B, Baby, B

When no one quite knows yet
that you are here, 
a baby bump
in the overall scheme of 
everyday life,
riding to infinity,
possibilities streaming
like that dimple in Beethoven's ear,
glorious music
bopping, bursting forth,
bringing hope
with your first flutter.
That's when
I believe, baby. 

Leda at almost 2 (February 2014)

I'm a grandmother and just now I've learned that little Leda Rose will have a baby sister or a baby brother, a few days after Halloween. I say, "Trick or treat!"

And on we go with the A to Z Challenge. Read what those other 2,000 plus bloggers are writing here.  Note: That gorgeous letter "B" is the work of Jeremy Hawkins.

Introducing an amazing cover from Tia Bach

Over the last two years of being active in A Round of Words in 80 Days, I've come to know Tia Bach, writer of paranormal fantasy for young adults. 

Today, I'm thrilled to introduce her forthcoming book and hot-off-the-virtual-presses cover:

Chasing Shadows (Tala Prophecy, Book 2)

Reagan thought one night changed her life forever, but her fate was written long ago.

Merging creature and white blood,

One of flame, one of night,

At eighteen years it will commence,

Spiritual warrior and power,

Will bring an end to the lawless ones.

A war looms: One that pits brother against brother for werewolf supremacy. Angels and demons will each have a say before a victor is chosen.

With her eighteenth birthday only six months away, time is running out. Reagan must find a way to harness the two powerful, ancient bloodlines coursing through her: Werewolf and Wiccan. Then, she has to figure out her role in the century-old prophecy foretold by her great-grandmother.

However, if Reagan can’t save her family from her most vicious rival, Rafe, the forces of Hell will be unleashed and the war will be over before it starts.

For more about Tia Bach, check out her blog, Depression Cookies.

Here's the link for Tia's first book in this series, Chasing Memories

You can add Chasing Shadows on GoodReads 

NOTE: This gorgeous cover was designed by Jo Michaels 

A to Z Challenge: A is for Anachronistic

I unwind into morning,
fingers curled over the keyboard,
too aware of decades lost,
almost anachronistic.
Yet April begins another spring,
I am here, in this place and time,
and I am writing.

April 1 begins the first day of the A to Z Challenge, and I'll join 2,000+ other bloggers with that commitment to write every day, inspired on day one with the letter A.

My themes will be mostly scattered as my office is these days, too many projects -- writing and quilting, but this has been a long winter, and the snows have finally, finally melted. Even my African violets have begun to bud.

I will try to write a poem a day.

I write historical fiction, immersed in mid-19th Century. One novel has been self-published. The second is in final editing. Another awaits in the earliest of reading and research phases. But I begin to know that plot. The characters already have hopes and dreams; their doubts are surfacing. I will do some research/reading, but my primary writing goal for April will be to finish the edits on Years of Stone.

If you are a blogger participating in the A to Z Challenge, may you find inspiration each day!
We each will be reading what others have written, up to 10 each day. Read what others have written here! Or check out A-to-Z on Facebook.

To blog or not to blog?

Tomorrow marks the beginning of April and the A to Z Blogging Challenge. 

If I make a commitment, that means a blog post a day, from A to Z.

Over 2,000 bloggers have already made that commitment and have mapped out what they're going to write about for the month. Some have begun to prewrite their posts. I haven't even started.

I'm undecided. Those nasty demons of doubt have arisen. What could I possibly write about that would interest others? Will I have the time to actually write something every single day, even though part of this month will be on the road?

So here's the deal. You choose. Let me know what YOU would like me to write about!  Here are the options:

1) A poem a day?

2) Short posts about what I've learned from writing historical fiction?

3) Tidbits from my research for Years of Stone, set in 19th Century Van Diemen's Land (current day Tasmania, Australia) OR Rivers of Stone, set in 19th Century Canada and the Pacific Northwest?

4) Short posts about self-publishing on the cheap and that greatest and perhaps most humbling challenge of self-marketing?

You can do this! End my indecision! Please answer via comments or send me an e-mail to bluebethley@yahoo.com and please, please don't call me a slacker!

If you'd like to join this challenge, check out the A to Z Challenge 2014 website!

Celebrating Women's History: Moms Mabley

I saw Moms Mabley for the first time last night on a documentary produced by Whoopi Goldberg. I don't know how I missed Moms back in the 1960s when she became popular. Maybe because I lived in Seattle, where one black kid was in our high school of over 400. But I never knew her in the 1970s either.

Moms Mabley (Wikipedia)

She comes on stage, shuffling, a baggy hat pulled low, frumpy old lady clothes that don't match in any way. If she is wearing her teeth, she takes them out, saying, "Now, that's better." Her big smile wins everyone over.

Her wise-cracking, authentic, heart-tugging humor turns to simply expressed, laser sharp critiques of racism. And people listen. 

In 1969, in her disarming way, she tells an obviously uncomfortable Merv Griffin, that she has a new nickname. Trigger. Then, after a beat, she adds, "At least, I think they was saying Trigger."

Her popularity led her to Carnegie Hall and the White House, where she visited Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, amended and approved by President Johnson on April 11, 1968.  Before that, John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, and Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

This clip from youtube.com shows Sammy Davis, Jr. introducing Moms to sing "Abraham, Martin, and John."



