tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374197906093196712024-03-18T09:46:12.853-04:00Girlfriends Book ClubWriter Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.comBlogger1046125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-7217155066573705992014-08-21T21:04:00.003-04:002014-08-21T21:04:51.086-04:00Hello! We're Not Here!A note from the Girlfriends:<br />
<br />
Thank you for stopping by the Girlfriends Book Club blog spot! We've changed our address and moved to our brand new website: <a href="http://girlfriendsbookclub.org/">GirlfriendsBookClub.org</a>.<br />
<br />
Please come visit! We love our new high-tech website, where we have lots of cool features to share with readers, authors and passersby! There's always a new blog to read and you never know when we're hosting a giveaway! <br />
<br />
We hope you'll come by, see the sights and subscribe to our blog. Please feel free to drop us a note at the new Girlfriends Book Club and let us know what you think!<br />
<br />
Just <a href="http://www.girlfriendsbookclub.org/" target="_blank">click here </a>to visit!<br />
<br />
Thanks & happy reading!<br />
<br />
The GBC<br />
<br />Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com85tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-75161746063811290482014-08-20T19:33:00.000-04:002014-08-20T19:33:17.021-04:00The Best Laid Plans<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Judith Arnold </span></h2>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I’m working on a new series of romance novels. I’ve got two
books written so far. When book three is finished, I’ll publish all three at
one time. My plan is to launch the series in October. But you know how it is:
the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am neither
a mice nor a man. However, my plans for book three did go awry—and hooray for
that!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The series is
called “The Magic Jukebox.” The premise: in the fictional town of Brogan’s
Point, on Massachusetts’s North Shore, there’s a pub called the Faulk Street
Tavern. Inside this pub is an antique jukebox. No one knows how it got there.
No one knows how, or why, it works. Because it’s antique, it plays only songs
that were released on vinyl, years ago—and no one is sure what songs it
contains or how to select them. All people know is that if you slide a quarter
into the coin slot, three songs will play. The tavern’s owner unlocks the coin
box every now and then, collects the quarters, and donates them to charity. But
she can’t open the machine to change the records. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The magic of the jukebox is that
every now and then, it will play a song that strikes two</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5AC6sxVAwm4Hg6AQ5mIObjdLVBbuitq99-YG3iUq1UjvY4ui-j3sZaaHhkTvsgbfxcD-V6FQMEZRjrRiQAo_kUL6XjyCf6SccitIndv2p34OWHEQmDviKei0pChjlOmwLM6rsuqkMZjY/s1600/Changes+1400+pxl+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5AC6sxVAwm4Hg6AQ5mIObjdLVBbuitq99-YG3iUq1UjvY4ui-j3sZaaHhkTvsgbfxcD-V6FQMEZRjrRiQAo_kUL6XjyCf6SccitIndv2p34OWHEQmDviKei0pChjlOmwLM6rsuqkMZjY/s1600/Changes+1400+pxl+copy.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">tavern patrons in a
particular way, making them reconsider who they are and where they’re going—and
causing them to fall in love.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Each book in
the series has its own hero and heroine, but Brogan’s Point is a small town,
and characters from one book wander in and out of other books in the series.
Among the continuing characters are Augusta “Gus” Naukonen, the tavern’s
middle-aged, widowed owner, and her boyfriend, Ed Nolan, a widowed police
detective on the Brogan’s Point police force.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The first
book of the series is based on the David Bowie song “Changes,” and in it I
mention in passing that Ed Nolan is estranged from his daughter Maeve, who was
traumatized as a teenager when her mother died and has lived in California for
years, maintaining very little contact with her father. I sensed, as soon as I
wrote those few sentences about Maeve, that she would return to Brogan’s Point
to star as the heroine of the third book in the series. One brief allusion to
her, and I’d fallen in love with her myself. I couldn’t wait to write a novel in
which she reconciles with her father and finds the man of her dreams.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the meantime, I wrote the second
book in the series, based on the Cyndi Lauper song “True Colors.” In that book,
the heroine, Emma, comes to Brogan’s Point to share a house with her college
roommate and best friend, Monica, a Brogan’s Point native who has returned to town
after college to work in her family’s business. Monica is the prototypical best
friend, there for Emma to confide in and cry with, there to refill Emma’s wine
glass, there to celebrate Emma’s happily-ever-after ending with the novel’s
hero.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As soon as I finished <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Colors</i>, I began flexing my
imagination in preparation for writing Maeve’s story. The only problem was,
Monica was demanding a love story of her own.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But that
wasn’t the plan. The plan was: Book Three—Maeve’s story. I hadn’t yet decided
on the Magic Jukebox song that would transform Maeve’s life: Supertramp’s “Take
the Long Way Home,” maybe, or the Beatles’ “Long and Winding Road.” I played
both songs repeatedly, trying to force my muse to focus on Maeve’s romance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My muse would
have none of it. She wanted me to write Monica’s story. Not only that, but she
wanted Monica—an organized, obedient, well-bred girl who, in returning to her
home town and taking her place in the family business, does exactly what is
expected of her—to be bewitched when the magic jukebox spews out the Troggs’
loud, guitar-banging hit, “Wild Thing.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Not the plan.
Absolutely not the plan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But
absolutely the right thing to do. Readers will get to know Monica a bit in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Colors</i>, and—I hope!—they’ll like
her enough to want to read her story and find out how this well-behaved young
woman goes wild. Maeve will simply have to wait until I’m ready to write book
four.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So no, my
plans didn’t exactly go awry. They changed. For the better, I think. Like
Monica, my muse has gone a little wild—and I’m not foolish enough to fight her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Watch for the Magic
Jukebox romances, which will be released in digital format this fall—if all
goes according to plan!</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In the
meantime, the original <a href="http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_mn_at_ano_tseft__galileo?advsearchKeywords=Judith+Arnold&x=0&y=0" target="_blank">Daddy School trilogy </a>is now available as <a href="http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_mn_at_ano_tseft__galileo?advsearchKeywords=Judith+Arnold&x=0&y=0" target="_blank">audiobooks</a>.
Please visit <a href="http://www.juditharnold.com/" target="_blank">Judith’s web site</a> and her <a href="http://www.juditharnold.com/book-store/" target="_blank">book store page</a> for information about her currently available books.You can also sign up for
her <a href="http://mad.ly/signups/60624/join" target="_blank">newsletter</a> there. </i></span></div>
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Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com198tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-90826321872550640602014-08-19T20:32:00.001-04:002014-08-20T07:36:17.782-04:00How Pansting Nearly Ruined My Writing Career (And Why I'll Never Go Back)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h3 style="clear: both; color: #141412; font-family: Bitter, Georgia, serif; font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.3; margin: 22px 0px;">
I used to be a die-hard panster. My first published novel came about after I had an encounter with a charismatic clerk in a dollar store. The three that followed had similar sketchy starts. I’d read a news story or overhear a conversation, and I’d plunge in without even the skimpiest of plans.</h3>
<div style="color: #141412; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
The blind trust I had in the process was astounding. I was like Christopher Columbus searching for the New World without a single navigational tool. I proudly declared myself to be an organic writer. Looking back, it’s hard to figure out how I managed it.</div>
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My first three novels were part of series so, after the first one, characters and setting were already in place. That made things easier. My fourth novel was a departure. All I had in my head was a half-baked pitch, “Bridget Jones Meets Lovely Bones,” and I was off. I cringe when I think of how many times I had to re-write that thing.</div>
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<strong>How It All Went Sour</strong></div>
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<br /></div>
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My fifth novel changed everything. As usual, all I had was a concept in my head. I wrote the novel, sent it off to my agent and after she read it, she said, “Ewww.”</div>
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Well, not “ewww” exactly. She was more diplomatic but I knew what she meant. She gave me dozens of notes, and I spent months re-writing. I sent it off again. My agent said it was better but she wasn’t exactly popping champagne bottles and pricing Mercedes. She sent it off to two editors to see what they thought, and they both said it needed a lot of work. (One said it would be like trying to cut through acres of bramble with a pair of pinking shears.)</div>
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The editor did have some suggestions as to how to fix it. I took her advice and spent six months re-writing it. I sent it back to the agent and she said the four words no author ever wants to hear: “You made it worse.”</div>
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I re-wrote and re-wrote. I got more feedback and re-wrote some more. This process went on for three years. I could sense my agent’s impatience with me so we parted ways. I did another re-write and queried. On the strength of my pitch, a superstar agent called me, itching to read the novel. The next morning I got an email from her. It praised my voice and the premise, but said, “You need to work on your storytelling skills.”</div>
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Talk about your botched opportunities. I was a national bestselling author of five critically praised novels, and yet it seemed as if I still didn’t know what I was doing.</div>
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<strong>Time for a Change</strong></div>
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I knew there had to be a better way. That’s when I decided to do some serious study on novel structure. A colleague suggested I read screenwriting books. I was initially resistant. What could I possibly learn from writers who specialize in car crashes, super heroes, and tired sequels? A whole lot, as it turns out. Screenwriters do not mess around; they have always worshipped at the structure shrine and borrow heavily from Joseph Campbell and Aristotle.</div>
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With my spanking-new knowledge, I wrote another novel and five agents wanted to represent it. It will be published in September 2015. Now, before I write a single word of a novel, I use the techniques I learned to make sure the premise is solid. I end up abandoning oodles of ideas, but that’s a lot less painful than trashing an entire novel.</div>
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Speaking of novels, remember the one I couldn’t fix? A few weeks ago I read it for the first time in years, hoping maybe it was salvageable. <em>Wrong.</em> It was still dog food. In fact, it was so structurally flawed it should have never been written. If I had conceived of it six months ago instead of six years ago, I would have known that.</div>
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I learned my lesson the hard way; no more blind pantsing for me ever again. All in all, it cost me over five years of writing life. I can’t spare that kind of time.</div>
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P.S. Whether you’re a pantser or a plotter, every writer can benefit from reading screenwriting books to sharpen their storytelling skills. Below are a list of my favorites; I also recommend Larry Brook’s story structure <a data-mce-href="http://storyfix.com/" href="http://storyfix.com/" style="color: #ac0404; text-decoration: none;">series</a></div>
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I’ve also written a 25-page article on how to plot a novel using screen-writing techniques. Email me and I’ll send it to you. Karin.gillespie (at) gmail.com</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="color: #141412; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
McKee, Robert<em>. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principals of Screenwriting</em>. New</div>
<div style="color: #141412; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
York. Harper Collins. 1997. Print.</div>
<div style="color: #141412; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Snyder, Blake. <em>Save the Cat!</em> Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions. 2005. Print.</div>
<div style="color: #141412; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Truby, John. <em>The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller</em>. New York:</div>
<div style="color: #141412; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Faber &Faber. 2007. Print. <strong>(This is my all-time favorite among the screenwriting books!)</strong></div>
<div style="color: #141412; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Vogler, Christopher. <em>The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. </em>Studio City: Michael</div>
<div style="color: #141412; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Wiese Productions. 2007. Print.</div>
<div style="color: #141412; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">Karin Gillespie regularly </span><a href="http://karingillespie.net/blog/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;" target="_blank">blogs</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">, </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/karin.gillespie" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;" target="_blank">facebooks</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">, and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/GillespieKarin" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;" target="_blank">tweets</a></div>
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Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-57327872416421175652014-08-19T00:30:00.000-04:002014-08-19T00:30:01.804-04:00GUEST GIRLFRIEND: Please Redeem Me by Debra Salonen<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">So what
happens when you have a character show up in the first book of your 4-part
series who is so annoying and unlikeable reviewers call him "a complete
and utter PITA"? (Yes, I had to look it up, too. P I T A = pain in the
arse...as my mother would have said.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">Well...naturally,
you make him your next HERO, of course.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZqH20v1UKIZHCQTfID3lmZ2yHCqDmE2P87NNGtRctJFNb2qHcP4OViAA26SfgxHV3E74feJziljdgnPROMfBaHHEV47xwmHOACCxhU36_v7J6InkL7MUup7lYQLqdc8NYVypw5fhwf8/s1600/81BrCH6VlcL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZqH20v1UKIZHCQTfID3lmZ2yHCqDmE2P87NNGtRctJFNb2qHcP4OViAA26SfgxHV3E74feJziljdgnPROMfBaHHEV47xwmHOACCxhU36_v7J6InkL7MUup7lYQLqdc8NYVypw5fhwf8/s1600/81BrCH6VlcL._SL1500_.jpg" height="400" width="261" /></a><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">In
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LW78OS0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00LW78OS0&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwmeganc-20&linkId=QWQVZF7CR4E5SIPO" target="_blank">Cowgirl Come Home</a>, my hero's brother, Austen Zabrinski, shows up repeatedly.
He's...um...difficult. He has attitude. Tell me if this sounds like a hero to
you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">She only had a vague recollection of Paul's older brother since he left for college before she and Paul started dating. But everybody in Marietta </span><i style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">knew</i><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> Austen.</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /><br />His name had been in the Courier every week since he was MVP in at least three sports. All the girls wanted to date him, although he never had a steady that Bailey could remember. He gave the class speech at graduation. She knew that for a fact because she'd been selected as one of the four freshman girls to pass out programs at the door.<br /><br />She'd listened closely because he had the audacity to buck the system, showing up with his longish hair artfully tousled, a movie-star goatee and bare ankles, hinting that he was wearing shorts under his gown.<br /><br /> At the time, Bailey had been impressed.<br /><br />Now, not so much. She'd met more than her share of promoters, lawyers and wealthy stockmen over the years. And one thing she knew for certain was money did not automatically signify class.<br /><br />More nervous than she had been when she left the house, she walked slowly and deliberately, trying not to limp.<br /><br /><i>Show no weakness. </i>She couldn't remember if the adage applied to wild animals <i>and</i> lawyers, or just lawyers.<br /><br /><i>Thank goodness I called in an order.</i> She could pick it up and run. No need to bring up the ridiculous idea of going on a date. <i>No harm, no foul.</i><br /><br />She went straight to the cash register, not looking right or left. "Bailey Jenkins. To-go," she told the young woman behind the till.<br /><br />The girl--about sixteen working her first summer job, Bailey guessed--spun about and dashed to the kitchen window, where a clothesline of white orders were strung.<br /><br />"Ironically appropriate, don't you agree? A To-Go order. Your modus operandi, no?"<br /><br />She turned, her purse clutched to her belly--bling side out, as if the glitter might magically ward off the attack she sensed coming. "I beg your pardon?"<br /><br />Austen had changed since the cocky kid at the school podium. More than the expensive suit and cover-model haircut, his style shouted, "Warning: rich, influential, angry man with agenda. Look out."<br /><br />He leaned in. Not so his words were kept between them. No. In fact, he spoke loudly, with succinct clarity so the entire jury of her peers could hear. "It's not <i>my</i> pardon you need to beg, Bailey. It's my brother's."<br /></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15pt;">
<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">I know.
