Nano Wind-down

Thank you again to all of my Nano guests this year! They all hit their 50K goals through all of the struggles and external trials and schedules: an incredible triumph.

Writers don’t live in enclosed little writing shacks where everything gets done by others and all we have on our minds is our story. Many of us like to dream of such a thing, but the truth is, we almost always have to work it around so many other things that come first. Sometimes they come so “first” that it’s nearly impossible to write. Those who succeed work around the impossible. That’s what Nanowrimo is about: giving ourselves permission to put writing first for a change.

I ended up the month with just over 95,000 words, but word count wasn’t my main goal. I wanted a complete first draft that I could jump back into at the beginning of the thing later on, after I let it sit through the holidays. Most of the last week, I was becoming convinced that wouldn’t happen. The story filled itself in more than I expected; the characters had more to say than I’d planned to allow them.

I kept pushing toward that goal, anyway, and at 11:00 pm on November 30th, I came to the end of the story.

My fingers were cramping. My wrists are tender, even in their braced assistance. My back, which decided to bother me this month more than it has in 21 years, spent a week and a half fussing at me to get up and go lie flat on the floor. I did that often in between propping a pillow behind it in my supportive chair, along with stretching gently and so on. Part of that time was given to my ‘day job’ which is also on the computer. And yet, I wrote The End on the 30th as I hoped. (I also managed 2,000-some words for Rehearsal one day when a scene jumped into my head.)

So much for a quick, light write that I thought I’d only put out only as an Ebook to help fill in Fred Dawson’s background for Off The Moon fans, and specifically Daws fans. Because it filled out so well, I imagine this one will go to print, also.

And I’m breaking the rules. Instead of letting it sit for at least a month, I’ve started edits. It won’t let me go.

That’s okay. Soon Christmas activities will take over and I’ll have to let it sit. I suppose I should do some shopping and decorating.

If you haven’t yet, please scroll down and read my guests’ experiences. They’d love a comment, as well!

Nanowrimo isn’t only for or about writers, by the way. It’s about taking time for your dreams. I urge everyone to do so.

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Nano Guest: Nicole Zoltack

Nicole Zoltack is the author of Woman of Glory and Knight of Honor. We met through CRR since we both write classic (non-erotic) romance. Welcome Nicole!

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NaNo. How I love NaNoWriMo, much to my hubby’s chagrin. He always groans and mutters under his breath every year when November comes along.

My first time doing Nano was in 2004. I was in college, and my one sister had mentioned it to me. I signed up on November 6th and managed to reach 50k before the end of the month. I was thrilled! Walking on air! The creative juices were flowing!

I have yet to finish that novel. I opened the file recently. It’s crap. Complete crap. Full of telling, lots of unnecessary scenes, so many grammatical errors. The basic plot is sound, but it needs so much work that I might as well rewrite the story, if I ever decide it’s worth it. That story was chick lit, my first time trying that genre.

The next year, I wrote a fantasy story. Reached 50k which is about half the story. Fantasy stories are normally around 100k so that fine. But I haven’t touched that story since I hit 50k.

2006, I wrote a story about an assassin. Reached 50k. This story I have since finished and shined it up. I’m ready to query agents with this one. It’s called Hidden in Shadows and it’s an urban fantasy with romantic elements.

2007 I wrote a story about a young girl who wanted to become a knight. I won again this year. I finished this novel and it’s published with Desert Breeze Publishing. It’s called Woman of Honor, and it’s a high fantasy romance.

2008 I didn’t even try to write 50k in November. With a one month old, I figured it wasn’t worth the stress. Sleep was just too important.

2009 I was a Nano rebel. I rewrite a previously finished novel (fantasy YA). Wrote 80k that month. I’ve since revised this story several more times and after this latest revision, I’ll start querying agents.

Now Nano isn’t for everyone. But it works for me. There’s this rush of adrenaline that seizes me. Something about writing so many words in the month, knowing that so many other people are trying to reach that same goal along with me. It pushes me. I push myself harder in November than any other month.

Yes I’ve reached 50k every time I’ve tried. Yes, I haven’t finished all of the novels. Some need a lot of work. But I have discovered, to my happiness, that my latest Nano novels are actually rather clean. I’ve learned so much about being a writer and the writing process that my novels are cleaner and tighter, despite the frantic pace of Nano. And for me, that’s a success. Nano has helped me to grow, to write faster, cleaner.

Now if only I could write at this crazy, frantic pace in months other than November…

Find Nicole’s current and future books on her Website

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Notice the image change above? All of my Guest Bloggers throughout November met the 50K challenge and conquered it! CONGRATS to ALL! Please scroll down and read their adventures, as well.
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Nano Guest: Stephanie Burkhart

Welcome to Stephanie Burkhart! Steph’s here to talk both about Nanowrimo and her Christmas release.

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I'd like to thank Loraine for having me on her blog today. Loraine's artistic spirit inspires and motivates me and I'm delighted to visit.

Just a little about me: I was born and raised in Manchester, NH. When I was 18, this New England Patriot fan joined the US Army for a great adventure and spent 7 years overseas in Germany. I met a fair-haired California boy and we were married in Denmark in 1991. Little odd fact: I went to Berlin in 1988, before the fall of the wall. Now, the adventure over, I work for LAPD as a 911 Operator.

Loraine asked me to tie in my topic to NaNoWriMo. A challenge to say the least, since I wanted to talk about my Christmas story in the Victory Tales Press, Stimulating anthology. Talk about creativity.

Let's start here: What do Loraine and I have in common? We're both doing NaNoWriMo, we were both in the Germany in the late 1980's and early 1990's, and we are both self-published.

I met Loraine through our self-publishing endeavors on Writing.com. She was so organized back then and I was just finding my way. Writing is a passion for us which leads me to… (drum roll please)

NaNoWriMo

This is my second year doing NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month) The goal? Write 50,000 word novel in a month. An ambitious goal indeed.

For me, I must prepare. In October, I put together my maps, charts, pictures of my setting and characters, draft character bios and do a rough outline. For this year's project I researched the myths of werewolves, witches, flowers, herbs, and roots. If I don't do the prep work, I'm not ready to write on day one.

I usually write 1700 words a day. However, I'm at work so I have to handwrite it. By the time I get to the computer, I have 5-8K to type up! As I write this, I am 28K into my NaNoWriMo project. The official website says at this rate, I'll make my goal on 25 NOV. J

This year's project is kinda' new and kinda' not. It's a rewrite of an earlier paranormal story, "The Wolf's Torment." I intended to take away some of the horror elements and add more romantic ones. I made several changes to the story. The biggest: Sonia was no longer a maid, but Mihai's half-sister. Mihai is a witch, a concept I did not develop earlier, but am exploring this time around. Just about everything I've written so far is new material. The story is taking new, exciting twists and turns. It's set in Romania and Romania is in Europe so I'm using this to transition into talking about my Christmas story, "Christmas in Bayeux," which is in a Christmas Collection, Stimulating, published through Victory Tales Press.

"Christmas in Bayeux" takes place in France, which is in Europe. Ingenious, aren't I?

My hero is Aiden Seward. Aiden was in the Army serving in Iraq when he learns his parents have died. His parents only son, the Army releases him from active duty. Aiden seeks out the World War II beaches of Normandy hoping to heal his aching heart and finds Noel, a woman he knew 9 years ago when she was a foreign exchange student in his home. Can they find love?

Here's an excerpt:

Aiden smiled as she approached. Since he'd last seen her nine years ago, she had gotten taller. Her brown hair peeked out from her cap, flecked with copper highlights. Her cobalt eyes pierced his defenses now, just as they had before. He took a long breath. Despite the winter clothes, she was stunning.

