CRACKLING PLOT OF MIND-BENDING COMPLEXITY

Reader, you have got to read this book. It is fascinating book (which followed an equally great one, "River of Bones." Let me give you a little review of this thriller (can find it at Amazon), and be sure to got to Mary Deal's website: www.WriteAnyGenre.com, too.

DOWN TO THE NEEDLE (ISBN 978-1-4401-9820-5)
By Mary Deal

Five-year-old Becky went missing 23 years ago. Abigail Fisher has never stopped looking, nor given up hope, that one day she will find her daughter. When clues lead her to Megan Winnaker, a young woman soon to be put to death for setting fires that killed people, Abi and her friend, Joe Arno, begin a dangerous, twisted journey seeking the truth.

Even with Megan jailed, the fires continue. Detective Britto believes there are extremist groups involved and joins forces with Abi and Joe to follow the clues. The more Abi learns about the prisoner, the more see-saw emotions rise, causing her heart problems to send her into a tail spin. Were Megan and her daughter members of a gang, followers of a supremacy group? Did the scar on Megan's face cover removal of a tell-tale mold? Why did her artwork duplicate Becky's? If she isn't Becky, how can she know the nick-name Abi gave her daughter? What part does her kidnaper ex-husband Preston play in this scene? And how can they save this woman even Detective Britto believes is innocent?

When birth certificates for both Preston and Becky are found in the bottom of a decorative box hidden among Megan's deceased father's memorabilia, Abi is sure she has finally found her daughter? Or has she?

Mary Deal, award winning author, has created a multi-layered, pitch-perfect story which propels you into a stunning race of hide-and-seek. Down to the Needle offers a crackling plot of mind-bending complexity. This book will keep readers busy grasping for bits and pieces they hope will hold the key to the mystery, right up until Deal delivers the perfect ending.

If you read only one book this summer, make it this one.

The Knees Have It

I had such good intentions of keeping up this blog in a more timely manner. And then I tangled with the "root feet" of a tree pushing up a sidewalk and suffered a knee injury (no broken bones, thank goodness)and have been flat on my back, knee elevated above my heart and ice packed for three days. The massive bruising and swelling are still apparent but not as large as at first; today I managed to walk with a cane but soon hit the ice packs once again. And,if you have ever attempted to work on a laptop while flat on your back, it doesn't happen.

I have caught up on a lot of reading though, and now know every flaw in the ceiling and walls of my bedroom. I'm always a bit behind in reading new books but have just finished Tami Hogg's "Deeper Than the Dead." She starts this book with children finding a half-buried female body, and goes from scary to terrified in a few pages. I've read about a book a day and already passed them on. It's been good to find this time, though I'd rather have done this reading for a different reason.

Tomorrow I will tell you about a new author I found who will knock your socks off.

LOVE OR MARKETS ONLY

I've been trying to step away from writing only fiction and have been drafting some articles to submit—who knows where at this time. I know I should study the market first, right, but in order to get back into the nonfiction groove, I have simply been writing. But there will come that time when I must study the market in order to place my work.

That brings up the age-old question: what comes first, your love for writing, or a market to sell it to? Some writers will tell you they only write for their personal pleasure and what they want to read. Still others say that doing such a thing is a waste of time. What if you can’t find a market for your work? What if the audience you thought was out there for your work, isn’t? What if no editor today wants to publish what you love to write? Hard as it may be to acknowledge, we all have to write to the market if we want to be published in today’s writing world.

That means we have to know our market. We have to read and research those magazines or publishers we want to accept our work. What interests us may not be anything like the topics editors find unique. And that is a word (UNIQUE) we have to listen to. Today what we submit must be different, off the beaten path of the same old information recycled, a topic covered thoroughly that will give the readers information they don’t get in their daily lives.

Researching your market means knowing what the editor/publisher will print. Write a good piece suitable in content, word length, and interest for the publication. Offer the audience something unusual about your subject matter, give expert’s advice or worthwhile quotes, and make sure your manuscript is proofed, tightened, and follows the guidelines set forth by the editor.

I’m looking forward to the research for my pieces, even though it will probably mean a lot of rewrites. I want editors, and their readers, to be as enthusiastic as I am about my topic. That means writing for their pleasure too.

CATCHING UP

Hopefully, I have sufficiently recovered from eye surgery to once more keep this blog up. Of course, that is just one of my excuses for not being as consciencious about writing this blog as I should be. Now, my brother introduced me to Facebook and my kids, grandkids and old classmates have me hooked. Also, I am back to teaching and writing and reviewing so...

My critique pals, Lora and Carol met while I was "laid up" so have kept the group going. Carol's workshop schedule has picked up so it might be Lora and I for the most part, especially since Carol is beginning her own speaking engagements soon. Lora and I write along the same lines so much it won't hamper us. We met last week and spent four hours critiquing, talking writing, and were a great help to each other. I am hoping to continue this no matter what happens.

I'm back into my book: BJ and the Alligator Stomp. It sat for a year or so while I worked on other projects and I felt I needed something for my snail-mail critique group so pulled it out. I have actually written several chapters in a few weeks so that has encouraged me. I need to go back and insert a chapter showing the on-going conflict (even after thirty years) between BJ and Pete, and rewrite their first new encounter. Can you believe I have them meeting again when BJ plows into his shiny black pickup with the U-Haul truck she is driving? Well, what can you expect from an author who has her main character in "Aunt Lutie's Cafe" meet the sheriff while climbing out of a dumpster?

Lora also has encouraged me to submit a children's story to a picture-book publisher. I am in the process of looking up such publishers and then I need to do the dreaded query or cover letter. She can certainly help me with this as this writing is right up her alley. She writes the greatest children's stories! I am sure she will find more than one publisher for her work this year.

I'll have more to say along those lines in this blog as time goes by.

The weather has been improving--though the wind is still high and the fire danger is growing. Our garden is producing and the camera has been kept busy with snapshots of all the beautiful blooms and nature. I need to work on some poetry/photo booklets again.

So many ideas, so little time.