Monthly Archives: February 2017

Home > Monthly Archives: February 2017

Keeper Shelf

February 23, 2017 by marianne h donley in category Reading tagged as Best Loved Books, books, Keeper Shelf, mariannehdonley

Every room in my house, including all the bathrooms and the basement, has books. My mother and three sisters have similar decorating tastes. A family acquaintance once commented, rather snidely, that it was like we lived in a library. We didn’t keep her around long because who wouldn’t want to live in a library?

If you push me, I will admit to believing that heaven looks a lot like the Huntington Library; a lovely old mansion, seriously great books on the shelves, beautiful art on the walls all surrounded by a stunning garden. Since it’s my heaven, I would include the chamber orchestra playing Mozart that happened to be performing the very first time I visited the Huntington Library, and a Starbucks-free, of course.

I love books. I love the way they look. I love the way they feel in my hands. I love the way they smell–especially old books.

Not just novels, either, although I have tons of those. I also adore math books, especially geometry. I’m mad about all sorts of children’s books from Pat the Bunny and The Spooky Old Tree to The Bridge to Terabithia and Nancy Drew. And knitting books. I have a collection of tiny old books, all about the size of my hand.

But, if I had to pick just three books for my keeper-shelf . . .

COLD SASSY TREE by Olive Ann Burns

Cold Sassy Tree is the story of fourteen-year-old Will Tweedy, his Grandpa Rucker and Grandpa’s scandalous new wife, Miss Love all set in turn-of-the-twentieth-century small town Georgia. This book made me laugh out loud, Will Tweedy’s tall tale about his aunt inflatable bosom. And cry until I couldn’t see to read, Grandpa Rucker and Will Tweedy lining Grandma’s grave with a blanket of roses.

THE END OF ETERNITY by Isaac Asimov

The End of Eternity is a love story. I know. I know. It’s science fiction. But trust me, it is a love story. Andrew Harlan is an Eternal whose job it is to “adjust” time for the greater good of humanity. But every modification has a price –some people’s timelines are changed out of existence. Harlan and other Eternals live in Eternity a place outside of time, so these adjustments have no consequences in their lives. On one of his assignments Harlan meets and falls in love with Noÿs Lambent, who is not an Eternal. If Harlan completes his modification of time, Noÿs will cease to exist. Yet, if he saves her, the resulting paradox will destroy all of Eternity.

THE CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK by Elizabeth Peters

The Crocodile on the Sandbank is the first book in Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody mystery series. Amelia Peabody is a forceful English Victorian spinster with a passion for Egypt, cleaning, and issuing orders. Her match is Radcliffe Emerson who has a passion for Egypt, issuing orders, and as it turns out Amelia. (He doesn’t care so much about cleaning.) This novel has everything I love about traditional mysteries. The setting is historical. The POV is first person. Peabody and Emerson are tons of fun.

So, if you had to pick three novels for your keeper shelf what would they be?

Marianne H Donley
www.mariannedonley.com

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How I Got Bit In The Butt And Survived!

February 20, 2017 by Meriam Wilhelm in category A Bit of Magic by Meriam Wilhelm, Writing, Writing: It's a Business tagged as editing, Meriam Wilhelm, self publishing, The Witches of New Moon Beach

This past year I authored my first fiction series, The Witches Of New Moon Beach. Like all new authors, I was totally excited to share what I had written and couldn’t wait to see my books posted up on Amazon. I had such a blast writing the series and had fallen in love with both my characters and my newly created beach city. I felt confident that my book covers were strong and that I had a solid plan for marketing each of the three (now four) books in the series.

Unfortunately for me, I let my excitement to share override my common sense. Sure, I had checked and rechecked for spelling errors and I even had three different people read my first book. I knew that there were individuals out there that you could pay to edit your books, check for typos, misused words or grammatical errors. But since I hadn’t yet made a dime I was resistant to spend money on the above mentioned even though in the back of my mind, I had a pressing fear that I might just have missed something. Grammar is just not my thing!

And so I proudly posted my first book for all to see and was immediately bitten in the butt by reviewers. Yes, there were a few kind comments, but then the bite came as I read “the grammatical errors were sometimes humorous” and “the book is filled with typos that simple editing could rectify.” One reader said I wrote like a teenager. Ouch!

How had this happened? I had done more than simple editing. What had I missed? I immediately took the book down and got some help. I repeatedly read the book back to front searching for errors. I tried out several editing software packages before purchasing Ginger and I ran book one past a high school English grammar teacher who I respected. I agonized before putting it back up. But the cleaning apparently worked since 73% of my reviews from then on were 4’s and 5’s and I’ve not been hit with negative remarks on spelling or typos again.

