The Fun of Being A Writer by Linda O. Johnston
July 6, 2019 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as dogs, Plotting, research, vacations, writing
What’s the fun of being a writer? Everything!
And part of that includes the fact that writing is always there. It becomes part of you. At least it has with me. Everything I do, everywhere I go, my writerness is part of it. And yes, that’s an unusual word although when I Googled it, other people have apparently used it, too.
I was on a cruise to Alaska last week with family and friends. It was lots of fun. We sailed near land going north, then south through the Inside Passage, visited several cities, took a few tours, and enjoyed the onboard food and entertainment. That entertainment sometimes included dogs, and you can imagine how much I liked that.
I particularly enjoyed the wildlife we saw, including young and adult bald eagles, other birds including those that flew over and sometimes dived into water like marbled murrelets, a few bears on the shoreline in the distance, some spouting whales, including humpbacks, and small breaching dolphins.
We got to wade in the water in the middle of a river—because, as you might surmise, that river wasn’t full of water.
We visited Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and took a tour that included visiting a formerly private castle.
And, oh yes, I did some writing and editing . . . and came up with an idea for another mystery series.
Will I ever write it? Who knows? But plotting and researching it will definitely be enjoyable. Plotting is who I am, and my subconscious is always at work.
And yes, that’s part of the fun of being a writer.
~Linda
REBRAND: SURPRISE BOXSETS
July 5, 2019 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as boxsets, Marketing, rebranding, Tracy ReedHappy July
OMG! I almost forgot I needed to post. I was watching the Hallmark Channel and recouping from Fourth of July eating.
Before I start with this month’s topic, I want to share something with you that will be revealed in the next few days. If you’re in my facebook group, Tracy’s Reeders, then you’ve seen the revised cover for A Southern Gentleman Vol One. I love it and the test results were very favorable. I’m excited to see how it performs.
The new cover is bold, sexy and tells a different story. I was about to upload the cover and decided to change the blurb. The original blurb just didn’t work. This entire rebranding process is sort of like that stray thread you try to pull, but it unravels and causes more anxiety. I’m patient because I know this is all going to work out.
I pushed the release date back a month because I want to hire a publicist to help with the launch. She needs three weeks of prep and I just finished cleaning up the final draft.
So here’s the cover:
SURPRISE BOXSETS
Earlier this year, Skye Warren posted the Romance Author Roadmap on RWA earlier this year. When I finished reading it, I had a plan for the year. In creating the plan, I discovered, I had left a lot of money on the table in the form of boxsets.
I have one boxset, which is compilation of novellas centering around romance at different stages. It never occurred to me to create boxsets within my series. I started doing a little research and found quite a few authors had created boxsets out of some of their series. By that I mean, combining the first two or three books in a series.
When I finished, going through my books, I came up with four boxsets.
Boxsets:
Falling For Her Boss: The Good Girl Part One and Part Two
Loving Her: What MY Friends Need To Know and Love Notes
Real Love : Generational Curse and Intentional Curse
Secret Love: Girlfriends & Secrets and What My Friends Don’t Know
I think this new packaging will appeal to readers not connecting with the original titles. I’m very curious and excited to see how this works. I’m still working on the pricing. I have to be careful not to overcharge and work within the pricing allowed by Amazon.
I’m also not sure if I should release the boxsets all at once or one at a time. I do know initially they will only be in ebook format with print only available on my site, eventually.
Time will tell how these are received.
See you next month.
July Book Giveaway
July 4, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley tagged as book giveaway, free books, Tari Lynn Jewett
To celebrate being the Featured Author of the Month, Tari Lynn Jewett is doing a book giveaway!
Book Giveaway #1 is her romantic comedy, #PleaseSayYes
Lucy Vaughn, aka @LucySchoolmarm, can’t believe her eyes when she wakes on New Year’s morning to find a message from a secret admirer on her favorite social media site, and everyone in town sees it!
Each day he posts a photo giving her a clue as to who he is with a message letting her know he intends to ask her out for Valentine’s and the hashtag #PleaseSayYes. Before she can decide what to do, the posts go viral, and the whole world weighs in on whether she should say yes or no.
Should she take a chance? Will social media bring them true love, or keep them from finding each other? Only chocolate, wine and advice from her girlfriends can help her now.
#ValentinesIsComing #SecretAdmirer #PleaseSayYes
To receive an ebook copy of Tari’s book, here’s the Bookfunnel link. This link doesn’t require a newsletter sign up. It’s just the book for free.
Book Giveaway #2 is the anthology, Charmed Writers Presents Flash Fiction 2019
A note from Tari: Welcome to the Charmed Writers 2019 Flash Fiction Anthology! Charmed Writers is a special group of authors who support each other, learn together, share their knowledge and write together. We write in various genres and are at different places in our careers. In these pages, you’ll find stories from USA Today, NY Times and Amazon best-selling authors, from authors well on their way to achieving those goals, and new voices being read for the first time. There are science fiction and fantasy stories, historical flashes, romances and so much more.
We hope you enjoy our stories, find some new favorite authors and that you’ll join us in our Facebook reader group The Charmed Connection.
Happy Reading
Tari Lynn Jewett
To receive an ebook copy of Flash Fiction 2019 here is the Prolific Works link. Again, this link doesn’t require a newsletter sign up. It’s just the book for free.
Just for fun, Tari’s also giving away ONE signed copy of #PleaseSayYes
For a change to win a signed copy (the paperback version) of #PleaseSayYes all you have to do is leave a comment on this post or one of one of Tari’s posts this month (July 2019). She will be posting on the 1st, 7th, 10th, 14th, 21st and 28th. There are, of course, a few rules:
- You must be 18 years or older to win.
- You must reside in the United States.
- Winner will be selected by a random drawing on July 31, 2019 and announce on A Slice of Orange August 4, 2019.
- If the winner selected doesn’t claim the book by August 11, 2019 by providing us with their mailing address, we’ll select another winner or donate the book to a library.
- Odds of winning the book will depend on the number of people leaving comments.
Writing and Visual Arts: What Do They Have in Common? by Will Zeilinger
July 3, 2019 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger tagged as co-writing, creative works, visual arts, writing
I’ve been a graphic designer/illustrator/cartoonist for most of my adult life, but as I approached fifty years on this earth, I finally began writing. The first things I wrote made no sense because I had no idea what I was doing. My writing experience had involved writing headlines and snippets of ad copy, as well as a stray brochure here and there.
What I learned from this transition was that different forms of writing are like creating artwork in various media.
Novel Writing and Oil Painting
Take writing a novel, for instance. I compare that to making an oil painting on canvas. First, a sketch and color study is made of the proposed image. The paint is selected and applied according to the artist’s plan. If alterations, changes, or corrections are needed, oil paints can be very forgiving as they take quite a while to dry.
The artist may want to repaint a section or replace parts that don’t work. While the rest of the painting can remain undisturbed, one can use little paint thinner or turpentine in a cloth, and voila, the area can be repainted, over and over until it is just right. Some parts of the painting may be finished, but others may still be in a rough state. Keep in mind; the oil paints take a long time to dry – days sometimes weeks to be totally dry. A novel is much like that in that the writer has many pages to develop the story and create the story arc or arcs, while other parts of the story can develop separately until it is blended, shade, and glazed, and it all comes together.
Flash fiction and Water Colors
A short story or flash fiction I compare to making a watercolor painting. While both appear to be somewhat spontaneous—although they aren’t. Much preliminary planning must take place. First, quality watercolor paper must be selected and what colors will be applied first. Watercolor paints dry very quickly. Certain areas must be given a few minutes to dry, so when transparent layers are added, the whole thing does not become a muddy mess. Once it is on the paper, that’s it! No going back and changing it.
Some stunning watercolor art can be created with proper planning and bravery on the artist’s part. Next time you look at a watercolor painting in a museum, look at how the artist makes the images with as few strokes as possible. In writing, plots need to be simplified, and the number of characters reduced because the story has to do its job with fewer words on fewer pages quickly. The story arc is going to be right up front. Next time you read a short story or flash fiction, look to see how quickly the writer has to make their point.
Each type of writing requires a different mindset. The same goes for painting in various media.
Co-Writing and Fold Doodles
Now, how do these approaches apply to co-writing? Have you ever played the “Fold Doodle” game? Someone takes a sheet of paper and folds it horizontally into narrow sections then draws the head of a person or thing on the top section. They fold that section under and another adds to the drawing on the next section then folds it over and passed it on. This process continues until the paper is used up. It is then unfolded to reveal the drawing by many different hands. Sometimes it is hilarious, other times a disaster.
People have asked us many times how we write together, and the answer is communication and planning. Whether we are writing a novel, a short story, or a blog post, the best thing to do is check in with your co-writer along the way to make sure you are both in the right mindset for the story at hand and the results will be beautiful.
~Will
Celeste Barclay Talks About Her Vikings
July 2, 2019 by Jann Ryan in category Jann says . . . tagged as Celeste Barclay, Clan Sinclair, Vikings
We are traveling back in time to the days of Vikings with author Celeste Barclay!
Jann: The Clan Sinclair series released in April, 2018 is a great success. Will you still write more books for the Clan Sinclair?
Celeste: I will be returning to the Highlands before the year is out. I left room for characters who had cameos in His Highland Pledge and His Highland Surprise to have their own stories. The new series is tentatively called Highland Ladies and will be a spin off from The Clan Sinclair, following several of the ladies in waiting at Robert the Bruce’s court.
