June 30 Writing

Birthdays: Winston Graham (1908), Czeslaw Milosz 1911), Harry Blackstone, Jr. (1934), Assia Djebar (1936), Jose Emilio Pacheco (1939), David McPhail (1940), Ahmed Sofa (1943), Daniel Goldhagen (1959), Adam Roberts (1965), Dinaw Megestu (1978),

Czeslaw Milosz won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Quote: “Let’s try the library,’ I tell him. ‘We can find out anything there!” ― David McPhail

“Don’t think about how your characters sound, but how they see. Watch the world through their eyes – study the extraordinary and the mundane through their particular perspective. Walk around the block with them, stroll the rooms they live in, figure out what objects on the cluttered dining room table they would inevitably stare at the longest, and then learn why. Be generous to your characters: kill them, save them, break their hearts and then heal them. Stuff them with life, emotions, histories, objects and people they love, and once you’ve done that, once they are bursting at the seams, strip them bare. Find out what they look like—how they stand, talk move, when they have nothing left. Now put them back together, fill them once more with life, except now leave enough room for the reader to squeeze their own heart and imagination inside.” – Dinaw Megestu

Tip: In dialogue, try to avoid the “But as you know…” syndrome. If the reader should know it, then you should have had it in before this.

Jumpstart: Open any magazine to a picture and write a paragraph about what is happening or what is being advertised. You’re trying to describe this to someone who can’t see it. Be specific.

June 29

Birthdays: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900), John Toland (1912), Julia Kepes (1918), Frederic Dard (1921), Charlotte Bingham (1942), Quintin Jardine (1945), Brian Herbert (1947), Breece D’J Pancake (1952)

Antoine de Saint-Expury is best known for his novella “The Little Prince”

John Toland won the Pulitzer Prize for History for “The Rising Sun”

Quote: “Just repeating a statement often and with great vehemence does not make it a fact, and no amount of repetition can make a rational person believe it.” ― Brian Herbert, Kevin Anderson, Mentats of Dune

“Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to
believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.” ― Brian Herbert, House Harkonnen

“You can’t write any form of fiction unless you enjoy reading it. You must be sincere in your approach. It’s no good despising the form. So many people think they could earn some money from writing something for which they have no affection. It won’t work. The first thing you have to have is belief.” – Charlotte Bingham

Tip: Try not to give your reader “ping-pong” dialogue. Break up long passages of dialogue with actions.

Jumpstart: List ten things that annoy you. Pick two and write about them. Why do they annoy you? What can you do about them?

June 28 Writing

Birthdays: Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712), Luigi Pirandello (1867), Esther Forbes (1891), Eric Ambler (1909), A.E. Hotchner (1920), Bette Greene (1934), Mark Helprin (1947), Deborah Moggach (1948), Jean-Christophe Rufin (1952), Jane Ransom (1958), Asa Larsson (1966), Aimee Bender (1969), Tom Merritt (1970)

Luigi Pirandello won the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Ester Forbes won the 1943 Pulitzer Prize for History for her biography of Paul Revere, but she is best known for her children’s novel “Johnny Tremain”

Eric Ambler’s spy works like “The Mask of Dimitrios” was the basis for several movies including “The Pink Panther”.

Jean-Christophe Rufin was a French novelist and co-founder of Doctors without Borders.

Quote: “The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Tip: Do not plagiarize another author’s work. EVER.

Jumpstart: Write an excuse to the writing principal about why you didn’t write today. Make it plausible.

June 27 Writing

Birthdays: Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (1850), Paul Dunbar (1872), Helen Keller (1880), Esther Forbes (1891), Helen Sewell (1896), Catherine Cookson (1906), E.R. Braithwaite (1912), James Collier (1928), Peter Maas (1929), Lucille Clifton (1936), Christina Bjork (1938), Ivan Doig (1939), James Hogan (1949), Anita Diamant (1951), Alice McDermott (1953), Scott Cunningham (1956), Simon Sebag Montefiore (1965), Jo Frost (1971), Teju Cole (1975)

Quote: “The few own the many because they possess the means of livelihood of all … The country is governed for the richest, for the corporations, the bankers, the land speculators, and for the exploiters of labor. The majority of mankind are working people. So long as their fair demands – the ownership and control of their livelihoods – are set at naught, we can have neither men’s rights nor women’s rights. The majority of mankind is ground down by industrial oppression in order that the small remnant may live in ease.” ― Helen Keller, Rebel Lives: Helen Keller

“I tell writers to keep reading, reading, reading. Read widely and deeply. And I tell them not to give up even after getting rejection letters. And I tell them to get support from other writers. (Not just criticism, but loving support.) And only to write what you love.” – Anita Diamant

Tip: Don’t expect agents or editors to do the work for you. They don’t have the time. Your story should be as good as you can possibly make it. If they say you need to fix things… fix them yourself.

Jumpstart: You have planned the ultimate sit-down dinner. The guests have all arrived and the food is being served. There is just enough for everyone—when an unexpected guest arrives. This person is important and to turn them away would be an insult. What do you do?

New Review:

HERO IN WAITING by Andrew Grey

Fiction, Contemporary Romantic Suspense, M/M (95 pages)

4****

Blurb: Wells Barnaby is in danger and he doesn’t even know it. After leaving the Marines, he came to live with his sister and is helping to care for his niece. When a threat from his past rears up, it puts them all in danger… and brings the one who got away back into his life. Miller Washington served with Wells, and the two men shared an attraction that neither of them acknowledged. When Miller learns that an old enemy is on the loose and that he may come after Wells, he makes a beeline to help. But he doesn’t expect repressed desire to blaze back to life. Between renewed attraction and an enemy who will stop at nothing to get even, Wells and Miller must navigate the heat of passion too strong for either of them to contain while not letting their guard down, in order to protect Wells’s family and their second chance.