Her eyes swept over him and then sparked with recognition. "Aiden!"

"Bonjour, Noel!"

She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a quick hug. "Bonjour!"

Her warm glow infused him with hope, cracking his battlements even further. Her genuine embrace was what he needed, but he wasn't here for her. He needed to set his heart and his mind straight and she would be a big part of that. Taking a step back, Aiden feathered his eyes over her. "It's good to see you again, Noel. You've changed…"

"Oh, I was just a girl when I was an exchange student in your house."

"You were sixteen."

Her cheeks reddened. "Oui – now I am a woman. How are your parents?"

"They passed away while I was in Iraq."

"Oh, I am sorry to hear it. They had such kind hearts. I adored them."

"That's part of the reason I'm here."

Her eyes softened. "I was surprised to get your call. Bayeux is such a small town. I knew there must have been a reason. Come inside and talk to me." Her voice was low, silvery, full of concern.

Noel took his hand and led him into the church. It was as cold as it was outside, but he could feel Noel's refreshing heat through her gloves. It lit a vague, sensual spark inside him.

Check out the Story Teaser on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-muZ0dhOvSE

Buy Links:

Amazon: (print) http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Collection-Anthology-Stimulating/dp/1456304410/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289273692&sr=8-1

Ebook, Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/29148

Create Space, Print book: https://www.createspace.com/3494425

Victory Tales Press: http://victorytalespress.yolasite.com/online-store.php

Goodie Time: Leave me a post and I'll pick out two winners to receive an autographed postcard of the cover. Tell me your favorite Christmas story and I'll pick a winner to receive a print copy of the Anthology. I'll come back on 01 DEC to pick the winners.

Find me on the web at:
http://sgcardin.tripod.com
http://sgcardin.blogspot.com

Nano Guest: Ami Hawkins

Welcome to Ami Hawkins, my youngest Nanowrimo guest this year! Ami is also the writer and performer of the beautiful acoustic guitar music in my Rehearsal trailer.

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NaNoWriMo = Total Craziness

The two things people ask me when I tell them that I’m trying to write a novel are ‘What is NaNoWriMo?’ and ‘Are you freaking crazy?’. Crazy? Maybe a little. I thought I was crazy the first time I tried it in 2005, but people don’t understand it until they try it. I mean, trying to write fifty thousand words in thirty days is enough to warrant the ‘crazy’ comment, but when you finally reach that ‘unreachable’ goal it makes everything worth it.

The first time I tried to write a ‘novel’, if that is even what you’d call it, I typed maybe 15,000 words and only barely finished six badly written chapters. The next year I vowed I would do better. Looking back at that attempt now, it makes me both cringe and laugh. What else could you do but laugh when you realize that in order to get the 15,000 words, you spaced out compound words to make them into two separate words, and tossed a couple of essays you had written in English class that semester into the story pretending that it was the main character that had written them herself. Sad. Just sad.

I have been a participant in NaNoWriMo since then, each year getting closer and closer to that seemingly unreachable goal, and each year bettering myself as a writer. Now, I don’t write to sell books or to get famous or anything like that. I write for my own enjoyment, because I feel like I have a story to tell. I don’t want to be one of these people that writes a half thought out book just to try to make a name for myself. I want to make sure that what I write is reader-worthy, which is why I keep editing the novel I’m working on now. Although mostly it’s because I’m afraid my characters will climb out of my head at night and strangle me if I don’t continue working to make a good storyline…

To those who call us NaNo-er’s crazy, I say give it a chance. You’d be surprised at how quickly you become bitten by the bug. I was. Now I can’t imagine going a year without the caffeine headaches and late nights scrambling at the last minute trying to finish my goal. This is the third time I’ve reached that unreachable goal, this time ahead of schedule, and I think that this is the best thing I’ve written yet. I still revisit those old characters with their choppy sentences and wrecked plot lines from time to time. It pushes me forward, not to mention gives me a good laugh now and then.

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Thank you, Ami! (She's out working today but will be back later to come find your comments.)
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Nano Guest: Andra Marquardt

Welcome to A.L. Marquardt, author of A Reason For Hope, as my next guest blogger, here to talk about her experiences with Nanowrimo!

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A few weeks ago Loraine kindly asked me to write a guest post on her blog about Nanowrimo. Honestly, I've been so busy writing and thinking about my novel I've been having a difficult time coming up with something to write about Nanowrimo that was somewhat interesting.

But here goes anyway. Using the same technique I use for writing novels, I'm gonna wing it and see what happens.

2005 was the first year I tackled Nanowrimo, and to my utter surprise I not only won, but ended up with the start of a novel I like to this day. In fact after a few more rounds of editing, I plan on submitting it to some literary agents.

I tried again in 2006, this time giving fantasy a try (my first was science fiction). Although I won again, I ended up hating the story. However, I did end up with some really good characters, so it wasn't a total loss. I plan on giving that one another go eventually by keeping the same characters but changing the setting and some of the secondary plot lines.

2007 was the year I was seven months pregnant with my son. Suffering from what a friend calls "prego-brain," I managed a mere 12k words before I realized I didn't have the mental power to continue. Again, not a total loss, because I managed 12k more words than I would have had.

I skipped 2008 & 2009 because taking care of a little boy takes a lot of time and energy.

With my son close to three and not needing as much constant attention, I decided to give it one more go. I also tackled it a bit differently. I planned ahead with my storyline, and decided I would not write more than 2000 words a day. I also scheduled my writing time from 9:30 - 11pm every day. If I had more time say during the day during weekends, I still didn't write even though my novel was calling me.

The great thing about keeping myself reigned in is not only have I managed my time better, but I'm not so far ahead I'm tempted to skip a day or two. I know me, if I allowed myself to skip once, I will easily find other excuses to skip more, whether I was ahead or behind in my word count.

So far it's worked. Even during the few days when I absolutely couldn't continue, I continued anyway. Ironically, during those tough days, I ended up writing more than I originally intended. I've heard said that it takes about twenty minutes for a writer to really get into a groove of writing. I found that number to be fairly accurate.

Once Nanowrimo ends on November 30, I plan to continue to write until the novel is done. It's close to a true habit now. I will then let it sit for a few months. I already know it needs a lot of work.

Another benefit to Nanowrimo is it forces me to ignore my internal editor. Oh, she screams at me constantly, but she's no more annoying than a fly buzzing around the room. It's too bad no one has invented an "internal editor fly swatter."

On December 1st, I will again listen to my editor and rewrite my first Nano-novel I mentioned above.

If you haven't tried Nanowrimo, yet desire to write a full-length novel (or even a series of short stories), I suggest you give it a try. You aren't competing with anyone (unless you want to), but with a calendar. There really isn't such a thing as failure or success, because by giving it a try and writing maybe 2000 words that month, it's 2000 more words than you would have had.

If you want to know more about my own books and writing journey, be sure to check out my website at www.almarquardt.com.

Thank you for reading, and to Loraine for letting me steal her blog for a day.

I hope you all had a grand Thanksgiving and that you didn't eat yourself into too deep a stupor.
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Thank you, Andra! Interesting method, and so glad it works well for you.

Nano Guest: Ann Arbaugh

Welcome to Ann Arbaugh, my third guest here to talk about her Nanowrimo experience! Ann is a first year Wrimo.


Welcome Ann!
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Several years ago, a friend told me about NaNoWriMo. I wasn’t ready for the challenge. I almost joined last year. There was a story that kept resurfacing in my consciousness. Again, I didn’t feel I was ready to work on a novel. Never mind that I already had a full-time job.

I’m new to novels, but not to writing. I’ve worked with one state writers group for years and I’m serving as a Board member on two groups this year. Most of my writing is poetry at the University, business writing, or features writing for a local community organization.

