Keeping Characters Honest

Worked on The Band this morning. Had to insert J.J.'s reaction to his earlier advice to his brother. Remembering every thing about a character that can affect how he reacts to a situation is often tricky. I was talking with my writer friend Cindie about this problem. She is doing a chapter by chapter synopsis to help her to remember key issues to the plot as time passes for her characters. Sounds like a good idea. I'll have to think on it.

Made the final arrangements for the WNEA Shopping Extravaganza slated for Nov. 12th. Cindie and I will share a table for the sales of our books. I'll have copies of After the War, Before the Peace and Hannah, but I'll have to have bookmarks ready for Abby-Finding More Than Gold. I've created a flyer with a picture of the book cover, a synopsis of the story and how to buy it. Feedback on it has been positive. This ebook marketing is sure a learning experience.

Went to see the movie Life As We Know It today with Pattie S. It was a fun movie. A very predictable plot, but the dialog was excellent and of course the delivery by the main characters sold the movie.

Tonight was our monthly reading at Denny's only three writers showed up - Cindie, Karen and me. The stories were good and the conversation was lively. Karen has a new computer program that polices her writing. It actually tells her if she's using too many passive words or negative sentences. Sounds like a good investment.

So, thinking about marketing again, I'm reminded of a quote by John Wanamaker as quoted in David Ogilvy, Confessions of an Advertising Man - "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the trouble is, I don't know which half."

Writing - Good ~~~ Marketing - Yuck

Another delightfully busy day. Moved J.J. along on his descent into frustration and guilt. I'm hoping his rationale is believable. I was talking about my first book 'After the War, Before the Peace' today and it was strange to point out that the character J.J. is Michael Farrell's great-grandson. Michael was the main character in my first book.

I'm getting good feed back on the 'Abby' flyer I created, as well as the business cards with the pictures of my three novels. This marking ebooks is a whole new ballgame for me, so I'm open to trying anything.

Got a call from Dave today. He had a speaking engagement in the L.A. area and sold 25 books!! Hurray for him. Pales my 5 sold yesterday, but I'm soooooo happy for him.

Also got a call from Kathy who came to one of our novel meetings. She has gone with Author House to publish her Christian romance novel. She seems very pleased with their procedure and pricing. I hope all works out well for her. Self-publishing is wonderful in that a writer can finally control the publishing of his/her book. I'm glad I did it with my first one, but I won't do it again. Virtual Tales Publishing has been a dream to work with. The release delays I've experienced with Awe-Struck Publish, along with no print book, has left with a wait and see attitude on working with them. I'm hoping things will turn out well.

In thinking about my quote of the day, it's marketing that is one of my concerns, so these words of wisdom from Winston Churchill seem to fit my mood. "Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an an amusement. Then is becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public."

Meeting The Readers

Had a great day! Started with breakfast under the London Bridge with good friends, then it was home to work on my latest novel 'The Band'. In today's writing I started the main character J.J. down a road that will nearly destroy him. It will be interesting to see if I can take this character that has been presented as a good, responsible man and have him become a lost, despicable husband, brother and friend. It's going to be interesting and I can only hope it works.

Then, I had a call from a gal named Shirley from the London Bridge Women's Club. She asked me to speak to her group on Jan. 12th. I'll have about 25 minutes for a presentation and a Q and A session. I'm so looking forward to it. Maybe, 'Lita - A Meandering Story' will be in print by then.

This evening, I had a speaking engagement to speak to one of the Lake Havasu City chapters of Beta Sigma Phi. I only had about 15 minutes to speak. I tried to cover my background and credentials. Then I gave a quick presentation of Journaling. They were a great crowd and provided a lot of interaction with their comments about their experiences. Sold a few books, too! I am really grateful to Sandee Honisch, an old Simi Valley, Cal. friend, who set up the engagement for me.

I continue to get nice emails from the email blitz I sent out regarding the release of 'Abby- ...' . I'm hearing from old friends who are sharing what is going on in their lives. I'm truly blessed in the friendship and support of writers from such a broad band of genres and countries. This Internet world is a wondrous thing!

So, all in all, it was a productive day for this writer. Tonight I leave you with the thoughts of Ben Jonson - "For a man(woman) to write well, there are required three necessaries: to read the best authors, observe the best speakers and much exercise of his(her) own style."

'Abby' is published!

Finally, 'Abby-Finding More Than Gold' is released at www.Awe-Stuck.com . Unfortunately, at this point, it only an ebook, but at least it's available to my readers. I'm getting some good reviews, so I reckon some folks are buying it.

Awe-Struck Publishing has done a nice job with the cover and the editing. I hope they do as well with some marketing on their end. I've got some speaking engagements on the books and a tentative book signing at Hastings.

I'm now working on novel six of the Farrell saga. I have the 1950s generation of Farrell boys in a rock and roll band. Part of the family is now living in Hawaii. Gosh I sure hope some of these get published. I think they are an interesting and likable clan.

I've been kind of in a funk lately as to the meaning of life and what the hell I've done, or haven't done, with mine. Good friends are helping me get some answers.

