shore Chronicles was a lithograph, circa 1845, of a woman tending a spinning frame in a local cotton mill. In my mind's eye the woman in the picture metamorphosed into my grandmother, who actually came to that town with her family in 1890 to work in the mills. the lithograph inspired me to write a series about characters with a mix of my heritage in a real place on Maine's coast that is steeped in ethnicity and tradition.
Chasing after the source of that drawing for permission to use it in my writing was a three month's search that tested my patience. I discovered that the original lithograph was held in the collections of a textile museum in Massachusetts. After many phone calls, letters and emails I received permission from the museum to place the drawing in my first book of the Maine Shore Chronicles series, Finding Fiona. Research and writing of three books in this series has taken six years. I realized that getting published was one part luck,one part talent and one part persistence, and I'm certain I had the last part. I mix mysticism with faith in the books with what I hope is surprising results. My new book, Promise Keeper, contains a smidgen of mysticism from my family background. My great grandmother was a healer and a seer. Those skills are inherited by my series continuing character, Tante Margaret.That brings us full circle, since my inspiration for Tante was the woman in the 1840's lithograph."

~~~~

Back to Author Expressions , now that there are only two days left and counting and the spirit of Christmas abounds, allow me to share the essence of another blog I viewed last week, called "Christmas Balance". It was about preparing for the next year's holiday by doing after Christmas shopping at a savings, then stashing the gifts away for giving the following year.
Since I am continually chasing history, I'm reminded that I did something similar years ago, using a plan called "The Christmas Club". You banked money each month in a savings "club" bank to have funds for the following year's gifts. Anyone remember that?
I'll tuck that one away for a future book! For now the hall is decked, carols fill the air, and greetings and gifts are mailed. All is in readiness because spouse and I will be celebrating Christmas aboard a sailing ship this year. Meantime, I extend wishes for a blessed and joyful Christmas, a happy Hanukkah and a peaceful New Year to all.

Muse versus Inner Critic

2011-12-18T20:33:00.008-05:00

Muse versus Inner Critic
by B.D. Tharp

I believe that every author has a “muse” (a source of inspiration and an “inner critic” (one who expresses judgments of merit or faults with regard to artistic or literary work). We are generally our own worst critic and doubt our abilities or declare ourselves incapable of creating something worthwhile. (Confidence, why do you elude us?) We also can inspire ourselves as well as others. Both the muse and inner critic serve a valuable purpose, but for them to be effective there must be a balance. (Do I hear dueling banjos?)

During a writer’s retreat I attended years ago our leader said we should each bring something that represented our “inner critic”. When we got to the hotel we were told to put them in a black garbage bag during the workshops until the last day when they would be returned to us. I drew a picture of a Sesame Street monster and he went away for four days and didn’t bug me. It was a great ritual that helped me forget about it for a while. When I’m home I do something similar, by putting it in a drawer – out of sight.

(One of the other writer’s in the group brought one of those squishy stress dolls that you squeeze and it’s eyes and ears pop out from the body. That one was really great.)

Lately, I haven’t felt very inspired. My muse just hasn’t been with the program. So, when I won a Smurf with a laptop for a door prize at the KWA Holiday party yesterday I decided right then that it would be my new muse.

My little blue muse is sitting beside my laptop poised and ready to write, while I am writing. It’s like I’m not so alone right now, I have a little writing buddy with me. Silly, I know, but I’ve found that rituals can mean a lot to a creative person. We have our comfortable chair, the favorite pen, maybe a candle burning, soft instrumental music in the background, whatever helps to put you in the frame of mind you need to escape into your story.

I also have some inspirational sayings on my tack board like: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Another writing buddy finds photos in magazines that look like her characters and she tapes them to her wall beside the computer to keep a clear picture in mind. If you haven’t already, find your inspiration and make it a part of your writing process.

Our neighborhood bookstore closed recently and that was where I used to go every weekend to write. The atmosphere was perfect for getting in touch with a literary muse. Books everywhere, readers of all ages and the lattes were great, too. I miss it SO MUCH, but I’ve asked Santa to bring us another. If the used bookstore across the street would add some tables and chairs, and maybe a coffee bar – that could work! Right now, though I’m searching for a new place. Even JK Rowling wrote at the coffee shop, but our closest one is too small to hang out in for hours at a time.

Tell us about what inspires you to write and what you do to combat an over zealous inner critic.

How to Keep Series Novels Interesting

2011-12-16T05:41:00.004-05:00

How to Keep Series Novels Interesting
by Jacqueline Seewald

The November 2011 issue of THE WRITER featured an article by Anne Perry entitled “How to Keep a Series Interesting.” Since I write a romantic mystery series, needless to say, I read this article with thoroughness. Perry, a well-known mystery writer, discusses setting, character and theme.

Readers enjoy a consistency of setting in a series. My own opinion is that the setting should be one the author knows well whether it be a city he/she has lived in, a rural community, an exotic place visited, or an historic location that has been researched in detail. This lends authenticity to the novel. For instance, in the first mystery in my Kim Reynolds librarian sleuth series, THE INFERNO COLLECTION, I chose a university setting because it was one I was very familiar with. I had not only received several graduate degrees, I both taught English and was an academic librarian (at different times) at Rutgers. However, intending to keep the series fresh, I provided each of the three novels with a different local in Central N.J. where I lived for forty years. THE DROWNING POOL is set in a luxury apartment complex. The main locale for THE TRUTH SLEUTH is a NJ high school.

Perry writes that a series should have characters you will want to return to again and again. I agree that this is crucial in a series. We enjoy reading Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series because we know the characters and they make us laugh. We enjoy reading the Number One Ladies Detective Agency series because of the wonderfully charming characters Alexander McCall Smith has created. In THE DROWNING POOL, the second mystery novel in my series, Kim Reynolds and homicide detective Mike Gardner return to solve another set of murders. They are joined by a new character, a woman of color, police detective Bert St. Croix. The three main characters are very different in personality and background but each lends something unique to the novel.

A wonderful article on mystery series detectives “The (Really) Long Goodbye” appeared in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, July 1, 2011. The theme of the article was that some well-known series detectives are cash cows that have become long in the tooth. The article emphasizes the popularity of this form of mystery.

In her article, Anne Perry also discusses theme as an important component in series fiction and offers the example of disillusionment. In mysteries, people are not as they would appear and so there is an element of disillusionment. That can also be true of society in general and the legal system in particular.

I believe that plot is also key in the mystery novel or any series. In the Kim Reynolds series, there are connected murders that need to be solved. The main characters may even become personally involved as in THE TRUTH SLEUTH when Kim initially finds the body of a murdered boy and discovers another at the high school.

I am pleased that THE INFERNO COLLECTION and THE DROWNING POOL are now available in less expensive e-book formats from L&L Dreamspell. You can check them out at:

http://www.lldreamspell.com/JacquelineSeewald.htm

Do series novels have an advantage over stand alone novels? As a reader or as a writer, which do you prefer?

In keeping with the holiday spirit, I am offering to send a review copy of THE TRUTH SLEUTH, the third novel in my Kim Reynolds mystery series, to a commenter who will be chosen at random. If you want to be included in the giveaway, please leave either an e-mail address where you can be reached or a website address. It will only be used for purposes of this drawing. Happy holidays to everyone!

Soap through the Ages

2011-12-12T08:43:00.000-05:00

Luxury soap, gold leaf, from The Find

In researching for my current work-in-progress, I ventured into the world of early sanitation, and interestingly, found the earliest reference to soap was in the 4th c., when Galen, that great medical researcher, said people should use it to keep impurities from the body. During the middle ages, they knew to cleanse their hands before eating, but they only dipped them in perfumed water, which was better than nothing, but I suspect it was to get rid of unsightly dirt rather than to cleanse.

One of the earliest uses of soap was to prepare wool for weaving. Later, soap began to be an elemental part of bathing, and soap-making guilds became prominent in Italy and Spain. Soap-making was sometimes considered “women’s work”, although as it became a prized commodity the skill became one of craftsmanship, with one soap-maker trying to outdo the next with softening agents.

Gradually, coloring agents and perfumes were added, and soap was sold in both liquid and solid forms. Today, Marseille and Castile soap are made from mostly olive oil, and are considered more pure than soaps with harsher chemicals.

In the tenth century, soap was a minor luxury, and cost about one-third of a dinar (dinero, denier).

A Persian chemist wrote recipes for making soap, as did other soap-makers. Here is a recipe from a thirteenth century document:

Take sesame oil, a sprinkle of potash, alkali, and some lime, mix together and boil. Pour into molds and leave to harden. Surprisingly, this is not a lot different from the current process, except for the addition of perfumes.

Researching the Next Book

2011-12-02T08:28:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite writers, H.R.F. Keating, wrote a short piece about writing and research for fiction. I read through it avidly, thinking this would be the greatest advice because his books were fabulous. Keating was known for the Inspector Ghote series, which he started before ever having visited India. Those of us who knew India expected amazing gems from someone who had to know the secrets of researching a novel because he clearly "got" India. His advice: Read one book on the subject you're interested in and then start writing. It was really that simple.

Keating wasn't being entirely facetious. He had a capacious mind and he could absorb one book thoroughly on one reading. Most of us aren't that smart and we need to read two or three or more books and then reread them, taking notes and checking back again and again. But his point was valid. The point of the reading is to get to know the subject so that we can write the story. Get to the story sooner rather than later. It's sound advice.

In January I head back to India, to Kerala, where the Anita Ray stories are set, and I already have several ideas for the next book (this will be book four--the second will be out in June from Five Star, which is also considering number three). This means I want to scout out the landscape the get an idea of how Anita or other characters would react in certain areas--restaurants, bus stations, shops, traffic problems, side streets and alleys. I want to see what Anita would see.

After living there in the 1970s and 1980s I have a pretty good sense of how the cities and towns in the area are laid out. But a lot of years have passed, and even though the main thoroughfares are the same, the towns and cities have sprawled through paddy fields and palm groves, with high rises popping up everywhere. Tracking these changes is important to keeping the story current, so for me research is a lot of walking around, grabbing an autorickshaw, and walking into stores or warehouses or lumber yards. One detail I'm dying to use is the lumberyard with huge stripped trunks of teak sitting opposite the old courthouse of red brick put up during the maharajah's time. It's a visual detail that always delights me when I walk past.

Not far down the street is a narrow lane with a roof of signs for the many advocates (lawyers) located there--all the signs are black with white lettering with lots of degrees after each name. The walker (no room for a car) has to cross a narrow bridge over a concrete channel (open drains from years ago still used for rain water) before entering the world of the advocates and hanging electrical lines.

A few lanes after this is a road with businesses pouring into the street, and on one side is the Triveni Nursing Home, an ayurvedic hospital with medical offices. I know a couple of the doctors and admire the way they tend to their patients. I'm pretty sure that sometime in the future ayurveda and its practitioners will figure in one of my novels. In earlier years I passed the Ayurveda College on Main Road almost daily, stopping to stand under the spreading trees to get out of the sun before continuing on my way.

This kind of research--going where my characters will go--is something I learned early. There has to be something real in a story--a place, a character, a situation--or the story will feel thin, not quite grounded. For me place is the grounding. In January I'll be finding new places for Anita and others to discover. And as always, I'll take pictures, spread them out on my desk when I get back, and gaze at them now and then while writing. And we call this work.

Backstory - Burdensome or Boring?

2011-11-25T05:06:00.008-05:00

Readers often ask ‘If I don’t start with the first book of a series will I know what’s going on with the characters?’ Writers wonder how best to illuminate characters' past or history. Characters in a story can often be righting a wrong, rescuing or saving a person, or changing and transforming themselves. But how do we get to know their past? Where did they come from? What did they do that needs changing? Backstory can be the solution, but where to put it is another question.

In a chapter of his workbook, Writing the Breakout Novel, Donald Maass says “Perhaps it is desirable to learn about a protagonist’s past at times, but When?” He illustrates various authors’ methods of inserting backstory by building on a character’s internal problems and deepening the inner conflict Later in the story, not in the first chapters.
Author, Corbette Doyle lists three common Back story methods in order of editorial acceptability in her article “Backstory Without Boredom.” She cites:
1. Weaving the back story into the fabric of the novel
2. Prologues

3. Flashbacks

Doyle also quotes Orson Scott Card’s back story warning “that few things from the past are really important to the present story.” Card advocates revealing only enough to convey motive and character revelation. He outlines three indirect methods to reveal the past:

Past as a present event— In dialogue have one character tell another a story from the past that adds to the present action.
Implied Past: Expectation—show what a character expects to happen to reveal something about that individual’s past
Implied Past Networks— Reveal a character’s past through the way others who know the character react to her and treat her.

In my first historical novel, Four Summers Waiting, I used Card's “Past as a present event” method in Chapter Nine to convey a true event. My family ancestor, a secondary character, Edward Simms, is entertaining his militia association members by telling a true story about how he met President Thomas Jefferson. His son, Henry waits and listens to the story in the hallway of their home. His father, Edward is telling about his arrival in Washington City.

“I remember catching my first glimpse of Pennsylvania Avenue when I came here as a young boy of twelve. I was riding on a wagon that creaked and swayed under a high mound of oats it carried down Frederick Road to Washington City. I hung onto the wooden seat and lurched into the Negro driver, Luke, as the wheels pitched in and out of clay ruts . . . . A twist of wind whirled away the early morning fog and stretched out before us was a raised road with footpaths on either side of a long row of poplars leading to the president’s house. “Is that where President Jefferson lives, Luke? Is that where we’re going? To that grand big house, I asked?”

Protagonist, Henry Simms has just come home after graduating medical school. He comes into the parlor as the gentlemen guests are leaving and Edward proudly introduces his son as Doctor. This scene not only fills in time, place, and history for Edward, it establishes a good father-son relationship that Henry feared would be broken by a revelation he’s about to make. When Edward returns from seeing his guests to the door he sees Henry restlessly pacing back and forth in front of the fire. He thinks something is wrong and upon questioning him, Henry replies:

“You see, it’s just that you’ve denied me nothing through all my studies to become a doctor, with the hopes, I’m sure that I would open a practice here in town. But I’ve made a decision to locate elsewhere.”

All ends well when Edward is told that the location of Henry’s practice was influenced by the young woman Henry intends to marry, a woman endeared by the whole family. I believe it was effective to place backstory conveying character revelation here, rather than in the first chapters.

Throughout my contemporary series, Maine Shore Chronicles, I have applied different methods for backstory. I used a prologue to give a glimpse of time travel that comes later in the story of Book One, Finding Fiona. To acquaint new readers to the characters in my series, or reacquaint those who started with Book One, I used the following approach in Book Two, Moon glade. I think, in a sense, this paraphrase below could be considered applied backstory. See what you think.

“Clare rang the bell and pushed open the door to Maddy and Patrick’s apartment. The long hallway held a gallery of paintings interspersed with framed family photos of Jacques Fontaine, Maddy’s mom, Julie, and Maddy and Clare, all taken in front of Francois’s Fancy. There was a great photo of Paul at the wheel of “Julie’s Dream”. The last picture on the wall was Maddy and Patrick’s wedding portrait. Clare had seen it a dozen times, but could never pass it without pausing.”

The latest installment of my Chronicles series released for sale this month, 11/11.It is Book 3. Promise Keeper. I wove backstory into the fabric of the novel using an introspective approach, blending memories in dialog and inserting memories triggered by objects or images.
“'Never know when you need a port in the storm’ Paul had said. How prophetic, Jacques thought. Paul is just beginning to move about here without help. He swallowed hard, his gaze fixed on a painting at the far end of the room. His first wife’s paintings still lined the walls of the house and memories of her lined his heart. The years could not erase the memories.”

I hope you will look for Promise Keeper. Enjoy the intrigue of this Mystery/Suspense installment and determine if you think I have used “Backstory without Boredom.”

What are you thankful for?

2011-11-20T20:09:00.004-05:00

I feel privileged to be writing to you on Author Expressions. It’s also a pleasure. The other contributors are great writers you are all going to want to read.

Every Thanksgiving we take turns getting together with one side of the family or the other. We all pitch in and contribute something yummy to the feast. This year we’re going to Mom’s house and I get to do the turkey. If you knew anything about my reputation as a cook you know that the smoke alarm is the dinner bell in my house. I often get distracted with a book or another household chore, and forget I’m cooking, until it’s too late; but not during the holidays, when it’s a time to celebrate and enjoy a good meal together. I focus on the recipe and the timer and make sure I do it right. And mostly I do okay.

Have you noticed how often family gets together over meals or snacks? Eat and talk go hand in hand (pun intended). It’s a great time to share what the kids and grandkids are doing in school, sports, and extra curricular activities. It’s fascinating to listen to the older members of the family reminisce about the old days. It’s a chance to share ideas, experiences, and offer advice – when asked. I love to watch the way everyone comes together and touches one another with their stories. That is the type of communication that may be replaced by the text and the tweet. Letter writing has already been lost to email. And when the kids get bored and whip out their iPhones instead of talking, well, needless to say we all miss out.

Family discussions have been going on since the cave man days when Ugg and Mogg sat around chewing on a Mammoth leg around the campfire, right? I can only imagine, but it is a fact that before written language the stories were spread by word of mouth from father to son, mother to daughter, and they shared them with each new generation. They were sung, drawn on the walls and eventually put into books.

What are you thankful for? I’m so very thankful for families and the sharing of stories and experiences. I’m thankful for the tradition of feasting and celebrating occasions together. I’m thankful the batteries have not gone out in my smoke alarm. I’m thankful for the many blessings I’ve received: friends, good health, a career, a home, an imagination, and the ability to love and share these things in my stories.

Bless you all during this holiday season, may it be a safe and happy time with lots of good stories.
BDTharp.com

Interview with Author Pamela S. Thibodeaux

2011-11-18T05:59:00.002-05:00

Interview with Pamela S. Thibodeaux
by Jacqueline Seewald

Today at Author Expressions I’m interviewing Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux, Co-Founder and a Lifetime Member of Bayou Writers Group. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!”™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”

Question: What is the genre of your novel? Why did you select it?

Answer: The Visionary is my debut inspirational women’s fiction novel and the inspirational genre chose me when I recommitted my life & committed my writing to Christ. Before that fateful day in 1989, I wrote straight-out romance.

Question: Could you tell us a little bit about the heroine and hero of your new novel?

Answer: Actually Jacqueline, there are two h/h in this novel. Twins Trevor & Taylor Forrestier (pronounced Foresjay) are the main characters along with their sweethearts Pam LeBlanc and Alex Broussard.

Question: What inspired this novel? How did it come about?

Answer: When I initially wrote this story, I thought it would be a light, sweet romance. But one day, a friend read the first few chapters and remarked that I should be careful of the ‘closeness’ of the twins. Well, twins are normally close, but further discussion with her and other beta reader, revealed a closeness not considered ‘normal’ but extreme. Well as a writer, that put me on a quest to find out what had happened to or between the twins to make them cling so tightly to one another and not let other people into their world. What came out of those questions both humbled and scared the daylights out of me as I’d heard about such abuse toward children but never experienced such treatment, much less explored the true depth and meaning of the healing available through the awesome power of God’s love to the most wounded of souls.

