My Writing Life by Vivian Zabel, Guest Blogger

Author Vivian Zabel is my guest today with her story about following our dreams. She has such an interesting background that I won't try to tell all in this little introduction. Her website's "About Vivian" is worth a visit. For one thing, Vivian is a great-grandma, which I suspect ranks right up there with writer in her list of best life experiences.

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My Writing Life by Vivian Zabel

My story telling began as soon as I could speak, according to my mother. I entertained my siblings and friends with stories created by my vivid imagination. Poetry from the third grade became my first documented writing. However, I never stopped once I had put pen (or pencil) to paper, even when someone in the eighth grade laughed when I told her I would write a novel some day.

In my twenties through my forties, when time was filled with children, family, and teaching, I couldn’t write long pieces. Articles, poetry, and short stories found their way into magazines, papers, and anthologies, though.

When I retired after teaching nearly thirty years, I had time to write novels at last. I started one titled Stolen the last year I taught, one based on the emotions, despair, and heartache caused by two grandchildren stolen by their father. Finally, after over ten years, it will be published. One thing that caused a detour occurred when I couldn’t find books about athletics for a reluctant reader grandson. Therefore, I wrote two baseball/mystery young adult novels since I love mysteries and know baseball. Knowing that anyone with reading problems or who didn’t “like” to read dreaded page after page of nothing but words, I inserted black and white illustrations of baseball teams and players.

After The Base Stealers Club and Case of the Missing Coach, I wrote my first mystery/suspense, Midnight Hours. I’ve always taken characters and ideas for plots from life, and Midnight Hours was no exception. An online “friend,” very secretive, never shared any of her life, even after five years. My imagination (remember I mentioned earlier my vivid imagination) took over: What if she really wasn’t what she seemed; what if she were someone sinister or dangerous; what if ...? Midnight, an online predator who promised love to disabled men, gave them death instead.

My husband, of nearly forty-nine years, had shared stories of farming, breaking horses, and being a cowboy with the family for a long time. I wanted to include some of those events in a book, so Prairie Dog Cowboy was born. The setting for the book was the last 1890s and early 1900s in what is now the Oklahoma Panhandle, No Man’s Land. Although, originally expected to be a young adult historical novel, many adults have enjoyed the book as well as younger readers.

Finally Stolen will see light of day. I’m sending out ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) as quickly as possible for reviews before the official release of the novel late this fall. I’ll blog about it’s progress on Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap. The novel has its own website, too, called Stolen.

As a writer, I don’t fit into any particular slot. I write whatever interests me, from children’s stories to novels, from articles to poetry. My plots and characters become alive in my mind, like movies playing over and over, until I put fingers to keyboard or pen to paper.

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Vivian, thanks so much for telling us about your path to publication. Beginning authors often worry about genre-hopping, much as we used to worry about job-hopping out there in the working world. Times are changing, and life is short. If you want to write, write what you want.

In addition to her website and blog, you can find Vivian on Twitter.

Wednesday Bits and Pieces

Thursday's Guest

I hope you'll stop by tomorrow to meet Vivian Zabel, author of Stolen.


Elspeth's Back

But drop by her Sept. 28th blog post to see where she went for a writing retreat (and read the ten things she learned there).


And That's All for Today!

I know. This is kind of short. But I'm finishing up a bunch of stuff and will be getting back to my normal schedule after today. So much to do, so little time....

The Class of 1960 Reunion

When I first began talking about this class reunion, one of my blogger friends mentioned I should read author Harlan Coben's article about his 30-year reunion. I found it and recommend it to you.

I, of course, was attending a 50-year reunion. Even though the number still makes no sense to me (and most of my classmates agreed with that thought), and even though some of the group looked pretty darned young for folks closing in on 70 years old, a fact is a fact. We graduated in 1960.

After this much time passes, the playing field changes. Do we care who's smarter or who has more friends? Not so much. Who has lots of money and who's living on a budget? Since no one was bragging or whining, it apparently was of little interest.

And yet we talked and talked and talked. Every spare minute, different combinations of classmates gathered at tables in the hotel's breakfast room and talked. The lulls in the conversation were few and far between. It was informal and fun. It was warm. And from time to time it was touching.

What did we talk about? Some of the stupid things we did over the years. A lot about kids and grandkids. About our day to day activities. Our parents, both living and dead. Our health and the health of our spouses and other family members. Memories of our high school years (but mostly the dumb stuff and the mistakes we made).

Here are the things I noticed the most.

We were eager to discuss some of our life screw-ups. At times it felt like a competition of the most comic kind.

I felt I was in a group of old friends who met every week for coffee and conversation, even though many of us had not been in touch for years.

The spouses participated as though they had been our classmates too.

And finally, I realized that even though I knew and liked these men and women (I started to write "kids") during high school, I probably knew them better after this weekend than I did when we graduated or after the other two reunions I attended. And now I'm going to miss them more as well.

But most of us will now do a better job of staying in touch. And I'm definitely looking forward to that.

I'm Visiting Sylvia Dickey Smith Today

I'm at Sylvia Dickey Smith Books today, so I hope you'll stop by and say hi.

That 50th High School Reunion

Yet, that's this weekend. Our last gathering was 1996, when our high school held an all-year reunion to celebrate its 75th birthday. My dad even went to high school in this building, graduating about 1939.

This reunion will be a much smaller group than that 1996 event, only 28 or so counting the half dozen spouses who are probably being dragged to the event against their will.

The planners (including me) have spent almost two years working on this, mostly just trying to find people. My other task was preparing the name tags, which have the senior yearbook photos on them. They turned out pretty well, considering I didn't know what I was doing. A little trial and error and a couple of frustrating glitches later, and I have a fairly decent set of tags.

We're keeping it pretty simple. Whoever is available this evening and wants to head out for pizza and beer will do that. Tomorrow noon we get a conducted tour of the high school and eat a box lunch there. And tomorrow evening we gather for dinner at a nice steakhouse where we'll have a private room. That's pretty much it. No big speeches, no formal program, just the chance to get reacquainted and mark the occasion.

