Good non-fiction  revolves around a story. Even a cookbook, as evidenced by Lindsay Nixon’s Everyday Happy Herbivore: “Shortly after I finished my first cookbook . . . my husband and I were transferred to St. Maarten for a year. While the prospect of living in paradise was quite exciting, the realization that I’d have to cook three meals a day, everyday was daunting. . .”

Don’t you want to know how that year in paradise turned out and why it was daunting?

If you’ve already started writing your book, go back to see if you used the “once upon a time” magical story beginning. If you’re just beginning, what’s the story?

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One of my love note (AKA newsletter) subscribers sent me an email telling me that an Anne Lamott quote had really hit her hard. The quote reads:

Oh my God, what if you wake up some day and you’re 65, or 75, and you never got your memoir or novel written; or you didn’t go swimming in warm pools and oceans all those years because your thighs were jiggly and you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out on perfectionism and people-pleasing that you forgot to have a big juicy creative life, of imagination and radical silliness and staring off into space like when you were a kid? It’s going to break your heart. Don’t let this happen.

Today’s message – what are you waiting for to live your big juicy creative life?

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When I received an email from Udey Johnson, thanking me for my How to Write for Kindle book, I was thrilled that I’d been able to help someone with the structure of their book. I asked Udey if I could interview him and he graciously accepted.  He’s a first-time Kindle author and his book is The Montreal Plateau: A traveler’s guide.

Nancy: Could you tell me a little about how my Kindle book helped you? i.e. inspiration, structure, outline, etc?

Udey: Actually, your book gave me inspiration because it provided such a clear and practical structure. The fact that you presented a definitely proven path to completion – and then reinforced the importance of following the steps systematically made all the difference.

This provided such a clear and practical structure.
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This structure and systematic approach is all stuff we already know – or actually already think we know. But most of us – well, me at least – are unable to get it done all the way to the finish, for a host of reasons.

I realized when I finished and actually saw my book on Amazon – in a manner I liked – that without that structure I would’ve undoubtedly, gotten sidetracked at several points, and either given up officially, or passively by continually putting it on hold until it died of neglect.

Nancy: Have you written a book before the Montreal book?

Udey: I’d written a pamphlet ebook on iPhone tips – that became obsolete about 3 months after release – in 2009. So – actually no. This was my first real ebook of any substance.

Nancy: How did you pick your topic?

Udey: The most important thing to me for this first ebook was to simply have the experience of going through the process from A – Z so that I could gain a concrete sense of what was entailed in going from idea to published ebook. So to make it as easy for me as possible, I picked a topic that I was very interested in, and knowledgable about, so that the research would be easier and less work. That made the writing much easier – and allowed me to pay attention to the guidelines in your 72 hours book.

Nancy: As you wrote the book, what kept you from being able to do it in 72 hours? Did you have other commitments, unrealistic time frame?

Udey: Basically other commitments. But I can easily see myself now doing one in 72-ish hours. Now that I know exactly what’s involved – practically speaking – I could easily just go full tilt and crank one out. I’m on my second now – and while it won’t be done in 72 hours straight – it’s being put together much faster and more efficiently the second time around.

Nancy: What was your biggest challenge in writing the book?

Udey: The insecurity of inexperience. And a natural inclination to look for short cuts, and alternative methods – even with a book so programmatically structured as yours. At first I set out to do my own formatting and related tasks, just assuming I could easily figure it all out. And while I’m sure I could do it – it really isn’t all that easy – especially with photos.

I then followed your experience (and advice) regarding Fiverr, and that worked quite nicely, and saved me a ton of unnecessary stress – and energy.

Nancy:  What did you feel was the easiest part of writing the book?

Udey:  That’s easy; the actual writing process. Once I knew what I wanted to say, had it outlined in a systematic and coherent way, and had the research ready to go – then I sat down and wrote it – pretty much non-stop. That’s another reason I’m glad I gave in and tried the Fiverr thing. It enabled me to keep my core energy focused on writing, and thinking about writing.

Nancy:  Udey, what words of inspiration or advice could you give other people who haven’t yet written a book?

Udey:  Two things. First – make sure you have found something that you’re truly motivated to write about. Even if it’s based on marketing motivations, find a marketable subject that you’re honestly interested in. I wrote this one – my first – without a care in the world for how many I’d sell. I just wanted to write it. So that part was easy for me. But my second one is the product of market research – and this time I actually hope to make a few bucks off of it – or at least get my name out there more widely. But it’s still about something I’m truly interested in – and that takes a lot of the “work” out of.

Secondly – definitely have an action plan. If not Nancy’s book, then one of your own or from someone else – but something – in writing – that you can look at. It’s important, and motivational to look at a road map in black and white so that you have a clear-cut sense of where you are – and what lies in-front of you. That way you’re always responding to a sense of being pulled forward versus having to push yourself. Plus, it’s twice as hard to push yourself when you don’t don’t where you’re going – in exact terms.

Nancy:  Your blog is an interesting combination of topics – do you feel that writing about several different kinds of things helped in writing your book?

Udey:  Yes. Each one of my blog posts reflects something I was organically interested in at the time – and I wrote it for me alone. If someone else reads it and likes it – great. If not – couldn’t care less. I enjoyed getting it written – the sense of release and clarity it gave me. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely had a reader in-mind, and that’s what made me motivated to write clearly and interestingly (or try to). So by constantly just writing about an eclectic array of topics, it’s built a core competence in me that I’m able to apply to almost any subject – as long as I’m actually interested in it.

And as a matter of fact – I’ve written a number of paid blog posts for writing mills, and whatnot, on topics I initially had zero interest in. What I do in those situations is find something interesting about it, and use that as my springboard to get something good down on paper. That is definitely not as much fun as being interested from the get go. But it does show the importance of building a true passion sopt about your subject if you really want to get something of value to come out of the process. At least – that’s how it works for me.

Nancy:  What’s your background? Did you have any formal writing training?

Udey: I have spent most of my working life as a teacher in high school, community college, adult schools, and a long stint as a corporate trainer. I have traveled fairly widely, and love becoming involved in different cultures, languages, and social situations.

After I lost my corporate training position to the recession in 2010, I decided that I would, from that point forward, make my living writing – whatever it took. I’ve scraped together a living for nearly four years now learning the industry, and my craft as I’ve gone along.

Writing ebooks is the next step in this adventure for me – and one I’m very excitied about. I feel I may, at last, be approaching the type of writing I’ve been searching for for a long time. I think I’m now nearly at a point where I can stop trying to get writing jobs, and can finally hire myself. At least, I hope so.

Nancy: Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. I love your Montreal book – and you inspired me to get going on a book I’ve had on the back burner for a year- –  an insider’s guide to the best of San Diego.

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From 30,000 feet

No, this isn’t a post about writing while flying. Rather, it’s a post about the BIG PICTURE of a non-fiction book structure.

How Many Topics Does Your Book Need?

Once you’ve hit upon the basic idea for your book, break it down into topics. Think of the book’s structure in the same way you’d think about a recipe. Even if you don’t cook, you know that every recipe has a list of ingredients. Your book topics are like the ingredients of a recipe.

Recipe: How to Tame a Dragon

Ingredients:

1. Baby Dragon
2. Fire-proof clothes
3. Dragon food
4. Dragon treats (non-human)
5. Tasks = Treats
6. Beginning tasks
7. and so on

Each of the ingredients becomes a chapter.

What Happens Within Each Chapter?

Next, (just like the cake) you’ll create a list of instructions for each chapter, i.e.

Baby Dragon

• where to find a baby dragon
• how much does a baby dragon cost
• how to tell a real dragon from a fake dragon
• best time to buy a discount dragon
• telling the difference between a girl and a boy dragon
• does a dragon’s coloration matter

and so on for each chapter.

In high school, they used to call what I just did “an outline”. Ugh.

I hope this helps you get an overview of the basic structure of a non-fiction book. Leave a comment if you use this same structure or if you’re having problems structuring your book – I’m always happy to give feedback.

Actionable Item

1.  Pick a topic

2.  Make a list of ingredients (chapters)

3.  Make a list of the things you need to include in the chapter.

4.  Write.

Do you want to get notifications of when my books are on discount? Sign up for my love notes (aka newsletter) in the box, top right, and receive my free guide, One-Click Marketing for Writers.

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Sometimes a #writerslife requires watering the tomatoes http://t.co/oA2kARyNA3 http://ift.tt/1n4OWKq

— Nancy Hendrickson (@nhendrickson1) June 16, 2014

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Thanks to Chris Bell for offering me a guest interview spot on the Writers Rebellion Podcast. It was great fun – and filled with tips for writers.

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When I first started writing for magazines I managed to collect my (not) fair share of rejection letters. However, I persisted in writing queries and improving my pitch. One day, the dam broke open and I was faced with a choice I was happy to make:

• Quit my job and jump full force into being a freelancer OR
• Keep my job and try to eke enough hours out of the day to fulfill my magazine assignments.

For awhile, I continued doing both the job and the dream job until I reached a tipping point; I knew that in order to grow my writing business, I had to quit my job – I just didn’t have time to do both.

So if you’re wondering when you can escape Cubicle Nation, ask yourself this: Do you have enough work and/or income coming in the door – so much so that you can’t do the work and THE WORK? If your answer is yes – then welcome to the world of freelance writing.

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If you read my book Writer’s Block: Vanquished!, you’ll know that I often use images as inspiration, a new perspective, or to kickstart an idea. Last week I made the rounds of three of the 21 California Missions – San Diego de Alcala, San Juan Capistrano, and San Luis Rey. While at each, I used my #Hipstamatic iPhone app with the Monti Hipstapak to capture some amazing Mission images. I’m not quite sure what I’ll use the images for, but something is percolating in the back of my mind.

I’ve been working on thinking about a story based on the Mission era in New Mexico so perhaps these images will help speed up the thinking process.

How do you use images in your writing?

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Part 1 of a series: The Anatomy of an Article –

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On sale now until Easter (the Bunny made me do it!)

You may already know about tweeting your book, but do you know how effective a Facebook event can be? My newest book, written with Michelle Campbell-Scott, gives 55 different promotional methods. We know some of them are fairly well-known, but others have flown under the radar – and we want you to take advantage of as many promo methods as possible.

To make it easy, we created five different categories, based on your personality type. Let’s face it, not all of us love putting our face in front of a video camera! Whether you’re the

• Rock Star
• Big Five
• Emily Dickinson
• Best Friend
• Wizard

you’re going to find promos that fit you perfectly. Now available on the Kindle.

