I'm Out and About Again

Today you'll find me at:

Joyce Moore's Historical Books Blog. This is an interview, but I only revealed a few of my secrets...

And I kick off my new regular Tuesday gig at Chiseled in Rock with A Bookworm's Lament.

Where Do You Get Your Ideas? by Susan Oleksiw, Guest Blogger

I'm so pleased to introduce mystery author Susan Oleksiw as my guest today. Before turning to crime fiction, Susan received a Ph.D. in Sanskrit from the University of Pennsylvania, and lived and traveled extensively in India as part of her studies. She was the editor for a collection of scholarly articles on communications in Asia in the early 1980s; she has published several articles on Indian literature and art as well.

Her short stories and essays about India appear in other literary journals. The Mellingham Mystery series featuring Chief of Police Joe Silva includes six novels so far.

Anita Ray, an Indian American photographer living in India, was first introduced in "A Murder Made in India," a short story in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. She is the amateur sleuth in Susan's 2010 release from Five Star/Gage, Under the Eye of Kali.


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Where Do You Get Your Ideas? by Susan Oleksiw


Any writer who has ever admitted publicly that she writes fiction has been confronted with the standard set of questions from those who don’t write. For me the answers are pretty easy. Are you famous? (No.) Are you published? (Yes.) Where do you get your ideas? (Same place you get yours, probably.) I stopped being annoyed by these and similar questions a long time ago because they remind me of how fortunate I am, and also because once in a while someone really does want to know where I get my ideas.

Trying to explain where ideas come from is, for me, a dangerous exercise because I don’t want anyone to feel self-conscious or uncomfortable after we’re through talking. Only once have I ever met anyone who divined how things worked. At a neighborhood cookout a woman standing next to me said, “I suppose you look at the people around you and listen to them talking and then go home and make a story out of it.” Obviously annoyed with me, she stalked off. I was so surprised that I couldn’t think of anything to say, and I didn’t want to say, “You’re right, lady, and you are begging to go into a story.”

Yes, writers get their ideas by looking at the people around them and then wondering, what if? A woman arrives late at a party, explains that her husband is parking the car, and accepts a glass of wine. The evening progresses, but . . . what if he never comes into the house? Where is he? A hotel offers home-style dining, with all the guests sitting around a large table. Thrown together, the guests must be cordial, but . . . what if one insists on something more, probing the others for information about their lives? What if this guest returns to her room after breakfast to find her clothing torn and tossed around on the floor?

This is how I began the first Anita Ray novel, UNDER THE EYE OF KALI. Anita Ray, an Indian-American woman living in India at her aunt’s hotel, has appeared in a number of short stories, but this is her first book-length adventure. I picked the setting of a hotel in a tourist area, Hotel Delite, because I want Anita to be able to move through the many worlds that now converge in India—the traditional culture of South India, and especially Kerala, the westernizing middle class, and the ever-changing community of foreigners who come to work, relax, or visit friends.

Anita knows that the death of a hotel guest, even though it looks like an accident, could easily doom her aunt’s hotel, and she feels compelled to figure out what happened. Why would a foreign woman suddenly go off to explore a neglected part of the resort late at night? Was it mere coincidence that her traveling companion fell ill at the same time?

Questions keep me going when I’m writing, and I don’t expect to know the answers to all of them until I get to the end. I’m finding things out by following Anita during her investigations, listening to what the workers in the resort tell her, watching while she goes through a suitcase and papers, listening to the gossip of the hotel guests, and telling her worries to one of the fruit-sellers, who offers good advice.

I often tell students or other writers just starting out that writing a novel is a journey, a lived experience for the reader because it was a lived experience for the writer while she was writing it. I want to make discoveries as I go along, to explore and learn and be surprised. Anita lives and works in the resort, so this is richly described as she goes out to dinner with a friend, opens her photography studio for business, chats with the tailor next door. The reader, I hope, will know this foreign landscape as well as Anita, and at the end of the story feel she has lived briefly in another world.

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Thanks so much, Susan, for being here today and sharing your thoughts about turning ideas into stories. I like the idea behind the Anita Ray series and look forward to reading Under the Eye of Kali.

For more information about Susan and her books, visit her website and her blog at One Writer's World. I especially enjoyed her blog post on the End of Book Ritual.

Today I'll be at The Blood-Red Pencil

As we wrap up the series on e-publishing, I'm talking about one alternative to the the DIYS (do it yourself) method. Stop by The Blood-Red Pencil to see how I plan to publish The Prairie Grass Murders on Kindle, Nook, and other e-readers.

