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VOICE IN THE DARK
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Seasons Greetings to all
Mystery Fiction Monthly Ezine -- The Voice in the DarkIssue No. 54, November/December 2009
Co-Editor: Anne K. Edwards
marbob00@earthlink.net
http://www.Mysteryfiction.ne
Co-Editor: Mayra Calvani
MGCalvani@hotmail.com
http://www.Mayracalvani.com
Slippery Book Review Blog
http://slipperybookreview.wordpress.com
Pets and Their Authors Blog
http://www.petsandauthors.blogspot.com
By subscription only. You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription. To unsubscribe, send an email to marbob00@earthlink.net with your email address.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Voice in the Dark will continue to be open to well written, interesting submissions having to do with writing, publishing, and promotion of books. In addition to a subscription list, Voice in the Dark is posted each month on http://www.Mysteryfiction.net. If interested contact Anne K. Edwards at marbob00@earthlink.net with "Voice Submission" in your subject line.
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NOTE: Recommend visiting the site of the Southern Review to get the latest on Amazon and other publishing news. http://www.anvilpub.net/southern_review_of_books.htm
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NOTE: Books We Love is hosting another great contest for readers. Visit http://www.bookswelove.net and enter. Lots of prizes. Meet new authors and new reads. Visit Jude's Alter-Ego at http://www.judeatkins.com
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If you are interested in reviewing books, contact simegen@simegen.com. They are looking for qualified reviewers.
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JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!
NEW RELEASE!
Humberto The Bookworm Hamster
by Mayra Calvani
Humberto is an antisocial little hamster...he's totally addicted to books! His neighbors, the squirrel, the rabbit, the skunk, the hedgehog and the beaver want to become his friends, but Humberto doesn't have time for them. He's too busy reading! Then one day, disaster strikes and he must choose between saving his books and helping his soon-to-be friends.
Visit http://www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com
Humberto the Bookworm Hamster explores the joys of reading and friendship. Humberto's gift of imagination will delight children as much as his kindness towards others will inspire them.
--The Kids Book Connection
Purchase information:
Humberto the Bookworm Hamster
by Mayra Calvani
Illustrated by Kit Grady, http://www.kitgrady.com
Guardian Angel Publishing
ISBN 13: 978-1-935137-92
ISBN 10: 1935137921
Copyright September 2009
Paperback/Ebook
24 pages
Ages 4-8
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List of children's Christmas books:
The Magic Violin by Mayra Calvani
A little girl learns the mysterious power of self esteem in this children’s story which combines violin music, magic, Christmas, and the charm of Europe.
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/magic-violin.htm
Santa and the Chimney
A coloring book about Santa stuck in a Chimney.
http://stores.lulu.com/piedenero
http://www.piedenero.com/santa/default.html
The Christmas Angel
A story about a little girl on the Oregon Trail who is trying to get a porcelain tree-top angel to her new home in Oregon.
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/christmas-angel.htm
One Family's Christmas
The Sequel to The Christmas Angel when the family generations later take the angel from the trunk and put it on their tree.
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/christmas-angel.htm
Baby Jesus is Missing
The annual Christmas decorating contest left no room for Jesus until little Josiah Carr teaches his mommy and daddy the true spirit of Christmas is finding Jesus. This captivating story is guaranteed to warm the coldest heart and become a Christmas favorite for families everywhere.http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/baby-jesus.htm
Secret Service Saint
Loosely based on legends about a famous saint, this book tells the story of Nicholas, who discovered the fun of doing secret good deeds. Kids who read or hear the story at any time of the year will be challenged to do the same.
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/secret-saint.htm
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This year is the 10th anniversary of the founding of Twilight Times Books (1999) and the 5th year since we went to print (2004). Those are significant milestones.
In celebration, Twilight Times Books will have a print book sale from now until Dec. 15th. Most titles will be offered to the general public at a 10 - 30% discount.
http://twilighttimesbooks.com/print_books101509sale.html
For a limited time, and while quantities last, we are offering a 30% - 50% discount on selected titles.
http://twilighttimesbooks.com/print_books101509special.html
Check out our newsletter for info on our latest releases.
http://twilighttimesbooks.com/ttb_nl19.html
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New Twilight Times Books releases
The Y Factor by Darrell Bain and Stephanie Osborn is a finalist for the 2009 EPPIE award in the category of science fiction. Congrats Darrell and Stephanie!
Mazurka by Aaron Paul Lazar has been submitted for the Edgar Award along with 22 stories from the ACWL anthology, Murder Past, Murder Present.
http://64.13.253.128/?q=Edgars-Submissions
All titles released with a copyright of 2009 are eligible for certain awards. You still have time to submit to the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award. Deadline Jan. 15, 2010.
http://www.forewordmagazine.com/publisher/book-year-awards
Four out of seven books we entered in the ForeWord Magazine 2008 Book of the Year contest made the finals. And of the four, two were category winners and one book received honorable mention.
The Eric Hoffer Award. Open to books that were released or copyrighted in the last 2 years. Also has a "legacy" category for "any fiction titles over two years of age." Deadline: January 21, 2010.
http://www.hofferaward.com
Fall releases in trade paperback!
Bigfoot Crazy by Darrell Bain
Bobby Becomes Bob by Bob Boan
(for goodness' sake) by Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti
Gaea by Robina Williams
Human by Choice by Travis S. Taylor and Darrell Bain
Krona: Dragons of Nistala by Bent Lorentzen
Lady Runaway by Ginger Hanson
Mazurka by Aaron Paul Lazar
Murder Past, Murder Present, ACWL mystery anthology. R. Barri Flowers and Jan Grape, editors.
Out of the Psychic Closet by Toby Fesler Heathcotte
Return to Nowhere by Leanna Sain
Sonora Wind by Florence Byham Weinberg
The Eden Prophecy by Gerald Mills
The Y Factor by Darrell Bain and Stephanie Osborn
You, Me, Naideen and a Bee by Ken Ramirez
Book sale runs until Dec. 15th
This year is the 10th anniversary of the founding of Twilight Times Books (1999) and the 5th year since we went to print (2004). Those are significant milestones.
In celebration, Twilight Times Books will have a print book sale from now until Dec. 15th. Most titles will be offered to the general public at a 10 - 30% discount.
http://twilighttimesbooks.com/print_books101509sale.html
For a limited time, and while quantities last, we are offering a 30% - 50% discount on selected titles.
http://twilighttimesbooks.com/print_books101509special.html
Full book list at http://twilighttimesbooks.com/print_books.html
Check out our newsletter for info on our latest releases.
http://twilighttimesbooks.com/ttb_nl19.html
Lida E. Quillen, Publisher
Twilight Times Books
http://twilighttimesbooks.com
Twilight Times ezine re-launched with the Oct/Nov 2009 issue after a two year hiatus.
http://twiilghttimes.com
Our Marketing Plan by Ellis Weiner (humor)
[how the major NYC print publishers use social media]
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2009/10/19/091019sh_shouts_weiner?printable=t
Critically acclaimed Literary, Mystery and SF/F books
http://twilighttimesbooks.com
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editor's Note
Fictional Character Interview
--Noelen Noelen, Santa's Head Elf in the Computer Department
Featured Interviews
--Mayra Calvani, Author
--Linda Weaver, Author
--Suzanne Lieurance, Author & Writing Coach
--Kathy Stemke, Author
--Lani Brown, Author
Gladiator's Arena--by Mayra Calvani
Short Fiction
--Deja vu by Mayra Calvani
--Two and Twenty Farthings by Lad Moore
Articles
--"And They Lived Happily Ever After!" by Lea Schizas
--For Writers & Readers & Writer Wwannabes: A feel good place to be by Lani Brown
--Guest Article by Carolyn Howard-Johnson
L'Atelier: -- Columnist Mayra Calvani
Whodunit? -- Columnist Billie A. Williams
Seedlings -- Aaron Paul Lazar
Reviews
Events
Resources
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Editor's Note
The staff of Voice in the Dark wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday. May you find lots of good things under your tree and a lovely New Year.
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Fictional Character Interview
Meet Noelen Noelen, Santa's Head Elf in the Computer Department
Interview by Mayra Calvani
Q. What is your name?
A. They call me Noelen Noelen. I was named after my father and grandfather who have the same name. We do not have last names, but my mother did not want to disappoint either of them because I was the first son after four daughters. I have three younger brothers also. They are Noelin Noelen, Noelen Noelin, and Jingle Bells.
Q. I understand you're one of Santa's elves. How did that come about?
A. We are automatically Santa's elves, trained from babyhood to work for him. There are always new jobs to be filled. I liked new things when I was in elf school, so I was hired to help assemble the newest games as my first job. Then I learned to help make them and when the computer department was set up, I got the job I now have. It is very demanding too. The technology seems to change every day. I get confused sometimes. Have you ever tried texting on your television remote? My wife complains all the time how I take the remote to work instead of my cell phone.
Q. How long have you been working for Santa?
A. I've worked for Santa about a hundred years. There have been a lot of changes since I started. Those changes are coming faster and faster nowadays too. I often long for the old daya when I could hook Rudolph to a sleigh and fly down for a ride in the pine woods in Northern Canada to clear my head. We're simply too busy these days.
Q. Between you and me, what's it like working for him?
A. Working for Santa isn't like other jobs, that's for sure. All vacations must be taken in January because the new list of naughty and nice children comes out in February and Santa and the Elves Board must decide on what toys to make and how many of each. Of course, the lobbyists are always coming up or phoning with special deals from the toy companies too. They keep trying to tell Santa that it would be cheaper to shut down our toymaking lines and buy from them. It's a good thing Santa has a charitable heart or all those guys would get in their stockings at Christmas is a lump of plastic coal or some toy they made that doesn't work. Santa says he won't be responsible for a high rate of unemployment among the elves so he always tells them he's not interested.
We had trouble with a few guys who wanted to unionize the elves too, but Santa advised the board that would lead to trouble. If we unionized, he figured those guys would always wait until November to call for a new contract because Santa wouldn't have time then for negotiating. With wage increase demands, health insurance (we elves never get sick but those are part of the unionists' demands), and all sorts of other things, our costs would go way up too. Those guys said we'd have to use union labor for shipping and delivery of the toys too. Santa said the reindeer didn't want to join any union. Then they said Santa needed to get his sleigh inspected and safety gear installed for union inspections too. I never heard of anyone needing safety gear while sitting at a table and making toys. We do it all by hand, even the electronics.
That's another problem we've had. Licensing to produce patented games and toys. Santa is thinking of cutting them out and going back to the non electronic toys.
I mention all this to show you what a strain Santa works under. So some days his ho ho ho is more like how how how or no no no.
On a personal note, he's a great boss, but he needs to learn to delegate.
Q. What's the toughest part of your job?
A. Trying to understand some of the messages we get from children or their parents. I mean, they text us using abbreviations instead of full words. Like LOL--what does that mean? Love oh Love, Lots of Luck or Laughing out loud? They send emails too and voice mail messages on top of the regular mail. There are so many types of communications now, we have a hard time keeping up. To read the text messages, we've had to send three elves to cryptography school. This is on top of all the clerks who translate all the mail in other languages so we can all read it. And then there are all the blogs and websites and groups to be managed too. Did you know that Ruldolph has a fan club? All the other reindeer do too. They spend a lot of time online and that slows our computer systems. It's taking three times as long to get the lists made now. One of the main problems is the kids can't make up their minds what they want and keep making changes until the last minute.
We elves have decided that all requests must be received by June 30 after this year and that no changes after that date will be accepted. To think we used to wait until after Thanksgiving for that.
Q. What's a December day like for you?
A. Dark and hectic. Since we live in the North Pole, we never see the sun anyhow so we are never sure when one day ends and the other begins. We all work inside too. And as December approaches, Santa's toy shop is a madhouse. If it weren't for Santa's magic we'd never get all those millions of toys into one sleigh. Then there's all the gifts for grownups too. I don't know the logistics of magic, but I know those nine reindeer would never get that load off the ground. Santa's thinking about using gift coupons for anyone over sixteen. He could use an email program for that and he'd make a deal with the stores for their redemptions. I wouldn't want to work in their exchange departments when those people tried to make up their minds what they want
Q. What does an elf eat? Do you sit at the table with Mr. and Mrs. Claus?
A. We eat lots of greens and fruits. Santa has some greenhouses now to grow vegetables and dwarf fruit trees. He keeps bees for pollination. Mrs. Claus knitted all the bees neck scarves one year so they'd stay warm, but they couldn't wear them after they got all covered with pollen and honey. They're so small they got tangled in the motor of the dryer. It took Santa and two elves hours to untie those knots.
You will notice I have a tendency to get off the subject. That comes from being online so much with those blogs and such. We elves sit at a long table with Santa if we're ranked high enough. There are several tables in the cafeteria. It's always open because of the shift work and we all love our coffee.
Q. How many elves are there in the North Pole working for Santa?
A. I don't know, but I'm sure one of the countries has a census list somewhere. They keep trying to tax Santa for international trade. The U.S. wants him to sign a peace treaty and trade agreement too. Do you think they'd put us on their foreign aid programs then?
Thanks and Merry Christmas!
It'll be a Merry Christmas for us if people will stop trying to bring us into the twenty first century. You know with labor laws, political correctness, holding elections to set up a recognized government so they can send representatives here. I don't know how they'd build an embassy up here. Well, maybe ice blocks. They could hire eskimos to be their ambassadors.
We don't want to work on an assembly line. We don't want supervisors looking over our shoulders. We don't want to justify our jobs, attend motivational meetings and so forth. Our system has worked for nearly a thousand years with only minor adjustments as times change.
Santa will be stopping by your house, but please use low fat milk and sugar free cookies for his treat.
Merry Christmas to you too.
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Interviews
Meet Mayra Calvani, Author http://www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com
Interview by Kit Grady, Artist http://www.KitGrady.com
Q. When working on a story, what steps or process do you use?
A. For a picture book, what usually happens is I get an idea and then let it simmer in my mind for weeks, sometimes even months or years. Then one day I just feel the need to write it down and the whole thing pours out of me in a sitting. When this happens, I stay working on the story a whole morning or a whole day. I then take a break from it for maybe a day or two befoe going back and polishing it. Then I send it to my critique group for feedback. This is very helpful. I may or may not take on their suggestions, but their advice is always good. I save each version of the story, so if I edit the story 5 times, I'll save those 5 files of each version under a folder named after the book's title.
Q. What sparks your ideas for stories?
A. Real lie, newspaper articles, TV shows, family stories, memories, photos, beautiful scenery. Everything around me may spark an idea in me. The Muse is a very curious thing.
Q. What is your strongest personal trait that makes you a better writer?
A. I would say persistence. I never give up, no matter how many rejection letters I get or the competitive state of the children's book market.
Q. Where did your last story idea come from? Where were you when you began working on it?
A. For a long time I wanted to write a picture book story about a little mouse or hamster who loved books so much, he didn't have time for friends. That's how Humberto the Bookworm Hamster came about. As usual, I let the idea simmer for some time, then, one morning, I got up from bed and had to sit down and write it. So that's what I did, and the story poured out of me in one sitting.
Humberto loves books so much, he reads at all times of the day, even while he sleeps he reads--audio books. The other animals want to become his friends, but he doesn't have time for them. He's too busy reading! Then one day a flood comes and he must decide whether to salvage the rest of his books before they sink in the rising water or helping the animals. Humberto's story is a tale about books and the true meaning of friendship: how good are books really if you can't share them with people you care about?
I can sympathize with my character because many times I see myself in him. As a writer and reviewer, I'm so involved with books I tend to become a hermit. Socializing is important too.
Q. What advice would you give a new writer?
A. My first advice would be, of course, to read a lot. If you want to write picture books, read dozens of picture booksa month. Especially read award winners and when you read these books, study them and what made them so successful. If you're new to the craft of picture book writing, read nonfiction books on the subject, take a course or a workshop. Join a good critique group, one that focuses on picture books. A writer who's not familiar with this genre won't be able to help you, no matter how good they are at writing, let's say, chick lit novels. Last but not least, WRITE. I try to write one picture book story a week, or at least two a month. You get better the more you write and, most importantly, the writing will come easier.
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Meet Linda Weaver, Author and Teacher
Interview by Mayra Calvani
Linda Weaver Clarke writes historical novels and teaches family legacy workshops across the country. Her latest book, Elena, Woman of Courage, has just been released. She's here today to talk about her popular workshops and about her writing.
Q. It's a pleasure having you here today, Linda. Please tell us about your Family Legacy Workshops and how you started organizing them.
A. I teach people how to write their family history or their own autobiography. It’s important to teach our children their heritage.
How did I get started? After writing my own ancestors’ experiences down, I decided to teach people how to write their stories. So I began in my own area, and gradually expanded further and further from home. Before I knew it, I had libraries from all over the U.S. signing up for my workshops. Libraries provide many ways of education for their communities as long as they have an active Friends Group to support them.
Q. What do people learn at your workshops?
A. I teach a variety of things. First of all, I encourage my audience to research the area their ancestors settled and the time period. Find out everything you can about the area. If possible, go there and walk around, find out where your ancestors lived, went to school, and played. If you can’t go there in person, then do research and find pictures of that area.
The time period is very important. If they lived during the depression or World War II, then write about it. What happened during those years of conflict? What did your ancestors have to endure? When I was writing my father’s biography, I found out that in 1942 they rationed gas to three gallons a week. To me, that was amazing. In 1896, they painted pencils yellow for the very first time, and for a very good reason. I found out that in the 1920s, women bobbed their hair and raised their hemlines. This new style brought about a lot of trouble. If women bobbed their hair, they were fired from their jobs. A teacher in Jersey City was ordered to grow her hair back by the school board or she would be fired. A preacher warned his congregation that a “bobbed woman was a disgraced woman.” Men even divorced their wives over the new hairstyle. Amazing! I love research! If your grandmother bobbed her hair and went to the dance marathons, write about it.
How about prices? Did it cost ten cents to go to the movies and five cents for an ice cream cone? And what flavors existed? Did they travel by horse and buggy or a Model T Ford? If your grandfather loved reading books in the evening before retiring, it would be interesting to add what kind of light he used. Little details like this warms a story up and can bring your ancestor to life. Did he use electricity or an oil lantern? Instead of saying, “Grandfather read extensively before retiring,” it sounds more interesting to say, “Grandfather sat in his overstuffed chair and read for hours with an oil lantern at his side.” To read samples of what you can do with your own stories, visit my website at http://www.lindaweaverclarke.com and read the “short stories” of my ancestors.
Q. How hard is it to find out about one's ancestors?
A. First thing, write down any experiences that you remember. Talk to family members and discuss memories. Use letters they wrote to one another. Someone asked me how they could get their parents to talk about their experiences because they kept saying, “I can’t remember. That’s too far back.” My suggestion is this. Get relatives together and discuss memories, turn on a recorder, and ask questions. When loved ones get together, they tend to reminisce. I did this with my aunt because I had very few stories of my mother’s childhood. At first she said it was too long ago to remember but when I began asking questions, her husband would remember things and that got her into “memory lane.”
Q. You're also the author of a historical fiction series. What was your inspiration for them? Are your novels related to family legacy?
A. Yes, I love inserting real ancestral or family experiences into my novels. To me, their experiences have always intrigued me. It brings a story to life. In my family saga series, I have set my story in Paris, Idaho…the place that my ancestors settled in 1863.
My great grandmother, Sarah Eckersley Robinson, was my inspiration for “David and the Bear Lake Monster.” Sarah lost her hearing as a child but she never let her deafness stop her from developing her talents. I took a lot of her experiences from her biography and gave them to my heroine to bring some reality into my story. Sarah was known as one of the most graceful dancers in town. She was known for gliding across the floor with ease, with just a touch of her partner’s hand. Sarah had such agility and gracefulness while swimming, that people would actually throw coins in the water so they could watch her dive after them. Once an intruder hid in her bedroom under her bed, thinking he could take advantage of her since she was deaf. He must have thought she was an easy victim but was sadly mistaken. She swatted him out from under her bed with a broom, and all the way out of the house, and down the street for a couple blocks, whacking him as she ran. What a courageous woman!
In “Edith and the Mysterious Stranger,” I based this story around the courtship of my parents. They wrote letters to one another before they ever met. She said that she fell in love with the soul of my father, what was deep down inside and they didn’t even know what one another looked like. The day they met, my mother told me that her heart leapt within her and a warm glow filled her soul and she knew she would marry this man. I knew this would be the basis of my next novel, but there’s one difference. In my story, you don’t know who the mysterious stranger is until the end of the book. Some readers guessed right while others were pleasantly surprised.
In “Melinda and the Wild West,” I inserted an experience that happened to my dad. When he was young, his father asked him to bury the skunks he had shot. Before my dad buried them, he drained their scent glands into a bottle. He called it “skunk oil.” Then he took it to school to show his friends. While explaining how he had done it, he must have gotten a little too excited because he accidentally dropped the bottle and it splattered on the floor. The scent of concentrated skunk oil permeated the room with a stench that was indescribable. Everyone ran out of the school as fast as their little legs would go. And the teacher followed close behind. My father said that he was a hero for one day because he got school out for his classmates. This novel eventually won an award as one of the semi-finalists for the “Reviewers Choice Award 2007.” To read an excerpt, visit my website.
Q. Do you have a blog?
A. Yes, I finally have a blog. I kept putting it off because of my busy schedule and wasn’t sure how a blog worked in the first place. After my husband kept encouraging me to do it, I decided to check out other author’s blogs and see what they talked about. After a day of researching, I decided that having a blog wasn’t so difficult after all. So I put one together this summer. I thought I would talk about writing, family, and interview authors. I’ve interviewed a fantasy author already and have another author lined up for an interview. You can visit me at http://lindaweaverclarke.blogspot.com.
Q. Is there anything else you'd like to tell my readers?
A. Oh my! Definitely! My last book in the family saga was just released: “Elena, Woman of Courage.” It’s set in 1925. It was a blast to research. I found words that I didn’t even know such as: Cat’s pajamas! Ah, horsefeathers! Attaboy! Baloney! You slay me! When referring to a woman, they used doll, tomato, and bearcat. When a person was in love, he was goofy. If a person was a fool, he was a sap. And when a woman wasn’t in the mood for kissing, she would say, “The bank’s closed.” I was able to use all these words and much more in my book. The language was great!
It’s about a “Happy-go-lucky Bachelor” that is completely fascinated with a woman doctor: Elena Yeates. Of course, women weren’t encouraged to go to college back then, let alone become a doctor, and this fascinates him to no end. With the 1920’s rise of women’s rights, this novel gives you an insight at the struggles women had to go through, while watching a young love blossom!
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Meet Suzanne Lieurance, Author & writing coach
Interview by Carma Dutra
Q. I ran across your Working Writer's Coach Blog back in March 2007 and I kept being drawn back to it. Actually I think it was when I subscribed to the Morning Nudge that kept me going everyday and still does. Tell us how The Morning Nudge came about.
A. As a writing coach, I like to encourage my clients to get a little writing done every single day. When I first started coaching, I was sending out a weekly newsletter, but I suddenly thought how much more helpful it would be to my clients and other writers by sending them something every week day. That's how the Morning Nudge came about.
I have a friend who calls it "The Morning Shove" because some days I just want writers to stop making excuses for not creating the writing life of their dreams. The only way to become a writer is to write! And the purpose of The Morning Nudge is to remind readers of that every day.
Q. What are your writing habits? Do you work on an outline before starting the actual story?
A. I write something every single day. When I'm working on a book length manuscript I work from an outline whether the book is nonfiction or fiction. However, even with an outline I find that many surprises pop up as I'm writing. And that's part of what makes the writing process so much fun.
Q. Is one genre easier to write than another? Why or why not?
A. For me, fiction is more difficult to write than nonfiction because I have to really, really focus on the world I'm creating when I'm writing fiction. I have to sort of enter this world, and it takes me a while at the keyboard before I'm able to do that fully. But once I'm there in my fictional world, I don't want to come back to the real world, so I try to write for hours at a time.
When I'm working on nonfiction, I'm able to do that in short bits of time here and there. So it's easier for me to get a lot of nonfiction writing done in a short amount of time.
Q. You always have a project or two in the works. The Locket just came out so tell us a bit about your other soon to be published stories. What was your inspiration for these stories?
A. Right now I'm working on another historical novel for Enslow. I'm also working on a nonfiction book with two other coaches, and I'm reworking several picture book manuscripts. I also write my own materials for my coaching programs, including materials for the Working Writer's Summer Bootcamp that starts June 2.
What inspires me the most - for anything I write - is people who do incredible things. I want to write things that show everyone how we can ALL do incredible things if we follow our passions and believe in ourselves.
Q. Which element of historical fiction writing comes more naturally for you-plot, characterization, description, dialogue? Which one gives you the hardest time?
A. Characterization comes easiest for me. I have to "feel" what the character is going through in order to write about this person. But I can generally do that.
Description is sometimes difficult with historical fiction because every detail about the time and place must be accurate even though the actual events are not all true.
Q. What advice would you give to aspiring children's writers who are trying to break into the field?
A. First, take a course or workshop to learn the basics about writing for children. Next, join or start a critique group for children's writers and be sure there are at least a few published children's authors in the group. Third, read, read, read all the children's books you can. Finally, write, write, write!
Q. Who is Suzanne Lieurance, the lady? Describe an ordinary day in your life.
A. I think the essence of who I am involves teaching, coaching, and motivating others every single day. This may sound strange, but I don't think I have ordinary days. To me, every single day is special because every day I wake up and get to do what I love to do most - write, coach, and help others in some small way.
But the best part is, I get to do all this no matter where I am, so I can work from home in my pjs if I want - and I often do want to write in my pjs. I think pjs are totally underrated.
Q. Have you ever suffered from writer's block? What seems to work for unleashing your creativity?
A. I don't have trouble being creative. What I have trouble with sometimes is staying focused on ONLY the project at hand. My mind can get to racing a mile a minute if I don't control it. So, I meditate and write in my journal every morning in order to get focused before I work on the day's writing project.
Talking with other writers and other coaches unleashes my creativity.Q. What type of books did you read as a child? Did you like to do book reports on them?
A. I always loved books about animals when I was a child. My favorite book was called The Magic Pin and it was about a little girl who found a pin that was shaped like a horseshoe. Whenever she put this pin on her shirt or dress she could talk to animals. I just thought that having a pin like that would be the coolest thing since animals were everything to me when I was a kid - dogs, especially.
Q. How do you set about promoting your books? How many hours a week do you spend on book promotion?
A. I promote my books in a variety of ways. Mostly through school visits and speaking at writers' conferences and other events, plus through my websites and blogs. However, I probably spend more time every week promoting my coaching than I do promoting my books. Nowadays, I seem to be a coach who also writes, even though I started out as a writer who also coaches.
Q. What type of book promotion seems to work the best for you?
A. Speaking at conferences and making author visits to schools seems to work best for me as a means to promote my books. But I also like networking with other children's authors, illustrators, and editors to help get the word out about all sorts of books for children, not just mine.