Right? A complete and utter jerk. So, what on earth would possess an author to
pick such an unlikable character to make her next hero?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">I wish
I could tell you. I honestly don't know. But I will say I found Austen
intriguing. I wanted to know why he was so caustic, so judgmental. I loved his
brother, Paul, so much I figured if Paul was so great surely there was some good,
something redeemable in Austen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">And I
learned a long time ago, while working with my first editor, that sometimes you
don't have any choice about who your characters choose to love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">My
third Harlequin Superromance is called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M6GDQ1G/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00M6GDQ1G&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwmeganc-20&linkId=N6F4SHOWTB3HIEA6" target="_blank">Back In Kansas</a>. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2d-IFvgkeL720PgJlAWqCDGhJy1KHc8TDLJqnS7mKQ7e2RHpvCXd72f2IMg55dtM-GRVtYj1PFvemSBTixrVhyELVXcJhTBQcbRaCafOuflOLG5v-y4_DOKW-6OjqoZuvocw6wY31Ofs/s1600/71ffSPC-aiL._SL1206_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2d-IFvgkeL720PgJlAWqCDGhJy1KHc8TDLJqnS7mKQ7e2RHpvCXd72f2IMg55dtM-GRVtYj1PFvemSBTixrVhyELVXcJhTBQcbRaCafOuflOLG5v-y4_DOKW-6OjqoZuvocw6wY31Ofs/s1600/71ffSPC-aiL._SL1206_.jpg" height="320" width="220" /></a></div>
This is a spin-off from a
book titled <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KF49WWI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00KF49WWI&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwmeganc-20&linkId=T5GVIYKPRE6GRNJ2" target="_blank">His Daddy's Eyes</a>. The hero, Bo, is a recovering alcoholic. And in
the course of writing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KF49WWI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00KF49WWI&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwmeganc-20&linkId=T5GVIYKPRE6GRNJ2" target="_blank">His Daddy's Eyes</a>, he proved to be a very annoying
character because he constantly wanted to be on center stage. I hate to admit
this to non-writers, but there came a time when I said out loud, "If you
want to be a hero, you can be a hero in the next book. Now, back off and be a
good secondary character so I can finish this book."<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">As
strange as that sounds, he did. So, when I was working on my next proposal, I talked
to my editor about who I thought would make a good heroine for Bo. She
hesitated a moment and said, "But, obviously he's in love with Claudie."
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">It was
my turn to hesitate a moment or three. "But Claudie is a reformed
prostitute," I reminded her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi56qn5Jm3Jso9WkuH-7U0fo6t-IJGUxzosD4m8BEsMa-YEwvHkEtmSFYcFvq1vx4ZbgM9BWnMFNzPk6BrlRkPtO_rTrYti9VzB8a6gCg28rgpZdGJhI27sqGZDzQmXGEwGnLX2MS1rwec/s1600/71ax8Fqv6mL._SL1206_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi56qn5Jm3Jso9WkuH-7U0fo6t-IJGUxzosD4m8BEsMa-YEwvHkEtmSFYcFvq1vx4ZbgM9BWnMFNzPk6BrlRkPtO_rTrYti9VzB8a6gCg28rgpZdGJhI27sqGZDzQmXGEwGnLX2MS1rwec/s1600/71ax8Fqv6mL._SL1206_.jpg" height="320" width="220" /></a><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">My
editor replied, nonchalantly, "I'm sure our readers are evolved enough to
know that not every character comes to a story with an unblemished past." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">The
voice in my head is freaking out. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"There's
blemished and then there's prostitute!"<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">To my
editor, of course, I said, "Okay. Let's give that a try. "<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">What
came out of that collaboration was a story that scared me to death to write but
connected powerfully with readers. And from that point on, I no longer was
afraid of unredeemable characters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">The fact
is every one of us has our not-so-heroic moments. We're human. Maybe that's
what makes the difficult ones--real and imagined--easy to relate to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">Austen Zabrinski
is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very</i> human. When we meet him in
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LW78OS0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00LW78OS0&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwmeganc-20&linkId=SSVNJLZEPXJH2L5V" target="_blank">Cowgirl Come Home</a>, he's going through an extremely tough time (off screen).
He's at a crossroads in his life and he's questioning whether everything he's
done to that point was for naught. We don't know any of this until he shows up
on my new heroine's doorstep needing help. Luckily, as fate would have it, she
is the perfect person to help him figure out exactly where he needs to be and
who he really is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">I love
it when that happens. Don't you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">Tell
me, as a reader, do you like it when a character surprises you? Can you recall
any characters that grew on you? I'll choose a random winner from all who reply
to win a $10 gift certificate from Amazon, PLUS a free, digital copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LW78OS0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00LW78OS0&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwmeganc-20&linkId=SSVNJLZEPXJH2L5V" target="_blank">Cowgirl Come Home</a> or the 12-author bundle <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MAYWYE4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00MAYWYE4&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwmeganc-20&linkId=WZL4PUYCM7Y4P34L" target="_blank">Summer Escape</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;">PS: the
title of this blog made me think of Englebert Humperdink's 1985 hit Please
Release Me. Here's the link in case you need a laugh. </span><a href="http://youtu.be/6S9ecXWCBCc"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://youtu.be/6S9ecXWCBCc</span></a><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;"> I'm still giggling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://debrasalonen.com/" target="_blank">Nobody's Cowboy</a> will be out August 29!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Palatino;"><i>From award-winning journalist to
nationally bestselling author with 26 published novels for Harlequin's
Superromance and American lines, <a href="http://www.debrasalonen.com/" target="_blank">Debra Salonen</a> brings humor and heart to her
stories. She was named Romantic Times Reviewer's Career Achievement
"Series Storyteller of the Year" in 2006. Her popular Indie release,
Are We There Yet, has been called "laugh-out-loud funny, poignant and just
plain fabulous!" Cowgirl Come Home, her newest release for Tule
Publishing, is a full-length novel set in Montana.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com208tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-12630522623434784022014-08-18T02:46:00.000-04:002014-08-18T02:46:21.502-04:00What every writer needs to knowby <a href="http://mariageraci.com/">Maria Geraci</a><br />
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<br />
As we wind down on our current cycle topic, The corn maze of novel writing, I have to laugh. Mostly at myself, because its what I seem to to be doing a lot of lately. Talk about irony. You see, I'm one of those pantsers who has desperately been trying to reinvent herself into a plotter. For those of you who don't know author speak, I'm trying to become someone <b>who outlines her novel</b>. Someone who actually knows what's going to happen next. Yes, one of<i> those</i> lovely people.<br />
<br />
You see, I have a dream. That dream includes writing a novel in sequential order with every little thing perfectly and neatly tied up the first time around.<br />
<br />
Sorry to say, my bubble or rather my dream has been busted. As they say in north Florida, <i>it ain't gonna happen</i>. Not for me anyway. And believe me I've tried.<br />
<br />
But the writing process isn't the same for everyone. Nor should it be. I know that and I now accept that. At the same time, I have to learn to write smarter. Not harder. I have to minimize the amount of revisions I do because I simply have to produce faster.<br />
<br />
After years of trying to figure it out, I think I have. At least, for now. Because if I know anything, it's that with each novel I write I learn something different, which ultimately alters my process. Hopefully for the better each time.<br />
<br />
What's my current process? It's a stripped down version of the barest bones character grid. Not a bio. Not really. Bios take too much time and frankly, they kind of bore of me. I like to discover my characters as I write them, but I also know there are certain things I need to know before I type out Chapter One. Otherwise, I'm in for a world of long and painful rewrites. And what I have to know is what my characters want. What they <b>really want</b>. And why they think they want it. And what it is that they really long for, but are too afraid to go after. If I know that, then I know them. Or at least as much as I need to know to start out my novel. And if know what my protagonist is really afraid of, then I know what my dark moment will look like. And guess what? I'm half-way there. Which is a lot better than where I was before.<br />
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How about you? What do you<b> need to know</b> before you begin writing that first sentence?<br />
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<i>Maria Geraci writes fun, romantic women's fiction, Her fourth novel, A GIRL LIKE YOU was a <strong style="background-color: white; color: #636363; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">2013 RITA ® Finalist</strong> . She is currently working on a contemporary romance trilogy scheduled for release in spring of 2015. You can connect with her by visiting </i><a href="http://www.mariageraci.com/">www.mariageraci.com</a><br />
<br />
<br />Maria Geracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02296473703226019932noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-36823709125119287932014-08-14T20:48:00.001-04:002014-08-14T20:48:21.373-04:00White Girl Gone Tribal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I want to go tribal, pound the earth with hands wide open, my butt high in the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> I like to get funky. I like to feel the earth under my feet and in my hands. </div>
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I want my white-boy son to dance with abandon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(So far, so good… When he was In Utero,
I played hip-hop--Nelly and Salt n' Pepa, that kinda thing, no classical music for him.) </div>
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<i>Music and writing:</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>both require the participant to say, ‘To hell with inhibitions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I came here to shake my ass! I came to represent and show you what I got.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both require the participant to be
loose and wild.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Both require us to dig deep. </span><i>Don’t reign things
in until the revision stage or until the band has stopped playing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></div>
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Music always plays a part in my writing. Mambo, Cha-Cha,
classical, Beatles, Bowie, Stevie, there’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> no telling. </span>“Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling
over my head…” (The Smiths) in <i>Above Us Only Sky</i> (Simon and Schuster, 2015).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love
to dance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love to be swept up in
rhythms, words and drums.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QUCiNtsUXO0PjENoqLX1z8pctqXUCHpq9NWxtLFwwyws_74jdhHgswNtZl1lXavL0LBj_6Z28Qg5VRcEG3FszaM8RVXC0xxrDJiTb-7XFue7fZRIFw4TOwzC6VOnQ32HDI88-rgD95k/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QUCiNtsUXO0PjENoqLX1z8pctqXUCHpq9NWxtLFwwyws_74jdhHgswNtZl1lXavL0LBj_6Z28Qg5VRcEG3FszaM8RVXC0xxrDJiTb-7XFue7fZRIFw4TOwzC6VOnQ32HDI88-rgD95k/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" height="200" width="132" /></a></div>
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You can tell a lot about a person by how they dance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ditto with how they write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My fourth novel, currently in progress,
takes place partly in Cuba so I am studying Caribbean culture and rhythms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My dear friend at Book Riot, Rebecca
Schinsky, recommended <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Land-Love-Drowning-A-Novel/dp/1594488339" target="_blank">THE LAND OF LOVE AND DROWNING </a>by Tiphanie Yanique as a
new and relevant novel I’d enjoy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It takes place in the Virgin Islands as they are passed from Dutch to
American hands. </div>
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Well, I am the kind of girl, dancer, and writer, who likes
to pay homage to my compadres.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With that in mind, if you enjoy mythic tales of native islanders, those
mixed-blood inhabitants of islands who lost their mixed roots, sand and hearts
to American tourism, this is a must-read for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story, incredibly and credibly dark and mythic, nearly makes you
question if incest is such a bad thing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As Madison Smart Belle writes in <i>The Boston Globe</i>, “<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Yanique has
borrowed a few pieces of furniture from the Southern Gothic attic. In place of
Faulkner’s preoccupation with miscegenation (sheer nonsense in Yanique’s
fictional world), there is incest... But is it always a bad
thing? The love of half-siblings … begets Youme, whose clubfoot ... and whose proud beauty becomes a totem
for the islanders’ struggle to take back their own. Small islands can be
incestuous places, and incest may stand for a certain way the mind has to
fertilize — and fortify — itself. This novel builds its best effects rather
slowly, but in the end Yanique succeeds in evoking the panorama of the Virgin
Islands in a voice all her own.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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So, if you’re looking for a book of dark myths and legends, the kind of book where you can feel the water in your veins and the sand under your fingernails, I highly
recommend <i>The Land of Love </i></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9VShDhkhALM0vix2nszjfQqst90jQxQvPm4WtFsE05VaS7NzmyEuoZm9NfET46eCIyluPg1xezrDoSg-teeXW0eGeRLmjayy1fgiUb_l83BKSw94LGRq9VdTFd70G6Aq24-COi4-tcU/s1600/getfunky.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9VShDhkhALM0vix2nszjfQqst90jQxQvPm4WtFsE05VaS7NzmyEuoZm9NfET46eCIyluPg1xezrDoSg-teeXW0eGeRLmjayy1fgiUb_l83BKSw94LGRq9VdTFd70G6Aq24-COi4-tcU/s1600/getfunky.jpeg" /></a></i></div>
<i>and Drowning</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is a unique and beautifully written debut novel. One of the main characters, Eeona, carries a silver jewel. I will <i>never</i> forget this diamond. Yanique writes with the same wild abandon her characters display. I have great admiration for her talent.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWX8O8hLKi2NY1yX1PLZ48d1Nzn-YfaQy-D7GRKNLhzPnc7FMYLzAa7yDB445H3qrYpIqX9dhKMilgAgjasL35bUHoP0pr1b6RFfUHFyjqyhKyUmpskPZQFLeqoO0aunDxVonEN5GUw7U/s1600/danceparty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWX8O8hLKi2NY1yX1PLZ48d1Nzn-YfaQy-D7GRKNLhzPnc7FMYLzAa7yDB445H3qrYpIqX9dhKMilgAgjasL35bUHoP0pr1b6RFfUHFyjqyhKyUmpskPZQFLeqoO0aunDxVonEN5GUw7U/s1600/danceparty.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXijLbTId-RdF5P7kO6atV1w9AxA4xmXMuPPqzeiMFxt1cGyW5y3XT5lUM_1o8vxmuvZxmCPtjraMigZCOtNtr2nwslrO0JkpQJ-5f5SPmsXFij8MAsLD128KQQU2MNaCMZENPZhb5cfM/s1600/ABOVE+US+final+for+galleys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXijLbTId-RdF5P7kO6atV1w9AxA4xmXMuPPqzeiMFxt1cGyW5y3XT5lUM_1o8vxmuvZxmCPtjraMigZCOtNtr2nwslrO0JkpQJ-5f5SPmsXFij8MAsLD128KQQU2MNaCMZENPZhb5cfM/s1600/ABOVE+US+final+for+galleys.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a>So, here's to getting funky, to writing and dancing equally with abandon. I'm so white, I imagine my ancestors were bad-ass Celtic priestesses who knew how to conjure all manner of magic with their beats.</div>
