"Happy Father's Day Mama!"
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Happy Father's Day
I love my sweet kids. A little heavy-handed? Okay ... I love my kids when they're sweet!! I thought I'd share with you the plant I got for Father's Day, along with a card that said ..
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
'A Summer in Ocracoke' ... my first proof copy arrived today!
Now I get to read it and look for errors. If I don't find any, it will go to my "editors" for a once over. I believe I had three proofs of Boomerang before it went to press.
I think the jacket art turned out nicely. My name needs adjusted at the bottom, but the title and picture itself looks good ... and the back cover doesn't need anything changed.
It feels so good to hold a book I've written!!
I wonder if that feeling ever gets old? I hope not. I hope I get excited every time I hold each new book I write ... every ... single ... time :)
Saturday, June 8, 2013
And my next book is (drumroll, please)
On the Shores of Carolina
That's the title for now. That could change at any time, but I'm pretty sure that's what I will end up calling it. I've heard of authors changing the working title many times during the writing process, or still struggling to come up with one after the work is finished. Not me. I need a title before I can even begin to write. So far, however, I have yet to change a title once I've made the decision.
After much thought, and countless hours I should have been sleeping, I finally decided on how I thought the book should start. So, first thing this morning, I started writing On the Shores of Carolina in earnest.
The first sentence is always the hardest. The entire book will flow from that one, simple thought. I consider it as critical as the very last sentence, and perhaps even more so ... the first page or two have to pique the curiosity of the reader enough to care about the characters and the story they have to tell. If you don't hook your reader in the first paragraph or two, chances are that book is going back to the library or given away ... unread ... and they'll never see the last sentence.
Today I wrote the first chapter and part of the second. So far, I like it. I usually have several false-starts when working on a new novel, and On the Shores of Carolina is no different. I think I wrote the first chapter of A Summer in Ocracoke a couple dozen times before I finally hit on one I liked. Hopefully I won't change my mind, and I won't have to rewrite the first chapter of Carolina a dozen or more times to be satisfied with it.
Speaking of A Summer in Ocracoke, I finished my latest round of edits and the jacket cover design, and have ordered my first proof. I had to order three proofs of Boomerang before I hit the "approved" button. My goal is to have A Summer in Ocracoke available for sale on Tuesday, September 9, 2013. With any luck it will be available before then!
And speaking of Boomerang ... my oldest daughter lent her copy to a co-worker. According to my daughter, this woman loves to read, and romance novels are her favorite. When she gave the book back to my daughter, she said she loved it. She also asked "Is this a local author?" My daughter replied "Yes! My mother!" It made me feel good that she said she loved Boomerang before she found out my daughter was related to the author.
My goal is to release On the Shores of Carolina in September of 2014. I'm hoping it will be sooner, but for now, September of 2014 is the goal.
That's the title for now. That could change at any time, but I'm pretty sure that's what I will end up calling it. I've heard of authors changing the working title many times during the writing process, or still struggling to come up with one after the work is finished. Not me. I need a title before I can even begin to write. So far, however, I have yet to change a title once I've made the decision.
After much thought, and countless hours I should have been sleeping, I finally decided on how I thought the book should start. So, first thing this morning, I started writing On the Shores of Carolina in earnest.
The first sentence is always the hardest. The entire book will flow from that one, simple thought. I consider it as critical as the very last sentence, and perhaps even more so ... the first page or two have to pique the curiosity of the reader enough to care about the characters and the story they have to tell. If you don't hook your reader in the first paragraph or two, chances are that book is going back to the library or given away ... unread ... and they'll never see the last sentence.
Today I wrote the first chapter and part of the second. So far, I like it. I usually have several false-starts when working on a new novel, and On the Shores of Carolina is no different. I think I wrote the first chapter of A Summer in Ocracoke a couple dozen times before I finally hit on one I liked. Hopefully I won't change my mind, and I won't have to rewrite the first chapter of Carolina a dozen or more times to be satisfied with it.
Speaking of A Summer in Ocracoke, I finished my latest round of edits and the jacket cover design, and have ordered my first proof. I had to order three proofs of Boomerang before I hit the "approved" button. My goal is to have A Summer in Ocracoke available for sale on Tuesday, September 9, 2013. With any luck it will be available before then!
And speaking of Boomerang ... my oldest daughter lent her copy to a co-worker. According to my daughter, this woman loves to read, and romance novels are her favorite. When she gave the book back to my daughter, she said she loved it. She also asked "Is this a local author?" My daughter replied "Yes! My mother!" It made me feel good that she said she loved Boomerang before she found out my daughter was related to the author.
My goal is to release On the Shores of Carolina in September of 2014. I'm hoping it will be sooner, but for now, September of 2014 is the goal.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Phones and books
I am still working through some issues on my phone. It's not exactly what I'd design myself, but it's good enough. I can live with the things I don't like (not that I have a choice), and look for applications to replace the ones I'm not thrilled with.
And ... on a completely unrelated note ... I just finished an excellent book by one of the most prolific writers of our day, whom I shall simply call "Author". Author doesn't generally write the type of books I tend to read, but every great once in a while, Author will write a book that does appeal to me. Regardless of whether or not Author writes "my" kind of book, Author is a master storyteller.
