Coping With Hot Weather in the Past

I got to thinking about the weather here in the US. It's been a bad spring, and I fear it's going to be a brutal summer. By that I mean hot, hot, hot...

Since I live in the south, everything here is air conditioned. You go from an air conditioned house to an air conditioned car to a store, restaurant, movie, whatever, all air conditioned. And as I look back in history, it always got hot here in the south in the summer. The natives claim that's why things move so slowly here in the south.

As a historical author, I thought about the homes here in the south in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries. If we go back to the homes of wealthy southerners we find the only cooling was in the tall ceilings and open tall windows and doors, frequently floor to close to the ceiling. There were no screens on the windows or doors, so on top of the heat, you also had the bugs. Sometimes you'll find a type of fan in the ceiling of those dining rooms which was pulled back and forth during a meal by a servant. Let me correct a false notion. Those fans were not to cool the room but to keep the bugs off the food. Nothing in other rooms. Remember all the open windows and doors. They had to have a lot of bugs in their homes.

And think about northern climates. They have hot days too, (I remember a week of blistering heat in Michigan in July) but their homes were built with low ceilings and smaller windows to help with cold winters. They had no screens on those windows either, so the houses had to contain a few bugs, in fact maybe a lot of bugs. Can you tell I don't like bugs?

Next time I'm inclined to complain about how hot the weather is I'll have to remind myself about the conditions of years ago. At least today if I get really hot I can strip off my shorts and top, jump in a shower or take a cooling bath, something those early homes didn't have either and then enjoy the air conditioning. Thank goodness I live today and not then.

Allison Knight
'Heart-warming Romance with a Sensual Touch'

Memorial Weekend

Ah, Memorial Weekend...the official start of summer for many. Schools around here are out, graduations are done, and the heat is starting to come on.

As a nation we tend to forget what Memorial Day actually means. It was set aside as a day to honor our war dead, those who gave their lives in defense of our country. Meant to be a day of solemn reflection on the ultimate cost of war, it's become a "holiday weekend" of camping, barbeques, and sales promotions.

Some of you may have lost a loved one in war, serving their country. You understand the hole left behind and the pride that seems at odds with your loss. Memorial Day is not a day to hit the sales at the mall, and it isn't yellowed pages in a history book: it is a very real hurt in your heart.

I challenge all of you in the U.S. to take a moment and go to your local cemetery. Pause as you exit your vehicle. Listen. Do you hear? Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of small American flags, placed reverently on the graves of servicemen and women who perished during every war this nation has waged, lift and gently snap in the breeze. Waving red, white, and blue in the sun, undulating across green grass. Walk carefully with respect for those already there, mourning a loved one lost in Afghanistan or Iraq or anywhere else American troops are currently deployed. Stop at a grave site, any one with a flag, and read the name of a real person who fought and died. Here was a mother's child, a father's joy. Appreciate for at least this moment how much of a sacrifice someone you did not know made on your behalf.

Pray to whichever deity you choose, with words which you need not fear governmental repercussion, and thank the dead for their sacrifice. And perhaps promise never to forget that what they fought for is worth preserving. Promise to be a more informed citizen, vote every opportunity you can, and remember the soft sound of those flags as someone weeps in the quiet of a cemetery morning.


Here is a list of every conflict in which Americans have fought and died. Source: http://americanhistory.about.com/library/timelines/bltimelineuswars.htm

American History Timeline
American Involvement in Wars from Colonial Times to the Present

Dates	War in Which American Colonists or United States Citizens Officially Participated	Major Combatants
July 4, 1675 - August 12, 1676	King Philip's War	New England Colonies vs. Wampanoag, Narragansett, and Nipmuck Indians
1689-1697	King William's War	The English Colonies vs. France
1702-1713	Queen Anne's War War of Spanish Succession)	The English Colonies vs. France
1744-1748	King George's War (War of Austrian Succession)	The French Colonies vs. Great Britain
1756-1763	French and Indian War (Seven Years War)	The French Colonies vs. Great Britain
1759-1761	Cherokee War	English Colonists vs. Cherokee Indians
1775-1783	American Revolution	English Colonists vs. Great Britain
1798-1800	Franco-American Naval War	United States vs. France
1801-1805; 1815	Barbary Wars	United States vs. Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli
1812-1815	War of 1812	United States vs. Great Britain
1813-1814	Creek War	United States vs. Creek Indians
1836	War of Texas Independence	Texas vs. Mexico
1846-1848	Mexican-American War	United States vs. Mexico
1861-1865	U.S. Civil War	Union vs. Confederacy
1898	Spanish-American War	United States vs. Spain

1914-1918	World War I	Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary vs. Triple Entente: Britain, France, and Russia. The United States joined on the side of the Triple Entente in 1917.
1939-1945	World War II	Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan vs. Major Allied Powers: United States, Great Britain, France, and Russia
1950-1953	Korean War	United States (as part of the United Nations) and South Korea vs. North Korea and Communist China
1960-1975	Vietnam War	United States and South Vietnam vs. North Vietnam
1961	Bay of Pigs Invasion	United States vs. Cuba
1983	Grenada	United States Intervention
1989	US Invasion of Panama	United States vs. Panama
1990-1991	Persian Gulf War	United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq
1995-1996	Intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina	United States as part of NATO acted peacekeepers in former Yugoslavia
2001	Invasion of Afghanistan	United States and Coalition Forces vs. the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to fight terrorism.
2003	Invasion of Iraq	United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq

Source: The New York Public Library Desk Reference, 3rd Edition.

