The Good, the Bad and the 'What the Heck?' about writing

Had a really good week as far as my writing goes. I'm almost finished with getting 'Hannah' ready to submit to new publishers. It is sad that it is no longer available on Amazon as a Kindle ebook. I've got 'Mama Played for the King' up to over 49,000 words and I feel that the new scenes are a definite enhancement to the story and round out some of the characters. And, last but not least I had my interview on Blog radio with Newoka LaShelle.

The interview went well. It is available for listening at www.blogtalkradio.com/webmistress/2011/04/25/author-sharon-poppen . Newoka is always prepared and leads the author along to talk about very pertinent information about the author's background and about the author's published books. I spoke mostly about 'Abby-Finding More Than Gold'. We talked about character development and what technique I find most helpful. I talked about writing a short story, that will not be part of the novel, about the way a character would handle a situation that shows their morals/ethics. We talked about the challenge of marketing an ebook. I am especially frustrated that 'Abby' isn't up on Amazon.com. It is so maddening. Awe-Struck Publishing says it's Amazon's problem and Amazon says it's the publisher that hasn't done something right. Grrrrrrr. In the meantime, I could be missing sales. I can't thank Newoka enough for all her support for all my books.

She has a book 'Karma's Dirty Secrets Memoir'. It is the story of her life and goes into detail of her abuse, sexual and verbal, starting at age six. The book closes with the hope, satisfaction and accomplishment of this dynamic woman and how she overcome terrible adversities to become the success she is today. It is in print and also available on Kindle.

My dear friend JOan has just released her latest book 'Jeri Bittle'. A romance about a strong woman whose husband has been murdered and she has to step up to the challenge of raising her children, running the ranch and tracking down the killer. JOan's books are always an exciting read with lots of action. She publishes under the pseudonym of J. Rose Knight.

I got a call from Kathy Pearson, a writer who has been a member of my local novel group and has now published her christian romance. She called to thank me, saying that it was some of the things that I said and did that motivated her to go forward with her dream. I was honored. Her book is called 'Never Too Late' and it is available in print and on Kindle. It a tale of friendship and deception between friends and pretend husbands.

I'm still having issues with Awe-Struck Publishing. They respond to my queries and say they will take care of things but the omissions that I mentioned last fall as to including my author bio on their website and having 'Abby-Finding More Than Gold' available on Kindle have still not been resolved. I can only hope they will come through with their promise to put me on their July schedule for a print version. Another Grrrrrrrr!

I guess this is about long enough, so I'll close with this quote that I read over and over when I have to deal with the problems I have with Awe-Struck. "Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success." - Brian Adams . I certainly hope he's right!

Back to Submitting

With Virtual Tales folding, I'm left with no future for 'Hannah' in a print format, so I must begin shopping it around again. VT was so good to me and so efficient in working with us authors that I was spoiled. However, it does bring me back to basics as a writer. To get published we have to leave the lovely world of our characters and step into the real world of marketing. The staff at VT is trying to find publishers that will take our orphans on, but it is still up to me to write the submission data. Ugh!

Daily, I'm still upgrading 'Momma Played for the Kind'. I really want to get it done and get it sent out for publication. I'd love for the lady who gave me her life story and let me run with it to be able to see it in print. I'm halfway thru, but what's taking me time is adding scenes and putting more detail into various scenes. I think it is rounding out the story. Again, I'm walking that fine line between too much detail and not enough.

I wrote a 'romantic' novel a long time ago 'Finding Amy' and submitted it to the romance magazines and was rejected for having too much plot and for one violent scene. I've worked on it recently and added more detail. I've had three folks read it. They all liked the characters and the overall plot. One said it was an okay read, one said she enjoyed it, but that I've written better and one just loved it. They are all readers of my genre. I've decided to give it one more edit and try to market it again. It's about a young Texan lad from a ranching background who is just returning from Vietnam and about his falling in love with a Boston debutante.

I guess, for awhile, I'll have to share my creative time with trying to market those creations. So, I'll try to keep remembering the good and inspiring words of Sam Walton - "High expectations are the key to everything." And of the little train that could, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can ......"

Invited to do an Interview

A reviewer by the name of Tracy Riva did a wonderful review of 'After the War, Before the Peace'. You can read it under Riva's Bookshelf at www.midwestbookreview.com . Now, she has decided to do a series of interviews with the authors she has reviewed. She has asked me to participate. It will be on her site during the summer. We have to donate a book to be given as a door prize to someone who reviews the interview. I, of course, said I'll do it. As I find out more, I'll post the info. here.

Spent a couple of hours editing 'Mama Played for the King'. I haven't read the whole story for awhile so I'm having fun with it. I actually wrote a whole new scene today. I'm up to 47,000 words so it looks like I might make it to the 50,000 mark which is my goal. I'm really liking the characters of Phillip and Henri.

I talked with Rita tonight who just finished reading 'Hannah'. She loved how it kept going from calm to high tension and back to calm so regularly and felt that it was that hectic pace that kept her wanted to keep reading. She loved the characters and the way she was able to 'feel' them though their words and actions. Who could ask for more.

I'll close tonight with this observation by Edmund Morrison - "Like stones, words are laborious and unforgiving, and the fitting of them together, like the fitting of stones, demands great patience and strength of purpose and particular skill."

