Category: musings

Upcoming Book Events for When the Music Stops-Dance On 0

interviews / marketing / musings / When the Music Stops

Upcoming Book Events for When the Music Stops-Dance On

When the Music Stops-Dance On has a publication date of Sept. 15th. To celebrate the release of this, book two in the ballet series, I have events planned and YOU’RE INVITED! *** Thursday, September 24th 7 PM at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park *** Thursday, October 15th drop-in between 5 and 8 PM to the Edmonds Bookshop (It’s Art Walk Thursday!) *** Saturday, October 24th at 2 PM at the Barnes and Noble in the Kitsap Mall (Silverdale) PLUS: Invite me to your book club meeting, live or via Skype, most anytime over the next months. If you’re...

Julie 2

musings / new works

Julie

I have a wonderful friend I’ve never met face-to-face. Her name is Julie; she’s my web and product designer. I met her through Tendril Press where my books and materials are designed. Most Mondays at 6 AM I have a conversation with her. Some are five minutes; some are longer, especially when we get talking about her other business: creating handbags for Allison Clothing Company, a shop in West Reading, PA (also online) or when we start comparing who’s got the worst weather. (Her winters win every time!) I feel indebted to Julie for her patience.  As she finishes one...

What Colors Rule Your World This Day? 1

details in writing / musings / quotes

What Colors Rule Your World This Day?

Color: the presence of life as seen through different lenses. Each day we select the way we’ll see our world. The following quotes provide different views/moods/images within a story.   The brilliant sun had disappeared, its last flickering rays painting the rim of the sky with liquid crimson, bleeding into saffron and amethyst and the palest lilac before dropping down behind the dim horizon. The Women in His Life by B.T. Bradford p.167   The mist enclosed them, making straight-ahead visibility almost non-existent. Up above was another story; the fog was pinned to the rivers and lagoons, barely higher than...

Even New York Times Authors Write Wrong 2

book reviewing / details in writing / editing / musings

Even New York Times Authors Write Wrong

I have several favorite contemporary authors I enjoy when I read to escape for awhile. Recently I read a book by a well-known NYTimes author and almost choked on one of her glitchy sentences. See what you think. (The following is one sentence with the character names changed to protect that author from embarrassment as she writes another 2-3 books before the end of the year.) She walked out to get the phone, and heard, as she assured Hannah the baby was fine, was sleeping like an angel, had been no trouble at all, the front door close behind him....

Writing a Pain-Free Review 1

book reviewing / musings / When the Music Stops

Writing a Pain-Free Review

Author are needy people. We seek validation from our critique groups, mentors and our readers. I know, that’s almost pathetic isn’t it? Why do authors seek validation? We work to create interesting stories, but without comments (reviews) we don’t know if we’ve succeeded. That’s where you come in. We hope what we write strikes a favorable chord inside you. That it informs or entertains, startles or amuses you and leaves you feeling satisfied. But, what should a reader mention in a review? (Please read to the end for a suggestion to ease any stress this section stirs up inside you.)...

After A Book is Printed 2

book reviewing / marketing / musings

After A Book is Printed

Now the author can relax? Right? Nope. By the time a book is published, the author should be deep into marketing the book. How else will anyone know it’s out there waiting to be read? Are people sharing my bookmarks and information with others? Only if I make them and myself available. Most authors wish they could wiggle their noses and…poof…the world would know about the book, be rushing out to buy it, and be writing reviews. After all we’re one of only 300,000 books (or more) published each year in the U.S. Why wouldn’t everyone know about our fresh...

2 Ballet Dancers: Misty Copeland and Marta 1

84 Ribbons / character development / musings / When the Music Stops

2 Ballet Dancers: Misty Copeland and Marta

Misty Copeland, a soloist with New York’s American Ballet Theatre was interviewed last Sunday, May 10th, on 60 Minutes. [See: 60 Minutes Season 47 – Episode 33]  As I watched, I wondered how Marta, my 84 Ribbons and When the Music Stops leading character compared to a real ballet dancer. Let’s find out. Both young women stand at five feet. Both were raised mostly by their mother. Both began their training in simple settings rather than ballet academies and worked far beyond their regular class hours to perfect their dancing. Both felt music rather than danced to music. Both sustained...

Word Play Challenge 1

Challenge / musings

Word Play Challenge

I was never a good reader as a child, but I’ve always loved words: their sounds and the way their letter combinations can jump around to make different words. I always had trouble with transposing those common primary devils saw-was and help-play. As a new teacher, I learned I was mildly dyslexic. I also learned that confusion included numbers as well. If you ask me to read a long string of numbers I might start anywhere telling you the numbers (of course they’d be out of order) and then writing them down in correct sequence. Strange huh? I’d have never...

Letter Writing Follow-up 1

musings

Letter Writing Follow-up

In January I wrote about  the lost art of letter writing. Since then I’ve received FIVE unexpected letters. Four arrived together as compact 4×6 note cards, one as a full, typed page. All represent the first letters I’d received in a long time (especially since only a handful of friends write holiday letters anymore.). Let me share the essence of their content. My “biggest fan” letter arrived from Canada via Arizona. A young dancer wrote to me telling me how much she enjoyed 84 Ribbons and that she identified with Marta, the main character in the book. Talk about being...

Carol: A Sketchy Character 1

84 Ribbons / details in writing / musings

Carol: A Sketchy Character

Character sketches are fun and part of an author’s ‘research’. They may be based on people we know, or they may be total fabrications. Sometimes, we take the best or worst traits of people we know and use them to jump-start our thinking. Then there is CAROL: the character many of you love to hate. Where did she come from and why? CAROL is a natural antagonist, just like some people we know. Life gave her lemons and she decided to squeeze the sourness onto everything and everyone she knows or comes into contact with during Marta’s story in 84...