Wednesday Scramble

An Award from Stephen Tremp

Steve was kind enough to design an award and present it to all of the bloggers who were hosts for his virtual tour for Breakthrough. He claims he's not all that good with the design software, but I think it looks great. Thanks, Steve.


Next Monday's Guest Blogger

Susan Oleksiw, mystery author whose latest release is Under the Eye of Kali, will be here to talk about ideas that turn into stories.


Tuesday Interview at Joyce Elson Moore's Blog

Joyce and I interviewed each other, and now it's my turn to reveal all my secrets.

Just kidding...not really all of them...


Wednesday is Talli Roland's Web! Splash

I'll have a mini-Wednesday Scramble that day because I also want to mention Indie Books December Holiday Giveaway Event at Quiet Fury Books and tell you about my Thursday guest.


Chiseled in Rock

If you haven't already visited this blog which supports Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and its members, please drop by when you have time. We're still building the blog and the extra pages, but interesting things will be happening soon.


Tomorrow is Thanksgiving

I hope you and your family have a wonderful day. Our grown-up kids are staying home this year, and hubby and I chose to skip my cousin's annual event down in Denver. We're leery of making plans that fall through at the last minute because of bad weather. One year we ended up back home after giving up on the icy roads and had to stop at a grocery store to pick up something quick for our own Thanksgiving dinner.

This year we're having a slob-in, just the two of us. We'll have a yummy turkey, our favorite stuffing, and some traditional extras. Lots of football. DVDs. Plenty of books to read. And there's always work to do at the computer...but no...no computer on Thursday. No! Definitely no!

Right...

See you Friday.

Today I'm at Chiseled in Rock

I have joined Chiseled in Rock, the blog of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, as a contributor. Although we're still working hard to get all the bells and whistles in place, there are several articles to explore. In fact, that's where I am today.

Stop by to read "Adventures in Online Book Promotion" and see how Beth Groundwater, Carolyn Poling Schriber, Alex J. Cavanaugh and Talli Roland chose to get the word out about their books.

I hope you'll become a regular follower of Chiseled in Rock as we add contributors and post articles on writing, book promotion, book reviews, all with a sprinkling of humor.

And don't forget to come back here tomorrow for the "Wednesday Scramble." I have two exciting guest bloggers next week to tell you about along with other interesting tidbits.

Are We Afraid to Write?

Note: My posts this week will be short and sweet, and there will be no post on Thursday.

Now back to that question about fear...

When I finished the Michael Crichton novel, I picked up The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear by Ralph Keyes.

The book was published in 1995, so it's a tiny bit outdated when describing the author's submission and marketing methods, but I have a feeling the main thrust of the book--the writer's fear--is just as valid today as it was fifteen years ago.

Keyes compares "page fright" to "stage fright." Writer's block is not an absence of ideas, but an absence of courage. Interesting concept, now that I think about it. Is that what procrastination is all about?

This small 200-page book promises to be very interesting. Have you read it? If so, what did you think?

The Winners Are...

Joyce Elson Moore's Gift Certificate

Those who left comments on my interview with Joyce were eligible to receive a $15 gift certificate toward their choice of gifts made by a glass artisan.

The winner is:

Clarissa Draper, who blogs and does writing critiques at Listen to the Voices.


And The Writing Planner Goes To...

Well, actually it has turned out to be two writing planners. I had so many local entries this time that I decided to do one drawing for residents of Northern Colorado and a separate drawing for everyone else. That had the effect of increasing the odds of winning for everyone. Your chances were made even better by those who did not have contact information in their comments or their profiles. C'est la vie, kids.

So, let's get to the winners:

First is Carol Kilgore, a Texan who blogs at Under the Tiki Hut.

My second winner is Ar Foster at One Woman, Ink, a writer/editor from Northern Colorado.

Congratulations to everyone, and thanks again for entering our giveaways.

Book Giveaways and a New Writing Contest

Girls Trek Too

This is your chance to win a copy of They Only Eat Their Husbands: A Memoir of Alaskan Love, World Travel, and the Power of Running Away by Cara Lopez Lee. The rules are at this post at Cara's blog, Girls Trek Too. The deadline for your entry is midnight, November 22nd.

Can you honestly resist a book with a title like that?


Stacy Juba: Mysteries, Murder & More...

Not only can you win an advance reader's copy of Stacy's mystery suspense novel, Sink or Swim, but she also has the list of 175 blogs participating in I Am a Reader, Not a Writer's Gratitude book giveaways.

That's 175 blogs to visit and 175 giveaways. You know you don't want to miss that.


Northern Colorado Writers is Sponsoring a 2011 Writing Contest

This contest is open to all writers, not just NCW members. Categories include short fiction, personal essay, poetry, articles, and cover design. Winning entries will be published in an anthology. For the submission rules and deadlines and the contact information, go to the 2011 Contests page at the Northern Colorado Writers website.


And Last But Not Least...

I'm giving away one copy of NCW director Kerrie Flanagan's 2011 Writing Planner: Organization, Inspiration, & Motivation to Achieve Your Writing Goals. This planner is a goal-setting and organizing tool, as well as a 2011 calendar. It includes helpful website links, writing prompts, and book recommendations.

To enter, leave a comment and your blog url or other contact information on today's post by midnight (U.S. Mountain Time) tomorrow, Saturday, November 20th. I'll use my usual method to select a winner (I number entries and then draw numbers from a little box -- it's very scientific). Doesn't matter what corner of the world you call home, you're eligible.

Have a great weekend.

An Interview with Joyce Elson Moore

Today it's my pleasure to introduce Joyce Elson Moore, author of historical fiction. I "met" Joyce through the Five Star authors' online group. I've always been curious about the research process as well as why writers choose the periods that interest them most. Joyce has been kind enough to provide some answers.

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An Interview With Joyce Elson Moore


Joyce, how long have you been writing, and what led you to historical fiction as your genre of choice?

Like almost everyone, I wrote teenage poems about love (or what I thought it was then) and hid the poems in my dresser drawer, away from my three sisters’ prying eyes. I took early retirement from a teaching career and began writing as a second career. I’ve always loved history, and read historical fiction, devouring Sharon Kay Penman and Carolly Erickson and others. I knew what I wanted to write.

Were your first manuscripts published, or do you, like many of us, have various drafts sitting on a shelf or stashed in a box in a closet?

Strangely enough, my first book was published. It’s a non-fiction about places in Florida that are haunted. It’s titled Haunt Hunter’s Guide to Florida, but yes, I do have some unpubbed historicals on my hard drive. Some of them I’ve reworked, after looking back and seeing how horrid they were. We all have “practice novels”, I think.

Do you have an agent? If so, what was your agent search experience like?

I did have an agent for The Tapestry Shop, but we parted ways, amicably. She remains my friend, but the professional partnership didn’t work out. Right now, another agent and I are talking, but nothing is set in stone. I think agents are valuable partners for an author. The only way to get an agent is to send out queries with your very best writing, or meet them at a conference. I think, in order to snag a good agent, professionalism is right up there after a good story. With the rapid changes we’re seeing in the industry, an agent may be more needed now than ever. A good agent earns his/her commission.

According to your website bio, you enjoy “taking classes in almost anything you have not tried.” Tell us a little about that, including the most unusual class you’ve taken so far.

Well, I’m a Gemini, so my interests change with the tide. Besides the classes I took for my music degrees, I’ve taken courses in Building Construction, Real Estate Brokerage, apple tree grafting, photography, rescuing injured wildlife, ballroom dancing, medical terminology, acrylic painting, and French.

You bio also says you’re an unabashed Francophile (as am I). What part of France do you enjoy visiting most?

I do love anything about France. To research for The Tapestry Shop, I went to northern France, to Arras specifically, and went into underground tunnels beneath the city. That’s a story in itself. Also, they grow masses of tulips, like those pictures of Holland. Then I went to other towns, to see places like Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, which figures in my novel. I stayed with a Jewish woman in Paris whose family fled from the Germans during WWII, and she told me some awesome stories. Then I rented a car and drove into southern France. It was spring, and just thinking about it makes me want to return.

Your historical novel from Five Star/Gage, The Tapestry Shop, was released in October. The setting is Arras, France in 1265. How difficult is it to research a time period so far in the past?

The research is more difficult, but I had the help of reference librarians and also some experts in the field of medieval music. I used material that chroniclers, like Jean de Joinville, left behind. He went on a crusade with Louis IX. Original sources are always good. You have to dig a little deeper for 13th century research, but it’s there.

Your main character was a real person, Adam de la Halle, “the wandering minstrel who first penned the story of Robin Hood.” Did you find much documentation about his life?

There is some documentation, although there is conflicting information, such as dates. One of his plays is believed to be autobiographical. A lot is speculative, but there were records pertaining to his life, and he belonged to the Puy, a guild of artists. I just had to piece together what was there. It’s almost certain he was patronized by Count Robert (the king’s nephew) and hope I did right by Adam. I always felt like he was depending on me to tell his story. So far, it’s gotten great reviews, so I hope he approves.

Your blog, Joyce Moore’s Historical Books Blog, has a wealth of information for writers and readers of historical fiction. You’re also a contributor to two other blogs, Author Expressions and Historical Hussies. What are your thoughts on social media (blogging, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) as a promotional tool for writers?

