Aspiring Author

Back to Writing Event at StoryCrafters!

2008-09-17T10:06:00.001-04:00

Starting Wednesday the 17th StoryCrafters will be holding a "Back to Writing" challenge.

Prizes will be awarded for total word count from the 17th until Oct. 31st along with several "challenge" days that will be announced as we go along.

So sign up at the StoryCrafters forum and read the details in our Announcements section.

If you need some motivation, you can check out my article at the StoryCrafters blog to help you get back into your writing schedule.

StoryCrafters...weaving imaginations.

We're on the move!

2008-09-05T20:44:00.006-04:00

Well, I am giving up on this template and the old Blogger format. For whatever reason, I can't seem to upgrade this template and I've started a new Aspiring Author blog here.

This new blog will be focused entirely on things important to the aspiring author: resources, tips, and motivational material. I haven't decided what to do with this blog yet. I've moved some of the material from the old blog to the new one and after that I'm not sure if I'll delete the original blog or refocus it.

Please check out our new home for The Aspiring Author!

Will You Participate in NaNoWriMo 2008?

2008-09-03T14:33:00.007-04:00

Hard to believe but before you know it NaNoWriMo will be here. So, are you going to participate in NaNoWriMo this November? Why or why not? Have you participated in years past? Has this influenced whether you will be participating in NaNoWriMo this year?

Feel free to share your NaNoWriMo writing experiences here!

StoryCrafters - An Online Community of Writers

2008-09-03T14:24:00.006-04:00

Join us at the StoryCrafters forum where we talk about all things important to writers, hold workshops and contests, critique each other's works in progress, and have a grand old time hashing out plots and characters.

StoryCrafters...weaving imaginations.

Registration Deadline for Muse Online Writers Conference

2008-08-20T16:29:00.002-04:00

The deadline to register for the 2008 Muse Online Writers Conference is September 1st. Now in its third year, the Muse Online Writers Conference offers writers the opportunity to hone their craft and learn about everything from book proposals to book promotion and beyond.

Don't miss this opportunity to attend a totally online and free* writers conference. Register now at http://www.themuseonlinewritersconference.com/.

* Our conference is FREE but ask if you can donate to help support this site and our cause (to continue offering you FREE workshops each year). Your generosity is appreciated.

Off to the Beach

2008-08-07T11:48:00.004-04:00

We're taking off for Cape Cod tomorrow morning, so it will be quiet around here for a few days. August is a busy month of playing mommy as we get the girls ready to go back to school, attend Vacation Bible School, and make the transition from our summer to fall schedules.

Starting in September, we'll pick up our discussions about the challanges aspiring authors face. Right now, my main challenge is trying to juggle my writing life with my personal life and not dropping the ball on anything. Good thing I know how to set priorities.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Getting it Done: Setting Priorities

2008-08-07T11:45:00.003-04:00

You'll find my latest article at the Writer2Writer website. This one discusses how to use to-do lists effectively by setting priorities.

Enjoy!

Time Management articles on Writer2Writer

2008-07-22T13:33:00.004-04:00

Here is a list of some of the articles I've written as a contributor to Writer2Writer:

Procrastination: Kill it Now!

Back to School and Back to Your Writing Schedule

Distractions: Don't Let Them Steal Your Writing Time

If You Over Commit, You Won't Submit: Learning to Say "No"

Falling in Love with SMART Goals: A Sure Way to Increase Productivity

These articles and many more from the talented staff at Writer2Writer can help you earn money from your writing. If you've ever dreamed of being a full-time writer, make sure you bookmark Writer2Writer and check back often. And don't forget to sign up for our bi-monthly newsletter.

You'll find more advice from Writer2Writer at our new blog.

And we're back!

2008-07-22T13:17:00.005-04:00

Sorry for the extended hiatus. The Outer Banks were lovely, as always. The weather warm and sunny; the beach clean and cool; the time with family, priceless.

Reality hit as soon as I returned. While away I read three books and had reviews to write. I have 5 virtual book tours to plan for August--which are coming along nicely. Plans for Vacation Bible School continue to come together and we're back into our schedule of Sylvan 4 days a week for our oldest daughter.

Make sure you check out The Book Connection for reviews, author interviews, and guest posts from some of today's most talented authors. Speaking of books and authors, I reviewed a wonderful resource that should be on every aspiring author's bookshelf.

The Dog Walked Down the Street: An Outspoken Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish by Sal Glynn is small on size and big on advice for the aspiring author. You can read my review here.

Look for more resources and tips to help you work toward publication coming soon from The Aspiring Author.

Outer Banks Here We Come

2008-06-24T15:23:00.006-04:00

The Aspiring Author will be taking a break as our family travels down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to enjoy the sand, the beach, and fireworks over the water.

I hope all our readers have a happy, healthy, and safe Indepedence Day!

Focus on You, Not Them

2008-06-24T14:26:00.008-04:00

We've already discussed how negative self-talk can prevent the aspiring author from achieving success; but what about how others view you and your abilities?

In the Secrets of Spiritual Happiness, author Sharon Janis says, "Others can either help to raise us up into greater levels of awareness, or they can keep us limited to their small views of who and what they think we are or should be."

There will always be people who question your dream of being a published author. There will always be people who don't think you have what it takes to achieve your goals.

Don't listen to them!

Accept honest feedback, but don't allow another person to bring you down. You are in contol of your destiny. You hold the key to unlocking your potential. You lose that control when you allow what other people think to limit what you can accomplish.

Instead of focusing on what others think of you, focus on what you think of yourself. This is why getting rid of negative self-talk is so important. If you're focusing on you instead of others, but doubt your own abilities or put yourself down constantly, then you're back in the same river but in a different boat.

When I found this picture at Despair.com that I used for this blog entry, I thought of so many people in my past who did exactly what the caption says, "...live to crush those dreams."

Do I care why they want to crush my dreams? Not really. All I know is that it's important for my life and my career to not allow their negativity to become my problem.

While browsing online I came across a discussion about whether you should avoid negative people or change them. Depending upon who they are and the significance they have in your life will determine your actions. I don't always believe you can change a person, so I usually go with the avoid them idea. I surround myself with positive people and I feel better about my outlook on life. If I meet someone new and she is more concerned with problems than solutions, I don't usually foster a relationship with her.

On the other hand, negative people can be your spouses, your parents or children. It's not like you can avoid those people. This is where focusing on you, and not them, comes most in handy.

It's hard to keep going when you don't have the support you're looking for, but you can find it in places like writing groups and social networks, where likeminded individuals can offer the positive reinforcement that you need.

Plato once wrote, "The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depend upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily."

Focus on you and don't let others crush your dreams.

Interview at Blogcritics

2008-06-19T23:52:00.002-04:00

To celebrate the release of her new book, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, Mayra Calvani interviewed several book reviewers at Blogcritics.

I was honored that Mayra asked to interview me about my blog, The Book Connection, where I post author interviews and reviews, and have guest bloggers talking about their books and offering all kinds of great advice. You'll find our interview posted here.

You can find out more about Mayra Calvani and her books at www.mayracalvani.com/index.html And don't forget to check out her Slippery Book Review Blog.

Here is an interview I performed with Mayra for her horror novel, Dark Lullaby

I also reviewed Dark Lullaby and Mayra's children's book Crash!

Look for my review of The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing COMING SOON!!!

My latest Writer2Writer article

2008-06-10T20:28:00.004-04:00

The final portion of my three-part article series titled Spring into an Organized and Clutter Free Home Office is now online at the Writer2Writer site.

Check out Part 1 and Part 2 to get your home office organized and free of clutter so you can have more productive writing time.

While you're there, check out the new Writer2Writer blog.

Fear of Success and Negative Self-talk

2008-06-10T10:26:00.006-04:00

Fear of success? Is that even possible?

The answer is yes!

We've actually touched upon one aspect of fear of success in our first discussion about what keeps aspiring authors from becoming published authors.

Part of fear of success is believing you're not good enough. Negative self-talk is damaging and limiting. It not only increases stress; it limits you by making you believe you can't do something.

So, how can you stop negative self-talk?

Here are some ideas:

Journaling: Every writer I know keeps a journal. Let the words flow, but go back afterwards and analyze your thoughts. Really get a feel for how you see yourself.

Stop that Thought: When you hear that negative self-talk, whether it be in your head or out loud, say, "stop". This will make you aware of your negative thoughts.

Replace Negative Statements with the Positive Questions: Instead of saying, "This is impossible!" say "How is this possible?" When you feel like saying, "How can I be so stupid!" say "How can avoid that mistake in the future?"

Negative self-talk is a bad habit, but it can be changed. Become more aware of when negativity takes a hold of you so that you can replace those moments with positive energy. Focus on all the things you do right, not the areas where you feel you're lacking.

We'll continue our discussion on fear of success soon. Get ready to write down what obstacles are standing in the way of your success and the changes you can put in motion to make it happen.

Putting Fear of Failure in Perspective

2008-06-01T22:10:00.006-04:00

Along with the issues of self-doubt and anxiety, fear of failure can be a huge obstacle for an aspiring author to overcome. Last year I read Judi Moreo's book, You Are More Than Enough Every Woman's Guide to Purpose, Passion & Power and I came across a section where Judi talks about fear of failure. This is what she had to say:

"What's wrong with failure anyway? Why do we let it stop us from doing, achieving, and having what we want? Failure just means you've discovered one more way that doesn't work. Thomas Edison worked for more than a year and a half to create a better, long-lasting light bulb that could be used in a mainstream application. During that time he found 9,999 ways that didn't work. If he hadn't persisted, you might be reading this book by candlelight! If you try and still don't get the result you want, it simply means you were willing to risk, it might take longer than you expected, your goal was unreasonable, you have to do something differently next time, or you have an opportunity to start something new which is more suited to you.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just overcome this fear? We know there's always a chance we will fail, so why worry about it? Everyone else has the same chance of failure as we do. We are not the exception to the rule, but we will never succeed unless we try."

Looking at fear of failure in this way makes writers heroic every time they send out a submission; even if it gets rejected.

I found a few quotes about mistakes which further help to put fear of failure in perspective.

“The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.” - Edward J. Phelps

"It's okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers - they help us to learn." - John Bradshaw

"The greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making one." - Elbert Hubbard

"So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because that's where you will find success. On the far side of failure." - Thomas J. Watson, Sr.

Terry Bragg, the author of 31 Days to High Self-esteem put together an eight-step plan to overcome failure. I would like to share it with you here:

Step One: Take action

"Action gives you the power to change the circumstances or the situation," says Bragg. What could you achieve if you weren't afraid to fail? Nike has an ad campaign that says, "Just do it." Write this down on a sticky pad and attach it to you computer screen.

Anytime you feel paralyzed by fear of failure, read that quote and heed it's advice.

Step Two: Persist.

How many times have you heard published authors give advice that includes, don't give up? Why do you think that is? Because successful people don't give up! They try something, and if it doesn't work out, they try something else. They keep trying until they get the results they want.

Step Three: Don't take failure personally.

Here's a big one. When you don't get the results you want, it doesn't mean you're a failure. It simply means you tried and it didn't work out. See Step Two for what you need to do next.

Step Four: Do things differently.

This is a no-brainer, but there are so many people out there who keep approaching things the same way and not getting the results they're looking for. Well, stop it! Don't be afraid to try something new. It might make a world of difference.

Step Five: Don't be so hard on yourself.

Raise your hand if you're too hard on yourself. Yes, mine is raised to. I am my own worse critic. I give into negative self-talk. As Bragg says about failure, "If nothing else, you know what doesn't work."

Step Six: Treat the experience as an opportunity to learn.

I'm a strong non-fiction writer, but fiction offers me challenges like there's no tomorrow. The most difficult thing I struggle with is "show don't tell". Luckily, I have a good group of people who critique my work and offer suggestions.

In the writing world they say that practice makes perfect. So I am practicing a lot. And I'm learning a lot. Each time I write a short story, I am improving my craft. Each article I read about "show don't tell" brings me that much closer to mastering this aspect of fiction writing on my own.

Step Seven: Look for possible opportunities that result from the experience.

If you submit a short story to a market and receive a rejection letter, what opportunities or benefits does that provide?

Well, it could provide you with an opportunity to review your story with a fresh set of eyes and revise it to make the story stronger. Perhaps this also gives you the chance to perform additional market research and find a home that is even a better fit than the one you had originally chosen.

Always look for the benefit.

Step Eight: Fail forward fast. According to Bragg, this is a term used by management guru, Tom Peters. It means that the way to learn is to make mistakes. So if we want to learn faster, we must make mistakes faster too. The important thing to remember is to not repeat those mistakes.

With eight tiny steps you can move forward with your writing career, without the fear of failure.

I want to leave you with a powerful quote from Susan Jeffers, which came from her book, Feel the Fear...And Do It Anyway:

"I said to myself: 'You mean all those people out there that I’ve been envying because they’re not afraid to move ahead with their lives have really been afraid? Why didn’t somebody tell me!?' I guess I never asked."

To Blog or not to Blog...That is the Question

2008-05-29T12:44:00.000-04:00

As a virtual book tour coordinator, I am constantly surfing the Internet for interesting, eye-catching, and frequently updated blogs to host Pump Up Your Book Promotion's clients.

Our tours typically consist of a healthy mix of book review, author interview, genre and/or topic, reader, and writer blogs. What never ceases to amaze me, however, is the number of writers who don't blog. It doesn't make sense when the Internet has opened up new and free avenues for writers to promote their work, that people out there aren't taking advantage of it.

I can understand why some writers don't have websites (I don't know much about HTML either), but blogs? Come on, you're missing a chance to promote your work for free and all you have to do is something you already love--write.

In the pre-blog world writers were told the importance of having a website--and they definitely have value. A blog, however, gives you the chance to have ongoing conversations with your readers in a way that just isn't possible with a website.

I always tell my clients, if you have to decide between creating a website and creating a blog, then I suggest a blog. I have both, and the number of visitors to my website doesn't even come close to the number of people stopping by The Book Connection.

So, my question to you is: do you have blog? If so, what do you like about it? What are some of the benefits that blogging has provided you? And if you don't have a blog, what's keeping you from starting one?

Cartoon image borrowed from http://www.blogoklahoma.com/

Are You Honest about Your Work?

2008-05-28T00:22:00.005-04:00

During our discussions about what keeps aspiring authors from achieving published author status, one person gave this as a reason: "They aren't willing to be honest about the quality of their work. Every one can be a writer, but not everyone is willing to learn how to write. Just because you can put together a correct sentence doesn't mean you can make an interesting statement or create drama."

So, how are you on the honestly scale?

Do you accept feedback well or do you start throwing things around the room when someone dare criticize your baby? Can you face an editor's rejection and consider your piece might need some work?

I've been told by my editor that I'm very open to feedback. I like to believe that is true. Who wins if I shut off any and all suggestions on how to improve my work? Certainly not me.

The key is not to take a critique personally. Sometimes harder said than done...especially if the person who provides the feedback isn't too diplomatic about it. But no matter how the feedback is delivered, does the person make valid points? Can he see something you can't because he has no emotional ties to the piece? Are there areas that more than one person points out as needing improvement? If so, then they're probably right.

I'll be the first to admit that I am a non-fiction writer. I'm comfortable with it--probably because I think the whole world is waiting to hear my opinion on things. LOL! But I struggle like crazy with fiction. I can't get the whole show don't tell thing down right for one thing. I'm not always sure what descriptions should be included and which ones aren't important. My taglines usually need some work.

But I refuse to give up. I keep reading, I keep writing, and I figure a writing class or two is in my future. Speaking of writing classes, this is the remainder of what this person wrote when she was talking about people not being honest about the quality of their work: "Taking writing classes not only teaches the craft, but help to make contacts as well."

Hmmm...learning how to write better and networking too. Sure sounds like a win-win situation to me.

So, how am I doing?

2008-05-28T00:13:00.004-04:00

At the begining of January, I set some goals as part of the Achieve Your Dreams Virtual Book Tour. Since I'll be away at the end of June, I figured I would do my quarterly round up early. Besides, it will give me a chance to share some good news.

Goal #1: I will make more time for my own writing.

Believe it or not, I am starting to make progress. I've missed writing and I am slowly plugging away at a few children's stories while waiting for vacation so that I can concentrate on some other things.

Goal #2: I will post at this blog more often.

I've done better since the last time I posted, but I still have big plans for this blog that I haven't been able to implement yet. Stay tuned!

Goal #3: I will appreciate my family more.

My family suffered a lot these past couple of months as I suddenly became overcomitted and couldn't find my way out of it. Now that school is almost over for the girls, things should lighten up...at least we hope so.

Goal #4: I will not over commit.

NOT! I'm still working on learning to say, "no", but it will come. I'm not volunteering for every project at the girls' schools, which helps, but I really want to find myself using that magic word to make more time for my writing and my family.

I continue to stay focused on my goals and know I can be successful. These little round ups help me to stay on track.

Anxiety and Self-Doubt Can Cripple an Aspiring Author

2008-05-10T22:52:00.005-04:00

Here is a guest post that I provided to StoryCrafters last year. It flows nicely into some of the conversations we've been having about what keeps aspiring authors from becoming published authors.

In Heather Sellers' book Page after Page she says in order to learn how to write every day, "writers have to gently embrace ambivalence, anxiety, not-sure-ness."

Usually, I have my blog entry planned a week in advance; not the words, but the idea is formed in my head enough where I can type it up with ease, edit it a couple times, and then hit "publish post." But not this week. I drew a blank. What did I have to offer of value to anyone? There are many members on StoryCrafters whose experience in the field of writing surpasses mine. These peers--can I even call them that since I am so lame compared to them--post in the Bragging Rights section about their latest sales, while I have struggled along for the past three years squeaking out only one sale, a finished novel that might never go anywhere, and another whose progress seems destined to stay at the 15,200 words I wrote for NaNo. And yet, here is Sellers telling me I have to embrace these feelings. What kinds of drugs is this woman doing, and where in the heck can I get some?

"Anyone can start writing," claims Sellers. "To keep on creating and grow as a writer, you also believe you suck." Ok, now I'm sitting here screaming, "She understands me!" but she says it's a good thing I feel this way.

What? How can that possibly be? I must read more.

Then Sellers tells me, I have to start looking at self-doubt and anxiety in a whole new way. "Being unsure," she says, "is one of the things that helps you steer in revision." So, there is a good reason to feel this way. Hmmm...

What do you know, experiencing self-doubt and anxiety doesn't make me a worse writer, it actually helps me. Who would have thought? Now, I'll have to think of self-doubt and anxiety as my friends instead of my enemies. I'll have to be careful they don't move in and take over my house, but without them hanging by my side, I wouldn't be pushed into making every article, every paragraph, every sentence, each word, the best it can be.

I guess, I could hope to be one of those writers whose first drafts are close to their published works. Maybe I would feel better if my resume had a long string of impressive writing credits. But that doesn't make me a writer. The actual art of sitting down and putting pen to paper or typing out words on a keyboard is what makes me a writer. No one can tell my articles or stories the same way I can. And that is the value behind them.

Blog Tag...you're it!

2008-05-06T23:20:00.005-04:00

I've been blog tagged by Jamieson Wolf, so now you're going to have to read six random things about me that you don't particularly care about. Here's what I've been told to do:

Instructions: Write down six random things about yourself and then tag six bloggers with the same task.

Rules:

· Link to the person who tagged you.
· Post the rules on your blog.
· Write six random things about yourself.
· Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blog
· Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
· Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Six random things:

1. I cannot coordinate my hands and feet to play the piano. I have tried. It just doesn't work. I think I'll stick with a keyboard.

2. I can still do the splits all the way down to the floor. Not too bad for an old girl.

3. I can move the tendons under my hand and it grosses out everyone who has ever witnessed it.

4. I have several nervous twitches that become quite apparent during stressful moments--which lately is all the time.

5. I involuntarily cross my eyes when talking to people. It's quite odd and I'm sure many have wondered if my mother dropped me on my head too often. And for some reason, it gets worse when I wear my contact lenses.

6. Due to bearing children, the lowest part of my sternum (xyphoid process) can become dislodged, creating a bulge under my skin. It is very painful and almost always happens if I make the mistake of exercising. Sounds like the best reason not to exercise that I've ever heard. They actually have surgery to take care of this problem, and I was told that some people have surgery for a slightly protruding xyphoid process for cosmetic reasons.

Okay, six random facts, most of which you'll hope to forget by the next time you see me. Admit it, you'll be looking for those ticks.

I'm done now, so I am going to tag:

Dorothy Thompson

Rebecca Camerena

Karen Magill

Tanya Aviles-Horrach

Sadie J.

Jen Nipps

Let's hope they don't start sending me hate mail.

May happenings at The Book Connection

2008-05-04T17:02:00.003-04:00

May is going to be a month of guest bloggers at The Book Connection. Make sure you stop by all month long to find guest posts from the following writers:

David S. Grant
Michaela Riley
Jean Hackensmith
Heidi Saxton
Karen Harrington
Vina St. Fran
R. Leigh
Susan Crimp and Joel Richardson
Andrew Jalbert

What makes you an aspiring author?

2008-04-24T01:08:00.005-04:00

I often wonder what makes writers aspiring authors instead of published authors? For myself, I know a lot of it is lack of time. Yet, I also know, I waste time here and there that I could more wisely use to concentrate on some of my works in progress.

So, why don't I do it? Hmmm...that is a good question.

I promised that I would be bringing you some new stuff soon. And here I am delivering on that promise. I would like you to comment on why you feel you haven't become a published author yet? I'll start you off:

1) Time
2) Lack of support from family and friends
3) Haven't found the right market
4) The shoulder vultures named self-doubt and anxiety keep me from submitting my work
5) The editors I've submitted to don't recognize good talent when they see it

Okay, that last one is supposed to be funny. But seriously, I want to know what you think is holding you back. Then we can talk about some of these reasons you haven't been published yet and possible solutions in future blog entries.

So, let me hear ya!

New book reviews and guest bloggers at The Book Connection

2008-04-12T23:13:00.006-04:00

Well, I am feeling totally guilty about not posting here more often, but I have to tell you, I have barely a minute to breathe lately. I've been sick for two weeks now and I'm hoping this darn virus goes away soon.

In addition to virtual book tours, I am writing the skits for our Vacation Bible School program this year, which will take place in August. I'm also working with three classes at my daughter's preschool to author and illustrate books for their annual art show coming up on May 1st.

I reviewed nine books last month and I've still got almost 30 more to go. Here's what you'll find over at The Book Connection.

* Announcements of my interviews with the writer and contributors to Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul. These interviews will include discussions with past Idols, backstage crew, and fans of the show.

* An interview with Sheila Roberts about her latest release, Bikini Season.

* Reviews of The Fireborn Chronicles, Astro Socks, The Poetry of Murder, The Cake Thief, Quo Vadis, Israel?,The Squirrel, the Worm and the Nut Trees, and The Little Candy Breathing Dragons.

* Guest posts from H. Peter Nennhaus, Theresa Chaze, and Robin Jay.

This and so much more can be found at The Book Connection, so why don't you get connected too by stopping by the blog that connects readers and writers.

What the Aspiring Author Can Learn from the Business World

2008-03-29T21:44:00.010-04:00

Before I left the corporate world to raise my growing family and concentrate on my writing career, I spent nearly twenty years in business. While we writers hate to admit it, writing isn't only about creating; it's also a business. We must perform market research to find the best place to submit our work. We have to pitch our ideas to overburdened, stressed out editors. We must network with other writers and people within the industry. And, we have to know how to promote ourselves to make sure we stand out amongst the thousands of other aspiring authors doing the same thing.