~Jude Johnson

 

 Author, Dragon & Hawk

Available from Champagne Books

Website: jude-johnson.com 

My profiles: Facebook Blogger Blogger

Signature powered by WiseStamp 

Every Writer Has A Favorite Character

Buy Link

I was recently asked if I had a favorite character from any of my books. It was an easy question to answer without hesitation. My personal favorite is photographer Rylee Morgan from Shooting Into the Sun.

When I began to develop this story (no pun intended), I started with the title and mindful of one of the cardinal rules of outdoor photography: Never shoot into the sun. The story unfolded from the ‘what if’ question: What if a young female nature photographer worked according to the rules of her trade and lived her life in much the same manner—within the bounds of the rules? I needed a character who was strong, but who had been shaped by events in her past that had a negative impact on her and skewed her view of life. And to highlight Rylee’s strengths and challenge her character flaws, I created Lexie—her younger sister and polar opposite. Many readers have been drawn to Lexie and asked about a sequel telling her story. Well, we’ll see about that.

Rylee is both complex and transparent all at once. She’s not that good at disguising her emotions or her motives, and she has so much emotional baggage, she'd have to buy a spare seat on a plane. Her list of rules mostly consists of the things one does not do, leading Lexie to ask Rylee if she even has a ‘do’ list. The rules are what give Rylee’s life order and safety. But I admire her willingness to finally take chances when she comes to terms with the fact that those things that create safe boundaries to keep the bad out are the very same things that keep her locked inside. It’s not easy for Rylee to admit she’s wrong or to let her guard down.

Rylee’s transformation is not without cost, soul-searching, and a lot of emotional turmoil. But she dares to delve into the depths of her own fear and anger to find freedom and happiness.

I like to think that Rylee is a composite of women I’ve known. But my friends who have read Shooting Into the Sun tell me Rylee has a lot of my qualities, characteristics, flaws, and stubbornness. Okay, so maybe they’re right—just a little bit. And perhaps that’s why, of all the characters I’ve come to know, Rylee holds a special place in my heart. That, and the fact that as a former psychotherapist, I love to see someone plumb the depths of their inner fears and past hurts and come out whole. Who doesn’t love a happy ending?

Do you have a favorite characters and, if so, why is he/she your favorite?
Linda Rettstatt
http://www.lindarettstatt.com/

2010 Author of the Year – Champagne Books

A Change of Heart

A few of months ago I wrote an article on Fantasy Faction about the obligation a series writer has to finish his or her series. This was before George R.R. Martin finally announced a release date for the latest installment of his A Song of Ice and Fire series, and Patrick Rothfuss's sequel to The Name of the Wind came out.

Cocky with my third and final volume of the Shadow Fox series in the can, I argued that an author certainly does have an obligation to their readers to finish what they started, and within a reasonable timeframe. It was my opinion that anything much over a year between sequels was unreasonable. But again, it was easy for me to say: I had my trilogy already written before I started submitting it. I didn't have to worry about post-publication stress, and the way marketing, emails and reviews pull you away from the writing.

When the article came out, the same day, ironically, as Martin's release date announcement, I hid under the table to wait out the angry mob with pitchforks and torches. The majority stated that they didn't want their favorite authors to rush; they would rather wait a long time for a good novel, than a short time for a crappy one. I threw in a lame comment, something like, "Well, I don't want them to write crap either. I just think..." It sounded lame, anyway, because of what I had just boldly announced in the article. I had immediate misgivings, because there were several writers I hadn't thought about that do deliver for their readers, only they take a few years to do it. But I really didn't start regretting until the article in The New Yorker came out.

Pages were devoted to the restless crowds of the "Generation of Entitlement" who were demanding Martin's sequels after nearly six years of waiting and broken promises of release dates. One individual from Norway, a Remy Verhoeve, went so far as to start a web forum to do nothing but bitch about Martin. And he's not the only one. Once devoted followers, there are now legions of malcontents who spew their frustrations all over the net. I was thoroughly disgusted, and then thoroughly ashamed. The New Yorker had picked forums, blogs and reviews at random to quote -- they could have easily chosen mine -- as an example of, well, a Demanding Asshole.