So, I'll leave you with this quote - "Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgement difficult." - Hippocrates, Aphorisms

Wine vs Milk

Feb. 20, 2010

Yesterday was devoted to writing/reading. A perfect day! Moved 'Stephen's Boys' along. I worked with Andy yesterday and today. He's about to hit bottom and I hope the scene I created of him on the streets of N. Hotel St in Honolulu engages the reader in his misery. I received some good feed back from my local writer's group today on a scene between Josh and Andy in the hospital. Jim said he feels this probably one of my best novels. I hope he's right.

Denise has posted the upgrades to my website and she has added a guest book and put the cover for 'Abby - Finding More Than Gold' on the opening page. It looks great. Also, she upgraded the wording on the question section to feature it as a contest. Nice!

Today was the Lake Havasu City Writers Group meeting. Big turnout. Our young writers continue to attend. Matt had submitted a sci-fi piece that was quite elegant. He has a nice grasp of grammar and seems to have an enate feel for pacing. Kelly submitted something at today's meeting, so we'll get to see her work. Having the young POV will certainly help keep our group timely. Two real issues came up. One, should the word 'bible' be capitalized? I say unless it refers to a specific bible (Duey-Rheims/King James) it shouldn't be capital, but most said it should. I can't find a specific rule anywhere on it. Then, Gina, pointed out something called 'parallel structures'. She gave me an example. I read up on the matter, but still don't quite get it. Think I'll give Gina a call and talk to her about it.

After the meeting, it was over to Denny's for the 'real' meeting. Lots of fun, good conversation and movie reviews.

Didn't submit anything to publisher/agent again today. Dang! LHCWG member, Gina, said something today that really has nothing to do with writing, but it certainly hits a sad, unfair truth. It is sticking with me, so I'll share it here. "Men age like wine; women age like milk." Anonymous

Right Track - Delayed Departure

Feb. 18, 2010

Another slow week for the writing in my life. Although, I am moving 'Stephen's Boys' forward a little each day. Yesterday, as I reviewed/edited some events each brother was experiencing, I realized I hadn't kept to an easy-to-follow time line regarding their actions. I have it all down, but it was a choppy read. I moved some things around and everything fell into place. I'm almost to 'The End'. I've got the two older brothers together and now their sons/nephews will soon be together. I believe that since they are on Maui, I'm going to incorporate the 'Seven Pools' area into the closure. It's a beautiful place and I think it will work well with the healing between these four souls.

Got a call from Dave on Monday. He finally went to Publish America and is getting 'Tude' published. He sounded so excited. I'm really happy for him. Like I told him, getting that first book into your hands is akin to giving birth. It's a thrill only a parent, of a child or book, can truly experience.

I was the speaker for my Pioneer group this month. I gave my workshop on Journaling. I think it went over well. I almost didn't bring any of my books to sell because I thought everyone in the Pioneers who wanted a book had already bought it, but I brought some and sold two of 'Hannah'. Yahoo.

Today, we did clean up of the books over at our community center. Some new shelving was built last year and the books got all out of order. Two members of the book club, two friends and I alphabetized all the fiction novels and got them set up on the shelves. Took about two hours, but it looks nice and makes a specific book easy to find.

I still haven't submitted anything lately. I think I have a touch of spring fever. I'm operating on a 'have-to' modus operendi. Oh, well, I guess everyone needs to chill now and then. So tonight I'm trying to concentrate on the wisdom of this quote by Will Rogers. "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

Crits - What Was Done Right!

February 14, 2010

Unfortunately, it's been a slow week for anything regarding my writing. I've been managing to work on 'Stephen's Boys', but that's about it. I'm persistent with the writing each day, but I need to be more aggressive with my submissions.

Had our Four Goddesses meeting on Thurs. and all four of us were there. Didn't get too much feedback, but they do seem to like the way I'm expanding 'Mama Played for the King'. Henri's crazy story about how he lost his leg that he told to his little niece and nephews was well received. So maybe I can find a couple more spots of capsulized info that I can expand on.

I volunteered for a Valentine's Day recognition dinner for a couple of current students attending Mohave Community College. Spent Thursday afternoon doing prep things, then Friday night making sure everything went well with the guests. Got to talk with folks about my books and why I write. It was fun. They had the current Phi Theta Kappa students doing clean-up work. Since I'm a PTK myself, it was nice to talk with some of the young folks. It was a fun time of my life and I hope those kids are having just as much fun.

Saturday was our book club meeting to discuss the books of James Patterson. He certainly is diverse in the types of books he puts out. And, I believe he is the first author that all members voted that we would read again. I read 'I, Alex Cross'. I do love his Cross crime stories, but this one started off with a bang, then just fizzled. Too much time spent with Nana that didn't add to the movement of the plot. Then, I felt he gave me a Grisham ending. He gave me some great characters, dialog and conflict, but his ending was too abrupt and too cliched. Oh, well, I should be making that much money!

Had a slow day today, so went over to the casino. As usual, it was fun, but not profitable.

I've been having talks with various writers lately about the value of pointing in our crit sessions as to why a story/essay/memoir/novel is good, along with explaining what needs fixing. Too often the better writers in the group have to be happy with 'It was good', but no discussion as to why it was good. Now that we are getting new members, especially the young ones, I think it would benefit them to hear why a piece worked. Like, the hook was effective, the pacing kept the reader's interest, the character expo clearly delineated their traits, or good show vs tell techniques were used. All these things, when they are pointed out, help the new writer see techniques that make their writing pop. Just a thought!

