Angels

Michael W. Davis

Davisstories.com

Ever think about those we encounter in everyday life that are icons of compassion for others? I was working on the revisions to my new release SHADOW OF GUILT few weeks back and I recalled the personal side of a scene in the story, one that was true, that actually happened to me. I hadn’t thought about that particular memory for about a year (that’s about how long the publishing process takes from when you complete the work) and it made me flashback on all those in five decades that have impressed me with their acts of care for fellow humans. I’ll mention just a few.

1. The lovers – My son was doing a summer internship at the Navy R&D lab in Annapolis and we were staying in a single mom’s basement during the week. I was working in Baltimore, would drive my son to work at the Lab then take off and return each night. Twice a week we’d go out to a hamburger joint. One evening, as he munched on his triple Decker, I observed a pair of lovers’ three tables over. What’s so special about that? They were in their late 70’s and he was having significant difficulty. Now sure what the affection was, but his mind was elsewhere, but not hers. She would administer a bite of the burger they shared, dab his mouth with a napkin, tapped his hand caringly, smile and say a few words. About ever third bite, she’d take a nibble. They was no pain in her expression, no sorrow for her act of love, only wonderful memories of their time together. That moment, those images, always turns my blood to feathers when I recall that wonderful moment I was allowed to observe sure tenderness and eternal love between two people and I worked it into an exchange between the hero and heroine in SHADOW OF GUILT. The wife, indeed, was an angel.

2. Carol – When I was going through chemo one pattern I noticed was how young the nurses were. As I moved around the med facility I encountered many that had started in the chemo treatment center but moved on. Why? Because of the pain and sorrow they had to absorb each day. A compassionate person could only take so much pain before they burned out. There was one exception: Carol. She had been there a lot of years, yet her face did not bear the mask of empathic misery like so many. No, she reflected pure sunshine and joy to each patient she reached out and touched. It wasn’t that the others weren’t kind, they just held back a little for fear of losing it, but not Carol. She indeed was an angel.

3. The Garrisons – About fifteen years ago I saw a show on TV about a couple (don’t really remember their names so we’ll call them the Garrisons) that exhibited such selfless emotions for others, makes me choke up just remembering them. They adopted twelve children eight years old and above. Why’s that so special? Because once children get past about eight they often remain in the system. The desire of many to adopt generally diminishes as the kids get older. Now that would be special enough, but there’s more. Each child was challenged. I don’t mean a turned leg, thick glasses; I refer to cerebral palsy, blindness, paraplegic, really difficult problems. Yet there were nothing but smiles on the couple’s faces and those of the children. Oh, and they took no money from the state. They were truly remarkable angels.

Those are just a sampling of people that have left me with reflective visions in my minds eye of what it means to be an everyday angel. How about you? Are there angels who have reached out and touched your heart? Lord I hope you’ve been as lucky as I to see earth bound angels.

See ya in four weeks.

Michael W. Davis (Davisstories.com)
Author of the year, 2008 & 2009

Shadow of Guilt, “To each crossing of paths, there is a reason.”
Blind Consent, “The answers are buried in the secrets of the past.”
Forgotten Children, “Only Sara knows the truth.”
Tainted Hero, “Sometimes good people do bad things.”
The Treasure, “A lonely heart can impair one’s judgment.”
Veil of Deception, “Sometimes truth cuts deeper than a lie.”

Growth As A Writer

One of the things I do during the last few days of a year is look back at what I've accomplished, and how I've progressed.

This is fairly easy to do as a writer. I read a story I've recently finished, and then I read a story I wrote in January. Usually I wince. I don't wince because the January story wasn't a good story. Any story published is published for a reason. It grips the reader in some way. I usually wince because I immediately see areas where my writing could be stronger, would be stronger if I had written it today. Today, it would have been a stronger story because I'm now a stronger writer.

I've learned some major skills this year.

I've learned that setting is necessary, and will make a story stronger. Setting should be a character in a story, adding to the main characters' arcs, and the goals, motivations, and conflicts. It should have a personality, as any good character should.

I've learned that varying sentence length helps me manipulate the mood of my scenes. I played with steamy writing, and it is very difficult to write steamy well with short, blunt sentences.

I've learned to use more of my senses. Readers should be able to hear, smell, see, touch, and taste their surroundings while reading my novels. I want, when the hero is punched, for the reader to taste the metallic tang of blood. If she can't, I'm not doing the best job I can do.

I look forward to expanding my writing skills even more in 2011. I have set some lofty goals for myself. I'll need to be the best writer I can to accomplish them.

What have you learned in 2010?



$

Kimber Chin is sharing one of her stories for free on http://businessromance.com/

Doughnut Holes, NewYears Resolutions & Writing

Today is the 29 of December, another doughnut hole day for those of us with birthdays between December 25 and January 1. In this festive season, a birthday is not good. Mine was the 27, so I'm caught in this hole. When I was small, my motherhad a party for me sometimes in the summer and neither I , nor the invited neighbor kids knew the difference.

Then I grew up, so she figured I no longer needed the summer party and she was right. But there no replacement. Not that my parents didn't give me separate presents for Christmas and my birthday, but who else bothered? It was Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday for all others. Which is why I call this holiday season a birthday doughnut hole. We "holey" people miss out on having a special day set aside for a birthday.

Still, on the 27 the sun shone brightly after three days of snow, so I felt maybe the universe was celebrating with me this year.

In a few days it'll be a new year. I've never been a resolution-maker, but last New Years I decided it was time I tried it. I resolved that, unless I had a already contracted-for book I had to write, I would vow not to dabble in anything new until I finished the first book in every series I had ever started that still seemed viable. I figures this maybe would be five or so.

After pulling out some of them, I decided to start with the dragon series because that was a novella trilogy, not an open-ended series. What did I discover after that first book was snapped up by an epub? I should have seen it coming, but hadn't. Naturally they wanted the other two books right away. So I had to write those. One trilogy done.

I then started on another novella trilogy called Dagon House Ghosts, the first story being Taken In, which Ellen has now at Champagne Books. If it gets published in 2011, I'm assuming she'll want at least the next book in the trilogy later this year. And then the last one.

So much for my plans to finish the first book in all the series I'd ever started, which I originally figured I could complete in 2010. Ha! My record for this year comes to two first books, though I did complete one series.