I am fortunate to work with an awesome group of people at Pump Up Your Book Promotion, and if everything our CEO, Dorothy is telling me is true, I have a knack for the biz. Dorothy asked me one day how I quickly came up with ideas for a guest article that I wanted from one of our clients who is promoting a business book. I sarcastically replied, "You do remember that I started working when I was 16 and I'm almost 40, right?"

The ideas I gave her seemed like common sense...but maybe they aren't to a lot of people. That got me to thinking, what can the aspiring author learn from the world of business?

Here are five things that I thought of right away:

Number 5: You never get a second chance to make a great first impression.

Well, this one applies to more than just writing, but it applies to the aspiring author in so many ways. Think about the books that you've read. What are some of the adjectives that come to mind: outstanding, fabulous, mediocre, good, atrocious, and god awful. I'm sure there are others, but I want you to think about those books you liked and those you didn't really care for.

What did you like about the book? Were the characters well-developed? Do the hook draw you in right away? Did you stay up late at night reading it until the last page was turned?

Why didn't you care for that book? Were the characters portrayed in an unrealistic light? Were the good guys just too good to be true? Did the villian have no redeeming qualities at all--nothing to make him seem human? Did it take you until page 5 to get hooked into the storyline? Did you pray for the darn thing to end?

You only get once chance to win over a reader. Don't waste it. Make that first impression the best it can be.

But it starts much earlier in the process than with the reader. How about the publisher? Did you polish your manuscript until there wasn't a thing you felt you could improve upon? Did your critique group and editor give it the green light?

Did you pitch it to the right publishing house? You didn't send your romance novel off to a nonfiction publisher in the hopes you can convince him to start a new line, did you? And that query letter--was it your best stuff? Did you keep it brief, but still provide what he asked for? Did you check the query over and over again for typos? Did you follow all their guidelines?

Get it right the first time.

Number 4: Listen more than you talk.

This has always been a tough one for me, because I love to talk and I like to provide my opinions. Active listening skills are crucial for an aspiring author. Those skills will allow you to listen to a good critique of your work without defending your position. Active listening will allow you to silently decipher which feedback is valid and will give you the time to fully understand what the person providing constructive feedback is saying. Those skills also make the critiquer feel that you truly value his opinion.

Number 3: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Have you ever pitched a good idea and see it not be implemented? I sure have. Did I let that stop me? Hell no! I used appropriate opportunties to pitch my idea again and again. I finally found the right person who thought it was just as good as I did. It was certainly a big thrill to get the recognition I deserved.

As long as you know that the manuscript you've put together is the best it can possibly be, then don't let rejection stop you. Do more market research and query more publishers and/or agents. There is bound to be someone who is as excited about your manuscript as you are.

Quitters never prosper.

Number 2: Build strong, healthy relationships within the industry.

At my last job, I had a real hard time...and it was my own fault. I had just left my position as Office Manager at a local manufacturing firm. I had subordinates and was used to being in charge. I came into an entry level position expecting to control things, just the way I used to. I alienated my co-workers who felt threatened by my ambition. And worse, I blamed them for my troubles.

It would take 18 months before things began to improve. It took me that long to realize I was sabotaging my success. Once I started acting like more of a team player and recognized the talents of those around me, I was able to network easily and be appreciated by my co-workers, my superiors, and others in the department.

The same thing goes for writers. We need to build strong, healthy relationships with other writers, editors, and publishers. Without networking, our struggle is an uphill one on both sides.

Many of the authors who tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion ask what else they can do to promote their book. I stress the importance of networking. The more people who are impressed with you, the more likely you are to catch someone's eye. This writer always knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone...

See what I mean?

And the most important thing that an aspiring author can learn from the business world is...

Number 1: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt

I can't say it any better than this former First Lady, so I won't even try. I've had bosses who demeaned me because of my sex and my age. I've had superiors who haven't liked me because of what I stood for. I've had co-workers who disliked me for reasons I never even knew. But in the end, if I knew what I was doing was my best work, I was okay.

The same logic can be applied to aspiring authors. I've read some of the rejection letters my fellow writers have gotten and there are times I want to shoot back an email to the editor asking him what crawled up his butt. I've also read some heavy-handed, overly harsh critiques from writing groups.

Writing isn't for the faint of heart. I think we all know this going in. But, don't our own feelings of self-doubt and anxiety fill up enough of our time without us being made to feel like someone else thinks we stink?

There is only one way to deal with tough rejections and critiques. Walk away from them for a few days. Then approach them with a fresh set of eyes and a prepared heart. Can you find something useful to take out of them? Probably. Maybe your characters were as flat as a cardboard cut out. Perhaps the point of view is as shallow as the trickle of water running through an almost dry stream.

That doesn't mean you can take that feedback and improve your manuscript before you send it out again.

I know I've concentrated on aspiring authors but any writer can put these five points to good use. The business world is ripe with ideas that writers and aspiring authors can use to make the business side of a writing career almost as enjoyable as the creative side.

Good luck and keep writing!

The Book Connection and other stuff

2008-03-26T23:31:00.003-04:00

If you really want to know why I don't post here more often, go to The Book Connection. You'll find tons of new author interviews and book reviews.

Be on the lookout for my upcoming interview with producer Kent McCray and also interviews with some of the Idols, fans, and backstage crew from American Idol who contributed to Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul.

Oh, and my latest article is now online at Writer2Writer.

See, I have been busy. I'm not just ignoring you.

First Quarter Round Up

2008-03-24T16:13:00.003-04:00

At the begining of January, I set some goals as part of the Achieve Your Dreams Virtual Book Tour. I figured I would take a few moments as the first quarter of 2008 quickly comes to a close, to bring my readers up to date on how this aspiring author is doing.

Goal #1: I will make more time for my own writing.

This was my largest goal, and the one I knew I would have the hardest time with, so I put it at the top of the list. I wish I could say there have been some improvements in this area, but I can't. It's not for lack of desire; it's for lack of time.

Coordinating virtual book tours takes up abut 90% of my writing time. I love my clients and I love creating a buzz for their books, and I'm sure not going to give up a guaranteed stream of cash for the unknown; especially in light of all this family needs right now. But I have yet to figure out a way to create more hours in the day, so I'm struggling to get any of my own writing done outside of my one article that is due each month to Writer2Writer.

Goal #2: I will post at this blog more often.

Well, you guys and gals know this isn't happening. I have lots of ideas for this blog lately though, so I am working on making this a great place. Stay tuned!

Goal #3: I will appreciate my family more.

In many ways I have succeeded with this goal. More often I find myself reflecting on what a wonderful family I have and in making special memories with them. Once again, time is always an issue. There are days--like today--when I spend so much time on the computer that I feel I am ignoring the little one. I don't have an answer for this one, but I'm still trying.

Goal #4: I will not over commit.

If I received a grade for this one it would be "F". While some of the things that have led to my being overcommitted were beyond my control, most of them weren't. I wrote an article a couple months ago about learning to say "no", and it's time to practice what I preach. More of a problem for me though, is not asking to be involved in things that I really don't have time for. So often I find promotional opportunities for other writers or books I want to review, and I contact these authors to set something up. Not a bad thing if I have spare time, but detrimental with everything else that is going on.

As we move into the second quarter of 2008, I want to refocus my time and talents whenever I can, and keep working towards the day I move from aspiring author to published author.

Susan McCray talks to fans of Getting to Know You & Little House

2008-02-06T23:15:00.000-05:00

Susan McCray and the program director at KSAV.org are opening up the phone lines in February for fans to call in and talk to Susan. Susan was the Casting Director for Michael Landon's Little House on the Prairie and many other popular shows from the 70's and 80's.

Date: Tuesday, Feb 19th, 2008
When: Live at 6:30 p.m. pacific and 9:30 p.m. eastern.
Call toll free at (1-800-407-KSAV)

Once again, Susan will field questions about Little House, Michael Landon, guests on Getting to Know You, the shows she's worked on, and other great topics that you'll want to know all about.

So, mark your calendar for Tuesday, February 19th and call in and talk to Susan McCray. For more information about Susan McCray and her show visit http://www.susanmccray.com You'll find KSAV on the Internet at http://www.ksav.org

And coming soon to Getting to Know You -- interviews with Ruth Foster on February 26th and March 4th. Ruth played Mrs. Melinda Foster the popular Post Mistress of Walnut Grove. And also look for Susan's interviews with Gil Gerard (a.k.a Chris Nelson from "The Handyman")often remembered as Buck Rogers from "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century". Gil's interviews will air after Ruth's.

New Book Review at The Book Connection

2008-01-29T23:52:00.001-05:00

Check out my review of St. John of the Midfield at The Book Connection. Garasamo (Gary) Maccagnone combines youth soccer and the mob to create an excellent read. Find out more at: http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2008/01/youth-soccer-and-mafia-combined-to.html

Gary will be touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in February. To read an excerpt from St. John of the Midfield and to find out more about Gary's tour, please go to http://virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/2008/01/st-john-of-midfield-virtual-book-tour.html

Rachel and Judy's "Letter to My Lover" Valentine's Day Contest

2008-01-29T23:47:00.000-05:00

Since February is the time for cupids and hearts and all things romantic and sometimes not-so-romantic, what better time than to write a letter to your lover?

On February 1, 2008, Rachel Greene Baldino and Judy Ford, authors of the book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Enhancing Sexual Desire, are embarking on a virtual book tour around the world collecting letters from bloggers who would like to tell their lovers how they really feel about them - the good and the bad - and become a part of their tour!

If you would like to become involved in their contest, this is how it works:

1. Think of the things you would like to say to your lover, but haven't had the time or the reason, whether it's to say how much you love them or how they drive you up the wall. Yes, the good and the bad and the funnier or more outrageous the better! Let everything hang out!

2. Do not use names. Name your blog post "Letter to My Lover" and begin your post with "Dear Lover" They'll have to guess who it's for!

3. Post your message on your blog between now and February 14th and send us the exact link to thewriterslife(at)yahoo.com. Please put "Letter to my Lover" in your subject line.

4. When we receive your link, we will add it to Rachel and Judy's tour at http://virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/2008/01/complete-idiots-guide-to-enhancing.html.

5. But, that's not all! Rachel and Judy will pick one of the bloggers who participate a FREE copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Enhancing Sexual Desire! That's their Valentine's Day present to you!

6. And not only that, we will promote your blog through our daily promotions using your blog post as part of their virtual book tour, thus bringing you lots of traffic during February!

7. We also ask that you include a jpeg copy of Rachel and Judy's book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Enhancing Sexual Desire, in your blog post. You can find their book cover at http://virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/2008/01/complete-idiots-guide-to-enhancing.html (you are welcome to copy and paste from there).

8. All participants will be listed on Rachel and Judy's tour page so that everyone can read YOUR letters to your lover!

That's all there is to it! Hurry before time runs out. Become involved in a nationwide campaign to tell the world what you think about your lover and see how much fun it will be to read the letters of others. Share your letters and become involved in RACHEL AND JUDY'S "LETTER TO MY LOVER" VALENTINE'S DAY CONTEST!

Rachel and Judy's virtual book tour will be highly publicized including press releases and other promotions and is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion, an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book promotion. You can visit their website at http://www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/.

This virtual book tour is being brought to you by:

New Book Review at The Book Connection

2008-01-11T00:05:00.000-05:00

I posted a new book review at The Book Connection. Parents of intense (strong-willed, spirited) children will want to hear all about The Pocket Parent Coach by Tina Feigal.

Check out The Book Connection at http://www.thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/for these and other book reviews and for interviews with some of today's most talented authors.

Book Review at The Book Connection

2008-01-07T09:34:00.001-05:00

Check out my review of Mayra Calvani's paranormal horror novel Dark Lullaby at The Book Connection - http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com

Book Reviews posted at The Book Connection

2008-01-06T00:02:00.001-05:00

Hop on over to The Book Connection to read my reviews of:

Delight (women's self-help) by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

The Last Jew Standing (crime fiction) by Michael Simon

The Legend of Seal Beach (children's) created by Dave McKnew

Coming on February 7th: my review of September Dawn (historical romance) by Carole Whang Schutter

You'll find reviews of these books and more at http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com

CULLOTTA Author Dennis Griffin now on Blog Talk Radio

2008-01-03T16:59:00.000-05:00

True crime author Dennis Griffin now has his own Internet Radio Show on Blog Talk Radio. So, you wanna write a book? is a question and answer show geared toward helping new writers. This show features guest authors who will share their experiences about writing, marketing, and promotion.

Here is the schedule for the next three installments of So, you wanna write a book?:

January 7 - Editing
January 14 - Publishing
January 29 - Marketing and Promotion

The show's URL is http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dennisngriffin and the show airs at 11 a.m. Pacific. Archives of this show will also be available.

If you are interested in being a guest, please e-mail Dennis at griff1945(at)hotmail(dot)com

Judi Moreo's Achieve Your Dreams Virtual Book Tour '08--My Goals

2008-01-01T23:30:00.000-05:00

“Every step I take brings me closer to the realization of my dreams.”

It's the first day of the New Year, and that is always a good time to set a few goals. As a writer, I set yearly goals, which I break down into monthly goals, and then break them down further into goals to achieve each week. I find I am most productive if I have a new list in front of me every week. I also post this weekly to-do list at the online writers group I belong to. The support from my fellow writers motivates me to do more. That might sound strange, but being a stay-at-home mom who has little contact to the outside world, I need this type of interaction to keep me sane.

The first line of this post is a quotation that I have been asked to repeat until I understand it's powerful message. Having read Judi Moreo's book "You Are More Than Enough: Every Woman's Guide to Purpose, Passion and Power" I already know the power of these words. I loved this book and I'm sure I will quickly fall in love with the "Achievement Journal" that Judi has designed to go along with it. I actually, just recommended "You Are More Than Enough" to a friend today.

So, where was I? Oh yeah, goals. See how easily I can get off track. As a participant in Judi's Achieve Your Dreams Virtual Book Tour '08 I am setting forth these goals to help me fulfill my dreams.

* I will make more time for my own writing

I love promoting the work of others and writing book reviews, but I miss my own writing. I commit to working on something of my own at least once a month.

* I will post at this blog more often.

I was very excited when I started this blog. After a while, it began to focus more on other people than on me, so I started a new blog for author interviews and book reviews, and now it's just about little ole me again; my interests and what it is like to be a wife, mother, and aspiring author.

My readers must think I don't do anything, because I rarely post here. But I will post here more frequently, because I believe in myself and my dreams and I want to share them with you.

* I will appreciate my family more.

It is unrealistic to think I will ever be Donna Reed or June Cleaver, but I tend to take my family for granted. I whine about what I have to accomplish, but rarely consider how hard it is for my husband to get up and go to work five days a week and carry most of the burden of supporting our family, so that I can stay at home with the girls.

I also forget sometimes that my girls won't be this young forever. I constantly tell them to wait a minute or lose my temper with them because I am too tired from putting in long hours at the PC.

If I want to make my dream of being a published author a reality, I need to make more quality time for my family and appreciate them more.

* I will not over commit.

This is the one goal I am most concerned about achieving. I volunteer for every new project that is mentioned at church, on town committees, or at my children's schools. While volunteering is an excellent way to show my children how to give back to the community, if it leaves me exhausted or working so late that I am tired and cranky, then what am I really teaching them.

In the spirit of my last goal, I will stop at four. No need to set goals I won't achieve. That's just depressing.

May 2008 be the year that all of us achieve our dreams!

Cheryl

Click on the title of this blog entry to be directed to Amazon.com where you can purchase a copy of Judi Moreo's "Achievement Journal"

Check out my review of "You Are More Than Enough: Every Woman's Guide to Purpose, Passion & Power" at http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2007/09/you-are-more-than-enough-every-womans.html and if you would like to read my interview with one of the most amazing women I have ever come in contact with, go to http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2007/08/meet-motivational-speaker-and-author.html

Judi Moreo and the Achieve Your Dreams Virtual Book Tour '08

2007-12-28T00:38:00.000-05:00

With 2007 behind us and 2008 on the horizon, it’s time to reflect on how we want the rest of our journey here on earth to go. Do we settle for letting life happen or do we take steps toward achieving our dreams? Do we think about it or do we DO it?

If you have watched the movie, “The Secret”, then you understand the power of affirmative thinking = affirmative action. Are you taking those steps in the right direction to enjoy life at its fullest whether it’s through financial success, relationship bliss or perfect health?

On January 1, 2008, Judi Moreo, author of the You Are More Than Enough Achievement Journal (Stephens Press, Dec. '07), will embark on a virtual book tour throughout the blogosphere, but it will involve YOU. She wants YOU to be the star in a campaign to let the world know how you are taking those steps in realizing your dreams.

If you would like to become involved in her ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘08, here is how it works:

1. Repeat this passage from her book: “Every step I take brings me closer to the realization of my dreams” until you understand its powerful message.

2. Think about what steps you are taking to achieve your dreams and write about it. Your entry can be as long or as short as you’d like.

3. Post your message on your blog and give us the link so that we can post it on Judi's tour page at http://www.virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/ (her tour page goes live tomorrow). Email us with your link at thewriterslife(at)yahoo.com.

4. When we receive your link, we will put it on our daily rounds of promotions, thus bringing you instant traffic, so get those links to us soon!

5. We only ask that you include the passage above before your blog post so that people will understand what you are doing.

6. We also ask that you include a jpeg copy of Judi’s book, “You Are More Than Enough Achievement Journal”, in your blog post. You can find her book cover at http://tinyurl.com/3cqa46 and link it to http://tinyurl.com/ywf67x

7. All participants will be listed at Judi’s tour page at http://www.virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/ when they come in, stating the date on which their blog post will appear and will remain there indefinitely.

That’s all there is to it! Hurry before time runs out. Become involved in a nationwide campaign to bring in 2008 with a bang and help others realize that dreams are not something that happens; dreams are something that YOU make happen. Let's make 2008 the year when you realize your dreams and make them happen. Share your stories and become involved in Judi Moreo's "Achieving Your Dreams Virtual Book Tour '08" where YOU are the star!

Judi's virtual book tour will be highly publicized including press releases and other promotions. Let us know what steps you are taking to achieve success and be read by thousands of Internet users!

Thank you,

Cheryl C. Malandrinos, Tour Coordinator
Pump Up Your Book Promotion
http://www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/

Radio interview with Enchanted Self Magazine

2007-12-16T00:09:00.000-05:00

Check out my Internet radio interview with Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein and Enchanted Self Magazine. In this interview, Dr. Barbara and I chatted about some of the things I am passionate about.

You'll find the interview here: http://www.ladybuglive.com/enchanted.htm Just click on my name in Issue #11 of Passionate Lives.

Latest article now online

2007-12-14T00:58:00.000-05:00

My latest article is now available at the Writer2Writer website. If You Over Commit, You Won't Submit: Learning to Say "No" shows writers how they can learn to say "no" during the busy holiday season so they can stick to their writing schedules.

You'll find this article here: http://writer2writer.com/if-you-over-commit.htm

January Events at The Book Connection

2007-12-14T00:52:00.000-05:00

Here's what's going on at my blog, The Book Connection in January:

Wednesday, January 2, 2008 - Screenwriter and author Carole Whang Schutter starts off the month to talk about the movie and novel, September Dawn. The DVD is coming out in January, so come read what it's all about.*

Friday, January 4, 2008 - Author Anita Hackley-Lambert is our guest blogger. She will share why she decided to write about a pioneer of civil justice in F.H.M. Murray: First Biography of a Forgotten Pioneer for Civil Justice.*

Monday, January 8, 2008 - Amanda Young stops by to discuss her autobiography of child abuse and domestic violence titled, Silent Prisoner.*

Tuesday, January 9, 2008 - Judy Gregerson, author of the young adult novel Bad Girls Club, drops in to discuss this shocking and gripping must read.*

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - Historical romance author Hazel Statham pays us a visit to talk about her latest release.*

Thursday, January 17, 2008 - Ex-White House aide Kathleen Willey comes to The Book Connection to talk about her book, Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton. *

Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - Author Tom Kuiper takes the floor to tell us what the most surprising thing is that he found out while researching his book of Hillary Clinton quotes, I've Always Been a Yankees Fan: Hillary Clinton in Her Own Words. This book includes a foreword by Dick Morris.*

The Book Connection....where we connect readers and writers. Check it out at http://www.thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/

* Virtual book tour brought to you by:

Are TV Writers Off the Hook for Realistic Storylines?

2007-12-05T17:37:00.001-05:00

As a writer, I often hear the advice of how important it is to create realistic characters and storylines. You are never supposed to take the easy way out and leave the reader feeling disappointed. It seems some TV writers are not held up to the same standards.

Several months ago I got back into one of my favorite soap operas from my youth--One Life to Live. I got hooked on the storyline of John McBain and Marty Saybrook--wondering if they would ever get together despite Marty still mourning the loss of her husband, Patrick, and the challenges that John has with emotions and dating women. It finally looked like they had a shot. They began sharing special moments together and spent one night in a hotel room in Louisiana.

But, happy endings are boring, as are happy couples, so the morning after their night of passion, Marty is abducted. Amazingly, before John and Marty sleep together, she bares the secret she's been carrying--Patrick was murdered. So, when Marty turns up missing and John finds out that Cole has been taken too, John is easily able to figure out that the past has come back to haunt them.

Now, if the coincidences ended there, I might have been okay with that. But...

* John elicits the help of Ramsey--an FBI agent from John's past--who just happens to know the man John thinks is responsible for Marty and Cole's disapperance

* Ramsey--who was already working with John to find John's sister-in-law (Marcie) who is on the run with her adopted son, Tommy--just happens to know the last location of the guy John wants to find

* Ramsey is able to drop his job of hunting for Marcie in order to help John track down this guy in Ireland who might have taken Marty and Cole. I wonder if the real FBI works that way? If it does, then that certainly explains a lot about how ineffective one organization can be.

* Both men make it to Ireland in record time and find where Marty and Cole are being held very quickly

The next few things that happen I can buy: on the airplane to Ireland, John discovers a chip that Patrick hid in a poetry book (he took it from Marty and Cole's apartment after it was ransacked) which holds the information the guy who took Marty and Cole wants; John and Ramsey are overpowered when they try to rescue Marty and Cole, but John makes a deal with Simon (bad guy) to give him the chip in exchange for Marty and Cole's safe return; Ramsey--who has his own agenda--goes after the van carrying Marty, Cole, and Simon and shoots a tire, so the driver loses control and the van careens off a cliff.

Here is where reality takes a nose dive again:

* The van does several flips and lands on its side. Marty is the only person John finds in the van and he assumes Cole has been thrown. But since Cole was in the back of the van and the windows were closed, how did he fly out? John had to pry a door open to get to Marty, so how was Cole not in the van?

* Simon is nowhere to be found. I guess we could assume he jumped, but John and Ramsey would probably have seen him. And with the injuries he would have sustained in the accident, it's not like he is running anywhere.

* There is talk that the actress who originally played Marty Saybrook might return. Well, little problem--Marty just got blown up in the van because she sent John out to find Cole--who once again had been somehow thrown from a closed van. While John is tending to Cole's injuries, a spark ignites the leaking gas tank and the van blows up. So, how is Marty going to return at all? I guess she could be a ghost like Spencer Truman was for a while. But I can't imagine them recasting the part just for Marty to be a ghost. So, are we to believe that Marty, who was trapped under a heavy box, with numerous injuries--including two broken legs--slithered out on her own and just wasn't found by John or Cole? I really can't wait to hear what they are going to do with this one.