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<a href="http://www.micheleyoungstone.com/" target="_blank">Michele Young-Stone</a> is the author of <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780307464477" target="_blank">The Handbook for Lightning StrikeSurvivors </a>(Crown, 2010) and the forthcoming <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Above-Us-Only-Sky-Novel/dp/1451657676" target="_blank">Above Us Only Sky</a></i> (Simon and
Schuster, 2015).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is currently
working on a fourth novel.</div>
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Michele loves to write and dance. Go figure. </div>
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Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-70959486945501785422014-08-13T01:00:00.000-04:002014-08-13T01:00:01.568-04:00A Paperback Birthday means Prizes for you!<br />
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<span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 15pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">BREAKING NEWS!</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://femmesfatales.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a73df68c3a970d-popup" style="color: #003366; float: left; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="THE WRONG GIRL HC SP" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a73df68c3a970d img-responsive" src="http://femmesfatales.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a73df68c3a970d-320wi" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 0px;" title="THE WRONG GIRL HC SP" /></a><span style="color: #c00000;">THE WRONG GIRL wins the DAPHNE for Best Mystery/Suspense!</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;"> (You know what I mean..)</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://www.HankPhillippiRyan.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN</a>: Do you still read paperbacks?</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">If the answer is yes, keep reading—<span style="color: #c00000;">I have an irresistible offer for you.</span></span></strong></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">If the answer is no, keep reading. I will try to convince you. And then <span style="color: #c00000;">I will have an irresistible offer for you!</span></span></strong></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #c00000;">Paperbacks</span>. Their demise is a topic of discussion throughout the publishing world—will people give up the cheaper sometimes-flimsy paper-intensive mass market paperbacks in favor of ecologically-sound, lighter and paper-saving ebooks?</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">Well, interesting, huh? I have at least three rooms in my house-- well, actually four. Ah, five. Yeah, five--that have bookshelves in them,<span style="color: #c00000;">and I can tell you the paperback shelves are sometimes double-shelved.</span> You know, a row in the back and a row in the front.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">Do you do that? I mean, it’s kind of more storage than display, right? If someone asks—do you have, say, LORD OF THE FLIES? THE FIRM? THE HOBBIT? SILAS MARNER? WITNESS FOR THE PROSCECUTION? <span style="color: #c00000;">You’d say, oh sure. I have those! Well, great, but where? Can you find them?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://femmesfatales.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a3fd3beb6c970b-popup" style="color: #003366; float: left; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Paperback-books-published-010" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a3fd3beb6c970b img-responsive" src="http://femmesfatales.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a3fd3beb6c970b-320wi" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 0px;" title="Paperback-books-published-010" /></a>I fear I could not find them. But I cannot give them up.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">And yes, and yes, I continue to buy mass market paperbacks. They are perfect for the beach, right? If they get sand between the pages, or a few blotches of sunscreen smudge the especially smudgeable print, well, you don’t really care, right? And in a pinch, you MIGHT dog-ear a page, right? Come on, you MIGHT.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">They are great on planes, and in hotel rooms, and when you are finished,<span style="color: #c00000;"> you can leave them behind as a special gift to a housekeeper or the next guest</span>. Or tuck them into the seatback pocket for the flight attendant—they love to read!</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://femmesfatales.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a73df6e7d4970d-popup" style="color: #003366; float: left; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Paperbacks" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a73df6e7d4970d img-responsive" src="http://femmesfatales.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a73df6e7d4970d-320wi" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 0px;" title="Paperbacks" /></a>They are a staple in beach and vacation homes, of course. I love to walk into a summer home or a bed and breakfast, or a lovely inn, and amidst the fragrance of salt air and mildewy curtains and coconoutty sunscreen, and come upon <span style="color: #c00000;">an overflowing shelf of paperbacks so happily read</span>that the bindings are sprung and the pages are thick with the damp air.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">You know what I mean? They don’t even close anymore? And you know someone had a wonderful time. They are full of good energy.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">This weekend, we were in Tanglewood, and in the inn where we stayed, we found a book just like that—it was Ken Follett’s KEY TO REBECCA, and I bet Jonathan is about the millionth person to read that particular copy. Some other happy vacationer finished it, and left it behind for the next happy group. I love that.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">(I left behind the paperback of THE OTHER WOMAN. You never know who might read it, right? What if Steven Spielberg is the room’s next occupant? Ah HA.)</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">So I think summertime is the perfect paperback time. And that is why I am so thrilled that today is the paperback birth-month for THE WRONG GIRL.<br /><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://femmesfatales.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a73df6e81d970d-popup" style="color: #003366; float: right; text-decoration: underline;"> </a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://www.HankPhillippiRyan.com/" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">THE WRONG GIRL</a> had the extraordinary honor of winning both this year’s <strong>Agatha for Best Contemporary Novel, and the Daphne for Best Mystery/Suspense!</strong> It’s also an Anthony nominee.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">So to celebrate this paperback birthday: <strong><span style="color: #c00000;">two irresistible offers.</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">First: if you send me your proof of purchase of the paperback of THE WRONG GIRL, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win A Kindle Paperwhite, a Nook Glowlight or a $120 gift certificate to the bookstore of your choice!</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">Just email me through my website at <a href="http://www.HankPhillippiRyan.com/" style="color: #003366; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">http://www.HankPhillippiRyan.com</a> or at hryan@comcast.net</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">(See be</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://femmesfatales.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a511eb5350970c-popup" style="color: #003366; float: left; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="TOW cover" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a511eb5350970c img-responsive" src="http://femmesfatales.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cfbd053ef01a511eb5350970c-120wi" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 0px;" title="TOW cover" /></a></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">low for the fine print.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">Second! Tell us in the comments how you feel about paperbacks…<span style="color: #c00000;">and one lucky commenter will win the paperback of the Mary Higgins Clark award-winning THE OTHER</span></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #c00000;"> WOMAN!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 14pt;">Happy Paperback Birthday to THE WRONG GIRL! (You know what I mean....) </span></div>
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Contest rules: enter as often as you like—one receipt per entry. Three winners will be drawn at random, and winners can choose their prize. Contest ends August 15, 2014, and winners will be notified on August 16. US and Canada only, please.</div>
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Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-70966548250526704852014-08-11T20:00:00.000-04:002014-08-11T20:00:02.533-04:00Grow Big Dreams<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj008r27PgoiaAxDrWIQBaJ6qnlHCEG4mJqlgNX2pubNCmgB1DUvoITkYw2LZVybUeCJ9t0x28rAhI1aTTvHcJZCLJ0-62SmqhTwg6zyNsLsWO50fDI8Sm0cRSaXEJzQnhItzuUnvoQHIsM/s1600/Grow+Big+Dreams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj008r27PgoiaAxDrWIQBaJ6qnlHCEG4mJqlgNX2pubNCmgB1DUvoITkYw2LZVybUeCJ9t0x28rAhI1aTTvHcJZCLJ0-62SmqhTwg6zyNsLsWO50fDI8Sm0cRSaXEJzQnhItzuUnvoQHIsM/s1600/Grow+Big+Dreams.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a wall hanging (paint on a wood canvas) that<br />
my good friends Sarah, Karen & Joyce gave to me last<br />
week. I love it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
by <a href="http://www.marilynbrant.com/" target="_blank">Marilyn Brant</a><br />
<br />
Last month, a longstanding writing dream of mine finally came true, and the outpouring of cheers and support from fellow authors, reviewers, book bloggers, and readers was absolutely amazing to me. Also, in celebration, some of the dearest people in my life (my nearby friends and family) surprised me with treats to mark the special occasion and, really, just to show me how much they care.<br />
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The gifts themselves were lovely -- and I've included pictures of some of them in this post -- but the biggest present was the fact that all of these wonderful people, who'd shared this milestone with me, knew how long and hard I'd worked toward this dream...and they'd been there from the beginning.<br />
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My son, now fifteen, doesn't even remember a time before I was a writer. I've been at it for fourteen years of his life, and he's tolerated sharing my attention with his "electronic sibling" (i.e., my laptop) ever since babyhood. When he was eight, the manuscript that eventually became my debut novel was up for RWA's Golden Heart Award, and he gave me his "lucky quarter" from his coin collection to take with me to Dallas for the conference/award ceremony. I think he squealed louder than I did when I told him over the phone that <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/According-Jane-Marilyn-Brant-ebook/dp/B002OFVOVS/" target="_blank">According to Jane</a></i> had won.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXYDlkJ3LLhaRv_ux6b_ewOpV2-baYmcf0KvszsGCUaSKff6KuE8kAjd9TbhOogd4_-_sR6MnB5nwL1s7KciOYyRAeWL0ZOce55j9wQJ0zkRPi06C8VWtwLDa6TgoSahaeebyCvtYe7Q3/s1600/celebration+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXYDlkJ3LLhaRv_ux6b_ewOpV2-baYmcf0KvszsGCUaSKff6KuE8kAjd9TbhOogd4_-_sR6MnB5nwL1s7KciOYyRAeWL0ZOce55j9wQJ0zkRPi06C8VWtwLDa6TgoSahaeebyCvtYe7Q3/s1600/celebration+cake.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My son made me a "Celebration Candy<br />
Cake" -- complete with M&Ms, Milk<br />
Duds, and Reese's Pieces on top -- a<br />
chocolate lover's fantasy dessert.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My high-school-teaching husband, who'd married me over twenty years ago and thought I'd always be a teacher, too, didn't skip a beat in encouraging me to completely change career paths and follow my passion for fiction, if that was where my heart was... In fact, he was the one who'd insisted I go to my first local romance-writer meeting in Chicago, and he urged me to take a leap of faith and attend the 2003 RWA National Conference in NYC, just so I could find out for sure if this was really the journey I wanted to take. He's read almost every manuscript I've ever written -- over a dozen of them now, the poor guy -- and, as someone with a master's degree in English Lit who'd once been a professional proofreader, he even volunteered his excellent proofing skills for many of my stories. Yes, I know he's awesome.<br />
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And my wonderful girlfriends who live in town with me -- Sarah, Joyce, and Karen -- have been there to celebrate everything from my first publishing contract (over six years ago) to every local book signing and library presentation to various book club visits and a ton of unusual events in between. Sometimes this even involved taking overnight trips across state lines. They are, in a word, <i>remarkable</i>, and I was so damn lucky to meet them a decade ago.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlrL261xEFRIqlyoPJYKJSrpFACG3MoVvI__4QGdWzKUOCXuvN97kJ1YgQr461ZX2GpFCXaghaMx1xWy5A6vvrqKqe6gTb_89Sam5csas7npUchcZUmtkbQw0aWUBhFQ5tTaxrJk7P_sJ/s1600/Flowers+for+NYT+&+USAT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlrL261xEFRIqlyoPJYKJSrpFACG3MoVvI__4QGdWzKUOCXuvN97kJ1YgQr461ZX2GpFCXaghaMx1xWy5A6vvrqKqe6gTb_89Sam5csas7npUchcZUmtkbQw0aWUBhFQ5tTaxrJk7P_sJ/s1600/Flowers+for+NYT+&+USAT.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flowers my husband brought home for me,<br />
right after I told him the exciting news.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's one thing to have a big dream -- and mine was to finally hit the <i>New York Times Best-Seller List</i> -- but to have people in your life who are willing to share each step in your crazy writing adventure, celebrate with you when things are going well, and listen to you weep in your hazelnut coffee when the challenges seem to outweigh the delights...that's priceless. Dreaming big dreams may be an individual thing, but achieving big dreams, well, that takes a village. Sometimes, a metropolis.<br />
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So, my heartfelt appreciation goes out to every person -- both in the writing world and outside of it -- who gave me a smile, good advice, or an encouraging word to help me keep my spirits up during those times of struggle. There were many, and there will be more in the years ahead. This profession is such a roller-coaster ride, I know... And thanks, too, to those same people who danced with me (virtually or in person -- perhaps only stopping for chocolate/dessert breaks) when there was a reason for joy. I'm hoping there will be more days like that ahead as well.<br />
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I wish all of you the BIGGEST of dreams and, just as much, I wish you the supportive people who'll be there for you on your journey toward reaching them. When you get there, be sure to tell them thanks :) .<br />
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Who are some of the people in your life who have been most supportive of you??<br />
___<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZPE8hwYLntuOpka_rcFi7Sd6LXmlA7YJgXhber0eoXF1JA0Y_uy8UHPU7361gRsglRBzAd55RHGb4CJg4djlnRSeOsMy5sJu_ZQBG4n2B8kBuuU7Hv8R_tat3M8f1tzZVhe6aSno7vBT/s1600/Perfect+Bet+-cover-+Brant+155x233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZPE8hwYLntuOpka_rcFi7Sd6LXmlA7YJgXhber0eoXF1JA0Y_uy8UHPU7361gRsglRBzAd55RHGb4CJg4djlnRSeOsMy5sJu_ZQBG4n2B8kBuuU7Hv8R_tat3M8f1tzZVhe6aSno7vBT/s1600/Perfect+Bet+-cover-+Brant+155x233.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.marilynbrant.com/" target="_blank">Marilyn Brant </a>is a <i>New York Times & USA Today</i> bestselling author of contemporary women's fiction, romantic comedy and mystery. She was named Author of the Year (2013) by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. She loves all things Jane Austen, as well as Sherlock Holmes stories, traveling, music, chocolate & gelato. Her latest romantic comedy is <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Perfect-Marilyn-Brant-ebook/dp/B00LROV6NI/" target="_blank">Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet </a></i>(July 2014), and look for the expanded women's fiction edition of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Road-You-Marilyn-Brant-ebook/dp/B00FIXEVY0/" target="_blank">The Road to You</a></i>, entitled <i><b>The Road and Beyond</b></i>, coming in September!Marilyn Branthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05303846770348840645noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-30158308231239051962014-08-07T08:34:00.000-04:002014-08-07T08:34:11.923-04:00Remind Me to Stick to Writing by Jenny Gardiner<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px;">
<i> hi! I have limited internet access right now so don't have time to post something on theme this time around so I'm posting a column from my newspaper column! </i><br />