Read a little more about Moms on Wikipedia.
More about Whoopi Goldberg's documentary on The New York Times.

Sunday's Author Spotlight: It's Me!

Whew! Busy week! Two interviews went online this week. 

Thanks go to Annette Drake for hosting me on her weekly Author Spotlight, up at the crack of dawn this morning. Annette is the author of Celebration House (on Amazon), a compelling read about a woman who buys a house to discover ghosts and a unique ability to communicate with them. 

And just one week ago, Deb McKnight hosted me on Novel Notions: Self-Published Sunday.  Deb is also an author. Her first book, Of Dreams and Shadow (on Amazon), looks to be a powerful tale that begins with a missing child.

In both interviews, I talk a little about the writing process and self-publishing. You'll find another excerpt from Standing Stones as well. 

And I finally was able to attend a panel hosted by the Inland Northwest Writers' Group (INWG), here in Spokane at Auntie's Bookstore. Six writers with widely varying experience commented on the vagaries of self-publishing. I gleaned a few new ideas and found some interesting new writers to read.

• Ignore social media at your peril! Twitter, tweet, and cross post.
• Build your community online. Connect to those who comment on your posts.
• If you blog, then blog 2x a week consistently.
•  Consider Kobo and Barnes & Noble in addition to Amazon.
• Keep developing your technical skills:  E-books rule!
• Make your work accessible on different media -- Podcasts?

And, perhaps most important, book reviews really matter! If you like an author, post a review, no matter how short.

NOTE: If you are a self-published author looking for another way to promote your book,  ebooksoda.com (a service much like The Fussy Librarian) is offering free listings for writers -- just until March 24. Here's their For Authors page.

Added to my to-read list: Frank Zafiro (crime/noir), Ned Hayes (historical fiction), Deby Fredericks (science fiction/fantasy), Raymond Hudson (literary fiction), and Terry Fossum (self-improvement). 

Happy reading! How did we get to the end of March so fast???

Here's my book at Auntie's in Spokane!

Cover Reveal and ABNA news . . .

Available on Amazon

Here's the new cover for The Mermaid Quilt & Other Tales . . . just for the Kindle version. 

I'm kind of excited this morning, and having a little difficulty in concentrating on the editing. Here's the background on the cover. The Mermaid Quilt was my first self-published collection of short stories and poetry. I used an off-the-shelf cover from CreateSpace because I couldn't figure out how to make something dazzling. This brand new cover comes from Angie Zambrano at pro-ebookcovers; her work is available through fiverr.com    

So what do you think? 

Have you heard of ABNA, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Entries ended once 10,000 would-be writers entered or by March 2, whichever came first. The next step: 400 writers from 5 categories (or 2,000 writers) are selected by March 18 to advance to the next round.

Here's the update: Announced today, my Years of Stone (follow-up novel to Standing Stones) has advanced to the next round in the General Fiction category, there not being a historical fiction category this year. 

Whoopee! I think it's time for a cup of coffee. Then maybe I can turn to that revision that's waiting on my desk.

May your writing and reading day go well!

Poetry Review: Wild Woman Waking

This week, I’m pleased to review the latest book of poems by Morgan Dragonwillow, friend and chief instigator behind poetry prompts and online resources (both StoryDam and OctPoWriMo). I look at poetry as a way to explore our most intimate perceptions of life, nature, love – distilled into impressions of what we hold most dear.

Click to go to Amazon!

Wild Woman Waking, a collaborative work by Morgan Dragonwillow, poet, and Tui Snider, photographer, shows the transformative power of poetry combined with images. Each of these 57 poems in free verse begins with a beautiful image that evokes the very nature of the poem, inviting the reader to reflect further on the nature of women, identity, healing, and growth.  

These themes lead we readers on a poetic journey of discovery. We find we must acknowledge the sometimes harsh realities of our pasts before we can embrace change and heal ourselves. For me, that is the essential message of Wild Woman Waking – that we celebrate our true selves with passion, self-acceptance, and commitment. We may not be able to return to the home of our childhood, but, as Morgan writes in ‘Finding My Way Home,’ “. . . you carry home in your heart . . . where it was all along.”

Wild Woman Waking is a passionate read. When we read these poems, we become the child who is misunderstood, the woman who searches for acceptance. From ‘Diving Deep’:

As the leaves fall I find

myself curled up inside

diving into the darkness . . .

Several poems ask us to consider the link between poetry and our bodies. In ‘Where Do Words Come From’, Morgan asks if words are:

searching for a way out of our fingers

 . . . . are the words traveling in your blood

riding along the great highway of your inner being

 Morgan’s poems make me think about the power of poetry to transform ourselves, as if in the very act of putting down words, we invent ourselves, we create order out of chaos, we show others possibilities.

Sometimes poets write what we wish we could say, and they tell us what we need to know. The poems in Wild Woman Waking lead us to a place where we can proudly refuse to be “bent and broken”; instead, they document a journey to self-acceptance, peace, and understanding – where in a community of women, we celebrate and dance as Mud Women. We become women of spirit and keepers of our own keys.