Since I'm already an old bat, at this rate I may not live long enough to complete my task. Especially since I dug deeper and discovered I actually have eight more first-book-in-a-viable series to go, most of the series open-ended, not trilogies. So much for good intentions. But at least I'll never have to make another New Years Resolution.

And, yes, I know I was lucky to have an epub want each one of those first books. So I'm not really complaining.

But do be careful with your 2011 New Years Resolutions!

The photo above is of my calico, Kinko, an outdoor cat who loves the sun and hates winter. Love the way cats can bend their front paws under.

Jane

Fred Fisher and Ghost Stories

Ghost stories are one of the world's most delightful inventions. From the stories of the Tower of London, to the haunting of ancient Indian burial grounds, to re-enactments of large battles and the hauntings of poltergeists, there is barely a subject more sought-out in the world for research (except, perhaps, sex).

I've taken an intrest in the local ghost story of the town I grew up in. The story is called the Legend of Fisher's Ghost and, as any Google search will tell you, it's Campbelltown, Australia's single call to fame (I've even found allustions to it being 'Australia's Most Famous Ghost Story', even if I don't believe that for a second - Surely that's Waltzing Matilda? ;) ).

It doesn't take me long to come up with story ideas. My last story idea, I came up with on December 23rd. I abandoned it some time around December 24th, after about 2.5k words. The Saturnian moon Titan was just too complex for me to work on a sci-fi story (That, and I really am not all that interested in sci-fi).

Ghost stories... well, let's just say, I've already got a helping hand on this one. I took the heritage of Fisher's Ghost (Fred Fisher once owned about 25% of the town in which he died, back in 1826) for a University project, and learned so much about it. But pulling out the records of convicts, the settlements, things like that... well, it's a lot harder than it seems. Thankfully, Fisher had no kids, and his brother isn't even mentioned in the convict lists (although he is in the original story...), so it's unknown if he had kids - If he did, my cousins (last name Fisher) are probably descendants!

I digress.

The Legend of Fisher's Ghost is the story that got me into ghost stories (though only true ones - horror scares me too much). There's only so much you can find on the ghost, though. So, I thought I'd flit all that history together. (I'm going to the local library tomorrow to search out the original editions of the story. Yay!) It's a fine way to learn about the town I grew up in - the dark, twisted side of himan nature.

So just think. Next time you have som free time, maybe you can research the local stories. You never know where they might take you.

I Was Home Christmas

I'm normally the Alpha type personality. One who always po-poos things. I ignore warning signs, push things to the limit and live my life on the edge. I have never run in fear from anything. A few years ago, as most will remember, I nearly died in an ATV accident. As it is I'm still dealing with some aftereffects. But did that make me stop riding? NOPE! I'm back on there whenever I can, racing along the gravel roads, climbing up ridges, whatever. Am I a TINY bit more cautious? Absolutely.

Last Tuesday I was sitting in my living room watching television, stressing over all the Christmas things I STILL had to do. Some shopping, wrapping, baking, cooking, decorating, cleaning...when I began to have some facial numbness and tingling. This is not a new thing for me, it has happened before and like before I ignored it and went on in my stressed out ways.

My right side began to tingle and I felt "wrong". Still ignoring it I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. My right side felt as if it were slipping off my skull...imagine my surprise when the mirror showed my right side drooping OFF?

I will admit I was unnerved. I called my DH, then my mother who each proclaimed GET THEE TO HOSPITAL NOW! I woke DD and had her drive me. I was admitted and kept for testing. These were not absolutely horrible--however the shots in my belly were rather surprising. They didnt hurt, just surprising!

Wednesday passed into Wednesday evening and I began to panic. I NEEDED to be home! I had cooking, baking, shopping and wrapping to deal with! They wouldnt let me go. I still had more tests to endure.

Thursday dawned cold and dreary. My mood was suitably grey. Christmas was right around the corner and I was lying in a hospital bed feeling miserable.

Thursday Afternoon the doctors came in. THE verdict? I'd had a series of minor strokes--one did suggest that I was having a new to me kind of migrain that brought on these symptoms--but overall it was ministrokes. Good news? I could be released with NO DAMAGE! (WOOHOO!) Bad news? My life would have to change-IMMEDIATELY. Ministrokes can be precursors to massive strokes. I had to agree to change my diet, go on medications, and (NO! PLEASE NO!) Give up smoking.

Let me think for a minute...I have to give up salt, bacon, CHOCOLATE, ham, cheeses, greasy hamburgers, ice cream, quick meals, AND SMOKING? Ummm...No thank you. I cna cut out one or two things but to give up my entire diet and lifestyle? Merry Christmas to me!

I (finally) signed the release forms and was able to dress and go home. In time to get a list together for Dh. By the time I made it home I was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed. Did I have ANYTHING done for Christmas Eve? NOPE!

Christmas Eve dawned bright and white. For hours the snow fell and I found myself staring out the window watching the pure white blanket the world. We headed to my parents' house for our family Christmas Eve celebration. I spent the evening silently stewing as the family enjoyed chocolate pies, ham and cheese, pickles, olives and little smokies soaked in catsup and brown sugar. I was watched closely and refused the things I loved the best.

Chrsitmas day I overslept and we rushed to my mother's house once again. All the food I was supposed to have made was done--by my wonderful husband! And we spent the morning watching the children opening gifts. At lunch I once more silently grumbled as I was hovered over, my single paper-thin notepad sized slice of ham, 1/8 of a sweet potato, a single deviled egg and tiny scoop of scalloped potatoes were put onj my plate.

Then, after we ate my little Alyx came rushing to me. "I love you Elisi," she said as she hugged me tight. "Thank you for my presents."

It hit me hard. I HATE epiphanies...this one was shocking and depressing. If I want to spend another Christmas with my kids, If I want to be around to hear Sterling say "I love you Elisi" I HAVE to give up these things. Are they REALLY that important?

I have cut down my smoking to 3 cigarettes a day. I've had one snack size chocolate bar since Christmas Day! This may not sound like much, but to me, it's a firm step on the yellow brick road and I'm mighty proud of myself!

Let me tell you this--you can ignore this PSA if you wish but I want to share it--I have ignored these symptoms because I figured hey! I'm only 42 years old! I'm too young to have a stroke.

