Karen White-Owens: Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author
November 22, 2009 by A Slice of Orange in category Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author by Shauna Roberts tagged as Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author, Karen White-Owensby Shauna Roberts
http://www.ShaunaRoberts.com
http://ShaunaRoberts.blogspot.com
Today’s Guest: Karen White-Owens
Karen White-Owens was born in Detroit, Michigan, and resides in the Motor City with her husband of twenty years. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and master’s of Library and Information Science from Wayne State University (Detroit). In addition to writing, she is a reference librarian at the Mount Clemens Public Library and devotes her free time to teaching essay writing to incoming freshman at Wayne State University. Her newest book is I Can Make You Love Me (Dafina). She is also the author of The Way You Aren’t, Now Until Forever, Love Changes Everything, Circles of Love, As Long As There Is Love, and You Are Loved.
If you could travel back in time to before you were first published, what advice would you give yourself?
Most people who know me are aware that I am a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer†extreme fan. “Buffy†was the only show that I watched from the first to the last episode. I must admit that I still mourn the end of the program. In honor of the show and my new release, I Can Make You Love Me, I decided that I would become Karen the Bad Decision Slayer.
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Karen the Bad Decision Slayer
Karen returned home from an evening of patrolling the streets in search of new authors and slaying all supernatural evidence of bad choices and mistakes. In order to not wake her husband, Gary, Karen eased through the open bedroom window. She tiptoed across the room, dropped into a swivel chair at her desk, and flipped the page on the calendar to reveal the next day. Staring at the date, she gasped.
“I Can Make You Love Me is due out tomorrow,†Karen muttered to no one in particular. She took a quick gaze at her husband, concerned that she disturbed him. Sighing with relief, she relaxed.
Leaning back in her chair, Karen tossed her weapon, a pink Cross pen, on the desk and glared at the blank computer monitor. An image appeared on the dark screen: a figure creeping silently across the bedroom doorway, against the opposite wall. Despite the hooded black robe it wore, green, hanging skin and a long, upturned nose identified the creature as the demon of self-doubt. Sitting quietly, she watched the creature guardedly while slowly inching her hand to her weapon.
The entity drew closer at a stealthy, steady pace until it stood behind Karen.
She swiveled in her chair, grabbing the weapon as she kicked the demon in the gut. Grunting, it staggered backward, banged into the wall, and then righted itself. No more stealth. Now it rushed forward with a raised arm. The lamplight flashed bright on an eight-inch blade. A second kick to the stomach halted it. The creature collapsed on the floor.
With her pen posed high in the air, ready to strike, Karen hesitated. She lowered her arm to her side and gazed at the black-robed figure. That moment of indecision cost her. The demon’s claw-like nails swung at her legs, missing by inches. She jumped out of the way, gave the demon one final kick, and stabbed it with her weapon.
Bright, shiny aura shimmered over the creature. Self-doubt, eagerness to be published at all cost, and reviews oozed from its body and drifted into the air before slowly fading. Hissing and smoking, the demon dissolved into nothing, leaving behind the black robe. Karen kicked at the now-empty robe with her boot before tossing the garment into the hallway.
Weary from the battle, Karen dropped into her chair and swiveled around to face her desk. Her eye widened. “Whoa!â€
Karen kicked away from the smooth desktop surface, putting space between her and the work station. Purple tentacles with pink suction cups cradled the computer CPU as if it were a new infant. The monitor popped on. She watched helplessly as Windows started and began a session of My Computer. A folder titled Promotions opened, and each file was highlighted in blue. One by one the files disappeared from the folder and, she feared, from the hard drive.
“No!†she shouted, pushing the off button on the CPU. When her actions had no effect, she looked around frantically for a way to stop the creature. She dropped her weapon and accidentally knocked over a can of soda. “No! No! No!†Karen cried, righting the can and mopping up the liquid with a tissue.
The tissue dripped soda on the purple skin and ate into it like acid, creating a large orange open wound. Karen grabbed the can and poured the remaining contents onto the creature. Burning and hissing, it roared, crying out in pain, waving its appendage in the air. The monitor went blank. Karen took a quick glance in her husband’s direction. Gary muttered in his sleep and pulled the blanket around his chin.
Karen tossed the empty can at the tentacle hovering in the window. She went to the window and watched the creature make a hasty retreat down the side of the brick of the house. Folding her arms across her chest, she stated softly. “Wow! People always said you could clear your house with cola.†She chuckled. “Now I know.â€
Returning to the desk, she noticed Gary’s eyes were opened. The scorn on his face was evident. “Demon?â€
Karen shrugged. “I’m not sure what it was.†She answered, returning to the desk and sank into the chair to examine her computer. “It had no place here.â€
Nodding, Gary smiled. Oh man! Karen felt her insides melt as she watched him. She knew that look. He reached out his hand and Karen rushed into his embrace. She surrendered to the touch of his lips on hers, enjoying his taste and texture. The air in the room became heavy with sexual tension. He pulled her down on the bed and began to caress her body through her clothes.
“Come to bed,†he asked.
She moaned, loving the feel of him near her. “I can’t.â€
Caressing her neck with his lips, he asked, “Why not?â€
“I have to finish the edits. They need to go in the mail tomorrow,†Karen explained as she disengaged herself from his embrace and eased from the bed. She returned to her computer and pulled the edits from the desk drawer.
“You’re going to miss out on something really special,†he promised, rubbing the spot where she’d just left.
Karen sighed regretfully. “Mm-hmm.†She remembered the last time she allowed him to sweet talk her into forgetting her work. She paid for it by working nonstop for the next two nights. She gazed at the bed longingly and then shook her head. No. She learned that lesson the hard way. It was better to do a little each day than to let the work pile up until the deadline.
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So, if you read my craziness the moral of the story is if I had it to do again, I’d fight down self-doubt and allow my creative juices to flow. I wouldn’t rush to sign a contract. I’d give myself time to think it through and learn all the facts before I made that decision.
The monster that ate the promotion files is one that I believe is very important. I did not realize how important promotion is to your book life. There are many online resources and places to ask for reviews so that your novel receives maximum exposure.
And lastly, don’t let your family cause you to lose sight of your goal. Yes, you must be attentive to their needs, but your goals are important to you. Learn to balance the two part of your life and you’ll be happier.
Here’s a piece of advice. Don’t lose the love of writing. We do this because we love to write. Always remember that.
Thank you for reading this silly, crazy blog. Check out my website at http://karenwhiteowens.com, read the excerpts from my novels, and e-mail me at karenowens@gmail.com.
I’d love to hear from you. Remember, don’t be a stranger.
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You can learn more about Karen and I Can Make You Love Me at her Website at http://www.karenwhiteowens.com/ and her blog at http://authorkarenwhiteowens.blogspot.com/. Her book is available at your local bookstore as well as online from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.
1 0 Read moreHOLY STRIKE DUTY, BATMAN by Bobbie Cimo
November 13, 2009 by A Slice of Orange in category Eye on Hollywood by Bobbie Cimo tagged as Bobbie Cimo, Eye on HollywoodToday, most of the original stages at CBS-TV City are either being used for game shows or soap operas. But back in the day, along with soap operas and game shows, they were also used for sitcoms and weekly variety shows. Television City was so busy, it was practically going 24/7. In order to be able to get ready for the next day’s tapings , we would have to schedule a “turn around crew†consisting of stagehands, to come in during the middle of the night, to strike one set and set up a new one.
Almost every job dealing with production is attached to a union, whether it be a make-up artist, hairdresser, lighting director, stagehand, cameraman, or truck driver–all the way up to the director, actor, and even to the actor’s stand-in. Without any of these people, production would come to a virtual standstill or at the very least, making it difficult to complete. And when there’s no production, there’s no revenue for anyone.
Negotiations of contracts usually start months in advance between union leaders and Management–both wanting to get the best and fairest deal for their side. But no matter how hard each team tries, sometimes a mutual agreement can’t be reached. When this happens, a strike is called and all union personnel are ordered to walk off their jobs immediately, which leaves only management as their replacements, until a settlement can be reached.
When I say “managementâ€, that means all employees who aren’t part of a union. And just like the union members have to abide by their leaders who ask them to leave their jobs, management is expected to fill in for them. It’s called working strike duty. Training doesn’t usually start until we learn that negotiations are going poorly. And then we start cramming, like college students for a test. We’re taught either by professional strike training teams or management, who use to be union people themselves.
Have you ever heard someone say, anybody can write a book? Oh, yeah, just let them try it.
The first union job I trained for was as a boom operator. For all of you who aren’t familiar with the term, a boom operator is the person who follows the actors around the studio with a microphone on a pole high above the talent’s head. Today, outside of the soap operas, booms aren’t used very often. They’ve been replaced with microphones hidden in the actors’ clothes. Being a boom operator sounds easy, right? Wrong!
After hoisting yourself up on a three foot high platform, the first thing you’re taught is how to put the microphone together on a long rod, that is swung over the actor’s head. Putting the thing together isn’t all that easy, and neither is operating the boom itself. You can swing it in different directions and use a reel to move it in and out, sort of like an upside down fishing rod. Not only is it heavy, but it’s hard on your arms, shoulders and neck. Your main goal is to have the mic just the right place above the actor’s head to pick up his voice, but out of camera shot. This would be simple if the actors just stood in one spot. Unfortunately they don’t. One moment they can be sitting, the next they’re standing or walking around the set. My greatest fear was I was going to hit someone in the head. More than a few times, my greatest fear almost came true…especially when I would relax for a moment and the boom would come crashing forward.
Besides worrying about your mic not showing on camera–picking up a balanced sound and concentrating on not conking anyone on the head, you have to be careful not to cast any shadows that can be seen in the shot. While I’m doing my balancing act in the air, below me is someone pushing and pulling me around on my Ivory Tower, making sure I get to where I need to be. Can anyone say, Dramanine, please?
They once relieved me from my boom duties and gave me a shot at being a camera person. When they did, I thought I’d found my niche. But I was wrong.
During taping of a show, they used what was called the multi-camera technique (something that started as far back as the “I Love Lucy†days). This is when they have multi cameras on the floor and the director calls the shots from the booth into a little earpiece inside the cameraman‘s ear. “And close up from camera threeâ€. We did have rehearsals, but besides practicing your moves, and learning how to operate the side handles for those zooming in and wide shots, you had to know how to run backwards and from side to side–all while pushing your camera around, and avoid colliding with someone else’s. This is all done while looking through a lens. The pressure was enormous and I was glad to give up my post. Actually, I don’t think they ever asked me to come back to it.
Usually, professional stand-ins were hired for us to practice our skills on, but then there were those few times when they would ask us to pick up a script and read the lines for our co-workers to practice on. I, personally couldn’t act my way out of paper bag, so I found the whole thing rather embarrassing. The good thing was no “Soap†actress ever felt threatened about losing her job because of newly discovered talent.
A few years later, once again, I was called in for training. This time, I was placed in the audio booth to do sound effects. I liked this job a lot better, and my timing for ringing the doorbell, slamming a door and tooting a car’s horn were ingenious. Unfortunately, there was more to the job than just doing live sound effects. They also wanted me to perform the sweetening, which is adding sounds after the show had been taped. The audio board had hundreds of gadgets on it…rotary knobs, faders, power mixers and switches. So it wasn’t just a matter of pushing levers or turning knobs. Once the sound effects were used the first time around, you had to learn to cue it up by looping it on the machine so it could be repeated again for the next time. Everything was in the timing. This is not a job for a technically challenged person as myself. But I did get good reviews. But personally I wasn’t comfortable in doing it and was thrilled when there was no strike called for that year, either.
Years later, when another threat of a strike came up, I was assigned as a video tape operator. This called for late night training. I think of all the jobs this was the easiest, but by far the most boring.
The tape went from camera into film can and then transferred onto a video tape machine, where it could be shown over the network and into the viewers’ homes. Threading a video machine is like threading a sewing machine. The most important part of the process is remembering which thingamajig the tape is suppose to go around. But once that’s completed, the rest is simple. You just have to babysit the tape machine to make sure everything runs smoothly–and make sure you don’t nod off while doing it. We were also given lessons on how to edit the tape, by cutting and splicing it together.
