Morgan Mandell's backyard episode reminded me of a time long, long ago when my kids were small enough to carry. It was a summer much like this with the corn surrounding our house on all sides. We had no air conditioning in those days so all our windows and doors were thrown open. My husband was at a meeting, the kids were in bed and I was folding laundry watching TV when the phone rang. It was about 10:00p.m. The phone ringing was not unusual and I picked up. What surprised me was hearing from our elderly neighbors so late in the evening. Ben and Marge live on the highway just a quarter mile north of our house, but I couldn't see their farm due to the corn. I couldn't see their barnyard light either.
Now Ben is a gentle soul and talks in a hushed raspy voice and I strained to hear what he had to say. "I wanted to tell you about the police cars," he said.
I gripped the phone hoping they hadn't been hurt. "What about the police cars?"
"Guess they lost two convicts and they saw them head into the corn. They think one went north and the other is headed your way."
"Ben? What do you mean headed my way?" I couldn't breathe. I stood by the patio door only able to reach so far due to the phone cord attached to the wall. Three doors yawned open, the screens not locked.
"They're gonna check our buildings first and if they don't find the convicts, they'll spread out. Just wanted you to know what's going on, in case you saw all the police lights flashing."
Lights? The kitchen light was on, the livingroom, plus the hall light. I knew I was more visible than anyone lurking in the dark. My children slept under open windows. I swallowed hard. "Come get us, Ben. Kurt's not home and ..." I couldn't finish what I wanted to say. "Just come get us."
In the few minutes it took Ben to arrive, I skittered to the front door, slammed it shut and locked it, then scurried to the back door and did the same, all the while wondering if someone was trying to climb in a window where my children slept.
I was trying not to hyperventilate, wondering how to carry three children to safety. And how to keep the knife in my hand. How it got there I'm still not sure.
Rousing children is like carrying fifty pounds of limp noodles. It's just not that easy. I scooped up my son, all twenty-nine pounds of him and then my preschooler I literally dragged up from her armpit. In a hushed demand I told my seven year old she had to help mommy. Now!
We made our way to the back door and as we stood there waiting for Ben, I realized I needed to leave a note for my husband. That meant turning the lights back on and I didn't want to do that, but I sucumbed. My daughter very carefully wrote a note as I told her how to spell the words - We're at Marge's. We taped it to the door. Headlights pulled in the drive and we headed out meeting Ben in the middle of the sidewalk.
Five police cars filled the highway in front of Ben's house, their lights swirling, distorting my vision. I was angry at them. How dare they lose two convicts! In my backyard!
After awhile, the police cars moved away as their search widened. My husband called about 11:30. I was still at the neighbors. "I just got Margie George out of bed," he said. "She said you hadn't been there." Margie is a good friend of mine and she lives on the other side of town. It was an easy mistake for him to make. He came home to an empty house with a scribbled message planted on the door. I told him about the convicts and that he should come retrieve us.
"Did they get them?" he asked.
"I don't know, they moved up the gravel road east of here. You didn't see the police lights?"
"I figured they had some kids pulled over or something." Then, "The back door wasn't locked. I better check the house before I come get you."
With golf club in hand, my husband searched our home, found it convict free and came and rescued us. Our kids never did realize the danger they were in and for that I'm glad. It's only in retelling the story years later did they understand how vulnerable we had been.
And the convicts? They were caught about two miles north of our house, disoriented and cut up pretty bad from the corn leaves. Running through large plants is not recommended.
I thought I'd be freaked out and keep all the doors and windows locked up after that. But I didn't. Yet in years when the corn surrounds our house and buildings I think of those convicts. And I thank the Lord they stayed in the corn.
Til next time ~
DL Larson
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
A Mystery In Our Own Backyard, Literally - by Morgan Mandel
Thursday night, the DH and I went to a program at our library lasting until 9:30. Afterwards, we stopped at my brother's house to pick up my bookmarks, so we didn't get home until after 10pm.
The next morning I noticed a few strange things. When I went to walk Rascal, thank goodness she was on her leash, because our gate was open. We never leave the gate open, because we often let her out in the yard by herself. If she got away, since she's deaf she wouldn't hear us call for her.
