Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
New Interview (Mine) at Ally Shields’ Blog Is Up…
Folks, I wanted to let you know that urban fantasy author Ally Shields invited me over to her blog today and interviewed me…and the interview has been posted. It’s a conversational interview — hence the name, “Coffee Chat” — and I enjoyed being interviewed by Ally immensely.
Please be sure to check out this interview, as Ally asked me some extremely interesting and relevant questions that I hadn’t been asked before. She’s an urban fantasy author herself, so one of her questions was about what attracted me to the paranormal/UF genre — and I told her that, along with many other interesting things.
For some reason, I’m having trouble cutting and pasting from that interview, so you’re going to have to go directly there and read it for yourself.
Thanks again, Ally, for having me over for a Coffee Chat.
Craig Wayne Boyd, Persistence…and You
Folks, it’s no secret that I am a fan of Southern country/rock singer Craig Wayne Boyd. His time on NBC’s The Voice was in some ways magical, especially considering his eleven-year odyssey in the music business. And that he made it all the way to the end, and then actually won The Voice, was just that much more special.
What I found in Craig Wayne Boyd’s story were a number of things. Persistence. Faith, not only in a higher power, but in himself and his talent. And the drive to succeed against all odds.
Consider, please, that Mr. Boyd has said in several televised interviews that he considered quitting music altogether not too long before he auditioned for The Voice. And he knocked around Nashville and the touring circuits for eleven long years, singing his heart out, with talent and drive and dedication — but all of that garnered him very little.
Or so it seemed at the time.
Because in retrospect, what Mr. Boyd was learning all that time was to have faith in himself and his talent. He was also learning to perform, and the limits of what he could do and what he could — and couldn’t — control.
This is something we all need to learn. Because like Craig Wayne Boyd, we cannot control what other people do. We can’t control who will take notice of us, who will show up at our gigs, who will buy our books and/or recordings, or who will care about what we’re doing.
All we can control is what we do and how we do it. That’s all.
And that’s why being persistent is so very, very important. You don’t know when the next audition you do will result in a major breakthrough (as was the case for Craig Wayne Boyd). You don’t know when someone will read what you’re writing and decide it’s wonderful and tell all his friends, because you don’t know when your big break will come.
The only thing you do know is this: Once you stop trying, you have absolutely no chance of doing whatever it is you want to do.
That’s why I’ve said over and over again that you cannot and should not give up. Because you don’t know what’s around the corner…for all you know, it might just be your big break.
Sneak Peek Sunday: Exquisite Quills 2014 Holiday Anthology Awaits!
Folks, my fellow authors included in the Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology 2014 have whipped up a special treat for something they’re calling “Sneak-peek Sunday.”
Take a look! (Then please, go and download the anthology right now. It’s absolutely free!)
A Holiday Anthology (Volume Two)
A Collection of Winter Holiday Tales
Please join us in reading this fantastically diverse FREE collection of stories to warm
your heart while you wait for the kids, the oven to buzz, on a
15-minute break from work, or when you just need to hide for ten minutes
from everyone! Every story is PG,but a few have a hint of zing.
The calendar on the wall says 2014 but the holidays are a magical time where anything is possible when it comes to romance. Prepare to travel through snow or to a tropical setting with a little dash of fantasy sprinkled in to make your holiday reading enjoyable. This heart-warming collection of all new, very short stories is our way of saying happy holidays to you.
Frankie’s Wish by Jennifer Garcia
“Every night, as my daddy taught me, I kneeled by my bed and said my prayers. But tonight, I wanted to ask for something.
“Now I lay me down to sleep… I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Oh, please bring me a mommy. Amen”
&
THE GIFT OF TIME by Rose Anderson
“Rose is a multi-published, award-winning author and dilettante who loves great conversation and discovering interesting things to weave into stories. She lives with her family and small menagerie amid oak groves and prairie in the rolling glacial hills of the upper Midwest.
Possessing an active imagination, she writes everything from children’s stories to historical non-fiction.”
FRANKIE’S WISH by Jennifer Garcia
Jennifer believes in writing love stories that connect families and touch hearts. Her first novel, My Mr. Manny, was released August 2013 and her first novella, In My Mother’s Footsteps, was released July 2013.
A KISS AT MIDNIGHT by Lily Bishop
Lily Bishop lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children. She writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense, and has published two books in the City Lights series, No Strings Attached and Under His Protection. She is working on the third book now.
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER by Dee Ann Palmer
In every age the heart loves, and Dee Ann Palmer’s romances reflect those eras in fantasy, historic, contemporary and futuristic tales. The award winning Palmer is a PAN member of Romance Writers of America and belongs to the Los Angeles chapter of Sisters in Crime.
MARJA’S VICTORY By Barb Caffrey
Barb Caffrey is a writer, editor, book reviewer and musician from the Midwest. She is the author of the humorous urban fantasy/romance AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE, and is the co-author of the Adventures of Joey Maverick series (with late husband Michael B. Caffrey).
CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS by Beverley Bateman
Beverley Bateman is a Canadian author of several books who loves traveling, good wine and a mystery. She lives with her husband and two Shiba Inu dogs among vineyards and orchards set in lake country and surrounded by mountains – beaches, swimming and skiing.
GINGERBREAD DREAMS by Victoria Adams
Victoria Adams is a romance writer, dividing her writing between contemporary romance and New Adult contemporary romance. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and kitten, Licorice. She likes to study Raqs Sharqi (Egyptian belly dance), garden, and bake.
CHE GELIDA MANINA by M. S. Spencer
Although she has lived or traveled in every continent except Antarctica and Australia (bucket list), M. S. Spencer has spent the last thirty years mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher, kayaker, policy wonk, non-profit director and parent. She has two fabulous grown children, and currently divides her time between the Gulf coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine. Ms. Spencer has published nine romantic suspense novels.
ROMANCE VALLEY by Kaye Spencer
Native Coloradoan Kaye Spencer writes romances from her basement hovel in a small, rural town in the far southeastern corner of Colorado—no mountains in sight—just prairie dogs, buffalo grass, and glorious prairie sunsets. While drawn to cowboys and the Old West, all genres are within her story-crafting realm. Retired from a long career in public education that included teaching through a community college outreach program, Kaye is enjoying being a full-time writer and spoiler of grandchildren. Kaye is also afflicted with ACD—Accumulative Cat Disorder—with no cure in sight.
THE CHRISTMAS EVE GIFT by Janis Susan May
Janis Susan May is a seventh-generation Texan and a third-generation wordsmith who writes mysteries as Janis Patterson, romances and other things as Janis Susan May, children’s books as Janis Susan Patterson and scholarly works and non-fiction as J.S.M. Patterson.
Janis and her husband live in Texas with an assortment of rescued furbabies.
TROPICAL CHRISTMAS by Gemma Juliana
GEMMA JULIANA is a multi-published author who lives in an enchanted cottage in north Texas with her handsome hero, teen son and a comical dog. She loves making new friends and hearing from readers. Exotic coffee and chocolate fuel her creativity.
A KISS AND A PROMISE by Lyndi Lamont
Lyndi Lamont is the racy alter ego of author Linda McLaughlin, who writes historical and Regency Romance. Since becoming Lyndi Lamont, she has discovered that writing sexy romance is a license to be naughty, at least between the pages of a book.
A COWBOY’S HOLIDAY by E. Ayers
E. Ayers is a multi-published and best-selling author of western and contemporary romances. Her books are never too sweet or too hot. She writes down the middle.
It is available for FREE at 
and will be available at Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Kobo.
Last year’s anthology is also available at
and
A Teensy Little Bloglet…
Folks, the last week hasn’t been good for much of anything, I’m afraid. I’ve been head-down in a new project, doing my best to finish up an older project, and am working through a set of changes with regards to one of my books.
