I went to: www.library2go.com and started borrowing library books. Now, you’ll have to have an actual library card to do this, but I’m assuming you have one. After all, as Stephen King says, “If you don’t have time to read, you’ll never have time to write.” I was happy as a pig in poo then a friend turned me on to www.worldlibrary.com where you can get a variety of Kindle books for….FREE! Yes, FREE. The site currently has over 5,000 books that you can get at no cost. Now, some of them are short stories, lots are non-fiction, many are self-published and quite a few are just plain awful but…did I tell you, they’re FREE? If you don’t like a book you’ve download, delete it and go on to the next. I was amazed to find some well-know authors in the mix and have enjoyed reading their books. I check the site frequently and usually download a book or two. I currently have about 70 books on my shelf so that should keep me busy for a while. If, for some unknown reason, you run out of FREE books at World Library, there’s always the Gutenberg Project to check. They have a ton of FREE books, many classics, that are out of copyright so you can download them for nothing too.

So, if you don’t already have one, run out and buy a Kindle Fire. I know there are other models out there but….the Fire is the industry leader and there are all kind of places where you can download FREE books for Kindles.

While I’m enjoying my Kindle I still have lots of traditional paper books sitting around my house that I read once in a while or in case of a power failure. I can’t help myself. I still love the feel and smell of a real live book and will always be surrounded by them, like old friends at a picnic.

Do you know of a good site where people can get FREE books? If so – write me and I’ll share it with the world.

Happy reading!

Instead of Mary Jane having green eyes, why don’t you give her Malachite- colored eyes. Can you see them? Or how about eyes the color of Chinese jade. Why not, “The color or her eyes reminded him of the little tree frogs emerging from the ground back home in spring.”

You can find some varieties of colors in a regular thesaurus, but why not go further? Why not develop your own color thesaurus? I started mine 20 years ago and now have between 100 and 150 alternate names each for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, black, brown, gray and white.  Now I have lots of choices.

Having a color thesaurus gives me the ability to use a variety of interesting and unusual colors. The clouds in my skies are never merely white. Nope, mine are alabaster or the color of bone, maybe egret or winter wool. Is your main character’s hair brown? Or is it whiskey brown, lion-colored, or the color of damp coffee grounds? Yes, they’re all brown but each word evokes a different and unique response. Much more interesting, don’t you think?

When Jason shows up at the ball, is his tuxedo boring black? Or crow black? Black as squid’s ink? Ebony? Licorice? Or black as the coat of a Doberman Pinscher? Depending on the genre of the book you’re writing, his suit may be the color of a Bible cover. Can you see how varying the color can suggest different emotions?

Of course, you do not want to go overboard because if you do, readers will be looking at your words not reading your story and that can be off-putting. I mean, Camel spit is green but do you really want to use that? Probably not, unless you’re writing humor, then it might just be the perfect shade of green you’re looking for.

Why not start today. Every time you see a new and unusual, offbeat or weird color, make a note of it and soon you’ll have your own color thesaurus.  It’s a fun project and different words will add….color to your work!

Till next time – Happy Writing.

I once read a wom-jep (woman in jeopardy) novel by a very well-know female writer. The book was engrossing and I was buzzing along until….her female protagonist retrieved a .38 caliber pistol from the shelf in her closet, got a box of bullets and…put them in the barrel of the gun! I put the book down and never finished it. I was so appalled by the mistake that I wrote a polite and friendly note to the author. She was nice enough to write back and thank me for pointing out the error then she confessed – she’d never touched a gun and neither had her editor! I wanted to scream – how on earth can you write mysteries when you know nothing about guns? There are so many, easy ways to find out about fire arms, how they work, who carries what and why.

Never forget, people who read a particular genre know the correct information and if you get it wrong you’ve lost a reader, and probably everyone she tells, forever. Instead of relying on television shows or movies, find an expert and make sure what you’re writing is correct.

It’s certainly not just mysteries. I was judging a contest a couple years ago, and start reading a 500 page historical novel set in the 1700’s. I’d barely gotten into the book when one of the characters showed up with her hair in a ponytail. Now women of that time may have clasped their hair in the back of their heads but they didn’t refer to it as a ponytail. From that point on, I was skeptical of everything in her book and I was right to be suspicious. She had several egregious and easily checked facts wrong.