I ignored it because I never had the massive head ache. Now I spent 12 years as an EMT--I thought I knew what I was doing. I ran through the cheklist and I didn't feel I fit it because I didn't have ALL the symptoms.

I was wrong. I was lucky it wasn't a matter of my being DEAD wrong. If you have ANY of the following symptoms, please contact emergency services or call 911 IMMEDIATELY:
The American Stroke Association wants you to learn the warning signs of stroke:

1. Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
2. Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
3. Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
4. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
5. Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
Be prepared for an emergency.

Not all the warning signs occur in every stroke. Don't ignore signs of stroke, even if they go away!

1. Check the time. When did the first warning sign or symptom start? You'll be asked this important question later.
2. If you have one or more stroke symptoms that last more than a few minutes, don't delay! Immediately call 9-1-1 or the emergency medical service (EMS) number so an ambulance (ideally with advanced life support) can quickly be sent for you.
3. If you're with someone who may be having stroke symptoms, immediately call 9-1-1 or the EMS. Expect the person to protest — denial is common. Don't take "no" for an answer. Insist on taking prompt action.

I SHOULD have known better. As an EMT I KNEW the signs and symptoms of a stroke. But I have gone through life with the attitude that it CAN'T happen to me! I'm not completely indestructable but I felt pretty damn confident I was close. After all I am fairly young, I may be over weight and smoke but I am basically a healthy person.

Okay, okay, end of rant. I promise.

I hope that y'all have had a wonderful, safe and healthy Christmas and may the New Year bring you all you ever need!

I'm excited because January's arrival brings my next release, a paranormal western historical The Good, The Bad and The Undead! I'm sooo thrilled! I can't wait for y'all to get a chance to read it!



Undead is a miserable way to live…
During the Battle for New Orleans on January 8 1815, Julian Mathieu Thibodaux’s life was changed forever. A British soldier came from nowhere and attacked him. Upon awakening, he found his senses grew sharp—as sharp as his teeth at his unnatural craving for blood.

Living is hell…
The War Between the States destroyed Jezebelle Winston’s life. First, Union soldiers killed her brother and father, then her distraught mother took her own life, leaving a young Jez alone and at the mercy of a brothel owner named Audie Jenks. Now all Jez wants to do is escape the life of a prostitute.

Lost and desperate, kindred, broken spirits find each other...
Matt has spent the last fifty years trying to come to grips with the evil that possessed him that day on the battlefield. He’s lost the love of his life, his way and his hope. He doesn’t know how to save himself but that won’t stop him from helping a desperate, frightened woman escape the vile man that’s held her helpless for more than eleven years.

Well that's all from me for now. Hope you are having a WONDERFUL holiday season!

huggles
Donica Covey

Happy Holidays

To everyone spending Christmas with family, 

or alone, 

or with friends, 

or with their dog,

or on a forum,

or on a boat,

I hope your Christmas passes safely,

happily,

peacefully,

sated,

sober (or not),

and above all,

with stories.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sandra Cormier

The Things I See: Baffling Beliefs

So, the other day I attended what I thought was going to be a reading (another pair of authors, not my own). Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed in the fact that the “reading” was only about 5 minutes of the whole hour, with the rest taken up by musicians playing songs and the authors promoting their website. Of course, the room was packed, where my own personal readings have held far less. Maybe I’m doing it wrong?

But that’s another post for another time.

What I really wish to discuss is something mentioned during this reading by one of the authors. They’d been told during discussions with an agent that their work was decent, but they really needed “a presence” which prompted the authors to create a website showcasing their work. No problem there. I think most authors looking for publication have followed that route. I know I have.

However, the author then went on to say that they were still communicating with this agent, the agent had seen the website (which contains free, unpublished stories and poems that the authors posted), and that fan feedback on the website was being considered when this agent was reviewing the site.

Now, of course, I’m only hearing one side of the story here, and who knows what the real truth is? But this flies in the face of everything I’ve been told and believe. Agents who look around the internet to decide who to represent? Fan feedback being a basis for this representation? Unpublished stories on a website being considered as “credits” in an author’s career?

Here I thought that building my credits through magazine sales and published novels (which I link to through my website) was how to start a career. Querying an agent and getting representation would build it, until the point you were selling novels for large advances and making a living off your writing.

Perhaps I really am doing it wrong.

***

T. M. Hunter has always had a fascination with interstellar travel, spacecraft (and aircraft) and beings from other worlds. Twice a top ten finisher in the P&E Readers Poll for his short stories (2007, 2009), his book HEROES DIE YOUNG earned Champagne Books’ Best-Selling Book of 2008 award. FRIENDS IN DEED is his latest novel and hopes to follow in those footsteps. His short story collection DEAD OR ALIVE is now available via ResAliens Press. For more information, including free excerpts and links to his publications, please visit AstonWest.com. You can also find T. M. Hunter on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.

The birth of a plot

Inspiration

Each book has its own special type of inspiration. I do not plan my work. I tried at one time to do an outline and a proper list of things that would occur in my story and the characters quickly changed the entire thing. I write by the seat of my pants with no plan or idea where the story will go.

A fine example would be The Other. This story takes a look at the soul. Here's a quick blurb.
Jacob doesn't remember his past. His time is spent killing the nasty things brought back from the other side when someone is resuscitated. Unfortunately, his last kill started a chain reaction that may well destroy the woman he has grown to love.

The beginning of this story actually didn't start with Jacob. The story centers around Jacob and Elexa but neither of them started the chain reaction that grew into The Other. It started with Elexa's sister.

The day I wrote this, it was raining outside. It was that slow, cold rain that makes you want to curl up on the couch with a good book. Well, I couldn't find my book. I looked around for it and heard a strange noise at the window. It was nothing but a branch scraping the glass in the wind but for a moment I wondered if someone might be standing out there. It was one of those quick, needless fears we've all had. However, it was enough to keep me from getting my book and sent me working on the computer. All at once there was a woman looking out into the rain and she saw her dead self staring back.

From there the story unfolded.

A similar situation happened with Liar, Liar. An old house, a noise, a woman in bed...