Thank you Suzanne.
Learn more about children's writing tips and award winning book reviews by visiting Carma's Window at http://carmaswindow.blogspot.com - Download the free EBook, "Unite to Write," a compilation of thirteen top expert authors as read on Ezine article directory and "Free Tips on Freelance Writing."
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Meet Kathy Stemke, Author
Interview by Mayra Calvani
Author and educator Kathy Stemke writes fun, educational books for children. Her titles include Moving Through All Seven Days, Trouble on Earth Day, and Sh, Sh, Sh, Will the Baby Sleep? She's also the author of the Wonderful Water Explorers series. In addition, she's a regular contributor to Helium and Associated Content. For more information about her work and her books, visit her website.
Q. Thanks for the interview, Kathy. Did you always want to be a writer?
A. Yes, I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. I write poetry for self-expression. I’m working on a book of poems about life from a dancer’s point of view. Here’s an example:
An Empty Stage
Coiled torso frozen on an empty stage,
a living sculpture trapped in place
with no gown of tulle to hide her age
only weeping knees below her waist.
Framed in light, her insides groan
with pent up passion poised for release,
she now waits long and alone
for rhythm to carry her to peace.
But I remember her unencumbered
prance, so light for one held down
by unfulfilled dreams remembered,
floating above her tattered gown.
Q. Tell us about your children's books.
A. My first book, Moving Through All Seven Days, was an outgrowth of a blog post. This book inspires movement as children learn about the days of the week. The lyrical rhymes also teach them how to spell each day! The activities at the end of the book are designed to reinforce the concepts as well as give impetus to movement exploration.
I plan to write a series of picture books with environmental themes. Trouble on Earth Day is almost ready to be released. This is a fun and educational story about a Squirrel who helps a new friend while learning to recycle. This book is full of great recycling ideas, craft projects, and worksheet pages.
I recently completed the second book in this series titled, Wonderful Water Explorers. This book opens up conversation about water preservation with a story of a thirsty bluebird named Charlie, who has lost his ability to sing due to a lack of water. When he meets up with his squirrel friend, Shelby, they set out on an adventure to find fresh drinking water and to bring back singing to the forest.
Guardian Angel Publishers will publish my book titled Sh, Sh, Sh, Will the Baby Sleep? In this action packed story a boy named Zachary must keep his new baby sister asleep. In the process he finds out that he loves her very much. This book and the activities included in the back focus on teaching children about consonant blends. Teachers will love it.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. I’m working on my third book of the environmental series, which is about air pollution, as well as a picture book about dancing wood fairies.
I’ve also started my first YA fantasy novel. Although I’m still fleshing out my characters and plot, I’m very excited about this story.
Q. What type of book promotion works for you? Any special strategies you’d like to share?
A. Because my books have teacher activities in them, I belong to several teacher groups online. This is a great way to keep in touch with what teachers are looking for in the books they buy for school, as well as develop friendships.
My free Movement and Rhythm Newsletter reaches over 350 teachers and parents each month. I continue to add subscribers everyday.
I belong to a wonderful virtual book tour group, Writers on the Move. This is a good way to develop an online presence, and develop friendships with other authors.
I do library and school visits in my community. I plan on writing a teacher tips column in my regional newspaper. While giving away great educational activities to the community, I will let them know about my books.
Q. What advice would you offer aspiring writers?
A. Take an online course on writing, which will teach you the basics of writing, and give you support. There are several great authors who offer coaching clubs and even critique your work as you learn. There are also week-long online conferences with several brilliant teachers to inspire you.
Read good books in the genre you want to write. Explore what makes those books so special. Take what you like from these successful authors and develop your own voice.
Q. Do you have a website/blog where readers may learn more about you and your works?
A. My blog is http://educationtipster.blogspot.com. I also write for Helium and Associated Content. You can also find me at http://www.Kathystemke.weebly.com.
Thanks, Kathy!
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Meet Lani Massey Brown, Author
A Margin of Error: Interview with Lani Massey Brown
Q. Your novel starts in the middle of an election that is rapidly derailing. How much of it is real and how much is fiction? Do you honestly believe elections in this country can be flipped and no one would know?
A. Absolutely. During the past several years we've lived through a number of elections in which the results were improbable or contradicted by the exit polls. Or where there were known hardware or sofeware problems. Botched and fraudulent elections are a fact. What I answer in A Margin of Error is motive, method and opportunity.
Q. Your heroine, Cady palmer puts up with a lot from her boss and apparently has for several years. He berates her and sabotages her. In one scene he sexually demeans her so painfully, it makes her seem weak and I wonder why she puts up with it.
A. American fiction needs women in strong leadership roles and Cady is a very strong woman. Sadly, the reality is that sometimes attaining and holding onto such rules comes at a price. Understand, I like men! I've worked with many amazing men. but the scene you refer to plays itself out again and again in corporate America. Take a man like Cady's boss. He knows he's not as competent or knowledgeable as he should be. He feels threatened by Cady. So he strikes out to prove to himself that he's really mightier than she is by transforming her into a sexual object he can conquer. It's the only way he can win with her and deep down, he knows it.
Q. But why doesn't Cady stand up to him or just quit?
A. Cady did quit a number of times and each time Stan lured her back with apologies and bonuses. In a sense, it's the employer/employee version of an abusive marriage. But this confrontation that is most humiliating is Cady's final turning point. And for the first time she does call him out. "Put a sock on it, Stan." The game is over.
Q. In another very graphic scene, one of your characters is raped. Isn't it too much?
A. This scene and several others were not planned or contrived. The words just happened and they remain on the page now as they were first written. These episodes parallel life. Nothing is as it seems. We're all of us shades of grey. Good, bad, innocence, evil, consequences, choices. Is the rape of a victim with perhaps lower morals a lesser crime than the rape of an innocent? How about murder? Incidentally, Izzy is my favorite character. This was very difficult for me too.
Q. There are some very bad characters in your novel. They do horrible things, say horrible things. Some of it is racially charged. Some of it's just vulgar.
A. Yes and all of it's very real. From the boardroom to the kids' soccer field. Some of these characters represent the worst in all of us. I hope by portraying them at their worst that everyone feels as you do.
Q. Is the role model for your governor anyone your readers would recognize?
A. Several readers have let me know their opinions on this. They see lots of similarities. As for me, I have no personal knowledge of any governor smoking Cuban cigars.
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THE GLADIATOR'S ARENA
by Mayra Calvani
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Short Fiction
Deja Vu
by Mayra Calvani
Amanda stood on the sidewalk overlooking the sea. The splash of the waves against the rocks below resonated in the air. She could taste the salty tang sharply on her tongue, feel the cool breeze touseling her hair. She hugged her arms to stop the goose bumps.
Tonight Old San Juan vibrated with a magical quality. Twinkling multi-colored lights and shimmering garlands adorned shop windows and balconies. Christmas trees glowed from inside the flats that lined the street.
Amanda admired the sea a little longer; it was late and she had to go home. She and her husband were giving a party. They always did on Christmas Eve. She was stalling and she knew it, though she didn't know exactly why.
Abruptly someone bumped into her. She turned to see a little boy running down the street. She froze for a second before realizing what had happened--he had stolen her handbag.
"Hey!" she said, running after him. "Come back here!"
A sensation of unreality grabbed her. She saw the little boy running in slow motion, his dark curls floating behind him as if there were no gravity. An intense feeling of deja vu shook her to the core. She had to catch up with him. She had to stop him!
"Stop!" she shouted, breathless.
Everything happened in a matter of seconds. The boy glanced behind his shoulder just as he tried to cross the street. A fast approaching car was coming in his direction. Amanda reached for the boy's shirt and pulled him harshly to the sidewalk and away from the street. The boy struggled against her, but she held on, a wave of relief flooding through her.
"Stop that. The policeman will see us," Amanda said, her eyes on the strolling officer across the street. Oddly, he looked bored, as if he had not noticed anything unusual.
The boy relaxed under her grip and for the first time she had a chance to look into his face. He had shoulder-length curly hair and large brown eyes surrounded by thick lashes. Under the streetlight his chestnut curls glowed. He couldn't have been older than eight. In spite of his arrogant attitude, he reminded her of a cherub.
"What do you think you were doing? Trying to get yourself killed? That car almost ran into you!" she said.
"Are you going to have me arrested?" he asked, lifting his chin.
Amanda glanced at the officer, who was now far away. She sighed. "Are you going to give me back my bag?"
Looking oddly calm, he gave her the bag.
"Thank you," Amanda said drily.
"Can you let me go now?"
Amanda realized she was still holding onto him. Confusion and fear filled her being. She didn't want to let go.
"I'm not going away," the boy said enigmatically.
Their eyes locked momentarily.
"Oh... all right..." Shelet go. "What's your name?"
"Felipito."
"Why did you try to steal my bag?"
His small, thin shoulders lifted in a shrug. "Why do poor kids steal rich people's bags?"
She decided to ignore his wisecrack. "You should go home. It's late. Your parents must be worried."
"Nah, they never worry."
They began to walk side by side.
"Let me bring you home."
"I don't want to go home. There's always too much fighting in there."
"It's Christmas Eve. I bet your mom is preparing a nice meal."
"I don't want to go home," he said coldly, stopping her in her tracks.
Amanda looked at him. She was not ready to say goodbye. "Well, do you want to come to my house? We can have something to eat togethere."
"Do you live in a mansion?"
"You could say that."
"I'm not hungry."
"I have a dog," Amanda said.
His expression brightened. "What's his name?"
"Noah. Well?"
Felipito seemed thoughtful as he stuffed his hands inside his pocket and resumed his walk. "I'd like to meet Noah."
*****
At Amanda's house the party was at full swing. Guests in sophisticated attire were gathered around the pool with drinks and cigarettes in their hands. Some couples danced. Others ate by a long buffet table. Holiday music poured out of hidden speakers.
Amanda led Felipito to the back of the garden and towards the back door of the kitchen.
"Do you know all these people?" he asked.
"Yes and no." She halted momentarily to look at the guests. "My husband is an important man. These are mostly his co-workers." Her voice had turned sad, bitter. "I've always been sort of a hermit."
"What's that?"
"I like being alone."
"Oh."
"My husband is a very importaant man."
"So you said."
They looked to the kitchen as a large blond dog stormed out the door and dashed into their direction.
"Noah!" Amanda said, smiling for the first time that night. "Come here, boy! Let me introduce you to someone."
She bent over to stroke him and scratch him behind the ears. Felipito laughed as he joined in the petting. Noah whimpered as if he couldn't have enough of Amanda's affection.
"Let's go inside," Amanda said.
She led him to a table at the far end of the kitchen, while the servants continued their duties on the other side of the room. After bringing an assortment of food and pastries to the table, Amanda sat across from Felipito. Noah lay at her feet, his tail still swinging from contentment.
"Go ahead, eat," she said.
"Aren't you going to eat?"
"I'll just have a drink," she said, lifting a glass of wine as if in a toast.
Felipito studied the servants in the kitchen, then turned to Amanda. A dark cloud crossed his features, he appeared infinitely older than his years.
"Do you have any kid?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I've always wanted kids, but I can't have them."
"Oh..."
After Felipito finished eating, Amanda said, "I probably should bring you back now. It's late. Your mom must be worried."
Amanda leaded over to stroke Noah, who had started whimpering again as if sensing her parting.
**********
Amanda and Felipito stood by the door of the small house which was his home.
Felipito looked somber. Amanda was about to knock when he stopped her and said, "Don't. Let's just go in."
Inside the small living room there was no Christmas Tree, no lights or garlands or poinsettias.
A woman sat alone in the dark, her back to them. She had something in her hands.
Felipito took Amanda's hand and together they approached the woman until they stood over her shoulder.
Felipito sighed. "Don't cry, Mami," he whispered.
"What's that in her hands?" Amanda asked.
Then she saw it. It was a photo of Felipito.
Amanda turned to him, the floor shifting under her, the room swirling around her. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"I died one year ago," he said calmly.
Amanda took a step back. "No..."
She moved away from the crying woman and away from Felipito. His big eyes shimmered with emotion a he extended a hand towards Amanda.
"Come. I'll show you," he said.
"You can't be dead. You're here, with me, talking to me. You just played with my dog, ate in my kitchen. You can't be..."
"Come."
***********
In the late hour the Old San Juan cemetery was cold and windy and Amanda could hear the waves crashing against the rocks below.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked.
Now it was hir turn to hold onto her. "You have to know, Amanda. You have to let go."
She shook her head, tears flowing down her cheeks. "You're going to show me your grave, is that it?"
His small hand pressed tighter around hers, his nails digging into her.
"There," he said, pushing her in front of a tombstone.
She read the name engraved on the stone and covered her face with her hands, while all her life, all the memories rushed through her mind until that very last moment. "No! No! No!"
"Why is it that no one can see or hear us--no one except Noah? How do you think we moved from here to your house without a car?"
"No!"
"You have to let go," he said.
"No!" She fell to the ground, wallowing in the knowledge, guilt and pain.
"You'll be here forever without freedom or peace until you forgive yourself. Look at me, Amanda."
Her sobs weakened as she looked up at him.
"It was not your fault that I tried to steal your handbag. You had to run after me. It was not your fault that I got ran over by that car. You've punished yourself enough, drowing in alcohol and pills. Why did you take so many pills that night?"
"It was an accident..."
"I know."
"I never meant to kill myself!"
"I know." Then he said, "I forgive you, Amanda. This is why I've come here. Tonight."
They were quiet for a long time. Amanda stood up and looked around her. Would she smell the sea again? Play with Noah? She felt scared and lost.
"What now? Where do I go?"
Felipito took her by the hand. "Let me show you the way."
The End
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Two and Twenty Ffarthings
by Lad Moore
A cemetery is safe in the sunlight. But haints lift up after dusk.
From my porch I could see Hendry's Grocery. It was a short two-block walk. Its battered screen door was meant to invide the outside air in while keeping the flies at bay. But years of passage had morphed its frame into a sort of an S-shaped warp, and even when latched, a house cat could easily pass through its flare. In many places the screen had been bulged into pockets by elbows and knees that pushed it open when arms were laden with grocery sacks. In some spots the screen was torn. Early on, Mr. Hendry had patched it using scrap pieces of screen woven in like a repaired fishing net. But eventually he tired of what seemed to be a futile maintenance effort and just let the door fight its own battles. I supposed he figured that at least the door had retained its intended promotional value. Across its middle was an enameled metal bar proclaiming "Join the Swing to Pepsi!" Well, after all, the door did still swing.
I passed by Hendry's on my frequent trips to the Greenwood Cemetery. I did not stop at the store on the way up East Avenue, but saved my visit for the return trips home--a sort of reward should I be successful in my forage.
The cemetery was home to three things I could reliably expect. First were the legions of grass burrs we called "Goat Heads"--aggressive spheres of spines that clung to anything passing within their reach. In the same way a magnet draws thumbtacks, Goat Heads would leap onto my tennis shoes, my socks and the legs of my jeans. Picking them off was torturous, as the little thorns were arrayed like starbursts, with no safe place to grasp. They were murderous to bicycles--so much that I never ventured there with my balloon tires. The damage that stickers caused was never a blowout, but the more nagging slow death--enough nuisance to cause constant airing up of sagging rubber, but not enough to warrant hot-patches.
Another Greenwood constant was its abundance of Magnolia pods. Each pod contained a number of bright red seeds about the size of a purple-hull pea. I would gather them in the fall to earn a few quarters from the neighborhood ladies who favored them for stringing into Christmas tree garlands. I had to act quick, rushing from tree to tree to beat the squirrels who considered the seeds their Thanksgiving bounty. For the ones that had not yet fallen, I dislodged them with a long cane pole as high as it would reach. In several days at Greenwood, I could harvest two or three nice coffee cans of beads. The ladies called them "Rubies from Heaven." and held them in some sort of reverence.
My main quest, however, were the mammoth grasshoppers that semmed to favor the grounds and graves. They were black and yellow, with red racing stripes, and were as large as my prized Vicks pocket inhaler. A cricket box stuffed with these giants could bring as much as thirty cents--the ideal trotline bait I was told. I had sort of an auction going between Mr. Liston and Mr. Van Norden. One would always bid a few cents more than the other for the prized insects.
For grasshopper weaponry, I used a fly swatter. I would slap the insect enough to disorient it but not injure it. Then I would put it into my cricket box head first. Grasshoppers had a silent defense of their own. Once in my grasp, theywould emit a coffee-colored squirt of what the old timers called "tobacco juice," although I knew that it was actually a fluid far less salutary. The substance stained the finters and had an unpleasant odor, but that was about it. The grasshoppers could bite too, although it was a rather lame effort. It felt like the pinch of tweezers when removing a splinter. No real damage caused.
Each time before leaving the cemetery bound for Hendry's, I walked the short distance to a special spot. We Moore's had a family plot in Greenwood. In it were relatives I had never known or couldn't remember. Lee, my grandmother's brother, Jeffrey, the still-birth son of my Uncle Archie, and Solen, my grandfather who had died at an early age of pneumonia. The grave markers were just simple metal signs supplied by the funeral home, about the size of a postcard. My Uncle Jack pledged to provide some more stately markers "When we fill up the remaining spaces."
Not far from our simple family grave site stood a granite and marble structure worthy of the architecture that marked the great edifices of our Nation's Capital buildings. It was as large as our garage, with thick black glass windows adorned with gold metal vines and flowers. Its massive metal doors had the same green patina of the Statue of Liberty, with a keyhole large enough for a mouse to enter. Above its alcove was carved the name MOORE. It was just a "coincidence of surname," I was told, for they were not family members.
In front of the structure were two iron benches, painted white and appearing to have been refreshed often. Between them was a fancy brass water faucet in the shape of a dolphin, which I used many times to quench my thirst and wash the grasshopper tobacco from my hands. Like the doors, it has also lost its brass luster and had acquired that pleasant green hue. Sitting on the bench in front of the word MOORE somehow made me sense a kingly heritage. We may not have been close family, but the Statue of Liberty tells us that all the nation's Moores once huddled together on the same deck of the ship that brought us here.
I reached into my pocket and took an extra drag from my Vicks inhaler just to celebrate the moment.
Story copyright 2009 by the author, Lad Moore. All rights reserved.
The author's two books of short stories "Tailwind" and "Odie Dodie" are available at most traditional booksellers. Copies signed by the author may be obtained at regular prices by contacting him directly via pogo@shreve.net.
The author's third short story collection, "Riders of the Seven Hills" was released May 2009.
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Articles
"And They Lived Happily Ever After!"
by Lea Schizas
Fairy tales, no matter how young or old you are, captivate an audience. The 'Once Upon A Time' beginnings told you some moral and dilemma would unfold. Readers love and continue to enjoy these tales, disappointed when they come to "and they lived happily ever after" part.
But how many writers out there have considered or used an outline from a fairy tale to come up with your own storylines? For example, let's take The Three Little Pigs:
3 little pigs = 3 upcoming musicians
wolf = their agent who swindles them at some point of their earnings
straw hut = their small apartment
brick house = their mansion when they make it big
You've now used a fairy tale to come up with your own storyline by altering the characters, their setting, and added a motive for a conflict with the antagonist-the agent. Let's dig deeper.
The three musicians are childhood friends or brothers a la 'three pig' theme. They've been playing as a band since high school. During college an agent signs them up and takes them on a tour. The boys are inexperienced in finances and trust their agent explicitly. During the story, however, seeds are dropped that this agent is a bit on the shady side prompting the readers to wait for the bomb to drop eventually on the boys. Although the readers have an inkling what's going to happen, the questions keeping them posted to the book are:
How will the boys react?
What will they do?
What's going to happen to the agent?
What's going to happen to their musical careers?
Will the band ever make it?
Readers love drama, action, happenings that take protagonists to a lower level of no return, especially when they can identify with a crisis relevant to their own life. That's not to say we need to be musicians to understand the characters plight, but as general people we've had someone who may have disappointed us in one way or the other. When you can connect a social issue or relevant emotional event to a reader, enough so they can place themselves in your character's shoes, then they are drawn deeper into your story world.
Using the same fairy tale above, you can come up with literally tons of good storylines to expand and use.
*3 spinsters on a road trip to get away from the stress of work
1 man comes into their lives
1 cheap hotel fling with one of them causes a rift between the ladies
1 secret the man is guarding will have these women on the run
*3 lawyers defending 3 men for the same crime
1 lawyer bribes a witness to lie for his client
1 house holds the key to this crime
1 twist near the end will have the witness charged with the crime
As you can see from the examples above, one simple fairy tale has now the potential for three different storylines, characters, and settings.
So...Once upon a time when I had nothing to write about, I sat down and remembered my childhood fairy tales...
And my page filled with story ideas...
And my Muse lived happily ever after.
Author's Bio: Lea Schizas is an award-winning author and editor, Submissions Editor for Red Rose Publishing, and founder of two Writer's Digest Top Writing Sites since 2004 and recipients of several Predators and Editors awards, The MuseItUp Club and Apollo's Lyre. She is the author of the Young Adult paranormal/thriller "Doorman's Creek", and the middle grade novel, "Bubba and Giganto: Odds Against Us." She is also the editor and co-author of "The Muse On Writing" a writer's reference book, and the fantasy novel "Aleatory's Junction".Lea Schizas along with Carolyn Howard-Johnson are founders of the annual Muse Online Writers Conference where over 2000 Attendees and Presenters take part each year.
For more information on Lea Schizas, link here:
http://editingservices.tripod.com
http://www.leaschizas.com
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For Writers & Readers & Writer Wannabes: A feel good place to be
Posted on Gather at http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977858215
Sometimes it just feels good to know there are writers out there who picked up a dream and nurtured it into reality. But it feels even better if you can get a little help along the way.
Take a look at MURDER*By*4, a group of four award winning writers sharing their ideas, experiences, and advice on one dynamic website. No surprise MURDER*By*4 achieved Writer’s Digest Award for 101 Best Websites for Writers.
There are articles guest blogged by other authors too, other award winning authors. Today there’s one titled “Jealous of Other Writers? Wish Them Well,” by Noelle Sterne. Appropriately titled for this MURDER*By*4 group. For they are indeed to be wished well, very well for all they’ve achieved and the part they’re doing here. Each one brings something especially unique to this writing table.
Meet author Aaron Paul Lazerand learn where he comes up with so many themes for his fourteen books, in his article “What Scares You?” And also “For Writers: The Hook.” But be sure to make time for “Forbidden Words” before writing your own next chapter.
Mazurka, Aaron’s fourth book in his LeGarde Mystery Series is literally hot off the press.
Author Marta Stephens believes “authors are probably the most optimistic group to walk this world.” And she’d like to hear from authors who are looking for agents or publishers, in “The Future of Authors, Agents, and Publishers.” I'll be right there, Marta.Marta’s “The Devil Can Wait” was the 2009 IPPY Bronze Medal Finalist in the mystery/suspense/thriller category.
S.W. Vaughn is the author of Broken Angel and Hunted. After perusing her at MURDER*By*4, check out her S.W. Vaughn Website to see what a website should look like.
Vaughn’s website is to die for. Maybe somebody did. . . Her website is “Open All Night: Welcome to the online home of novelist S.W. Vaughn. Please make yourself comfortable . . . go ahead and check in. If fiction is your pleasure, you'll find a reservation with your name on it. . .”
Don’t mind if I do. So I open the door to “Amenities,” let myself in and take a peek at Book One of the House of the Phoenix Series, Broken Angel.
Another nondescript bar in Brooklyn. A dented aluminum sign above the door proclaimed Bottoms Up. Neon letters buzzed and stuttered, and the tom section flickered on and off at irregular speeds, like a strobe with a coke habit. Cigarette butts, crushed plastic cups, and the occasional spray of brown glass littered the sidewalk near the entrance. Not far from Gabriel Morgan’s feet, a used condom festooned a patch of brittle weeds jutting from a crack in the concrete.
Wow!
But wait! Last but definitely not the least of this prolific group is Kim Smith who hosts her own Blog Talk Radio!The World of Radio Awaits You! Introducing WRITERS! Welcome to the home page for Introducing WRITERS! radio show.Kim Smith is writing the third book in her zany Shannon Wallace Mystery series, but writes contemporary romances. Her short Love Waltzes In will be available at Red Rose Publishing in November. Hmmm.
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For now I’m going back to my weekend reading. I flip open to Chapter 1 . . . . “We’d been skiing over the frozen alfalfa field for twenty minutes when I heard the howl. . . .”
And so I begin my adventure with Gus LeGarde, in Double Forte. It's going to be a great weekend!
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About A Margin of Error: Ballots of Straw:
The Midwest Book Review had this to say:
“A Margin of Error: Ballots of Straw is a political thriller following Cady Palmer as she attempts to stand up for what she believes in the face of a corrupt governor and his deep-reaching network. Not knowing who to trust, Cady submerges herself in the webs of deceit where her next move may be her last. A Margin of Error is an exciting read.”
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L'Atelier: -- Columnist Mayra Calvani
Writing the Chick Lit Novel
by Mayra Calvani
When I say ‘chick lit’, what do you think about? Fluffy novels? Air-head protagonists? Bags, shoes and designer clothes? Don’t be ashamed to admit it. That’s what I used to think when I read my first one a few years ago. Sure, there will always be poorly written chick lit novels with mediocre characterization and non-existent plot or storylines, but this happens in all genres. The truth is, chick lit has come a long way and now more than ever, publishers are looking for authors who can deliver not only a fun and sassy story but also a smart one as well. Just like in all genres, publishers of chick lit fiction want intelligent writing, a powerful premise, a likeable protagonist with a strong, distinct voice readers can sympathize with, a villainess readers will love to hate, and a compelling plot.
Chick lit novels are extremely popular at the moment, mainly because of big hits like Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary, Sophie Kinsella’s Confessions of a Shopoholic and Alisa Valdes Rodriguez’s The Dirty Girls Social Club. Many aspiring authors think that writing chick lit may be the surest road to fame and six figure advances. Because chick lit novels are often fun, light reads, new writers may have the wrong assumption that they’re easy to write, but this isn’t the case. Just like any work of fiction, a good chick lit story takes talent and skill to write.
I recently had the chance to read two books on how to write chick lit: See Jane Write: A Girl’s Guide to Writing Chick Lit, by bestselling authors Sarah Mlynowski, and Will Write For Shoes: How to Write a Chick Lit Novel, by Cathy Yardley. Both are great resources, not only on how to write in this genre, but on learning everything there is to know about this type of fiction: its history, new trends, and tips and tools for breaking into the market.
But let’s take a closer look at each book.
In See Jane Write: A Girl’s Guide to Writing Chick Lit, the authors begin by explaining what chick lit is all about and exploring the reasons why you may want to write the chick lit novel. Then they go into the craft itself: creating the protagonists and secondary characters, the elements of style, the basics of plotting, deciding on a point of view, structure and pacing, and finally, the importance of revising. They also give submission, agent and publishing advice, including a short list of editors who handle chick lit. In the appendix, as a reading list, the authors give examples of popular chick lit authors and their books.
