Upcoming Events
March 6, 2015 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as California Dreamin' Conference, Linda O. Johnston, writing a seriesMarch is a busy month for OCC and its members!
First is our regular upcoming meeting on March 14–which I intend to attend.
And that’ll be followed by the California Dreamin’ Conference from March 27-29. It’s the second California Dreamin’ Conference, and it’s hosted by all four Southern California Romance Writers of America chapters: OCC, Los Angeles Romance Authors, East Valley Authors and San Diego RWA. I’m proud to say that I’m a member of two of them: OCC and LARA. Plus, I spoke not long ago at an EVA meeting. Maybe I’ll get to attend a San Diego chapter meeting too someday.
Meantime, I’ll be on a panel at California Dreamin’: So You Want To Write A Series. My fellow panelists are Judy Duarte and Janet Tronstad. I’ve spoken before about writing series, which is a real passion of mine. I’m currently writing four of them!
I hope to see you at the chapter meeting and/or California Dreamin’. Hope you’ll be at both, too. And if you’re at the conference, be sure to attend my panel!
Linda O Johnston
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO A REWRITE
March 5, 2015 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as Edgy Christian Fiction, stronger writing, Tracy Reed
I recently self-published my first book, GENERATIONAL CURSE. However, it isn’t the first book I wrote. That honor belongs to THE ALEX CHRONICLES:WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW. It’s the first book in a series about five best friends. The stories follow the characters as they maneuver and meander their way through a lot of secrets. The tagline asks the simple question: How well do you know your best friends?
I think I was watching Bridget Jones’ Diary or Sex And The City, when I got the idea for the book. I went into this thinking it would be a stand alone and then the characters reminded me I had left a few unanswered questions. I immediately started answering those questions in the second book. However, a new book answered those questions, but it also created a few new ones. On to book three.
Fast forward, a couple of new computers, three crashed hard drives and a healthy relationship with Dropbox and back up drives, I am 30 pages away from completing my first series. NOT.
I went to a conference and an agent requested it, didn’t like it. Another agent liked it and signed me. [I shared this story in an previous post]. While my oldest child was out making the rounds, I gave birth to a surprise baby, GENERATIONAL CURSE. In writing that book, I saw my oldest baby with fresh eyes. While working on GENERATIONAL CURSE, I read a lot [I also judged the BBB which exposed me to some different genres]. The advice that in order to learn how to write, you have to read, is so true. I liked how GENERATIONAL CURSE developed. It has just the right amount of heat and edge to keep the reader engaged. THE ALEX CHRONICLES was missing that.
I got a stack of post-its, a notebook and a few red pens and started performing surgery. When I was done, I liked the characters even better. They were mature with great personalities and better story lines.
Here’s the funny part. I had a cover based on the old manuscript. No matter how much I wanted it to work, it just didn’t now. And because I knew I had the other books complete, except for those last 30+ pages for book three, I bought the covers for them as well. Now none of them fit. Back to the beginning.
I ordered a proof with the manuscript changes, but every time I looked at that cover, it just reiterated I had to make a change. After reading the proof, something else kept gnawing at me…the first seven chapters. I had been fighting with myself about those pages longer than the cover issue. No matter how much I liked the content, I felt it didn’t really tell the story. This was a major realization for me. So, last week, I highlighted the pages and hit delete. It felt like someone had chopped off one of my arms. I stepped back, looked at the book with a revised chapter eight as my new chapter one, did a little tweaking and I like it. It immediately grabs you.
What about the first seven pages? My plan is to add a few thousand words and make a novella. So now my little three book series, will become a four book series. As for the new cover, it has a much more sophisticated feel. I’m saving the Cover Reveal for later.
I’m hoping to release this book by the end of Spring.
Tracy Reed
readtracyreed@me.com
www.readtracyreed.com
Fiction for Women Who Love God, Couture and Cute Guys
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How Choreographing a Musical Led Me to Writing a Novel
February 16, 2015 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as dance., Denise Colby, music, the writing processRight now I am in the middle of choreographing a musical for my son’s middle school. We are doing Aladdin, Jr., and I am working with 60 5th-8th graders. As I draw out diagrams of who goes where and count beats, I realize that all this orchestrating I’m doing is another form of storytelling, just like writing a book. As Co-Director I’m making decisions on how we tell the story, just like writers decide what scenes they write for their book.
As I pondered this, I found more similarities between staging a musical and writing a novel. In a musical, there are sets and costumes that make the setting. In a book we write descriptions of clothes, buildings and surroundings to help communicate the setting. In a musical, the ensemble cast adds to the storytelling, helping communicate setting and interaction. In both, main characters have lots of dialogue.