Because I’m a night person, I was excited to find out that my training would be starting at 11PM. But the novelty soon wore off after a few days. Working all day and then returning again at night was not my thing. I realized my best night work was at home working on my book and in pajamas.
As luck would have it, (as much for me, as for “Productionâ€) I never had to work strike duty for real. And I never lost any of my union friends over it. They knew, like them, I was following orders.
And the next time you look at somebody’s job and think you can do it just as good as they can, I would say to you, “Not so fast, my “Cape Crusader†friend, it’s probably harder than you think it is….POW!, WHAM! & BLAM!
6 0 Read moreThe Plot Thickens by Linda O. Johnston
November 6, 2009 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Berkley Prime Crime, Kendra Ballantyne, Linda O. Johnston, Pet-Sitter Mysteries, Silhouette Nocturne
In my September blog, I asked people for ideas of what they would like me to address in my posts on A Slice of Orange. My apologies, but I didn’t use those ideas last month because I’d just attended the West Hollywood Book Fair and was jazzed about it, so that was what I talked about in my post.
But now, here’s a topic that one of the commenters mentioned in September: plotting. Holly wrote: “My biggest issue is keeping the plot/subplots simple and not too many. It is like ideas pop into my little head and I add them instead of filtering. How do you filter through them to keep the storyline flowing?â€
That can be a problem, Holly. I’ve found it particularly affects me when I’m writing some of my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries. Kendra is my alter ego, and she keeps throwing ideas into my mind about what’s happening in her life while I’m writing about her.
What I generally do, though, is tell her that I need to stick to the synopsis I always create before I start writing one of her stories. I don’t do detailed outlines or scene lists any longer, but I have found that if I go off on a tangent that isn’t in my original synopsis I generally have to remove it.
That’s not to say you can’t save it for another book. I certainly do! That’s such a great thing about computers. I always keep lists of ideas in the same folders as the stories I’m working on. Then, when it’s time to plot the next story and create its synopsis, I generally can pick and choose from ideas I’ve already jotted down.
Of course, everyone writes differently. Not everyone can work with a synopsis or outline. There are a lot of seat-of-pantsers out there, too–and I’m sure it’s more difficult for them to ignore new ideas as they crop up.
Another caveat here. (Yes, I’m also a lawyer, so I use legalese at times!) Even if you are someone who writes a synopsis, outline or scene list first, if something comes to you that you haven’t already included and it’s a real doozy that you think readers will love, you don’t always have to save it for the next book. But think it through before you run with it. It may make what you’re doing a whole lot harder to finish–especially if it’s also interrupted by other ideas!
So–was this helpful? Any other things you’d like for me to address in the future?
Linda O. Johnston
http://www.lindaojohnston.com/
http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/
Linda O. Johnston is the author of 16 romance novels and several novellas, including a Nocturne Bites that is also in a current print anthology AWAKENING THE BEAST, with more Nocturnes upcoming. She also writes the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime and is also working on the spin-off Pet Rescue series.
2 0 Read moreAdvice to Myself as a Newbie Author
October 22, 2009 by A Slice of Orange in category Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author by Shauna Roberts tagged as Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author, Shauna Robertsby Shauna Roberts
http://www.ShaunaRoberts.com
http://ShaunaRoberts.blogspot.com
Today’s Guest: Shauna Roberts
No author wanted to be featured this month, so I am in the odd position of interviewing myself, in the third person no less.
Shauna Roberts has been a professional nonfiction writer for more than twenty years and has won several awards for her magazine columns. Her first novel, Like Mayflies in a Stream (Hadley Rille Books)—a historical novel with romantic elements—was released earlier this month. She has lived all over the country and currently resides in Riverside, California.
If you could travel back in time to before you were first published, what advice would you give yourself?
I was in the fortunate position of having another writer, an RWA member, to advise me when I first started thinking about writing a novel. She told me to join RWA, and I did, before I wrote a word. As a result, I have no advice to give my past self; instead, I’ll list five pieces of excellent advice I received as a result of my RWA membership.