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You’re entering the playground of book promotion ideas. Nothing’s too crazy to try, nothing’s too precious to hoard. Have fun, leave comments, share ideas.

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I sell a lengthy essay (a bit more than 5,000 words) on Kindle for $0.99 called How the California Gold Rush Changed the Face of America.  I converted the book to audio and it’s also available on Amazon for $6.95. Sales have been good – which makes me happy as the history of the American frontier is truly a passion for me.

But that’s not what I wanted to write about.

I received an email about a month ago from an historic site in Long Beach, CA, called Rancho Los Cerritos. It’s an historic site that at one time contained 27,000 acres. Someone there had seen my Gold Rush essay and invited me to be a speaker for their lecture series. Of course I accepted.  I’ll be talking for about an hour or so with a Q/A afterwords – am already preparing some handouts and images I want to take with me.

The reason I’m sharing this is – 1) I’m trying to break out of my Hermit shell a bit and share more of my professional and personal writing life; and 2) I wanted you to know that writing about something you really love can open up avenues you never knew existed.

Getting this invitation has inspired me to put together a few topics and pitch them out to historical and genealogical societies in the west. Traveling to my favorite places and talking about my favorite topics – now THAT’S the life!

What’s your passion – what do you really love writing about? And how can you expand that into doing more with your passion than just writing about it?

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Isn’t it interesting that I’ve been writing about flash non-fiction – and encouraging readers of the Art of Extraordinary Writing to try their hand at the form – - and a week later I receive a press release about an author who “breathes new life into a neglected form through masterfully crafted, universally relatable, and deeply personal essays”?

Serendipity.

The author is Mark J. Ehlers, a former federal prosecutor and current managing director of a corporate investigations firm. Mark’s book, Life Goes On, is a collection of personal essays, written during 2011 and 2012, that reflect Mark’s experiences, among them being a parent of two college-aged daughters, the disappointment of lost time and unmet dreams, and the author’s life-long bond with baseball.

I’ll be reviewing Mark’s book next week – stay tuned. And in the meantime, how’s your Beautiful Writing Revolution going?

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When I was ten I wanted to be an archaeologist. I’m not sure if it was the idea of climbing through ancient ruins or the thought of making a world-shaking discovery that became my carrot; whichever it was, it didn’t happen. Instead I fell in love with the power of words andwent on to become a writer.

Over the years, I researched and wrote about whatever caught my fancy – from  astronomy and aerospace to genealogy and technology. After a time, though, I realized that the things I loved writing about the most centered around the past. Few things gave me as much joy as writing about the places that witnessed the great events of history:  the spot where Crazy Horse rode into captivity, the chamber where Franklin and Adams turned the world on its ear, or the southwestern pueblo Coronado visited five hundred years before I walked the same ground.

At first, I wrote for magazines – small trades mostly, until  I built enough of a portfolio to sell to nationals. For a few years I wrote steadily for Astronomy magazine and then later became a contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine. During that same period I sold photos to accompany several articles, including a favorite I shot of an annular eclipse while standing knee-deep in the Pacific.

At some point – strangely I can’t remember when – I focused on business writing. I wrote for  corporations, higher education, medicine, aerospace, and even a military service academy. I became adept at writing web copy and analyzing websites to find flaws in conversion and marketability.

A Life, Changed

Then, something happened. I read a blog post by a novelist who confessed that writing no longer gave him joy. I spent most of the day thinking about the post, pondering all of the “stuff” about my own writing that had been simmering below the surface. That evening it  came bubbling out in a wash of clarity

I realized – just like the novelist – that writing no longer gave me joy. In fact, if you had  asked me on that very day how I liked being a writer, I would have answered “it’s just a job”. Sometime in the last ten years I had stopped loving what I do – and that’s about as soul-sucking as it gets. No wonder I couldn’t remember the last time I jumped out of bed, eager to get into my day.

That same night I must have dreamt about the novelist because I woke up pre-dawn, wondering what had become of my passion. The answer was simple – business writing didn’t feed my creativity and now, all these years later, I wondered if I was even capable of writing a beautiful sentence.

It was in that moment that I made a decision. No longer would I add content to the blog I didn’t feel was helping anyone or that didn’t give me some amount of pleasure, nor would I seek out work that I didn’t believe in; instead I would go back to my roots and write as beautifully as I could; the craft would become my guide.

My Invitation

I don’t profess to know much about extraordinary writing, but I know it when I see it – and I know that years ago I wrote a handful of articles that were so good I could hardly sit still. I want to feel that way again and I invite you to join me. If you’re tired of writing articles, books or web content that’s flat and (as my friend Jessica Macbeth would say) fizzy-less then join me here.

I invite you to share writing that’s extraordinary – whether it’s a single sentence, a poem, or a paragraph you’re proud of.  Or a line you read that’s so good you had to call up a friend just to share it.

I’m going to be inviting guest bloggers to share their thoughts on the Art of Extraordinary Writing.  I’ll also be posting articles about what I’m learning on the journey. And once in awhile you’ll see my silly Instagram images – all reflecting the daily life of being a writer.

If this sounds intriguing, join the Revolution. Let’s discover just how beautiful our work can be.

Image courtesy Anita Ritenour

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from Instagram: http://instagram.com/p/hcKh71JjOv/

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

from Instagram: http://instagram.com/p/iBtqCnpjAq/

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

from Instagram: http://instagram.com/p/hecjvMpjOD/

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

I read an article today about 40 blog post ideas for writers. You’d think, as writers, that our brains could create dozens of blog ideas, but yes, we do get stuck. That’s why I picked #1 on the idea list – writing about a vacation. I choose a trip along the Santa Fe Trail to Bent’s Old Fort in Colorado.

You see,  Bent’s was a famous landmark on the Santa Fe Trail, visited by just about everyone who traveled the area – from trappers and traders to soldiers and Indians. I went on one of their Living History weekends because I love talking to reenactors. The slide show above is just a sampling of the folks I chatted with over the weekend.

By the way – if you write any kind of history, either fiction or non-fiction, – you won’t find people more informed about the period than reenactors. These folks pride themselves on the authenticity of their costumes as well as their knowledge about the period in which their “persona” lived.

One fellow – the man with the sketch pad – took on the role of a real artist who came west, sketched scenes and then returned to his studio in the East to complete his works. His name was Worthington Whittredge. If you know much about art, you may be interested to know that Whittredge belonged to the Hudson River School.

The other three reenactors were a trapper (the fellow in the red shirt), a hunter (with the knife), and the musician – and yes he really could play two pennywhistles at the same time!

Other places I visited along the trail were Santa Fe, Dodge City, Kansas, the famous Cimarron Cut-Off, Fort Union, New Mexico, and Pecos Pueblo.  If you want to learn more about the Santa Fe Trail, Wikipedia has a pretty good article, images and maps.

I’d love to sit down and share my photos and stories with you . . . but I’m on a deadline writing a book for a genealogy publisher . . . so must get back to it.  Hope you enjoy the pix – and leave a comment about YOUR last vacation.

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My Facebook friend and colleague, Michelle Campbell-Booth and I just released a book we’ve been working on for the past several months.

Make Your Book Work Harder is all about increasing your income by publishing your books on multiple platforms. In addition, we’ve added lots of cool services and sites to help maximize your promotional reach while minimizing your time commitments.

I’m so proud of this book – Michelle and I worked hard to fill it with everything we know.  And, wouldn’t you know it – as soon as we launched we already had new things to add for the next edition. Anyone who purchases the group can access our Secret Facebook Group – that’s where we’ll announce new platforms and techniques.  That means anyone in the group will know the good stuff before it hits an update.

At launch we’re pricing this at $0.99 but the price will go up on November 14.

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Mashup image of Day of the Dead / Halloween scenes at Old Town, San Diego. You know, as a writer, it’s so important to get out into the world . . . how else will ideas brew in our brains?

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Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

I love sending my book on a journey.

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I decided my Kindle book – How to Write for Kindle - was getting tired of hanging out in San Diego. So, I opened the door and let the wind take him into the cosmos. First stop? Tombstone, Arizona – the town too tough to die.  Where do you think this wayward book will end up next? Leave your comments below and win a special prize if you guess the next destination!  (Hint: I’m pretty sure I saw the book traveling far East – trying out his new-found independence!)

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Thanks to the easy steps in this article, you can embed any of your Pinterest boards on your site. Just like this one:

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Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

If I walk before doing anything else in the morning (even my first cup of coffee) it helps to wake up my brain, clear out the weird dreams of the night before, and send energy down into my toes. I’m not a huge fan of roses – but this one caught my eye and my nose

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Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Yesterday I wrote about  creating a mind-map in preparation for a flash non-fiction piece. Today I’m inviting you to do the same. (If you write fiction, please join in!)

If you’ve never done mind-mapping, I’ve included links below to a few quick guides.  I have mind-mapping software (Simple Mind) but I prefer using pen and paper. My technique is a simple one: I begin with a central idea, which I circle, and then (like spokes on a wheel) begin free associating outwards from the central hub. In my example from yesterday’s mind-map, Fort Robinson was at the hub of my mind-map, from which I added other ideas/observations (black butterfly, wind, elms, cottonwoods, officer’s row, bluffs, sky,etc).

Mind-Map Resources

Rico Cluster (which is about as close to what I do as possible)

Brainstorming-MindMapping

An interesting take on mind-mapping via YouTube

And for the artists among us, some amazing mind-maps

What Next?

If you’re open to having your mind-map posted here, send it over to nancy@nancyhendrickson.com and I’ll post it, along with whatever comments you want to make. I encourage you to come up with an idea for a flash non-fiction piece, then start mind-mapping it.  Can’t wait to see what you create!

Mind Map Example: Courtesy Jean-Louis Zimmermann

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If you think about it, it’s the details that draw us into a story – whether fiction or non-fiction. That’s why I was interested in reading a recent article about the value of  note-taking for travel writers. I’m not a travel writer, per se, but I never travel without a notebook shoved in my hip pocket.

Whenever I visit a place (and for me, that’s typically somewhere in the frontier west) I jot down random observations.  That way, no matter how long it may be before I write about the place, by digging out an old notebook I can get myself back into a specific time and place.