So, due to my lack of aggressiveness in submitting my work, I'm going to try to think more about this quote from Joseph Addison, an English essayist. "If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother and hope your guardian genius."

Another Week! Already???

Feb. 9, 2010

So much has happened since my last blog that I scarcely know where to begin. I guess I should start with my computer problems. I think they are totally behind me. Alex came out on Feb. 2 and we declared both of my printers dead, so had to buy a new one. After a week of use, I must admit that I like it a lot. It's another HP. But the best thing Alex did was to get my Word 2000 to work on Windows 7. It's been a week and no problems. Yahoo!!

On Thurs., Feb. 4th, I had my Spring Frenzy classes again. Had around 20 folks in each class. Vern and Vivian, from my local writer's group, showed up for the classes. It was so nice to have their support. The attendees were great and I managed to sell a few books.

After class, Vern and I went out for lunch. He's such an interesting man. He did try to get me riled about politics, tho. He ranted on and on about how bad Republicans are and was especially critical of Sara Palin. But, it's like I keep trying to tell him. He has his views/beliefs and I have mine. I think we are both intelligent people and we came to our beliefs over many years and experiences. There's no way we'll change each other's mind. But, I don't view that as a bad thing. It's kind of like when one political party has the white house and the other party has congress. It creates a healthy checks and balances. So it is with us voters. We need the folks with Vern's POV and we need folks with my POV. Creates stimulation and a watch dog society that keeps the general population on watch for a leader who would like to be 'king'.

Went to my Women's network meeting and was able to talk about my books. I'm beginning to know a lot of the gals so it's getting more enjoyable. Also, got some good feedback from those reading my book.

Went to the Spring Frenzy dinner show. I met some nice folks from Canada who had attended my class. They said they enjoyed it and will probably use some of the techniques I shared. Also, ran into Maggie who was my hostess for the Thurs. classes. She is thinking about writing a children's book and had some questions. I told her to keep at it, but she needs to know it's a tough market and she needs to really research the techniques the publishers are looking for. She gave me a great review of the classes. The entertainment was a quartet called the Alley Cats. They sang with no music. Lots of 50s type rock and roll. Very easy to watch and listen to them.

Friday I received an email from Peggy, a woman who attended my Spring Frenzy class on short story writing. She was concerned about copywrite. I referred her to some websites. She sent me a return email thank you for the info and for the class. She said she learned a lot. I'm so glad so many folks found it worthwhile. I sure enjoy it.

Got invited to play Bunco on Friday night at the home of an old Simi Valley friend. Sandee told all her friends about my book. Hope I get some sales out it. But, no matter, they were a fun crowd and I enjoyed the evening.

After breakfast at the Desert Hills Vol. Fire Dept. on Saturday morning, I attended the Lake Havasu City Writers Group meeting. Small crowd. And as always, the meeting at Denny's was the best part. We did miss some of old standbys like Jim, Anne, Cindie, Penny and Lois. Oh, got two young folks coming to the meetings - Matt and Kelley. He writes mainly sci-fi and she does poetry. I'm so glad to see young folks, with new ideas and enthusiasm wanting to join our group.

Sunday it was off to Quartzsite with Cindie and Joan for a booksigning at The Readers Oasis Book Store. It was lots of fun visiting with the other local authors and I did sell four books, so that was good. Dave and Nancy came down and he and Debbie did some poetry reading. We closed up around 3 p.m. and we joined the local authors and Silly Al's for pizza. We laughed a lot and had some great conversation. Debbie, her husband and her mother are so very nice and fun to be with.

Monday was a crazy day. Went to the Lake Havasu Republican Women's luncheon. Had a local speaker, but it was fun and the food was good. Then Dave and I met for our one on one crits. He really liked this last episode. Felt is was quite authentic, especially the part where Andy's wardmates think he's a jerk, but because of what he went through on Mt. Suribachi, they cut him a lot of slack. Glad it's working for him.

Then later in the evening, was our monthly Novel Group meeting. Dave made good on his decision to quit the group, so we are down to five. Overall the feedback on my 'Lita's Story - A Meandering Road' was good. The biggest negatives were too much dialog and that Joe and Michael are too good all the time making them flat characters. I'll have to think on that. Michael gets very angry in the episode I gave them to review for next month's meeting. It will be interesting to see if they see a change and if they like it.

Afterward Dave and I went to Denny's for supper. More talk about how and what we write. Always interesting to talk with Dave.

Today I went to another Bunco group and won most games! The gals are a lot of fun. Once back home early this afternoon, I worked on 'Stephen's Boys'. Andy is in a lot of trouble and Josh is about to leave the hospital to look for him. I was going to let Andy run loose for a few weeks, but I changed my mind and decided that Josh will find him soon and take him home to Maui and out of reach of the morphine and booze.

It's been a busy week. So busy, in fact, that I thought about a quote by William Faulkner. "An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn't know why they choose him and he's usually too busy to wonder why."