I can appreciate a good story and lots of conflict as much as the next reader/viewer, but I don't like the idea that I have to be careful not to take the easy way out in my stories, but TV writers can sacrifice believability and common sense in order to get to where they want the story to be.

Warm Heart...Cool Hands: new CD compiled by Susan McCray

2007-11-30T13:48:00.000-05:00

Former Little House on the Prairie Casting Director, and Getting to Know You talk show host, Susan Sukman McCray, has compiled a new CD of her father's work with the Vincent Falcone Trio. Warm Hearts...Cool Hands is now available for purchase at http://www.blue-eyes.com and http://www.cdbaby.com.

Harry Sukman was an Academy award-winning composer who received an Oscar for "Song Without End". When Frank Sinatra asked Harry to write a few arrangements for his personal appearances, Vincent Falcone, Sinatra's musical director/pianist, began paying visits to Harry's home. This was the beginning of a life-long friendship between two rare talents in the music industry.

For more information about Harry Sukman, the Vincent Falcone Trio, and to listen to selections from the new CD Warm Hearts...Cool Hands, visit http://www.susanmccray.com/warmheartcoolhands.htm

Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura Trailer on YouTube

2007-11-30T12:59:00.000-05:00

As promised, Dean Butler and Legacy Documentaries has made available for viewers a trailer of the upcoming documentary, Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura.

Here is the link to this amazing trailer, which will have you anxiously awaiting the March 2008 release of this documentary about Almanzo Wilder's childhood: http://youtube.com/watch?v=o3XbX6qBIEc Dean encourages you to leave comments about this trailer at the Legacy Documentaries blog, which can be found at http://legacydocumentaries.com/blog/

Many years before he met Laura Ingalls in De Smet, South Dakota, Almanzo Wilder grew up on a farm in New York. His childhood was first brought to life when Laura penned the book Farmer Boy for the fans of her first Little House book, Little House in the Big Woods. Curiosity about Almanzo's life before he met and married the now famous children's author has continued to grow over the years. This documentary will compliment anyone's Laura Ingalls Wilder or Little House on the Prairie collection.

Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura will be available exclusively through The Wilder Homestead. You can preorder your copy of Almanzo: Life Before Laura by:

Email: info@almanzowilderfarm.com

Phone: 1-866-438-FARM

US Mail: The Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder Association (ALIWA)
P.O. Box 283
Malone, NY 12953

For more information about the Wilder Homestead, visit them on the web at http://www.almanzowilderfarm.com/ To find out more about Dean Butler and Legacy Documentaries, visit http://www.legacydocumentaries.com/

Photo of Wilder Homestead found at http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/archive.php?id=10028

New project for Little House on the Prairie fans from Dean Butler and Legacy Documentaries

2007-11-24T23:57:00.000-05:00

Actor Dean Butler, who portrayed Almanzo Wilder on the classic TV show, Little House on the Prairie, is now busy behind the camera these days as Executive Producer and Founder of Legacy Documentaries. Dean has already filmed some of the bonus features found on the Little House on the Prairie DVDs which were released by Imavision http://www.imavision.com/en/ and he has recently been working on other film projects which seek to preserve the legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

His latest project seeks to focus the attention on the fans of Michael Landon's Little House on the Prairie. Dean is looking for input from fans of the show to "tell me how old you were and what was happening in your lives when you discovered Little House on the Prairie and what was it about your life experiences and aspirations that bonded you to our program."

If you are interested in contributing to this project, please visit the Legacy Documentaries blog, which can be found at http://legacydocumentaries.com/blog/

December Events at The Book Connection

2007-11-16T22:59:00.000-05:00

December 3, 2007 - Author and publisher Jean Hackensmith starts off her virtual book tour with a chat about the fourth book in the "Passage" saga, The Ultimate Passage.*

Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - Join us when JoElle Martin stops by to talk about A Bridge in the Forest and A Promise in the Forest, due out in December from Windstorm Creative. These young adult fantasy novels tell the adventures of Lily Kingman and a captivating elf named Dreamer. Come find out more about these novels and why every young person would love them as holiday gifts.

Thursday, December 6, 2007 - Awakening the Dragon author, Theresa Chaze talks about the setting for this story when she comes by this week.*

Friday, December 7, 2007 - Anne Newton Walther, whose historical fiction novel Loss of Innocence was reviewed by me for the Muse talks about this book and its characters when she pays us a visit.

Thursday, December 13, 2007 - Roberta Isleib takes the floor to share more about the main character of her latest release, Preaching to the Corpse.*

Friday, December 14, 2007 - Find out more about The Death Wizard Chronicles when author Jim Mevlin stops by to talk about Book One - The Pit and Book Two - Moon Goddess which are both available at Amazon.com.*

Monday, December 17, 2007 - Natural resources policy expert, Holly Fretwell, talks about her children's book, The Sky Is Not Falling! - Why It's OK to Chill about Global Warming.*

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 - Award-winning author, Cat Muldoon pays us a visit to talk about her fantasy novel Rue the Day: The Undercover Heir,
Book 1.*

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - Nelson Pahl's book, Bee Balms & Burgundy is featured. It is the story of Nick May, a Gen X entrepreneur living in Vancouver, who is reaquainted with his childhood neighbor and lifelong friend. If only Nick knew that she had a powerful secret that could change him forever.*

* Virtual Book Tour sponsored by:

Finally!

2007-11-16T13:32:00.000-05:00

I've started putting up my Christmas decorations. It is always hard to restrain myself until November. I love Christmas! The past few years it has been too warm to snow, but I remember snow on the ground often when I was a kid. Oh my, I sound like my mother. LOL!

This year I think we'll stick with the 15 trees--8 inside and 7 outside. If I had an endless supply of cash I would buy two or three more for the house, but I really should be spending money on the kids this time of year, not satiating my Christmas fetish.

I hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving and that you are able to find joy and peace this holiday season.

Have you ever taken two girls shopping?

2007-11-09T22:44:00.000-05:00

Don't do it! I'm telling you that you'll regret it. I took my two daughters to the mall today to pick out new shoes and dresses for the holidays. Now, keep in mind that these beauties are only six and four. The oldest tried on half a dozen pairs of shoes before finally settling on a pair she deemed worthy to grace her feet, and the youngest tried on fifteen pairs in three different sizes before she found the one she liked.

Then we lugged coats, their blankets that go everywhere with them, and the shoes, with us to the other end of the mall to try on several dresses. The little one likes to have her clothes laid out on the bed to choose from each morning, so I repeated this event at the store, draping six dresses over a clothing rack for her to make her selection. And the other daughter only found five dresses she fell in love with at $50 each. We whittled that down to three, which we went to the fitting room to try on. Not to be outdone, the little one wanted to try on her dress too, and she almost changed her mind about buying the one she tried on.

After four hours and several frustrating moments, we finally headed home. If they are like this now, what in the heck will they be like in 10 years? God help me!

November events at The Book Connection

2007-11-04T01:40:00.000-04:00

Here is a list of all the authors who will be stopping by The Book Connection in November:

Friday, November 2, 2007 - Author Marilyn C. Morris returns to share her reflections on dealing with Lupus which she discusses in her book, Diagnosis: Lupus: The intimate Journal of a Lupus Patient.*

Monday, November 5, 2007 - Darcy McKenna stops by to chat about her romantic suspense novel, Fated Love.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - Romantic comedy with a gypsy twist is what you'll find when author, Diana Holquist shares all the good stuff on Sexiest Man Alive.*

Thursday, November 8, 2007 - Sci-fi author Darrell Bain pays us a visit to talk about his latest releast, Savage Survival.*

Monday, November 12, 2007 - Crime novelist, Michael Simon brings Detective Dan Reles back for more in his latest novel, The Last Jew Standing.*

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 - My friend and talented author, Jamieson Wolf joins us again to chat about his HUNTED series. I've given the floor to Jamieson this time. Don't say you weren't warned.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - Romance author, Sherry James returns to tell us more about the second installment in her Studs For Hire series, Woman in Charge.

Friday, November 16, 2007 - Author Dyan Garris shares her love of cooking and inner peace as she talks about the Voice of Angels Cookbook, Talk to Your Food! - Intuitive Cooking.*

Monday, November 19, 2007 - Former Casting Director, talk show host, and author, Susan Sukman McCray joins us for an intimate chat to discuss her children's book, Harry's Piano, which is the charming tale of the young life of her father, Academy Award-winning composer, Harry Sukman.

Friday, November 23, 2007 - Author Shiela Roberts pays us a visit to chat about her book, On Strike for Christmas.*

Monday, November 26, 2007 - Retired investigator turned author, Dennis Griffin, discusses his recent release, Cullota, The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness.*

* Virtual Book Tour sponsored by Pump Up Your Book Promotion

Stop by The Book Connection today...where we connect readers and writers.

The von Trapp Children

2007-11-04T01:21:00.000-04:00

The Sound of Music is my favorite film and I must have watched it over one hundred times by now. For those who might be unfamiliar with the film, The Sound of Music tells the story of Maria, who is studying to become a nun, and is sent to be the governess for the seven children of Captain von Trapp, a retired naval captain and widower. Not only do viewers get to see the romance between Maria and Captain von Trapp unfold, they watch the tense situation in Austria as Hitler and the Third Reich take over the country--a situation which forces the von Trapp family to flee Austria and settle in America, where they form a singing group called The von Trapp Family Singers.

To kick off the holiday season, the great-grandchildren of Captain von Trapp came to Yankee Candle in South Deerfield, Massachusetts to perform. Our family went to see them today and these young people--ranging from ages 19 to 13--are just as amazing as I imagine the original von Trapp Family Singers were. They spoke fondly of their family and sang a few songs from The Sound of Music and also some from their new CDs.

For more information about The von Trapp Children and this family's amazing history, you can check out their website at http://www.vontrappchildren.com/

Coming in 2008 From Dean Butler and Legacy Documentaries

2007-11-04T01:16:00.001-04:00

LEGACY DOCUMENTARIES PRESENTS - ALMANZO WILDER: LIFE BEFORE LAURA, AN ALL NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT ALMANZO'S CHILDHOOD. A SHORT TRAILER WILL BE AVAILABLE IN NOVEMBER 2007 AND A SPRING 2008 RELEASE IS PLANNED FOR THIS DOCUMENTARY, WHICH WILL BE SOLD EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH THE ALMANZO & LAURA INGALLS WILDER HOMESTEAD SITE.

REMEMBERING THE LAST FAREWELL--A LEGACY DOCUMENTARIES PRODUCTION. MELISSA GILBERT AND DEAN BUTLER RETURN TO WALNUT GROVE TO REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE DURING THE FINAL DAYS OF LHOP. INCLUDES NEVER BEFORE SEEN PICTURES THAT MAKE THIS DOCUMENTARY A MUST HAVE FOR ALL LITTLE HOUSE FANS.

Dean keeps everyone abreast of new releases and shares some great LHOP moments at his Legacy Documentaries blog, which can be found at http://legacydocumentaries.com/blog/

Practicing What I Preach

2007-10-25T09:41:00.000-04:00

I specialize in time management and organizational tips for writers. I've always been good at both, so it was a no brainer for me to start writing articles about these topics. Overcommitment is my issue. My schedule is packed to the max, where I only get about four hours of sleep a night, and yet, I am still committing to help out with any church or school event that comes up.

Well, my time at the Muse Online Writers Conference helped with that. I want my writing time back. I don't want my two partial manuscripts to languish away for years on the corner of my filing cabinet, serving as a coaster. I don't want all the ideas flowing through my mind to never be written.

So, I am practicing what I preach to everyone. An important aspect of time management is assessing your daily routines and finding areas where time is wasted. While I don't consider volunteering a waste of time, it does interfere with my writing, and therefore, I must cut back on it. I've also begun making other changes in my schedule to steal back some of my lost writing time.

With a firm commitment to my career and lots of support from you, I know I'll succeed.

Funny Things Kids Say

2007-10-25T09:37:00.000-04:00

There is a house on our street that has been for sale since the early summer. Last week while driving down the street, I noticed there was a "SOLD" sign hanging out in front of the house.

I said to my daughters, "Oh look, they finally sold that house."

"How are they going to fit it in the back of their car?" my curious six-year-old asked.

Admit it, you're laughing.

Writer2Writer articles

2007-10-25T09:29:00.000-04:00

Go to the Writer2Writer http://writer2writer.com/ website and read my articles to find ways writers can increase productivity through time management and organization.

Check out these titles:

Bust through Holiday Stress and Keep Writing - December 2006

Get it together: Tips to Get Organized and Write More - February 2007

Procrastination: Kill it Now! - April 2007

Seven Ways Writers Can Reduce Stress - July 2007

Back to School and Your Writing Schedule - August 2007

Distractions: Don't Let Them Steal Your Writing Time - October 2007

And look for my next article, which will be in the November issue of Writer2Writer.

Getting to Know You with Susan McCray Live Show Tomorrow

2007-10-22T14:05:00.000-04:00

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: COMING IN OCTOBER - SUSAN MCCRAY WILL HOST A LIVE CALL IN SHOW ON KSAV.ORG INTERNET RADIO.

On Tuesday, October 23rd, Susan will have a live version of "Getting to Know You" where listeners can call in and ask her questions about the shows she has cast, Michael Landon, past guests on "Getting to Know You", and about her father--Academy Award-winning composer, Harry Sukman. Susan Sukman McCray is the former Casting Director for Little House on the Prairie and the wife of Executive Producer Kent McCray.

Call 1-800-407-5728 starting at 6:30PM Pacific and 9:30PM Eastern. Susan will also accept questions about her past guests on "Getting to Know You" via email at susan@ksav.org.

Susan has also written a charming children's book titled, Harry's Piano, which is about the young life of her father and would make a fine holiday gift for young musicians. For more information about Harry's Piano and to order your autographed copy, go to http://www.harryspiano.com/

Register for the 2008 Muse Online Writers Conference

2007-10-19T13:49:00.000-04:00

Registrations are now open for the 2008 Muse Online Writers Conference. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/2008MuseConference to sign up for what will prove to be another amazing and informative week of honing your writing craft.

Next year's conference will take place from October 13 - 19, 2008, so mark your calendars and be ready to take your writing to the next level.

I will be a presenting a workshop for the first time at the 2008 Muse Online Writers Conference. This workshop will show writers how time management and organization can increase productivity. I'll release more details when they become available.

Don't miss this free*, totally online writers conference! Register now!

* Donations are accepted and appreciated.

Time to unwind

2007-10-19T13:38:00.000-04:00

I think I have finally unwound from all the excitement of participating in the Muse Online Writers Conference. This was my second year, and because last year I felt I should have taken more workshops, this year I took 34 of them, plus 3 live chats. I missed 2 of the chats because of the kids--my youngest fractured her arm falling backwards out of a swing. But such is the life of a working mom. You make plans and sometimes they change quickly. The whole week was a blur of writing exercises, discussions on different aspects of the craft of writing, volunteering at church, and trying to find time to make real food for the family to eat so that I didn't feel guilty over my excessive amount of computer time.

I won't bore you with the details of all the great stuff I learned, but I am more committed than ever to my writing career. I've been making some changes in my life to carve out a bit more writing time. While I enjoy interviewing authors and writing book reviews, I will scale back a bit on this next year so that I can concentrate on my two works in progress and the edits to the manuscript I finished last August with my sister. My articles for Writer2Writer will continue on a monthly basis, and I aim to find more markets willing to accept my articles.

In the last quarter of this year, I want to put into practice the ideas and work ethics that will carry me into a productive 2008. I know if I keep all the information I learned at the Muse Online Writers Conference close by my side, I will meet my goals.

Radio Interview with Janet Elaine Smith

2007-10-15T11:08:00.002-04:00

Hello all,

My interview with Janet Elaine Smith will air tonight from 8-8:30p.m. on Passionate Internet Voices Radio - http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/home.htm. On her show Marketing for Fun & Profit, Janet and I chatted about Musing Our Children--a group who is dedicated to encouraging a love of reading and writing in young people. Musing Our Children's Reading and Writing Appreciation Week kicks off today. We are always looking for writers, editors, illustrators, and storytellers to join the cause. To find out more, you can visit us on the web at http://musingourchildren.tripod.com/. Parents and educators are also encouraged to visit our website to sign up for our free newsletter, which includes age appropriate suggested reading lists, reading tips to help children become happy readers and writers, interviews with children's authors, fun activities for the kids, and more.

Check out Musing Our Children at http://musingourchildren.tripod.com/ today!

Cheryl

The Muse Online Writers Conference Begins

2007-10-08T02:05:00.000-04:00

Pardon me while I rub the sleep out of my eyes. It's 2a.m. and the girls will probably be up around 6. What fun! But I needed to read all my handouts and get my questions ready for the Muse Online Writers Conference that starts tomorrow. It is a free, totally online writers conference put together by two amazing ladies--Lea Schizas and Carolyn Howard-Johnson.

I participated last year and spent a lot of the time kicking myself for not signing up for more workshops. Well, not this year. I signed up for almost everything that interested me. I feel like I am back in high school--reading, exercises, writing assignments. What's next, gym? LOL! I love it, I really do.

Don't be surprised if I proceed to fall off the face of the planet this week. All my energies are focused on getting the most out of this conference.

Busy, busy, busy

2007-10-05T22:23:00.000-04:00

My, oh, my I am one busy girl lately. I finally got around to updating my website and if you click on the title of this blog entry you will be directed to my site to see all that I am up to. And if you click on the Upcoming Events page you'll find a list of scheduled author interviews at my other blog, The Book Connection.

So, what is going on in my world? I recently took on the role of Tour Coordinator for Pump Up Your Book Promotion. I am helping Dorothy Thompson set up virtual book tours for Pump Up's clients. It is a great gig and I am meeting so many talented and wonderful people. I have hosted many of Pump Up's clients for months, but now I get a chance to actually help these authors increase their online presence on a much larger scale.

I think I have bitten off every one of my fingernails preparing for my upcoming eradio interview with Janet Elaine Smith and Marketing for Fun & Profit, which will air Monday, October 15th from 8-8:30p.m. on Passionate Internet Radio - http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/home.htm. And I'm a gearing up for another great writers conference when I particpate in the Muse Online Writers Conference next week. Lea Schizas and Carolyn Howard-Johnson have done a bang up job putting it all together. I really don't know how they do it and still have time to write.

Musing Our Children's Reading and Writing Appreciation Week is taking place from October 15th - 19th. I have some visits in the works at our local schools. For more information you can check out the Musing Our Children website at http://musingourchildren.tripod.com/ .

On the home front, life is busy too. Our son moved out in May and I'm still trying to adjust to him being gone. Our oldest daughter entered First Grade this year and the baby started her first year of preschool. Okay, I guess she's not really a baby anymore, but I have to hold onto that image or admit I'm getting older. No sports this term, but both girls are dancing their hearts out. And with volunteering at church and on local town committees, it seems like we're never home. We are, but it sure seems like we're gone more than here.

So, that's my update. Sorry it was so long in coming. Enjoy fall if it ever gets here. Tomorrow's temperature is supposed to be in the high 80's. Not very October-like around New England. I'm waiting for the real autumn weather to come so I can make cinnamon applesauce--just like Mom showed me.

Little House on the Prairie star launches website & blog

2007-10-05T20:10:00.001-04:00

Dean Butler, who played Almanzo Wilder on the hit family show, Little House on the Prairie, has launched a website and blog for Peak Moore Productions' Legacy Documentaries.

While Little House on the Prairie was the highlight of Butler's career, he also has many other memorable TV spots to his credit, including starring in The New Gidget and playing the recurring role of Buffy's often absent father, Hank Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Butler also appeared in the big screen movie Desert Hearts and spent some time on Broadway performing in various musicals.

Butler--now an Executive Producer--founded Peak Mooore Productions in 1981. Fifteen years later the Legacy Documentaries brand was born. Legacy Documentaries focuses on "capturing life's defining moments."

For more information about Legacy Documentaries, you many visit their site at http://www.legacydocumentaries.com/ and check out the Legacy Documentaries blog at http://legacydocumentaries.com/blog/.

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

2007-09-25T10:03:00.000-04:00

I'm exhausted. I could easily crawl into bed and sleep for at least four more hours.

But, I can't. Both my daughters are in school today and that means getting my rear end in gear so that I can accomplish as much from my to-do list as possible.

October and November are going to be big months around here. I have a radio interview to prepare for, workshops and chats I am participating in for the Muse Online Writers Conference, two Virtual Book Tours to coordinate, and my school visits during Musing Our Children's Reading and Writing Appreciation Week to prepare for and attend. This doesn't take into account my other writing related projects or all my volunteer work with church and my daughters' schools.

Is it any wonder that I stay up until 1am most nights?

Getting only four to five hours of sleep a night for over 3 months is beginning to take its toll. I am ill-tempered and have a short fuse. I procrastinate more often. Today, I awoke to a scratchy throat and sniffling nose.

So, have I really done me or my writing career any good? No!

I often remind people to take care of themselves. Today's society seems to be made up of a bunch of busy people moving in ten different directions all at once. Why is it I don't take the advice I dish out? Do I think somehow I am immune to getting run down? Will life suddenly fall into place only because I am depriving myself of much needed rest?

Today, I am determined to start taking my own advice. Whether that means cutting back on Internet surfing time or the one hour of television I allow myself each day, I am going to make a point to be in bed by 11PM most nights of the week. I owe it to myself and to my writing career to be the best I can be. I can't do that if I am stuck in bed nursing some virus that I got because I wasn't smart enough to get the rest I need.

Burning the candle at both ends doesn't work--never has and never will. If you want to make the most out of your writing time, make sure you do it with a clear, well-rested head.

Getting to Know You with Susan McCray

2007-09-23T23:26:00.000-04:00

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: COMING IN OCTOBER - SUSAN MCCRAY WILL HOST A LIVE CALL IN SHOW ON KSAV.ORG INTERNET RADIO.

One of my great loves is the television show Little House on the Prairie (LHOP). The former Casting Director, Susan McCray--wife of LHOP executive producer, Kent McCray--now hosts her own talk radio program on KSAV.ORG.

On October 23rd, Susan will have a live version of "Getting to Know You" where listeners can call in and ask her questions about the shows she has cast, Michael Landon, past guests on "Getting to Know You", and about her father--Academy Award-winning composer, Harry Sukman.

Call 1-800-407-5728 starting at 6:30PM Pacific and 9:30PM Eastern. Susan will also accept questions about her past guests on "Getting to Know You" via email at susan@ksav.org.

Susan has also written a charming children's book titled, Harry's Piano which is about the young life of her father, which would make a fine holiday gift for young musicians. For more information about Harry's Piano and to order your autographed copy, go to http://www.harryspiano.com/

Tapping into a child's imagination

2007-09-15T23:01:00.000-04:00

The other day, I drove my youngest daughter to preschool and there was a long line of cars stopped at the red light.

"Why aren't you going?" she asked. She hates waiting in traffic.

"Well, what do you want me to do? There is a line of cars in front of me," came my impatient response. "Should I just drive into them?"

"I wish you had a car that had wings and could fly."

I glanced into the rearview mirror so I could see her face. "What?"

"Your car should have wings on it so it can fly over all the other cars and we can get to school faster."

My impatient fit of temper was now gone as we chatted about the possibilities of what kind of car I could have and what it would do. She had some really great ideas--none of which was logical to this adult mind, but her imagination ran wild and we enjoyed it as we waited for the light to turn green.

That's when I realized how I could write a better children's book. I've written a few children's stories so far, but I haven't done much with them because I feel they lack something.

And that something is a child's imagination. If only I would listen more carefully to my children, I could tap into what it is like to think anything is possible. Forget physics, biology, my tainted view of the world built up from years of bad experiences, and allow myself to think the impossible.

