We Have a Winner!

This past Saturday, I conducted the drawing for the winner of Bargain with the Devil by Enid Wilson (she guest posted last Thursday). I wrote down all the names of those who commented except for Enid herself (I’m excited to say that I commented 5 times. Woo-woo, five entries! Just kidding.)

Each name went on a separate piece of paper. Then I put a doggie treat on the kitchen floor, mounded the names over the treat and directed Ruffles, my miniature Schnauzer to the pile.

I should point out that Ruffles is 15 years old, nearly blind, mostly deaf, has to be carried up the steps -- but at mealtimes or treat times, you’d think she was still a pup.

Once she got the smell of the treat, she bounded and shoved aside pieces of paper until she had the treat. There was only one piece of paper near by and it was stuck under her left hind paw. The winner.

Drumroll.

The winner is Laura Eno.

Laura writes the blog, A Shift in Dimensions. I noticed she has an email link on her Profile, so I’ll be emailing her today to get a snail mailing address.

Congratulations Laura!

This is the first time I’ve gotten to give away a visiting author’s book. It was fun. And Ruffles appreciated the unexpected treat.

As for the necklace and coasters, keep checking Enid’s blog. She’ll be giving those away from there.

Visual Writing Prompt: Hiding Clues

A writer of mystery/suspense/thriller has to hide the clues to the killer, bad guy, answer. Other writers also have to hide things - action/adventure or even fantasy. In almost any book, something is hidden, waiting to be revealed or found out. It’s the author’s job to keep it hidden until time for the reveal. If the reader guesses the ending too soon, the book is a disappointment.

So the author hides things. He may not let us in on the bad guy’s thoughts, or at least not in on all of them. She may hide clues in lists of seemingly unimportant information, one clue among many others. He may put something in plain sight, but have the protagonist, and thus the reader, dismiss it as wrong or inconsequential. The truth may be thrown in among many lies and misdirection. But the clues have to be there. The writer has to play fair (to a certain extent).

Things can be in plain sight, while still hidden. Can you find the golfer among the many palm trees?

You’ll have to look close. He’s not readily visible even if the picture were blown up in size. The golfer (the clue) is in among the palm trees (the distractions), but there are pointers to him (the golf carts), if you’re paying attention. (And if this picture shows up larger in the post than it does in Compose mode.)

Chortling in the Closet

A post by Joe Quirk in the San Francisco Chronicle had me chortling while checking my office to make sure there weren’t hidden cameras. Quirk writes about an infestation at Penguin Publishers that caused them to evacuate their offices. The infestation? Bedbugs.

Why? According to Quirk:

This plague was brought by the feminine deities, the Greek Muses, who have cast a pox upon their hides as punishment for their persecution of the Muses' chosen people: poets and writers.

Lots of people are concerned about the infestation, but apparently not for the health of the staff.

When a professional entomologist assured everyone that bed bugs won't damage the literature-- it's only the skins of publishers and staff that will develop wheals and pus-filled boils-- everybody drew a city-wide sigh of relief.

What had me checking for hidden cameras that might catch me laughing was this line:

When a professional was quoted as saying, "It sounds like it'll be a detailed crack-and-crevice treatment," I almost snapped on my latex gloves and called to volunteer, until I realized they weren't talking about publishers and publicists, but base molding, the second item on the list of concerns.

The thought of a bedbug infestation gives me the shivers, so I feel sorry for the people involved, but I am also glad the books are safe. And glad I’m not a book reviewer who received a Penquin book in the mail and didn’t know not to open it.

An Age Question

What constitutes “old” or “older”? Older seems sort of relative. When I was younger, I looked at my mother and aunts and thought, they’re old. Now, I realize they were probably in their forties at the time. That’s not old. But what is old?

A friend of mine and a great author, Sylvia Dickey Smith, now writes for Examiner.com as the Austin Writing Examiner columnist. Her niche is writing about older women writers. When she asked if I would write a couple of paragraphs about how it’s a plus or an advantage to be an older writer, I thought, hmm, I’m not old…but I am older…and being older is an advantage. (Thus, totally skirting facing the question, am I old? I can duck questions with the best of them.)

So I wrote the paragraphs and she took what I wrote and made me sound smart and coherent. (I told you she was a great writer.)

The article is now up. It’s called, “Helen Ginger Goes from Mermaid to Wonder Woman.” (Sylvia is also witty and prone to hyperbole.)

Also, if you’re an older woman writer, Sylvia is looking for authors to interview.

But back to the original question. When it comes to writers/authors, what age would you consider as “old”?

Under the Covers

Today’s guest author is Enid Wilson. Her latest book is Bargain with the Devil. Enid takes Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, twists it by asking, What If?, and comes up with a saucy short book you can read while sipping a glass of wine. And one of you can win a copy just by leaving a comment here today. I’ll tell you more about that and other ways and things to win later. First, let me tell you a bit about Enid.

You can visit her website to find out more about her blog tour, as well as snippets from Bargain with the Devil. She has a PG room and a NC-17 room, take your pick. Plus, she, of course, blogs (when she’s not off globe-trotting!). In addition to Bargain with the Devil, Enid is the author of In Quest of Theta Magic. She writes sexy and erotic romance, both modern, historical, paranormal or science fiction. And today, she’s here to talk about creating the cover of her latest, Bargain with the Devil.

Welcome Enid!

The Hunt of Steamy Darcy

One of the perks of self-publishing is you get to decide on the book cover design yourself.

When I published my first sexy paranormal romance In Quest of Theta Magic which was originally written as a Pride and Prejudice fantasy, I made the mistake of trying to design the cover myself.

I used a picture I took myself. It came out mystical enough to symbolize the fantasy world I created for the novel but didn’t represent the story at all.