We went on our usual walk. Then, when I went to put her duty bag into the garbage on the patio, I noticed something else strange. The grill had been knocked over. Its cover was off, the rack part was on the grass. Someone had been in our yard overnight.
The idea made me very uneasy. What was going on?
Saturday I stopped at my neighbor's house. That's when she mentioned the street had been blocked off Thursday night, a patrol car was parked in front of her house and it was shining it's light in the direction of our garage. The patio is on the other side of it. This was around 9:30
She didn't know what was going on. That's when I told her about the strangeness in our yard.
I called the police, but got no answer. She followed up and someone called back. Apparently, a runaway, I don't know how old, was being sought by the police that night and was caught. Part of the time the runaway had to have been in our yard, maybe even hiding there when we came home.
In Killer Career, something horrible happens in the heroine's neighbor's yard. You don't expect bad things to happen so close. The first reaction is disbelief, followed by nervousness.
At least my own mystery was solved. I know the person the police were looking for was caught. Has anything strange like that ever happened to you or someone you know? Please share.
Morgan Mandel
http://www.morganmandel/
http://chooiceonepublishing.com/
Killer Career now available at most outlets
and Barnes & Noble
The next morning I noticed a few strange things. When I went to walk Rascal, thank goodness she was on her leash, because our gate was open. We never leave the gate open, because we often let her out in the yard by herself. If she got away, since she's deaf she wouldn't hear us call for her.
We went on our usual walk. Then, when I went to put her duty bag into the garbage on the patio, I noticed something else strange. The grill had been knocked over. Its cover was off, the rack part was on the grass. Someone had been in our yard overnight.
The idea made me very uneasy. What was going on?
Saturday I stopped at my neighbor's house. That's when she mentioned the street had been blocked off Thursday night, a patrol car was parked in front of her house and it was shining it's light in the direction of our garage. The patio is on the other side of it. This was around 9:30
She didn't know what was going on. That's when I told her about the strangeness in our yard.
I called the police, but got no answer. She followed up and someone called back. Apparently, a runaway, I don't know how old, was being sought by the police that night and was caught. Part of the time the runaway had to have been in our yard, maybe even hiding there when we came home.
In Killer Career, something horrible happens in the heroine's neighbor's yard. You don't expect bad things to happen so close. The first reaction is disbelief, followed by nervousness.
At least my own mystery was solved. I know the person the police were looking for was caught. Has anything strange like that ever happened to you or someone you know? Please share.
Morgan Mandel
http://www.morganmandel/
http://chooiceonepublishing.com/
Killer Career now available at most outlets
and Barnes & Noble
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The World of Publishing and Marketing
Another change in the world of ePublishing, and therefore eBook delivery and availability, is bringing ebooks closer to the masses.
Cost is often a reason for the success and/or failure of eBooks. Readers, distribution, readability are only a few of the issues affected by cost. Now an Australian software company is releasing a product that promises to streamline the cost and time of converting pdf to a common ePub standard.
For more details here’s the link:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6696787.html
And Dan Brown’s newest release - The Lost Symbol - is causing a price war among eBook releases as Amazon makes it available for a low price on the Kindle.
For more info go to:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125297229016310315.html?mod=rss_Books
And on the multimedia/marketing front, thriller novelist Clyde Ford has taken the audio/visual book trailer concept to a new level. Here’s the link for more information:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6601539.html?rssid=192
Move over Oprah? Well, maybe not. Bin Laden is now coming out with his own booklist and endorsements. Hummm! It will be interesting to see what affect this has.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/bin-ladens-reading-list-for-americans/?hp
And Google launches a new way to read the news - Fast Flip.
http://mashable.com/2009/09/14/google-fast-flip/
What I believe this is telling us as writers is that more and more consumers of the written word are wanting it faster, more entertaining on a multimedia level, and via more of the technological gadgets that are available. The printed version will always be in demand, but like the US Mail, publishers will have to adapt to a change in the level of demand for the analog version of the written word as digital versions become more prevalent.