I'm going to give it a whirl. If it works out--I'll share it with you.

Just one of the reasons I love my job

2007-09-12T00:13:00.000-04:00

I love being a writer and I could probably fill this entry with the many reasons why. But instead, I'll leave you with this picture of me at my daughter's school last June, where the children and I put together a book--I wrote it and they illustrated it--which I came in to read to them.

To find out the details of this event, please visit the Musing Our Children website at http://musingourchildren.tripod.com/id4.html and look under Recent School Visits.

Waiting for feedback

2007-09-04T10:08:00.000-04:00

Waiting for feedback on a story or article is kind of like waiting to go into labor. You know it's the only way you're going to see results, but all that pain and suffering scares the hell out of you.

I posted the beginning of a short story and a partial first chapter of a novel that has been revised about a zillion times for critique at my online writers group. Each day, I go back, to see if anyone has left me any comments, but so far nothing has happened. It's like those weekly visits to the OB/GYN where you're hoping he'll tell you that you are effaced and dilated.

And in both situations, you are equally disappointed when nothing has changed. There are no comments from your peers about how brilliant or how awful your work is and the doctor tells you, "Sorry, but you'll have to make another appointment next week."

Such is the life of the writer. If we aren't waiting for feedback, we're waiting for responses from editors or waiting to hear the results from the contests we've entered. But on the bright side, we aren't trying to push an 8 to 10 pound baby out of a hole the size of smaller jar opening.

What's Your Blog Worth?

2007-08-26T23:47:00.001-04:00

My blog is worth $5,080.86.
How much is your blog worth?

Sloppy writing

2007-08-25T20:21:00.000-04:00

Ever have one of those days when sloppy writing just irks you? Today is one of those days for me. Must be the heat because everything is getting under my skin.

The continuing story of Jessica and Nash (can't stand this guy) on One Life to Live has taken another turn. Antonio (Jessica's ex-husband) has requested that Nash buy out his share of the vineyard--the business that Nash and Antonio went into together. But Nash doesn't have the money. Antonio has given him a short time to raise it before he sells his shares to the highest bidder. Feel the pressure here?

Pressed for cash and running out of time, Nash hears about this high stakes poker game going on after hours at Roxy's saloon. Big wheelers are coming in from Atlantic City to play.

Here is where it gets sloppy: two people show up at the saloon. Only two people. So, if Nash hadn't weaseled his way into the game these two people would have squared off against each other? And I am supposed to believe this is a high stakes poker game.

Please don't insult me. If you want me to believe this is an important game, then at least have more than two high stakes gamblers show up to play against the show's regular.

Is it time for them to go back to school yet?

2007-08-25T15:24:00.000-04:00

Today is hazy, hot, and humid so I bet that has something to do with my mood, but I cannot wait until school starts on Wednesday. I have had enough summer to last me a lifetime worth of summers.

One of my daughters is a social butterfly and that means constant play dates. It certainly doesn't leave much time or writing--unless it's after 10pm. I have had children here almost every day of the week for at least a month.

And if they played nicely, then it would be no problem. But when you have a group of three, they rarely play nice. The youngest one is always left out and spends most of the play date running to you with tears in her eyes about the two older girls being unfair. Then the older two girls apologize just to turn around and do it again ten minutes later.

For some reason when my daughter gets together with her friends, they feel the need to come in and destroy my house. One day, they threw almost every toy the girls own around the play room. Another day, they crushed a tall metal trash can that belongs to my son who moved out recently and still hasn't taken all his stuff. Another day, they went from room to room on the second floor playing with toys and leaving a trail of mess wherever they had been.

I'm exhausted just talking about it. I'm sure my blood pressure will go down about 30 points once school starts next week. Six hours a day of no play dates sure sounds like heaven to me.

Back to Work

2007-08-18T12:23:00.000-04:00

Our family visited Cape Cod for a few days this past week. The Cape can't hold a candle to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, but it's a short drive to the shore and the kids like to go into Hyannis and ride the carousel.

Going on vacation at the end of the summer can be a big let down. Next week is Vacation Bible School and the following Wednesday my oldest daughter goes back to school. Then comes Labor Day and the youngest starts preschool the following Monday. Before we know it, Halloween will be here and if I blink too quickly Christmas will be upon us.

It's like that end of the summer vacation tells all of us it is time to get back to work. But today is one of those glorious days when a strong breeze is blowing through the leaves and the temperature is cool enough to fool us into thinking fall will be here soon. We know it's not true. Even if the temperatures hover around 70 all next week, we can count on an Indian Summer in September before the fall weather stays for good.

I think I'll enjoy the sun and the breeze and go play with the kids. Pretty soon it will be back to work for all of us and it will be easy to forget all this beauty while we try to maintain our schedules and our sanity.

The Curse of Being A Writer

2007-08-09T23:41:00.000-04:00

Now, don't get me wrong--I love my job. It's one of two things I've ever wanted to do with my life. But there are times when it can really stink to be a writer.

Maybe this isn't true for everyone, but I can't just read for enjoyment anymore. I am always dissecting plot, keeping an eye on the author's style, and noticing typos. I wish there was a way for me to shut my writer's mind off for a little while and just enjoy a story or book.

Then there are television shows. Randolph Mantooth (Emergency, Loving) is one of my favorite television actors. He had a brief stint on the soap opera One Life to Live recently and I've found myself watching this soap again even though they killed Randy's character off weeks ago.

But I can't just sit there like a couch potato and go ga-ga over the gorgeous actors and get caught up in the storylines, because I'm trying to figure out how the writers are going to plot out the next episode.

There is an ongoing storyline between Detective John McBain and Dr. Marty Saybrooke. Marty thinks she killed Spencer Truman and John doesn't believe she did it. He is determined to prove her innocent, but he is having a heck of a time convincing Marty that she didn't stab Truman. What makes the situation even more interesting is that John cares for Marty.

Here is where things can get real good: Marty is convinced she is guilty of killing Truman--even though her memories are still vague and she doesn't remember actually stabbing him. But, since Marty believes that she did it, she plans to plead guilty at her arraignment. John is going to be escorting her to the court house.

More than a couple things could happen between John and Marty. John has been begging Marty to plead not guilty so that he has time to snuff out the true killer. And while pleading guilty will mean a separation from her only son, Cole, Marty is willing to do that if he is well taken care of. She is placing all her hopes on his future and seems to believe her life as she knows it is over because she must pay for what she did. But what if on the drive over to the court house John declared his feelings for Marty? Would that be enough to give her a reason to plead not guilty? Could John's admission make Marty look forward to the future and give her something to concentrate on other than paying for a murder she might not have committed?

That's one possibility, but how about if Cole figures out that John is in love with his mother and he is the one who lets the cat out of the bag right before Marty is arraigned? Will she believe Cole? Or will she think it is just a plot to get her to change her plea? Or, could Cole's announcement be just the thing to get Marty to think jail isn't where she wants to spend her free time?

Maybe it's neither of those two ideas. John McBain--from the short time I've watched him--isn't a guy who shows too much emotion. Would he be willing to make himself vunerable by admitting to Marty that he loves her? Or would he keep working on trying to find the real killer, but never say anything to Marty about his true feelings. He is a cop--first and foremost, and if his feelings became known it might jepardize his chances of ever finding the real killer.

And Cole, would he even have the wits about him to figure out that John is hot for his mom? I mean, he's got enough of his own crap going on--including testifying against his step-father who had blackmailed Marty into marrying him so that he wouldn't tell the police that Marty killed Truman and who also tried to convince Cole to kill the guy that his step-father was holding hostage in the storage room of their apartment building.

As I watch this story unfold, I wonder if the writers and I are on the same wavelength. I think about all the possibilities that could be played out in the next episode and I remember back to a time long ago, when I was a kid watching One Life to Live on a 19" color TV with rotary dials, and how none of these things plagued my mind. I just vegetated in front of the television set and enjoyed watching the actors portray these characters without any thought to the fact that there were writers behind the scenes making these characters act the way that they do.

As a writer, I'm lost to that forever. But I can still watch and learn how to weave great storylines with strong, believeable characters, who make desperate choices when put in desperate cirucmstances. I can see how other professional writers keep engaging the reader time and time again and strive for the same excellence in my own work. I will pay attention to how backstory is woven into the current action so that I don't bore my readers to tears when I need to spotlight some aspect of a character's past.

I guess it's really not a curse after all!

So, when do you have time to write?

2007-08-08T10:27:00.001-04:00

I'm often asked where I find time to write. The answer is simple--I find it whenever and wherever I can.

As a wife and mother of three children--two of them under age six--there is little uninterrupted time in the day to concentrate on my writing. But, if you want something badly enough you "make" the time.

How do you do that?

First, I had to sit down and assess exactly where all my time goes. Every day I wash, dry, and fold two loads of laundry; I get three people breakfast and lunch; I cook supper every night so that the entire family can spend time together; I make my husband's lunch for work each night; I read to the girls at night, we say prayers together, and I sing to them until they fall asleep.

Those are all things that must be done in order to keep the house running smoothly. Gee, looking at that list it seems like I should have plenty of time to write.

But...

The house still needs to be cleaned every once in a while; I spend one night a week at church to help prepare for Vacation Bible School; I teach the children in our AWANA Club at church; I am a member of a town committee and sit on the church council; I like to stay in touch with family and friends either by email or at parties; and there are the two forums which I administrate. Plus every once in a while I would like a few minutes of "me" time.

And let's not forget the unexpected: illnesses, accidents, and errands that steal precious moments away from what I should be doing.

When I sat down and seriously considered everything I had to and wanted to do with my time, I knew I would need to cut some things out if I was ever going to have a writing career.

The first thing that went was uncessary emails. I have no willpower. If someone sends me a joke or a Power Point presentation, I am going to read it. So, I emailed everyone asking them to hold off on sending them my way.

Then I canceled my membership to several Yahoo Groups. Once again--no willpower. And finally, I made a concious decision to limit all my online time so that I would have more time to write.

I also use every spare moment to do something writing related. I read trade magazines while waiting for doctor appointments. I read or write while my husband drives us to church on Sunday mornings. And, I carry around a small notebook in my purse to jot down ideas or words for a story I'm working on as they come to me.

But the thing that most of my friends get a big chuckle out of is when I tell them I read and write while soaking in the tub.

If you want to be able to balance your family life and your writing career, figure out where all your time goes; decide what must be done and what can be cut; and use every free moment you have to make your dreams come true!

I guess it's just about me now

2007-08-03T22:58:00.000-04:00

Well, now that I'm getting back on track with this blog, let me tell you a little about what has been going on in my life.

The summer has been a scorcher. I think there was one week where the temperatures were comfortable, other than that it has been hot, hot, hot, and like this week--humid.

We've been a busy family. At the beginning of July we drove down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a little rest and relaxation. As usual, it's not very relaxing with two little ones, but we did still manage to get some rest and after I got over my bout with bronchitis we had a wonderful time. They sure do know how to do fireworks up right down there.

The girls went to camp for a week. I figured it would help our youngest get used to going to preschool in the fall. I've always been home with her, so I hope she'll be okay with the transition.

Then the oldest participated in a reading camp at her school for two weeks. It was a great learning experience and she made a new friend--so it was well worth the money.

And during all this fun stuff, my writing career has begun to blossom. My bi-monthly writing gig for Writer2Writer has turned into a monthly writing gig. My latest article, Seven Ways Writers Can Reduce Stress http://writer2writer.com/seven-ways-to-reduce-stress.htm appeared in the July issue.

I started writing book reviews for The Muse Book Reviews (http://themusebookreviews.tripod.com/), began two new blogs, and got involved in an exciting new project which aims to encourage a love of reading and writing in young people. And my connection with Pump Up Your Book Promotion (http://www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/) has given me the chance to interview some great authors like Vicki M. Taylor, Marilyn Morris, and bestselling author Jane Green.

I've even made time to write a little fiction here and there. My co-author/sister and I got back to work on revisions to the novel whose first draft we finished last August and I began revising a short story which I had hoped to submit to Wolfmont Publishing in February.

So, all in all, I am happy to be a wife, mother, and aspiring author right now. Though I have been very busy during the day and the girls are beginning to think I love my computer more than them. It's very sad that I actually have to schedule free time these days, but I also know if I don't put it on my calendar, I'll skip it. And since the kids are only young once I better remember to pencil them into my day planner too.

Meet Author, Screenwriter, and Filmmaker Lindy Hudis

2007-07-31T08:12:00.000-04:00

For the last day of July I have a humongous treat for you. Author, screenwriter, and filmmaker Lindy Hudis joins us to chat about her novel Weekends, which has received rave reviews. A former actress, Lindy is also a wife and mother of two children.

Hello!

Welcome to the Aspiring Author, Lindy. It’s wonderful to get the chance to speak with you.

Thank you for having me!

Congratulations on the birth of your son, Cameron. I hope everyone is doing well.

Oh, yes. It is going great. Cameron is 4 months now, and starting to sleep through the night. Time sure flies, it is unbelievable. Our little girl is getting used to the idea of having a little brother. He is wonderful, starting to smile and laugh out loud!

Let’s start off with finding out a bit more about you. Where did you grow up? When did you decide to become an actress? How did that lead to you becoming an author, screenwriter, and filmmaker?

I actually grew up in Germantown, Tennessee. Then, I went north, to New York City to go to NYU. I studied acting and theater there, and I aspired to be an actress on Broadway. Well, my singing and dancing was not that great, so I went west to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. I just love drama, I love to create it, just ask my husband, hehe. I decided to quit acting when something strange happened to me during an audition. You can read all about that in CITY OF TOYS, my “Hollywood” book. I have always done some writing, just for fun. I just fell into it. When I get pregnant with my daughter, I just started writing.

As a wife and mother do you find it challenging to make time for your writing?

Yes! Cameron is howling as I write this, and Veronica is screaming for her chicken nuggets, lol. I love a challenge though. It is the Virgo in me. I am a “write when I have time” kind of author.

I love hearing about how writers work. Can you tell us what your writing process is like? Is there a time of day when you’re more productive than others?

Well, being a mom and a writer, I write when I can. I do prefer the morning, because I have more energy, but anytime is good to get the creative juices flowing. I try to write every day, but that is hard to pull off. I just sit at the computer and what comes out is what I work with at that time.

Let’s chat about Weekends. The synopsis had me intrigued.

“An innocent-sounding family reunion at an exclusive California beach resort turns into a weekend of murder, deceit, exposed secrets and unexpected intimate encounters. John Peterson has it all: he is a respected, successful Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer with a loving wife and grown son, the strikingly handsome young film director Joe Peterson. John also has a secret, and he decides to gather his disparate family members at the elegant Hotel Del Moor in picturesque Linda Bella, California for some luxurious fun, togetherness and re-connecting before revealing his secret. Unbeknownst to the family, a brutal serial killer is lurking in the midst of all the wondrous festivities.”

Where did the idea for this story come from? How much time elapsed between forming the idea and finishing the first draft?

I live in, and love, California. Growing up in Tennessee, California was my dream, a magical, mystical place that I used to dream about. It is so beautiful, and it is definitely my inspiration. The beach, the mountains, and all the artistic and creative people...I could not live anywhere else. All of my stories take place here. I guess you could say that was my inspiration. I wanted to give the reader a romantic beach story, and there you go. As far as time goes, I think it was about 8 months.

In the first chapter, the Petersons are on their way to a family reunion. It seems that they have everything—wealth, status, adoration. After reading the excerpt found on Pump Up Your Book Promotion’s Virtual Book Tour blog (http://virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/2007/06/weekends-virtual-book-tour-07.html), I both envied and hated them. How did you go about creating these characters? Did your time in Hollywood influence how you developed them?

Yeah, there are plenty of families out here in Los Angeles who seem to have it all. It is easy to become envious, but I just remind myself that everybody has different karma, and we all have different paths that we have to go on. I do aspire to become that, I won’t lie about that. I just try to be as spiritual about that. Fate will bring me what I am destined to have in good time. I do get the inspiration from all of the interesting and successful people that I meet out here.

They often say that you should write what you know. Your descriptions of California display your knowledge of the area in which the story is set. But did you need to perform research of any kind for this novel?

Oh, yes. I did plenty of research for this story. I just love California so much, and the whole beauty of this place was my inspiration. I love the beach, the mountains, the desert, and the urban areas. This place just lends itself to a story. I was just inspired from living here.

In addition to this novel, you wrote an independent film titled The Lesson, which was screened at the 2000 Seattle Underground Film Festival and Cine-nights LA. How is writing a novel and a screenplay similar? In what ways are they different?

Going to NYU, you definitely get bitten my the film bug. I acted in quite a few student films. Also, being in Hollywood, well…it is hard not to want to try your hand at directing. So, I wrote a short film, raised the money, and shot it over one weekend. Both are similar because you are telling a story. You want to move and inspire the audience. You want to entertain and make people think. My husband, who has been working in the film business since he was 12, helped me out. So, I have a little piece of film that is all mine. The difference? Well, you can’t hand a producer a 300 page screenplay, they would faint at the cost to shoot such a thing! You have to tell your story quicker, and get to the meat of the story faster. Each page in one minute of film, and each minute of film is money!

With your varied experience you must have heard lots of advice over the years. What was the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Did you ever receive any bad advice?

The best advice I have ever received is to follow my own advice. The worst advice? “Don’t move to LA”. That was given to me by a jealous ex-boyfriend,

What’s up next for you? Are there any exciting projects coming up that fans and your fellow writers will want to know about?

I have my screenplay, CRASHERS, that my agent is sending out to producers. It is pretty interesting. It is a gritty, action-packed story about a group of young people who get caught up in the seamy underworld of auto insurance fraud. After losing their "real" jobs, the avaricious trio stages car accidents to collect the insurance blood money. It is an edgy story that chronicles the nightmarish descent of the group as events spiral out of control.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Please visit my website for more information about my work, and me: http://directorbabe.tripod.com. Email me to say hello. I love to hear from readers and fans.

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today, Lindy. I wish you much continued success in your career and with your family.

Thank you for having me.

Karina Fabian Chats about Her Experiences as a Mother, Wife, and Writer.

2007-07-26T21:53:00.000-04:00

As part of my goal to refocus this blog to be more about being a wife, mother, and aspiring author, a writing buddy of mine offered to be interviewed on what it is like for her as a wife, mother, freelance writer, author, and editor. Karina Fabian is a homeschooling mother of four children and military wife. In addition to her own published works, she and her husband, Robert, recently edited the award-winning Catholic Science-fiction anthology Infinite Space, Infinite God, which I will chat with Karina about when she stops by The Book Connection (http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/)on August 9th.

Let's hear what Karina had to say about her life as a wife, mother, and writer.

1. You didn't actually start writing seriously until after you had become a mother. Why the wait?

I've always loved telling stories, and even wrote a novel in college, but something about being an officer in the Air Force drained me emotionally. I could not make myself write more than a few erratic and not especially productive efforts. So when I became pregnant with my first child, Steven, and quit the active duty Air Force for the Reserves, I was very excited about trying my hand again at writing. We were living in Japan at the time, so I wrote a story or two and put together the parish newsletter, but I didn't get serious until we moved back to the United States and I had more opportunities with magazines.

2. So often in our society, work for the sake of income is emphasized, but writing--especially fiction--doesn’t pay well. Have you felt the need to justify your career choice?

I'm pretty blessed in that we haven't really needed the extra income. Rob's income is sufficient for our family. We both came from families who had far less income yet managed to spend responsibly, so we're often surprised at our affluence. As a result, I've never been under pressure to generate extra income from that standpoint.

However, I did go through a stage where I felt the need to establish a paying career. Part of it was that peer pressure--when I wasn't devoting myself to my kids, I should be generating an income. Part of it was a concern that if something happened to Rob, I had no back-up to care for our family. Part of it was that kind of identity crisis I think all moms go through to some degree--am I more than just Mom? So for a couple of years, I worked very hard to write for income--mostly articles about parenting and pregnancy. My clients ranged from Fit Pregnancy to Fredericksburg Parent. Fiction was an aside, and even then, with an eye to sell.

At first, I was energized by the income, but after a while, it became a grind. I tried branching into other venues, becoming a religion and science writer for http://www.acfnewsource.org/index.html, but it was, well WORK.

So I took my concerns to Rob, and God bless that man and may I always be worthy of him, he took out some life insurance so that if he died suddenly, I could have time to get myself together, and told me to write what I love--fiction. That was three years ago, and I haven't looked back.

3. What do your children think of your writing career? Do they like, resent it, are they indifferent to it?

They love my stories and are proud of the work I do, though I suspect they get annoyed that I spend so much time in front of the computer when I make them limit their own computer time!

My oldest son recently had an evaluation where he was asked to make up stories based on some pictures. In one, Steven took what I'm sure was a major left-turn from the expected answer, then explained, "I'm using my mother's universe here. She's a writer, and in her world…" He's already working on his own stories and imagines characters with rich backgrounds. If you'd like to hear his stories to the evaluator, go to my website http://www.fabianspace.com/ and check the blog. I'll tell you this--I had to walk out of the office in order to laugh!

4. What do you want your children to remember about you as a mother and writer?

I want them to remember us laughing. I want them to remember us sharing books and enjoying reading and telling stories. I also want them to remember that even something as fun as writing is work. But most of all, I want them to remember that Mom loved them and valued them above everything.

5. You homeschooled your children for the past five years, but next year, they’re entering public school. Did your growing writing career influence this decision?

Somewhat. This past year, my career has taken off: Infinite Space, Infinite God won the EPPIE Award, and I've gotten heavily into the world of marketing. I've joined several writing groups like the Lost Genre Guild and helped found the Catholic Writers' Guild, of which I'm now president. I've created a fun new universe with a dragon detective, and have written several stories, an award-winning serial and a novel. Plus, I'm a regular at several author chats and host one of my own, FabChat.

However, our entire family situation is changing: We're moving to a more remote area, but living on base, which is an incredible opportunity for the kids. We're financially able to put the older kids in Catholic school. We're discovering there are some things that I'm not teaching well; perhaps someone else will be able to help them understand. It was not an easy decision to stop homeschooling--we fought it for a year--but now that the decision is made, we're all excited (if a little nervous) about the upcoming school year.

6. What has been the biggest challenge in balancing your writing career and your family life?

I'm an "obsessive" personality. If I get into a project, I throw myself in whole-heartedly and can forget the rest of the world. About once a year, I write a novel--and it will take me a month to do because it's all I want to do. The house gets messy, the kids watch too much TV, we all get sick of pizza (yes, it's true! You can get sick of pizza!)… Then I go nuts trying to play catch-up when I finally finish my project and come up for air.

Next year, I plan to discipline myself to office hours while the kids are in school. It will be an interesting experiment. I haven't had a regular work schedule since the Air Force. Ironically, in this case, the challenge will be limiting my writing time, not making myself work the full time.

7. Is there anything you would change in how you approached your decision to become a full-time writer and editor while you are bringing up your children?

Career-wise, I might have joined some useful writers groups earlier on. I was on AOL's writers' chat for a couple of years and while fun, it didn't help me. Catholic Writers' Online really got me started, and I've discovered several more wonderful groups since then. I find I’m not the kind of writer who works well in a vacuum; I need others to bounce ideas off of, to alert me to opportunities, and to inspire me.

For balancing motherhood and work, I'm not sure. Any changes would mean changing my personality, and I don't think that's going to happen. I may have put less emphasis on nonfiction writing for pay; but then again, writing for a paycheck helped me develop some good writing habits.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the way my career is developing. Anything I'd do different--like get an agent or a contract with a major publishing house--are not matters of approach but things I strive for, and have been from the beginning.

