There Is No Finish LIne

I once heard a seasoned and  successful author say, “There is no finish line for authors.”  At first, I thought that was crazy talk. What do you mean no finish line? I thought that was the most discourage thing I’d ever heard said, then I thought about it.

You write your first novel. Wow, you actually completely an entire book!  Can you sit and bathe in the success of your endeavor. Nope, now you have to find someone to represent your work and as brilliant as you are, you are up against thousands of submissions at any given time….not to mention market trends, agent preferences and so on.

There goes that finish line, but you are the exception and you land an amazing agent. You can almost see yourself going through that yellow tape at the end of the race until you realize, he or she still has to sell your book with a publisher. Now just for the sake of optimism, let’s say that you land a great book deal with a good publisher. Finish line here you come. 

The chariots of fire music starts to play. You are running, barreling toward the end when your publisher starts talking about what kind of marketing you will do and how it will take all your time.  Holy Crap, is there no end to it all?  Isn’t the money supposed to just roll in?  

Your book hits the market and it actually sells. Wahoo!  You’re doing the happy dance and that is when you get the first email asking when the next book will be coming out. 

Suddenly you realized, the track that you’re on is circular. They’ve lied to you. The finish line is really the same thing as the start over line.  At that point you’re wondering if they make a medication to deal with your condition, but amazingly you don’t pout too long.  Instead, you throw your shoulders back, go to the finish line which is in fact just another start, and of your own volition begin the course once more.  Are you crazy?  Maybe a little, but most of all, YOU ARE A WRITER and you will go round and round in a circle of insanity if it means that even one person will cherish your words as much as you do. To all you writer’s out there, there may not be a finish line, but you are my champions.

Stars on the Ceiling

Recently my oldest son and my youngest daughter switched rooms. This of course, entailed redesigning, painting, and reorganizing both rooms.  Once my daughter was happily settled into her hot pink with zebra accented space. I went to work on making her former, purple room acceptable for an eighteen year old boy. His main request…please take down the dozens of glow in the dark stars.  These stars had been securely fastened for NINE LONG YEARS.

Somewhere between carefully pulling down each star and scraping off the sticky putty that came with the stars, I had a thought. In many ways, people are just like these stars. Let me explain.  

Each person that comes into our lives whether for just a few minutes or for years stays with us.  Some of them are like the small stars, not offering much light, but cumulatively valuable. Then there are those like the largest stars in the pack. They fill our life with wonder. These might be our best friends or family.  They offer light when things seem dark and guide us along our way.  These are the ones we can't live without.

All these people, both of great and small influence will someday be taken from our lives. Some we purposely leave behind. Others are taken by moving or changes in our lives or theirs. Worst of all, some disappear when they die leaving our life dark and cold in spots.

The influence people have in our lives is not just the glow of the star but also the like putty that in my daughter's room held the stars securely to the ceiling.  I only had my mother for three short years and although she died from cancer, I see her influence “sticking” in my life all the time. I believe it is the same with other people.

It's one of the gifts of the universe. No matter how small or seemingly insignificant each person teaches us something.
Imagine if we chose each interaction carefully, thinking of what we were sticking to people and what would stay with them when we were gone. What if we literally carried a star that had the words we wanted to say on it and handed it to each person we spoke to. I know for me, it might change the way I treat people. I might take more time, offer more kind words. What do you think? Do you believe people "stick with us." Take a second to leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. 

Sneak Peek for The Second Secret!!

“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
― Benjamin Franklin,

Here it is! The first peek of my latest, and must add very fun WORK IN PROGRESS!  This young adult book is all about secrets, the ones you hide and the ones you can’t tell, even if you want to.  Watch for more info and publishing dates. Meanwhile, here’s a teaser from THE SECOND SECRET.

 

I gathered my backpack more so that I could carry it like a shield in front of me and followed Mr. Shoop to his office.  I jumped when he closed the door and I heard the mechanism click.  My principle came around to his side of the desk and sat in his chair. He kept his back straight and his hands on his lap.  He’d been at my baptism. He’d given me awards and had dinner at our house but I all I saw when I looked at him was him killing in cold blood.

I wanted to grab him by the shirt and scream. Why, why would you do that, but I knew there was still a chance that he didn’t know it was me on the porch and staying anonymous could keep me alive.

His tone of voice was all business. “Thank you for meeting with me,” he began. “I wanted to see how you were doing.”

The total insanity of the situation was almost too much. How was I doing? I would’ve been doing much better with living parents. 

“I’m fine,” I forced myself to say.  He pulled his chair around his desk so that we were only a few feet apart.  My stomach churned the acid like a volcano ready to erupt. If I vomited, I’d make sure it landed in his lap.

He looked as if he might reach out touch me, but he didn’t. Thank goodness we lived in a litigious society and administrators had to keep their distance. Still, being so close to him made my skin crawl.  I pulled my backpack tight to my chest.

“I know it was your eighteenth birthday and you were at Ally’s when your parents were killed. Is that right?” His dark eyes seemed to search mine anticipating a specific answer. His brazen probing was pushing my anger to override my immediate fear. 

