Birthdays: Andre Norton (1912), Virginia Sorensen (1912), Russel B. Nye (1913), William Bronk (1918), Margaret Truman (1924), Robert Newton Peck (1928), Chaim Polok (1929), Ruth Rendell (1930), Mo Yan (1955),

Andre Norton published her first novel in 1934, and was the first woman to receive the Gandalf Grand Master Award from the World Science Fiction Society in 1977, and won the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) association in 1983.

Virginia Sorensen won the 1957 Newbery Award for “Miracles on Maple Hill”

Russel Nye won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize in Biography for “George Bancroft: Brahmin Rebel”

Mo Yan won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature

Quote: “A writer should bury his thoughts deep and convey them through the characters in his novel.” – Mo Yan

Tip: Louis L’Amour had 350 rejections before selling his first manuscript. Ursula LeGuin sent out her first story when she was eleven; she got her first acceptance at thirty-three. The tip? They didn’t quit. Neither should you.

Jumpstart: “Please forgive me, but you… (finish this by using: curt, bingo, belly flop)

Birthdays: Ernst Haeckl (1834), Henry Adams (1838), Elizabeth Craig (1883), Van Wyck Brooks (1886), George F. Kennan (1904), David B. Davis (1927), Richard Ford (1944), Iain Banks (1954), Natalie Angier (1958), Warren Ellis (1968), Maureen Johnson (1973),

Henry Adams won the 1919 Pulitzer for his autobiography.

George Kennan won both the Pulitzer and National Book Award for his memoirs of being an American diplomat and ambassador to the Soviet Union

Richard Ford won the 1996 Pulitzer for Fiction for his book “Independence Day”

Quote: “Writing is like everything else: the more you do it the better you get. Don’t try to perfect as you go along, just get to the end of the damn thing. If you try to polish every sentence, there’s a chance you’ll never get past the first chapter.” – Iain Banks

Tip: Don’t start all character names with the same letter. Keeping track of John, Joan, Jeff, Jane becomes too confusing for the reader. Vary your names and attributes. Make them real.

Jumpstart: You’re a bartender and there is a sad, lonely man sitting on a corner stool with a wilted rose. You ask him what’s wrong. What does he tell you?

Who wanted Lissa Charney dead? The list was as long as your arm….but which one actually killed her? The last thing Mermaid Swimwear sales exec Holly Schlivnik expected to find when she opened the closet door was nasty competitor Lissa Charney’s battered corpse nailed to the wall. When Holly’s colleague is wrongly arrested for Lissa’s murder, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth sticks her nose everywhere it doesn’t belong to sniff out the real killer. Nothing turns out the way she thinks it will as Holly matches wits with a heartless killer hellbent for revenge.

Susie Black biography

Named Best US Author of the Year by N. N. Lights Book Heaven, award-winning cozy mystery author Susie Black was born in the Big Apple but now calls sunny Southern California home. Like the protagonist in her Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, Susie is a successful apparel sales executive. Susie began telling stories as soon as she learned to talk. Now she’s telling all the stories from her garment industry experiences in humorous mysteries.

She reads, writes, and speaks Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from Michigan went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as her core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, she’s a dedicated walker to keep her girlish figure. A voracious reader, she’s also an avid stamp collector. Susie lives with a highly intelligent man and has one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.

Looking for more?