There’s no real way of knowing what translates to sales, but I blog about things that interest me, and in the doing, I always learn something. Blogs push me out of my comfort zone, and that’s good. I love the interaction on Goodreads, where there’s a group for historical fiction lovers. I’m on Facebook, and have an author’s page. I also am a member of Backspace for Writers. Days go by where I just don’t get to Facebook or Goodreads or Backspace. I have no idea how some authors manage to be all over the place and still write. I think I need to take a course in time management.

Thanks so much, Patricia, for inviting me to post on your lovely blog. I’d love to hear comments from readers, and one lucky commenter will receive a $15 gift certificate toward their choice of gifts made by a glass artisan. Here are a few of her designs.

The letter openers, purse hangers, bookmarks, etc. are each $15. The jewelry runs a little more, but is beautiful and one-of-a-kind.


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Joyce, thank you so much for sharing this information with us today. For those of you who have book launches coming up, Joyce's post about her Book Launch at a Winery demonstrates how we can think outside the box for new ways to attract readers to our book events. Joyce and I have exchanged blog interviews. She will publish her interview with me on November 30th at Joyce Moore's Historical Books Blog.

Wednesday Scramble

Thursday's Guest

My interview with Joyce Elson Moore, author of historical fiction, is on the schedule for tomorrow. And Joyce is giving away a $15.00 gift certificate to one lucky commenter toward the purchase of glass art jewelry and accessories, pictured in the post. Be sure to drop by.


Critique Groups and Other Busyness

I'm up to my eyeballs in critiques this week. My regular group meets tonight, and the new group I've started for Northern Colorado Writers meets tomorrow night.

Last night I attended the artist's reception at the NCW Studio. NCW has a different artist's work displayed every two months.

Today I'm (wo)maning the studio from 9-12. Tomorrow afternoon I have a meeting with the editorial committee for the Senior Center's Mountain Scribe Anthology, published every other year.

Friday is my day to work on the Kindle etal project.

This weekend, it's going to be all about writing and reading and relaxing. At least, that's the plan.


E-Publishing at The Blood-Red Pencil

Don't forget about the e-publishing series running at BRP through next week. You'll find lots of good information and links and comments.


What I'm Reading

I'm still plugging away at State of Fear by Michael Crichton. This novel is about the global warming "controversy" and is full of information dumps, footnotes, and an opinion piece at the end that tells us where Michael Crichton stood on the issues. Yes, I checked out the attached materials first to get a feel for the authors POV.

The novel is slow reading, especially if you actually pay attention to the charts and statistics, but it's fascinating. If you have an interest in the the science or politics of climate change and an open mind, you'll probably find State of Fear a good read.


Alvin Toffler Said:

"Future shock . . . the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time."
---------------Future Shock [1970], Introduction

How many of you read Future Shock when it was first published? Or more recently (since some of you weren't even born yet in 1970)? Any thoughts about Toffler's ideas? Do you think we've become accustomed to rapid change?

I'm at Terry's Place Today

I hope you'll join me at Terry Odell's blog, Terry's Place, today. I've written a piece about The Writer's Eye, tying my observations skills as a writer to my ability to take decent photographs. A few of my favorite photos from over the years are included in the post. Hope to see you there.

Coming Soon as an E-Book -- The Prairie Grass Murders

I'm making progress toward bringing The Prairie Grass Murders into this new digital publishing world. I'll keep you posted as I get the formatted files uploaded and finish whatever else I need to do.

For now, I just want you to see my new cover art designed by a University of Colorado student, Jalena Marie Penaligon, whose mom is a Colorado author and a good friend. Networking is a wonderful thing.

I told Jalena my ideas for the cover, and she gave me exactly what I wanted:


I cut my time investment way down by paying a local expert to format my manuscript, so I wouldn't have to battle that particular learning curve. Next week I'll work on uploading the files for Kindle, Nook, etc. If my blog posts are a little short this week, I know you'll understand.

And you might want to follow The Blood-Red Pencil blog for the next two weeks. We're doing a series on e-publishing with a variety of posts that may help you with your own digital publishing projects.

Giveaways and Stuff

Mary Montague Sikes on her Virtual Book Tour

Yesterday's post by Mary Montague Sikes was the first stop on her virtual tour. You may want to follow her from post to post, because she's keeping track of who's leaving comments and at the end of her tour, she'll conduct a giveaway.

In Mary's words:

"I'm conducting a contest with a signed copy of Night Watch as first prize. Just visit each site of my blog tour beginning Nov. 11 and ending on Nov. 19 and leave a message. I will count the comments to determine the prize winners. In case of a tie, I'll have a drawing. I expect to have second and third prizes as well."

