Book Review: Out of Our Minds

 Out of Our Minds is a short story collection written by members of the North Texas Professional Writers Association. The authors are not out of their minds, but the stories are now out of their minds and in a book. There are 36 stories in this collection, so you'll find something for everyone.

There are sweet love stories, funny stories, stories that touch the heart and the mind. Some that will make you almost cry and some that will have you laughing out loud. There's murder, mayhem, romance, mystery, even poetry.

An Act of Mercy by Darrell D. Bartell was one that I especially liked. It has a great twist at the end.

Both A Matter of Taste by Charlotte Schreck Burns and The Excavation by Darrell D. Bartell made me laugh.

Broken Glass by LaNelle Pierce teaches forgiveness.

The Lifeline, also by LaNelle Pierce, made me want to cry.

These are only a few of the stories. I like short story anthologies because often I only have a few minutes to read at a time. With Out of Our Minds, I could read a story while taking a work break.

There is something for everyone. I liked all the stories.  I listed some of the stories here just to show that there's a wide variety.

Check out Out of Our Minds and be sure to read the author bios in the back.

Amazon  

Barnes and Noble  

I give Out Of Our Minds a rating of Hel-of-a-Group-of-Writers.

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Disclaimer: I was contacted by the North Texas Professional Writers Association about reviewing their anthology. Although I received the book for free, that in no way influenced my rating. As I said in the review, I like anthologies -- and this is a good one, IMO. Not only are there 36 stories, they're all different. I'm not sure, since I wasn't in on the creation of the book, but I'm assuming each writer could determine for themselves how their story fit the title of Our Of Our Minds. Having that kind of parameter means the reader gets a variety of topics, genres, characters, and plots. I'm sure some of you think I liked the book because of the title. You think Out of Our Minds is a book that totally fits me. Well, you're right. It not only fits me, it describes me.

Book Review: Demon in the Basement

 Demon in the Basement by Laura Eno is a wonderful collection of short stories, ranging from creepy to spooky to downright scary.  None of them are especially long, so you can read one when taking a break or while having lunch. All you brave souls could even read them before going to bed.

If you're reading at night, though, you might want to skip Moonrise for the Dead.

I liked every story. Each one either gave me the shivers or make me turn pages quickly so I could see what was going to happen. It's hard to pick a favorite story since each one is unique.

I liked all the stories, but The Sound of Silence stuck with me. It's rather quiet. Soft. With a twisted end.

The final story, and the longest, is called Demon in the Basement.  It definitely is a scary end to the book.

Overall, I'm just amazed at Laura Eno's imagination and writing skills. If you like creepy, scary stories, this is the short story anthology for you or for a friend.

Smashwords

Amazon (Print and Kindle)  

Kindle UK  

Nook

I give Demon in the Basement by Laura Eno a rating of Hel-of-an-Imagination.
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FTC Disclaimer: Demon in the Basement was given to me by the author. This did not influence my review. I was rather influenced by the cover, though. It's really creepy, you know? That's scary enough. But, of course, it's not enough, not by itself. The 381 pages of creepiness inside the cover -- now that's enough. Read each story without rushing to the next one. I suggest you read with the lights on and not before going to bed. As Laura says on the back cover: "Leave a nightlight on before you go to sleep. Something's coming for you." Makes you wonder what goes on inside Laura Eno's head, doesn't it?

June Williams on Writing With Friends

Our guest today is June Williams. one of three authors of "Honor and Integrity: A Collection of Pride and Prejudice-Inspired Short Stories". She, Enid Wilson, and Aimée Avery met online in a Jane Austen community. After reading each other's fanfiction stories for years, they decided to publish a collection together, with each person writing one-third of the content – and collaborating on a tag-along story.

Please welcome June Williams.

Similarities and Differences

Thank you, Helen, for hosting me today. The three of us writers all love happy endings and Jane Austen's characters. I can proudly say that we are nice ladies who dislike conflict and fuss, we're all responsible, and we admire good writing. You would like having us as your neighbours. We're not super-heroes, but we might bake you cookies.

Our differences are numerous. Enid is in Sydney, Australia, while Aimée and I live 250 miles apart in California. Aimée usually writes modern stories, Enid writes in every genre but is a science fiction fan who especially loves creating stories in the future, and I prefer historical settings. We differ in the amount of heat level we write and how sassy our heroines are – but our ladies are never submissive doormats.

Enid has self-published nine books, Aimée has two, and I am the newbie.