What's next? You can scroll down to read a little about about Morgan and Tui, visit the other hosts on this blog hop, and ENTER Morgan's giveaway (see below). As always, thank YOU for visiting and commenting.

Morgan Dragonwillow is a shadow poet and recovering perfectionist that strives to inspire other poets and writers. She especially enjoys helping those that have had trouble letting go of the fear holding back their words from landing on the page. It thrills her to her marrow when her words inspire someone to write; it is one of her greatest joys. Morgan released her first poetry book, Dancing within Shadow, in March 2013. She is intimate with shadow and dances into the heart of it. She believes that diving into what most people try to avoid makes great fertilizer for all types of creativity, especially writing and poetry. She writes poetry to be able to say things, feel things that she can’t seem to express or feel anywhere else. Morgan lives in Marietta Ga. with her partner, their Pekinese, and their long haired Tabby. She loves creating of all kinds but words are her passion. You can connect with Morgan from the links below.

Morgan Dragonwillow's Amazon author page 

Morgan Dragonwillow's Shadow Poet & Author Page: Dancing where others fear to tread. 
Facebook Author Page 
Pinterest
Twitter

Tui Snider is a writer, photographer, and travel blogger specializing in offbeat sites, overlooked history, cultural traditions, and quirky travel destinations. Her articles and photos have appeared in BMIbaby, easyJet, Wizzit, Click, Ling, PlanetEye Traveler, iStopover, SkyEurope, and North Texas Farm and Ranch magazines, among others. She also wrote the shopping chapter for the “Time Out Naples: Capri, Sorrento, and the Amalfi Coast 2010” travel guidebook. Unexpected Texas is her first book. For Tui, travel is a mindset. Her motto is "Even home is a travel destination," and she believes that "The world is only boring if you take everyone else's word for it." She has worn a lot of hats in her life - literally - and is especially fond of berets. Her first book, "Unexpected Texas" is a guide to offbeat and overlooked places within easy reach of the Dallas - Fort Worth region of North Texas. You can find Tui all around the web. 

·        Tui Snider's Amazon author page

·        Tui Snider's Offbeat & Overlooked Travel blog

·        Facebook author page

·        Instagram 

·        Pinterest

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Women's History Poetry: On women quilting

We begin innocently,
as strangers,
stitch and turn,
repair and bind,
the talk between quilts
held us together,
stories, dreams, revelations, laughter.
We shared more than fabric.
We began to quilt for others.
Sometimes we were angry.
Sometimes we despaired.
Stitch and turn,
repair and bind.
We attended weddings and funerals.
Our quilts remain,
a history of stitches.

This is the first little poem I've written in quite a while. Pared down to simplicity, the words remind me of how women create beauty out of small scraps of fabric, sometimes those scraps that we cannot throw out. So we repurpose, and the quilts remain to brighten our daily lives. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to have old quilts, those made by women we knew.

Quilting has gradually become a passion, a process of making something from a flat piece of cloth. You'll find a quilt in every book I write, sometimes drawn from history. The fascinating story of the Rajah Quilt, made in 1841 by women transported to Van Diemen's Land (present day Tasmania) for petty crimes is hidden like a small quilt block in Standing Stones. Can you imagine being down in the hold of a small sailing vessel, on a trip that took four months, and sewing a quilt?

This poem came about because of Morgan Dragonwillow's mini-poetry challenge to celebrate Women's History Month. See what others have written here. Morgan will be back here as a guest on March 15 to introduce her new book, Wild Woman Waking.

Marketing for Self-Published Authors: Give-Aways?

Give-aways! Should we self-published writers truly give our books away? An accountant would say, check the cost of goods sold first.

But how do we get our books out to a wider audience?

One strategy is to use a sponsored give-away, like that through GoodReads.

If you already have your Author Dashboard set up on GoodReads, you simply add your book cover, set the time for the give-away, decide how many copies to give away, and follow up at the end of the give-away to send your copy to the winner.

I set my give-away for two weeks, ending February 28. During that time, 334 people entered the give-away and 178 added Standing Stones to their "to read" list. I could have added a widget to my blogs, alerting blog readers they could enter the give-away. Next time.

Another plus: GoodReads encourages those who win the book to write a review.

Have I seen a bump in sales? Not yet. Will I offer another give-away? Perhaps. Some of the research suggests that giving away our books is not the first or best marketing choice.

Other marketing strategies I'm working on this week:

• Bookmarks to give away at a book signing at a local book store.
• Lining up readings/visits with local book clubs (and drafting book club questions/handouts).
• Preparing materials for guest posts (Self-Published Sundays coming up in March). 
• Working on final edits on Book 2 for another launch later this year.

If you are a self-published author, what has been your most effective marketing strategy?

Writer Unboxed offers this post on "The Year Long Book Launch" which intrigues me. The links follow the journey a writer of literary fiction undertook to find an agent, a publishing house, and the launch. Her concerns mirror the concerns of any writer. We may find useful gems here, even for the self-published writer.

May your writing go well.

Detail, stained glass window at
St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh (Camp 2009)
Inspiration for Lord Gordon in Standing Stones

A little book launch . . . a lotta fun . . .

