Tag Archives: Writing

Sep5

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain- By George Saunders- a Review

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This was a great book with a lot of interesting analysis of Russian short stories and their writers. The author is a professor at Syracuse University and now I want to take one of his classes. While I didn’t agree with everything he said, as in whether a couple of the stories were actually wonderful. :), he had great points to make about the seven stories he chose to analyze. I had never read some of them and fully enjoyed them even though two of them were a bit odd.

This is a great book for writers as his analyses of the tales gives the writers among us a lot of insight into the stories as well as how to extrapolate from them ways to improve our own work.  It is a dense read and takes a lot of concentration but well worth it as it seems to me to be a mini course in Russian short stories and how brilliant these writers were.  To say nothing of what a great teacher Mr. Saunders is. He’s witty and intelligent and the reading of this book was a joy. Even if you aren’t a writer, there is a lot to take away from this book and it’s well worth a read.

Oct4

New Story Submission

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I submitted my novel called Overkill to one of my publishers on October 2. I hope they like it!  Here’s the blurb:

No one liked Drusilla Isaacs. She spent a lifetime alienating people as if making the most enemies was a personal goal. Now she’s dead. Shot, stabbed and her neck broken and that’s what the coroner can tell from a first look.

It’s up to Maggie Blaine—former friend and one-time victim of the odious Drusilla—and Maggie’s partner, Jacob Brown, to figure out who, out of a seemingly endless list of suspects, would carry out such heinous acts.

Their choices are varied. From Drusilla’s husbands—the former and the current—to the women in her life—her secretary, the mother of her husband’s son, or the new wife of her ex-husband. There’s also another option. A serial killer who randomly appears to insert himself into the mix.

A tale of murder, gems, drugs, illicit sex and a cast of villains who all have one thing in common. Their hatred of Drusilla Isaacs.

Jan27

Started a New Story

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I started a new story today- I have like 208 words so far and have no idea what it’s going to be about or where it’s going. A scene came to me as I drove this morning so I jotted part of it when I got to where I was going. I think the first line is a doozy and I can’t wait to see where my mind takes me with this one. I’ve had this first line in my head for a while so I’m sure the old subconscious has been mulling it over and is ready to feed me the story since it fed me the scene today.

I love, love the joy of the journey of discovery on first drafts.

Apr24

Word Wednesday

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Today’s word is PANTAGRUELIAN.

It means enormous. Geez. Why not just say enormous? This one is a mouthful, isn’t it? It comes from a character in Rabelias’ satirical stories of Gargantua and Pantagruel. He and his father, Gargantua were giants. The stories were written in the 1500s. I, for one, think it’s a cool word but would probably never use it in a sentence.

titlepage

You can get the book on Project Guttenberg if you’re so inclined.

Apr9

Young Adult Novel

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I’ve now written a young adult novel and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I’ve already edited it and sent it out to a couple of agents. It’s a story about magic and is a bit of an adventure. I like a lot of stuff going on in the books I read and so I tend to load up the ones I write, too.

This story is kind of a mashup of Mean Girls and The Craft with a side dose of a teen crush.

I’m hoping that others whom I’ve shared this one with like it. It was a departure for me to go back to the first person writing I did when I started and it was also a new age group for the protagonists so I hope that the young adult voice is acceptable. One other writer I know who does children’s stories told me she thought I had a great YA voice. Let’s hope she’s right.

The inspiration for this story was something that happened to me a bit over a year ago and this was my way of working out in my head that the events that occurred weren’t all on me. LOL

Mar1

Working on a Young Adult Novel

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I’ve bitten the bullet and started a young adult novel. I’m only about 1600 words in and so far, I’m loving it. I’m not entirely sure what the plot is or how it will pan out but it’s been a wonderful couple of days of a bit of writing here and there on it.

I sometimes use my writing to work thorough angst I’ve had in my life and this little story started as one of those kinds of excercises. It has now taken on a life of its own as my stories are prone to do. I love it.

My working title is Here There be Witches. It cracks me up and I guess that’s a good thing, right?

Sep15

From Seed to Final First Draft- in 14 Days

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I decided at the end of August to start a new novel with Venice as the setting. I’m totally a pantser when I write which is defined as not writing from a plot outline but from the seat of the pants. I usually start with protagonists’ names and not much else. Here are the notes I started with for this Venice story with no title yet. Fourteen days after I started writing, I had the first draft done. Ready now to polish and make it pretty enough to send out.

New story.

Vincente Canaletto

Charlotte Bolling

Venice. He’s a water taxi driver – they meet when he drives her from train station. She thinks he’s a lowly driver but he actually owns a fleet of them.

She’s an architect? Artist? She’s there to do research for something or paint?

He calls her Carlotta.

Yep, That’s all I had. I amaze myself sometimes when I think that from such a small seed, that a whole story can grow. This was a record first draft for me and I’m super excited about how it turned out- maybe I won’t be once I read it again! LOL!

Feb10

Guest Liberty Blake

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Today’s guest is Liberty Blake. She’s a super writer and an awesome friend. She’s in this great anthology from Still Moments publishing. I hope you’ll check out her story. It’s a really fun read! Enjoy!

The Dark Side of Valentine’s Day

Hi, Jillian. Thank you for sharing your space with me. I love your stories and am honored to be in Valentine Delights Be Mine with you.

A few years ago I worked as a cocktail waitress in a country bar (in the Boston area) and a bartender in a small hotel. They were both fun places, but you wouldn’t choose either place for a romantic dinner.

There were two nights a year I refused to work. One was New Years Eve. The other was Valentine’s night. That is the night when all the women who don’t have a Valentine get together at the local watering hole and try to drown their sorrows. It is also the night when they are easy prey for the “Smooth Move Lounge Creeper”. SMLC for short. The SMLC is a cross between an octopus, an ape, and a snake. They slither in when a woman is at her most vulnerable. The after effect of an encounter with a SMLC is worse than a hangover.

Then there are the couples who come in. The woman might have a date, but he didn’t spring for a nice meal in a good restaurant, instead he brought her for the all-you-can-eat free nibbles. It is always a special moment when he asks hopefully if it is “ladies night”.

Florist Melody Roberts, the heroine of Change of Heart always told her friends she hated Valentine’s Day, but the truth was her no good boyfriend never took her out. In seven years he never gave her so much as a card. She is finally dating a dreamboat and is eagerly looking forward to Valentine’s Day. That is until he didn’t ask her out.

Meet Melody and her friends in Change of Heart.

Change of Heart by Liberty Blake
After the night they spent in the hot tub, Melody believed her new man wanted a relationship, but now it was Valentine’s Day and not even a phone call. Did he have a Change of Heart?

Change of Heart, The Coroner’s Heart, and Latte Love are together in Valentine Delights the Be Mine Anthology from Still Moments Publishing.

Still Moments Publishing:
http://www.stillmomentspublishing.com/p/ebook-store.html

Valentine Delights Be Mine on Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/130214
(Please remove adult filter, there is adult content in one story)

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