Working Together

I have to say that I am the luckiest newbie ever. As the veteran, Enid did all the formatting and set up the book on Createspace, Smashwords, and Lulu. Aimée is a professional graphics artist, so she did all the artwork; her cover design is gorgeous. I learned from them; if you are new to self-publishing, find yourself a veteran who can teach you the ropes.

Fortunately, we all write well, so we have managed to communicate everything by email – no Skype, no Instant Message chats across a 17-hour time difference. Actually, that would have been easy, as Aimée and I are both insomniacs. There is a blackmail photo of Aimée, asleep on the floor and curled around a laptop, her fingers still on the keyboard.

Writing Together

Enid suggested a tag-along story, which Aimée started, Enid continued, and I concluded. The only hard-and-fast rule: no changing what the previous person wrote. My fingers were twitching, but I controlled myself!

I nearly fainted when they sent me the first two parts. I sent a flood of emails – "what does this phrase mean," "is the Quantum Chamber inside the Crystal Palace," and "can we say it's like the TARDIS from Doctor Who." (No, we could not say anything about Doctor Who or the TARDIS due to copyright issues. Aimée checked the law.)

Enid and Aimée assured me that I could write whatever I wanted – I didn't have to continue in the same vein. Yes, Enid was visualizing a steampunk fantasy and London's Great Exhibition of 1851, but I could change that.

I used to write technical and policy manuals that were often signed off by corporate lawyers, so I wasn't used to all this freedom. Write whatever I wanted? Inconceivable! I still did my best to write an ending that was faithful to what Enid and Aimée started, and I think it's a fun story. You'll have to read it and tell me if we succeeded. It has a Victorian Darcy, modern Lizzy and Jane Bennet, the Bingleys, blue aliens, dinosaurs, a kidnapping, and horqvathkas – in less than 9000 words.

We each sent each other our short stories for review. Enid slashed a huge subplot from my Regency story, and while it hurt, it was the right decision. When you choose someone to write with, find someone who will be honest – not just an encourager who says, "Oh, this is very good! Yay, you!" I have a tendency to be too detailed (again, a by-product from technical writing), so I needed that honest voice. Ouch.

I also needed  Enid to remind me that we were writing short stories – not novellas. You know how the best characters run away with the storylines? I told my characters to stay on the horse, but they were ready to ride the horse hundreds of miles and commit epic mayhem on three continents. Whoa!

Conclusion

Our friendship has survived and grown in this collaborative process, we have learned much from each other, and we will publish a second volume later this year. The biggest reason we succeeded: we chose the right co-authors. Our project would have failed if even one of us had thrown a temper tantrum or demanded that the other two accede to her wishes.

It would have also failed if one of us was a weaker writer than the others, but we've read each other's stories for years, so that wasn't an issue. Lastly, the best editors are fellow writers who are friends.

And one final thing: while I am ordinarily very dignified, I must let out a huge SQUEEEEEE!!! It is a huge thrill to see my name on a book, formatted perfectly and with a beautiful professional cover. I never thought it would happen, but thanks to indie publishing, it's real.

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For more information about the authors and book, the book's Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/Honor.Integrity.book. We are giving out an ebook to one lucky reader here. Just leave a comment here about how you get on with your neighbor. Entry is open to worldwide readers and closes on 9 July 2012 at 10 p.m. Happy reading and writing!

Last Call at The Corner Café

Today is the last stop in the month-long blog tour for the short story anthology, The Corner Café. It's been a long but fun month.

And we're ending it with a bang. Head over to Stephen Tremp's blog and join in on the celebration.

Style Clarity Workbook

Style clarity is something I definitely could use for my wardrobe, so I am really happy to welcome Bianca Chesimard, author of The Style Clarity Workbook, to Straight FromHel.  Bianca is also the creator of the Style Clarity website and blog.  She spent several years in the data analysis field, which, combined with a love for fashion and style, led her to develop the Style Clarity method and write the workbook.  She is a wife and mother, and enjoys a stylish life in Virginia.

Please welcome Bianca Chesimard.

Helen asked me a little about my process when writing The Style Clarity Workbook so I thought I would explain how the book came together as a whole.