Spring Frenzy

February 1, 2010

Day one of Spring Frenzy has come and gone and it was a BLAST! Had around 35 folks in each class, Journaling and So You Want to Write Short Stories. Extending the class to an hour and a half worked out well. No one felt rushed. Lots of time for questions and answers. But what was really special were the nice folks I met. And, a couple of repeat attendees. A lovely lady named Gladys, who loves my writing, purchased a number of copies of 'After the War, Before the Peace' a few years ago to give as gifts. Today, she bought two copies of 'Hannah'. She's over 90 in age, but mentally and physically she's a vibrant, active young woman. I can only hope I do as well at her age. Debbie, Ceil, Joe and Darlene, all writers from the Quartzite area, drove up to attend the classes. After the classes were over, those four writers and I were joined by two local writers, Dave & Cindie, for dinner at the Black Bear Restaurant. All days should be that good!!! I'm so looking forward to the classes on Thursday.

After dinner, I went to my Republican Woman's meeting. I was asked to donate 'Hannah' for their Lincoln Day Dinner silent auction. Sure hope someone bids on it. Then, had a couple ladies ask for my book, so sold two more copies of 'Hannah'!!! Then my friend Virginia came over to my table and wanted me to meet her husband, who read and enjoyed ATW,BTP. Virginia also wanted me to meet her friend, Dot. It was so much fun being introduced as 'the author'. Don't know if I'll ever sell a million books, but I'm sure have fun listening to the folks who've read and enjoyed my books.

Worked on 'Stephen's Boys' for a short time this am. Andy is on the run, trying to get some distance between his war memories, the booze and the morphine he is hooked on. But, Hilo isn't that big a city. It will be challenging to have him stay hidden from the folks wanting to help him.

I hope to get my computer problems behind me tomorrow. A really great computer repairman, Alex, is coming over to see if he can solve my Word and printer problems. I've got my fingers crossed.

So, I reckon the best way for me to sign off tonight is to think about enjoying all the good stuff in my life and let the problems take a back seat. I keep reminding myself that some very dear friends, Sharon and Sharolyn, both who died way too young would be happy to be here on Earth suffering car and computer problems. So, when I hear that country western song that says "I can sleep when I'm dead.", I have to smile and agree! Here's my final thought for the day from H. T. Leslie - "The game of life is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well."

Ready - Set - Go! Spring Frenzy starts tomorrow!

January 31, 2010

If my computers were working properly, today would have been a perfect day! Nothing to do, aside from a quick shopping trip for groceries and office products for tomorrows Spring Frenzy classes.

I'm all set for the classes. Packets for the attendees are ready and I've reviewed my notes on what to say/show to make the classes come alive. As I reviewed the material, I was reminded of the very basics of writing and a refresher course in the basics is always a good thing. It's always fun and I get to meet new folks. Thru my classes, we picked up Jim and Rusty for our local writer's group. Good writers and most welcome additions to our writer's group.

Wrote more on 'Steve's Boys'. I introduced the problems Josh has been having with his amputation that he has been hiding from his wife. I've changed my mind about the ending, but I do want to leave the reader wondering at the end of this saga of the Farrell family.

Didn't get time to work on 'Mama Played for the King' for that agent. Hopefully, after this week of classes is over, I'll have time to work on it. I'm so excited that she asked for the whole book after reading 80 pages.

Oh, my kids presented me with a Kindle for Christmas. I love it!!! Of course, I downloaded 'Hannah' and 'Mota 8 - Addiction' that has my short story 'The Gift'. I downloaded the new Patterson book, 'I, Alex Cross'. We are reading Patterson's books for my book club this month. I'm really enjoying it. I down loaded about 10 books and I carry them around in my purse now on my Kindle and it takes up less space than my checkbook. It's amazing.

Debbie, her mom and a couple of other authors are coming up from Quartzite tomorrow for my short story class. Then, a couple of Havasu writers are going to join us and we going out to dinner. I sure wish she lived closer. She's such a positive person.

Got to go to bed now so I'll be alert for my classes. Creativity, learning and persisting - the jewels in a writer's work box. So I'll leave you with a quote by Isaac Asimov - "You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist."

A Fun-Fun-Fun Day

January 30, 2010

Life has been keeping me busy this past month and I've been remiss in keeping up with my daily posts on my life in the writing world. But, today was so special that I had to drop back in.

My local writer's group, Lake Havasu City Writer's Group, had a book signing for their 2010 'Offerings from the Oasis' anthology. We flocked over to Hasting Books and Music to sell and sign books. Off and on their were about a dozen of us and we managed to sell a fair number of books. I was so pleased that they included two of my stories - 'Pastrami vs Tuna Salad' and 'Exquisite Moments'. I hope the readers enjoy them. All in all the presentation and the content is probably one of the best 'Oasis' yet. I guess we're all getting better and better!

Since I last blogged, I had another book signing down in Quartzite. Sold 4 Hannah books and 1 After the War, Before the Peace. Got a fan email from a lady in Utah saying she enjoyed Hannah so much, she has ordered After the War, .... Yahoo! Always nice to hear. We're going back down there on Feb. 7th.

Also, I've been working on the final edits for 'Abby-Finding More Than Gold'. It is due out in March from Awe-Struck Publishing. I had a great editor and I think the final product will sell nicely. The editor liked it so much, she suggests a sequel. Maybe, someday.

Still working on 'Stephen's Boys'. Poor Josh lost a leg when his plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean and Andy has gone mental from all the killing and wounding he saw on Suribachi. They are both in a hospital in Hawaii.

Having lots of computer problems! That's all I'll say, because I want to keep this blog 'G' rated!

Tomorrow, I need to practice how I'm going to moderate my Journaling and Short Story Writing classes scheduled for Mon. and Thurs or next week.