I use little spiral-bound notebooks that easily slide into my pocket.  When I get home, I throw them into a box where I keep all my travel notebooks. Sadly, I’m not organized enough to categorize them by date or place – but so far my so-called system works fine.  

Yesterday, I got an itch to write a flash non-fiction about Fort Robinson.  Located in western Nebraska, Robinson is the place  Crazy Horse, the Oglala Sioux warrior, surrendered and was killed. The photo above is of  a replica of the guardhouse the soldiers were trying to force him into when he bolted and was fatally bayoneted in the back.

Got Notes, Now What?

The notes I took date back to 1998, my first trip to Fort Robinson. Just reading them reminded me of  the blazing hot day I sat on the edge of the old parade ground, across from the guardhouse, jotting down whatever came to mind. My first thought was to make a mind-map from my notes, just to see what might happen.

Instead of using my desktop or iPad mind-mapping software, I got out a piece of paper and just started free-associating (see below). Now here’s the amazing part of the story:

As I mind-mapped (clustering is what we used to call it) I started making interesting associations. The two that most struck me were my note about a black butterfly and another about  the flies that bit so hard they drew blood.  I’m not sure how I’m going to use them, but I know they’ll have a part. It was a black day for the Sioux – and the blood drawn by the flies biting the back of my leg was but a drop compared to the wound suffered by the warrior.

Another thing – the wind. But I need to think about that one a little more.

Thought you might enjoy seeing my mindmap – and wondering, do you use mind maps too?

Stay tuned for Part 2.

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From my weekly market research, Barnes & Noble. Bookstore visits are a must for writers who want to see what’s selling.

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The Art of Extraordinary Writing appreciates this contribution by Jane Castellanos. Jane was a teacher, intuitive, traveller, currently living in Devon, seeking to reconnect. 

Meaning

I don’t have a desk, but I do have a room. The windows are plastic, not allowing for squirrel or bird feeders to be attached. It is forbidden to throw things out of the window. So I do at night for the birds. I’m on the second floor corner flat. The room is light and clean. The view over a rather tacky back street allows the rising sun to reach me over the roof-tops. Daisies have implanted themselves across the way in the guttering and gulls are raising their numerous, raucous families sheltered by chimneys at my eye level.

What means most to me here? It’s difficult to say with so many precious things around me.  I have chosen first a small foot- high driftwood chest of drawers that I couldn’t walk away from at a Penzance street market many moons ago.  It stands on the window ledge. The sea-bleached pine is soft to touch, smooth of line and has no jagged edges. Swept by tides on deep turbulent seas and lulled by sparkling clear days off the Cornish coast, then racked onto rocks by a wild storm, stained by oily scum and entangled in mulchy brown seaweed, the plank was rescued from its maritime adventure and  fashioned by a quiet man who regularly scoured his local strand and welcomed wintry frequencies.  I can feel his presence in the wood.

Now tamed, three small drawers hold essential things you must not lose; a few euros for next time, ear-plugs to drown out parental sea-gull shrieks at night, charcoal saucers on which to burn aromatic resins, candle stubs, a key to – what was that for?,  instructions for appliances now defunct, two slides of beloved Spanish dogs when pups, named Longlegs and Shorts. How I wish they were snoozing alongside.  A few seed heads of poppies are still there and lavender plucked from suburban gardens during summer walks. Things we cannot do without. That chest of drawers accompanied me to the St. Ives beach hut when I had discarded all belongings too bulky to fit into my red Parcelforce van, my new adventurous home after the children left home.  It accompanied me through the Pyrenees, down to a fresh life in Andalucía and back again.  As the drifted wood contains brine from the ocean, so are my memories locked inside.

Look along from the window ledge to the golden corner. There, propped up on a night-storage heater disguised as an altar clothed in sunny yellow Indian cloth appliqued with brown birds and mules, rests my Paiste healing gong. It is retired and unemployed. The beautiful tones, along with my singing bowls and drums would shock the other residents of this too thin-walled apartment block where I can hear every spit and gargle. But little does it know that as I gather strength and resolution, soon – and I mean right soonish-now, its 26” burnished splendour will sound out and vibrate as it once did when my life was wonderful.

I was drawn to the Neptune symbol of a black arrow piercing a supine crescent moon drawn in the centre. This gong resonates with the ‘A’ of that planet to which it is meticulously tuned. Neptune, king of the sea, king of deep emotions, artistry and ironically of illusion. Since acquiring this magical friend I have been immersed  both darkly and lightly in all these elements. I am emerging from the dark. Be careful what you wish for, they do say, but in my new regained honesty I think it is all for our learning. We cannot escape. We kid ourselves to consider otherwise. Now is the time for cosmic harmony , a harmonious resonance  bringing that crafted gong together with its player back into its own. It can’t stay idle long, nine years too long.

In Spain it played in the weekly farmers’ market,  gonging the sellers of cheap sunglasses, brussel sprouts and garden nick-knacks and sounding an ‘om’ at the end of a card reading. ‘Give us a gonging, love.’

I recall Andalucian visitors coming out of curiosity. My ancient-minded neighbours at the finca holding a gong-stick each, tenderly struck  the past-midnight face of the gong reflecting the bonfire we had ignited under the stars sharing a bottle. Dogs in the shadows.  ‘A gong is a marvellous thing’ uttered Remedio, shiny-eyed before she and Juan tottered off to bed. He  ‘Old woman hold my hand. I don’t trust not even one of the hairs on your head in the darkness.’

Towards the end of my stay, a quarrelling, fractious musical family, free spirit friends, ostensibly arrived to assist my move back to England. They were really desperate, unable to find a house they could afford or work, or school. They burst out of their too small, boiling car stuffed with children to share a meal, spend the night and fall asleep in a quilted row soothed by a gongster lullaby, after we had dedicated the playing to their new imagined home. The gong angel heard and granted their request.

Another hot sweaty midday a team of women in adult education who I met in Periana main street practicing the art of cobbling and tiling came shyly with their children to be gonged. They were awakening to astrology, to their own decision-making, to passing  driving tests, gaining diplomas, finding jobs down in Malaga and no longer being trapped into providing the midday meal for all the family. Sandwiches thenceforth for the men. I was touched by their trust as a sister. The gong was an advertisement for change, a shattering of obstacles. Now my slightly tarnished gong is itching and tingling to once more send colours, vibrations, sounds streaming out to the stars as it rests near the window.

My third object also is reclining. This brown, soft, long-haired sheepskin is healthy and vital despite having lost connection with his host. I feel it’s a ‘he’. His shammy backing is strong and pliable, good quality and when first I bought him in Totnes (the U.K.’s answer to alternative living) we sat close on the sofa and I stroked his chocolate-coloured fur, most proximate to a living animal – No Pets Allowed. He reminds me of many happy afternoons spent chasing escaped sheep with my neighbours in Cornwall down lanes and across boundaries, Cornish hedges somewhat lacking  impermeability.

He also takes my mind to the itinerant sheep of Periana. When the shepherd snoozing under the communal walnut tree outside my hacienda ordered his dog to send them homewards, I never quite dared open barn-like front doors and watch the rabble streaming into my traditional living room over the cobbles, designed for oxen’ hooves and pigs’ trotters and out the back, baaing, scrabbling and careering down the mountain. There was an invisible energy line causing everything human or non-human  to enter, despite placing a huge crystalline rock from the quarry to deflect desires. One summer siesta time I did entertain a belled and collared ram who pushed through the bead curtain and stayed an hour or two, ramming around the kitchen, chasing and head butting Furz my Siamese cat friend throughout the downstairs, sniffing, inspecting and urinating till he tired of our company.

These are my three.

What has brought these elements together? My guardians, destiny, me. I have. My longing for fulfilment.  They join for me past, present, timelessness – essence of sea, sound, memory, connection to the stars and harmony, the  world of people, plants and animals and hope.

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I stumbled across Amalie Flynn’s work about a month ago and was stuck by the stark beauty of her poetry. Her memoir, Wife and War will be released on 9/11/13.  Her writing was featured by The New York Times At War and by TIME.   She also blogs for The Huffington Post. Read more of her poetry at her blog.  Ventricle, is published with permission of the author.

Ventricle

When a soldier deploys to war,

He goes to a country with

Bombs and bullets, and wears

Kevlar body armor, with plates,

A ballistic chest plate covering

His heart,

And when a soldier patrols a town,

He carries his M4, like a limb, and

Enters compounds made of sand,

With corridors that wind around

Like arteries and veins.

He knocks down doors, each one,

A valve, and inside, this chamber,

A dark room, with families inside,

Women, children, and men,

Men who say, this is our home,

Pointing to it,

The darkness that surrounds them,

This room where they live,

A ventricle, and the land outside,

Afghanistan,

Full of blood,

Like a heart.

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Thank you to Portland, Oregon poet, Gail Brooks, for the flash non-fiction piece: Labyrinth.

First swallows of coffee down, my eyes begin to widen just a bit. I’m having a quick breakfast at a local favorite spot and leisurely checking out the familiar surroundings. The place is kind of a mess as usual–stuff piled up, somehow functional, not particularly attractive –but comfortable and welcoming and, most importantly, the food sings. It’s always crowded, suggesting that others may find what I find here.

The woman sitting at the table next to me is completely engrossed in her computer to the point that her breakfast is sitting there untouched. Since I’m really hungry, I’m tempted to ask if she’s going to eat and if not, slide it over, please. Get a grip, I ruefully smile to myself, remembering that my own breakfast will be arriving any minute..

Three women on my other side are avidly engaged in conversation about the coming school year. Clearly they are teachers–the eldest is a veteran, trying to offer suggestions to the younger women without overwhelming them. Their responsive smiles tinged with hysteria give a clue that perhaps she’s not being completely successful. Absorb what she’s saying, I silently say to the younger ones. She’s sharing some wisdom worth having. Remember it when the classroom door closes behind you and the judgement you’ll need to rely on will be your own. But you’ll come to know that.

My breakfast arrives and I dig in, leaving my dining companions to their own worlds. The scramble is delicious as usual and the biscuits with raspberry jam do literally melt in my mouth. I smile to myself and reflect that the cafe’s magnet for me is its consistency. In a world of continual surprise, it’s comforting to have a few things to count on.

As I’m sipping the last of my coffee, I notice another woman gazing into some private vision, a half-smile warming her face. I wonder what she’s thinking; it looks like it’s giving her a lovely moment, whatever it is. I watch for awhile and then leave her to what the daydreams hold.