Question: Can you tell us about some of your other published novels?

Answer: Currently I have five other novels (4-part Tempered series & The Inheritance) along with five short stories published and available for readers to enjoy. Blurbs and reviews of all can be found at my website http://pamelathibodeaux.com/

Question: What made you start writing?

Answer: I’ve always been an avid reader but didn’t consider writing until, in my early twenties and pregnant I read one-too-many insipid, boring and disappointing romances. Thinking I could do better turned out to be not only the catalyst to my writing career, but a mite arrogant as writing and writing well are at two totally different ends of the spectrum.

Question: What advice would you offer to those who are currently writing novels?
Answer: Don’t give up and don’t quit. Writing is a gift – a talent given to you from God. Don’t hide your gift or bury your talent. If the novel isn’t moving, try writing something different – a short story, article, poem or essay. Take a break if you have to or even a hiatus but don’t quit.

Question: Where and when will readers be able to obtain your new novel?
Answer: The Visionary (released Nov 16th) is available through Amazon & Barnes & Noble.

Pamela, I’d like to conclude this interview by congratulating you on your recent interview with Romantic Times. It’s quite a coup. I expect many readers will want to read
your unique novel. Are there questions or comments for Pam? Please feel free to join the discussion.

Favorite Books

2011-11-14T03:00:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite books, which I stumbled upon quite by accident, is a little-known book, a curious hybrid between a historical novel and a scholarly non-fiction. The title is Wise and Foolish Kings, and it covers the Valois dynasty, kings from 1328 to 1498. Anyone interested in this period would do well to secure a copy of this wonderful book.

Remarkably, I picked it up at a library sale for $2, but to me it's worth hundreds. It covers the reigns of Philip VI (the Fortunate), Charles the Dauphin, Louis XI, Charles VIII and others. The author includes interesting facts about the kings’ lives, their loves, their travels, and their foibles.

This book was translated to English in 1980, and was written by Anne Denieul-Cormier, a French historian.

Her narrative flows, her descriptions are unforgettable, making me sigh with envy. You may be lucky enough to find it in a used or antiquarian bookstore.

Do you have a favorite book, memorable because of the prose as much as the contents?

Writers' Groups

2011-11-04T09:17:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago an acquaintance asked me for advice on setting up a writers' group. I immediately said, Sure. Then I paused and wondered, What kind of writers' group? My friend didn't know. I shouldn't have been surprised. Writers talk about their writers' groups usually with reverence and affection, but few actually describe what the group is like. As a result, most beginning or non writers think a writers' group is a writers' group is a writers' group. And they would be wrong.

Over the last forty plus years I have been in a variety of writers' groups, ranging from the informal two-person (actually two-woman support group for struggling dissertation writers only able to meet over lunch) to the large, highly structured group with strict membership requirements (and no nonsense whatsoever). But a few types stand out for the gratitude and affection I came to feel towards my fellow members, and these are the ones I described to my friend. This is not a definitive list, but a few suggestions for how to structure the coming-together of writers who want to help each other. These are roughly in chronological order.

First was the group of writers of all genres and all levels of publication history, including the writer who managed to get a contract for a nonfiction book about hikes in New England and then didn't look at the contract again until four months before the manuscript was due. She hadn't written a word. The purpose of this group turned out to be to provide massive amounts of encouragement and a small dose of envy for anyone who could get a contract and be so cavalier about deadlines. Another member sought information on a particular free-lance job, received highly specific warnings about avoiding this magazine at all costs, ignored them, and then received massive amounts of encouragement in suing the vendor who refused to pay her. If nothing else, this group was consistent. We were promiscuous in our praise and unstinting in our support and generally ignored all good advice.

The second group I attended seemed to be based on whom you had worked for. All genres were acceptable, including a few that had no names as yet. We all knew each other and our professional paths continued to cross. We were expected to show up with something to read at least every other week, and to take not longer than five or ten minutes. We were expected to listen attentively and offer suggestions for improvement. This was another support group but a little more discerning. It was rare that anyone said anything negative, but when someone did, we took it as a sign that we were ready to graduate and move on.

A third group was among the most structured, meeting once a month and requiring each writer to present a complete chapter or two (about 50 pages) for everyone to read beforehand, then listen without verbal response (eye rolling was allowed) as everyone else commented and discussed among themselves. At the end of this, if the writer was still able to speak and could stop biting his or her tongue, he or she could comment on the discussion and the specific points made. I lasted about a month (that's one meeting for those not following this discussion closely).

A variation on the third group requires that a writer send out by email or snail mail copies of whatever she or he wants to discuss at the weekly meeting, and then at the regular meeting each member can comment and discuss with other members including the writer whose work it is. No one is barred from speaking. All genres are acceptable.

A fourth group is probably the result of the first three. This group has a monitor, also a writer but one who does not participate in the readings and critiques. This person is expected to facilitate discussion, keep writers from acting out the crimes they are so graphically describing in their novels and short stories, and generally keep the group feeling positive and motivated and out of the clutches of the authorities.

These then are the four basic writers' groups. And while I might have had some unusual experiences as a writer when among other writers, I hasten to assure all you beginning writers our there that you will survive participation in a writers' group, you will learn a great deal, you will get that boost you need to finish your novel and then sell it. But in the process you will meet a few oddballs and hear some painful descriptions of your brilliant Pulitzer quality work. You may even wonder why you thought writing a novel was a good idea in the first place. But when you finally sell that novel, your writer group friends will bring a bottle of champagne, cheer you loudly, and you will know you really are a genius.

Never Put A Date On YOur Dreams

2011-10-28T05:00:00.016-04:00

Never Put A Date On your Dreams

“With competition growing exponentially, authors are told to be aware of and not be hesitant to adopt or use new and different components of style.” Advice given but not easily taken. By no means do I go on record opposed to technical advances. I simply mourn the disappearing art of Letter Writing, especially in literature.
Epistolary writing is fiction told through the medium of letters, but I like to think of letters as voices, their stories told in beautiful prose. If you have ever researched collections of old letters and viewed their graceful, rhythmic lines, you understand what I mean. Past generations knew how to “turn a phrase”.

A glorious history of letters exists in literature. The genre became popular in the 18^th century, but gradually became subject to ridicule and fell out of favor. It revived in the nineteenth century. Consider Frankenstein and Dracula were written in epistolary style! Along came Alexander Graham Bell and in 1875 letters were once again put in shadow by the invention of the telephone.
Not totally put on the shelf however, letters as a literary form made notable appearances in contemporary novels. Some of them even included diary entries, newspaper clippings, book excerpts and the like. Stephen king’s Carrie used epistolary structure and Ronald Munson used epistolary style in Fan Mail. Others followed suit; a favorite of mine was Barbara Hambly’s Homeland.

Cell phones, BlackBerrries, iPhones, etc. arrived in our 21st century, entering the fast communication scene with Texting as a popular mode of communication. It is doubtful I will personally use texting, but the characters that people my stories, perhaps will. Letter writing was partly the inspiration for my first novel, Four Summers Waiting, Five Star, 2006 (now available on Kindle). The discovery of authentic family letters and diaries of my children’s ancestors helped me to create the setting and social milieu for that Civil War story. I used some of the actual diary excerpts and letters in dialogic epistolary style (giving the letters of the characters) throughout the book. A line from a letter, contained in Four Summers Waiting written by Civil War surgeon, Henry Simms to his beloved Maria, is an example:

Washington City is a frightening place to be as the month of May approaches. It should be filled with birdsong and blossoms and I long to be showing you the cherry trees in bloom . . .

I hope and dream that things will some day come full circle for I remain an old fashioned devotee of letter writing. I’m sure you can tell by now that I live up to my by-line,

Never Put a date on your dreams.

Book Promotion and Libraries

2011-10-21T06:09:00.004-04:00

Promoting to Libraries: Part 2

by Jacqueline Seewald

The first part of this discussion appeared on Jeffrey Marks’ blog site Murder Must Advertise, September 23, 2011. At that time, I suggested that authors consider promoting their books, whether fiction or nonfiction, at libraries. Some libraries will pay writers to come and speak, others will at least provide writers with exposure to the reading public. Not all libraries welcome authors but there are many that do. As a former librarian and teacher, I can testify to the fact that authors are welcome to provide an event at many libraries. Books are an important component of what the library has to offer. Authors are respected by most librarians.

If you are a relatively unknown writer, try to get a local newspaper to do a story on you before your library appearance. Also, if you’re not Nora Roberts or Mary Higgins Clark, don’t expect people to come in droves just because you announce a book signing. Think in terms of what kind of event you can provide that library patrons will enjoy and appreciate.

On October 6th I presented an event at the Fort Lee, NJ Library entitled “We Can All Be Writers.” It was not just be a talk but a happening—an interactive experience for both attendees and myself. I provided writing exercises that we could do together and discuss.
I’ll also discussed sources of inspiration for aspiring writers as well as library resources for writers. In short, I was offering information of value to patrons.

I believe that not only can everyone be a writer but should be a writer. By this I do not necessarily mean that they should strive for publication. There is such a thing as writing simply for our own self-expression and self-satisfaction. There is also writing to leave a written and historical record for our families.

My program lasted two hours. Fifteen people showed up who were eager to participate. When I previously did this program in Central New Jersey, twenty-five people were present and actively participated. However, fifteen was a comfortable group to work with and they were very enthusiastic. I also had help earlier in the week from the library coordinator who turned my overhead transparencies into a Power Point presentation.

What’s in it for you, the author? Well, the library may or may not be able to pay you to speak but at least you won’t be paying a fee. Doing an event will provide you with publicity. You can ask the local newspaper to cover it and/or get it placed on their events calendar in advance. Hopefully, library patrons may want to either borrow some of your novels from the library or purchase them from you. At the very least, the library will buy your book. In my case, I offered some of my novels at a heavily discounted price and had the librarian take the money because I donated any money earned from the sale of my books the Friends of the Library so they can continue to sponsor more events. It was my way of giving back to the community.

What is your opinion of authors doing events, talks or panel discussions at libraries? Have you participated in any library events? If so, how has it worked out? Will you consider doing it in the future?

Writer’s workshops are the bomb!

2011-10-17T08:00:00.002-04:00

The bomb, according to my grandson is EXCELLENT. I have to agree and it fits so well. I had the pleasure of attending Lisa Tucker’s Writer Workshop at Watermark Books Saturday afternoon. I learned a lot along and met some interesting people.

There were new writers, experienced writers, and everything in between. And that’s the way is should be. We writers know what the others are going through and have the opportunity to learn and share our experiences with one another. Lisa Tucker is one of my new favorite people! She’s smart, genuine, funny, and very open about what to try and how to make our writing better. I think I can safely say we were all very impressed. (As soon as I finish my current read I’m diving into “The Song Reader” then “The Winters in Bloom.”)

We talked about publishing, agents, marketing, character, plot, readers, queries, but most of all we discussed how to make our stories work. We even did a little writing exercise, which resulted in so many wonderful ideas that were all completely different. Lisa suggested some great reading material, “On Becoming a Novelist” by John Gardner (one of my personal favorites) and “The Lie That Tells the Truth” by John Defresne. (I’ll be ordering this one!)

Something Lisa said that I’m posting on my tack board: “Don’t let characters circle the drain.” Wow. Is she a writer, or what? You know how sometimes a character will do or say the same thing over and over again, well, that’s a good way for them to become very boring. I’ve read it and done it myself.

Another thing we discussed was the fact that we writers must support one another any way we can. We must continue to read, buy books and support our local indie bookstores, because if we don’t –there won’t be any books or indie bookstores. From the look of the library of books I’m accumulating I’m doing my part, and loving every word!

Medieval Undergarments

2011-10-10T03:00:00.001-04:00

While writing The Tapestry Shop, I researched medieval clothing. Paintings show us the outwear, but little was written about underwear worn in the Middle Ages. What we know about clothing comes from the few extant pieces that have survived the years, carefully preserved in museums with controlled climate and lighting, but with underwear—being what it was—we have little to go by. The Chartres statues, for instance, represent outer garments, so we can only guess, from representations on pottery and drawings, at what was worn beneath. There are representations of women participating in games that show them wearing something that looks much like a bikini, a small lower piece and a binding wrap at the top.

When full skirts came into use, it's doubtful women would lift layers of cloth and then have to untie something to answer nature's call, although something like men's loincloths may have been worn during certain times of the month.
Women wore undergowns, or chemises, beneath their outer gowns. In the picture, this woman has her outer gown tucked into her belt, perhaps to allow a bit of air to pass through her chemise, but this was the furthest she'd go.
Men, in early Middle Ages, wore loincloths like what is shown. Laborers in the field thought nothing of stripping down to their loincloths in hot weather. At other times, the clothes were colorful and part of everyday outer garb, as the picture suggests, and men at sea had no compunction about stripping naked during daytime chores on the ship, unless there were women aboard.
We know more about the hose they wore, as that garment is visible in statues and paintings. Hose were made of two woven pieces of fabric sewn together, usually of wool. Their wool was a soft weave because of the manner in which it was made, nothing like our wool today which would be a bit itchy, at least to this writer. Later, hose (hosen) worn by armored knights were made of sturdier material and called chausses, an item worn beneath the armor.
In the late Middle Ages and Early Modern period, hose became a significant part of everyday outer garb and were frequently colorful and made of fine fabrics.
There are several good reference books on the subject, but be careful to steer away from costume books used for Hollywood productions. Some are not true to the period, but look better on screen. For anyone who's interested, a good little overall guide, one I have on my reference shelf and which gives a good idea of the construction of medieval clothing, is Medieval Costume in England and France: the 13th, 14th, and 15th Centuries, by Mary G. Houston.

Tricks and Techniques

2011-10-07T10:00:00.001-04:00

I recently wrote a short blog about how I compose my crime novels--I start writing and just keep going until I come to the end. I write without an outline and without any sense of where I am going. I know who the victim is, and even though I begin writing with an idea of who the murderer is, that can change at any time during the first three hundred pages. Of course, I have to do a lot of revising when I finally get to the end of the first draft, but all writing is revising anyway.

The real challenge for me, once I get started, is to keep going and not get lost--not wander off into turning a chapter into a short story, and then following that up with an article on the setting of the short story. If I do that, then by the time I came back to the novel, I would've forgotten what it's about. Another danger for me is getting tired. If I decide I'm tired and take a vacation for three weeks, I may never get the feeling of the story back. And then there's work and all the crises that seem to manifest whenever something else is happening in my life. To prevent all these digressions and distractions, I've developed a number of tricks to keep me focused and moving forward.

First, I take notes. This is usually a section in a binder for various projects I'm thinking about or working on, and there I keep a list of characters and a list of clues and points to include, adding to the list as I go along. I make a note every day of what discoveries or important incidents I've written in. This is a short one or two line summary of the day's scenes, to help me keep in mind what I've covered as I move through the story. The list of clues also includes sentence fragments, brief character descriptions or details--anything that could find a place in the story. I don't feel I have to use everything, but it's convenient to have one place to store ideas.

Second, I keep track every day of the number of words I've written. I don't have to write thousands of words (wouldn't that be nice?) but I do have to write something. If I'm working on a novel, I keep a running total of words written day by day. At first I set myself a total of approximately 1500 words a day, and this seems to be a norm for many writers. But by keeping track this way I have discovered to my surprise that there's usually a period in the book when that I write twice that amount. I don't think I would have noticed it so consistently if not for the ongoing record. During certain parts of the book I seem to pick up speed and I have to make an effort to slow down, to avoid getting sloppy and getting carried away with just the numbers achieved. But when I feel like I'm getting nowhere, like the story is stuck in place, a glance at the list of dates and the number of words written gives me a boost and I don't worry about whether or not I'm getting anywhere.

If I'm not working on a novel, or I am not working on it on this particular day, I note what I did work on. Did I write a blog post (like this one), or a query letter for an article or book review? Did I write a talk to be given later in the year, or plan questions for a mystery panel?

Third, I have to do something for my writing every day. The obvious task is writing, but if not that, then researching material for the novel, researching journals for a short story or an article, learning about marketing, setting up events. And there's lots to be done, more than I can list here, to maintain any kind of writing life. But this doesn't include reading because I'm doing that all the time anyway. That's the official reason. The real reason is that if I include reading in my list of work topics and tasks, I will write and I will read and I will never do anything else.

For a closer look at my writing process, go to www.susanoleksiw.blogspot.com

Writing in Voice

2011-09-26T10:16:00.004-04:00

Last month, I won second place in the short story category for the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association literary contest. It was and is a proud moment for me, but I know you didn't stop by to read some BSP, so please excuse me for starting out like that. But I have a point about writing that I'd like to share--an insight that surprised me and might give inspiration to you.

The voice in my award-winning story was not the voice you're reading now.

The setting for my story is in western Kansas, a place where I spent most of my childhood summers and a place where my parents were born and raised. All my life I grew up hearing the distinctive western twang, the curt, bottom-line judgments, the simple distillation of events that are indicative to the region. Those voices settled deep in my subconscious and even though I am more southern/midwestern than western, (my family moved to Missouri after I was born) those voices are a part of my life.

When I started writing the story, those voices came alive. What came out was a story I didn't expect; one of those pieces of writing where you remember the actual writing, where you remember the music that was playing during the composition, but a piece where upon re-reading, you ask yourself, "Did I write that?"

I can do a pretty good British voice on the page, too, I think. Although I've never published a piece that included that voice, I enjoy writing it. I've only been to Great Britain once, but I love a number of British writers. I'm wondering now if their voices, too, have meandered their way into my brain.

What voices do you have lurking inside? Your parents or grandparents? The voices of a place or a time that intrigues you? Or a voice in your imagination: your muse whispering in your ear?

"A Place to Nurture Genius"

2011-09-23T01:00:00.019-04:00

On a recent trip to Grand Manan Island, NB I was surprised to learn that Grand Manan won third place in Readers Digest’s “World’s 7 Best small islands.”

“Connected to mainland New Brunswick by ferry, the island is home to charming fishing villages, the vertiginous Southeast Head sea cliffs and the idyllic Swallowtail Lighthouse, the second-most photographed lighthouse in all of Atlantic Canada.”

This quote is part of Tim Johnson’s island description for the Reader’s Digest Contest announcement. What the announcement doesn’t tell you becomes the caveat of my blog.

I was surprised to learn of the contest win, but delighted too, because the island is home to my eldest son, Michael E. Simms. Michael makes his living as a commercial fisherman on the Bay of Fundy.

A few years ago Michael showed us a rustic cottage nestled in the trees near the cliffs at Whale Cove, North Head, one of the six villages on Grand Manan. Michael had a reason for showing this isolated, charming cottage. I had been pestering him with questions about the island; his answers to be part of the research for an article I was writing.

“This cottage,” Michael said, “is part of the estate of a renowned American author, Willa Cather. Like you, Mom, she was a writer and teacher. She lived here and wrote books in this cottage.” I was flattered by the comparison but assured Michael that my writing was not likely to ever achieve Cather’s fame.

Willa Cather (1873-1947), novelist and short story writer, one time editor of McClure’s magazine, wrote during the first half of the 20^th century. My Antonia is often thought to be her most enduring novel, but it was One of Ours, written in 1922 which won a Pulitzer Prize. L.K. Ingersol writes about Willa Cather in Shadows On the Rock.

