Fridays R 4 Fun!

It’s summertime and that means going to the fair! I love the fair. Every year they introduce all kinds of things. One of my favorites is “fair food”. I get to try new exciting recipes and some things that are just plain strange.

Here’s a list of just a few of the things I have tried at the County Fair.
Chicken Fried Bacon – Of course this one was  yummy. Everything is good with bacon!
Fried Avocado Bite – This wasn’t bad. I would have liked it if they had seasoned the avocado, you know, added some spices to it.
Spaghetti and Meatball on a stick – I haven’t tried this one, but it sounds like something I’d might like.
Fried Frog’s Legs – I’m not sure I’m this adventurous, yet. I will say that people were eating a lot of these.
Hot Beef Sundae – This screams comfort food. It has nothing to do with ice cream, it just looks like it does. this wonderful dish is made with mashed potatoes, slow roasted beef and gravy, and topped with a cherry tomato. Yum!
Pizza Cones – Oh yeah! This one’s for me. A cone of pizza dough filled with sauce, cheese and pepperoni!
Krispy Kreme Chicken Sandwich – I think I’ll pass on this one, too. I love Krispy Kreme doughnuts, but adding chicken and Swiss cheese just are not for me.
Deep Fried Twinkies – This is my husband’s personal favorite! He loves Twinkies. He loves fried foods. Now they’ve been combined…he’s in heaven!
Fried Coca-Cola – I haven’t tried it but I think I would. Coke flavored batter that’s been deep fried, drizzled with coke syrup, add whipped cream, and dusted with cinnamon-sugar. It actually sounds good to me.
Key Lime Pie on a Stick – At the fair anything on a stick has to be good! Just think, a frozen slice of key lime pie, dip it in dark chocolate, and put it on a stick. Oh yeah, chow down!
I can’t wait for the fair to begin! What’s your favorite “fair food”?

Writing for My Readers!

People have often asked me why I write. The answer is an easy one. I write for the people who will read it.

There is nothing that gives me greater pleasure than finding the perfect word. I love crafting a line that fills the readers’ mind with a panoramic view of what is happening in the story. But I will confess, my favorite thing is creating a character for the reader to hate!

Why? I’m not really sure, but it ties in with making the main character more believable and loveable. It has something to do with getting the reader to cheer for the protagonist’s accomplishments. But, I think most of all it has to do with creating strong emotion within the reader

Now for my next confession, I’ll tell you what a cannot write. I cannot write a character who is weak, at least not yet. I’m sure it’s a personal issue, but I’m positive I can and will overcome it.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter what I write as long as I’m able to take my reader on a journey! That’s my most favorite thing to do, carry the reader to a world that I have created and making them believe it.

Important Lessons

As you all already know, we lost one of the greats, Ray Bradbury. Blogs, Facebook status updates, and YouTube videos were flooded with words and video shorts about the man or his writing.

I received an email from a writer friend, Maria Cisneros Toth, containing a link to one of his lectures. Man, I wish I had been on the campus of that university to participate.

Mr. Bradbury spoke of his beginnings, of how he ‘stumbled’ into getting published, and how his inspirations came to him. The humility of this man was beyond compare.

He encouraged every writer in that room and all of those writers who have and will view this video. He spoke about the necessity of reading. He said that every writer must read, but he gave us specifics on what to read. He said that every day a writer must read a poem, a short story, and an essay. Then he gave the instruction to write and for that writing to be any good, it had to be something that we love.

He inspired me beyond anything I can tell you. I plan to watch that video several more times because I know there is more information and encouragement to gain with each viewing.

Thank you Mr. Bradbury and thank you Maria for sending me the link.

The Perfect Perspective!

Last fall I was preparing to release the first book In my PRINCESS KANDAKE  series as an Indie Author. I shopped around for people and blogs to review the book and came across a blog that I thought would be the perfect fit. We will leave it nameless.

I had received several very good responses from blogs, writers, and beta readers. I really wanted this particular blog to review it because I just knew it would position the release well for marketing and promotion.

Well, I was able to get them to read it and the blogger hated it! She didn’t dislike it, she hated it. She said that the protagonist was whiny. She said that she couldn’t believe anyone would act like that. And the worst thing she said was that the book was one hundred pages too long!

Her words pretty much destroyed every shred of hope and pride I had taken in the work. So much so that I had decided that the book was no where near ready to release. I was prepared to throw the whole thing away!

Fortunately, I have really good writing friends. They encouraged me to set the manuscript aside and think about things. They also asked some very good questions. Who was this blogger? What was her area of expertise? Why did her opinion carry so much weight?

Three months later I decided that one blogger’s opinion was not strong enough to wipe away the opinion of other writers and professional reviews like Publishers Weekly. I went forward with my publishing plans and released the book, PRINCESS KANDAKE: Warrior by Choice…Appointed to Rule. It is doing really well.

Today I came across an awesome blog post: How to Respond to Negative Reviews by Beth Revis. It is required reading for every writer. I wish I’d had it available to me last Fall. Click on the link and read it now before you write another word!