Milestones

There are many milestones in life and my daughter reached one this past week. She graduated from eighth grade. This is a big deal in her life and mine as a mother. She’s the oldest of my three daughters which means she has to test the waters. She will be the one to push the limits and see how far she can get and the others will try to slide on her coattails.

Unfortunately for her, her mom writes young adult which means I still live in that world to some extent. I’m not sure she will get away with much, or maybe she will since I’ve been there done that. Either way, it’s going to be an adventure for us both.





Congratulations Michelle, you make me very proud.

Thanks for letting me share this milestone with you!

Best,
June

www.junesproat.com

School's Out!

Those two little words can be met with a variety of reactions...

Kids are over-the-top excited to be free for the next three months.

Teachers can probably match that over-the-top feeling of freedom.

Parents, ah, well, you may be moaning and groaning trying to figure out what the heck to do with your kids for the next three months.

And for some people those simple words have no effect on or meaning in their lives whatsoever.

It's interesting how words can be interpreted differently by different people in different situations.

Writing and reading are no different. Characters in scenes may interpret a situation each in their own unique way, which lends itself perfectly for the conflict in the story. An author may write a scene with one intention in mind, but a reader may relate to it in an completely unique way. Different readers may come away from reading the same book with entirely dissimilar perspectives.

It's a good thing there is such a wide variety of genres, authors, and readers out there. It helps keep life interesting.

And, in case you were wondering, I fall into the teacher category. If you see me around, you'll probably notice a peaceful aura to my demeanor for the next couple of months!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Digital Books by Margot Justes

It would seem that even the Wall Street Journal is paying attention to the explosion of the digital books and the resourceful authors that navigate the complex and timely world of e-book publication.

A recent article in the Journal, 'Vanity' Press Goes Digital mentioned authors who either can't get published, as in an example of author Karen McQuestion, who was rejected, self published, sold well and even has a film option with a Hollywood director. Not bad a way to start your career.

The Journal went on to mention authors like Joe Konrath. Joe is already a very well established (check out his Jackie Daniels series) author who took his work directly to the reader via Amazon and is succeeding admirably. Joe is selling like the proverbial hotcakes, he is also a master of marketing and a personality with a goofy, funny sense of humor, his books are a scary, spooky good read. He is in fact the complete package to sell well.

For mid-list authors, the e-book avenue or any avenue for that matter, is not an easy one to manage. You have to let your readers know you're out there. But first, you have to figure out if you even have any readers. If you're lucky enough to have established a following, albeit a small one, you now need to grow that readership, and somehow let them know you're out there.

The social networks are always a good idea, in fact a great idea, but how to tell all your friends out in the nebulous land of the internet that you're out there, without hitting them over the head and becoming a nuisance. That is my question? Does anyone have a few answers?

I regained my rights to two short stories, and this weekend I plan to go to the Amazon site and learn how to download and sell them. Amazon, it would appear actually helps the author promote the work, and they have vast resources at their fingertips. We'll see how it all works out.

Matt Connor is the talented photographer, a man with an eye for an incredible eye shot. More next week.

Till next time,
Margot Justes
www.mjustes.com

A Teachable Moment, Deep Truths - Race & Gender

Don't you love it when a moment in time seems to spin on a dime and come to a standstill and it is heads up you win?  That happens in teaching every blue moon when a student gives you feedback that he or she actually GOT the lesson and now Owns It, as they say.

Yes it is rare and getting rarer as I get older which scares me; we have a saying in education, a bit of a mantra, a prayer we say just before entering a classroom that it will go as well as we have planned and imagined it, but it seldom does.  We also tell colleagues just before ducking into the classroom that we must go forward to stomp out ignorance, and we say it like Lancelot on a charger, and we want to believe it, but ignorance like fear, hatred, bigotry, jealousy, and all the horrid things of human nature that are in any classroom are not easily vanquished.