It occurs to me that all of these women are familiar. The parts of them that I witness today live within me as well. In that sense I truly know who they are, what they’re experiencing at this moment in time. I feel a kinship with each of them as we seek what is around the next bend.

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I took on the Flash Non-Fiction Challenge #1 – writing about three things and how they may relate to one another.  I’m not exaggerating when I admit that I went through 30+ revisions, trying to find the perfect word, the perfect turn-of-phrase.

I was shocked at the ah-ha’s I experienced, but I’ll save that for another post. What I can tell you now, though, is that after I finished writing, I felt exhilarated and alive – truly alive.

As you complete your Flash Non-Fiction, send it over so I can post it; then, let’s talk about what we discovered about ourselves.

Waiting

My desk is probably like yours; modem, router, speakers, and a phone, all joined by an oversized mug jammed with pens I never use and a blue-handled pair of scissors that I do. Crowding what little open space remains is a collection of fetishes picked up during my travels in the Southwest.

If you sat at my desk, I bet you’d reach for my turquoise bear. Crafted by an unknown Zuni artist, the fetish sat in a shop in Sedona, waiting for me to come along and rescue it. That was long before Sedona had its first traffic light or turquoise-arched McDonalds; back then, I could walk across 89A without dodging a mob of crystal-carrying tourists driving up Oak Creek Canyon. The Sedona of my heart is a place of evening walks across the mesa top and coyotes howling as the sun dips low in the west. In those days, the smell of juniper and piñon purified every breath I took. I keep the bear on my desk – along with several of his brethren – just to remind me of the novel that flows through my mind every time I revisit the abandoned pueblos of the high desert.Hoping that one day, it will emerge from the ruins with a form as solid as the bear’s.

On my desk,you’ll also find a single human figure, although what she’s doing amidst the bears and horses, stones and polished rocks I’m not sure. She’s a clay goddess, colored burnt rust and copper, hands pressed together in a blessing. Watching over the flock I suppose. Her wide face and rosy cheeks remind me a little of my own, except her smile never fades. Down low on her belly is a spiral, much like the labyrinth I used to walk. I remember one night when a group of us got together, drove out to the labyrinth, lit the path with small candles and walked past each other, ghostly figures moving in silence. My sister said she had a sense of all of us in hoods and robes, friars from an ancient past re-joined to perform a ritual we had once known so well.

Behind the goddess sits a tiny porcelain unicorn, a gift from my mother made many years ago. A strange gift, now that I think of it, as I’ve never been into unicorns in form or function. Standing only a little over an inch high, my unicorn prances on golden hooves, eyes twinkling. Tiny blue stars circle her neck as if reflecting the universe. I’ve broken her golden horn more than once, glued it back on, then considered throwing her away altogether. Somehow, though, I knew that would feel like throwing my mom away, and at age 91 her time ahead is short enough. I’ve always placed the little unicorn behind the goddess . . . I think something in me believes that as long as she is safe, so is my mother.

A bear, a goddess, a unicorn. All dance together at night while I sleep, telling tales of long-forgotten places, shamans who still walk the deep canyons,and the ancient ones who rain blessings upon us . . .. all dance, waiting for me to write the story.

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I have long-loved the essay format; it appeals to both the logical part of my brain as well as the writer in me who envys a well-turned phrase. Essays are the closest in format to the magical magazine articles I used to write, which probably accounts for considering the following:

I’ve been reading Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction, edited by Dinty W. Moore (available in paperback and Kindle) and it’s charging me up to try my hand at writing a 750-ish-word essay.  Each chapter is written by a flash non-fiction writer and covers topics from writing about people,  locations, objects, and observations. Each chapter contains an exercise followed by an example of the exercise, written by the chapter’s author.

The exercise I’m going to try is picking three specific elements from what you see around you (in the author’s case, his desk) and then examine how they correspond one to another; what associations they bring you, and how they illuminate something about you.

Over the next few days I’m going to work on my flash non-fiction essay and I invite you to join me.  (Don’t be shy!).  I’ve picked my three elements – a Zuni bear fetish, a porcelain unicorn and a ceramic blessing goddess- and am now considering what to write.

Will you join me?  I’ll post my flash non-fiction piece here as soon as I’ve finished and will post your piece (with your permission) as well.  Let’s see what we can create

Nancy

P.S. Just use the Contact button to send over your flash non-fiction. Or, if you prefer, you can always find me nancy [at] nancyhendrickson.com

Photo Credit: nkeppol via Compfight cc

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I didn’t realize how critical it was for my creativity and general well-being to be able to be outside in Nature.

On April 1, 2013, I moved from an apartment that I never liked into a sweet tiny cottage. I now have a patio on the east side, beyond double French doors, and another on the north side, both of which I can see from my desk.

When I first moved, I went batty planting containers and containers of flowers, herbs and vegetables. Just yesterday I harvested the first of my cherry tomatoes and am in the process of picking sage that I’ll dry and burn in cleansing rituals.

The photo is of my Delphinium. Not long after I planted it we had a big rain (unusual for us) and it broke the Delphinium totally down. Happily, it has now recovered and as I write this I can see it out my window. This definitely makes for a happy #writerslife.

What brings joy to your life? What inspires your creativity?

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I recently won a contract to write several 300-400 word content pieces for a client’s websites. This is my first test of producing beautiful writing for an SEO content-driven site. I’ll be researching a topic about which I know nothing (which I enjoy) then seeing if I can use the SEO keyword list to create content that’s truly beautiful. Although I can’t link to the finished content (confidentiality), I will report in on how the personal challenge went.

I’m wondering how your beautiful writing challenge is going?  Comment below and let me know.

If all this is Greek to you, please read the post about my writing journey.

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I’m not sure how I first ran across Terri Gadal’s poetry. As a woman “of a certain age”, I immediately recognized in her a kindred spirit – one brave enough to write about issues of aging.  It’s rare to find a writer willing to explore the dark corners where fear of memory loss and independence dwell – themes Terri faces head on.

In a way, the honesty of Terri’s poetry reminds me of Sylvia Plath, although her dark corners were another story, indeed.

When I wrote Terri, asking for permission to post the poem below, she told me that her writing started many years ago, as journals. However, with the advent of digital publishing she is now able to offer her work to the world.  As she wrote, “This digital age is something I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams.”

My Void

Words fail me
in needed moments
beyond expression
are the feelings
that come and go
in flashes of time
so uncertain
so unkind
questioning truth
with each trick
of the mind…
while blankly
I stare out
from my void

Read more of Terri’s work on her blog or over at Amazon

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Thank you to Cristina Oliver for sharing her thoughts about beautiful writing:

Writing that brings heaven into the room,like a soft breeze ruffling lace curtains. Like the smell of the ocean on a warm summer day…………writing that send us into the best of ourselves answering all our hopes and dreams………….

Image courtesy Smabs Sputzer

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A relaxing lunch with my artist friend, Willy, after an aborted attempt to get to the San Diego Museum of Art.  I’m pretty sure every single tourist and every single San Diegan was in the park today.

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Three paragraphs of a piece on the 19th century whaling trade.

“So be cheery, my lads, let your hearts never fail,
While the bold harpooner is striking the whale.”
old Nantucket song

George Dodge was born with saltwater in his veins. Growing up in Salem, Massachusetts, this son of the sea wandered the wharves, captivated by seamen’s tales of faraway lands. In 1831, he left home and headed for Nantucket, center of the New England whaling trade. On his arrival, he signed onto the whaler Baltic. He would not see home again for nearly four years.

On the first night at sea, the Baltic’s greenhorn hands could only wonder at what foolishness possessed them to sign on for a long voyage. Wretchedly seasick, they writhed in their cramped bunks, praying for home.

As the next days and weeks passed, the seasickness disappeared but the reality of life onboard a whaler hit home. The mate used a cat-o-nine tails on their backs, and every day was spent in the constant practice of lowering and raising the boats, and learning to handle the long oars. Soon, they settled into the tedium of the long voyage, or what old salts called the “sailor’s horror” .

Northwest Whalers courtesyNorthwestern University Library, Edward S. Curtis’s ‘The North American Indian’: the Photographic Images, 2001. 

Whaler Morrison and School of Sperm Whales courtesy Mystic Seaport

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“The vivid tulips eat my oxygen.” Sylvia Plath

I hadn’t read Plath for years, but when I recently heard a BBC recording of her reading Tulips, I pulled out my copy of Ariel to say hello to an old friend.

Ariel was published posthumously back in the 60s, and contains the poems written in the last months of her life. The collection,  as Robert Lowell writes, was “rushed out at the rate of two or three a day.”

For me, re-reading Ariel, reminded me of why I liked Plath’s work so very much, and how in awe I was of her willingness to open her skin to all of us who sat on the other side of the page.

Not surprisingly, after all these years, her words still sting with an anger that’s barely concealed. And, even now – some forty years later, I can’t read Daddy without shivering; the horror she paints takes the breath away.  Like the Tulips.

Images Courtesy Erik Strum and Tim Green

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Doing my best to create the feel of the great deserts . . .

Its four deserts sprawl across the Southwest, each differing in character as the calliope hummingbird and the deadly javelina. The Mogollon Rim, an escarpment which plunges 2000-feet to the Tonto Basin, divides the great expanse of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts in the south from the Painted Desert and Colorado Plateau to the north.

Petrified trees that once witnessed the great dinosaurs lay scattered across the parched sand, as silent as the long-dead beasts who wandered among them. North of the escarpment, haunting Hopi mesas graze the sky, while a canyon that could only be named “Grand” plunges deep into Earth.

After the dinosaur, but 40,000 years before big game hunters stalked mammoth and bison across its grasslands, an iron-nickel meteor slammed headfirst into what is now Arizona. A blast equal to 20 million tons of TNT blew out an impact crater that would puzzle geologists well into the 20th Century. In a state whose geology runs to the extreme, Meteor Crater goes off the scale.

Image courtesy Angel Schatz

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A week or so ago I tweeted an article about the second known photo of Emily Dickinson being found.  Long a lover of Emily’s work, I found myself thinking about her this morning over coffee at Monica’s at the Park, a favorite San Diego coffeehouse.

Sitting out on the patio I was fascinated by the hundreds of bees darting in and out of the bottlebrush tree and wondered what Emily would write about their flight. Thus, this homage, with apologies to the master herself.

AN HOMAGE TO MS. DICKINSON

The bottlebrush is filled with bees
Emily would be so pleased.
Buzzing, darting stem to stern
Nectar sweeter with each turn.