So, got to run, but let me leave you with this little quote about time and how fleeting it is these days. "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of." Benjamin Franklin

Enjoy your Excellent Today, Expect the Beauty of the Future

December 14, 2010

Again, time has taken me from my daily ramblings. I guess it's good, because it means I have lots to do and lots of fun people to do it with.

Had the Bullhead City book signings on the 6th. Only sold one book. It was a slow day, but we met some very interesting people and many took our business cards, so who knows. The Hastings folks were so very nice. In fact, the mother of one of the Hasting's folks won our contest. We had the folks we talked with sign a form that entered them in a contest to win a $20 gift certificate! Had fun driving up there with Cindie and Doug.

Went to a local club meeting on the 7th and was introduced as Havasu's local author. Felt good, now if it just paid good.

Dropped by Jim's place on Tuesday and picked up my copies of 'Offerings from the Oasis - 2010'. It's the anthology put out by my local writer's group. I was lucky to get two of my stories published in the book. They chose 'Pastrami vs Tuna Salad' and 'Exquisite Moments'. I'm so pleased. Gina, the editor did a terrific job! This year the main picture is a native American pottery scene and the border is a bright red/orange. It's a knock out!

Thursday I met with Jude to give her the 3rd book in the Farrell series, 'Deborah's Story'. She is willing to read and do an edit of it. We had a fun lunch talking about lots of things, but especially writing and what we like and don't like. She did such a great job on 'A Meandering Road - Lita's Story', so I'm so grateful that she's willing to do it again. We probably won't meet again until after the 1st of the year.

Then that night was the meeting of the Four Goddesses. I didn't have anything to crit, but I got some good feedback on episodes of 'Stephen's Boys'. We firmed up our plans for our Kingman book signing on Sunday.

Jude had purchased Lois' book, 'Finding Angela' at Hastings and wanted it autographed. I took it to Jude along with two copies of 'After the War, Before the Past'. She was dining with a group of her friends. They treated me so nice and again it was fun being introduced as an 'author'. I'm so pleased that 'Hannah' has stimulated sales for 'After the War,...' I stopped by Hastings today and they had sold 4 copies of 'Hannah' and 3 of 'After the War, ...'. Yahoo!!! I brought their total on hand back up to 5 of each. We local writers are so lucky to have Hastings bookman, Peter, to work with. He's very supportive and makes the process quite simple.

Last Tuesday, I sent some info on all four of us Goddesses to the Kingman Daily Miner about the book signing. I checked each day, but nothing. Then, in the Sunday edition, they gave us a half page. It brought in folks that knew us here in Havasu, but were now living in Kingman. Without the publication, they wouldn't have known we were there! Too bad our Today News Hearald isn't as supportive.

Saturday was the annual Christmas meeting for my book club. Great stories, DELICIOUS treats and lovely Christmas gifts. Some of the older members like Rob, Jilma and Coco weren't there and I missed them. Next month we read the books of Linda Howard.

Sunday was the Kingman book signing. A SUCCESS! I sold 7 copies of 'Hannah' and 3 copies of 'After the War, Before the Peace'. But it was a success in so many other ways. We met lots of interesting people and the Four Goddesses had some time to just sit and talk. Always a fun time with them! Again, the Hastings folks were super! And, Cindie's Doug, he's an angel for toting my stuff around in addition to what he does for Cindie. I told her he's like a Mormon husband. He has two wives to take care of, but he doesn't get all the fringe benefits. Anyway, they are both sweethearts and I'm glad they, Lois and JoAn came into my life!

Today was getting ready for my bi-weekly meeting with Dave for our crits and for the first meeting of my novel club. I'm really looking forward to tonight! I hope it works.

Oh, and I got an email from the agent that I met at the SSA conference who asked to read 'Mama Played for the King'. She wants to see the entire novel! Yahoo!!! It doesn't mean she'll take it, but at least she wants more. Things are definitely looking up.

So, I'm on a high these days and this following quote seems to express how I'm feeling. I hope it works for you, too. 'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams'. Eleanor Roosevelt

This, That & Stuff

Dec. 5, 2009

I've had some crazy, busy times lately. Lots of fun with visits from kids, grandkids and granddogs. But, that's what Thanksgiving is all about - family, love and being grateful. So, it was all a success, but now it's back to the real world.

On Nov. 21, we had out LHCWG meeting. Always interesting. I had submitted an excerpt from my current novel in progress, 'Stephen's Boys'. I didn't think is was one of the better episodes and was a little worried about the feedback, but it all came back good. In fact, it was interesting that when Buck gave his feedback, he commented that he felt that John was the older brother of Stephen. What good feedback. Stephen is older, but he's the weaker of the two, so Buck's comments indicate that I'm managing to get dynamics of their personalities across.

Speaking of 'Stephen's Boys', way too much research is needed. I now know more about the second world war and the activities in the Pacific than I ever wanted to know. Dave is reading the novel for our one-on-one crits. He came across a glaring mistake on my part. I had Josh and his copilot crash after the back of the plane and all the men in that section had been killed. Well, the problem with that is that Josh took off from the U.S.S. Enterprise in a fighter plane, not a bomber per se. He wouldn't have a copilot much less a crew in the back. So, I went on line today and tried to fix that snafu. What I found is that some planes called Douglas SBD Dauntless were, in fact, launched from the Enterprise and they were two seaters, one for the pilot/bombardier and one for the gunner. So, while I'll have to get rid of the crew in the back of the plane, I'll be able to keep the scene with copilot, Ed, only I'll have to call him a gunner. Yahoo! Great catch, Dave!