“Not too much has been written about her connection to this Bay of Fundy island. There is ample reason. During her lifetime she said little about it, probably nothing to the public and hardly more to her close friends. . .The very fact that it was rather out of the way and visited by none of her friends made it all the more desirable. Had it been otherwise, she would have probably dismissed it from her mind. It was then, actually a workshop, a place to nurture genius.”

Her companion and confidant, Edith Lewis, was with her on Grand Manan Island. Ingersol writes that “the two companions found solitude without loneliness at Whale Cove. It was ideal for their work and after three years they built a cottage of their own.

In 1926 they bought several acres of land and the cottage was built for them by local carpenters.

Much later Lewis mentioned the cottage in her book Willa Cather Living, “the cottage was a rather rough little place, with many inconveniences, but it came to have great charm. Above the rooms was a large attic from which one could look out over the cliff and the sea, and this Willa chose for her study.”

I first saw the Willa Cather cottage while visiting our son in 2007. I remember peeking in the windows, marveling at the care obviously given to its upkeep, imagining her sitting at her old Oliver typewriter listening to birdsongs or the sound of the sea. I snapped photos of the cottage and the view, vowing to re-read one of my favorites of hers, Death Comes For the Archbishop.

During an August visit this year we toured down Whistle Road once again. Drawing near the Willa Cather cottage, it was time to enjoy a sumptuous dinner at cliff-side’s Inn at Whale Cove Cottages –a very special treat from our son! Browsing through brochure descriptions of the rental cottages on the premises, I experienced a second island surprise!

WILLA CATHER COTTAGE

Built by the American author in the 1920’s this cottage is secluded and has a Cliffside water view. There are two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, two fireplaces, activity room and kitchen. $1000.00 per week Sunday to Sunday

A rental cottage! Perhaps not a use that will perpetuate Willa’s memory, but if the $’s were available I can think of no better retreat to inspire a writer than this beauty spot at Whale Cove, North Head on Grand Manan Island.

Enjoy the photos of the cottage, Willa’s sea view and Swallowtail Light. whether you are a reader or a writer, you may want to be inspired as Willa Cather was on that remote island.

*****

Back to this author 's musings, my conscience niggles over a promise I made to my readers: An excerpt from my new book, PROMISE KEEPER. A synopsis and excerpt appears on my Author Page at Red Room's literary web site. If you open the the following URL mypromise will be kept. http://redroom.com/member/mary-fremont-schoenecker/books/

Self-Publishing versus Traditional Publishing? Good Question.

2011-09-19T08:00:00.001-04:00

Each has it’s pro’s and con’s. With self-publishing: you pay for it all, the set up, the printing, the distribution, the marketing & promotion, you buy all your copies to sell or give away. If you have a non-fiction platform, then self-publishing is probably a good way to go. You can control the content, it’s printed faster than traditional publishing (which can take 18-24 months), and you already have a built in audience.

For fiction, I’m torn. Personally, I prefer traditional publishing. They pay you, you don’t pay them. But to get national or world-wide distribution you need an agent to get into the big publishing houses. That’s easier said than done. Another option, is to use smaller publishers that don’t require agents. The advance is smaller, but they do the printing and distribution. You still have to market and promote regardless if it is fiction or non-fiction, small publisher or large, self published or traditional.

Here is what I experienced when my first novel was ready to sell. I couldn’t find an agent for FEISTY FAMILY VALUES after exhaustive attempts. So, I went with a smaller publisher. My advance was small but they put together a wonderful product and distributed it to all the big booksellers (Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon). They also shared the book with big reviewers like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, etc. Unfortunately, my novel wasn’t reviewed by the biggies, but I did get several good reviews from the smaller reviewers they notified. If you self-publish you have to do the digging for reviewers yourself and pay for the books you send them. My publisher gave me a dozen books free just for that purpose.

Another option would be e-publishing, like Kindle and Nook, etc. If you have a contract with a publisher and they have the electronic rights, they’ll get your e-pub book done for you. My contract was for print only, so I did my own e-publishing, through Kindle and Nook. It’s not hard and I don’t have to share as much of the profits as I would with a traditional publisher. That’s another thing. Self-publishing is on your dime, but all the profits are yours. With a traditional publisher you share with everyone and their dog, getting as little as 8-10% of the retail list.

If you self publish, the editing is also on you (you can always pay a freelance editor), whereas a traditional publisher will have editors who will review it multiple times to make it the cleanest, best product it can be for no additional cost to the author.

MY ADVICE: Do your homework before you make a decision on whether to self-publish or traditionally publish. Your skill level, available time and budget are key.
To read more about B.D. Tharp, her novel and other writing, visit http://bdtharp.com.

Setting: Writing What We Know Vs. Doing Research

2011-09-16T06:10:00.003-04:00

Setting: Writing What We Know Vs. Doing Research

by Jacqueline Seewald

This topic has been discussed previously on Author Expressions. But I believe it’s
important enough to consider again. So I’m offering my own take on the subject.

You’ll notice that a lot of mystery and romance writers set their novels in places they either live in or have lived in. This may seem provincial, but in fact, it makes for good writing. If we know a place well, we can create a realistic setting, an intriguing background for our novels. Setting is one of the important components of any piece of fiction—plays short stories or novels.

Not all of my novels are set in New Jersey. However, most of them are.
This is because I was born in New Jersey and have lived in the state
my entire life. I like to write novels that have authenticity of setting.
All my YA novels like STACY’S SONG are set in New Jersey.
My children’s picture book A DEVIL IN THE PINES was published
in New Jersey by Afton Publishing; a faction book, that can be found in
both school and public libraries. The book explores the Jersey Devil

and the Pine Barrens using fictional characters. The setting is crucial.

My adult mystery series, featuring amateur sleuth Kim Reynolds, librarian,
is--you guessed it--set in New Jersey. These three novels:
THE INFERNO COLLECTION, THE DROWNING POOL,
and my new novel THE TRUTH SLEUTH are set in Central New Jersey
where I lived for forty years. I also taught English
at the high school and middle school as well as the university.
So again this led to authenticity in the novels’ settings.

THE TRUTH SLEUTH, for instance, is largely set in a NJ high school.

Do I consider research unimportant? Absolutely not! Every novel requires
a certain amount of research, some more than others. My paranormal historical romance TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS required extensive research. And I enjoyed
every minute of it. I’ve been a fan of Regency romance for many years and wanted
to do my own version of such a novel. But to do it right, I had to research the
details so I made no mistakes—or as few as possible.

I believe the best novels combine elements of what we actually know with research into what we need to find out. I’m no fan of info dumping in fiction, but writers need to read and discover a lot more information than they will actually use in their novels.

What is your opinion? Do you prefer authentic contemporary fiction, well-researched
historic fiction--or perhaps you have a preference for fantasy, science fiction or
horror novels which create imaginary worlds? What suits your fancy?

Fashions, oh my!

2011-09-12T03:00:00.003-04:00

The fourteenth century was a period of change and experimentation in the fashion world, as evidenced by extant paintings. Men began to wear tightly fitted clothing, sometimes so short as to be immodest, while other more conservative men kept to the long gowns and robes.

Wool was the most common fabric, because it could take dye, and served as a good insulator in a time when the only window covering was often a wooden shutter.

14th century dressmakers

Fabrics could be printed now, most commonly by woodblocks. Other decorative fabrics were embroidered wool, and gold and silk threads, only obtainable by the rich.

Edward III established an embroidery workshop in the Tower of London, to provide suitable garments for the royal couple.

Linen was commonly worn next to the skin, and cotton was used for padding and quilting. Silk was most desired, and most expensive.

During the middle part of the 14th c. people began to wear parti-colored clothes, even two different colored hose, especially at the English court.

Belts crept lower and lower, and by the end of the century, were worn low on the hips, as they are now. So you see it’s true; if you wear a style long enough, it will come back into fashion!

Keeping the Door Open

2011-09-02T07:11:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has published anything anywhere has probably had the experience of receiving unexpected and usually unsolicited feedback from a reader or another writer (not that they're mutually exclusive), and recently I started thinking about this. I'm not the most adept with (no longer new) technology, and a reader pointed out a slip I had made and how to correct it. I was pleased with the advice because I might otherwise not have caught on, and thanked her. She emailed me back with a note that she was relieved that I wasn't offended.

Instant publishing through blogs, websites, ebooks, emagazines also means instant feedback. We put our views on the Internet, with direct access to us, and this surely invites a reaction, and the reactions come in. Most of us are used to the benign comments that are complimentary, encouraging, supportive, and we occasionally get the argumentative ones that tell us, usually politely, that we're all wrong. But sometimes we get the snarky ones from readers who are just looking for an opportunity to score a hit. The trolls.

These people are not limited to the Internet. One reader of a Joe Silva mystery novel wrote to me that she wouldn't commit murder under the same circumstances that drove the character in my book, and I must say I was very glad to hear that. I commend her for her self-discipline and virtuous character.

Some people clearly don't mind being trolls or snarks, but most of us can hear that voice in the back of our heads saying, "No nice person would say anything like that," when we are tempted to give as good as we get. We restrain ourselves, proffer something polite, and move on.

The real problem with this instant publishing and instant critique isn't the hurt feelings or wasted time. The real problem is the same one that infects every other aspect of life. Bad money drives out good, nastiness pushes aside more thoughtful, useful comments, and we begin to delete without reading emails from any name we don't recognize.

I've been fortunate to have received only a few snarky emails (probably because I have a modest readership), and the unsolicited comments I do receive have been interesting, useful, and intelligent. I would hate to lose this connection with readers, so I keep my email open, remain optimistic, and thank everyone who takes the time to offer something that might benefit me. They are generous and helpful, and I'm glad to count them among people I reach. I can't promise this will last forever, but so far it seems to work.

Please welcome Keith Cronin

2011-08-29T01:00:00.000-04:00

Will you tell us about ME AGAIN, the characters and the plot line?

ME AGAIN is the story of two young stroke victims - Jonathan and Rebecca - who meet in a hospital. Jonathan has been in a coma for six years, and has lost his memory. Rebecca's personality has been radically changed by her stroke, making her a stranger to her husband. They are drawn together by how badly they fit in, and by the fact that they each understand what the other is going through. Ultimately they've got to decide what's more important - who they used to be, or who they can become. Although the book explores serious topics, there are a lot of funny moments. I'm going for kind of an "American Nick Hornby" vibe, with a mix of serious emotions and self-deprecating humor.

What inspired the novel? What was the seed for the story?

ME AGAIN grew out of an unfinished short story that I had abandoned and forgotten about. But I keep all my files, and one day I was idly re-reading some drafts I hadn't looked at in a couple of years, and I really fell in love with the voice in that story fragment. So I started thinking about how I might expand it into a larger story.

There were a couple of main inspirations. The Tom Hanks movie Castaway left a big impression on me - I thought that the incredible effort he made to get home only to find the world had moved on without him was just unbelievably heartbreaking. So I put Jonathan in a similar position, having him come out of a coma from which he was never expected to awaken, only to face a group of family and friends who had already made peace with the idea of him being gone forever. And to make things even harder, I took away his memory, but gave him an oversized conscience. He feels guilty about not remembering these people, so he tries to disguise that fact, and pretends to recognize these strangers who seem to know him all too well.

My other main character's situation was inspired by a real life scenario. Years ago, I had a friend whose sister had a stroke - a young woman who was recently married. The stroke changed her personality dramatically, leaving her young husband confused and alienated. I always felt that was such a heartbreaking, seemingly no-win situation, and the thought of it haunted me over the years. So when I began drafting ME AGAIN, I put Rebecca in a similar predicament. At the time I didn't know how major a character she would be, but ultimately Rebecca's conflict - and eventual transformation - become the climactic focal point of the book. That's what's so exciting about fiction: you never know where it will take you, or what it may teach you.

How did you write it? Over a long period, or did you have the story in mind?

As far as having the story in mind, I was basically fleshing out a "what if?" premise, not really sure where it would take me. And because I am an overly ambitious idiot, I began working on ME AGAIN while I was also in grad school working on my MBA, and working a fulltime day job, and spending many weekends on the road touring in a band. To say I was stretched thin would be an understatement, and in the long run it probably slowed down the process of completing the book. There were also times when Real Life intruded and halted the book's progress entirely, but then when I'd return to it, it would seem more fresh and new to me, so maybe that was not entirely a bad thing. All told, it took about two and a half years to complete.

Tell us about your writing background. How did you start writing novels? What was your journey to publication?

Both my parents were journalists, so writing is in the family DNA. But I didn't start to get serious about writing until my late 30s. I took a job as a technical writer, writing computer manuals, and discovered that some of my coworkers also dabbled in fiction. That made me curious, so in the late 90s I started studying the craft of fiction, and made several abortive attempts at writing a novel before I wised up and decided to start by taking smaller bites. I then shifted my focus to short stories, and managed to publish a few. But in my heart I wanted to write book-length fiction, so I finally finished my first novel, a mafia comedy, and secured a major agent around 2005. I had some nibbles, but ultimately the book went unsold, so I went back to the drawing board.

I started ME AGAIN in 2006, and began querying agents in the summer of 2008. I got another major agent, but pitching the book during the awful economy of 2009 was an uphill battle, and she finally gave up on the project. I was ready to throw in the towel myself when an online acquaintance from Backspace - a discussion forum for writers that has been my most valuable resource for many years - reached out to me and offered to refer me to Five Star, with whom she had published her first novel. I was in "what the hell" mode, so I sent them my manuscript, not thinking much about it. Next thing you know, they made an offer! I think sometimes you have to let go of something before it can actually happen for you. I would just like to get a little better - and a lot faster - at knowing when to let go!

What are you working on now?

I'm in the early stages of a modern-day, rock n' roll re-imagining of a classic 19th-century novel. But I'm one of those people who doesn't like to jinx a work in progress by revealing too much, so that's all I can tell you!

Your website tells of your other creative talents. Tell us about yourself.

Ever since seeing The Monkees on TV as a little boy, I wanted to be a drummer. So I followed that dream, and immersed myself in drumming at an early age. I was playing professionally by the time I was 14, and went on to study music at Indiana University. From there I embarked on a roller-coaster music career that has taken me from cruise ships to theme parks, from biker dives to giant arenas. In the late 80s I toured with guitar hero Pat Travers, and in the 90s I connected with E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, and I played in his own band for the past 15 years, until his death this summer. Working with Clarence was an amazing experience, and through my association with him I was also able to perform and record with Bruce Springsteen. I still can't believe Clarence is gone, but am immeasurably grateful for the amazing experiences I had while touring with him.

Where can readers find your books?

At the library! Five Star specializes in selling beautifully made hardcover books to libraries, so if you want to check out my stuff without spending your hard-earned money, try your local library. (And if they don't have ME AGAIN, please ask them to consider ordering it.) But you will also be able to find my book at your favorite online booksellers, such as Amazon or IndieBound (a great site that will direct you to independent bookstores in your area). The book should be available the second week of September.

I'd like to add that 25% of everything I make from ME AGAIN is being donated to the American Stroke Association. Stroke is the third leading cause of death, and the leading cause of adult disability. My hope is that my little what-if story can do something to help change that, while still managing to entertain people on airplanes and beaches.

Links for additional information:

Website: http://www.keithcronin.com/writer.html

Video book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAooOPnkuKA

2011-08-26T01:00:00.003-04:00

Writers are often thought of as wordsmiths. We experiment with words. We change, delete, substitute, alter and embellish words. If infamous doesn’t do the job in a sentence, maybe villainous would or how about ill-famed ? It’s a good thing the English language is flexible! The basic wisdom learned from writer’s workshops is ‘you shouldn’t stop to revise’, but many authors have their own marked idiosyncrasies. I’m committed to overwriting as I go. I could be labeled a quintessential experimenter because I continually go back to the pages I’ve written and tweak, change, delete words and reconstruct sentences. Admittedly, it slows my writing but that’s my style and it grows from what to leave in and what to take out. “Start over until it sings” could be my by-line.

Author Elizabeth Lowe says ‘Voice is the writer’s fingerprint.’ Much of my voice and style is inspired by past experiences – family, people I’ve met, journey’s I’ve taken. I try to establish my voice through my characters. When people learn that I was the youngest of nine sisters and four brothers, their eyebrows lift. “Ten girls!” they say, “There’s your book. There has to be a story in that family.”

Actually, there is something from my maternal great grandmother in the first book of my contemporary Maine Shore Chronicles series. In Finding Fiona, the character, Tanté Margaret’s grandmér Hetty is prescient, a seer, and healer. In French she was called a Guèirsseur. There is a Scot in the time travel twist of Finding Fiona’s plot and if grandmér Hetty had been Scottish, she would have been called a ban-lichiche. Perhaps you can tell that I love to find foreign words that fit into my story line. My readers have told me they like the ethnic characters found in the Chronicles series, and especially they appreciate the French and Gaelic phrases sprinkled through the dialog. Book Two, Moonglade takes up where Finding Fiona left off. It is a blend of mystery and romance with the same regional flavor and strong family dynamics.

Chronicles series Book Three, Promise Keeper will be released from the publisher, Five Star/Cengage on October 21^st. It explores the bonds of family and the resiliency of the human spirit. Danger and intrigue foil protagonist Paul Fontaine’s search for a stolen painting and the woman who donated it to his gallery. Tanté Margaret continues as a secondary character- but a very important one- she is the Promise Keeper in Book Three. My readers’ favorite ( so they tell me) continuing character in the series is Tanté Margaret, the reluctant clairvoyant.

Tanté finally has a book of her own in my current work in progress. She is a woman of faith and her point that her gift is from God is one that I could also make. I feel that my writing has been a gift from God. I’ll close with a paraphrased quote of Eric Liddell shared by my friend and fellow author, Sharon Irvin – “When I write I feel God’s pleasure”. In French, I would say moi aussi. Me too!

Journal Writing: The Real Deal

2011-08-19T07:26:00.005-04:00

Journal Writing: Valuable Resource for Writers

by Jacqueline Seewald

When I taught creative writing both at the university and high school, one of the course requirements for students was to keep a journal. I feel it’s an excellent source of inspiration as well as a resource for writers.

What exactly is a journal? It’s a record, an entry-book, kept regularly, though maybe not everyday. These entries are dated and honest. We can use journals to describe things, increasing our powers of observation. For example, we can describe places: houses, sidewalks, backyards and streets, cities. Consider your journal as a travelogue. Describe people, interesting or unusual, the ordinary too.

Jot down snatches of conversation. Think of your journal as a treasure trove or jewel box in which to place gems (quotes, pithy ideas, epigrams, insights, puns, nutshell wisdom). Write a little; think a lot.

Consider your journal as a laboratory for experiment. View your journal as a new wardrobe. Try on different styles. See what suits you, what fits and what doesn't. Think of your journal as a psychoanalyst's couch or a confessional. Explore your depths, dreams, fantasies, truths, sins. Regard your journal as a tape recorder attached to your brain. Record your thought associations, stream-of-consciousness. Consider your journal as a confidante. Much of your journal can provide fine raw material for future writing.