And one of my favorites, written by Emily

PEDIGREE

The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, anytime to him
is aristocracy.

 Bottlebrush image courtesy Edward Russell

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Writing for any reason is fantastic but if you want to write a story that people actually want to buy and read, then you have to consider issues around story structure, plot, character and the other tools of fiction.

Read the entire article here.

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By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Author photos aren’t just for the backs of books. They’re also used to brand our series and connect different bits of our platform. They can also connect a pseudonym to our real name.

via Pocket http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.jp/2013/06/author-photos.html

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Amazon has named its best books of 2013 so far, and there are some unusual choices from its editors. Lists were also published in categories including Kids’ Books, Biographies and Humor.

via Pocket http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/24/best-books-of-2013_n_3492109.html

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Writers of a certain age face a stressful challenge: what happens when they can’t retrieve a word?  Everyone experiences an occasional memory lapse, but for a writer it’s terrifying not to be able to conjure up a word. Worse yet, without the *right* word, writing can become mind-numbingly pedestrian.

Where once “fled” instantly sprang to mind, now “ran away” appears; gone are the curmudgeon, the jubilant and atonement, replaced instead with the grouch, happy and sorry. Do you think it’s because the simple words were the first ones learned, that they’re the first ones that come back to the mind?

For me, losing the words is so scary; does good writing now mean the thesaurus is my constant companion?

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Happy Monday my writing friends. Good stuff in today’s issue of The Digital #Writer http://buff.ly/tlffg9 Always #free

via Nancy Hendrickson http://paper.li/f-1322672412

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#iBooks is Coming to the Desktop, As Apple Claims 20% of eBook Market – AppNewser
via Nancy Hendrickson http://www.mediabistro.com/appnewser/ibooks-is-coming-to-the-desktop-as-apple-claims-20-of-ebook-market_b36777

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub_09NgFjrA

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_w_7442mC0

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2ElMIgY7XE

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Yesterday an artist friend of mine come home with a blank canvas and a new set of acrylic paints. As we talked about the project she wanted to do, I asked if she pencil-sketched first or just started painting. That’s when she told me about “white fright” – the fear that artists have when starting work on a blank canvas.

Sound familiar?

I don’t have white fright when starting a new non-fiction book or an article, but I definitely suffer from it when I even *begin* thinking about writing fiction.  In thinking about it, it seems a little silly doesn’t it? I mean with computers, if something is rotten, just hit the delete key.  And I guess (you artist friends correct me if I’m wrong) you can paint over the canvas if you make a mistake.

So what causes white fright? I’m not sure if it’s fear of making a mistake or fear that you’re not beginning to write the “right” book or paint the “right” painting.

I would love to know what you think.  Thanks for leaving a comment below.

And I’ll leave you with a quote I recently found:

Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life. – Sophia Loren

And with a video of the artist VOKA, who does what he calls “spontaneous realism”. Perhaps something we could take to heart?

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Interesting tidbits found around the web this week:

Amazon launches Kindle Worlds publishing platform for fan fiction …

http://www.engadget.comWed, 22 May 2013 13:49:00 GMT

The company's today announced Kindle Worlds, a new publishing platform that promises to pay writers royalties for stories inspired by established works. Naturally, the original rights holder needs to be a willing participant as …

The Reality of Freelance Writing – Daily Writing Tips

http://www.dailywritingtips.comSat, 18 May 2013 03:11:43 GMT

A recent Craigslist job posting invites readers to apply to write twenty or more 1000-word online-marketing articles per week. The pay rate? Twenty dollars per article to start, thirty dollars each after the first ten articles, and forty or fifty dollars …

Start-Up Hopes to Help Freelance Writers Get Paid – NYTimes.com

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.comTue, 14 May 2013 20:44:47 GMT

Assignmint hopes it can act as a middleman between freelance writers and publishers, helping put payment and billing into the cloud. Read more…

Why Freelance Writers Should Create Their Own Brand | Journalism …

http://journalismdegree.orgTue, 14 May 2013 00:48:47 GMT

Freelance writers have a familiarity with crafting pitches and stories depending on the different publications that they are trying to reach, but what many have difficulty with is developing a unique identity beyond their lede when …

Overcoming Self-Doubt As A Freelance Writer – Get Paid to Write …

http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.comFri, 03 May 2013 12:57:15 GMT

This article looks at ways that freelance writers can overcome self-doubt and be more confident as they move forward with their career.

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I recently had the opportunity to review The Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business, by Karen Leland.  You can read the review over at Amazon, but wanted to write a tad about Pinterest for writers, which is covered in the book.

I was an early adopter of Pinterest but am sorry to say that I have employed a hit-and-miss strategy about using pin boards for my writing business and my #Kindle books.  Karen’s book gave me the tools to actually HAVE a strategy!

From using podcasts and videos, to posting images and using Pinterest as a storyboard, you really can discover the many ways to use visuals as an author (or any other businessperson for that matter).

If you want# Pinterest to be part of your author platform, check out this book. If you have a Kindle, download a sample – I think you’ll like it as much as I did.  By the way – I’m nhendrickson over on Pinterest.

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Welcome to the next stop on the review tour for The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard.

I’m happy to be hosting Jodi Daynard, author of The Midwife’s Revolt. As a history buff, I was thrilled to be able to review this outstanding book. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to enter the great giveaway contest.

“A charming, unexpected, and decidedly different view of the Revolutionary War.”
—Publishers Weekly

Book Description: The Midwife’s Revolt takes the reader on a journey to the founding days of America. It follows one woman’s path, Lizzie Boylston, from her grieving days of widowhood after Bunker Hill, to her deepening friendship with Abigail Adams and midwifery, and finally to her dangerous work as a spy for the Cause. A novel rich in historical detail, The Midwife’s Revolt opens a window onto the real lives of colonial women.

Jodi Daynard’s historical fiction The Midwife’s Revolt has eared a 4.8 out of 5 stars on Amazon and praise from libraries, historical associations and is even featured at The Museum of the American Revolution.

“This humorous, exciting and touching story retells the familiar saga of the Revolutionary War in a stunning new way that feels fresh and alive.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Amazon.com ~ Barnes and Noble ~ GoodReads

Review: FILL IN THIS SPACE WITH YOUR HONEST REVIEW

About the Author: Jodi Daynard is a writer of fiction, essays, and criticism. Her work has appeared in numerous periodicals, including The New York Times Book Review, The Village Voice, The Paris Review, Agni, New England Review and in several anthologies. She is the author of The Place Within: Portraits of the American Landscape by 20 Contemporary Writers (W. W. Norton). Ms. Daynard’s essays have been nominated for several prizes and mentioned in Best American Essays. She has taught writing at Harvard University, M.I.T., and in the MFA program at Emerson College, and served for seven years as Fiction Editor at Boston Review. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, The National Women’s Book Association, and the Author’s Guild. The Midwife’s Revolt is her first novel.

Prizes! And now for the best part, the prizes! Because who doesn’t love awesome book themed gifts? Jodi is offering A Kindle Fire to one reader as well as a Artemis Cameo Necklace, an American Flag Folk Art and a $25 Amazon Gift Card. All you have to do is leave a comment and enter the rafflecopter! Of course, there are plenty of other ways to enter to win just by helping spread the word about The Midwife’s Revolt.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Tour: Follow along and read more reviews of The Midwife’s Revolt. You can see the full list of participating reviews HERE.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Welcome to the next stop on the review tour for The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard.

I’m happy to be hosting Jodi Daynard, author of The Midwife’s Revolt. As a history buff, I was thrilled to be able to review this outstanding book. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to enter the great giveaway contest.

“A charming, unexpected, and decidedly different view of the Revolutionary War.”
—Publishers Weekly

Book Description: The Midwife’s Revolt takes the reader on a journey to the founding days of America. It follows one woman’s path, Lizzie Boylston, from her grieving days of widowhood after Bunker Hill, to her deepening friendship with Abigail Adams and midwifery, and finally to her dangerous work as a spy for the Cause. A novel rich in historical detail, The Midwife’s Revolt opens a window onto the real lives of colonial women.

Jodi Daynard’s historical fiction The Midwife’s Revolt has eared a 4.8 out of 5 stars on Amazon and praise from libraries, historical associations and is even featured at The Museum of the American Revolution.

“This humorous, exciting and touching story retells the familiar saga of the Revolutionary War in a stunning new way that feels fresh and alive.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Amazon.com ~ Barnes and Noble ~ GoodReads

The Midwife’s Revolt: A Review

As a long-time American history buff and life-long admirer of Abigail Adams and the women of the American Revolution, I can’t resist books that are set in this time period – especially if they’re exceptionally well-written, as is  The Midwife’s Revolt.

I was hooked immediately as the author introduced the main character, Lizzie, as she is seen tending to a dying Abigail Adams in 1818.  In only a few pages we are pulled into Lizzie’s story including her long relationship with Adams that began more than a quarter-century earlier.

Without giving away too much of the story, the tale moves back to 1775 (the opening salvos of the Revolution) where it revolves around Lizzie, a Massachusetts midwife who tends to the young women giving birth as well as to the elderly who are passing into the hereafter.  The story takes us into the difficult days of the Revolution, the day-to-day hardships, the deprivation, fear, intrigue, and treachery. Families are torn between Patriots and Loyalists, as a new country is born and Lizzie is drawn into the conflict in a very personal way.

The details of this book are rich and powerful. As a history buff, I have immense admiration for the author and the depth of her research and her ability to pull real-life events and real people into a captivating story.

If I could give this book more than 5-stars, I would!

About the Author: Jodi Daynard is a writer of fiction, essays, and criticism. Her work has appeared in numerous periodicals, including The New York Times Book Review, The Village Voice, The Paris Review, Agni, New England Review and in several anthologies. She is the author of The Place Within: Portraits of the American Landscape by 20 Contemporary Writers (W. W. Norton). Ms. Daynard’s essays have been nominated for several prizes and mentioned in Best American Essays. She has taught writing at Harvard University, M.I.T., and in the MFA program at Emerson College, and served for seven years as Fiction Editor at Boston Review. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, The National Women’s Book Association, and the Author’s Guild. The Midwife’s Revolt is her first novel.

