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

I love OCC.  But I’ve been missing a lot of meetings lately for a variety of reasons, and am unsure about the upcoming one.  Why?  Family!  My holiday season has been extended thanks to my son, d-i-l and grandsons coming in January for their celebration here in Southern California.  Depending on their schedule while here, I might make the morning part of the OCC meeting but I won’t know till I’m on my way.
 
Meantime, I’ve got a couple of Feb. 1 deadlines so I’ll have to depend on naptime for time to work.  Fortunately, I’m close enough that it shouldn’t be an issue… I hope!
 
I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and my fingers are crossed that you have a really Happy New Year!  Why are my fingers crossed while I’m typing?  In case you didn’t recall or didn’t know, I’m now writing Superstition Mysteries!  I’m also writing for two Harlequin lines, Nocturne and Romantic Suspense, as well as another mystery series that starts this year in May, the Barkery and Biscuits mysteries.
 
Okay, enough about me.  I’m looking forward to attending lots of OCC meetings this year as well as the California Dreamin’ Conference.  Hope to see you at some or all of them!


Linda O! Johnston
LindaOJohnston.com 
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January 10 meeting: “Fast Draft” & “Revision Hell” with Entangled Editor Candace Havens

January 2, 2015 by in category Archives
OCC RWA is pleased to welcome Entangled Publishing editor Candace Havens for a special two-part presentation at our January 10, 2015 general meeting. In the morning, Candace will teach a “Fast Draft” workshop that can help you finish your book in two weeks or less using psychological techniques to help your brain think creatively so you can write, write, write. Following Fast Draft, Candace will teach “Revision Hell” in the afternoon where you will learn to take that jumbled first draft and make it shine. Soon, you’ll be ready to submit your work to agents and editors.
OCC RWA meets at the Brea Community Center, 695 E. Madison Way in Brea, CA 92822. Doors open at 9 a.m. for Ask an Author roundtable and the general meeting begins at 10 a.m. Cost is $10 for members and $10 for first-time guests. Lunch is bring your own or you can also purchase via the website at www.occrwa.org
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New Year, New You, OCCRWA’s January 2015 Online Class

December 16, 2014 by in category Archives tagged as , ,
 
Starting The Newest Yearby Laurie Schnebly Campbell 
 
Every new year means new opportunities, but that doesn’t mean THIS January we’re required to start doing yoga and losing five pounds and overcoming any writing hiccups.

We could do that in April or October just as well. For that matter, we could do it today. So what’s the big deal about a new year?

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Ask anyone who’s made some significant life change — getting married, choosing a new job, deciding to publish a novel — if they were inspired by a new page on the calendar, and chances are good they’ll say no.

Even so, most of us like the idea of making SOME kind of change as a new year begins. And for writers, it makes sense that the change is frequently related to what or why or how we write.

A student on a laptop : Free Stock Photo

What do you write?

Do you still love it? Have you tried other kinds of writing? What would happen if you did? How did you choose what sort of writer you wanted to become?

Why do you write? What got you started? What does it DO for you — aside from making you elated and making you frustrated, depending on how the story’s doing? Why are you writing instead of, say, fly-fishing?

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(For anybody who explains that it’s because their favorite fly-fishing stream is covered with ice in the winter, that’s a perfectly good explanation!)

Finally, how do you write?

Aside from being a plotter or pantser, do you have rituals? A love or a fear of deadlines? A preference for plot or character, setting or action, description or dialogue, process or product? A particular place or time you like to think up plot twists, interview characters, get your outline or paragraphs down on the page?

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Some of what you’re doing right now, some of what you’ve been doing ever since you began writing, works beautifully for you.

Some of it, maybe not so much.

Which is where we get into the idea of New Year, New You.

If there’s anything you especially love about your writing, or if there’s anything that bothers you about your writing, here’s a good time & place to look at that.

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The past seven times I’ve taught this class, last-day messages have ranged from “it’s such a relief to discover I’m not the only one who works that way” to “I never realized how much I needed this change” to “finally, I’ve discovered what I was missing!”

Everyone’s reaction is different. Some writers are inspired to switch genres. Some might decide to take up fly-fishing (although no one’s reported that yet). Others report a breakthrough, like those who’ve mentioned this class in their first-book acknowledgments.

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If you have any questions on whether “New Year New You” can help with some issue in your writing life, let me know here or privately at Book Laurie Gmail Com — you can figure out where to email, right? — and I promise I’ll give you a straight answer.