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I hate that I'm an arts ignoramus. I wish I were that person who could steep myself in a classical music concert and not want to flee for the exit doors (although in truth, I get tired of even a normal concert after an hour or so and want to be done with that as well). Or trot out to the ballet and really absorb the beauty before my eyes, rather than fidgeting or clock-watching. But try as I might, I just don't tend to gravitate toward fine art. I guess I'm a déclassé slob.</div>
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I'm ashamed to admit the extent of my fine arts education (or at least that which imprinted in the haze of my brain) sprung from dubious sources. For painting, the board game <i>Masterpiece</i> was my instructor. Yep, my grasp of the Dutch Masters ran to the famed Rembrandt rendering of an old man who looks like an old woman with a feather in his/her cap. American classics? That celebrated all-night diner oil painting by Edward Hopper. I was particularly proud of myself when I recently recognized a spoof of Hopper's painting in the window of an alternative art gallery in Philadelphia. And to think I owe it all to <i>Masterpiece</i> creators, Parker Brothers!</div>
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My appreciation of classical music and opera begins and ends pretty much at the Barber of Seville (make that <i>Rabbit</i> of Seville; thanks, Bugs Bunny). To be fair, I could throw in Elmer Fudd's Wagnerian masterpiece, "Kill the Wabbit!", just to put a finer point on that bonanza of childhood musical education. Likely my aversion toward classical music was further enhanced by my mother and her husband bombarding us with Pachebel's Canon till our ears practically bled. Gimme Bugs Bunny any day over that! In the immortal words of boxer Roberto Durán, no mas!</div>
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The first time I traveled to Italy we hired a tour guide to show us around Florence for a few hours. The guide, an American ex-pat, had majored in Art History during college in the States, and immersed herself in glorious Renaissance art while studying abroad, loving the culture so much she stayed. I was amazed at the breadth of her knowledge and even more so the depth of her passion for the subject matter — a double whammy of art <i>and</i> history zeal. Damn! When I was 18 years old, it would not have dawned on me to consider studying art. I thought I needed to pursue an area of study that would lead to a steady income (though recognize in hindsight that journalism didn't made so much sense in that endeavor). But art? I can't even doodle well! Why would I bother?</div>
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Yes, I admit it: I'm a cultural troglodyte.</div>
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I don't doubt that the manner in which history and art are taught contribute to one's ability to ingest it. I had a peculiar professor in a mandatory European history class during college who felt compelled to act out the high (or low) points of a thousand years of Europe, taking on often many roles in each class. I suppose there are those who were on board with it; I just thought it was a weird distraction.</div>
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Yet when I've toured historical venues over the years, I find it most interesting to learn about day-to-day life from so long ago — in some way I can better relate to that versus what Charlemagne was up to on his horse. Perhaps if I had approached the study of history and art from a plebian perspective, it would have struck a more familiar nerve, instead of merely ringing hollow. Better yet, perhaps an historical People Magazine-style education would have done it: celebrity gossip from the Middle Ages! <i>Who's cheating on whom! What's popular this week in illuminated manuscripts and Gregorian Chants!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Drats. Where my interest thrives in useless pop culture, it plummets when it comes to <i>cultured</i> culture.</div>
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One thing I think would have helped immensely is emphasizing the whole notion of history being doomed to repeat itself. The older I get the more I see this again and again, and from this perspective it is ingrained into my brain more readily. It seems not a day goes by when that adage isn't reinforced in the news (Soviets invade Afghanistan; Soviets fail in Afghanistan. America invades Iraq; well, you know the drill.)</div>
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Perhaps I'm taking baby steps toward acquiring some cultural enlightenment. <i>Ish.</i> Making a foray into a classier classicism, if you could dare call it that (granted it was by accident, but whatever works). Several weeks ago we purchased tickets to see Ben Folds in concert at Wolf Trap Farm Park. Folds is a musical genius whose earlier foray into contemporary music featured profanity-laced lyrics that are largely unprintable. He's since evolved, even launching the popular <i>a capella</i> show <i>Sing Off</i>, with nary an f-bomb.</div>
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Too late I realized Folds was performing with the National Symphony Orchestra, which I figured meant I'd be asleep in ten minutes once under the influence of the dulcet strains of the violin section. One person in our group — perhaps influenced by an upbringing devoid of musical culture (my bad!) — didn't care for the symphonic component of the program, But most unexpectedly, I was quite mesmerized by the merging of disparate musical genres in such a beautiful way. And when he impulsively composed an orchestral piece on the spot, teaching each part section by section, well, wow. It helped me to really appreciate how disparate instruments (and their masters) get along for the greater good of the group. It gives you a sense of comfort in this sometimes very dark world that ultimately people can work together to achieve something bigger than themselves as individuals.</div>
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Maybe it's never too late to start with this newfound appreciation for the arts. Perhaps in addition to doing a bike or walking tour in the next city I visit, I'll venture into the museum as well. Certainly if they have air conditioning. And maybe a lovely little café. Baby steps, people.</div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/oanku9"><b>Sleeping with Ward Cleaver</b></a><br />
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<b><a href="http://amzn.to/psB3rt">Slim to None</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="http://amzn.to/tCOZhn">Anywhere But Here</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="http://amzn.to/ndzYDj">Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="http://amzn.to/oE2UvG">Accidentally on Purpose</a></b> (written as Erin Delany)<br />
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<b><a href="http://amzn.to/p57Klb">Compromising Positions</a></b> (written as Erin Delany)<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Biggest-Bitch-This-Relationship-ebook/dp/B0052RHDLK/ref=kinw_dp_ke?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2">I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in this Relationship</a></b> (I'm a contributor)<br />
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And these shorts:<br />
<b><a href="http://amzn.to/LqDMU4">Idol Worship: A Lost Week with the Weirdos and Wannabes at American Idol Auditions</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="http://amzn.to/NapF2C">The Gall of It All: And None of the Three F's Rhymes with Duck</a></b><br />
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<a href="http://amzn.to/MWfoUs">Naked Man On Main Street</a><br />
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find me on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jennygardinerbooks">fan page</a><br />
find me on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jennygardiner">here</a><br />
find me on my <a href="http://www.jennygardiner.net/">website</a>Jenny Gardinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958016422431736544noreply@blogger.com81tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-80291686367563644722014-08-05T21:17:00.000-04:002014-08-05T21:20:47.949-04:00Writing My Way Out of the Maze by Jess Riley<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi! So, this posting cycle’s topic is pretty timely for me: “Lost
in the Cornfield Maze.” I actually feel like my work-in-progress has me
somewhere in the middle of the hedge maze in <i>The Shining</i> and Jack’s on the
loose, but on with the story. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Last summer I was laid off. It turned out to be temporary,
but I immediately strapped myself into my office chair, rolled up my sleeves,
and prepared to write my way out of dying in a Dickensian debtor’s prison.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I wrote. And I wrote. By August, I had nearly a hundred
pages of fairly decent material cobbled together. But at that point, three
things happened: 1) I was offered three freelance editing jobs that I’d be
crazy to pass up; 2) I was offered my old job back; and 3) the novel I’d worked
on for more than a decade and released in July had sold barely enough copies to
pay for my publicist. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So I stopped working on my novel, at least for the ten-month
grant writing season ahead of me. I shelved those hundred pages. I needed a
break from thinking about any of it, and I needed to focus on things that actually paid my bills and kept me out of that Dickensian debtor's prison. But over the last few months, I didn't
forget about the story—I squirreled away ideas and notes as they came to me,
anticipating the month of July when I could dust off my project and finish it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This July arrived. And when I looked at my manuscript, I got
a headache. What was I thinking, writing science fiction? Or featuring four—maybe
more!—point-of-view characters? With myriad connections? And interwoven past
lives? And a multi-state setting in the year 2060?!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I re-read the whole thing and was surprised that I liked it better
than I remembered. But I knew I was lost. I needed to storyboard this beast—color-code
characters, including their back stories (and past lives!) and physical
appearances and motivations. I needed to outline whose chapter came next, and
what would happen in it. I needed to remember what <b>season </b>it was, for crying
out loud. There were so many loose ends and bits of incomprehensible nonsense
it was like a knitting factory had exploded inside that horrible new Scarlett
Johansson movie.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The big picture was overwhelming. So I lost most of July to
procrastination. Reading. Gardening. Planning a kitchen and bath reno. Having fun with friends and family. You
know, what most people would call living. It was fantastic. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But in the back of my head, I knew I needed to at least
finish a decent chunk of the novel, plus a synopsis, if only so I can send it
to my agent and see if this sucker has legs. It’s the
hardest and strangest and most exciting thing I've ever written. I could have walked away, but it's speaking to me again, and I'm too curious to see what happens next.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So I am butt-in-chair. It’s the only way. I tell
myself,<i> Just two pages a day</i>. Bit by bit. Finish your outline and map things
visually near your desk. And write your way out of the damn maze.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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PS: Do any of you use Scrivener? I have it, but I felt like I needed to storyboard the tutorial and then pour myself a huge glass of wine and play Plants vs. Zombies until my brain stopped buzzing.</div>
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~~~~~</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://jessriley.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jess Riley</a> is the author of <i><b>Driving Sideways, All the Lonely People</b>,</i> and <i><b>Mandatory Release</b></i>. She is currently remodeling her kitchen, bathroom, and novel-in-progress all at once because she loves a challenge.</div>
Jess Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06987689969282168406noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-48158601414972205032014-08-05T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-05T00:00:04.712-04:00IT'S NOT EASY BEING A FUNNY GIRL <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigs_zE0jFu7mMlU4mLQFgDgxAHFP4TVrYodgiQPOd3kgjXlgU4iiYhJxPGWu1MHMsDjCUwfora29t6Ufbb9ubvD5GOOGRhABICJIv8z6a82am2nF6r3BgxaFdCd5DBU_hDnvkaWXfkHsKT/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigs_zE0jFu7mMlU4mLQFgDgxAHFP4TVrYodgiQPOd3kgjXlgU4iiYhJxPGWu1MHMsDjCUwfora29t6Ufbb9ubvD5GOOGRhABICJIv8z6a82am2nF6r3BgxaFdCd5DBU_hDnvkaWXfkHsKT/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="320" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Funny Girl Saralee Rosenberg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />
Who needs a laugh? Everyone! Yet women like me who write funny novels are considered
the Rodney Dangerfields of publishing. We get no respect. Actually, we’re likened
more to the childrens’ photographers at Sears. Everyone loves our work but rare
is the reader who considers it art. <br />
<br />
A few years ago, Jennifer Weiner took on Jonathan Franzen in a digital duel,
arguing that chick lit and humorous novels by women were the bread and butter
of publishing. They just weren’t all that much fun at the bank. She got nailed
for bitching about the disparity between men and women authors, but she was right.<br />
<br />
Why do you think that when J.K. Rowling wrote an adult thriller last year, she resurfaced
using the man’s name, Robert Galbraith? <br />
<br />
Historically, male authors have commanded the big advances, the talk show
appearances and the take-a-bow reviews. Even male novelists who write funny, like Carl Hiassen and Joshua Ferris, get to don the matching
club jackets, like NFL Hall of Famers. <br />
<br />
It’s no joke.<br />
<br />
Q. How many male novelists does it take to screw in a light bulb?<br />
<b>A:</b> Nothing happens for 450 pages; receives fourteen
awards.<br />
(<a href="http://the-toast.net/2013/11/04/male-novelist-jokes/">http://the-toast.net/2013/11/04/male-novelist-jokes/</a>)<br />
<br />
I raise the issue because I have just finished reading two Jonathan Tropper novels,
THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU and ONE LAST THING BEFORE I GO. His work is a
delight. Hilarious, honest, touching and filled with pathos. He deserves his
success, including the film adaptation of THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU, due out in
September.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHNjN-1EC7qJp1Fq-UEsT0H5gb3OqU7uhM3tDRyvUttMvUtT0AyaEgT8lY74NMQGWAUf_bXWBTydpVvovp1HY2YoClND3GhTz_XgXeCpmQbtH3WfZouT0fdVALUeou97A6jJhgpPPNkt6/s1600/jonathan-tropper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHNjN-1EC7qJp1Fq-UEsT0H5gb3OqU7uhM3tDRyvUttMvUtT0AyaEgT8lY74NMQGWAUf_bXWBTydpVvovp1HY2YoClND3GhTz_XgXeCpmQbtH3WfZouT0fdVALUeou97A6jJhgpPPNkt6/s1600/jonathan-tropper.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan Tropper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I don’t begrudge him or any novelist success. I just wish that the double
standard would die. Like Jonathan Tropper, my novels A LITTLE HELP FROM ABOVE,
CLAIRE VOYANT, FATE AND MS. FORTUNE and DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD are funny,
heartfelt tales of Jewish families in distress. They also have been optioned for films and are beloved by book
clubs, especially after the ladies have read one too many dark, literary (and often boring)
novels. <br />
<br />
Or as I often hear after a discussion, “When I read your book I laughed, cried and
