Fridays R 4 Fun!

Most kids love building stuff. Whether it’s with blocks, clay, or mud, it doesn’t matter just as long as they can create. When I was a kid there was this gray stuff called modeling clay, Lincoln Logs, tinker Toys, and Erector Sets.

The next generation got Legos. Today everybody knows what these are. They were invented to entertain kids. I bet the creators of Legos didn’t think they’d become art or the instrument of philosophical expression.
Fire! Food.

Romance! Captivity. Yearning. Perspective.

Helplessness       Despair! I believe they were intended to be the building blocks of thought and imagination.

This is what happens when grown-ups get hold of the toys they wished were around when they were kids.

What Kind of Author am I?

This morning as I was reading a great blog post by David Farland from his Daily Kick in the Pants. He asked these questions: What kind of writer do you want to be? Do you want to be considered an entertainer? A prophet who forewarns of political doom? A writer whose work electrifies and binds people together?

It was not hard for me to come up with an answer at all. From almost the beginning of my writing adventure, I’ve known the type of writer I’ve wanted to be. The simplest answer is to say I want to be an entertainer. But it goes beyond that. I want to write the kind of story that the reader gets lost in. What I want to happen when the reader sets the book aside for a much needed bathroom break, they become disoriented because the scene they’ve been caught up in does not match the room that has just appeared.

Bill Spann, an author and engineer I’d connected with years ago, said, “In writing, you want to create the waterfall effect. Take your readers to the very edge and drop them in.” I have never forgotten this advice and am striving toward that mark every day. 

I think I’m almost there. What about you, what kind of author are you?

Fridays R 4 Fun

Halloween is over, but my mind is stuck on candy and all things sweet. One of the things I enjoy watching on TV is the confectionery competitions on the Food Network. When Life calms down a bit I plan on trying my hand at the art of pulled sugar.

In the meantime, I’ll share with you how sugar can be beautiful and sweet at the same time.
While this sculpture is gracefully uncomplicated it intricate in its execution. Imagine ‘pulling’ each one of those petals and placing them in just the right spot.   This one requires not only artistry, but balance from an engineering perspective. I can’t even begin to comment on the complexity of this piece.The movement and color in this remind me of a fair in springtime. This piece is filled with beauty and emotion. It’s telling a story of intensity, strength, and grace. Who wouldn’t want a tiara filled with jewels, even if the gems are made of sugar.       And this one is just plain fun!

Have a great weekend.

What Happened…Where’d the Time Go

Hi all. I can’t believe that I've lost a whole week. I’ve been busy working on the final edits of Princess Kandake, settling into cardiac rehab, and trying to learn formatting and totally lost track of time. The result…I forgot to post here.

How could that happen? I haven’t a clue. But I can say that I am back on track now. Today I have decided to find someone to help learn this whole formatting thing. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll just hire someone to do it.

Getting someone else to do it is probably the better idea. So I begin my search, finding someone who can format my novel to CreateSpace that will charge a price that I can afford. Any volunteers?

Fridays R 4 Fun!

My favorite read is science fiction. It always amazes me the creativity of the stories. I love writing tales about future possibilities or strange imaginings. When I found these images all kinds of storylines popped into my head. I thought I’d share them with you.

This is how I envision the  entry to a wormhole.      Or space burping stars into existence.

If I wrote fantasy with magic, this would be the birthing of a great spell, one that destroyed an enemy.
  And this is what I imagine power looks like

Fridays R 4 Fun

Today I’d like to share images of something that inspires me. It’s totally funny to me because they don’t exist. Yet, when I see images of them or figurines I am completely awestruck.
Imagine raising one from an egg and having it has your pet.  Or discovering its secret lair. 
What if you came across one while you were out for a walk. There is was, looking down at you. 
I’ve always thought sunset was a magical time. Some days I believe that if we could look directly into the sun, just as it sets, this is what we’ll see
What if we really could mount the back of a dragon. Where would it take you? Could we take a ride among the stars?

Alas I fear the only dragon-siting I will ever experience is one like this, within the clouds.

CRANKY

I AM CRANKY!!! You want to know what put me in this mood? I’ll tell you, but I have to warn you, it’s a long story. As I prepare to launch Princess Kandake my mind is spinning with questions threatening to undermine my confidence, but I am determined to move forward. The doubt comes from publishing industry’s propaganda.

The industry has promoted the belief that they are the only ones who are able to discern the quality of writing and if they don’t offer a contract the piece has no value. To make matters worse, writers, agents, and writing associations are swallowing this hogwash without question. And the worst of it is, not only are they swallowing it, they’re promoting it, too!

Every editor and editor’s assistant receives mountains of  writers’ scribblings. Some of it is not very good or at least not ready for publication. Within that same pile there are many manuscripts that are good, but don’t have the earning potential the publisher is in need of, which has no bearing on the quality of the writing. What we are often told is: “This is very good, but we’re looking for a BIG book.” Or, “This is very good, but I’m not sure we know how to market it.”