Unhappy with it two weeks after its release, I talked to other self published authors and they told me they sourced photographs from online stock photo libraries such as istockphoto, fotolia, shutterstock, 123RF, bigstockphoto. The fee is reasonable, around US$30 for a high resolution photo, if your book is sold for less than 250,000 copies. (haha, I wish it could sell for more than that!)

I then talked to my readers in chat rooms. They, both men and women, all agreed that for a sexy romance about love, it must feature Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet together on the cover. Here is the final book cover of Theta Magic. The sales after the change of book cover were unbelievable. Seven months after its publication, I still have sales every month. Of course, several four to five stars reviews of the book help too.

When I decided to publish my second novel Bargain with the Devil: A spicy retelling of Pride and Prejudice, I was aware that the search for a lovely Darcy and Lizzy was very important.

But to get an ancient painting for the cover was very expensive. One online site which stocks ancient paintings charges US$3,000 for a five year copyright. Of course it was way beyond my budget.

I talked to an illustrator, Zuki, and she suggested I found a modern stock photograph and she could turn it into an ancient illustration for me.

So I asked the readers again. The scene they most remembered from my story which had been published for free in serial format before was with a drunken Mr. Darcy at a fisherman hut.

Elizabeth and he disguised as labourers to search for Lydia. Mr. Darcy got drunk and did some funny and naughty things to Lizzy. Readers still remember that scene even if they read it nearly a year ago.

Zuki suggested this photo as it was taken far enough to include some background detail and the bed. However during the illustration process, it was apparent that by changing it into a fisherman hut, the colour would not be as striking as turning it into a rich setting with elegant patterns on the bed sheet and rich drapes in the bedroom.

It suited another scene in my story very well: Lizzy was under the influence of witchcraft and spent a night of steamy encounter with Mr. Darcy at Pemberley.

The illustration was then turned into the present book cover by Susan.

I absolutely love the cover. Susan and Zuki’s fees were affordable.

Most readers love the cover too, except one. She told me she wanted her Mr. Darcy OLDER!

Well, the search for a steamy Mr. Darcy is never complete and that’s the fun of it.

***

Thank you Enid! I swear, I am totally amazed by what you accomplished in creating such a beautiful cover.

Okay, I said I’d tell you more about Enid’s wonderful giveaways. I have an extra copy (surely you didn’t think I’d give up mine) of Bargain with the Devil. Leave a comment here to have your name put in the drawing (be sure there’s a link back so I can let you know that you won). On Saturday, I’ll put all names on the floor atop a doggie treat and let my miniature Schnauzer, Ruffles, choose the winner (the winner is whoever's name doesn't get torn to pieces).

To have your name put in the drawing for one of two prizes Enid is giving away on her blog, just go there and leave her a comment today. She’s giving away a necklace and some really nice coasters. (I may arm wrestle you for the coasters.)

Again, thank you Enid for stopping by to talk about how you designed the cover for Bargain with the Devil. And thank all of you in advance for commenting or asking Enid questions. And remember to enter for all the giveaways. She’s going to be suspicious if all the entries link back to me.

Book Review: Bargain with the Devil

Tomorrow, Enid Wilson is visiting Straight From Hel. She’s the author of In Quest of Theta Magic and Bargain with the Devil. She’s going to talk about how she was able to create a beautiful, professional, cover for Bargain with the Devil. Her post is a must-read for all authors, especially anyone thinking of self-publishing.

To get you ready for her visit, I want to give you a couple of links to find out more about Enid, and then do a quick review of Bargain with the Devil.

First, the links:
Enid blogs at Steamy Darcy. She’s off traipsing around the world right now, but you can still leave a comment. She also has a website with lots of information and “rooms” to choose from.

Now, for the review:

Bargain with the Devil by Enid Wilson

It’s been umpteen years since I’ve read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I, like most other young women who read it, fell in love with Fitzwilliam Darcy. Now, after all these years, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this alternate version of the encounters of Darcy and Elizabeth.

Wilson stays true to the characters. You can see those original characters here in Bargain with the Devil. They’re alive again and going off on an adventure similar to the original book, yet very different. It’s that different path they take that sets this book apart from the original. Wilson has definitely modernized the story, while keeping it set in the same time period as the original.

Mr. Darcy is more of a rogue in this book. Elizabeth is more daring. Together, they make an excellent team. She asks him to help her find her sister. He agrees - but expects a payment from her. She agrees - but stands up to him eye to eye, or perhaps “stands up” is the wrong term.

This is a sexy, romantic, romp through a story and time that was probably not as sedate as we today believe.

Come back tomorrow to read Enid’s post on creating your own book cover - and find out how to win your own copy of Bargain with the Devil, and two other beautiful prizes!

Good Publishing News (Maybe)

There’s certainly been enough bad news to make writers cry lately, but there may be a sliver of good news on the horizon. The San Francisco Chronicle thinks the forecast may be cautious optimism with a possibility of progress.

Just in time for an especially crowded fall, business seems to be picking up for books.
Or at least declining less.

The news isn’t great for everyone, but for a few, things are looking up.

The Association of American Publishers, which had been reporting declines for much of the year, finally had some good news last week, announcing a 21.5 percent sales increase for June. Barnes & Noble Inc., which has been hurt by online competition and discount stores, reported a 5 percent revenue drop for the three months ending Aug. 1, but expects a smaller decline in the fall.

The author of the article, Hillel Italie, reports on a list of Fall authors who may help the upswing, including Dan Brown, Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Chabon, Sen. Ted Kennedy, Capt. Chesley Sullenberg, Elie Wiesel, Jeff Kinney, and others.