The kids arrived early the week of Nov. 23rd for our annual Thanksgiving reunion and dinner. Had a great time with everyone, but not much time for writing. Everyone left for home on the 28th, so I was able to get back to my daily schedule of writing for 20 or 30 minutes. It's become second nature to me and I really miss my characters when I don't visit them.

Went to my WNEA meeting on Dec. 3rd and got some good feedback on 'Hannah'. Also, gave a copy of 'Hannah' away in the gift exchange.

On Dec. 4th, Dave and I drove down to Parker to see Cindie's high school drama class in their annual Christmas performance. They wrote, directed and acted out all the parts for a drama called 'Troubles With Chewing Bubble Gum'. Again this year, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of their work. It must be the leadership of Cindie, their Drama teacher.

Today was the LHCWG meeting. The chairman, Jim, deserves a medal. He is doing a great job pulling together a lot of cantankerous members of the group. After some discussion of possible changes to procedures and by-laws, Vern commented that perhaps we are trying to fix something that ain't broke. I tend to agree. One of the subs today, named me as a 'literary figure'. It was a cute story by Grace Painter about a reporter that ends up killing her interviewee. But, I got a little upset today at the caliber of crit I received for my last submission. My allotted time lasted all of just short of 60 seconds. And, the comments on the pages handed back to me were just as terse and bland, if any. It's very discouraging when one tries to give feedback to fellow members, then gets little or nothing in return. One of the suggestions for our crit sessions was to eliminate discussion of punctuation. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that. I definitely expressed my lack of support for that change. Punctuation is one of the most important parts of writing. Try to get an editor to read your work if you abuse a comma versus a colon or a semi-colon. Or worse, use sentence fragments like I'm prone to do. I hope this group never stops questioning punctuation.

I talked with three of the folks in my novel group today. I want this group to be self-governing without rules and by-laws, but I hope each member understands that they will be expected to crit with detail. A 'that was nice' will not work. They all agreed. Also, it is going to be limited to a six member group.

Enough grousing. I went to see quite a few movies recently. 2012 Excellent visuals. Especially the freeway collapsing scenes. The story was good, but very politically correct. Blind Side Good, but a bit sappy and the focus on the kid getting a scholarship seemed wrong. This rich family treated this stray kid like a son, but wouldn't pay his tuition. A focus on grades to quality for a college ed. would have worked better for me. Old Dogs Funny in places, but not near as good as the biker movie about old guys. Everythings Fine Good acting by DiNero, but I think it would have made a better read. Although, I did like the way the father saw his children. They were all adults, but he still saw them as children and that's kind of the way I see mine. Interesting.

So, this is way too long. I've got to get ready for a book signing in Bullhead City tomorrow. It was supposed to be the Four Goddesses, but Lois and JoAn aren't feeling well. Cindie's husband Doug will be handing out a flyer that offers a chance to win a $20 gift certificate. Hope it works to draw folks to our table to talk with us and maybe sell a couple of books. I'll think positive!

I'll close tonight with a quote that really speaks to my feelings these days about my writing and about my life in general these days. “To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun?” Katharine Graham

Reader's Options

Nov. 21, 2009

Met with Jude on Nov. 12th for feedback on 'A Meandering Road - Lita's Story'. Lots of good catches of typos, some really good questions about the story flow and names/situations that don't match. She did a great job and her upgrades will really improve the final product. Now, she's willing to do the same for 'Deborah's Story'. I'm a lucky writer to have such great support.

Later that same day, we had our Four Goddesses meeting. JoAn is dropping out for awhile and Lois is pulling back for a month or two. I'm glad Cindie still wants to meet. The feed back on the excerpt from 'Stephen's Boys' was sparse, but insightful.

Had our book club meeting on Nov. 14 to discuss the books of Raymond Chandler. Poor Mr. Chandler was not well received. In fact, this was the first time the reader's all voted that they would not read him again. The main complaint was way too much description.

Nov. 15 I went to Cindie Miller's book signing for 'Ask Me No Questions'. Lots of folks showed up and we had a good time. She has some beautiful flyers, postcards and a giant poster. Very professional.

Met with an accountant on the 16th to discuss whether my writing is a hobby or a business. She gave me a lot of information and it looks good for going business.

Nov. 19th was our writer's club monthly reading at Denny's. Nine folks showed up. I believe it was some of the best readings we've ever had. I think the place worked well. There was some noise with other customers and some dish clattering, but the music wasn't too loud and the service was excellent.

Yesterday, Lois, JoAn and I drove to the Hasting's stores in Kingman and Bullhead City to give them books and flyers for our book signings in Dec. We had a ball. the Hasting reps were very accommodating. They like our idea of a flyer offering a drawing for a chance to win a Hastings gift certificate to anyone dropping by the store on the day of our signing and taking the time to talk with each author for a few seconds. It will be interesting.