A friend told me about an online novel course she was teaching this past February. I decided to take it and see what would happen with the novel. By mid-April, I’d written 9,500 words of the story. I averaged 250-500 words a day, writing in 15-30 minute sessions during lunch. Although it wasn’t much, I was happy that I’d started on the project.

The next week, a close friend had a health scare and the wind went out of my sails. I couldn’t write. The next month, while traveling in Western Maryland, another idea came to me. I sat down and filled four regular sheets of paper in a very short time. The muse was not a steady worker.

Then everything changed. In July, I had a heart attack. At 48 years old. Once home, I was off for two months before I returned to work. I had all this time but the creative spark wasn’t there. I sat at the computer and tried to write. There was nothing. Yet, I could write emails to friends and family to share updates about my recuperation. In one night, through several messages, I wrote 3500 words to one person. Why? I was upset about something.

It was ironic. I couldn’t create, but I could write my story. I posted this on the Classic Romance Revival loop. I asked my e-friends to explain this to me. I said it was like trying to ride and rein in a wild horse. They all agreed that I should write whatever wanted to come out.

In mid-October, I was walking in the neighborhood and my muse whispered a “what if” about a car that drove by. I was thrilled. My spark was starting to flicker. I noticed a couple sparks in the days to follow. My writer friends on Facebook started asking each other if they were doing NaNo this year. This time, I went to the website and checked it out. After an hour of reading, I made my decision. Why not?

Why not try NaNo? I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I signed up on October 23 and waited. The muse decided to start early. Two days early. I woke up with a story in my head. By 9:15 that morning, I’d written 1,800 words on a new story. I was ecstatic. I decided that nobody would fault me for the early start.

I found that I have “writer’s A.D.D.”, at least that’s what I’m calling it. The muse is sending me ideas faster than I can get them written. I decided not to worry about working on a single story. It was more important to keep writing. On November 15, the halfway point, I’d hit the halfway mark – 25,000 words before I’d retired for the night. I was amazed.

Last week, I needed to concentrate on a personal project and didn’t spend much time writing. I was playing catch-up this weekend. As I write this, my total word count has reached 30,470. My total for the day – 4,464. It’s all because my muse and I are taking this ride together. Thanks to her cooperation, I have eleven stories and one non-fiction piece. The non-fiction piece is a Heart journal, addressing all the problems and changes the heart attack brought to my life. The fact that I’ve written this much, and have daily totals like this, is astounding to me. It’s a personal best.

What am I writing? Most of it is Romance. Some are Christian, some are dramatic. I was writing on Sunday and got caught up in one of the stories. Our heroine rescues a young girl and a handsome man from a car wreck caused by a drive-by shooting on a highway. They’ve been taken to the hospital. While there, the heroine finds out that the cop that’s questioning her isn’t a real cop. She has to protect herself and the child. If I told you the rest of the story, I’d have to shoot you.

How has this helped me? Aside from realizing that I can produce, I’ve learned to squeeze time for writing into my day. I bring my laptop to work, arriving early enough to write and using my lunch break to add more words. I take breaks from writing, not coffee breaks. I’ve taken a 90-minute hike at a local park, a two hour horseback trail ride, and attended a day-long writer’s conference. I’ll celebrate the holiday and watch a friend get married. After NaNo, I’ll set up a monthly word count that’s a little easier to manage.

I’m on vacation all this week and I’ll catch up to the daily cumulative count. I will finish with 50,000 words before November 30. Why? Why Not!

My NaNo page: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/690256

I’ll be setting up a blog by the end of the year.


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Thank you, Ann! Best of luck with the rest of November and your future ventures!

Nano Guest: Kara Hartz

Please welcome Kara Hartz, today’s featured Nanowrimo participant!

Kara is one of the newer Nano writers who hasn't always been so enamored of the task. This goes out to those of you who wonder why...

Welcome, Kara!
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I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo every year since 2007, and every year I’m never really sure why I’m doing it. I tell myself that I’m a short story writer, not a novelist. In 2009, I didn’t even sign up as an official participant because I had failed so miserably the two prior years. I decided that instead of writing a single novel, I’d just try to write 50,000 words of. . .whatever instead: short stories, blogs, anything really. Even with that less strict standard set for myself, I only logged about 25,000 words for the month. Yet year after failing year, I kept coming back.

While I adore writing in general, novel writing intimidates me. I took up writing as a serious hobby again when I turned thirty and I focused on short stories. The shorter the better. Flash fiction was my favorite, around 300 to 500 words long. When I got critiques of my work, I got a lot of comments that told me they liked the story, but they wanted to know what happened next, that they wanted more. I’d look at my story and think, “What more is there?”

If there is one thing NaNoWriMo is good for, it’s for focusing on writing – MORE. That may be all it’s really about. It isn’t about writing better, that’s very clearly stated all over the NaNoWriMo website. No, it’s just about writing more. And I guess that’s really why I keep coming back. Every year so far, I’ve failed NaNo. Yet every time I signed up, I’ve written much more than I would have without it. In fact there were some hectic years when it’s possible that I wrote more in November than I did in the rest of the year all put together.

Even better, there are all these other people out there telling me it’s okay to spend time writing. It’s okay to take some precious time and spend it on something I love, even if the dishes sit unwashed overnight. NaNoWriMo has helped me learn the difference between taking the time follow a dream, and making the time.

I’m proud to say that so far this year, I’ve already written more than I have in any other of my NaNo attempts. I’m behind the suggested word count, but I’m closing the gap every night. This may be my year to cross the finish line. It’s been both much harder and much easier than I’d imagined. I won’t try to explain why. Those who have done it will understand, and those who haven’t will learn best by doing. I encourage everyone to give it a try. I’ve failed for three years, and am better for it. So there’s nothing to lose.

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Find Kara on her Nanowrimo page, and
on her Blog!

Congrats to and News from 3 fellow authors

First, I have to yell a big CONGRATULATIONS to a fellow author and long-time close friend, Andra Marquardt, who just won the Speculative fiction category of the Genesis Award at the American Christian Fiction Writers conference! I know how much she struggles to get her work “just right” and not just done, how much she studies the craft, how much she has to say within her work that’s worth hearing … and I have to say we have exchanged some critiquing along the way. The beginning of Off The Moon benefitted from her sharp eyes.

Visit her website here, and check the winners list of the ACFW Genesis Awards here.

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Also, a congrats to Dawn Colclasure for her recent story acceptance in an anthology. It’s not hardly her first, but I have to mention it here because after two rejections of the story, Dawn didn’t give up. She pinpointed the problem the editor mentioned, was willing to ask for advice and used it, and tried again. This time, it worked.

I’ve seen so many authors who ask for critiques and then balk at suggestions, sometimes not nicely, as though they have no room to improve. A writer who believes that is true, wherever they are in their career, will go no farther. So kudos to Dawn!

Find Dawn at her website and watch for her coming revisions book (of which I have a small part in, btw).

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Finally, some news from a fellow author. Today is release day for Sharon Donovan’s newest book, Her Biggest Fan. Unfortunately, Sharon is in the hospital with health issues and can’t be around online today to promote. A fellow Pennsylvanian with whom I’ve had some contact in the past several months, Sharon writes award-winning romance in various subgenres. The newest is a romantic thriller.

Find her books on her website. Congrats on the newest release, Sharon! And get well soon!

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Marketing: A bit o’ luck be with you

I’ve come to think much of marketing is nothing but luck … a gamble that may or may not work, but then, you know you won’t win if you don’t play. Odds are something will work if you keep playing and adapting to the game. Right?