wouldn’t come out of the bathroom until I finished. When I read INSERT LITERARY TITLE, my mind drifted and I wondered if my Taco Bell coupons were
still good.”<br />
<br />
Not to worry! I am at work on a funny new novel that may be my best yet. I'm just not taking any chances. It will be submitted under a male pseudonym.<br />
<br />
Signed,<br />
<br />
Seymour Butts<br />
Author of UNDER THE GRANDSTAND <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><i>For a good time, visit Saralee Rosenberg's website. <a href="http://www.saraleerosenberg.com/">www.saraleerosenberg.com</a></i></span>Saralee Rosenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01595673591577424238noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-48804487495477611492014-07-31T21:15:00.000-04:002014-07-31T21:15:48.570-04:00An Amazing Thing Happened on the Way to My Eighth Draft<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://scontent-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t31.0-8/1402248_705060302884076_907926947247910818_o.jpg?dl=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://scontent-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t31.0-8/1402248_705060302884076_907926947247910818_o.jpg?dl=1" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Without my electronic hearing devices I am almost as deaf as these marble busts</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
When you are a writer and something extraordinary happens to you, you sometimes put your work on hold to capture the experience in writing. I had such an episode last spring.<br />
<br />
What you don't know about me is that I have struggled with hearing loss for most of my life. Recent accelerated deterioration of my good ear had pushed me to consult a new specialist. But rather than fixing what was wrong with my good ear, the doctor prescribed surgery for a cochlear implant in my bad ear. I was skeptical, unable to imagine how a cochlear implant would be any different than struggling with hearing aids that simply amplify what's left of bad hearing, including poor discrimination and missing frequencies. It felt as if I were taking the next step into the world of total deafness; another futile expenditure of time and money for nothing that would make any difference. I left the doctor's office and sat in my car and cried. <br />
<br />
But then I met the people in the support group who'd had the cochlear implant surgery, and their hearing was better than mine. I began to understand that an implant works differently than a hearing aid since it bypasses the dysfunction of the middle ear to work directly with the brain. I imagined the possibility of improved hearing for myself. And so I had the operation. <br />
<br />
The <a href="http://acochlearimplantdiary.com/2014/05/06/activation-day/" target="_blank">experience of having my new ear "turned on"</a> was something I had to capture in writing and share; people who suffer from hearing loss do not know about the recent drastic improvements in technology. I'd had no idea! So my novel-in-progress went on the back burner while I documented the entire experience in a blog: from the story of my childhood ear infections and gradual but profound loss of hearing, through surgery and recovery, to the amazing experience of listening to the jingle of a broken lightbulb held next to my new 'ear'. <br />
<br />
Now I am back at work on my novel.<br />
<br />
Click to visit: <a href="http://www.acochlearimplantdiary.com/" target="_blank">A Cochlear Implant Diary: Memoirs of a Bad Ear</a><br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOKdXQtIP_hDMYigiDdwe0vfYTAWKEQgeYomWyi-Vqnbv0vYgjHDbKMxEUMgKYrjHdkCA6TLwDhExWYawSETh0inS5mhWFINz4V3VE4UcubW0xH4N9sKvTfgH__y0yasBaoOLGe1gKGQ/s1600/cindyjonesauthorpicture111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOKdXQtIP_hDMYigiDdwe0vfYTAWKEQgeYomWyi-Vqnbv0vYgjHDbKMxEUMgKYrjHdkCA6TLwDhExWYawSETh0inS5mhWFINz4V3VE4UcubW0xH4N9sKvTfgH__y0yasBaoOLGe1gKGQ/s200/cindyjonesauthorpicture111.jpg" height="200" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039) 1px 1px 5px; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="101" /></span></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ujqeqm0_dqOpxbroheAjZqsrC3ddQhyddBKaZ_Blo7LgPxZnKUzwpWZrYgHGFBECvRSBqDuSnJfHEQLj5G9gqFmRka6JZO_0MFIRYq99tg4jVsovqYdie2XdQjba7cnj2ihgH1AEf7Y/s1600/AustenSummer%252520pb%252520c%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ujqeqm0_dqOpxbroheAjZqsrC3ddQhyddBKaZ_Blo7LgPxZnKUzwpWZrYgHGFBECvRSBqDuSnJfHEQLj5G9gqFmRka6JZO_0MFIRYq99tg4jVsovqYdie2XdQjba7cnj2ihgH1AEf7Y/s200/AustenSummer%252520pb%252520c%255B1%255D.JPG" height="200" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039) 1px 1px 5px; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="132" /></span></span></a><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>Cindy Jones is the author of </i>My Jane Austen Summer <i>as well as work-in-progress about look-alike friends who trade places while under dangerous influence of Romantic Poets. Follow: </i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i><a href="http://www.cindysjones.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">website</a></i><br /><i><a href="http://cindysjones.com/blog/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">blog</a></i><br /><i><a href="http://www.facebook.com/cindyjonesbooks" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">facebook</a></i><br /><i><a href="https://twitter.com/cindysjones" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">twitter</a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Jane-Austen-Summer-Mansfield/dp/0062003976/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295491562&sr=1-1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">amazon</a></i></span></div>
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<br />Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-50264185053872737742014-07-31T08:26:00.000-04:002014-07-31T08:28:26.862-04:00Trust the Maze by Christa AllanSometimes writing is like spending months studying Italian only to discover, when your plane lands, that you're in Greece. Eventually, you drink some <a href="http://www.greecefoods.com/ouzo/" target="_blank">ouzo</a> (which is capable of rendering you nearly comatose), visit a few islands, and come to embrace this new territory. It may not be where you wanted to go, but you discover that it's exactly where you needed to be.<br />
<br />
Until I wrote my first novel, I had not walked through what we're calling this cycle the "corn maze" of writing. In fact, I attended conferences and would overhear published authors saying to one another, "My character just refused to do what I needed him to do," or "I had no idea where this character came from." I'd tiptoe to the nearest corner and wonder how it was I came to be with this strange group of adults who must have missed their imaginary friend stage as children.<br />
<br />
And then I started <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Broken-Glass-Christa-Allan/dp/1426702272" target="_blank">Walking on Broken Glass</a></i>. My protagonist's husband, Carl, suddenly had a brother. I never intended for him to have a sibling. He just appeared straight from my fingertips and onto my screen. I still remember looking at my monitor and saying, "What the hell...?" This brother, it turned out, influenced decisions Carl's parents made that ultimately determined what motivated some of Carl's actions in the novel.<br />
<br />
In <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Threads-Hope-Quilts-Love-Series/dp/1426752660" target="_blank">Threads of Hope,</a></i> an elderly couple came out of nowhere and met my protagonist at the airport where she was waiting to board a plane to take her to her new life. They shared their lives with her, and Italy became Greece.<br />
<br />
Then in my first (and only!) historical,<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Love-Finds-You-New-Orleans-ebook/dp/B007RWEPRI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406809453&sr=1-1&keywords=love+finds+you+in+new+orleans" target="_blank"> Love Finds You in New Orleans</a></i>, a minor character became a major player in turning the plot into an unexpected direction.<br />
<br />
I just started my next project, <i>An Unexpected Christmas</i>, a novella that's going to be my first-ever self-published ebook (insert excitement here!). Pulling it together was like trying to shove an octopus into a box. Then Seymour came along.<br />
<br />
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Seymour is an actual rescue dog, and my husband's vet clinic is trying to find him a forever home. He's as impish as he is adorable, and he's exactly what my protagonist needs to shake up her life.</div>
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Sometimes it really is all about walking through the corn maze long enough to find your way out.</div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Christa Allan's newest novel, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Test-Faith-Christa-Allan/dp/1426733267" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration: none;">Test of Faith</a></i>, released in March. You can find her at<a href="http://www.christaallan.com/" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #980027;">www.christaallan.com</span></a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ChristaAllan.Author" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #980027;">Facebook</span></a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/ChristaAllan" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #980027;">Twitter</span></a>. She and her husband live in New Orleans with their three neurotic cats and new dog, Herman. You can find her other novels <a href="http://here./" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #be0027;">here.</span></a></span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-91699106673121007562014-07-29T04:00:00.000-04:002014-07-29T04:00:03.713-04:00Holy poop - I'm a RITA winner! by<a href="http://www.lauradrakebooks.com/" target="_blank"> Laura Drake</a><br />
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This stuff does NOT happen to me. Seriously. I keep thinking that this is the BEST kind of dream, and I'm going to wake up. I find myself staring at 'The Lady' like she's going to disappear. <br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Spot-Love-Book-ebook/dp/B00A6GWJJI/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406584979&sr=1-1&keywords=The+sweet+spot+laura" target="_blank">The Sweet Spot</a></i> double finaled - but I knew with a crowded field (including huge names like Jill Shalvis and Nora) that I had no shot. I had such an incredible conference, that I thought it would be greedy to want to win, too. I was living on adrenaline all week, and the Best First Book was the very last category. I was zoned out, seeing my headshot and my book on the jumbo screen when Nora (yes, THE Nora) announced the winner. I screamed, my agent, Nalini, screamed and hugged me. I screamed more, and she told me I had to 'get up there'. Oh, yeah.<br />
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Shaking, dreading a wardrobe malfunction, I walked to the stage. Some friends of mine who know me were discussing in the bar the night before, how I was likely to trip on my dress, fall, and knock my front teeth out (they know me well). So I took my time, and made it up the stairs without mishap.<br />
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They handed me the statue - damn, she's <i>heavy</i>! (6.2 lbs - not like I weighed it or anything) Then I walked to the podium, where NORA HUGGED ME!!! I pulled my index card out of my cleavage and everyone laughed. Hey, the dress was pocket-challenged . . . where was I supposed to keep it?!<br />
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I stumbled through my speech with only a couple of notable screw-ups. Not bad, considering I was breathing like a buffalo!<br />
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I'm so incredibly grateful, to RWA, as well as all the people who've congratulated me, many of whom I didn't even know.<br />
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://youtu.be/d641Hq_iZw8?list=UUexKC_mroN5YluFQ2pDJjHw" target="_blank">Here's</a> a link to my amazing, spastic moment in the spotlight.</h4>
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Now I'm home, and 'The Lady' has a place of honor. </div>
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Cinderella has returned to cinders. I'm doing laundry and cleaning kitty litter. Sigh.</div>
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All I can do now is try to 'pay it forward' by encouraging others.<br />
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Oh yeah, and try to write a better book.<br />
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<br />Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-79547265501136556732014-07-28T00:28:00.000-04:002014-07-28T00:28:57.215-04:00Pitching a Book, Pitching a Business
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">by Wendy Tokunaga </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">A few months ago my
husband quit his job to start his own business. He’s helped co-found a couple
of companies before, but with this one it’s just him and his partner, who is
located in a different state. So this is an exciting and important time. I want
to help him as much as I can, but I’m not directly involved in the business.
His industry is medical imaging, where he has many years of experience. I’ve
worked in a few tech startups in the past in an editorial capacity, but I don’t
have any expertise in my husband’s industry. I haven’t been sure how much help
I can provide him in this new venture other than to give emotional support.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">One way to get money to
run the company is to tap venture capital (VC) funders or “angel” investors. We
live in the heart of Silicon Valley so there are many such funders in the area.
My husband started to devise a slide presentation to explain what his company
does to prepare to pitch to VCs and investors. I had him practice in front of
me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">To be honest, the
presentation was much too long, rather dull and full of technical jargon the
average person wouldn’t understand. I could comprehend very little of what he
was saying. Something struck me immediately: he needed to use much simpler,
to-the-point-language, leave out all the extraneous details and clearly describe
the problem that his product solves and its benefits. He needed to tell it like
a concise, compelling story. It was then that I realized that some of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">my</i> expertise could help him. This was
not unlike writing a query letter or pitching a novel to an agent. And this was
a lot like the editorial service I’ve provided at writers conferences where I
listen to an author’s pitch and tell her how to break it down so it’s short,
sweet and compelling enough, with just the right amount of plot details and
character motivations to make an agent sit up, take notice and request the full
manuscript.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">And it turns out that
when you’re giving an initial business pitch, you’re not allowed to use Power
Point. You must relay it in a two-minute speech. You can even do “speed dating”
with investors. This, of course, is very familiar to me—how many times had I
done speed dating with agents when I was pre-pubbed?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">My husband and I
attended a “Shark Tank” investors pitch event just to see how this operates and
it was quite eye opening. A lot of people had the same problem—they didn’t know
how to effectively explain their business in two minutes. The ones who were
chosen to meet with VCs had their pitch down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So I was able to give my
husband some good advice on his pitch. And a few days later we went together to
a pitch workshop and I was validated to hear the facilitator give largely the
same advice. Why would a VC even think to fund you if you can’t give a
compelling story about your product and clearly explain in jargon-free language
what it’s about and why it’s worth his while? It’s the same with an agent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I may not be able to
help my husband’s company by coding in JavaScript or C++, but I feel good that
there is some concrete way that I can give him support. We’re in this together
and I’m looking forward to exciting times ahead.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My
husband is blogging about his experience starting up his startup. You can read
about his adventures here: <a href="http://rerereboot.blogspot.com/">http://rerereboot.blogspot.com/</a></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Wendy
Tokunaga is a novelist, creative writing teacher and manuscript consultant.
