Something Lost?

I found this posted on a recent Crosscut blog by Skip Ferderber. He wrote …

There’s little doubt that the digital revolution offers all of us a far greater ability to fulfill our curiosity about our world. More of us are turning to tablets, smartphones and similar devices because we’ve grown accustomed to having the world at our fingertips. If you, like I, have fallen in love with those little gadgets that are our eyes and ears to the bounty of human knowledge, you know what I’m taking about. Try to imagine what life would be like without them. I really would rather not.

No longer is it a valuable argument to say, “Well, if you didn’t waste your time on those gadgets, you’d have time to read a book!” The reality is that many of us read more books because we can carry them with us all the time.

What is being lost, however, is a piece of our society that we’re missing terribly and haven’t yet come to realize what its loss means.

I’m talking about the loss of gathering places: the record stores, book stores, libraries and movie theaters, among others, where people met in person to see what’s new, to learn from one another, to see all their choices and come closer to each other even if it’s something as ephemeral seeing someone pulling a book off a shelf and wondering what they’re looking at.

This isn’t a reminiscence of the old days although, on one hand, it certainly qualifies as that. But it does raise the question, at least in my mind, about what portion of our society, our culture, our well-being, we could be giving up with this shift toward individual experiences and away from the common face-to-face, person-to-person sharing of humanity.

Skip has a point. I mean every author dreams of going on book tours, doing book signings, meeting readers and connecting with them on a personal level. Recently, my friend, Kevin Craig had a book launch at his favourite independent book store. I heard it was standing room only. So what’s the solution here? How do you launch an ebook, and at the same time come face-to-face with your readers? Good question, and there’s probably a ton of good answers.

But that doesn’t take away the truth in what Skip wrote – the fact that life is all about relationship – the human experience. That’s the reason why we’re all here in the first place. And that’s the reason why I write.

Thank You ...

One of the many reasons why I'm so thankful!

Know Thyself - Know Thy Characters

To know yourself, look at your behaviors. Observe your choices. How do you spend your time? Your choices tell you and others, who you really are inside. This goes ditto for your characters. A character – based on his or her actions – tells all to the reader. Kick a puppy and your character is condemned. Save a puppy from becoming road kill and you’ve made thousands of best friends for your character.

It’s the little things that count – those small actions that can make or break your character. A young kid visiting a grave everyday after school has my vote. But a drunken teen desecrating a grave gets the thumbs down.  But wait. What if that kid visiting the grave is riddled with guilt because he believes it’s his fault his mom is dead? And, what if the drunken girl was molested by the person buried there? Both choices can change the reader’s point of view rather quickly.

It’s when you pierce the armor of your character that you find the true grit. Test your character’s mettle and see where it leads. You might be surprised to find out that who you thought was a villain was – like Humpty Dumpty – so broken inside he/she couldn’t be put back together again. Then again, duct tape works wonders!

A New Face In Publishing

I’m still reeling. Overwhelmed. Excited. Enthused. Why? Because Musa Publishing – the publishing company I signed with – opened its doors for business over the weekend. This new kind of publishing company operates as an on-line bookstore delivering books directly to the reader. This new kind of publishing company puts their authors first. And this new kind of publishing company is part of the changing face in the publishing industry.

I’ve never seen such comradeship as I have this past weekend. Facebook was abuzz with congratulatory comments, ‘likes’ and sporting the Musa logo proudly. I’ve gotten more friend requests than I’ve ever gotten, and requested to be friends with other authors and their friends. It was an amazing show of support and I’m happy to be part of it.

Tomorrow (October 4^th) I’ll be featured as one of the guest authors on Euterpe’s blog. Euterpe is the YA imprint for Musa Publishing. It’s nice to be part of a family that values your input and realizes that you have something to say. To that, I say thank you, Musa Publishing, for the chance to lend my voice to the new face in publishing.  

Chunk It Down!

Time management. Those dreaded words linger at the back of my mind, pushing against the front of my skull until I can’t ignore the pressure anymore. Due dates, revisions, planning new novels, blogs to write, marketing research, facebook, and for those who have it, twitter. I pull out my trusted 2011/12 planner and attempt to jot down whatever needs to be done for the next day.  While plotting a course for my day, I take several detours, until I’m back on track to do some revising for my time travel novel. I huff and puff and sigh. An author in these times has to wear many hats – especially when organizing the aspects of his or her writing career.

So, I slip on my ‘time management’ hat, and instantly know what I have to do. Chunk it down! I must organize my writing into small, easy to handle chunks. Make notes. Brainstorm. Find the best times that work for me. Get rid of the gunk in my head. And if I need to clear my head – exercise, walk the dog, dance – give my brain a chance to process the information. Then write.

Of course, it helps to learn how and when to delegate at times. But that’s another blog post!

Supporting Fellow Authors!

Thought I'd put the spotlight elsewhere and pat the backs of a couple of authors who have also signed on with Musa Publishing. Both are up and coming, and both their books will be released in this October. If you get a chance, swing by their websites and them out.

 So, without further ado:

Meet Stephanie Campbell whose young adult  book, Dragon Night, will be available October 7/11 on Musa's website.

Meet Arley Cole whose young adult book, The Blacksmith's Daughter, will be available October 21/11 on Musa's website.

Congratulations to the both of you!

Make Decisions With Confidence!

When Kathy Teel, the head editor for the YA imprint Euterpe at Musa Publishing asked me if it were possible to rework my novel, THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS AND THE ARCH OF ATLANTIS into a one character point of view instead of all five characters, I hesitated. Could I? It would take some creative wangling, scene cuts and looking at the book from an entirely different perspective, but as I thought about it, something inside me gave and I saw this endeavor with new eyes. Yes, I can, I know I can, I thought, mimicking the Little Engine that could.

Part of me did not want to pass up this long-awaited opportunity. Humans thrive on challenge. To me, reworking my Last Timekeepers series into stories with one point of view throughout the whole book would be worth the effort. Plus, there were incentives. First – I was offered five books right off the bat (with the possibility of ten). Second – it would make me a better writer by focusing on one character during each book throughout the series. The reader would receive more depth of character, a connection with that character, and most-likely a better story.

However, the other part of me was quaking in my boots at the cuts and scene juggling I would have to magically perform. I bit my bottom lip. Yes, I can, I know I can, echoed in my mind. Deciding, right there and then, to just do it, made me take a leap of faith in a newer, fresher direction. And like the Fool pictured in the tarot cards, I kept my head up, eyes forward and didn’t look down.

Remember: Your future is what you make it. Decide now what it shall be – Napoleon Hill.