As I mentioned yesterday, my early attempts seemed pointless so adaptation became necessary. I wanted to know what worked for others, what prompted readers to spend their hard-earned money on certain books, where my time and hard-earned dollars would be best spent. I’d been on a few Yahoo lists for some of my interests, so I thought it was time to start looking up lists of readers, specifically romance and literary readers. The first I found was Coffee Time Romance and I started slowly, with the one list, to check it out and see what was going on. What do you know? Not only were lots of readers there talking about books and reading, but so were lots of authors sharing their work!

I timidly began sharing bits of promo about my own work and received a nice enough reception that my lists grew. Many authors are on as many as 20 lists and keep up with them regularly. I’m not organized enough for all of that, so I’m still limited to the few I’m on. Still, along with readers, it’s been a great way to meet other writers. I recommend to authors not on lists they may want to find a few.

I did learn some things about marketing from the chats and networking.

~~ Most readers love to get bookmarks from authors! So, I switched from business cards and postcards to bookmarks. I have them for all of my books (except one and there’s a story with that not worth telling) and since I spent money on the things, I started forcing myself to take them into bookstores and asking if I can leave them. Most of the time, I got a very gracious acceptance. A couple of times I didn’t, and I didn’t return to those places.

~~ Hot romance sells better than mild romance. *shrug* There’s not much I can do about this one, since I don’t write hot and don’t have any interest in doing so. It did tell me I shouldn’t be overly worried about my sales being lower than some, since my fellow “not hot” writers all mentioned the same.

~~ The description “mainstream” is being used differently in romance circles than in other literary circles. It’s important to keep up with the terms and ins and outs of your particular genre. Going against that grain is of course your call, but be aware it’s a harder sell.

~~ The term “literary” will chase most romance readers away. Again, not much I can do about that except to call my work something it’s not, and I don’t believe an author should ever be deceitful. If it helps short term, it can be harmful long term, and long term should be the big focus if you plan to stay in the business.

~~ What you say online anywhere, particularly on lists and blogs and social networks, can follow you forever. I found myself turning away from even giving an author’s work a chance when she was rude online, or when she said she “doesn’t read” or so on. Be very careful about your online presence in general. It can be stored forever.

~~ Readers want excerpts. Make them available! I was already doing this at book signings, since after my first one was so slow, I wanted something to give away so they would at least know what I was writing. I also learned from other authors that bookstore signings are usually slow and most often the biggest attention you receive is to be asked where the bathroom is. Don’t let it get to you, and decide if it’s worth your time before you jump in.

~~ If you’re asked to join an author blog, make sure to accept if it fits your books and if it’s at all possible to keep up. Group blogs are a great way to meet a different audience. I’m a member of two group blogs:
Lindsay’s Romantics &
Classic Romance Revival
(In order to be asked, take part in conversations on blogs and lists so the owner will see your marketing potential, your interest in chatting with readers, and the quality of your casual writing.)

As this is again long enough, I’ll leave more for another day. Tomorrow, I’m part of Classic Romance Revival’s Blog Carnival for the Cupid Diaries anthology (cover and link is at the right) and will leave that highlighted for a few days.

If any of you authors dropping by here have other hints that you’ve learned from networking, feel free to add them in the comments!

Oh, and about that Irish luck? I’ve been to Ireland and it’s gorgeous. However, it’s also cold and rainy on a near-constant basis and the land is nearly all rock that took much effort to clear in order to be able to farm. Still, they thrive. How? Because of that effort against the odds. Because they stand out in the cold windy rain and keep fishing as though they don’t notice the weather. Because when they were getting their farms started, they used those big rocks they pulled from the ground, stacked them atop each other at the edges of their property, and let them become what are now: beautiful, strong, stalwart fences defining their land and their country.

It’s like my grandpa once said when someone was wishing for the luck some other guy had: “Tell you what, you go out there and work as hard as he does for as many hours as he does, and you’ll have his good luck, too.” That’s the luck of the Irish.

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Back to the Basics

Sometimes you have to go back to the basics and start at the beginning.

Yesterday, still stuck on my WIP (work in progress), I walked away from the computer, grabbed pencil, binder, and loose leaf paper, and went to work on my front porch. I was distracted with perusing nature for some time, and by a little hummingbird that kept buzzing back and forth between the nearest tree and my porch feeder, but as they say, a writer is working even when she looks like she’s daydreaming.

After a nice relaxation/meditation aided by singing birds and the satisfaction of a pretty, neat yard from the hours of tiring work that went into it, the words began to flow.

There is something about putting pencil on paper that outshines keyboard and monitor by far.

That’s how I started. Way back when as I reclaimed my writer’s soul and restarted a story I’d begun as a teen, I grabbed a new package of college ruled loose leaf paper, found a bright yellow folder to collect the pages, and relished the tactile experience of creating stories. Not only was the pencil in hand and light scratching of ‘lead’ on paper fulfilling, but also the feel of a new package of unused notebook paper and the look of the highly sharpened pencil.

This was in 1996. June 1996. Funny that it should be June again when I returned to that method.

How do I remember it was June 1996? I wrote it, in pencil, on the front of my yellow 3-ring folder. In time, I wrote other things on it, as well: story notes and reminders, quotes, inspirations. It didn’t take long for that cardboard binder to become too full to hold the pages that spilled out of my imagination so fast I could hardly keep up. I had to upgrade to a new binder: a big 2 inch navy blue sturdy thing with see-through pockets. In the same vein as the yellow folder, the pockets were used to host inspirational things: quotes, cut out cartoons, and a small blue page on which I’d copied part of Corinthians 13 onto.

Humble writing beginnings, they were. And the most fulfilling.

Somewhere, part of that soul-quenching feeling faded. Maybe it was turning to the computer for not only transcribing the tons of pages I’d hand written, but for doing the first draft, as well. Maybe it was giving in to how it “should” be done and starting from the beginning and working toward the end, instead of my own unlearned method of writing down scenes as they came to me and putting them in order in that blue binder. Maybe it was trying to produce faster. After all, it was 10 years between starting that story and publishing the first book of what became so long it had to be a series. Maybe it’s the marketing that turns my art into a business.

Whatever it is that has caused the fire-squelching in recent years, it had to stop. Reverse.

A couple of days ago, a writer friend  (thank you, Paul)  posted an article link to a writer talking of freehand writing versus computer drafts. It struck a very deep chord.

So yesterday, I walked away from the computer, grabbed pencil and loose leaf paper, and another big navy binder, and sat on my front porch to return to the basics.

When it became too dark to work outside, I simply picked them up, relocated to my daybed, and continued.

I have 5 sheets, front and back, of college-ruled paper full of … scenes. Three different scenes, with whatever I decided to write at the moment.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt more fulfilled in my writing career. I can’t wait to get back to it today.

~~ ~~ ~~
Yes, I still have the original folder and binder, and I still use them while continuing work on that series:



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Touring Along on my Virtual Book Blab

Everything we do takes learning along the way. That’s how I write and how I market. I learn as I go. I can’t think of anything we don’t have to just jump in and see how it works as we learn: school, socializing, learning an instrument (studying theory is great but until you DO it, you don’t actually learn it). Same with … love, marriage (for those still unmarried, trust me, it’s a huge learning process), even uh.. sex (shh) is a learning process. We also have to learn HOW to learn in order to do it productively. Those countries with better education rates are those who are best at teaching their kids how to learn, not only facts and figures. How is more important. I think we have come too far from that.

I’m a hands-on type (and if you’re giggling about now, take the image from the paragraph above out of your head, thank you). I learn by jumping in and figuring it out. That’s what I’m doing with all my promo, including my current book tour. I’m figuring it out as I go, along with some wonderful assistance from CRR Promotions! Organizing is not my thing. Luckily, CRR is good at it.

So I’m nearing the middle of my tour. What have I learned?

1- It can get exhausting.

