Out of Control by Morgan Mandel

I caught part of the Dog Whisperer show on TV Tuesday night. Cesar Milan faced two dogs that barked uncontrollably. By the miracle of his calm presence and assertiveness, he gained control over them. That's because he showed them who was boss.

That's what I have to do with my e-mail. It's way out of control. I belong to a great many e-groups and I love reading the posts, but it takes me forever to get through them. By the time I do that and finish whatever blogs I need to do, I'm no longer in the mood to write.

So, I need to practice control and write first, then tackle the e-mails, blogs, and the like. Otherwise, I'll never get another book finished.

What about you? Do you have trouble getting down to business sometimes? What do you do?

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/
http://ourlittlerascal.blogspot.com/

Stop The Presses!

Print and digital wholesaler Baker & Taylor has reached an agreement with self-publishing house Author Solutions to provide print services for its authors through TextStream, B&T’s print-on-demand and short-run printing service. Author Solutions has grown into one of the country’s largest self-publishing book operations with a catalog of more than 125,000 titles.

For more information on this breaking news at www.publishersweekly.com go to the following link:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6719091.html

I know that many folks still believe that self-publishing is a dirty word but it's popularity continues to grow.

The usual arguments against this method of publishing include: little or no editing, poor cover design, anybody could do it, and in the past, distribution. But with the news that B&T and Author Solutions have inked a deal it will be interesting to see how that changes.

It remains to be seen how effective this partnership ill be in brining new and strong voices to readers, but one thing I can almost guarantee won't change - authors will still have to be their own best advocate and get out and promote their books.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I got a fabulous early Valentine's Day present this week. The cover for "This Can't Be Love" arrived in my inbox. I was thrilled! It's always so exciting to see a message from my publisher's art department on the message list.

My heart was racing as I opened the e-mail. Getting a new cover can be a nerve-wracking experience. Did the artist capture the overall tone of the story? Will the people on the cover do justice to the characters I've created in my head? How will the title look? My name?

As always, The Wild Rose Press did not disappoint. In fact, as usual, the talented people there made my day. The cover is fantastic! The title font even matches my first book, which is great, because this one is a spin-off of that, and I'd hoped they'd look like a set. I immediately shared it with all of my family and friends, who also gave it the thumbs-up of approval. I kept a copy at work for the rest of the week, and everytime I needed a little pick-me-up, I'd take a peek at the cover. It never failed to put a smile on my face.

So, what do you think?



And, as fabulous as the cover is, it's even more than that. It's letting me know that the ball is rolling on this particular book, and I'm one step closer to holding the finished product in my hands.

All in all, it's been a good author week. Receiving the new cover started it off. Then, along with a couple other fellow authors I did a romance presentation at a local library, I sent out some bookmarks for publicity, and I'm making some decent progress on my work in progress.

It doesn't get any better than that!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra

www.debrastjohnromance.com

Julia & Julia Type Journal for Cooking up a Gritty Suspense or Mystery Novel by Robert W. Walker

At Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, yes, you can follow me as I blog on the progress and success or failure of putting together my 50th novel. Without a contract, written on speculation only in my head and faith in the material and myself—I am keeping a dairy-type Journal about the process of crafting the novel.

This is like getting a creative writing course from Professor Walker. Follow me as I write a Suspense Novel Before Your Eyes, and no matter what category or genre you are working in, there is so much you can pick up from following this process. Imagine if you had the opportunity to look in over the shoulder of a veteran author and watch his hand at work. There can be no better classroom, and you are not limited in asking questions or offering comments.

Thus far Dirty Deeds has had two installments, but the first, like this, was mostly informational and descriptive of the whole idea. This week at http://tinyurl.com/ykch9vf you can see firsthand how I handle research, opening lines, opening scenes. What questions one needs ask to determine where in the story to begin. It’s all there along with an example from the novel being built from scratch: the re-telling of the story of Titanic; in fact, a rewriting of history with an answer to precisely why Captain Edward Smith intentional rammed Titanic into that iceberg. Aside from being historical in nature, the historical chapters will alternate with futuristic chapters (science fiction) wherein a dive team will actually enter the shipwreck to pillage it—all but one of the divers who is there to reawaken the horror that caused Captain Smith to scuttle his own cruise liner and take down thousands of lives with himself to the deep (horror elements tossed in). The bottom line is I’ve placed a monster and the killer plague it spreads onto the deck of Titanic. You begin with a “killer” premise, a major “what if” and starting from there, you do a great deal of research, and for me, even before the research is done, you start writing in the throes of passion for the story.