Find out more about her at her website <a href="http://www.wendytokunaga.com/">www.WendyTokunaga.com</a> and find her on Twitter at
@Wendy_Tokunaga</span></i></div>
Wendy Tokunagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03529294803049232598noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-71315295046596029142014-07-25T02:00:00.000-04:002014-07-25T02:00:00.634-04:00Leslie Langtry Has Presbyterian...no, Presbyhopetia...no, Needs Bifocals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm getting old.<br />
How do I know this? Because I had to get bifocals. Sigh.<br />
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I didn't<i> want </i>to. But things were getting a little (ok, a LOT) blurry around the edges and I realized I couldn't keep looking over my glasses at the computer (mainly because it hurt). Nor could I reach far enough away to hit the keyboard and see the screen clearly. And I have the arms of an orangutan. Seriously, my ballet teacher in college said, 'you have unusually long arms for a woman' and I didn't punch him in the face - not even once.<br />
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As an author - I NEED to be able to see my computer screen. I don't want to have to go back to a typewriter or pen and pencil - although I'd probably have the same problem there. So what do I do? I ask my friends and family.<br />
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Two people said, "Get multifocal contacts! You'll hate them for a couple of weeks, but then you'll love them!"<br />
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Four people said, "Get no line bifocals! You'll hate them for a couple of weeks, but then you'll love them!"<br />
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My eye doctor said, "Get progressive bifocals! They're like trifocals. You'll hate them for a couple of weeks, but then you'll love them!"<br />
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Too many options, but interestingly - the same result. Every single person I asked said I'd hate them first, then love them. That didn't sound good. I needed to write during those two weeks. I guess I could have dictated to my teenage daughter and then hide my irritability as she uses the two-finger hunt and peck method. I could do that Dragon software where you talk to the computer and it types it out - but then I have terrible luck with Siri on my phone. When I say, "Call my husband," she always asks me if I want to, "All lie fluffpin."<br />
<br />
I had no choice. I had to get them. Things were dire! Which means, when an author says that, things were actually mildly annoying. Even though he was the only one who said so, I decided to go with my doctor's advice because, quite frankly, he should know more about it than that woman I keep running into at the grocery store, who's name I can't remember.<br />
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I'm on my third week now. And you know what? Every single person was right. Advice that sounded like it came from a sci-fi hive mind of Stepford Wives turned out to be true.<br />
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I hated them, and now I love them. Now I just have to stop falling down when I use the stairs. Then everything will be perfect.<br />
<br />
Leslie Langtry<br />
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<br />Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-85362297427458654312014-07-23T20:11:00.001-04:002014-07-23T20:11:32.782-04:00WRITING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF YOUR BRAIN; OR IS IT YOUR LEFT?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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by</div>
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<a href="ht:tp://www.sheilacurran.com" target="_blank">Sheila Curran</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">The
subject for this blogging cycle is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the
corn maze of writing</i>, or how often our plans for our novels get hijacked by
characters who refuse to adhere to our initial plans for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sound
like raising kids?</i> It kind of is. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of my friends once attended a parenting
class in which the instructor passed out plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You’ve got a fern,” she said to the first
mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And you’ve got a cactus,” she told
dad number two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Every plant is
different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They require different things
from you and no matter how much you wanted a daisy, you got a rose with thorns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your job is to adapt.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In writing, when I start a novel, I’m
thinking at the level of plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
quite happy at that point if I can see the forest for the trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have assumptions about people in general
and a think about my characters as somewhat generic, somewhat predictable
people.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At this stage, they’re like infants,
somewhat uniform creatures whose needs are the same the world over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they grow up, or as I begin to figure out
who they are, they start to differentiate themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All good, all part of the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Except, just like kids, they can
surprise the hell out of you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just like
kids, they can derail what seemed like a sensible plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they take on definition, they begin to
stubbornly hold out for the very thing you didn’t even know they wanted. (You
didn’t even know <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anyone</i> would want
such things.) You find yourself backtracking, rewriting, throwing out large
sections and scrapping grand ambitions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s painful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
irritating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of all, it feels like
you wasted your time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like if you’d just
known better, you could have prevented all that and gotten the story right the
first time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
only consolation I can offer is that such push and pull between the left
brained “helicopter” vision of an initial idea and the intuitive process of
putting oneself into the body and brain of an imaginary (but also <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real) </i>person<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>is, I believe, inevitable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Better yet, knowing it all ahead of time might just ruin the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, some really famous writer whose
work I love but whose name, gender, era and genre I’ve forgotten said “If you aren’t
surprised, your readers won’t be either.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
my process, there've been facets of each of my protagonists that kept evading
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Everyone-She-Loved-Novel-Readers/dp/B004E3XE98/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326209810&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">EVERY ONE SHE LOVED</b></a>, I knew what kind of car each character would
drive from the get go. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Except </i>for
Lucy, who is, arguably, the central character of the novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s an artist and bed-and-breakfast
owner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s raising her murdered best
friend’s daughters and trying not to crush on their bereaved dad, whom she’s
known since college.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that story, I
didn’t figure it out what kind of car went with Lucy’s personality until I’d
written several drafts and gotten to the end of the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when I got my answer, I also knew exactly
what was going to happen that would pull all of my loose ends into place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Diana-Lively-Falling-Down-ebook/dp/B001N89L12/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1313760320&sr=8-2" target="_blank">DIANA LIVELY IS FALLING DOWN</a>,</b> I knew Diana’s younger son would have
a gift with numbers, but I couldn’t see how that would play into the
story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I truly didn’t know what
would happen at the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would Diana
leave her overbearing husband despite his threats to ruin her children’s lives
if she did?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would her eldest son,
Humphrey, a handsome teen who spent way too much time nurturing his mother the
only way he knew how (by helping her with housework, cooking, sewing and making
things nice) would Humphrey turn out to be gay or straight?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a question he’s not dared to ask
himself, having a stepfather whose masculinity announced itself in
cruelty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t spoil the ending by
saying how things worked out, but it would finally come to me three years into
the writing process that William’s gift with numbers would unlock several plot
levers, cascading in an ending where these two questions are finally answered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This trait of William’s, which nagged at me
because I couldn’t see its use, this too finally revealed its importance only at
the end of my third working draft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Writing a novel requires a whole lot
of patience, a whole lot of hope that things will turn out <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eventually. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Don DeLilo
put it ( or was it Walker Percy?) writing is like driving at night in the
woods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can only see a few feet ahead
of you at any given time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also requires
confidence in the intuitive part of one’s self, while the linear, logical part
of the brain recoils at the disorder and the unanswered questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">It is so easy to give into despair,
but to paraphrase Sylvia Plath, “The greatest threat to creativity is crippling
self-doubt.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">And so it goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I’m working on a book that’s taken me far
too long, with far too many characters, all of whom are surprising me daily,
but many of whom have begun to spill their secrets, uniting seemingly disparate
parts of the plot into a more cohesive whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This novel will be quite long, perhaps 800 pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be quite complex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Despite the recent success of long, complex
novels like THE GOLDFINCH and THE LUMINARIES, my process still requires
staggering leaps of faith in characters who – like children – insist on finding
their own path, ditching my map for the thrill of the chase and the scent of
treasures that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they</i>, not I, must find.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So the corn maze?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of the zigs as the left brain and the
zags as the right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both are necessary,
both take us in different directions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At
least, that’s the case for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about
you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><i>Sheila Curran wrote DIANA LIVELY IS
FALLING DOWN (Berkley, Penguin USA, 2005) and EVERYONE SHE LOVED (Atria, Simon
& Schuster, 2009) and is presently working on a book set in Atlanta.</i></span></div>
S. M. Curranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11115275038465521768noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-18907536467506921742014-07-23T00:13:00.001-04:002014-07-23T00:13:58.831-04:00The Twists and Turns to Fast Glamour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFsvCjwmpe_ZQWR455sxWc3J9dXvxworAE8S4uC_g5GjfUNK8heJ85rozqmHxW_9-JV7EBHRz4U1vNVjXg50BhfZZvx0FOsewGs6KEVZEdulvrjDI14jI5B0y_KWCsGY8uEEWtE_u0w4/s1600/MM+Publicity+photo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFsvCjwmpe_ZQWR455sxWc3J9dXvxworAE8S4uC_g5GjfUNK8heJ85rozqmHxW_9-JV7EBHRz4U1vNVjXg50BhfZZvx0FOsewGs6KEVZEdulvrjDI14jI5B0y_KWCsGY8uEEWtE_u0w4/s1600/MM+Publicity+photo+1.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
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by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maggie-Marr-Books/168071873226783" target="_blank">Maggie Marr</a><br />
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Every book I begin to write is different than the book I end up writing. I am primarily a 'pantser'; a writer who sees only the story immediately before them—much like using your headlights while driving at night in fog—but even the times that I've outlined and plotted, the book that I end up writing is different than the book I started out to write.<br />
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I blame this on my characters. When I begin a book I very clearly hear a character's voice speaking to me. The character(s) talk to me and tell me their story. Now as any control freak ocd neurotic author often does, in the beginning, I think I know this character(s) and start writing scenes and telling them what to do. This is when I can 'oh so clearly' see how this story is going to go.<br />
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Ha!<br />
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Inevitably my character(s) rebel and resist my impulse to control them and dictate what they will and will not do and how and when they will fall in love or fix their lives. No, I do not have the last say, my characters do.<br />
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Usually around 100 pages into a first draft the characters take over and the book takes flight—the days leading up to this moment can be painful. I am resisting the character and the character is resisting me and finally, finally, finally, I do the right thing and I surrender. The book soars upward (and while not entirely painless) gets written as the character tells me scene after scene after scene.<br />
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These scenes are always different than the scenes I envisioned.<br />
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In Fast Glamour, book 3 in The Glamour Series (Out today! You can get your copy at <a href="http://bit.ly/fastglamour" target="_blank">Kobo</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/amznfastglamour" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/1r5ygpA" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/1rzPFdM" target="_blank">Google Play</a>, and <a href="http://bit.ly/1kSdkP7" target="_blank">All Romance</a>.)<br />
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I thought I knew every detail of Rhiannon and Sterling's love story and childhood and past but I didn't there were so many surprises! Surprises that I loved writing and surprises that I hope you will love reading.<br />
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<br />A broken heart forever bears scars. . . <br /><br />Sterling Legend grew up a prince in the City of Angels. His life was perfect and he wanted for nothing until his entire world shattered. He lost everything dear to him the year he turned seventeen. Now he’s grown into a formidable man on the cusp of outrageous success. His life revolves around his work and all the beautiful baubles that Los Angeles can offer to a wealthy young man. He’s buried his feelings and his heart so that he will never be hurt again. <br /><br />A lost love that she could never forget . . .<br /><br />Rhiannon Bliss was forced to leave L.A. to extinguish the fire of a first love, but an ocean, a different country, and seven years couldn’t quell her desires. Now she’s returned to the City of Angels to care for her mother. Can she fight her feelings for the man that once broke her heart? Does she even want to? <br /><br />Finding your way back to love can be an impossible path. . . <br /><br />Sterling Legend is at the top of the entertainment industry. His fast rise to success due to his talent and to his last name. But Sterling wants to find success on his own. He is on the path to producing his first film, without his famous father as the star, when the ex-love of his life re-enters his world. Rhiannon Bliss left seven years before without a word. Sterling has no need to forgive, but his desire for Rhiannon is overwhelming. Can two broken hearts use the heat of their attraction to find their way back to love? </div>
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Leave a comment about the twists and turns you've experienced in your life or an unexpected outcome. Random.org will select a winner and I will send you an ebook copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Glamour-Book-3-ebook/dp/B00M0UK2OC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1406088808&sr=1-1&keywords=fast+glamour" target="_blank">Fast Glamour.</a> </div>
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<i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maggie-Marr-Books/168071873226783?ref=br_tf" target="_blank">Maggie Marr</a> is an attorney, author, and independent producer. She began her Hollywood career pushing the mail cart at ICM where she eventually became a motion picture literary and subsidiary book rights agent. She now spends her days reviewing contracts for authors, screenplay writers, directors, and entrepreneurs as well as writing books for readers. Maggie is the author of the <a href="http://amazon.com/Hollywood-Girls-Club-Maggie-Marr-ebook/dp/B007W7DK88/ref=la_B001ITX392_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406088376&sr=1-9" target="_blank">Hollywood Girls Club Series</a> which includes <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Girls-Club-Maggie-Marr-ebook/dp/B007SYF114/ref=pd_sim_b_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1EZK8C81GG163Z9MQSFA" target="_blank">Hollywood Girls Club</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-The-Hollywood-Girls-Club-ebook/dp/B007W7DE70/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1M5J94NPJFJG00BA5RX4" target="_blank">Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Hit-Girls-Club-Book-ebook/dp/B00H9QTNXS/ref=pd_sim_kstore_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0Y68YNQK84C5S5RYZCVJ" target="_blank">Hollywood Hit</a>, and the upcoming Box Office Bomb (12/14). The Glamour Series is Maggie's new adult contemporary romance series which includes <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Glamour-The-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00HSOQROY/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0NKKQXGK7E67MQJZ1HGH" target="_blank">Hard Glamour,</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Glamour-The-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00JU2I2VI/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=13S2R25S19JRAMYNSE4B" target="_blank">Broken Glamour</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Glamour-Book-3-ebook/dp/B00M0UK2OC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1406088545&sr=1-1&keywords=fast+glamour" target="_blank">Fast Glamour</a>, and Easy Glamour (9/14). Maggie also writes the Eligible Billionaires Series: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Love-Eligible-Billionaires-Book-ebook/dp/B007P56NBS/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1406088581&sr=1-5&keywords=can%27t+buy+me+love" target="_blank">Can't Buy Me Love</a>, One Night For Love (8/14), and Last Call For Love (11/14). She has written for TV and film and ghostwritten for celebrities. Maggie has been featured on KCRW's The Business, and reviewed by Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly, and Romantic Times. She is the Vice President for Los Angeles Romance Authors (LARA) her local RWA chapter. She is married with a family and lives and works in Los Angeles. Maggie is grateful for the support of her readers! </i></div>
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<br />Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-14879738353973805042014-07-22T10:22:00.001-04:002014-07-22T10:22:08.582-04:00Dreamwood -- a Great Read for Kids and Adults<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dreamwood-Heather-Mackey/dp/0399250670/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406038060&sr=8-1&keywords=dreamwood"><img alt=" Dreamwood" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cQV3BVI4nVem1POtUHc83VITs9AM9u79PlVchP-uyV7pFWgdDkXzN3wgxcGb6In7DaECACNRqGUFA-ESEF7gqOW4QmKFMioDwYjuIJ6kXaOT5nPl2dW9P4sHFr7CVQoPsP_VWeJQqYQ/s1600/dreamwood.jpeg" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