I’m a writer. How hard should it be to write blog content based on my book? Turns out, harder than I expected, especially since CRR did such a great job and I have 16 blogs to write for in 31 days. Not a big deal, right? For someone who has done Nanowrimo for 5 years now and nearly doubled the required 50K last year to write 97,000 words in 30 days, 16 short blogs shouldn’t be a big deal.

Yes well, try taking a novel and writing 16 short essays about it, all with different topics. It’s more easily said than done. Still, I’m enjoying the process because after the two years I’ve taken to write and edit (and re-edit and rewrite and re-edit and…) the story, I’ve found it interesting to dissect my own work even further. It may sound strange to non-writers, but there are so many things that go into a story even the author doesn’t know until she looks back and dissects where that stuff came from. Writing is indeed therapy, especially when you force yourself to take such a hard look.

2- Some people will read your blog postings and not comment.

This is something to remember. Just as on email lists there are many more reading than posting, a lot of readers are hesitant to join in with comments. That doesn’t mean if you only get three comments, you had only three readers. And remember that your posts will (or should) stay in those blogs for a long time to come and can always get randomly pulled from search sites. It’s exposure. Unlike being in Vermont in the winter without a coat on, exposure is good for writers.

3- Form your blog content to your host blog as you can.

This is the hardest, I think. Trying to make your posts relate to your book and to your host can be tricky. Use your imagination. Writers know how to do that, at least fiction writers do. ;-)  When you find one you can’t figure out how to mesh, throw in fun things such as character interviews, author interview, excerpts. If you have an excerpt that will fit in any way, use that. It can be a very small connection, such as mentioning the dog rescue part of your book on a host’s blog who owns dogs.

I’ll likely have more lessons to post later. For now, here are the direct links to each blog I’ve been in this month. And another HUGE thank you for the hosts!  Remember that commenters can win a free printed, signed short story and anyone who comments on 8 or more blogs along the way has a chance to win a signed copy of Off The Moon!

Nov 1: Judah Raine

Introduction - what is literary romance?

 http://judahraine.com/romancewriteup/?p=673

 

Nov 3: Jane Richardson

Artistic Vision and Creative Doubt

http://janerichardsonhomethoughts.blogspot.com/2009/11/over-moon-to-welcome-lk-hunsaker.html

 

Nov 5: Sue Perkins

Traveling Fiction: Places in Story

http://sueperkinsauthor.blogspot.com/2009/11/lk-hunsaker-blog-tour.html

 

Nov 7: Linda Banche

Interview:  Will

http://lindabanche.blogspot.com/2009/11/crr-blog-tour-lk-hunsaker-and-off-moon.html

 

Nov 9:  Sandra Kay

Subplot: A second rescue 

http://sandrakayauthor.blogspot.com/2009/11/subplot-another-rescue.html

 

Nov 11: Liana Laverentz

Behind the Scenes: An Army Brat

http://lianalaverentz.blogspot.com/2009/11/guest-author-loraine-hunsaker.html

 

Also, be sure to catch tomorrow’s blog with Nancy O’Berry:
Celebrities: Truth vs. Hype – Nov. 13
http://obe-romancingtheblog.blogspot.com

Nov. 15: Metaphorical Reality with Sandra Sookoo
http://www.sandrasookoo.wordpress.com

Nov. 17: An Interview with Ned (Ryan’s drummer and quite the character) at Lainey Bancroft’s blog
http://www.elaineforlife.com/LaineysBlog/tabid/463/Default.aspx

Oh, I’m also plugging away at Nanowrimo. I’m terribly behind (several thousand words behind) but no big deal. I’ll catch up.

And, be on the lookout right here for not only more blog dates, but a fun interview by a professional drummer who works out of NYC, owns a drum shop, and was part of the Warped Tour (you younger folks will know what that is). Sign up for email updates to be sure not to miss it.

Well, I’m off and on the run again. Actually, it’s more like a slow and somewhat steady trudge. Hey, it worked for the tortoise.

Preorder now for free shipping within the US and discounted shipping outside the US. As of release date, Nov. 27, shipping will be added.

http://www.elucidatepublishing.com/books.htm 

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I’m Going On Tour!

CRR Promotions has done a wonderful job booking me on blogs all through November to talk about my books and to promote my newest, Off The Moon, release date November 27th!

Come follow me!  I’m giving away a new short story, unreleased, that goes with the novel as a bit of a prequel at each blog stop. A drawing will be held by each host. The story will be printed, signed, and mailed to each winner at the end of November. Also, anyone who follows me to at least 8 of the 15 stops is eligible for a drawing for a signed print copy of Off The Moon!

THANK YOU to the following blog tour hosts!  Content will be different each day, to include author and character interviews. (I’m missing two links below but they will be added well in advance of the dates.)

I’ll be here to post reminders of where I’ll be and the subject for each blog. If you’d like an easy way to keep up, subscribe to my blog with the form to the right. Your email will not be shared or used for any other purpose than notification of new posts here.

01-Nov	Judah Raine http://judahraine.com/romancewriteup/
03-Nov	Jane Richardson http://janerichardsonhomethoughts.blogspot.com/
05-Nov	Sue Perkins http://sueperkinsauthor.blogspot.com/
07-Nov	Linda Banche http://lindabanche.blogspot.com/
09-Nov	Sandra Kay http://www.sandrakayauthor.blogspot.com/
11-Nov	Liana Laverentz http://lianalaverentz.blogspot.com/
13-Nov	Nancy O'Berry http://obe-romancingtheblog.blogspot.com/
15-Nov	Sandra Sookoo http://www.sandrasookoo.wordpress.com/
17-Nov	Lainey Bancroft http://www.elaineforlife.com/LaineysBlog
19-Nov	Lindsay’s Romantics http://lindsaysromantics.blogspot.com
21-Nov	Maryann Miller
23-Nov	Sandy James http://www.sandy-james.com/stable
25-Nov	Lizzie Starr
27-Nov	CRR - Release Date http://www.classicromancerevival.com/blog/
29-Nov	Steph Burkhart http://sgcardin.blogspot.com/

"Riveting" Ryan Reynauld is immersed in a world of music, parties, and temporary companionship. Having risen to the top of the pop charts, his biggest concern is objecting to the way his music is produced. That is, until he finds a young woman standing on a window ledge. Against the advice of family and friends, and through media attacks and fan protests, Ryan determines to care for her himself, making a promise that threatens to destroy his career.

Convincing the skittish girl she can learn to trust again comes with a steep price. Sometimes the path to recovery begins by allowing your world to implode.

Elucidate Publishing
November 2009
http://www.elucidatepublishing.net

Book Review: Fire Eyes by Cheryl Pierson

Fire Eyes
Cheryl Pierson

The Wild Rose Press
ISBN 1-60154-470-7
available in Ebook & print

Kaedon Turner is a federal marshal in the days just after the War Between The States. After his parents are killed by Indians, Kaed is rescued and raised by the Choctaw before setting off on his own path, first as a soldier, than as a marshal. When he is severely beaten trying to rescue two young Choctaw girls, the Indians rescue him and drop him at the door of Jessica Monroe.

Jessica is a young widow caring for a baby not her own in the wild Oklahoma Territory. While taking care of the marshal and nursing him back to health, she finds herself falling for his advances. He shows a promise of giving her the attention and devotion she never received from her husband. Still, she’s wary, especially when she learns he’s on the track of the notorious Andrew Fallon – the man who murdered her husband.

Both Kaed and Jessica enter the story with plenty of personal baggage. Fire Eyes is the story of how they face their own intimate fears while battling external dangers. Jessica is afraid of the Choctaw and of allowing herself to trust Kaed. He, in return, is haunted by his own loss and determined not to feel it again. Along with these two deep, true-to-life characters are several supporting characters we get to know well and care about. Fallon is one of the most evil villains you’ll run across, complete with background. The side story of two young girls who escaped Fallon’s clutches is endearing and adds a wider scope to the whole picture.

