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I Want a Red Front Door

July 20, 2018 by Meriam Wilhelm in category A Bit of Magic by Meriam Wilhelm tagged as dreams, fantasy, imagination, writing

I want to paint my front door red, or peacock-blue or maybe even black. I want to hang a swing in the middle of my office. Not one of those old, boring, wicker egg-shaped deals. I want a swing with a wide wooden seat that’s painted Tangerine Tango Orange. Oh, and the swing has to be suspended on long, thick oatmeal colored macramé ropes that are soft to the touch. Of course, my swing must be hung in a fashion that allows me ample room to pump my long legs so I can stretch my toes up towards my ceiling. And speaking of ceilings, I also want to add a skylight or two to my office, so I can see the stars while I’m enjoying my evening swing.

While I’m heading through my list of wants, I want to create the perfect fashion line that will of course be featured in the next Vogue Magazine and worn by Oprah, Emma and Reese. I wish to build a massive teak table for my office that’s big enough for me to lay out yards of fabric and tons of books I’ve yet to read by authors I’ve never heard of. I want to speak three more languages, be known as an expert on healing crystals and travel to Australia.

For a woman in her sixties I still have a lot of wants, desires and dreams. But my front door will probably remain white, my office is too small for a large table, let alone a swing. And since there is a second story comfortably resting on top of my home office – the sky lights are out. I’m creative and I do sew, but not well enough to ever be featured as a designer in any magazine. I speak English and a bit of Spanish, know a smidgen about healing crystals and have never been to Australia.

So how do I not despair and continue to power through my life with such a big list of unfulfilled dreams? I imagine, envision, research, fantasize, visualize and then… I write. In short, I give life to my dreams when I tell my stories.

When I write, I control my whole world. I have the power to bring life to any desire, curiosity or interest I might have. My characters can be fashion designers, carpenters or creative entrepreneurs. They can be rich, curious, beautiful, provocative, engaging, powerful, sarcastic, brilliant, silly or any other quality I might wish to paint them with. I’m not confined by financial restrictions, time, geography, ability, language, knowledge or skills. All of these can be addressed with a some hard-core research and quick run of my fingers across my computer keyboard. My only limitations are those created within my mind.

That’s one of the reasons why writing sometimes makes me feel giddy with power. I can do or be anything through the manipulation of words. I can paint my front door any color, have my own swing, become a famous fashion icon or anyone else that my imagination so desires. Rather than growing frustrated with my earthly limitations, I simply find the words to experience my desires through the stories I write. Even if I can’t actually physically have it all, I can imagine what it would be like.

I love to pick out something that seems totally unattainable and bring it to fruition through the plot, setting and characters who live in my stories. And since I write about the paranormal world, I have even greater freedom to pretend.

It’s all rather magical and I love it.

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Just a Thought

July 15, 2018 by Rebecca Forster in category The Write Life by Rebecca Forster tagged as Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author, Craft, learning, writing

I am a huge fan of the Wall Street Journal Review section. Reading it reminds me that there are brilliant and talented authors around the world and if I want to protect my little patch of literary real estate I better keep upping my game. The Review is also my favorite bookstore. I often order a new book the minute I read about in the WSJ. But what I really, really love about Review is that I am inevitably inspired by something I read. This morning, it was a quote attributed to Thomas J. Watson Senior, Former CEO of IBM.

“The trouble with every one of us is that we don’t think enough. . .knowledge is the result of thought.”

This is from a new book by book by Bradley R. Staats entitled Never Stop Learning: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself and Thrive. In his book the author argues that human beings are preprogramed to ‘act’. In fact, Mr. Staats believes we human’s have an action bias and that, by giving into it, we might be doing ourselves a disservice. By not thinking we could miss our goal because we’re moving simply for the sake of moving.

Boy, did that hit home.