At one point in my life, I really needed to start looking more "put together", and also needed a consistent and usable wardrobe. I spent plenty of cash, but wore the same couple of things all the time. After looking for some help on the topic, I discovered there were not many resources to turn to. Books covered body shapes or colors, but did not give insight into how being a fruit or a season helped you make your wardrobe into your own. TV gurus provided magic makeovers to people, but gave little advice to viewers at home about how to make the outfits personal. So, being a practical person, I decided to come up with my own methods. As a marketing analyst by trade, I knew how to collect and analyze data, why not run some "numbers" on myself? :)

I started by tracking what I actually wore, and discovered how little of my wardrobe I was wearing on a day to day basis. Many other activities and ideas followed, and I kept record of it all in journals, notebooks and a binder. Upon later reflection, I found a particular series of activities that helped me make the most strides in developing my style. When I shared these ideas with friends and family, they strongly encouraged me to share the methods with others. 

Because I seem to do most things backwards, I actually started the book by creating the worksheets and activities. In an early part of my career, I developed training materials, and used some of these skills to create the worksheets and instructions.  I scoured my books and refined not only the activities, but the intent behind them. I wanted to make sure each step was going to benefit the reader, and move them a step closer to their goal.  It was also important that it not feel like WORK. It had to be fun, and not complicated, or difficult.  A hard balance to strike!
 
After I was satisfied with the quality of the lessons I wanted to teach, I moved on to the narrative. I started explaining the Why of each activity. What was the reader going to get by completing each activity? When I felt the “What” and “Why” of the book was complete, I knew I still needed the “Who”. The voices of other women who were in the same place as those reading the book would be the final touch. I collected (and solicited) stories from friends, blog readers, co-workers, pretty much anyone who ever used any of my advice. This was the final step.

Once the words were together, I worked VERY closely with my book designer to make sure each worksheet looked, and flowed exactly as it needed to within the book. Since these are really the “heart” of the book, it was important we get them just right.

All in all, I think I probably wrote the book backwards, but it worked out just right for me. In the end, The Style Clarity Workbook is a step by step guide to developing style, and using that to create a wardrobe that represents your personality.  It’s pretty fun to think a collection of my thoughts, rambles and experiments turned into such a beautiful project. I hope you get a chance to check out The Style Clarity Workbook!

 Thank you Bianca.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I was born without much in the way of a Style gene. And I don't worry too much about style when I sit at my computer every day, but I do have occasions to dress up. I'm thinking I sorely need The Style Clarity Workbook.

You can follow Bianca on her blog tour for The Style Clarity Workbook. Any questions for Bianca?

(After leaving your comment, link over and visit Mary Montague Sikes' blog. This is the next to the last stop on the blog tour for The Corner Café and Mary has a great story, A Face in the Window, in the anthology.)

SB Lerner

Today, SB Lerner is hosting The Corner Café. Lerner is the author of A Suitable Husband, as well as the short story, Since You Left. Today, she's hosting another of the contributors to the anthology, The Corner Café -- Karen Casey Fitzjerrell, author of The Dividing Season, a wonderful historical book, and author of my favorite story in The Corner Café, What's Next.

What's Cookin' at The Corner Café?

The Corner Café is a great short story anthology. The authors and members of Blog Book Tour are taking The Corner Café on a month-long tour across the blogosphere.

Two of my stories are on The Corner Café's bookshelves: Gila Monster and One Last Run.

Today, you can join us over on Pat Stoltey's blog.

While you're there, order a slice of apple pie with vanilla ice cream to enjoy.

Transformative Writing or Getting to the End

 Author S.B. Lerner is guest posting today on Straight From Hel while I'm over on Alberta Ross' blog. Lerner is the author of In The Middle of Almost and Other Stories and A Suitable Husband. She's also included in the short story anthology, The Corner Café. She grew up in and around New York City and has worked in law, business and teaching. Her passion, though, is writing.

Please welcome S.B. Lerner.

Transformative Writing or Getting to the End

I've always loved losing myself in a good novel. For me 'good' means flawed but likable characters engaged in a struggle of some kind. It means an unfamiliar setting, with enough historical accuracy that I feel I have learned something about another place or time. And I've always liked rebels. Oftentimes young rebels, although as I get older I like to see characters of any age fight their demons and grow and change.

I began writing my own novel a few years ago, after years of writing and publishing short stories. The stories were like explorations of a feeling or a moment in time, but a novel is a more complicated, plot-driven best. It required research, editing, and thinking on a grander scale. And I discovered that the act of writing a novel was equally, if not more transformative than reading those written by others. All the clichéd comments in writers’ circles about getting so lost in the story that it seems to write itself, about characters taking over and refusing to do what you tell them to do, were true, at least they were for me.