On another news front, specifically, CNET and Stephen Shankland, a review of Amazon’s Kindle on the iPhone is good news for readers hesitant to download that app to their iPhone. Shankland downloaded the free app and likes it (when he didn’t think he would).

What I hadn't counted on was a free Amazon iPhone application that converted me in a matter of minutes to the new order. E-books doubtless aren't for everybody, but one idle moment when I had time to kill showed they are for me.

He admits the process is not perfect.

I couldn't buy books through the iPhone Kindle app. The Kindle app can open an appropriate Web page for searching and buying in Safari, which works, but it's an awkward handoff to the browser and return to the Kindle app.

All in all, not fabulous news. But it is a step in the upward direction.

Award Monday

It’s Award Monday on Straight From Hel. I recently received three awards. (Thank you very much!) Of course, the best part about getting awards is sending them on to others. Some of the bloggers I chose have received awards from me before, but I decided to pass on another because I really thought you deserved it. Some of the bloggers are fairly new to me, but I’ve enjoyed getting to read your posts and hope others will too.

Elizabeth Spann Craig gave me the Kreativ Blogger Award. There are two parts to this award. First, I pass it on to 7 other bloggers:

Laura Eno with A Shift in Dimensions
Lori Tiron-Pandit at Daily Writing
Bermudaonion at Bermudaonion’s Weblog
Dana Fredsti of Zhadi’s Den
Sheila Deeth of Sheila Deeth
N.A. Sharpe of Realms of Thought
Marvin Wilson of The Old Silly’s Free Spirit Blog

Then, I list 7 favorite mystery authors (of many authors and in no particular order)
Susan Wittig Albert
Jeff Abbott
Nancy Bell
Karen MacInerney
Diane Fanning
Susan Rogers Cooper
Roberta Isleib

The second award I received was the Superior Scribbler from L. Diane Wolfe of Spunk on a Stick blog. (Thank you very much, Diane!)

Here are the rules to this award:
Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.
Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.
Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to this post, which explains The Award.
Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!
Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

I choose…
Miriam Forster with Dancing with Dragons is Hard on Your Shoes
Glynis Smy of New Scribbles From Glynis Smy
Stephen Tremp of Breakthrough Blogs for the Aspiring Author
Lauri Kubuitsile of Thoughts from Botswana
Heidi M. Thomas of Heidi M. Thomas: Author, Editor, Writing Teacher

Diane also gave me the: This "B-I-N-G-O" Beautiful Blog Award (Thank you again, Diane.)

The rules to this award are fairly simple:
This "B-I-N-G-O" BEAUTIFUL BLOG AWARD means that this blog is...

B: Beautiful: Stephanie Faris at Steph in the City
I: Informative: Elspeth at It’s a Mystery
N: Neighborly: Bob Sanchez of Bob Sanchez: Writing, Reading and a Bit of Travel
G: Gorgeous: L.J. Sellers with Write First, Clean Later
O: Outstanding: Jane Kennedy Sutton of Jane’s Ride

All in all, that’s 17 great blogs and bloggers, along with 7 great mystery writers. Gonna be a fun week, I can tell, with this many places to visit.

I hope the recipients will be happy to receive the award and will pass it on so we can all find new and interesting people to follow. Happy Monday to all!

Visual Writing Prompt 8-23-09

Do your plots run in a straight line? Do they twist and turn? Do you tell the story from start to finish, laying out the characters and events for the reader? Or do you hide things in the shadows or smoke?

Whether your book is a mystery or a romance or a memoir, the story doesn’t have to travel in a straight line. Everything doesn’t have to be revealed up front. Everything has to be there, but it can be “camouflaged” or told out of sequence. There can be shadows that hide the clues. There can be layers that have to be revealed over the course of the book rather than all at once.

If everything is laid out and revealed, why would your readers keep reading? If all the clues are obvious, what would keep the readers guessing?

One goal should be to make your readers have to work a little to figure out who the bad guy is or if he will be caught, to determine if the heroine deserves the hero or whether someone else will step in, to wonder if the subject of the book will come out whole or with a lesson for the reader.

Your book needs layers. It needs shadows. Clarity. Continuance. It needs turns that take the reader down the unexpected path. It needs depth. Your book can have multiple dimensions, not just one.

Kindle and Espresso

I was reading an article in Knowledge@Wharton about the technological evolution taking place in publishing. Not surprisingly, it talks about the Kindle.

… while the online-only retailer doesn't release sales figures for the reader itself, its cultural impact was clear by late July, when USA Today announced it would include Kindle editions in its popular weekly list of best-selling books.

What I liked about the article was that someone - finally - mentioned something else that’s shaping this revolution in publishing. The Espresso.

Where Kindle offers consumers a chance to buy some 350,000 books at the touch of a finger -- and then read them electronically -- the Espresso allows them to print a professional-looking paperback book in about the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.

Clearly, the Kindle and The Espresso have very little in common.

The smallest Kindle weighs 10.2 ounces. The Espresso weighs in at about 800 pounds. The cheapest Kindle costs $299. The cheapest Espresso, produced by On Demand Books of New York, goes for at least $75,000. The Kindle is all about virtual books and online transactions. The Espresso is about physical objects that consumers buy in person.

Clearly, readers can’t carry The Espresso around or have one in their home to print out a book whenever they need something to read. But book stores can. No more having to ship books to the store. No more over-ordering and then returning books.

These two advancements, The Espresso and eReaders, offer what consumers want. For those who love the Kindle and other eReaders, they can get ebooks. For those who want the feel and smell of a book, there’s The Espresso which gives you a book literally hot off the presses.

There’s a lot more to the article, so click over and read it in its entirety. But it seems to me that these two technological advances are good for readers and writers. I’m actually looking forward to seeing one of The Espresso machines in action. Are you?

Adding Description to Your Novel

Morgan Mandel writes mysteries, romances, and even has a dog book in the works. Her latest release is the romantic suspense, Killer Career, published by Choice One Publishing Co. Morgan’s still available back list includes Girl of My Dreams, a romantic comedy about the misadventures of a reality show contestant, and Two Wrongs, a romantic suspense involving wrongful imprisonment.

In addition to her website, Morgan blogs every day at her own blog and contributes to three other co-op blogs: Acme Authors Link, Make Mine Mystery, and The Blood-Red Pencil. She stays very busy and still has time to come by today to talk to us about description in novels.

Please help me welcome Morgan Mandel.

How to Add Description to Your Novel

One answer is to hire a great editor like Helen Ginger. In my edits, Helen pointed out various areas of Killer Career that were lacking in description. She was right. I knew what everything looked like, but the average reader wouldn’t. It was my job to pass along what was clearly in my mind onto the printed page.

I knew the basics, but while going through my edits, I learned how to put them to use. Here, I’ll share some of what I already knew and what I learned.

Description comes in many forms. When you slip into a character’s point of view, what that character notices is what you want the reader to be able to see. Here are a few areas where you can add description to enrich a novel:

Time of day - Is it sunrise, sunset, or maybe high noon? Is it night, with a half moon, a sliver or full moon? Can you see the stars or are clouds hiding them? Is there a fog in the morning? If so, is it covering a lake, or maybe a highway? Does it cause an accident?

Seasons of the year – Using the Seasons and the Holidays with their trappings is a great way to show the passage of time, but keep in mind your story’s setting. A character could long for a good old-fashioned Christmas while stuck somewhere dry and warm, instead what’s considered traditional. In an Illinois winter at six in the morning and six at night it’s dark, yet at the same times in the summer, it’s light.

Places where your characters live – Especially the first time, it’s important for the reader to get a grasp of what the character’s home looks like. It doesn’t have to be much. Just hints here and there about such things as tastes in furniture, like modern or country. Are there knickknacks on the wall or on end tables or shelves? Is the house pristine? You can use the sense of smell to describe cleaning agents or garbage that needs to be taken out. My busy character in Killer Career wasn’t overly concerned about keeping her house immaculate, so it wasn’t unusual that she hung clothes on a door knob and didn’t always make up her bed.

Places your characters visit – In the first scene of Killer Career, my character attended a mystery conference. Not only did I need to indicate in some way how many people were there, I also needed to show where they were in the room. The sound of silverware clanking and the interruption of a waitress making her rounds added to the authenticity of the scene.

What the characters look like – This includes such physical characteristics as eye and hair color. It can also mean hair style or lack of hair, skin color and/or blemishes, an accent or stutter. Does a character have dandruff? Bad breath? Is sweat dotting the forehead, maybe staining under the arms or between the shoulder blades? Do the clothes bulge because the character is overweight and doesn’t know how to hide it? Is the character tall or short? You can also describe a character’s walk. It could be fast, as with a young and impatient person, or it could be slow and halting, because it’s hard to move when the bones and joints are aching from old age.

There are so many other ways to add description to a novel. I hope some of my hints will help you when it’s time to add yours.

Thanks for hosting me today, Helen, and also, thanks for your wonderful help in getting my romantic suspense, Killer Career, up to speed.

My next stop is on Saturday, August 22, at Murder by 4, http://www.murderby4.blogspot.com, hosted by Marta Stephens. My topic is moving your plot forward.

Don’t forget the comment contest. You could start by telling us more ways to add description to a novel, or maybe one of them mentioned is already your favorite. The rules and prize list for the contest are at: http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/2009/08/prize-for-blog-book-tour.html

Thank you Mogan!

Before you all zip to the Comments section, let me add that Killer Career is available at major distributors such as Ingram, at Amazon.com, Bn.com, Target.com, Mobipocket.com, and by order at Bookstores. Here's a brief description of Killer Career:

Changing jobs could be a killer when Julie McGuire latches onto her sexy psychotic mentor, despite the warnings of her best friend and law partner, Dade Donovan. To save herself and Dade, she must face her greatest fear: claustrophobia.

Don't forget: Leave a comment to enter the contest!

Finding the Golden Thread in Memoir

Our guest author today is memoirist Karen Walker, author of Following the Whispers. Karen is a woman of many talents. For 30 years she had a career in marketing and public relations. Now she has a promising career in writing. She also has many loves in her life: her husband, their dog, and folk dancing, just to name a few.

For most of her life, she kept journals. But journals are not the same as a memoir. You can’t just copy sections and string them together to tell your story. Today, she’s going to tell us how to compose and write your own memoir. As she says, each writer has to find the golden thread of his or her life in order to write a memoir.

Welcome Karen Walker.

Finding the Golden Thread in Memoir

Most of you reading this blog are writers—whether you write mystery, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, nonfiction, textbook, travel memoir, or traditional memoir, we face many of the same challenges. I’m not sure fiction writers can apply what I am going to talk about here, but perhaps it’s adaptable. It’s about finding what my first editor, Dina Wolff McQueen called “the golden thread” of the memoir.

A memoir is supposed to be one aspect of one’s life, not a whole life; otherwise it would be an autobiography.

So how do you decide what to include and what to leave out? I’ve blogged about the process I went through in writing my memoir, so I will not repeat it here. You can visit http://tinyurl.com/n6p7sc if you haven’t already. What helped me the most during that journey were the sessions with Dina to find the golden thread. To reconstruct what was a very organic process is
difficult, but here’s the gist of those sessions.

First, write down the top five events in your life that transformed you. Next, write down the top five people who transformed you. Then write a short essay, describing your intention for the book. While you are doing this, identify who your intended audience is.