Visit her website at: www.authorsusieblack.com

Reach her at: mysteries_@authorsusieblack.com

<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWnC7QafETtLXA-EY- d8A9NK4fqw1nv95CzMIXsBAS_CBNf3VhS6BOus2P8r2ssVmr1hu8AIajM7GAoNuy9bGQtdWyf-2rKnKLTc- vwMnI38k5K_ndH85mWR7- cWY9b2L3dwS4Vb7TjlA2NV013CgnCsRi_aCVxhg9DzFD4ZC_tM6QBLRwYJ2s7gq5A/s1500/The%20Resident's%20Cho ice%20Blog%20Tour%20Banner%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data- original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWnC7QafETtLXA-EY- d8A9NK4fqw1nv95CzMIXsBAS_CBNf3VhS6BOus2P8r2ssVmr1hu8AIajM7GAoNuy9bGQtdWyf-2rKnKLTc- vwMnI38k5K_ndH85mWR7- cWY9b2L3dwS4Vb7TjlA2NV013CgnCsRi_aCVxhg9DzFD4ZC_tM6QBLRwYJ2s7gq5A/s320/The%20Resident's%20Choic e%20Blog%20Tour%20Banner%201.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP1T5oqB553cFSl2Uw6HIzv4dECaWl0_cr3gX Cl- _MCF76s2PwA1aUZ38oikzcRiDNVwQJrtkGOIGjqRDHRkMVHyFiCkmO3gcBXg5_s8rhX9CFyEljx6azd1Vj6SSboKzgPzjEvl fk2GSLDJzs9m6MVoceBG0y15RHgv2AKXnJZMJFR6kKpQIkoX6JlA/s1773/The%20Resident's%20Choice%20Blog%20T our%20Banner%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1773" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP1T5oqB553cFSl2Uw6HIzv4dECaWl0_cr3gXC l- _MCF76s2PwA1aUZ38oikzcRiDNVwQJrtkGOIGjqRDHRkMVHyFiCkmO3gcBXg5_s8rhX9CFyEljx6azd1Vj6SSboKzgPzjEvl fk2GSLDJzs9m6MVoceBG0y15RHgv2AKXnJZMJFR6kKpQIkoX6JlA/s320/The%20Resident's%20Choice%20Blog%20To ur%20Banner%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt_jIQYGy0QzH0TQWG1IZBFyOzZQgvIucC07 wQRXxLoqFjCaSNkSh9tikaKDW2Hn6cHXlnxu3dw6YuLXkCoZAOMF5H3xI3OmMmdbtQ_q1kuZ6ANd6KnfaaM4sMxS3 8e95cQcllP1O01v02FpAvTSNShKeBrNaa-xcj8myA6n0OdTNG0wsvF7v7WgQbxw/s500/41C+Xh-sh9L.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt_jIQYGy0QzH0TQWG1IZBFyOzZQgvIucC07w QRXxLoqFjCaSNkSh9tikaKDW2Hn6cHXlnxu3dw6YuLXkCoZAOMF5H3xI3OmMmdbtQ_q1kuZ6ANd6KnfaaM4sMxS38 e95cQcllP1O01v02FpAvTSNShKeBrNaa-xcj8myA6n0OdTNG0wsvF7v7WgQbxw/s320/41C+Xh-sh9L.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Title: The Resident's Choice&nbsp;<br />Author: Andrew Grey<br />Series: Harbor Medical Center Book 2<br />Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance<br />Publisher: Self Published<br />Release Date: Feb 7 2023<br />Edition/Formats Available In: eBook &amp; Print<br />Blurb/Synopsis:<br />Pediatric residency means long hours, constant pressure, and, occasionally, a patient and her father stealing your heart.</div><div style="text- align: left;">Second-year pediatric resident Marty Beyers loves his job and using all his skills to care for the children in the wards. He figures everything he’s seen in his position at Harbor Medical Center has made him ready for anything, but when he meets gorgeous Dennis and his daughter Stephie, he’s finally encountered something he isn't prepared for: losing his heart to a patient’s father.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dennis gave up everything to raise his sister’s daughter after her death, especially after Stephie fell ill. He has a lot of high hopes, mostly that he’ll get answers to Stephie’s mysterious health issues, and in Marty he finds a doctor who listens, really seems to care, and, to top that, is someone he could seriously fall for.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But hospitals have rules about doctors and their patients. To make things worse, Stephie’s illness seems reluctant to reveal any answers to their questions. When her specialists can’t unravel the mystery, Marty refuses to give up, but his diligence triggers suspicions that could pull Marty and Dennis and their potential new family apart forever.</div><span><!–more– ></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Book Links</div><div style="text- align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3vNBgAA&quot; target="_blank">Amazon</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oaHZOZgpUul3Yd5aDK04QLLvktc7Ve4Kuw A6fXfz1-Yr-6yC3t-NgJZwqXRMbuO1FKxdT59avOJVsJulrk571O38himUSaQqBBk1fhTfGKM3MFWxU_3iCL- S0KodWFnxkXC1rJ5gDs-T0BshFDKxZPB0k-eECBf0xjwjGq5zqHtGrIEBvw7gBJCE9w/s1179/Giveaway%201.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="134" data-original- width="1179" height="45" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oaHZOZgpUul3Yd5aDK04QLLvktc7Ve4KuwA 6fXfz1-Yr-6yC3t-NgJZwqXRMbuO1FKxdT59avOJVsJulrk571O38himUSaQqBBk1fhTfGKM3MFWxU_3iCL- S0KodWFnxkXC1rJ5gDs-T0BshFDKxZPB0k-eECBf0xjwjGq5zqHtGrIEBvw7gBJCE9w/w400-h45/Giveaway%201.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="54e9c425309" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54e9c425309/&quot; id="rcwidget_lv3euh37" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a> https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAd3VA1Po7N5L7sBmH5Ca_97vde5Mi5nL Q3Vec2MQ8tW591o0_EKcWs1yKmAwKflWJ9trRBqqMhbRnybmwsiMoJDgsshplwLPkgzegbH7KcvGwGIsH7ABnV6dS aqvyVjUyyK2gpDZRBi2M3AGx2GsOBPIn21V0VMAGEUnOO_N6yzHSuM4Yc78lxYnNQ/s2048/Andrew%20Grey.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original- height="2048" data-original-width="1357" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAd3VA1Po7N5L7sBmH5Ca_97vde5Mi5nLQ 3Vec2MQ8tW591o0_EKcWs1yKmAwKflWJ9trRBqqMhbRnybmwsiMoJDgsshplwLPkgzegbH7KcvGwGIsH7ABnV6dSaq vyVjUyyK2gpDZRBi2M3AGx2GsOBPIn21V0VMAGEUnOO_N6yzHSuM4Yc78lxYnNQ/s320/Andrew%20Grey.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation.</div><div><br /></div><div>Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing)&nbsp; He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania.</div><div><br /></div><div><!–StartFragment–> <div style="text-align: left;"><span face="&quot;Champagne &amp; Limousines&quot;,sans-serif" style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 107%;">Author Links</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Andrew- Grey/e/B002LKEK3U/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1414684527&amp;sr=8-2-ent"><span color="windowtext">Amazon Author Page</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/andrew-grey"><span color="windowtext">Barnes and Noble Page</span></a>&nbsp;</div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_106">DreamSpinner<span color="windowtext"> Press</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks"><span color="windowtext">Facebook</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1411899819051236/"><span color="windowtext">Facebook Group</span></a> All the Way with Andrew Grey </div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2953781.Andrew_Grey?from_search=true"><span color="windowtext">Goodreads</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/andrewgreybooks"><span color="windowtext">Twitter</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span>@andrewgreybooks</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p> <div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://andrewgreybooks.com/"><span color="windowtext">Website</span></a></div> <!–EndFragment–></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div> <!–EndFragment–></div><div style="text-align: center;"><!–StartFragment–> <div><!–StartFragment–> <div><span face="&quot;Champagne &amp; Limousines&quot;,sans-serif" style="font-size: 28pt; line-height: 107%;">For Other Works by Andrew Grey</span></div> <div><span face="&quot;Champagne &amp; Limousines&quot;,sans-serif" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 107%;">(Please Be Sure To Stop by His </span><a href="http://andrewgreybooks.com/"><span color="windowtext" face="&quot;Champagne &amp; Limousines&quot;,sans-serif" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 107%;">Website</span></a><span face="&quot;Champagne &amp; Limousines&quot;,sans-serif" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 107%;"> to See All of His Works)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><span face="&quot;Champagne &amp; Limousines&quot;,sans-serif" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text- align: center;"><a href="https://www.rbtlbooktours.com/&quot; style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="361" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIpENHFiFsZYx3LN6r3bKYJKrN_jlAavwO_RzFA nfIz1O1mnOsIlYBKRKenbGfhJEEfFRpsjmbqHf7z6H24sOID3We33j4kt6LeruhPHDvOAXV01ObcqzfeRX9V0vqDh0x- tTXB3o31rN9cA5LH6_BAzifgQ0s3_GgRXQ4hAm4QZW2m5MoVy-Yk-M_3Q/w200-h195/Logo.png" width="150" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span face="&quot;Champagne &amp; Limousines&quot;,sans-serif" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div> <!–EndFragment–></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <!–EndFragment–><br />