“Well, according to police, I was running from a bear about that time.” I said wryly.  Mr. Shoop cocked his head to the side as he listened. “And then I was with Liam and Ally the rest of the night. Why do you ask?”  

Mr. Shoop’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. He was not impressed that I answered his questions with questions of my own. I knew I was acting dangerously rash, but sitting so close to my parents’ murderer incited me momentarily making me forget my fear.

“Well, dear, I know it was a terrible night and wanted to make sure you were surrounded by friends. I want you to know we all support you.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire. A children’s rhyme came to my mind and I wished I had a match right about then. His pants looked highly flammable.

 

Advice From a LIghtly Seasoned Author

“All readers come to fiction as willing accomplices to your lies. Such is the basic goodwill contract made the moment we pick up a work of fiction.”
—Steve Almond, WD

I once heard this process described as the “promise to your readers.”  When a person starts your book, what have you promised to give them? Will they leave believing in true love? Will they discover murderer or will the tables be turned on them? Can you make them accept Vampires and Angels as something so vivid and real that they flirt with the thought that maybe they do exist?   

This is why so many readers love and simultaneously hate cliff hangers. After all, who really wants to be dangling over the edge of a thousand foot drop?

If I could give any advice to a new author it would be don’t try to impress your readers with whirly-swirly fancy words.   Don’t rely on gimmicks like cliff hangers and contrived action that doesn’t add to the storyline.  This is a subjective field. One publisher will tell you this is right while another while forbid you to do the exact same thing. It’s exhausting and taking everyone’s advice will suck the creativity out of you faster than you can say I QUIT!

Recently, I’ve developed the skill of plugging my ears and saying La, La, La, La when well-meaning but contrary advice is doled out.  I've found that the only master worth bowing to is the well told story. That's what readers want, to get lost in an unforgettable adventure. They want a ticket out of reality and you, the passionate writer have the ability to create just what they crave.

Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying sloppy writing is okay or lazy, hole-filled plot lines do the trick. I’m just saying that at the end of the day, the contract is between you and your readers, and trust me, they’ll tell you if you’re doing it right!

Take heart aspiring writers, this field always needs fresh talent. Now go, write your heart out. Be prepared to re-write your heart out after that, but whatever you do, if you want to become great, don’t give up,

Well, I’m off to work on my writing. Thanks for stopping by.   

Do our Media Dads Mirror our Real Ones?

Do our media dads mirror real dads in society?

I grew up in the Cosby era. For those of you missed that, the Cosby show was a sitcom that seemed to enchant us all. They were African-American, educated, dual working parents that above all loved their family.  Mr. Cosby, while a little on the sarcastic side, always took the time to sit with his kids, even if just to lecture them on their own stupidity.   

Ahh, those were the days.  

He was the first to break away from the authoritarian mold of the nineteen seventies, to talk to his kids with candor and even humor and we ALL LOVED HIM.

Fast forward thirty years or so. What about now? What does a good TV dad look like today?  On Arrested Development, Mr. Bluth, while disturbingly dysfunctional loves his crazy family.  Or we could look towards the show Parenthood where there are a slew of dads to choose from.  Some aren’t so great(a deadbeat musician dad), but the greatest of all is the doting patriarch of the family that calls his kid’s kids, granddaughter or grandson and does it in a way more endearing than if he’d called them sweetheart. 

Yep, good TV dads are still hanging around and I believe that the real fathers in today’s society they are both better and worse than the dads of years past.

Me myself, I think dads are important, critical even. Maybe that is because my sister and I were raised by a single father.  He did everything from earn the money to the dishes, to wiping away our tears when some insensitive boy broke our hearts. This father’s day, I can only pay respect to him by saying that if all fathers, TV or real, were more like him, the world would be a better place!  Thanks Dad. I love you! 

A Fairylicious Review for Wings by Aprilynne Pike

 

As a fellow author, I find it hard to write reviews for the books that I read. This is mostly because I understand the time, passion and effort that goes into producing anything half decent. That being said, I’d like to try to write reviews once in awhile,especially for books I feel comfortable raving about.

One such book is Wings, by Aprilinne Pike. I actually met Ms. Pike at a conference. She was kind and we talked about the challenges of raising a young family and becoming a well known author. I decided to give her work a try and I’m so glad I did. 

In wings Ms. Pike creates a wonderful juxtaposition of magic and reality when sixteen year old Lauren wakes up to find that a magnificent blossom has grown from her back. This sends Lauren on a journey to figure out who she is. David, her newest friend and soon to be love interest is guy worth dreaming about. He not only helps her, he stands by her as she discovers that her strange blossom is the least of her worries. The more she learns about her strange past, the more danger her family is in.

Without spoiling the end for you, Ms. Pike sets up the rest of series with a tantalizing love triangle and Lauren more caught between worlds than ever.  If you’re wondering, I’ve already started the second book in the series. If you like a little bit of fantasy and lovely writing that leaves you invested in the characters, you’ll love Wings.

Kudos to you Ms. Pike: Now I just have to find out what happens to Lauren, David, and Tamani in the next book.