There are several types of memoirs and each has a purpose and intention.
Here is a partial list:

• Social change
• Confessional
• Transformative
• Adventure snippets
• Educational
• Making sense of one’s life – putting a life in order. What was my life about? Did I do what I set out to do? Am I on track with who I want to be?
• Help writer process emotions (although this is more journal-writing than memoir)
• Personal perspective on history
• Spirituality – transformational

See if a particular theme emerges as you review your lists of transformative events. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Who am I today as a result of this string of events?
2. What tragedies most impacted me thus far and how has my life been shaped around that?
3. What choices did I make that I approve of? What choices do I regret? What choices didn’t I make that I wish I had?

Create a detailed outline, keeping in mind that each inclusion moves the story forward with the intention you identified when you first started. When you think about including an element, see if it meets the golden thread criteria. In my memoir, Following the Whispers, the golden thread was how most of my life I heard whispers of intuition/wisdom/Spirit, but because of certain events in childhood, I shut down and stopped listening/paying attention. As a result, I made disastrous choices with devastating consequences. Once I began a spiritual journey to heal myself, and began listening to the whispers, my life began to improve.

After identifying the golden thread, it became a simple chore to decide what aspects of my life would go into the memoir and what should be excluded. If it didn’t show either an incident where I was shut down or an incident where I was awake and conscious enough to listen, it wasn’t included.

From the detailed outline, create a story board of the book. On a huge sheet of poster board, create a box for each chapter. Put the title of the chapter at the top and underneath, bullet points for each of the elements that will fall into that chapter. These may shift as you revise, but it is a great way to get a first draft.

Some tips for the next part of the process. Do not censor yourself in your first draft. Write it all. Your goal is to get to the truth of who you are and where you came from. What makes a good memoir is telling the truth. What draws a reader in more than anything is a writer’s willingness to be honest, including secrets that you’ve kept from yourself, those incidents where you were embarrassed, or something you’re not proud of, moments that made you reflect a great deal and probably caused you to make changes.

“If you tell the truth from a place of power, you will be changed,” Dina said to me.

She was right. Writing my memoir did change me. When it was finally published, and I stepped up to the podium at my book launch and held up that book, I felt as if I had stepped into the person I’ve been trying to become for 31 years. That’s power.

Thank you Karen!

Before I open this up for any comments or questions you may have for Karen, let me tell you that Following the Whispers is available from Amazon, B&N, or on her website. Plus, you can also follow Karen on her blog.

And now the Comments section is open.

Killer Career

As I said yesterday, we have two authors visiting this week. Thursday, memorist Karen Walker will stop by to talk about finding the golden thread in your life.

Then on Friday, Morgan Mandel, author of the mystery, Two Wrongs, the romantic comedy, Girl of My Dreams, and the newly published romantic suspense, Killer Career, will be here. Killer Career is available in ebook form from MobiPocket or in print from Amazon, bn.com, Target.com and in bookstores. And coming soon - Killer Career will be available to those of you who have a Kindle.

Morgan has her own Blog Talk Radio Show, plus she blogs on two co-op blogs, Acme Authors Link and The Blood-Red Pencil, as well as two of her own blogs, Double M and Make Mine Mystery. Plus, you can find her elsewhere on the web, from Twitter to Ning to Book Place.

She’s zipping around right now on a blog tour for Killer Career. She kicked off the tour this past Sunday with a live launch party at Arlington Heights Historical Museum in Illinois. And this Friday she’ll be here on Straight From Hel to talk about how to add description to your novel.

So, be sure you stop by this Friday and say hi to Morgan and ask her questions about descriptions - or anything else you’ve been dying to know about her books, her life, or Rascal, Morgan’s dog, who has her own site.

Following the Whispers

It’s an honor to host authors here on Straight From Hel. Who doesn’t love getting to know the aspirations, dreams, quirks and secrets of authors? Not I!

This week, we’ll get to hear from two. Yeah, I said, two.

Today, I’m introducing you to our Thursday author: Karen Walker.

Her memoir, Following the Whispers, just out this year, has been getting great reviews.

“There is no such thing as an average memoir, but if there were, Karen Walker's story, Following the Whispers: Creating a Life of Inner Peace and Self Acceptance from the Depths of Despair, would not be among them. From the title of her first chapter, "In the Beginning ... There Was Self-Hatred" to the guidelines for weight management at the end, this book is unusually rich with personal insight…. I admire both the heart and the craft of this book.” Sharon Lippincott, Story Circle Book Reviews

In addition to Following the Whispers, Karen has published essays in newspapers and magazines, as well as in an anthology series. She’s also had a thirty year career in marketing and public relations. To pursue her new career in writing, she went back to college to complete a Bachelor’s degree and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2005 from the University of New Mexico’s University Studies program with a major emphasis in Creative Writing.

Karen’s stopping by Straight From Hel this Thursday to talk about her process for writing memoir. She’s going to talk about how to find the “golden thread” in memoir. Step by step, she’ll lead us through finding our own “golden thread” in our lives and in our life story.

If you want to see the beauty of Karen’s writing, she has a page of samples of her writing. Start with My Father’s Keeper at the top of the page. All you have to do is read that and I know you’ll be back for more on Thursday.

One Lovely Blog Award

Last week, author and lovely blogger herself, Maryann Miller, totally surprised me with the One Lovely Blog Award. She said this about me:

Helen Ginger -- who has a terrific blog and newsletter packed with helpful information for writers. She is so generous with her time and expertise, and I really admire her for that. She is also a terrific editor.

I feel like Sally Fields now. [Cue the groans while I accept my award.]

There are so many fabulous blogs and bloggers out there to pass this award on to. But I had to narrow it down to three.

Mary Gordon Spence - speaker, author, columnist, humorist and blogger. Mary Gordon can take the ordinary and make it funny.