5************

SAVE THE CAT!® by Blake Snyder is a popular screenwriting book series and storytelling methodology used by screenwriters, directors, and studio execs across Hollywood. Now, for the first time ever, bestselling author and writing teacher, Jessica Brody, takes the beloved Save the Cat! plotting principals and applies them to the craft of novel writing in this exciting new “workshop style” guide, featuring over 20 full beat sheets from popular novels throughout time.Whether you’re writing your first novel or your seventeenth, Save the Cat! breaks down plot in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step method so you can write stories that resonate! This book can help you with any of the following:

Outlining a new novel
Revising an existing novel
Breaking out of the dreaded “writer’s block”
Fixing a “broken” novel
Reviewing a completed novel
Fleshing out/test driving a new idea to see if it “has legs”
Implementing feedback from agents and/or editors
Helping give constructive feedback to other writers

But above all else, SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL will help you better understand the fundamentals and mechanics of plot, character transformation, and what makes a story work!

Review: If you’re a writer, you need this book. I’ve read a lot of books on the craft of writing over the years, but this one really connected for me. I’m not even finished with it and I’m recommending it. Most of us have heard of “Save the Cat!” by Blake Snyder. That book is focused on screenwriting. This one is specifically about writing novels. As you can see from the blurb above, this will help you focus your writing so you know where you’re going. No, it’s not about plotting out the entire novel. It’s about figuring out who your characters are, what they want, why they want it, and how they get (or don’t get) there. The author writes in a clear, easy-to-understand way. There are multiple examples of what she calls “beats” or better known as plot points taken from real books that some of us have actually read. And no, that doesn’t mean your books will be formulaic. This is just a starting point to get you from beginning to end without (hopefully) getting bogged down in the middle.