We should all stay tuned to the wild and exciting world of publishing and marketing.
Cost is often a reason for the success and/or failure of eBooks. Readers, distribution, readability are only a few of the issues affected by cost. Now an Australian software company is releasing a product that promises to streamline the cost and time of converting pdf to a common ePub standard.
For more details here’s the link:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6696787.html
And Dan Brown’s newest release - The Lost Symbol - is causing a price war among eBook releases as Amazon makes it available for a low price on the Kindle.
For more info go to:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125297229016310315.html?mod=rss_Books
And on the multimedia/marketing front, thriller novelist Clyde Ford has taken the audio/visual book trailer concept to a new level. Here’s the link for more information:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6601539.html?rssid=192
Move over Oprah? Well, maybe not. Bin Laden is now coming out with his own booklist and endorsements. Hummm! It will be interesting to see what affect this has.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/bin-ladens-reading-list-for-americans/?hp
And Google launches a new way to read the news - Fast Flip.
http://mashable.com/2009/09/14/google-fast-flip/
What I believe this is telling us as writers is that more and more consumers of the written word are wanting it faster, more entertaining on a multimedia level, and via more of the technological gadgets that are available. The printed version will always be in demand, but like the US Mail, publishers will have to adapt to a change in the level of demand for the analog version of the written word as digital versions become more prevalent.
We should all stay tuned to the wild and exciting world of publishing and marketing.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Weekend Whirwind
Howdy Folks,
This is going to be a quick in and out, as it's one of those weekends where there's about fifty things going on and about forty spots to fit them all in.
So, for today I just wanted to give you a heads-up on some upcoming events:
Tomorrow I'll be guest blogging at The Word Place about being a Champagne Rose author with The Wild Rose Press. Judy has been doing a great series on Wild Rose and its authors. Be sure to check it out if you get a chance.
Then next Saturday I'll be at St. John United Church of Christ in Palatine, IL doing a book signing with fellow Acme authors Morgan and Margot. If you're in the area, hopefully you'll pop in to say hello!
And with that, I have to run.
Enjoy the weekend, whether it's a relaxing one or full of fun busyness like mine!
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
This is going to be a quick in and out, as it's one of those weekends where there's about fifty things going on and about forty spots to fit them all in.
So, for today I just wanted to give you a heads-up on some upcoming events:
Tomorrow I'll be guest blogging at The Word Place about being a Champagne Rose author with The Wild Rose Press. Judy has been doing a great series on Wild Rose and its authors. Be sure to check it out if you get a chance.
Then next Saturday I'll be at St. John United Church of Christ in Palatine, IL doing a book signing with fellow Acme authors Morgan and Margot. If you're in the area, hopefully you'll pop in to say hello!
And with that, I have to run.
Enjoy the weekend, whether it's a relaxing one or full of fun busyness like mine!
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
Friday, September 11, 2009
10 Solutions to Top 10 Reasons Your Book was REJECTED by Robert W. Walker
As both a writing professor and an editor with my Knife Services, I see all manner of writing from the best and greatest writing to the worst and most unfortunate. When an autopsy for your story or book is necessary, it may require a scalpel. In fact a Stryker saw may be needed to cut it to the bone. When I speak to other writers and editors, what I hear again and again about a book’s rejection is that it failed in one or more of the Ten Deadly Sins of writing and here they are:
10. No sense of play/fun comes through on the page—that the author is not passionate over his/her story to the degree that it shines through. Solution—rewrite with a smile.
9. No sense of specific audience the author is writing to excite. Difficult to determine the genre and thus audience. Solution—rewrite with a cold eye as to what category your story falls into.
8. No sense of forward-moving plot/action in the story. Solution—work with the word compelling tattooed on your brain or taped over your computer along with a list of and how all five senses can be placed in a scene.
7. Pronoun references are weak; pronouns proliferating to exclusion of naming people, places, and things. There are many errors that involve pronouns. Solution—name names and repeat names of people, places, and things. Triangulate character’s five senses and sometimes his/her sixth sense into each scene.