8. What is the best piece of advice you can offer to other mothers who are also juggling a career and motherhood?

Love what you do. Remember, however, Priority One is your children. You will have your writing for as long as your mind and fingers work, but you get children for 18 years, then they're gone.

Meet Author and Editor Ayn Hunt

2007-07-24T22:47:00.000-04:00

July just keeps getting better. Joining us today is author and editor Ayn Hunt. Intrigued by ghosts and hauntings, Ayn writes gothic novels and teaches Gothic writing online for Coffeehouseforwriters.com - http://www.coffeehouseforwriters.com/index.html. She is also the editor of Haunted Happenings, a free nonfiction newsletter which explores the nature of ghosts and all things related to them.

Welcome to my blog, Ayn. I’m thrilled to get this chance to speak with you.

Thank you. It’s great to be here.

Let’s start off by getting to know you better. When did you first decide to become a writer? What was the first piece you sold? Do you have a mentor or a source of inspiration?

I can’t remember when I didn’t want to become a writer. But I took it slow. I took journalism classes in high school because they didn’t offer creative writing, then I did my journalism internship after the second year of college. When I’d accrued 60 hours of college, I dropped out to get married and became a freelancer for various newspapers and magazines.

The first article I sold was in 1969 about the 60’s music explosion. Back then, we had the Grass Menagerie and The Hut on the beach in Galveston, Texas which had rock bands, plenty of beer, and a huge dance floor. I interviewed kids, the managers of the dance places and a few musicians for it.

It wasn’t until 20 years later when my own daughter was in college, that I bought a computer and decided to tackle writing my true love, novels. But when I was nearly done with my first one, Unwilling Killers, I was sure it wasn’t any good. Only after my daughter came home one week-end and secretly read it and told me to finish it so she could find out the ending, did I send it off. It’s a Gothic Mystery, and was published by PublishAmerica in 2002.

I don’t have a mentor, but I have a great source of inspiration. It’s the huge picture of golden water lilies that my late aunt painted for me which overlooks my desk. She was the only one in the family who believed I had the talent and perseverance to become a published writer. Sometimes I can smell her signature scent of Chantilly when I’m writing, as if her spirit is here, rooting me on.

This is my favorite question to ask because I love to hear about how other writers work. What is your writing process like? Do you write every day? Is there a time of day when you are more productive than others?

I have to write every day. I’ve found out if I don’t, it’s hard to get going again.

I usually get up around 3 or 4 a.m., because that’s when I’m most creative. I grab a cup of coffee and rewrite what I’ve done the day before on my current work in progress. After that, I take a short break, then write anywhere from 7 to 10 new pages. Around 11, I eat lunch then take a nap for an hour or so. During the afternoon, I write emails and promote.

I have to ask, which came first—-your curiosity about ghosts or your desire to write Gothic novels?

My curiosity about ghosts came first when I nearly collapsed when I saw a man I thought was a burglar. But when he walked through the wall in our dining room, I knew he was no ordinary criminal. Talk about being scared, I was petrified! During the ensuing months, I started finding out everything I could about ghosts, especially since the same one kept popping up in various parts of our house, scaring the wits out of me.

Once I realized he wasn’t going to harm me or my daughter or husband, I changed my first novel Unwilling Killers from a straight mystery into a Gothic.

You’ve had three Gothic novels published (Unwilling Killers, Obsessed, and The Haunting). Can you tell us a bit about each of them? Where can readers find them?

Wings ePress, Inc.

The Haunting is about two women who get stranded in an old haunted house along with a psychotic killer and several territorial ghosts.

Publish America - Publishing Writers' and Authors' Manuscripts

Unwilling Killers is about a young woman who stays in a haunted house to find the identity of a murderer, only to find herself the target.

Obsessed is out of print at the moment.

In addition to your novels, you’ve written several articles about Gothic Mysteries, ghosts and hauntings, and how to perform research for stories involving these elements. What kind of feedback have you received on these articles? Have you ever had someone contact you with negative feedback about any of them?

Most of the feedback has been positive. When I’ve done on-line chats, they’ve been filled to capacity and I’ve always been asked back. And the hosts of the radio shows I’ve appeared on have been enthusiastic too. I set a record for a class I did about them for an RWA group. The president said they’d never had as many participants sign up for a class before. So, all in all, it’s been positive.

How did Haunted Happenings—-your free nonfiction newsletter-—come about? What does it offer? How can people subscribe?

There’s a lot of research being conducted about ghosts now too. The field is growing quite advanced with scientists in various fields conducting it. My newsletter features these new discoveries, haunted hotels, and sometimes true ghost stories from readers. For Christmas, I do a special edition featuring ghosts and facts associated with that holiday.

It’s free and comes out 3 to 4 times a year by email. People can subscribe by going into my website at http://www.AuthorsDen.com/aynhunt. There’s a little box to click on.

Let’s switch gears now and chat about your hot and spicy romance novel Contract Bride, which was written under the pseudonym Ayn Amorelli and published by Black Velvet Seductions - http://blackvelvetseductions.com/Contract%20Bride.html
I’ve read the first chapter of this novel and am totally intrigued. Can you tell us more about this story?

Contract Bride is about a confirmed bachelor who stands to inherit $20 million if he gets married and has a baby within the year. Since it’s March, that doesn’t give him much time.

It was a best seller at http://www.Fictionwise.com for six consecutive weeks, shooting up to the top 5 the first day of publication.

I have to tell you that as I read about Bob and his friend, George, I was so happy to have met a guy like my husband. How do you go about creating flawed characters? Also, how do you go about creating a character like Bob who is flawed but who the reader may still sympathize with?

Before I begin a new story, I get to know my characters well. I ask them questions, think about them all the time, dream about them, getting inside them, seeing the world as they do, breathing life into them until I become their psychic twin. Once they become as real to me as my husband and daughter are, I sit down to write their story.

You said in an interview with Writers Manual that you “like sex that’s portrayed realistically.” Can you expand upon this statement? What advice can you give to writers who want to portray realistic sex in their novels?

In romances I read, the sex scenes have to keep me in the world of the story to hold me there. The only way I stay there is when I read exactly what the characters are doing. Nothing shocks me back to reality faster than a euphemism that I’m supposed to guess the meaning of.

Sex is all about the emotions. It’s about feelings. About trust. About giving yourself to another without holding anything back. My advice is to make it as emotional an experience as both you and your characters are capable of.

Censorship can be a touchy issue in the writing industry. It is also something that I am especially interested in. There are groups out there that would censor books such as Contract Bride. How do you feel about this? Do you believe every novel has a place in the world—no matter the content?

A writer’s tools are words. And words make people think, envision, create. Anything that would take the rights away from people to think, envision and create should itself be censored.

If you have had any negative experiences with prejudice against your books, how have you addressed them? Do you have any advice for other writers on how to handle such situations?

One person confused my female character, Kayla with me, thinking she, apparently was a fake name and I was her. After wondering about her mental health, I wasn’t exactly ecstatic. But I ignored her. I think we choose our battles. I choose not to engage in that kind. My advice is not to stoop to the level of those who waste precious energy on something negative.

Now, onto the fun stuff--what’s up next for you? Is there any exciting news you wish to share with the readers here?

I’ve completed a fifth book, The Wayward Governess, an historical romance, a Regency, and am writing my 6th.

I also have a weekly interactive writers chat at AOL, called Hunt’s Corner. It’s on every Sunday evening at 8 p.m. CST. I usually pick a topic, which sometimes we even discuss. I like the give-and-take of chats.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

August 28, 29th, and September 1st, I’m going to be on three panels for Sormag.com’s online conference.

Then in September, I’m giving three workshops for the Romance Galleria.com.

And beginning September 10th, I’m also teaching a Gothic Writing course for CoffeehouseforWriters.com.

Thank you, Ayn for sharing so much about yourself and your work with us today. I wish you continued success.

Thank You for interviewing me. I've really enjoyed it.

Meet writer Dianne Sagan

2007-07-22T23:45:00.000-04:00

Today I am pleased to have a writer with us whose talents know no bounds. Dianne Sagan is a ghostwriter, a guest editorialist writing Op-Ed pieces for the Amarillo Globe-News, a writer of short stories and flash fiction, and she is also a book reviewer. She joins us today to talk about her diverse experience in the industry and to give us a glimpse into what she’s working on right now.

Welcome to the Aspiring Author, Dianne. It’s great to have you here!

Thank you, Cheryl. I’m excited to be here!

You have such a wonderfully diverse career it’s hard to know where to start. I guess we’ll start at the beginning. When did you know you wanted to become a writer? What was the first story or article you remember writing?

I always loved reading and hearing stories. You know how it is - every family has at least one storyteller, and I was the one in my family from the time I was about five. I didn’t really think about being a writer until I was in high school. We had great English teachers at my school, and they taught us how to plan and write essays. I loved that. Later, when I was a young mother, I started writing stories for my children. The first one was a Christmas story about a tree too fat to get through the door of the house.

You have a B.A. in History with a minor in Geography and also earned an M.A. in Communications. Has this helped your writing career? And if so, in what way?

I believe it has helped immensely. I have a broad background of American and world history to draw on from my undergraduate work, and I also learned the art of research. That is really valuable to a writer. My Communications degree involved a lot of writing, and my professors encouraged me to write articles and explore other avenues of expression. And as is true with most graduate degrees, I learned a lot about statistics, probabilities, and the scientific method, so when I write I can include a feeling for what constitutes a “likely” event and what doesn’t. The Communications degree I earned also included a lot of behavioral studies, and that gave me important insights into what people really do in real situations.

I love hearing about how other writers approach their craft. What is your writing process like? Do you write every day? Is there a time of day that you are more productive than others?

I’m pretty organic. I do a lot of writing in my head before it ever hits the paper. Then it’s almost like filling a pitcher and needing to pour it out. It just flows. I’m learning how to augment that “unstructured” process with loose outlines and overviews, but even those are only working tools and can change with the message and the deadline. When I’m writing fiction, the story and characters almost take on a life of their own. Whether I’m writing fiction or nonfiction I like to get all my research done first and then start writing.

Yes, I do write every day - except Sundays. That’s my day for church and family. My best time for writing is from about 11:00AM to 3:00PM. But I guess I’m a living example of the idea “writers write because they have to.” It seems I always have something going on in my head, either consciously or subconsciously, that demands expression, and sometimes it pops up “paper-ready” at really odd times - like the middle of the night. Fortunately my husband understands!

Let’s get a bit more specific. Can you tell us about your Op-Ed pieces for the Amarillo Globe-News? What kinds of issues will readers find are dear to your heart?

I started writing Op-Ed pieces in August of 2001 as a member of a group of six local editorial contributors called The Amarillo Voices. We wrote in a weekly rotation, so my column appeared every sixth Thursday. Two years ago the paper discontinued that group and asked if I would continue to write as a guest op/ed contributor. I began submitting pieces periodically throughout the year until just recently. I’ve been so busy with other writing projects that I haven’t submitted anything for the past few months – but I sure have ideas to write about!

The issues that are dearest to my heart are education; abused women and children, their concerns, and the laws that (should) protect them; and maintaining our Constitutional rights, as well as holding politicians accountable for their official actions - whether they are Democrats or Republicans.

Were you ever concerned that your guest editorials for the newspaper would adversely affect other areas of your writing? Did you ever think someone would shy away from hiring you based upon your opinions?

I actually never considered that my editorials would have any effect on my other writing. It was my first step as a published author, and I knew I wanted to do other types of writing.

My husband and I own a consulting firm and work with organizations and businesses in this region. A few times I’ve wondered if my opinions had anything to do with whether we were hired, but most of the time it doesn’t seem to matter. People are quick to recognize me for my editorials, but they seem to separate my editorial opinions from the professional contributions I can make.

You’ve recently sold the rights to one of your stories to Chicken Soup for the Soul. Can you tell us about this experience? Why do you enjoy submitting to anthologies?

I’m a visual and tactile learner. When I’m driving down the highway and I see an old, deserted farmhouse in a state of collapse, a story pops into my head. I begin to imagine who might have lived there, what kind of a life they might have had, and what might have happened to them. Another farmhouse, another story. So short stories are a part of life for me. I had several ideas for stories about my children and personal experiences that I was looking for outlets to send them to. A friend of mine in a writing group suggested I think about anthologies. I went on-line and looked for the ones I knew about and Googled for others.

I looked through the prospective titles and deadlines on the Chicken Soup for the Soul website. I made a list of them and put due dates on my writing calendar. I only choose topics about which I know I have experiences that might entertain or help others. I make a list of those story ideas and work on them between projects or as a break from writing books.

The thing I enjoy most about writing for anthologies is that I can feel accomplishment for a shorter piece of work, and that encourages me to keep going on longer projects.

I have to admit I am really interested in finding out more about your ghostwriting work. How did you get involved in this aspect of writing? What types of subjects do you cover?

A writer-acquaintance of mine who is a member of Panhandle Professional Writers was doing ghostwriting and started getting so much work that she put out a call for freelance editors and ghostwriters. I talked to her about it and decided to give it a try, and I discovered that I not only enjoyed the process but that I also had some talent for it. The books I’m writing at this time are nonfiction “business success and leadership” books concerning issues of human performance, which happens to align neatly with the consulting that my husband and I do. My clients are entrepreneurs, dentists, corporate executives, speakers, men and women in a wide array of professions. I would love to expand into ghostwriting Christian nonfiction.

Do people ever ask you why you have chosen to be a ghostwriter instead of writing your own books?

Yes, I get that question a lot. My goal has been to be a freelance writer and to be able to live well from my work. That isn’t always easy to do when selling my own work. When this opportunity came along, it was a perfect fit. Ghostwriting provides a good income on a steady basis, and although I have less time to work on WIP’s under my own byline, it is well worth it. It also gives me experience and a track record for being able to complete books and make deadlines. It has also helped me prove to myself that, yes, I really can write a first draft of a two hundred page manuscript in four weeks!

Speaking of your own books, you mentioned to me that you have a few works in progress. Is there anything you would like to share with the readers here?

I’ve been shopping a novel of mine with the working title of “Brittany’s Story.” It’s the story of an abused woman who escapes to a shelter with her three children and her experiences trying to stay one step ahead of her violent husband while going through the court system. It is written as a suspense novel and is unlike any other book about spousal abuse. It offers hope and a light at the end of the tunnel even though, throughout the manuscript, the reader is never sure if she will survive. I believe it is unusual, too, because the theme is not so much revenge as redemption, courage and triumph.

You told me that you enjoy going to Writer’s Conferences. Can you tell us about your most memorable experience?

My most memorable experience was pitching my novel to Rodney Morris, who is now at NavPress. At the time, he was the Senior Fiction Acquisitions Editor for Multnomah Publishing in Sisters, Oregon. (Multnomah is one of the big houses for Christian Fiction.) After my fifteen minute pitch he asked me for a book proposal. I sent it to him, and it made it all the way to the Editorial Committee before it was turned down. I got some good feedback and encouragement from them, though, along with the pleasure of seeing my first novel get so far beyond the “slush pile.”

With your diverse experience in the industry you must have loads of good advice for all us aspiring authors out there. But if you could only share one piece of advice, what would it be?

Don’t put off writing until times are better or less hectic. Don’t wait until your children grow up and leave home. There is no time like the present to write, even if you can do it for only ten minutes a day at first. Take time to make time to write, and don’t let anyone talk you out of it. But right behind that advice I have to say that new writers will go a lot further a lot faster if they join a writer’s group that is honest, blunt, articulate and consistent in giving feedback about how to improve one’s work.

There are still so many questions I would love to ask, but then I wouldn’t have a reason to have you come back and visit again. So, is there anything else you would like to add?

Writers have to develop a thick skin and not take feedback personally. Critiques are not about you, they are about the writing. Learn from them and work to make your writing better.

Thanks for sharing with us today, Dianne. It’s been a pleasure to find out more about you and your work. I wish you continued success.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to be one of the authors in your great interview series, Cheryl. My best to you and your readers.

Fantasy Author Sandy Lender Article

2007-07-20T21:33:00.000-04:00

Sandy Lender Doesn't Recommend Quitting Your Day Job
Or...the joy and insanity of being a writer

By Sandy Lender, fantasy author

Northeast Missouri State University, now Truman University, prides itself on offering a liberal arts education to graduates. I got out in four years with a degree in English and a liberal arts education that has garnered me a 15-year career in magazine publishing and public relations/marketing, but my true passion, the "career" I've nurtured since I was about six years old, is writing. And I don't mean journalism. Yes, journalism and editing are what have paid the bills the past 15 years (and will continue to do so), but fiction writing...oh...fiction writing is what has kept me alive.

It's probably going to be the death of me.

Let me explain. If you're visiting this site, you've probably been drawn here by an interest in books or authors or a writer's lifestyle or something along those lines. Let me give it to you straight. All writers have a touch of insanity about us (this is normal). We usually carry a muse around with us, but this is not always by choice. We complain about characters fighting for their rights, refusing to conform to our wishes in a scene. We go on writing binges that keep us up until 3 a.m. before collapsing next to our computers just to get up and start typing again when the sun blazes in to wake us around 7, skipping meals, showers, potty breaks and phone calls until some aspect of reality forces us out of the writing cocoon. We will tear a room to shreds looking for a pen if an idea has just struck us. And woe to the fool who gets between us and a piece of paper when we get hold of that pen...

Because I've experienced the insanity described above, I've been lifted up by hearing stories of people who have enjoyed my first published novel, Choices Meant for Gods. Now I get to read comments on my Amazon.com page of people claiming Nigel Taiman is "by far" their favorite character, or "I want to be just like Chariss when I grow up," and I feel this lump of pride in my darlings rise in my throat.

That's the joy and insanity of being a writer. You pour your heart and soul into the work; and pray that someone out there likes it, too. Now here's the hard part. People have to read it to like it. They have to know it exists to read it. So you have to get it to them.

Enter the marketing and promoting aspect of the new author's job. I attended the ArcheBooks Publishing's Professional Novelist Workshop about two weeks before receiving my contract for Choices Meant for Gods, and had attended the Naples Press Club Writers Workshop the week before that, so I thought I had a pretty good idea of the marketing nightmare new authors faced. I was ready. Lay it on me, I thought.

Now I'm on the last day of a two-month online book tour I organized myself, contemplating repeating a moderately successful instore book signing at the local Barnes & Noble that I organized myself, and managing six blogs (including www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com) for the promotion of my fantasy novel that I've organized myself, preparing a spate of press releases I've written myself that I'll spew forth like water from an erupting sprinkler next week, etc. Do you see a trend there?

New authors are on their own. Unless you have the few thousand dollars it takes to hire a publicity firm/PR agency to send out press releases for you, you're on your own. I don't have a few thousand stray dollars and I don't trust people who charge less than professional rates to do a professional job.

I take hope in the fact that even J.K. Rowling was once in the same boat I'm in now. She was down to her last food stamp as the story goes when that fateful call came: Her little story about a boy named Harry Potter had been picked up. I've already had my call. Choices Meant for Gods is published and out there. Now I need my lottery winning event to propel me into J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter status, but, for right now, I'm going to just keep writing deep into the night and reading those fabulous e-mails that praise Nigel and Chariss. Because making a living at this would be nice, but, truly, the writing binges that result in someone singing Chariss's praises are the real joy and insanity of being a writer.

I'd like to thank my host today for posting this guest blog article. And I'd like to thank everyone who made the CMFG Online Book Tour the raging success it's been. You know that paragraph above where I said new authors are on their own? I'd like to correct that. We actually have each other. Without each of you, the name Sandy Lender wouldn't be all over the internet right now, and readers wouldn't be one click away from http://www.amazon.com/Choices-Meant-Gods-Sandy-Lender/dp/1595071652/ref=dp_return_1/104-9089752-5140754?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1175821346&sr=8-1 to pick up my epic fantasy novel. And new author Sandy Lender is grateful to every one of you.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Tags: sandy lender, fantasy author, northeast missouri state university, truman university, liberal arts, journalism, fiction writing, writer's life, muse, choices meant for gods, nigel taiman, marketing and promotion, archebooks publishing, professional novelist workshop, naples press club, online book tour, today the dragon wins, fantasy novel, j.k. rowling, harry potter

Meet Bestselling Author Jane Green

2007-07-19T20:14:00.000-04:00

This is a visit I have been looking forward to all month. Bestselling author, Jane Green joins us today to chat about her latest novel Second Chance, how she juggles a writing career and motherhood, and her upcoming projects.

Welcome to Aspiring Author, Jane. It is wonderful to have you here!

Thank you for having me.

I've been following your virtual book tour and the more I read about you and your work, the more inspired I become as a writer.

How lovely of you to say that – enormously flattering.

Let's start off with the basics. How did you get started along your career path? Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

I always thought I'd be an artist of some description, but then realized it was unlikely I'd ever make a living. I fell into journalism by mistake in my early twenties, and then decided to write my first book, Straight Talking, at twenty seven. The only clue perhaps, looking back, was that I always loved to read.

You've had an amazing career so far. You've had nine books published, made The New York Times Best Sellers list, helped launch a new genre of women's fiction (chick lit), and received a fun fearless fiction award from Cosmopolitan. Did you ever anticipate such success?

Not at all. Naïve as it sounds, I always assumed, when I left my job on the Daily Express, that I would get a publishing deal, but I never dreamt I would have the career that I've had. In the twelve years since I've been writing my books I've seen a number of authors drop off the map, and I feel incredibly blessed on a daily basis that I'm able to continue doing what I love.

In addition to your writing career, you're a single mother to four children. How on earth do you juggle it all?

With a huge amount of difficulty. Truthfully, I seem to have a tremendous amount of energy, and somehow manage to do it all. It's also getting easier as the kids are in school for longer and I have more time to get my books written and manage the household stuff.

Let's talk about Second Chance. From what I've read so far, it is the story of best friends from high school who lose touch with one another over the years. After the tragic death of one of the friends (Tom), the rest reunite to celebrate Tom's life and their lives are changed. What can you tell us about these characters? Why will readers care about them?

I hope that as my writing grows and changes, what will always remain a constant is the emotional honesty. I always aim for realism, to write about people that could be you or I, could be our friends. And I write about situations that many of us have experienced, and if we haven't, we probably know someone who has. Ultimately I'm writing about the human condition, and we can all relate.

There were a couple of incidents which inspired this book. Can you tell us what they were?

Firstly I lost a friend in the Tsunami and was utterly blindsided by the grief, and just as I was preparing to write the book, my marriage started unraveling, which took the book into a new direction – a look at mid-life crises and how it's never too late to reclaim happiness.

In an interview with The Book Pedler this month, you referred to the four remaining friends as "brave heroes". What is it about them that will make readers see them this way?

I think each of my protagonists are brave in making large decisions about their lives that inspire change, which is often frightening, even when that fear keeps us in a place that does not serve us well. Saffron is able to finally face her drinking demons, Paul and Anna learn to live without their dream, Olivia finds herself making a decision she never would have dreamed of, and Holly is able to face the fact that she cannot stay married to a man she never loved.

You met with the employees of Google while you were in the process of writing Second Chance and one of your comments really stuck out at me. You mentioned that you were enjoying the writing of this novel and it was going well, which is unusual because you usually hate everything you write. It seems so strange to think of a bestselling author feeling that way about her writing. How do you work through these feelings of self-doubt? Is there any advice you could give your fellow writers on how to deal with self-doubt and anxiety?