Along the way, we get lush detail of the landscape as well as some historical background of the times. Cheryl Pierson has a knack for creating intensity with both description and plot that refuses to let you out of the story until you’ve read the whole thing, and even then, it stays with you. There are no clichès concerning the ‘wild west’ or Native American life. I wasn’t always fully convinced that the group of marshals would be quite so open with their emotions as they were, but at least they did have emotion instead of being impervious to their pasts and present (ie John Wayne). 

Overall, Fire Eyes is a smooth, realistic read with wonderful characterization, real dialogue, and an absorbing fullness. Any reader interested in romance and westerns will enjoy this one!

A light note of caution: this is on the spicier side of non-erotic romance in places, but readers can easily move past those short scenes if bothered by them.

CRR is HERE!

As a Classic Romance Revival affiliate author, I’ve been blogging at the CRR blog nearly once a month for some time now while awaiting the launch of the website … and now it’s LIVE!

What is the Classic Romance Revival? It’s genre romance in its classic form, meaning various heat levels but never pushing the line into erotica and always between two committed characters, one male and one female. While we respect whatever type of romance others like to write and read, we’ve recognized some have pulled away from reading any romance because they aren’t sure what they’re getting.

At CRR, you may get a fair amount of heat in our sophisticated line. You may get sweet romance with no more than a lovely kiss. Or you may get something in between. You’ll get contemporaries, historicals, fantasy, and paranormal. You’ll find musicians and soldiers and cowboys and bikers and time travelers and artists and pirates. You won’t find a lot of graphic detail. And you won’t find bed-hopping only for the sake of … well, for the sake of bed-hopping.

CRR does romance. Real romance. The girl-meets-boy. The struggles of forming and holding relationships. The happy endings.

You’ll even find a few of my books in the bookstore.

It’s a bit funny to advertise this here and now at this point when I’m not sure my next book fits the CRR category well, being more literary and less romance. However, I do have those that fit better and I have plans for stories that will fit even more. In fact, I may be starting one in November for Nanowrimo, a shorter work, more genre romance, historical.  It’s in formation stage in my head.

Anyway, go check out CRR! I’ve been reading some of the authors’ books and I can tell you there’s a lot worth reading there. ;-)

Author Interview: Joanna Waugh

Blind Fortune
Joanna Waugh

Regency Historical Romance
322 pages
ISBN:9781419959028

buy link: Cerridwen Press

Read My Review on CRR 

LK: When I first heard about Blind Fortune and saw the cover featuring music, I knew this was a story I wanted to read. The combination of music and history was compelling enough, and then I got to know Joanna through mutual writing sites. Through her daily writings I could see she was well-studied in both her story matter and in the writing craft. I also enjoy her informative blog posts about the Regency period of England as often as I can get to them. As impressed as I was with the story of Lady Fortuna Morley and Charles, Marquess of Granville, I’m honored to have Joanna here talking about her debut novel. Welcome, Joanna!  
 

Joanna Waugh: Thanks so much for inviting me in today, Loraine. And thanks for the great review of BLIND FORTUNE.

The first question I always ask is if you have a response to my review. Is there anything you'd like to highlight or argue?

JW: I only want to say how pleased I am you liked the book. The feedback from readers and reviewers has been heartwarming. I’m overwhelmed by the positive response BLIND FORTUNE has received.

It’s all well deserved! Debut novels tend to be a huge learning curve and I think you’re starting ahead of the game. Speaking of starts, as I mentioned in the review, the amount of research you did for the novel is impressive. Are you a researcher by nature?

JW: I think so. I discovered I had a knack for it in the late 1980s when I researched my husband’s family tree. I was able to ferret out information about his great grandfather others had spent a decade trying to track down. Later, this talent stood me in good stead when I became involved politically. I think I would have made an excellent investigative reporter!

Yes, I’m guessing you would, also. Family tree research is an admirable skill, and tedious. I’ll bypass the political question that’s skimming my brain since I try not to do that here ;-) and move on.  

The Regency Period covers England in the late 18th to mid-19th centuries. How long have you been interested in this era? Did you grow up reading Regencies? If not, what was your favorite reading material?

JW: My mother belonged to Book of the Month Club and I grew up on authors like Mary Stewart and Daphne du Maurier. I had a voracious reading appetite. By junior high, I was sneaking into the grown up section of the public library. I couldn’t borrow the books so I’d sit there all day, every Saturday, reading them.

Mom loved history and historical romance. She still does. I remember once, when I was in grade school, the Kroger store had a special promotion of young adult biographies. Every week Mom bought me a new one – George Washington, Stephen Decatur, Abraham Lincoln, Louisa May Alcott. I loved American history! But I got hooked on the English Regency when I discovered Georgette Heyer as an adult.

How wonderful of your Mom to feed that interest! I started reading historicals because Mom did, as well, particularly with John Jakes and Irving Stone. I may have to look up Georgette Heyer.

Joanne, as well as history, I sensed a love of art in general from within "Blind Fortune" and had to go peruse your website to fulfill my curiosity. Can I say I'm not surprised you studied art? Now I have to say I also began college heading toward commercial art and changed paths, as well as also being pulled out of college for marriage. This is leading to two questions:

Was your art love a planned theme for this novel or did it appear as you wrote?

JW: How wonderful we have so much in common, Loraine!

Most blind people possess an affinity for music so it seemed logical that Lady Fortuna would play the pianoforte by ear. And because music speaks so deeply to the soul, I knew it had to be important to my emotionally wounded hero, Charles Lowden, as well.

Music, art and classical literature were an integral part of 19^th century life. Some of the greatest painters of the 18^th and 19^th centuries came out of England—Joshua Reynolds, John Constable, JMW Turner. William Hogarth and Thomas Rowlandson were wildly popular with their satires of English life.

Remember, this was before photography. The only way to memorialize a scene or person was in a painting or illustration.

That’s something I didn’t know about the blind. Interesting. And I’m applauding your point about music and healing. Speaking personally about the soul, did your own experiences play a role in Lady Fortuna's feelings and fears about married life or about life for women in general?

JW: I wrote BLIND FORTUNE based on personal experiences with my husband’s loss of sight from diabetes. Most human communication is nonverbal so he often misunderstood conversations. It struck me as an excellent premise around which to craft a romance.

I tried to imagine what life would have been like for a blind woman of good birth during the Regency. But the story really came together when I read Mary Wollstonecraft’s Maria or The Wrongs of Woman published in 1798.

Women of the Georgian and Regency periods were owned body and soul by the men in their lives. In BLIND FORTUNE, Lady Fortuna fears a husband might lock her away once he gets his hands on her dowry. It’s a legitimate concern, given how little time alone courting couples were allowed in order to get to know one another. An unscrupulous man could hide behind exemplary behavior until the marriage vows were exchanged.

In Mary Wollstonecraft’s world, a woman’s identity was subsumed with that of her husband when she wed. People literally believed the biblical doctrine “two become as one flesh.” Divorce was almost unheard of and required Parliamentary approval. Once married, a woman was trapped for life.

Ah, I read part of “The Wrongs of Woman” as part of a women’s literature class some time ago. Powerful writing. It’s amazing how far women have come and we need to pay homage to women such as Wollstonecraft for helping that come about. I’m glad you mentioned her.

As romance writers, we know there is a tendency for the general public to look down on romance novels. And yet, they are the best selling genre consistently. I know from your website that women's issues are important to you and you've done a fair amount of research in that vein. Do you think there's a connection between a general degrading of romance and 'chick flicks' that relates to women's fight for equal recognition?