It isn’t just facts you have to watch out for, it’s colloquialisms too. That’s why I think it is essential to have at least one beta reader for your manuscript before you even think of submitting. For example, I was reading a story that takes place in 1945 in Amish country. One character told another he had been kicked to the curb! My friend and I both laughed about it because, of course, she never even noticed it sneaking into her text.

Bottom line: when in doubt, check it out – find and expert and get your facts straight. Then, have a beta reader go over that manuscript one last time before you submit it. Couldn’t hurt – probably help.

Till next time, happy writing.

Well, I have to tell you, ideas are all over the place. You just need to learn to recognize them. For instance, this morning I finally convinced my husband to go to the ER. I was very afraid he had pneumonia. He’s been coughing, hacking and miserable for at least three days and I finally said, enough. It’s such a treat to go to the ER here in Coos Bay, compared with a couple of trips to the ER in San Diego! For one thing – this ER is almost always empty. The most people I’ve ever seen in there is four. San Diego? I couldn’t begin to count the sick, lame, bleeding, vomiting, miserable numbers, and ALL of them brought family along.

But, I digress. When we arrived my husband Dennis, he’s the smart one – I’m the pretty one, gave the intake person his information and we barely sat down when he got called to go back and see a doctor. Amazing. I sat alone in the waiting room, reading the book I’d brought along. Yes, I’ve done this before – far too often. A nice older man came in sat down and started talking and….basically never shut up!

First I got the reason he and his wife were in at the hospital. It involved her picking up hot food, burning fingers, infected fingers, MRSA infected fingers, no fingers. Yipes! I made the appropriate sympathetic noises and prepared to go back to my book. Nope.

Without pausing for breath, he regaled me with his three near death experiences in the last year alone. Lung cancer, kidney stones, pneumonia and he ALMOST DIED with each illness. I felt sorry for the poor old fellow, but…. My replies became shorter, then I started to make understanding murmurs, dropping my eyes to the pages of my book, but he didn’t take the hint. When he started in about seeing a long hallway with a light at the end, I was ready to get up and leave. Fortunately, his wife appeared just then and saved me from having to listen to another litany of horrid illnesses.

This kind of thing happens to me all the time. I’m not sure, but I think I must have a sign that lights up on my forehead that says, TELL ME. I guess that’s what I get for being so friendly with everyone.

So, what does this have to do with being a writer? The instant he left, I grabbed my ever handy notebook and wrote down his full description as well as most of his conversation. I don’t know if I’ll ever use this man for a character, parts of him or nothing, but if I do need him some day I know I’ll have him sitting and waiting in my files.

And my husband? He’s fine. He just has a bad case of the Coos Crud. The ER doctor prescribed some antibiotics, steroids, and cough syrup with codeine. He’s zonked in the bedroom now, cuddled up with two dogs, leaving me to finally get back to reading my book.

I just finished, sort of, the thirteenth novel in Linda Fairstein’s Alexandra Cooper series. I say sort of because I got to within 25-30 pages of the end and just quit! I couldn’t go on! I usually read four or five books a week but I’ve been fiddling with “Silent Mercy” for five days! (For a full review visit my mystery review site: www.themysterystartshere.com) I got so disgusted that I put the book down and went to the next one on my pile. The characters have grown stale, the plot was absurd, and….basically Fairstein threw in everything but the kitchen sink! When she mentioned leprosy, I quit.

So, why do series grow stale and what do you think is the average number before they bomb? I read mostly mysteries and it’s that old “Cabot Cove Syndrome” I mean, how many bodies can a person fall over in one lifetime? I used to love Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series but don’t feel she wrote a good one after about number seven or eight…and she’s up to eighteen! Nothing changes, Stephanie is the same, still blowing up cars and trying to decide between Ranger and Joe. Sigh.

I remember reading Nancy Drew mysteries when I was a little girl. They didn’t get stale – or maybe I just didn’t notice? Am I getting too picky in my old age? I don’t think so but….I want to make sure that I stop my series before it goes on too long. Heck I may not have ideas for more than three or four books.

So, give me some feedback. What novel series do you enjoy, who’s the author and how many books has he/she written? Maybe I just have found the right author yet.

Until next time….happy writing.