Oofta. What a day. My launch party for Standing Stones. I'm right in the mainstream of those writers who resist marketing, but one strategy intrigued me:  the launch party.

Caught between advice from marketing gurus who plan elaborate book launch parties and spoofs that recommended several bottles of wine, I wondered what would work for me -- a self-published author with a limited budget and an inclination to stay home.

Knocking myself on the head with 'should' was not productive (as in, 'I should have organized this last month'), so I ordered paperback copies a month ahead, set a date, sent invitations by e-mail, and sent out a press release to our local paper (into the black hole). 

On the appointed day, I ventured forth to my favorite coffee shop here in Spokane -- Forza Coffee Shop serves Sweet Venetian coffee lattes, my favorite occasional treat.

What worked!

Invitations by e-mail brought a variety of people in and notes from those who could not come. The e-mail invite included a pic of the book cover and was sent to my friends from writing groups, quilting, and swimming. Two of my writing groups (Spokane Authors and AAUW) forwarded my invite to everyone on their list. 

The invite sounded something like this:  Drop by to help Beth celebrate the release of her new book, Standing Stones. Rachel will play a little classical music. Enter a book drawing. No purchase necessary -- unless you would like a cup of coffee! 

The no-host coffee bar venue was perfect. I scheduled a large meeting room with lots of comfy chairs and a big table. Some 30-35 people dropped by; some bought coffee, nearly all stayed to chat. Copies of my two books were arranged on that big meeting table with this sign:

If you would like to buy a book, 
the red-winged blackbirds will sing spring, 
and all the snow will melt. 
You really don't have to buy a book, but 
if you would like to take one home, here are the prices. 

The timing was perfect! The two hour no-host coffee drop-in was set up for 9:30-11:30, right after my swimming class to make it easy for my swimming buddies to drop by.   Two ladies who love historical fiction found out about the launch from friends. Two ladies wanted the link to Amazon for the Kindle edition. And attendees bought books!

What I will do differently next time!

1. Make BOOKMARKS with websites and book info! People can give them to their friends.
2. Think about what to write in the book ahead of time. Everyone wanted a personal note! At one point I had three books backed up to sign. 
3. Post a sign at the venue, directing people where to go. 
4. Have a formal sign-in to capture who attended, if they want to be added to newsletter, etc. 
5. Move around and keep talking to different groups of people.
6. Make sure the venue is large enough. A few people had hearing problems, which may have been exacerbated by the small room.
7. Plan something extra! Before I set up the open house, one friend asked if I was going to have 'eye candy'. Well, that was a good idea, but I opted for my daughter to play classical violin. Everyone loved her playing a small 10-minute concert.  
8. Have someone else collect the money. 
9. Maybe ask for reviews . . . this seems a bit forward to me. 
10. Make posters to publicize the event about a week before. Post at libraries.
11. Don't drink coffee before the event. 

I ended the two hour session amazed by how many folks came to celebrate with me. One friend made soup so I wouldn't have to worry about cooking that day. Folks really talked to each other, and I saw connections between people I knew from different groups who didn't know each other.

Several times attendees wanted to talk more about their own writing journey (which was fine with me); others were curious about my book, how it got started, how much time it took, what research I've done, why I chose to self-publish. All these questions were easy to answer, and everyone seemed interested in the next book out.

I hope this overview helps you plan or feel better prepared for YOUR book launch party. For self-published authors with that shoestring budget, my suggestions may help you look at the launch as a time to celebrate your accomplishment.

If you've already had your book launch, any tips to share?

Beta, beta . . . boom!

Writers need readers. We all know that. Being a shy person, I've long cherished the role of writer, tapping away on the keyboard in sheer isolation, until those final words . . . 'the end'.

Readers can be exceptionally helpful throughout the writing process, though, and especially at 'the end'.

Whenever I've finished that fabulous-to-my-eyes first draft, I dive into NOVELS_L, an online critique group, part of The Internet Writing Workshop. Here writers can submit chapters, read and critique other chapters, and in a kind of 2-for-1 exchange (2 reviews for every sub), gain feedback from seasoned readers at the chapter level.

But when the whole book is nearly ready, then I'm hoping to find a good beta reader, someone I trust and someone I know will give me the deepest kind of feedback on how I can strengthen my story.

Here, risks abound. For if the beta reader is too critical, you might find yourself not editing or writing at all. That happened to me once. Oh, I'd rather not go there again.

Beta readers will tell you what works and what doesn't. They can function at least at two levels -- micro and macro.

At the micro level, a good beta reader can find typos, grammatical and punctuation errors you really should have caught at this stage, and even extra spaces (for those of us still struggling with one space after a period instead of two). She or he will also spot when you've suddenly reverted to calling a character by a previous name. Oh, those little proofreading and editing inconsistencies that plague us all.

At the macro level, a good beta reader will delve into the structure of the novel itself, the character arcs, the underlying meaning of the theme and how well it translates into shaping the conflict and action of the story.