Karen Walker - memoirist and author of Following the Whispers. Karen is honest, open, and always shows her heart.

Anton Gully - his blog is always different, unique and interesting. Besides, I wanted to hear what the guy who named his blog, Dogs of Despair Ate My Novel, has to say about receiving the One Lovely Blog Award.

Those are my picks. If Mary Gordon, Karen and Anton would like to keep this award going, here are the rules:
1) Accept the award, and don’t forget to post a link back to the awarding person.
2) Pass the award on.
3) Notify the award winners.

And thank you again, Maryann!

Shaping Your Characters

As you write, keep in mind that your characters are people. They’re shaped by their experiences, just like we are. None of us popped out of a mold as we are today. And that shaping is a big part of who we are, what we believe, what we do, who we befriend, where we live, what we eat, who we trust or mistrust, what movies we prefer, and on and on.

To make your characters come alive on the page, you need to think of them as real people, shaped by their lives and their experiences.

If you accept that we are indeed shaped by our past and our experiences, then it holds that our surroundings, beliefs, friends, jobs, homes, and other things in our lives reflect those pasts and experiences.

And if you accept that your characters are people, then it holds true that the things you show about them in the book - their cars, jobs, friends, callings, propensity to get into trouble, mysteries, romances, and so on - are reflections of them.

So, rather than plunk your protagonist in a Mercedes, you have to stop and ask, would she drive such a car? Instead of putting a Monet on your antagonist’s wall, you should ask, would he even be an art enthusiast, or what kind of art would this psycho have on her living room wall to hide her safe filled with stolen money?


Look around your own office or bedroom or kitchen. Do the things there reflect you? Here’s a mermaid I have in my office. This was a present from a close friend, Terri Schexnayder. It was my first mermaid. I’ve since added two more. It clearly reflects my own past experience. Think of your protagonist. What most reflects her personality or problem? Have you included that in the book?

Below Zero

My husband and I are both fans of C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett series. As soon as a new book in the series comes out, one of us will pick it up. Recently, my husband came home from a trip with the latest, Below Zero. As soon as he finished reading it, I snatched it up.

I like settling into my reading chair with an old friend. And by old friend, I mean a series character that I like and look forward to meeting up with again. And that’s the way Joe Pickett feels. He’s not a Rambo kind of guy. He’s an everyday man, a Wyoming game warden, who does the best he can, lives by his morals, stays true to his friends, and, when punched, punches back. In Below Zero, the punches are personal.

Pickett is not all that complicated. He’s rather like you and me. We are what we are and most of us don’t have a lot of hidden agendas or skeletons in the closet. We can identify with Pickett. But, of course, Pickett comes up against some really bad guys. In Below Zero, he’s up against Stenko, a Chicago mobster, and his son. The stakes are high, really high, as well as dear to Pickett and his family. There’s not much Pickett won’t do or endure this time.

For someone who’s read every book in the series, there’s a bit of a drag when Box tells some back story, but it’s necessary. So if this is your first in the Joe Pickett series, you could pick up Below Zero and not be lost. But the back story will make you want to read the earlier books, so you might as well start from the beginning.

It’s a fast-paced book with a good guy and some really bad guys and with stakes about as high as they can get.

I liked it and recommend it.

Scammers Beware

The great majority, I would say, of writers looking to query agents or publishers have heard of the site/database called “Writer Beware.” Writer Beware for years has been sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. It’s purpose is to expose publishing scams and educate writes on protecting themselves from fraud. To that end, it maintains a large database of literary agents, publishers, editorial services and literary contests they consider questionable.

The good news is that Mystery Writers of America is teaming up with them with a financial grant of $1000 and by sharing their booth at BookExpo and supplying speakers at conferences to talk about fraudulent publishing practices.

This is all good news for writers. And you can read the PRNewswire article for the full announcement.

And if you’ve never heard of Writer Beware, here’s a bit about it:

Writer Beware's efforts are not limited by country or genre. Their website can be used by any writer, regardless of subject, style, genre, or nationality. . .or professional standing. The Writer Beware blog offers up-to-the-minute information on specific scams and schemes, along with advice for writers. And Writer Beware offers free research service for writers with questions about agents, publishers, and others.

Have any of you ever checked the Writer Beware site before querying?

Also, be sure to check out the final post, Giving the Talk, in my Public Speaking for Authors over on The Blood-Red Pencil. You can also go back to review the three posts leading up to today’s:
Tuesday: Organizing Your Talk
Wednesday: Practicing Your Talk
Thursday: Preparing for a Reading

Just Say No

According to an August 7th New York Times article, one of the largest entertainment agencies, William Morris Endeavor, is telling its clients to opt out of the Google book settlement.

You probably already know about the controversy surrounding Google and the belief by publishers that they were violating copyrights by scanning books to make available online in digital form and to sell them. The NY Times article said:

Copyright holders who agree to the settlement would have the right to dictate how Google displayed content from the books, and could ask Google not to sell them.

So why is William Morris advising its clients to opt out of the settlement?

… William Morris advises writers to opt out of the settlement because it would “bind copyright owners in any book published prior to January 9, 2009 to its terms…. “Now they’ve got this license to sell your books at a pre-negotiated one-time royalty that you’re stuck with unless a court changes the settlement,” Eric Zohn, an attorney in business affairs at William Morris, said in an interview. “It’s like a legislative change. Under copyright law, you don’t have anything without express written consent from the copyright holder. Now the court is saying Google is free to sell your book unless you expressly tell them not to.”

Zahn is, on the other hand, advising clients to allow Google to keep their digitized books in Google’s database for searching.

It sure seems like this whole Google digitalizing and selling books deal will never get settled. What do you think?