I taught a class not long ago called Race & Gender. It is a required course at the university where I teach--WVSU. At any rate, it is an eye-popping, brain delving, mind bending, mind opening class for students--Freshmen mostly although it was mixed. It is a required course at said university and credit for it does no necessarily transfer--which is sad, because this course or one similar should be taught at every school and it should begin in high school if not earlier.

The course delves deeply into the psyche of mankind and the myths he has created surrounding both gender and race, and using documentary films, classroom discussion, small group discussions, and lecture every aspect of the absolute garbage and nonsense surrounding race is explored--as for instance the economic reasons why one race wishes to legislate against another race to create some of the most backwoods nonsense and call it law as in The Jim Crow Laws. In this class students actually have an opportunity to read the wording of such laws as well as the US Constitution and compare some ridiculous state laws mandated against our Federal laws and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Man what an eye-opener! For some....but for others who are blind they will not see; for some who have been brainwashed early on in life, they can never see that race in itself is a concept that is false and mythological nonsense when we accept the fact that we are all of One Race - The human race.

The lessons on gender are just as mouth-wateringly great. The readings alone give young people an appreciation for the struggle that women in the US had to go through to be considered human beings, members of the race!  It speaks too of the need for the world to recognize that women are not chattel anymore than is a person of color.

Great and abiding lessons and I believe my class went away with a deeper appreciation for such huge ideals as we aspire to in the US Constitution and in US life, despite how often we come up short in practice. I try to teach my students to be among the ten or twenty percent among us who are leaders and who are doers and fixers, those who will step in to break up a fight or save a kid from falling from a grocery cart rather than hold back in indecision but also to step in on the larger issues like Tolerance.  Then comes news of a goofy bunch of throwbacks who plunge us all into again accepting some horrific notion such as hanging is too good for ______________fill in the blank. You may or may not have heard of this religious nut group in Minnesota who are running people for office who agree with them that people of a different sexual orientation than theirs are to be executed. So there is that....our always slipping back and away from evolving and going instead into devolving. This is not to say that some of my students and many of our race are not saintly and of good heart and cheer, but among us walk the baboons and the Neanderthals as well and this frightens me and leaves me sad.

Rob Walker
one great ebook - Children of Salem = romance in the time of the witch trials, a Kindle Original Title.

www.robertwalkerbooks.com

Clarity Means EVERYTHING! by DL Larson

Today I want to share a short story with you about clarity ... or the manipulation of clarity ~

'On the outskirts of a small town, there stood an old walnut tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two small boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight from prying eyes and began to divide the nuts.

"One for you. One for me. One for you, one for me," said one boy. Several dropped and rolled down toward the fence.

Another boy came riding along the road on his bike. As he passed, he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."

He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along. "Come quick," said the boy. "You won't believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls."

"Beat it kid," the man said. "Can't you see it's hard for me to walk."

When the boy insisted though, the man moved slowly to the cemetery. Standing by the fence the man and boy heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."

The old man whispered, "Boy, you've been telling me the truth. Let's see if we can see the Lord."

Shaking with fear they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to glimpse the Lord.

At last they heard, "One for you and one for me. That's all. Now let's get those nuts by the fence and we'll be done."

They say the old man made it back to town five minutes before the kid on the bike.'
(author unknown)


Many a great book has been made with misguided clarity! Have you used this technique to build your story? Share with us!

Til next time ~

DL Larson

It's Wednesday - Food - Rumors about iPhone 4G - by Morgan Mandel

Vacation time is different than regular time. It's hard to keep track of the days. Anyway, I just figured out it's Wednesdy, my blog day at Acme.

What have I been doing today? Went to Perkins for the Magnificent 7 for $3.99 - 3 pancakes, 2 strips of bacon and 2 scrambled eggs.

Walked Rascal a few times and sat on the deck with her a bit. Read my book off and on while I waited for my very slow A T & T network card to click back and forth on my computer. If William Shatner can get such great coverage in the middle of nowhere, why can't I in Wisconsin?