Poor George has had to rifle through emails calling him fat, lazy and worse, and in my own way, I guess I was doing the same thing. I still believe that, with a writer's first volume of a series, they are making an unspoken promise to bring their readers to a satisfying conclusion -- eventually. But life gets in the way; even fans get in the way. And no one, really, has the right to say, "Hey, get off your ass and finish your book. You OWE me. I'm paying your SALARY." That's not what creativity is about, and unless they're working under a deadline, writers should answer to no one but themselves.

So this is my formal apology and withdrawal of my previous stance. I don't want to be a demanding asshole. I just want to be a fan again.

And after all: a good book truly is worth waiting for.

Ashley J. Barnard
http://www.ashleyjbarnard.com/
Dark Fantasy with a Contemporary Twist

Rating books - Is it 5 Stars or Should it be 3?

While in Columbus, Texas, for the book signing on May 14th, a lady approached me about how to get published. She'd self-published her book, a religious memoir, in hardback and was interested in self-publishing with Amazon. I gave her my card and told her to email me and I'd look up the link for her. While doing so, I ran across a list of hints for successful self-publishers. Of course, now that I'd like to take a look at it again, I can't find it.

One item on the list caught my eye. It had to do with rating other writer's books and cautioned against assigning friend's books with 5 stars just because of the friendship. The author of this article cautioned that if readers buy a book on our recommendation and are disappointed, they won't trust us and will most likely not buy our books.

How many of us do this or have done it? I know I have a couple of times. One of my local RWA chapter members said once that she never gives a book 5 stars, that 4 stars is a really good book.

What are your thoughts on rating books? Are you honest or do you hedge a bit when it comes to rating your friends?

Thanks for reading!

Linda
http://www.lindalaroque.com/
http://www.lindalaroqueauthor.blogspot.com/

Turning friends and foes into characters

As if they weren’t already!

In my current WIP, is wasn’t my intention to steal anyone’s soul, but latching on to their character traits, body language or phobias -- hey, I’m there. My life experience has given me a ubiquitous palate to paint people stranger than fiction.

A mid-list author told me that none of his models recognized themselves as he portrayed them. He’s a horror writer, so that’s a good thing. I’m taking god-like liberties with my first male protagonist, Fritz. (And should probably look for a lawyer for my female antagonist, Lonnie Jo.)

My main character’s life begins as a boy of seven. Without meaning to, I morphed him into a 25-year-old male nurse I met last year. That hero was the night nurse who saved my life. Oddly enough he morphed again to become an honorable southern gentleman in his thirties and forties. But he is turning out to be like a childhood crony with whom I’ve stayed in touch since we were in our teens. This fiction transfusion was subconscious.

It’s not easy writing from a male point of view. I’m a girly girl -- except for the ruffles -- and my height. My male character, Fritz, is shorter than average, and incredibly strong physically and emotionally. He lives by a code of honor, imprinted through his positive male role models: a taciturn stepfather and his grandfather, one of those enduring silent types.

The antagonist, Lonnie Jo, is fashioned after every woman who’s ever annoyed me. I just think of them and I know what SHE would do, how SHE would move, plot, or act out.

The rest of the family is "novel" dysfunctional.

With male characters all feminine hand wringing must be expunged. Fritz takes it on the chin now and then, but he comes up with survival techniques and resilient flexibility. While raising his daughter, as a single father, he keeps an eye on his two goals: a strong woman of equal character and his career choice of owning and running his own healthcare business. As I dig deeper into his story (For kindle users I’d say 80%.), he becomes more admirable and authentic.

When he first attained his visual stature, I began to experience writers’ schizophrenia: what is story and what is real life? Yikes! Now that Fritz has morphed into my old friend, I ask myself, "What would HE do?" Since I see him clearly in my mind’s eye, despite the fact that I have not seen him in the flesh for decades, I can bend him into fiction like a real-life Mr. Bill.

Oh, no!

Julie Eberhart Painter is the Champagne Books author of

Mortal Coil, Tangled Web, and Kill Fee to be released in October. See Julie’s Web site at http://www.books-jepainter.com/

Also available are

The World, the Flesh and the Devil, American Castles and Tahitian Destiny. Check out Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Julie’s nonfiction e-book, From the Inside Out, a volunteer looks at staying motivated,

is considered a best seller on the Net.

Is there a perfect wine for a mystery?

Outside of romance, or at least sex and marriage, nothing is more universal than mystery, especially in reading. The savage nature of man and his desire to hide his misdeeds seems universal, plus the very nature of life is steeped in mystery. Maybe that’s why so many readers enjoy the genre. Mystery, like romance, lends itself to other genres, deepening the plot with questions about what happened and who did it to intrigue the reader.

One grape, Cabernet Sauvignon has a nature complex enough to produce a wine able to enhance the pleasure of reading any mystery.