Here's the schedule:

Nov. 11 - Patricia Stoltey

Nov. 12 - Nancy Williams, Writing Fantasy with author N. R. Williams

Nov. 15 - Alex J. Cavanaugh

Nov. 16 - Marian Allen

Nov. 17 - Bodie Parkhurst, Speak! Good Dog!

Nov. 18 - Mason Canyon, Thoughts in Progress

Nov. 19 - Karen Brees, KK Brees on Writing


Giveaway at Author Kelly Moran's Blog

Marilyn Brant is giving away two copies of her novel Friday Mornings at Nine. Read the interview and leave a comment at Author Kelly Moran's Blog through Saturday.


5th Annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest

Nominate Your Favorite Writing Blog at Write to Done: Unmissable Articles on Writing. I have nominated The Blood-Red Pencil. It takes at least two nominations to be considered, so I hope those of you who follow BRP will hop over and give it a a boost. Only one nomination per person. Nominations must be received by December 1st.


Any More?

If you have a contest or giveaway to tell us about, be sure to put the url your comment.

Just a Little Bit of Paradise in Every Book by Mary Montague Sikes, Guest Blogger

The idea of combining travel and writing is not confined to travel writers. Traveler and novelist Mary Montague-Sikes, known to many of us as Monti, is able to use her wanderlust adventures in her fiction. That seems like the best of everything to me.

In 1980, when Mary and her husband first visited Jamaica, they were enchanted by their tropical surroundings. A series of vacations to Caribbean destinations included two trips to Antigua where Monti grew enthralled with the island’s history and fascinated with the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda. She began to think and dream about an ancient mansion that might sit on a hillside overlooking the sea. Thus, Edgewater Manor was born and so was the beginning of Secrets by the Sea.

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Just a Little Bit of Paradise in Every Book by Mary Montague Sikes


Since I have long been enchanted with tropical locations you can imagine my excitement when my publisher, Oak Tree Press, created the “Passenger to Paradise” series for my novels because they all feature exotic destinations. Then, later she designed the shadow logo of the traveler with the roller bag which I use as part of my Notes Along the Way blog title line.

For years, I wrote travel articles freelance and was thrilled to see them published in newspapers and magazines. The Chronicle-Telegram in Elyria, Ohio was one of the newspapers that bought and published every story I sent. These articles filled the front page of the travel section and were in color. The editor usually used two or three of my photos as well which was even more exciting as I was paid not only for the story but also extra for the pictures. When the Miami Herald bought and published a story I wrote about a trip to Heidelberg, Germany and used photographs as well, I was mega thrilled. Some of my stories were award-winners in the National Federation of Press Women’s annual communications contest and that encouraged my travel writing. Several years ago, one of my photographs, taken of a waterfall near the Mayan ruins at Palenque, won second place in the NFPW contest. That gave me confidence in my photography.

I’ve always loved to write and was selected to serve as editor of my high school newspaper. When I went to college I hoped to study journalism but that didn’t work out. I majored instead in psychology and elementary education. However, I fell by accident into a freelance writing job for the Richmond News Leader, an afternoon city newspaper that no longer exists. That was an awesome learning experience for me because I got to interview people from all walks of life and write feature stories about them. Those features taught me a lot about character development which has served me well in my novel writing. I also learned a great deal about characters from the many I met at the government meetings I covered for my newspaper.

Path to Publication – The publication of my first novel, Hearts Across Forever, came about because of my travel writing. While attending a writer’s conference out in California, I was pitching my novel to an agent and happened to mention that I also was working on a non-fiction book putting together my travel, art, and photography interests. Several weeks later, she called me and encouraged me to write the coffee table book which became Hotels to Remember. My publisher thought it would be a good idea to get my name out with a novel prior to publication of the travel/art book. That resulted in Hearts Across Forever getting published first. Set in Jamaica and linked to the legend of the White Witch of Rose Hall, it became the first of the Passenger to Paradise books.

Night Watch is the latest in the Passenger to Paradise mystery/romance novels. We took a wonderful and adventurous trip to Trinidad, and soon after we returned I started a story about our experiences. As other trips came along to different exotic tropical islands, I almost forgot about the visit to Trinidad. Then a couple of years ago, I pulled out the beginnings of the old manuscript and began working on it in earnest. As always, I managed to tie a touch of paranormal to my story as I wondered what would happen if the spirit of the woman who died in the beginning of the book became a “walk-in” spirit of my heroine. Did that happen? I’m not quite sure. The reader will have to decide.

And whatever my setting, I want my readers to experience just a little bit of paradise as they follow the story.