6. Cluttered sentences; overblown sentences and paragraphs. A given character or characters are blowhards—going on in paragraph-length dialogue segments. Solution—break into lengthy dialogue segments with “action” lines or “interruptions” from other characters.
5. Action stops cold with description of a person, place, or thing. Does not involve action in the descriptive segments. Solution—strive to sift everything through the mind and five senses of your characters, especially your main characters.
4. Passive Voice takes over throughout the story; Active Voice is dead or nonexistent. Helping, linking, and verb to be proliferation. Twelve WASes in a single paragraph. Solution—wrestle the verb to be and helping verbs to the mat and replace them with active verbs; takes work but can be done.
3. Sentences are filled with qualifiers—words that qualify otherwise strong nouns and verbs. Sentences riddled with qualifying remarks that undercut otherwise strong sentences. Solution—when in doubt, strike it out; when a word like Very or Maybe or Sometimes does not had power or allow the power to fall on the subject noun or verb, then excise this qualifier.
2. Dialogue is wooden; dialogue is perfect English but imperfect pitch. Too formal dialogue reads like bad lines for the Native American character in a western.
1. Failure to wring drama and conflict out of situations and characters. Solution—No guts, no glory; no conflict, no story. A story is a war (or should be), and a story without a war is a snippet. Each chapter should set up obstacles to one’s character. Character plus conflict equals drama.
In addition -- do not stop your ACTION to describe a person, place or thing. Place the thing, the setting, the other character into the perceptions of your main character. It is of little interest that “authorities” suspect the victim is already dead, but it is of huge interest to the reader that “Marcus” or “Katrina” suspects this.
I hope these comments are of use and helpful to you in rewriting and finishing your novel or story. To locate direct help from me and my Knife Services at inkwalk@sbcglobal.net
Rob Walker
www.robertwalkerbooks.com
10. No sense of play/fun comes through on the page—that the author is not passionate over his/her story to the degree that it shines through. Solution—rewrite with a smile.
9. No sense of specific audience the author is writing to excite. Difficult to determine the genre and thus audience. Solution—rewrite with a cold eye as to what category your story falls into.
8. No sense of forward-moving plot/action in the story. Solution—work with the word compelling tattooed on your brain or taped over your computer along with a list of and how all five senses can be placed in a scene.
7. Pronoun references are weak; pronouns proliferating to exclusion of naming people, places, and things. There are many errors that involve pronouns. Solution—name names and repeat names of people, places, and things. Triangulate character’s five senses and sometimes his/her sixth sense into each scene.
6. Cluttered sentences; overblown sentences and paragraphs. A given character or characters are blowhards—going on in paragraph-length dialogue segments. Solution—break into lengthy dialogue segments with “action” lines or “interruptions” from other characters.
5. Action stops cold with description of a person, place, or thing. Does not involve action in the descriptive segments. Solution—strive to sift everything through the mind and five senses of your characters, especially your main characters.
4. Passive Voice takes over throughout the story; Active Voice is dead or nonexistent. Helping, linking, and verb to be proliferation. Twelve WASes in a single paragraph. Solution—wrestle the verb to be and helping verbs to the mat and replace them with active verbs; takes work but can be done.
3. Sentences are filled with qualifiers—words that qualify otherwise strong nouns and verbs. Sentences riddled with qualifying remarks that undercut otherwise strong sentences. Solution—when in doubt, strike it out; when a word like Very or Maybe or Sometimes does not had power or allow the power to fall on the subject noun or verb, then excise this qualifier.
2. Dialogue is wooden; dialogue is perfect English but imperfect pitch. Too formal dialogue reads like bad lines for the Native American character in a western.
1. Failure to wring drama and conflict out of situations and characters. Solution—No guts, no glory; no conflict, no story. A story is a war (or should be), and a story without a war is a snippet. Each chapter should set up obstacles to one’s character. Character plus conflict equals drama.
In addition -- do not stop your ACTION to describe a person, place or thing. Place the thing, the setting, the other character into the perceptions of your main character. It is of little interest that “authorities” suspect the victim is already dead, but it is of huge interest to the reader that “Marcus” or “Katrina” suspects this.