Jann: Why did you decide to start a Viking series? How long did it take you to research for this series?
Celeste: As a new author, I was still trying to find my groove. Vikings interest me, and I’ve read numerous Viking romances. After I finished The Clan Sinclair, which was always intended to be five full lengths with a prequel novella, I wanted to try my hand at Vikings. I’ve enjoyed writing this series since some of the social norms are so different for couples; there’s more freedom in many ways to write a steamy story. Much of the historical information included in the books comes from my own running knowledge of European history, which I’ve studied and taught. The smaller details were researched as ideas came to my head, such as, wedding rituals. I couldn’t say exactly how long it took since I fell through the rabbit hole more than once, but the added knowledge is never a waste.
Jann: Leif, the first book in the Viking Glory series released on March 25th this year. For this book, which came first—plot, character or scene?
Celeste: I’ve been asked this type of questions before, and the answer is yes. They all come together roughly at the same time, but a scene is usually how it starts. My mind wanders as I’m falling asleep and scenes will form. If my brain returns to the same scene more than once, and the scene grows each time, then I know I have a story I want to tell. It germinates and flowers all at the same time.
Jann: Leif and Sigrid are wonderful characters. I loved them. Would you tell us today how they came about and their love story?
Celeste: I like reading and writing alpha males, but each of my male characters is willing to acknowledge his need for an equally strong female partner. I’ve read plenty of arranged marriage stories and even written them, but I wanted this to be a reverse arranged marriage where one family refused to consider it. I thought it would be interesting to have one character not only know, but see, the future relationship while the other had no idea. I wanted to create a female character who was strong enough to live a life with as many uncertainties as there were certainties, and one who could be patient as life progressed. Vikings believed heavily in the power of fate, so knowing that, it made it easy for Leif to fall in love quickly with Sigrid. Readers who might not know that about the Viking culture might wonder how their relationship could develop so quickly, but people do talk about love at first sight. There’s some of that in this story too.
It’s not an easy relationship when one person knows what will happen and the other is in the dark. It’s hard to be the one who must hold secrets while it’s just as hard to be the one who is left out. I wanted Sigrid and Leif to show their commitment to one another despite this sizable challenge. As a seer, Sigrid could only convey the events the gods planned; she could not influence them. Leif shows his commitment to Sigrid through his faith in her gift and his willingness to trust her. They could each have simply accepted their fate and that marriage was their destiny. Instead, they choose to build a solid and loving relationship the way they want and need it.
Jann: In this first book, your introduction of Freya, Bjorn, Strian and Tyra is fantastic. I can’t wait to read each of their stories. From your website, I see that Freya’s is next. Can you share a little bit about her story?
Celeste: Freya released at the beginning of June, and it was a fun story to write. She’s torn between her self-proclaimed need to prove herself as a shieldmaiden along her need to prove she can be jarl’s wife capable of running a home. She’s insecure in ways no one expects, and her persona of being fierce and untouchable is one she created as a protective wall. She doesn’t let many people get close, and Tyra is her only female friend before she meets Sigrid. She’s prickly and mercurial when she meets Erik because of her insecurities. She isn’t easily convinced that he won’t love her and leave her, so she pushes him away instead. Erik is persistent and is determined to prove he is not just there for the chase. I wanted to include a male character who once again is an alpha but has more insecurities than most alphas would ever admit. He’s in awe of Freya, believing she could have any man she wanted, so when she does finally relent, he is terrified she will decide he’s not enough. It’s the hero’s turn to worry that the heroine will find someone “better.” Forced to travel and work together, they realized they are far more alike than either realized. While they thought it was opposites attract, they discover they are so similar that they complete one another.
I haven’t announced the third book yet, but suffice it to say, there are five friends and only four books. I think most readers have predicted which two will be paired together, but their story has far more history than anyone knows yet. The final character has had a troubled life with loss and more recent betrayal, so when part of the past comes back, our final character isn’t sure whether it’s just familiarity or real love that is at play.
Jann: What’s the strangest thing you’ve had to research?
Celeste: This isn’t necessarily strange since plenty of historical authors have to research homeopathic remedies to make cures sound realistic to the Middle Ages, or at least pre-penicillin. I was away with my family this weekend in a little mountain town, and the nature center had an amazing tri-fold with pictures and descriptions of medicinal plants. I was entirely too excited about it. I kept thinking how my author friends will be jealous when I tell them about this since I no longer need Google or massive texts! I have it all on a handy pamphlet.
Jann: What profession did you think you would have when you were 10?
Celeste: I had every intention of being an international corporate lawyer. I even had that intention when I started law school! Life happens, plans change. I’ve been a teacher for nearly 15 years, and now I’m an author too. Slightly different than what I envisioned at 10.
Jann: Celeste, it has been a real pleasure talking today. Thank you for opening a window into your life.
Celeste Barclay’s Books
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