A popular wine grape grown all over the world, Cabernet Sauvignon’s origins were for a long time a mystery hidden in rumor and myth. Along with the innovations in solving mysteries in real life and fiction, those methods were used to solve the puzzle. In the early 1990s DNA tests proved Cabernet Sauvignon the child of Cabernet Franc, a grape known to have been grown since the first century A.D., and Sauvignon Blanc, another ancient grape. Even its name, Sauvignon, a derivative of French for wild or savage, adds to this grape’s robust nature and taste, and its bloody red color is perfect for scenes of suspense and horror. More importantly, because of its heavy tannin content, Cabernet Sauvignon produces a wine with a smoky flavor that goes well with the strong tastes of beef, lamb or goose. If mysteries have anything in common, it’s plenty of individuals with beefs, sacrificial lambs, and often, a cooked goose. Unlike many wines, this one can also stand up to the flavors of cheese and chocolates, two character types also frequently found in mysteries (just let your imagination fill in the details). For further intricacy, Cabernet Sauvignon is often blended to create a more complicated flavor—producing a wine made to be convoluted, just like a good mystery, and every blend has a slightly different taste.

So when you beginning to read that new mystery novel, pour yourself a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to heighten your reading pleasure. Settle back in a comfortable place and let the wine roll over your tongue. While you try to identify the mysterious tastes blended in your glass, your mind can unravel the the story's mystery. A mysterious wine, just the accompaniment for a entertaining perusal of all the shadows of cloak and dagger hints, the tang of danger and the satisfying flavor of evidence presented in the story's pages. Authors note: perhaps a glass or two should be consumed while the story is being written, too?

Stone House Farm from Champagne Books
Rhobin L. Courtright webpage

We interrupt this broadcast .....

Michael W. Davis

Davisstories.com

I’m going to skip my typical monthly posting for a special announcement. Ready? Pull your shoes up and grab your chest. Until next Tuesday (May 24) Champagne Books is running an unbelievable sale. 50% off, that’s right, half price on all their E books and E stories. Catch your breath yet? I know, hard to believe but its true. We don’t normally do promo stuff at TWV but 50%, OMG, that calls for a little slack.

Wait a minute, don’t run yet, there’s more. If you’re interested, go to Champagnebooks.com, buy all you want and when you get to the page that asks for the coupon code enter vicday50. Oh, and if you search on author names and come across a guy named Michael Davis; check out the guys stories. I hear they’re phenomenal. Shhhh, don’t tell my other CB author buds and budettes, they might beat up on me. Now hurry, you only have a few days left.

This broadcast will now return to its normally scheduled programming.

Big Mike
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.”

Freeing The Words

I’ve been sticking with my 1,000 fresh words a day world domination program, but
there have been slow days, days when the words simply don’t flow.

Luckily, I have a few tricks to free those words.

I end my writing from the day before right smack in the middle of the scene.
This, I’ll warn you in advance, I desperately want to finish the scene but I
force myself to stop. The next day, I already know what I want to write, and
once I start writing, it is easy to continue.

Often, I’ll handwrite my 1,000 words. Being disconnected from the internet
forces me to write and only write. When I type the words in, I edit them, adding
more description and depth. This gives me a cleaner first draft.

When I really need help kick starting creativity, I’ll use different color pens.
For some reason, different colors open up different parts of my brain (the scary
dark rancid parts – just kidding – not really).

What are your tricks for freeing the words?


$



Kimber Chin writes sexy contemporary romances. To read about her stories, including some short freebies, head over to http://businessromance.com/

How I Write

Since I’m a plotter, and learned to be the hard way, I do a fairly detailed synopsis first. So from the beginning I pretty much know where the book is going. Not that my characters don’t surprise me now and then, but I never deviate very far from it.
This means that before I begin a book, I pretty much know all my major characters’ motivations, even though I won’t get to know them very well until I’ve written three or four chapters. By then they’ve revealed themselves as individuals .
This also means I have the plot laid out in rough form, loose enough for some deviation as events I didn’t foresee occur. The place where I may add a number of minor incidents, and occasionally a major one, is in the middle of the story.
If you’re interested in how I became a plotter instead of simply writing the entire book cold, this goes back to my second agent. After I’d written two books (gothics) without a synopsis, just sat down and started at the beginnuing and wrote until the story was over. These sold immediately to Avon, but he couldn’t peddle the third. Then he called and told me a packager needed a Sagittarius story for a Zodiac gothic series , so could I whip up a synopsis and three chapters for a partial. Novice that I was, I was forced to ask, What’s a synopsis?
To give him credit, he only paused for only a beat before he explained. So I wrote my first synopsis, plus three chapters and got the contract. The rest of the story seemed amazingly easy to write.
Eventually I hauled out the story that had never sold and tried to do a synopsis for it as I read through what I'd written. I couldn’t because the plot wandered all over the place. A real AHA! moment. So I did a more consistent synopsis for the book, rewrote, and it sold.