Julie Glover, in her very useful article, "When the Book Isn't Working," says "Sometimes we've been over a book so many times, we can't see it fresh anymore." That's the moment to reach out to a beta reader. Julie suggests that we might keep the questions as simple as: "Where did your interest wane, even a bit? Which characters did you relate to? Did any characters feel one-dimensional or unnecessary? Where do you think the story could be strengthened?"

I've lost count truly of how many times I revise a novel before it's released into that wider world of readers. How I write requires patience for these seemingly endless rounds of editing and revision, for I want my stories to be good enough to move the reader with compassion for other lives and other times.

Writers: Have you used beta readers? What have you gained from this experience? Would you recommend it to others?

Read more about:
The Internet Writing Workshop
Julie Glover's "When the Book Isn't Working"

The Quest for Imperfection . . .

or "Getting Our Wabi-Sabi On" 

A quilting buddy told me that 2014 was going to be her year of wabi-sabi.

I had never heard the term. She said it meant you let go of the quest for perfection and celebrate the perfection that already exists. Since she was laughing and feeling less stressed, I thought she meant something more than that little green ball of hotness you mix in with your shoyu sauce when eating sushi.

I jumped online to learn wabi-sabi is a deeply held Japanese philosophy that is at the very core of Japanese esthetics.

For example, consider just one aspect of the very formal Japanese tea ritual which involves the host selecting precisely the right cup for the guests. The most treasured cup may have some sort of imperfection, a roughness in shape or design. The cup that is the most humble, that does not draw attention to itself, honors the guest as well as the art of tea-making and tea-drinking.

According to Richard Powell, “[Wabi-sabi] nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect” (1).

As I look at my ROW80 goals for 2014, I felt a knot of tension unwind. For while I do not truly understand this very complicated philosophy that stems from medieval Japanese thought, and that, yes, has been both appreciated and commercialized here in the states, these were words I needed to hear.

Nothing lasts. Nothing is finished. Nothing is perfect.

Nothing lasts. It doesn’t matter if we are twenty, forty, or seventy. The very impermanence of our lives means our writing — product or process — or any other commitment we make — will not last. We live in this moment, the now. In this sense of stepping away from the awareness of time, outside the flow of past and future, we choose to value our precious time, the ‘now’, by our actions and affirmations. A contradiction: I am a writer, yet I write, knowing that nothing lasts.

Nothing is finished. How well I know this in my bones. I cannot read a page of anything I’ve ever written, whether poetry or fiction, without wanting to change a word or question a scene. The tipping point is that I can let go of the quest for perfection. We know this tipping point is different for every writer. But the discipline of revision, at least for me, requires multiple readings and endless changes at micro and structural levels. So I finish projects and yet, they remain unfinished because . . .

Nothing is perfect. Not my writing. Not me. I can celebrate what I write in a very private moment that says “Aha! That’s it! Exactly!” A turn of a phrase. An insight into a character. A scene that builds seamlessly on theme. A fierce emotion that emerges out of the simplest of words. But we writers know how quickly that moment fades. For nothing is perfect.

It is enough that we write to create that moment — for ourselves and our readers. We may write our fictions for a variety of purposes — to entertain, to amuse, to escape, to persuade, or to teach. Our words celebrate our characters, their conflicts, their imperfections, and their quests. In doing so, we persevere. We challenge our own imperfections, and we continue our personal quests.

Sometimes we do not know why we write. In our darkest moments, in the midst of writer’s block, despite the nastiest of self-doubt, we write.

Perhaps for us all, writing is a form of meditation. And that brings us full circle back to the essence of wabi-sabi, this philosophy influenced by Buddhism.

As we begin Round One of ROW80, this year, I can accept imperfection and incompleteness. For these words, this day, I can write my stories. I am accountable. My hope is that even for a moment, this idea of wabi-sabi will help you trounce the devils of perfection, that you will go forth into 2014 to celebrate your own writing voice.

Today's post is a guest post I wrote for A Round of Words for 80 Days, an online community of writers led by Kait Nolan. We set weekly goals and report progress throughout the 'round' of 80 days. Join us! The meme comes from Vicki, my quilting buddy.

Richard R. Powell, Wabi-Sabi Simple (Adams Media, 2004). Quoted in Wikipedia.

What'cha reading?

I've always been a bookworm. There's something about trolling the aisles at a bookstore or library to find just an outstanding read.

Before Kindle, I carried a book everywhere. After all, you never know when you might have to stand in line. My first date with my husband-to-be took me to a library. The rest, as they say, is history. Now I carry my Kindle -- over 100 books with me at all times.

I'm pretty much an omnivorous reader in fiction. My likes range from literary fiction to historical fiction, fantasy/science fiction, and genre fiction (thrillers and, yes, romance). I can always tell when stress heats up my life, for I grab light reading like it's chocolate.

Currently I'm reading Elizabeth Lowell's Dangerous Refuge (I read somewhere she's written 50 books and has 30 MILLION copies in print). One example of her prose from Dangerous Refuge -- which I love for its sheer insight into the character and appropriateness for the genre:

It's called a homicide investigation, Tanner reminded his impatient self. Suck it up. Impatience is a rookie mistake. 