Prizes! And now for the best part, the prizes! Because who doesn’t love awesome book themed gifts? Jodi is offering A Kindle Fire to one reader as well as a Artemis Cameo Necklace, an American Flag Folk Art and a $25 Amazon Gift Card. All you have to do is leave a comment and enter the rafflecopter! Of course, there are plenty of other ways to enter to win just by helping spread the word about The Midwife’s Revolt.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Tour: Follow along and read more reviews of The Midwife’s Revolt. You can see the full list of participating reviews HERE.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

I’m working on a time travel book that takes place (partially) in Custer’s circle of influence. These are some of my favorite books for research and for reading: (This may take a moment to load)

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

I had the opportunity to be a beta tester for the Kindle Better Book Description Tool, an online service that allows users to create beautiful Kindle book descriptions on Amazon without using Amazon’s own version of HTML coding. If you’ve ever wondered how authors could add bold headlines or color fonts to their book description, it’s because they use an unusual form of coding, such as “<h2&gt”.

With the Better Book Description Tool, authors can write their description using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor, then use the code this Tool generates to copy and paste into their Kindle book description. Add bolds, italics, big headlines, color, larger fonts with ease. And, as a bonus, the Tool also has a suggested format for creating a compelling book description. The tool is incredibly easy to use

I purchased access on the day the product launched.  I’m not an affiliate for this Tool – just a beta tester and purchaser who thinks this is one of the best buys for Kindle authors that I’ve seen in a long time.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Sometimes, when  exploring new opportunities for marketing my books, I feel a little like a tiny gnat at the bottom of the Grand Canyon:  Experiencing an awesome opportunity but overwhelmed by the learning curve.  Fortunately, I’ve recently found two excellent resources for exploring a canyon-sized opportunity: Goodreads.

My Facebook friend Michelle Campbell-Scott sent me an advance review copy of Goodreads for Authors - a Kindle book that’s chock-full of tips that I can’t wait to try out.  Next, Michelle teamed up with another of my friends, Cathy Presland to create a Udemy course that covers the ins and outs of Goodreads for authors.  Although I have Michelle’s book I signed up for the Udemy course as well because sometimes I do far better watching a video, and other times I want to read.

I agree with Michelle and Cathy – I think Goodreads is an under-utilized marketing tool for savvy writers – and I can’t wait to dig deep into what I can do there.

I had planned on working on my new #Kindle book this week but I’ve back-burnered it in favor or immersing myself in Goodreads. Will report in when I know more.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

If you want to know what it’s like to be a writer on the verge of despair, pick up a copy of Craig Wallwork’s novel, The Sound of Loneliness.

The story takes place in the U.K., in Manchester, an industrial area well-known for its high levels of unemployment and factory shut-downs.  The main character, Daniel, is an emotional wreck of an aspiring writer. He is arrogant, often unlikable, but he really does have the inner light of a true artist. Sadly, his talents aren’t a match for his vision.

This bleak setting of Manchester (and Daniel’s room) deftly mirrors his own internal grubbiness, as he swings between delusions of writing grandeur and downright rude and hate-filled behavior (and thoughts).  At the same time that Daniel is on a constant quest for food to sustain his physicality, he just as ardently continues his emotional quest to fulfill his dreams of being a great writer.

For me, the author’s deftness in building a palpably real world out of  words is where the magic resides. I could actually smell the stink and the rot and the desperation surrounding our unlikely hero. The descriptions of his near-starvation and the effects of lack-of-food were among the most powerful:

My gums bled in the night. A black gunt of congealed blood coated my teeth most mornings. Some days it was so thick and sticky I would have to use a small drawing pin to scratch it off.

Kudos to Mr. Wallwork for creating a believable world, some of which I recognize, none of which I wish to inhabit!

Read more about The Sound of Loneliness here.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

I had the opportunity to be a beta tester for the Better Book Description Tool, an online service that allows users to create beautiful Kindle book descriptions on Amazon without using Amazon’s own version of HTML coding. If you’ve ever wondered how authors could add bold headlines or color fonts to their book description, it’s because they use an unusual form of coding, such as “&lt;h2&gt”.

With the Better Book Description Tool, authors can write their description using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor, then use the code this Tool generates to copy and paste  into their Kindle book description.  Add bolds, italics, big headlines, larger fonts with ease. And, as a bonus, the Tool also has a suggested format for creating a compelling book description. The tool is incredibly easy to use.

The Tool launch went live this morning and I purchased access for $19; the price will be going up shortly. I’m not an affiliate for this Tool – just a beta tester and purchaser who thinks this is one of the best buys for Kindle authors that I’ve seen in a long time.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

On April 19, I’ll be hosting author Craig Wallwork’s Blog Tour.  Thank you for checking out his new book and don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter contest – lots of great giveaways.

About the Book – About the Author – Prizes!!!

Welcome to Novel Publicity’s first ever publishing house blog tour. Join us as three new titles from Perfect Edge–we’re calling them the Perfect Edge Trifecta–tour the blogosphere in a way that just can’t be ignored. And, hey, we’ve got prizes!

About the book: Manchester in 1991 is a town suffering under the weight of high unemployment and massive government budgetary deficits that is plunging the UK into a recession.

To Daniel Crabtree, a struggling writer, it is the backcloth to his first novel, one that will see him become a famous published author. Living off mostly water and flour, Daniel has embraced penury into his life under the mistaken belief that many young artists have: one needs to suffer for success in art. But Daniel is a terrible writer. In the three years since signing on the dole, of every morning chastising his Irish singing neighbour for waking him from his sleep, and scrounging food from his close friend Henry Soperton, Daniel Crabtree has produced one short story. His heart is bereft of words as much as his pockets are of money.

The Sound of Loneliness is a story of love, and how a poor starving man chasing a dream came to the understanding that amidst the clamour of life, the sound of loneliness is the most deafening of all.

Pick up your copy of this Literary/ Urban Life/ Black Comedy through Amazon US, Amazon UK, or Barnes & Noble.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author: Craig Wallwork lives in West Yorkshire, England. He is an artist, filmmaker and writer. His short stories have appeared in many publications in the US and the UK. He is the author of the short story collection Quintessence of Dust, and the novels To Die Upon a Kiss and The Sound of Loneliness. Craig is also the fiction editor at Menacing Hedge Magazine. Connect with Craig on his website, Facebook, GoodReads, or Twitter.

About the prizes: Who doesn’t love prizes? You could win either of two $25 Amazon gift cards, an autographed copy of The Sound of Loneliness, or an autographed copy of one of its tour mates, Stranger Will by Caleb J Ross or Angel Falls by Michael Paul Gonzalez. Here’s what you need to do…

1. Enter the Rafflecopter contest
2. Leave a comment on my blog.

That’s it! One random commenter during this tour will win a $25 gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win–the full list of participating bloggers can be found here. The other $25 gift card and the 3 autographed books will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on the official Perfect Edge Trifecta tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!

Perfect Edge Books was founded in late 2011 to unite authors whose books weren’t “obviously” commercial. Our books tend to sit in various genres all at once: literary fiction, satire, neo-noir, sci-fi, experimental prose. We believe that literary doesn’t have to mean difficult, and that difficult doesn’t just mean pointless. We prefer to cultivate a word-of-mouth approach to marketing, and keep production as simple as we can. Learn more at www.PerfectEdgeBooks.com.

Learn more about The Sound of Loneliness‘s tour mates HERE.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

This was the week for e-reader news . . . and (IMHO) good news  for self-publishers. NookPress debuts, Amazon picked up Goodreads and the cool Send to Kindle plugin is turning websites into Kindle “books”. But first, some of the best articles I’ve read this week about NookPress:

Nook Debuts Nook Press, A New Self-Publishing Platform To …

http://techcrunch.comTue, 09 Apr 2013 15:34:09 GMT

Barnes & Noble subsidiary Nook today announced the launch of Nook Press, a self-publishing platform to help the e-reader and e-book seller attract more se..

How To Self-Publish with Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Press: Video …

http://www.mediabistro.comTue, 09 Apr 2013 11:28:22 GMT

How To Self-Publish with Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Press: Video Tutorial.

Nook Press Won’t Let Users Edit Previously Published eBooks – The …

http://www.the-digital-reader.comWed, 10 Apr 2013 02:04:50 GMT

4085103377_38641cc64a[1] When B&N announced Nook Press earlier today I was thrilled to see that B&N was a step ahead of Amazon. The new online editing and creation tools offered hope that B&N might have the …

First impressions of Nook Press, the rebranded PubIt! TeleRead …

http://www.teleread.comWed, 10 Apr 2013 15:00:15 GMT

First impressions of Nook Press, the rebranded PubIt!

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Sometimes, when  exploring new opportunities for marketing my books, I feel a little like the tiny guys at the bottom of this slot canyon: Experiencing an awesome opportunity but overwhelmed by the learning curve.  Fortunately, I’ve recently found two excellent resources for exploring a canyon-sized opportunity: Goodreads.

My Facebook friend Michelle Campbell-Scott sent me an advance review copy of Goodreads for Authors - a Kindle book that’s chock-full of tips that I can’t wait to try out.  Next, Michelle teamed up with another of my friends, Cathy Presland to create a Udemy course that covers the ins and outs of Goodreads for authors.  Although I have Michelle’s book I signed up for the Udemy course as well because sometimes I do far better watching a video, and other times I want to read.

I agree with Michelle and Cathy – I think Goodreads is an under-utilized marketing tool for savvy writers – and I can’t wait to dig deep into what I can do there.

I had planned on working on my new #Kindle book this week but I’ve back-burnered it in favor or immersing myself in Goodreads. Will report in when I know more.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Apologies for not keeping up with my site. I’m in the process of packing and moving and keeping myself out of chaos.  Will report about my new place (cool studio) and new Kindle books ASAP.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.  And they tell me that out of chaos comes light.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

A big Valentine’s Day thanks to Brian Scott for this great infographic.  (Click image  to enlarge)

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Like this infographic? Infographic courtesy Copyblogger.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Next up in our new series, How They Did It, is Marsha Cornelius, author of medical thrillers,  H10N1 and The Ups  and Downs of Being Dead. 

After working for fifteen years as a cafeteria manager in an elementary school, Marsha Cornelius turned in her non-skid shoes for a bathrobe and slippers. She now works at home, writing novels, acting out scenes with her cats, and occasionally running a Swiffer across dusty surfaces.

Like thousands of others, she thought she could write romance, but soon discovered she was a dismal failure. She did increase her repertoire of adjectives such as throbbing, pulsing, thrumming, vibrating, hammering, pumping . . .