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When people tell me that they don't "do" Facebook, I smile politely and think of friends from college with whom I would have lost contact had it not been for Facebook. Heather Mackey is one of those friends. When we found each other years after we both graduated from Smith College, we were delighted to discover that we were both writers. Heather has a job in the high tech world, two children and somehow has managed to write a lovely book for middle grade readers although this middle aged reader loved it.<div>
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Here's my review:<br /><br />From the first scene on a train when we meet Lucy Darrington, we can tell she’s made of stern stuff, determined to find her missing father in the deeps woods of Sadaarthe. At every step of the way Lucy encounters great obstacles — giant sea snakes, native people who zealously guard the land, animals with dangerous magical powers. The closer Lucy gets to her goal the more dangerous and complicated her world gets. Will she find her father? Will she survive even as grown men are dying on this expedition? What exactly happened to the settlement of people on Devil’s Thumb, the haunted outcropping of land where Lucy seeks her father? As the story expands, so do the plot twists and mysteries. This is a rollicking adventure with a lovable heroine who is both prickly and serious, not afraid to push for what she wants. Both boys and girls will enjoy this adventure story as will the parents lucky enough to spend their time reading this story aloud. I loved it and recommend it for all ages.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwD-ibZunC23TESwd7mIxJpnHAOVhKSdHtvPH_IL1B1M4E9OsTcK6WQJGoywEG9uCPcwzOxeCHfUbsVlFuGJLuHFpKPimSFkFTNdrj4UEIKV8ay2sdWXcgqNVwjdwyFnQF1ladhme5wE/s1600/portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwD-ibZunC23TESwd7mIxJpnHAOVhKSdHtvPH_IL1B1M4E9OsTcK6WQJGoywEG9uCPcwzOxeCHfUbsVlFuGJLuHFpKPimSFkFTNdrj4UEIKV8ay2sdWXcgqNVwjdwyFnQF1ladhme5wE/s1600/portrait.jpg" height="200" width="191" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Heather Mackey is a writer and editor with two kids, a lot of household disorder, many books, a mischievous dog, lovely husband, and a sinking feeling that the word that best describes me right now is “harried.” I am so so thrilled that my first book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dreamwood-Heather-Mackey/dp/0399250670">DREAMWOOD</a>, a middle-grade fantasy, was published by Putnam’s in June of 2014.</span>Ellyn Oaksmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09541934133076193547noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-85371569523669054102014-07-19T21:30:00.000-04:002014-07-20T03:06:42.066-04:00Release Week for PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND THE PERFECT BET!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKCiatohW1btZCrRn0RsKbo_VsQXE_zn2i7EITEbj8JGcuw_2Yxu2FCA3uafPl5zcfQ9b9Fxl0MqXPkHBFbmWC0jdzJGi3OeYmO1vBP6hRn1MjxmST0It5pT4AXlRTVA80wKRsMKvHt1K/s1600/Perfect+Bet+-cover-+Brant+840x1260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKCiatohW1btZCrRn0RsKbo_VsQXE_zn2i7EITEbj8JGcuw_2Yxu2FCA3uafPl5zcfQ9b9Fxl0MqXPkHBFbmWC0jdzJGi3OeYmO1vBP6hRn1MjxmST0It5pT4AXlRTVA80wKRsMKvHt1K/s1600/Perfect+Bet+-cover-+Brant+840x1260.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi, GBC Friends~</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm so thrilled to finally announce the release of my latest romantic comedy, <i><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Perfect-Marilyn-Brant-ebook/dp/B00LROV6NI" target="_blank">Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet</a></b></i>, which is the follow up to <b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Perfect-Match-Marilyn-ebook/dp/B00AYLN5TI" target="_blank">Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match</a></i></b>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Throwing confetti in the air!!*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About the story:</span><br />
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<i><span style="color: purple;">The course of true love doesn’t always run smooth…</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">Everyone thought Beth Ann Bennet and Dr. Will Darcy had an unexpected romance in <b><i>Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match</i></b> (Perfect #1, January 2013). Now, Beth’s best friend, Jane Henderson, and Will’s first cousin, Bingley McNamara, begin their own unlikely love story in <i><b>Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet</b></i> (Perfect #2), which starts at the Darcy/Bennet wedding when they find themselves in the roles of maid of honor and best man for the newlyweds.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">Jane is an interning school psychologist and a woman who wears an angelic mask in public, but she’s not as sweet tempered as she’d like everyone to believe. Turns out, she may have just crossed paths with the one person who’ll unnerve her enough to get her to reveal her true self.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">As for Bingley, he’s a wealthy, flirtatious and compulsively social guru of finance, who likes to wager on stocks and, let’s face it, on just about anything that strikes his fancy. But this dedicated ladies’ man may have finally met the woman who’ll challenge his bachelor ways!</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: purple;">Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet…where life’s biggest gamble is the game of love.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's available worldwide and at most e-tailer sites right now!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffdf9; color: #22242b; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><b>Perfect Bet:</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Perfect-Marilyn-Brant-ebook/dp/B00LROV6NI" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">US – Kindle</a><span style="background-color: #fffdf9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pride-Prejudice-Perfect-Marilyn-Brant-ebook/dp/B00LROV6NI" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">UK – Kindle </a><span style="background-color: #fffdf9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Pride-Prejudice-Perfect-Marilyn-Brant-ebook/dp/B00LROV6NI/" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">CA – Kindle</a><span style="background-color: #fffdf9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/Pride-Prejudice-Perfect-Marilyn-Brant-ebook/dp/B00LROV6NI" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">AU – Kindle </a><span style="background-color: #fffdf9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pride-prejudice-and-the-perfect-bet-marilyn-brant/1119946092?ean=2940149822409" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">US – Nook</a><span style="background-color: #fffdf9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.nook.com/gb/ebooks/pride-prejudice-and-the-perfect-bet-by-marilyn-brant/2940149822409" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">UK – Nook</span></a><br />
<span style="background-color: #fffdf9; color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/pride-prejudice-perfect-bet/id899736357?mt=11" target="_blank">iBooks</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffdf9; color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"><a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/pride-prejudice-and-the-perfect-bet" target="_blank">Kobo</a> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMD_8tWsBQbeNGT96p9QJtUxhetEiwVbSkRm9jv0_nazWCO6Kj3BgqTfVM0P_gSxpMspnSB8rmBFnHYradzfnKE0sCD1Ri0zTd1h-GcIWeDjCe7F5vBrT6IZRlcQO3U-Ma_UsYNAQPGg8u/s1600/Perfect+Match+-+cover+-+Brant+-+470x710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMD_8tWsBQbeNGT96p9QJtUxhetEiwVbSkRm9jv0_nazWCO6Kj3BgqTfVM0P_gSxpMspnSB8rmBFnHYradzfnKE0sCD1Ri0zTd1h-GcIWeDjCe7F5vBrT6IZRlcQO3U-Ma_UsYNAQPGg8u/s1600/Perfect+Match+-+cover+-+Brant+-+470x710.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #fffdf9; color: #22242b; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">ALSO, in honor of the release, <i><b>Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match</b></i> is on sale for a limited time for just 99 cents (75% off)! If you haven't read that novel and would like to check it out, here are those links, too.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffdf9; color: #22242b; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><b>Perfect Match: </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Perfect-Match-Marilyn-ebook/dp/B00AYLN5TI" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">US – Kindle</a><span style="background-color: #fffdf9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pride-Prejudice-Perfect-Match-Marilyn-ebook/dp/B00AYLN5TI" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">UK – Kindle</a><span style="background-color: #fffdf9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Pride-Prejudice-Perfect-Match-Marilyn-ebook/dp/B00AYLN5TI" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">CA – Kindle</a><span style="background-color: #fffdf9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/Pride-Prejudice-Perfect-Match-Marilyn-ebook/dp/B00AYLN5TI/" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">AU – Kindle</a><span style="background-color: #fffdf9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pride-prejudice-and-the-perfect-match-marilyn-brant/1114081740?ean=2940016076669" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">US – Nook</a><span style="background-color: #fffdf9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.nook.com/gb/ebooks/pride-prejudice-and-the-perfect-match-by-marilyn-brant/2940016076669" style="background-color: #fffdf9; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">UK – Nook</a> </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/pride-prejudice-perfect-match/id594048413?mt=11" target="_blank">iBooks</a><br /><a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/pride-prejudice-and-the-perfect-match" target="_blank">Kobo</a> </span></div>
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<b><i>Thanks for celebrating with me this weekend!! Best wishes to you all!</i></b><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">:) </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQv8B8KRiT4Uxpw9wAK79ro7_S5eOlAt_LKsI3sLBmv7GGxQLc9WwCSfRYFfxHA1R3oqodOAEvqMHtaDddBDOmhyphenhyphen9iI03NmGHDJS61kR3GnllNsTZpQDo15E-7Q6J4NVdK5vXby-6HlFz/s1600/Marilyn+Brant--GR1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQv8B8KRiT4Uxpw9wAK79ro7_S5eOlAt_LKsI3sLBmv7GGxQLc9WwCSfRYFfxHA1R3oqodOAEvqMHtaDddBDOmhyphenhyphen9iI03NmGHDJS61kR3GnllNsTZpQDo15E-7Q6J4NVdK5vXby-6HlFz/s1600/Marilyn+Brant--GR1.jpg" height="200" width="176" /></a></div>
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<span class="bodyText style29" style="background-color: #f8f8f8; border: 0px; color: blue; font-family: 'PT Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21.007999420166016px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="bodyText style25" style="border: 0px; color: #3300cc; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="bodyText style28" style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="bodyText style32" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Marilyn Brant is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary women’s fiction, romantic comedy & mystery. She was named the Author of the Year (2013) by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. She loves all things Jane Austen, has a passion for Sherlock Holmes, is a travel addict and a music junkie, and lives on chocolate and gelato.</span></span></span></span><span class="bodyText style30" style="background-color: #f8f8f8; border: 0px; color: #3300cc; font-family: 'PT Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.007999420166016px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="bodyText style32" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="bodyText style32" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="bodyText style30" style="background-color: #f8f8f8; border: 0px; color: #3300cc; font-family: 'PT Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.007999420166016px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="bodyText style32" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="bodyText style32" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="bodyText style30" style="background-color: #f8f8f8; border: 0px; color: #3300cc; font-family: 'PT Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.007999420166016px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="bodyText style32" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="bodyText style32" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Visit her website: <a href="http://www.marilynbrant.com/">www.marilynbrant.com</a></span></span></span></div>
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Marilyn Branthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05303846770348840645noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-79296658320921151042014-07-17T21:57:00.000-04:002014-07-17T21:57:56.833-04:00Change Direction, You'll End Up Where You're Headed<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 211.5pt;">
<b>By Laura Spinella</b></div>
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There is a subplot in my first novel,<span style="line-height: 200%;"> </span><b style="line-height: 200%;"><i>Beautiful
Disaster,</i></b><span style="line-height: 200%;"> that, once upon a time, caused quite a stir. A character, a woman
who lived a Mata Hari life was murdered years ago. Throughout the novel the
reader is never quite sure if the hero, Flynn, is responsible for her death. Because she was Flynn’s lover, we are certain that
Alena’s demise contributes to his PTSD. We know that while he’s running from the
authorities, Flynn is also running from the memory of her murder. Readers are
left to ponder and vacillate until the very last pages: Could Flynn have killed her? There
are numerous mitigating factors, various clues that lead the reader down this exact
path.</span></div>
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From the original
draft through hot-potato passes to publishers, I must confess: He did it. Flynn
killed Alena, his ex-lover. Now, I won’t get into the whys or Saul Goodman
defense I devised to assuage any anger. In fact, I’ll go so far as to admit that I
was so “in love” with my own character, I couldn’t imagine why any reader wouldn’t
absolve Flynn of the crime and feel empathy for his guilt. I felt strongly
about this particular point. It was my story, and this was the way I wanted to
tell it. When taking into consideration the
array of circumstances surrounding the heinous act, well geez, it made perfect
sense to me. </div>
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No surprise (years later) that the book did not sell while in the hands of the big houses, or even smaller
publishers. Oh sure, there was interest and compliments. But ultimately, there
was rejection. I cried, I cursed; I blamed everything from bad timing to a bad
hair day. Then it was over. From there I moved on to another book and a shiny new
agent. An agent that came with a very different way of going about her business.
That’s when things started to change direction for me, and for my writing. I came
on board at Writers House with a fresh manuscript, something more women’s
fiction than romantic fiction, which certainly described <b><i>Beautiful Disaster</i></b>.
Through a series of small accidents that I could not have invented on my best writing day,
the book with the indefensible hero ended up in my agent’s hands. She read it.
She loved it. Loved it except for that one pesky little point… You got it. I’ll
paraphrase the advice: “Laura, circumstance is the villain in this book, not
your hero. Don’t do that to him. Don’t ask that of your reader.”</div>
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It
clicked. It made sense. The light bulb came… well, a light bulb with correct
wattage was finally installed in my writer’s brain. Not every point in every
story could be what I wanted, even if was <i>my
story</i>. The direction was not solely mine to plot. Not if that book or the next one was going to find an audience in the
real world of readers. Well, as you might have guessed, the only place you
still find Flynn guilty of Alena’s murder is an original draft, buried
somewhere here on my desktop computer. I got lucky with that first book. My
editor at Berkley remembered the manuscript. She recalled loving it, <i>but…</i> She went against tradition and gave
the revised novel a second read with fresh pair of eyes. Clearly, the
advice was spot-on and I was a little less green when making future life or
death decisions for my characters. </div>
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That
seems like such a long time ago. Nowadays, I couldn’t fathom sticking so close
to an original draft—nor would I want to.
I’m fortunate to have an agent whose hidden passion is editing. Her
suggestions don’t come in “Here’s a thought…” phrases. They come in bulleted
paragraphs that drill so deep into my story they make me wonder if I understand
my books as well as she does. The answer to that is sometimes, I don’t.
Sometimes she sees things I’ve yet to imagine, directions I’m flirting with but
haven’t really explored. </div>
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Drafts are
linear; they’re about getting the bare bones of a story down on paper. From
there, whether it’s an agent, editor, first reader, critique partner or the
depth of your own imagination, you’re off to parts unknown. </div>
<br />
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<i><b>Laura Spinella is the author of the
award-winning novel Beautiful Disaster and newly released Perfect Timing, visit her
at <a href="http://lauraspinella.net/">lauraspinella.net</a>. </b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-30453828609615643942014-07-17T01:00:00.000-04:002014-07-17T01:00:02.885-04:00You Can Go Home Againby <a href="http://www.sylviefox.com/" target="_blank">Sylvie Fox</a><br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to Thomas Wolfe, the phrase, ‘you can’t go home
again,’ is as ubiquitous as any number of other clichés. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For years, my husband and I have been searching for a place
where we felt at home. We’ve debated going back to New York (where we both
originate) several times over, but finally decided it wasn’t an option. We
tried Cleveland, but it wasn’t for us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Palo Alto and San Francisco were even serious contenders for
a long time, until we gave up on them a dozen years ago. I live in Los Angeles,
and though the weather is perfect. The driving is going to kill me slowly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My mother-in-law always thought Boston suited my husband. My
mother thought I should give Washington, D.C. greater consideration.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
About ten years ago, after considering places as far flung
as Sacramento and Denver, we decided to broaden our journey outside the United
States. London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland were neck and neck for a while.
Then my husband was in love with Portugal. Seoul was even in the running for a
few months. We considered Paris for as long as it took to figure out we’d have
to sell all of our kidneys to afford an apartment there. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Every place had it’s great points, but none gave us that
elusive feeling we were looking for. Fast forward five years, and one child
later. My husband had a work meeting in Prague. Looking at the map, we searched
for somewhere else to go. With our plane tickets paid for, we wanted to get the
most for sixteen hours of travel (with a two year old). The debate was between
extending our trip to either Vienna or Budapest.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNiXxU2InUELFGcSotKUzBtkrvfdzretusiOvyYcPeVXVlHm0uxPSuQ6AXOSBea-GwpQ-VrnsCLq13kpFrY-L-ZSSn98g5kUFNnfD5IccodWqYY0J-Eek5Mq1SS6D2rWFlaWgfh_UB_A/s1600/2014-06-19+11.54.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNiXxU2InUELFGcSotKUzBtkrvfdzretusiOvyYcPeVXVlHm0uxPSuQ6AXOSBea-GwpQ-VrnsCLq13kpFrY-L-ZSSn98g5kUFNnfD5IccodWqYY0J-Eek5Mq1SS6D2rWFlaWgfh_UB_A/s1600/2014-06-19+11.54.09.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by Sylvie Fox</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We chose Budapest because I wanted to see the Danube in
person and we figured we’d never be there again. Five minutes outside of the
train station, we looked at each other and knew, we’d found it. Home again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m writing this post from our Budapest apartment. Every day
I walk outside and it’s like taking a step back into my childhood. In so many
ways, it’s all that I remember loving about growing up in New York City with
the added beauty of Europe. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinYy2q4-jEGcU1iF0YsfQ9l2VhbFRWDbcPuelBUnzzg4zy7kav6jRhBFI2zdAakqUQ7_7I8JG1a1MEQzD62u4ltnZzsocs5NEzdylS9iikszqomtPykyiMVSowc73chkb9j6faj1RuO7w/s1600/2014-07-15+16.41.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinYy2q4-jEGcU1iF0YsfQ9l2VhbFRWDbcPuelBUnzzg4zy7kav6jRhBFI2zdAakqUQ7_7I8JG1a1MEQzD62u4ltnZzsocs5NEzdylS9iikszqomtPykyiMVSowc73chkb9j6faj1RuO7w/s1600/2014-07-15+16.41.42.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by Sylvie Fox</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday, I was on my way to pick up my son from summer
camp and walking down the street shaded by Plane and Chestnut trees transported
me back for a long moment to similar walks in Brooklyn with my parents.