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From her trips to the Caribbean, Monti has written many feature articles that have been published in newspapers and magazines. Some of her thousands of photographs and slides were source materials for the Tropical Fantasies series of large acrylic paintings. In the mid-1980s, thirteen paintings from this series were purchased by the Marriott Hotel in Richmond, Virginia for display in public areas. One of these paintings was “Antiguan Morning.”

Her love of travel and tropical destinations continues with new books underway including a sequel to Secrets by the Sea. Part of the setting of the new book, Jungle Beat, will be in the jungles of Costa Rica. This will be Monti’s next book in the Passenger to Paradise series.

To learn more about Monti and her books (and her artwork and photographs), visit her website and her blog, Notes Along the Way. Her new Kindle release, Dangerous Hearts, is available at amazon.com.

Wednesday Scramble

Tomorrow's Guest Blogger

I'm pleased to have Mary Montague Sikes as my guest blogger tomorrow. Mary (or Monti as she's known around the blogging world) uses her travel experiences to create exotic settings for her novels. She has an interesting story to tell about her path to publication.


Tomorrow is Veteran's Day in the U.S. and Remembrance Day in Canada

And I found this video clip at Jemi Fraser's blog Just Jemi: Musings of an Aspiring Author. It's a group of Canadian country singers honoring their soldiers and veterans with a great song, but it could just as easily be sung about our own men and women who serve and defend. It's a great tribute, so I'm posting it here as well.





What I'm Reading

I just finished 61 Hours by Lee Child. That one was pretty hard to put down and now I'm super anxious to read the next book in the series, Worth Dying For. But while I wait, I'm going to read State of Fear by Michael Crichton. As I did my bookcase de-clutter, quite a few books I've been meaning to read for a long time rose to the top of the stack.


What I'm Doing This Week (Besides the De-Clutter Project)

Today I'm introducing my replacement at The Blood-Red Pencil blog, Elspeth Antonelli. Those of you who already know Elspeth know she has a great sense of humor. She doesn't disappoint in her first BRP post called Before You Write...

Friday night I'll be reading at the Open Mic Night at the Northern Colorado Writers Studio. I haven't decided which manuscript to read from yet. I guess it's time to make my selection and run through some practice reads. I have eight minutes to please my audience.

Saturday I'll be one of bunches and bunches of authors appearing at Local Author Day hosted by Jax Ranch and Home and Jax Outdoor Gear in Fort Collins, Colorado. Jax does all the sales and sales tax collection, brings steady refills for our coffee cups, and even provides lunch for the authors. It should be a great day.

I've pulled all the pieces together so I can put The Prairie Grass Murders on Kindle, and I've contacted the Kindle expert who's going to do the formatting for me. Yes, I'm going to do it the easy way. There are only so many hours in a day.

And next Tuesday I'll be Terry Odell's guest blogger at Terry's Place.


How to Use Google Reader to Keep Up With Your Favorite Blogs

I found this post at Michael Hyatt's Intentional Leadership website/blog. If you don't already know about and/or use Google Reader, I high recommend this article.

Taking the Day Off (from Blogging)

I wish I could tell you I'm doing something exotic like taking a hot air balloon ride or spending the day in a haunted house.

But no.

I'm going to work more on the "clear out clutter and clean up project" I started in my house on Friday. I accomplished a lot, but still have a ways to go. Today I'm bagging lots of stuff for Goodwill, taking two boxes of books to the Northern Colorado Writers studio, moving pieces of furniture around the house so I have a cozy reading nook in almost every room, and generally putting more order into my life and my house.

I'm not quite sure where this burst of energy came from, but I'm going to take full advantage of it while it's here.

I'll be back tomorrow with some good stuff on my Wednesday Scramble.

October's Colorado Photos and Thoughts About Creativity

For a delightful side trip to Colorado, check out last month's photo entries and the winners, now available online at The Fort Collins Coloradoan. There were 99 amazing entries in October.

Every time I look at the photos in this contest, I want to give up writing and take up photography. Buy a new camera. Lenses. Take classes. Study. Take millions of shots. Learn how to use PhotoShop. Learn how to turn my photos into posters.

So I do take a few photographs and occasionally post one on my blog. But I still spend most of my time writing.

I felt the same way about painting in watercolor when I saw Barbara Moore's gallery showing at the Northern Colorado Writers studio. Her work is precise, the colors sharp. I don't know how she does that, because my attempts over the years were fuzzy, the colors bland. I look at Barbara's work and I want to give up writing and buy fresh paints and new brushes. Take more classes. Paint hundreds of watercolors until I get it right.

I took a watercolor class while I lived in France in the mid-80s. And I took a month of Sunday art workshops on painting with acrylics about five years ago. Occasionally, I pull out my paints and spend a relaxing afternoon pretending I'm an artist. But when I clean my brushes and put the paints away, I'm a writer.