The font is pink and sometimes green, against sometimes pink or green background. The pages are thicker than the regular paperback, which made the pages stiffer and a bit less comfortable to turn. In spite of this, I found the book entertaining and informative, with the same humorous flavor of a chick lit novel, and the authors give helpful advice.
Will Write For Shoes is another great resource for the aspiring chick lit author.
This book goes into more detail explaining the genre and its history, and offers a ‘blue print’ for writing the novel. It also discusses in detail the various trends and subcategories within the genre. Like the title above, it tries to teach the craft with examples. Topics include: plot, structure, point of view, characters, setting, voice. It also stresses the importance of revision. Unlike the book above, it not only includes a good list of editors but also a list of agents who specialize in chick lit. There’s a sample query and synopsis in the appendix, something writers will find extremely useful.
This is a fun and comprehensive manual that should be in the permanent shelf of every new chick lit writer.
If you can get both, great. If you have to choose between the two, I’d recommend the second one, Will Write For Shoes. It’s more complete and the resources are better. I also liked that it’s presented in a more simple, uncluttered manner.
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Guest Article by Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Every once in a while I like to remind writers about how much information can be had by subscribing to blog. Free information. Most have a place to subscribe so you automatically get a copy of the blog in your e-mail box. But more than that, most blogs are set up so that you can comment or ask questions.
Some, like my The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. even prefer a question and answer format. I came up with the idea of doing a blog a la Ann Landers when I started getting so many letters from readers with grammar and formatting and editing questions.
I am often thought of as The Frugal Book Promoter because that is the name of the first book in my HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. But I consider editing the single most important aspect of promotion. After all, a well-edited query letter is the first thing most agents, editors, publishers and producers ever see from an editor.
Though there are times when an author absolutely must edit her own work, only a foolish writer trusts the editing of her book entirely to a publisher. So knowing how to edit is important. And that means a whole lot more than being good at grammar.
I get letters from people on the subject of editing, especially arguments about why they don't need to hire one. Here are my answers to a few of them:
I don't need to worry about an editor. My book will be traditionally published.
• You can't rely on the editor provided by your publisher—any publisher. I've seen even the biggest publisher let boo-boos in books slip through. And many small publishers hire inexperienced typo hunters, not real editors.
I'm hiring an experience editor. I'm letting her do the work. That's what I'm paying her for.
• You can't rely on even the best editor you hire. You need to be a partner with your editor. If you know little or nothing about the process, how can you know what to accept or what to reject? You need to know when you're sure you want to break a rule. You need to know when you want to consider what the agent is telling you, even if it goes against your pattern or makes you uncomfortable. "Partner" is the key word here. You want to be able to do that even if you're publishing with Harper's and your editor turns out to be a channeled Jacqueline Kennedy.
I'm just publishing POD for my family.
• No matter how you publish, you need an editor before you go to press. Regardless of how you are publishing or what you call the process. (By the way, many terms used for publishing these days have become almost unintelligible because so many are using them incorrectly. That adds confusion to an already confusing process! I guess that could be considered an editing problem of sorts.)
I know I should have an editor but I keep procrastinating...
The Frugal Editor gives you guidelines for the way to find a good editor. Those guidelines are there for people who have the best intentions and just don't get around to it. It's there for all of us who tend to put off this process. We tend to make a thousand excuses to ourselves for not doing it. Well, OK. I know I made excuse or at least one excuse. (-: My excuse was, I AM an editor! Ahem!
I've already been over this book 15 times. If there is an error in it, I'll eat my hat!
• One pair of eyes is never as good as two different pairs (or three or 10!) of eyes. Two pairs of eyes on people who got As in English or teach English are never as good as one pair of eyes on an editor with years of publishing experience.
I've had lots of people read my book to help clear it of errors. Even my husband who is an engineer and catches every misplace comma!
• People who are good grammarians or good typo hunters aren't necessarily good editors. A good editor will also spot errors in the way you've set up your table of contents, your index, how you spelled the kind of foreword used in a book's front matter. She'll even have ideas for you about the titles of your chapters.
I had my college English teacher check my book. If she can't do it, no one can.
• Good editors will be good grammarians, spellers and typo hunters but they bring a whole lot more to the table than those skills. Most teachers have had no publishing experience at all. Thus, they won't know much if anything about frontmatter, backmatter as an example. So start saving your pennies for a good editor and in the meantime, read up on the process for yourself.
Some ask me why I am so passionate about this subject. "Editing really doesn't have anything to do with content," they say. Well, my passion comes from my experience with my first novel. When my new editor saw This Is the Place, she told me it was the "cleanest" copy she ever saw. OK. I'm an editor. But, I have to tell you. She missed much that I'd missed so that made two of us who had missed things that any good editor would surely have found! I'd love to go back, review that book myself and then have another editor look at it. Too late. It's in print.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered http://www.budurl.com/TrueShortStories; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry http://www.budurl.com/CarolynsTracings; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't http://www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success http://www.budurl.com/TheFrugalEditor. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal" http://www.budurl.com/bookpromotionreport. Some of her other blogs are http://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and http://SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com.
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WHODUNIT? -- By Billie A. Williams
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SEEDLINGS -- Aaron Paul Lazar
Bon Soir, Mes Amis
by Aaron Paul Lazar
I headed for my parents’ house on a rainy June evening, anxious for the tastes and aromas of home. Savory beef stew, bubbling on the stove. Spicy lavender, growing by the porch door. I even anticipated the musky smell of wet dog, having missed owning pets while on assignment in Germany.
I’d settled my wife and daughters back in our house in the country after a grueling flight from Stuttgart to Logan. After getting the place back in shape-the larder stocked, the lawn mowed, and the cobwebs whisked clean-my roots called to me. I needed to see my parents and grandmother. It had been far too long.
I parked in the driveway and soaked in the sight of the old cedar-shingled colonial, nestled between towering blue spruces and flanked by an overgrown Bartlett pear. Flashes of my childhood raced across my mind’s eye: my chestnut gelding grazing on the back field; family feasts on the redwood picnic table under the plum tree; devouring my mother’s cooking, and toiling in my father’s sumptuous gardens. I was finally home, where family had patiently waited as the one-year post overseas had stretched to four.
After long embraces and reunion tears, we gathered around the supper table, just as I’d envisioned so many times in the throes of homesickness. Ginny, my father’s beagle, sat at my feet, begging for morsels. I surreptitiously dropped a piece of cornbread under the table, and heard her satisfied snuffling as she sought and devoured the tidbit.
“When do we see Gram?” I asked between spoonfuls of Chicken Paprikash.
My parents exchanged uncomfortable glances. Mom shifted in her ladderback chair.
“We have something to tell you about Grandma,” she began. Her fingers tapped a tango on the table beside her linen napkin, and she tossed my father a nervous half-smile.
My heartbeat quickened and I imagined the worst.
She’s dead. My grandmother’s dead.
“What is it?” I asked. I set down my spoon and pushed back my seat. Ginny scooted to the side, then laid her head on my lap, her big brown eyes rolling up to mine. I stroked her soft ears and waited.
My mother nodded to my father, who took over.
“Gram’s in a home now,” he said. “She got sick, son. Alzheimer’s.”
I stared across the table. My jaw dropped. Indignation welled in my chest.
“You put her in a home?” My voice cracked on the last word. “I thought you said you’d never do that? We were going to take care of her. Amy and I would’ve taken her in, if you couldn’t. What happened to the plan?”
I conveniently ignored the fact that I hadn’t been around for the past four years.
My mother began to explain. They’d tried to care for her at home. The dining room had been transformed into a bedroom for Gram, so she could avoid climbing stairs. They'd brought in her pictures, her Lincoln rocker, her quilts, and the display case with her miniature Hummel figurines and collector’s plates. Her two bedroom cape cod had sold for a mere sixty-five thousand dollars.
“She thought I was a stranger, John. She kept calling 911.” My mother’s eyes brimmed with tears; she dabbed at them with her napkin. “We found her outdoors, in the middle of winter, wandering around in her nightgown. She nearly froze to death, looking for the ‘hen house’ She thought she was a young woman again, and kept trying to do her chores. She wouldn’t take her pills, kept thinking I was trying to poison her.”
My mother stopped to collect herself, pressing the napkin to her eyes. Her chest hitched a few times.
“She turned into a different person,” my father added. “She wasn’t herself, yelling at your mother all the time, really getting hysterical. Of course we didn’t blame her. She was frightened and didn’t recognize anyone.”
He paused for a moment. Ginny’s tail thumped the braided rug. I leaned down to hug her, and she quivered with excitement, lapping my cheek.
“With the new medicine, she’s a little calmer. It was a hard decision, son, but the right one.”
My mother tried to smile, but her face crumpled. She breathed deeply and stood.
“Dad’s going to take you to see her tomorrow, so you can check out the place for yourself. It’s a homey place, has a nice feeling to it. Not too fancy, mind you, just comfortable. And… she’s safe now.”
Numb, I nodded and leaned down to pat Ginny’s smooth flanks. I didn’t want to lose it in front of them.
“Just one more thing. She probably won’t know you. You should be prepared,” my mother said in a voice that trailed off to a whisper.
Not know me?
My grandmother and I had shared an exceptional bond. I'd written dozens of letters from Germany over the past four years, assuming she'd read them, and not expecting an answer. With her arthritis, she had a hard time holding a pen steady, and we'd agreed on the one-sided letter writing campaign before I'd left the country.
Impossible. She’ll know me.
The next day, we entered a modest gray clapboard house and climbed a wooden stairway to the second floor. Several elderly patients peeked from their doorways. Dad greeted most of them by name, stopping to chat with a few along the way.
When we reached Gram’s room, a stranger sat on the edge of the bed. Dressed in a loose, faded housedress, she looked fifty pounds lighter than the grandmother I remembered. Her short blond hair, so carefully coifed throughout her life, had transformed into wispy gray locks that lay flat and lifeless, framing her thin face. She wore no jewelry, no lipstick, and no shoes.
I approached slowly and sat beside her on the narrow bed.
“How are you, Gram?” I took her small hand in mine.
Her eyes widened with indecision and she carefully inched away from me. She smiled as if she were entertaining a guest and gently drew her hand from my grasp.
“I’m fine,” she said. Her wary eyes darted to my father.
She looked down at her hands.
Would you like to see pictures of my girls?” I asked.
“All right.” She spoke with forced politeness.
I pulled out a packet of photos and began to reel off the names and ages of my daughters.
“Here’s Meredith in our house in Germany. She just turned ten. You should see her play the piano. She sure loves music. She’s just started on the Chopin Preludes now.”
She seemed to relax a little, and accepted the photo, running her fingers lightly across the glossy surface. A small sigh escaped her lips.
“So sweet,” she said. “She’ll be a heartbreaker.”
Encouraged, I continued through the pack.
“Here we are at the Christmas Market in Stuttgart. There’s my wife, Amy. And that’s Alice, and there’s little Micki. Alice is seven and Micki just turned five.”
She carefully took the photo, gazing at it.
“They look a lot alike. Such pretty curls. What’s that building in the background?”
I warmed to her question.
“It’s the Stiftkirche spire, right in the middle of the city. There are old castles intermingled with new buildings. This one street, called the Koenigstrasse, bans cars; it’s filled with shops and pedestrians. You’d love the Christmas Market. Glass blown ornaments, outdoor vendors in the old cobblestone square, hot mulled wine served from copper kettles... The present I sent you last year was bought right there-”
“Ben?” she asked, looking at my father. Her eyes danced between us and she played with the buttons on her housedress with one frail hand.
“Do I know this handsome young man?”
Dad hesitated, looking at my crestfallen face, then patiently answered.
“Yes, Mother. It’s your grandson, John. He’s my son. Your grandson,” he prodded gently. “He’s been gone for a few years on assignment in Germany.”
She looked up at him and nodded vacantly. I sat up straighter, looking into her confused eyes, pleading.
“Gram? It’s Johnny. Remember? Don’t you remember me?”
My voice caught and I choked out the last few words. She smiled and put a trembling hand on my shoulder.
“I’m sure I would’ve been very proud of you,” she said.
I sat still, grateful for her empathy, but crushed. A leaden sensation played around my heart. My father changed the subject.
“Are you hungry, Mother?” he asked. “John and I are taking you to lunch today.”
She brightened. “Yes, I am. I’m tired of the old-people-food they force on me here. They tell me I eat like a bird, but it’s because there’s nothing good to eat. And they won’t give me any beer. Can you imagine that? The Prohibition is over! What kind of a hotel is this, anyway?”
I smiled involuntarily as I recognized traits of my familiar, feisty grandmother. She was still in there, somewhere.
Dad pushed her shoes to the side of the bed and helped her put them on. Her forehead crinkled and she stood unsteadily, looking around the room for something.
“Gram? Can I help?” I asked.
“My pocketbook. I can’t go out without my pocketbook.”
Dad laid his hand on her arm and flashed me a melancholy look.
“It’s okay, Mother. I’m buying today. No need for it.”
He helped her into a worn blue cardigan and we shuffled down the hall. When we passed the bedroom of an elderly man, she leaned over and whispered in my father’s ear.
“You have to do something about that Mr. Timothy, son. He keeps hitting on me. My stars, he must be at least eighty.”
“Okay, Mother. Will do. I’ll have a talk with the old coot.”
Dad smiled. Gram would be ninety next April.
We drove to the restaurant that specialized in her favorites: golden fried scallops and Narragansett beer. We slid into an empty booth across cracked red vinyl seats, and picked up the sticky menus. Dad and I shared one side, facing Grandma. She held the menu, but didn’t read it. Instead, she looked back and forth between us.
“You know,” she said, “you look like him!”
She nodded toward my father. I smiled.
“I should, Gram. I’m his son.”
“Oh…” she said. She still didn’t get it.
I tried another tact.
“Do you remember camp? On Great Pond?”
I touched on a few of my favorite childhood memories. Her eyes lit up.
“Of course I remember camp. What do you think I am, addlepated?”
She began to reminisce about people I hadn’t known, who had been her guests at the fishing resort before I was born. Although she didn’t remember me, we discovered a common ground. The tall pines. The cool, sparkling lake. The lonely tremolo of the loons.
I took a long pull on my beer. A bead of sweat rolled down the green glass surface and pooled on the Formica. We sat in contented silence, sifting through sweet memories.
“Gram?”
She looked at me expectantly, a pink blush spreading over her soft cheeks.
“Yes?”
“I remember when you and Po-pa used to bring me a slice of pizza from the café, always late at night. You’d wake me up for it. It was cold, and wrapped in a paper napkin. Best darned pizza I ever had.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured with downcast eyes. “I don’t remember anything these days.”
“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter.” I patted the back of her cold hand and warmed to the childhood memory.
“You also sang to me. Every night, before I fell to sleep.”
I began to sing-softly-so as not to arouse stares from the other patrons.
"Bon Soir Mes Amis, Bon Soir.
Bon Soir Mes Amis, Bon Soir.
We had such a good time together,
But now we must say
Bon Soir.”
Before I reached the second stanza, my grandmother’s eyes lit up and she joined me, singing in a wavering soprano. My heart swelled. Her eyes sparkled and her face crinkled with joy. She popped the last scallop in her mouth, and laughed with a tinkling wind-chime sound, reaching across the table to lay her hand on mine.
“Oh, my. I love that song. I used to sing it to you when you were a boy.” Warmth filled her eyes.
“Isn’t it nice to be with family?”
** Bon Soir, Mes Amis is dedicated to my grandmother and based on a true story. **
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New Books
The Magical Christmas Cat
http://www.gravematters.com/xmas236.htm
A Suitcase Full of Stories - Children's Anthology
Holidays are for adventures and there are plenty of those in this book
Mysterious ones
Ones where everyday life becomes an adventure
Those which take place in other times and other worlds
Those where magic comes to our own world
There’s a story for every day of your two-week holiday, including< the day you set off and the day you come back.We hope you remember to pack this book and that you enjoy this Suitcase Full of Stories.
http://bridgehousepublishing.co.uk/currenttitles.aspx
Reviews
Title: Stuff to Spy ForPublisher: Oceanview Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-933515-22-9
Genre: Mystery
A fun read from talented author Don Bruns about the adventures of Skip Moore and his pal James Lessor when they get involed with former schoolmate Sarah Crumbly who proves to be something other than she says.
Skip is merely supposed to sell a security system to the company Sarah works for but finds he has opened a can of worms when complications get out of hand. Not only is he selling security but he has some romantic problems of an unusual sort, and death takes a hand in the story.
Nothing is as it seems to be and that makes for an interesting adventure for the reader as well as the characters. You'll have no trouble following all that is going on however, and will enjoy the tale. This author writes with a good deal of understanding of how people are influenced by friends and the promise of money.
I'm pleased to recommend this story to any reader as a very satisfying read who is looking for some laughs along the way. A fun blending of comedy, satire, wit and mystery to be enjoyed with those complications that add up to a good time had by all.
Enjoy. I sure did.
by Anne K. Edwards
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Title: Shadows In The Night
Author: Betty Sullivan LaPierre
Publisher: SynergEbooks
ISBN:Print-1-4392-5874-0 ebook 0-7443-1860-2
Genre: Mystery
Hawkman does it again in this fun read by talented author Betty Sullivan LaPierre. Shadows in the Night is set in a senior home called Morning Glory Haven. His new client's wife Maggie loves it there, but she and her husband are alarmed about how many of their friends have died in their sleep recently.
Hawkman sets up his investigation and a schedule of protection for Maggie, the client's wife. But Maggie is hard to handle and loves to have her own way. Her actions could put her in danger. The person who might be a killer is well hidden and this seems to be one of the toughest cases Hawkman has had yet.
Lots going on in this seniors home with staff and residents who are very individualistic in their outlooks. You will enjoy meeting them and get a sense that this is not only a place for seniors, but a place anyone of any age would enjoy living.
I'm pleased to recommend this fun read to anyone who enjoys mysteries or a good read full of great characters. Once you've read this one, you'll be looking for this author's other works. They're all good reads. Enjoy. I certainly did.
by Anne K. Edwards
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Title: Humberto, the Bookwork Hamster
Author: MayraCalvani
Artist: Kit Grady
Publisher: Guardian Angel Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-935137-92-4
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Hey Kids! Time to read! A new book will introduce you to Humberto, the Bookworm Hamster in a fun tale by talented author Mayra Calvani.
Attention adults! This book will make a wonderful Christmas gift for any child in your family. It is a picture book any child would love to own. They would read it over and over. The lovely artwork enables the reader to see the characters as they read about them. This is a book you can also read to a child, a book meant to bring you closer to the child.
Humberto, the Bookworm Hamster has immersed himself in the world of books and his imagination, leaving no time for other friends. This fun tale takes us through Humberto's learning experience and his love of books. A moral tale that teaches without the reader being aware of it.
I'm pleased to highly recommend this book to any inner child of any adult who plans to buy a memorable gift for a child or just a book to share with a child. I really did enjoy the story and looking at the artwork that enhances the tale so well. Like Humberto traveling through his books to other worlds, I entered his and enjoyed the experience. You'll want to look for other books by this multiple-talented author.
by Anne K. Edwards
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Title: Awkward Grace
Author: Jeff McCord
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
http://www.twilighttimesbooks.com
SBN: 1-933353-17-1
Genre: Mainstream
Trade paperback/$16.95
ebook/$5.95
Continuous tumult in the country of Birundi in Africa forces Mevin's family to flee. They end up in a refugee camp in the neighboring country where their status and safety is questionable. Death is so common the only work to be found is that of grave digger, but Mevin's father insists they hold onto hope.
In East Tennessee a man named Ben Bellamy gets a call from his pastor to head an outreach group and choose a refugee to help. Ben feels unqualified for the job and prays over it, eventually coming to the conclusion it is something he is meant to do.
The paperwork is done and Mevin and his brother are brought to the U.S. to begin a new life under the protective wing of Ben and his church. Thus begins an uplifting story of how people on opposite sides of the world can work together.
Talented authoor Jeff McCord has crafted a tale that will remain in your mind once you read it, the feeling it leaves is one of being glad you read this story. You'll enjoy meeting the characters who live and breathe and feel as though you're been part of their lives.
A lesson in caring for others, and the pleasure of a life well lived will make you feel good after finishing this great tale. I'm pleased to highly recommend Awkward Grace to any reader who enjoys a satisfying read that leaves a feeling of peace in its wake.
Enjoy. I sure did.
by Anne K. Edwards
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Contests
Events
Baltimore novelist Laura Lippman (Life Sentences) has been elected as president of the Mystery Writers of America for 2010
Resources
http://novelworks2.blogspot.com
Marta Stephens new blog. Focus is to provide tour companies and publicists a platform to promote their authors. Authors may apply directly.
http://theromancestudio.com Reviews for romance books
http://www.weebly.com Free websites
http://www.robinfalls.com/RFM.html New electronic magazine looking for submissions.
http://bridgehousepublishing.co.uk/newsubmissions.aspx New anthology UK publisher looking for story submissions
http://www.authorsandexperts.com/calendar.php Authors may post events for free
New blog http://noirjournal.typepad.comhttp://newteacherresourcecenter.com/?p=1899 When it comes to teaching English language learners successfully, teachers expressed frustrations with classroom management, finding the right materials, differentiating lessons and time management for purposes of lesson planning and other administrative responsibilities.
As a teacher of ELLs, author Dorit Sasson knows how challenging it is to keep the learning continuum at a high and discipline problems at a low. But still how is this all possible if students can’t read and understand the lesson? Or how is possible to meet each student’s needs when they are not catching up with their native English speaking peers? Just how is it possible to correctly assess students’ needs so that lessons match their learning styles and needs?
Sasson's work begins with the 97 tips you’ll find in her electronic booklet or ebooklet, “Yes! You Can Teach K-12 English language learners Successfully” on how to teach ELLs more effectively. Here, you’ll find bite-sized tips for a bite-sized price on differentiated instruction, teaching vocabulary, improving reading comprehension and lessons and oral instruction among others.
http://www.shewrites.com Community of women writers
Subscriptions to this ezine are Free. Please pass this on to friends you think would enjoy it.
Copyright (c) 2005 Mary Emmons All Rights Reserved
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BOO!! Happy Halloween!!
Mystery Fiction Monthly Ezine -- The Voice in the DarkIssue No. 53, September/October 2009
Co-Editor: Anne K. Edwards
marbob00@earthlink.net
http://www.Mysteryfiction.net
Co-Editor: Mayra Calvani
MGCalvani@hotmail.com
Ca href="http://www.Mayracalvani.com">http://www.Mayracalvani.com
Slippery Book Review Blog
http://slipperybookreview.wordpress.com
Pets and Their Authors Blogs
http://www.petsandauthors.blogspot.com
Childrens Book Website
http://www.mayrassecretbookcase.com
By subscription only. You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription. To unsubscribe, send an email to marbob00@earthlink.net with your email address.
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MONSTER FOR SALE. Six month guarantee.: That's an ad I saw in one of the large online magazines. So I took a look at their list of monsters and ordered Frankenstein. He came in the mail, delivered to my door with a tag around his neck. My postman will never speak to me again. Ole Frank kept knocking bookcases and tables over so I finally sent him back. He was such a klutz.
So I exchanged him for a ghost that arrived on his own. He had a bad habit of staying out all night and coming home all wet with dew. He wouldn't use the door and left large damp spots on my walls so finally I sent him back. Recovering my walls after the plaster dries will cost a bundle.
My last try was a werewolf. He was such a dud. He wouldn't heel when we went for a walk and was forever jumping out the windows at night. He wouldn't wait for a full moon. Scratch marks all over the sills will have to be repainted. He ate all my flowers. He would roam the neighborhood at night howling and getting into fights sith the local tomcats. What a wimp. He lost every fight and came home all covered with scratches and eggs that the neighbors threw at him because of the noise. I ask you--have you ever cleaned dried egg off of a werewolf? He was also a huge slob and slept all day. So back he went.
I don't know about this company's guarantee at all. I'm not satisfied and can't get my money back. They said I'd have to mediate through the court in their city. The letter was mailed from Transylvania and signed by Dracula. Should I go for it?
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Voice in the Dark will continue to be open to well written, interesting submissions having to do with writing, publishing, and promotion of books. In addition to a subscription list, Voice in the Dark is posted each month on http://www.Mysteryfiction.net. If interested contact Anne K. Edwards at marbob00@earthlink.net with "Voice Submission" in your subject line.
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NOTE: Recommend visiting the site of the Southern Review to get the latest on Amazon and other publishing news. http://www.anvilpub.net/southern_review_of_books.htm
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NOTE: Books We Love is hosting another great contest for readers. Visit http://www.bookswelove.net and enter. Lots of prizes. Meet new authors and new reads. Visit Jude's Alter-Ego at http://www.judeatkins.com
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If you are interested in reviewing books, contact simegen@simegen.com. They are looking for qualified reviewers.
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This year is the 10th anniversary of the founding of Twilight Times Books (1999) and the 5th year since we went to print (2004). Those are significant milestones.
In celebration, Twilight Times Books will have a print book sale from Oct. 1st to Nov. 15th. Most titles will be offered to the general public at a 10 - 30% discount. http://twilighttimesbooks.com/print_books101509sale.html
For a limited time, and while quantities last, we are offering a 30% - 50% discount on selected titles. http://twilighttimesbooks.com/print_books101509special.html
Check out our newsletter for info on our latest releases. http://twilighttimesbooks.com/ttb_nl19.html
Lida E. Quillen, Publisher
Twilight Times Books
http://twilighttimesbooks.com
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The creak of a house at night
Twilight
The sound of wings in the dark
Not bird
Footsteps of one unseen on the stairs
Goosebumps
Rapping on your second floor window
No tree
Nerves straining to hear strange sounds
Unearthly
Get under the covers with a flashlight
And read.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editor's Note
Featured Interviews
--Meet Lee Masterson, co-founder of Horror Factor
--Meet Alexandra Sokoloff, Author
--Meet Carol A. Guy, Author
Short Fiction
Articles
--Boo! Halloween Marketing by Mayra Calvani
--Horror Fiction - Ten Cliches to Avoid by William Meikle
--How to Write Effective Horror by Riley James Young
--Origins of Halloween by Mayra Calvani
Whodunit? -- Columnist Billie A. Williams
This & That -- Dana Reed
Seedlings -- Aaron Paul Lazar
The Writing Life -- Quarterly and Guest Column
Reviews
Events
Resources
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Editor's Note
Scary time is here again. How rapidly the year has gone. Are you ready for ghosts and goblins, witches and ghouls, vampires and werewolves? What will you be doing Halloween Eve?
Will you be watching a favorite horror film on T.V.? What type of horror do you prefer? The old fashioned black and white films like an early version of Frankenstein or something later like the Amityville Horror?
What movies do you remember truly enjoying, that made you jump and had you looking over your shoulders all the way home? Do you like monsters, or ghosts, or gore and screams?