Well, now you know a little about how my odd mind works. Happy holidays all.
J.L.McCale
www.jlmccale.com

The Worst Christmas Present Ever by Victoria Roder

Christmas gifts are nice, but the celebration of Christ’s birth, and the time together creating memories with my family is more important to me. Since it is not about the gifts, with my family, the adults exchange packages that contain something funny, something for two dollars, or something re-gifted. We’ve had fun re-gifting a plastic piece of dog poop, a black sheep, and a chicken hat. It’s stupid but we laugh and laugh.
As varied as each of our likes and dislikes may be, I’m sure each of us has our own idea of what makes a wonderful or horrible Christmas gift. I personally don’t want a vacuum cleaner or a toaster as a gift from my husband. If one of my household items needs to be replaced I will purchase a new one as part of my household maintenance budget. But, buy me a book or a scary movie and I’ll jump up and down like my niece when she receives a Barbie doll.
In my opinion, my friend deserves a prize for receiving the worst present of all-time. Although a larger girl, she has never given any indication that she is concerned or bothered about her weight. One Christmas, in front of God and everybody she opened her present from her mother-in-law. It was a bathroom scale to help her with her “problem”. I’m pretty certain I would have fed the meddling hag the scale for Christmas dinner.
Whatever you are hoping for, or in some cases not hoping for as a Christmas present, I pray your dreams come true. Have a Merry Christmas. I wish you blessings and health in the New Year. Feel free to share a great gift or a not-so-great gift you’ve received.
Victoria Roder is the author of action thriller, Bolt Action from Champagne Books. You can visit her at http://www.victoriaroder.com/

THE HAUNT OF THE MUSE

There is something about evil that draws me into its labyrinth of dark heinousness. There is mystery in the pain of it, there is temptation in the promise of decadent pleasure, there is that longing to surrender without thought or restrain to the unknown and sometimes to the very well known, things one dappled with and found irresistibly wondrous. There it is, my secret. I adore evil. To clarify, I adore writing about it. I have a healthy respect for the muse and movement of it in the undercurrent and the potency it provides a story.

Plotinus in 200 AD wrote, "To deny evil a place among realities is necessarily to deny a way with the good as well." I am certain you often heard that evil cannot exist without good. For certain how can white exist without the contrast of black. The clench and chills of the reader is heightened when there are sharp defined lines between an honorable character facing a foe of a merciless horrendous nature. Though we might surrender to providing a singular redeeming quality to a foe, it is often over-shadowed by their true fully-unredeemable evil.

Yet, what does one do when faced with multiple evils. There are times a hero/shero must make a choice and according to Thomas à Kempis, "Of two evils always choose the lesser." As a writer with the power, we say bull-bleep that, destroy both, or maybe allow one to decimate the other. There are infinite options that makes our job utterly delightful.

Sometimes, though, as I or we joyfully enter the mind of the monster, as I tweak and twitter among his/her psychosis, maniacal obsessions and infinite delusions, I feel like a co-conspirator, for to quote Martin Luther King, Jr. "To ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it." And, in the sense of the literary voyeurs that is exactly what we are doing. We are allowing it to thrive and grow, to play with the good people of that particular universe, torment them, hurt them and all without an ounce of remorse. Is that terribly heinous of us? Does that make us monsters as well? I sometimes wonder what is so twisted inside me that makes this such fun, for in truth, I take to the villain(s) much more easily than Zi does. Should I be concerned for my mental health?

Franz Kafka wrote, "What we call evil is only a necessary moment in our endless development." Hence, the answer. I know the effect evil has on the reader. And I want that terror to dip deeply into their primal fear until every bump and squeak has paralyzed their need to scream, battered pulses to quickening, and have their breaths shorten and raspy. That is how I see my/our writing endeavors when it comes to devising the most beastly of all scoundrels, our work is growing into the perfect piece to scare the beejees out of our readers. So, if it takes Angelica and/or Zi to be a bit evil hungry in the sense of respecting it as a fabulous plot device then so be it.

In reality, we both hate evil, hate the clawing and degenerate nature of its makeup, hate the existence of those that hurt others for hurt's sake or even worse for their own demented pleasure. The truth is that the joy of allowing the monsters their day of victory resides in the outcome of each story. In thawing their evilness, rubbing their self-satisfied smugness into the realization of their inability to succeed, the evidence of their cowardliness and the actuality of their failure is what, we believe, gives the reader the greatest pleasure, and it is they that we so humbly serve.

***

We'd love to hear from anyone interested in what we do. Anyone who writes us at angeliahartandzi@yahoo.com and leaves an s-mail address, we will send you a gift and add you to any future mailings.

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good year!

Angelica Hart and Zi
KILLER DOLLS
SNAKE DANCE
CHASING YESTERDAY
angelicahartandzi@yahoo.com
angelicahartandzi.com

BOOKS can be purchased at
Champagne Books
http://www.champagnebooks.com

The Magic of Christmas

What can be more magical than Christmas? No matter what religion you practice, the holiday season brings a bounty of warm, feel-good emotions that inspire charitable hearts.

This past November we hosted our annual Orphan’s Thanksgiving in which we invite all the neighbors for brisket, turkey, ham, sausage, and ribs. They bring the sides. There were about fifty plus in our modest backyard. Each year we get busier and busier and we think, we really don’t have time for this. Let’s not do it this go around. But we gear up and manage to find time. The reward is well worth the effort as neighbors who don’t ever get the opportunity to visit sit around a rekindle old friendships.

In our fast paced society, it’s difficult to find the time to just reconnect. Christmas for most offer this chance, this time to just slow down and enjoy family and friends.

I write sci-fi and fantasy. For me, delving into magical realms helps take me back to my childhood. No worries, no real responsibilities, and the innocence of accepting everything at face value. Christmas holds this special magic as well. Even if commercialism tends to take away some of that magic, there is still that inherent hope that the coming year will prove more exciting than the previous.

May all of you be blessed this season with love and a giving heart.

What'd you mean by THAT?

She has Dad’s blonde hair and blue eyes, Grandpa’s ears, Uncle’s nose, and Grandma’s mouth.

Until recently, I thought the only feature of mine my daughter possessed was my chin and high forehead. But after her pediatrician referred her to an eye specialist because he thought her right eye might be turning out, the optometrist claimed her eyes are just fine, they simply appear to be turning out because of the shape of her face…just like her mom’s face (he added this by giving me that intent, scrutinizing look).