When I was teaching English at the high school level, I wrote in my journal regularly. A lot of those thoughts, comments, and description came into play when I wrote THE TRUTH SLEUTH. Many readers have commented that this romantic mystery novel has the vivid ring of veracity about it. Not surprising since the book is the real deal.

Do you keep a journal at present? If so, does it prove helpful? If not, is it something you might wish to do in the future?

GREAT FOOD

2011-08-12T12:31:00.001-04:00

Great Food
By June Shaw
I live in south Louisiana and am accustomed to Cajun dishes. Some readers of my humorous mysteries ask why I haven’t set my series in our area. Of course we have interesting characters, a unique culture, and fabulous meals. But my protagonist wants to travel—just like me. She and I like to see various places while we still eat great food. That’s why her hunky sometimes-ex lover that she tries to avoid owns a chain of Cajun Delights restaurants. And some of his restaurants happen to be opening in places she travels—and she is horrible at avoiding tempting dishes and men, but—
Here’s the thing. Some people joke and say every Cajun dish begins with a roux. In case you aren’t familiar with the term, a roux is a mixture of almost equal parts oil and flour stirred over a low fire until it turns golden brown. It’s what thickens and darkens our gumbos and stews and many other dishes. And it’s not actually used for everything—not cake anyway.
You might start with a small roux, such as 3 T. flour and 3 T oil, although some people make them much larger, maybe 1/3 C. of each. Roux can be saved in the refrigerator for quite a long time. You’d cook a roux in a heavy pot and after it’s uniformly brown, add onions and other desired seasonings, stirring until transparent, and then add needed liquid.
Here’s one recipe for a Chicken Stew: 1 large hen, 3 onions, 1 bell pepper, 1 large T. cooking oil, ½ cup flour, green onions and parsley, salt and red pepper to taste. Cut up the chicken, chop bell pepper and onions very fine. Brown the chicken in hot oil. Remove the chicken and add flour. Stir until this mixture is light brown. Add onions and pepper and cook about five minutes. Then add the chicken and one quart or more of boiling water. Season with salt and pepper and when almost done, add green onions and parsley. Stir the stew as it thickens to prevent burning. If you like mushrooms, add a can toward the end. Serve this dish over rice. Yummy!
Stuffed Crabs: 1 C. crab meat, 1 large onion, 2 T. flour, 2 T. cooking oil, 1 C. stale bread broken into pieces, ¼ C. chopped bell pepper, ¼ C. chopped celery, 2 T. parsley, ½ C. water, salt and pepper to taste. Make a golden brown roux with oil and flour. Add bell pepper, onion, and celery; cook five minute. Add water and cook till thick. Add crab meat and cook about 15 minutes. Add bread and chopped parsley. This will stuff about four crab shells. Sprinkle them with bread crumbs and brown in the oven. Terrific!
Actually I am not a woman who enjoys staying in the kitchen, although my mother and her mother loved to cook. So does my squeeze Bob.
Bob is a terrific Cajun cook, so when I want some of his great recipes to include in my books, I ask and he writes them. You can find samples in the first two books in my series, RELATIVE DANGER, which is now also available on Kindle and Smashwords for just 2.99, and KILLER COUSINS, available in hardcover and soon an e-book, Be looking for DEADLY REUNION, the third book in my series, in July. In this murder mystery, a class reunion takes place on a cruise ship in Alaska. I loved doing the research.
Have you ever eaten Cajun dishes? If so, what are your favorites? Have you tried cooking any?
I love to eat but keep busy and like faster dishes. That’s why I offer my Oven Dressing, which my family loves, on my Web site, www.juneshaw.com. Lots of people down here spend hours preparing dressing, but my great recipe lets you throw everything raw in a casserole and stick it in the oven. I hope you’ll check it out. Thanks for letting me join you today. June
Here’s a link to my first book in the series, which can be read on an e-reader. Deadly Ink nominated it for their David award for Best Mystery of the Year: http://tinyurl.com/2443cac

History of Coffeehouses

2011-08-08T03:00:00.003-04:00

Palestine Coffe House, 1900

Coffee houses first appeared in Europe in the 17^th century, probably in Venice. Ottoman traffic with the Venetians brought the shops to the island, and the idea spread from there. In 1652 the first coffee house in England was started in Oxford, and run by a Jewish businessman. The building still exists, and is now known as The Grand Café.

Because my current work-in-progress is set partially in Warsaw, I was interested to learn that the first Polish café, as coffee house were called, was in Warsaw, begun be an enterprising courtier in 1724.

Charles II tried to discourage the patrons of coffeehouses, insisting the gathering places were filled with disgruntled citizens who spread rumors about the present monarch, but citizens ignored the warning and flocked there in droves, assuring the owners of a handsome profit.

Women were banned from most coffeehouse in Europe, especially in England and France, but Germany, for the most part, allowed women to join in the pastime.

In London, Jonathan’s Coffee House posted stock and commodity prices, a list that eventually evolved into the London Stock Exchange.

During the 19^th and 20^th centuries, coffee houses became the preferred gathering place for artists and writers, so with the advent of coffee shops in bookstores, the trend continues.

The Writer at Home

2011-08-05T07:13:00.001-04:00

As soon as I knew I was going to be a regular member of the Author Expressions blog I started a list of things to write about and came up with the expected topics, but as the list grew, I thought perhaps I should introduce myself and give readers an idea of how I think and what matters to me as a writer. I scribbled down a list of eight things, and as I looked it over I could see that this list pretty much defines my life as a writer and has for several years. But then I looked at the list again and to me it seemed like a classroom exercise--how to be a dutiful writer.

While I was mulling over what to do I came across a notice that the University of Virginia has put online tapes of readings by William Faulkner. That got me thinking about the many voices of writers in this country and the many places they lived. And of course, that sent me into another room to locate an old book that belonged to my mother called Literary America (Dodd, Mead, 1952). This book is full of photographs of the homes and settings of American writers, and Faulkner's section includes five photographs of homes that lurk in the background of his stories. The grand house where Miss Emily might have lived enriches my feeling for the story and its characters.

Thomas Wolfe's section has a photograph of his mother's boarding house in Asheville, NC, which I visited with friends. The guide told us that young Tom, after a certain age, had no room or bed of his own. Instead, every night he wandered through the boarding house looking for a bed that was empty. When I told this story to another friend, she said, Well, yes, you can see it in his sentences that seem to go on forever, sort of wandering and meandering until they just stop. I look at a writer's home now with a very different eye.

I frequently come across another book, American Writers at Home (Library of America, 2004), which includes photographs of the writers' desks and work rooms and, often, of the writers working at their desks. Eudora Welty sits up straight and types with her arms outstretched. Hemmingway's table in his writing room sits beneath a mounted head, with french doors open to a bright, sunny day.

I love these kinds of books because I think we are shaped by place, not just as people but also as writers, and because I'm endlessly curious about how other people go about their work. My work space isn't nearly as serene or beautiful or messy as some. But I suppose it does reflect me. Every writer needs a space of her own (if not a room, as Virginia Woolf insisted), and I am fortunate to have a room of my own, which I usually share with the dog.

My desk has changed over the years, but whichever one I have, be it a long picnic table, an old vanity table, or my father's old desk, it sits in the same spot, giving me a view of the front door through one window, and a view of the sidewalk (if I stand up a bit and crane my neck to see over the printer). I keep the surface clear as much as possible, trying to stack papers neatly while I'm working.

The best part is that I'm surrounded by books, perhaps too many books, since many of them sit on the floor and on stools waiting to be read or put away. I have a comfortable chair to sit in, which desperately needs to be reupholstered, and another chair that the dog likes to stand on (when I'm not around to stop him) so he can see out the window.

This is my space, and I come here all times of the day and night to work. It's always ready, always set up for what I want to do. I like the calm, the dedicated space, the familiarity of the place. When I've finished a book or a story, I rush around trying to tidy the place up--a sign that I really have finished the job. I weed out old papers, make stacks of books to pass on, and make lists (I do love lists) of things to get done in the next few weeks (I never finish them all).

This is my setting, the place where I will be writing the next Anita Ray, working out the details of a new series character and her life, writing short pieces like this one for Author Expressions, and daydreaming. I'm a big believer in daydreaming.

More ways to approach character

2011-07-25T09:08:00.003-04:00

Time for another post about building characters in your work, and this time, I'm using one of my favorite writer's handbooks, The Writer's Portable Mentor by Priscilla Long.

From THE WRITER’S PORTABLE MENTOR, A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life by Priscilla Long

List 20 concrete words associated with this person. Clothing, foods, hobbies, occupation, favored objects.

Write a macro-portrait: quick stokes, an overall picture of the person. “A tall angular man with ginger-colored hair and a disjointed way of moving”

Use coloration judiciously: Use comparison, slow down and dwell. Use comparisons to fruits, dogs, birds, gems, stones, vegetables, horses.

Choose one part of body Language: Put the person’s habitual gestures on the page. The way the person walks, moves his or her hands, weeps, laughs, talks. Consider open and shut, looseness and tightness, defended or undefended. Consider energy, agitation and stillness.

Use pet phrases to characterize: Write one of his/her exact phrases:

Dress the person: Dress reveals character. The way people dress reveals who they are and what they think, but don’t overdue it. Choose one piece of information that dominates about the clothing.

Write for ten minutes and reflect on this person or character. What insights can you come up with?

Write a biography of the person for 10 minutes.

Compose a portrait of the person using the most telling of the attributes from each of the categories. It can be long or short, two lines or two pages.

Writer Resources

2011-07-15T21:47:00.006-04:00

By B.D. Tharp

There is no shortage of information these days. The problem is finding it and trusting that it is accurate. Over the past few years I’ve put together quite a collection of links to web sites, writer organizations, magazines, and resources that have been valuable to me on my writing journey.

Let me first say, there is no better resource to the writer than the company of other writers. Only a writer understands the struggle and joy that is involved in the craft. Our friends and family may sympathize with our disappointments or help us celebrate our triumphs, but they don’t know what it takes for us to get there and to keep going.

There are local and regional writing organizations that will help improve writing skills, and bring you great friends. In the heartland I’ve been a member of three great groups: KWA (Kansas Writers Association, http://www.kwawriters.com/ ), KAC (Kansas Authors Club, http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/kac/ ) and OWFI (Oklahoma Writer Federation Inc., http://www.owfi.org/ ). We also have active Romance, Children’s, and Mystery Writers groups locally as well. I was a member of IWWG (International Women Writers Guild, http://www.iwwg.com/ ) and NAWW (National Assoc. of Women Writers, http://www.naww.org/ ) for several years. All of these organizations have workshops, web sites with valuable information, and links to other writing resources.

I’ve also subscribed to several good publications and highly recommend The Writer (www.writermag.com ), Writers Digest (www.writersdigest.com/ ), and Poets & Writers (http://www.pw.org/ ). Periodically I pick up a Writers Journal, too. These publications provide timely articles on the craft, reviews with new and established authors, information about contests, conferences, publishing, editors and agents. I generally alternate one or two subscriptions each year, so I don’t spend all my spare time reading instead of writing.

If you are searching for markets, agents, and publishers I suggest you check out Writers Market (http://writersmarket.com). The web version is kept more up to date, but the print version has great articles and interviews. For the past year I’ve subscribed to Publishers Marketplace (http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/), which has timely information about the publishing industry, new deals (book, foreign rights, film), and job listings.

A good way to investigate writer conferences all over the globe is Shaw Guides (http://www.shawguides.com/ ). My first experience using this tool was a writer’s retreat in New Mexico given by Emily Hanlon (an author and teacher), which set my course as a writer.

Universities and writer organizations in your region no doubt sponsor some great workshops. I’ve attended several in my area that were sponsored by Newman University and Wichita State University, as well as OWFI and KWA. Check out events in your area, save your pennies, and go to at least one per year. I’m told that agents, editors, and publishers find most of their new authors at writer conferences these days, so invest in your future. It’s certainly a good way to network with others in the industry.

A writers group is a great place to share ideas, critique, celebrate, and console. If there isn’t a local group that works for you, find like-minded writers who share your love for the craft or a specific genre and start your own. You will see improvements in your writing as well as the added social benefit. Writing may be a solitary endeavor, but we need “input” to stimulate our creativity. Some of my best ideas have developed from an overheard conversation in a restaurant, a brainstorming session, a photograph, and free writing exercises. You just never know where the muse will strike.

Some of the books that have guided me on my writing path include: Bird by Bird (Anne Lamott), The Right to Write (Julia Cameron), Marry Your Muse (Jan Phillips), On Writing (Stephen King), The Art of Fiction Writing (Emily Hanlon), Writing Down the Bones (Natalie Goldberg), On Becoming a Novelist (John Gardner), The Writer’s Book of Hope (Ralph Keyes), and The Artists Way (Julia Cameron). There are many more good books out there, but these were among my favorites, and have left a lasting impression.

I used to hear “write what you know” a lot when I first started out. Frankly, I don’t know everything, so I believe you need to write what you feel and find out about those things you don’t know. An insatiable curiosity provides good fodder to the writer, but I truly subscribe to this notion - “When your heart speaks, take good notes” (Susan Borkin).

Much good luck to you all on your writing journey I hope these resources will help you along, and don’t forget to enjoy the ride.

Summer Reading Suggestions

2011-07-15T06:14:00.004-04:00

Summer Reading

by Jacqueline Seewald

I had every intention of writing something useful and educational this month. Then I opened several of my magazines (yes, we actually do still subscribe to print publications at our house!) and low and behold there were all these wonderful articles on the best books for summer reading. With people going on vacation, sitting at beaches, pools and on cruise ships, many individuals actually enjoy relaxing with a good book.

TIME MAGAZINE did a wonderful job with this in their July 11th issue. The magazine provided an ultimate summer reading list of 48 books. Most of the suggestions come from famous people. They also include staff picks. But what about those of us who are published by small independents? Are our books forever to be ignored by the reading public?

I would like to mention my own recently published novel THE TRUTH SLEUTH.
I hope that you will decide to request the novel at your local library for your summer reading.

The third romantic mystery novel in the Kim Reynolds series continues the heroine’s experiences as a reluctant psychic detective. Kim is a librarian and a teacher who seems to stumble across dead people. Her romantic life is as complicated as her work.

Here’s an excerpt from the very beginning of the novel:

Prologue

They watched Jimmy Sanduski ride to victory at the NHRA SuperNationals, racing a Harley-Davidson V-Rod. He roared through the field, setting the top speed for the event, and the crowd went wild. Sanduski, new kid on the block, had not been expected to win.
Kim Reynolds didn’t find the sport particularly fascinating, but she’d gone along with Bert St. Croix and April Nevins, just to see what it was like. She enjoyed the company of both women, and, as they were now into motorcycles, Kim thought she might give it a try. April had generously loaned Kim her bike, riding to the raceway park on the back of Bert’s large Harley.
But what had started out as a pleasant afternoon began shifting to something quite different. Kim was developing an uncomfortable feeling of wrongness; a kind of prickling sensation slithered down her spine. She recognized the feeling for what it was but shook her head, trying to dispel the spasm of dread that suddenly gripped her. God, not this again! Would she ever be free of it?
Then Kim gasped, seized by a stab of pain. In her mind, she heard a silent scream, an astonished cry for help. She felt another’s panic and terror. She began to shiver and tremble.
“What’s the matter?” Bert asked, her dark brows rising then knitting together in concern.
“Someone’s been hurt.” Those were the only words she managed to choke out.
“Who? Where?” April asked, glancing around in confusion.
“Maybe we better have a look,” Bert said. Her height of six feet gave her an advantage over both Kim, who was five foot six inches, and April, who was barely five foot two inches tall.
The crowd was starting to thin out, many bikers revving up their engines in anticipation of leaving now that today’s entertainment was over. Kim led, Bert and April following behind her. Although she was not really certain where she was going, Kim plowed blindly through the garbage-strewn grounds. And then she saw him: a very young man sitting in an aluminum beach chair, head slumped forward as if he were in a deep sleep.
“He’s dead,” Kim heard herself say with certainty. Her voice sounded hollow, expressionless and faraway, as if it belonged to someone else.
“Oh, God, are you sure?” April asked, tossing her gold-tinted curls as if to deny Kim’s statement. “Kim’s got this gift of knowing stuff like that,” Bert said.
More like a curse, in Kim’s opinion.
Bert knelt down, at first not touching the body. “I don’t think he’s breathing.” Bert’s voice had taken on a note of professional authority. She looked and sounded like the seasoned policewoman she was. Bert felt for a pulse, then shook her head. “Don’t touch anything. I’m calling this in.” There was a grim expression on Bert’s café au lait features. She pulled a small cell phone out from the pocket of her black leather jacket.
Before Bert could make the call, Kim turned and faced her.
“There’s something I think you should know.”
“I’m listening.” Bert stood very still like a figure in a portrait.
Kim let out a ragged breath. “I think that boy was murdered.”

Here are a few reviews of the novel:

“The talented Seewald puts her heroine through the wringer with a romantic dilemma, a job she doesn’t like, two mysterious teen murders, deadly school politics, and financial hardships. Readers will enjoy the continuing adventures of Seewald’s conflicted psychic.”

—Shelley Mosley, Booklist

“The Truth Sleuth packs a double whammy. Not only is the solution to the murder unexpected, but the sleuth's personal life is just as surprisingly complex. Add in a colorful school setting and a protagonist with special gifts, and you get a winner.”

Toni L.P. Kelner, New York Times Bestselling author
***

“Who better than a psychic reference librarian to untangle a complicated romance and decipher a mysterious death? Jacqueline Seewald has written one for the books!”

Molly MacRae, award-winning author of Wilder Rumors and Lawn Order
***
“An attractive but demanding administrator, troubled students, along with her lover’s angry ex, complicate Kim Reynolds’ life. Author Jacqueline Seewald understands the ins and outs of high school politics and routines.” Susan Froetschel, author of Royal Escape
***

“This is an engaging paranormal amateur sleuth with one romance going on hiatus and another beginning while Kim changes jobs. More a character study than a mystery …readers will enjoy the Truth Seeker as Kim is forced to find herself with new employment and new relationships.”

Harriet Klausner

What books would you suggest for summer reading? What books do you look forward to reading this summer?

19th Century Travel

2011-07-11T03:00:00.001-04:00

In doing research for my latest novel, I came upon a helpful resource, a book on the subject of Florence Nightingale’s travels through Europe. Because my book is set in the same time period, Nightingale’s letters and journals, documenting her travels, were priceless.

Among other modes of travel, which included ships and omnibuses, she frequently traveled in a diligence, the popular name for a French stagecoach. A diligence was drawn by either four or six horses, and had a place in front like a small porch, on which one could stand or sit. Diligences were used mainly between towns or rail stations, and competed with canal boats, until rail travel in Europe became more widespread in the last half of the 19th century.

Joyce Elson Moore

http://www.joycemoorebooks.com/

Please welcome Mary Schoenecker

2011-06-26T22:00:00.000-04:00

Could you tell us about PROMISE KEEPER, the characters and the plot line?