Learned my lesson. So I rarely have any problem with any part of the book. Nor does it bother me that I have a general idea of where the plot is going before I begin, After all, small surprises do crop up here and there that I didn’t foresee in the synopsis, because my characters have their own ideas.
As far as editing goes, I write Chapter 1. Before I begin Chapter 2. I go back and edit the first one, cleaning it up and adding or deleting. I do the same with each chapter as I work my way through the book, but only allow myself to go back a single chapter each time. This has the added benefit of getting me back into the flow of the story. Of course if I add something that makes me need to go back and insert a change anywhere, I do it immediately.
Using this method of writing, each chapter except the last has been edited once already. I edit the final chapter and then go back through the book, editing again. Then I set it aside for at least a few days--a week is better--before editing again.
Finally I go through with a spell check again because I’ve added a bit here and there, with sometimes a major change . Then I search for words I know I overuse and make the necessary minor changes. Final spell check, and it's good to go. Jane

Family Roots

I'm a little late posting today. I've been behind for a while. On May 5 I got a phone call from my mother saying we needed to leave town. We threw our stuff into a suitcase and headed for the hills for 10 days of relaxation...so we thought. While we were gone there were a handful of funerals, saying goodbye to a friend who has brain cancer as well as having some family time interspersed.

While I was gone I spent a great deal of time with my grandmother learning more about my geneology. Such as I knew I was Native American but I learned more details--my ancestors were on the Trail of Tears. My GR (not sure how manhy times removed) GRandfather was a man named George Washington Brinsfield who was a Methodist circuit rider who was still preaching when he died at 107 years old. I was told where his grave was and saw a beautiful headstone someone had placed at his grave. I also learned that not only am I Creek, Cherokee and Irish I also have Blackfoot in my veins. VERY exciting news, to me anyway...

I knew that my Gr (again not sure how many greats should be here) Grandfather was a survivor of the Civil War. He and his twin brother were seperated during the war and each beleived the other dead--and in Little Rock at a 50th reunion of the survivors they found each other again. The newspaper article was enough to move me to tears. Then I learned that I had another ancestor (another grandfather?) who was a secret member of a group called the "Yeller Rag boys".

This group was a secret society of men who were sworn to protect their families and their communities from ALL threats. They were also accused of being Union Sympathizers who were arrested and marched from Marshal Arkansas to Little Rock where they were offered the option of either joining the Confederates or being shot for treason. Some choices, right?

I have several documents from my ancestors--all the way back to documentation from a grandfather that served in the Revolutionary War. On one side we can trace our lineage back to the Royal Family in England...Gee William is a DISTANT, DISTANT cousin and we weren't even invited to the WEDDING! HEHEHEHEH

So why am I "boring" y'all with this? Because there were some fascinating things that I learned from this past ten days that inspired a couple of ideas for a few historical romance novels. I'm very excited with the ideas that were swirling while I listened to my grandmother tell me all she could recall about my family history, her smooth velvet voice wrapped itself around me and in my mind I was able to see the events she related.

I'm a huge beleiver that a person should know where they came from. Family history is not only fascinating, it can be inspiring, it gives you strength, helps you grow, gives you a solid foundation from which to draw strength...roots...and you might even be able to find some skeletons that can liven things up!

Huggles and thanks for dropping in today!
Donica

The Magic of Genres!

I've come to realize how picky I really am about books. Not just what I write, but what I read! I never really thought about it but lately, it's been coming to mind.

I've read the books that school required of me like Where the Red Fern Grows and To Kill a Mockingbird and I won't say I didn't enjoy them. I did...just, not as much as the books I've picked up from libraries or friends; Wings, Hush,Hush, Soul Born, Eragon, The Ranger's Apprentice Series, etc. Books that are purely fictional/fantasy and even books that are for ten year olds!

Let me point out that in elementary school, I was reading high school level books and by middle school, my teachers were rooting me on through my jump into college level. So, I have the capablility and understanding of reading the big-worded, fancy stuff but I choose not to! I enjoy children's and young adult's novels. I constanstly wonder why that is. It's not a big deal, I know, but it brings me to the question of, what is it that keeps a person in love with a single genre?

I know loads of women who are into western romance. Why?
Loads of guys I know read only science-fiction. Why?
Others out there, like me, read only fantasy. Why, why, why? When people ask me why I care so much about fantasy, I end up stuttering and falling on the edge of having an aneurism just trying to find the words! I am into escapism. That's one reason. Magic to me is fun. That's another reason. Oh, and the languages! The dialog. The way people speak in fantasy novels just gets me all warm and fuzzy inside.

I want to understand from other readers and writers, though. Western romance...sci-fi...mysteries...thrillers....what about them is so fascinating to people and what emotions come with them that keep the readers reading and coming back to those types of books?

Enlighten me, readers!

Diana Ilinca
Zirconya: The Sage of Aluh'Nehn - YA Contemporary Fantasy - Coming soon!
www.dianailinca.com

Does Blogging Matter?

