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The Confused Author AMA by Kitty Bucholtz

August 9, 2021 by in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as

Today, I’m in the middle of a 3-day, all-day mastermind in my business coaching program. Yesterday, a few people asked questions about how to get started writing their book to go with their business, and how to publish it. One person who had already published a book said, “I’m a confused author! I still have so many questions. You should use ‘The Confused Author’ for one of your podcasts or blogs, Kitty.”

Not a bad idea. 🙂 I was already planning to start a monthly Q&A/Ask Me Anything using YouTube Live at https://www.youtube.com/kittybucholtz. You can ask your questions, or send your friends over to ask theirs, at the post I’ll create beforehand each time at https://www.facebook.com/writenowworkshop/ or drop your questions in the comments below. I’ll go live on the first Wednesday of every month at — carefully check for your time zone! — 6am Pacific Time (Los Angeles), 9am Eastern Time (New York), 2pm British Time (London), 3pm Central European Time (that’s me in Sweden), 11pm Australian Eastern Time (Sydney).

I’m happy to talk about anything — fiction, nonfiction, marketing, etc. — and I promise to tell you my opinion, share other resources with you, and let you know when I don’t know the answer. I’m happy to try to find it for you, but I’m not one of those people too embarrassed to not know and who will make up an answer. 😉

If you or someone you know would like to join me on Wednesday, September 1, I would love to see you there. And if you’d just like to show me love by joining to support me so I’m not alone, I’d so appreciate that!! 😀

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Writing a Dual Timeline Novel ain’t a piece of cake… 7 tips for writing two different eras at once by Jina Bacarr

July 11, 2021 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , , , , , ,

I’ve written time travel and loved it… Her Lost Love when my heroine takes a magic train from 1955 back to 1943 to Posey Creek, PA to save the man she loves from being killed in France… and present day back to the Battle of Antietam in 1862 where my heroine meets her ‘twin’ who’s a Confederate spy… and also historical fiction about the Titanic The Runaway Girl.

But writing a dual timeline is like walking barefoot on broken seashells on the sand.

Painful. Excruciating. And dangerous.

You can end up hobbling all the way home… or to the end of your manuscript. Yikes.

I’ve been there… and survived. I’ve written two dual timeline novels — The Resistance Girl and the novel I just finished (title coming) — both about Paris during World War 2 when the city was occupied by the Nazis. The era lends itself to intrigue, romance, spies… and danger. Who could resist? Not me.

However, I’ve fretted and moaned and had more chocolate binges than I care to admit writing these books, but they’re the most rewarding stories I’ve ever written. Stories about lost family found and connecting with your ‘roots’. I learned a lot along the way… so here are my 7 Tips for Writing Dual Timelines:

1 — keep two sets of timelines so you know where you and your heroines are in each era at all times.

Your heroine’s birthdate in the past is important and determines what “historical events’ she witnesses. In the present, your heroine’s journey may last a shorter time — a week, month; in the past, it could be years. In The Resistance Girl, we follow the heroine’s film career from the 1920s through 1950. The modern heroine’s journey last for several days.

2 — present day in your story doesn’t have to mean today. Make it work for you.

My latest novel takes place in 2003 and 1940-1945. Why? Because I wanted my historical heroine to be alive when she meets the present day heroine. She’s 80 years old and at the top of her game, but the war years still haunt her. Also, she loves flying on the Concorde and the last trip of the airship was in 2003.

3 — create a compelling opening in whichever timeline works best. No hard fast rule you have to begin in the past.

In my new Paris novel, I begin in 2003 because I wanted to set up the 80-year-old diva’s reluctance to talk about the war years because of her personal pain. My modern heroine/reporter convinces her to ‘let it go’ and we’re off and running…

4 — decide before you begin plotting (or if you’re a pantster — I do both) if your two heroines meet at some point; or, if we know the historical heroine meets her fate and we never see her in the present.

I did both — in The Resistance Girl, the modern heroine discovers she had a famous grandmother in France during the war — a film star — she never knew existed. But in my new novel, the two heroines meet in the first chapter in 2003.

5 — know your history and research your era like crazy; your heroine in the past is fictional, but make her life believable! Facts count but don’t tell us, show us how your heroine survives in that era in a way that’s unique to her.

For example, the historical heroine in my upcoming book ends up in concentration camps; I gave her an unusual backstory that determined how she survived in the camps because of her background and talents, but made sure it was also possible.

6 — location, location, location… make sure you know exactly what your locations look like in both eras if you’re going to visit them in both timelines. 

In my upcoming book about Paris, we go to concentration camp sites in Germany and Poland in both 1944-45, 1975, and 2003. I was fortunate to find photos and films that showed what the camps looked like in 1944-45 and also circa 2003 and 1975. An amazing bit of luck which created some tear-jerking moments for my historical heroine.

7 — have fun! This is an adventure about finding your heroine’s roots — like that fabulous PBS show where the celebrity goes through the big scrapbook and meets their lost relatives with the jovial host.

Make your story heartfelt, emotional, fascinating, believable, and filled with surprises to keep your readers turning those pages like the celeb on TV!

Jina

Questions about dual timelines:

Drop me a comment!

           

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Mrs. Hurst Dancing, a Review

June 28, 2021 by in category Quarter Days by Alina K. Field, Writing tagged as , , , ,

Pictures worth much more than a thousand words.

The Lord of the Manor and his family going out to a dinner party at 5 o’clock with a tremendous stile before them.

If you’re a fan of Jane Austen and other Regency-set fiction, Mrs. Hurst Dancing, a collection of 70 watercolors by Diana Sperling, is a treasure. The book is especially valuable for the often-confused author trying to envision the clothing, the transportation, and how everyone passed the time, especially in the country. Unfortunately, no one was posting helpful YouTube videos two hundred years ago.

The above painting is a good example of what you’ll find in the book. The tongue-in-cheek description is Sperling’s own. The “Lord of the Manor”, probably her brother Henry, leads three ladies (probably Diana and her sisters) to a neighbor’s house for a dinner party.

Staples of Country Life

All three ladies are wearing red cloaks, which I often forget were staples of country life, and also good indicators of class. The Sperling family were gentry, not super-rich nobility. The bonnets look like leghorn bonnets with flatter crowns. If you know what they are, please mention it in the comments.

Dinner in the country was earlier than in “town”. They’re not driving down the road to the neighbor’s in a coach and four–they’re walking cross-country! There’s no date on this picture, so we don’t know what season this is; probably not the dead of winter though, despite the cloaks. The three ladies are carrying their shoes for indoors, and it looks like Henry has his stuffed into the pocket of his coat. (Men’s pockets were in the tails of their coats.)

Hiking to Dinner

He’s also carrying a lantern for the walk home. No street lights in the country. Without our modern light pollution, imagine how dark it must have been?

And what about that “tremendous stile”? According to Merriam-Webster, a stile is “a step or set of steps for passing over a fence or wall”. Like this:

A stile allows people to pass, but not livestock. I don’t see stairs in Sperling’s drawing, but there does seem to be a space to the left. I hope the ladies don’t have to climb over those rails in their white gowns.

As I mentioned, there are seventy watercolors in the book depicting the country life of the gentry in this era. In one, Diana’s mother and the housekeeper stand on the window ledge “murdering flies”. In another, the ladies of the family are wallpapering a room. There’s a drawing of the family holding hands and experimenting with an “electrifying machine”. Horses, donkeys, dogs, chickens are all part of the country life depicted.

Mrs. Hurst Dancing is only available in hardcover, and is, I believe, out of print. Weirdly, Amazon has two entries for the book, one with used copies starting at $99, the other with used copies starting at $21.92. How wonderful if the copyright holder would release another edition of this book in softcover.

You can see a few more of Diana Sperling’s amazing watercolors on Pinterest.

For the authors and readers out there, do you make use of images to help you better “see” a story? What’s your go-to site?

Image credits:

The watercolor is from janeaustensworld.com via Pinterest; stile is from Wikimedia commons; book cover is from Amazon.com

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My Book Friends

June 15, 2021 by in category The Write Life by Rebecca Forster, Writing tagged as , , , , ,

This week I had lunch with two of my oldest writing buddies – the ever fabulous Mindy Neff and equally fabulous Sandy Chvostal. I met them soon after publishing my first book. Over the years I have truly come to treasure my book friends.  In fact,  I think the world should be run by book friends and here is why:

1) Book friends are inclusive. I have never been asked how old I am, what my heritage is, what my political party is, what my religion is. What I have been asked is,’what have you read/written lately?’ Instant friends!

2) Book friends are creative. We share not only a love of reading, but a love of creating. I’ve met sewers, quilter, carpenters, crafters, and chefs. I wonder if we love creating things because we need to move around after spending so much time reading, or do we read because we’re exhausted from our hobbies?

3) Book friends are endlessly curious. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t read, or review, ask questions about what they’ve read, or waxed poetic about it. I love being asked, “have you read (fill in the blank)” because I know the conversation is going to be interesting.

4) Book friends are generous. Time with a book is time we treasure, but reader friends will put down their book to come to another friend’s aid. Period. No questions asked.

5) Book friends are open. All of us have preferred genres, but we like to  try something new. I’m a thriller lover yet there are historical fiction books I’ll never forget, nonfiction works I love, even action/adventure novels that have kept me up late into the night.

So it was no surprise that when I received an invitation from a group of authors to join their Facebook reader’s group, My Book Friends, I did.  The authors are fun, smart, and generous. They primarily write women’s fiction and romance, but welcome my gritty thrillers. The members of My Book Friends are creative, curious, and inclusive.

The bottom line is this: no one can have too many books or too many book friends. That’s something we can all count on.

You’re Invited June 16, 4-5PM Pacific: Cocktails, Cops & Conversation . Help me celebrate my birthday and Detective Finn O’Brien’s fourth birthday as we talk about my latest release INTIMATE RELATIONS.

Join My Book Friends.

Read INTIMATE RELATIONS  FREE at KindleUnlimited; 99¢ to buy

 

The Finn O’Brien Thriller Series

(Click on the cover for more information. Hover over the cover for buy links.)

SEVERED RELATIONS

Buy now!
SEVERED RELATIONS

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Buy now!
FOREIGN RELATIONS

SECRET RELATIONS

Buy now!
SECRET RELATIONS
INTIMATE RELATIONS

DISTANT RELATIONS

Buy now!
DISTANT RELATIONS

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To Deadline Hell and Back or How I’m coping finishing my next Occupied Paris novel by Jina Bacarr

June 11, 2021 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , ,

I had every intention of writing a lovely post this month about all the cool stuff going on with my WW 2 Occupied Paris novel, The Resistance Girl. Honest I did.

Then the research on my next book shot the pants off that idea.

My deadline is right around the corner.

My book is written… mostly. Some bugs to work out. Re-read, check it over… you know the drill.

The research is overwhelming… so much so, I’ve got to cut this shorter than I like. I’m writing another book about Occupied Paris, but this time my heroine finds herself in a concentration camp. Two of them actually… emotionally, I’m drained. Mentally I’m exhausted.

My heart… broken.

I will never, never be able to understand why it happened, the horror, injustice, humiliation done to the victims of the Holocaust. But I’m determined to tell a story about a brave young woman who had a baby in a camp… and she survived. But she never knew what happened to her baby… until years later.

I’ve watched a million survivor videos… read so many books about the Holocaust… checked and double checked the timelines of the camps and what happened there down to what they ate, where the railroad tracks ended at camp, the blocks or barracks map… and I still have questions. I want to make it right.

No, I’ve got to make it right.

I owe to the those who died and those who survived.

So forgive me if I’m emotional this month.

Because.

We must never forget…

——————-

You can listen to The Resistance Girl on Spotify

Or search for Jina Bacarr and my ‘artiste’ page will pop up.

Amazon Links:

US https://amzn.to/3woj1Am

UK https://amzn.to/3bU18Qv

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