You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April 2009.
If you’re a dog lover like me, and even if you aren’t, check out the interview with Amber Keirn on the Dames of Dialogue blog today.
Amber runs Wolf Creek Weimaraner Rescue in Knoxville, TN, and she gives us some insights on how she got started doing that. There’s also a picture of Emma, my sister, Christy’s current hu-dog, as she calls them. Find out why she gave these special dogs that name and take a look at Emma. She’s a beauty and believe me, she’s everything Amber and Christy say is wonderful about this breed.
Happy Patriots’ Day! To those of you in the South who may not be familiar with this holiday, it’s a New England thing and commemorates the battles at Concord and Lexington which started the Revolutionary War. You know, when Paul Revere made his famous ride or as Longfellow put it, “Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…” Yeah, that one. It’s also the day when they run the Boston Marathon and of course, the Red Sox play an afternoon game at Fenway. Reason enough to celebrate in my book! Especially since, to quote their home page, “Patriot games: Sox sweep away O’s in rout.” Woo-hoo! A happy day, Patriots’ or otherwise, for every Red Sox fan!
Another reason to celebrate, at least for me, I just typed “The End” on Storm Shadows! Double woo-hoo and a couple of Snoopy dances to boot. Whew! Usually I’m reluctant to end a story because I know there’ll be a downtime when I wonder what to work on next and a period of adjustment when I miss the characters, but in this case, I’m more than ready to let Betty Sue and Marc go–well, okay, more Betty Sue than Marc because she gave me fits every step of the way.
And this time I don’t have to wonder what next, because I’ve already started on the next book in the series which is about the third brother, Luke. I have the heroine pictured in my mind and pretty much have her personality figured out but I don’t have her name. Can’t decide for the life of me what to call her. I need a name that fits her character just like Betty Sue fit her character–or so I thought when I started writing Storm Shadows. But that changed over the course of the book.
I also need to come up with a title. The working title is Sun Shadows, which works in two ways, first, this one takes place in summer which is a season associated with sun and warm weather and second, it’s a sort of play on the word “son” since the heroine has a son who wreaks havoc with Luke’s happily-ever-after. But, I don’t know, Sun Shadows sounds pretty bland and boring to me so maybe that will change before I finish writing it. Then again, maybe not.
Anyway, I’m going to take the next couple of days to do some research, a lot of gardening and as little housework as I can get away with and then it’s back to writing. Oh, happy days, indeed!
Is this all it takes? Seriously? Looks like I have yet another superstition to add to my ever-growing list when it comes to the Red Sox.
About the same time I was posting that blog entry yesterday–I really need to pay more attention to the schedule when my guys are on the road!–the Red Sox, led impressively by Tim Wakefield, ended their road trip with a win. Wake shut the A’s down for 7 1/3 innings while the rest of the team did something they usually don’t do when Wake’s on the mound–they scored runs. Final score, Boston 8, Oakland 2.
I knew they could do it–despite my rant from yesterday–and the victory is all that much sweeter to me because it was Wake pitching. I’ve had a semi-crush on him for years, not only is he a joy to watch–love that knuckleball!–but he always seems to step up on the mound and deliver when we need it most.
Thanks for doing it again, Wake! I always suspected it, but now I know for sure, you’re the best!
That’s directed at the Red Sox. Come on guys, do whatever you have to do to break out of this horrible slump you’re in. You’re better than this and I, along with all your other fans, don’t like seeing you in last place in the AL East, not even this early in the season. For cripes sake, even Toronto’s doing better than you. Then again, they’re doing better than New York and Tampa Bay too, so I guess it’s not all bad. Nah, forget I said that, this is bad, very bad and I sincerely hope it won’t last.
Okay, that’s it. Just had to get that off my chest. I know it’s not anybody’s fault but we need a win or two…or heck, let’s think big and go for a couple dozen. I know you can do it! Well, okay, maybe not out west because that’s never been your favorite stomping grounds, but please once you get back to Fenway, do us all a favor and give your fans something to smile about again!