The back and forth on the computer was because I read something in my iphone egroup about the new iphone4g coming out soon. Of course, I had to Google and read all the rumours about its specs. There may be a flash this time, a zoom for the camera, and some other cool features. I also read somewhere about an A T & T iphone insurance for $13.99 per month.

Something else that wasn't a rumor is that A T & T is changing their rate plans. I'm still trying to figure out if I'll be paying more or less. I figure probably more, because that's the way it usually is for me. One cool thing is the new iphone will have a feature to tether to the computer, which will be $20.00 per month. I'm wondering if using that method will be faster than the usb card I have now. One catch is the contract for my card won't be over for 1 1/2 years, so I'll probably be stuck with it or pay a hefty fee. I'll have to see on that one.

Going out for prime rib for dinner. Tomorrow is Bingo. Already did two casino runs this week and came out ahead both times, not by much, but it's always a miracle when I bring my own money back and a little bit more.

Oh, yes, I did promise myself I'd get some more of my WIP done this vacation. I've got an hour to do so before getting ready for dinner. My bad. That should have been first on my list.

Morgan Mandel
http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel

The Tortoise and the Hare

I ran a race less than two weeks ago and it was one of our hottest days yet. The race was only a 5k (3.1 miles) and I have run this distance many times before, but I'm coming off physical therapy for an injury and my asthma has been acting up. So, my expectations for the race were to finish and finish alive. Actually, that's my expectation for all my races including the half-marathon.

I try to keep a consistent pace on my runs, adjusting for heat and asthma symptoms, but for the most part I'm a fairly steady runner, if a bit slow. Well, on the day of the race, there were a number of folks - old, young, in-between - who did the walk/run method. I've done this myself in the past but what caught my attention were the young women, much younger than me, who would sprint out then fizzle and walk and then would see me run past them so they'd sprint out again, fizzle and we would do this again and again. Guess they didn't want an old lady passing them. I did finish the race before several of them which probably surprised them. I usually do better or as well as the sprint/walk folks.

I also try not to compete with others while I'm running the race because as I push myself I don't listen to my body and my asthma tends to flare up and get the better of me. That's what happened at the end of the race. A woman about my age had passed me and then maintained a short distance in front of me for most of the race. Then just after mile 2 she stopped and then walked. about 1/2 mile from the finish line she caught up with me and paced herself off of me. Well, that's when I got a little competitive and picked up my pace. Not far from the finish line my asthma flared up and I reached for my inhaler while continuing to run, albeit at a slower pace. I fumbled with the darn thing, almost dropped it, finally took a whiff and resumed a faster pace. She came in seconds before me. I didn't see her bib number so I don't know if she was in my exact age group or not. Like most races, this one allowed for age group placing.

There was also a 10 mile race at the same time - yes 10 miles. I've run this distance before as well but I just knew I couldn't handle that yet. One of my VFW buddies ran that distance so I waited for him so I could cheer him on. While I was standing on the sidelines I heard the race officials annoucing the 5k results and low and behold I placed third for my age group. Understand that while I do okay given all my special circumstances, this is the first time I've actually placed in a race. I had mixed feelings because it was also one of my worst times ever.

So, what does this have to do with writing? Well, I've noticed over the years that there are lots of folks who think that writing a book is easy and that once they complete it, they will be able to sell it and make a whole bunch of money. They're like the sprint/walkers I saw on this race. My impression was that many of them didn't truly prepare for the race and thought just because they were young and slim, they would do great. The writing analogy is that just because you have a great idea or a cool visual image in your head, doesn't mean you're prepared for all the hard work and challenges of actually completing and selling a written product, especially fiction.

Well, writing like running, takes preparation, training, perseverance and so many other qualities that come with committment to the event. Back to the literary analogy above, sometimes slow and steady really is a better way to go.