PROMISE KEEPER is the third book in my contemporary Maine Shore Chronicles series. A vibrant sense of place continues as the setting of mill towns and seaside villages of coastal Maine. Steeped in tradition and filled with ethnic characters, the series are suspenseful tales which straddle the genres of cozy mystery and sweet romance. At the beginning of Promise Keeper the theft of a valuable painting leaves Art Gallery Director, Paul Fontaine a gunshot victim, forcing him to recuperate at his father’s seaside home. Paul’s father, Jacques Fontaine faces serious health problems and family friend, Tantè Margaret comes to keep house for father and son while Jacques’s new wife is away. Add to the scene Paul’s torment over a relationship with Suzanne, the art collector who loaned the missing painting to the gallery and mystery mixes with romance. The characters drawn from two families, the Chamberlains and Fontaines, carry through each installment of the series mixing mysticism and faith with surprising results in each book. In Book One, Finding Fiona a time travel element gives a turn of the century twist, for Paul’s sister, Maddy Fontaine adding a history-mystery mix to that plot. Book Two, Moonglade continues where Finding Fiona left off, adding murder and mayhem to romance for Tante Margaret’s adopted daughter, Claire Chamberlain.

What inspired the novel? What was the seed for the story?

To tell you what inspired Promise Keeper and the first books in the series I must go back to the beginning of a search for my grandmother’s roots which took me from the Gaspè Peninsula in Canada to Biddeford Maine. My grandmother came to that mill town with her family in 1880. The seed for a story came from a mural on a Chamber of Commerce wall in Biddeford depicting a nineteenth century woman tending a spinning frame in the local cotton mill. When I finally found the actual lithograph of the original drawing, circa 1845, and received permission to use it in a book, two years of research and writing had taken place.

How did you write it? Over a long period, or did you have the story in mind?

The writing of all three books took close to five years. I planned a trilogy that would have the same characters and setting, but would introduce new people and places in each book. My French Canadian family background certainly influenced the character traits and dialog unique to an area of Maine which has a large French Canadian population. Adding a setting of Florida’s West Coast to Promise Keeper was definitely a personal choice that began at the start of the novel in 2009.

Tell us about your writing background. How did you start writing novels? What was your journey to publication?

Getting published is one part luck, one part talent and one part persistence. You have to have all three and I certainly had the last one. I had a strong work ethic and even though I had taken early retirement from a teaching profession, I was convinced you should never put a date on your dreams. My writing fiction began with a middle grade novel, The Red Cockade. It won prizes and was chosen by a small publisher as the history component of an NEH grant proposal, but the grant was not received. Another publisher kept the manuscript for over a year; their editor encouraging me, but ultimately that editor moved to a different firm and then came my first rejection. I put the book on a shelf but I didn’t lose hope. I switched gears to writing adult fiction. I got much needed help from writer’s organizations, critique partners, workshops and conferences. Four Summers Waiting was my first successful historical novel. One of my sons had completed a genealogical search for his ancestors which provided inspiration for me to write a story fictionalizing the lives of those ancestors. A treasure trove of luck was finding authentic family letters and diaries which provided a cultural framework for my novel. Several letters and diary excerpts were used in the story line. It took five years of research and writing before I received a contract from Five Star/Gale publishing in 2005. That contract came just shy of my 75^th birthday. The first edition of Four Summers Waiting published in 2006 was followed by a Large Print edition in 2007.

What are you working on now?

My readers have often suggested that a constant character in my series, Tantè Margaret, deserves a story of her own. Tantè is an important secondary character in each book of the series, but she finally will be the protagonist in an untitled book I have just begun.

Where can readers find your books?

My books are found in Libraries throughout the nation; something I’m very proud of because from the beginning I have acknowledged libraries and librarians for their tremendous help and support of my writing endeavors. Both books, Finding Fiona and Moonglade of the Maine Shore Chronicles series were given second editions in Large Print by Thorndike Press in 2008 and 2010. They are available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble com. and can be ordered by any Book Store. Four Summers Waiting rights reverted to me and now is available as an ebook on Kindle. The third book in the contemporary series, PROMISE KEEPER will be released in October of 2011. Its beautiful cover can be seen on my website and I look forward to receiving an Advanced Reading Copy before June.

Interview with Author/Editor Denise Dietz/Mary Ellen Dennis

2011-06-17T05:47:00.004-04:00

Interview with Author/Editor Denise Dietz/Mary Ellen Dennis
By Jacqueline Seewald

DeniseDietz is a much published author who also happens to be the acquisitions editor for Tekno Books, the book packager for Five Star/Gale. Denise recently had a new historical romance come out from Five Star/Gale entitled HEAVEN’S THUNDER: A COLORADO SAGA. You can check it out at http://www.maryellendennis.com/

You can also find ordering information on Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble online and Borders.

Hi, Denise, thanks so much for joining us today at the Author Expressions blog. First, let me congratulate you on the excellent review HEAVEN’S THUNDER received from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Question: Could you tell us a little about the main characters in your new novel and also about the plot line?

I think the best way to describe Heaven’s Thunder is to quote some of the cover copy:

Mary Ellen Dennis’s spellbinding new saga encompasses the Cripple Creek Gold Rush, the union rebellions of Mother Jones, and the birth of silent movies.

Fools Gold Smith, born in the “cribs” of a mining town, raised in an elite parlor house, idolized as silent-film heroine “Flower Smith,” is the central figure in this precisely detailed chronicle. Equally memorable is John “Cat” McDonald, an outlaw’s offspring, a rodeo star, and silent-film hero “John Chinook.” Then there is Kate Lytton, wealthy, pampered granddaughter of a Denver entrepreneur, who becomes embroiled in the 1913 Ludlow coal strike. Their interwoven stories make for a compelling novel, rich with a vibrant sense of time and place.

From life on cattle ranches to the drawing rooms of the wealthy, from the bedrooms of bawdy houses to the wooden platforms of the Ludlow Tent Colony, the author paints not only rooms but intimate portraits of the husbands, wives, sons and daughters who walked their space. From parlor girl, pauper and prospector, to patriarch, plutocrat and profligate, the characters are very much alive. Filled with the essences of its setting, blending love, hate, passion, greed, self-sacrifice, human frailty and strength, Heaven’s Thunder is an authentic tapestry of its time.

Question: Do you envision this novel as a stand alone or part of a romantic series?

For now, it’s a stand alone. It took me 10 years to write my saga and 12 years to market it. The Big Pub House editors said they loved the evocative writing but, “Nobody likes sagas.” When I mentioned Lonesome Dove, The Thorn Birds, John Jakes’ North and South (Heaven’s Thunder has been compared to all three), Barbara Bradford and Anya Seton (plus a dozen other bestselling generational saga authors), NY said, “Those are the exceptions.” I said, “Why can’t I be an exception?” and was told, “Because nobody likes sagas.”

Question: What inspired this novel? How did it come about?

Widowed at age 35, I moved to Colorado Springs. I chose Colorado because of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, even though I don’t agree with her “philosophy” and didn’t know anyone who lived in Colorado. I then began researching my adopted state and learned that two actors had drowned in the Colorado River while filming a silent movie.

Wow, I thought, wouldn’t that make a good book?

My second thought: Of course, I won’t kill off my hero and heroine.

My third thought: Silent films were shot in Colorado???

I gave my characters a backstory, starting with their parents and their births. I do that for all my books, before I start writing them, but Fools Gold Smith and Cat McDonald really tugged at my heartstrings, and I knew I had to tell their stories from the very beginning—before they began their careers as silent film stars “Flower Smith” and “John Chinook.”

The “very beginning” was the 1893 Cripple Creek gold rush.

Question: Can you tell us about some of your other published novels?

My most popular mystery series stars diet guru Ellie Bernstein (in the first book, diet club members are getting killed off at goal weight), but I’ve always wanted to write romances. I started with a paranormal time-travel, HALLIE’S COMET, published by Five Star in 2004 (it’s now up at Kindle). In 2007 I reinvented myself as historical romance author Mary Ellen Dennis, whereupon Five Star published THE LANDLORD’S BLACK-EYED DAUGHTER, inspired by Alfred Noyes’ The Highwayman. “Landlord” received starred reviews and was chosen as one of Booklist’s Top 10 Romances of the year. I sold the paperback rights to Sourcebooks and the novel will be reissued this August, along with an 1875 circus historical: THE GREATEST LOVE ON EARTH.

Question: What made you start writing?

In the third grade I wrote a story called “The Pencil Who Grew Up To Be a Stub.” We were supposed to write a one-page story with an ink pen. I wrote a 5-page, first-person story with a pencil (my protagonist) and received a failing grade. In high school I wrote and illustrated a children’s book, HERBERT THE GIANT, about a giant who lived in a town of nearsighted people. No one knew he was a giant until a peddler who sold glasses came to town. Publishers told me they liked the concept but “the words were too big.”

Undeterred, I wrote short fiction and penned my first [adult] book when I was a lecturer for Weight Watchers. As people were weighing in, I thought: Wouldn’t it be funny if there was some maniac running around murdering skinny people? With that thought, THROW DARTS A CHEESECAKE, the first in my 4-book “diet club” mystery series was born. I don’t always write in my head, but I once overheard someone say that Miss America had to be very intelligent (as well as beautiful). After a silent snort/chortle, I began writing a story—in my head—called THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN BEAUTY PAGEANT about a male beauty contest (with a twist). This was 15 years before the first TV reality show. The horror/suspense story is now at Kindle for 99-cents.

Question: As acquiring editor for Tekno Books, what advice would you offer to those newbies who have novels they would like to submit for consideration?

It sounds like a cliché, but telling rather than showing will land you in the rejection pile fairly quickly. If a writer tells me about a character, I feel no emotional connection. Another no-no: Please don’t make your heroine TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) by having her check out a noise in a dark basement without, at the very least, a rottweiler by her side. Be careful about overusing a word. Check your manuscripts for “just” and “well” and “that.” Tied with overuse of a word would be dialogue tags like “You’re so funny,” he laughed. You can’t laugh and talk at the same time. Try it. Nor can you talk while you are grinning or (my favorite) exploding: “I swear I didn’t do it!” she exploded. I get an image of Wile Coyote landing at the bottom of a steep cliff. Speaking of animals, I don’t like animal tags: growled, brayed, chirped, crowed, etc, and be careful of eyes. I like them to stay on one’s face, not drop to the ground (where they could get stepped on) or sweep the room. And if your character tosses her head, make sure somebody is there to catch it.
I like to give new writers the best piece of advice I’ve ever received. I wrote a scene set in an opulent NYC apartment for my women’s fiction novel, Soap Bubbles (published by Five Star Expressions, now at Kindle). I described the living room in detail, including the eclectic collection of paintings on the wall. It was written from the POV of my soap opera star protagonist. An author I admired read the chapter and complimented me on my narrative; said she felt like she was there. Then she said, “But how does Delly FEEL when she looks at the room?” I rewrote the scene, keeping all my details. Except, when Delly looks at the wall she wishes she could step into a painting. Here’s the rewrite:
"Delly stepped into an enormous living room and blinked at the brightness. The walls and ceilings were pure yellow, the floor a highly-glossed parquet. An eclectic mixture of paintings crowded the walls. Delly recognized Andy Warhol, Peter Max and Renoir. Her gaze lingered on the Renoir, and she wished she could step into the painting. In a Renoir there were no cameras panning for a close-up, no directors screaming for another take, no rejection. Renoir’s flowers have no smell, but they don’t die. Renoir’s people have no smell, but they live forever. Once she had believed that actors lived forever."
Note that I managed to get some of her backstory into one paragraph. This is also an example of what I was talking about before: showing vs. telling. I could have said: “Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe print reminded her of her last acting role,” and that wouldn’t be wrong. But it doesn’t really tell you how Delly FEELS. Can you see the difference?

Denise, thanks so much for being our guest today. You’re a fine writer and editor and we’re honored.

Those of you who have comments and/or questions, please know that they are welcome. So feel free to join the conversation!

History of Pocket Watches

2011-06-13T03:00:00.002-04:00

Pocket watches were manufactured as early as the sixteenth century. They were first worn around the neck, and were quite large, because of the size of the spring-driven mechanism, which required a cylindrical case.

By the 19th century, watches became smaller, and were commonly carried in the pocket, by both men and women. Because they were considered luxury items, only ladies and gentlemen of means could afford them, but toward the latter half of the century, with the advent of railroads, personal timepieces became more common, and grew to be an indispensable item for railroad engineers.

The first time that men wore wrist watches was about the time of WW I, when field officers wore them as a matter of convenience. Before that, wrist watches were considered a feminine item, even though women wore pocket watches around their necks just as men did, before the advent of wrist watches.

I have a ladies' watch, an heirloom from a 19th century relative. It resembles a man's pocket watch, with a gold chain for wearing around the neck. The design on the cover is feminine, but I'm guessing, from what little I learned about the wearer, that she never thought of the watch as anything other than what it was, a practical item to tell her when to take the roast from the oven.

Setting as Inspiration

2011-06-03T00:01:00.005-04:00

Focusing on the setting of a book can add layers of depth. Sometimes, it's as if the setting is another character. You don't have to live there, but visiting is definitely a help. So is having someone who does live there who can answer questions, from what trees line the streets to what color the deputy sheriff's uniforms are.

It's important to be accurate with your setting. I lived in Florida for over 3 decades, in Miami and in Orlando. They're both Florida, but each has its own flavor. However, sometimes, I think authors simply want a place to plunk their characters, and they might do some rudimentary research. Google Maps can get you down to street level. You can research sunrise and sunset times, and what constellations will be visible in the night sky on any given day. But what any reference source can't give you is what it feels like to be there.

I've read numerous books set in Florida that totally ignored the climate. Trust me, the Florida climate is NOT to be ignored. For at least nine months of the year, simply walking from your front door to the street is enough to film your body in sweat. Then, there are the 3 PM thunderstorms for at least half the year. Leaving things like this out of a book will misplace the trust of reader familiar with the area. If they can't trust you to get the setting right, how much else will they not be willing to accept.

When I moved to Colorado a year ago, the change from central Florida was monumental. And, being new, I had a heightened sensitivity to the nuances of the terrain and climate. There's the altitude. Cooking pasta or boiling an egg is a totally new experience. Living in the mountains means your vehicle is covered with red dust—or mud if it's rained.

It was only logical to incorporate what I was learning about my new home into a new book by making the heroine a transplant as well. Because she's sensitive to the different environment, it's logical for her to share this information with the readers, so they can pick up on the flavor of the setting.

DANGER IN DEER RIDGE is set in a fictional town that just happens to be very much like where I'm living, but I definitely didn't want to set it specifically in my town. It's much easier to manipulate things you need to include in scenes if you're not locked into well-known landmarks. For example, if my characters go into a local restaurant and I need something on the menu that the "real" restaurant doesn't have, I can add it to my "similar" restaurant's menu. If I need a few more shops, I can create them. And I don't worry about getting the streets right.

Not to say that setting books in real places doesn't have its own advantages. Michael Connelly and Robert Crais write about Los Angeles, and I enjoy trips down memory lane when I read them.

Just remember, setting should go beyond landscapes, shops, streets and temperatures. It includes the types of people your characters will run into. How they dress, how they talk. The local population here bears little, if any, resemblance to that of central Florida. And even though these characters might only populate the background of a book, they're going to add to that sense of place.

Terry Odell writes romantic suspense. Her latest series, featuring the covert ops team of Blackthorne, Inc., includes When Danger Calls, Where Danger Hides, and Danger in Deer Ridge. Visit her website, her blog, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Special Offer Today: Free Words

2011-05-29T09:39:00.008-04:00

In honor of Memorial Day, I'm not going to review Laura Hillenbrand's book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption.

In case you've been living under a rock, Unbroken has been discussed, reviewed, awarded and broadcasted all over the net. Words like "staggering", "mesmerizing" and "page-turner" are standard fare for this masterpiece.

The reviews lie.

The book is beyond all that. It's a must-read, in the truest sense of the phrase. Louis Zamperini's story is the story of a generation who, because of their sacrifice, I can write anything I want to on this post. Under the comments, you can write anything you want to without being afraid that you'll be censored, fined, or imprisoned. As readers and writers, we cherish essays, poetry, stories, novels--anything composed of words, we love. Today, I remind myself that because of their sacrifice, the freedom to write is mine.

Interview With Alice Duncan: Author/Editor

2011-05-20T07:32:00.002-04:00

Interview with Author/Editor Alice Duncan

by Jacqueline Seewald

Alice Duncan is a much published, award-winning author who also happens to edit romance and mystery novels for Tekno, the book packager for Five Star/Gale. I’ve personally had the pleasure of working with Alice who has edited all five of my Five Star/Gale novels.

Like me, Alice has a new mystery coming out from Five Star/Gale this month called
Fallen Angels. You can check it out in the book catalog on the Five Star site:
http://www.gale.cengage.com/servlet/ItemDetailServlet?region=2&imprint=305&titleCode=TP906&type=3&id=255711

You can also find ordering information on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Angels-Five-Star-Mystery/dp/1594149593/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303479952&sr=1-11
as well as Barnes and Noble online and Borders Books.
***

Hi, Alice, thanks so much for joining us today at the Author Expressions blog. Congratulations on your many excellent reviews of Fallen Angels!

Question: Could you tell us a little bit about Mercy Allcutt, the heroine of Fallen Angels?

Mercy Allcutt was actually a consolation prize for me. I’d written two stories in a series set in the 1920s, featuring a phony spiritualist named Daisy Gumm Majesty. When I thought the Daisy books were dead, I decided to write a historical cozy mystery series set in the 1920s, and gave the books another heroine, Mercy. Mercy’s a privileged young woman from Boston who moves to Los Angeles, lives with her sister Chloe and Chloe’s movie-mogul husband. She gets a job (which horrifies her Brahmin mother) as secretary to a private investigator, Ernie Templeton. She loves her job! You see, Mercy wants to become a writer of gritty detective fiction, and she figures she can’t do that since she’s always lived in an ivory tower. Her Boston relations are horrified, but Mercy doesn’t care. Much.

Question: I know that this novel is part of a mystery series because I’ve read and very much enjoyed the previous Angel novels. Could you tell us about the series? How did it originate? What inspired the series?

Whoops! I guess I already answered this question. I was so bummed about not writing Daisy books any longer, I decided to write another series set in the Roaring Twenties and set in Southern California. So I moved from Pasadena (the Daisy books) to Los Angeles (the Angels books) and gave Mercy a P.I. for a boss.

Here’s a blurb for FALLEN ANGELS:

“Transplanted Boston Brahmin, Mercy Allcutt, has had some very exciting times as secretary to private investigator, Ernie Templeton. While it’s true she’s been in what she considers a wee bit of trouble (and Ernie considers out-and-out danger) a time or two, she’s determined to continue learning the ways of the “real” world.

However, when she sets out to find her wandering boss, Ernie, one hot September afternoon, she not only discovers a corpse, but she also finds Ernie, bound and gagged. Worse, when the police arrive to investigate the crime, they peg Ernie as the killer.

Well, Mercy isn’t about to let them get away with that, no matter how many times Ernie tells her to butt out of the police inquiry. The only question is whether she’ll survive her investigatorial efforts once again, or if she’ll become one more “Fallen Angel.”

Question: How does the relationship between Mercy and her private investigator boss Ernie Templeton change through the novels? Is there a glimmer of romance?