The world, at least my little corner of it, will be a better place for it!
Taking a break from editing Storm Shadows for what I hope will be the last time before I send it in to my publishers. I’m down to the last 20 pages–which need a little bit of revising but, hopefully, not as much as the first 220 pages!–then after that it’s only a matter of a few format changes and I’ll be finished. Whew and thank goodness!
Meanwhile, I’ve also posted the next interview on our Dames of Dialogue blog. This one is with Carola Dunn, the prolific author of the Daisy Dalrymple mystery series. Ms. Dunn just released her 50th book, Manna in Hades.
50 books? Yikes! That is, to say the least, inspirational. And okay, it’s also a little intimidating. If I submitted every WIP I have on my computer right now–both the finished and unfinished ones, and trust me on this, there are quite a few–and they were accepted then published, I would still have only a fraction of the work Ms. Dunn has under her belt. 50 books? I can’t even imagine. But it does give me something to shoot for!
Okay, back to polishing Storm. Please join us on the Dames of Dialogue blog today as Carola Dunn–author of 50 books!–answers the Dames’ Dozen. It’s a fascinating interview and who knows, maybe you’ll come away totally inspired–like I did.
Oh and as always, any and all comments are welcome!
Betty Gordon, author of Murder in the Third Person and Deceptive Clarity, is in the spotlight today on the Dames of Dialogue blog.
Twelve great questions followed by twelve interesting and entertaining answers. Who could ask for anything more? Hop on over and don’t forget to leave a comment!
Your Task for Today – Write a List Post:
Today your task is to write a ‘list post’ on your blog. You may not choose to publish it today if you already have something lined up – but aim to publish it in the next day or two if you can.
I have to say, I’m not exactly batting a thousand with this “31 Days to Build a Better Blog” thing. First, an elevator pitch, and second, a list. Bah! I hate lists almost as much as I hate writing an elevator pitch…or a synopsis…or a query letter…or a blurb…or, well, you get the idea.
The only good thing is I have some extra time and the information on his blog about writing a list post is great…and in writing about how much I don’t like writing list posts, I came up with a list to write.
So, here it is, my list of Things I Hate About Being a Writer:
1. Writing list posts–yep, that had to be number one. Okay, I know that’s more about writing a blog but it counts because I keep hearing about how every writer needs to have a blog, so it’s my number one, at least for today. Tomorrow it may be something entirely different.
2. Writing elevator pitches–now see, if I had been writing this post yesterday, that would’ve been number one, but a day later, it takes the number two spot because I’ve written the one for my blog, I just haven’t posted it yet, and all three dames of the Dames of Dialogue are working on the elevator pitch for that blog, so I don’t have to do it alone.
3. Writing a query letter–this is pretty much ongoing for me and I’m so glad I don’t have to do it every day, just on the days when I actually get some writing done and have something to submit to a publisher, which lately, well, not so much.
4. Writing a synopsis–detailed or not, this is very hard for me. There’s only one thing harder and that is…
5. Writing a blurb–why is that harder, you ask? Well, some publishers have a set word count and in that small amount of words allowed, you have to entice the reader to buy your book. I’ve read numerous articles over the years about the best way to do this, but not a one of them is surefire and none of them guarantee that if you follow them you will reach the ultimate goal; which is essentially to make the reader plunk down their hard-earned money to buy your book.
6. Filling out a cover art form–this is a lot like a blurb or a tagline for your book, you have to choose the one scene or a picture that will sum up for the reader what your book is about and it has to be appealing. You know that old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words? Yeah, well, to a writer, the cover picture might just be worth a thousand sales. Then again, if you choose the wrong one or the cover artist doesn’t exactly get what you’re going for, it could be worth a thousand embarrassments! Thank goodness, Lisa and Linda at L&L Dreamspell don’t make their authors fill out cover art forms!
7. Speaking of taglines–yep, I hate coming up with those too, both for my writing and for my books, although I will say, the books are a little easier. I do have a tagline for my website, but it doesn’t really cover all of my writing because I don’t always write books based on legends, although all of my paranormal romances do have one or more legends woven into the plot somewhere.
8. Writing an author bio–thank goodness you can re-use these, but even the best bio needs to be scrutinized and and updated with each book you publish. Bios are like author pics, you can’t use the same one for years and years, somebody’s bound to notice that you’ve either discovered the fountain of youth or you’re cheating by using a picture of yourself that was taken years ago. And that leads me to the last item on my list…
9. Having my picture made–this is a long-standing “hate” for me and I’ve found that as an author, I have to do it more than I’d like, and I have to let people see those pictures. I’ve always hated getting my picture made and tend to hide whenever anyone near me has a camera in hand. The extreme opposite of my husband, my niece, and my nephew-in-law, who when they see a camera instinctively smile and sometimes even pose. I just don’t get that, but tend to think it has to be some sort of mental disability they all share!
So, there you have it, the top nine things I don’t like about being a writer. With the exception of the first and last, they all have to do with curtailing my natural tendency to ramble, although according to Problogger, that’s one of the reasons for writing a list post for a blog, because it keeps the writer from rambling.
Oops, guess that one didn’t work for me!
Opening day at Fenway was supposed to be today, but unfortunately, Mother Nature has interfered. They’re predicting heavy rain in Boston for this afternoon so the game has been postponed until tomorrow. Oh well, at least it’s not snow and hopefully, ESPN2 will broadcast the re-scheduled game between the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays.
So, opening day for my team has been postponed, but I did get a taste of my beloved baseball last night with the game between the Braves and the Phillies. Great game and may I just say, I apologize to the Braves for the many times I’ve referred to them as the most boring team in MLB. After last night, I think I might have to eat my words.
Okay, back to trying to figure out my elevator speech for 31DBBB. I think I’ve almost got it!
Edited to add: This above picture has been getting a lot of hits on my blog from people searching for “Boston Red Sox Fenway Park,” or some variation of those words, and I thought it might be a good idea to acknowledge the photographer. Problem is, I got it from PhotoBucket and a couple of days after I used it here, it disappeared from my album. When I went back to see if I could find it again, I did, but it was credited to various people so…thanks to whoever took this shot and posted it on PhotoBucket!
I’m participating in the 31DBBB (31 Days to Build a Better Blog) hosted by Darren Rowse. Today is the first day and already I’m well, not exactly stumped, but worrying over the assignment:
Today the teaching and task revolves around the idea of creating an ‘elevator pitch’ for your blog. Really today’s task comes down to refining what it is about so that you as the blogger are crystal clear on it and so that you are able to communicate this to others.
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate elevator pitches? Yes, hate them…but I also recognize their value and I know it’s a skill I need to develop–the ability to sum up what I want to say into a few compelling words. I have a tendency to be a bit, um, verbose, shall we say? If I can learn how to curtail that tendency, it would help me with my writing, e.g. synopses, blurbs, taglines; and maybe it would take away my fear of those 140 character Tweets *shudder* on Twitter. Plus, I wrote a post some time ago about branding yourself as an author which is another area where being able to express yourself in just a few words would be helpful.
So, today my task is to come up with an elevator pitch for my blog and since I’m also hoping to apply whatever I learn from 31DBBB to the Dames of Dialogue blog, I get to do it twice. *sigh* Looks like I have my work cut out for me!
Note: If you’d like to sign up for 31DBBB or just follow along, click on the link above and it’ll take you to Problogger. From there you can find out everything you need to know. Even if you don’t won’t to join in, if you’re a blogger, take a look at the site, there are a lot of interesting and helpful tips on there.
RSS - Posts