I dropped by the building on a school day in 2009. There were some noticeable changes. For one thing, there's a security lock on the outside doors. I had to be buzzed inside by someone in the office.

In addition, all locker doors stood open at all times. No locks, no secrets.

This photo is aimed down the first floor hall. That hallway seemed a lot longer when I was fourteen and trying to find my way to classrooms for the first time.

The other big change (from an old student's point of view) was in the student lounge. First of all, the room had shrunk drastically. (As a matter of fact, the whole school seemed smaller.)

Most shocking, however, was the wall decoration. During my high school years, a talented artist in my class painted a mural that covered at least this end wall and maybe extended around the side walls. All that was painted over, and now the walls are covered with hand prints.

I'll admit it's colorful, even striking, but I missed the old mural. It was so....us.

The hand prints go all around the room. I can't wait for my old classmates to see that lounge and get their reactions.

Did I really expect that old mural to be there after all these years? No, I guess not. But I feel sad I don't I have a photo of the way it looked then.

The building has changed, at least inside.

The people will have done most of their changing on the outside. This should be very interesting.

My Writing Life by Cara Lopez Lee, Guest Blogger

I'm delighted to introduce Cara Lopez Lee, fellow Coloradoan and author of They Only Eat Their Husbands: A Memoir of Alaskan Love, World Travel, and the Power of Running Away, coming November 15, 2010 from Ghost Road Press. How can you resist checking into a memoir with a title like this? I couldn't. The first time I saw the book mentioned, I went straight to Cara's blog, Girls Trek Too, to see who she was and what the title meant. Cara blogs to inspire women to approach both life and travel as an adventure, a very worthy goal in my opinion.

You'll find more information about Cara's book, including review comments, from the book's page at Ghost Road Press. And now I invite you to enjoy Cara's words about her writing life.

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My Writing Life by Cara Lopez Lee

Sometimes when I’m talking to people, my fingers spell the words we’re saying, handwriting or typing against my thigh or into the air. It’s an embarrassing obsessive-compulsive tick, driven by love – the love of words, and the stories they can become.

When I was a child, my father used to catch me sitting in a chair staring into space.

“I was making up stories in my head, Dad,” I now explain.

“I knew that,” he says.

I’ve always been transparent.

Soon I’ll be naked for all to see, when my memoir, They Only Eat Their Husbands, comes out. That’s the word I often say to myself when I write: “Naked. You must be naked.” No, I don’t write in the nude . . . much. But if you’re not famous like Justin Bieber, or unusual like the woman [Dr. Temple Grandin] who overcame autism and now teaches ranchers to slaughter cattle humanely, then naked honesty is your most important asset as a writer. Sure, my premise might grab readers – my relationships with alcoholics in Alaska, and my backpacking trip around the world to recovery – but only honesty will keep their attention.

If honesty is half of my writing equation, then the other half is sacrifice, not only from me, but also from my husband, family, friends, and even my garden. Sudden inspiration has ruined many a movie-night, and hours of intense focus have occasionally led me to forget to water my flowers. I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have children. I like to think I’d give them this much attention, but we’ll never know . . .

The biggest sacrifices began a few years ago, when I gave up working as a TV writer/producer, to give me time to finish my manuscript. I switched to freelance book writing and editing. We lost a third of our household income. My husband and I now wear frayed clothes, rarely go on dates except to hike, and have yet to fix up our fixer-upper house. On my book tour, I’ll drive my dented, rattling ’95 Honda Civic Hatchback, stay in hostels, and surf couches.

Perhaps the hardest sacrifice for my husband has been my constant refrain, “Will you listen to this?”

“Only if you don’t ask my opinion,” he replies.

I once asked him if he’d rather I go back to a normal job. “No way,” he said. Our lives are happier when I’m having an affair – with words.

I’m now writing a novel. Though it’s fiction, the need to be naked continues, the need for characters that reflect my honest sense of people. This act of creation is stressful, especially on top of client writing, marketing, and blogging. Sometimes I wake screaming from nightmares. Yet I can’t wait to sit at the computer again.

So, if you ever meet me, and you see my fingers wiggling, please understand: it’s just my stories struggling to escape. Writing can be a painful obsession. But it’s worth it, for the joy of seeing my words set free to share the naked truth.

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Thanks for being here today, Cara. I hope your memoir is a great success. You can count me among those who are eager to read your story.

And for those who love the outdoors and want to see a little piece of Colorado and why we love it so much, watch Cara's film Hiking to Blue Lake, which is posted on her blog.

Bits and Pieces

Tomorrow's Guest Blogger

My guest tomorrow is Cara Lopez Lee, author of They Only Eat Their Husbands: A Memoir of Alaskan Love, World Travel, and the Power of Running Away. Writers of memoir might be especially interested in Cara's story. And all women who've yearned to travel. Or run away. And you guys surely want to investigate who (or what) eats their husbands. See, we have something for everybody here.


What I'm Reading

I finished Matt Hilton's action thriller Judgment and Wrath. Highly recommended if you like thrillers with really creepy bad guys.

Next up is Rock, Paper, Tiger by Lisa Brackman. Here's the tiny synopsis from Lisa's website:

"Iraq vet Ellie McEnroe is down and out in China, trying to lose herself in the alien worlds of performance artists and online gamers. When a chance encounter with a Uighur fugitive drops her down a rabbit hole of conspiracies, Ellie must decide who to trust among the artists, dealers, collectors and operatives claiming to be on her side – in particular, a mysterious organization operating within a popular online game."

Doesn't that sound good?


Profanity in Fiction

The Blood-Red Pencil Blog is doing a whole week of posts about using profanity (as a writer) or accepting or tolerating obscenities in fiction (as a reader). Monday, Maryann Miller's post was titled Potty Mouth?. Yesterday, Jim Thomsen asked To What Extent Do You Tolerate The "F-Word" in Fiction? If you write or read hard-boiled mysteries, thrillers, and even some mainstream and literary fiction, this can be an issue. Check out the blog posts and add your thoughts to the comments.


One of the Best Movies Ever

I watched Invictus this week. Great acting, and a wonderful movie based on the true story behind the South African 1995 Rugby World Cup win and how closely the event was tied to the political development of the nation during Nelson Mandela's first time as President of South Africa. Highly recommended.