There’s a glimmer. I don’t want to pull a “Moonlighting” (if anyone remembers that TV series. Once Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis got together, all the tension died). However, Mercy and Ernie are clearly attracted to each other, even though neither one will admit it. They pretty much always drive each other nuts.

Question: Can you tell us about some of your other published novels? I know there are quite a few and that many are now available as e-books at a reasonable price.

Oh, my goodness. There are, literally, dozens of them. I’ve written historical romances under my name (Alice Duncan), Emma Craig, Rachel Wilson and Anne Robins. I also wrote a couple of westerns in the “Trailsman” series under the pseudonym Jon Sharpe, but the less said about them, the better. My very first book, ONE BRIGHT MORNING, came about because I used to get migraine headaches. They were terrible. I got to wondering what a young widow woman with a baby and a ghastly migraine would do if she lived in the 1880s in New Mexico Territory, and a gunshot stranger showed up at her door. My second book, TEXAS LONESOME, contains dachshunds. I attract dachshunds kind of like a magnet attracts steel shavings. I think it’s a curse. Daisy Majesty gave her husband a dachshund named Spike, and Mercy Allcutt has an apricot toy poodle named Buttercup. I love dogs J Anyhow, I’ve had something over forty books published under a whole bunch of names, and nobody’s ever heard of any of them. Well, that might be a bit of an understatement, but not by much.

Anyhow, all my out-of-print backlist, and some of my in-print books, and a short story, which is part of my Pecos Valley series (another cozy mystery series set in the twenties, only this one in New Mexico in 1923) are available on Kindle and Smashwords. You can read all about them here: http://aliceduncan.net/page5.html

Question: Did you always want to be a writer? What made you start writing?

Yes. I’ve always wanted to be a writer. From the time I could listen to stories, I knew I wanted to write them. Life got in the way (as it has a habit of doing), and I didn’t begin writing books until the nineteen-nineties. I tell you, life was *hard*. Sometimes I hear people say (generally disparagingly about those people who say they want to write but don’t have time) that “writers write.” That may well be true, but writers also have to live, rear children, and earn livings.

Question: As an acquisitions editor for Tekno Books, the book packager for Five Star/Gale, how do you suggest writers contact your company?

Actually, I don’t acquire for Tekno. I only recommend books I like J. Here’s the web site for Five Star, which will show you what kinds of books they like: http://www.gale.cengage.com/fivestar/

Question: What advice would you offer to those who have novels they would like to submit for consideration?

Here are the specific submission guidelines for people who want to submit to Five Star:

For previously published Five Star authors, please submit your queries directly to:

Rosalind Greenberg, Senior Acquisitions EditorTekno Bookstekno@new.rr.com

For authors new to Five Star, published or unpublished, please submit your queries directly to:

Deni Dietz, Associate Editor
Tekno Books
AssociateEditorTekno@shaw.ca

Please send a query email letter requesting the Five Star submission guidelines.
*Remember to include your name, address, and sub-genre
*Rosalind Greenberg or Deni Dietz will send you all the information and forms that you will need to submit your manuscript properly.
*Please be aware that the volume of submissions we receive is enormous. Because of this, we do not accept simultaneous submissions, hardcopy submissions, or partial manuscripts, but we will respond to you as quickly as possible.

So there you have the complete submission guidelines. Read ‘em, and follow ‘em, if you want anybody to pay attention to your submission (not that I want to sound harsh or anything, but it really is important to follow directions). As for me, don’t forget to visit my own web site: http://www.aliceduncan.net/

Alice, thanks so much for being our guest today. I’m looking forward to reading Fallen Angels. I love your unique, original style of writing and clever sense of humor.

Those of you who have comments, please know that they are very welcome. So feel free to join the conversation!

History of Debutante Balls

2011-05-09T03:00:00.001-04:00

Debutanta Ball Gown

In doing research for my current novel, I happened upon a bit of nostalgia worth mentioning. During the 19th century, upper class European families presented their marriageable daughters at formal events called debutante balls (from French débutante, meaning “female beginner”). Such events had various names, depending on the geographic location of the ball. They were called debut balls or coming-out parties. Traditionally, the debutante invited the man (sometimes two) to escort her to the dance. She was escorted to the front of the ballroom by her father, where she was greeted by her escort(s), eligible bachelors whose social rank matched that of the debutante.

If the coming-out was at the English court, a girl would be expected to wear white or a light pastel gown. After presentation to the reigning monarch, they entered the social season by attending numerous events such as teas and more balls. In 1958, Queen Elizabeth II abolished the ceremony.

Harrison Fisher Illustration from
The Princess Elopes, by Harold MacGrath

In the U.S., during the fifties in the South, it was common for even middle-class families to send their sons and daughters to Cotillions, where they learned dance steps, to be used later at debutante balls. In various parts of the U.S., debut balls have morphed into charity events, with attendees buying tickets and the money going to a designated charity.

A Book is like an Elephant

2011-05-06T00:01:00.005-04:00

I'm excited about my new release, WHERE DANGER HIDES. Technically, the release date is May 18th, but since stores don't stock the book, that date represents when the publisher will start filling orders. Also, the book has been available for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble for some time.

Marketing for this system is a different game. It's not a matter of trying to get people into the bookstore on release day. The reality is, the publisher sells to libraries. Everything else is gravy.
Not to say it's not exciting to find that carton of author copies on your doorstep. I got mine last Saturday, and it's a thrill like no other to see the fruition of what amounts to close to two years of gestation and labor--much like an elephant. And, I confess, I don't even want to open the book for fear I'll find that I might have missed a typo, or that the publisher didn't fix everything I requested. It's a done deal, and the baby is mine, warts and all.

With sales targeting the library market, it's reviews that help sell the books. And not the reader reviews on Amazon or other web-based review sites with "volunteer" reviewers. Libraries prefer sites and publications with professional reviewers, and often the lack of a review in one of those means your book won't be considered.

Normally, I don't like posting pure promo here, but since I won't have another new book from Five Star for another year, I decided to go for it. If you want to get some glimpses of how the book came to be, and see parts that never made it past the first draft of the first chapters, I've put them up on my website, under the 'behind the scenes' tab and 'from the cutting room floor.'

Needless to say, I was delighted to get a positive review from one of the biggies—Publishers Weekly.

Odell follows 2010's When Dangers Calls with this sizzling suspense tale. Dalton, "just Dalton," is a sweet-talking Texas black ops contractor equipped with a sharp mind, big muscles, an intriguing background tragedy that makes him cry over babies, and boatloads of sex appeal. Miri Chambers, manager of a shelter for wayward teens, is just his type: "proud, strong, intelligent, compassionate, and one hundred percent female," with a past she'd rather not reveal. … the real action is in Miri and Dalton's passionate mutual attraction, and not even his cold showers and her idealistic do-gooding can douse its uncontrollable flames. Romance fans will drool over Dalton and his fellow camo-clad helicopter-riding commandos as they look for runaways and love.

I've also had positive feedback from several other reviewers, so I'm pleased that people like my baby—warts and all.

The ARC calls it Contemporary Romance. With all due deference to the press's editors, that's incorrect. Sure, there are some hot romance scenes and some highly emotional connections come and go and arrive again, but there's a gritty, powerful pulse-pounding narrative platform here that drives the novel plainly into the thriller category …With little time out for deep breathing, the plot quickly picks up a palpable sense of menace and slackening of control. Readers will be swept along to a final breathless conclusion that is eminently satisfying. Carl Brookins

Talented author Terry Odell quickly grabs our attention in her suspenseful romance, WHERE DANGER HIDES, the much awaited second novel in her Blackthorne, Inc series. The hero, Dalton, is the kind of man that any reader could easily fall for: strong, confident, and yet compassionate and sexy. His perfect match is the heroine, Miri, who is loyal, nurturing and resourceful. Ms. Odell builds the sexual tension between these two characters as skillfully as she ramps up the anticipation in her story. Readers hang on every word reaching for the climax to WHERE DANGER HIDES and are not left disappointed but eager to learn more about the fascinating group of Blackthorne, Inc. men. Thrills, romance, danger and mystery fill the pages of WHERE DANGER HIDES and thoroughly entertains. Donna, Single Titles

Odell provides a lot of sexual tension and enough hot sex to please avid romance readers. It takes front and center in the novel, but eventually the mystery of the missing people leads to a major crime operation. An exciting climax should satisfy the most demanding thriller readers. Mel Jacob, Gumshoe Reviews

For more information Terry, visit her website. She can also be found at Terry's Place blogging about writing and life in general.

2011-04-25T08:32:00.004-04:00

Stephen Covey, a life teacher, coach, writer and a really cool guy, has been a positive example for me for years. I've read his first book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, several times, and as a writer, I can particularly see the relevance of habit 7, Sharpen the Saw.

What Covey asks is that we examine our hectic lives and make sure we are making time for renewal, learning, reading and exercise of the mind, body and spirit. When I was teaching the Covey concepts, I found that most people had trouble with this habit. Covey likens it to being "so busy mowing the lawn you forget to put gas in the mower."

In the writing community, we see this a lot. Writers who are so busy blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, networking and pounding out their 1,000 words per day--no matter how they tally it--that they forget to "put gas in the mower."

I try to incorporate different forms of art into my life in hopes it will nurture my creative writing. The Writer's Brush by Donald Friedman examines how writers practice the visual arts. It's an amazing book, and if you admire the writing of Vonnegut, Kipling, Bronte and the like, I predict you'll be spellbound by their visual art. Imagine developing your entire creative potential-- pumping gas into your creative engine-- by drawing, painting or sculpting.

What perspective would you gain about your story? About your writing? About your life?

Publicity and Promotion

2011-04-15T06:08:00.004-04:00

Publicity and Promotion

by Jacqueline Seewald

Many people in the public eye believe that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Just ask Donald Trump! Publicity positive or negative promotes a career because it puts that person in the limelight. Of course, writers would like to be recognized for the quality of their work. Nevertheless, being ignored by reviewers is not something that authors appreciate. Readers aren’t going to buy books they’ve never heard of. No reviews? No publicity? Consequently no sales.

My next Kim Reynolds mystery novel THE TRUTH SLEUTH featuring a reluctant psychic amateur detective is the third novel in a series. THE INFERNO COLLECTION, the first novel in the series, was endorsed by Sara Paretsky as well as BOOKLIST and sold well to libraries all over the world. The second novel in this series THE DROWNING POOL also received excellent reviews from BOOKLIST among others.

Will THE TRUTH SLEUTH get good reviews? I hope so. However, I am prepared to promote my novel to the best of my ability. Small independent publishers do little to promote their authors. These days even the major publishers do not put much effort and money into book promotion either. Writers have to think proactive.

Should a handful of review publications wield major power, in effect deciding what most readers will and will not be able to read? Is there another better system for writers to become known to readers? Will e-books democratize what may be an archaic system in the publishing world? Are individual readers (and hopefully librarians) paying attention to the internet reviewers that are coming into their own? Time will tell. What is your opinion?

Contests: To Enter or Not

2011-04-11T03:17:00.001-04:00

Before I published my first novel, I entered contests, curious to see what others thought of my writing. My critique group had given helpful feedback, but I wanted more. When the results came back from my first contest, with only mediocre results, it gave me pause. Should I continue to write? Could I ever be published?

Later, the contest scores got a little higher, sometimes with helpful comments and yes, even the occasional compliment. Sometimes scores would range greatly, making me wonder just who was right, or if I were only wasting my money. I am not easily discouraged, though, and when a novel of mine came in second in a contest, my husband and I attended the awards. I received a check and a complete and thorough critique as my award. This critique, from a published author, made me a little discouraged in spite of the win.

I kept writing, and after having my first novel published, I quit entering contests for a while. The contest money was needed for marketing and a little online advertising.

Later, prodded by some writer friends of mine, I entered that novel in a contest, and it came up a winner. I could now put a gold sticker on the book, announcing my award.

More recently, my 2010 book, The Tapestry Shop (Five Star/Gale), won a Bronze Medal for Popular Fiction from Florida Book Awards, an annual contest sponsored by Florida State University and co-sponsored by literacy and arts organizations.

I have learned to be selective in the contests I enter, first, because books cost money, and some require a book for every judge. Secondly, the genre in which I write is usually not a listed category, which means my books might be read by someone who has never read historical fiction. I’ve learned to look at who the judges will be. As a published author, the advantages of entering a contest are different than they were earlier, when I wanted feedback and suggestions. Now I want recognition for my published work.

So no matter where you are in your writing career, I encourage you to enter contests, always keeping an eye out for category and who will be judging. If you’re unpublished, look first for who that final editor is. If it’s an agent or editor who takes your genre, the reward could be huge.

Where'd You Get that Idea?

2011-04-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

One of the most frequent questions authors field is “where’d you get the idea for your story?” Most of us have a head (and a file drawer) full of them and we confront the problem of which one(s) to use for any given story. We amass ideas like junk mail…lots and lots of junk mail…and we find them nearly everywhere.

My favorite idea spots are bookstores. As a writer of historical romance, the non-fiction sections draw me. Local history sections are gold mines, as are museum gift shops and stores in tourist towns. I can spend hours browsing titles, looking for unusual topics or histories of events. I’ve discovered books about gold rushes, frontier medicine, Indian life, women telegraphers, and beer brewers (among others). I’ve found information on famous people and completely unknown people in unusual situations. Suffice to say, I buy a lot of books.

But, one should not forget magazines. For historical writers, there are an abundant number of periodicals with articles on everything from the history of ice skating to medicine healers to undertaking. I subscribe to at least one history magazine at any given time. I’ve also found intriguing character, plot, and setting ideas in travel magazines, women’s magazines, and Readers’ Digest. If something strikes my imagination, it goes to my idea file. This is usually in the form of the torn out pages of the article but can be handwritten or computer-generated notes.

Visits to places can also prompt ideas. Sometimes, it is the setting itself that might conjure up a situation. This means ideas can come from the beach, a vineyard, or a mountain road. It might be the entire setting or it could be something that occurs there (such as a burro ride as opposed to the Grand Canyon). Museums can inspire with displays or an off-hand comment by a tour guide. I particularly love historic home tours with their wealth of information on period lifestyle, the inhabitants, and events of the era.

News items can offer more ideas. Natural disasters, crimes, and human interest features can launch a myriad of stories. Just think about it: one evening’s news might include spots on a hurricane, an autistic child, a crooked home-repair business, and a freak accident. Hmmmm…all sorts of stories there if one combined them.

And, of course, there’s people-watching. Traits, whether physical or behavioral, can be fodder for creating characters that are vivid but believable. Looking around, it’s easy to spot the outlandish things people do or say. Sometimes, it might be a mannerism. Other times, it might be how someone looks. Noting real-life situations can springboard ideas for how characters might respond or how conflict might be increased.

Ideas? They abound. All the writer need do is remain aware, take notes, and start tossing settings, characters, situations, and conflicts together.

A Bumper Crop of Spaghetti

2011-04-01T00:01:00.006-04:00

So, are you wary of anything you see, read, or hear today? Do you play jokes and pranks on unsuspecting friends? Are you like me, who forgets what day it is and takes everything at face value? According to Wikipedia (hey, it's only April Fool's Day, so why not use a less than reliable source?) ...

The origin of April Fools' Day is obscure. One likely theory is that the modern holiday was first celebrated soon after the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar; the term referred to someone still adhering to the Julian Calendar which it replaced.

In many pre-Christian cultures May Day (May 1) was celebrated as the first day of summer, and signaled the start of the spring planting season. An April Fool was someone who did this prematurely. Another origin is that April 1 was counted the first day of the year in France. When King Charles IX changed that to January 1, some people stayed with April 1. Those who did were called "April Fools" and were taunted by their neighbors.

In the eighteenth century the festival was often posited as going back to the times of Noah. An English newspaper article published on April 13th, 1789 said that the day had its origins when he sent the raven off too early, before the waters had receded. He did this on the first day of the Hebrew month that corresponds with April. A possible reference to April Fools' Day can be seen in the Canterbury Tales (ca 1400) in the Nun's Priest's tale, a tale of two fools: Chanticleer and the fox, which took place on March 32nd.

Some all-time classic hoaxes and pranks include the following:

#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
spaghetti harvest1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

#2: Sidd Finch
Sidd Finch1985: Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. In reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.

#3: Instant Color TV
In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.

#4: The Taco Liberty Bell
Taco Liberty Bell1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

See the rest here

Terry thought it would be nice to have a little fun today. Visit her website for a look at what's really new. No hoaxes there.

Antagonists

2011-03-28T08:59:00.002-04:00

Ever since I received a rather scathing critique from an agent about a WIP, I've been thinking about antagonists. Not because that agent has become my antagonist--

Well, maybe she has.

But that's a good thing.

Antagonists drive the story. They play the roll of forcing the main character to reach deep inside themselves to act, and they do this by inspiring conflict. Antagonists may or may not be the villains of the story. Personally, I prefer an antagonist who is not the villain. I think it makes for a more complex and interesting story.

As it is oftentimes in writing, the more the writer becomes aware of a writing challenge in her work, the more answers are offered from life. I've seen two movies in the last few months that have helped to define that protagonist-antagonist relationship. One is True Grit and the other is The King's Speech.

In True Grit, Rooster Cogburn and Mattie have an incredibly well-developed protagonist-antagonist relationship. They both are against the villain, Ned Pepper, but Mattie inspires Cogburn to change from a drunken coarse lawman to a man who would push his limits for the sake of a girl. Mattie, as the antagonist, drives the story.

The King's Speech--wow! What a story!

King George VI, or Bertie, is the protagonist, but it's the antagonist, Lionel Logue, who drives Bertie to dig deeper and therefore be victorious over the villain, his speech defect. Again, the antagonist drives the story, forcing the protagonist to meet the challenge and change.

As I'm writing my own story, I'm thinking about these well-drawn characters. My antagonist, I discovered, had potential, but needed a lot of work.

And thanks to the agent, my antagonist, I'm going to make it happen!

A great antagonist makes for a great story, don't you agree?

values

2011-03-25T10:48:00.003-04:00

By Barbara Fleming

Whatever genre a writer works in, his or her values underlie every single word. Mystery writers weave tales of good and evil; much of fantasy is taken up with the same struggle (witness Harry Potter, for example), and classic literature deals with the nature of humans, the meaning of life--all the deep philosophical questions that we resolve (or don't resolve) within ourselves by crafting a value system.

Wherever that system comes from--religion, culture, philosophy or somewhere else--it will permeate the author's writing. To take one example, one of my highest values is respect. I treat everyone I encounter with respect, unless I am given reason to do otherwise, and I expect to be treated similarly. I treat everyone as an individual, not part of a group or class. In my historical novel, Journeying, the principals are an interracial couple who encounter prejudice and ill treatment but always respond, as far as they can, as one individual to another, and respectfully instead of with anger and a desire for revenge. When one character does aim to seek revenge, he does not complete the act; he cannot.

Of course, the essence of fiction is conflict. I wonder if readers notice how frequently those conflicts have to do with differing values--Hamlet's inner war with his conscience, to take a classic example. I could fill this piece with other examples of contemporary or classic fiction that illustrate this point, but that is not the direction I am going.