My agent swears that each time an author has phoned him and said they've written a masterpiece, his heart sinks and it is invariably the worst thing they've ever written. I think a healthy dose of humility is essential, and part of the creative process – it's what keeps you striving to do better, to grow, to evolve.

Let me end with asking, what's up next for you? What do your fans and fellow writers have to look forward to?

I'm hoping to try my hand at a mystery next. This week was supposed to be my week of plotting, but life, as usual, seems to have got in the way, so fingers crossed for next Monday.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Just that if you've read Second Chance and loved it, tell people! Write a review, write a blog, tell your friends, and thank you so much for asking such incisive questions.

Thank you for sharing so much of yourself and your work with my readers. I wish you continued success in the future and can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Second Chance.

Jamieson Wolf's The Haunted Walk Tour comes to the Aspiring Author

2007-07-18T23:55:00.000-04:00

Today I would like to welcome back the multi-faceted and always talented Jamieson Wolf to my blog. Jamieson is touring the blogosphere the entire month of July to chat about one of his new releases, The Ghost Mirror available through eTreasures Publishing - http://www.etreasurespublishing.com/Jamieson-Wolf/ghost-mirror.htm.

Welcome back Jamieson. I’m glad you decided to pay us another visit.

Cheryl, it's always a pleasure to visit with you. I'm honored you'd have me back once more!

Let’s start off with a bit of a refresher. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your work?

Well, I've been a writer for many years. I mainly write speculative fiction; that seems to be the genre I'm drawn to. Though I do write romantic fiction and non-fiction as well, I keep heading back to the land of fantasy.

I recently had the chance to read The Ghost Mirror. Where did you get the idea for this chilling novel?

I had wanted to write a children's book featuring my cat, Mave. It didn't work out that way though. I was out of work and I wrote what ended up being the Prologue. I didn’t know it at the time I wrote it but it was the beginning of Mave's story. I have to tell you though, Mr. Lavender really freaked me out. He scared the crap out of me. But I knew it was good so, after ignoring the story for two weeks, I started writing and let it flow.

Turns out it was about Mave after all. It's been one of the only times where I can see almost all of the story.

In this story, we are introduced to Mave Mallory, a young girl who is ignored by her parents because of who she is. How did you go about creating Mave? Why will readers care about her?

I certainly hope my readers will care about her. I certainly do! I love Mave like a sister. How did I create her? Well, you know, I'm not sure I did. I think she created herself. I was writing and had to think of an enemy for Mr. Lavender, someone who was strong enough to defeat him.

I thought at first that Mave was too young for the job, but she proved me wrong. I wanted Mave to embody goodness but have darkness in her as well; none of us are truly one or the other and I thought that Mave should represent that.

In the end, she came to me and I told her story. I just hope that readers love her as much as I do.

You’ve made the reader feel sympathetic for Mave and her ability to talk to ghosts because these ghosts are Mave’s only real friends—other than her grandmother. But Mave’s ability also becomes her downfall, because it is her desire to find out what happened to one of her ghost friends that gets her pulled through the ghost mirror. How did you strike this balance between making her ability to talk to ghosts a good thing but also a bit of a problem for Mave?

Well, everything is a balance in life, right?

I knew that Mave would have some special abilities; talking to Ghosts a main one. I needed to mark her as special but not draw a lot of attention to it. I wanted to show that it was normal for her to do this.

But I also needed to show that bad things happen even when something brings you joy. It's hard to explain really. But suffice it to say that I wanted to show the balance of all things in this book.

Think about it: we have Mr. Lavender and Mave. Good Ghosts and bad ones. The Tree Woman and Gabriel. I wanted to show a balance in all things whether they were good or bad for only in learning of the balance can we avoid the darker side of things.

I mentioned Mave’s grandmother (Mona) in my last question. She knows more about Mave and her past than she lets on. What can you tell us about Mona?

Well, Mona is a very secretive woman.

She's also very wise. She cares for Mave as if she is her very own daughter and loves her with all her heart.

Mona is a very powerful woman. She doesn't call herself a Witch, though we don't know quite what she is yet. She tries to guide Mave and tell her what she is without revealing too much.

Mona knows that Mave will understand more if she figures things out on her own. But Mona definitely knows more than she's letting on.

The creepiest character in the entire book to me was the Lavender Man. What kind of inspiration created such a mean and evil being?

I honestly have no idea where he came from.

I wanted to write a children's book that was like the Grimm's Brothers Fairy Tales, only darker. I wanted to see how far I could push the envelope. Mr. Lavender was the result of that.

I started with an idea of a nasty used car salesman (some of the most evil men I know) and went from there. Mr. Lavender popped into my head much like Mave did. I knew he was evil when I first started writing about him. It's one of the reasons I stopped writing the story for a while before I came back to it.

He scared the pants off of me.

The descriptions in this book were phenomenal. I honestly felt like I was right next to Mave as she walked along the Town of Elements. How do you create great descriptions for readers without bogging them down with unnecessary details?

You know, The Ghost Mirror is the first time I used really detailed description and it seems to have worked. I normally work on a less is more approach, letting the reader fill in the blanks. My other works (Hunted, Electric Pink, Garden City) are like this.

With The Ghost Mirror I wanted there to be no guess work because everything that happens, even if it seems insignificant, is important. It was hard to keep writing descriptively when I'm so used to just plowing through.

For me, it was a learning experience, more than any other book I've written, I think. I think it turned out really well. I tried not to focus on too much detail; just enough that the reader would feel as if they were with Mave through every step.

You told me once that this book was a labor of love for you. Care to explain?

It is very much a labor of love for me. I know that The Ghost Mirror is very likely the best book I've written (and I can say this honestly. I think most of the stuff I write is crap). It's also the one I took the most time fleshing out, writing and I took my time with the words because I wanted the book to be as close to perfection as possible.

It's a book that is very close to my heart and I know it will be for some time. It's one of the only times I've been happy with the finished product so that ought to tell you something. LOL

A sequel to The Ghost Mirror is planned. Can you tell us about it?

Sure, though you're getting a good scoop. No one else knows what the sequel is about yet!

The second book in the trilogy is called The Silver Glass. Mave is called upon by the Tree Woman to help the Town of Elements once more. Mr. Lavender has unleashed the Shadows and no one is safe.

But Mave must go through Mr. Lavender's Ghost Mirror, the place where he has stored all of his souls, to get back to Elements. Working her way through what is really an underground labyrinth, Mave confronts the most frightening things imaginable.

All manner of magic is working against her but the most shocking are her parents. Transformed into beings of darkness, all their evil on the inside has been brought out. They are hunting their daughter through the Labyrinth and when they find her, they will kill her.

Mave does have one ally in the maze: young Euwan Opal. When Mave finds him again, she hopes that all hope is not lost. Problems begin to arise, however, when Mave starts having dreams of turning into a Crow. And realizes she isn't dreaming.

Mave Mallory will have to depend on all the Magic she possesses if she is to get through the labyrinth alive.

And face Mr. Lavender once more.

I think that’s all my questions, though you know I could probably ask a dozen more. Anything else you would like to share with us today?

Well, just that if anyone would like to purchase a copy of The Ghost Mirror, you can buy it in ebook or paperback at e Treasures Publishing. You can buy a copy here:

http://www.etreasurespublishing.com/Jamieson-Wolf/ghost-mirror.htm

The book will also be available soon on Amazon!

Thanks for popping in Jamieson. I wish you much success with The Haunted Walk Tour and I look forward to chatting with you again next month when we talk about another one of your new releases, HUNTED.

Thank you so much for having me Cheryl! As usual, I've had tons of fun! I can't wait to talk about Hunted with your readers!

Note: This interview will also appear at The Book Connection--my new blog for all author interviews. While you're there, check out my review of Jamieson Wolf's The Ghost Mirror at http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2007/07/ghost-mirror-by-jamieson-wolf-book.html

Getting Back on Topic

2007-07-18T15:49:00.001-04:00

When I first started this blog, I had a very different idea of what it should be about than what it has evolved into. I wanted to be able to share with my readers what it was like to be a wife, mother, and aspiring author. What the challenges were, share the things that worked and the things that didn't work out too well, and make it a place where people could learn more about my journey towards publication.

Well, I've gotten more than a little off-topic. I've dedicated more time to the writing of others, than to myself. I have no regrets. I've meet a lot of wonderful people and read lots of great books. Many of these people have become good friends.

While I was vacationing on the Outer Banks of North Carolina this year, I had an epiphany--why not have two blogs (one for author interviews and book reviews and the other one more personal).

So, that's what I've done. I am going to refocus this blog to be about my adventures as a wife, mother, and aspiring author. I'll share more personal stories, talk about my writing career and how I balance--or don't balance--my career and my family life.

A few weeks back, The Book Connection was born. This is my new blog for author interviews and book reviews. I have taken all the inteviews and book reviews from this blog and added them there. As of tomorrow, new author interviews and reviews will begin appearing at The Book Connection.

Follow me over to The Book Connection where I will connect readers and writers. Here's the link: http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/

Cheryl

Meet Dr. Susan Gregg, hypnotherapist and author

2007-07-17T10:42:00.000-04:00

This month just keeps getting better and better. Dr. Susan Gregg is a clinical hypnotherapist residing in Hawaii. She has authored many books including Dance of Power, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Spiritual Healing, and the award-winning Mastering the Toltec Way: a Daily Guide to Happiness, Freedom, and Joy. Today, Dr. Gregg joins us to chat about her latest release, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Short Meditations.

Welcome to my blog Dr. Gregg. It’s a pleasure to have you here.

Thanks so much for having me.

Why don’t we start off by finding out more about you. Can you tell us a little bit about the transformation which brought you to where you are today?

Most of my early life I was depressed and miserable. In the 1980s my mother was killed in a car accident. My world was turned upside down. After a steep descent into addictions I realized there had to be a better way to live. I began reading a wide variety of self-help and books on spirituality. After a near death experience I realized happiness wasn't dependent upon the events in my life-- it was dependent upon what I told myself about life. So I began to explore other ways to view life.

According to your website - http://www.susangregg.com/index.html
“Happiness really is just a thought away” and we can learn to be happy no matter what is going on in our lives. Can you explain more about this concept and also why you believe writing is such a powerful tool in helping people learn to be happy?

If we think someone or something is going to make us happy the likelihood of being happy is somewhere between nil and zip. Happiness really is an inside job. At one point in my process I realized if I was waiting for something to occur it was like waiting for tomorrow. Tomorrow never gets here because by the time it does it is today. The gift is I don't have to change my external life, all I have to change is what I tell myself about what is. It takes some practice but it's extremely freeing.

Writing was one of the tools I used to see what it was that I was telling myself. Journaling is a wonderful way to get to know yourself, to see your beliefs and change them. You can only be as happy as you make your mind up to be. And I found writing a wonderful way to change my thoughts so I can be very happy.

What inspired you to write The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Short
Meditations?

To be honest my agent contacted me one day and asked me if I wanted to write the book. I've been meditating since the 1970s and have taught people for over 20 years how to meditate so it seemed like a natural. Whenever I do a group I usually do a guided meditation so writing the book was fun. I really enjoyed writing it and I've been getting wonderful feedback.

Can self-help books really change people’s lives? How can people get the most out of self-help books like yours?

Self-help books alone can't change people's lives. As a matter of fact years ago I had a woman come to me for help. One of the first things she told me was that she had one whole wall filled with self-help books. I asked her if she'd ever done any of the exercises and she said no. Just reading the books may help a little, but fully engaging with the books, doing the exercises, and applying the techniques will assist you in transforming your life.

If you simply modify the way you think a little bit each day you'll be amazed at how much your life will change in a year. Self-help books are a wonderful way to brainwash yourself and if you're not happy your brain does need washing. Washing away the negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones, ones that are loving and expansive will create a life filled with magic and miracles.

If people have never used relaxation techniques or meditated before, will they still be able to take advantage of the exercises in your book?

My book makes meditation simple. I equate guided meditations and relaxation techniques to the game of let's play pretend. I say relax and you pretend to relax. It really is that easy.

If you had to sum up The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Short Meditations in one sentence, what would it be?

If you'd like to be happy, if you'd like to create what you want when you want it, if you'd like to experience more love, joy and ease read this book and use the techniques and it.

You’ve dedicated your life to helping people, but that kindness also extends to our animal friends. Can you tell us about your animal rescue missions?

I don't know if I'd call it animal rescue missions as much as animals who need a new home come to me. I've taken in strays and nursed animals hit by cars back to health. I just love animals and as they come into my life I take care of them. Ever since I was little girl I've been rescuing injured animals and the love they give me in return is so worth it.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers today?

Give yourself the gift of creating the life of your dreams. If you can dream it you can have it. Let yourself dream big and be happy. You deserve it!

Dr. Gregg, thank you for spending some time with us today. I would also like to extend my best wishes for continued success.

Thanks for having me. I am so excited I have just been asked to write a book on Angels, Saints, Deities and Enlightened Masters, so look for it next year. I hope to talk to you again real soon!

Meet author Marilyn Morris

2007-07-16T23:21:00.000-04:00

July really is turning out to be a month of special treats. Today, author and editor Marilyn Celeste Morris joins me to chat about her latest novel The Women of Camp Sobingo, which was released by Mardi Gras Publishing in June http://www.mardigraspublishing.com/womenofcampsobingo.html.

Welcome to my blog Marilyn. I am thrilled to have you here.

It’s my pleasure. I think all writers love to talk about their work, and especially their latest project.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? How long have you been writing? Did anyone inspire you to become a writer?

I think I was born with a pencil in my hand. My family was all about reading, and I learned to read before I went to kindergarten. There, it dawned on me that letters made words, and words made sentences, and sentences made stories. I wrote a lot for my own amusement when I was an army brat stationed overseas with my army officer father.

What is your writing process like? Do you write every day? Is there a time of day you are more productive than others?

I try to write something every day. I am more productive during the morning hours; I try to begin at least sitting at my keyboard at 9:00 a.m. but if I don’t make that schedule, I don’t beat myself up. There are plenty of people in the world who would be happy to do that for me!

After reading the synopsis of The Women of Camp Sobingo and an excerpt, I knew this was one book I had to make a part of my reading collection. What inspired you to write this story?

Wow, thanks! I had thought about my days in Korea when I was about 8-9 years old and my mother played bridge – a lot of bridge – with three other women. One of those women chose to end her life there, and although I had very little information about that, I always wondered why she did it. Through my mental health training, I realized her childhood must have had a large part in her decision, so I made up a background for her – and for the other women. From there, it just grew. My characters kind of took over the writing for me.

So, four very different women become friends on the trip to join their Army officer husbands in Korea in 1946. Three women learn to adjust to the situation, but one ends up taking her own life. And when these women reunite twenty-five years later, they discover new things about that time in their lives--including why their friend really decided to kill herself. How did you go about developing these four very different women? Did you use character sketches?

Actually, they are composites of women I have known, or wish I had known, and the main character is definitely one I would have liked to have been in real life! I did a sort of background sketch on each woman, where she came from and what were her strengths, and used those in the writing of the book, so all the plot advances would be consistent to that character. For instance, why did Trudy inherit her father in-law’s publishing empire instead of her husband?

Why will readers care about these women? What is it about these women that will help readers relate to them?

I think they will relate to how these ordinary women faced extraordinary circumstances, and they were strengthened by their backgrounds. Take Nell, for instance. She was a West Texas school girl who hoped she would escape her life of wood-burning stoves, hauling water from a well, etc. and yet she finds herself in a primitive country teaching other women how to cook on a wood-burning stove. Maggie is a rebel from birth and she uses her rebellion to her best advantage as she marries her childhood sweetheart despite her mother’s objections. I believe we all have something in our childhoods that we can draw upon for strength during tough times. Leah, however, had no such strength to lead her through her troubled life and affairs with men other than her hometown husband.

Being a self-proclaimed Military Brat yourself, is it different to reflect upon those memories of your childhood as an adult? Did a new understanding of that time in your life impact how you approached the writing of The Women of Camp Sobingo?

Great question! While I was writing my memoirs of my Military Brat days, Once a Brat, I relived my childhood and the ghost of this woman who ended her life in Korea came up repeatedly and I knew I had to do something about that. I had also watched my mother cope with such a nomadic life, and grew to really admire her and respect her innate strength. I am always finding my childhood traits as a Military Brat that either strengthen me or give me some insight into who I have become because of that life.

Did you rely solely on your past experiences for this novel or did you research certain details?

It’s about half my experiences and half fiction. I could have done some research into Camp Sobingo, but didn’t want the present day Camp to mar my memories of those days right after WWII. As this novel is fiction, I felt I could take some liberties with time and location, and felt that researching the present-day site would take away from the fictional content.

Like I said before, this sounds like a truly amazing story. How can readers get their hands on a copy?

It can be ordered online at the Mardi Gras Publishing site:

http://www.mardigraspublishing.com/womenofcampsobingo.html

What’s up next for you? Is there anything you would like to share with fans and your fellow writers?

I have several more novels in varying states of completion. One is a sequel to my first novel, Sabbath’s Room, which is titled Sabbath’s House, where Joanna and her little family move into a huge old house in the Texas Hill Country that has a sinister secret; a romance novel titled, The Unexplored Heart (my first venture into that genre); a novel about a military jet crashing into a crowded shopping mall during a terrible tornado, titled, Forces of Nature; another murder mystery, The Murders at 5400; and my newest effort will probably be a science fiction story, Fireflies in a Jar. I am having fun playing around with these novels and try to work on them whenever time permits.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I’ve always enjoyed writing; however, marketing my work is somewhat new to me. I may have been born without that gene, but fortunately, I have a couple of publicists who are handling that part for me. They are Dorothy Thompson and Jamieson Wolf, and their new business venture is Pump Up Your Book, found at http://www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/
I recommend them highly.

Thank you for sharing so much about yourself and your novel. Good luck with the rest of your virtual book tour and much success in the future.

And thank you for thinking of me and inviting me to do this interview.
Best to you in your writing.

Marilyn and her novel are touring the blogosphere the entire month of July so make sure you check out her tour schedule at http://virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/2007/06/women-of-camp-sobingo-virtual-book-tour.html to see where you can find out more about this talented author and her amazing book.

The Ghost Mirror by Jamieson Wolf - Book Review

2007-07-13T17:24:00.000-04:00

When I was younger I would read stories by Stephen King. The thrill of knowing I would be creeped out was always worth the read, no matter how short or long the story was. At some point, I drifted away from all that stuff. Being wigged out didn't tickle my fancy as much as it used to.

But...

Jamieson Wolf sent me a copy of his eBook The Ghost Mirror and I was thrilled to be creeped out all over again.

Mave Mallory is neglected and ignored by her parents, but more than that, they seem to be afraid of their red haired, black eyed daughter. Taking pity on Mave, her grandmother Mona brings her home to live with her.

Living at grandmother's house is much more fun than living with her parents. In the attic Mave can see and play with ghosts to pass the time. And in the attic a mysterious mirror seems to whisper and wink at Mave; a mirror her grandmother warns her never to touch. But when the ghost girl that Mave has befriend disappears into the mirror, Mave reaches out to touch the mirror's surface and is pulled into another world.

In this world, people are afraid of Mave--just like her parents. With the help of her one friend, Euwan, Mave finds out more about her family's past and who she really is--the last witch.

Within this world, is a chilling character, Mr. Lavender, who eats the souls of children. Their souls give him power and if he can gain the soul of the last witch, he will become more powerful than ever.

It is up to Mave to trust the magic inside her, so she can defeat Mr. Lavender and find her way back home.

This is the kind of book you only read with all the lights on. The ghosts are playful enough, but that Mr. Lavender guy could give you nightmares for three weeks after you've fnished reading the book.

Jamieson Wolf shows once again just how talented he is. The descriptions of the town of Element--the world Mave slips into--made me feel like I was walking right alongside her. The careful selection of words as the reader watches Mr. Lavender devour his victims, makes the hair on the back of your neck tingle with fear...as if he could come right out of the book and eat you too.

Wolf wastes no time in plowing right into the story. Whatever backstory is necessary is slipped in so perfectly it doesn't have time to pull the reader away from the action. And while this story is creepy, it isn't gory. There is no spilling of blood, just for the sake of grossing you out.

The Ghost Mirror is a well-written, scary thrill of a read that will leave you begging for the quick release of its sequel.

Cheryl

Meet author Jessica Joy

2007-07-11T00:34:00.000-04:00

I have a great treat for you today. Joining me is author Jessica Joy. Her romantic suspense novel, Fool Me Once—published by Black Velvet Seductions http://blackvelvetseductions.com/—has received rave reviews. After reading it, I know why. Today Jessica will chat with me about her book, her article on creating believable characters, the challenges of being a Christian author who writes romance novels, and what she’s working on next.

Welcome to my blog Jessica. I am so happy you stopped by!

Hi, Cheryl! Thank you so much for having me! I’m thrilled to be here.

Let’s start by finding out more about you. What can you tell us about yourself? How did you become a writer?

Hm...It’s hard to know where to begin, so I’ll start with a brief overview. I’m a mother of three ‘grown’ children, living in Eastern Canada and have been married to the same great guy for 28 years. WOW! I can’t believe it’s been that long! I guess the old adage is true. Time flies when you are having fun. :o) I love writing, reading and crafting.

When my youngest left for university, I went to college and earned a diploma in Human Resources Management. A great field for a writer because so often you have to deal with the idiosyncrasies of people.

I’ve been scribbling stuff all my life, but it was about ten years ago I made a disciplined effort to put all the story ideas swirling around my head into words and started writing a novel instead of just writing down random ideas. Since then, I’ve taken three writing courses, and I’ve been writing part-time ever since. There were two or three years when I didn’t write much at all because I’d rejoined the work force.

Since I love hearing how other writers work, can you tell us what your writing process is like? Do you write every day? Is there a time of day when you’re more productive than others?

The writing process for me usually begins with an incident and then I ponder it for a while. I call that “simmering”...the story follows me around...every time I work at the mindless household chores like ironing, cleaning, or doing dishes...trust me, no one will interrupt you. I think about the characters and what brought them to the incident and what will happen following the incident. This might go on for a few weeks or months depending on how difficult the characters are being and refuse to tell me their story.

Once I have a feeling for the story, I start making notes. As milestones in the story come to mind, I note them, then let the story continue to simmer until all the major events are in place. Then, I create an outline...usually...five to ten pages. Then, I test for holes in the plot to ensure that there is sufficient motive and also make sure there are past experiences that justify the way the characters behave the way they do. There is nothing that makes a book a ‘wall-banger’ faster than characters acting or reacting without sufficient motive or experiences.

One really important element in my writing is that I have a great critique partner, and we hold each other accountable to our writing goals. We also study a chapter a week in a book on writing each week. It’s important to remember that no matter how much or how long you write, there are still things to learn or learn again.

Now that I’m looking after my MIL during the days and working in the evening, writing time has become scarce, but I’m a believer that you will make time for the things that you really want to accomplish. Since I usually wake up before other people in the family, I try to write in the morning after my morning quiet time and before the family gets up, and I often write after they go to bed. I utilize wasted moments as well like traveling in the car, during coffee and lunch breaks, and waiting for appointments. When you want something badly enough, you will make the time you need to succeed.

Limited time has made me productive whenever I have the chance to write. It’s a necessity. I set writing goals because they make me more productive. It could be a minimum of one or two hours a day, sometimes more, depending on what I have to do for that day. I always try to produce more, the goal is just the minimum that I hope to accomplish.

Fool Me Once is an amazing story! Where did you find the inspiration to write it?

Thank you so much. It’s one of my favourite stories.