Farmers' Markets are at Their Best in the Fall

Our Farmer's Markets are well into their fall season, which is my favorite time of the year. Even though last Saturday morning was gray and cool and the air was misty in our corner of Northern Colorado, all the vendors reported for duty.

The smell of roasting peppers was in the air. I don't buy the peppers very often, but I love the smell. I did buy a lavender sachet from a vendor who featured all lavender and herbal products. I also received a free spritz of lavender oil on my wrist. The scent of peppers and lavender were an interesting combination.




There were still plenty of flower stalls. This one featured cut flowers in vases.




A local greenhouse presented this gorgeous assortment of my favorites, chrysanthemums. Note the vendor tending to this display was bundled up in his sweatshirt against the damp air.




Most of all, there were plenty of vegetables, from sweet corn to squash to melons to tomatoes. I bought three huge sweet potatoes, each one big enough to serve three people.




There are indoor monthly markets throughout the winter in our town where local vendors bring everything from cheeses to vegetables to wine to ranch grass-fed beef. I love the movement to grow, produce, and buy local.

If I Tell You a Hen Dips Snuff . . . by Sylvia Dickey Smith, Guest Blogger

I am so pleased to introduce Sylvia Dickey Smith as my guest blogger today. She has written her way through life as a student, a pastor’s wife, a psychotherapist, an adjunct professor, regional director of long term care facilities—and now as an author of mystery and historical fiction, along with self-help non-fiction essays.

Many of you already know her as a columnist for the online Austin Writing Examiner, but she's a lot more than that. From her Sassy Southern - Classy Cajun cookbook to the Sidra Smart mystery series to her new release, A War of Her Own, Sylvia has demonstrated her varied interests and her talent. And here she is:

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If I Tell You a Hen Dips Snuff... by Sylvia Dickey Smith


If I tell you a hen dips snuff, you better look under her tongue!

The same holds true when I tell you marketing historical fiction can be fun.

Truthfully, marketing any genre is difficult, time-consuming work. So my philosophy is we might as well have fun while we’re doing it.

Both published and unpublished authors often obsess and stress about marketing. Likely that’s because selling or not selling books may well impact whether or not we get another book contract. Even so, don’t let that scare you away from a new way of approaching the activity.

One day, while stressing over the whole job of marketing my work, I decided life is way too short and writing is way too much fun for me to allow marketing to leave me feeling negative about it. So, by an act of my will, I reframed the process and ran smack into the law of attraction. Which is:

When we have fun we attract people to us.

Now, I create enjoyable ways to market my books and set up activities that make me laugh. For example: I spent four days in Orange, a southeast Texas town with a population of 18,000, launching the third book in my Sidra Smart mystery series, Dead Wreckoning. I had tons of fun and sold 150 books.

As my final draft of that work neared completion my protagonist started making pickles. So, I made a few dozen jars, affixed a cute label and took them there to sell along with my books. The pickles led folks over to my table. One man bought a jar of them just because he loved the label. Folks who bought the whole mystery series received a free jar wrapped in colorful tissue paper and stuffed into a bag. Customers walked off with smiles on their faces.

It’s only fair to mention my sister lived in Orange then, and knew everyone in town—not literally, but almost! She handles my cash box. Plus, she draws people to her like my fair skin draws mosquitoes. People come over to chat with her, she introduces me and tells them about my wonderful book! I almost had to tie her to the chair to keep her from dashing back to a nice warm car when the wind gusts got up to 35-45 miles per hour and the chill factor froze our bones, but folks came despite the weather and bought a record number of books. So, if you want to rent my sister…

Also, there is something to be said about regional stories, and that something is excitement. People love reading a book that features locations and sites they recognize. Three different papers ran articles and photos of upcoming events. Many folks came by and said, “Oh yes, this is the book I read about in the paper.”

I sign books in coffee shops, antique stores, and boutique wine shops while an Elvis impersonator sings, at art events, a Chamber of Commerce, an antique store, libraries, a pharmacy, a Mardi Gras celebration, a Crawfish Boil, anywhere I can set up a table. I often offer something for the customer, such as a live band playing great music, wine and cheese, cookies, sandwiches, and coffee. Following the theme of Dead Wreckoning, which features the ghost of Jean Lafitte and fictional female pirate Mary Anne Radcliff, I dress in pirate costume, offer a treasure chest overflowing with gold-wrapped candy, have a couple of alligators (not live) sitting on the table plus a pirate hat and knife, and a skull and crossbones banner.

With A War Of Her Own, my first historical fiction, I’ve planned a series of events in Orange that will hopefully attract a crowd.

I bought a hot pink Bergdorf Goodman hat from the 40s to wear. Now, I seek an outfit to match!

I will stay at the E-House Inn, a B&B at night, and Mannix Media Advertising Agency during the day. My room has a little conference table, so one day, I am inviting people to come by for coffee and doughnuts and a chat. That evening, I will hold an Invitation Only wine and cheese event in the larger conference room. I will read from the book, invite attendees to talk about the era and how we might memorialize that time in the town’s history. I’ve invited the mayor, the police chief, commissioners, local historians, librarians, foundation leaders, historical museum staff, radio personnel, journalists, etc. I’ve not done anything like this before, so I’m hoping people come and I don’t make a fool of myself.

Now, I don’t mean to mislead you. There have been events where I sold zero books, but if I find myself in such a situation, I’ve learned to turn the event into fun. I challenge myself to see how many people I can engage in conversation and then delight in the experience of making a new friend even if we never see each other again. It’s sort of like paying joy forward. Sometimes the person may end up buying my book and sometimes they don’t. But I’m a winner either way.

So remember this. If I tell you a hen dips snuff, you better look under her tongue, because its there.

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A little more about Sylvia: She was born in Orange, Texas, and grew up in a colorful Scots-Irish family living in the midst of a Cajun culture. Her curiosity about the world took on a whole new dimension when at mid-life she lived on the Caribbean island of Trinidad & Tobago. Awed by the differences in customs and cultures, particularly as they related to the lives of Trinidadian women, set her on a journey of self-discovery. At 40, she started college and didn’t stop until she achieved a degree in sociology with a concentration in women’s studies and a master’s in counseling. A strong advocate for women, her writing features women who recreate themselves into the persons they want to be.