There are plenty of in-between movies too, that make us confront our fears. The movie about a man eating shark--Jaws--did it make you think twice about going swimming? Or perhaps a film like The Legend of Boggy Creek could make you jump.
If you are a product of the fifties and sixties, you may have seen The Thing, It, Them, The Crawling Eye or one of many others where ghouls and the dead walk the night or perhaps some radiation mutated ant or grass hopper was a favorite monster.
On a personal note, I find the subtle horror is the most frightening. It stays with you long after the film is over. No gore or repetitious screaming is required. The Haunting is a good example of this. Or do you prefer lots of color and action added to a silly mix on a film as some of the old horror stars used to make? The Raven is a perfect example, starring Boris Karloff, Vincent Price and Peter Lorre.
Others of the black and white films that were enjoyable in their day were Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein or Abbott and Costello Meet The Werewolf.
I find these films and others like them have a sort of innocence lost by today's films. They did not depend on spurting blood, constant screaming, bodies or body parts, to be scary. Rather they told a story or blended comedy with the scenes that meant to scare.
One thing for sure, the funny horror movies taught us to laugh at what scared us. And laughter makes fear seem smaller, sort of like whistling in the dark as you pass a cemetery...
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Interviews
Interview with Lee Masterson, co-founder of Horror Factor
Interview by Mayra Calvani
Horror Factor is an online source for horror authors who want to hone their craft. The site offers not only monthly tips, a writer's forum, and articles on the horror writing craft, but also on publishing, promotion and marketing horror fiction. Here to talk about the site is co-founder Lee Masterson. Read on to find out all the goodies this site offers and how to subscribe to their monthly, highly informative newsletter.
Thanks for this interview, Lee.
Q. Tell us a bit about Horror Factor. When and how did it get started?
A. Horror Factor was created in 2002 – about 3 years after we first launched the original Fiction Factor http://www.fictionfactor.com. The original site contains hundreds of articles on general fiction writing advice. It occurred to us that the information a horror writer might need would be more specific than just learning grammar or sentence structure or finding a publisher. Horror writing tips are also going to be vastly different to writing tips for a children's writer or a fantasy writer. So we sat down and had a huge brainstorming session and came up with the various sub-sites that are aimed specifically at writers in each of the individual genres we chose.
&nsbp; As I'm a huge horror fan, I decided to build Horror Factor before the other sub-sites. It's remained my favorite to this day!
B. What does your site offer authors?
A. The websites as a whole were specifically created to help all writers to improve, hone and strengthen writing skills. There are entire sections in the Fiction Factor article archives on getting published, finding editors or agents, submitting or formatting work and much more.
Horror Factor specifically caters to horror or dark fiction writers. We try hard to find quality horror-specific tips and advice that could potentially help a writer to improve his or her craft or to find publication. It's surprisingly difficult to find enough quality work in this genre designed to assist newer writers to hone their craft. We're always on the look out for more ways we can help out horror writers.
Q. What about promotional opportunities?
A. We would sincerely love to promote all authors on our site somewhere – but our web host wouldn't be happy! We already blow out their hosting and bandwidth capacities quite often with the heavy traffic such an enormous site produces.
&nsbp; What we can offer is a bit of promotion in the "Writer Announcements" section in the newsletter. If any writer at all has some writing news they'd like to shout out or perhaps get some free promotion for a book/story publication, then feel free to hop onto our forum. Post your 'woo hoo' into the Announcements section. Remember to leave a link where everyone can find you. I'll get that announcement into the email newsletter and we'll let the world know about it for you!
Q. How may authors interested in a review by Horror Factor submit their books?
A. We receive hundreds of submissions for reviews and even more queries every year. We're currently so overstocked with reviews that we won't be opening for further submissions until mid-2009. We do post an announcement in the newsletter when we do open for submissions, but we've learned that we only need to open for one week a year to create a backlog that keeps us busy all year round.
Q. Do you consider freelance articles and reviews? What about short stories?
A, Yes, absolutely! We're always happy to receive freelance non-fiction articles that might help writers in some way. If you'd like to submit any writing-related article at all to Fiction Factor, Horror Factor or any of our other genre sites simply visit the site. Don't let the scary warning that says "we're closed to submissions" deter you – I'll always happily read a well-written query from any writer willing to email me.
We do prefer that articles are written and formatted in a similar style to the existing articles on the site. Feel free to take a look around some of our article archives to get a feel for what kind of things we like! If you see a gap in the information there, chances are we'd love to see an article covering that topic.
We don't accept fiction short stories but we do have plenty of short story market listings available. If you're looking for a published home for your short horror fiction, check out our market listings. You're sure to find a publication suitable for your work.
Q. Tell us about your newsletter, Fiction Factor, and how we can subscribe to it.
A. Fiction Factor was created in 1999 to cater for a complete lack of information for fiction writers (at that time). Our Managing Editor, Tina Morgan, and I noticed a growing need for information directed at helping writers to establish successful writing careers so we created the site. The first email newsletter was released in January 2000 and has just grown enormously to become the award-winning site we have now in the years since.
You can subscribe to our newsletter by visiting our group on Yahoo or you can send a blank email to fictionfactor-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Our newsletter is free and each month we try to include at least three great articles pertinent to writers or writing. We also include market listings and occasionally book reviews and author interviews. All our content is dictated by what our subscribers want to read about or learn more about so we take particular notice of any email queries we receive and then take steps to source articles that cover this information. Tina and I are both also very active on the forum (which has a dedicated Horror Writing section, by the way). Any questions that seem very popular or anything we feel could be great information for other writers immediately goes into the newsletter from here as well.
Q. Do you think the horror fiction market has declined, reached a plateau, or is still climbing?
A. I think the horror market has gone a little stale in recent times but it doesn't seem to be declining in popularity. There seems to be an abundance of regurgitated vampire tales around right now, along with a gore-fest of slasher type stories.
It's a shame the supernatural thriller style of horror seems to be on the decline though. You know – the ones that make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up and make you check whether you locked the doors at night. These are my personal favorites.
Having said all that, it is heartening to see so many diverse short horror markets still running strongly and actively seeking submissions. This would indicate that the genre as a whole is still very strong with a lot of readers out there.
A. Horror seems to run in cycles. No matter what's popular now or what was popular yesterday, the themes will eventually make a resurgence somewhere in the future cycles. They might be updated, modernized or given a fresh face but they're still similar underlying themes.
We seem to be in a part of the cycle where there's a glut of slasher/gore-fest and vampire horror around right now. When there's a glut, readers tend to wander off in search of something different. Sales slump and publishers start sniffing around for something else to sell. This makes the market appear flat or stale.
Sooner or later a fresh new style or something completely different to the usual stuff we see will appear and spark reader's interests again. Sales will spike and publishers will rush to grab hold of any copycat styles they can find, which then causes a glut and the market goes stale again until another new writer emerges with something fresh and original to begin it all again.
The great thing about cycles is that you can often sense when the wheel has turned full circle and it's about to launch into a new phase. I think this is what's about to happen to the genre in the near future.
Q. When you look at the history of horror fiction, which type of supernatural "creatures" have had the most success and notoriety under the public eye – witches, ghosts, zombies, monsters, or vampires?
A. Unfortunately I think vampires have received the most success and notoriety lately. Vampires have been romanticized in recent times almost to the point of being nauseating. That's a shame because there's massive scope within these supernatural beings to create really cool, scary scenarios. Let's hope someone creates some really scary vampires soon and bring them back to their former horror-glory.
Q. What is the scariest book you've ever read?
A. The books that get the little hairs on the back of my neck tingling most are the ones that affect me in ways I least expect. A good example of what I mean is Stephen King's Pet Sematary. It's not really a scary book, but my black cat, Scruffy had me creeped out for a few days after reading it (actually, he still creeps me out when he stalks my hair in the middle of the night).
Another one that unexpectedly affected me was Richard Laymon's All Hallow's Eve. Again, it wasn't a scary book, per se, but when the creepy guy dressed in his last victim's clothes turned up on the old lady's doorstep to make her his next victim…. Let's just say I'd recently divorced from my husband when I read that book and was living alone at the time in a little cottage on a secluded road. I slept with the lights on that night (and a German Shepherd beside the bed for reassurance!)
Oh – and anything with spiders. I have a bit of a phobia-thing about spiders.
Q. Which authors, in your opinion, will be remembered as the best horror writers of the 20th Century?
A. There are so many good horror writers around right now – Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen King, Robert McCammon, Richard Laymon – like I said, there's so many. I should add such favorites as Dean Koontz, John Saul, Peter Straub and Graham Masterton as well.
Being an Aussie, I also make an effort to follow some of our great Australian Horror Writers. I think some of these will make a huge splash in the international horror arena in the not-too-distant future. If you get a chance, I can recommend you look up Stephen Dedman and Jack Davis. Stephanie Gunn's short fiction is worth watching for too.
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Meet Alexandra Sokoloff, Author
Interview by Mayra Calvani
California native Alexandra Sokoloff is a professional screenwriter, director, choreographer and author of the supernatural thrillers, The Harrowing and The Price. The first was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel and for an Anthony Award for Best First Mystery. She has adapted numerous novels for film for companies such as Sony, Fox, Disney, and Miramax. Sokoloff is a regular blogger at Murderati.com and Muse, a new collective of female dark suspense authors.
Q. Tell us, when did you start writing?
A. Well, in hindsight I could say that I started writing when I was about eight or nine - not stories, but some friends and I would write little plays and put them on in a neighbor's garage, charge admission, all that! But I was really much more into the acting side of it for a long time. I was a theater kid all through high school, mostly loved doing musicals - was an avid singer and dancer and still am - but I quickly became more interested in the big picture of production. I directed the senior class play when I was 16, and from there I kept directing and also choreographing, but got more and more interested in playwriting. The moment that I committed to writing for all time, though, was when I wrote my first one-act play in a class at Berkeley and the professor chose it to have a graduate student direct it. The moment my characters walked out on that stage, real, live people, I felt like God. It's been writing for me ever since! And I've been a professional writer most of my adult life - I only recently made the transition from screenwriter to full-time novelist.
Q. When did your love for the darker side of things begin? Did you read paranormal books as a teen?
A. I blame my Dad! He's a huge genre fan and we had all kinds of horror and mystery and sci-fi classics around the house. Anything with a spooky cover, I'd read, and I particularly liked the supernatural and paranormal, but my preference was always for the more psychological supernatural. Dad grew up in Mexico City and had some whopping good ghost stories of his own, too.
But I also had some pretty scary things happen to me, or rather almost happen to me, as a kid - I was almost abducted by a child predator when I was very young, but thankfully got away, and since my family traveled a lot I was exposed to some pretty dark things - poverty, desperation, oppression, madness. My particular obsession with portraying the dark side is very much about exploring a constant battle between good and evil, even on a very small, person-to-person level, and seeing how good can triumph, at least one battle at a time.
Q. You're the author of two supernatural thrillers/horror novels, The Harrowing and The Price. Would you tell our readers a bit about each book and what was your inspiration for them?
A. The Harrowing is set on an isolated college campus just as it's emptying out for the long Thanksgiving break. Five troubled and very disparate students have all decided to stay in their spooky old Victorian dorm because they don't want to go home to their dysfunctional families. And as they start to bond, as college students will do, and realize that they have more in common than they think, they also start to realize that they are not alone in that dorm. But they don't know if one of them is playing a prank, or if someone else has stayed to mess with them, or if they're really starting to experience a genuine haunting.
And I guarantee the story will keep you guessing, even though the clues are all right there.
The inspiration for that one was a poltergeist experience I had when I was sixteen, which got me fascinated by the question of whether paranormal experiences are supernatural or psychological or perhaps a combination of both.
The Price is a completely different kind of haunting. Boston District Attorney Will Sullivan has it all - a beautiful and devoted wife, an adorable five year old daughter, Sydney, and he's considered a shoo-in for the Massachusetts governor's race. But on the eve of his candidacy Sydney is diagnosed with a malignant, inoperable tumor. Will and Joanna move into labyrinthine Briarwood Medical Center and are basically waiting for their baby to die, and going out of their minds with grief. But in the twilight world of the hospital, terminal patients seem to be recovering, against all odds, and the recoveries all revolve around a mysterious hospital counselor who takes a special interest in Will and his family. When Sydney miraculously goes into remission, Will suspects that his wife has made a terrible bargain to save their daughter's life, and must race to uncover the truth in order to save them all.
The inspiration for The Price was partly a longtime obsession with the theme of a deal with the devil (probably from working in Hollywood for so long), and partly the very sad death of the baby daughter of a friend, which got me thinking about the lengths to which we would go to save a loved one. Of course we say we'd do anything, anything at all - but what does that really mean, when it's time to sign on the bottom line? And is it necessarily a good thing?
And my third novel, The Unseen, will be coming out in June of 2009 - it's a mystery/thriller based on the real-life parapsychology experiments done at Duke University in the 1960's.
And I have a story I like very much in the new The Darker Mask anthology of noir superhero stories. http://www.amazon.com/Darker-Mask-Gary-Phillips/dp/other-editions/0765318504/ref=dp_ed_all
You can see the trailers and read excerpts here:http://alexandrasokoloff.com/books.htmlhttp://alexandrasokoloff.com/books.html#price.
Q. The Harrowing was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. How does that make you feel as an author? Has the nomination been a good marketing tool?
A. It was a huge honor, and especially thrilling to be nominated for the Stoker for Best First Horror and the Anthony for Best First Mystery, because my intention is always to cross mystery and the supernatural. So the dual nomination made me feel I'd succeeded in that quest.
The nominations certainly got me a lot of attention, and I think the Stoker turned out to be particularly good for marketing because of the power of Bram Stoker's name, and the kind of elegant horror it conveys. And of course the recognition was a lovely entrée to the mystery and horror communities.
Q. How long does it take you to write a novel? Do you outline the full plot first?
A, How long is a hard question to answer because an author always has another full-time job - which is book promotion. But it seems to take me about six months, non-stop, writing every day. And yes, I do extensive, 70 or 80 page outlines. Unfortunately I like complex stories so it's essential for me to map out the twists and turns and red herrings along the way.
And I'm a structure fanatic - I'm currently writing a very in-depth series of blogs on the process at http://thedarksalon.blogspot.com.
Q. How was your experience in looking for an agent and/or publisher? Would you offer some advice to fledgling authors?
A. My experience was completely atypical - since I've worked as a screenwriter for a long time, all I had to do was give The Harrowing to my film agent, he gave it to a book acquisitions agent at the agency, and she passed it on to several good literary agents in New York. I had a great agent within a week and a two-book deal from St. Martin's within the month. But I paid my dues in the Hollywood trenches!
I have lots of advice on seeking representation - here are two blog posts I've compiled on the subject, with links to other essential resources.
http://thedarksalon.blogspot.com/2008/09/why-do-i-need-agent-anyway.html
http://thedarksalon.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-do-i-get-literary-agent.html
Q. What do you do on Halloween?
A. These days I always have a book signing event! Because of what I write, I'll never have a Halloween to myself again. At least I can still dress up.
Q. Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers?
A. I'm always happy to answer questions and dialogue on my blog - http://thedarksalon.blogspot.com
And Happy Halloween!
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Meet Carol A. Guy, Author
Interview by Anne K. Edwards
Q. What do you find most rewarding about having written a story, article or book?
A. Getting my work published is, of course, very rewarding. But I think the best part of it for me is knowing that there are people out there who enjoy reading what I’ve written. I get a lot of positive feedback from my readers and I love it when they ask questions about the characters and story lines. Sometimes they challenge me and that is even better. It makes me a better writer.
Q. How did you happen to become an author?
A. I started writing short stories while I was still in high school. None of them were ever published, however, since I didn’t have the nerve to send them to any magazines. I was also on the school paper, which sparked my interest in writing. Mysteries have always been one of my favorite genres. I read my first Agatha Christie mystery when I was sixteen years old. But before I read Dame Agatha for the first time, I read a novel called The Fiery Flower by Paul Wellman, which was published in 1959. It was sort of a mix between science fiction and paranormal and I loved it. Those two authors sparked my interest in the mystery and paranormal genres.
Q. Would you like to talk about your career or future plans?
A. I’ve written true crime, cozy mysteries, suspense, eroticas and paranormals. I’ve also worked as a newspaper reporter. At the present time I’m writing the final novels in two paranormal series. Once those are finished, I plan to begin a new paranormal detective series and a new cozy mystery series. The year 2010 will bring about some real changes in the way I approach my writing career.
Q. Have you favorite authors who have influenced your work?
A. I have many favorite authors. Agatha Christie, of course. Then there’s Ray Garton, Beverly Barton, Lillian Jackson Braun, Dean Koontz, Nelson DeMille, Todd Stone, Elizabeth Peters….the list goes on.
Q. Do you have a website for readers to visit?
A. My website (for now) is http://www.goodmysteries.webs.com.
Q. Where is your work available?
A. My true crime book, A Picture Perfect Kid, is available in paperback at http://www.amazon.com or through the publisher, Zumaya Publications, at http://www.zumayapublications.com .
My two co-authored cozy mysteries, Murder at the Ice Cream Parlor and Vengeance Can Wait are available from Mundania Press at http://www.mundania.com.
My other co-authored cozy mystery, Murder at the Loft, can be ordered directly from me. Email me at cguy1943@yahoo.com for ordering info.
My paranormal mystery, Spirit Lake Books 1&2 is a print paperback volume containing the first two books in my Spirit Lake series-Spirit Lake and Echoes of the Past. This book is available at http://www.amazon.com or from Devine Destinies at http://www.devinedestinies.com.
The third book in the Spirit Lake series, Slay Bells Ring, will be coming out around Christmas time.
Also available from Devine Destinies is my shape shifter series, which includes Night of the Canid, Shadows in the Night and Night Watchers. These are ebooks.
My suspense novel, Sins of the Past, is available in hardback or paperback from Publish America at http://www.publishamerica.com.
Q. Are you currently working on a project?
A. As I said earlier, I’ll be starting two new series in 2010. My paranormal detective series will take place on the South Carolina coast in a small town I’ve called Eden Harbor. I lived in Myrtle Beach for years and loved it there so it was only natural that I would choose that area as the backdrop for my new series. The cozy mystery series will feature amateur sleuth Adelaide McBride and takes place in a little Midwestern town called Crescent Falls. I introduced Adelaide in a short story called Jolly Dead St. Nicholas. Anyone ordering a copy of Murder at the Loft receives a copy of the short story free.
Q. Would you like to tell the readers anything about yourself?
A. I grew up in a small town but have lived other places through the years, including Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Cincinnati, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio. I worked a "day job" for decades while I wrote in my spare time. Now, I’m retired and write full time…when I’m not traveling and spending time with the kids and grandkids. I have a son who lives in Florida. I live with my daughter and grandson in Dayton, Ohio.
Q. Do you write every day?
A. I write Monday through Thursday from about eight-thirty in the morning until noon. I take a lunch break and watch my favorite soap, The Young and the Restless, then write from one-thirty until around four o’clock in the afternoon. I write half a day on Friday. I take the weekend off. It’s a schedule that works for me.
Q. What is your favorite way to begin a project? Do you do an outline? Or start with a plot or characters first?
A. I always start with the general idea for the story. Then I create the characters. I do a full profile, which gives them life. I don’t do a specific outline. I jot down the overall plot then make a list of the events that are to occur-not necessarily in order. It seems that once I start actually writing the scenes, things can change as new ideas come to me and the story moves along. With a mystery, though, you have to be sure of several things from the beginning: who the victim is, who the killer is, and why the crime is being committed.
Q. What impels or inspires you to write?
A. I see story ideas everywhere: in the newspaper, in magazines, sitting in traffic, visiting a park….my mind is always saying…what if this happened or that happened or what if that guy is really a wife killer or that woman is a husband prisoner. I keep a file of story ideas for future reference.
Q. How do you set about developing characters?
A. I give them a life. I use a profile sheet I developed myself that includes such mundane things as their favorite color, whether they wear gold or silver jewelry, if they have siblings and who they are, if their parents are still alive, spouses names, children’s names (if any). If you want your characters to have life, you have to give them a life. In dialogue I always try to make the way they talk consistent with their character. For instance, if one of my characters is rather uneducated or thuggish, they aren’t going to talk like a college professor. If they have an accent, the dialogue needs to reflect that. Not everyone uses perfect grammar when they speak, so some characters’ speech needs to be a little rough around the edges if it fits their profile.
Q. Do you have a blog for readers to visit? How did you happen to develop your blog? Do you recommend them to writers for reaching readers?
A. I do have a blog on WordPress. I just created it not long ago and haven’t really publicized it much. I’m not really blog-wise. I’m not sure they do much to help reach readers. To tell you the truth, marketing is one of the most tedious parts of this profession. It’s time consuming and it is really hard to know what will work and what won’t. But I’ll be monitoring the blog more diligently now. It is at: http://coldchill.wordpress.com. Come visit me there but keep in mind I’m a novice at blogging!
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Short Fiction
Day of the Thief
by Lad Moore
"Ring a round a rosie, A pocket full of posies, Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down
http://thinkexist.com/quotation/ring_a_round_a_rosie-a_pocket_full_of_posies/168479.html" edition of Mother Goose
I first remember Caddo Lake from when I was about six. I had been there before that time, because I saw old brown photos of a younger me flying high in the state park swing sets. There were other photos taken of strangers and family members at Johnson’s Ranch, with its battered flat-bottomed boats beached on the sand in the background. Johnson’s boats reminded me of casualties of kick-the-can, a game we played on the street. The prows of the boats were deformed from having regularly battered cypress knees and floating logs, much of their green paint stripped down to silver. Parked near the boats were family cars…a Nash, a Kaiser, and a rich man’s Packard; all testimonies to a date and time well in the past. Someone in one photo held a stringer of crappie, each fish the size of a license plate. "Barn-door white perch" someone called them. The lake was rich with such bounty.
My uncle Archie was the serious fisherman in the family. He owned a motor but not a boat, so he would day-rent one from Johnson’s or Crip’s Camp. He knew the lake and how to navigate through the Government Ditch, and how to tack his way through the curvy sloughs with their storybook names. As we sought out his favorite holes, the water behind the boat churned with the color of iced tea. I would lean down from the prow, invert my hand into the water like a fin, and weave a contrail of cypress leaves in my wake. Somehow just a hand in the water seemed to cool my entire body.
"Hook us up to that lowest limb," he would command, for it was my job to serve as swamper for our two-man crew. My uncle had tied a spring clip from a battery jumper cable to the end of the mooring rope. I could simply clamp it onto a tree limb rather than tie the rope with a knot. I thought we should make and sell those clips.
"Uncle Archie, your invention would sell, I bet. Every boat at Crip’s and Johnson’s would certainly need one, and all the rich folks from Dallas would buy them." I was thinking I might become his partner. He didn’t answer. He was busy rigging a pole for me.
I could imagine the headline in the Marshall News Messenger:
"Local Youth and Uncle Lauded for Fisherman’s Invention. Noted Angler J.C. Higgins Inks Personal Endorsement."
I already coined its name: "Gator Jaw!" I spoke the name out loud, hoping Archie would hear and want to seize upon my trademark idea. Still no response.
I loved to fish but didn’t much care for baiting the hook. My uncle showed me how to pass the hook through the minnow’s eye, a spine-tingling, cringing experience. : Most days we fished until noon; then we took a break with a ride back to shore. We left our boat moored at the pier with all our tackle and gear. It was always like we left it when we returned. There was honor among fishermen.
For lunch, Uncle Archie took me to a place called Haddad’s, a short walk from Johnson’s. We sat at a table beneath swishing overhead fans. The table was covered with a starched white tablecloth, and the waiter brought iced tea with lemon without us asking. The tea glass had a paper napkin around its girth to absorb the sweat. On the table was a large bowl filled with more lemons, pickled okra, pickled tomatoes, and rounds of white onions. My uncle spent some time in the kitchen talking to the owner and cooks, folks he knew personally. I busied myself staring at the walls peppered with photos of alligators and fishermen holding stringers that swooned from the weight of dozens of fish.
The cooks fixed us a mighty hamburger; a huge bun, housing an extra-thick patty with deep fried onion rings tucked inside. My uncle ordered two plates of fries, soggy with lard to the point they were limp. There were no better fries anywhere, even considering the wonderfully grease-soaked ones that the Lions Club sold in paper cones at the Maverick football games.
Haddad’s was strictly a midday lunch choice. If we came to the lake in the evenings we always ate at Big Pines Lodge. It was extra special. Like the caramel river water itself, Big Pines was part of the lake’s essential life source. To sit at a veranda table was magical. The windows overlooking the Big Cypress River brought the outside in. Deep-throated Chris Craft speedboats raced past us like a rich man’s regatta, and skiers gave us a big wave as they showered the shore with their fantails. Inside, the restaurant ceiling was adorned with sculptures of fish in colored neon tubing, and someplace in the back a jukebox played songs of the big bands. There was always a mingled hum of happy voices from a dozen different table conversations.
Big Pines didn’t serve crappie, but no matter. The bounty was catfish; choice of fillets or whole. I had trouble eating all they brought on the first round, but someone at the table always kept ordering more. The fish had a way of making me powerfully thirsty. I drank glass after glass of sweet tea from the pitcher they left at our table. By the time I waddled out, my belly was distended and sloshed like a mop bucket.
Big Pines served as hallmark for most of the important things in my life. Its pier was the place I had my first can of beer, swiped from a potato sack someone had tied there to weather-cool in the water. It was the place we went on Sunday afternoons after church-not every Sunday, but the important ones like Easter. Big Pines was the choice when the family celebrated birthdays and anniversaries, and it was there I honored my high school graduation. When funds would allow, I went to Big Pines to impress my dates. Later in life, I introduced my sons to the celebrated deep-fried feast as they participated in the magic of Caddo for the first time.
After thirty-five years of a roving corporate life, my wife and I returned to East Texas, making it our chosen retirement destination. Once again, we quickly sought out the restaurant’s captivating spell. It did not disappoint. George and Betty, the owners, made us feel like family, and the menu had not changed from what I remembered. I was amused to still find George’s little jokes, puzzles, and musings popping up between menu lines touting those famous jalapeno hush puppies and the pitch-‘til-you-win catfish dinners. I forget it exactly, but one of George’s menu puzzles went something like this:
"In my hand I hold 55 cents in 2 coins. One is not a nickel. What are the coins?"
Big Pines survived those long years defying numerous attempts on its life. Flood waters filled its dining room up to the neon fishes many times. Trees crushed its roof twice. But the fish and hushpuppies kept coming.
Until now. A recent mid-day fire destroyed the famous icon, leaving but a charred shapeless heap where once stood the Queen of Caddo Lake. The shore now sits barren, but the river still meanders by her fallen legend-wispy flotillas of Spanish moss swirling in the lazy current.