For inspiration for this story, I decided to write a story that had all my favourite elements and a story that I would like to read. I love a heroine who is spirited, but not stupid, who will face a threat, but not charge headlong into a dangerous situation. I feel that I found that in Toni. I love a wounded hero who is a man of honour, who needs just the right woman to help him heal. That was Blair.

Another element that I love is mistaken identity...but I won’t go into that because I don’t want to give the plot away. And something that I really love is a murder mystery. I’m a Murder She Wrote, CSI & NCIS junkie.

What qualifies a story as romantic suspense? Has your story attracted both male and female readers?

For me, a story that presents a threat to the hero and heroine who are tumbling into a relationship is a romantic suspense.

I haven’t heard from any male readers...so I’m assuming that it’s more attractive to women.

You’ve put together a complex storyline. Toni Greer (your female lead) wakes up in a hospital room with amnesia and she finds Blair Kierstead (your male lead) and his friend Drew in the room. As the story unfolds, we have the FBI, Toni’s modeling career, Blair’s and Drew’s idea that Toni was responsible for an ambush that left some of their friends dead, and also the character of Farrell Hagen, Toni’s ex-lover, who might be trying to kill her, involved in the plot. How did you keep from getting lost as you wrote this story? Did you outline it? Did you create character sketches?

Because of the ‘simmering’ time, most of the story was in place in my head before I ever put a word on the page, but I still went through my usual process. First, I construct a story binder. In the story binder, I create a detailed character interview for each major character. These usually take about 5 to 6 hours each. I’ve compiled a long character interview over the years, so I know the characters pretty well by the time the interview is through. This character interview uses questions from others character interviews that I have read, and I’ve tossed in a few questions of my own. After the character interviews, I have sections for pictures, maps, story outlines, and chapters.

For Fool Me Once, I composed a long outline of about ten pages, then I did another in two pages. I use them as a reference...but they aren’t written in stone. I’ve been known to take a different route if it suited the story and characters. Now, that I’ve been writing longer, the outlines are a bit shorter usually 3 to 5 pages

While I’m doing the interviews I try to find a picture of each character. As well, I draw maps. In this case, I made a map of Mason’s Cove...the imaginary seaside village where the story took place so that all the buildings would stay in the same place. Also, I go through magazines and find ‘things’ that would help me visualize the story world like clothes, furniture, cars, or anything that might be a part of the character’s world.

For example, Toni’s condo is based on an article I found in an Architectural Digest about a revamped condo overlooking Central Park. It felt like Toni’s home the moment I saw it. The nice thing about a story ‘simmering’ is that it gives me time to collect their ‘homes’, furnishings, cars and ‘toys’. Blair’s home is based on a century old home that I read about in a Coastal Living magazine. I fell in love with the place and knew that it was just the spot Blair would chose to live.

Tell us a little bit about Toni Greer and Blair Kierstead. Why will readers like them? What will they dislike about them? Why will they be rooting for them to get together?

I hope that the readers like the same things about the characters that I like about them. I like Toni because she’s a genuine person. She’s someone who acts and doesn’t just let life happen to her. With Toni there will never be any pretense. What you see is what you get. Another thing I like and I hope that readers like is that Toni is a person who cares about people. She cares about family and friends and wouldn’t intentionally hurt someone. Lastly, Toni is a person of integrity, someone who will do what is right because it’s the right thing to do. Toni is a person you want to have around when your world is crashing around you. She’s sympathetic enough to help put salve on your emotional wounds, but enough of a friend to nudge you toward the road to recovery even though you’d rather wallow in self-pity. She’s also the person who knows how to celebrate all the joyful times with you as well.

Blair is a man I like because, like Toni, basically he’s a man of integrity and someone who you can depend on in a crunch. Something else that I really like about him is that he’s not given to moods. He’s a man who cares about people too although he’s not always direct in his methods. He stays in control of himself and tries to control his environment. He’s a bit of a neat freak, but that’s endearing. I mean who’s not going to love a guy who helps you clean up the house.

Blair is also a man who you want to snuggle on the couch with at the end of a long day, a man who knows you so well he doesn’t have to say anything to make you feel better. He looks over, touches your face or curls his hand around the nape of your neck and draws you forward to touch his lips to your forehead.

I’m hoping the reader won’t dislike anything about the characters, but rather that they will like and appreciate their strengths and overlook their weaknesses. I think there are times when characters frustrate us, but I hope that the reader always likes the basic person inside the character. I feel that if there are things that the reader doesn’t like about the character, then it might dislodge the reader from the fictional world of the story. I know it does for me when I read a story.

I guess what it boils down to is that what I like the characters in my books and in the books that I read is that they are can be people that I admire – that they would be people that I would chose as friends.

Hopefully, the reader will root for them because they’ve been pulled into their story world and love them both, Toni and Blair.

You wrote an article, which can be viewed at your website - http://www.freewebs.com/jessicajoy/, about creating believable characters. Can you tell us a little bit more about this article and how you used the advice found in this article to create the characters for Fool Me Once?

Hm...this article was born the first time I saw a character interview not long after I started my first story, although I didn’t realize it at the time. My first thought was how can you interview a character...they aren’t real...then, I realized if I didn’t believe they were real, I couldn’t make them real to the reader. That’s when I knew I had to find ways to make them real to me, or they would never become real for the reader. Of course, like all newbies, I went to writer sites and read books on writing, it was a long process, which I hope this article will shorten just a bit.

Being a detail oriented person, I found that the binder idea really helped. I could organize the details of the character's life and world. The character interview helps me maintain uniformity...the character doesn’t change eye colour or past events. Being a visual person, the collection of pictures and maps enriches the description in the story. It’s easier to find vivid descriptors when there is a picture in front of me.

The advice in the article helped me with Fool Me Once as it has helped with every story. It made the characters living, breathing people to me, people with a past, a present and a future, characters I love (the heroine and hero) or love to hate (the villains.)

You also wrote a short story titled Incorrigible under the name of Abby Blythe for The Crimson ‘Z’ anthology - http://blackvelvetseductions.com/Crimson%20Z.html. What can you tell us about this story?

Incorrigible is the story of a young woman, Anne, teetering on the verge of a sexual awakening who buys a home haunted by a spirited spirit, Virginia. Together, they solve the mystery of Virginia’s murder and Anne finds the love of her life. Just a caution, it’s steamy.

This story was a real stretch for me because of the ‘heat level’. I tend to read and enjoy Christian romantic fiction and romances that are warm but not steamy. Incorrigible, the novella I wrote for Crimson ‘Z’ is definitely hotter than I’ve ever written before and will probably ever write again once I finish the sequel, Irrepressible. That was the reason I chose a second pen name. I felt that readers who enjoyed Fool Me Once, might be uncomfortable with the heat level in Incorrigible.

What I love about the story, Incorrigible, are the characters and the mystery surrounding the death of the ghost who is haunting the heroine’s home. Virginia, the ghost, kept trying to take over the story, so I ended up writing her story, when she gets a second chance at living.

You and I have chatted about this topic before. It seems Christian authors can be persecuted for writing stories where two characters are romantically involved, especially if the love scenes are very descriptive. Have you experienced this type of prejudice? If so, how do you handle it?

Yes. When I say that I write romantic suspense, I’ve had a couple people say, “Oh, you write pornography.” At first, I tried to explain that romances are not pornographic and that some romances don’t have any love scenes at all. Those people just turned a deaf ear, rolled their eyes, and said, “But really, it is pornography.”

After that, I don’t respond because they don’t want to be educated. They are people who have never read a romance and probably never will. I find it a bit disturbing that they are so closed minded, but they do make interesting fodder for characters in my books.

For me a love scene isn’t offensive it if slips seamlessly into the story, that it feels right and fits that moment. In Incorrigible, Annie has sex with someone that she doesn’t have a relationship with. That was a tough scene, but it was also part of her emotional growth for her at that point in her life. Still, she wasn’t abused or used, which I couldn’t agree with or write.

What advice do you have for someone who has experienced this type of prejudice?

Fight the battles you can win. If someone is completely close-minded and won’t listen, then there isn’t any sense arguing with them. If they are willing, educate them on all the many different types of romances there are, perhaps see if they will read one. Who knows? They might even find something they enjoy.

I’ll wind this interview down with an easy question. What is up next for you? Are there writing projects fans and fellow writers need to know about?

At the moment, I’m up to my eyebrows in a move, so I’m packing boxes and doing all the lovely things that go with a move. As soon as that is behind me, I’m going to dive into edits for another novella, Irrepressible, which is Virginia’s story. Virginia, the ghost in Incorrigible, has a chance at love again with her soul mate, but of course, she has a few obstacles to overcome in her own spirited way.

Something else that I would like to do is work on my website. Once I went back to school, last August, my poor website was pushed on a back burner, way, way back.

Also, I have three writing projects that I’d like to pullout and work on. Two are Christian romances the third is one that I’ve been ‘pecking away at’ for years, a paranormal called “Impractical Magic” which is a book-of-my-heart. It’s the book I work on because I love it so much. It might never get published, but it will definitely bring a great deal of satisfaction in the journey through that story world.

You are probably wondering why I have so many projects on the go. I find that I get ‘stale’ if I work on one without interruption, so I usually do a few chapters in one, switch to another, then switch to another, then back to the first one. I’ve finished five novels, so I know it’s a system that works for me, but it’s not for everyone.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us today?

Hm...I could spend all day answering that question, but I can’t because I have to pack part of the kitchen today. I guess if I had to share anything it’s for newbie and wannabe writers, it’s: write, write, write, & read, read, read. Write anything that comes to your mind and whenever you can, and read fiction, magazines and writing how to books. Never stop learning. Write because you can’t resist the lure of the word.

Thanks for sharing so much of your time with us Jessica. Best wishes for a long and prosperous writing career!

Thank you so much and thank you for having me and for your kind wishes. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you over the course of our correspondence and I hope that the readers have enjoyed this time getting to know me and my books.

Note: My review of Fool Me Once appears below or you can click on this link http://aspiringauthor.blogspot.com/2007/06/book-review-fool-me-once-by-jessica-joy.html

Book Review - Fool Me Once by Jessica Joy

2007-06-28T22:28:00.000-04:00

There are books out there that make me so glad I decided to schedule regular reading time into my work week. Jessica Joy's Fool Me Once is one of those books!

A romantic suspense novel that is heavy on both romance and suspense, this story kept me turning the pages from the first to the last.

Toni Greer wakes up in a hospital room not knowing who she is or how she got there...and she's not alone. Blair Kierstead and his friend, Drew, had been keeping her company since the car accident that stole her memories. All Blair can tell her is that she was coming to see him--but even he doesn't know why.

Blair convinces Toni to come home with him, neglecting to mention that Drew is and Blair used to be an undercover FBI agent whose team was led into an ambush two years ago and they believe Toni betrayed them and is responsible for the deaths of their teammates.

Toni struggles to recreate her past. Blair isn't much help and she's not sure why. The excuse that the doctor wants her memories to come back on their own doesn't hold water for her. There has to be more to it--but what?

Blair is having struggles of his own. He can't figure out why Toni is so different since the last time he saw her--she loves Christmas and cooking and her family. It doesn't help that he finds himself attracted to her. She's the monster who caused the deaths of his teammates and almost cost him his life as well. He shouldn't have romantic feelings for her.

But he does, and Toni feels the same way about him, no matter how many times they try to deny it.

As Toni's memories come back, she can't believe the life she used to live. It all seems so foreign to her. But once Toni and Blair give into their feelings for each other, things finally start to make sense.

And then the danger for Toni becomes even more real. Word on the street for weeks has been that Toni's ex-lover is out searching for her. Maybe he wants her dead because of what she knows about him and his operations.

Blair and Toni return to the scene of one of her most vivid and frightening memories to try and piece together what happened the night of the car accident and to figure out if someone is really trying to kill her.

This novel drew me in so quickly and deeply that I had to keep turning the pages. Each chapter ended with such a climax that all I wanted to do was continue reading until the last word was read. So carefully woven in was the backstory that it did not have a chance to dull the action. In only one spot did I know exactly what would come next, but even that could not take away from my desire to keep reading. I really wanted to know if these characters made it to their happily ever after.

Jessica Joy's Fool Me Once is sexy, gripping, and action packed. A true romantic suspense novel that will attract a wide audience and leave them clamoring for more.

Book review - The Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate by Rhett DeVane

2007-06-27T23:39:00.000-04:00

What do you get when you combine a small town in Florida with a mental institution on its main drag, some truly memorable characters, and a bunch of scrumptious southern recipes whose main ingredient is chocolate?

One amazing book, which you must read!

Hattie Davis ran away from her hometown of Chattahoochee as fast as she could, leaving behind the memories of life in a small town, a difficult relationship with her brother, and an annoying ex-boyfriend.

But when Hattie returns to Chattahoochee for her mother's funeral, she finds her childhood friend, Jake Witherspoon has returned and made his home there. The memoir of an old family friend and Jake's idea of a great new business make Hattie and Jake partners, but neither one of them understands how dangerous their venture might be.

Jake's flamboyant homosexuality makes him the target of a hate crime. He is kidnapped and brutually beaten by two teenage boys with a secret. And once that secret is revealed, no one in Chattahoochee will ever be the same.

And amazingly for Hattie, Chattahoochee becomes the place where she finds love and the one corner of earth she can finally call home.

A touching and at times shocking tale of a small town's revival. Rhett DeVane's characters could easily be your next door neighbor, your favorite aunt, or the sibling you never quite got along with. DeVane wove these memorable characters together with an amazing plot and some down home recipes to create a novel which will leave you inspired by how much good can come from something bad.

Meet author Christopher Hoare

2007-06-26T23:49:00.000-04:00

Joining me today is Christopher Hoare, author of Deadly Enterprise and The Wildcat’s Victory both from Double Dragon Publishing (http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/). Deadly Enterprise was released this month and The Wildcat’s Victory will be out in January 2008. Chris paid me a visit to chat about his new release, his writing process, and what’s coming next.

Welcome to my blog Chris! It’s great to have you here.

Thank you, I'm very pleased to be able to visit your blog.

Let’s start off by finding out more about you. Who is Chris Hoare? When did you start writing? Were you inspired by anyone to become a writer?

I'm a retired oilpatch surveyor, born in England and living in Alberta, Canada, on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. My first published works were a few articles that appeared in the “Sunday Ghibli” an English language weekly published in Tripoli, Libya. Back in the 60s I was working in the desert and the city readership were hungry for news and views from the interior. I then switched to fiction, aiming straight for the hardest of course, and never published another thing until I did some articles on GPS for the Waterton National Park paper in the 90s.

I guess I became hooked on the idea of writing novels when I was a teenager. My mother used to borrow books from the 'penny' library at a local newsagent (the same one I delivered papers for) and I started reading a series about a special investigator of the 1930s. Don't remember titles or author, but Norman Conquest and his Hispano-Suiza roadster – his sidekick and wife Pixie – set me dreaming about adventure and storytelling.

You write speculative fiction in various genres. What is speculative fiction exactly? Have you always concentrated on this aspect of writing?

I think all fiction is speculative to some degree, but I admit I tend to write about other worlds or other realities in ours. The first novel I completed was a historical novel set in the fifth century with the arrival of the Saxons in Roman Britain, but it had its speculative side. I introduced characters who could have been the progenitors of the more mythical characters and histories – Hengist, Horsa, Arthur – who are syntheses of many other individuals whose actual names and careers have been embellished.

Speculative fiction proper is accepted to mean fantasy, science fiction, and anything with a supernatural element. My Iskander series has a group of moderns in a 1700s type world – it has to be on an alternate Earth, because my moderns change the course of history. My fantasy novel takes place on a fantasy world, and has different takes on magic, religious fanaticism, and technology than most other works in the genre.

What is your writing process like? Do you write every day? Is there a time of day you are more productive than others?

I finished writing my historical novel when I worked in an oil refinery. Much of it was written long hand in pencil in exercise books while I was on night and evening shifts. I sat at the control room desk, writing and living in the 5th century while glancing up periodically to watch for charts going out of range or alarm lights blinking. With that training I can easily adapt to any schedule.

Retired from my day job, I write most days, but I tend to put off new work until the evenings while my wife watches TV programs I'm not interested in. Physiologically, my best writing time is probably in the morning, but I run the dogs then. I tend to work out scenes and motivation while the dogs are doing their thing, and commit the details to memory for later.

Deadly Enterprise was released by Double Dragon Publishing this month. Where did you get the idea for this story?

Two main sources for the series. I have always been interested in history, military history, and the development of technology. The scenario for a group of modern technologists in an older world grew out of some what-if speculations around inventions and insights that are anachronistic, but could have changed the course of history in our world. Alternate timelines fascinate me.

The other impulse grew from reading and watching TV programs that had overly patronising attitudes toward female action characters. I think a British series on PBS about a young woman who was left a private detective agency in a will – it was called, I believe, “An Unsuitable Job for a Woman”, was the one that made me start writing. I wanted to create a female protagonist who could hold her own against anyone, and I think everyone who reads Gisel Matah's story through the three (at present) novels published or awaiting release dates will agree that she can handle anything that's thrown at her. If I met her in full cry, with those dark dark eyes flashing, she'd probably scare the sh*t out of me.

Deadly Enterprise is an action adventure story set in the 17th century on an alternate earth called Gaia. What kind of research—if any—did you need to do in order to create the world in which Gisel (your female lead), the Felgers, and the Emperor exists?

If any, seems to be applicable to most aspects of the stories and scenario because they grew out of a huge assortment of otherwise useless information in my head. But I still research specific details. Action in The Wildcat's Victory required me to check into the historical accounts of the effect of high velocity rifles on cavalry tactics – they effectively put horse cavalry out of business, but I needed to know the process over time and the troop levels at which the rifles made cavalry movement impossible. I found some websites that had historical accounts from the Franco-Prussian War and the French/Italian campaigns of Napoleon III. Then I exchanged e-mails with a military historian who had authored some of the material and he enlarged upon specific details for me.

Tell us about Gisel Matah. Who is she? Why will readers care about what happens to her?

Being somewhat of a rebel throughout my own life, I hope her combination of rebellion and compassion will strike a chord in readers. I have a detailed, two page bio on her, that I wouldn't attempt to paste here, but her ancestry is Anglo-Indian and Greek (which fits certain plot requirements), she has a stormy relationship with her father after the divorce of her parents, and until she meets the right man has had three tempestuous affairs. She steers a tight course between the somewhat arrogant attitude of her modern compatriots toward the 17th/18th century locals, and these people's often cruel and savage ways. I try to show her making good decisions when she's faced with moral dilemmas.

If people check out your website (http://www.christopherhoare.ca/) they will find a couple maps there. What can you tell us about these?

Being a surveyor, I suppose maps are a part of my writing. I like to know where everything is and how characters move around. Because some of my readers pre-publication have also wanted to know where things are, and because the map file cannot be downloaded with the e-book, I have the maps on the website where they can be accessed. The Philips map is actually one I copied and modified from my Mother's old school atlas – which is around 100 years old, and which the company was kind enough to let me use for free.

With Deadly Enterprise coming out this month and The Wildcat’s Victory due out in January of next year, it must be an exciting time for you. What has been the best part about the entire process of getting published? Is there anything you would change?

I think I'm beyond getting excited. In the 70s my historical novel almost reached publication; in the 80s the novel I wrote about workers trying to buy an oil refinery (based on a real attempt at the one I worked in) was accepted by a publisher who never raised the money to publish it; in the 80s I had a collection of funny stories from oil exploration close to acceptance until the senior editor figured he knew more about the industry than I did; in 2001 I had a novel accepted by an e-publisher who went out of business after 9/11. I think I'm playing this one cool – when it comes out I will set to work to see if it will let me make up all the ground I've lost.

What’s up next for you? Anything exciting we should know about?

I have a third novel in the series accepted by Double Dragon for release in 2008, as well as my fantasy novel to be released by Zumaya the same year. I'm just finishing a new short story for submission to the next Twisted Tales anthology from the Double Dragon authors – titled “Fear”. Haven't written short stories for years, or anything in the horror line before, but J felt the story I sent for Twisted Tales II was fit to be seen in company with the writings of the established Twisted Tales crew and I'm going to see if he thinks the same about this.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us today?

I'm part way through a new novel that brings NASA spaceflight into the same world as the exotic arts of Tibetan Buddhism, with a protagonist who visits other worlds through the power of the mind. It's another of my speculative adventures into realities outside our usual paradigm. I'm still seeking the edges of our universe.

Thanks for chatting with me today Chris. It’s been a great pleasure to get to know more about you and your work. Congratulations on your books. I wish you much success.

I must thank you for letting me chunder on so much. It's been a pleasure to answer your well aimed enquiries.

And the winner is...

2007-06-25T23:18:00.000-04:00

Joyce Anthony is the First Place winner of our contest. Joyce gets a copy of Jamieson Wolf's Write Now! Exercises for the Aspiring Writer.

Thanks to all who participated. Look for more contests coming soon!!!

Cheryl

Meet author Jamieson Wolf and find out why the wolf never sleeps

2007-06-20T23:06:00.000-04:00

Today I have the distinct pleasure of chatting with Jamieson Wolf. I met Jamieson though the Muse Online Writers Conference (http://museonlineconference.tripod.com/) last year and I can’t believe all this guy does. He is truly an inspiration to his fellow writers. Jamieson has many books to his credit—fiction and non-fiction—and he maintains numerous blogs for his many novels, book reviews, author interviews, and so much more. He also has written several articles for The American Chronicle (http://www.americanchronicle.com/AMchronDefault.asp). With so much going on in his world, it was hard to decide what we should talk about, but I figured I would stick to the craft of writing and his wonderful eBook Write Now! Exercises for the Aspiring Writer. Stick with us to the end and you’ll find out about a great contest where you’ll have the chance to win one of Jamieson’s books.

Wow! After all that, welcome to my blog Jamieson. It’s great to have you here!

Thanks Cheryl! It’s great to be here. It’s funny you call me an inspiration when that is how I think of you! I’ve been looking forward to this chat for a while!

Let’s talk about you for a minute. What can you tell us about yourself? How long have you been writing? What inspired you to become a writer?

Well, what would you like to know? Personal stuff first, I guess. I just celebrated my one year wedding anniversary. I read constantly (sometimes two or three books at a time) and write all the time too. I love Harry Potter and am anxiously awaiting and dreading the last book.

As for writing, the simple answer is that I’ve always been a writer, I just didn’t know it. I was always filling journals with stories or notations. I just didn’t realize that I was writing, or planting the seeds of what was to come.

For years I thought I wanted to be an actor. Turns out I loved the acting but not the people. I have no tolerance for twofaced people and theatre is full of them. So I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for a while. I had trained my whole life to be an actor and now I was adrift.

To while away the time, I started writing short stories. It helped me deal with walking away from acting and gave me another creative outlet. It wasn’t until someone read some of my scribbles and told me they were good that the idea of writing popped into my head.

I had always thought of my writing poetry and short stories as a pastime, as a hobby. I remember that day well because it was the day that it occurred to me that I could make a living writing. It was a powerful moment.

What is your writing process like? Do you write every day? Are you more productive during a certain time of the day?

You know, I usually ask this question in interviews too because I’m curious how it is for other people. I don’t tend to have a real writing process. Much like everything else I do, I’m kind of scattered all over the place.

I do write every single day. I don’t have any particular time of day where I’m more productive, but I tend to get great chunks of writing done on the weekends. I work full-time as well as doing all my writing and blogs, so I usually write early in the morning and after work during the week and then for most of Saturday.

But I can write any time, really. I always have a journal with me in my bag at all times because you never know when the Muses will strike you down with an idea. I hate when I have no paper when a line or a snippet of conversation pops into my head.