A strange phenomenom struck the Internet over the past few days, when Blogger went on the blink (or had technical difficulties!). I'm sure I wasn't the only writer who suddenly felt that something important was missing. But those few days reinforced how much time I've been spending reading blogs, leaving comments, writing blog posts. And the blogs I follow increase amost daily. So it was quite restful to have an enforced break from them all.

Then I got to thinking about what a powerful tool blogger is for reaching people all over the world. I enjoy writing posts for my own two blogs, a monthly one for The Writers' Vineyard, and an occasional one for my writing group blog. And I came to the conclusion that blogging matters very much indeed, but only if used effectively.

I make a big effort to follow as many interesting blogs as possible, leaving comments as I go. That's why many people follow my own two blogs, as we've reciprocated by being interested in each others posts - which are about anything and everything. But most of all, I've met so many other lovely writers this way, and some of them have become virtual friends. The support I received on my debut novel's release was wonderful, but I'm right there celebrating their successes too, or commiserating when life gets complicated.

So yes, I think blogging matters to writers. Not to sell our books, but to connect with like-minded people in this small world of ours and celebrate this strange need to write. In fact, I started my reading and writing blog a couple of years ago to share information that might be useful to other writers. But we need to take the time to comment sometimes, to interact, for then we truly get to know others. Over to you - do you think blogging matters?

Rosemary

http://romygemmell.blogspot.com

http://ros-readingandwriting.blogspot.com

Dangerous Deceit, now available from Champagne Books and Amazon (kindle)

Who is Daisy?

May 12, 2011

Who is Daisy?

Her name came to me this morning and all I know so far is that she is going to be a character in one of my novels.

The book I am currently writing, the fourth book in the Forever Series, titled Forever Angel, has grown by leaps and bounds in the past month. I though all my characters were already speaking to me daily, then this morning, upon waking, Daisy appeared. She’s a new heroine for me, gentle, perhaps even a little shy, and she seems to want to be good friends with Julie—to support her though her recent betrayal. Julie is the heroine of Forever Angel and is a fire-cracker of a person.

As I write these words, I am trying to see Daisy clearly: large, dark, expressive eyes that emote understanding of the human experience. Soft, light brown hair with golden highlights, tiny of statue, delicate, and most importantly, has a heart of gold. Perhaps that is my next book: Forever Gold?

I wonder how characters come to other authors? If anyone out there has time, maybe they could respond to this inquiry and tell me some of what they have learned and know?

Best, January Bain (you can reach me at www.januarybain.ca)

PS. She told me her full name just a bit ago, Daisy McCloud

Selling Out for Sales?

Lately, I've been pondering the idea of taking my series in directions I wouldn't before, all in the name of increasing sales. Let's face it: Romance sells, as does sex. And that's not to say either of those is wrong for a writer to do, but it's never been anything I've been particularly comfortable with including into my own writing.

However, I had an epiphany recently that I wanted to share...and that is, if you're writing based on what you think readers want to read, or what you think will sell the best, you're not writing from what's inside you. And at least for me, that would make my writing no longer my own. So, at least for the time being, I'll be keeping my series at the tame level it's always been...and as I've always figured with my promotional efforts in the past, the sales will take care of themselves.

Feel free to discuss your own theories and thoughts on this matter in the comments...

Lying Makes A Great Tale

Anyone can tell you a tale.  We all have the capacity to embellish on the truth from the moment, as kids, your mother asks you in that commanding tone: “Who did this?” and you reply by orbiting your eyes skyward with an, “Uhm, well…”  From that moment on, with a little work, a lot of practice, and a lot less sky gazing, you become a storyteller.

Okay, most people will call it lying — plain and simple, bold face, flat out lying.

I like to call it spinning a tale.  A convincing tale.  After all, creating a story is joining up a bunch of fibs, throwing it into an imaginary world/setting and having amazing things happen in that world.  I mean, come on!

Most people can write a story.  Most people know how to write.  Most people can join up the letters and come up with something coherent that resembles a story.  But how many people can lie through their teeth with such talent that you think what they told you is the honest to goodness truth?  Not many.  The mark of a good book or story is the mark of an exceptionally good liar.  I'd hate to be next to them when they do break something and get asked what happened.

For the moment, I am just a fledgling liar, but there's still hope for me.  During the day when I masquerade as a graphic artist, I can think of a number of tall tales I can tell to my clients — usually to the ones that are a royal pain in the behind.  (Okay, if any of my clients read this post, I am so dead…)  The tales come in the form of short excuses that embellish into great big ones, only because they made the mistake of wanting to know why they couldn't get their artwork.  Then when I put on my writer’s mask, I can pour out all those wild tales and put them into words to create a story.  I can lie through my teeth without my conscience bothering me one bit.  After all, it makes a great tale, right?