All of this means I haven’t been online much, I’m not blogging much, and aside from the Marketing for Romance Writers’ “Tweet Fest” on November 12 (this past Wednesday), I haven’t had much to say in any medium.
I’ll also admit that I’ve been fighting a case of the flu, mixed in with a little bronchitis. And that in addition to all of the work on my plate has stopped me from doing much in the way of commenting as well.
I do plan to write some more blogs soon, including a new one in my series “Learning from the Fiction Masters” and perhaps a blog dealing with something I haven’t had to do in a while, but people have asked me about: auditioning for orchestras.
Why has this last thing, in particular, been a hot topic? I’m not sure, but if someone wants me to talk about it, I’m willing to talk about it.
(Providing it’s not about snow. I really don’t want to talk about snow.)
Anyway, until then…and for those who’ve asked, yes, I do plan to review at least one book at Shiny Book Review later this week, health and weather permitting.
My story “Baseball, Werewolves and Me” Included in Halloween 2014 Edition of Twilight Times E-Zine
Happy Halloween, folks!
Since it is Halloween, the time of tricks and/or treats, what say you to a little bit of both?
I’m discussing my story, “Baseball, Werewolves and Me,” of course, as it’s included in the Halloween edition of the Twilight Times e-zine. It’s absolutely free to read, so in that sense it’s definitely a treat. But there’s at least a little bit of trickery in play, partly due to the nature of the story itself.
Arletta James is a psychic, and a good one. She’s also a huge baseball fan. So when “Madame Arletta” is asked to help Hank Rayne, manager of the Brooklyn Knights, some pointers to try to get the Knights out of their twelve-game losing streak, Arletta agrees. (Of course, she is getting paid good money to do this, as Arletta is not a fool.) Once she talks with Hank Rayne, she realizes something else — something much worse — is going on that’s caused the Knights to go into a tailspin. Will Arletta figure this out, or won’t she? And what does her husband Fergus — a werewolf — have to do with it all?
“Baseball, Werewolves and Me” is a fun story that readers should enjoy, especially as it’s about a subject that usually does not get covered overmuch in urban fantasy: baseball.
And who doesn’t like a free story? Especially when it’s Halloween?
Language, and the Writers Who Use It
Over the past week or so, I’ve been struck by the changes in language over the past ten years or so…namely, the uptick in allowable profanity on the one hand, and the uptick in allowable “gross slang” on the other.
For example, I doubt that ten years ago I’d have heard the word “pissed” on television, much less on a show like Divorce Court that features a real judge with real people trying to solve difficult relationship problems. Yet I heard it this past week from Judge Lynn Toler, a retired municipal court justice — and no one batted an eye.
Ten years ago, the word wouldn’t have been “pissed” at all. It would’ve been “ticked” (as in, ticked off) or “perturbed” or “displeased” or even “upset.” But not “pissed,” as it was considered vulgar and uncouth.
Another word that’s attained much more acceptance is the word “farted.” Ten years ago, most who now use this word wouldn’t have chosen this particular expression; instead, it would’ve been “passed gas,” “broke wind,” or if you were highfalutin’ (or like me and just liked the sound of the word), you’d say “flatulent” instead.
Finally, ten years ago it was considered at least slightly impolite to say “Hell” or “Damn” while discussing business matters. (Note it wasn’t at all considered impolite while talking with your friends, those who knew you best.) But now, it happens all the time.
What does that mean? Mostly, it means that language changes. And writers need to keep on top of that.
That doesn’t mean your own speaking habits need to change. But it does mean you need to be aware of what your characters are saying, and more to the point, how they’re saying it.
So when you’re writing dialogue, be aware of your setting, your characters, their particular temperaments…and, of course, keep an ear out for slang. Because that way lies verisimilitude (or at least a better reading experience).
Barb Caffrey's Blog 