This became most clear to me when I wrote the ending.

In my first draft there was a "Lady and the Tiger" ending. My protagonist had her final chance to choose between responsibility and passion, and the reader was left (after some musing on the pros and cons)with only an ambiguous hint as to what she decides. While that ending engendered some feisty discussions among my early readers, the bottom line was that they hated it.

So I decided to write a more decisive ending and set out, fingers on keyboard, to bring my heroine to the decision I thought she should make. That was when it got strange. She didn't want to do it. As I typed, the plot moved forward in ways I hadn't anticipated, turning and twisting and ending up with her making the opposite decision. I was so perplexed that I forced myself to write it again with my ending, but when I read it over, I realized it was wooden and flat and not at all organic to my character.

So her ending won. Go figure.

Thank you, S.B.

Have your characters ever talked to you or taken control of telling their story? Did you listen to them?
(I hope you'll link over and say "hi" to me while I'm posting on  Alberta Ross' blog. I'm talking about joining forces with other writers. See you there.)

Join me today over on Pat Bean's blog as part of the book tour for The Corner Café, a great anthology of short stories.

Pat's blog focuses on travel. She has some amazing pictures, so be sure to scroll down to see some of them. While you're there, leave a comment and say "hi".

Shaking and Baking

The cooks are busy today at the Corner Café.  They're prepping some special stories, just for you.

A group of writers got together and created a short story anthology called The Corner Café. We're inviting all of you to come on in, take a seat and enjoy the tales.  All month long we have a special going on: A Blog Tour with each author posting on a blog. Every day, I'll link to the Corner Café blog post. You'll get to meet the authors and hear about the anthology.

The Corner Cafe costs only 99 cents. We're keeping the price low so everyone can afford to buy the book, but we're not keeping any of the royalties. All royalties will go to a charity.

Today's special is cooking over on Chris Verstraete's blog.

Be sure you come back here tomorrow, when the multi-published, fabulous author, Morgan Mandel will be here serving up a great dish.

You can tip here at The Corner Café  -- Just Like, Tweet, Facebook, G+, or whatever you can do to help us get the word out.

(While you're checking out The Corner Cafe, feel free to browse my book, Angel Sometimes.)

Booth or Table?

You can have your choice at the Corner Café, booth, table or sitting at the counter.

A group of writers got together and created a short story anthology called The Corner Café. We're inviting all of you to come on in, take a seat and enjoy the tales.  All month long we have a special going on: A Blog Tour with each author posting on a blog. Every day, I'll link to the Corner Café blog post. You'll get to meet the authors and hear about the anthology.

The Corner Cafe costs only 99 cents. We're keeping the price low so everyone can afford to buy the book, but we're not keeping any of the royalties. All royalties will go to a charity.

Today's special is cooking over on W.S. Gager's blog.

You can tip here at The Corner Café  -- Just Like, Tweet, Facebook, G+, or whatever you can do to help us get the word out.

We're Now Seating at the Corner Café

A group of writers got together and created a short story anthology called The Corner Café. We're inviting all of you to come on in, take a seat and enjoy the tales.  All month long we have a special going on: A Blog Tour with each author posting on a blog. Every day, I'll link to the Corner Café blog post. You'll get to meet the authors and hear about the anthology.

The Corner Cafe costs only 99 cents. We're keeping the price low so everyone can afford to buy the book, but we're not keeping any of the royalties. All royalties will go to a charity.

Today's special is cooking over on Marian Allen's blog.

You can tip here at the Corner Café:  Just Like, Tweet, Facebook, G+, or whatever you can do to help us get the word out.

Everything's Free at the Corner Café

This weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, you can download the short story anthology, The Corner Café, for free.  If you wait until Monday, it'll cost 99 cents.  Ninety-nine cents isn't much, so if you decide to wait, keep in mind you'll get some great stories, plus all royalties go to charity.

The authors are touring all month long, but they're taking weekends off. Stop back by on Monday and I'll have a link for you to go read that day's post.

I have two stories included in the anthology: Gila Monster and One Last Run. You can also find my latest book, Angel Sometimes on Amazon.

If you buy The Corner Cafe and like it, please post a review on Amazon.

Everyone's Welcome at the Corner Café

 A group of writers got together and created a short story anthology called The Corner Café. We're inviting all of you to come on in, take a seat and enjoy the tales.  All month long we have a special going on: A Blog Tour with each author posting on a blog. Every day, I'll link to The Corner Café blog post. You'll get to meet the authors and hear about the anthology.