LHCWG meeting today

Today was my local writer's group meeting. I submitted an old story about me and Brown, my grandparent's dog. It was our monthly assignment to write a story on a given prompt using only 250 words. It is such a good exercise to help writers to cut the fat out of their writing. Don't see many 'ly' words in these pieces. Still working on bringing 'Mama Played for the King' into an edited manuscript ready to submit to publishers. I'm trying to bring it up to a 50,000 word book. It was 43,000, but it was bare bones in some ares.

Conversation at our meeting today centered a lot around the amount of detail that should be in our subs as to description of the characters and the place they are in. Lots of thoughts on it as some want the writer to give them almost snap shots so they don't have to create their own pictures, while others want their reader to do some of this description ID-ing as the story is read. I feel that too much info can be boring, whereas a little mystery often defines some of your characters and it certainly does in my 'Hannah.

A review of After the War, Before the Peace' by Tracy Riva was featured in the Midwest Book Review. It was a great review by Ms. Riva. I can only hope we'll get some hits because of this review. THANK YOU, TRACY RIVA.

In closing I'm going to spend some time thinking about this advice from Logan Pearsall Smith, "More Trivia: Adjectives", 1921. "But why wasn't I born, alas, in an age of Adjectives; why can one no longer write of silver-shedding Tears and moon-tailed Peacocks, of eloquent Death, of the Negro and star-enameled Night?"

Blog Radio Date Set

Newoka LaShelle and I made contact again and she has me scheduled for her blog radio show on April 24, 2011 at 11:30 EST. She is always well prepared and conducts an informative interview. I'm so looking forward to it. Hope some of you drop by. I'll have the details on how you do that in a day or so. Been a busy spring with booksignings at the Reader's Oasis Book Store in Quartzsite, AZ, four classes that I presented at this years LHC Spring Frenzy, couple of speaking engagements and writer's meetings. Had some terrible news. My publisher Virtual Tales has closed its doors. I'll have to find a new publisher for Hannah. In January, I signed a three book contract with them for my 'After the War, Before the Peace' series. My editor, June Diehl, is shopping that series to another publisher that she works with. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. This writing business certainly has its ups and downs, but I still keep writing. Daily, I read a quote from Isaac Asimov that I have taped to my desk. He advises writers that "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." Ah, if only I did that! My daily mantra is going to be - Submit, Submit, Submit!

Leaving Characters in Limbo

What a week! Although it has been busy and fun, I didn't get to work on what I love. Haven't touched The Band in three days. I already miss my characters. Poor J.J. has been in limbo and I'll bet he's wondering where I am. I hope he understands that the elections on Nov. 2nd were so very important and that I'm glad I worked the polls so that all my fellow citizens could take the opportunity to make their voices heard. It was a long day, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Then more community service with the Hug-A-Bears for the children in trauma on Wednesday.

Finally, today, I got back into the writing world, at least talking about it. Cindie, Dave and I met at Hastings Books today to talk about our sales event coming up this Saturday at the Hampton Inn. We'll have a table amid a variety of home based businesses. Should be interesting. The coordinator of the event has done a lot of advertising and it's kind of fun to see my name on the flyers as if I were some important author.

I've had some experiences the past couple of days that has me wondering about what makes people tick. Friends have made some negative comments that I would never say to them and they seem to think it's funny as they laugh and try to soften their remarks. One said 'You look terrible'. That was the morning after my 16 hour day at working at the voting polls. Another loudly commented on my current lack of a love life. Then as I was asking another friend if she wanted to join me and another friend for a movie, I was told I have terrible taste when it comes to movies. Finally, after giving my opinion on a restaurant, I was told that I was too rigid. These are all good friends and I know they didn't mean to hurt, but none of them mentioned one good thing about me or comment on the good things going on in my life. None of these remarks came with suggestions as to what I should do, just what was wrong with me. Funny. Well, at least, my hairdresser said some nice things about enjoying my company and my choice to let my hair be natural. I know I pay her, but we've been friends for around 15 years, so her opinion means a lot to me. Phew, I really have ranted. Perhaps I'm just being too sensitive, but again, I have to wonder what makes people tick.

So, I guess I'll close today with this bit of sarcasm from Honore de Balzac - 'Nothing so fortifies a friendship as a belief on the part of one friend that he is superior to the other.'

Characters ``` Love 'em or Hate 'em

A day when I didn't have to leave the house! Yahoo. Those don't come to often, so I really enjoy them. Of course, my main focus was to move The Band along and I did. I've just introduced two characters who will have a deep impact on a third character. I want the reader to like all three of them, despite some bad behavior of one of them, so it will be a challenge. Characters! That's what writing is all about to me. All the stories have been told, but each character in a novel or story as the opportunity to make their particular mark on a another character or a situation. That uniqueness is what makes writing so much fun.

Had an email today from a fellow LHCWG member. She is looking for info on how to start/maintain a blog. I gave her this blogger site, but told her I'm not all that great at blogging so I didn't feel I had much to offer her. As we talked, we discussed the future of writing and the impact that the ebook world is making and how it won't be a choice, but a necessity, to know about blogging, e-marketing, twittering and facebooking. It's definitely a new world out there as to publishing.

I watched Nim's Island today and it was so much fun watching Jodie Foster portray an author who lives through her dashing and daring adventure hero only to have to take on her hero's attributes in order to save a little girl left alone on an island. Jodie was so believable as the writer and how she related, or lived vicariously, through her character.

So, with all this chatter about characters, I will sign off with this thought - " A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's." - Jean Paul Richter

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