I hope you will come over to Dirty Deeds to have a look-see and follow me as I cook up a layered, complex multi-generational suspense thriller with elements of horror, romance, science fiction, and historical accuracy turned on its head. Again the site is instructional and the instructor is moi – Professor Robert W. Walker at http://tinyurl.com/ykch9vf

Do hope you’ll leave comments either here or at Dirty Deeds!

Rob Walker

Do You Remember When? by DL Larson

Do you remember when you first realized you were a writer?

I've always enjoyed writing and worked for small newspapers as a correspondent, did some writing for local organizations and at church. I'd always been an avid reader and thought often about doing something with words. I was 36 before I took my desire seriously and went back to school. The classes weren't what I expected. Too many of the required courses had nothing to do with words and I felt my family was suffering for my whimsical need to see if I had what it took to become a writer.

Then, then it finally happened when I wasn't expecting it. The English professor had the class turning to a certain picture in the text book. We were to create a story from the picture. The whole class groaned at the face of an old woman in a black and white picture with a setting in the era of the 1930's. Her hands were dirty, her clothes unfashionable and her hair pulled back into a no nonsense style. The only redeeming fact was her hint of a smile.

A few weeks later the professor started reading some of the stories. Most were only a few paragraphs long and I realized I'd really over-done it. My story was four pages and it had little to do with the era of the days, or the hardship this woman must have lived through. I'd missed the target completely. I felt the complete fool and decided I didn't need to spend any more money on this foolishness of learning how to write. I'd even given the woman a name!

The professor started reading again and I cringed as my story of Sarah was shared. She'd gone blue berry picking up on the ridge. She reminisced about her family and how she missed her son gone now from the previous war and had decided to make his favorite dessert. But before she went home she wanted to use the new outhouse in the park. It had running water.

No one else had given the woman a name. No one else had looked for another reason for her dirty hands other than hard labor. No one had shared an insight to a simple delight as using a flush toliet. The professor wrote on my paper "interesting and intriguing." It was all I needed to keep writing, keep learning how to put one word with another in order to tell a story.

How about you? When did you know you were a writer?

Til next time ~

DL Larson

Jobs by Morgan Mandel

While I was watching Chicago Tonight on Tuesday night, Phil Ponce interviewed a guy who took on 50 jobs in 50 states. He worked as a coal miner, a cook, lumberjack, among other occupations. That got me thinking about the tons of choices for jobs we can give our characters in manuscripts.

In Killer Career, the main character is a lawyer whose decision to change careers and become an author proves deadly. In Two Wrongs, the main character turns into a pro basketball player.

What about your characters? Tell us what they do for a living in your novel or manuscript.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/

Non-fiction that tells a story

I've been reading more non-fiction lately than fiction and most of us are used to the non-fiction text books we had to read and study in school. BUT, the non-fiction I've been reading of late actually tells a story - or two.

The most recent book I'm reading is by Dr. Andrew Weil and titled, Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future. I'm only into the first chapter but already Dr. Weil is telling a story, and a very important one at that. He's telling the story of how the health care system in America is near it's breaking point, if it hasn't actually hit it already. Another author, Malcolm Gladwell writes about tipping points and how little things can make a big difference.

The book I finished just before picking up Dr. Weil's book is by Judith Lasater titled Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life.

In my group for fiction writers we often discuss finding our voice as a writer and I think that is true for non-fiction as well. While reading Judith Lasater's book I found myself drawn into her story about her evolution with yoga and it was because of her ability as a story teller that her non-fiction teachings came across so strongly, at least for me. Based on what I've read so far of Dr. Weil's book, I suspect the same will be true for his work as well.

I'm grateful that those non-fiction writers who seek to share their knowledge with others do so by actually telling stories throughout their written works. It just goes to show you that nothing beats a good story, especially when it is told in a genuine and honest voice.

So, what story do you have to tell?