A Slice of Orange

Monica Stoner, Member at Large

Recently, a young member of LERA (Land of Enchantment Romance Authors) commented that her writing stunk. She was appalled at the drivel that came out of her head and doubted sheâ€™d ever make it as a writer. Since I was at that time going through an epic battle with my muse, I commiserated, pointing out that I hadnâ€™t produced much but bilge for quite a while.

Then the rest of these very talented writers chimed in. One, a NYT Best Seller, admitted she was afraid of the day readers would realize she really wasnâ€™t all that terrific. Doubts and anxieties spewed forth like a lanced boil. Yeah, pretty ugly imagery but appropriate for those ugly thoughts we all have.

On the whole, artists are a mass of insecurities. For the most part they work alone, with only their own strength of will keeping them at task. Their work goes out to an ambivalent public, and they wait for validation, generally through sales.

Those artists known as writers do not have to suffer the pain of standing with their artwork and watching the world walk by without stopping. Well, unless theyâ€™re at a book signing! On the whole, a writerâ€™s validation is through positive reviews, or well thought out not so positive reviews, and book sales. When sales are good, writers can take a breath but being for the most part not always so secure, we wait for those numbers to drop after the first flurry of sales. When sales are not so terrific, we start scanning continuing education courses for a fall back to our writing non-careers.

Having revealed the disease Iâ€™m not sure I can come up with a cure. Itâ€™s not like we can tell ourselves not to be insecure. Certainly sharing with other writers helps. Getting away from my writing nook out into the real world sometimes helps. Accomplishing something, whether itâ€™s managing to write a full page on a new manuscript or finally nailing in the fencing thatâ€™s been held up with baling twine has made a difference for me.

How about you?

Things That Make Me Go Mmmruh!

Dog on the Roof

Blog by

GVR Corcillo

In two days, June 19th, Simon and Schuster/Touchstone will release Dog on the Roof: On the Road with Mitt and the Mutt by political satirists Bruce Kluger and David Slavin.

Bruce, my friend and sensei of sorts, snuck me a few pages of the book, and I have to say, I laughed my butt off. The verse, the pictures, the wit…and the dog! Seamus, with his spot-on observations and yearnings, will jump on you with both paws, lick you in the face, and have you laughing uncontrollably.

But even more amazing than the book itself is the galvanizing story of its whirlwind creation. In January, Bruce and his writing partner, David Slavin, both regular contributers to NPR’s All Things Considered, decided to write a satirical book designed to come out during the height of the presidential campaign season. But they wanted to do it right. I mean, really right. So, as if the goddess Nike were their muse, they just…did it. No fussing, no fretting. They just got to work.

They pulled a few bestselling satirical books off the shelf to study all the components that made them hits — from length to format to illustrations. Then they buckled down and wrote their sharp and clever fuax children’s book that gets its humor from a universally felt truth. Dog on the Roof’s truth? It sucks to be strapped to the roof of a car! That’s moving!

Dog on the Roof‘s deeper truth for us writers? If you want it, just do it. Mmmruh!

So, I decided to do it. Publish my own book, that is. No more acting like a dog on the roof for me, waiting for someone else (such as an agent or publisher) to set me free, give me what I need, and make me happy. Thanks to the trailblazing bravery of so many OCC authors, I am self publishing my humorous women’s fiction novel She Likes It Rough this summer. Can wild outdoor adventures with an adrenaline junkie give an insecure city girl the backbone she needs in order to make her humdrum life count for something? We’ll soon see.

But first, check out Dog on the Roof. http://brucekluger.com/BOOKS.html

–GVR Corcillo, the artist formerly known as Geralyn Ruane

THE X-TREME NOVELIST

I love to read. Books, newspapers, magazines and food labels are all on my TBR list. Horror has been in the mix with popular authors like Stephen King and Dean Koontz, but I didnâ€™t know what a great horror read was until I read a short story collection by Anoynmous-9 (aka Elaine Ash) presented under the umbrella title of Hard Bite and Other Short Stories. Here was horror at its finest: edgy, scary, fascinating, the stuff bad dreams are made of.

While I celebrated the book, I also lamented that this author might never be embraced by the mainstream despite her talent. Why? Because Anyonymous-9 is what I call an X-treme novelist – a writer who does not poke at parameters, but boldly shreds them. Think Tom Wolfeâ€™s Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and his brand of hysterical realism. Hunter S. Thompson and Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas. My favorite, Anthony Burgessâ€™ Clockwork Orange. The X-treme novelist is often ignored, ridiculed, or, even worse, published only to languish in a no-manâ€™s land of genreless books.