As I listened to the doc explain the rest of his medical analysis, I kept wondering, “Was that an insult or a compliment?” Being he was a doctor and we’d never met before, it was probably just a statement of fact with no negative or positive emotion attributed to it at all.

But many times, I say something to someone and later I pause to wonder, “Did they take that the wrong way?” I meant it as a total compliment, but they could’ve very easily read an insult in my innocent words.

A speaker’s intent and how a listener construes their meaning can be a very handy device in writing a story. As one who loves to write dialogue, I just wrote this scene I’m super proud of in one my current Works-in-progress that uses this very technique. The hero is all like “You don’t belong with this crowd,” and the heroine sniffs and hurries away, her feelings hurt through most of the story, until he later explains that what he actually meant was that he thought she was too good to hang out with such a petty, superficial group.

Before I go any further, YES, this is a young adult romance. So if you think my WIP sounds a bit high schooler-ish, well, that’s because it’s supposed to sound that way. Geesh.

But after I wrote this, I remembered one of my rejection letters for another story saying the plot hinged on too much misunderstanding, which they claimed was a bad thing. Now my “You don’t belong” line is by no means the axis or turning point of the entire novel; it’s just a small detail of something else entirely that happens, but it all made me wonder.

In real life, sometimes misunderstanding can be a very big deal. I’ve seen best friends stop talking to each other entirely because one thought one thing while the other thought something else and the two were just too stubborn or afraid or hurt to talk their issues through and clear up the whole mess. So, it’s not like this issue isn’t a real, true-to-life conflict.

Then again, I have read some stories where I get all frustrated because if the two idiots would only talk about it, then the entire problem would be over and the stupid book could finally come to The End.

So, I’m beginning to think, maybe it depends on how you work things in the novel. If you give your characters a good reason not to come right out and say, “Hey, what’d you really mean by that?” or “Was that YOUR shadowy form I saw kissing my best friend under the mistletoe?” could it possibly be acceptable to put misunderstanding in your story??? This suddenly-confused author needs to know. The future of my wonderful, amazing uncompleted masterpiece may just depend on it. Okay, that was overly dramatic, but I am a bit curious.

Help in Making a Good Story Great

Many years ago, I gave a friend the first chapter of a novel and the synopsis and ask if she thought it would work. She said it was a great idea but I could make the beginning so much better. Her advice was to add just a bit more description to several scenes. My heroine was poor but I alone knew that as the story began. She showed me how to paint a better picture of the parlor furniture on the first page and how to add a smell to one of the next scenes, and sounds to the last.

Her advice had me thinking about my story and how to incorporate the five senses in what I wrote. By adding just a bit here and there I gave my novel a wonderful flavor. For example, the furniture in my heroine's parlor was not only tattered, but had an odor associated with something old. I could make the reader aware of my heroine's poverty by showing her living conditions. In the time period in which I write, there were no sprays to eliminate smells, so a room had a distinguishing odor. Not only were there things in the story to smell, but also to feel, to hear and to see. By indicating the time of year, winter, I could even have my heroine taste the cold of snow flakes as they ventured from the house.

It was a wonderful lesson for me. Now I have a check list of the five senses and I try to include one or two in each scene I write. I might mention the cold, or the sound of crunching snow or dueling swords, perhaps the rushes on the stone floor of my medieval castle. How clothing feels, or smells, can add details that makes a good story great. It's an excellent way to describe a hero by how fastidiously he dresses, or how disgusting the villain is by the unclean smells that adhere to his clothing.

If the object of a novel is to make the reader experience the story, no matter the genre, then what better way than to use the five senses to bring the reader into the tale. This is part of the showing instead of telling so many how-to articles attempt to describe. So now I'm off to describe the manor house in Windsong and see how many of the senses I can use in my next chapter. Happy writing.

Allison Knight
Heart-warming Romance with a Sensual Touch

Yuletide Writings

Just came home from a delightful gathering of my dearest writing friends - five of us all told, all survivors of the worst of group politics - and decided to scrap the blog I'd started for today. 

The best gift any writer can give another is encouragement and support. Practical advice and information is all to the good of course, but writing being the solitary exercise that it is, often one just needs the affirmation that you aren't spinning your wheels and wasting your time. To that end, I would like to share with you a link to SciFiFantasy author Neil Gaiman's blog. 

Now, Mr. G has penned some pretty darn good fantabulous stories: Coraline, Stardust, The Anasazi Boys - and my favorite, American Gods - among many others. He could choose to sit off in his writing cave and keep on raking in the accolades and contracts but he has chosen to stay in touch with writers of all ages and abilities. His blog here not only addresses the particular and peculiar time when Minnesotans choose to Go South, but includes Q and A with his readers. Read down to the email from the young writer in near-despair, and the following email from a creative writing professor. 

This is what we as authors can aspire to: the chance not only to touch others with the fruits of our labors but to encourage the exploration of writing to younger people, empower them with a thirst for reading and writing, and share what we've learned with each other.  This is what my writing friends have done for me, and I am so grateful, I can honestly say they keep me alive.

Give the gift of encouragement to another writer. Buy a journal, or a beautiful writing instrument, or a flash drive, but in some way be sure to tell them:

Never stop reading, never stop writing, never stop telling stories in your unique voice. 

Happy Holidays (and thanks to my writing buddies, Gecko Gals Ink)

Jude Johnson

www.scorchedhawkpress.com

It's a Great Time to Write a Christmas Story

Having recently finished the first draft of a book that was more labor than love to write, I decided it was time to work on something fun. So I looked through my story ideas and found two Christmas-themed synopses. As I read them, neither one looked as though it could be developed into a full novel. But, then, I started merging the two. Wham! There it was—my Christmas novel.

I’ve wanted to write a Christmas story for a long time, hence the two ideas in my file. It seemed now is the perfect time to start. Christmas is all around us, practically the minute Halloween is over. Forget Thanksgiving altogether. I spent one weekend sequestered in my apartment with my laptop and endlessly-running Christmas movies on the Hallmark and Lifetime movies channels. In thirty-six hours, I had 13,000 words written.

Next thing I know, Ellen (owner of Champagne Books) announces she is looking for Christmas stories for the coming year. Now I’m really motivated! I’m about one-fourth of the way into what promises to be a Christmas-themed romantic comedy.