T.K. Toppin
http://www.thelancasterrule.blogspot.com 

Weird and Wacky Festivals

I live in central Wisconsin and it snowed this morning. I’d be okay with that if it was February or April, but I am writing this blog on May 3, 2011. Is there something wrong with my calendar? I think we might skip the spring season and head right into summer. So, hooray for summer! I’m already anticipating activities ranging from camping to visiting a water park. Perhaps you enjoy boating, swimming, or hiking. Would you choose a motorcycle ride or a bicycle ride for enjoyment? How about attending local or out of state summer festivals?

There are plenty of festivals throughout the United States. You can attend a small town kiddie carnival or The Burning Man art event that, with the growing attendance develops a temporary community in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada each year. The Frozen Dead Guy Day in Nederland Colorado boasts a parade of hearses and coffin races, and don’t forget to enter the chicken dance contest at Mike the Headless Chicken Days in Fruita Colorado.

Most festivals hold an eating contest. Oklahoma State Fair has a fried okra eating contest and the Dallas Texas State Fair has a jalapeno eating contest. Imagine stuffing yourself with pickles at Picklefest in Atkins Arkansas. The grossest think I’ve ever personally watched is the brat eating contest at Sheboygan Bratwurst Days. Without a drink of beer, the winner ate 58 brats in ten minutes. I wouldn’t be able to do that without a little projectile vomiting. Whatever summer activities you choose, I hope they find you safe and happy. I would love to hear the name of your town festival, a unique activity, or an eating contest. Please share!

In my Suspense Thriller: Bolt Action, sarcastic Detective Leslie Bolt enjoys summer activities of motorcycle riding and the sensual activity of paint drumming. She is a gun hording, Harley riding, detective with as much insecurity as the rest us, except that she tries to mask it with a tough outer shell. Leslie Bolt is forced to work a serial murder case with her ex-lover, and as the body count mounts she races to capture the “State Quarter Killer” before her sister is the next victim.

Author Victoria Roder enjoys hearing from readers and can be reached through her website at www.victoriaroder.com

POETRY BY ZI

Howdy Rowdy!

For today's offering, we'd like to leave you some poetry and prose straight from Zi's literary vault.

Z: Hey, I how did you find them? I had them in an innocuous file and under password protection.
A: (wiggles brows) Nor lock or key is safe from me. 'Tis time to share the ponderings of your lair. Besides, you see, my poetry is stinky!
Z: I wouldn't say that.... (Re-reads her words and grimaces.) Then again...
A: Oh hush, let's let everyone enjoy.

A note from Zi to you:

M'dear,

Step upon my wings of imagination…join me…for I am about to sojourn to a place of magic wonderment. This is my place. Where I still feel like a child. Broccoli tastes like jelly beans. Every dog talks. Books smell like peaches. And the Sunshine never burns but enriches.

My thoughts are with you. I hope this finds you well.

Consider a first date, titled, “The Lady Gets Wings”. Every angel should have their wings. We walking hand-in-hand eventually spontaneously skipping to town square. The streets are dustless cobblestone. Never a car allowed upon them. People scurry from shop to shop. Spinning as they greet others. Gentlemen bow and ladies curtsy.

“How do you do!”

“And you!”

Then spin a good bye and off they go to the next greeting to be spun.

Music fills our air yet, neither of us know its origin. Music comes from the energy of being. Happy. Music is because we are. The baker devines fluffy sounds. The florist glows a melody of lilting joy. Music becomes the extension of our souls…and poetry our own private dance of possibilities.

Respectfully yours in muse,

Zi

POSSIBILITIES

You are my possibility
My friend to be
My muse
My paramour
My future
You are my possibility
And I am profoundly
Pleased.


A Hug

Strength is an amazing thing
Power is an absolute aphrodisiac
Humanity finds it a sign of strength
Hugging is not weakness
Asserting one's strength; good
But asserting one's strength
As well as their heart
Awesome... simply awesome

SMITTEN

I am smitten, I fear.
How did that happen?
You are the muse that tweaks my prose,
the romantic who touches my spirit.
It is not possible to be smitten by a reader,
to fall into the abyss of what they desire,
in tales, in narratives, in scenes of love.
To not even know the color of a woman's eyes,
yet long to conquer the nectar of her soul.
To fuel her desire and capture her romantic heart.
I am smitten with you.
Will you be smitten by my words?

Please leave your email addy in your comments to be entered into a drawing for a free e-book, or write to us at angelicahartandzi@yahoo.com


Angelica Hart and Zi
KILLER DOLLS ~ SNAKE DANCE ~ CHASING YESTERDAY
www.champagnebooks.com

STEEL EMBRACE by Vixen Bright and Zachary Zane
August 2011 http://www.carnalpassions.com/


THE FABLE OF SIN-SIN CINDERELLA Series
angelicahartandzi.com

My First Experience...

...with Beta readers. Ha, had you fooled for just a second, didn't I? Seriously, though, I'd like to do a brief post on my first experience with Beta readers. I got very lucky.