Yet when a reader discovers them – or they become bestsellers in spite of the system â€“ there is a sense of uncovering a jewel. They keep us thinking and questioning and curious about what they will come up with next. If their work is done well, their sense of time and place, characterization and plot will challenge the reader in a way traditional novels never do; if crafted poorly, their work is merely sensationalism without direction. The challenge for the X-treme novelist is to direct themselves without editorial help or an agent cheerleader because their vision is uniquely their own.

Some of my favorite, recently-read indie works by those I consider X-treme novelists include :

Hard Bite & Other Stories* by Anonymous-9: A viscious, bloody, twisted tale that left me fascinated because of the authorâ€™s complete faith in the vision of her characters and their motivation. I applaud the sheer inventiveness of the world she created.

Johnny Oopsby Arthur Levine: A fanciful tale of a teenager who believes himself to be a prophet. It is a sexual, angst filled romp that is told with an unapologetic abandon and marvelous style.

Detroit Daze by Conrad Johnson**: A hard, brutal, desperate tale of a teenagerâ€™s life in Detroit that seems to lead to the same nowhere the teenager believes is his destiny. Johnsonâ€™s deft communication of humanity within this harsh world, his use of music lyrics, is like poetic graffiti.

The Santa Shop by Tim Greaton: An unsettling, emotionally wrenching story that has little to do with jingle bells and everything to do with despair, self recrimination, and redemption. It is so well written I was actually angry that the book was not what I assumed it would be and then grateful that it was not.

X-treme authors are not pioneers; they are explorers. They are not dreamers; they are trippers. X-treme novelists are vital to the creative process. It is usually through their efforts that new genres are born and fashions are created. Sometimes we just forget those fashions began with writers willing to put themselves on the line with something new, fresh, and often delightedly unsettling. If you are one, embrace what you do because there are readers like me who will appreciate it and writers (like me) who will be inspired by it.

*Also look for Hard Bite the Novel.

**Conrad Johnson is the pseudonym for John Byk. Check out his live contemporary author interviews on 2012 Writers Alive

Thanks, OCC

OCC is the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America. Weâ€™re romance writers. But some of us also are mystery writers. Writers of romantic suspense. Both.

Iâ€™m always delighted to attend OCC meetings, but Iâ€™m especially looking forward to the one next weekend. Why? Itâ€™ll be chock full of excellent research info for those of us who are mystery and suspense writers as well as romance authors.

First, I see that Debra Holland is giving a morning workshop on â€œCreating Fighting and

Self-Defense Scenes.â€ That should be fascinating. The chapterâ€™s published authors are even forgoing a Published Authors Workshop that morning to be able to attend Debraâ€™s presentation.

And then, in the afternoon, our guest speaker Dennis Kee, a weapons expert, will present a program on “Don’t Blame the Gun, Blame the Writer.” It sounds as if itâ€™ll be full of excellent information on weapons.

I had thought Iâ€™d be out of town next weekend, but fortunately my plans changed. Iâ€™ll be there! See you all soon–and Iâ€™m really looking forward to the June OCC meeting.

Linda O. Johnston
http://www.lindaojohnston.com/
http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/

It’s Never Too Late

by Jann Audiss

Barb is on vacation, so I’m solo today.

I donâ€™t know about everyone else, but have you ever had one of those days when life seems to be closing in and you wish you could just stop time for awhile? You find yourself looking back at the choices you made and wish you had gone left instead of right, or said no instead of yes and wondered if things would be different? I remember a few years ago when the book â€œEat, Pray, Loveâ€ by Elizabeth Gilberts hit the bookshelves and everyone was talking about it. I didnâ€™t read the book, in fact I havenâ€™t read many inspirational or self-help books. I did, however see the movie when it hit the big screen with Julia Roberts. The movie was enjoyable, but I had a hard time trying to related to it. If I had enough money to escape from all my responsibilities and travel the world, or for that matter move to Hawaii for a year, who knows maybe I would ditch it for a big adventure. But it got me thinking about my dreams and goals, and it motivated me to dig a little deeper to reach them.

Last weekend I went to see â€œThe Best Exotic Marigold Hotelâ€ with Jaimee Mayotte, a friend and fellow writer. I call it â€œa seniorâ€™s Eat, Pray, Loveâ€ adventure. I really enjoyed it (possibly because I could relate to the age group), but I think it was more than that. I donâ€™t want to reveal too much in case you havenâ€™t seen the movie. But for me, the timing couldnâ€™t have been better, because life is once again closing in around me. Iâ€™ve been clawing through my current story and came close to giving up writing this blog (I donâ€™t know what scared me more â€“ telling Marianne I wasnâ€™t going to make the deadline or facing another goal unaccomplished). This movie, with a cast of some of the best actors on the big screen today, gave me just the boot I needed to realize that itâ€™s never too late and we are never too old to reach our goals or to start a new life journey.