A Slice of Orange

Home

What About Love? by Kitty Bucholtz

April 9, 2015 by in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz tagged as , ,

After six weeks of Lent and the booming joy of Easter, I’ve got love on my mind. Not just the cute, mushy stuff that most of our acquaintances seem to think we write about. 😉 But love with power and strength and purpose, the kind of love that changes people and changes lives.

I’ve been thinking about a sermon I heard recently where the pastor told a story about an elderly woman who was kidnapped and forgave her kidnapper, asking the judge to get the man into a drug rehab program. The pastor said what I often think – I’d like to think I would be that forgiving. But he also said the other thing I think when I hear these stories – I’ll probably never be in a position to know.

So he challenged us to something else. Don’t worry about loving your enemies today. Start with something easier. “How about if this week you just try to love the annoying people in your life?”

And it occurred to me that that just might be harder.

Then he said, “When you get so you can love the annoying people, take a step up and try to love the irritating people.”

Ouch. I think I’d rather try to love the kidnapper. At least I can blame it on the drugs and believe in his potential rehabilitation.

And then I started thinking about my writing. If I can’t personally love the annoying and irritating people I come across on a daily basis, how can I write about people with a dozen layers – no, a hundred layers – of relational emotion? Because that’s who we all are – people with uncountable layers of emotion covering hundreds of different relationships in each of our lives.

Love is the emotion that packs a punch. It’s active. It changes things. It changes people.

Love changes us.

We’re romance writers. But do we love the annoying and irritating people in our lives, let alone our enemies? If not, how can we write about love?

How does the love we write about change the people who read our stories? Does it change them at all? Are we afraid of saying too much? Too little? It takes a double dose of vulnerability to put that kind of love on the page.

We must be fearless.

We are among the bards of our generation. Bards tell tales of heroes, warn of danger, and give people courage. All in a fearlessly entertaining way.

That’s the power of love.

Kitty Bucholtz

 

Kitty Bucholtz decided to combine her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. Her novels, Little Miss Lovesick, A Very Merry Superhero Wedding, and Unexpected Superhero are currently available on Amazon. The free short story “Superhero in Disguise” and the new short story “Welcome to Loon Lake” are available wherever ebooks are sold. You can find out about her courses on self-publishing, marketing, and time management for writers at her website Writer Entrepreneur Guides.

0 0 Read more

Thanks for California Dreamin’

April 6, 2015 by in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston, Writing Conferences tagged as , , ,

I’m not the only one who enjoyed it. I’m not the only one to thank the four wonderful Southern California RWA Chapters. But I want to express my thanks to everyone involved in the wonderful California Dreamin’ Conference!

I knew it would be fun, since, as I said last month, I was on a wonderful panel about writing series with Judy Duarte and Janet Tronstad. I hoped our audience members enjoyed it as much as I did.

Even more, I found it great fun to get together with long time romance writer friends and make some new friends as well. The sessions and panels I attended were mostly about promotion, and I learned a lot there. I did some traveling between the time of the conference and now so I haven’t been able to try to implement what I learned, but I hope to soon.

I also had a lot of fun at the book signing–and even sold some books.

So, again, many thanks for an absolutely delightful conference. And now I’m looking forward to 2017!

Linda O. Johnston

Linda’s new Barkery and Biscuits Mystery series from Midnight Ink starts in May with BITE THE BISCUIT. 
 It’s about veterinary technician Carrie Kennersly, who seizes the opportunity to buy a bakery from a friend about to leave town. She changes half of it into a barkery that sells treats for dogs, including some healthy ones she created as a vet tech. But not everyone in town is thrilled with her new venture and yes, since it’s the beginning of a cozy mystery series a murder occurs.
0 0 Read more

PARTY IN MY HEAD

April 5, 2015 by in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as , ,

How many people are at the party in your head? Ask any writer this question and you may be surprised by the answer.

I’ve been asking myself this question for awhile now. I currently have standing room only at the party in my head. I’m writing one book, editing two, promoting another, writing mental notes on three others and reading one for pleasure.

When I decided to become a writer, it was a different time in publishing. If you put out three books a year, that was considered a lot. As the indie writing market grew, so did the desire for fresh content.

I had it all planned. I’d release my first book and take about three months and then release the next one. I figured I’d release the follow up to GENERATIONAL CURSE early next year. The problem with my original plan was the ebook.

When the ebook was born it opened the door to easier accessibility. Readers no longer had to wait months or years for follow up books. They were now able to get the next book within a couple of months, if not sooner. At first I thought this was a trap by the publishing industry to sell more books.

I hearing a writer say she really didn’t read other people’s books, because she felt she might be tempted to use their ideas. That stuck with me and I read sparingly. Then I joined RWA and heard something completely different. I love print books…I like how they feel in my hand…but I digress. I downloaded the Kindle for iPhone and then I got an iPad for Christmas and my life changed.

I began reading for research on both devices. I’m not sure how many books I’ve read in the past six months, but it’s increased tremendously.

Trust me, I’m going somewhere with this. I became like most readers, downloading every free book I could download. Once I finished the free book in the series, I wanted to know what happened next. I was hooked. I quickly downloaded the next book. I think I read six books in a month. [For some people that’s not a lot, but for me it is.]

Now I understand the formula.

When I increased my reading and understood why my old plan wasn’t going to work, I started writing and editing and reading…more. Needless to say, I wasn’t prepared for this new plan.

I wrote GENERATIONAL CURSE, while waiting to hear from a potential publisher about a different book. I figured once that series was sold, I’d have a little time before GENERATIONAL CURSE was ready to go. So I focused all of my energy on the other series. However, things changed and GENERATIONAL CURSE was released first. I was caught off guard.