I thought about those days Archie left his boat unattended, and unlike those honest times, a fiery thief had come to steal from us that awful day. It’s easy to feel selfish and personally affronted about what was stolen away. I saw Big Pines as mine; like my right arm-ignoring all the others who must have held similar claims. In truth it was a shared possession; one of the scarce things in life that did not vary, did not disappoint, and did not yield to pressures of modern culture. On its last day, the menu was still handwritten.
We will miss the grand dame, but we know our memories of her will eventually dim. If there is regret, it’s that we failed to adequately laud what we took for granted.
***
"…Do not inquire why or whither, just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate." --Thornton Wilder
Story © Copyright 2009 by the author, Lad Moore. All rights reserved.
The author’s collections of short stories, Tailwind, Odie Dodie, and Riders of the Seven Hills are available at all traditional booksellers. Copies signed by the author may be obtained by contacting him directly via pogo@shreve.net or by accessing his web page at: http://laddiemoore.blogspot.com
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Articles
Boo! Halloween Marketing!
by Mayra Calvani
Christmas is a wonderful time for children’s book authors to market their Christmas picture books. And Halloween is the perfect time for horror authors. But, with a little thought, you may find a niche for your book in any season. But let's concentrate on this season.
There are many events you can plan ahead of time to sell books during the spooky month of October. For instance, you may do book signings at general bookstores, or, better yet, at horror specialty bookstores or a costume shop. You may host a Halloween party and invite all your friends, co-workers, relatives and neighbors. If you’re a children’s author with a Halloween-theme title, you can host a party for your children’s classmates, as well as do readings in schools and libraries.
The important thing here, however, is to make the event fun and ‘spooky’ for everyone. At singings, why not wear a costume? If your book is about witches, why not disguise yourself as one and arrive with witch’s fingers cookies and a caldron with dry ice for a special effect? If your story deals with vampires, why not dress up as one and offer glasses of a deep red drink? The same goes for zombies, monsters, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures. The idea is to play out the ‘theme’ of your book, and to get plenty of attention.
Decorate your signing table with spider webs, bats, rats or black cats, and other paraphernalia. Be friendly and always look at visitors in the eye when you talk to them. Offer them something to eat or drink—-anything that will make them want to stay by your table and look at your book. Your imagination is the limit. It’s up to you to make your book signing a success.
I once heard of an author who hosted a Halloween party at his home and sold over two hundred copies of his book in one night. He sent out invitations one month in advance to his relatives, friends, and neighbors. He also posted flyers in local libraries, bookshops, and around his neighborhood. Of course, he went all the way with decorations, food, and drink. His house became a ‘real’ haunted house, complete with props, creepy music, candelabra, dry ice—-naturally, his books were beautifully displayed at various locations throughout the house. Most guests were more than happy to purchase a copy of his book before leaving.
For book signings and readings, don’t forget to plan the event and contact the coordinators at least five months in advance, as they may have tight schedules during the Halloween season.
Remember that booksellers, especially specialty shops, are more willing to consider horror titles for shelf display during Halloween. So if you want your book to be sold in these shops, contact the owner or acquisition clerk several months ahead. You may approach them with an attractive brochure of your book, but preferably with a copy of the book itself accompanied by a brief cover letter.
Happy Halloween marketing!
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Horror Fiction - Ten Cliches to Avoid
by William Meikle, Author
For anyone thinking about writing in the horror genre, there are certain situations that, over the years, have been done so often that the audience knows exactly what to expect. Using any of these is fine if you're being post-modern and ironic as in the Scream series, because you can get the audience laughing as they jump. But if you're trying for the big scare, here are some situations to avoid, and alternative scenarios to consider.
The woman alone in the old dark house
She's usually blonde, big breasted and not very bright. She shouts things like "Who's there?" or "Is that you Joe?" Then she goes into dark rooms to see what's in them. Tippi Hedren plays a fine example in The Birds, as does Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween. This scene has been so successfully lampooned by the Scream series that its going to be hard for anyone to do it again; but if you must, you'll need to find a new way of raising the tension. Making the woman blind has been done, as has having a man being stalked by a woman. But how about having the stalker existing inside mirrors, and only able to reach out at arms length. What happens if he gets a knife?
The kid who's Mom isn't Mom any more
The kid says "That isn't my mom" A smug doctor says, "It's all in your mind kid: The Mom leads the kid off, and the next day both Mom and the kid give the doctors far-away stares. This was a staple in 1950's paranoia flicks like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Invaders from Mars, and was given a new lease of life in Dark Skies. Serious thought is needed to give a new slant. How about if its the pets that are getting taken over, and only the kids notice?
The experiment gone wrong
They say things like "Morals are for lesser mortals" and "The ends justify the means" Then their creation jumps up and bites them. Think of all the movie versions of Frankenstein or Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and you can't go far wrong. A more recent example was Beau Bridges in Sandkings, the pilot for the modern Outer Limits. Anyone planning on using this scenario should really meet some scientists. Many of them are weirder than their fictional equivalents, and they provide great material for stories.
The mob of villagers
Sometimes there's a ringleader, such as an old woman whose grandchild has been killed. Other times there's just an angry mob shouting "Rhubarb" and waving torches. Perhaps the best example is actually in a spoof, Young Frankenstein. How about trying a calm mob? I can't think of a new way of doing this that would be scary, but maybe you can do better?
The priest who's lost his faith
There are two ways this can go. The creature says "Your feeble god means nothing to me" and kills the priest in particularly gory fashion. Or the creature says "Your feeble god means nothing to me" and the priest steps up to the base and drives the creature away. There are fine examples of the first in Stephen King's Salem's Lot, and John Carpenter's The Fog. You could try having the creature banishing the priest to hell? I haven't seen that one... yet.
Running through woods in the dark
People run around in the dark, shouting things like "Mulder, where are you?" and waving flashlights, followed all the time by a malevolent presence in the trees. This is otherwise known as The Blair Witch Project. The idea was taken to extremes in Pitch Black where there wasn't even hope of daybreak to come. A variation would be to do it in daylight, but Big Arnie covered that in Predator. How about having the monster as an urban creature that is actually afraid of the woods when chased into them? Time for that angry mob again perhaps?
Playing with dark forces
Somebody says "Let's play with Grannie's Ouija board" The next thing you know a planchette is flying around the room on its own. This idea has turned up a lot on TV recently, and usually involves scantily clad girls, in shows like Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.The way to use this scenario without looking tired is to find a new way of calling up the evil. How about a character who mouths the words as he reads them, thus calling up the beast by accident?
The love of a good woman
The monster dies an inglorious death and somebody says "T' was beauty that killed the beast" Our cavemen ancestors probably told this one round the campfires. On film it dates back to at least 1933 and King Kong. More recently there was a variation in the Beauty and The Beast TV series and even the Disney movie of the same name. Why not try having the beauty fall in love first while the beast never succumbs? You'd need to find a neat resolution to the story, but then again, you're a writer, so that'll be easy :)
Let's split up
Everybody knows that the monster is around somewhere, but someone says, "We're off to explore that dark place. You go the other way and we'll meet up later." Why does everybody always think this is a great idea? Just watch Buffy TVS and count how often the gang lose each other. Or go back to the original Scooby gang and watch Shaggy and Scooby get split up in every episode. Why not have them stay together for a change? Or maybe they keep in contact via cell phones to foil the bad guys. Or, better still, what about a monster that can split up and be in two places at once?
I'm free
The monster has been vanquished, the victor turns back to the other survivors to take the acclaim, and the suddenly resurgent monster chomps him to pieces. There are nice examples in Starship Troopers and Deep Rising. One way to subvert this would be to have another monster save your victim? Or how about doing something brave and have your monster die first time?
Conclusion
I'm off to write my new script "Chomp!" It starts as a mob of angry villagers storm the lab of a mad scientist who has been dabbling in powers man is not meant to understand. The priest with the mob is killed by a "creature" that escapes into the forest.
A year later 10 nubile teens are shipwrecked on the island. They split up to search the area and find themselves being chased by a mutated man-beast, half-man, half Komodo Dragon. Soon there's a lot of running through forests at night, and a tense scene where a blonde is trapped in the ruins of the lab.
The big climax comes when the last two of the teens confront the monster. The boy thinks he's killed it, and turns back in triumph, only for the beast to rear up and dismember him.
In a poignant final scene the last girl cradles the monster's head in her lap and weeps as it dies.
Do you think it will sell? If your answer is "No", what would you do to make it work?
***
William Meikle is a Scottish writer, with seven novels published in the States and three more coming soon, all in the independent fantasy and horror press. His short work and articles have appeared in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Greece, Saudi Arabia and India.
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How to Write Effective Horror
by Riley James-Young
Everyone likes a good spine-tingler. Even the squeamish who shy away from the horror genre, still like to read or watch the occasional thriller. The technique for writing fiction that best whips up the adrenalin in your reader is the same whether the story is characterized as horror, thriller or action/ adventure.
The first thing you need to know before you can be effective at evoking fear in your reader or film viewer is this: You must know yourself. Specifically, you must know how you respond to fear. Think about the last time you felt terror or fearful anticipation of some impending doom.
It could have been something as mundane as an exam you didn't cram hard enough for. Or that time you thought you heard someone moving around in your living room while you were alone in your house and in bed. Maybe you were unfortunate enough to be in the path of a tornado or hurricane.
You know how you felt. Your heart palpitates. Your breath catches. You begin to shake. Your thoughts become confused. Maybe you become dizzy or your knees knock. I literally hear and feel my heart pumping and vibrating in my rib cage. My vision begins to swim and my hands shake.
But then after you realize the danger is over or was only a figment of your imagination the deep breaths of relief and the rush that ensues is something you never forget. Now have your character go through this process. Build it slowly as he or she responds to various stimuli.
That brings us to the next vital ingredient. You must create circumstances, stimuli, that will tantalize and tease the adrenal gland into pumping out the survival booster juice, adrenalin, that has people jumping up trees to escape the snapping jaws of a wolf or has even been known to give a mother super human strength to lift a car off her child.
There are three ways of doing this. The first method is to introduce an element of the unknown. People are afraid of the dark because they don't know what is lurking there. A sudden noise in the dark evokes myriad of images in our minds as to the cause. Therefore keep your reader, along with the character, guessing as to the source of the imminent danger until the monster (whether it be man, beast or force of nature) is revealed moments before the fateful attack.
The second method involves introducing the source of terror right from the beginning, but only to the reader. The character is kept ignorant about what might be waiting in the dark or around the corner but is terrified by circumstances like unexplained creepy sounds, or the discovery of recently murdered or mutilated bodies, or the sight of vague silhouettes and blurs flitting by in the distance.
The third method is to have the character and the reader know from the first page or if it's a script, the first scene sequence, what form the monster takes. But you have to make sure it is sufficiently horrific and powerful that it will engender fear in the most stalwart or skilled of human characters. Even here there are unknown quantities. Where will the enemy strike next? Will the tornado shift direction as you try to drive out of its path. The villain will have to be near invincible, or, if it's a serial killer, easily out-smart the detectives.
The common thread in these methods is the element of the unknown and the awful power for death or destruction the antagonist can bring; the possibility that you can lose everything that matters to you. Remember, build the tension and terror slowly and if you can be creative enough to include a twist at the end, all the better.
Good luck and happy writing.
***
If you would like to read some free short fiction that demonstrates these lessons go to http://www.twistyescape.com. The stories that fit this genre are Time Punisher, Grave Digger, Dream Stalker and S'more.
I'm Riley Jones-Young and I am a fiction writer and creative writing instructor based in Canada. Read my articles about the craft of writing and visit my website to read short fiction that demonstrates how these lessons can be executed. http://www.twistyescape.com
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Origins of Halloween
by Mayra Calvani
Halloween is not only a colourful night of fun, frights, sweets and costumes. It is a full-blown industry, with more than $14 billion spent each year on costumes, decorations, party supplies, candy and other paraphernalia.
How did it all get started?
The origins of Halloween are quite dark, and go all the way back to 2,000 years ago, to the Celtic Celebration of the Dead, or Samhain (Sah-ween), in what is now Ireland, the UK, and Northern France. The Celtic Festival took place each year on the eve of November first, which marked the end of summer and harvest season, and the beginning of their New Year and winter, a time associated with cold and death. Samhain festivities lasted for a couple of days, until about November 2nd.
The Celts believed that on October 31st, the last day of summer and New Year’s Eve, the boundaries between the living and the dead became blurred and thin, and spirits, both good and evil, roamed about on the streets and countryside and did as they wished. The Celts were especially frightened by the prospect of these evil souls harming the crops.
7nbsp; On this night, Celtic priests called Druids dressed in animal masks and skins and performed sacrifices to placate the gods and “ward off” spirits. Bonfires represented the sun, the power to fight dark forces. The Druids lit huge bonfires and burned animals, crops, and sometimes even humans. In fact, the word “bonfire” comes from “bonefire,” literally! (It’s interesting to note that the practice of burning humans continued as late as the 1600s).
Besides the Druids, people also performed their little “rituals.” To ward off spirits, they carved turnips and lit them with embers. To “fool” them, they wore animal masks or scary disguises. To placate them, they left fruits and nuts at their doorstep as a gift or offering, thus preventing future bad crops. This is the origin of “Trick or Treat.”
Around the 7th Century the Celebration of the Dead spread to Europe, but it became known as “All Hollows Eve,” or “Night of the Dead.” In parts of Britain and Ireland it also became known as “Mischief Night.”
Around the 800s the Christians moved to the Celtic lands and tried to eradicate all pagan beliefs and celebrations. In an attempt to placate the Celts, Pope Boniface IV designated November first as All Saints Day as an attempt to replace the pagan “All Hollows Eve.” Thus he “transformed” the Celebration of the Dead into a Christian holy day.
It is believed that later the Irish brought the tradition of carving turnips to America. However, they soon found out that there weren’t as many turnips there, and that pumpkins were a lot bigger and better to carve scary faces on.
Eventually “All Hollows Eve” came to be known as Halloween.
The traditional Halloween symbols we know today, like witches, black cats, ghosts, pumpkins and candles appeared in the US around the 1800s. Entrepreneur minds no doubt realized the marketing potential. The whole concept of Halloween gradually became commercialized.
Today, in spite of its dark origins and although some religious people consider it an “evil” festival, Halloween is mostly regarded as a spooky yet harmless, fun, family celebration.
***
©2005, 2007, 2009. Mayra Calvani / All Rights Reserved. This column may not be copied nor printed in any form without permission from the author.
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WHODUNIT? -- By Billie A. Williams
Halloween Scream
by Billie A Williams
Dracula, Frankenstein, Jack-the-Ripper, Halloween (the movie), Scream—on our way to whodunit, the diabolical, the terror of the twisted mind is buried under the layers of a well-told story. Why the antagonist does what he does touches on the civilized, cultured, controlled mind because—as the saying goes—“There, but for the grace of God, go I.”
Frightening isn’t it? That, for one brief instant, we glimpse the fine thread separating genius from madness, sanity from insanity, sane and rational from insane and irrational.
Detectives, through profiling, try to design the character whodunit. Motives like revenge, greed, jealousy, run the gamut of human emotions and we realize we are a slip away from any of them. What possessed Dr. Frankenstein to design, or try to design, his monster? Science, a desire to cure all diseases, create the perfect creature, save a life…what was it? Was it a mere accident? A need gone wrong? Is cloning of the same ilk? Moral issues can create the terror we see as the opposite of our viewpoint…does that mean a horror story in the making? Perhaps.
What if Jack-the-ripper was trying to purify the human race like Hitler, but on a smaller scale? It’s still barbaric, but in his mind he was righting a wrong. He was reportedly trying to rid London of prostitutes…does that make him a monster? Who was he in real life? Would you recognize him on the street? Patricia Cornwell tried to answer that in her whodunit tale, Jack the Ripper, Case Closed.
Dracula, was he merely representational of characterization for, say, corporate America sucking the blood out of the middle class – or was he someone’s real need for blood to sustain his life. Is that possible – who was the first Dracula? Why are we fascinated by those tales?
Look at the characters in these bone chilling stories and ask yourself, is the author creating mere stories, asking you to figure out—whodunit—mimicking real crimes, or is the story a metaphor for something equally as scary in real life?
“Witches of Eastwick,” tells us every coin has two sides via the vehicle of humor. We fear things that go bump in the night until we figure out who or what—dunit. We joke about the horror afterwards, but we remember the paralyzing fear, relieved after we discover whodunit, if not why. The question still begs at our door, what makes one fall off that thin line into the abyss of creating terror or staying true to the good path. Life is a fragile balance, it seems and whodunit is not as important anymore, but why did they do it? We all seek understanding.
All of these stories “…bring us face-to-face with our deepest anxieties,” says Donald Maass in Writing The Breakout Novel. Why are you fascinated with Whodunit tales?
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This & That
by Dana Reed
Kindle Books by Dana Reed
http://danar96.com
http://authorsden.com/DanaReed
While going through Amazon's section on Kindle Books, I read about their publishing program. Kindle editors allow you to set the genre on your novel, along with pricing before it's turned into an electronic download. Most of the novels in the top selling list sold for $3.99, allowing a royalty payment of a dollar and change to authors, which isn't bad if you sell a lot of novels.
Higher priced novels in the $9.99 price range didn't do well at all unless they were novels by Stephen King, Dan Brown and other top selling authors. So I had to advise a few of my close authors friends to forget the ego and to drop the higher prices of their novels. They did and sold more.
Actually, Kindle Books are selling well since so many novels can be loaded on at the same time. I also noticed that if a novel doesn't live up to the author's claims, returns on those novels are possible. Thus putting Kindle in line with most bookstores.
However, I noticed today that Amazon has dropped its prices on the Kindle Reader. In 2007, the original cost was $399.00, a charge that Amazon has been cutting prices on for a while now. Today it was announced in the Los Angeles Times that the readers have been cut another $40.00, bringing the overall cost to $259.00.
There are two ways of looking at these price cuts. 1) The Readers weren't selling too fast, so this hindered book sales. 2) Amazon realized the original price was beyond most wallets in today's economy and decided to rectify its error. Since the books were reportedly selling well, I don't know what to think about the price cut. However, it can only be a good thing for authors.
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SEEDLINGS -- Aaron Paul Lazar
Wyoming Writes: Face to Face with Writers
Copyright 2009 aaron paul Lazar
If I posted my photo, you might recognize it. That's because I'm all over the web, and co-owner of the Murderby4 blog. So I might look a bit familiar.
But how many of us have met in person? Face to face? Breathing the same air?
My writerly life is full of people I adore, but most of them are a voice on the computer (or phone) and an image on my screen. I feel as if I know them intimately - at least my closest friends - and would be able to pick up a conversation in a snap if and when we meet in real life. I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting S.W. Vaughn at a book signing in Syracuse. We clicked immediately and I knew we would.
Of course these online friends are "real". And the fact that I don't get to physically meet with them is okay. But last night, for the first time in my writing life, I joined a Writers Group and went face to face with other writers.
I was very hesitant. I had no knowledge of their writing skills. Would they all be amateurs and ask me to critique their books? Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with amateurs. Heck, we all were amateurs at one point in our lives. And I do help fledgling writers all the time. But I knew in advance that I wouldn't be able to take on that kind of a work load. Hell, I have to turn down my online writer friends all the time. Would they ask me to read and review their books? As many of you know, I fit in just a few mysteries per year and struggle to get those reviews written up within 3-6 months. I wish I could do them all, but then I wouldn't be a writer, I'd be a reviewer.
On the other hand, this stupid brain of mine worried I that maybe they'd be all highbrow super academics who would look down on my mystery series. I'd read them a chapter from my WIP and they'd exchange looks of amused tolerance. Or worse. Tell me all the things they thought are horribly wrong with it. I'm open to critiques, but I was afraid of being ripped to shreds. Yeah, even after publishing four books, writing fourteen, and getting lots of great praise and reviews. I was still nervous. I don't think I'll ever outgrow the fear of being "exposed" as a horrible writer in front of academics. LOL.
Wayne, one of my old friends from Kodak showed up the other day. I hadn't seen him in ten years, and there he was on my doorstep. I was thrilled, as I'd been missing my old pals at Kodak more and more. Wayne's now a journalist for a local paper, and he urged me to attend the Wyoming Writes group as well as do an interview for his paper. He'd been wanting to check out the group himself, and thought he'd write an article about it for his paper.
So, with trepidation rolling around in my brain, I dressed up nice casual clothes and took off for Perry, New York. The bookstore where the group meets is called Burlingham Books. It's a beautiful little shop on what I call Main Street USA - a lovely historic village not far from Letchworth State Park. Wayne and I got there early, did the interview, and waited as folks started to arrive.
All my fears were completely ungrounded. The people - Tanya, Deb M, Deb S, Cindy, the Scribbler, Mr. Newton, and Wayne, were welcoming and supportive. They were mature writers who had stories and work to share. We listened to a chapter about a small country church, quirky poems, poems that painted luscious imagery, and a frank and hilarious opening to a book of memoirs. All were well done and simply delightful. I read the first chapter to Don't Let the Wind Catch You, and to my joy, the folks enjoyed it and wanted to know what happens next. :o) Always a nice sign!
After an hour of reading and sharing, we took a "field trip" to a local art gallery where a delightful assortment of paintings and watercolors were on display. We each chose a piece that "spoke" to us, and had fifteen minutes to write. On other writers' sites I've joined we called this flash fiction. You might call it postcard fiction. But whatever, it was a ball. When we were done, each writer shared his creation as we stood in front of the painting and listened. I've gotta tell you, these works were amazing.
My photo was of a gorgeous watercolor. A blue vase with red/pink poppies and iris, by Sandra Tyler, truly vibrant and lustrous.
***
Here's what I wrote in my fifteen minutes. Now don't laugh, it's not polished or anything. And in spite of the beauty of the painting, my mind turned to mystery.
What else?
Blue with Flowers by Sandra Tyler
Celeste placed the vase on the table and dropped into the chair beside it. She’d picked her mother’s poppies before, but today was different. Today her mother lay - not in the cot beside her - but beneath the ground.
The salmon poppies were the color of her mother’s favorite sweater, a fuzzy number that Celeste now wore, wrapped tight around her thin chest. She touched the fragile petals, and couldn’t help compare it with the feel of her mother’s soft cheeks. Cheeks that had sunk deeper and deeper against her bones in the past months. Cheeks that became concave, but which still cradled a smile when her mother’s thin lips curved into a ribbon of delight. Cheeks that Celeste now saw in the mirror, reflected back at her.
She’d inherited more than just her looks from her mother. Her stubborn nature, her love of cupcakes, and her passion for all things pink had clearly sprung from the genetic well that was Mom. Dad had given her the bright red hair. But not much else.
She wished he’d come to the funeral today. At least to make things look normal. Where was he? Off with on a dalliance with a rich bimbo? At the casino? Searching for more unwitting victims?
Celeste knew what had happened. She watched her mother eat the oatmeal every morning. The oatmeal her father had prepared. And she knew. She just knew there had been something in it. Something not right.
Being ten was hard. Especially when your father murdered your mother.
LOL. Okay, so there it is. But the point is, if you haven't joined an in person writers group, give it a try. I'm hooked and will be attending every month.
And always remember, if you love to write, write like the wind!
***
Mazurka, http://www.legardemysteries.com/mazurka.htm the fourth book in the LeGarde Mystery series is now available through the author, in special pre-release copies. Email him at aaron.lazar@yahoo.com for details.
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THE WRITING LIFE
(Quarterly and Guest Column)
Did you have a friend or relative who'd tell you scary tales, knowing you'd be scared to go out after dark? When the full moon came out, did you think of vampires or how bright it was outside and could you go outside to play?
Have you ever found a book to equal the visual effect of a movie, one that would leave you uneasy in the dark? Do you find the product of your own imagination frightening, perhaps more so than a film? How do you picture the creatures of the dark that you read about?
Could a dog howling become a monster as you walked home in the dark, does the flit of a passing shadow become something slinking after you?
What is your preference in reading a scary story? There is a variety of books out there to provide a good fright on a dark and stormy night or on Halloween Eve that will recall all the goose bumping terrors of childhood. Pick one that will scare you good and have a Happy Halloween.
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Want to win a prize with your latest creation, but not sure how to enter a contest? Here’s a free site that lists 500 writing contests: http://www.bigfatprize.com/index.php?page=prize§ion=browse&category=\17
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Go to http://www.textnovel.com and read "The Plan" by Joan Hall Hovey writing as Lillian Watts as the author writes it, a chapter at a time. You must sign up and log in. This only takes a minute.
Check out the chilling book trailer for THE PLAN produced by Night Owl Productions.
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Mystery Fiction Monthly Ezine -- The Voice in the DarkIssue No. 52 July/August 2009
Co-Editor: Anne K. Edwards
marbob00@earthlink.net
http://www.Mysteryfiction.net
Co-Editor: Mayra Calvani
MGCalvani@hotmail.com
http://www.Mayracalvani.com
Slippery Book Review Blog
http://slipperybookreview.wordpress.com
Reviews and Other Stuff Bloghttp://authorsandreviews.blogspot.com
Advisor: Eva Almeida
By subscription only. You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription. To unsubscribe, send an email to marbob00@earthlink.net with your email address.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Voice in the Dark will continue to be open to well written, interesting submissions having to do with writing, publishing, and promotion of books. In addition to a subscription list, Voice in the Dark is posted each month on http://www.Mysteryfiction.net. If interested contact Anne K. Edwards at marbob00@earthlink.net with "Voice Submission" in your subject line.
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NOTE: Recommend visiting the site of the Southern Review to get the latest on Amazon and other publishing news. http://www.anvilpub.net/southern_review_of_books.htm
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NOTE: Books We Love is hosting another great contest for readers. Visit http://www.bookswelove.net and enter. Lots of prizes. Meet new authors and new reads. Visit Jude's Alter-Ego at >a href="http://www.judeatkins.com">http://www.judeatkins.com
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If you are interested in reviewing books, contact simegen@simegen.com. They are looking for qualified reviewers.
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NOTE--See new item at bottom of page Sites of Interest/Information--Tony Burton
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Announcement. (See (Announcements Con'd) at the bottom for full article
Adriana Dominguez, former HarperCollins Executive Editor has joined Full Circle Literary as its newest agent.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editor's Note
Featured Interviews
--Leila Rasheed, Author
--David Downie, Author
Book Blurb --
Short Fiction
--A Big Crush on a Little Rat by Lad Moore
Articles
--On Inspiration, Allergies, and Dog Books by Mayra Calvani
--How to Write Tight - Self-Editing Tips to Make Your Manuscript Ready for Publication by Suzanne Lieurance
--Does Age Mean Anything? by Anne K. Edwards
L'Atelier -- Columnist Mayra Calvani
Whodunit? -- Columnist Billie A. Williams
Pam's Pen -- Columnist Pamela James
Seedlings -- Aaron Paul Lazar
This & That -- Columnist Dana Reed
Reviews
Events
Resources
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Editor's Note
So easy.