Let me say this clearly, I deserved to be bitten in the butt for posting a book with internal errors. I own this and boy did that hurt! I’m sure that I lost more than a few readers who were disappointed by my poor editing skills and either didn’t finish reading book one or never ventured toward purchasing books 2, 3 or 4. I’m saddened that they never got a chance to get to know my characters or to experience the magic within the pages.

Skip forward to my 5th book which will be out in early February 2017. I have spell checked it repeatedly, used my Ginger software for grammatical screening and had two different people read it for possible errors. However, this time, I’m also going to spend a few bucks to have a professional edit my book. Why? Because I can still remember how badly I felt when reading those negative reviews; reviews that I had earned. There is nothing worse than being disappointed in yourself.

I also learned something very important. It’s hard to see your own errors after you have lived with a story from birth to finish. I guess that I read right past mistakes more than once. My brain read the word site when I had actually spelled it sight. And semicolons took the place of far too many commas. I even failed to capitalize a word or two clearly by reading too quickly through the story.

In the end, I survived. Painful though it was, I learned a great deal from this experience. My counsel to you? Protect your butt – take your time, do your homework and then consider getting some professional help.

My best wishes to you as you successfully share your future stories with the world!

The one thing I know, after all my years as an elementary school principal, is that there is magic everywhere and in everyone. When I retired after 35 years in education, I longed to share all that I had learned and created several parenting books on topics from bullying to homework strategies. While I miss those enchanting moments with children and their parents, I always wanted to let my imagination run wild as I sought out my own magic and wrote about it. In short, I was lured into the world of fiction writing where I soon created my first series, The Witches of New Moon Beach. The first book, Morning Magic is currently FREE.

Inspiration isn’t hard to find as I have lived in Redondo Beach, California all my life and New Moon Beach might have more than a passing resemblance to my hometown. Every day I walk on the path that runs along the beach, sometimes with my sisters, but most often with my thoughts as I plot out my next book. I am long married and mom to three great grown kids. When I’m not writing or walking on the beach, you’ll find me sewing, reading or traveling and taking pictures.Feel free to check out my website: www.meriamwilhelm.com

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Character Flaw(less)

February 16, 2017 by Rebecca Forster in category The Write Life by Rebecca Forster tagged as #amwriting, Rebecca Forster

Recently we celebrate my oldest son and my husband’s birthdays. They are a day apart, much to the chagrin of my husband. Thirty-two years ago he brought home the biggest, spiciest burrito he could find in the hopes of jumpstarting labor so that our son would share his birthday. Needless to say, the burrito story was one of many we told at this year’s birthday dinner. We laughed, we clarified details, and we took tangents and remembered those who had been part of our lives but were no longer with us.

As I listened to all this in the company of my husband, my two sons and my ninety-two year old mother, I realized that my family is key to what readers tell me is my strength as a writer: characterization. After generations of evolving as an extended family, I know what makes each member of my family tick. I know why they are special – and why they aren’t. I know how they speak, how they think, how they will act and react, what makes them happy and what doesn’t. I know who they love and admire. That means, if they act out of character, I know to dig deeper to find out why; if they act in character, I completely accept their actions and reactions because I know them so well.

If depth of characterization eludes you, try this exercise.

IMAGINE each of your main characters at a family dinner table.

IDENTIFY where that character fits in e.g. the bartender, the perpetual guest, and the lingerer-in-the-kitchen guy.

ESTABLISH where each character came from and whether or not they are permanent family fixtures or a family member who has distanced themselves.

TAKE their coats. Fur? Wool? Blazer? Sweatshirt? Notice what they’re wearing.

DETERMINE their purpose at the table: the joker, the commentator, the peacemaker, the witch, the politician, the philosophe, the put-upon wife or angry husband (or vice-versa).

LISTEN to the conversation around the table. Do not focus on just one character. Rather, close your eyes, hear all their voices, see all their gestures, listen to their words.

What you ‘hear’, what you ‘see’ at your dinner table will help you create fictional characters that are as familiar as family and as unforgettable.

Rebecca Forster

www.rebeccaforster.com

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Everyone Wants to Write a Book by Connie Vines

February 13, 2017 by A Slice of Orange in category Writing tagged as Connie Vines, Cowboys, Free eBooks, Valentine's Day, writing

Topic for February: Everybody wants to write a book, but most do not.
Writing is hard work. What got you started, and what helps you get through a complete story?
How many times have you heard someone say, “Someday I’m going to write a book?” Many a time, I”m certain. However, most do not.

Why? Because writing is hard work.

What got me started? Like most children, I loved reading, drawing, and listening to the oral family history spoken by my grandparents. I also like to write stories (not particularly good stories) but for a second grader I did have a handle on the concept of plotting. Thinking back, I unnerved adults with my pointed interview questions, and thoughts about the meaning of life and life-after-death vs death-after-death. Picture: Tuesday Addams wearing glasses and constantly grumbling about receiving yet, another stupid doll instead of a filling cabinet for her birthday.