Thoughts: Wells and Miller were Marines together in the Mideast. Now, Miller works security and Wells plays manny to his 5-year-old niece for his doctor sister. When Miller shows up to warn Wells that a psycho killer is coming for him, sparks fly between the two men. They go into Marine mode to protect Wells’s sister and niece while they also try to figure out what they mean to each other.

The characters are good – especially the niece as she tries to wrap everyone around her little princess finger. I loved the living room tent (and how it played into the end!). The romance is sweet (but hot!) as the two men try to figure out what they mean to each other and how to work things out. There is a high level of suspense with not only the sister’s nasty ex, but the psycho killer stalking them too.

Recommendation: This is a short, quick read with a high level of suspense and romance. If you like Andrew Grey’s books, you’ll enjoy this one.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

June 25 Writing

Birthdays: George Orwell (1903), Elizabeth Jones (1910), P.H. Newby (1918), Dorothy Gilman (1923), Nicholas Mosley (1923), Peyo (1928), Eric Carle (1929), Charles Sheffield (1935), Bert Holldobler (1936), A.J. Quinnell (1940), Linda Spalding (1943), Anthony Bourdain (1956), Ricky Gervais (1961), Yann Martel (1963), Martha McPhee (1964)

George Orwell is best known for his books “Nineteen Eighty-four” and “Animal Farm”

Elizabeth Jones won the 1945 Caldecott Medal for “Prayer for a Child”

Peyo was a Belgian who created the Smurfs.

Bert Holldobler co-wrote the Pulitzer Prize book “The Ants” (with Edward O. Wilson)

Eric Carle was best known for his book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”

Yann Martel is best known for his book “Life of Pi”

Quote: “I write at any time of day in any place, so long as it’s quiet and I can set up my computer. I’m a slow writer, given to playing Spider Solitaire when stuck. Otherwise, my writing habits are blindingly boring. I just sit down at the computer and write.” – Yann Martel

Tip: Don’t overuse backstory, especially in the first chapter. Weave it in through the story, don’t “info dump” on the reader.

Jumpstart: Your character just found out she was adopted, and she never knew. What does she do? How does she feel?

June 24 Writing

Birthdays: Rebecca Harding Davis (1831), Ambrose Bierce (1842), Mary Wesley (1912), Fred Hoyle (1915), Norman Cousins (1915), Anita Desai (1937), Lawrence Block (1938), Kathryn Lasky (1944), Jean Marzollo(1942), Mark Helprin (1947), Clarissa Dickson Wright (1947), Mercedes Lackey (1950), Rebecca Solnit (1961)

Fred Hoyle is credited for coining the term “Big Bang”.

Quote: “If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world.” ― Mercedes Lackey

“Usually a feeling of disappointment follows the book, because what I hoped to write is not what I actually accomplished. However, it becomes a motivation to write the next book.” – Anita Desai

Tip: Author intrusion – if it’s something *you* would say and not your characters, then don’t use it. Some authors call this foreshadowing, but it’s really not. It often shows up as “she didn’t know that the next day, it would happen” type of writing.

Jumpstart: You have won a five-minute shopping spree in a bookstore. What section do you go to first? Why?

New Book

The Mortician’s Wife

by Jody Wenner

Category: Mystery & Detective / General

In 1912, as the new wife of the local mortician, Beatrice is settling in at the funeral parlor, but soon after, the death of a young boy sweeps a cold chill into the warmth of her new home as well as her marriage.In 2022, fledgling author Maddy Barton isn’t surprised to discover someone was murdered in her 1912 era home. The old mansion has been giving her bad vibes ever since she moved in. But after learning who the victim was, she is determined to figure out what happened so she can put the unsettled spirit at ease.Maddy’s husband isn’t terribly supportive of her efforts, and many of the people in the small town of Pine Grove, Minnesota have ideas—and secrets—of their own, but she’s determined to solve the gothic crime the only way she knows how—to write about it.

ISBN: (digital) 9781509249633 ISBN: (print) 9781509249626

Available through these fine retailers…

June 22 Writing Tips

Birthdays: Henry Rider Haggard (1856), Erich Maria Remarque (1898), Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906), Octavia E. Butler (1947), Dan Brown (1964), Jason Goodwin (1964), James Forman Jr. (1967), Kambri Crews (1971), David Rees (1972)

James Forman Jr. won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction

Quote: “It is very queer that the unhappiness of the world is so often brought on by small men.” ― Erich Maria Remarque, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

“I don’t start writing until I have a very solid outline. Or else I’d get to the end and find out there is no ending, and that I just wasted three years of my life. The Da Vinci Code outline was a hundred pages.” – Dan Brown

Tip: Plot is what your story is about. There has to be something there for it to work.

Jumpstart: Your best friend has invented something that would change the world forever. What has s/he invented? Would it change the world for the better or the worse? What do you do?

New book from The Wild Rose Press

A Sour Note

by Jill Piscitello

Category: Mystery & Detective / General

Series: A Music Box Mystery

On the heels of a public, broken engagement, Maeve Cleary returns to her childhood home in Hampton Beach, NH. When a dead body turns up behind her mother’s music school, three old friends land on the suspect list. Licking her wounds soon takes a back seat to outrunning the paparazzi who spin into a frenzy, casting her in a cloud of suspicion. Maeve juggles her high school sweetheart, a cousin with a touch of clairvoyance, a no-nonsense detective, and an apologetic, two-timing ex-fiancé. Will the negative publicity impact business at the Music Box— the very place she’d hoped to make a fresh start?