I hope these comments are of use and helpful to you in rewriting and finishing your novel or story. To locate direct help from me and my Knife Services at inkwalk@sbcglobal.net
Rob Walker
www.robertwalkerbooks.com
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Writer's TO DO List! by DL Larson
A few weeks ago when I was at an author fair, a group of students asked for an interview. These young writers were in Junior High and once past their shyness they asked great questions. I don't write YA, but I'm comfortable talking with kids and we had an enjoyable time. Later, I realized I had given them standard answers and wished I could have offered them more. So I worked on making a Writer's TO DO List. Now keep in mind this isn't the end all of lists, it is merely a stepping stone to get the anxious writer started down a productive path.
A Writer's TO DO List:
FIND YOUR IDENTITY AS AN AUTHOR!
Whether published or not, fine tune who you are and what you stand for.
Stand for something ~ this means be knowledgeable in your genre.
Be the one in the room who knows the most about your topic.
(as a historical writer using early American settings, I am continually questioned about the "era." Most of these folks are history buffs!)
SET GOALS
Decisions and sacrifices need to be made.
Write regularly - make a schedule and then stick to it.
I make weekly goals - daily are too stressful for me. But I enjoy reaching my weekly goals. I see progress and that urges me to make more.
MORE SPECIFIC GOALS
Develop three dimentional characters: are they insightful? caring? too perfect? too beautiful? The characters people remember are the ones with human flaws. Don't deny your character the chance to be real!
Give your storyline free reign - the surprises will make a better read and make your characters come alive. The plot will become clearer no matter how bumpy or twisted it is.
"SAVE THE CAT" SYNDROME
(by author and scriptwriter Blake Snyder)
His advice:
Action alone will not endear your characters to your readers!
Develop your characters so your readers will care.
How?
Refer back to MORE SPECIFIC GOALS!
MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN
Your book, your story should be a journey of growth for your characters, and that equals change.
Edit your work: for your work in progress to become a polished manuscript, professional editing is best. Invest the time and money.
Join a writer's group or a critique group. This will help writers to stay on task with writing goals. Plus it's just more fun working and talking with other writers.
BE AVAILABLE
Volunteer at conferences, workshops, etc.
BE PREPARED/BE PROFESSIONAL
Tell others who you are: website, blogging - you know the drill!
Use business cards to press kits to U-Tube and radio.
Circulate and network - now is not the time to be shy!
KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SELLING
Whittle away at your storyline until you can say what your book is about in a few sentences. Check the movie listings - they tell the storyline in a few lines.
Do the same for your novel. Then ask: does my title enhance this concept? Keep working until you have a pitch and a title that explains your work.
Do the same for your synopsis: this is the time to tell not show the basic parts of your story. Read other synopsis, check out books on proposal and synopsis writing. Practice, rewrite, and rewrite again. Keep it short. Think "bare necessities."
KNOW WHO YOU ARE SELLING TO
Research, research, research to find the type of publisher you need.
Check writer's magazines, Writer's Market book, on-line sights, ideas from writers groups to find a publisher or editor.
Be patient. Keep searching!
BEGIN ANOTHER STORY!
And the process starts all over!
My basic TO Do List is hardly complete. There are lots of ideas on developing good writing. Please add to this list so other writers may benefit.
Til next time ~
DL Larson
www.DLLARSON.com
A Writer's TO DO List:
FIND YOUR IDENTITY AS AN AUTHOR!
Whether published or not, fine tune who you are and what you stand for.
Stand for something ~ this means be knowledgeable in your genre.
Be the one in the room who knows the most about your topic.
(as a historical writer using early American settings, I am continually questioned about the "era." Most of these folks are history buffs!)
SET GOALS
Decisions and sacrifices need to be made.
Write regularly - make a schedule and then stick to it.
I make weekly goals - daily are too stressful for me. But I enjoy reaching my weekly goals. I see progress and that urges me to make more.
MORE SPECIFIC GOALS
Develop three dimentional characters: are they insightful? caring? too perfect? too beautiful? The characters people remember are the ones with human flaws. Don't deny your character the chance to be real!