Publishing a book is not easy. It’s a long, time-consuming process and I believe too many people are in a hurry to just have a book! They apparently don’t care if it’s edited, if the grammar is correct or…even if it’s a good story. They are in such a darn hurry to have a book with their name on it; they do not take the time to learn their craft. I do believe the best way to write a novel is ….to write a novel. Most published authors I know have that first usually terrible book, sitting under the bed. I loved the first book I wrote but….it wasn’t nearly good enough to publish. Before you run to the self-publishing company ask yourself – is my novel good enough?

Some new writers finish their manuscripts send out 80 or 100 queries and when they don’t get a nibble – off they go to self-publish their books. Eighty queries is nothing! Get discouraged after you’ve sent out 500 and haven’t gotten a bite then go back, re-read the manuscript to see what’s wrong with it. Or, better still; put it under your bed and go on to the next story.

Writing is not easy – it takes time to learn the craft. Find a good writing class to take and stick with it to the end. Editing is not easy – it take time too! If you feel shaky on grammar, go to the library and get a good book and teach yourself grammar – or take a class. Not sure how to go about editing? Again, the library is full of books on editing and of course, Amazon has tons. I tell my students to let a completed manuscript sit for as long as possible – three to six months, minimum – before they start editing. Find a good critique group, preferably one with published authors and LISTEN to their advice. I also advise having a trusted Beta reader. I’ve published 10 novels, three novellas and a non-fiction book but I still have my Beta read every manuscript before I send it out into the world to find a home, and I read all of her manuscripts. I can read through my manuscripts a hundred times and still miss things. I simply do not see my own mistakes so I feel a Beta reader is essential.

So, is self-publishing right for you? Before you go down that road – explore your options. Only you can decide.

Till next time – Happy Writing!

Noah Bandish, an Emergency Medical Technician for the city of New York, has a secret. He’s a vampire. Boredom is an ongoing problem for the undead and with his job Noah has found a way to both keep active and feed. Then he meets Dr. Rachael Morehouse, a woman who’d make his heart beat faster – if his heart was still beating. Now he must decide if he wants to use the woman for his own wanton purposes or turn her and keep her at his side for eternity. Rogue vampires come into Manhattan and create chaos, and Noah knows he he’ll have to help clean up their mess all the while fulfilling his BLOOD LUST.

Pick up a copy today!

1. Establish your character and the voice
2. Establish the conflict and begin moving the story forward (ie plot)
3. Establish the tone (Dark? Fluffy beach read?)
4. Establish indication of the setting: (If it’s paranormal/fantasy/sci fi/historical, we should get a sense of this from the first pages)

Here are a couple of good examples:

When I finally caught up with Abraham Trahearne, he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts in a ramshackle joint just outside of Sonoma, California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon. -James Crumley, The Last Good Kiss.

There was a hand in the darkness and it held knife.- Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book

The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. – William Gibson, Neuromancer

“When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy.” – Kaye Gibbons, Ellen Foster

“I need a good idea on how to kill someone,” Carol Reston said. Carlene Rae Dater, FINDER!

So, from now on, when you read a novel, see how the author started the book. Does his/her first page gab you? If not, why? How could it have been written better? From now on, read like a writer. It will help in your work, believe me.

My humorous mystery, FINDER! is available at: www.wildchildpublishing.com

Go to your local Historical Museum. Yes, I’m sure there’s one in your town – most places have one. These wonderful repositories have history as far back as record have been kept. I happen to live on the coast of Oregon, so our local museum has stories about Indians, early settlers, ship wrecks….all kinds of fun stuff. You’re not into historical fiction you say? Makes no difference. Old stories will spark ideas for new ones.

So, look up your local Historical Society, grab a notebook and go spend a few hours browsing. I can almost guarantee you’ll come home with more than a few ideas to write about.

I judge a lot of contest, teach a Beginning Novel Writing class  and critique a lot of manuscripts, and one thing I’ve noticed that beginning writers do incorrectly, is cause and effect.  Don’t know what I’m talking about? Here’s an example.

“Sally screamed when she heard gunshots.”  That’s effect then cause. This should read something like this:

“The thunderous sound of gunshots richoched around the room. Sally dropped to the floor, covered her head and screamed.”

Not great prose, but you get the idea. Something has to happen before your character can react: cause and effect.

Have a question about writing? Ask me! Till next time – keep on writing!