I’ve been obsessing over my new project, typing for days, gaining word count, moving forward – except I’m not really getting anywhere. I have been screaming at myself to WRITE when what I need to do is whisper, think. In order to think, I have to ask myself the right questions, take the time to ponder them before I answer and, most importantly, understand why the answers matter.

I have a plot but not a theme. The plot, after all, isn’t just about action but about building a stage on which the characters will reveal themselves to the reader. And what about dialogue? I know I can write appropriate thriller dialogue but will it be fitting and true to characters that I have nurtured over the course of a seven book series? Should I be driving headlong into word count or taking more time to choose the right ones that will drive the story forward most dramatically and efficiently?

I guess I have a lot of thinking to do, but thanks Mr. Staats for reminding me that busyness is not the same as accomplishment.

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Goodbye Kindle Worlds . . . or why I need a hug by Jina Bacarr

July 11, 2018 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat tagged as addiction, Amazon, author, books, Italian, Italy, Kindle, Kindle Worlds, moon, prince, princess, recovery, royals, vampire, Writer, writing

Even the biggest bag of Godiva chocolates from my favorite warehouse club store doesn’t last forever . . .

Such a fate has also befallen Kindle Worlds.

As of July 16th, all Kindle Worlds books will no longer be available on Amazon Kindle.

It’s a sad time for those of us who fell in love with the worlds created by some great authors.

I wrote six Kindle Worlds books — five for “The Royals of Monterra” and one for “Vampire Girl.”

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On July 1st, I checked my KW books and they had already been taken down — or so I thought.

Then I discovered they were back up!! I have no idea why this happened, but I’m certain that by July 16th, the Kindle Worlds program will be closed across the board.

The authors get their rights back — but in order to republish them, we have to remove the “world” from our stories. Not always easy . . .

I’m not sure when I’ll do this — I’ve started another story in the same line as my Italian prince billionaire submission for a publisher. It will take a while to re-do six books, so as a tribute to the worlds I participated in, I decided to post the videos for five of my books and a graphic for the sixth.

Here they are.

Thank you, KW, for the opportunity to participate in this program! And yes, I could use a hug. It’s always sad to see your characters ride off into the digital sunset . . . but they’ll be back!!

Jina

PS — I’m excited to be a Featured Author this month!! Check out my other books, too, especially in you love Civil War time travel romance and my WW 2 time travel romance3.

The Royals of Monterra series:

Twisted Tiaras: Princesses with a Past

Book 1: Royal Dare http://bit.ly/1sAkoKJ

It ain’t easy getting clean . . . even for a princess.

Book 2: Royal Bride https://amzn.com/B01N3U44OH

Can a sexy prince give a girl a second chance at love?

Book 3: Royal Kiss http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MY91GBM

Even a goody two shoes princess can get lost down the rabbit hole.

Book 4: Royal Noel http://a.co/65GYfHH

A pretty con artist risks everything when she falls for a handsome duke

Fairy Tales & Magic:

Royal Magic https://amzn.com/B01I21TIF6

The magic is in his kiss . . . a Philly girl falls in love with a royal magician.

Vampire Girl series:

Princess Moonglow http://a.co/7MGyUqz

Can a girl with a weird superpower find happiness with a hottie vampire?

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READ LIKE A WRITER, EDIT LIKE A SURGEON

June 18, 2018 by Jenny Jensen in category On writing . . . by Jenny Jensen tagged as editing, reading, writing

READ LIKE A WRITER, EDIT LIKE A SURGEON

It isn’t a novel yet. First draft is complete, now the next step – the self edit. Shiver! It’s a herculean chore to turn a critical eye on a manuscript you’ve labored over so long and lovingly, but you know it’s imperative. You’ve got standards; you know you have to meet those standards before you turn your work over to the scrutiny of fresh eyes — editor or beta reader. You’ve lived with your story a long time. You know every character, each plot twist, every setting and every detail of conflict. Now you have to see the whole forest, not just each single tree.