Thanks, Sylvia, for being here today. I enjoyed your post, and I wish you all kinds of good success with A War of Her Own.

Friday Bits and Pieces (For a Change)

Since I didn't do a B&P post for Wednesday, and I have an assortment of notes and links, I decided to do one today.


The Last Day for Carolyn Poling Schriber's Book Launch Party

If you haven't read all the great interviews and articles at the launch site for Beyond All Price, check it out. This party will be of special interest if you like to read and/or write historical fiction.


What I'm Reading

Judgment & Wrath, a Joe Hunter thriller by Matt Hilton. The first Joe Hunter novel, Dead Men's Dust, was excellent, and this new book is full of action and mystery. A really creepy bad guy just blew up a house, so I hated to put the book down and get other work done.


Holly Jahangiri's Awesome Review of My Mysteries

Holly blogs at It's All a Matter of Perspective, and the review post is called Sylvia and Willie, Two New Friends Worth Meeting. When I sent the two books to Holly, I had no expectations she'd get around to reading them in the near future because I know she's a busy lady. And even if she read them, there was no guarantee she'd like them or have time to bother with a review. The post was a lovely surprise, and I appreciate it a whole bunch.

If this persuades you to check out Sylvia and Willie (and the Florida Flippers), note that The Desert Hedge Murders is now available in mass market paperback from the Harlequin Worldwide e-store.


Two Guest Authors in the Line-Up Next Week

On Monday, my guest will be Sylvia Dickey Smith, whose new novel, A War of Her Own, has just been released.

My Thursday guest is Cara Lopez Lee, author of the Memoir, They Only Eat Their Husbands: A Memoir of Alaskan Love, World Travel and the Power of Running Away, scheduled for publication in November.


Photo From Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference

Beth Groundwater, Me, and Deni Dietz

Yes, that's me in the middle with the longer hair and the squinty-eyed smile. I guess it's time to get a new photo for my website and blog. Maybe one with my eyes open.

Beth is a fellow Colorado author. She has just signed with Midnight Ink for two different mystery series. Here's her website with more about her books.

Deni is an author and also an editor for Five Star's mysteries. She was my editor for both Sylvia and Willie books. Her most recent release is Soap Bubbles.


Finding Time to Write

I've had a bad habit my whole life: taking on too many tasks and responsibilities. You'd think a person would learn eventually, but I tend to slip back into old habits as soon as someone asks me to do something that looks like fun.

However, Nagging Whisper has been at me again. She calls me Stupid. Says I'm a Procrastinator. Tells me there are stories to write and characters just waiting for me to set them free. She finally got through. I'm letting go of a few obligations to free up more writing time.

I'm not going to give up blogging or visiting blogs, but I am going to post mostly on weekdays. If I post anything on Saturday or Sunday, it will be short -- a reminder, photos, an upcoming guest's book trailer, etc.

The name of the game is writing, and I haven't been doing enough. I'll attend a guest ranch writer's retreat in October. That's usually good for 10,000 to 20,000 words, depending on how much time I waste visiting the kitchen for coffee or snacks, staring out the window at the river that runs past our bunkhouse, or running outside to take photos (which I did a lot last year since we had a beautiful snowfall during the weekend).

I've also cleared my calendar for the rest of the fall and winter. No trips, no conferences, and no fooling around until spring.

You know what finally did it? Well, besides Nagging Whisper, I mean. It was the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference. There's no way I could be a part of that energy, inspiration, and support for a weekend and not have it motivate me to get busy.

My Writing Life by Marian Allen, Guest Blogger

I met Marian Allen online when she participated in a blog book tour class given by Dani Greer, and I had signed on as a helper alum from last summer's class. It is my pleasure to have Marian as my guest today to tell about her personal path to publication. And please take notice of the cover art for Eel's Reverence. Isn't it stunning, and kind of eerie? I love that cover.

To read more of the posts on Marian's Tour, you can review her complete schedule. Tomorrow she'll be at Bodie Parkhurst's Blog: Speak! Good Dog!


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My Writing Life by Marian Allen

When I was little, my mother took me to a re-release of BAMBI. Thumper recited a poem with a funny ending and said, "I made that last part up myself." I said, "He can't do that!" Mom said, "Somebody made up this movie. They got paid for it." I knew I wanted to write.

I already got in trouble for daydreaming. I remember wanting to learn my letters, to connect them into words and sentences and put my daydreams on paper.

By the sixth grade, I was writing stories and giving them to my teacher to read. She sent one to a contest, where it won honorable mention. That began my acquaintanceship with marketing.

In college, I wrote a novel. It started out as a parody of romantic suspense, with deliberately stereotyped characters and situations. As I wrote, I got interested in the characters and they grew. The plot took its own twists and turns. The conversations carried me in directions I hadn't expected.

When I finished that book, I wrote another. Then another. Then another.

By that time, I could see the flaws in the first one, and it was obvious why I hadn't been able to sell it. I've rewritten it several times since then, each time learning. I still haven't sold it, but it's a good book, and it will sell, once I get it right.

My second, third and fourth novels were picked up by early electronic publishers (Access Press and Serendipity Systems). They're soon to be re-issued in various electronic formats by Echelon, EEL'S REVERENCE in July of 2010.

I'm a member of the Southern Indiana Writers Group, and we publish an annual anthology of members' work. Writing and critiquing those stories keep our creative and critical muscles strong. And short stories are far easier to sell than novels!

Here's some advice I gave a young friend who asked how she could possibly succeed as a writer when there's so much competition:

As for how you can possibly succeed as a writer, ask yourself what you mean by "succeed". Do you mean "write well"? That's what I mean by success, and competition has nothing to do with that. Other writers can only teach me things and help me. They aren't my competition; they're my colleagues. Do you mean "sell and make money"? My only hope of that is to write as well as I can, with MY imagination and MY voice and MY skills, and to submit and keep improving and keep submitting.

I've never known a good writer who wasn't generous with his or her advice or help. That's because most writers are readers, and want as many good writers to succeed as possible so they'll have more good books to read.

Relax. Write!

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Marian, thank you so much for sharing your story. It has been a pleasure having you here. To learn more about Marian and her books, please visit her combination website/blog Marian Allen where she posts about fantasies, mysteries, comedies and recipes. Her part one and part two posts about publishing on Kindle and Smashwords may be of special interest.

I'm at the Launch Party for Carolyn Poling Schriber's Beyond All Price

I'm at Carolyn Poling Schriber's launch party which begins early today and continues through Friday. I will be a featured guest this afternoon and evening. You'll find my post on the front page during those hours. I'll be standing by for questions and comments submitted via e-mail.

See Carolyn's site for the complete list of workshops and interviews over the three-day event. For those of us who are writers, it's an interesting approach to a virtual launch party, one that could compliment or replace the virtual tour (aka blog book tour). I hope you'll drop by to check out Carolyn's approach and the interesting articles and interviews she has scheduled.

So what's this all about? Carolyn is launching her Civil War novel, Beyond All Price:

"Nellie Chase joined the 100th Pennsylvania Regiment, known as "The Roundheads,” to escape an abusive husband—a gambler, a liar, a forger, a drunkard, and a thief. Too young and inexperienced to qualify as a nurse, she remained an unpaid volunteer. She later served at the Battle of Fredericksburg, worked as a ward nurse at Mercer Hospital in Philadelphia, and then became the head matron in charge of the 600-bed Hospital #3 in occupied Nashville. Her kindness and gentle touch encouraged her patients to call her 'The Florence Nightingale of the West.' The zealous regimental chaplain of the Roundheads, however, remained suspicious of her background and motives. His efforts to drive her out of the regiment by mocking her and spreading rumors of illicit behavior pursued her throughout the war and beyond.

"Others who worked with her knew that Nellie was always willing to sacrifice her life for a good cause. It was a trait that made her courageous but sometimes foolhardy. She suffered injuries in the course of her duties, fell victim to the same diseases that plagued the soldiers, and lingered perilously close to death on more than one occasion. Nellie sought one challenge after another, never satisfied that she had given enough of herself to atone for a murky past. She could not rest until she faced one final struggle with an enemy even more dangerous than war."

Hope to see you at the party. And don't forget, my guest blogger tomorrow will be Marian Allen, author of Eel's Reverence.

Colorado Gold Writers Conference

First, this special note: Tomorrow, I'll be a workshop guest at Carolyn Poling Schriber's launch party for her Civil War novel, Beyond All Price. My post will be featured Wednesday afternoon and evening. Stop here tomorrow morning for more details about Carolyn's event and her novel.

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Colorado Gold Writers Conference

This annual September event in Denver, sponsored by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, is at the top of my list for fall conferences. I try to go every year. Some years I volunteer for timekeeper/moderator tasks, but this year I worked a two-hour shift at registration and spent the rest of my time acting like a regular attendee. Needless to say, I had a great time visiting with old friends, making a few new ones, and connecting faces to names for those fun folk I'd met online through Yahoo! Groups or blogging.

The Colorado Gold conference featured five different panels or workshops each hour. Some sessions lasted only hour, others were two. In the program, each session was identified by its intended audience (basic craft, advanced craft, marketing, career development, special interest) to help attendees decide which workshops would help them the most.

This year, I wanted to focus on forecasts for the fast-changing publishing world and gather all the info I could about e-publishing, e-readers, and self-publishing. The opinions of editors and agents were an important part of the puzzle. I also wanted to sit in on at least one session related to writing for YA readers.

I thought these were the best of the best:

Self-Publishing in the 21st Century--Is it for you? Presenter: Michelle Black. Michelle blogs at Victorian West: A Writer's Notebook. All of the information in her presentation (including interactive links) is posted at her blog (click on the title at the beginning of this paragraph).

Agent-Author-Editor Relationships. Presenters: Mystery writer Beth Groundwater, her agent Sandra Bond, and acquisitions editor Terri Bischoff of Midnight Ink (Beth's publisher). This panel gave the audience a better idea of how agents, editors, and authors work together to get contracts signed and books on their way to happy readers.

The Future of Technology and Publishing. Presenters: Agent Kristin Nelson, fantasy author and techie geek guy Eric Sidle, and author Janet Fogg. Kristin Nelson blogs at Pub Rants.

Searching for Harry Potter: Key Elements of Successful YA and Crossover Fiction. Presenter: Laura Rennert, senior agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

In addition, Colorado Gold provides a bound set of handouts and supplementary materials from the workshops and panels. Attendees found everything there from how to format a manuscript for submission to lists of social media sites for marketing.

What did I learn? Well...

1) The publishing world is changing really fast (I already knew that part),
2) It's in our best interest to be informed and learn as much as we can about new opportunities,
3) We shouldn't jump into the middle of the swirling mess until we've studied, evaluated, and made what we hope are wise decisions (in other words, don't blindly follow the herd),
4) We must not be afraid of technology, and
5) Time management is critical. We must still make time to write.

My Lighthearted Approach to Crime by Robin Spano, Guest Blogger

I'm pleased to introduce Robin Spano who is currently on a whirlwind virtual book tour for Dead Politician Society. She has been kind enough to stop here and talk about injecting humor into a novel about murder.

A virtual tour, or blog book tour as it's sometimes called, is another great way for authors to promote their new releases. Take a look at Robin's tour schedule to see where she has been so far, and where she's going to be. Tomorrow is a double post day, with one appearance at Yes, Virginia and a second at Birds and Words.

Grab a cup of coffee (or tea, if you prefer) and read on:

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Why I Take a Lighthearted Approach to Crime by Robin Spano


Yes, I take a light approach to murder. If a critic wants to knock me, that’s the first think they should jump on. I don’t think crime is funny, and I don’t think death is light. But this is absolutely the genre I want to write in, for a few reasons:

1. I like to explore human darkness, but I don’t like to be scared or depressed.

Murder forces you to go inside the head of a killer. Even if you don’t spend time with them as a point-of view character, you need to understand who they are, why they kill, and how they justify murder to themselves and to the world.