JW: You are right that women’s issue are close to my heart. In the early 1980s, when my husband lost his sight, I needed to find a better job to support my family. As a union employee with the local gas and electric company, I was able to leave my clerical position and become the first female journeyman electric meterman.

As a writer, particularly an American one, I can’t help but bring this experience to my stories. Unfortunately, it makes them less true historically. I mentioned before that women of the 19^th century were at the mercy of the men in their lives. Most of them were content with this position. But that attitude doesn’t resonate with 21^st century women. More of them are entering the military; more are opting to have children outside of marriage. It’s difficult for them to identify with the past as it truly was so an author sometimes must bend the truth to fit modern sensibilities.

I think you did a nice job showing both, balancing the historical aspect with the needs of modern fiction.  I also have to think many women were not content with that slavery but unsure how to go about changing it. It was widespread battered women/victim syndrome where only the strongest dared fight it.

To lighten things up again, what is your favorite color? Do you wear this color a lot?

 JW: Blue has always been my favorite. But over the last few years, I’ve gravitated toward purple and lavender. It goes well with my gray hair!

Are you an outdoorsy type or do you prefer being within closed windows?

JW: Despite working outdoors for almost thirty years, I’m not the woodsy type. I don’t camp or hunt. My idea of roughing it is the Holiday Inn! But I do adore walks along Lake Michigan and boating.

There’s another similarity. I agree! So do you have any "different" hobby you'd like to share with us? Do you collect anything outrageous or scuba dive or so on?

JW: I collect Russian nesting dolls. Lovely little works of folk art. I have one whose smallest doll is roughly the size of a sesame seed. And it’s painted. With a magnifying glass you can make out its little smiling face.

Oh, those dolls are precious! I have a set we picked up in Germany but the smallest is nowhere near that small.

Speaking of painting and art, if you could claim one famous work of art as your own, which one would it be and why?

JW: Only one? What an impossible task! Van Gogh’s Starry Night.  Salvador Dali’s Invention of the Monsters with its flaming giraffe and his Persistence of Memory with its melting clocks. I absolutely adore Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. It’s on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. When my son was in grade school, I took him to see the painting. I dragged him up close before he had a chance to assimilate what the picture was about. Shoving him within inches of the canvas, I asked, “What do you see?” “Dots.” He said. Then I dragged him back and watched the wonder dawn on his face as the picture gradually coalesced. “The original dot matrix image,” I told him.

Joanna! La Grande Jatte is one of my all-time favorite works of art! I saw it at the Art Institute back in my college days after I’d studied it in art history class and it’s amazing. I had to use it in one of my books, I was so struck by the piece. Van Gogh is another fave. I love your picks.

Back to writing, tell us what you're doing now. Any projects in the works?

Right now I’m working on a Regency paranormal set on the border of Scotland in 1816. Home from the war, my hero accidentally releases the 6^th century spirit of a pagan king from a well in which it has been trapped for twelve-hundred years. The spirit follows him home and begins wreaking havoc. The hero and heroine must overcome their differences and work together to banish it. In the process, they rediscover the love they lost two years before.

Sounds like another great read. I’ll be watching for it.

Joanna, thank you for taking the time to be with us. I wish you all the best with future books. I also encourage any art and music loving readers out there to pick up Blind Fortune. Is there anything you would like to add? Be sure to leave us your links to find you!

Check out my resources for Regency readers and writers at http://www.joannawaugh.com

(Click on “Joanna’s Books” to read excerpts from BLIND FORTUNE)

Be sure to “friend” me on Myspace and Facebook

And don’t forget my blog about British customs and holidays at http://www.joannawaugh.blogspot.com/
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Author Interview: David McClain

 

       An Interview with David McClain

   Find David's blog at

                Writing.com

    Find Keeper of the Word at

                Lulu.com

 

 

 

 

Keeper of the Word is David McClain’s debut book of short stories, independently published in 2008, and one of the best indie books I’ve had the privilege to read. His stories speak of who he is: spirited, spunky, earthy, and truly original. His writing blog is highly popular and his followers become quickly loyal. It’s easy to see why once you dig into the stories he’s collected in his first book.

I’m honored to be counted among David’s friends and am happy to offer this interview that, as far as I know, is his first.

So, Hello David! Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions!

DM: Hi Loraine, and thanks for giving me this opportunity. You are correct, this is the first time getting interviewed for me and I don't mind telling you, I am just a bit nervous. If I stick my foot in my mouth just edit the heck out of me! So go ahead and fire the questions at me lady....I will try my best to make some sense of my answers.

LK: Ah, no need to be nervous. We're all friendly here. ;-)  First off, let me post the cover blurb for Keeper of the Word here. I generally review a book before asking the author for an interview and allow him or her to respond, but this time, I’m using the blurb and asking if you have comments about it:


"Reminiscent of cowboy storytelling around the campfire, Keeper of the Word is an eclectic mix of short stories with a wide range of genres. In his first published collection, David McClain uses a charming conversational style that keeps us pulled in to every word, waiting for what we soon learn will come at the end of each story: the “a ha” moment, humorous or thoughtful or eyebrow-raising. Running the gamut from romance to fantasy, from thriller to mainstream, each story has a constant theme – a pondering of life and love well-blended to touch the reader’s hearts."

DM: Well every time I read that blurb, the first thing that goes through my mind is: “They can't be talking about me can they?” Maybe it is because the blurb appears on the first book I ever published, but it always just seems unreal when I see my name in print....on a book....that strangers will buy and read. I always think there must be another David McClain out there doing this stuff.

LK:  I know what you mean!  David, you consider yourself a Storyteller, as it states in your introduction. What do you think is the biggest difference between a “writer” and a “storyteller”?

DM: This is just my opinion, but to me a writer is someone who is in love with their words. They want to create a word masterpiece that will be admired like the Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre. Now don't get me wrong, that's not a bad thing....it just isn't me. As a storyteller, I am not so much in love with the words as I am concerned with connecting with the reader. When I write a short story or a novel I tell the tale as if I were telling it to a friend sitting on my front porch, sharing a cold drink on a hot day.

I know you have seen writers out there, some very famous, who use three paragraphs to describe a tree to the readers. Wordy. They use a ton of words to describe the tree. Sometimes this detracts from the story they are trying to tell. As a storyteller, I want you to SEE the tree but not get too caught up in admiring the tree and forget the world of the story I am trying to draw you into. A storyteller wants you, the reader, to be able to slip comfortably into their make believe world and become immersed in the story.

LK:  Excellent point. There is a line between showing and showing too much. And as I've read your stories, I know they have a very comfortable feel, as though you're reading it to me. Now, what shall we drink?  ;-)

From reading your blog, I know you use bits and pieces of your own life to create stories, such as your growing up years, your current job, and your military background. Do you ever pause and wonder if you’re revealing too much? Do you find it hard at times to write so personally?

DM: Someone once said that writing a book was easy, all you had to do was sit at a typewriter and open a vein. I believe that, and part of “opening a vein” is to pour a large portion of yourself into some of your characters. I have never wondered if I was revealing too much but only that I was being honest with the feelings. For that reason, in some of my stories I have drawn from my own feelings and experiences to flesh out a bad guy in the story. I have always believed that every person has both good and evil within them and both can be used to create characters.

LK:  I'm sure that's true, although some of us would have a hard time admitting our villains come from within! If we're honest, where else would they truly come from? I love the "open a vein" line.


Your stories and style remind me quite a bit of Frank Delaney’s Ireland where a storyteller is traveling around the country sharing passed-along stories of Ireland. Both books include touches of humor along with some kind of explanation or moral or come-uppance at the end of each story. It’s a rare style among today’s books. Why do you think that is?