The most common advice is to step away for a bit and let go. A week, a month, however long so the words to are new to you. I agree completely. The longest I’ve let work set is one year. On re-reading the manuscript, face flushing, teeth grinding at the lame ending, I placed it firmly in the back of my file cabinet. And I didn’t look back. I’m either a coward or I used the writer side of my reader’s brain to realize and accept all 92K words as well-intentioned practice. It was a good exercise, something to hone my skills. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

I don’t think there’s a book written that when read with a writer’s eye, doesn’t contain lessons. You have an ear for good writing – you’re a reader after all, so when you self-edit consider what you’ve learned to turn a laser eye on your own work. What is it that made a story grip and hold you? If the book bored you, why? Those stories that delighted you contain elements of craft you want to see in your own work. Those bad books contain pitfalls to avoid.

For me the not so good books hold the most obvious lessons. The tedious information dump, more information than the reader needs to know — makes you wish for some lively dialog to impart the stuff we do need to know. Setting descriptions so detailed you wonder if the book wasn’t produced by a Chamber of Commerce. Scenes, no matter how well written, that add nothing to the story. Dialog tags that tell us what emotions to feel. The dialog itself should do that. Repeated phrases, worm words, and worst of all, unlikeable characters we are meant to root for. I have to be shown a reason to care.

Every full-length novel you’ve loved has a voice pleasing enough to live with for a period of time — some books you just don’t want to end. The sentences flow smoothly, details are salted through out so they support the rise of the story arc. Settings come to life in way that makes place a solid, necessary character. If the plot is confusing at some point that confusion is cleared as the story unfolds – it’s that compelling voice that keeps us reading. There’s no unnecessary fat. The characters grow and develop in the course of their journey and while we might not always like them, we’re intrigued enough we must know what happens.

Read like a writer. Consider what makes a good story good and then use those characteristics like a scalpel when you sit down to your self-edit. Be unmerciful. You’ll thank yourself later.

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It’s My Birthday . . . Again!

June 15, 2018 by Rebecca Forster in category The Write Life by Rebecca Forster, Writing tagged as birthday, gifts, giveaway, links, Memories, writing, writing craft

My birthday is June 16. I only know it’s my birthday because my husband keeps reminding me of the date, asking me what I want, and telling me we should celebrate. He has to do this because, in my family, I am legendary for not remembering birthdays. I forget my sister’s birthday even though we were born on the same day but fourteen years apart. My birthday piggybacks Father’s Day, too. I remember Father’s Day because there are lots of TV commercials for steaks, tools and aftershave. Rebecca’s birthday? Not so much.

There is also the matter of age. After the shock of the first AARP envelope at forty, the assisted living brochures at fifty and the burial at sea pitches when I turned sixty, I started taking birthdays in stride. Seriously, there isn’t much that can surprise me anymore on the aging score.

Lest you think me a birthday Scrooge, let me share the one thing I love about birthdays. I love the memory of them. When I was a little girl my mom threw awesome birthday parties for my brothers and sisters and me. I was number two in a six-pack and birthdays were celebrated with the neighborhood kids, balloons and a big homemade cake. In the backyard, we played tag, hide-and-seek and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. There were prizes for the winners but everyone went home with a gift bag. Even at my own birthday party it was that little gift bag I treasured most. I adored that there was always more than one thing: a couple pieces of candy, a silly toy that would break a day later, a paper crown. This bag was a treasure hunt, something unexpected, some thing that, in those lean days, mom would never buy just because. Those parties taught me that unexpected gifts can be the best things in the world.

So, in honor of my mother and the memories of those wonderful parties, I would like to give you a gift. Before Her Eyes is a thriller that will hopefully keep you up at night, but it’s also a very personal story, written when both my dad and my father-in-law were ill. It is a gift of my craft and a little bit of me thrown in to boot and it’s all wrapped up in the memory of a child’s party.

ClaimBefore Her Eyes here until July 1: