WHAT BARB IS READING TODAY

I did manage to do some reading for fun on my cruise. But I didn't complete this book until I returned home. When I tell you the book was published in 2000 you all will probably groan. I do read more current material but when I find an author I enjoy I go back to find his/her other books. Elizabeth Adler is one author I intend to read until I have exhausted her publications--which from her website: www.elizabethadler.com means I will be reading for a long time.

This book I read was "In a Heartbeat", a book I would catagorize as romantic suspense but others might say is mystery. Whatever you call it, it is one great read:

The opening is only two pages and does grab you but the beginning of the second chapter pulls the reader right in: "He's not going to make it." The "he" in this case is Ed Vincent who has been shot four times at blank range and, although in a coma and unable to speak at this point, hears and understands every word spoken around him. When the police detective, who will be your favorite secondary character ever!-asks him who killed him, he manages to utter one word, "Zelda." The race is on to find a shooter, possibly a murderer, because it is doubtful whether Ed Vincent is going to live.

The story is told from three viewpoints--Ed's, that of Homicide Detective Marco Camelia, and the voice of "Zelda" (Melba Eloise Merrydew). It is a rush to find a killer and all the intrigue of who, what, why, is there but the story of the unforgettable connection between a man and a woman is what kept me reading to the more than satisfying ending.
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Until I read the first book I can't remember seeing the name before. But since Random House is her pubisher, I am just behind the times. The author lives in Southern California somewhere and the first book I found listed was "Fleeting Images" (1987). "Meet me in Venice" (the first one I read by this author) seems to be the last--or at least the last listed online. I have a lot of catching up to do.

REVENGE

"He who seeks revenge should remember to dig two graves."
-Thich Nhat Hanl

I don't think my tales of revenge end up with more than one grave as the quote says. In most instances (there are a few exceptions), no one dies but some of the guys I write about probably wish they were gone before it is over. The women who seek this revenge, come out well in the end--not in a grave.

There are many interesting ways to get even when a man has done you wrong. The most common, of course, is to kick the so-and-so out of your life and discover the new world around you. But, in fiction, you can do them in in any manner you can dream up...poison, gunshot, embarrassment, placement in a psych ward, set him up as the fall guy for a crime--ah, revenge is so sweet.

I've completed my last corrections/rewrites of my collection of these stories of revenge, "Pink Poodle Pie (and Other Tales of Women Getting Even)." I have decided, after more than a few rejections from traditional publishers, to self-publish. That's not as easy as some folks might think.

The companies have to be checked out. You need to find other authors who have used them, see how they handled these writers, the promotion of the book (I do know that most of that is up to you and I these days), and read their contracts very closely. You need to know what the cost is up front, how much each book will cost if you buy 50, 100, 5,000 (good luck, selling that many right off the bat!) and understand how many books you have to sell in order for them to consider publishing another of your masterpieces. Even though you pay for the set-up, a good self-publishing company wants their authors to be successful and, therefore, should be "choosy" about what they put out there.

I've already decided on a promotion plan if this collection is published. . .but that's for another blog.

PEACEFUL SEAS

There is nothing like being on the sea for ten days to give you a new perspective of life. Actually, I wasn't sailing the entire time, though I wouldn't have minded that at all, but even while visiting ports, the ship sat there waiting for me to return. I found such peace away from the responsibilities of the everyday world--and the tangy smell of the sea, the gentle glide across the Pacific, the smooth rocking of the Sea of Cortez, and the lack of news and Internet (by choice) created the wonderful escape.

Writers never escape from their craft however. We are always on the prowl for ideas, the right photographs for an article, or merely the time to work on the newest chapter(s) of our next novel. It was like that for me on this cruise. When on the ship, I read nonfiction in the library, seeking new ideas, or took my laptop to the Crows Nest or on deck to work on the outline for a new book I have in mind. In those ports, I took photographs. I love the color of Mexico's people and daily life--I will always have the memory of the four young men in the Mercado in Los Mochis who insisted I take their photograph and happily wrote their full names (some four long)in my writer's notebook, for example--and I have over a hundred shots of the beauty of that country. I might have wanted to leave my duties behind but I never leave my first love of writing at home.

I have many beginning lines, new websites to check out, several creative writing lessons completed, and found the time to read a complete book. It was a productive trip. I wish I could go away on such junkets more often; the sea air seems to stimulate my muse. She danced along the Sports Deck while I walked my two miles a day when not in port; she followed me to the desk when I wrote, and she came home with me.

On the last day, I met Tom Hunter. He saw me writing and we exchanged experiences. He has written a journal about his motorcycle trip, in segments, from the tip of South America to Alaska. I haven't found the time to read his site yet but when I do (and see if it is worthwhile to others), I will share his website. He has a rough draft of what I think might be a book published at his site; I attempted to give him a few guidelines for self-publishing. That's what we do. As writers, we share our expertise with other writers, help them as we have been helped, and hope we can one day say "I knew him when."

That muse created by the peaceful seas came home with me. The unpacking has been done but the washing is still piled high in the hamper. I don't have time for such mundane everyday chores when she, my darling Carlotta (named for Maximillian's wife, of course), is on a roll.

NANO FOR FEBRUARY

I belong to a Yahoo group, WordByWord Society (by invitation only); a greater group of gal/writers you can't find anywhere. Tracy Johnson, our illustriest leader, came up with a wonderful idea--we were to have our own special write-a-novel-in-a-month month.

First, I said absolutely not. With my schedule, my teaching, our on-going landscaping project, this blog I don't keep up as well as I'd like, and my edits/rewrites on a collection and a novella I hope to see published soon, I just did not have the time to join in this writing frenzie. Did I?

Well, two of the writers who had read the first seven chapters of a novel I started an eon ago and was buried up to its hub caps in mud, "shamed" me into getting back to the book. I began this project sort of kicking and screaming.

To begin, I had to reread those first chapters again. Although I had given up the book, I had to agree with the ones who had critiqued it so far--it was a beginning. So I started on the next chapter. Man, was that a grind! I struggled for two days to get out 1,000 words--but it moved, even if at a crawl. But at that rate, I'd never complete the book.

I'm one of the by-the-seat-of-the-pants writers. No outline. But I felt at this point I needed to know what I wanted to happen in the remaining chapters of the book. So I took a day to sit down with pad and paper--I often think better with pen in hand--and outlined (how I dislike that word!-LOL) the remaining chapters. The next day I sat down, read my short sketch of that chapter, and began.

The only thing that didn't work was finding time to work on the novel each day. Often it was ten at night before I could get to the computer for that part of my work. Sometimes I managed an hour or two in the middle of the afternoon while hubby played billiards with his friends at the Clubhouse. And so it went for 28 days.

I didn't complete the novel in these days. I am proud, however, of how much I have accomplished with this book I thought would remain in the bottom of the file cabinet forever. I have a road marked to follow in order to finish this book. I am once again enthusiastic about the characters and the solving of the mystery. I completed the outline, rewrote some major parts of the first seven chapters and wrote another approximately 11,000 words of the novel. It doesn't sound like much accomplishment but, thanks to KC and Diana's encouragement, it is more than I ever thought I would accomplishment.

If you don't belong to a writers group, find a good one and join. Good writer friends can make you do the impossible.