So how did choreographing lead me to writing a novel? When I was asked to do this three shows ago, I taught dance and choreographed children’s choirs in the past, but nothing of this magnitude. I had no idea if I could do something on such a large scale. Honestly, I was scared.
That musical was Little Mermaid, which consisted of 75 kids. I constructed something I was quite proud of. And the confidence that grew out of the entire experience was amazing. I stepped out beyond myself. It was so empowering. And that is what helped me cross over into the next challenge of my life – writing a novel.
Up to that point I would read, and read, and read and when I finished a novel, I’d say to myself “I would love to write one like that.†Then I’d look at my life and think, how in the world would I fit that into my schedule? I had thought the same thing about choreographing. But after the show, I realized I had made the schedule work. Whatever obstacle my mind would make up, I pushed through. I had to. I didn’t have a choice because I had made a commitment. I somehow figured it out. And because I did, it helped me see that I can do anything I put my mind to.
The next year, I choreographed Beauty and the Beast. It was easier, even though I was still nervous. I trusted myself a little more. I’m sure that is what it feels like when you start working on a second novel. I’m not quite there yet.
I love doing this even though it is more challenging to fit in writing time while I’m choreographing. But, instead of picking one over the other, I find that they complement each other. I can see my choreography become something tangible and it encourages me to keep writing. All the writing and edits are like rehearsals, fine-tuning the details. It keeps me motivated.
So what’s the lesson in all this? Don’t let anything keep you from doing what you want to do. That first show ended in April 2013. By September that year I had joined OCCRWA. And I am so glad that I did. I have learned so much from all of you. It has been a wonderful journey so far, just like fun rehearsals before the main performance. Thank you for being such a great cast to work with.
If you are interested Friends Christian Middle School will be performing Aladdin, Jr. March 13 (7pm) and 14 (1 & 4pm) at Rose Drive Friends Church in Yorba Linda. Tickets are $7. Call 714-202-8410 for more information.
A Short Interview with Kat Martin
February 10, 2015 by marianne h donley in category Spotlight tagged as Against the Sky, Kat Martin, romantic suspense
New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. Before she started writing in 1985, Kat was a real estate broker. During that time she met her husband, L.J. Martin, author of thirty western, non-fiction, historical, and suspense novels. A resident of Missoula, Montana, Kat and her husband spend their winters in Ventura, California. She is a currently writing her next Romantic Suspense.
With fifty-five novels to her credit and more than fifteen million copies of her books in print, Ms. Martin has been published in twenty-one foreign countries including France, Japan, Greece, Argentina, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, China, and Spain. Here is a short interview with Ms. Martin.
Have you ever suffered writer’s block? If so, how did/do you get past it?
I mostly suffer plotting block…that means I have my hero and heroine in deep trouble and I’m racking my brain, trying to figure out how to get them out. I spend about half the time thinking and the other half writing a book. I make a lot of notes, try to get some input from my husband, who’s also a writer.
What profession other than your own would you love to attempt?
I wanted to be an astrophysicist. Unfortunately, I don’t have that big a brain.
What’s the funniest (or sweetest or best or nicest) thing a fan ever said to you?
I had a wonderful email yesterday from a fan thanking me for the uplifting words I said to her mother who has cancer. Sometimes readers tell me they escape their problem in the pages of my books. I love hearing that.
If you could travel back in time whom would you like to meet and why?
Be fun to meet Buffalo Bill Cody. He was a true hero and a legend, a handsome man in his day, too!
If a space ship landed in your backyard and the aliens on board offered to take you for a ride, would you go? Why or why not?
I would definitely go with them. Life on earth is much too short. Gotta jam in all you can. Imagine what you could learn from a trip to another planet?
What’s the best thing about being an author?
The great people you meet and the places you get to visit to research a book.
What are you currently working on and when can we read it
I just finished the edits for Against the Tide, which is Rafe Brodie’s story. It’s the last of my Brodies of Alaska series, out May 27th. After that, I’m sticking with the Brodies, introducing Nick’s cousin Ethan, a hunky PI and bodyguard who works at BOSS, Inc in Seattle, the first of my INTO books. Into the Fury is book #1, out February, 2016.
You can read more about Kat on her website: www.KatMartin.com.
Or follow her on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatMartinAuthor
Twitter: @katbooks https://twitter.com/katbooks
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/luvromance/
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Kat-Martin/e/B000AQ0OJQ/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49381.Kat_Martin
Kat’s current book, Against The Sky, will debut at No. 7 on the New York Times Bestseller list.
It is available at the following online stores:
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1420133845/
BN:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/against-the-sky-kat-martin/1119437332?ean=9781420133844
Indiebound:
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781420133844
0 0 Read moreValentine’s Day Meeting
February 6, 2015 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Linda O. Johnston, PAN, PAW, Valentine's DayFeatured Books
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