1. Network. I’m an introvert, and it took some time to make friends with my fellow RWA chapter members—years in some cases. But doing so paid off in big ways. I made friends for life, people who enjoy reading and talking about books as much as I do. I was invited to join a critique group that has helped my writing, and my career, immensely. And by the time I finally got a book offer, I knew well-respected authors who were willing to blurb my book.
2. Volunteer. I volunteered at my RWA chapter for special projects and as an officer. Working together was a great way to get to know my fellow writers better.
3. Attend the annual RWA meeting. I’ve met some RWA members who don’t want to attend an RWA national meeting until they have sold a book. They believe, incorrectly, that meeting attendance benefits published authors most. My experience, though, has been that the annual meeting benefits newbie writers more. The pubbed writers go to see their friends and have meeting with their editor and agent. The newbie and PRO writers go to learn basic fiction techniques and conventions—nearly everything I know about writing fiction I learned at RWA national meetings—as well as get practical information such as how to query, how to write a synopsis, and how to brand oneself. The newbies and PROs also get to meet others at the same career level and be charged by their enthusiasm.
4. Work on marketing from the beginning. It may seem premature to study marketing when you haven’t finished a book. But I did, and I’m glad. By the time I needed to find an agent, and then later when I needed to market a novel, I knew how to present myself and my book. I learned how other people marketed their just-published novels, and when I got a novel contract, I already had ideas for finding an audience for that novel.
5. Establish an Internet presence early. Your friends and family will buy your book, but who else will? Strangers. Strangers who, in all likelihood, prefer to buy books by people they’ve heard of. It’s up to you to make your name familiar, and the earlier you start, the more people you’ll reach. Some good ways of doing so involve the Internet: Join some RWA online chapters and the PRO loop, and post; set up a Website; start a blog; visit other people’s blogs and post thoughtful comments; put your Website and blog addresses in your email signature file. You’ll repeatedly get your name in front of lots of people and establish a reputation (good or bad, preferably the former) based on what you write and how you write it.
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To learn more about Shauna Roberts, please visit her Web page at http://www.ShaunaRoberts.com or her blog at http://ShaunaRoberts.blogspot.com. You can find Like Mayflies in a Stream online at Amazon.com (hardcover, trade paperback) and at Barnes & Noble (hardcover, trade paperback).
1 0 Read moree-maginings: Naming My Muse
October 16, 2009 by Linda McLaughlin in category The Romance Journey by Linda Mclaughlin tagged as e-maginings, Linda McLaughlin, muse
Hi all,
We had a great OCC Birthday Party on Saturday though I had to leave early and missed the yummy looking cake. While there I signed up for the new online class called Muse Therapy by D. D. Scott. D.D. has given us some interesting homework assignments, and I’m going to share what I’ve learned about my muse so far.
D.D. suggested we name our muse. Mine is a 1960’s flower child, so she needed a hippie name. I considered Sunshine and Starshine, but those are both too constant for this fickle little lady. So I decided on Zephyr since she’s about as easy to pin down as a gentle breeze.
Zephyr loves: history, science fiction & fantasy, anything paranormal or New Age (astrology, Tarot cards, etc.), books, movies & music (folk, rock, New Age, movie soundtracks, some classical, a little country Western but no rap or hip hop). Music helps the two of us get anchored in a story, and I usually pick a movie soundtrack for each new book or story.
Like me, she lacks patience and stick-to-itiveness (not good traits for either a writer or a muse). Also like me, she’s easily distracted.
Zephyr loves the ocean and mountains, is OK with the desert if it’s not too hot (she really loves Sedona). Big cities are fun once in a while but too distracting. So much to do and see.
Unlike me, she doesn’t seem to have a temper, but she can sulk big time, not to mention just disappearing on me for long periods of time. It’s very passive aggressive of her, lol. She’s been AWOL for a while now, but recently made a reappearance. Problem is, every time she shows up, it’s usually with a new story idea, not how to finish the current WIP.
She’s earthy with a dirty mind as well as a potty mouth, and an active sense of humor. She does have a serious side, though, and a surprisingly formal writing voice. Or maybe that’s because it’s all filtered through my more logical brain.
What form does your muse take?
Linda McLaughlin
w/a Lyndi Lamont
http://www.lyndilamont.com
http://flightsafancy.blogspot.com
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