Having known you for a little while now, you always seem to have a million things in the hopper at one time. How do you juggle them all?

The simple answer to that is: I have no idea. I tend to focus on my blogs during the day and work on my current work in progress (right now I’m writing a memoir titled One Step at a Time for The Friday Project) during the evenings and weekends. But sometimes I just have to focus and push through to make sure I catch everything.

The blogs take up a lot of my time so there are some days where, if entries are piling up, I put aside my work in progress and just plow through. I find it’s all about balancing what needs to be done now with what can be done later.

Your eBook Write Now! Exercises for the Aspiring Writer(http://want-to-write-now.tripod.com/index.html) came out early this year and received rave reviews. What inspired you to write this book?

I would have to say that Stephen King inspired me to write it. I had read his memoir on the craft, ON WRITING, and it was fantastic. It was a very private look into where ideas for some of King’s work came from and his guidelines on how to write.

But I found it was lacking. There are tons of writing books out there that tell you how to write but they don’t SHOW you. I also find that most writing books place a large importance on grammar, punctuation, etc. While those are important elements, I find that it’s learning where to start that is most important.

I had written a book before WRITE NOW called THE MUSE: Learning to Write from Inspiration that talked about the Muses and how we are all inspired to write. The book was geared towards anyone who wrote or wanted to write and needed the inspiration to do so.

But it got me thinking. What if someone already had the inspiration to write, what if they already had that drive inside them, and didn’t know how? I wanted to write a book along the same lines as The Muse but a bit more simple and a lot more fun. I wanted to take the focus off of inspiration and look at the writing itself.

There are so many books out there about the craft of writing. What is unique about this one?

Like I said above, there are tons of writing books out there that tell you how to write but they don’t SHOW you. They always TELL you how to write, giving you detailed explanations about how a writer should do this, why a writer should do that. But then there are no examples.

I wanted WRITE NOW! to be different, so I resolved to use examples from my own writing so readers and writers would know they were on the right track and have a visual that they can refer to.

I felt it was important to use my own writing as examples because it’s one thing for me to tell people what to do but it’s a whole other kettle of fish if I SHOW them.

The Write Now! Website says this book includes everything a person would need to know to get her writing career started. You included chapters on description, setting, character, plot and more. How did you go about selecting which subjects you would cover?

This was actually a tricky process. I wanted to make sure that the book remained simple but would be a natural progression. I wanted it to have a starting point and then build from there so that writers would use what they learned in an earlier exercise in a later one.

It took some fiddling around but I got it shaved down to the bare basics. I needed WRITE NOW! to be simple and fun but I wanted it to have everything a writer could need to learn in order to write.

One particular topic caught my eye--fan fiction. It has been my experience that this type of writing is very controversial. Some writers think it’s great, while others think it’s a waste of time. Why did you feel the need to cover fan fiction?

Well, fan fiction is how I started writing stuff other than poetry. I figured it was easier to write something if I didn’t have to imagine everything (characters, setting, etc) when it was already there.

Later, I realized that fan fiction was limiting and I started creating my own worlds, my own characters. But it’s a great starting place for those who want to write but don’t know how to go about picking out a setting, characters, etc. It gets them writing, which is the most important thing, and they don’t have to worry about the other stuff.

While controversial, fan fiction is a great escape. It lets you play around in someone else’s playground. It’s great fun when you want to write but you’re experiencing writers block. It helps rev up the imagination and is just plain fun.

Now, of course, it’s better to write your own stuff, but fan fiction should be looked at as play writing. But it’s all about putting your pen to the paper, right?

So tell us, how can you order Write Now! Exercises for the Aspiring Writer?

Well, that’s simple! Head on over to http://want-to-write-now.tripod.com and read all about the book and you can order it from the web site!

I know you have many books out there for fans to read, but it looks like you’ve got a lot going on in the next few months too. What do your fans and fellow writers have to look forward to?

I sure do! I’ve got three more novels coming out later this year from Write Words Inc (a trilogy of novels called Hope Falls, Eagle Valley and Dragons Coe), as well as a memoir coming out in early 2008. Aside from that, I’m working on a book of articles, a book of essays on Stephen Kings Dark Tower Series as well as a book of short stories. No rest for the wicked, right?

Anything else you would like to share?

Just the most important piece of writing advice you’ll ever hear: Write every day and read everything you can. You can’t learn to write without practice and you can’t write well without reading.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with me today Jamieson. I loved being able to pick the brain of the master.

Master? LOL Hardly. I just love what I do. Thanks for having me here Cheryl, you’re always a pleasure to talk to!

Note: I really could have asked Jamieson at least a dozen more questions, but he’ll be back in July and August to talk to me about two more of his books The Ghost Mirror and HUNTED. So, here is your reward for reading the entire interview. Jamieson has agreed to give away free copies of three of his books. Just click on this link http://want-to-write-now.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/description.pdf and perform the exercise. Email your favorite description to me at cg20pm00@gmail.com. The deadline for entering is midnight on Sunday, June 24, 2007. Jamieson and I will select three winners. First Place will get a copy of Write Now!. Second Place receives a copy of The Ghost Mirror and the Third Place winner gets a copy of HUNTED. But to be honest, you’re all winners if you take the time perform that exercise because it might just be the first step you’ll take towards becoming a writer.

Meet author Vicki M. Taylor

2007-06-19T08:54:00.000-04:00

Award-winning author Vicki M. Taylor joins me today to talk about her latest release, Trust in the Wind. This is just one stop on her month-long blog tour. Welcome Vicki. I’m glad you’re here.

Thanks for hosting me during my Virtual Book Tour. I'm happy to be here.

Q: Let’s start by finding out more about you. Who is Vicki M. Taylor? How long have you been writing? Do you focus on a certain genre?

I'm a mother of three grown children, with one grandson and I live with my husband, dog, and parrot in Tampa, Florida. I wrote for fifteen years as a technical writer before turning to fiction around 1999. I call myself a Women's Fiction author because I think my stories go a little deeper into real life than a typical romance. I've written about teenage drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, murder and more.

Q: I’ve read the reviews for Trust in the Wind, and I have to say, it seems like this is one book that every romance lover needs to read. What inspired you to write this novel?

Trust in the Wind developed from a dream. A very vivid dream. When I woke the next morning, I could recall everything clearly in my mind. I knew I had something special. I instantly grabbed pen and paper (which I always keep next to my bed for just such occasions) and started writing. Furiously. I didn’t want to lose any of the story before I could get it all out of my head and onto the paper. When I finished writing, I had an entire story. The whole synopsis of the book. Even now, I can still recall parts of that dream clearly in my mind; it was that dramatic.

Q: Trust in the Wind has a pregnant teen who has decided to go it alone after her family disowns her; an absent father who is not involved in the baby’s life; a widowed sheriff who has lost his wife and child and has since turned his back on love; and loads of well-meaning friends who try to keep the two main characters apart because of the difference in their ages. How do you jam that much conflict into one novel?

It's what real life is all about. Things aren't perfect. My characters don't have storybook lives. They show me what happens to them. I write it down. It's kind of fun to see how they're going to handle each situation and get through it.

Q: We meet Joanne (your female lead), in Chapter One, where she and a friend are accosted by a group of vulgar, drunken hooligans after leaving a community laundry room. Obviously, she isn’t living the high life. How did you go about creating the world in which Joanne lives? Did you do research? Did you take some pictures of a location similar to what you wanted to depict in your story? Or did you approach it some other way?

Joanne's world is a combination of places I've been and my imagination. I used my imagination to give it more of an unfortunate, run-down, poor side of town feel to it.

Q: Tell us a bit about Roy. He lost his wife and child during a burglary and he has sworn off love, but he finds himself attracted to Joanne, who is several years his junior. How did you create Roy? What do you like about him? Is there anything you dislike about him?

Ah, Roy. He looks like Ed Harris. Back when Ed Harris was in The Abyss. He's a bit of a loner and a risk taker. After his family was killed, he took all the dangerous jobs. He didn't consider his life important anymore. Roy needed to see there were still things in life worth saving. Including his own life. I like that he connected with Joey so quickly and they bonded. He has a bit of a temper. That's apparent when one of the other officers tries to make Joanne look like a prostitute.

Q: Trust in the Wind deals with what some might say is a sensitive issue—love between two people who are separated by nearly two decades. How do you get readers to concentrate more on the love story developing between two people, than on their chronological ages?

I think when people are reading Trust in the Wind, I think they forget about Joanne's and Roy's ages and just see two people falling in love. The story of their journey could happen to anyone, not just a younger woman and older man.

Q: This is what Georgia Richardson of http://www.queenjawjaw.com/ had to say about Trust in the Wind: “Strong characters, suspenseful, and a love scene that massaged my heart. This was one time where the romance was beautiful; a gift . . . in a sense. As I read parts of it, I found myself saying, "I want that kind of love!" Every scene, every exciting movement, and yes, even the kisses exchanged, were given to me in such a way that an artist could not have painted a better picture for my senses to enjoy.” How do you feel after such a fabulous review?

I'm thrilled with it. Georgia really got to the basics of the book, the senses, and saw what I was trying to communicate. I'm really glad she enjoyed it so much.

Q: Can you take a minute to tell us about some of the author and writing organizations you are a part of?

I'm a founding member and past president of the Florida Writers Association (http://www.floridawriters.net). I belong to the National Association of Women Writers (http://www.naww.org). I'm a member of Romance Writers of America, and of my local RWA chapter, Tampa Area Romance Authors. (http://www.tararwa.com/index.php) Also, the Short Mystery Fiction Society (http://www.shortmystery.net/)

Q: I’ll close here with one final question. What else would you like to tell us about yourself and your work? What’s up next?

I love to write. That's what it's all about, really. Loving what I do. Even when it's writing humorous personal essays about my husband's latest handyman effort. I'm currently working on a women's fiction novel about a 39 year old mother of five who wants to adopt a 14 year old pregnant teenager and the tragic consequences. Pretty dramatic stuff.

Thank you so much for spending time with us today. It was a great pleasure. I wish you continued success in all you do.

Thank you, I appreciate that. I enjoyed my visit. I had fun!

Meet author Karen Magill

2007-06-14T08:02:00.000-04:00

I have a special treat for you to help celebrate Flag Day. Joining me today is author Karen Magill, whose latest novel, Let Us Play, A Rock ‘n Roll Love Story is now available through Lulu.com http://www.lulu.com/karenmagill . Welcome to my blog, Karen. I’m thrilled to have the chance to interview you during your month-long Virtual Book Tour.

Thank you for inviting me. I consider it an honor to be here.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? How long have you been writing?

Ever since I learned how to put words together, I have written. My paternal grandmother, Katherine Magill, was a published author. She helped support the family by writing articles as well has having two published books. I have always had a wild imagination and preferred living in a world of my own making rather than the real one. At 41, I’ll be 42 in June, I still be prefer my imaginary world. In 2000, I was diagnosed with MS and put on disability. Instead of looking at this as a negative, I instead focus on this as an opportunity to follow my lifelong dream of writing. In 2004 I independently published my first novel The Bond as an experiment. It went so well I published my second Let Us Play in 2006.

Let Us Play, is set in an uncertain time in the future where rock ‘n roll has been banned. Can you tell us what inspired you to write this story?

Rock n’ roll music has always been a scapegoat when young people have done things wrong. Never mind that millions of teens can listen to the same album without incident – a couple go bad and it is the music’s fault. Remember when it was the devil’s music? I don’t like all the music that’s out there but I don’t think it should be banned. Then in the nineties the United States had the PMRC. Tipper Gore’s efforts to help her husband get in the White House. My opinion. They helped a lot of musical artists get a lot of promotion. Not that that was their intention. And a lot of things over the years have combined to inspire me to come up with this idea.

Then, to make it different, I had to make sure that Kaya had the gift of second sight. She is facing a sadistic opponent in the government leader Judah Arnold. So she needs an extra edge.

Your main character, Kaya Moore, leads a group of rebels who are fighting to have everyone’s rights restored. What can you tell us about Kaya? Why will readers care about what happens to her?

Kaya is fighting PARR not only because she believes that everyone should have the right to choose – a factor I think that everyone will agree with – but because of the wrongs that they have done to her. I think the reader will feel for her. She is headstrong and passionate and driven and committed to what she believes in. LUPO is her world. Even when Kaya is stubborn and her passion can lead her to do things that are foolhardy, the reader may bite their tongue and shake their head, but they still empathize with what is driving Kaya.

Censorship can be a very challenging subject to handle in a novel. How did you approach it? Did you have any fears of addressing this issue in Let Us Play?

For Let Us Play I used the censorship of music and I used the extreme notion of total censorship – the music being entirely eliminated. When a person reads the novel they will see the methods that the government used to accomplish this.

I had no fears addressing this issue because it is fiction but as with all fiction, I intended for it to get people thinking. Could it really happen? I don’t know. Would the government ever do the things I say they do in the book? Who knows what power hungry, corrupt people are capable of?

With this novel I went over the top, I had fun with everything. From the characters to the situations. I let my imagination run wild and didn’t try to restrain myself at all. It was great.

When I read the synopsis of this novel and a review from The Book Pedler (http://thebookpedler.wordpress.com/2007/05/21/let-us-play-by-karen-magill/), I instantly thought your novel could be considered a larger scale, futuristic version of the movie Footloose. Do you see any connection between the two or am I just insane?

Thank you, what a compliment! The premise is the same but I guess the theory of censoring rock and roll music has been around since the birth of the music. You know, last year my apartment was broken into and all they took were my DVDs. One of the first ones I replaced was Footloose!

Yes, you could say there is a connection between Let Us Play and Footloose. As well as Let Us Play and Styx’s Kilroy Was Here. A funny story. The whole time I was writing Let Us Play, a line kept going through my head ‘it ain’t the music that’s in question. It’s called a freedom of expression.’ I had to fight not to put that in there because that is a line from a song on the Styx album. But that was playing in my head the whole time.

What’s up next in the world of Karen Magill?

I have to keep promoting this book and my first The Bond. I am working at learning how to change both books into screenplay format. I have to write my next book, which I am planning on being the sequel to Let Us Play. This one will focus on another character in Let Us Play. Keep learning all I can about this business.

Thanks for dropping in and sharing some insight into your last book. I wish you much success.

Thank you for having me, it’s been fun.

Check out Karen's next stop on her virtual tour, which will be tomorrow at The Romantic Fanatic - http://www.romanticfanatic.blogspot.com/

Oh man! I guess I'm it.

2007-06-09T22:44:00.000-04:00

Vicki M. Taylor, who is the author of the wonderful book Trust in the Wind (I reviewed this book here in May), tagged me, and now I have to come up with 8 unique things to tell you about myself. I'm not sure if these things will help you understand me or give you reasons to avoid me, but it's who I am.

1) I am a Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House on the Prairie (LHOP) fanatic. I have an entire bookshelf dedicated to books by and about Wilder and her family. I've reviewed books about and by her daughter Rose Wilder Lane here at my blog. I watched Michael Landon's adaptation of these books when it originally aired in the 1970's and 80's. It remains my all time favorite show. I own a Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder, LHOP) Yahoo Group, administrate a LHOP forum, and have written many LHOP fan fiction stories. I have two Laura Ingalls Wilder writing projects in mind if I ever find the time to put them together.

2) I taught catechism in the Catholic Church for ten years and ran the elementary age program for five years, which garnered me the Pope Pious X award.

3) I have a Christmas fetish. Christmas is my favorite time of year. Of course, around here it's almost an all year round event. I finally put my oldest daughter's tree down in the cellar tonight. From Thanksgiving until some time in January, I have 8 trees inside my home and 7 trees outside. My goal is to have every room of my house decorated during the season (even the bathrooms). I'm pretty close now, but my mother-in-law says she hopes she's gone home to meet her Maker before I achieve my goal.

4) I worked fourteen years in retail; I was a bank teller for two different credit unions; I worked as an office manager for a manufacturing firm, and was a data management analyst for a Fortune 100 company before I left the workforce in 2004 to stay home with my kids.

5) Speaking of my children, I have a son who turned 20 last month and two daughters who are 5 and 3. It is strange having a child in college and one in Kindergarten, but I figure it could make for some interesting story ideas.

6) I ran for public office in 2003. I lost, but I still got 40% of the vote against a person who had lived in town for over twenty years.

7) I danced for over nine years. I had dreams of touring with a ballet company. When my mother became ill, I quit. It is one of my biggest regrets.

8) I can spread my toes out so much that it looks like I have bird feet. I don't know how I discovered this trait, but I loved grossing out my middle sister with it when we were younger.

Now that you know more about me than you ever cared to, I'll tag the following people: Sadie, Amber, Candela, JoElle, Peg, Rhett, Karina, and Joyce.

Meet author Larraine Wills

2007-06-06T22:13:00.000-04:00

Joining me today is fantasy, sci-fi, and romance author Larraine Wills. Welcome Larraine, it’s great to have you here!

Thank you, Cheryl, it’s a pleasure to be here.

Q: Let’s start by getting to know you better. Who is Larraine Wills? How long have you been writing?

Oh, gee, who am I? A wife, mother, grandmother who appreciates all of the afore mentioned. I’m one of the odd ones, been married to the same man through all of it, and have enjoyed the support of husband, children and grandchildren. Without them pushing me to do so, I may never have submitted anything. I have been writing for years, stacking the manuscripts away in drawers and closets until two years ago when I started submitting. With what little feedback I got with my rejections I learned some changes I needed to make, laid off for about six months while I did some massive editing and began again last April when my first re-vamped submission was accepted by a publisher (Swimming Kangaroo Books -http://www.swimmingkangaroo.com/). They accepted that one plus four more. I hide out in the high desert of Arizona with my hubby, Little Bit, who doesn’t know she’s a dog, and two cats.

Q: Can you tell us what your writing process is like? Is there a time of day that you are more productive than others?

When I said my family supported me I should have included tolerate. I’m one of those obsessive writers, first thing in the morning until last thing at night until the first draft at least is done with as few interruptions as I can manage. ‘Just a minute’ is my favorite phrase during those times. I find evening my most productive time, probably because of the least amount of distractions.

Q: How long did it take you to complete Looking Glass Portal?

A couple of months if you aren’t including the edits once it went into the publishing process. I give each edit at least a week of work, doing what the editor suggested, ideas that come out of those suggestions and hunting out typos, wrong words, that type of thing.

Q: In Looking Glass Portal, a modern day cowboy and his horse are abducted by aliens and taken aboard their ship. How did you come up with this fascinating story idea?

I have to chuckle a bit here, because I don’t remember what actually started this story off in my head. It could have been one scene or even just one line I saw or read. It could have been an incident I witnessed that caught my attention or I should say my imagination. Sometimes ideas seem to come from nothing at all, just rambling around in my thoughts until they settle. I can tell you that once that kernel is planted the story takes me forward and back from that beginning point, developing the characters and plot until the story is finished.

Q: How did you create the world in which the yantz, the Pig-man, and the Midradina exist?

They came into existence because they were needed to make the story go where I wanted it to go and the characters do what I wanted them to do. I know that’s a rather stiff answer, but where they come from is imagination and that’s something I can’t really explain. It just is.

Q: When the story begins, Garrett (the main character), has suffered with pain for the past twelve years and is contemplating suicide. Then he is abducted by aliens. How do you create a character who is sympathetic enough for the reader to care about, but who hasn’t had so many hardships that the reader thinks, ‘Alright already. Give the guy a break.’?

I kind of hope the readers are thinking that. That means they like him and are pulling for him, that they understand his outlook on life even why he would consider ending his own, his slightly off center sense of humor, that they recognize his strength and courage in contemplating suicide but not doing it so that they want him to be happy. If they don’t like him they aren’t going to keep reading about him, right?

Q: On your website (http://www.larriane.com/index.htm), there is a link to Café Press where fans can purchase t-shirts and other gifts with cover art from your books The Knowing and Looking Glass Portal. What a great promotional tool! How did you get involved in this aspect of promotion for your novels?

I can’t claim any credit for that, but I think it’s great. That was arranged by my publisher Dindy Robinson at Swimming Kangaroo Books.

Q: What’s up next for you? What other exciting projects do you have in the works for your fans?

I have three more books under contact and in the production process. Two are contemporary romances, one soft and one hot, and one historical soft romance. Thirteen Souls has a lot of ghosts, while the Mark of the Sire is ghost free. Mourning Meadow is the next to be released, (with some ghosts) slated for October. I do write all over the genre board and cross them over. As the next three are more main stream than fantasy or science fiction they’ll be published under my alter ego, Larion Wills. By the time those are released, I hope to have more under contract. Like I said I’ve been putting them in drawers and closets for years. My biggest draw back now is time. They all need to be typed into the computer and edited.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Yes, there is, a big broad thank you. I consider myself extremely fortunate in finding a publisher who took a chance on an unpublished author and takes the time to answer all my ‘dumb’ questions, an editor who tells me what my stories need to make them better but listens if I disagree, strangers on the loops who encourage and assist newbies, and strangers I meet at book signing events. One of the things that held me back from submitting (aside from the dread of receiving rejections) was I knew from things I had read that to make my books successful I had to go out into the public to promote them. That meant I had to shake myself out of my near hermit existence and face talking to people despite my hearing handicap. There has not been one person at any of the events or a book store manager I’ve talked to that was rude or impatient. I tell them I have a hearing problem, they say that’s okay and repeat things, some times over and over, with understanding and consideration until I can catch it all. I know it would be easier if I could hear better. I also know now that what is a handicap does not have to be a barrier that can’t be breached. Mourning Meadow is the only story I’ve written that addresses a hearing handicap. The story is fictional, but after people read it, I hope they have a better understanding of it means to a person who can hear, but can’t understand language clearly to eliminate those few who are rude and thoughtless. And thank you for giving me the opportunity to say these things.

Thanks again for stopping by my blog. It was great to have the chance to speak with you about your novels. Best wishes for the future!

Book review - Trust in the Wind by Vicki M. Taylor

2007-05-30T08:56:00.000-04:00

What do you get when you put together a young single mother and a widowed deputy sheriff? A touching love story that you’ll want to read again and again. Vicki M. Taylor’s latest release, Trust in the Wind draws together two people who have sworn off love and makes them believe in its power.

Joanne Malone lost all she had when she went against her parents’ wishes to become a single mother to her son, Joey. Living in an apartment complex in an undesirable area of town, Joanne and her friend Sheila are accosted on their way back from the community laundry room by a group of drunken hooligans. In walks Roy Bonham, a deputy sheriff for Hillsborough County. He is instantly taken with the much younger Joanne, but the loss of his wife and child in a burglary a few years back has left him with a huge hurt and he has vowed he will never love again.

Roy keeps coming back to the apartment complex where Joanne and Joey live not knowing why he feels the need to stay in contact with them. Joanne’s and Roy’s friends discourage any type of involvement between the two. Roy is much older and has a dangerous occupation, Sheila warns her. And Roy’s best friend Tony questions whether it’s a good idea for him to get tied up with a young girl and her kid.

But the more time they spend together, the harder it is for Joanne and Roy to deny their deepening feelings.

Taylor weaves a group of unforgettable characters and real life issues into a story you won’t be able to put down. As you watch Joanne and Roy’s relationship unfold, you’ll laugh with them, cry with them, and cheer when true love conquers all. This is one novel that should be on everyone’s bookshelf, but it will never be there long, because you’ll be dying to read it again as soon as you’re done.

Look for my upcoming interview with Vicki M. Taylor on Tuesday, June 19th.

For information on how to order Trust in the Wind and other books by Vicki M. Taylor check out her Website at http://www.vickimtaylor.com/