It's so easy to criticize someone else's work, isn't it? I mean, you can put your feet up and read with the idea that you could have done the work so much better.
But could you? If the work involves hours of research, a search for historical truths or backgrounds, are you up to that or is it just the acknowledgment you envy?
Criticism is a joyless task and if we take it on, it must be done with care. The job requires a knowledge of the field in which the work is written. For instance a mathematician wouldn't necessarily be well versed in geography or geology or history to tackle a study of some country, natural outcropping or historical event, but they might very well.
Why do you prefer the task of criticizing a work to doing a review on it? Look inside yourself for an honest answer. It will bring understanding to the job. Don't take the job on if it is the work of an author or publisher you dislike. Never offer criticism because you feel your knowledge is superior to that of the author IF you intend to make that the main point of your work.
Belittling the accomplishments of others for whatever reason, demeans you. It shows arrogance and ignorance. You don't build yourself up in the eyes of readers by trying to downgrade the efforts of another.
I'm sure we've all met people in life who look down their noses at us. They let us know in no uncertain terms that they are superior and our efforts will never equal theirs. This type of person is not one to emulate. By using care and sound judgment you will surpass them and build a sound reputation while theirs is often based on spite and false conceit.
If you are an up and coming writer, take the chance to learn from those whose work you read instead of using your position as a critiquer or reviewer to find fault where there is none. It will enhance your own work and build you a reputation for fairness that will draw readers to your reviews or critiques. Authors and publishers will seek you out also. This serves to make your name known and may in the long run, help sell your own work when it comes out.
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Interviews
Meet Leila Rasheed, Author
Interview by Mayra Calvani
Leila Rasheed is the author of the delightful Bathsheba Clarice de Trop series for middle grade readers, published by Usborne in the UK. Her books are written in diary form and are very popular among girls ages 9-12. Rasheed is currently very busy promoting her newly released Doughnuts, Dreams and Drama Queens: The Theatrical Third Diary of Bathsheba Clarice de Trop, the third book in the series. She holds a Master's Degree in Children's Literature and is a children's bookseller in Brussels, Belgium.
Q. It's a pleasure having you here, Leila. Why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself?
A. Okay, here are ten things about me...
1) My first pets were three white rats called Snap. Crackle and Pop. They lived on our balcony on the sixth floor, and one by one, mysteriously disappeared. My mother thinks a hawk was involved. I like to believe it was aliens.
2) Speaking of aliens, the last film I saw at the cinema was Star Trek. It was good but I didn’t think it was as amazing as everyone says it is.
3) Speaking of films, my favourite film is Bladerunner.
4) Speaking of Bladerunner, I used to want to be an archaeologist because of watching Harrison Ford in the Indiana Jones movies.
5) Speaking of archaeology, I’ve been to Pompeii three times, and I still haven’t seen all of it – that place is BIG.
6) Speaking of threes, my third book comes out at the end of June, it’s called DOUGHNUTS, DREAMS AND DRAMA QUEENS: THE THEATRICAL THIRD DIARY OF BATHSHEBA CLARICE DE TROP.
7) Speaking of diaries, I know writers are supposed to keep diaries but I don’t. I’ve tried but I never managed it for more than a few days.
8) Speaking of things writers are supposed to do, I do write in cafes. I find the background noise relaxing but not distracting.
9) Speaking of distracting, the most distracting thing in the world for me is the internet.
10) And speaking of the internet, I’d like to say thank you Mayra for featuring this interview!
Q. When did you decide you wanted to become an author?
A. When I was thirteen I discovered that I loved writing stories, but I didn’t exactly decide I wanted to become an author, because for most of my life it seemed like an unattainable dream, something that only happened to special people. I just decided in my mid-twenties that I wanted to try and get a book published.
Q. Tell us a bit about your middle grade series for girls? What was your inspiration for it?
A. The series is about a girl called Bathsheba – Bath for short. It’s written as if it’s her diaries. In the first book, CHIPS BEANS AND LIMOUSINES, it initially appears that she’s really spoiled, but as you read between the lines you find out that actually the truth is quite different, and a more touching– but funny – story comes out. In the next two books, SOCKS, SHOCKS AND SECRETS and DOUGHNUTS, DREAMS AND DRAMA QUEENS, Bath changes her life completely, and has lots of new adventures. They’re funny books about daily life, family and friendship for an extraordinary girl, but there is also a big helping of adventure.
Q. Why do you think your novels are so popular with young girls?
A. I think that girls like them because they feel emotionally honest. I think they’re very funny, and they have lots of exciting things happening, but at the same time, Bath is a child who really, in the first book, feels deeply unloved. I think children identify with her sadness and loneliness as well as her desire to be noticed. And I think they are really glad for her when she gets some friends and a kind of family who love her.
Q. Are you a disciplined writer? What are your working habits?
A. I’m not very disciplined, I let unimportant things distract me. I am also often traveling, or moving, so I have trouble fixing regular habits for writing. I give myself deadlines – I say ‘I will write this series proposal by Friday,’ for example. And I am able to say ‘Today I will just work on my novel,’ and the next day go to work, or work on a critique or something. But working 9 – 1, for example, is not easy, because I share my house with someone who also works at home, and I don’t have a separate office – so I may want to start writing at 9, but if he’s still asleep I can’t start typing next to the bed.
Q. Technically speaking, what comes more naturally to you when writing a novel? What do you have to struggle with the most?
A. That’s an interesting question. I think that voice comes easily to me, and concepts, ideas. I can write great beginnings. What’s difficult is not getting lost on the way through the book.
Q. Do you have a website or blog where readers may learn more about you and your work?
A. http://www.leilarasheed.com is my website.
http://www.usborne.co.uk/bathsheba is all about the books.
http://www.bookchildworld.wordpress.com is my writing blog for adults.
Q. What advice would you give to aspiring middle grade authors?
A. I have two good pieces of advice from famous authors. Ray Bradbury, the sci-fi author, said ‘Find out what your hero wants and then follow him’. In other words, know what the story’s about and keep that at the front of your mind. And I’m developing a new rule of thumb for writing called ‘What would Oswald do?’ which is based on the advice that the narrator of Edith Nesbit’s classic children’s book, The Story of the Treasure Seekers, gives at the start of Chapter Two. The whole text is available free online: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/770.
Q. Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers?
A. Remember there are many different ways of reading fiction. Most readers read for sheer pleasure – they’re interested in whether they love a book or not. Literary critics read with theory in mind – they want to fit books into categories. But if you want to be a writer you have to read differently again. You have to read analytically, looking at how stories are put together, what makes them work, and asking yourself how you can use those techniques in your own writing.
You can compare it to different ways of looking at a chair. Most people are interested just in whether they like the chair, whether it’s comfortable and whether it fits in with their living room colour scheme. If you plan to write a book about chairs, though, you’d want to know what period the chair belongs to, whether it’s IKEA or Arts and Crafts, you’d want to know whether it was designed with a particular philosophy in mind. But if you want to make a chair, the best thing to do is take one to bits and have a good look at it from the inside out.
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Meet David Downie, Author
Interview by Mayra Calvani
Author David Downie is a native San Franciscan, but for the last 25 years has divided his time between Italy and France. His travel, food, and arts features have appeared in more than fifty magazines and newspapers worldwide. He has been a contributing editor, European arts editor, or Paris correspondent for half a dozen publications. His latest book is the spy thriller, Paris City of Night. For more information about David Downie, please visit his website.
Q. Thanks for this interview. When did you decide you wanted to become an author?
A. It’s unclear to me whether I ever made the conscious decision to become an author. I started writing when in my teens. My first attempts were not autobiographical. I was interested in other people, in situations, in conversation and the way we communicate with each other. I only began making my living as a writer in my late 20s.
Q. Do you have another job besides writing?
A. No, no other job: for the last 20-some years I’ve earned a living by writing.
Q. Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?
A. Childhood memories are notoriously unreliable, and I don’t pretend to remember details regarding my early passion for words. I read widely when young, but I did not read “children’s books,” other than Pinocchio and the Jungle Book. I read dictionaries and encyclopedias. I read Twain, O’Henry, Stevenson and Dickens, but also Poe and Melville. I was lucky enough to be brought up in a household of readers. We had thousands of books in our living room. When I wasn’t out playing baseball in the street, I read and read.
Q. Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.
A. Paris City of Night is a novel of suspense, set in contemporary Paris. It merges the glamorous City of Light—the city’s nickname—with a dark, sinister city of night, with emphasis on the “n.” Many neighborhoods will be familiar to readers, but most will not, unless they’ve strayed into Belleville in the 20th arrondissement, or the Canal Saint-Martin district in the 10th and 11th arrondissements. The book’s hero is an expert in vintage photography and daguerreotypes; the daguerreotype plates are key to unlocking a code. The CIA and other agencies (American and French) want the plates to try to stop a terrorist attack. The people funding the terrorists want the plates for the opposite reason. It’s a complex story peopled by anti-heroes, with a several false leads that keep readers guessing. Paris City of Night is plot-driven, but the characters are fully formed: they eat, drink, sleep, get mad, swear, and do things they would not normally do in life if they hadn’t found themselves in a crisis. Violence is for the most part suggested and not enacted—Paris City of Night is not a blood-and-guts thriller. It’s a fast-paced psychological, political thriller in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock, whose TV programs and movies I watched over and over when growing up.
I was inspired to write Paris City of Night by a number of real-life events—convoluted French political intrigues involving former French presidents François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, the hijacking of an Air France flight by Algerian terrorists whose goal was to blow up the Eiffel Tower and also bring down the French government, and a scandal involving the murder of the elderly. Many personal reasons also pushed me to write this book. For a start, I have often helped my wife, photographer Alison Harris, on assignment, and became interested in the history of photography. I also experienced sudden-onset optic neuritis, and overnight went blind in one eye. The condition plunged me into despair, into a world of distorted black and white images. I spent a lot of time thinking about vision, photography and perception before writing the book. This personal tragedy coincided with the advent of digital photography and the potential of our digital age to become a world where hermetically sealed, perfect, visual lies are not only possible but probable.
Q. How would you describe your creative process while writing this book? Was it stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline?
A. Before writing Paris City of Night I sat down and plotted it through, scene by scene. I wrote a detailed treatment—a kind of screenplay for my own use. Once I’d established the direction of the plot and the settings, I allowed myself to riff and improvise. But to call it steam-of-consciousness writing would be misleading. I’m not sure it’s possible to write thrillers or novels of suspense without careful, detailed plotting.
Q. Did your book require a lot of research?
A. Paris City of Night grew out of years on the ground in Europe—primarily in Italy and France—watching the political scene, meeting people, and reading history. I could not have written the book without a background in political science—poli sci was one of my majors at UC Berkeley (the other was Italian literature). I also learned a lot about photography from my experience as a photo assistant to my wife. Then I sat down and read every book on the history of photography and codes, ciphers, etc… that I could get my hands on, and I read a lot of newspaper and magazine articles on the scandals I’ve mentioned above. So, yes, the book did require an immense amount of research, but I hope it doesn’t show. It’s meant to be a seamless entertainment, not an academic work.
Q. Agatha Christie got her best ideas while eating green apples in the bathtub. Steven Spielberg says he gets his best ideas while driving on the highway. When do you get your best ideas and why do you think this is?
A. My best ideas come while I’m walking. I walk about 10 miles a day. It’s entertainment, meditation, relaxation and exercise all in one. I think it’s the measured pace that makes walking so stimulating to the mind. The words come along like musical notes. In fact, a piece of music is often playing in my head as I walk, and the thoughts, ideas and words follow the music and the pace. To be clear: I do not listen to music while I walk. The music is in my head. I abhor the idea of wearing headphones. Constant entertainment is debilitating.
Q. Do you get along with your muse? What do you do to placate her when she refuses to inspire you?
A. My muse and I argue frequently but the relationship is not problematic. If “she” refuses to obey—“inspire” isn’t the right word for me—I remind her that I am trying to earn a living, and must really get on with things.
Q. Are you a disciplined writer?
A. Discipline is the mark of a professional, meaning, someone who earns his living as a writer, whether he’s a hack or a Nobel prize winner. I work every day. I set myself goals, and I do my damnedest to reach them. As a young man I ran in quite a few foot races (the 10-kilometer was my favorite). I learned early on that if I wanted to get up and over a hill I had to push myself, and be methodical in my movements and exertions. I re-learned that when in 2006 my wife and I hiked across France. My approach to writing is much the same. One foot in front of the other, word by word, sentence by sentence.
Q. When it comes to writing, are you an early bird, or a night owl?
A. For years I stayed up late and got up late, and my best time to work was the afternoon or early evening. That was the price of living in the center of Paris, in a lively neighborhood, going out often and entertaining friends. For the last 5 years or so I have reversed the equation: up early, work early, eat early, to bed early. I spend more time in the country than in the city, and I’m a healthier and happier person. I’m also more productive than ever, despite the loss of vision, and the physical and psychological challenges that come with optic neuritis.
Q. Do you have an agent? How was your experience in searching for one?
A. I have a wonderful agent, and was lucky enough to have been introduced to her by a fellow writer. I didn’t have to search, and I’m thankful for that.
Q. Technically speaking, what do you have to struggle the most when writing? How do you tackle it?
A. Physical fatigue—in my case eye strain—is a constant challenge. I try to pace myself. I’m a touch-typist, so I close my eyes as often as possible. If I make a typo I correct it later. I also have neck and back problems, like many writers, so I make sure to take the time to stretch. I practice a mix of martial arts and yoga every day, and that helps. The other challenge is to stop writing when I’m tired. You’ve got to know when to call it quits for the day. Stop when you’re feeling good, on a positive note.
Q. What type of book promotion seems to work the best for you?
A. The classic book tour, with events in bookstores or other venues—clubs, art galleries, whatever—is something I enjoy. You’re in direct contact with your readers. You get instant feedback. For word-of-mouth, book events are probably still the best vehicle going. You often don’t sell many books at an event, but you will sell books eventually because you did the event. Newspapers, magazines, newsletters, blogs will be more likely to talk about you and your book if you’re on the stump. Radio is also great. I love radio!
Q. Do you have a website/blog where readers may learn more about you and your work?
A. My website is http://www.davidddownie.com and it includes a blog, which is also on line separately at http://blog.davidddownie.com
Q. Do you have another book on the works? Would you like to tell readers about your current or future projects?
A. I’m currently writing a history book about a specific institution in Rome, and travel book, also about Rome, and I’m gearing up to write another book about French food and words—the language of French food. Once I’m on the other side of those assignments, I’ll pick up my hero, JAG, and, I hope, get to work on another thriller.
Q. As an author, what is your greatest reward?
A. To me, writing is a matter of necessity, it’s something urgent and essential. Writing is the greatest reward. If you write primarily to make money, be famous or for posterity, you’re missing something fundamental.
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Coming this winter(ebook)/print mid-2010
from Twilight Times Books
http://www.twilighttimesbooks.com
Shadows Over Paradise
by Anne K. Edwards
Carol A. Guy, author of Night of the Canid says:
"Shadows Over Paradise is full of action, suspense and colorful descriptions of the characters and surroundings. The story is heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. It's a roller coaster ride, as Julia fights for survival against some of the meanest villains I've read about in a long time. Some of the scenes can only be described as "white knuckle time." My hat is off to Anne K. Edwards for her vivid portrayal of a heroine in peril who manages to beat the odds and not only survive, but find love as well."
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Short Fiction
A Big Crush on a Little Rat
by Lad Moore
Simply taking my pulse would have unearthed my secret ailment.
We lived in Marshall, Texas when television was first introduced in our household. Before that, there was nothing that could keep me indoors. The lure of the Texas & Pacific Rail yards and the brick factory with its clay pits were my everyday haunts. And there was that long hot walk out to T&P Lake-a three-mile trip rewarded by a cool summer swim wearing nothing but underwear.
I remember our first television console well. It was half as big as the Frigidaire, had a round tube, and was capped off with an antenna that telescoped like the letter "V" almost to the ceiling. It took minutes for the glow of the picture to change from dim to bright. Slowly the images would appear, snowy and sometimes shivery. Often times the picture that came up was of an Indian in headdress with lots of targets, grids, and numbers.
"Test pattern," my dad explained. "The channel isn’t on yet."
I had a strong curiosity about how the darn thing worked. I asked my dad.
"How can pictures scatter like gnats through the air and land in that box and become hooked up together in the right spot like a complicated puzzle?" I was thinking particularly of the puzzle of the redwood forest that took my mom six months to complete because the background patterns and colors were all alike.
"Photons, neurons, atoms, phosphorus, and gamma-charged ion electromagnetic fields-it’s all fairly simple."
I decided my dad didn’t know either, but he sure knew some expensive words.
There were very few shows on the air, and while impressed with television’s magic, I longed for more programs I could enjoy. My dad liked the news shows and the Gillette Wednesday and Friday night fights. I suffered through the slugging, hoping the rapidly expanding menu would begin to favor young people. Soon they added a string of popular radio shows which had simply been converted over to television. It was then my dad told me that the Amos and Andy radio characters weren’t actually black people. Somehow I would rather not have known that.
In time, more and more programs and channels were added. Now there was even a log in the newspaper that told the lineup day by day. The family settled into a watching pattern. I had control from school’s-out until homework-time. Then my mom and dad took over. They often squabbled over what to watch. There was no way to settle the conflict peaceably other than to get a second television. After that, my parents went into separate watching rooms and abdicated all conversation until breakfast.
I was becoming an adolescent-maturing along with a host of young television stars who had grown up with me on-air. I awoke one day to find hair under my arms. Not much, and sort of cobwebby. I wondered if my TV friends were discovering theirs. Spin and Marty looked like they had even started to shave. I mentioned that to my dad.
"Don’t you even think of putting the first razor to your fuzz," he said. "You do, and it will come back coarse and black like a shoe brush. A first shave promotes shaving thereafter and forever."
But the fuzz was noticeably less manly than the crisp slick faces of Spin and Marty. I shaved for the first time when I was fourteen. I cut my face and neck in a dozen places and couldn’t hide the damage from my dad.
"Welcome to the first of twenty-seven thousand shaves. That’s once a day for an average lifetime." He shook his head and went back to watching Ted Mack and the Amateur Hour-a rather boring "grownup" version of the Mickey Mouse Club.
As for the Mickey Mouse Club, no respectable young man, now shaving, would ever watch the Mouseketeers, other than for the Spin and Marty segment. The rest of the program was for pre-teens, and was in a word, silly. The two adult members of the troupe, Jimmie and Old Roy, were even sillier as they donned the famous rat’s ears and participated in hop-scotch and skip-rope routines.
Then it all suddenly changed. In a word, Annette.
Maybe Annette was only fourteen or fifteen, but she had the figure of a Coca-Cola bottle. No young man could escape noticing that among her peers on the stage, she was the only one with an emerging chest. That part about her is what spurred a love affair with America’s young adolescent boys. It was said by Disney that her fan mail averaged six-thousand panting letters a month. I was one of the six-thousand, and more than once. I yearned for an answer back-anything to indicate she saw something different in my gushing prose. Nothing came. Despite no communication from her, I had fallen deeply in love. It was not a boy-likes-girl kind of infatuation, but I believed it to be a love like mature adults must feel. I fully expected her to crash through the picture tube when she did the splits. I expected she would slide headlong into my arms and we would mount a winged white horse and gallop off amidst shooting stars, rainbows, and bluebirds. I noticed that if I moved about the room, her eyes followed me. When I watched her dance I could detect her chest jiggling a bit. My face turned red and my cheeks burned, as if I weren’t supposed to notice. "Kinda old for that aren’t you?" In the same way a Playboy Magazine reader explains his passion by saying "It’s the stories," I answered back, "It’s Spin and Marty time. They’re my age, and they’re detectives."
At mid-year, Mom and Dad bought me a used Cushman motor scooter. Each day I raced home, downed my snack in one gulp, and sat in front of the dancing and singing TV Mice. The show always started with Jimmie and Roy leading the "Mouseketeer Roll Call." Each cast member did a quick introduction cameo. My heart swelled when it came her turn and she announced Annette! The homogenized milk I had just consumed began to drool from the corner of my mouth. I was smitten. I would have even worn a pair of those cardboard ears except for the fear of being caught by my dad.
At times, it did seem sort of juvenile to be watching such a kiddie-themed show. But I continued to do so every afternoon until the day before school let out for Thanksgiving. That particular day I heard a loud commotion in the school cafeteria. I supposed it was a celebration marking the school holiday, but it continued well beyond that. I pushed my way into the crowd that had gathered around the water fountain to see what the fuss was about.
My friend Jerry Alexander was holding up a piece of paper. He turned it so we all could see. It proudly bore Mouseketeer ears as its letterhead.
He read the letter aloud. "Dear Jerry, Thank you for your sweet note. It was so thoughtful of you to remember that October 22 was my birthday. If you are ever at Disney Studios, I would love to meet you and give you a pair of closed-rehearsal tickets. Thank you for being a fan, and bye-bye for now---Annette."
Seeing Jerry’s beaming face made me sick. The scooter ride home seemed longer than usual as I mulled over what had just happened. I took my time eating my pimento cheese sandwich and finishing my glass of milk. Turning the television on, I paused at the Mickey Mouse Club long enough to see her one last time. As I brushed her off with a sweep of my arm I thought…I bet your stupid publicist or fat old Roy wrote that letter.
Our breakup had come at the right time. Three clicks of the dial and I was able to join forces with Sky King, even though his show was in reruns. He was the Crime-Fighting-Cowboy-with-Cessna. He flew around in a plane called "Songbird" with his teenage niece Penny. No jump-rope and stage dancing here, these guys chased the real rats of the world.
Oh, and niece Penny? She had a figure like a Coca-Cola bottle!
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The author’s three collections of short stories, Tailwind, Odie Dodie, and Riders of the Seven Hills are available at all traditional booksellers. Copies signed by the author may be obtained by contacting him directly via pogo@shreve.net or by accessing his web page at: http://laddiemoore.blogspot.comThe story featured here holds a © Copyright 2009 by the author, Lad Moore. All rights reserved.
"Coke" and "Coca-Cola" are registered trademarks of the Coca Cola Company.
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Articles
On Inspiration, Allergies, and Dog Books
By Mayra Calvani
One of the questions I’m asked the most on school visits is “Where do you get your ideas?”
Ideas come from all around: TV, magazines, memories, grandmothers’ tales, dreams, and even nightmares. In the case of my children’s picture book, Crash!, about a little boy and his first golden retriever puppy, I was inspired by a sad personal experience. Years ago, we got a golden retriever puppy, which we named Crash. Crash was a sweet, smart, assertive dog, and he stole our hearts from day One. Unfortunately, he was with us only three weeks. Though we didn’t know it at the time, my daughter, who was only four back then, was allergic to dogs. She fell sick almost immediately with a bronchitis that wouldn’t go away and was quickly turning to pneumonia. The antibiotics weren’t working. Finally, the doctor’s words crushed us: “You have to get rid of your dog.” Believe me, those are horrible words to have to hear. It broke our hearts, but only three weeks after we had got him, we had to give Crash up.
It’s amazing what the loss of a pet can do to you. The one who was struck the hardest was my son, who was about eleven back then. He felt betrayed by all of us, but especially by his sister who in his eyes was the criminal. After all, it was because of her that Crash had to go away. To top it all, it was December, Christmas time!
The good side of this story is, we found a wonderful home for Crash. The last I heard about them is that ‘They love him to death’.
Right away we knew we had to do something if we were going to have a dog in the future, so we took my daughter to an allergy specialist who put her on a three-year treatment. Three years seemed daunting, especially at that time; but, as you know, time passes quickly and patience pays off. In the end, the treatment worked like a charm and we were able to get another golden retriever puppy. We named him Amigo. Three years old now, he’s our darling, the bell of our hearts. He keeps himself busy chasing the rabbits and interviewing authors for his blog, Pets and Their Authors. You can visit him at http://www.PetsandAuthors.blogspot.com.
But to get back to inspiration… I wanted to immortalize Crash. I needed to ‘let him know’ that we would never forget him—and what better way than with a book? I dedicated the story to my son, the one who was struck the hardest by his departure.
Writing is a form of healing. A book is a very powerful thing. For me, it was the only way to put closure to a heartbreaking experience.
*****
Bio: Mayra Calvani is a multi-genre author, reviewer, dog lover and animal advocate. Visit her at http://www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com, http://www.MayraCalvani.com and http://www.examiner.com/x-6309-hLatino-Books-Examiner.
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How to Write Tight - Self-Editing Tips to Make Your Manuscript Ready For Publication
by Suzanne Lieurance
As writers, we hear it all the time. We need to "write tight," which just means we need to trim all the flab from our manuscripts and make every word count.
Here are some self-editing tips that will help you "write tight" and take your manuscripts from flabby to fit for publication in no time!
1. Avoid a lot of back story - information about the POV character's history and background. Weave all this into the story instead of loading the manuscript down with too many sentences or paragraphs of straight narrative before the action begins.
2. Simplify your sentences wherever possible. Watch for redundant or unnecessary phrases. As writers, we need to "show, not tell" as often as possible. Yet, some writers tend to show and then tell the same information, which is redundant. Watch out for this in your manuscripts. Also, look for the redundant phrases below and others like them
Stand up = stand
Sit down = sit
Turned back = turned
Turned around = turned
He thought to himself = He thought.
She shrugged her shoulders = she shrugged
She whispered softly = she whispered
He nodded his head = he nodded
3. Avoid adverbs for the most part. Use strong, descriptive verbs instead.
Flabby: She smiled slightly at the photographer.
Fit: She grinned at the photographer.
4. Avoid using the same word over and over in a paragraph. Go back and reread each sentence. Have you repeated the same word several times within a single sentence or paragraph? If so, substitute another word with the same meaning.
5. Don't overuse names. Beginning writers tend to have the characters address each other by name too often. When you speak to a friend, you don't constantly say his name. Don't have your characters do this either. It doesn't ring true, and it draws the reader OUT of the story.
6. Limit the description in a dialogue tag. Again, beginning writers tend to load down the dialogue tags (the "he said, she said," part of the dialogue) with too many details. If you must describe what a character is doing AS he says something, put that information in a separate sentence, not in the dialogue tag. And keep it short.
7. Avoid participle phrases - particularly at the beginning of sentences. Participle phrases end in the letters -ing. Go back over every page of your manuscript and circle the places where you've started a sentence with a participle phrase. If your manuscript is loaded down with participle phrases it tends to distract the reader and pull him out of the story.
8. No idle chit-chat. Be sure the dialogue advances the storyline. Readers don't need to hear the characters talking about anything that doesn't somehow relate directly to what's happened so far or what will happen next or later in the story.
9. Minimize use of the passive voice. Here's an example of passive voice: The ball was hit by Susan.
Here's the same information in active voice: Susan hit the ball.
10. Use active, descriptive verbs.
Flabby: I was the one who made the decision to go home.
Fit: I decided to go home.