But reading tastes aside, sampling brings a new issue. Before Amazon's "look inside" feature, I would give potential books the 'acid test'. Pick up the book IF the title, author, or cover appeals to you. Read the blurb. If that's OK, crack the book to somewhere in the middle at random. Read a page or two. If the story grabs you, it's a keeper.

On Amazon, I sample. Don't you?

Editors tell writers that those first few pages are critical, and even more so in this digital age of self-publishing. Yet, some stories start slow; they require settling in, getting acclimated to the world this writer is creating. For example, Carsten Jensen's We, The Drowned (678 pages!), an unforgettable A+ read that I recommend to nearly everyone.

Which brings me back to today's advice:  Impatience is a rookie mistake.

We self-published writers are stretched in every direction, well beyond the round of drafting, writing, revising, and editing. We now challenge ourself to publish (cover design, digital formats), and market our books. We may go slowly, make mistakes, but take courage! We will persevere and publish and find our readers.

So, what'cha reading?


More about Carsten Jensen and Elizabeth Lowell.

Making a Book Video Trailer . . . on the cheap!

I did it! The video trailer. A visual way to introduce my forthcoming book, Standing Stones. My budget is zero, so here's the trailer AND my journey of roughly 10 hours (at no cost at all).

How-to make a truly cheap video trailer that might be OK.

Map out your text and images. Concentrate on trailer/teaser, not plot summary. Use PowerPoint to draft content until you're happy. Now you're ready for the techie stuff.

WORK IN POWERPOINT FIRST:

1. Draft text for slide show, gather images (I used photos I took in Scotland and one public domain image). 
2. Work in PowerPoint until the presentation looks pretty complete (I'm using the 2007 version. The 2010 version of PowerPoint has an automatic save to movie format).
3. Save PowerPoint and then using a different name, save the slide show as JPEG File Interchange Format.

UPLOAD TO YOUTUBE.COM

1. Go to youtube.com, login to your account, and upload files.
2. Use youtube's UPLOAD page and select SLIDESHOW CREATOR.
3. Upload your JPEG files. Rearrange them, following steps in Youtube's Slideshow Creator to add music, descriptions, tags, and settings. NOTE: To save time, you can preview music selections by going to youtube's Creator Tools before you upload your slide show.

Voila! Save and share! Your video is now live and ready for your BETA viewers.
Here's my 45-second video for Standing Stones. Just click on that PLAY button to see the trailer, I hope you enjoy. And, if YOU are reading this far, be a beta viewer please, and leave a comment!

Writing . . . and that other thing . . . e-publishing!

I haven't been writing so much these last two weeks.

But I have been busy working on the more technical side to get Standing Stones ready for publication. Hah! First real hurdle was the cover. Bless CreateSpace for encouraging me to jump right into the arms of an unknown graphic designer, Angie at pro_ebookcovers through a site that several self-publishing writers have recommended -- fiverr.

I'm thrilled with the result (see left) AND my new cover is happily uploaded to CreateSpace.

Now for the next, even more exacting phase. To use the words of Create Space, the next step is to prepare the "interior" of the book for publication. So I've spent the last three years researching, writing, and revising -- to create an "interior"!

I'm going to publish through CreateSpace for the paperback and Kindle and Smashwords for the e-book.

The first step to getting the paperback ready involved downloading the appropriate template for fiction (5.25" x 8"), and then squishing my historical fiction saga into the template.

As my mother would say, "Ooofta!"

Did I realize that every time I changed the gutter (after reviewing the file online), that the page numbers would change, necessitating a revision of the table of contents? Every time? And when I adjusted the headings so they were consistent throughout, that also changed the page numbers? And the table of contents again?

CreateSpace kindly encourages would-be self-publishers to review their books three times. First for format (headers, page numbers, footers, and margins). Second for images (I'm guessing overall clarity and placement, perhaps descriptors). And third for the inevitable typos and possible grammatical errors.

I kid you not. Three times. Seems more like 300. So I did use the 'free' online review file to check and edit format and images, but I'll order a review copy for a final, final, final read through before launching Standing Stones.

And that's my New Year's Whoopee!  May your 2014 writing and reading go well.

Burble, burble . . . BLURB!

What's the difference between a book description that appears on the back of your book AND a book description that shows up on an online sales point like Amazon or Barnes and Noble or Smashwords?

Note: These book descriptions (also known as 'blurbs') should never be confused with a synopsis intended for a potential agent or publisher; a synopsis reveals the entire plot. A book blurb is the worm on the hook -- not the whole fish!

A writer on one of the writer's forum reading lists I check in on was complaining about flat sales and wondered if the problem could be the cover. The cover looked pretty good to me, so I jumped over to Amazon to check out his book. Was I surprised. No book description! After my note, the writer posted a very, very short description.

Since I'm madly writing, rewriting, and revising my own blurbs for the launch of Standing Stones (descriptions for the book cover and websites for e-book and paperback versions), I wanted to see if my intuitions about what the main elements of a book blurb match what other writing gurus say.

Back of the book: I feel pretty strongly that the back of the book should introduce the genre, the story line, the characters, and the primary conflict in a way that intrigues the reader. The book blurb needs to makes the reader really want to read the rest of the story -- and, in the best of circumstances, buy that darn book right now!.