So much of writing has to do with not only the internal workings of creating a story, but the external environment. At least that’s true for me. My creativity is stimulated by what’s happening around me. (Which explains the nonsensical and chaotic scenes I sometimes discover in my first rewrite.) Creating the right environment to spark my imagination is so important. This weekend and once I hang the stockings with care, I expect to get another 8,000 or 10,000 words down in print. If I snatch a few miniature Reese’s Cups from one of the stockings, who knows what could happen?

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May the spirit of the holidays tickle your muse.

Linda Rettstatt
Author of Next Time I’m Gonna Dance – 2011 EPIC e-Book Award Finalist
www.lindarettstatt.com

This Christmas, why labor over what gifts to shop for? Give books!

Tablets & Reading & Everything Else

One birthday later and I find myself the new owner of an iPad. So, with the advent of all these tablets I thought I would take the time to give a first impression to those of you still sitting on that fence watching all the hype.

Tablet As E-Reader

Obviously I will start with the iPad as an e-reader. As the pictures illustrate, stuffing all of my books onto one tablet was not only possible, but took up only a fraction of space. You could literally download a library's worth of tomes into these things. All the usual advantages of e-books come into play here - being able to cart around truck loads of books. Getting the books was too easy. My favorite app (everything is an app - think large "iPod Touch" or "iPhone w/o phone"). is the Kindle e-reader. Sit down in range of any WiFi and boom - you can find and download books. I could also fire up the cell phone part of this tablet and do the same without a wifi, but why bother with so many hot spots around? The iBook app, though much glossier, was a disappointment. I couldn't find a lot of books there - and certainly none of mine. Apple's desire to make "deals" with favored publishers may have backfired on them.

Reading an e-book is an "okay" experience when using a device designed to do a lot of everything else as well. Most any dedicated e-reader will offer a better screen and less weight - the Kindle is a much better reader than the iPad for instance. I also can't do anything else on a Kindle - which will eventually doom most dedicated readers in my opinion once screen issues and weight (the iPad does weigh on you after a bit) are addressed in future tablets. Still, in a pinch at an airport, you have your books and no appreciable eye strain. I think there might be concerns with reading for hours at end, but higher resolution tablets will solve that minor quirk. So, the bottom line - if you want an iPad exclusively as an e-reader - get yourself a Kindle or Nook. Otherwise, the iPad does fine.

Tablet as Net Book

This thing will kill net books - you know, those little notebooks with scrunchy keyboards but an attractive price. If you don't mind being locked into a specific browser, the web comes up snappy and alive on the iPad (save for anything using Flash). You can also integrate directly with your email, and a screen keyboard makes quick messages a snap. Skype for instant messaging. Tons of apps for more specialized experiences such as Facebook, Google, and such. The iPad is a lot less to carry around, too. The only downside is the keyboard (or lack of one) that a net book has. Sure, you can purchase a full keyboard for the iPad, but that seems to defeat the purpose of a tablet - and as of yet there are few reasons to have one. Being Apple, the keyboards are expensive too.

Tablet as Entertainment

You won't be playing World of Warcraft or any fancy First Person shooter on an Atom (CPU) powered tablet, but for mindless fun there is simple little games like Angry Birds or Plants and Zombies. Simple, yet addictive. You can play emulations of some of the older First Person Shooters, and there are some great racing games along with a dungeon crawl or two, but the current iPad won't be rivaling a Playstation just yet. "Yet" being the operative word. Great for passing the time, though. Perfect to keep the kids in line during a trip. Battery power is up to the challenge as well.

Movies. Ah, yes, this thing plays movies seamlessly. A wonderful thing to have while on that four hour plane trip. With any movie consuming over a gigabyte of storage, however, you won't be so free with your movies as you are with your e-books. The mid-range iPad (32 gig) can handle maybe thirty movies - though crowding out everything else. Oh, you can get a higher memory tablet for a hundred bucks more if movies are your thing. You will need a headset, though. The speaker isn't the loudest.

Music. Larger version of an iPod and does a great job here too.

So, for entertainment, the iPad seems to fit the bill nicely as long as you are not wanting to play the more demanding games out there. Movies, music - not a problem.

Tablet as Writing Tool

Here comes the part most interesting for folks like me. To cut to the chase, the writer is out of luck with this tablet. You can watch content just fine - but don't even think you can create it. A shortage of writer-power applications, no easy way to move files, and a screen keyboard not up to the task, makes other than taking notes or sending emails a chore.

What you can do instead is use the iPad as your personal television station running all your book trailers for folks to see at conventions and author signings. Here is where the iPad and other tablets will shine - showing content. I am already working on my first trailer with the intent of showing it on the iPad at my first conference this coming year. I can just prop the iPad up with my books and away it goes.

Tablets in the Future

Tablets are just getting started. When it comes to the main complaints regarding e-book readers - size and screen, expect upcoming products (including iPad) to eliminate most concerns. The next iPad will certainly be thinner and lighter - making it much easier to hold up and read. Screen resolutions will improve to where eye strain won't be an issue. It may take time, however, to defeat sun glare, but time is what we are talking about here. Expect tablets to be able to play any game, and possibly offer the kind of tools necessary to make them a viable portable workstation for a writer. Eventually we will get to a thin form factor as seen in Avatar (sooner than you think) and yet have something you can toss on the pavement without worrying about a scratch, let alone catastrophe (again, sooner than you think).

Like computers and anything else these days, no matter when you purchase a tablet, next year will see a better one. The only real consideration is "Will it fill my present needs?". For me, the answer is a resounding "Yes". Can't wait to see what competition brings out in 2011.

Kerry
www.kmtolan.com

PS: Defiant Dancer, my latest novel, is out now. Exclusively at Champagne Books through December prior general release. Mikial's adventures continue.

Progress Report

Within only 60 days of becoming a published author, I went from being a reluctant blogger to a media whore. I don't even recognize myself. For the first time in my life I had to buy a daytimer so I could keep track of my guest blogs, interviews and loop chats. And when I don't have anything scheduled, I delve into the internet, searching for promotional opportunities, or for a review that might have been posted.

One thing is for certain: I'm not getting any real writing done.