But while this dark side of human nature intrigues me, I don’t want to go deep into a dark place and get stopped there. Some writers can do that, and some readers love books that are scary or depressing (think Stephen King or Oprah’s booklist). But I don’t want to invite dark demons into my life; I like things positive and upbeat. I like that I can explore negative emotions, but I want to do that within the lighthearted structure of a crime that will get solved.

When you’re writing a book, you’re living in it for a year. I want to write about a place where—minus the murders—I’d be happy to spend my time.

2. I like the interplay between realism and improbability.

Sure, I know how unlikely it is that a 22-year-old would be undercover on such a high profile case as the murder of the mayor. Since it’s central to Dead Politician Society that Clare is in that situation, I created as realistic a circumstance as I could to make that happen.

Characters can do outrageous things like stake out hotel ice machines or start email dialogues with potential killers—both of which are seriously fun to write about—but I try very hard to make sure that their emotions and dialogue are true to how real people would feel and react.

So while I like that this genre takes me on adventures I would never get to have in real life, I also like that I have to rein it in and keep it real on a human level. It’s a fun balance.

3. I always wanted to be one of Charlie’s Angels.

Writing is the perfect little virtual reality machine—if I die on the page I don’t die in real life.

Since I have no idea how to shoot a gun and less of a clue how to self-preserve as an undercover operative, following Clare around on her assignments is the closest I will ever get to realizing that childhood dream.

While Clare is not such a flat character as Charlie’s Angels are—it’s important to me that she learns and grows through the series—I like that she can crack a joke and make mistakes and be relatable to most of us non-cops.

I would like to enjoy each book while I’m writing it. Ideally that will translate into an enjoyable ride for the reader.

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Robin, thanks so much for being here today. I wish you great success with Dead Politician Society and future Clare Vengel mysteries.

To learn more about Robin and her novel, you can visit her website. Follow her on Twitter and become a Clare Vengel fan at Facebook.

And to see the entertaining book trailer for Dead Politician Society, check my post from yesterday, or Robin's website, or go directly to You Tube.

Book Trailer for Dead Politician Society

Tomorrow I'm pleased to have guest blogger Robin Spano, who is on her blog book tour for Dead Politician Society, here to tell us about her lighthearted approach to murder (in fiction, of course). I thought you'd like to see her excellent book trailer in advance:



I hope you'll join us tomorrow for the rest of the story.

The Blogger Has Left the Building

Yep, I'm playing hooky again. I'm at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference.

This time I left my laptop at home.

But Sunday, if Blogger doesn't fail me and if I did the post right, you'll enjoy the book trailer for Robin Spano's new release, Dead Politician Society.

On Monday, Robin will stop here on her blog book tour to talk about taking a lighthearted approach to crime in her new Clare Vengel mystery series. You can follow the link to see the rest of her schedule.

My Writing Life by Bob Sanchez, Guest Blogger

My guest today is Bob Sanchez, a most congenial writer I met through Dani Greer's online blog book tour class. When I hollered for Help because I couldn't figure out how to get Blogger links to open in a new window, Bob was the first one to respond. I don't know if I ever properly thanked him. Just in case...Thanks, Bob!

In addition to being a writer, blogger, and helper to newbie's in distress, Bob is also a web master and reviewer for Internet Review of Books. He is visiting with us today to describe his own path to publication:

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My Writing Life by Bob Sanchez


Back in the 1980s my family and I came to know a family of Cambodian refugees very well. They were among the first of thousands of Cambodians to settle in Lowell, Massachusetts, and I wanted to write about them—in particular, what happens when two sharply different cultures meet. That project quickly turned from non-fiction into my first attempt at a novel. Ultimately it was lame, because it required so much knowledge of Cambodia that I couldn’t get from books or interviews, and I was unwilling to go to Cambodia to do research. Oh yes, and I didn’t know how to write.

But that project changed my life just as much as did my career change into technical writing. I attended several fiction workshops and read books on the craft. Just as importantly, I joined a writers’ group and stayed with it for about 17 years. Those wonderful people, some who were published and some who were not, taught me about writing, persistence, rejection, and acceptance. Many weeks when I might otherwise have felt discouraged, I’d sit down and write six more pages to have something to read at “group.” Their suggestions frequently turned into grist for entirely new scenes or more-layered characters.

Over the years, I signed with three agents for various novels, mostly mysteries. Alas, none sold. One small publisher called me to say he wanted to publish one of my novels, but he went out of business instead. Through it all, my writers’ group not only kept me from giving up, but they helped me re-focus. My work had tended to be serious, but often I found it hard to resist injecting humor somewhere. While it didn’t always fit, my friends’ reactions encouraged me to lean more and more toward the wacky and unserious. Once I’d written thirty pages of a serious mystery, became stumped, then put it aside. Years later, I started over with a different tack. The concept of a friend’s ashes arriving by FedEx at the hero’s door became the basis for When Pigs Fly, easily my lightest novel ever.

My life in the last few years can be an object lesson to serious writers, perhaps because I moved two thousand miles from my crutch—er, writers’ group. The non-family part of my life still revolves around writing (I’m retired, by the way), but I haven’t maintained the focus needed to finish a novel. So I’m critiquing, proofreading, producing chapbooks, writing and editing book reviews, and maintaining a website, my eyes constantly flitting from one short project to the next. That’s not a complaint, because it’s what I want to be doing—but if you want to write a novel you’ll do well to wear blinders and simply get the job done.

I also learned one of the non-monetary satisfactions of writing. A few years ago, a woman emailed me to say that when her mom died, the woman read When Pigs Fly to her father to console him. They sat together and laughed.

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Thanks, Bob, for sharing with us today. I've been amazed at the number of non-writing jobs that come our way once we jump into writer world, and the enormous bite they take out of our writing time. A pair of blinders (and a set of ear plugs) sounds like a great idea.