I'd add a little info about the writer, a picture of the writer, maybe a website, and any other little bit of information that adds credibility. Keep in mind we writers have about 6 seconds to reach our readers.

Online book description: We have a little more elbow room when we're writing the book description that appears on Amazon or a similar online sales venue. The purpose remains the same: Entice the reader into wanting to read the book and buy the book!

So again we introduce the genre, the story line, the characters, and the primary conflict, showcasing our best writing skills. Here, we can add more depth, say 3-4 paragraphs instead of 1-2, and perhaps add a sentence or two that highlights favorable reviews. Many writing coaches tell us that reviews are the primary way to solidify the sell.

To get started, I have been reading blurbs by writers of historical fiction (my genre) in online settings, the library, and walk-around bookstores, trying to identify what catches my eye, what makes me want to read this particular book.

What can we learn from writing gurus?

• Write emotionally to reach novel readers (from Savvybookwriters)
• Get testimonials from famous writers (also from Savvybookwriters)
• Use a formula (from Marilynn Byerly)  She provides examples!
• Hook the reader with your interesting protagonist and her/his quest (from Amy Wilkins on Romance University) Can you do this in one sentence?
• Don't give away the whole plot. Consider just the first 25% of the story (also from Amy Wilkins on Romance University)
• Think of the first line of your blurb as a pick-up line -- rework it! (from Francis Reid Rowland at Standout Books)
• Go back and spruce up the description (from Marti Talbott) Very helpful examples here of the writing process as she tightens up that blurb!.

Reading these writing experts points me back to revision. 

What about you? What tips do you have to share on writing blurbs?

Today's pictures: While traveling in Scotland to research Standing Stones, we stopped at the historic Urquhart Castle, a stone fortress dating from the 13-16th Centuries that faces out on the Loch Ness (yes, the supposed home of the Loch Ness monster), and feeds the Ness River leading back to Inverness, where we stayed for several weeks.

Urquhart Castle and the Loch Ness (Camp 2009)

View from five-story Grant Tower, Urquhart Castle (Camp 2009)

My first sight of the Rowan tree (Camp 2009)

Go down revising . . .

I'm amazed by the generosity of other writers.

A few days ago, with some misgiving, I posted a fight scene that didn't ring complete. Several folks sent advice, I did a little research and this may be the final scene. You can see the 'before' in the previous post.

Standing Stones: Lord Gordon has sent guards to evict crofters and fishermen from their cottages, intending to replace them with more lucrative sheep. The story takes place in the Orkneys, 1842. Mac, Dougal, and Colin are brothers. Mac is the leader of those who resist Lord Gordon. This scene takes place about half-way through the book.

-----
     The door to the cottage crashed open. Some fifteen guards burst into the room, guns lifted over their heads as clubs as they pushed into the cottage.
     Freya screamed.
     “Hey, you can’t come in here,” Mac shouted. “Get out. Get out!” Mac shoved at one of the guards, but a wave of men he didn't know bludgeoned right and left, knocking crofters and fishermen to the floor. One of the guards grabbed Dougal’s fiddle from the wall and smashed it over Mac’s head.
     Mac roared and grabbed a stool, but it shattered as he bashed it against a guard.  
     Everyone howled and shouted. Freya screamed again and again.
     Colin went down, his head bloodied. Mac stood over him, his legs on either side of Colin’s body. “Ye bastards. Hitting a boy. Hit me. Hit me.”
     Two guards swarmed Mac, their guns raised. "He's the one. Get him."
     Mac scrambled back against the wall and settled to fight stance. Lord Gordon sent these men. We're going to lose. He had no weapon, save his fists. "Come on, then." Mac punched the face of the guard closest to him and swung on the second. He choked the guard's neck, heedless of the blows that fell on his back.
     A guard knocked Jacob into the hearth. He howled as he rolled over the smoldering peat and groaned as his arm hit the floor. They moved in on Freya. She threw a basin at them, but they wrestled her to the ground.
     “Help,” screamed Jacob. “Help! They’ve got Freya.”
     Mac could hardly breathe. With a lunge, Mac shook free of the two men who had him pinned down and scrambled to his feet. God help us. They're after the women. 
     "Over here. "We got him!" The guards rushed Mac.
     “Dougal,” yelled Mac. “Get her out.” Mac punched at the guards, but they surrounded him once again. They battered him until he fell and kicked him unconscious.

     Dougal knocked the guards aside, picked Freya up, and shoved his way to the door. “Out! Let me out.” He held Freya tight, for she was screaming in his ears, her screams a keening part of the melee.
     “For God's sake, let me out.” With a mighty push, Dougal broke through the crowded cottage and outside. He set Freya down by the stacked peat in the side yard. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”
     Dougal raced to the front door, now hanging by a hinge. He couldn't get in. He tripped on the bits of furniture that had been thrown out in the yard. Crofters and fishermen spilled into the yard, pushed out by the guards, but Mac and Colin were not among them. The roof of the cottage blazed afire. The noise mounted as guards smashed furniture and tore at the stone walls with pikes.
     “Let me back in." Dougal ran back and forth in front of the house. “Have you no shame?"
-----

What I've learned so far that may be useful to you:

• Keep the scene in the POV character.
• Revise for action! Take out any extra words and worry about doubled words later.
• Check each ACTION for a REACTION. Does the 'camera eye' zoom in?
• Get rid of -ing verbs and passive voice (my downfall).
• Add internal dialogue to bring us closer to main character.
• Help the reader experience what the characters are experiencing.