The Corner Cafe costs 99 cents. We're keeping the price low so everyone can afford to buy the book, but we're not keeping any of the royalties. All royalties will go to a charity.

Today's special is cooking over on Heidi Thomas' blog.

You can tip here at The Corner Café by: Like, Tweet, Facebook, G+, or whatever you can do to help us get the word out.

Libraries

I came across an article about a panel at BEA 2012. The article was called "BEA2012: What Librarians Wish Publishers Knew". The article, of course, talked about the institutional publishers, but I think it has information for self-published authors, as well.

 … it became very clear during the talk that, with 9,000 library systems across America, libraries are robust places to discover and share books. Of those 9,000 systems, a good thousand have four or more branches. And according to Rawlinson, when libraries survey their public, libraries translate into books. 

Some libraries even have an online system for checking to see  if they have a certain book you may be looking for … and if they don't, the system will help you find the nearest independent bookseller.

Keep in mind, too, that if patrons like a particular book, the library often will buy more copies to keep in stock. And libraries can often do a lot to promote a book they especially like, such as highlighting it on their website.

And, although not mentioned in this article, most libraries now carry e-books.

I think libraries are essential to the public. Many people can't afford to buy even a low-priced book like mine, but they can check out books and e-books from their library.

As a reader, how many books do you check out of your local library? If you're an author, have you managed to get your book in your local library?

Speaking of reading, a short story anthology, The Corner Café, has just come out. Two of my stories are included in it: Gila Monster and One Last Run. All the authors involved are doing a month-long book tour. Drop by and read today's post over at Magic Dog Press. One thing about this book that I think is fabulous is that all royalties go to charity.

We're doing a Blog Book Tour!

The Blog Book Tour authors share their shorts in the Corner Café. Come take a peek. We're off on a tour and would love for you to come along. Buy the anthology, The Corner Café, for only 99 cents, then follow the blog, meet the authors, ask questions, leave comments, all while sipping coffee or tea and tasting the café's famous sweet potato pie. Enjoy the stories and get to know the BBT Café authors: Marian Allen, Shonell Bacon, Karen Casey Fitzjerrell, W.S. Gager, Helen Ginger, Dani Greer, S.B. Lerner, Audrey Lintner, Morgan Mandel, Maryann Miller, Bodie Parkhurst, Bob Sanchez, Mary Montague Sikes, Red Tash, Christine Verstraete.

We're doing a Blog Book Tour!

June 4 Blog Book Tours Kick-off http://blogbooktours.blogspot.com
June 5 Bob Sanchez http://bobsanchez1.blogspot.com
June 6 Red Tash http://RedTash.com
June 7 Magic Dog http://www.magicdogpress.wordpress.com
June 8 Heidi Thomas http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com

June 9 Blog Book Tours blog Free day
June 10 Blog Book Tours blog Sunday Free Day

June 11 Marian Allen http://www.marianallen.com/
June 12 W.S Gager http://wsgager.blogspot.com
June 13 Chris Verstraete http://candidcanine.blogspot.com
June 14 Helen Ginger http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com
June 15 Kathy Wheeler

June 16 Saturday
June 17 Sunday

June 18 Morgan Mandel Double M http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
June 19 Pat Bean http://patbean.wordpress.com
June 20 Shonell Bacon http://chicklitgurrl.blogspot.com
June 21 Alberta Ross http://albertaross.wordpress.com
June 22 Karen Casey Fitzjerrell http://karencaseyfitzjerrell.blogspot.com (possible free day? Not sure yet.)

June 23 Saturday
June 24 Sunday

June 25 Pat Stoltey http://patriciastoltey.blogspot.com
June 26 SB Lerner http://www.susanblerner.com
June 27 Maryann Miller http://its-not-all-gravy.blogspot.com/
June 28 Mary Montague Sikes http://marymontaguesikes.blogspot.com
June 29 Stephen Tremp http://breakthroughblogs.blogspot.com

I have two stories included in The Corner Café:
Gila Monster: Neree, who parked her beat-up truck, Gila Monster, in the senior parking lot, hopes to find it still there at the end of school, but what she finds is an unexpected possibility.

One Last Run: When a couple ski a black diamond run in a blizzard, the truth of what happened is in the blood, in One Last Run.

You can find out more about the stories in The Corner Café at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0085YDO7E