When, exactly, did I start and complete my first novel?

While I wrote short-stories, nonfiction articles for publication during my twenties, I didn’t get serious about completing a novel until thirties. My children were in school and I worked part-time. That gave me a block of free time to write (vs the scribbling on 3 x 5 index cards when I was cooking dinner or a note pad during a child’s 1 hour nap). I was serving on my church board when the choir soloist told me her sister was a co-president of the Orange County Chapter of RWA (Romance Writers of America). At the time, I hadnâ€™t every thought of writing a romance. I wrote for the YA and middle school market and dabbled in historical fiction, but Shirlee convinced me that the networking and workshops would be beneficial to me. She was correct.

Attending monthly meetings/workshops, exchanging rough drafts with my critique members during lunch, and input from the multi-published members gave me the confidence to persevere. It also made me crawl out of bed after my husband left for work (at 3:00 in the morning) and write before getting my children off to school.
I also discovered that I couldn’t give up my YA stories while I found my footing in a new market.

“So, what did Connie do?” you ask.

I work two novels at once which I still do to this very day.

Crazing making? Yes!

Writing romance isn’t easy. Strong, well-developed characters, good plot (and multiple subplots), sharp dialogue, and emotion-lots of emotion.

Writing is addictive. The story unfolds, the characters present themselves, and away the writer goes into a new Universe.

What makes me complete my novel/story?

The best way for me to describe the feel is I am driven to finish the story. Native Americans say the story chooses the Storyteller. It the Storyteller’s responsibly to bring the story to life.

Happy Reading and Happy Valentine Day!

My Rodeo Romances (Lynx and Brede) are on sale this month (click on my Amazon Author Page link). Even Zombies need love. Indulge in a little Zombie Valentine Romance. For FREE!! Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow on Amazon.com

Connie

Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow

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How Mercy Street on PBS reminded me why I write romance by Jina Bacarr

February 11, 2017 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat tagged as 99 cents, alpha, billionaire, books, box set, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, Jina Bacarr, Mercy Street, PBS, romance

It’s been a rough week.

Make that year.

A lot of stuff going on in my life that sometimes makes me crumble in a heap and ask myself why I keep going.

But I do.

Because I like I what I do. Writing. Some days I love it, other days . . . well, you know the drill.

Recently, I’ve taken on a deadline to write a new book for a Kindle Worlds series (there’s nothing more gratifying than when you’re asked to write for a line), but it’s a short deadline and it’s a genre that’s different than what I’ve been doing (vampires as opposed to princesses — more about that as we hit that March deadline).

But I’m also in a box set with a novella I wrote that releases next week. Now, you’re probably wondering what this has to do with the PBS Civil War series, Mercy Street. It’s simple. After a grueling week of staying up as late as 6 a.m. every night to write my novel and make videos (I do it all — from the voiceovers to the production of the videos with music and graphics), I finally got to watch Episode 3 of Mercy Street.

But not until I uploaded video #18 tonight — yes, I made 18 + 2 more videos in the past week to promote the box set (a 60 second video for each author). Yes, 20 videos in all.

I was bleary-eyed, slumped over, sick of listening to myself on the videos, and crazed over trying to make them perfect little gems (they’re not, but I try).

Then I watched Mercy Street.

***Spoiler alert — if you haven’t seen Episode 3 of Mercy Street, you may want to come back when you have.

Now I love Dr. Foster, the hero. He’s a lot like the hero in my Kindle Scout winner, Love Me Forever (a Civil War time travel romance) and Nurse Mary is like my time traveling heroine. Mary is sick — and the new meanie on the show, a Union officer whose name I don’t want to remember, is sending her away from the hospital (and Dr. Foster).

This is where the resident female rival comes into play. You just can’t help but want to kick Nurse Hastings in the petticoats most of the time, but on this episode she’s a true romance heroine. We find out she lost her soldier love in another war and she has a change of heart about messing up the lives of our doctor and nurse. She sends Dr. Foster back to the hospital hotel in time for him to go to the docks to see Nurse Mary.

Here’s the moment that made my week:

When Dr. Foster jumps onto the steamboat taking our Mary away, he claims her as his patient and comforts her. When he takes her hand and their eyes meet, I wanted to cry. Then he gives her a book. Ulysses. As they quote from the Tennyson tome about not giving up, you know they love each other. He kisses her on the forehead and their hands try to hold onto to each other, but they’re forced to break away. But in spite of the war and the mean old Union major, we know somehow these two will be together again.

Made me proud to write romance.

Because love endures. In spite of everything.

And ain’t that grand.

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Thanks for listening! And in case you’re wondering about all those videos I made, here’s the promo for our Facebook Party next Wednesday, Feb 15th 7:30-11 p.m. (CLICK here to see the vids)

Happily Ever Alpha Facebook Party February 15, 2017 from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.