Joanna Penn's interview with Alan Baxter included this Chinese saying: "When two tigers fight, one limps away horribly wounded, the other is dead." Useful for thinking about what happens after the fight. Alan Baxter also says that fight scenes should be "fast, furious, chaotic." I tried for that.

Even Facebook writers chimed in. Jim Lion was especially helpful with pointed questions:

• How did the people on the floor get to the floor? Did they drop in fear? Did the guards put them there? 
• How many men and guards are there? 
• Who's the POV character in this scene? Tell the fight from his/her standpoint and stay there. Don't leave POV except for brief flashes of relevant specific information, like when a guard or two start dragging Freya out the door, and someone shouts to bring it to the attention of your POV character (or something like that). 
• BTW, why did the guards release Freya and swarm all over Mac? Every character in the scene needs a clear moment-to-moment goal, so we know why they fight the way they fight.

Randy Ingermanson's 24-page PDF "How to Write a Fight Scene" (compiled by Bruce Beattie) also was quite useful in giving me a 'hit list' (sorry for the pun). 

Do we count the hours when we revise? Not sure. I only know these characters matter to me. I still want to write their story as best I can, for it's time to let go and publish! Thank you for reading.  

Fight the good fight . . .

I'm a gentle person -- until I get into a meeting. Years of battling with words for my department make me feisty, especially when I'm surrounded by folks who want my budget money.

But in a physical confrontation, although I once forced a cantankerous 6 footer to back down (he wanted to plant a facer on my mother), I'm a coward. More flight than fight. Most of the time.

Now, in the final edit of Standing Stones, one of my beta readers called me out on my fight scenes, saying, "You might want to work on this a little bit."

My first stop was to find some online writing advice. WriteWorld had a neat list of links under the heading of "How To Write a Fight Scene." I've begun reading and revising. Maybe within the next few days, I can post a the revision so you can see the results. Here's the "before."

Standing Stones:  Lord Gordon has ordered guards to evict crofters and fishermen from their rented cottages on his island in the Orkneys, Scotland, 1840s. Mac hosts a meeting to resist evictions at his fisherman's cottage. 

Unrevised:

     The door to the cottage crashed open. Guards burst into the room, guns lifted over their heads as clubs.
     Freya screamed.
     “Hey, you. You can’t come in here,” Mac cried over the noise. “Get out. Get out!”
     The guards stepped on those who had been pushed to the floor.
     The men fought back. They roared and shouted and shoved. They threw furniture at the guards. Bruce fell into the hearth and howled as the smoldering peat scattered. The smoke grew thicker.
     One of the guards grabbed Dougal’s fiddle from the wall and shattered it over Sean’s head. The guards slammed the butts of their guns everywhere, blows landing on arms and backs.
     Colin went down first, his head smashed. Mac stood over him, his legs on either side of Colin’s body. “Ye bastards. Hitting a boy. Hit me. Hit me.”
     “Help,” screamed Jacob. “Help! They’re after Freya.” Two guards knocked him against the wall and he fell hard, groaning as his arm hit the floor.
     “Dougal,” yelled Mac, spotting his brother. “Get her out.” Mac fought on, but the guards swarmed him. They pinned him down on the dirt floor and began kicking him.
     Dougal picked Freya up and pushed toward the door, his way blocked by guards. “Out! Let me out,” he cried. He held Freya tightly in his arms, for she was screaming in his ears, her screams a part of the melee.
     “For God's sake, let me out,” he cried again. With a mighty push, he broke through the guards to the outside. He lay Freya down by the stacked peat in the side yard. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”
     Dougal raced back to the front door, now hanging by a hinge. He couldn't get in. He tripped on the bits of furniture that had been thrown out in the yard. Crofters and fishermen spilled into the yard, pushed out by the guards. The roof of the cottage blazed afire. The noise mounted as guards smashed furniture and tore at the stone walls with pikes.
     “Have you no shame,” cried Dougal. He ran back and forth in front of the house. “Let me back in. I just want to get our things out.”

"The Last of the Clan" by Thomas Faed (Wikipedia)

A writer waits . . .

Restless and feckless, anxious, vanquished,
I have waited for good news, sad blues,
the drop of a letter, unfettered, bettered,
by awards, words truly swords that disarm, charm,
then nothing. Was I bluffing, trusting, crushing
my hopes to publish? Rubbish.
I shall self-publish!

This week's prompt from Poets on the Page is simply, "Waiting". Although the prompt is simple, and immediately an idea came to mind, the suggested poetic form, Alliterisen, from Shadow Poetry, offers a very specific number of syllables per line (7 lines) AND requires two alliterations per line (similar sounds). I didn't quite meet the requirements of this poetic form, but perhaps this poem captures how I feel about 'waiting' as a writer.

Writing is Precious
Rebekka Plies on Flickr