It's First Friday again. Doesn't the month fly by?
Here's a question I'm asked quite often by non-writers, who are usually mystified by the whole publishing process. How did you find your publisher?
Well, Avaloners? How did you?
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
The Beauty and Beast E
It's the first Thursday of the month - time for a free story! I hope you'll enjoy it . . .
Jill dragged herself up to her apartment. Just one more flight of steps. Thank God the week from hell was over. On Monday, her boss insisted on a hurried research about a range of products from a competitor, then the yearly product presentation threw her in a frenzy, and to top it all off, the annual New York Gift Show, sweltering hot, drained all her remaining energy. But now it was Friday and she was back in Seattle and almost home.
She resisted the urge to grab her right leg and hoist it up the next step. If only her contact lenses wouldn’t hurt so much. They had started to make trouble on her flight back from NYC to Seattle, and by now, their edges felt sharp enough to slice into her eyeballs.
With a sigh, she wiped the sweat from her face, stabbed the key into her door, turned it, and almost fell inside. Stuffy air welcomed her in. Scattering her handbag and her shoes on the way, she made a beeline for the bathroom and eased out the offending lenses.
There.
That was better.
With a practiced movement, she pulled the magnifying mirror on her right closer, as far as it’s extendable arm would stretch, and stared into it, her nose almost touching the surface.
Bloodshot eyes in a pasty face stared back at her.
Maybe working fourteen hours a day wasn’t a good idea.
Jill dragged herself up to her apartment. Just one more flight of steps. Thank God the week from hell was over. On Monday, her boss insisted on a hurried research about a range of products from a competitor, then the yearly product presentation threw her in a frenzy, and to top it all off, the annual New York Gift Show, sweltering hot, drained all her remaining energy. But now it was Friday and she was back in Seattle and almost home.
She resisted the urge to grab her right leg and hoist it up the next step. If only her contact lenses wouldn’t hurt so much. They had started to make trouble on her flight back from NYC to Seattle, and by now, their edges felt sharp enough to slice into her eyeballs.
With a sigh, she wiped the sweat from her face, stabbed the key into her door, turned it, and almost fell inside. Stuffy air welcomed her in. Scattering her handbag and her shoes on the way, she made a beeline for the bathroom and eased out the offending lenses.
There.
That was better.
With a practiced movement, she pulled the magnifying mirror on her right closer, as far as it’s extendable arm would stretch, and stared into it, her nose almost touching the surface.
Bloodshot eyes in a pasty face stared back at her.
Maybe working fourteen hours a day wasn’t a good idea.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Interview with Carolyn Brown
Today, I have the happy task of interviewing Carolyn Brown, the queen of Avalon Books, with 38 books to her credit and more on the way. Enough from me; I know you all want to hear from Carolyn.
Good morning everyone. I'm glad to be here at Avalon today to talk about my new release, Walkin' On Clouds. I've got a cup of coffee and one of those virtual brownies that has no fat or calories; so if Miz Sandy is ready, fire away with the questions and I'll try to keep up with the answers.
SANDY: Let's get to the good stuff first. Tell us about your latest Avalon release.
CAROLYN: Walkin' on Clouds is the second book in the Angels & Outlaws trilogy. From Wine to Water came out in December and A Trick of the Light will be here in August. I was asked to describe the series in as few words as possible and I came up with: Three nuns. Three outlaws. A long journey and many surprises ahead of them! Only those women weren't nuns and those three men weren't really outlaws.
Walkin' on Clouds is Fairlee Lavalle and Isaac Burnet's story. Isaac Burnet didn’t want to go to Louisiana to deliver the letter from Delia to her sister Fairlee, but he did. He sure didn’t want to be party to kidnapping the sassy, spirited lass on the eve of her wedding, or journey two weeks with a woman who didn’t like him, but he did.
Fairlee Lavalle was determined to marry Matthew Cheval no matter what her sisters, aunt, or uncle thought. She'd had all the adventure she wanted the spring before when her father hired three outlaws to bring her and her two sisters, Delia and Tempest, home from Texas. She would marry Matthew and they would be happy.
She continued to believe that he would love her right up until she was drugged and kidnapped by one of those outlaws who’d escorted them home. And to think it was with her sister’s help.
During the two-week journey, their hearts begin to see qualities they both like in the other. Will they ever admit it or will their stubbornness keep them apart forever?
SANDY: Let's get to the good stuff first. Tell us about your latest Avalon release.
CAROLYN: Walkin' on Clouds is the second book in the Angels & Outlaws trilogy. From Wine to Water came out in December and A Trick of the Light will be here in August. I was asked to describe the series in as few words as possible and I came up with: Three nuns. Three outlaws. A long journey and many surprises ahead of them! Only those women weren't nuns and those three men weren't really outlaws.
Walkin' on Clouds is Fairlee Lavalle and Isaac Burnet's story. Isaac Burnet didn’t want to go to Louisiana to deliver the letter from Delia to her sister Fairlee, but he did. He sure didn’t want to be party to kidnapping the sassy, spirited lass on the eve of her wedding, or journey two weeks with a woman who didn’t like him, but he did.
Fairlee Lavalle was determined to marry Matthew Cheval no matter what her sisters, aunt, or uncle thought. She'd had all the adventure she wanted the spring before when her father hired three outlaws to bring her and her two sisters, Delia and Tempest, home from Texas. She would marry Matthew and they would be happy.
She continued to believe that he would love her right up until she was drugged and kidnapped by one of those outlaws who’d escorted them home. And to think it was with her sister’s help.
During the two-week journey, their hearts begin to see qualities they both like in the other. Will they ever admit it or will their stubbornness keep them apart forever?
Monday, May 2, 2011
Ideas For Writers Are Everywhere...Even At The Food Court
Writers are an odd breed. We listen to other people's conversations, not to join in, mind you, but to capture the words, the natural rhythm. We're endlessly curious and can string together more "Why?" questions than a four-year-old...only to follow with a string of "How do you...?" And writers stare. Not rude, wide-eyed staring, but we observe with a stare that studies, catalogs, picks out details. A book for beginning writers that I read long ago suggested that this Observational Staring (OS) can be practiced like any other skill. The wonderful thing about OS is that it requires no special equipment, no money. Just a keen use of all five senses and a discerning mind.
And skilled OS leads to great book ideas.
So the other day I'm sitting at the Food Court in the local shopping mall waiting for a friend. I decide that since I'm early, it's a good time to practice OS and get the senses engaged. Here's what I gathered during my impromptu OS. Let's see how many book ideas get generated from just a few minutes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)