(After telling us your thoughts, remember to bop over to The Blood-Red Pencil. It's day three in my Public Speaking for Authors series. Day one was Organizing Your Talk. Day two was Practicing Your Talk. And today, it's Preparing for a Reading. See you there.)

The Future of Books

This past Sunday, I attended the Heart of Texas Sisters in Crime chapter meeting. The speaker, David Heavener, talked about screenwriting and the film industry. Heavener is an award winning filmmaker and actor. He’s also an speaker and singer/songwriter. Although his focus was on screenwriting, it was easy to translate his comments to book writing.

He talked about the importance of having a goal, of knowing what you want to do and where you want to be in your career. With that “end” in mind, you establish smaller steps to get to that goal. This is true for writers. What is your ultimate goal? Write it down. Then find out what you have to do to reach that goal - write those steps down. You can divide that into many smaller goals, each with its own steps. Perhaps your overall goal is to become a best-selling author. What are the intervening goals? Write a book. What are the steps to get to that? Edit the book. Again, steps. Find an agent. Steps. And so on, all the way to your ultimate goal.

One thing I found especially interesting about Heavener’s talk was his prediction about the movie industry. He predicts that, basically, it’ll be gone as we know it in five years. Hollywood is already losing more money than it’s making. With the economy the way it is in California, there’s already talk of taking away the help the movie industry gets, such as not having to pay property taxes. He says movies are moving to Webisodes and perhaps much shorter movies supported by advertisers.

As I listened, it made me think of books. The book industry is changing - reluctantly - but changing nonetheless. Self-publishing is bigger than ever now that you don’t need a major house to sell your books on Amazon or B&N online or the myriad of other outlets. E-books are growing in popularity, especially among the younger generation, which, incidentally, is the same age group changing movies to Webisodes. Book promotion still takes place in brick and mortar bookstores, but not like in the past. Internet promotions are just as important, if not more prevalent, as actual tours. More and more people are buying their books online or downloading them to reading devices.

I find it hard to believe we’re nearing the end of print publishing or actual bookstores. But then, I’m old enough to have trouble imagining not going to the movies and sitting with my popcorn to watch a movie on the big screen. My kids are used to watching movies or Webisodes on their computer screen. What will your kids’ kids watch? What and how will they read?

(Speaking of speakers…After you leave us a pithy comment here about the end of publishing as we know it, drop by The Blood-Red Pencil. I’m doing a 4-day series on Public Speaking for Authors. Yesterday, we talked about Organizing Your Talk. Today, the topic is Practicing Your Talk.)

Best-Seller List Secrets

Just about every author dreams of making the best-seller list. The New York Times. The USA Today list. Amazon’s best-seller list. Costco’s list. There’s a ton of them out there. But it’s always a coup to get to say you’re a “best selling author.”

Well, today I have the secrets to the Amazon best-seller list, straight from ABC News.

The article starts off by saying that it’s not necessarily readers who choose the winners. Often times, it’s the discounts and store positioning of the books. It then goes on to say that today authors have to take responsibility for marketing their books - and part of that is tracking sales.

The writer, Marion Maneker, uses one nonfiction author, Andy Kessler, as an example. The author tracks his sales on Amazon after each marketing effort to see if there’s an uptick in sales. He can then see if that particular effort was worthwhile. The author, Andy Kessler, wrote:

I once hit No. 4 and stayed there almost all day. It was a Sunday. An e-mail newsletter had dropped on Friday night with a direct link, and I could almost hear mouses clicking all weekend.

According to the article, there are ways to “game” the system.

The simplest way to game the Amazon list is to gather credit card numbers directly at speaking engagements or through an e-mail offer, then turn around and plug the names and addresses into Amazon by hand.

It's raw data entry, but the applied effort can shoot a title to the top. Amazon is a "long tail" retailer. At the very top-- rankings No. 1 to No. 10-- a book could be selling 3,000 to 10,000 copies a week through the Internet retailer. So all it takes is, say, 500 to 1,000 copies manhandled through the system on a single day to get your book into the top ranks.

The writer of the article says there’s no point in trying to manipulate Amazon’s sales. It’s not like you’ll get a discount at superstores or a bonus. But I don’t think that’s why an author wants to be on a best-seller list.

I think authors know that being a [Fill in the blank] Best-Selling Author gets you more recognition, more reviews, and more sales.

Tell us why you would want to be a best-selling author on one of the big lists. (Once you've done that, pop over to The Blood-Red Pencil where I start a week-long series on Public Speaking for Writers. Today, the topic is: Organizing Your Talk.)

Cool Video

A friend sent me the link to this video. It actually has little to do with writing, but I thought the Touchtable was cool enough that someone writing suspense or a crime novel or a futuristic novel could put it into the book.

The Touchtable was designed to be for teaching children geography, but is now being used by the military, airline industry, police departments and has potential for medical uses and a lot of other things.

I’m going to try to embed the video here so it’ll be convenient for you to see. If it doesn’t show up, go to http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/video/231-touchtable.html to see it. (I’m not always successful embedding video.)



What do you think of this?

More E-Reader News

I keep talking about e-readers (even though I don’t have one, unless you count my iPhone). That's because things keep happening. We talked about Amazon and their e-reader, the Kindle, and Barnes & Noble's new eReader and then the Apple reading tablet and Google’s building of a digital book ecosystem. Most of us seemed to agree it would be really helpful if books could be made available on all these competing systems so you could download any book to whatever type reader you had.

There’s hope on the horizon.

Yesterday, I read an article about LibreDigital, which started up in 1999 with $70 million in venture capital as NewsStand to provide digital copies of newspapers. In 2006, it relaunched itself with $7 million from Harper-Collins Publishers and other investors to focus on the electronic book publishing market.