I know there has to be a balance. So many of my fellow Champagne writers have it down beautifully; they have time to parent, be a spouse, maybe even work full- or parttime, get their promos done and still kick out a new novel. I have about eight WIPs now, and they feel like abandoned children, or even miscarriages that I couldn't bring to term. Whatever they are, they are certainly neglected. When I'm not writing, I get anxious and depressed. But if I force myself to try to write, I start thinking about the many websites that might host me that I haven't discovered, or a reader's feedback, good or bad, on my book. I can't seem to let it go, and it's killing my creativity. As I said on Facebook, NaNoWriMo turned into National No Writing Month for me.

Maybe I just need to take a break. Stay off the internet for awhile and see if I can't coax a little creativity back. And then I think, good God no. I might miss something.

But I am missing something -- that shy girl who kept to herself and wrote all the time.

www.ashleyjbarnard.com

The Perfect Cover - A Way Back

All pictures tell a story, or at least they should. How many times have you used a picture as a writing exercise to spur the old muse? If you haven't, give it a try. The process is not only fun but makes you delve deeper into your mind, stretch your imagination.

I can't imagine the problem cover artists have trying to convey the theme of a story via a picture. The author gives the artist ideas of what he/she'd like to see, but finding the material to deliver that message is the job of the cover designer. Possibly the toughest part of their project is pleasing not only themselves, but the editor and author.

Trisha FitzGerald did a wonderful job on the cover for my January 2011 release, A Way Back. The only thing missing is the future but if she'd tried to include that, the cover would have been too busy. Anyway, except for the first chapters, the entire story is set in the 1930s which the cover depicts. Even the couple depicted resemble the blonde, gray-eyed Wellman Hathaway and blue-eyed brunette Amber Mathis. Wonderful job, Trisha!

On November 9th, I posted a blurb and excerpt. If you'd like to read them again, here is the link or go to my website and click on short stories or on my blog.

I hope you'll buy a copy when A Way Back is release in January.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda
http://www.lindalaroque.com/

The Art of Excerpting

Forget Christmas for a few minutes and give yourself a gift: the art of using excerpts as a marketing tool. Well-presented excerpts sell books. An excerpt is a surgical extraction of an interesting scene in the book you are promoting. Shorter, self-explanatory scenes make good excerpts. Use an edited version from the scene; don’t alter it.

When I see miles of dialogue that seem to come from nowhere and go nowhere, I don’t read it. Tell me a story, a short-short story that typifies your book. To be readable, excerpts must stand alone like flash fiction. Don’t leave readers scratching their heads wondering what they dropped into. First, explain who is doing what and why, then show a short intriguing scene. Don’t tell all, just entertain and pique reader interest.

You don’t need back story or the rest of the scene to understand the excerpt’s scenario. In my book, Tangled Web, you get a sense of the main character, Catherine, from her actions, and are in the scene with her. Then, if you would like to know her better and see how this budding romance plays out, you can buy the book. Here’s a humorous example from Tangled Web.

This is the first time that Catherine meets Commander Rick Olsen. It’s 1944. Rick’s in a Veterans Hospital ward learning to use his artificial arm. Catherine's sister, Claire, now a nurse, has set up the meeting.

"Jeez, Claire, a guy with a hook. I don’t know. But he was really nice about Ron. I guess I owe him a visit while he’s here. Tell him I’ll come in the morning straight from my shift. What floor is he on?"

"Six. Just ask for him by name at the nurses station."

The next day, Catherine braved the acrid smell of alcohol and the serious atmosphere of the hospital and walked into Rick Olsen’s ward. Whistles erupted. She felt the blush coming up her neck and cheeks. Fortunately, he was in the second bed, so she didn’t have to pass inspection all the way down the line. She felt her color deepening.

"Rick Olsen?"

"Over here," came a low baritone.

Catherine followed the sound. She held her hands behind her back, went up on her tiptoes, and tried to smile at the pajama-clad fellow, struggling into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. She felt her discomfiture increase. This was unfamiliar territory, a gruesome place.

"It’s okay to show your hands here," he said. "This isn’t the room where they cut them off." The gallows humor that Claire found so much fun was almost more than Catherine could bear.

"Commander Olsen?"

"Pull up a chair and sit a spell."

Claire had failed to mention how truly arresting his appearance was, or about the clipped country accent. He had ruddy skin, dark blue eyes, and a full head of hair that was cut in a military style, trim and tight to his face.

He held up his metal fist. "I’m re-armed, but not dangerous. I can now call myself a rake, literally." He laughed easily.

Catherine felt so discombobulated by his attitude that she fell into his humor. "I’ll be careful where I sit."

She moved her chair closer to the bed. Rick swung his legs over the side. He was very tall. Taller than Jack. He had lifeguard’s legs and bony knees. Very nice--thank God they didn’t get his legs, she thought.

Julie Eberhart Painter is the Champagne Books author of Mortal Coil, in which she practices both medicine and law without licenses, and Tangled Web, a story close to her heart. See Julie’s Web site at
www.books-jepainter.com The World, the Flesh and the Devil, American Castles and Tahitian Destiny are available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Her nonfiction e-book, From the Inside Out, a volunteer looks at staying motivated, is considered a best seller on the Net. Watch for Kill Fee, Coming in October 2011.
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

No NaNoWriMo for you!

I have never done NaNoWriMo & thought I was going to give it a shot this year. I had finished my latest manuscript and was taking a little break. By break I mean I was waiting for the next brilliant idea to blindside me. I didn’t have that happen but on November 2nd when I go back from a trip, I opened up my laptop and just started writing. A guy was walking home from a bar & bam! Story started to flow. It is unlike anything I have ever written. I am getting into the story and trying to figure out exactly what is going on & where it’s going to take me.

I always say my characters are in charge if me but this brings me to a whole new level. The characters are not who I expected them to be (profession wise). It is just unfolding and kind of cool if I do say so myself.

I got 4,000 words done that 1st day and was tempted to hop into Nano a day late. I decided against it just for time reasons. After getting published, I find myself needed one of those doughnut pillows for my “tushy” by the end of the day. I was already scarce at my main writing forum and am not the most seen poster over at Champagne’s group. I had joined a few other places to help get my name out there, get reviews, look into marketing ideas, guest blog, set up author accounts, etc. There just isn’t enough time in the day & I didn’t want yet another distraction to take away from goal #1 – what was that again? Oh yes, writing.

So – it’s back to word wars with friends on facebook. That is good enough for me and gets my daily giggles. I’ve already been scolded for not being there as much but my word count buys me forgiveness.