Since these manuscripts are without contract, they are lumped together with the ‘not ready for publication’ group. As a result, many writers have taken it upon themselves to publish their own work and I have joined their ranks.

Just so you know…we publish ourselves because we believe in our work and know there is a market for it.

Fridays R 4 Fun

When I was in elementary school, teachers were forever telling me the trees I drew were not realistic, especially in second grade. Just because some of them looked like lollipops, or pyramids, or even skeletons with hands, Mrs. Sharon would lower my score. I wonder what kinds of grades God would get for creating these?

Tree branches don’t always have sharp angles on their branches. Sometimes they bend over,  they even lay down.       .    Yes,  Mrs. Sharon, sometimes they do look like they have hands.

Hooray! I'm Getting Back on Track

Yippee! I’m coming back. I’ve got energy again. Am I 100%? Not yet, but I don’t need two naps a day just to keep my brain straight. I couldn’t stay away any longer. I missed you.

I’ve been thinking about a new story, one that takes me into another world. The storyline isn’t complete, but it’s unfolding. Yeah, it’s another tween, ‘girl power’ story. That makes the protagonist female around 14, there’s a lion who’s a shape shifter, and there’s plenty of skullduggery and action.

It feels good to have the creative side of me awake and active. I can’t wait to have it all written down.

My granddaughter tells me I don’t write fast enough. She wants me to have a new book ready for her every week. I agree that I should write faster, but I don’t think I can have a new one ready every Saturday. But I'm writing again!

I Haven’t Disappeared, but I Need To Rest

Hello All, I haven’t stopped blogging. I’ve been fairly ill and am recovering. I think of it as having hit a speed bump so I have to slow down a bit, but…

I’ll be back!

Thank you for all of the prayers and well wishes you have sent my way. I do appreciate them.

Industry vs. Independent

This morning I emailed this discussion opener to some of my writer friends.

Thought I'd open a discussion for anyone who's up to it. The deeper I get into the publishing of Princess Kandake, the closer I come to deciding to never query again, at least not with the major publishers and possibly small presses, too. Anyone care to comment?

One of them asked me to share my thoughts. Here’s my response

My thinking is, with the economy in a serious decline and bookstores closing, the publishers are taking on less and less, they are accepting even fewer debut works. Add to that the reality that the royalties are getting less, the support for marketing is nearly nonexistent, and writers having little to no input in covers and illustrations (even when it changes the direction of the story), do I want a contract? If I can develop a product that is of equal/or better quality and market it successfully, what do I need them for?

1. I trust all of you much more than I do them to tell me what works for the market I'm aiming at.

2. I pulled all of the YA and MG books off my shelves and compared the cover art and, frankly, mine is as good or better than most.

3. I’d have to market it myself anyway.

4. The likelihood of earning out my advance within their prescribed limit is pretty low which is a mark against me. Instead of being an unknown and high risk investment as a debut author, I am now a money-losing author. This greatly reduces my chances of getting another contract?

If I can do all of this (print, cover art, market, etc.) within my own budget, what do I need them for? If my work is good, why shouldn't it be out there? Why should I allow them to be the gatekeepers?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject, pro and con.

Time to Celebrate!

I am super jazzed. I just finished book #2 in the Nubian Princess series. Yay for me. Now it’s time to give it a bit of a rest in a drawer, out of site for a while, before I begin the revision process. What will I do in the meantime?

I plan to read!!! I’ve got a few books that I need to get through, two fiction and two non-fiction, before I write another word. What’s next on the writing agenda?

Even though I have an idea for the next NP book, I think I want to leave the ancient world for a while. I’m feeling like some science fiction. I’ve got something in the future I want to get to before I return to the ancient past.

But the biggest thing is that I finished it. Yay For Me!

Fridays R 4 Fun

I remember watching television as a little girl and seeing women wear strange hats. Bonnets like these would have me giggling for at least an hour. The hats I found for this post make these women look tame and boring.
A hat was worn for two reasons, protection or self expression.Today you guess which hat belongs to which category. This first one is fairly easy I wouldn’t want to meet the guy that’s expressing himself with this one. Her hat reminds me of some alien insect invasion.   Do you think she has a great appreciation for chess. Talk about potty humor   I don’t know if you can see it, but she has a room with a sink and a bath tub on her head . At least this hat’s useful. A few years ago, a politician loved the phrase, “it takes a village”. Is this her hat? What statement is this hat making? pro or con? This hat reminds me of the group Spiro Gyra Remember the  Broadway production of Madame Butterfly?
These make me hungry   There’s always room for dessert or  but  if you want something light . This is the funniest of all because everyone else was being silly and she’s serious. 

That’s it for today. See you next Friday. Remember, if you have a particular interest, let me know. I’ll find it.