She resides in the countryside north of Atlanta with her husband. Her two grown sons occasionally visit for clean laundry and a hot cooked meal.

Q:  As with all of our authors who participate in this series, we ask a single question:  The odds of completing a novel can be astronomical.  Marsha, how did you do it?

A: I’d like to say something inspirational here, like ‘every time I felt like quitting, my husband urged me on’, or ‘it was my grandmother’s dying wish . . .’, but basically I had no choice.

Once the book was started, I couldn’t NOT finish it. I guess I was just driven to complete, not just one book, but three. (My third novel will be out this spring.)

Now that’s not to say that the finished, published novel H10 N1 is anything like the first version I wrote. But the characters’ names remained the same, and I think on page 23, I still used the term ‘neanderthal’. Pretty much everything else in the book went through several changes. And every time I pick up a copy, I see something else I’d like to fix.

Maybe that’s the trick. Don’t keep anguishing over every little thing. Just get it done! Then you can go back and tinker around all you want.

And don’t think you’re too busy to write. When I started my first book, I was raising kids, working full time, and getting up at 5:30 on the weekends to get a couple hours of writing done before anyone else was awake. If you’re a night owl, turn off that TV, and Facebook, and get busy.

The old saying is true: If you want it bad enough, you’ll do it.

Connect with Marsha

Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Marsha’s Website
Marsha’s Author Page on Amazon

Buy Marsha’s Books

 H10N1

The Ups and Downs of Being Dead. 

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

I read an article yesterday in the Harvard Business Review titled How to Have a Year That Matters.  While the HBR seems  an unlikely place to find inspiration,  this piece hit home.

In it, the reader is encouraged to bypass the humdrum to explore meaningful questions like “what’s your true north?” – the belief system that points you towards your true values.  For example,  the author speculates that Lance Armstrong’s true north was winning trophies rather than championships.

Of all the questions, the one that stopped me cold was  “What Breaks Your Heart?”  He writes  “If you want to find your passion, surrender to your heartbreak. Your heartbreak points towards a truer north.”

I was stunned. While I write many books and articles on the craft of writing as well as topics ranging from computers to photography, nothing in those fields “breaks my heart”.   What does?

• disappearing nature
• conformity
• a rapidly diminishing connection to the past – both individually and collectively
• greed valued over humanity
• lack of critical thinking
• not comprehending that you stand on the shoulders of those who came before

What happens next? I’m  going to spend time over the next several days seeing where these heartbreaks lead – and if the course of my own work is in for a drastic departure from what is.

So, my writing friends . . . what breaks your heart?  Would love to read your comments.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Congratulations to Bill for the winning name in the “Name the Cat” contest. Bill based the name on Kim Novak’s cat in the old movie, Bell, Book and Candle.  I also discovered that Pyewacket was the name of a “witch’s familiar” as far back as the 1600s.

Stay tuned – more contests coming up soon.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Thanks to everyone who submitted their ideas for the cat’s name.  I’m picking the name on Monday, February 4. Stay tuned to see who wins the Amazon gift card

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A black  cat with green eyes  figures prominently in my novella, The Spanish Locket. Her guardian is a psychometry practitioner (that’s someone who gets psychic vibes from objects).  Best name for miss kitty will be used in the novella and the winner will get a $25 Amazon gift card.  Post your suggestions in the comment box – or if you’re feeling protective, email me nancy [at] nancyhendrickson [dot] com.  Thanks for your help

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Yesterday I posted the cover to my new #Kindle book – Vanquish Writer’s Block!. Due out in about two weeks it contains the techniques I’ve used for years:  Images, Oracles and Brain-Hacks.

You already know what images are right – like the cool shot of the leaves above. Oracles you may be less familiar with; they’re tools used for divination, like Tarot or I-Ching – that kind of stuff.  And no, in my book, Oracles aren’t about reading the future. Instead, they’re tools to lead your story in new directions or provide a bland 2-D character with an unexpected personality trait.  Brain-hacks change a point-of-view or an attitude – simple suggestions to get us writers to see things from new perspectives.

When I started writing the book I knew one thing for sure: I didn’t want to write another book about time management. I wanted to write something that I felt could really push other writers past brain-freeze. I used the techniques that have inspired me past more than one rut – and hope that the book helps other writers who get too hung up in words that just aren’t working.

I’ll post a note when the book is live on Kindle – and look forward to your feedback.

Hey – just to give you a taste: If you were stuck and I told you that the Leaf picture was your key to moving forward, what would it say to you??

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Thought I’d share the cover to my newest Kindle book – which should be available by mid-February.  What do you think?

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Kicking off our new series: How They Did It, is Clarissa Cartharn, author of Dynasty O’Shea (The Throne of Gammalon).  

Clarissa has always had a deep love for language. Her pursuit of it has led her to attain a BA majoring in English Language and Literature, sought a career in English teaching for six years before finally becoming a lawyer.

But when she took up the pen, she realised what she was really desiring for was the cathartic release of her wild imaginations via writing.

Clarissa is interested in learning new languages and is currently on a quest on conquering Mandarin Chinese. Her quirky sense of humour and love for language, culture and people are fortunately shared by her husband, and two children.Dynasty O’Shea is her first novel.

Q:  Clarissa, the odds of completing a novel can be  astronomical. How did YOU do it?

A: I suppose it does sound astronomical. But I genuinely love to write so when I add words onto paper, I am not exactly counting. At the end of the day or even at the end of the book, I kind of surprise myself also when I look at it and think “Wow! Did I really write that much?”.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you really love doing something, it simply isn’t work. You do it because you love it. I don’t know a better way to explain it.

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Please enjoy this guest post by Bella Andre, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the contemporary romance series, The Sullivans. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including special romantic swag baskets for each book, an iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, and Kobo eReader, and Amazon and iTunes gift cards!

Why I Love Family-Based Romance Series

I love reading romance (I read one book a day when I can!), and one of my favorite tropes is the family-based series. I absolutely love Julia Quinn’s historical romance Bridgerton series and have loved taking that idea of the big family into present day with my Sullivan contemporary romance series.

What I love when I read – and what I want my readers to get from The Sullivans – is to feel like they’re a part of the family, and to know each of the characters so well that they can begin to know anticipate what the will start saying and doing at family gatherings. I love it when I’m reading a big family scene and I know, “Oh, this character is going to react like this” or “This character will hate this!” I love it even more when the characters surprise me and I learn new things about them.

One of the advantages of writing a series about a large family is that even as the hero and heroine are having conflict with each other, we can see them being loving towards their families, so we know the depth of love they’re capable of.

There are plenty of big family scenes in my Sullivan books for you to get to know each character, what they’re like, and how they feel one another. Just like a real family, every Sullivan has a special relationship with each of the others. Smith and Sophie are extra close, as are Marcus and Lori. Ryan and Zach are so close in age that they spent a lot of time together as kids and have a special bond as adults.

The Sullivans are on tour with Novel Publicity. Follow along for your chance to win amazing prizes. We’ve got special romantic swag baskets for each book, an iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, and Kobo eReader, and Amazon and iTunes gift cards. WOW!

You’ll also get introduced to this amazing contemporary romance series via excerpts as well as interviews with and guest posts from New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, Bella Andre. You’ll definitely want to learn more about the family that has captured the world’s heart.

All the info you need to join the fun and enter to win amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To Win the Prizes:

1. Purchase any of the Sullivan ebooks by Bella Andrefor just $4.99 (optional)
2. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity (go here)
3. Visit today’s featured social media event (that’s where the HUGE prizes are)

About The Sullivans: In this sexy, emotional and funny contemporary romance series, each member of the Sullivan family will eventually find true love…usually where he or she least expects it.

Get the eBooks via Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, the iBookStore, or the Kobo Store.

Audiobooks are also available for the first five in the series (with more coming soon). Plus, keep an eye out for paperback editions coming from Harlequin Romance starting Summer 2013.

About the Author: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Bella Andre has always been a writer. Songs came first, and then non-fiction books, but as soon as she started writing her first romance novel, she knew she’d found her perfect career. Known for “sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance” (Publishers Weekly) about sizzling alpha heroes and the strong women they’ll love forever, nearly all of her novels have appeared on Top 10 lists at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Kobo.

Her books have been Cosmopolitan Magazine “Red Hot Reads” twice and have been translated into nine languages. Winner of the Award of Excellence, The Washington Post has called her “One of the top digital writers in America” and she has been featured by NPR, USA Today, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. She has given the keynote speech at Book Expo America on her self-publishing success and has sold more than one million books.

If not behind her computer, you can find her reading her favorite authors, hiking, swimming or laughing. Married with two children, Bella splits her time between the Northern California wine country and a 100 year old log cabin in the Adirondacks.

• Sign up for Bella’s newsletter at www.eepurl.com/eXj22
• Visit Bella’s website at www.BellaAndre.com
• Follow Bella on twitter at www.twitter.com/bellaandre
• Join Bella on Faceboook at www.facebook.com/bellaandrefans

Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

Please enjoy this interview with Bella Andre, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the contemporary romance series, The Sullivans. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including special romantic swag baskets for each book, an iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, and Kobo eReader, and Amazon and iTunes gift cards!

Interview with Bella Andre about her best-selling series, The Sullivans

1. You create characters beautifully and are an absolute master of plot twists. It seems like you could write in almost any genre and do a bang-up job of it. What made you decide to devote your efforts to the romance genre in particular?

Thank you so much for the compliments! I’ve always been a huge romance fan – I’ve been reading nearly a book a day since I was a teenager – so it was a natural fit for me when the characters starting appearing in my head one day.

2. How did the idea for this interconnected contemporary romance series first come to you? What was your inspiration?

I love the family series that have always been popular in historical romance – like Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series and Nora Roberts MacGregors – and I was also inspired by my husband’s large family. It seemed like a natural fit to combine the the funny and sweet family dynamics into an overarching series of sexy contemporary romances with the alpha heroes that I love so much.

3. Everyone seems to have a favorite Sullivan. Now I know this is like asking you to choose between your own children, but who is your favorite? And who’s most like you?

I’ll have to plead the fifth and pick Mary Sullivan – the family matriarch – as my favorite Sullivan. She’s the heart that keeps the family together and I get emotional whenever I write a scene with her. In fact, in COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER (Smith Sullivan’s story), the scene where he calls his mother to ask for love advice is one that so many readers have told me is their absolute favorite scene in any Sullivan book.