And then when Jeff Finlin, a Colorado songwriter and performer, took the stage at the NCW studio last night and performed his songs in his Bob Dylan style, I wanted to give up writing and buy a guitar. Take lessons. Maybe even try to write a song.

I bought a guitar and took a few lessons back in the 70s. It didn't take. A couple of years ago, I bought an inexpensive Sony keyboard ($99 Christmas special at K-Mart). I already know how to read music since I took piano lessons when I was younger. I play with the keyboard from time to time.

Then I return to my computer and write.

At least I don't want to give up writing and become a singer. That would be pathetic, since I'm an alto with a very narrow range. I'd be known as Patty Three-Note.

Writing, Contests, Blogfests, Write-Ins, and More

Here's a post you won't want to miss at N. R. Williams, Fantasy Writer. It's called: Friday Pics: Ok, no pictures today, contest, giveaways, blogfest and a new magazine.

Brooke Favero's This Week in the Writing World...November 5 post at The Writing Bug focuses on links to writing-related articles.

And Beth Groundwater has a superb post at her blog on how she planned and hosted an all-day write-in for her writerly friends: Hosting a Write-In.

Books and Blogs and an Award

The Harlequin Worldwide mystery books:

The Harlequin mass market paperback edition of The Desert Hedge Murders is still available at Harlequin's online store. Also check out the other great mysteries at Harlequin Worldwide. Betty Webb's Desert Lost is now available. And Sandra Balzo's Grounds for Murder. To see the whole list of titles now on sale, visit eHarlequin.


Three blog posts I thoroughly enjoyed this week:

Elspeth Antonelli at It's a Mystery post Picture Wednesday.

Alan Orloff at A Million Blogging Monkeys post This, That, and the Other.

Talli Roland's The Mad Ones Wear Bowties.


And last but not least, look at the lovely blog award I received from Yvonne Lewis at Welcome to My World of Poetry:



I think it's very classy, and I'd like to pass it on to these fine (and irresistible) bloggers:

April who blogs as the Epicurean Vegan

Jean at Two Old Horses and Me

Stacy Juba at Mysteries, Murder & More...

Sylvia Dickey Smith at Writing Strong Women

L. Diane Wolff at Spunk on a Stick

See you Monday.

My Journey as a Writer by Stephen Tremp, Guest Blogger

Today I'm happy to introduce Stephen Tremp, the author of the action novel Breakthrough, the first book in a Chase Manhattan trilogy. I first met Stephen (a virtual meeting) almost eighteen months ago when we were both students in Dani Greer's online blog book tour class. Since then we've read each other's books, left comments on each other's blogs, and followed along as we wrote ( or didn't write), suffered through revisions, and learned more and more about this world of meeting folks through social media.

It's my pleasure to have Stephen here today to tell us how he became a writer and how the idea for Breakthrough came to be.

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My Journey as a Writer by Stephen Tremp

I remember as a kid staring out the window while the teachers were talking. I imagined battles of epic proportions between good and evil playing out in the schoolyard. Could be an alien invasion, or mole people climbing out of the ground, or giant Titans locked in battle. I guess I’ve always had a vivid imagination.

My Younger Years: I loved to read most anything. I read Marvel comic books. I think this helped develop my imagination for developing fascinating plots and interesting characters that go far beyond mainstream media. The characters are so diverse, each possessing their own distinct personalities and demonstrating unique conflicts and shortcomings. Many had two personalities, one behind the mask they wore and one for their normal, non-super hero life. Hence the internal and external conflicts writers could use to develop new twists and turns in the plots.

But these characters all have one common thread: they are overcomers, even in failure. Somehow they need to go beyond their super abilities and rely on something deep down inside their soul or the help of friends to escape danger and save the day. I develop my characters in similar fashion.

How I Got Started Writing: I’ve always written short stories going back to elementary school. I took writing classes at a local community college. And I had to research and write countless papers for my undergraduate and graduate studies. After toiling over 10 years in the banking and finance industry, I accepted a voluntary layoff and took advantage of the opportunity to write full-time. I told myself I needed a serious break from the corporate world and that I needed to do what I always wanted: write an action thriller book.

What Inspired Me to Write Breakthrough: A superabundance of breakthroughs in physics are broadcast into millions of homes via numerous cable channels in simple language and computer graphics anyone can understand. I thought I would capitalize on this particular niche and incorporate them into an action thriller series weaving together breakthroughs in physics and technology with greed, murder, and mayhem. Will these breakthroughs benefit mankind and be used to further civilization, or will they be stolen and used for greedy gain? I think we know the answer. That’s why the world needs a hero like my protagonist: Chase Manhattan.