Recommendation: Definitely!

Birthdays: Charles Darwin (1809), George Meredith (1828), Fred A. Shannon (1893), Alan Dugan (1923), Donald Kingsbury (1929), Judy Blume (1938), David Small (1945), Ray Kurzweil (1948), Jacqueline Woodson (1964),

Fred Albert Shannon won the 1929 Pulitzer Prize in History for “The Organization and Administration of the Union Army, 1861-1865”

Alan Dugan was an American poet, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner for “Poems”

David Small won the 2001 Caldecott Medal for “So You Want to Be President?”

Jacqueline Woodson won the National Book Award and a Newbery Honor in 2015 for “Brown Girl Dreaming”

Quote: “I hate first drafts, and it never gets easier. People always wonder what kind of superhero power they’d like to have. I wanted the ability for someone to just open up my brain and take out the entire first draft and lay it down in front of me so I can just focus on the second, third and fourth drafts.” – Judy Blume

Tip: A redundancy is the use of a word or words that are not necessary and can be eliminated without losing the meaning of the sentence. “That” and “of” are often not needed. Go through your story and eliminate them where possible.

Jumpstart: Make a list of every place you’ve been in the past 24 hours. Describe each location in detail and the feelings associated with it. If you’ve not been anywhere, pick the last time you went somewhere and describe that, even if it’s just the grocery store.

Birthdays: Sidney Sheldon (1917), Gordon Lish (1934), Jane Yolen (1939), Joy Williams (1944), Pico Iyer (1957), Mo Willems (1968),

Quote: “Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” – Jane Yolen

Tip: Go to a library and browse the stacks. Check out areas you don’t normally go. What can you find that’s new and different for you?

Jumpstart: Make a list of images you find disgusting or ugly. Choose one and write a description that redeems that object.

Do yourself a favor and get this book. It’s one of my favorite books on writing.

Managed to get 87 pages of edits done yesterday. Hope to get this baby done today!

Birthdays: Charles Lamb (1775), William Allen White (1868), Boris Pasternak (1890), Bertolt Brecht (1898), Joseph Kessel (1898), Adrienne Adams (1906), Alex Comfort (1920), E.L. Konigsburg (1930), Stephen Gammell (1943), Mary McGarry Morris (1943), Francis Moore Lappe (1944), Vernor Vinge (1944), Mark Teague (1963), Lucy Cousins (1964), Glenn Beck (1964).

E.L. Konigsburg is a two-time winner of the Newbery Medal.

Stephen Gammell is the winner of the 1989 Caldecott Medal for his work on “Song and Dance Man”

Vernor Vinge is a multiple Hugo Award winner for his science fiction

Quote: “No bad man can be a good poet.” – Boris Pasternak, known for his book “Doctor Zhivago”

Tip: What is your book about? Boil the answer down to no more than two sentences. This becomes the basis for your pitch to editors and agents.

Jumpstart: You’ve been chosen…. (finish this using splinter, guitar, in a lab)

Birthdays: Anthony Hope (1863), Amy Lowell (1874), Thomas Bernhard (1931), Lionel Fanthorpe (1935), J. M. Coetzee (1940), Alice Walker (1944)

Amy Lowell won the 1926 Pulitzer for Poetry.

J.M. Coetzee won the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Alice Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature and the National Book Award for “The Color Purple”

Quote: “Fiction is such a world of freedom, it’s wonderful. If you want someone to fly, they can fly.” – Alice Walker

Tip: Make a list of words that sound good to your ears. They might be onomatopoeic (buzz, sizzle) or simply words that suggest particular emotions or qualities. Keep them on hand for when you need a specific feeling.

Jumpstart: He stared at the key in his hand…the key to everything…

Birthdays: John Ruskin (1819), Jules Verne (1828), Kate Chopin (1850), Elizabeth Bishop (1911), Lisel Mueller (1924), Neal Cassady (1926), Donna Jo Napoli (1948), Barbara Joosse (1949), Rebecca Wells (1952), John Grisham (1955), Rachel Cusk (1968), Mary Robinette Kowal (1969)

Elizabeth Bishop won the Pulitzer and National Book Award and was US Poet Laureate from 1959-1960.

Lisel Mueller won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer for Poetry.

Quote: “Write a page every day. That’s about 200 words, or 1 000 words a week. Do that for two years and you’ll have a novel that’s long enough. Nothing will happen until you are producing at least one page per day.” – John Grisham

Tip: Switch writing gears. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or an article for your writer’s group newsletter. The change of pace can revitalize you.

Jumpstart: One of your characters keeps something in a box, buried where no one will ever find it. What is in there? What is the significance of the object? Where is it buried?

Jules Verne has always been one of my favorite science fiction authors.