Strengthen weak verbs. You can usually eliminate was and were by replacing them with stronger, more descriptive verbs. Usually, was and were precede an -ing word, and you can change the -ing word to make it stronger.
Flabby:He was talking to my brother.
Fit: He talked to my brother.
11. Minimize use of the verb "to be" to keep the word count down. Flabby: She is a graceful dancer.
Fit: She dances gracefully.
12. Cut the verb preceding an infinitive if it's not needed.
Flabby: She was able to fix the bicycle.
Fit: She fixed the bicycle.
13. Avoid using the word that when you don't need it. Reread each sentence that includes that, then read the sentence without that. If it sounds all right without it, cut it.
Also, avoid other crutch words we tend to rely on yet don't add much to the story. Other crutch words include just and really. The word suddenly should be used as infrequently as possible. Otherwise, it tends to sound as if your characters are constantly jumping around.
14. Watch for pet words or phrases you tend to favor without even realizing it. Common words like then, as, and when tend to get overused often.
15. Avoid stall phrases that slow down the action for no good reason. Phrases such as: tried to, began to and started to can be changed to the simple past tense of the verb.
Keep this list of self-editing tips handy for awhile as you're writing and rewriting until using these tips becomes automatic.
And for more writing and self-editing tips, subscribe to Build Your Business Write, a twice a week newsletter for writers at http://www.fearlessfreelancewriting.com Suzanne Lieurance is a full time free lance writer, the author of 22 books (at last count) and the Working Writer's coach.
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Does Age Mean Anything?
by Anne K. Edwards
When I was young in the time of dinosaurs, I thought that being grown would be wonderful. I'd be famous, I'd be rich, I'd be an actress or maybe famous singer (never mind that I didn't have any talent in these fields or even any interest), or perhaps a famous writer. All of this was something that would occur after I was 18 and before I was 25.
I never thought I'd get "old". Being 30 was ancient when I was 10 and my grandmother was older than my imagination could comprehend. As a little one, I used to cry to my mom I didn't want her to grow old and die. I don't know where that came from as she was only 16 years older than me and I hadn't seen death yet. I was 18 before I lost anyone I cared about.
These days as I approach "old" age, I have lost many friends and family members, and while I mourn the losses, I realize this is the way of life. I hope these partings are temporary and believe that is so.
These people live on in my heart and mind and I often use their characteristics in tales I write. For good or bad, they are with me always.
Which brings me to the main question of age meaning anything. Particularly as it applies to writers. We are a breed apart due to living in our imaginations. We are like minor gods who create and destroy at will, yet we do not pretend to be gods. It is all on paper. We write for any genre, fiction or nonfiction, full tomes or short pieces.
Who reads our work? I made a comment in The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing that readers usually read certain writers on their own age groups. This has been proven wrong. Many readers in their teens and twenties tell me they like to read Agatha Christie for instance. My apologies for the error in assumption on my part. I grew up with people many of whom felt reading was w waste of time.
Age apparently means little to writers also since we write for any age. We craft childrens books, young adult tales, stories for other age levels in adult reading. And the readers enjoy the stories regardless of the age of the writer.
Often writers start late in life because they've had to hold full time jobs and have family responsibilities so it is only with retirement or when children reach adulthood that they can reach for their dream of becoming a writer or published author. The internet and growth of small presses has made achieving this dream possible for many of us. Previously the world of publication to us oldies was closed and controlled by agents and publishers who too often would not let us in or take a chance on us.
They say it is business and so it may be. Their time is money and perhaps their only source of income, but they have too often missed some wonderful stories and great authors by this attitude. There is a whole new world out there for readers looking for tales never told before.
I hope you will explore this world where you will find the keys to many others that will turn you into fans of new authors, many of them like me--published after 55.
It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to see the career of any writer who writes a good tale get notice. Age is no deterrent to realizing a dream. In fact, it may be the key to success.
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L'ATELIER -- By Mayra Calvani
Writing for Life
by John D. Bessler
http://www.bottlecapbooks.com
Hundreds of books on writing are available on the market these days. I try to get my hands on any new writing book that comes out, even though most of them end up being repetitive in one way or the other. I was pleasantly surprised by Bessler's book because, while it touches on the same topics which other similar books touch upon, this one does it in more depth and detail. Definitely it's a 'heavier' book and a longer read than titles such as Writing Down the Bones. Furthermore, because of Bessler's more formal writing style, it is a harder book to read and one that would be better appreciated by nonfiction writers, especially by legal writers.
Writing for Life isn't a grammar book, though it stresses its importance and recommends titles on the subject. Using lots of interesting quotes from some of the great writers and offering helpful tips, the author meticulously discusses a long list of topics such as the importance of daily practice, perseverance, discipline, style, editing, polishing and revising, storytelling, and freewriting. He also writes about procrastination and writer's block–what it is and how to cure it. As I said, these are the same topics that pop out in any writing book, but the difference here is that Bessler goes much deeper and examines the issues in more detail. He's an attorney and it shows in the writing. I particularly enjoyed his insight into the elusive concept of 'style'.
Writing for Life is a smart, insightful and sophisticated book. It is also well researched and would serve as a fine addition to any writer's reference bookshelf.
By Mayra Calvani
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WHODUNIT? -- By Billie A. Williams
Library Sleuths
By Billie A. Williams
When it comes to amateur sleuths, no job is out of the question. You may find it interesting to check on a few who make you wonder--about their jobs that is.
Liza Cody's female wrestler, junk yard security guard, or Linda Mariz's university grad student volley ball player or golf pro circuit chaser Lee Ofsted--brought to life by Charlotte and Aaron Elkins.
Whatever profession or vocation you could name, there is no reason s/he couldn't be turned into a formidable adversary/sleuth for your writing. They don't all have to be beautiful people, ordinary and overweight (The Thin Woman) or how about Margo Fortier, stripper turned columnist after a failed marriage of convenience to a closeted gay aristocrat? From burned out ex-cop to a house sitter or even a gardener are all fair game.
Where will these amateur sleuths be able to find their information without access to police or law data bases? How about libraries? Not just local libraries with Interlibrary loan policies in place, although most local libraries have a reverse telephone directry. Who's Who, Dun & Bradstreet, Standard and Poor's or Moody's directory--state business directories will list businesses by city yellow pages in nearly every category for major employers or manufacturers listing their products or other information.
Larger libraries, University libraries and the internet allow/enhance searches worldwide. The biggest research library, The Library of Congress, National Reference Service offers a huge data base of topics to explore http://www.loc.gov.
Or try the universities themselves for staff members who usually qualify as experts in their fields.--whatever area you are researching. Don't forget the online groups such as those answering questions about weapons weapons_info@groups/yahoogroups.com. Another resource that is a great place to visit is Purdue's Contacts at Purdue University's Office of Publications.
When designing your sleuth, s/he doesn't need to be Mr. or Ms Super Hero, genius, merely knowledgeable about the area of her career and what s/he is investigating. As Henry Ford demionstrated during his trial for supposedly stealing the idea for the automobile from someone else. The lawyers were asking him a bunch of nonsensical questions trying to prove him incompetent. He finally had enough and quit answering their foolish questions and said, (I paraphrase him here) why would I want to keep a bunch of facts in my head when I have a battery of buttons on my desk that will put me in touch with someone who can easily answer my questions as he is an authority/expert on the topic. Knowing where to find the answer, the information you require is more important than what you are able to retain in your mind. It saves me time and the need to memorize things I may rarely need.
As Anne Wingate and Elaine Raco Chase say in Amateur Detectives, A Writer's Guide to How Private Citizens Solve Criminal Cases, state... "...from popcorn breeding to veterinary violoty, toxic fungi to thinking processes..." If you need an answer, there is an expert and/or resource somewhere available to help. Practice your sleuthing skills by tracking your experts down.
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SEEDLINGS -- Aaron Paul Lazar
The Power of Dogs
by Aaron Paul Lazar
Sometimes my book signings are madhouses. I've been literally mobbed by ladies going through my wares like it was a Filene's Basement sale. I guess that's because I often give away something for free to draw folks to my table. Sometimes it's bowls of Dove chocolate. For the past three years I've given away autographed poster size photo art printed on the Kodak NexPress Digital Printer. These prints were legit, since we had to do test runs to warm up the machines. And rather than throw away the results, I just kept them with my boss's blessing.
But now that I'm no longer employed by Kodak, I don't have that advantage anymore. So, I decided to mat and frame my art photos and try to sell them. You can see some of them in the picture from yesterday's event. Melanie kept rearranging the table to more artfully present the items - didn't she do a nice job?
So, aside from bookmarks and flyers, I didn't have any more big ticket freebies to give away yesterday. I'm not sure if that's why business has dropped, if it's the economy, or if the past two sales (with abysmal numbers) were just vagaries of life, just coincidences. On average, I usually sell 20-25 books per sale at my favorite winery. The last two sales brought in a grand total of NINE books and one framed print. Abysmal! But I try to stay positive, and always tell myself, "It's nine more books than I would have sold if I'd stayed home." Right? Right. Yesterday's event at Knapp Winery on Cayuga Lake was so pleasant that it didn't matter. It was a special celebration all along the lake of greyhounds and their rescue owners, and all dogs were invited. Daughter Melanie came along to keep me good company, and she brought her Rat Terrier, Toby. He is a doll, and was a great ice breaker. We met dogs of all breeds - from scores of beautiful greyhounds (I was so amazed at how laid back and loving they are!) to poodles, cocker spaniels, wonderful mutts, and a little tiny dog named Maggie May who rode in her owner's front pack with a baseball cap on. So cute! Toby poked his head out from beneath the tablecloth to greet everyone, and Melanie walked him all over the grounds to make new doggie friends. Having the dogs in this very public venue was a thrill. People were drawn to each other, chatted like never before, and extended themselves in ways normally not associated with wine tasting. An elderly man crouched down to scrub a spaniel's ears and talk "babytalk" to him. Greyhound owners congregated and chatted, and their dogs lay down on the cold cement and licked each other's faces. Little babies tottered about, shrieking with joy. There were smiles everywhere, and people met each other's eyes without fail.
So here's the question.
Why can't we take our well behaved dogs everywhere? Why isnt' it okay to bring Balto into a clothing store? He's neat, clean, and well trained. Heck, in France and Italy they allow dogs in restaurants. It's no different from home, where our dear pets lay beneath the dinner table or sit by our sides. Life would be sweeter, folks would smile more, and that innocence that lies behind stranger's masks would pop out unexpectedly, giving us a glimpse of the real person who lies dormant beneath.
A few simple rule changes could make it happen. Any chance our new President would be up for it?
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Reviews
Announcements (Con'd)
From Stefanie Von Borstel stefanie@fullcircleliterary.com
Adriana Domínguez, Former HarperCollins Executive Editor, Joins Full Circle Literary
Adriana Domínguez has joined Full Circle Literary as its newest agent. She has over ten years of experience in publishing, most recently as Executive Editor at HarperCollins Children's Books, where she managed the children’s division of the Latino imprint, Rayo.
Prior to her work at HarperCollins, Ms. Domínguez was Children’s Reviews Editor at Críticas magazine, published by Library Journal. She is also a professional translator, and has worked on a number of Spanish-language translations of best-selling children’s books.
At Full Circle Literary, Ms. Domínguez will continue her strong list of children’s picture books, middle grade novels, and literary young adult novels. She will also represent authors writing for adults in the following genres: literary fiction, women’s fiction, and historical fiction. For her adult nonfiction list, she will seek women’s interest, multicultural, pop culture, and how-to books.
Ms. Domínguez will be based in New York City and will serve as Full Circle Literary’s East Coast representative. She can be contacted by e-mail at Adriana@fullcircleliterary.com. Full Circle Literary is a California-based literary agency. Founded in 2004 by Stefanie Von Borstel and Lilly Ghahremani, the agency represents a wide range of children’s and adult authors. For more information, visit their website: http://www.fullcircleliterary.com.
Contests
Events
esources
New horror publisher:
http://www.damnationbooks.com
Latino Books Examiner:
http://www.examiner.com/x-6309-Latino-Books-Examiner
Sites of Interest/Information
From Tony Burton, Author
The Writer'sJourney Journal
ISBN: 13: 978-1-60364-009-1
http://www.wolfmont.com/wjj/wjj.html
Atlanta Writing Examiner
http://bit.ly/atl-writing
Genre Fiction Reviews
http://www.thegenreview.com
Blog- an article worth reading
http://honeylocustpress.com/serendipity
and
http://honeylocustpress.com/serendipity/index.php?/archives/52-Death-of-a-Thousand-Cuts-Big-Presses-Small-Presses-and-Sales.html
Subscriptions to this ezine are Free. Please pass this on to friends you think would enjoy it.
Copyright (c) 2005 Mary Emmons All Rights Reserved
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Mystery Fiction Monthly Ezine -- The Voice in the DarkIssue No. 51, April/May/June 2009
Co-Editor: Anne K. Edwards
marbob00@earthlink.net
http://www.Mysteryfiction.net
Reviews and Other Stuff Blog
http://authorsandreviews.blogspot.com
Co-Editor: Mayra Calvani
MGCalvani@hotmail.com
http://www.Mayracalvani.com
Slippery Book Review Blog
http://slipperybookreview.wordpress.com
Pets and Their Authors Blogs
http://www.petsandauthors.blogspot.com
By subscription only. You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription. To unsubscribe, send an email to marbob00@earthlink.net with your email address.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Voice in the Dark will continue to be open to well written, interesting submissions having to do with writing, publishing, and promotion of books. In addition to a subscription list, Voice in the Dark is posted each month on http://www.Mysteryfiction.net. If interested contact Anne K. Edwards at marbob00@earthlink.net with "Voice Submission" in your subject line.
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The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing by Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards won the gold in the Writing category of the ForeWord Book of the Year Awards.
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NOTE: Recommend visiting the site of the Southern Review to get the latest on Amazon and other publishing news. http://www.anvilpub.net/southern_review_of_books.htm
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NOTE: Books We Love is hosting another great contest for readers. Visit http://www.bookswelove.net and enter. Lots of prizes. Meet new authors and new reads. Visit Jude's Alter-Ego at http://www.judeatkins.com.Visit http://bookblogs.ning.com/group/authorsandbooksweloveThe Books We Love Blog for more fun
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If you are interested in reviewing books, contact simegen@simegen.com. They are looking for qualified reviewers.
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Attention Authors: Deadline August 1, 2009Registration for The Muse Online Conference has begun:http://www.freewebs.com/themuseonlinewritersconference
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Amazon will no longer let reviewers add their book titles in signature line of reviews.
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Google Book Settlement
http://www.googlebooksettlement.com
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editor's Note
Featured Interviews
--Gabrielle Faust, Author
--Christine Rose, Author
--Sybil Baker Author
--Misa Ramirez, Author
--Pamela James, Author
New Books Published
Gladiator's Arena--by Mayra Calvani
Short Fiction
--I'm Waiting to be born by Anne K. Edwards
Articles
--Promoting and Marketing Your Book by J. A. Husinger
Bits and Pieces
Sanctuary -- Columnist Mayra Calvani
Whodunit? -- Columnist Billie A. Williams
Pam's Pen -- Columnist Pamela James
Seedlings -- Aaron Paul Lazar
This & That -- Columnist Dana Reed
The Writing Life -- Quarterly and Guest Column
Reviews
Events
Resources
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Editor's Note
If you are an author, published on the Internet or by a small press, you will find change is a constant here. New publishers join the list of online publishers while some of the older ones are absorbed by others or cease to publish. One of the problems involving authors when a publisher no longer functions is the rights to their books. Who owns them? For how long? One should have this item spelled out in the contract. If dealing with a new company, perhaps you should ask the publisher to include a clear paragraph on this matter returning all rights to the author if the company ceases publication. One might say that if a company ceases to publish the book due to closing, then this is a breach of contract and thus renders the contract cancelled. I don't know what the answer is to this problem that is faced by both authors and publishers and they should consider it when signing that contract.
One other item authors and publishers need to consider in contracts is republishing a book that has seen publication previously and is submitted and accepted by a new publisher. It is only fair to the reader to let them know they may have previously read the book under another title or by another publisher. If the reader isn't told and they find themselves buying a book they've previously read and no note is made in the book, they may not return to that publishers site or buy other books by that author for fear of a repetition.
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Interviews
Meet Gabrielle Faust, Author
Interview by Mayra Calvani
Q. Why don’t you begin by telling us a little about yourself?
A. I am the author of the vampire series ETERNAL VIGILANCE. I am also an author of horror, dark fantasy and science fiction short fiction, as well as an entertainment journalist for the horror and science fiction industries. My work, as both an author and illustrator, has appeared in publications such as The Lightning Journal, GUD Magazine, Doorways Magazine, The Open Vein, Darkened Horizons, Ladies of Horror and The Bloodied Quill, as well as the websites Fear Zone, SCI FI Wire and Fatally Yours. My poetry has been published in two collections, thus far, entitled BEFORE ICARUS, AFTER ACHILLES and CROSSROADS. I am currently at work on the third installment of the ETERNAL VIGILANCE series, a screenplay adaptation and graphic novel.
Q. When did you decide you wanted to become an author?
A. The passion writing runs thick in my family’s blood. When I was a small child my grandparents on my father’s side, who were both poets and playwrights, began to encourage my creative writing pursuits. I have been enamored with writing for my entire life; novels, short stories, poetry…it was all completely entrancing to me. However, it was about five years ago when I realized that becoming a published author was what I was truly meant to do with my life. It was then that I began focusing my creative energies entirely upon that single pursuit.
Q. Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?
A. Yes, I was an avid reader. When I was very little I would read pretty much anything my parents handed to me. In elementary school is when I began to delve deep into the horror genre. I would steal my mother’s copies of Dean Koontz and Stephen King novels and read them during recess. It was in elementary school that my mother also introduced me to the world of vampire literature, giving to me her copies of Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. I was also heavily into fantasy and science fiction and consumed every novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Storm Constantine, C.S. Lewis, William Gibson and Katherine Kerr that I could get my hands on.
Q. Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.
A. My latest novel is the second installment of the ETERNAL VIGILANCE series entitled, THE DEATH OF ILLUSIONS. Here is the synopsis:
“In the year 2111 Tynan Llywelyn, the forsaken philosophical leader of the Immortal vampire race, awoke after a century’s sleep to a world decimated by war. Drawn into a new societal structure bitterly divided between ancient magic and a cruel new technology known as the Chronous, Tynan has found himself at the heart of an epic battle to bring down the Tyst Empire, a merciless international dictatorship. The Tyst crave more than global domination; they desire true Immortality and have made a pact with an ancient vampiric god called the Vicinus who has promised them eternal life in exchange for freeing him from his otherworldly prison. Tynan would have liked nothing more than to simply turn his back on the war, but his vampire Elders and the Phuree, a cunning human rebel uprising, had other plans in store for him. He was not only to join in the fight, but he was to be the vampire to take down the Tyst Empire and bring the Vicinus to his knees. A year later, struggling against the ironclad orders of his Elders and his own vicious moral demons, Tynan has relented and agreed to complete the mission the Phuree and Immortals have devised for him. Amidst a crumbling Immortal legacy and a divided human world suffocating from fear and bloodshed, he will lead the way towards the front lines of a war against a colossal empire he has barely begun to comprehend and a primordial force hell-bent on destroying the world. Tynan can only pray now that the Immortals and Phuree have chosen in him wisely.”
&nsp; In the first ETERNAL VIGILANCE book the reader was introduced to the main cast of characters and the overall plotline of the series. Book 2 dives deep into the heart of the action and Tynan’s growing involvement with the Phuree’s plot to overthrow the Tyst Empire and bring a halt to their designs to resurrect a vampiric god known as the Vicinus.
Q. Did your book require a lot of research?
A. Actually, yes. The entire series has taken quite a bit of research and it seems that, with each novel, the necessary research is growing. With the first novel it was primarily the backgrounds of the vampire characters; I wanted my characters to be as believable as possible and, thus, their histories, at times spanning centuries, needed to be as accurate as possible. With the second novel I found myself researching engineering, nanotechnology, biomechanics and quantum physics in a much higher degree than I had ever delved into before. I consulted with many of my engineer and programmer friends to get their opinions on the technology I was building in my novels in order to make sure that it would be as believable and embraceable by the science fiction and dark fantasy communities as my characters were. With the third novel, which I am in the process of writing at the moment, I am finding myself doing quite a bit of research on war and the evolution of civilizations. It is always an interesting proces.
Q.What was your goal when writing this book?
A. My goal was to, in a way, reinvent the vampire genre in a way that had not been approached before. I was tired of seeing the same plot lines developed in the vampire genre and was longing to create a series which would take a fresh look at the lore and legend of vampires and place them in a unique, but fully believable setting. I also wanted to create a series which vampire enthusiasts and science fiction lovers alike could embrace and fall in love with. Hopefully, I have achieved this.
Q. What type of writer are you—the one who experiences before writing, like Hemingway, or the one who mostly daydreams and fantasizes?
A. I would say that it is 50/50 for me. Obviously, because my novels are horror/science fiction, and set in a futuristic setting, there is a great degree of daydreaming and pure imagination that goes into the creation of the story. However, the characters and their personal emotional or moral struggles are all based, in some way, on either personal experiences or observations of other people whom I have crossed paths with over the years.
Q. Do you get along with your muse? What do you do to placate her when she refuses to inspire you?
A. I have a love-hate relationship with my muse and at times I think he might actually have a split personality. On the good days he is a genuine gift, but then there are those days when we are at each other’s throats constantly. However, usually a nice glass of wine or whiskey will placate him enough to make him more easily persuaded for whatever project I am working on at the time.
Q. What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
A. The best writing advice would have to be to learn how to “kill your darlings”. This means that you have to become comfortable enough with the editing process to realize that sometimes the pieces of your writing that you are absolutely in love with might fall victim to the almighty red pen. You have to be at peace with this and realize that editors are there to make your work stronger. It’s a hard lesson to learn, sometimes even excruciatingly painful, but one which is absolutely necessary if you are going to make it as a published author.
Q. As an author, what is your greatest reward?
A. I would have to say that the greatest reward as an author comes when I hear the feedback from my readers and realize that they are living in the world I have spent so many hours of my life creating. When I read their emails, when I talk to them at book signings and hear how they have fallen in love with my characters and are passionately embracing their struggles in a way I had only dreamed of as the author, I realize that my vision is coming to life. I can ask for nothing else.
Q. Do you have a website/blog where readers may learn more about you and your work?
A. http://www.gabriellefaust.com
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Meet Christine Rose, Author
Interview by Mayra Calvani
Christine Rose is an author, artist, and filmmaker. She has produced two documentary films and has credits on IMDB.com. The first film enjoyed a theatrical premiere in Paris and a considerable amount of international press. In addition, she has had articles appear in several magazines, including MovieMaker Magazine and IndieSlate Magazine discussing her career as an independent filmmaker. She's the author of the middle grade novel, Rowan of the Wood, a Finalist for the 2008 National Best Books Award in the Young Adult Fiction category.
Q. Thanks for this interview, Christine. Who is your target audience?
A. When asked that question at events, my husband quips, "9-99"! We have a 12-year-old protagonist who's possessed by a 1400 year old wizard (aged about 40), so it's truly a crossover book. The content is appropriate for all ages, and the reading level starts around 9 years old. That said, we've had someone as young as 4 read it! That's one advanced reader! At the same time, many, many adults have enjoyed Rowan of the Wood as well! There is a wonderful tragic love story mixed with ancient Celtic lore all woven into a modern-day, magical adventure tale.
Q. What type of writer are you—the one who experiences before writing, like Hemingway, or the one who mostly daydreams and fantasizes?
A. A little of both. I definitely write from actual experiences, especially feelings. It's how I work through some emotional things, especially hard things like betrayal and feelings of worthlessness, or existential thought. If I'm hurting or stressed, I find it helpful to work through it by giving it to my characters. It makes their experiences very real.
Q. Agatha Christie got her best ideas while eating green apples in the bathtub. Steven Spielberg says he gets his best ideas while driving on the highway. When do you get your best ideas and why do you think this is?
A. Some of my best ideas come to me just as I'm about to fall asleep, which can be rather annoying! I then have to get up and write them down. I can't just keep a notebook by the bed because I would forget to look at it the next day. The notes have to be by the computer, because that's where I live most of the time. I think I get these ideas just as I'm about to fall asleep because I'm the most relaxed then. I often kid my husband that I don't know how to relax, which isn't far from the truth. I'm rather a workaholic, and I think it's learned behavior from being self-employed for so long. There are so many different hats you have to wear on any given day. Author is just one of them.
Q. From the moment you conceived the idea for the story, to the published book, how long did it take?
A. From concept to publication was 3 years. And it's going to be nearly as long for the sequel! But the writing part is taking much longer for the sequel, Witch on the Water, whereas the publishing part (finding a publisher, revising, etc) was longer for Rowan of the Wood. We've been working on the sequel already for 1.5 years. It should be published later this year, though. Hopefully, we'll cut off another year in the process for the third book!
Q. Do you write non-stop until you have a first draft, or do you edit as you move along?
A. I certainly write the first draft before doing any editing. The story flow moves better that way for us. After I complete the first draft, I hand it over to my husband/co-author who takes it, alters it, and introduces sub-plots for the second draft. I take it back over for the third, and so on. After the fourth or fifth draft, we sit down and read it cover to cover together, looking for continuity problems, etc. Then the fine editing begins! It's a long process to say the least.
Q. They say authors have immensely fragile egos… How would you handle negative criticism or a negative review?
A. Although I'm very sensitive as a person, I have an uncharacteristic thicker skin for as a professional. Sure, a negative review might sting a bit, but it passes quickly. So far for Rowan of the Wood, the positive reviews far outweigh the negative ones, so I keep that in mind. During the revision process, however, is where I see the biggest difference. I can take pretty rough criticism and suggestions before the book is published (or query letter is sent), because it's still a learning process. Every new critique is a new opportunity to learn and grow and improve my craft. Even negative reviews. I welcome any and all feedback, especially if it's constructive.
Q. Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? What seems to work for unleashing your creativity?
A. Believe it or not. Writing. My degrees are in English Literature (BA/MA), so I've written and read a lot. But I never truly got it until I wrote this novel. I used to sit in front of a blank screen, trying to figure out a way to begin my novel (or screenplay or short story), but I finally got it. You don't have to write the beginning first. You can write the beginning last! That's the beauty of the revision process! So when I don't know what to write… I just start writing anyway because it can always be revised later. The most important thing is to keep writing.
Q. What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
A. My big writing moment of clarity came when I read Stephen King's On Writing. In this book, he describes a writing technique that I had not tried, and it worked well for me. He instructed to fully develop your characters first. Create them. Who they are. What they say. What they wear. What they like/dislike, etc. Create them into people first, and then put them in a situation. Your characters will take you through because you know them. You know how they will respond in that situation. That's the technique I use now, and it worked well for me. It took me from being a writer to being a published author.