How I Decided On My Story Angle: According to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, traveling through time is not a practical idea. However, discovering “shortcuts” that allow people to travel through space is a possibility. Many governments, militaries, colleges, as well as private and public companies have committed enormous resources in an attempt to discover this breakthrough.

With scientific knowledge growing at breakneck speed and the global geopolitical scene changing as quickly as it has been, I thought using these two ideas as a backdrop for Breakthrough would make for an exciting and ultimately terrifying trilogy (with a happy ending, of course).

I’ve always had an interest in writing: I love to write and tell a really good story. I have always had a passion vented deep within my soul to write action-suspense thrillers. My goal is to keep the reader staying up well past their normal bedtime or interfere with their daily routine by putting off tasks they need to accomplish in order to finish just one more chapter.

I love mixing an elixir of science and the supernatural, but within a plot that is not only believable but also plausible. Breakthrough is a realistic science fiction set in today’s everyday world we live and breathe in. It is not set in the future. There is no time travel. There are no men with pointy ears. Breakthrough is an action-suspense thriller that could very well happen today.

Are your characters based on yourself or anyone else you know?: The protagonist, Chase Manhattan is loosely based on me, only he’s a little bit taller than I am, a little bit better looking, a little faster, stronger, smarter, and much richer. The rest of the good guys (and girls) and bad guys (and girls) are partially made up and partially based on people I’ve known throughout my life.

Please join me tomorrow as I visit Laura Eno at A Shift in Dimensions as we talk about Developing Characters With Character.

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Stephen Tremp is author of the action thriller Breakthrough. To learn more about Stephen and his work (and read some great blog posts), visit him at Breakthrough Blogs. His complete virtual book tour schedule is available when you scroll down the Events page on his blog.

Wednesday Scramble

Post Name

I decided to change the name of my Wednesday post to help drag me out of my rut. For now, we'll have a Wednesday Scramble instead of Wednesday Bits and Pieces.


Tomorrow's Guest

A blogger friend who dates back to the Dani Greer online Blog Book Tour class we took in 2009 is my guest tomorrow. Stephen Tremp is stopping by on his very own virtual tour for his new release of Breakthrough, an action/adventure novel about science and wormholes and ninja-type villains. He'll be talking about his journey as a writer. If you want to check in on Stephen's tour today, he's at Karen Gowan's Coming Down the Mountain blog, talking about Promotion and Marketing.


Woodswoman d'Italia

This wonderful lady from Colorado takes a couple of trips to Europe each year, guiding a group of adventurous women around parts of Italy or France. Check out the Woodswoman d'Italia blog to read recent posts from Provence and Paris.


Furniture Shopping and Books

I took a couple of hours yesterday and went shopping for stuff to make our living room useful for reading and writing and television watching and entertaining company. It was pretty exciting. I went to one of the big furniture warehouses and then walked all over the place several times, testing the chairs to make sure they fit just right, shaking the coffee tables to make certain they were sturdy. I liked the big fall sale prices, so I probably went just a bit overboard. I kept telling myself I was helping the economy as I jotted down the order number for one more item. The new stuff gets delivered on Friday.

All I have to do now if figure out what to do with the bookcases and overflowing stacks of books to tidy up the space so it's not so busy and messy. I think step one will be finding a new home for a few of the books. I have two whole days to get ready. I'm heading down now to unload all the books from the bookcases and start sorting the keepers from the giveaways. I'll be done in time to welcome Stephen to my blog tomorrow morning. :)

Today I Shall...

...play hooky from this blog while I make the rounds and leave comments at your blogs. I've been such a busy little bee lately that I haven't had much time to see what my friends are talking about.
I'll be here tomorrow with my usual mixture of links and announcements and whatever.

And for my U.S. friends, if you haven't already turned in your ballot in early voting, I hope you'll visit the polls today. We are the people, and this is our day to be heard.

And after today, no more campaign ads and phone calls for at least a year. Yay!

Ten Things I've Learned So Far

1. I need to listen and ask questions more than I talk.

2. A fancy title doesn't change a thing. Palmetto bugs are still cockroaches.

3. Smoking is a nasty habit that makes people sick.

4. Career politicians are parasites.

5. It's okay to eat chocolate, but eating a whole box of chocolates at one sitting is stupid.

6. Big tasks are completed one tiny chore at a time.

7. I learn more about things that interest me from talking to women than from talking to men.

8. Learning to sit quietly and relax is a valuable skill.

9. I'm not required to finish every project I start.

10. Smiles are good and should be given and received on a daily basis.