For more information about Bob and his works and travels, follow his blog. There you'll find a fun mix of travel adventures, publishing and self-publishing experiences, interviews and book reviews. He is on Twitter as @Desertwriter.
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Wednesday Bits and Pieces

What I'm Reading:

Mixed Blood, a thriller by the South African writer Roger Smith.


Where I'm At Today:

I'm at The Blood-Red Pencil with a list of recently released books of interest to writers.


Tomorrow's Guest Blogger

My Thursday guest will be Bob Sanchez, author of When Pigs Fly. You know you don't want to miss that.


Other Blogs of Special Interest This Week:

If you want a recipe for Super Easy Roasted Pear Ice Cream (and you know you do), visit the Foodie Road Show.

The Fresh Apple Cake at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen looks pretty good, too.

And these Chocolate Honey Truffles at Janet Rudolph's Dying for Chocolate.


And Where I'm Going This Weekend:

To the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference in Denver. I'm running out of time to pack, too.

Ten Cheap Ways to Relax When You Have Too Many Items on Your To Do List

1. Stand up. Take four boxing jabs that do not connect with a living creature or anything hard enough to hurt your hand. Sit down. Repeat ten times. Go back to work.

2. Spend exactly one hour on a priority project, then pat yourself on the back for making outstanding progress. Go to the kitchen and get a cup of coffee or a glass of ice water (or whatever), and stand at the window for five minutes to watch the weather. Repeat as needed. You never know what the weather might do if you aren't paying attention. Go back to work.

3. Spend thirty minutes to an hour doing a chore that will raise your heart rate. I took my box cutter to the garage and spent an hour cutting cardboard for the recycle bin. It's harder than you think, but I feel good (and I didn't cut myself, either). Go back to work.

4. Stand with your back against a wall. Make sure your heels, butt, and shoulders touch the wall. Suck in your gut and try to press the small of your back to the wall. If you can actually do this, don't tell me. Hold. Relax. Drop your head to stretch your neck and touch the back of your head to the wall. Hold. Relax. Repeat the lower back and neck stretch five times. Roll your shoulders. Go back to work.

5. Get up very early. Brew a pot of Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer herbal tea. Drink it iced or hot. While you drink the tea, sit quietly in a chair and think. Relax your shoulders. Close your eyes. Don't drop the tea in your lap. When you finish the tea (not the whole pot, silly), check the sunrise. Admire it. Take a picture. Now go to work.



6. Examine your To Do List and pick something you don't really have to do. If your personal life and your career will not suffer, cross the item off the list. There. Doesn't that feel better? For best results, do it again. Then go back to work.

7. Take a ten minute music break. Put your favorite CD in your boom box. Sit still and listen or sing along. Get up and dance if you want to. Oh, what the heck, make it a thirty minute music break. But don't forget to go back to work.

8. Yell. Okay, first wait until everyone is out of the house. Then holler as loud as you can. I personally don't care what you say when you yell, but if your neighbors can hear you, you might want to yell song lyrics or something similar that won't offend or alarm them. You only need to do this for a minute, then go back to work.

9. Buy a small drum and learn the basic hand positions and rhythms (or not...it works even if you have no idea what you're doing). Take occasional five minute drumming breaks. It feels great. If you're sticking to a strict budget, buy a kid's tambourine. Or use a waste can turned upside down. Be creative. The point is, pound on something and feel the beat (but don't hurt yourself). Then go back to work.

10. Stop working. Think. Why are you so stressed? Procrastination? Can't say no to new projects? Your husband is practicing Morse code right across the hall? Whatever the reason, own it. You got yourself into this mess, you need to work your way out of it (or just shut the door so you can't hear the noise). Take a deep breath. Then another deep breath. Now go back to work.

I'm going back to work now.

Photos of Colorado

I'm not planning to post tomorrow (Labor Day holiday in the U.S.), so I'm giving you this link to the Fort Collins Coloradoan's August photo contest submissions. It's a visual treat. I promise you'll love it. FYI, the photo of the Western Tiger Swallowtail on butterfly weed was the winner.

Another Writing Weekend

I should say, a mostly reading, writing, blogging, revising, and critiquing weekend with a little football, exercise, meal prep, pantry organization, and shopping thrown into the mix.

Yesterday I went to buy a pair of Nikes. That's all I needed. One pair of comfy gray Nike running shoes with a bright pink Swoosh in which I will never run. However, in addition to those shoes, I bought a pair of comfy Keds in brownish suede with a zip up top and three long-sleeved Pima cotton shirts in fall colors.

My excuse? They were all on sale.

I also had to go to the drugstore to pick up a prescription, saw the sign up for flu shots, and got mine on the spot. Just so you know, it only took a few minutes and my arm is not sore.

The recommendation is for everyone to get the flu vaccine this year, no matter your age, and to get the shot as soon as possible. The goal, of course, is to avoid the rush and confusion that occurred last year when H1N1 made an unexpected appearance in North America. This year, the H1N1 and regular flu vaccines come in the same shot.

I'd love to tie all this rambling nonsense back to writing in the logical way some excellent bloggers do it, but I can't. Well, except the shirts and shoes will be nice for the Colorado Gold writers' conference next weekend. And since I'm riding the bus down to Denver and then mixing with lots more people at the conference, and since there are quite a few bad colds with flu-like symptoms going around, getting the flu shot yesterday was probably a smart move.

How did I do?

Have a wonderful weekend.

What's Good for Writers in Colorado This Month?

Colorado is a great place for writers, and September in Colorado a wonderful month. The weather turns cooler, the aspen trees began to show as gold patches among the green pines, and I find a renewed energy for writing. Fall is my favorite time of year. Here are a few opportunities for writers to get motivated (especially if you're thinking of doing NaNoWriMo this November).

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference

That's where I'll be next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (September 10-12). Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers puts on a great conference. I've only missed one since 2004. If you're a fiction writer, and you live within commuting distance of Denver, Colorado, you'll definitely want to check it out.

Membership in RMFW is reasonable, the conference and hotel are more affordable than most, there's an annual writing contest associated with the conference, and editors and agents take pitches most of the day Saturday. The list of workshop offerings is amazing.