Give your storyline free reign - the surprises will make a better read and make your characters come alive. The plot will become clearer no matter how bumpy or twisted it is.
"SAVE THE CAT" SYNDROME
(by author and scriptwriter Blake Snyder)
His advice:
Action alone will not endear your characters to your readers!
Develop your characters so your readers will care.
How?
Refer back to MORE SPECIFIC GOALS!
MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN
Your book, your story should be a journey of growth for your characters, and that equals change.
Edit your work: for your work in progress to become a polished manuscript, professional editing is best. Invest the time and money.
Join a writer's group or a critique group. This will help writers to stay on task with writing goals. Plus it's just more fun working and talking with other writers.
BE AVAILABLE
Volunteer at conferences, workshops, etc.
BE PREPARED/BE PROFESSIONAL
Tell others who you are: website, blogging - you know the drill!
Use business cards to press kits to U-Tube and radio.
Circulate and network - now is not the time to be shy!
KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SELLING
Whittle away at your storyline until you can say what your book is about in a few sentences. Check the movie listings - they tell the storyline in a few lines.
Do the same for your novel. Then ask: does my title enhance this concept? Keep working until you have a pitch and a title that explains your work.
Do the same for your synopsis: this is the time to tell not show the basic parts of your story. Read other synopsis, check out books on proposal and synopsis writing. Practice, rewrite, and rewrite again. Keep it short. Think "bare necessities."
KNOW WHO YOU ARE SELLING TO
Research, research, research to find the type of publisher you need.
Check writer's magazines, Writer's Market book, on-line sights, ideas from writers groups to find a publisher or editor.
Be patient. Keep searching!
BEGIN ANOTHER STORY!
And the process starts all over!
My basic TO Do List is hardly complete. There are lots of ideas on developing good writing. Please add to this list so other writers may benefit.
Til next time ~
DL Larson
www.DLLARSON.com
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Coffee, Tea, and a Smoking Gun Schaumburg Library Event- Morgan Mandel
Coffee, Tea, and a Smoking Gun is the name of a Sisters in Crime open-to-all event at the Schaumburg Township District Library for this coming Saturday, 10am-4:45pm
At 1:30, I'll be doing a workshop called Promo Primer: On and Offline Marketing Tools and Tips for Writers. Maybe there's some ideas about promoting you're not aware of, or you'd like to share your ideas.
At 2:30, I'll be on a panel about Romantic Suspense, along with Patricia Rosemoor and Sherrill Bodine. As you may know, my new release, Killer Career, falls into that category.
Other workshops and panels include Five Tips to Get Your Book Written, Interviewing your Characters, Adding Suspense, Write What You Know or Write What You Want to Know.
Other authors on panels and workshops include J.A. Konrath, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Laura Caldwell, Gail Lukasik, Michael Allen Dymmoch, Luisa Buehler, J.D.Webb, Frances McNamara, Henry Perez, Jamie Freveletti and Jennie Spallone.
It'll be a fun, learning experience, with raffles, book signings, and a cop speak/crime scene put on by author/police officers, Michael Black and Dave Case.
If you're in the Schaumburg, Illinois area, come join us.
At 1:30, I'll be doing a workshop called Promo Primer: On and Offline Marketing Tools and Tips for Writers. Maybe there's some ideas about promoting you're not aware of, or you'd like to share your ideas.
At 2:30, I'll be on a panel about Romantic Suspense, along with Patricia Rosemoor and Sherrill Bodine. As you may know, my new release, Killer Career, falls into that category.
Other workshops and panels include Five Tips to Get Your Book Written, Interviewing your Characters, Adding Suspense, Write What You Know or Write What You Want to Know.
Other authors on panels and workshops include J.A. Konrath, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Laura Caldwell, Gail Lukasik, Michael Allen Dymmoch, Luisa Buehler, J.D.Webb, Frances McNamara, Henry Perez, Jamie Freveletti and Jennie Spallone.
It'll be a fun, learning experience, with raffles, book signings, and a cop speak/crime scene put on by author/police officers, Michael Black and Dave Case.
If you're in the Schaumburg, Illinois area, come join us.
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