Rather, I am going to briefly consider how the values reveal themselves.

If an underlying value is love, can the protagonist forgive transgressions by those he loves? Can she take a risk, perhaps a life-threatening one, in the name of love?

If the value is family, do the members of the family support and uphold each other as long and as richly as they can? When circumstances seem to tear them apart, does the family as a value still hold up through how the characters act, speak and interact?

Whatever the value, if it is a positive one, is the reader disposed to like the characters that live by it and dislike those who don't? Through their words and actions, do they reveal the value, or their struggle with it?

It is never, of course, that simple. Fictional families, like real ones, are dysfunctional, sometimes unforgiving, sometimes disconnected. And there are many kinds of families. Still, there is a thread in the story that ties some members of the family together, regardless. People who love each other often hurt each other dreadfully, and sometimes they do not recover from that damage. Still, there is a thread in the story that affirms the priceless treasure that is love. People who treat others with respect are not always treated in kind; indeed, sometimes they suffer for their values. Still, there is a thread in the story that affirms the positive nature of continuing to try, despite the odds.

No good writer tells the reader directly what her values are. The characters do that; events and their outcomes support those values, however subtly. Moralistic tales seldom get published these days. Nonetheless, what we value is the foundation of waht we write. Great writers create memorable characters who exemplify their values, and the characters that live on in our hearts and minds are those that share the values we hold dear.

Why Read Fiction?

2011-03-18T06:11:00.004-04:00

Why Read Fiction?
by Jacqueline Seewald

I like many different kinds of fiction but enjoy most a novel or short story with a happy ending. I hope that doesn’t make me sound shallow or anti-literary. I suppose part of the reason I read is to escape the hum-drum and sadness of real life and everyday existence. I want to read a great love story with characters I can care about. For instance, I love a good Regency because the novels are often clever and humorous as well as romantic. TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS could be called my tribute to that genre.

I want to solve an exciting mystery along with the fictional detectives. I also want to read a book with an interesting, clever plot. I appreciate an intelligently written novel. The three novels in my Kim Reynolds series: THE INFERNO COLLECTION, THE DROWNING POOL, as well as THE TRUTH SLEUTH (due for publication May 18th) are my tribute to mystery fiction. Of course, they are romantic mysteries with a paranormal edge, the kind of fiction I most enjoy reading.

Reading novels and short stories gives me added perspective on life, while reality provides me with inspiration to write fiction. I believe a good book is one the reader can enjoy. I want to finish reading and feel good, satisfied, mentally enriched but not depressed.

What sort of novels do you prefer to read? What constitutes a good book in your opinion? Who are some of your favorite authors?

French Film Ooh-la-la

2011-03-14T03:00:00.002-04:00

Two of my books are set in France, and when I was doing research for my 2010 novel, The Tapestry Shop, I spent a few weeks there. I love everything French, from the sidewalk cafes to the chocolate-filled pastries and medieval cathedrals, but I think the French excel at making films. Granted, American filmmakers are masters of technology and sound effects, but I believe the French are better at capturing images of the human condition. Somehow, the emotions are more raw, more apparent in their films. Is it because they are more comfortable with showing emotion? In any park or square in Paris, on any main street, one can see couples locked in an embrace. No one frowns or gives them the time of day.

This is all to say that their culture, the way they are comfortable with their emotions, shines through in their films. I love French films. If you get films from Netflix, they come with English subtitles, and believe me, you will be so engrossed in the film you will forget you’re reading the English. Some of the best I’ve seen recently are Avenue Montaigne, Tous les Matins du Monde (All the Mornings of the World), The Chorus, and Un Coeur en Hiver (A Heart in Winter). Try just one. You’ll be hooked.

Those Little Details

2011-03-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

As an author of historical romance and a history major, I live and breathe research. Sometimes, though, it can take over my writing. Since, I also am a firm believer in getting details correct and using real historic events and figures to provide color, research floods my mind, at times. This usually happens when I’m first exploring story ideas (and continues far thereafter). Since I’m never quite sure what direction I want to go, I tend to begin by researching a lot of different possibilities to see what inspires me. k

When I first starting thinking about CHANCES, for example, I knew only that I wanted a strong female character and that she would be one of Miriam’s (my heroine from CHOICES) boarding school roommates. That led to a brainstorming session. What type of woman would have a strong character in the late 1870s or early 1880s? Someone who believed in suffrage kept coming out on top. That led to the first round of research into which states had suffrage movements during that time and whether or not there were historic figures within those movements who might inspire a character.

About that same time, I picked up a small biography in a used book store about a female telegraph operator. I was immediately intrigued. A female telegraph operator would be exactly the type of person who would promote suffrage. I learned that railroads had hired women as early as the 1870s so I began to compare my lists (suffrage and railroads that hired women). I hit pay dirt: Colorado had a state suffrage referendum in 1877 and the Kansas-Pacific Railroad, which ran through Denver, hired women.

From there, I needed to create my hero. I needed him to be in conflict with Sarah, my heroine. The little biography again offered up an idea. In the book, there was a recollection about a dead body coming in on a train and it being sent to the wrong undertaker. How perfect! An undertaker seemed like the type of guy who would be conservative and in ready conflict with a pro-suffrage telegraph operator. Editors, agents, and contest judges advised me to make him a lawman but there were too many wonderful possibilities to make Daniel anything but an undertaker.

Now, I had several subjects to research: telegraph operations, suffrage movements and the Colorado state referendum, Denver in the 1870s, and funeral practices in the nineteenth century. I decided to add details on prostitution, literature, ice skating, dances, games, and entertainment halls. I was hooked. I amassed information, maps, books, articles, photos, etc. I did a historic walking tour of downtown Denver and visited museums. I began to discover all sorts of details within each subject that had to be explored further in order to determine what to include and what I had to sacrifice. Then, I began to develop my characters within that framework.

This all was so much more work than my first manuscript, which I knew from the moment I started was to be about an officer’s daughter and an enlisted man at Fort Randall, Dakota Territory. It was only as I began to layer in backstory about my villain, Miriam’s mother, that I went off on research tangents about laudanum. I think this was because so much of the story was inspired by research for other projects and done prior to plotting the novel.

My third manuscript, yet unpublished, proved to be another research adventure as I worked to refine Lise, the third roommate, who was part Sioux. Plotting her story led me on a merry chase through the Sioux Uprising in Minnesota (which I had been intrigued by ever since my Minnesota girlhood), Standing Bear’s 1879 trial, and changes in Indian law. I got the chance to investigate early Omaha, politics, and fishing as I crafted my hero.

Currently, I am working on another Denver story which is chock full of even more fun research. I still struggle with having to set it all aside to work on writing…always a struggle in the first few chapters. Just last week, I discovered a wrinkle and had to spend a day investigating details. Now, back to writing, I’ve set the research on the back burner once again and am working to bring all those rich details to life.

Until the next story starts to form.

--Pam

Settings, and Character Viewpoints

2011-03-04T00:01:00.005-05:00

Almost exactly one year ago, we left our Florida home and moved to Colorado. Our route was Orlando to Shreveport, LA, where I was presenting at a conference, and then to Monument, CO, to our daughter's house. Roads – we drove on a lot of them. Through major cities, around major cities, and out in the middle of nowhere. And, since we needed both our vehicles at our destination, Hubster and I drove separately.

When we started, we took the 'meet at a designated rest stop' option. Throughout Florida and Mississippi, they tended to be about 30-50 miles apart, which worked out well, giving us frequent opportunities to touch base and make sure everything was going well. It also drove home the fact that two people traveling the same route will have totally different experiences based on their world view.

When Hubster and I met up, we'd compare what we'd seen, and many times we didn't "see" the same things. Of course, at 70+ mph, it's easy to be looking the other way at the instant something catches the other driver's eye, but there are also things that he'll zero in on that I might not notice.

He's much more likely to notice birds (and to identify them). I see some of them, but since I'm not as well versed in ornithology, I see many of them as generic 'birds'. He also knows that the aggregation of big white things was a wind farm. We both notice trains (hard to miss), but he's much more excited about them. And the John Deere dealerships.

Once we got into central Texas, the roads went on and on. Long, straight, with rolling hills. As expected, there were lots of cows. Lots of horses. What wasn't expected: llamas, which I saw but hubby didn't. He saw coyotes, but I didn't. But the kicker was the field with a herd of camels. Those were definitely unexpected. We also saw pronghorn antelope. And despite the warning signs at rest stops, we didn't see any snakes, poisonous or otherwise.

Lots of roadkill as well. Skunks. Armadillo. Deer. Flat stuff.

We pulled into our last " motel after a relatively short driving day. It was a small town—population 7237, and judging from the smell, most of them are cows. But it's interesting. The sense of smell is tied to memories, and for hubby, it smelled like where he grew up. I don't find it quite so appealing, although I get the same reaction to birdseed, because my great uncle had an egg ranch, and I remember visiting and being allowed to help feed the chickens. The smell of birdseed always takes me back.

When you're writing, setting is important. And even the same setting won't elicit the same reactions from all your characters. If your story is set in one locale, changing the weather can change the setting. Character viewpoints will make the setting richer as they will have different perceptions of the same thing. And don't forget to use all the senses.

For more information Terry, visit her website. She can also be found at Terry's Place blogging about writing and life in general. And this month, she's giving away an ARC of her next release WHERE DANGER HIDES. Be sure to visit her contest page at her blog for a chance to win!

Building Creativity

2011-02-27T11:21:00.004-05:00

I've cocooned myself away for the last few months. No blogging, except for my posts on Five Star Expressions. No surfing the blogs to add comments. No participation in online discussion. And during my writing time, I actually make myself stay in my Word program instead of surfing the net.

I'm trying to jumpstart my creativity.

There's an article in the March/April issue of Poets and Writers, an interview with John B. Thompson. I know, I'd never heard of him either. But Thompson has written a book about a subject in which we're all interested: the world of trade publication, how it has changed since the 1960s and how it's changing today. The article is fascinating, and I'd recommend it for writers who are hoping to publish or to continue to be published. But one concept struck me particularly and that's Thompson's idea of what publishers want: the Big Book.

Oh yes, you say, don't we all want the Big Book.

But Thompson goes on to say that we would assume that by Big Book, he means a bestseller. That is wrong.

"A Big Book exists even before it's been published, sometimes before it's been finished. It's a hoped-for bestseller; it exists in the space of the possible. It's nourished by hope and expectation."

He calls this the "web of collective belief." According to Thompson, a huge amount of energy goes into the process of people in the industry persuading each other that they have a proposal, a draft or even an idea for a book that in the future is going to be a best-seller.

In other words, the Big Book is an Idea.

What's a poor writer to do?

Rebbie's solution: focus on developing your own creativity to find your Idea.

I like this article about creativity. I'm staying away from the fun stuff online to give myself plenty of time to be creative, to let myself be inspired.

How about you? Are you allowing time for slow, meandering thoughts and writing that may lead to inspiration? Are you nourishing your creativity?

On working with a writing partner by Barbara Fleming

2011-02-25T12:33:00.002-05:00

Msny words have been written, much advice tendered, about the importance of having someone critique writing before it goes into the world for scrutiny. Writing is a lonely task, but rewriting benefits from another eye and mind. I am heartily in favor of critique groups--indeed, I belong to one--but in the last decade or so I have also benefited, in somewhat different ways, from having a writing partner.

Why a partner? For one, we know, like and trust each other,and we are compatible about what it means to critique. Critiquing is not cheerleading--it is an honest, thoughtful, intelligent response to the writing of others. The writer does not benefit from fulsome praise and is discouraged by a barrage of criticism. Many people seem to think critiquinhg means criticism. Not so. My partner and I are in agreement that we will do neither. Instead, we provide a considered response after a careful reading. We ask questions: Why did this charater say/do this? What is the purpose of this scene? How does it advance the story? And we give feedback: You lost me when...This passage seems out of place in this context...A transition might be helpful here. And so on. Talking back and forth as we do, sharing responses and sparking off each other's comments, we often arrive at a much better way to present a scene, a dialogue, a description.

With just the two of us, we can dig deeply into each other's work. We come to know the novel and its characters intimately, whereas in a lager group that is less likely to happne. Knowing the characters well allows us to question actions and motivations if they don't seem to fit. With just the two of us, we have time to give more than one readinhg to the work for that session. That means we pick up nuances those in a larger group might miss. With just the two of uus, we can set our own time and place to meet and there are only two schedules to accommodate.

I recognize that a writing partner is not for everyone. I'm sure there are and have been many rich, famous and successful writers who did not have anyone, or did not choose to have anyone, critique their work. I am also sure writing partners are not in abundant supply. This person needs to be someone who likes and respects your work as a writer just as you do hers, who writes at your level of skill and experience, and who is willing and able to spend the time to delve thoroughly into your writing as you will into hers. But I have had such a partner to enrich my writing, and for that I consider myself extremely fortunate.

E-Book Revolution

2011-02-18T07:05:00.006-05:00

The E-Book Revolution

by Jacqueline Seewald

Attention: The E-book revolution is now! Amazon reports they are selling more e-books than paperbacks. Forget about hardcover sales! Even libraries have cut back on hardcover orders. Borders filed for bankruptcy. Many independent bookstores are going out of business. Should writers panic? Is literacy being challenged? Doubtful. What’s happening is a new intellectual revolution partially fueled by a depressed economy and also new technology. This is nothing unique in the annuals of history.

To us today, faced with an amazing knowledge explosion in the world of computer and internet technology, it may seem as though people in the Renaissance knew very little. However, they were very interested in the improvement of mankind.

The word "renaissance" means "rebirth". To Italians of the fifteenth century, this rebirth meant a revival of interest in the Greek and Roman classics. Yet this interest was not totally lacking in the Middle Ages. The scholars of the Renaissance put their emphasis on rediscovering the art and humanities of antiquity. In that sense, they were reactionary rather than forward-looking in their movement. But gradually, the Renaissance became something larger, a rebirth of the human spirit, a realization of the human potential for development. That realization led to many discoveries: scientific and geographical as well as artistic, philosophical and religious.

It is hard to overstate the impact and importance of the printing press on civilization at large, both in its own right and as part of the vast re-ordering of society that appeared in the Renaissance and Reformation. Did the invention of the Gutenberg printing press begin an intellectual revolution or was this technology a product of the intellectual revolution that was the Renaissance?

Before the invention of the printing press, in the Middle Ages or Medieval period, monks in monasteries copied bibles and important books by hand. It was a slow and painstaking process. It also made books quite expensive. Books were rare. Only the very rich could afford to own many books. Many books were religious in nature. Reading was for people of privilege: clergy, scholars, men of the court. Very few ordinary people had the opportunity to learn to read. Most important works were written in Latin, which was not the language of the average man.
Printing came to Europe from China in the early fifteenth century. The technique of printing from wooden blocks had been practiced by the Chinese since the tenth century and was introduced in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg around 1418. A revolutionary advance in the art of printing, the invention of movable type, which made possible the production of many copies of the same text, was achieved in the Rhineland of Europe during the middle of the fifteenth century.

Johannes Gutenberg, to whom the invention is credited, printed a number of books between 1450 and 1455. He worked and lived in Strassburg, Germany until returning to his native town of Mainz where he went into partnership for the making of books. His type was used to create the first book made with movable type, the so-called Gutenberg Bible, which was issued in Latin.

Gutenberg did not invent the printing press. As a master goldsmith, he knew how to cut symbols, designs, and letters into metals and into wax to form molds with which he cast jewelry and seals. Building on the earlier Chinese idea of movable wooden type, he realized that casting it in metal would solve most of the problems with wooden type.

Gutenberg’s work was of major importance in the advancement of learning that marked the Renaissance. Not long after Gutenberg's invention, presses began turning out books in at least ten other European cities. By 1500, about nine million books had been printed. More people were learning how to read. Ideas could be more readily exchanged. The cost of books was considerably lower. More people could afford books. Also, since most people were not educated in Greek, Latin and Hebrew like the scholars of the university, the church or the court, there was a demand for books printed in the vernacular languages, the languages that people actually spoke. There was also a demand for non-religious literature. Spelling became standardized. Language generally became more accurate. Important ideas were now discussed and debated through the printed word. When the Bible was finally written in the vernacular, it became understandable to all those who could read without the need of interpretation or the aid of a priest. This helped to lay the foundation of the Reformation, a religious revolution.

After the invention of the Gutenberg press, people who could read would have access to all kinds of knowledge and information at the same time. With such information available, it allowed for complex thinking to develop, where ideas could be pulled together to form new complex ideas. It allowed for research, the basis for developing new theories and identifying accurate information. There was a great demand for secular literature, an expansion of knowledge and learning in all areas.

So now we have a new intellectual revolution, an e-book revolution. As for myself, I have only had one e-book published so far: L&L Dreamspell published my YA coming of age/romance novel STACY’S SONG in both paperback and all e-book formats. And yes, it is selling better as an e-book!

Where do you think the e-book revolution will lead? Do you as a reader and/or writer see this as a good thing?

Who Was This Valentine?

2011-02-14T03:40:00.001-05:00

The origins of Valentine’s Day are shrouded in mystery, because the Catholic Encyclopedia mentions three saints with that name, one of whom was a priest, one a bishop, and the other a relative unknown. About the last, we only know he died in Africa. However, it’s generally believed the holiday honors the third century priest. Oddly, all three men are said to have been martyred on February 14th.

The day associated with love probably sprang from the Pagan festival of Lupercalia, a Roman celebration of growth and fertility. Pope Gelasius renamed the Pagan festival Saint Valentine’s feast day, in honor of the Roman martyred priest.

In medieval France and England, it was believed that most birds mated on February 14th, and by the 18th century, Saint Valentine’s Day had evolved from a religious feast day to a secular one in which cards were made, complete with ribbons and hearts, along with a love poem or verse, and exchanged by lovers. The tradition spread to the colonies, and February 14th is now widely known for a day to celebrate romance. So while you’re enjoying chocolates and wine, give a toast to Saint Valentine. It never hurts to curry favor with someone who may pull the strings in the romance department.

Chicken Soup or Chili or Clam Chowder or...

2011-02-11T12:04:00.005-05:00

The writing life isn’t always a bowl of cherries. But, for me, it has come to involve a bowl of soup.

We all find support in different ways. Comfort food and good friends are among the most common, though, and both have become large parts of my writing life. A couple years ago, one of my dearest writing partners broached an idea, inspired by Anne Randolph’s Soup Kitchen Writing. A few weeks later, we became soupies.

Every Thursday, a few of us who have flexible schedules get together. Alternating homes, we gather for lunch. The meals are simple: soup and bread. But, we get to spend an hour as friends, just chatting about our lives, our celebrations, our frustrations, our dreams. Since we have writing in common, we discuss accomplishments and setbacks in our writing life. But, since we are friends as well, we share life as a whole.

Then, after clearing the table, we pull out our laptops to share writing. Each of us identifies a goal for the day and we begin. Around a dining room table or sometimes in the living room or outdoors, depending out our moods and the weather, we simply write. At the one hour mark, we check progress and coach each other onward. At the two-hour mark, we report and shut our computers down.