Q. Do you have a website/blog where readers may learn more about you and your work?
A. Oh. You shouldn't have asked that! I'm ALL OVER the web!
My website – from Apr 6-17, we're running a contest to win $100 B&N gift card and more great prizes. Visit our blog for more informationhttp://www.rowanofthewood.com – New secret message every Wed. Download the decoder card here, watch videos, and more information about the book!
Twitter. I'm a Twitterholic! This Friday (4/10), I'm running at #tweet4loan marathon on Twitter. Our banker said she'd give us a loan for our summer Geekalicious Grand Book Tour if we could sell 300 books in a day. Please stop by and help us reach our goal!
You Tube – 2 new videos every week from the tour
BlogTV - Live every Monday at 1pm CST and from book signings!
BlogTalkRadio – Every Wed. at 5pm CST
GoodReads – We currently have a Q&A discussion group going on Goodreads! Join us!
There's more, but I'll stop there for now.
Q. Do you have another book on the works? Would you like to tell readers about your current or future projects?
A. Rowan of the Wood is the first book in a series of five. The sequel Witch on the Water is due out later this year. The third, late 2010, and the next two in 2011 and 2012.
Q. As an author, what is your greatest reward?
A. Having a reader tell me how much they loved my book, especially the ones who tell me they were up until 4am finishing it because they couldn't put it down.
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Meet Sybil Baker, Author
Interview by Mayra Calvani
Sybil Baker spent twelve years teaching in South Korea prior to accepting a position as an assistant professor of English at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga after earning her MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. During her extensive travels throughout Asia, she became increasingly interested in the allure and alienation of American travelers and expatriates, and this has heavily influenced her writing. Her fiction and essays have appeared in numerous journals, including Upstreet, The Bitter Oleander, Paper Street, and Alehouse. Her essay on American expatriate literature appeared in AWP’s The Writer’s Chronicle in September 2005. Her website can be found at http://www.sybilbaker.com.
Q. Thanks for being my guest today, Sybil. It's a pleasure to have you here. Why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself and how you started writing?
A. Well, I actually started writing stories when I first learned to write in the first grade. I’ve been writing creatively ever since.
I started The Life Plan in late fall 2004. I was living in Seoul, South Korea, and wanted to write a comic novel that took place in Thailand and chronicled a couple’s marriage in crisis. I finished the first draft about a year later.
Q. What was inspiration for your novel, The Life Plan?
A. From 2003-2005, I was a student in Vermont College’s MFA program. In spring 2004, I told my adviser Patricia Henley that I was recently divorced, and she suggested I write about it. I agreed with her but was afraid I was too close to the subject and that whatever I wrote would be a bitter, self-involved pity party. I used to write humor columns when I was an undergraduate at Virginia Tech, so I thought that if I made the character different from me and wrote with humor I might have the distance to pull the story off.
At that point I’d been living in South Korea for about nine years and had traveled around Asia extensively. I’d always loved Thailand and thought it would be a great place to set a novel.
Q. Tell us a bit about the plot and about the protagonist.
A. I think the best way to learn about The Life Plan is to watch the book trailer.
If I have to describe the plot of the Life Plan in ten words or fewer I say the plot is Bridget Jones meets Eat, Pray, Love. Here’s the longer version.
Kat, a lawyer in DC, is a woman with a Life Plan—written and documented so that nothing will go wrong. When Kat’s husband Dan enrolls for a course in Thailand to study massage, Kat is compelled to go with him to save the marriage. Soon Kat finds herself not only fighting for her marriage, but her career and reputation as well. Yet when Kat has a chance to regain all that she has lost, she finally questions her own reasons for pursuing her rigid life plan.
Kat is like a lot of women I’ve met. She’s twenty-nine and facing the pressure of trying to have “it all”—career, family, marriage—by the time she’s thirty five. When she first arrives in Thailand she’s a cross between the stereotypical ugly American and the innocent abroad, a la Daisy Miller. Kat’s physical journey through Thailand mirrors her emotional journey of trying to accept that life does not always go according to plan.
Q. I understand the novel is written in the first person. You also worked as a humor columnist before. Was it easier to find your voice in first person because of your column writing background?
A. That’s a great question. I chose to write this novel in the first person because I thought it was important to tell the story in Kat’s voice. I wanted to make it clear that the impressions and reactions to Thailand are Kat’s and not an “objective” commentary. I thought that writing in first person would make it easier for me to keep a comic tone in the novel as well. So yes, I think writing a humor column helped me access that comic voice—one I hadn’t used in my writing for almost twenty years.
Q. Who is the target audience for your book?
A. The target audience is women in their 20s-30s who are interested in reading comic novels about strong complex female characters living in the modern world. People who are interested in reading about different countries, travel fiction, and global fiction would also be interested in The Life Plan.
Because the novel poses so many questions that are relevant to women today, I think The Life Plan would be great for book clubs as well. I’m working on posting reading group questions on my website, and I can meet with clubs in person (if they’re club is within driving distance) or via Skype.
That said, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of men who have told me they loved the book. That unexpected response has been great.
Q. You've traveled extensively around the world. How have your travels influenced your writing?
A. I think even more than traveling, living out of the country for twelve years influenced my themes and outlook in my writing. Even though I visited the States frequently, Asia felt more like home and the U.S. like the foreign country. Because I lived abroad for so long, I hope I can place my stories and themes within a more global context than if I’d not traveled or moved abroad. The novel I’ve almost finished takes place in the States, but after I finish it I plan to return to writing about Americans in other countries.
Q. What are your writing habits like? Are you disciplined?
A. More than disciplined, I’m busy! My writing habits depend on the time of year. Because I teach at a university, I can write a lot during the summer and on breaks when I’m not teaching. There are also periods in the semester when I can get a lot of writing done, but there are other times when I have to let it go. I try make writing goals like, I’ll finish chapter x by Friday, or I plan to have a draft finished by the end of x. Right now I’m planning on revising the novel I’m working on by the end of April so that I can give it to a few friends to read and comment on while I’m traveling in South Africa in May. When I get back in June I’ll start notes for a new novel and work on some essays.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. The novel’s working title is “Replay.” Like The Life Plan, Replay is a comic novel and the main character, Stacy lives in Washington DC. Unlike Kat from The Life Plan, Stacy has artistic ambitions and doesn’t have much of a Life Plan at all.
Here’s the synopsis: Thirty-four-year old Stacy Mullins is stuck artistically, romantically, and professionally. After her father suddenly dies leaving his daughters in debt, Stacy moves from city to suburbs to be a temporary nanny to her sister’s children. When her college ex and now successful screenwriter, Ben Logan unexpectedly shows up in her life, Stacy falls for Ben all over again. While her own life continues to fall apart, Stacy must decide if undoing the mistakes of her past is the only way to move forward with her future.
Q. Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers?
A. If you read The Life Plan or are interested in reading the book for your book club, please get in touch with me, I’d love to hear from you. And please leave a review at Amazon, Goodreads or other sites. Spread the word—every reader’s voice counts!
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Meet Misa Ramirez, Author
Interview by Mayra Calvani
My guest today is Misa Ramirez, author of Living the Vida Lola. Misa’s work combines elements of humor, romance and mystery. In this interview, she talks about her inspiration for the novel, her busy schedule, and her future projects.
Q. Thanks for being here today, Misa. After reading your book, I was surprised to find out that you're not Latina by birth, but by marriage. How did you come to identify so well with Latinas?
A. I am thrilled that you feel I did justice to the Mexican culture and to Latinas! In a lot of ways, I do feel that Lola Cruz is my 'alter ego' if I were a Latina. I think it comes from being so involved with my husband's family for so long. We've been married for 19 years. Various members of his family have lived with us at different times, including his parents. They have always been a dynamic family with so many strong personalities, yet their culture has always been a subtle part of who they are and how they live. That's what I wanted to capture through the characters in my book. Not every Latino's experience is the same. Not everyone thinks the same, has the same sensibility of cultural values or expectations, but they each embody some elements of the culture. I really wanted to have Lola be an American who was also Latina. I wanted her to balance all the different parts of who she is, all the while being true to herself. I think my approach, and being "Latina by marriage" made me super aware of not falling into stereotypes, as well. None of my husband's family are 'stereotypical' Latinos. They are all complex, multi-cultural individuals and I've learned so much from them. I love the culture and my husband and wanted to write something that in some way represented who my children are on some level, as well.
Q. When did you start writing? Do you have another job besides writing?
A. I wrote in college, but got a little more serious when I first started teaching middle school. But then I had children and writing took a backseat. I came at it again after my 5th baby was born and I needed an outlet. I'd had the good fortune of having a children's book published and kept working toward getting another one published. But the magic wasn't happening. I was writing to prompts and Lola was born. Her family came next, and pretty soon the whole book was pouring out of me. Of course, then I went back and rewrote it SO many times, working in more character development and adding plot points. I also went back to teaching which left little time for writing. But I persevered, landed the most awesome agent ever, and Living the Vida Lola was published by St. Martin's Minotaur! Now I'm writing full-time, dabbling in some part time teaching, and loving my new career.
Q. What compelled you to write Lola's story?
A. Like I mentioned above, I really wanted to tell a story about someone like my own children. I wanted to capture the bi-cultural aspects of my husband. And I wanted to write a fun, sassy, strong, smart woman who wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted most of all--a career as a writer--oh, no! That's me!--a career as a detective.
I love Lola and her family. They really are real to me!
Q. Describe to us a regular writing day in Misa Ramirez's life. Are you a disciplined writer?
A. Unfortunately, I'm not disciplined enough. Since our recent move to Texas from California, I've jumped int some community work. It's taking more of my time than I'd anticipated! But I'm definitely the type of person who will just keep working. In fact, I probably work better under little pressure.
The typical day: Wake up; wake up children (6 year old takes 15 minutes minimum to get out of bed!); supervise the kids' breakfast and drink coffee (me, not the kids); make their lunches if they are running late, or supervise their lunch-making if they're not (I believe in teaching them how to do things for themselves!); take them all to school, go for a walk (or do yoga on Thursdays); come home, clean up, chores (never-ending), and go into office to begin working (this is assuming there is nothing child-related or community-activist related on the calendar for the day); write, drink more coffee, tea, or water, eat something carby (argh!); pick up kids from school; help with homework, check email and do miscellaneous tasks on the kitchen laptop computer as time allows; do sports, piano, guitar lesson runs, dinner, reading to kids, playtime (if there's time); bed for the kids; watch a recorded or Netflix show if one is available, read, or back to the computer. Next day begin again.
More detail than you wanted, right?!
Q. What's on the horizon?
A. Book 2 in the Lola Cruz Mystery Series is in production. I believe it will be released in winter 2010. No date yet, and no title yet! Beyond that, I have books 3 and 4 in the works, a proposal for another series--this one about a curandera, am working on a middle grade proposal, and am doing some freelancing. I also am a columnist at http://www.romancingtheblog.com, and co-operate http://chasingheroes.com a very cool website all about hero archetypes (and heroine archetypes) and so much more. Always something in the works!
Q. Anything else you'd like to tell readers?
A. Thank you for having me, Mayra! And thanks to those of you who've read Living the Vida Lola. It's hit the local (Dallas-Fort Worth area) bestseller's list and I'm thrilled that so many people are loving Lola!
Visit my website at http://misaramirez.com for contest information and more.
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Meet Pamela James
Interview by Anne K. Edwards
Q. What do you find most rewarding about having written a story, article, or book?
A. The readers who give me feedback on my books.
Q. How did you happen to become an author?
A. I grew up cutting my teeth on Nancy Drew Mysteries and I really loved watching mysteries on t.v. it just seemed natural that I would write mysteries.Q. Would you like to talk about your career or future plans?
A. Right now I am writing a women's fiction book that has a light mystery title: SUNFLOWERS I am also writing a new cozy series involving a haunted hotel and it's called ONE LITTLE MURDER.
Q. Have you favorite authors who have influenced your work?
A. YES--Carolyn Hart, Agatha Christie, and Jill Churchill are the authors whose work really made an impact.
Q. Do you have a website for readers to visit?
A. http://www.mayhemandmagic.com
Q. Where is your work available?
A. Publish America B&N online and Amazon.
Q. Are you currently working on a project?
A. Yes two as a matter of fact (See above)
Q. Would you like to tell the readers anything about yourself?
A. I've written four mysteries, as a hobby I love to cross stitch, watch black and white movies and I'm a grandmother.
Q. How do you prepare to start a new book? Do you write every day?
A. I write Monday-Friday and I do character sketches on notecards, plot the book, do chapter by chapter plot points, create my setting and back story. Various other things before I actually begin chapter one.
Q. What is your favorite way to begin a project? Do you do an outline? Or start with a plot or characters first?
A. Start with plot and character.
Q. What impels or inspires you to write?
A. Characters inspire me to write.
Q. How do you set about developing characters?
A. Sometimes a character comes to me or I brainstorm with a friend and then I play the what-if game and I also layer my character start simple with birthdate move on to past, present and give them traits,mannerisms, a name and background.
Q. How did you happen to develop your blog? Do you recommend them to writers for reaching readers?
A. I am recent to blogs for writers and readers but my friend Terri and I have one on blogger that is titled mayhemandmagic2.
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New Books Published
Riders of the Seven Hills
by Lad Moore
Publisher BeWwrite Books
http://BeWritebooks.com
ISBN: 978-1-906609-02-3
$14.99
A series of yarns of East Texas and the Far East by a natural-born story teller.
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The Writer's Journey Journal
by Tony Burton
http://www.thegenreview.com
ISBN: 13: 978-1-60364-009-1
http://www.wolfmont.com/wjj/wjj.html
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THE GLADIATOR'S ARENA
by Mayra Calvani
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Short Fiction
I'm Waiting to be Born
by Anne K. Edwards
Well you may ask, what I mean. The answer is that I'm standing in a long line of fiction characters whose tale hasn't been told yet. Their stories haven't come to light or else the author chosen to tell their tale hasn't recognized the task given to them.
To be born, we must get into the mind of a writer first and that is not always easy. There seems to be a lot of us trying to get in at the same time and it creates a traffic jam of sorts. Legs and arms flailing as we try shoving our way forward and shouting at the author, "Here I am. Hear me. Tell my story."
Some of us are lost in the melee and simply vanish like smoke on the wind. Others of us are pushed into crevices of the writer's mind for later examination and ofter are forgotten. We find them in their crevices, a mere shadow of their former robust selves.
They might be salvaged if the author takes the time to hear their tale, but often they have lost the original pull and are pushed back into their crevices to wait until they are completely forgotten and then they too vanish from sight.
But for those of us still in line, waiting, the chance that we might be heard and chosen, holds us like a tryout for American Idol draws would-be stars. We all want that moment to shine, to be.
The sad fact is that too often we don't have a story until the author sees us. Some are lucky and born with a tale, but many of us are chosen because we fit into a role already made and that becomes our story.
But I am one of the lucky ones, I have a story and will leap fully grown into light when the author and I meet. I will then begin talking as fast I can to hold the author's attention, to fascinate until she or he is forced to tell my story.
It is then I look forward to meeting my public. It awaits...
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Articles
Promoting and Marketing Your Book
by J.A. Husinger, author of Axe of Iron
You have poured your heart and soul into writing your book. It has been the dominate passion of your life; otherwise you would not have a manuscript to hold. Now what?
I will assume that your manuscript is a first draft. Before you can send out query letters telling the world of the birth of the great American novel, your work needs editing. I do not mean having a friend, an English teacher, your boss, or any other layman read your manuscript, no, I mean that you must engage the services of a professional editor. Thus begins the process of polishing your manuscript until it is the best it can be. This process can involve numerous corrections and rewrites. The time and expense involved varies with the quality of the work. One hundred thousand words will cost in the neighborhood of $2000.00, or more, by the time you get it right.
Believe it or not, writing your book is only the beginning. With a final draft of your manuscript in hand, it is time to query. Famous people query with a proposal before writing the book. I will assume that you are not yet famous. As an author, you cannot deal directly with one of the large publishing houses, so your next challenge is to interest a literary agent in your work. If you find a literary agent, your relationship will be contractual. Do nothing with anyone without a contract. Fully understand your part of the contract before signing or hire an attorney versed in literary contracts to help you understand. There are numerous listings of literary agents on the Internet. Research each agent for their submission guidelines, select those receptive to your genre, be certain that they are accepting submissions, submit only what they require, and never send an unsolicited manuscript, they will not read it. Your literary agent will handle your contractual relationship with a publisher; they are your agent acting in your behalf.
If you are fortunate enough to become a published author through the literary agent/publisher/reader sequence of progression, congratulations, you have hit the big time. Your publisher will handle all the details of composition/format, cover design, printing/binding, fulfillment/marketing, and warehouse/distribution, leaving you free to crank out books. You will have little or no input regarding any of the production aspects of your book, nor will you retain any rights other than copyright. The publisher will own the ISBN and all future negotiations for anything concerning that work will be through, or with the permission of, the publisher.
Okay, you have spent a year submitting to literary agents without results. If you have not completely lost interest in publishing your work, you are left with publishing it yourself, e.g. self-publishing or becoming an independent publisher. A self-published author has hired a publishing company to publish a book, surrendering all rights save copyright. An independent publisher has formed a small company and gone through the process from copyright to a finished book ready for the market. That author owns all rights to the book because often the author and the publishing company are one and the same. Books are produced and marketed by an independent publisher working closely with a large full service book production facility such as BookMasters, Ashland, OH, where everything is done in house.
Regardless of the method used to publish your work yourself, you will be responsible for promotion and marketing. In working with an organization such as BookMasters, you will already have a leg up as they handle some of the initial marketing through their own marketing department. Getting the word out before and after the publication date is vital to your sales success. You must have a website and/or a blog that calls attention to your book and ultimately leads a visitor to your order page. If you do not want to handle book sales from your garage, then your website order page will link your customers to your distributor or other points of sale that you have set up. In this way, someone else will take care of the myriad details of the warehousing/distribution of your work.
Solicit professional book reviewers. Do not send them a book until you have queried them first. Be the consummate professional insofar as your contacts with reviewers. Always include a cover letter with your book that includes a short synopsis and your expectations as the author. Reviews are important and they can restore your bruised and battered ego when you read what someone else has to say about your work. Their reviews look good on your website and provide potential customers for your next book a sales closer as they read your book cover’s ad copy.
I have found that conventional print and display advertising on websites is only minimally successful. The mission here is to get your name and that of your book out to as many sites on the Internet as possible. Hire professional people to do this for you, e.g. PumpUpYourBook promotions. Additionally, Amazon is one of the most effective and important book sales tools out there. When you have your book listed with them be sure that you also use their ‘Look Inside the Book’ program. Ditto for Google Book Search. Going through the submission process with Internet book promotion and sales sites is time consuming, but the rewards outweigh this expenditure.
Local booksellers such as Barnes and Noble and Borders do everything possible to arrange and facilitate book-signing events for local authors. So, be certain you contact the individual store’s book manager to set one up for you. They provide a display table and chairs, posters, and a newspaper announcement of the event, and it is all free. In addition, they will order a supply of your books to stock your book-signing. Not a bad deal, I think.
If you do not have letterhead stationery, design some, including the envelope. Remember, you are trying to sell a product, be professional in all of your contacts. Edit religiously, use spell check. Everything that you write is a reflection on you personally, so do it right the first time because the one chance is usually all you will get. And oh, good luck to you.
J. A. Hunsinger–Author, Vinland Publishing, LLC,
http://www.vinlandpublishing.com
©2009 Jerry A. Hunsinger, All Rights Reserved
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
J. A. Hunsinger lives in Colorado, USA, with his wife Phyllis. The first novel of his character-driven, historical fiction series, Axe of Iron: The Settlers, represents his first serious effort to craft the story of a lifelong interest in the Viking Age—especially as it pertains to Norse exploration west of Iceland—and extensive research and archaeological site visitations as an amateur historian. He has tied the discovery of many of the Norse artifacts found on this continent to places and events portrayed in his novels.
Much of his adult life has been associated with commercial aviation, both in and out of the cockpit. As an Engineering Technical Writer for Honeywell Commercial Flight Systems Group, Phoenix, AZ, he authored two comprehensive pilots’ manuals on aircraft computer guidance systems and several supplemental aircraft radar manuals. His manuals were published and distributed worldwide to airline operators by Honeywell Engineering, Phoenix, AZ. He also published an article, Flight Into Danger, in Flying Magazine, (August 2002).
Historical Novel Society, American Institute of Archaeology, Canadian Archaeology Association, and IBPA-Independent Book Publishers Association, are among the fraternal and trade organizations in which he holds membership.
You can visit his website athttp://www.vinlandpublishing.com and his blog at http://www.vinlandpublishing.blogspot.com
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Bits and Pieces
Baker & Taylor is making the news as rumors hint at financial problems. Their distribution business has dropped significantly.
Amazon.com is closing 3 distribution centers by end of May. Munster, Ind., Red Rock, Nev. and Chambersburg, PA.
Barnes and Noble has acquired Fictionwise.com and will make it part of their business while it will continue to operate as in the past.
Vanity Press owner Author Solutions owns AuthorHouse, iUniverse, and Xlibris has purchased Trafford Pub. in Canada.
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SANCTUARY -- By Mayra Calvani
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WHODUNIT? -- By Billie A. Williams
WHAT AGE SHOULD MY SLEUTH BE?
By Billie A. Williams
Agatha Christie was an older woman quite set in her ways, Jessica Fletcher was another young older woman, Kaye Scarpetta is quite near forty, I would assume. What age should your sleuth be?
Agatha, Jessica, or Kaye have nothing over on Nancy Drew when it comes to being a fitting accidental sleuth. She started out as a fourteen year old, but in revisions and later volumes she is eighteen. As a writer this is significant because your YA readers want to read about characters at least their age, if not older. Pets, friends, foils, helpers and even boy friends play as significantly in YA novels as in any other stories.
It used to be a typical Nancy Drew type story would be 25 Chapters with plenty of description of characters and setting. The new generation of readers with a shorter attention span, is catered to with shorter books, 20 chapters, shorter chapters usually no more than a few pages and the action has been beefed up. More intense for our action oriented teens. They have no time for Jude Devereaux -like scenery and ambience building.
What began in the 1930’s with "The Secret of the Old Clock, in Volume 1" now constitutes over 500 books that any youngster with the slightest inkling of mystery and intrigue in their mind will devour. Many a mystery writer attributes her love of the genre to the first cherished volume of a Nancy Drew Mystery. If you want to write for the YA crowd you can’t go wrong by studying the classic works in this series.
If you choose to write for this age group be aware it is not a simple task. This age group is very discerning, with high expectations. A book needs to compete with video games and cell phones. We live in a fast food, fast travel (jets etc. hardly anyone walks. It’s bikes, scooter, 4-wheeler, or some other speedy mode of travel) fast communication (Internet, cell phones, mp3 players, and more) time period.
If you want to build a following look at the market. Assess the expectations of your reader by reading some of what’s out there. Compare what you see to Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, the classics, and you’ll be well on your way. A sleuth that will keep your young readers engaged and word of mouth spreading news of the good reads to their peers, like a cold virus - good news travels fast.
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PAM'S PEN -- By Pamela James
KILLER HAIR
In the world of fashion and beauty there is always someone who is having a bad hair day. However, last weekend I watched a funny cozy movie titled Killer Hair, the movie is based on Ellen Berryum's book Killer Hair. It featured a wonderful cast and Lacey Smithsonian's character was played by Alicia Silverstone. I think Alicia has found her niche because it's been a long time since I have nejoyed a movie as much as this fun-to-die lifetime movie.
I know Hostile Makeover is playing this Sunday which is based on Ellen's series and I plan to tune in and hope that it will be just as funny and fluffy as Killer Hair. If you watch the movie and if you haven't read the book, please, by all means read the books in this mystery series. They are A Crime of Fashio Mysteries. Funny, witty, a plot that is well woven and these would make great summer beach book mysteries.
Washington, D.C. is the backdrop and makes a wonderful melting pot of colorful characters. Lacey is a fashion columnist who wants a shot at real news stories. I'm rooting for her and I hope you will too, and it's a great way to enjoy Washington, D. C. from the comfort of your armchair to the television.
I'll say this much, you don't want a bad haircut on your send-off through eternity. For me, Killer Hair makes the cut!
Pamela James
Author of The Crossed Stitcher
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SEEDLINGS -- Aaron Paul Lazar
Title: A Spark of Heavenly Fire
Author: Pat Bertram
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing
Publisher's Address: 931-B South Main Street, Box 145,
Kernersville, NC 27284
ISBN number: 978-1-935171-23-2
Price: $18.00
Publisher phone number and/or website address:
http://www.secondwindpublishing.com
Review by Aaron Paul Lazar
Author of the LeGarde Mystery Series
http://legardemysteries.com Who says you can’t squeeze romance into a thriller? And while you’re at it, how about weaving in a deeply moving story about human redemption?
Author Pat Bertram says you can. And she’ll convince you before you can say chimera - the lethal combination of virus, bacterium, fungus, and human genes that causes the rapid spread of the “red death,” a bio-engineered weapon threatening the entire state of Colorado.
Kate Cummings is trying to deal with the loss of her husband, who drove his car off a mountain after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. She passes by his bedroom without daring to enter, and slogs through life in a solemn daze, feeling guilty for every time she waited a few extra minutes to answer his summons, or for each time she became angry. His loss haunts her, and although her work at the Bowers Medical Clinic is fulfilling, it can’t heal the hole in her heart.
When a jogger stumbles into Kate with red eyes blazing, he vomits blood on her and dies instantly. A rash of similar deaths follows, decimating the state. Orange paint markers on front doors - signifying a “red death” in the marked homes - begin to appear with frightening regularity. Panicked parents discard their red-eyed children, fearful of contagion.
Enter Greg Pullman, reporter for the Denver News, who’s engaged to the ditzy beauty, Pippi O’Brien, local TV weather girl. But when he bumps into Kate after Pippi heads for the border in search of safety, things change. Together, Kate and Greg investigate and unearth the shocking source of the horror that has shut down their state and caused a rogue wing of the military to terrorize Colorado’s remaining citizens. Basic human amenities - so often taken for granted - become grounds for murder. And the streets are no longer safe to walk unescorted.
In addition to a killer story line, smooth writing, and phenomenal characterization, this page turning thriller features fine examples of charity through glimpses into Kate’s huge heart. The remarkable heroine opens her home to survivors who are homeless and hungry. Soon, partnered with a destitute woman named Dee, Kate’s home becomes a refuge for survivors. And in the midst of the massive deaths, terror, and horror, Kate finds salvation.
The tension in A Spark of Heavenly Fire is electric. Taut suspense pulls you along at a rapid pace. This reader was up way past his bedtime three nights in a row. And yes, it was that good.
Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. The author of LeGarde Mysteries and Moore Mysteries enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his websites at http://www.legardemysteries.com and http://www.mooremysteries.com and watch for his upcoming release, MAZURKA, coming in 2009.
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THE WRITING LIFE
(Quarterly and Guest Column)
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