Although the subject of this particular book piqued my curiosity, and I was very interested in reading it, it hinted at political undertones ... and Author and I are polar opposites when it comes to politics. I began reading, hoping Author didn't go off on a rant against everything I believe in, which would completely turn me off and force me to quit reading ... because I really wanted to know how the book turned out ... and to my surprise, Author handled the subjects with more diplomacy than I expected. Author's political views came out loud and clear, but they stopped short of cramming them down my throat ... and there were far fewer than I anticipated. I finished the book in record time, and although I was able to predict most the plot twists ... and the ending ... it was still a very good read. One plot twist, however, was very unexpected. I can't go into detail without revealing the Author and the book, but it made Author's political views looks quite bad! I hadn't expected that. I was certain Author was using this novel as a soapbox for why I'm on the "wrong side". I was wrong ... and I'm glad.
More than that, though, I found two major goofs in the book. One where Author said something about not ever needing something the male protagonist had purchased (hence, the money the protagonist had paid was spent for nothing) ... but the item had been used. An entire paragraph described the difficulty the protagonist had using it.
The second, and the biggest goof, was using the last wrong name when speaking of the female protagonist. That's a pretty big goof! Regardless, the book was excellent.
I'm ashamed to admit, but it made me feel a little happy inside to find those errors! I know how they occurred ... it's easy to change one tiny thing and forget you referenced it later, so the two parts of the story don't match. That is frighteningly easy to do. Where Author got the name wrong, it was an understandable error ... the protagonists last name was very similar to another last name that came up often. So why did it make me "happy"? I will tell you ... because if someone as famous as Author, and with the kind of staff and resources at Author's disposal, even Author's books can go to print with blazing errors ... and I won't have to feel like a total failure if an error is discovered in one of mine.
I've read a few other books with big errors like that ... one where some people are running away from an explosion and pass a treasured acquaintance running as well, and is relieved to see that so-and-so made it out safely, too. A few paragraphs later, they are watching the resulting fire, mourning the loss of their friend (the one they saw running out) who surely perished in the explosion. Another had an identical paragraph in twice ... word for word ... with one paragraph in between them. Both of these authors are very well respected, best-selling authors, too.
I may not be perfect, and my novels may contain errors (although I hope not!), but if the big dogs can publish works with errors, perhaps I shouldn't worry myself half-sick that mine will go to print with an error ... and if they do, it's a forgivable offense.
And ... on a completely unrelated note ... I just finished an excellent book by one of the most prolific writers of our day, whom I shall simply call "Author". Author doesn't generally write the type of books I tend to read, but every great once in a while, Author will write a book that does appeal to me. Regardless of whether or not Author writes "my" kind of book, Author is a master storyteller.
Although the subject of this particular book piqued my curiosity, and I was very interested in reading it, it hinted at political undertones ... and Author and I are polar opposites when it comes to politics. I began reading, hoping Author didn't go off on a rant against everything I believe in, which would completely turn me off and force me to quit reading ... because I really wanted to know how the book turned out ... and to my surprise, Author handled the subjects with more diplomacy than I expected. Author's political views came out loud and clear, but they stopped short of cramming them down my throat ... and there were far fewer than I anticipated. I finished the book in record time, and although I was able to predict most the plot twists ... and the ending ... it was still a very good read. One plot twist, however, was very unexpected. I can't go into detail without revealing the Author and the book, but it made Author's political views looks quite bad! I hadn't expected that. I was certain Author was using this novel as a soapbox for why I'm on the "wrong side". I was wrong ... and I'm glad.
More than that, though, I found two major goofs in the book. One where Author said something about not ever needing something the male protagonist had purchased (hence, the money the protagonist had paid was spent for nothing) ... but the item had been used. An entire paragraph described the difficulty the protagonist had using it.
The second, and the biggest goof, was using the last wrong name when speaking of the female protagonist. That's a pretty big goof! Regardless, the book was excellent.
I'm ashamed to admit, but it made me feel a little happy inside to find those errors! I know how they occurred ... it's easy to change one tiny thing and forget you referenced it later, so the two parts of the story don't match. That is frighteningly easy to do. Where Author got the name wrong, it was an understandable error ... the protagonists last name was very similar to another last name that came up often. So why did it make me "happy"? I will tell you ... because if someone as famous as Author, and with the kind of staff and resources at Author's disposal, even Author's books can go to print with blazing errors ... and I won't have to feel like a total failure if an error is discovered in one of mine.
I've read a few other books with big errors like that ... one where some people are running away from an explosion and pass a treasured acquaintance running as well, and is relieved to see that so-and-so made it out safely, too. A few paragraphs later, they are watching the resulting fire, mourning the loss of their friend (the one they saw running out) who surely perished in the explosion. Another had an identical paragraph in twice ... word for word ... with one paragraph in between them. Both of these authors are very well respected, best-selling authors, too.
I may not be perfect, and my novels may contain errors (although I hope not!), but if the big dogs can publish works with errors, perhaps I shouldn't worry myself half-sick that mine will go to print with an error ... and if they do, it's a forgivable offense.
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