As for who is most like me – maybe Sophie Sullivan from I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU. She loves to read (and is a librarian) and when she wants something (in her case: bad boy Jake McCann), she goes for it! Of course, I’m also a lot like Lori Sullivan (aka “Naughty”) with her big mouth and constant laughter.

4. In your opinion, what ingredients are needed to make up a good love story? Is life the same as fiction in this respect? Why or why not?

I love to love my characters and when I write a story I need two heroic, nice, good people (and why not gorgeous, too?!) who deserve love and have a lot of love to offer in return, but who are flawed partially because they haven’t found that perfect someone who compliments them like no other. I like my fiction to be a little bigger than life – the Sullivans are extraordinarily hot, sensitive and attentive – but at their heart, they’re all very real.

5. How has your own love story with your husband informed the Sullivan series? Are there any scenes that are directly taken from your own life?

I have the best husband in the entire world. Sweet, loving, sensitive…and super hot! He’s always supported me in everything I’ve ever done and I think his strength and capability to love is at the core of every hero I write.

With that said, none of the scenes are ever taken directly from my own life. I have a very active imagination.

6. Let’s pretend for a second that you are a single woman living in the world of the Sullivans, which of the six brothers would you be most likely to fall in love with and why?

Ohhhh, now THAT is a fun fantasy! I would fall in love with each and every single one of them – and do, while I’m writing each of their stories! If I had to pick one, I might have my eye on Marcus (FROM THIS MOMENT ON) – because while all of my Sullivans are sweet, sexy and sensitive – Marcus is the only one with his own endless supply of wine from his winery. And there’s just something about the oldest brother…. Then again, Zach Sullivan is such a great combination of cocky and sweet. And Ryan Sullivan has all those muscles. And Gabe is such a hero as a firefighter (and I love his dirty talking between the sheets). And Chase is so sexy and protective. And then there’s Jake McCann (who falls in love with Sophie Sullivan) with his tattoo’s and big muscles. Not to mention Lori’s hero in the upcoming ALWAYS ON MY MIND which will be out this spring. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Lori’s hero just might be the hottest hero I’ve ever written.

See, what did I tell you earlier? I’m no good at picking just one. So let’s just say, yet again, ALL OF THEM!

7. The Sullivans and their beaux have some pretty interesting careers. From photographers and sculptors to professional actors, musicians and ball players all the way to firefighters, librarians and business owners, they lead very exciting lives! What type of research did you have to do to capture these jobs so well? Do you have any interesting research anecdotes to share?

I’ve written firefighters and athletes in previous series which helped with my firefighter, Gabe (CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE) and my baseball player, Ryan (LET ME BE THE ONE). I also live in Sonoma and have a lot of experience with wine and wineries which was ideal for winery owner Marcus (FROM THIS MOMENT ON) and as a writer I’ve been blessed to work with many librarians who served as information points for Sophie (I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU.)

For books where I need inspiration, the internet has been amazing and when needed, I also call on the help of professionals. Even though I’d written firefighters before, I still sent all my firefighting scenes to a professional and for Smith’s book (COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER) I sent all the acting-set sequences to a local film producer.

8. I was very touched by the inclusion of Yorkie puppy, Cuddles, and Great Dane rescue, Atlas, in book five, If You Were Mine. Are you a dog person yourself? If you have pets, I’d love to know more about them!

I *love* animals. I had the best time writing the two dogs in IF YOU WERE MINE. They had their own little love story in that book, which pleased me to no end. There’s a cat that plays a very important role in ALWAYS ON MY MIND (Lori Sullivan’s story, coming Spring 2013). My whole family loves animals, and we’ve recently adopted a beautiful cat. Or more accurately, the cat has adopted us, smart little minx.

9. The Sullivan series is currently seven volumes long. How many more books do you have planned, and which other family members will get the spotlight in their own books?

Lori’s book (ALWAYS ON MY MIND) is up next, and there are 5 Seattle Sullivans who are ready for love – I will start with Rafe Sullivan’s book this summer! Plus, I have something *very* special planned for Mary Sullivan, their mother, planned to release for the holidays in 2013.

10. And lastly (for a bit of random fun), what has been the most amazing/ touching/ validating interaction you’ve had with a fan of your books?

Everyone who has ever written to me on Facebook or Twitter or Goodreads or via email to tell me how much they love my books and that the Sullivans have moved them in some way has touched me. I love my fans, so, so much! I have the very best time in the world writing about my Sullivans… and knowing that I have so many absolutely wonderful people waiting to read them as soon as they’re released is a total thrill every single day.

The Sullivans are on tour with Novel Publicity. Follow along for your chance to win amazing prizes. We’ve got special romantic swag baskets for each book, an iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, and Kobo eReader, and Amazon and iTunes gift cards. WOW!

You’ll also get introduced to this amazing contemporary romance series via excerpts as well as interviews with and guest posts from New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, Bella Andre. You’ll definitely want to learn more about the family that has captured the world’s heart.

All the info you need to join the fun and enter to win amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To Win the Prizes:

1. Purchase any of the Sullivan ebooks by Bella Andrefor just $4.99 (optional)
2. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity (go here)
3. Visit today’s featured social media event (that’s where the HUGE prizes are)

About The Sullivans: In this sexy, emotional and funny contemporary romance series, each member of the Sullivan family will eventually find true love…usually where he or she least expects it.

Get the eBooks via Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, the iBookStore, or the Kobo Store.

Audiobooks are also available for the first five in the series (with more coming soon). Plus, keep an eye out for paperback editions coming from Harlequin Romance starting Summer 2013.

About the Author: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Bella Andre has always been a writer. Songs came first, and then non-fiction books, but as soon as she started writing her first romance novel, she knew she’d found her perfect career. Known for “sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance” (Publishers Weekly) about sizzling alpha heroes and the strong women they’ll love forever, nearly all of her novels have appeared on Top 10 lists at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Kobo.

Her books have been Cosmopolitan Magazine “Red Hot Reads” twice and have been translated into nine languages. Winner of the Award of Excellence, The Washington Post has called her “One of the top digital writers in America” and she has been featured by NPR, USA Today, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. She has given the keynote speech at Book Expo America on her self-publishing success and has sold more than one million books.

If not behind her computer, you can find her reading her favorite authors, hiking, swimming or laughing. Married with two children, Bella splits her time between the Northern California wine country and a 100 year old log cabin in the Adirondacks.

• Sign up for Bella’s newsletter at www.eepurl.com/eXj22
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Need a creative boost? Try the 30-Day Challenge. It's free and it will make your brain tingle!

I had the exceptional pleasure of “sitting down” with Tahir Shah, author of Timbuctoo, a true life tale from two centuries ago. The novel is about the first Christian to venture to Timbuctoo and back – a young illiterate American sailor whose story the author discovered twenty years ago while delving into “the bowels” of the London Library.

Q: It’s apparent in reading your work and watching your videos that you have a great admiration for explorers; not just the great explorers of the past, but those who delve into cultures around the world today. Are there a few people whose exploratory work you particularly admire? If so, who are they and what do you think they bring to the table in terms of expanding world view?

A: I have always been inspired by great people. Some of them are household names from a century ago, like the Arabist and scholar Sir Richard Burton, or the Victorian explorer Samuel White Baker. Others are well known people I have been lucky enough to know personally, like the explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger or the writer Doris Lessing. But many more have been amazing people — pioneers in their own right — that have never made headline news. Instead, they have worked away in the margins of society and culture, expanding the boundaries of knowledge, and drawing our attention to wonders. I met one such man on a rooftop in Delhi twnty-five years ago. He was a South African traveller and beatnik called Oscar, and through days and nights he trained me to see the world in ways I had never imagined possible.

For me, exploration doesn’t have to dwell the big milestones, so much as the details, details which I find equally enticing in their own right. And the explorers I value most highly are those who have taught me to search out the ordinary, rather than merely the extraordinary… or to look for the hidden underbelly of lands through which we pass.

Q: I find that most Americans are virtually ignorant about events around the world, particularly in the Middle East (unless it comes to conflict), the Far East and Africa. We are also ignorant of world geography. I’m willing to bet that 9 out of 10 Americans couldn’t tell you that Casablanca is located in Morocco. As a writer who spans cultures, do you feel a need to educate us here in the West about the rest of the world through your work?

A: I have been enormously fortunate to travel through and to live in different continents and countries, in cultures very different from those I readily know and understand. I am a great proponent of ‘knowing the world’ and, of course, the more one tries to know, the more one realizes how little one actually does. And what a marvel that is — the thought that there’s an entire iceberg out there to explore, when we hardly know the smallest fragment of the tip.

I love to rove through a world atlas and drool at lands I hardly know at all. The thought of so many thousands of miles of African scrub for example, or the great cities of Asia, or the landscapes of Australia — all of them awaiting me. That’s the thought which gets me out of bed in the morning, and fills my head with dreams at night.

Yes, I see it as a key thing to shake people and to wake them to the possibilities, the possibilities of adventure. But here’s the big point: you don’t have to be some fancy Indiana Jones to be an explorer. Quite the opposite: the more ordinary you are, the more grounded and ready you will be to observe. And it’s observation that I regard as the great skill. We have to learn to relax and to observe what we think we know with fresh eyes, to do so is to harness the greatest skill of man.

Q: In watching many of your videos it’s apparent to me that you have an insatiable curiosity, not just about cultural heritage but everything in your path, from fish sellers to witches, jungle secrets, and local markets. Your delight in discovery is infectious. For writers who don’t have the ways or means to travel to “exotic” locales, what do you suggest as a way for them to find as much delight in their community as you do in yours?

A while ago I was sitting at my desk trying to write a book about the jungle. I was struggling for various reasons, mostly because I didn’t know how to tell the story of the journey. So I called a great friend, the travel writer Robert Twigger. He said to me, ‘Take what you know, turn it into the light, and observe it in new ways, ways you thought impossible.’ I remember putting the phone down and picking up a coffee mug on my desk. Right there and then I turned it slowly on my hand, examining it from angles I’d not imagined before. It was like opening a magical box and seeing a new realm emerge. And the same goes for exploration and observation. I think there is amazement to be found in our own homes, let alone at the end of the street, or in our own neighborhoods. Yes, exotic travel to far-flung locales is appealing and fabulous, but I wish people would try to examine what they know first, before they head off unprepared to a distant land.