I won’t give anything away on the new WIP other than to say one thing is very different… no one has had sex yet. If they don’t get on it pretty soon – I’m going to have to do something about it. :/

June Kramin
http://www.junekramin.com/

Cultivars and Genre

Grape vines are classified by the type of fruit they produce and whether they are to be used as wine or tables grapes. So are books sorted by genre, or the type of story they tell. Perhaps the first 'genre' division was between fiction and nonfiction. Plato supposedly divided fiction into three categories, poetry, prose and play (drama). Certainly with the ever increasing number of writings, organization was needed.

In 1876 Amherst College began using their student assistant Melville Dewey's new system of organizing books. His system allowed the library user to find any book quickly and efficiently. He was twenty-one when he started the project. Since then his system has been revamped many times, but all literature is designated under the number 800. American literature in English is assigned the number 810, and American fiction is labeled 813. Does Australian and Canadian fiction come under 823 English fiction?  There didn't seem to be special sections for them.

Bookstores needed a different system because their customers browsed books and wanted to browse in the area of their reading interest. For years I could go into any books store and find prose divided into general fiction, Westerns, romance, mystery, suspense, and science fiction/fantasy. Beginning roughly in the 1970s e-books gradually made an appearance, and since then genre divisions have exploded.

Science fiction and fantasy seem to be the largest cross-over genre, often mixing with suspense, historical, Western, romance and even classical literature, but it is not the only genre to 'cross-over.' In some ways, genre is like a seed.

Did you know that every seed produces a unique plant? You might not be able to see the differences from the parent plant, but it is there. Just like every person is an individual, so is every plant that grows from seed. That's how cultivars are developed. Plant breeders have test gardens for seed produced plants and while the vines grow they look for special characteristics in each plant, growth pattern, resistance to disease, early fruit production, type of fruit produced, unique new characteristic, etc. The vine selected is given a name and put into production, but its progeny won't come from seed. The only way to be sure the cultivar remains the same is through vegetative reproduction. Every plant sold under that name comes from some part of the original plant.

Isn't that how genre works? Don't most horror stories link in some way to Frankenstein and Count Dracula? Genre divides stories into generalized reader preferences of story type. However, grapes being grapes, and authors being authors, you never know when a grape containing seeds will drop and grow into an entirely new plant. The resulting progeny shares characteristics with its parent, but will be an entirely new type. So, too, do ideas propagate new genre in stories.

Special Little Words

Michael W. Davis

Davisstories.com

Funny how little insignificant words can be so special with people you care for. They pale in comparison to the phrases of the kings and queens of the literary world that mold words into beautiful imaginary, like; “They where the best of times, they were the worst of times,” or “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn,” or my favorite “All these memories will disappear like tears in rain when I’m gone.”

No, its unlikely people like you and I will sculpt and carve such verbal art, yet there are rare moments in each of our lives when words are offered that take on monumental statue on a personal level. They are so special that as the years progress, images of those moments revisit us again and again. I was listening to the radio a few weeks back and a DJ said something that immediately flashed me back to a special moment thirty years ago when my first boy was just a little thing.

I had just come home, grabbed a soda, and walked into the TV room to chill for thirty minutes in my favorite chair. My older son was home from elementary school and had focused intently on some show so I figured I’d let him and his younger brother finish before I started our “Daddy’s home” routine interaction. The channel was playing an old movie with Spenser Tracey and Mickey Rooney; I think it was called Boys Town. It’s a story about the real Boys Town and the hard times for the lost children of that generation which were cast aside by society. I had sipped my drink about half way when I felt a small hand on my shoulder, and the following eternal moment transpired.

“Hard day, Dad? You look tired.”
“No, Son, but I’m glad to be home.”
He glanced back at the screen and added, “You know, a lot of people have it hard.”
I looked up at the movie still playing on the screen and without explanation; I knew the essence of his message. “Yes, unfortunately, they do.”
“But not us, we’re lucky.”
I through he was referring to the fact that we had a home, food on the table, and a warm bed, but as I often did, I wanted him to learn how to articulate abstract concepts so I asked, “Why’s that, Little Buddy?”
He cocked his head, and expressed the obvious, “Because we have each other.” Then he smiled and I melted inside. Back then, I was better able to control the rain than I am today, but it still took a moment for my heart to stop fluttering. I put my magazine down and noted, “You’re a very astute young man, you know that?”
He shrugged his shoulders and offered casually, “I guess so.”
I stroked his arm, “I love you, Son.”
Before returning his attention to the TV, he concluded, “You too, Dad.”

I’m often asked if events in my life, like the one above, appear in my writing, and the answer is Yes. All that I just stated was absolutely true and has stayed with me through these years. I’m not sure if my son remembers that unique moment, and his special little words, but I will take them with me through eternity.

See ya in four weeks.

Big Mike
Michael W. Davis (Davisstories.com)
Author of the year, 2008

Blind Consent, “The answers are buried in the secrets of the past.”
Forgotten Children, “Only Sara knows the truth.”
Tainted Hero, “Sometimes good people do bad things.”
The Treasure, “A lonely heart can impair one’s judgment.”
Veil of Deception, “Sometimes the truth cuts deeper than a lie.”

Starting In The Right Spot

There is a reason why many agents ask for the first three pages and why online resellers post the first 1,000 words of novels. It is because that's all readers will give a story before they make a decision. If the story doesn't zing in the first 1,000 words, readers likely won't read more.

Like it or not, that's the world we live on. I'm as time crunched and as rushed as everyone else. I don't even give stories 1,000 words. If it doesn't grab me by the first page (250 words), I go to the next story.

I, unfortunately, always start stories too early. Instead of writing about the car accident at the point of impact, I start writing when the heroine gets into her car. That's not a terrible thing. It simply means that I hack off the first couple of thousand words of every story. Sometimes, I use this extra bit as a marketing tool, giving interested readers a prequel. Sometimes, I discard it.

Writing shorts (10,000 word stories) has been helping me tremendously with crafting those first thousand words. I establish the setting quickly. I make every word count. I don't have time to ramble.

Writers, what has helped you start stories in the right place? Readers, how many pages will you give a new story before making a decision on it?


$

Kimber Chin is sharing one of her stories for free on http://businessromance.com/