It all began at a chatroom chat hosted by CTR (Coffeetime Romance). Anyone will tell you that chatroom chats are my least favorite. No - I'm not anti-social. I just get frustrated because I can't type fast enough to keep up with the chatter. I love the chatter, btw. The off-the-top-of-the-head comments and random conversations have be laughing all through the chat. So - I love that about chats, just wish I could keep up.

Anyway, somehow we got on the subject of beta readers. One lady had never heard of such and when it was explained that a beta reader is a reader who'll read through a finished manuscript and offer insight to the author, she graciously said she'd like to try her hand at being a beta reader. Two other ladies also volunteered. Me? I've never used a beta reader before and quickly took down their e-mail addresses.

A beta reader is more than just a willing reader. Most of the time, it's best if the beta reader has no personal ties to the author. They are more likely to offer candid opinions if they aren't already "friends" with the author. This is a huge plus for the writer. While we all want our egos stroked, I would much rather have an honest assessment of the book. A good beta reader will tell you where the story drags, where it needs more description, when the characters are acting out of character, etc. Some will even pinpoint spelling and grammar errors.

Okay, I know what you're thinking. Silly me sent three complete strangers a full of my unedited, uncontracted work without references. Yeah - that's probably not the best thing to do, but in my case, I'd seen all three around the loops and since my story was a sequel, it would be very difficult for someone to hijack the work as it tied so closely to the first book. That said, I gambled and I sent the ms to all three ladies.

Wow - I got back wonderful insight and comments. I immediately applied all comments, tightened up the weak areas and sent the ms off to my editor. I'm happy to say, I now have another contract.

For me, the experience yielded positive results. All three treated the ms with care and professionalism. Granted, I got lucky.  I plan to invite these three ladies to read for me again if they are willing.

The Fine Line Between Love and Hate

What irritates me most about my daughter is that she’s always there. If I want to work on the computer, she has to be standing on the chair next to me, reaching for the mouse and keyboard, or turning the printer on and off. When I need to cook supper, she’s constantly around my feet, tripping me every time I turn around. Whenever I eat, even if I just fed her, she’s right there, demanding her fair share of the goods.

Now ask me what I love most about my daughter.

Yes, the same exact thing. She’s always there. Whenever I talk on the phone, she drags a toy over, plops down by my feet and plays, because she wants to be near her mommy. If I’m cleaning dishes at the sink, she’ll run up to me and wrap her legs around the back of my legs to give me a big hug. Doesn’t matter how much the husband tries to keep her occupied, whenever I step out of the bathroom, there she is, loitering around the exit, just waiting for me to get out. And whenever I pick her up after work from the babysitters, she always has a huge smile for me.

It’s overwhelming to realize I’m that important to someone; it makes all those irritating moments worthwhile and actually more meaningful.

I’ve discovered the same thing in my stories. Whenever I hit a snag in my work and come to a difficult place in the plot, I gnash my teeth and pull my hair—okay, not literally—and consider dumping the entire manuscript because it’s just so hard. So irritating. Sometimes, I’ll go over a single line so many times the original text is completely lost by the time I’ve finally found something that satisfies me.

Now ask me what my favorite parts of my stories are. Yes, it’s those scenes I worked the hardest to create. They’re more meaningful because I put so much time and attention into them and usually turned them into one of the most pivotal parts of my story. Seems like the hard times make the end product even better.

So just keep this in mind the next time you come to a bump in the road and want to give up on your story. Keep chipping and picking away at the parts that don’t feel right, that you know needs help. Don’t give up. Because once you finally get things right, you’ll discover the thing that aggravated you the most will actually turn out the be the thing you’re most proud of.

Another bit of History - this time Ma Day

Sunday was May Day, and since I make reference to the May Day celebration in Battlesong, I thought I'd tell you a bit about the history of May Day.

It was considered to be the second most important holiday for the Druids of England well before the time of Christ. They divided the year in half, Beltane being the first, which the celebrated at the beginning of May. They would built a new fire in the middle of the village, run the cattle through it. Couples would dance through the smoke to make certain their future was a good one.

When the Romans conquered England, they added their own customs to the rites, for this was the time of their five day feast for Flora, the Goddess of flowers so there was a lot of dancing, drinking and eating. Of course, flowers bloomed at that time of year, so it made perfect sense.

During the middles ages, the maypole came into being. Towns would vie with each other to get the biggest pole erected in their town. The maypole was placed in the middle of the town square, streamers and flowers added and the young people would dance around it. Because flowers were plentiful at this time, young girls made garlands and on that day they were allowed to go door to door in the villages and sing and beg. Again a lot of drinking and eating.

I used this celebration at the end of Battlesong.

It's always a lot of fun for someone who loves history to pick an old holiday and use it in a novel. Hmmmm, I wonder what holiday I can use for my next romance. Any suggestions?