Whenever I come to New York and drive over the bridge, I nearly cry with relief
about being home. (Then I get out of the car, and I find that New York has
moved on).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I get that feeling nearly every day I’m here. The streets
smell like home. The people remind me of New Yorkers with gruff exteriors and
warm hearts. And the food? Someone could have told me that what I considered
New York diner and deli food was really central and eastern European food
transported six thousand miles. Every time I go to the market, everything is so
familiar I want to squeal with delight.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite Wolfe’s admonition, I think you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can</i> go home again as long as you look in the right place.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14.49000072479248px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.sylviefox.com/" target="_blank">Sylvie Fox</a> is the author of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IQE0LE2/" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Good Enough Husband</a>. She’s also the author of<a href="http://amzn.com/B00GSGV46Y" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Unlikely</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://amzn.com/B00GSGUWPI" style="color: #aa0033; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Impasse</a>, the first two books in the sexy, contemporary L.A. Nights series. <a href="http://amzn.com/1940811112" target="_blank">Don't Judge Me</a>, the first book in the Judgment series, releases this autumn. When she’s not battling traffic on the freeways of Los Angeles, she’s eating her way through Budapest.</i></div>
Sylvie Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11526599609381373834noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-61784861389122169532014-07-16T06:00:00.000-04:002014-07-16T06:00:06.341-04:00And the story changed again.... by Brenda Janowitz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">One summer, when
I was single, Grandma Dorothy informed me that she would be renting a house in
the Hamptons. No more of these silly share houses I was doing with my friends
each summer. They were getting me nowhere (read: still single and over thirty).
Instead, I was to stay with her and she would help me meet someone. The only
problem with this scenario was that I was sure she’d meet a man before I did.
She had sparkling crystal blue eyes and a killer figure. My own hazel eyes and
good birthing hips were no match for her easy glamour and style.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">When she found
out that a Hamptons summer rental costs more than the gross national product of
some countries, the idea sort of fell apart. But it gave me an idea—what if a
young woman spent the summer out in the glamorous Hamptons with her even more
glamorous grandmother?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The idea for my
third novel was born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be called
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Recipe-Happy-Life-Brenda-Janowitz-ebook/dp/B00BCG0U10">RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE</a>, and it would feature an impossibly glamorous
grandmother and her not-as-glamorous granddaughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Both of my own
grandmothers really inspired me to come up with the character of Vivienne, the
glamorous widow six times over. Neither was a widow six times over, but both of
my grandmothers were very glamorous ladies. When I think of my childhood
memories, I’m not likely to picture them in aprons baking cookies. I picture
them in evening gowns.<b><span style="color: #520001;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I began to
write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first two novels would be
classified as “chick lit,” which is to say they’re smart, funny novels with
heart about a single girl living in the city. And that’s exactly what I was at the
time. But just as I’ve grown up, my writing has grown up, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">RECIPE FOR A
HAPPY LIFE is different from my first two novels in so many ways. In my first two books, I was really
focused on writing a funny story. The sort of book that would make you
embarrass yourself in the subway from laughing (I’ve gotten that email from
numerous readers and it makes me smile each time someone tells me that!). The
sort of book that could make you forget your problems for an afternoon (two
different people read my second novel while getting chemo and told me that it
helped them to keep a smile on their faces through an awful situation). The
sort of book that’s just meant to be read on a plane, or a bus, or a beach (you
could also read them on a subway, on a train, or by a lake. I don’t
discriminate.).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">With RECIPE FOR A
HAPPY LIFE, I was looking to do something different. Something more grown up.
Something deeper. The idea for the book—a granddaughter and her grandmother out
in the Hamptons for the summer—was originally played for laughs. Much was made
of the fact that the grandmother meets a man before her granddaughter does. But the book changed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I did the first
major overhaul of the novel while I was pregnant with my first son. Everything
was different for me—I was changing as a person, my voice was changing, and so,
too, did this novel. I began thinking more deeply about the ties that bind
mothers and children, grandmothers and grandchildren. How we hurt each other.
How we can forgive. What that means.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">When I was six
months pregnant and almost finished writing the book, my mother was rushed to
the hospital for emergency open-heart surgery. It was the most harrowing 24
hour period of my life (until I had kids, but that’s another story entirely),
and even though my mother made a full recovery, it took me a long time to
recover myself. It was the same time that I was writing a death scene for
RECIPE and it was impossible to write. I was still so scared from almost losing
my mother. I wrote it quickly, tried to get through it quickly, and one of my
first readers, author <a href="http://www.lyndacurnyn.com/">Lynda Curnyn</a>, called me out on it. She told me that this
wasn’t the time to write a death scene. I needed time away from it. I needed to
heal. I needed to process. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">She was right. It
took me another year until I was able to get the scene right. And the book
changed again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">RECIPE became
another book entirely, and I’m happy about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m always happy to follow the story, see
where characters lead me, get lost </span><o:p></o:p>in the craft of writing.<br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgu12gFrLwNNKBMCl_C8SJ_xWBPnoBfbfPgoJgxiBPexgIDzY62CZ1IofuI944OCTMgFpGkE014n-DNXq1oWFPr-DYQhm6ztuQme-L5svbNkxotGGBglVdaNK8BKccY0kdje4vLSqbJvd-/s1600/hollywood+punch+one.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgu12gFrLwNNKBMCl_C8SJ_xWBPnoBfbfPgoJgxiBPexgIDzY62CZ1IofuI944OCTMgFpGkE014n-DNXq1oWFPr-DYQhm6ztuQme-L5svbNkxotGGBglVdaNK8BKccY0kdje4vLSqbJvd-/s1600/hollywood+punch+one.jpeg" height="320" width="212" /></a>I’m the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Scot-on-the-Rocks-ebook/dp/B00CN0SER6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1367671387&sr=1-1" target="_blank">SCOT ON THE ROCKS</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jack-with-a-Twist-ebook/dp/B00CW23C6S" target="_blank">JACK WITH A TWIST</a>, <a href="http://us.macmillan.com/recipeforahappylife/BrendaJanowitz" target="_blank">RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Hearts-Club-Brenda-Janowitz-ebook/dp/B00HXY9782" target="_blank">THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB</a>. My short story, <a href="http://www.polisbooks.com/books/hollywood-punch/">HOLLYWOOD PUNCH</a>, will be released on September 2nd.<br />
<br />
<br />
My work’s also appeared in the <a href="http://nypost.com/2009/05/31/mr-wedding-planner/">New York Post</a> and <a href="http://new.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/12406-chasing-mr-big-.html">Publisher’s Weekly</a>. You can find me at <a href="http://brendajanowitz.com/">brendajanowitz.com</a> or on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/brendajanowitz" target="_blank">@BrendaJanowitz</a>.</div>
Brenda Janowitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02341902606434073240noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-43314994452182705052014-07-15T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-15T06:37:31.083-04:00<a class="cboxElement" href="http://www.saraleerosenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/1508978_10151973406276655_1873810660_n.jpg"><img alt="1508978_10151973406276655_1873810660_n" class="aligncenter wp-image-319" src="http://www.saraleerosenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/1508978_10151973406276655_1873810660_n.jpg" height="346" width="461" /></a><br />
<br />
I
recently finished writing my debut novel for girls. Again. It only took
four years, six versions, eight titles and enough coffee to keep Dunkin
Donuts in the black, so to speak.<br />
<br />
One would think that a book requiring this much time and effort would
have been written by a beginner. But THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MEDIUM is my
fifth novel. Which is why my dear father would say, “Confidence is that
feeling you have right before you understand the problem.”<br />
<br />
What took so long? <br />
<br />
When I began I was sure that between my experience and the shorter
word count, I could wrap this project in six months. I was also sure
that it would be easy to razzle-dazzle girls with my “high
spirited” humor. They would laugh the whole way through and never see
the preachy stuff coming.<br />
<br />
Ha! My first attempt was a witty tale, but my beta readers were a group of seventh graders who turned out to be mini <i>New York Times</i> critics. They were not in love. For starters, they told me that I sounded like an adult trying to sound like a kid. Ouch. They also said that although they weren't boy crazy, most girls they knew were, and the story was boring without any guy characters. Double ouch.<br />
<br />
In the next version, my main character was more authentic, her
plight more dramatic and now there was a boy. A cute boy. Ahh, but apparently now there were too many adults. I was urged to ditch the grown-ups. Think Charlie Brown and
the Muppets editors said. They should be seen, but never heard. Gotcha.<br />
<br />
In the novel that followed (referred to as the anniversary edition) I
created a plucky, indomitable main character who occasionally passed
tall people in her house, but didn’t have much to do with them as she
was too busy being in love. Editors urged me to keep going but to
ditch, well, everything. Clearly I could entertain, but my character’s journey wasn’t compelling,
captivating or full of complexities.<br />
<br />
Wait. You mean it had to read like an adult novel? Why didn’t anyone
say so? My next step was to re-read my four novels. Then I had an ah ha moment. I didn’t need to abandon my voice and style to
appeal to a younger reader. I just had to tell a story that mattered.<br />
<br />
I started over and now hopefully the jury rests. THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MEDIUM is funny, touching, and an honest exploration of family, fate and
friendship. Mostly it’s a heartfelt tale of a lonely thirteen-year old
girl who is accused of practicing witchcraft after a TV medium helps her
connect with her dead mother. And if you remember middle school, you do not want to be accused of anything.<br />
<br />
And yes, there is this boy... <br />
<br />
I never imagined it would take me this long to connect with Stella
Jacoby, my heroine, but I don’t regret the journey. I so enjoyed being
immersed in her world and rediscovering how challenging it is to
transition from an innocent girl to strong-willed teen. And my hope?
That when published, readers will hold this novel to their chests and think, wow. That was a great ride!<br />
<br />
Or as Stella so aptly says, “Sometimes when you think your life is falling apart, it’s really falling into place.”<br />
<br />
<i>Saralee Rosenberg is the author of A LITTLE HELP FROM ABOVE, CLAIRE VOYANT, FATE AND MS. FORTUNE and DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD (Avon/HarperCollins).</i> Visit her website. <a href="http://www.saraleerosenberg.com/">www.saraleerosenberg.com</a> Saralee Rosenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01595673591577424238noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-12915251722106628832014-07-13T17:19:00.001-04:002014-07-13T17:19:22.727-04:00How to Summon the Writing Gods<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Karin Gillespie </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggB35RRT08DWgyAMbPpxo2UmVsgOc_sAAHCgnt2E4wB1diTixFR22oHCG3zLBsUma5U7QCD-T8pVfuEvLgXgmqS1XXM1B7eVbW33VzG2W9-3AXO2REhKRVBtkMcvzKBiUgHSvJNb1K8X0/s1600/300_325569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggB35RRT08DWgyAMbPpxo2UmVsgOc_sAAHCgnt2E4wB1diTixFR22oHCG3zLBsUma5U7QCD-T8pVfuEvLgXgmqS1XXM1B7eVbW33VzG2W9-3AXO2REhKRVBtkMcvzKBiUgHSvJNb1K8X0/s1600/300_325569.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> <i>Post originally appeared at <a href="http://south85journal.com/">South Journal 85</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>I once ran into a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist in
a ladies’ room at a writer’s conference. She slipped into a stall and I could
hear her peeing. The whole time I was thinking, “Pulitzer Prize-winning
novelists have to pee?”</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Obviously they do. They also probably burp and
sneeze and maybe even snore but their writing is so impressive sometimes it’s
hard for me to imagine it comes from mere mortals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">In fact, when I was a beginning writer I used to
assume that certain authors had a direct pipeline to the writing gods who sent
them down a steady supply of flawless prose anytime they sat down at a
computer. I also thought that these gods were exceedingly elitist, and only
showered special writers with their gifts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">When I put my fingers on the
keyboard, I imagined the gods rolling their eyes and saying, “Her again? Toss
down a few clichés and some stilted sentences. That’s all that hack deserves.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">But then one night, many years ago, I was writing a
freelance theater review on “Richard III” for my local newspaper; it was a rush
job and had to be completed in two hours. I was in panic because I’ve never
written anything decent in that period of time, and I was still pretty new to
the writing game.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">I threw myself into the review and the next day when
I read it in the paper, I was afraid it was going to be terrible, but, to my
surprise, it was fresh and invigorating. In fact, it was so good I couldn’t
believe I’d actually written it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Getting Out of Your Way</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Artists at
all levels of mastery have had similar experiences. I once read that the actor
Lawrence Olivier came off the stage after his most brilliant performance of his
life. Supposedly he said, “I know it was my best work ever, but I have no idea
how I can replicate it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">I can relate to his bewilderment. How can we repeat
those moments in writing when we are just not at our best, but better than our
best? How can we more consistently unearth gems and gold doubloons instead of
old shoes and rusty nails?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">The obvious advice applies: learn your craft, keep
butt in chair. But I would also add some additional advice: Get the hell out of
your way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">I think the reason my theater review was so good was
because I didn’t have time for my usual writing mind-crap, i.e., the need to impress,
the near constant belittling, and the occasional delusions of grandeur. My mind
was clear and focused on my purpose, making me an excellent conduit for the
writing gods’ gifts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Tricking Yourself</b> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Of course getting out of your way is easier said
than done. For me, meditation helps enormously. Twenty minutes every day I sit
and listen to the voices in my head. The more I observe those voices in action,
the more I understand how frequently they undermine my creative work. They are
like kindergarteners in need of a nap. They always seize onto first idea because
they want to get the writing over with or they’re attracted to derivation
because, “it made that other kid famous and I want to be famous too.” Or they
resist a needed revision because, “It’s good enough. I’m so sick of this.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">It’s seems ludicrous that we would actually listen
to these wrongheaded voices, but the truth is, many of us not only listen to
them but are ruled by them. Meditation doesn’t completely quiet them, but we
are also less likely to give into their wily demands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes I’m tempted to yell at these voices, “Quit
being such brats!” but I think it’s a better strategy to be kind and patient
with them and say, “You kids play nice for a while. I have to work right now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Then I sit down and write my head off before the
voices get restless. Does this make me write like a Pulitzer Prize-winning
novelist? Nope. I still write like Karin Gillespie but sometimes, with the help
of the writings gods, I write even better than she does. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Karin Gillespie is the author of five novels and has MFA in
creative writing from Converse. Dig this post? There's more where that came from: Sign up for my mailing list <b><a href="http://karingillespie.net/mailing-list-4/">here</a></b></i></div>
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Writer Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.com41