Today was the writer's meeting. I really thought that the feedback on my sub for last time would be badly received due to the fact that the reader wouldn't have all the facts, but the crits were positive. In fact, Buck felt that Stephen was the younger brother. That's good, because I'm trying to portray him as the weak brother. For my sub for today, I cut a 450 word story down to 247 to meet the prompt of 'a conversation with a literary person'. Some of the group have read the original piece and liked it. But, we have a lot of new folks, so it will be interesting to see if the word cut took away the gist of the piece.

Only another day until the kids arrive for Thanksgiving. My writing will probably be sparse, but the important thing is that I'll be with family.

My quote for today has to do with feedback. A writer's intent, as to plot and character development, may not be what his/her reader catches. And, that is a good thing. I do it all the time when I crit my fellow writer's work. So, here's the quote. "Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize it's just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it." - David Sedaris.

Opinions - Listen, Evaluate & Decide

Nov. 11, 2009

Not much in the way of writing on this busy day. But, did move 'Stephen's Boys' forward a few hundred more words. Today was fun. No research. It was mostly guy dialog. Hope it works. Josh and Ed both said they really didn't want to do something, then did it. Their action is a good thing, but they don't know that yet.

Received some good feedback on 'Hannah' from friends who bought the book last Sunday. And, Jerry, a male friend of mine who hardly ever reads books is actually reading it. He really likes Hannah's spirit. Also, all the ladies are loving Liam.

Tomorrow, I meet with Jude who is reading 'A Meandering Road - Lita's Story'. She said it made her cry and she just loved Lita and Michael. She'll be sharing what worked and what didn't work with me over lunch.

Just a brief blog tonight, but the meeting with Jude tomorrow brings to mind this quote from Virginia Woolf as to getting opinions/reactions to our fiction. They are invaluable to have, but knowing your characters and your own writer's voice should never be ignored. "Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason the opinions of others."

Pluck & Luck

Nov. 10, 2009

Saturday was the local writer's meeting. Lots of the winter folks are back, so the room was jam packed. Plus three new possible members showed up - I met Karen thru Pattie at Jake's and I think she writes sci-fi, Matt is a former member of the U.S. Coast Guard and I'm not sure what he writes and Kelly is a young poet. All three seemed highly motivated. Again, the crits were a waste of time for me. I think we spent all of 60 seconds on my submission and that includes the time to pass them back. I talked with some of the folks at our after meeting at Denny's and suggested that we reinforce the need to say what works in a sub as well as what's wrong. Knowing how and why something works would help the newbies.

One good thing did come out of the meeting. Due to Slotchkey's closing at nine and the dearth of parking on McCullouch on Thurs. night due to the car shows the group agreed to give Denny's a try. We had talked about it last spring, but

After Denny's Cindie, Doug, Penny and I went to the Golden Horseshoe for dinner. Yummy. Then Penny and I went to see 'Men Who Stare at Goats'. I must admit that there were laugh out loud funny parts, but the last 20 minutes or so was disgusting and inappropriate for so many reasons. Typical George Clooney rot. His movies just aren't worth viewing. If he weren't so handsome, I don't think he'd have much of a following.

Sunday was book signing day! It was fabulous. More than I could have imagined. I sold 41 'Hannah' books and 5 'After the War, Before the Peace' books. Peter, at Hastings said it was some sort of a record. I sure do have some wonderful friends. And, there were several folks who came in saying that their friends had sent them to buy both books because they had enjoyed 'After the War, Before the Peace' so much. Word of mouth is the best. To get a following is every writer's dream! Now, I need to set up signings in Bullhead and Kingman.

Monday I met with Dave. I gave him his feedback on his short stories and he gave me his crits on the segment of 'Stephen's Boys' he reviewed. He said it was consistent and had some good observations and dialog. He suggested some cutting on the military jargon. I think he's right.

Then Cindie, Kelley and Ted joined us for the first meeting of the fiction novel group we are trying to form. We talked about our objectives and the process and I think we are off to a good start. We'll meet once a month.

Then today, I set up a book signing in Kingman on Dec. 13th, right before Christmas. It will be for the four of us - Cindie, JoAn, Lois and me. The Hastings book rep in Kingman thought it sounded like a good idea.

I've been trying to move 'Stephen's Boys' forward each day. I'm about to save Josh from his plight in the Pacific Ocean, but it is taking so much time for research. Today I need to search out emergency pouches, flare guns and flare cartridges that were used during WWII. Yuck, I hate research. After this book, it's back to the 1880s for me!

Oh, almost forgot. I got my rejection for 'Deborah's Story' from that Barrett agency. She said she couldn't get excited about it enough to sell it. Then tonight I got a call from Dave. He received an almost identically worded rejection from Barrett, too. Oh, well, their loss.

And my quote for tonight addresses my tendency to enjoy the good times way too much. So, after the wonderful book signing event, I would like to sit back for awhile and avoid the cold, stranger-laden signings in Bullhead and Kingman where I'll be lucky to sell even one book. Then, I stumbled on this quote by James A Garfield, "A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck".

Creativity in Prose & Publicity

Nov. 6, 2009

What a busy week and so much of it about writing! My kind of week.

Worked on 'Stephen's Boy's' every day this week. Not too much research required in this segment. Mostly it's brother to brother dialog laced with a lot of distrust and accusation. I do love dialog. So much can be revealed to the reader without the long sentences and paragraphs of telling, when the reader responds so much better to showing.