According to the Austin American-Statesman article,

LibreDigital will use the new investment to further the development of its technology, which lets publishers deliver content to readers across a range of platforms, from electronic book readers to digital phones.

It’s still delivering digital newspapers, but is now also working with six of the top 10 publishers, including HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group and Simon & Schuster.

LibreDigital CEO Russell Reeder said "knitting together traditional and new content sources with the various mobile devices consumers use can be daunting for any publisher. We're making the entire process seamless, no matter what device or content source publishers need to feed."

According to the article, chairman of LibreDigital says,

the market for e-books and electronic editions of newspapers is projected to exceed $2 billion by 2012.

So companies are starting to jump into this field of making books available across different platforms. There’s hope that what readers and authors want to happen is in the works.

Summer Reading

I recently read an article in the Washington Post about book-reads for the summer. These were books that the writer thought would be good reads for you to take to the beach and relax and enjoy.

He (or she - no name was credited to the article) listed 5 titles:

The Peep Diaries

Although Niedzviecki does have some genuine insights, "The Peep Diaries," as befitting a book with "peep" in the title, is also well-stocked with salacious anecdotes. The suburban housewife blogger with fetishes for spanking and Star Wars is just one memorable example.

Shelf Discovery

… offers a nostalgic look back at classic young adult novels, ranging from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series to Newbery Award winning favorites by Madeleine L'Engle, Scott O'Dell and Katherine Paterson.

The Writing Class

While ostensibly a whodunit about a killer menacing an adult education course in creative writing, the highlights are not the shocking moments, but the portions when Willett allows us to read the students' writing.

Ugly Man

Cooper's stories feature copious doses of sex (usually gay), violence and drug use, but there is more to them than just chronicling degradation.

Ground Up

… chronicles the numerous challenges faced by a New York couple who decide to open a sophisticated coffee house.

What about you? What’s been your favorite read so far this summer?

Book Titles

Would you pay someone to come up with a title for your book?

Brett Peterson is hoping you would. He’s started a company called Novel Title. While in college at George Washington University, his professors seemed to think his papers had good titles. So Peterson started helping fellow students give catchy titles to their papers. That led him to think he could start a business helping authors, literary agents and publishers come up with titles that would sell books.

People always said don’t judge a book by its cover, but obviously people always have. But now that people buy their books on Amazon or they’re searching on Google, they don’t see the cover anymore-- they see the title. So the title becomes really key in whether the consumer is going to purchase the book.

Here are a couple of examples of titles he came up with for college papers:
Sour Grapes: The Trials and Tribulations of the Global Wine Market
Hunt for the Real October: The Truth and Myths About the 1917 Russian Revolution

He describes it as both art and science:

The art is trying to create a title that stands out and catches eyes, but the science is to have those keywords in there that are so crucial when you’re searching on Amazon or Google, so that it will pop up in your search. Also I’d say that it has to be a buzzworthy title, something that’s not too long, so that if you’re in a book club or something it’s easy to remember and not too much of a mouthful.

So, how much does he charge for this talent of titling? Here’s what he said in the Observer article:

I have been contacted by aspiring authors trying to break in and trying to have something that’s going to catch a publisher’s eye or a literary agent’s eye. Those have been at $150. With a publishing company I would hope to have a retention, and when they’d have books come up that they find hard to position in the market that I’d just be at their service and title it for them. It’d be a monthly rate.

What do you think? Would his service be worth $150 to you?

Don’t Be Late to the Party

Apparently, for authors, being late can get you kicked out. The New York Observer reports that it’s becoming more common than in the past for publishers to drop an author who doesn’t get their manuscript in by the deadline set in the contract. And we’re not just talking getting terminated or having to renegotiate the contract. We’re talking having to pay back your advance.

Remember, that advance an author is given is dependent on the author fulfilling his/her part of the contract, or as Eric Simonoff, an agent at WME Entertainment, called the advance: “a loan.”

If you’re a big name author, like Dan Brown, whose book is highly anticipated, your contract is not likely to be terminated. But if you’re midlist or your popularity has waned in the time it’s taken you to complete the book, you might want to look out.

“What has happened is that in the cold light of morning, publishers are looking at all these expensive deals they made based on the inflated marketplace, and now the bill is coming due and they don’t want the contracts anymore,” said one top agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Agents are urging their authors to get their work in on time.

As Mr. Simonoff said, “The reality is, you don’t have to worry about lateness if they want your book. You only have to worry about lateness if they don’t.”

Wednesday Author: Carol Kilgore

Some of you may already know Carol Kilgore. For those who don’t, let me introduce you to her. Carol is a Texas author, born and bred, but she’s also lived on the east coast from Miami to New York and in land-locked New Mexico. She prefers the ocean or at least being close enough to get to it quickly. She recently moved from the south Texas coast to San Antonio. That’s a few hours away from the water, but she can still make day trips to walk along the beach.

In June 2000, Carol's story "Just a Man on the Sidewalk" won the Derringer Award for the Best Short-Story Mystery of 1999. This story was published by MysteryNet.com in March, 1999. She’s also been published in many anthologies, including her stories “Bunuelos for the Beach” in Map of Murder, “Life: In Twenty-Five Easy Lessons” in Teacher Miracles and “Ordained Sin” in Fedora III. Those are just a few. You can find a complete list on her website.

You can follow her on her blog, Under the Tiki Hut. Her latest book, Two If By Sea, features Summer Newcombe. I’ve had the privilege to read it and it’s a great read. She captures the ambiance of a small coastal community while keeping you in suspense. Who knew laid-back south Texas could be so dangerous? She’s working on the final edits now. Either here or on her blog, ask her about her book or maybe how it felt to win the Derringer Award!