DM:  Well first of all I have not read Mr. Delaney's work but it sounds good. I was affected at an early age by the works of a man who in my opinion was the greatest storyteller of all time: O'Henry. I have the complete works of O'Henry on my shelves today and from time to time I will pick up one of the books and read some of his great short stories again. From "The Ransom of Red Chief" to "The Gift of the Magi," all his stories had some sort of moral or twist at the end which would mete out cosmic justice to those who needed it.

Why do we not see more of it in this day and age? Maybe it is because in today's society nobody is to blame for anything. People are no longer interested in taking responsibility for anything they do so they really aren't interested in seeing a character pay for whatever they did wrong in a story.

LK:  Good point. So do you have a favorite story in “Keepers of the Word”?

DM:  Oh Loraine, that's a tough one. Do you have a favorite child....one you love more than the others? That is the way I feel about my short stories. But, if you insist on making me make a choice....it's a tie. There are two stories that are my favorites of that collection.

1. Mulligan--- As you know, Mulligan is a golf term meaning a “Do-over.” If a golfer hits a bad shot and lands in the rough, he can take a “Mulligan” and take the shot over. In this story all the stars align just right and one dark, snowy night, a man actually gets the opportunity to use a “Mulligan” to make things right in his life.

2. The Last Battle of Arwin Hawken--- This story showcases the fact that a man is never too old to stand up for Justice and take a stand for Honor and the woman he loves.

LK:  What genre(s) of books do you normally read and why did you choose to include a variety of genres within this collection?

DM:  This one is simple. I chose a variety of genres because I READ a variety of genres. I guess it also helps that I never know what genre one of my stories will fit into until I finish it. The story always has a life of its own and I am sometimes surprised at how one turns out.

LK:  Just for fun, if you could choose three songs to take with you to a year-long writing retreat and be limited to only those songs, what would they be and why?

DM:  Dang girl, that is another tough one...just three? Well okay, I will give it a try.

1. Music of the Night---From the musical Phantom of the Opera. You sure I can't take this whole CD? This music always helps to sooth my mind and allows the words to flow.

2. The Breaking of the Fellowship---Instrumental done by a Celtic group and from the movie Lord of the Rings.

3. And finally, Like Two Sparrows in a Hurricane by Tanya Tucker. I love bthis song because it reminds me of my wife and how much I love her.

LK:  Oh! Music of the Night is one of my all-time faves, also! Very inspirational!  I love all your choices, actually.  :-)

I have to ask this one: What is your favorite part of writing?

DM: I call it “The Birthing,” that magic moment when the first seed of the story starts to take root in my head. It grows and grows until I am literally forced to sit down at the computer and transfer the words from my head to the screen. I never know, when I start writing a story, how that story will end. Heck, many times a character will die in the story and I am shocked. I had not intended them to die....the story had its own path....I am just there to put it down in words.

LK:  Great description of it!  That is an incredible feeling. Of course we want to know what you’re working on now. How’s it coming?

DM:  I am currently putting the finishing touches on a novel: The Time of the Troubles, that I first wrote back in 1992. After it was finished, I promptly put it in a box under my bed and forgot the thing. I have about four more chapters to edit and then I have to add two or three chapters at the end because I just didn't like the way the original ended. When I wrote this novel I set it in the early 21^st century and it deals with an Islamic terrorist attack upon America which ends up causing a breakdown in law and order in the country. Looking back now, this premise seems almost prophetic. I plan on publishing that work within the next four or five months.

As soon as I have that project ready to go, I am going to start a sequel to it. I had not planned on doing a sequel, but after I let my oldest son read the novel, he insisted it was needed.

I am also working on a second book of short stories. I plan on using a number of new stories and a group of stories that I didn't have room for in the first book.

LK: Prophetic indeed. Strange when that happens, isn't it? I look forward to its publication and hope it has a good ending. ;-) 

One more quick question: if you could choose one book title to describe your life (title, not contents) what would it be?

DM: Dreams Come True, If You Live Long Enough!

LK:  David, thanks again for taking the time to talk with us. Is there anything you would like to add?

DM:  I would just like to say “Thank You” again for this opportunity to talk about what I love...writing. I would also like to say to all of your readers: If you are a writer, I don't care what kind of writer you are, or what you like to write, please never lose sight of the prize. No matter how hard it is, no matter what kind of roadblocks you have to overcome, all the effort, all the work is worth it in the end. The first time you hold a book in your hands with YOUR name on it you will know a rush, and a high that nothing else in the world can give you. Whatever money you make is just icing on the cake.

Stay true to that little voice in your head that whispers the story to you and keep pounding those keys...it is well worth it in the end.

Thank you.
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I Read Romance. Why?

This is a blog-hogger challenge from Judah Raine:
  http://judahraine.com/romancewriteup/

 

Romance fiction has to be the most underrated genre, especially as it has the highest sales constantly. Why? Misunderstandings and misinformation, both accidental and intentional.

If you've followed the book market at all, you'll know that sales are down, that publishers are struggling, that most fiction writers barely make money on their books if they make anything. That's all true. However, like movie theater attendance, romance fiction sales have risen in recent times. Why? People are looking for uplifting escapism.

I have an admission. I haven't read a whole lot of genre romance. I didn't read it much as a teen and I haven't much during my adult years. Why? Perception. I see those steamy covers showing a male's full bare chest or a female's buxom-centered image or a couple locked in a sensual embrace and I figure I'm getting a bunch of steam and descriptive detail I don't want and so walk farther down to a different aisle. I understand why publishers create those covers. They do tend to sell books. Understood. Who can fight against the almighty dollar (or pound or peso or lira, etc)? However, they also lose readers that way. They lose those of us who love actual romance but who don't love minute description of sex scenes. Romance and sex are not the same and do not have to be put in the same bin! Yes, I say that a lot. I'll keep saying it. Why? Because I write romantic fiction and I enjoy reading romantic fiction, but I do not write or read porn (aka erotica). If you do, that's all well and fine. I don't. Many others don't, either, both readers and writers.

Real romance is beautiful. It's elegant. It's psychological. It's physical. It's necessary. And it's everywhere.

The flowers and box of chocolate in the photo above are not fictional. My husband gave them to me for Valentine's Day a few years ago. I see eye-rolling as I type this. Valentine's Day is nothing but commercial. Everyone says so now. I say it's not. I say it depends how you treat it. I say celebrating love is important. It's not corny. It's not childish. It's not selling out. It's real. And it's needed. And we can't be happy without it.

So yes, I do read romance. I've read more romance in the last couple of years since meeting so many romance writers who believe the way I do that romance is romance and sex should be tasteful and optional. There are tons of us out there who believe this whole-heartedly, which by the way is the only correct way to love -- whole-heartedly. And yes, I write romance. I write about the beauty of it, the pain of it, the longing and confusion and elation of it. I write struggles and fear and misconceptions. I write the "why" of it. I write down to the depths of it. In the end, though, the only real answer I ever find truly is love.

Love may not be all we need (with my apologies to the Beatles), but it does need to be involved in everything else we need.

If you don't want to carry books with "those" kinds of covers, get them in Ebook format and carry them on some kind of reader others won't see. Or order them from your local independent bookstore and read those at home. Or pick up one of those book sox kids use for school books. We can't make publishers stop printing them that way, at least not all publishers. Authors often don't have a choice with their covers. But some really good stuff lies within. The saying is true: you can't always judge a book by its cover. Really. Look deeper.

You can find more writers who agree by checking the Classic Romance Revival page linked to the right.


Any other writer or reader interested in taking up the topic and running with it? Sign your name here and leave your link to where you post it: http://judahraine.com/romancewriteup/?page_id=635
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