I did a little research and discovered there are writers out there putting a title out a month. How am I supposed to keep up. It took a while to get my first book just right. My good sense side asked my not so good sense side if I’d lost my mind.

Here’s what I found out. A title could be a short story, a novella or a full-length book. Okay, so I don’t have to be chained to a chair and only released for potty breaks. Then I signed up for the RWA “The End” Challenge. I figured this would help me finish a book I had to rewrite. [I’m half way done with that one.] In one month I wrote 20,000 words. I CAN DO IT!

I felt empowered. If I could write 20,000 words in a month, then I could write a novella. Wait a minute. If I write a novella, I can sell it for $.99.

New plan. Set up a realistic production schedule that includes novellas, short stories and full length novels. It seems like a lot, but if I could write 20,000 words in a month [not including the 9,100 on a different project] then I should be able to stick to my plan.

So how many characters are in my head? Too many to list. Smile.

Tracy Reed

readtracyreed@me.com
www.readtracyreed.com

Fiction for Women Who Love God, Couture and Cute Guys

Available at
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
iTunes
All Romance eBooks

0 0 Read more

What OCC Has Offered Me I Have Gladly Taken

April 4, 2015 by in category Archives tagged as , , ,

Hello OCC!

I’ve been a member of OCC for over eight years now and I’m still surprised at the amount of information that I get out of OCC meetings and the speakers.

Whether our speaker is an author, an editor, a publisher, an agent, scriptwriter, and the list goes on, I have found that I leave with a spark of new knowledge from each one. While I don’t write inspirational, historical, mystery, or women’s fiction, I still come away with at least a small token, or a writing tip, from every speaker regardless of the genre. This is something a multi published author also said to me recently and I realized how true it was.

How is that possible? Everyone has different experiences and systems for what they do. I’ve tried many of the writing systems from our various speakers and found what works for me. Like everything else in the writing process, it’s a trial and error career. Finding a routine and a writing system that works specifically for you is a challenge but not impossible.

After learning the craft of writing, which not only includes the manuscript format, the structure of your manuscript, and how to plot and brainstorm, I’ve also learned about submitting, marketing, queries, synopsis, e-book publishing vs traditional publishing and so much more. Now I write with more confidence but I’m still learning.

How does this happen? It’s all due to the OCC Programs volunteer members who are entrusted with the duty of finding a variety of speakers on a wide range of topics that will be an asset for our membership.

Every year new members join OCC and our membership is always looking for new speakers to entice both our new and veteran members. A duty we do not take lightly.

This year I am thrilled to be the VP of Programs. It’s up to me to get speakers for the next couple of years and I’m excited to see what lies ahead. I’d love to hear from our membership if there is a topic you would like to hear or someone you would like us to consider as a possible speaker. Please contact me at programs@occrwa.org with your ideas.

As writers, our work is solitary but our network stretches far and wide. We learn from editors, publishers, screenwriters, romance writers of many genres, media moguls, and even our own very talented OCC members. Everyone I meet leaves a grain of knowledge I did not possess before.

Join me in making the next two years memorable, amazing, and spectacular! Let me hear from you with any ideas you may have.

I thank OCC for the honor of serving as VP of Programs and I look forward to an amazing year.

Again as a volunteer, I get to give back to OCC for all the support, encouragement, friendship, and a push from time to time. In addition, for all the years of learning that OCC has gifted me with I thank the chapter.

Elizabeth Scott

w/a Elise Scott 
“One Weekend” a short story in Romancing the Pages OCC Anthology, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble eBook retailers.

0 0 Read more

April’s OCCRWA Online Class is “Behind Bars: A Look Inside a Federal Penitentiary”, with Nancy Farrier and Gerry Legg, Jr.

March 26, 2015 by in category Archives

OCCRWA’s own Nancy Farrier is here today to talk about her upcoming online class:

Looking Behind the Bars into a Federal Penitentiary. 

As authors we always strive for authenticity in our work. This means doing a lot of research, even for the small details. For instance, if possible, we will visit a location where our story will be set to experience the feel of the setting. Sometimes this isn’t feasible so we have to rely on others who have been there and are willing to share their experiences with us.

This is what we hope to share with you in our class about Federal Penitentiaries. An authentic look at what happens inside. We’ll give you a chance to see how the prison system works on many levels. To research with accuracy isn’t easy, but taking a class from someone who knows what goes on behind the bars can help.

You might think this is only for writers of suspense, mystery or thriller, but that isn’t the case. Our books could contain characters in prison, or we may have a character who needs to visit someone in prison, or to speak with authority about something that might happen in a penitentiary. Maybe you’re plotting a fantasy and need to include incarceration and this class will give you some great ideas to make your world become real.

In this class you will learn some of the major mistakes many authors make – even some big name authors – errors that are glaring to anyone who knows about prisons. You will learn about the training for the Federal Correction Officers; what they can and can’t do at work. You will see what happens on Visitor day – what’s allowed and what isn’t. What jobs might those incarcerated be allowed to do? How soon can they have visitors and who is allowed to visit?

What kinds of things to inmates do that they aren’t supposed to and what happens when they get caught? Do murders occur in a Federal prison? Yes, of course. So, what happens then? How is the scene processed? Who handles the investigation?

When I first did this class with Gerry, I learned some facts that surprised and even shocked me. Facts that gave me some story ideas. I’m sure you will too as you sit in on Behind Bars: A Look Inside a Federal Penitentiary. Come prepared to learn and to ask questions.

For more information and to register go to http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassApril15.html
0 0 Read more
«‹405406407408409410411›»

Copyright ©2017 A Slice of Orange. All Rights Reserved. ~PROUDLY POWERED BY WORDPRESS ~ CREATED BY ISHYOBOY.COM

>