The next week, we do it all over again.

It’s a simple concept but it has become such a part of my writing life that I’m not sure what I would do without it.

There is something so basic about sharing. Our soup nourishes our bodies, of course. But the gathering nourishes our souls. For that day, we break away from routine. The simple meal brings friends together to share lives. For writers, introverts that we often are, such times can enrich us more than we realize.

And, then, there is the writing. There are Thursdays when I’ve been stuck and the act of sitting across from my friends, who are all busy typing away, can prod me into creativity. There are productive days where I get pages and pages done. There are days when new thoughts flow and days when revisions get done. But always, I know that those two hours will be full and focused on my writing and that I will accomplish. If it has been a hectic week where life has wreaked havoc with my writing, it will be a day that I return to it.

The writing life is pretty simple sometimes. Who knew soup could be such a wonderful thing?

Reading an ARC

2011-02-04T00:01:00.002-05:00

Last month, I talked about electronic publishing. (I'll be doing a blog/workshop/Q&A on the topic at the Savvy Authors DigiCon on Feb. 15th, btw). So, this month, I thought I'd look at the process for my print book, WHERE DANGER HIDES, due out in May. In my December post, I mentioned I was waiting for the ARCs to arrive, the next step along the road to publication.

The publisher puts these out in trade paperback size, with the full color front cover image. This is the Last Chance to catch typos. This is also the copy that the publisher sends to reviewers, hoping for some advance buzz that will sell books to their target market—libraries.

Reading an ARC isn't like reading a book. There's that sword hanging over the head feeling. Miss a typo, and it's forever in the book. And they're often hard to spot. No period at the end of one sentence? Two periods 3 pages down the road (must be a 'conservation of punctuation' thing)? Quotes facing the wrong direction? You're expected to find them all.

It's a totally different kind of reading. Plot and continuity should have been addressed already. The publisher isn't going to want to deal with rewriting scenes. Unlike a pleasure read, where I like to have large blocks of time to immerse myself in the story, when reading the ARC, I could only read for a short time to make sure I wasn't getting caught up in the book. Some people will actually start at the end of the book to make sure they're not distracted by the story.

Punctuation matters. Italics matter. What about hyphenation? I gave a copy to my husband to read, and since he can be very nit-picky about proofreading (coming from a scientific background), he caught a few things I didn't – such as italicizing a phrase in one place, but not in another.

Then there are the things that start looking "wrong" even though you're pretty darn sure you checked them before the edits began. Is it blue and white or blue-and-white? Is it a sportcoat, a sport coat, a sports jacket or a sports jacket? (According to some Googling, all are 'correct' but will a reader assume whichever you chose is 'wrong' because it's not the way they refer to it? Writearound: change to blazer?)

Now, after spending over a week reading, I have a 4 page document of things that slipped in, slipped out, or I questioned, which I turn into the publisher. Then I try to stop worrying that I missed something. And hope that if I did, a reader will be forgiving.

For more about WHERE DANGER HIDES, you can check here.

For more information about these and other of Terry's books, visit her website. She can also be found at Terry's Place blogging about writing and life in general.

Giveaway Winner Announcement from Jacqueline Seewald

2011-02-01T07:51:00.002-05:00

The winner of a copy of my sensual historical romance TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS has been chosen randomly by an impartial party. Before announcing the winner, I would just like

to say that I appreciated all the positive, supportive comments given.

If possible, I would give everyone a copy of the novel. However, there is one way to read my novel and many others at no cost whatever: place a request at your local library. If you ask,

they will order. A great many libraries have already ordered and received copies of this novel.

One important function of our libraries is to provide books that patrons want to read. Your tax dollars help pay for this privilege. So don't be shy about using it! As a former acquisitions librarian myself, I always paid attention and ordered requested books.

And now for the winner: Caroline Clemmons. Congratulations, Caroline! Your copy of

TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS has already been mailed and you should be receiving it very

soon.

My very best to all of you,

Jacqueline

Writing Only

2011-01-31T08:17:00.003-05:00

I loved this article about writing and publishing. I've referred back to it quite a lot in the last few weeks. And since today I'm very much "under the weather" today, I'm going to leave this link as my words of wisdom for all you writers out there.

I'm going to take some Nyquil, and it's only 8am.

The rest of you, get back to that manuscript. :)

Life Happens by Barbara Fleming

2011-01-28T11:09:00.002-05:00

"Life is what happens while we are making plans," the saying goes. You are just going along in your routine-filled days, thinking you have things more or less under control, when life happens and your world is turned upside down. All your carefully laid out plans, your schedules, your appointment and commitments, your tasks must be set aside so you can deal with the crisis, be it illness, death, loss, divorce or some other major upheaval. You do what you have to do.

We are remarkably adaptable creatures, we humans. We shift priorities, rearrange schedules and appointments, set aside tasks so we can function within the newly arranged parameters. For however long the crisis lasts, we manage.

For writers, this can be especially had. We rely on having uninterrupted hours when the ideas and words that float around in our heads can be turned into the next pages of our latest creation. We rely on a relatively peaceful, ordered life to allow the ideas to flow onto the page. When life happens, as it inevitably does, we have to carve time out of a now even busier day--or set aside writing altogether until the crisis has passed. Setting it saide is hard for creative people, writers, artists, musicians, whatever, because the juices are always flowing; the ideas continue to pop into the brain; the itch to turn them into something concrete never really goes away.

Nonetheless, life happens, and we have to adapt. During the crisis, we optimistically look to the day when daily life will again take on a semblance of order, when we will again have some control, and we continue to believe this will happen, some golden day in the future. For some, the crisis might someday blend into a story, shaped to fit the story's needs. For others, it becomes a profound part of who and what we are, affecting decisions and priorities.

However it works for anyone else, I know that for me, life will keep happening. I will keep adjusting accordingly. And somehow, some way, I will fit writing into my life again.

Book Giveaway: TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS

2011-01-21T08:18:00.003-05:00

To celebrate the Thorndike Press large print publication of my historical romance TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS, I will be giving away another print copy of the novel.

You have until Monday January 31, 2011 to post a comment along with an email address where you can be reached if you wish to be entered. Drawing of the winner will be done at random by an impartial third party who doesn’t know any of the writers or readers.

TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS is a sensual historical romance set in the Regency era. Warning: this book sizzles! Maeve, part gypsy, has psychic abilities. Adam, the Marquess of Huntingdon, a world weary cynic, would like to make the mysterious Maeve his mistress. Maeve leads him a merry chase. The novel has elements of mystery, the paranormal, romantic suspense and humor.

Here are some comments from reviewers:

"Jacqueline Seewald's Tea Leaves and Tarot Cards delivers an unusual and intriguing heroine together with fast-paced historical romantic-suspense. Seewald is very much at home in her early 19th century setting."- Jayne Ann Krentz (Amanda Quick) New York Times Bestselling Author

“It is clear that Seewald's goal is to offer a deeply felt, emotional romance.” Library Journal

“TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS is rich in secondary characters across the spectrum of society...TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS has a lot to offer with its original characters and imaginative plot.” Romance Reviews Today

“This is a delightful lighthearted regency frolic.” Genre Go Round Reviews

What do you as a reader look for in romance novels? What most satisfies you as a reader?
All comments and discussion most welcome!

Say What??

2011-01-14T11:26:00.002-05:00

Recently, I've started working on a new story, set in 1905. Previously, my books have been set in the 1870s, a time which was very familiar to me. I'd spent years researching that era to develop a living history character and knew it intimately. But, 1905 brought a whole new set of slang to the plate.

I promptly secured the Dictionary of American Slang for my reference library and dove in. And discovered several surprises!

The first concerned the word "okay." As a writer of historical romance, I've always been told that "okay" is an anachronism and advised to use "all right" instead. Critique partners, contest judges, and editors were all in agreement on this.

Now, though, I was in 1905. It seemed to me that my characters might very well say "okay." Just to be sure, I opened up the dictionary and checked only to discover "okay" (both as a form of agreement and as an adjective meaning "acceptable") has been in general usage since 1839! New York and Boston area writers began using "OK" in the early 1800s to mock local bumpkins who said "all korrect."

The new book has a child and it seemed natural for other characters to refer to her as a "kid." Yet, critique partners weren't sure so it was back to the dictionary. "Kid" has been used as a noun meaning "child" since 1599 and as an adjective for "younger" since 1884.

My partners also questioned "confetti." Of course, this isn't a slang word, so I had to refer to a different dictionary. The word comes from the Italian word "confetto" which was a small candy traditionally tossed at Italian carnivals. The custom was adopted into the throwing of symbolic paper at weddings in England. Another website revealed the candy represented fertility.

Yet another area of concern centered around "con". My trusty disctionary revealed "con game" has been used to mean "swindle" since the 1880s and "con" meaning "scam" since the early 1900s. "Confidence man" began usage by 1889 and "con man" by the early 1900s.

My dictionary revealed a host of other surprising slang use dates, noted as I paged through looking for other words. I've been surprised and delighted by many of them. Some old terms, no longer in use, have brought smiles to my face. Some terms I have always thought of as having originated post-1950 have actually been around for much longer.

I invite you to take a look yourselves. See The Dictionary of American Slang, the Online Etymology Dictionary, or The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. If you have your own favorites, let me know so I can add them to my library. I'd also love to hear about any surprises you've encountered.

Last chance to see Museum Mysteries

2011-01-09T04:33:00.001-05:00

Fort East Martello Museum and Gardens at Key West

For those of you interested in history, this next Tuesday, January 11th, on the Travel Channel, the last of the Mysteries at the Museum episodes will be aired, beginning at 8 p.m. E/P. This is a special showing, with back-to-back episodes to end the season's series. Here's a taste of what you'll see Tuesday night.

Sterling Memorial Library: An old letter, accidentally discovered in Yale University’s Sterling Memorial Library, describes a crime of horrendous sacrilege, purportedly carried out by a group of Yale students in the days of World War One. What unspeakable scandal does this letter describe and did the members of this Nation’s most powerful secret society actually pull it off?

Museum of Science and Industry: Inside the Museum of Science, a mechanical relic is also at the center of a shocking story. It’s a prototype of an early electric motor and it sparked a war between two of the world’s greatest inventors, each racing to become the FIRST to distribute electricity to millions of homes across America. Who won “the war of the currents”? And how did this motor utterly transform our world?

National Automobile Museum: One of the coolest cars at the National Automobile Museum of America, is an ultramodern sports car best remembered for its starring role in the 1985 Hollywood blockbuster, Back to the Future. But the real-life story of the DeLorean is more dramatic than any movie. How did one of the most anticipated, most hyped become one of the biggest blunders in automotive history?

Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum: The most interesting exhibits inside The Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum are related to this legendary warships own service at sea. In its collection are 4 mysterious objects. At first glance, they look like mere mechanical debris, but these are actually the twisted remains of one of the most dreaded weapons of World War Two -- one that nearly destroyed this very ship.

Museum of History and Industry: The Museum of History and Industry tells the story of Seattle’s rise to prominence. Of the numerous items on display, a simple 120 year-old pot played a bigger role in shaping Seattle’s history than any other -- but, in doing so, it had to destroy the city first.

The Henry Ford Museum: In Dearborn, Michigan, the Henry Ford Museum specializes in trains, planes and automobiles of all kinds. But one of the most important machines on display is an old wooden airplane called a Curtiss JN4. How did this primitive plane launch one of the most bizarre chapters in aviation history and help revolutionize air transportation along the way?

and here are the final apisodes for Tuesday, beginning at 9 E/P:
USGA Museum: Among the trophies and memorabilia at the USGA is an amazing artifact that took the sport of golf into a whole new orbit. A forty year old, one-of-a-kind club went on a fantastic voyage. Why did a NASA astronaut decide to pull off an extraterrestrial tee shot and how did a simple stunt become one of the defining moments for a space program in crisis?

National Museum of Crime and Punishment: A holster that once belonged to America’s best known outlaw, Jesse James, is in the Museum of Crime and Punishment. It is made of hand stitched leather and harkens back to a time of when gunslingers and desperados ruled the wild west.

National World War I Museum: In a desperate bid to end the deadlock in WWI, British engineers developed a revolutionary new kind of weapon – the armored tank. With the help of modern forensics, the museum can finally reveal the truth behind their star artifact: a battered tank which fought and fell in one of the most important battles in modern military history.

Museum of Flight: Amidst the legends of the air at the Museum of Flight, one plane soars above all the rest. The world’s first and only supersonic commercial jet, capable of transporting passengers at twice the speed of a standard aircraft is here. So what turned the aircraft of the future into an artifact from the past?

Fort East Martello Museum: Since his arrival at the Fort East Martello Museum in 1994, Robert has been associated with some very spooky phenomena and the strangest of these stories are from people who insist that this antique, inanimate doll is actually - alive!

Newseum: A sleek, high-tech facility chronicles the nation’s important headlines, yet one bizarre artifact on display here speaks of a story in which the news media itself played a critical role. A one room cabin, outfitted with a collection of shelves and cubby holes, is stained with the soot and grime from years of habitation. How did the occupant of this rundown shack strike terror into the hearts of an entire nation?

New Year/Old Me :-(

2011-01-08T15:50:00.002-05:00

Hope all of you readng this are having better luck than I am in the new year. I haven't even finished all the list of things I need to do First! - like yesterday! The weather man says we're going to have snow for the next two days so I'm going to shakle one ankle to a chair in front of my computer...

Oh, well, enough fuss. I'm starting right now, by updating my blog. There's some good news to report too. I've had some books on Kindle for a year now and finally, sales are beginning to grow - slowly, but growing. Also, a few months ago when we were able to, I put my things on the UK too and had just about given up ever getting any sales - but in December I had a few and the first week there was another so I hope these two readers talk to a lot of their friends LOL.

Among other things and different fiction genres I've got two cozy mystery series live and selling now. The Maryvale series: The Devil in Maryvale; The Nelson Scandal; Recipe for Trouble; Mardi Gras Murder; and An Unpopular Corpse. Also the Maggie and Joe series: Dead on Arrival; The Snafued Snatch; and my work in prgress, Good and Dead - a crime with absolutely NO motive so Joe Driver has his work cut out for him. There are two of the Chris and Duff Insurance Series live now: Once Burned; and Varmint.

I hope you're still reading, please go to my list on Amazon.com to see the whole list now available, Kindles and all-with loglines; thumbnails; and some reviews too to let you know more about them.

More Good News: The 'gift' prices I put on just before Christmas are going to stay, since people are buying them :-) There are none priced more than $2.99 and a good variety to choose from.

I'm hoping some readers and writers will come by and visit and please leave a comlment so I'll know you came. I love meeting new people :-)

Back to work, break's over! Happy New year!
Jackie

Changes Happen

2011-01-07T00:01:00.004-05:00

First, a very happy new year to everyone. I hope 2011 brings you everything you wish for.

The publishing industry has seen a lot of changes, and they're happening almost faster than we can keep up with. Aspiring authors would dream of being published, and figured once they crossed that hurdle, they had it made. Not so. In my own case, one of my Five Star Expressions books was remaindered, so it's out of print. Then the publisher canceled the entire imprint. So, Five Star Expressions will cease to exist at the end of 2011. Another, Cerridwen Press, is now branded as "Blush," and is part of the Ellora's Cave line. So, how does an author deal with these setbacks. The world of e-publishing has offered another venue.

What's in a Name? had garnered some recognition. It was a Daphne du Maurier Finalist, A Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence Finalist. 2nd Place, Volusia County Laurel Wreath 3rd Place, Aspen Gold Romantic Suspense. A Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews, Four Stars from RT Magazine. So, it seemed a good choice for re-publishing, and I requested the rights back.

The flip side to owning all rights to the publishing process is that you're responsible for everything. Editing, cover design, marketing…it's all on your shoulders. Thanks to my son, I managed to get a new cover at very little expense. (More about that here). I followed all the formatting guidelines required by the various venues. And I re-read the book, editing and updating it—cell phones instead of pagers, flash drives instead of CD ROMs. And a lot of reworking the names—I couldn't believe I had 3 characters named Henry! (More about that here).

What's in a Name? is now live at Smashwords and the Kindle Store. (The end of this post gives a discount code for Smashwords.) Here's a sample:

The next most important item on her list, a Certificate of Occupancy, wasn't exactly dessert, but it was Windsor's responsibility to bring the cabin up to code, not hers. Still, she ought to check. As she strolled down the path to the cabin, she told herself it was important she keep tabs on his progress.

Blake called down from the roof when she approached. "Everything all right?"

She squinted into the sun and looked up at him. Her heart did that tap dance again. He'd taken his shirt off and was on hands and knees, hammering shingles. Shading her eyes with a forearm, she said, "Fine."

"You want the nickel tour?" He stood up, balancing on the pitched roof without any trouble.

"No—you keep on doing what you're doing. I'll only be a minute." She stepped inside, inhaling the scent of fresh-cut wood. Without the plywood covering the windows, the room seemed bigger. Sawdust danced in the gold afternoon light, swirling in the breeze, dusting her like a winter snow flurry. In place of stacks of lumber, she imagined the cabin with ten bunk beds lining the walls. She heard children whispering in the dark before falling into a dead sleep the way you did after being in the mountain air all day, hiking along the trails.

Unbidden, a smiling cherubic face flashed in front of her. Lucas. He'd have been in third grade now, like the first group of kids coming here. Memories burst through her defenses. The smell of talcum and baby breath when she lifted him from his crib in the mornings. The warmth of his hands resting against her bare shoulders when she carried him. The weight of him as his body relaxed into sleep. She blinked back tears.

I'm sorry. It was all my fault. What kind of a mother runs out of milk for her baby?

That was another lifetime, when her universe was normal. And happy. Charles and Lucas were gone. Nothing could bring them back. And then too-good-to-be-true Robert Kilian had stolen the life she'd tried to put together after she'd lost them, leaving a life of looking over her shoulder as his legacy.

She'd tried to lock the memories away someplace deep inside her, but they refused to stay buried.

"I should get to the windows tomorrow or the next day." Blake's voice from the doorway made her jump. "Once the roof is fixed and the windows are in, she should be weather-tight."

She kept her head down. "Sounds like you've got everything under control."

His footsteps told her he was coming inside. She tensed. He walked past her, to a small cooler in the corner and removed a bottle of water.

"It gets hot up there." He peeled off his work gloves, took a swig and wiped his mouth.

She nodded. In the dim light, his eyes didn't grab hers. "You need to watch it. You can get a real burn at this altitude, even if it doesn't feel hot."

"Thanks for the advice. I'm afraid it might be a little late though." He turned so his back faced her. "What do you think?"

Think? She thought of rubbing sunscreen on those broad, well-muscled shoulders. That fluttering below her belly started up again. Ridiculous. She pivoted and strode toward the door. The nature trail could wait until morning. Right now she needed to burn off these impossible feelings with hard, physical labor. She glanced at him over her shoulder. "What I think is that you should put your shirt on, Mr. Windsor."

You can buy What's in a Name? at the Smashwords store. Use coupon code XC48J at checkout, and the price will be 99 cents. It's also at the Kindle Store, priced at 99 cents for a limited time.