Got an email from Jude who is reading 'A Meandering Road - Lita's Story'. She said she has finally stopped crying and is ready to discuss the book. We set a date for Thu. 11/12 at Denny's. She said the crying was for Lita and Michael. Seems those characters worked for her. Had a friend who said that it's been about five years since she read 'After the War, Before the Peace', but she still remembers Deborah, the bad girl and wonders what ever happened to her. Funny, how the 'bad' characters always seem to bring out emotion in the reader.

Then, Thurs. nite was the WNEA Sales Extravaganza. Cindie showed up with her book, so we had three choices on our table - 'ATW,BTP, Hannah and her Ask Me No Questions.' I sold three books, she sold two. The folks who bought them weren't strangers so I don't think I picked up any new fans, although several said they'd come by Hastings for my book signing on Sunday. Hope someone shows up!

Today I talked with Kelly about the requirements for 'novel group'. Right now we have about five folks interested. Kelly is an interesting person to talk to. She seems to have the instincts of a novelist. We talked about writing what it selling versus what our 'characters' whisper in our ears and about sex in our novels. We agreed. No doubt about it. Sex sells. Then, it was the reading of the subs for tomorrow's writer's meeting. I still need to get something ready to turn in.

Oh, nearly forgot, the local newspaper finally put an article in the paper about Hastings on Sunday. Nice blurb about 'Hannah', a picture of the book and a picture of me. Peter, the book liaison at Hastings, is an easy guy to work with. He said there are so many folks requesting book signings that he's had to turn some down. I guess it's true, everyone has a book in their head and wants to start writing.

Oh, Cindie is going to be on blog radio with Newoka tomorrow at 1:00 p.m., just as our writer's meeting starts. Good thing she tapes it and I can hear it later tomorrow night.

So, this week seems to be about a lot of creativity. Working with 'Stephen's Boys', thinking of ways to attract readers at the book signings and deciding what to turn in for the writer's group tomorrow. So, I must go with these words of Carl Jung to close out this update. "The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves."

Delay - Ah, Delay

Nov. 2, 2009

Yahoo! Worked on 'Stephen's Boys' today. John and Stephen are into a pissing match on past sins. What fun.

Then, a bit of bad news. Got an email from Awe-Struck Publishing and they are running a little behind on launch dates for their scheduled releases. They are moving 'Finding More Than Gold' out to 2nd quarter of 2010. Oh well, at least it's still on the schedule. Still no word on 'A Meandering Road - Lita's Story". I would soooooo like to get it and all the sequels to 'After the War, Before the Peace' out to my following.

Went to a meeting tonight and got promises from three or four folks that they would be at the book signing on Sunday. I'm hoping for as good a crowd as last time. Got my fingers crossed!

So, with the move from January 2010 to second quarter of 2010, more waiting is in my future. But, I guess I'll take a deep breath and take some advice from Ralph Waldo Emerson. “The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck.” Yep! Couldn't agree more.

Good & Evil - A Divine Purpose

Nov. 1, 2009

Not a bit of writing done today, so sad. But did some promoting of my book signings coming up next Thurs. and Sun. Looks like I'll have a couple of folks there.

Then talked with Cindie. She listened to my entire interview with Newoka. She has an interview scheduled for next Saturday. Unfortunately, it starts at the same time as our LHCWG meeting. Good thing the interviews are recorded for playback at a later time.

During my interview, Newoka talked about how much work goes in to writing a novel. Well, for me, the writing is easy. But, all the extras that go along with it makes it sometimes laborious. Like having a good handle on grammar and knowing when the rules can, or should, be broken. Knowing what constitutes a full story, be it a short story or a full novel. Then, I won't even go into the 'joys' of submission and marketing of your work. I guess that's why I haven't made it any further along with my writing 'career'. For me, the story telling is all fun and joy, but .... Anyone out there want a job? I'll give half the earnings of my first best seller to anyone who will give me an hour a day to do the administrative part of this writing/publishing gig.

So, looking at writing from a good (the actual writing) and evil (all the administrative stuff) I must agree with Melva, a participant in a discussion led by J.J. Dewey. "Both good and evil serve as part of divine purpose."

Waiting-Waiting-And More Waiting

Oct. 31, 2009

Very slow day for writing. About the only thing I did that had anything to do with my writing was my trip to the Bullhead City Smart & Final store to pick up some candy and peanuts for my book signings on 11/5 and 11/8. I think having treats may bring some folks over to at least look and then when they take the peanuts, they get a sticker with a promo for me and my books.

I listened to the full hour of my interview with Newoka. She really does a nice job of leading her interviewees along. She used my website and led me along so I could discuss most aspects of my writing like the books and the classes. My voice didn't sound as bad as I thought it would, a little hoarse, but not bad.

Not a word from any of the contacts I made at the SSA conference, except for Ellen at Champagne acknowledging receipt of 'Regardless'. Still no word on how 'Finding More Than Gold' is moving along. I'm getting a little nervous.

Watched 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' tonight. It's still funny and very clever. I love that actress Zooey Deschanel. She has beautiful eyes.

I guess my theme for the day is waiting, waiting to hear about my submissions, waiting and hoping my new supply of books arrive before my book signings. Waiting-not my strong suit. So, I find I have to agree with Harvard Business Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter who said, "To stay ahead, you must have your next idea waiting in the wings."