I didn't sign up to do any presentations this year, but I am working registration on Friday, participating in the book sale/signing Friday night, and pitching my novel to an agent on Saturday. The rest of the time, I'll be attending workshops, connecting with old friends, and meeting new folks (especially the ones I know from the Internet but have not met in real life).


Northern Colorado Writers Mini-Con

Scheduled for Saturday, September 18th, at the Northern Colorado Writers Studio in Fort Collins, Mini-Con will feature two tracks of writing-related classes covering a variety of topics. I'm looking forward to sitting in on a few of the sessions, at least when I'm not teaching my two classes.


SCBWI Rocky Mountain Chapter Fall Conference

The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators will hold their Rocky Mountain Chapter Fall Conference September 18-19 at the Sheraton Denver West in Lakewood, Colorado.


Mountain & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Trade Show

The annual event will be held September 23-25 at the Marriott Denver Tech Center in Denver. There will be a one-day conference, Writers and the Independent Marketplace, at the same location on Saturday, the 25th. I wish I could go to this, but my 50th high school class reunion falls on this weekend. No way I'm missing that.

My Writing Life by Laura Lee Carter, Guest Blogger

My guest today is Laura Lee Carter, a local editor, writer, blogger, life coach, and all-around awesome lady. I first met Laura Lee through Northern Colorado Writers, where we've shared ideas and enjoyed the discussions at monthly morning coffee gatherings. Laura Lee's story is a good reminder that even if we're writing novels, we need to think of other ways to promote our work. Freelance articles on topics related to our fiction, interviews of figures in the world of publishing, or technical how-to articles on some aspect of publishing, are all promotional tools.

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My Writing Life by Laura Lee Carter


Your first task in becoming a writer is to convince yourself that you are a writer. This means you have the internal resources to keep at it regardless of a preponderance of evidence to the contrary. In the beginning, this quandary comes up constantly. You feel so desperate to be published because that is the way you tell the world you are now a writer. But publishing doesn’t prove anything. What makes you a writer is that you sit down and write every day.

The learning curve is quite steep and with no clips to prove yourself, where to begin? Most begin in their local area, writing less than stimulating puff pieces for free. This can be a mistake. I’ve seen too many excellent writers get stuck in their local markets making close to nothing (Okay, 12 cents a word), because they are too intimidated to take the next step. Writing for the local market is a reassuring way to convince yourself that you can make some money writing. Prove yourself and then move on.

Venturing out to more widely distributed publications requires courage. I highly recommend spending some time at your local magazine stand. If you’re doing the standard rookie trick of writing the piece first, before you start to think about marketing it, feast your eyes on all the possible outlets for your precious words. There truly is a magazine on every subject under the sun! Unfortunately, many may be going out of business or pay very little, but you just need a few solid clips. Cruising the internet is not the same as holding a journal in your hand and picturing your article in it. Dream on.

Now comes the toughest part of all, patience and rejection. I imagine the greatest single stumbling block after self-confidence to most new writers ever becoming successful is a lack of patience. Waiting is a major part of the game. Dealing with rejection is the other part. Do you realize how many would be writers are immediately disqualified because they can’t handle these terrible two? Settle in. You’re going to be here awhile.

One way to combat that sinking feeling when you’re feeling frustrated is to go do something you know you’re good at, preferably something that provides immediate reinforcement. Cooking and gardening are great ways to prove to yourself that you have skills, you’re a productive member of society and the rewards are quite quick compared to waiting months for an editor to respond.

Another good way to combat early writer burn out is to acquire a writing coach, and also join a writer’s group. Finding a good coach can make all the difference when you’re just starting out. Of course you don’t know what you’re doing. You’ve never done this before. And they can be so encouraging when you’re ready to quit and go get a real job with a real paycheck.

I now believe the two most important ingredients in jump starting a new writing career are courage and stubbornness. Talent is key, but pure stubbornness can take you places no amount of encouragement can. When my courage dwindles, I remind myself of those wise words from Wayne Gretzky: “You miss 100 percent of all the shots you never take."

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Thanks, Laura Lee, for sharing your thoughts on the path to publication. It was a pleasure having you as my guest.

Laura Lee Carter, MLS, M.A., began her freelance writing career in 2005 after 25 years as a research librarian. She has since published three books from her platform as the Midlife Crisis Queen (including Midlife Magic), and she worked with 50 Interviews author and founder Brian Schwartz on Finding Speaking Success: Mentoring Tips from the Masters. Visit Laura Lee's Midlife Crisis Queen blog, and find her bio and writing clips at her website.

Wednesday Bits and Pieces

Tomorrow's Guest Blogger

I'll be introducing the Midlife Crisis Queen, Colorado writer Laura Lee Carter. The rest of us can talk about reinventing ourselves, but Laura Lee really knows how it's done.


The Desert Hedge Murders paperback

If all is well, you should be able to order the mass market paperback edition starting today at Harlequin Worldwide's online bookstore.


Robin Spano's blog book tour

Robin's tour begins today at Mystery Writers Ink. Here's the link to her tour schedule. Can you resist learning more about a mystery called The Dead Politician Society? I sure can't.


Sylvia Dickey Smith's blog book tour

Sylvia's virtual tour continues. Today she's at I'd So Rather Be Reading. A War of Her Own officially releases tomorrow, but I think it's already shipping from amazon.com.


Snapshots of Bombay

Many of you already follow Rayna M. Iyer's blog Coffee Rings Everywhere, but have you been to her photo blog Snapshots of Bombay?


Margaret Coel

Today, one of my favorite Colorado mystery authors, Margaret Coel, is the guest on the blog of another favorite Colorado mystery author, Beth Groundwater.


Circle of Friends Award

My dear blogger friend Yvonne Lewis at Welcome to My World of Poetry has given me a Circle of Friends Award. I couldn't be more honored. There seem to be no special rules to go with this award, except to pass it on. Since I've already awarded this gift to five blogger friends in January, I'll simply reserve the right to retrieve it and send it out into the world again sometime in the future. Thanks, Yvonne, I really appreciate it.


Back to Work

I have my nose to the grindstone this week, so must get back to work. I hope to see you tomorrow for Laura Lee's post.