Meanwhile, whether or not you use the upcoming new year to inspire any kind of changes in your life, here’s hoping you love the results!

 
OCCRWA’s January Online Class, “New Year, New You” begins January 5th. For more information and to sign up, visit the OCCRWA website.
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Who’s ever seen a Christmas Piano Tree? by Jina Bacarr

December 11, 2014 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

I asked myself that question when I was looking for ideas for a cover for my holiday romance, A Christmas Piano Tree.

You can’t stick a picture of a Christmas tree on a piano…and the story is a romance. Got to have gorgeous hero and pretty heroine on the cover…but where to start?

That’s when I decided to take a cover class from Andris Bear www.andrisbear.com and Lily Smith http://www.coversbylily.com through the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.

http://heartofcarolina.org

Andris and Lily critiqued and gave suggestions to my cover until I got it right. Thank you, ladies!! I highly recommend their class if you want to do your own covers. Lily and Andris are awesome!

I love www.Dreamstime.com for stock photos, and since I have somewhat of an art background, I enjoy the process of cover design (once upon another life I studied design for the theatre). Here is a Spanish-theme sketch I did for a Vegas-type extravaganza.

Jina Bacarr's photo.
 

I’ve always had a love for design since I was a kid and I drew pictures in my dad’s encyclopedias (remember those?).

Here’s a sketch for a dress design I did at age 11. Somehow it has survived numerous moves around the country and overseas…

What kind of covers do you enjoy for Christmas books?

I totally enjoyed putting the cover together for “A Christmas Piano Tree,” the story of a pretty young war widow who re-discovers the magic of the holiday season with the help of a homeless vet and an old piano. I hope you like it.

Check out my Christmas Piano Tree Pinterest board!

 Cyber Santa is asking for your vote…

The Christmas Piano Tree” is included in the December Cover Wars on Masqueradecrew.blogspot.com!

Check out all the wonderful covers and vote for your favorites… 

Thanks for listening! 

~Jina

Vote for The Christmas Piano Tree or one of several others: http://buff.ly/1vD4xsW

www.jinabacarr.com

http://www.pinterest.com/jbacarr   

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You’re Welcome….

November 25, 2014 by in category Archives

I know I will sound nostalgic for those putative good-old-days, but I must voice my ongoing surprise that in a time when communication has never been easier—email, text, SMS, phone, letters, c’mon, you don’t even need to actually waste time speaking to someone—there is a profound lack of what seems to me to be basic consideration.  

No acknowledgement of information received, thanks for an event attended, confirmation of receipt of package or card.  Emoticons were invented for the terminally inarticulate—a heart, a smiley face, or just thx—but don’t hold your breath.
I thought I would share an excerpt from a delightful book titled:  Good Form:  Manners, Good and Bad, at Home and in Society © 1890, p. 31.  Yes, that’s the kind of book my friends give me!  While it’s not about acknowledgement, I found it a powerful reminder of what seems so missing from our discourse.

I also have a great 1942 edition of Emily Post’s Etiquette.  It notes in the front pages that â€œThis book is manufactured under wartime conditions in conformity with all government regulations controlling the use of paper and other materials.” The book is filled with excellent advice in general, and timely advice on how to bake a wedding cake by borrowing friends ration cards for butter.  Belt tightening indeed.
GOOD AND BAD MANNERS IN CONVERSATION
“Unfortunately, it is sometimes the man “who don’t know that he don’t know,” who is most insistent upon being listened to. This fault is not confined to men, however. It is the ignorant who are inhospitable to another’s opinions. Entertaining alien views long enough to judge them fairly is not adopting them, anymore than it is including a person in one’s family to ask him to dinner. The scoffer at any seriously formulated judgment shows bad manners. Another bad mannered person is the one who boldly or baldly contradicts.  Dissent is allowable if cautiously expressed, but denial or contempt is bad form.  Those who differ from each other in opinions, are in very bad form if they cannot meet in society and find harmonious topics upon which to speak to each other.”
But I realize that in addition to sex, conflict sells, and when you’re looking to gain, retain and monetize an audience, the Xtreme, the outrageous and polarizing positions capture our attention, our time and our clicks.  Unfortunately, we often even believe it. 

On the positive side, I would note that Jon Stewart usually displays a level of tact and decorum that might be a model for a 21st Vs 19th Century self presentation. And worth channelling as we head for those fabulous family meals….!
Thanksgiving is a good time to say
Thank you!
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