Monthly Archives: March 2013

I’d planned at some point to share my favorite springtime poem, e.e. cummings “In Just Spring.”  discovered during my teen angst years and oft repeated when I felt nostalgic. In the process of looking for the exact phrasing I came across a  lovely reading by Cummings, which gave an entirely new meaning to the words.

As I enjoyed the rendition, my eye was caught by a suggested You Tube off on one side, also an e.e. cummings poem: “I carry your heart with me (i carry it in)”  Of course I was curious, of course I checked it out. Absolutely of course I had to share, since it is superbly  romantic.  

It is read here by Mark Coleman, a new name for me, but a voice I can’t forget.  And the words of this delight:

BY E. E. CUMMINGS

Kristen’s very timely blog today started out about the kind of presence an author shows the world. And she went on to explain the building blocks of creating that successful author presence.  Successful Author Presence—Do You Have It?.

As much as I admire raw talent, and the ability to put words together in a fashion I enjoy reading, I’ve come to realize the key open the door to success as an author is in the box labeled work ethic.  We might mock those who have written blockbuster books but the huge fact is they DID write them, and when the first book was done they wrote another one.  They might have a high pressure full time job, ten children and a ranch to run, but they still sat their rear in a chair, put their fingers on the keyboard and wrote.

In the process of building their author presence they studied marketing as well as craft, and learned as so many professional people do, to help themselves by helping others.  So they checked out groups of like minded writers joined some, and stayed with the groups that delivered on their promises since that’s the mindset of these successful writers.

My work ethic needs some polishing up. I’m working at writing every day and blogging more frequently.  And I’m sifting

Racing toward success

through the blogs I follow and groups I’ve joined to decide which ones are a benefit, which ones are a liability. Because the bottom line is not all sunshine and roses and unicorn poop. It’s words on the page of a published book. More to the point, it’s GOOD words on the page of a SUCCESSFUL published book.

I’ve searched through the dust storm of distractions for the best way to proceed. My greatest support and inspiration has come from Kristen’s blogs, and Marketing for Romance Writers (MFRW)What have you found works best for you in the journey to author success?

Tina and I are doing an exchange, so more people can know about Summer’s Growth – 1st Book in the “Family Tree” series. Don’t worry, I’ll be back with some more recipes in time for Easter.

Blurb

Forced by the family spirits to get a life, Mattie Winston has to train her replacement Amber Harrison to be in charge of all the workings of the Winston estate. Reluctant to make changes in her life, Mattie forms a bond with Amber, when strange accidents start happening which threaten their lives and an unknown ghost makes an appearance.

After being rescued by an old flame, Quincy Miller, Mattie faces old wounds of rejection. As the general contractor for Amber’s redecoration project, Mattie is in constant contact with Quincy and realizes she still in love with her childhood sweetheart.

Amber, learning her new role in the family, wants to discover the identity of the ghost who keeps appearing. After several appearances, Gwen, Amber’s distance grandmother, shifts the book into more of Amber’s struggle to find out why her grandmother disappeared two hundred years ago without a trace. In a fight to claim her position in the family, Amber searches for clues to solve the mystery.

Mattie and Amber are both challenged when the family spirits decides Amber shouldn’t be the keeper. Battling for Amber, Mattie realizes she wants a life with Quincy outside the Winston estate.

Amber realized the importance of her new spiritual family, and she works to discover how Gwen died.

Can these two women achieve their goals?

Read the first chapter at Tina Gayle.net    Find at Smashwords or Amazon

Excerpt:

Standing by the bay window in the front room, Mattie watched the car approach. Her new recruit’s arrival had goose bumps popping out on Mattie’s skin, adding to her anxieties.

She wanted to run, but instead glanced at the kindhearted spirit of Opal, her distant grandmother. Dressed in her best early American gown, the many layers of her petticoat swished with a soft hiss when she moved.

“There’s no reason to be nervous. Once you meet Amber, you’ll see she caps the climax,” Opal voiced in a soothing tone. “Your Aunt Rachel is absolutely thrilled to have a descendant from her branch of the family as keeper.”

Looking beyond her at the rest of the room, Mattie searched for the other members of the family council. They always offered her their support when she faced a big decision. Yet, today they were conspicuously absent.

“Don’t worry. The whole family is behind you. We just thought it better if we didn’t all hover.”

Shifting from foot to foot, she wrung her hands together. A simple process of a changing of the guard for them, Amber’s arrival marked the end of the life Mattie loved.

The beautiful spirits around her didn’t understand how cruel humans could be to each other. What if she screwed up and the girl left? Or the girl hated living with a house full of spirits?

Unease pricked at Mattie’s mind. She had no experience in dealing with strangers. All her business associates understood her likes and didn’t force her to attend any social events.

A quick glance out the window, and a car rounded the fountain. She wasn’t prepared to entertain Amber. How could she be? She never invited guests to the estate.

“Now, Pumpkin, there’s no need to worry. It’s time another branch of the family realize what a pain it is to be keeper.” Opal smiled, offering her special form of reassurance. “We’re all here to help with the transition.”

The high notes of Beethoven’s Fifth sprang from the piano. Mattie jumped in surprise at the sudden noise. She whipped around to see Uncle Samuel, the artist of the family, standing next to the piano.

“The game is afoot.” He arched his eyebrows and grinned, then disappeared.

“I’d better leave.” Her aunt patted Mattie’s shoulder. “Just remember, the girl is uneasy too.”

Opal disappeared.

With a deep breath, Mattie turned and gripped the cold metal knob in her hand.

Soon her home would belong to a stranger, and then what would she do?

Find Tina Gayle everywhere

Home – www.tinagayle.net

Blog – www.tinagayle.blogspot.com

Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/AuthorTinaGayle

Goodread – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1641826.Tina_Gayle

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/tina.gayle

Google + – https://plus.google.com

Linkin – http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tina-gayle/11/689/759

I’m such a squealy fan of Kristen Lamb, she pulls no punches and her recent blogs have been spot on. Like this one:

5 Common Mistakes that Will KILL Your Novel.

Kristen does have a way of slapping me upside the head when I’m meandering. I don’t have a problem with overall antagonists but have more than once hit the wall with every scene antagonists. In my current WIP, Gabriel has plenty to fight against: the Atrahasis are watching for him to fail at his suspension, he’s going to run into more of the people who got him in trouble in the first place, and he really, really doesn’t like the people he’s working with.  See, lots of conflict, especially with himself.

But Clair of the snarky comments from Sunday’s post so far doesn’t have much wrong with her life.  She’s comfortable with being full figured, people like her, she’s helping out a friend, she loves her job as a college Drama instructor…I think I wrote her just to have a life to lust after.  In my own life, boring isn’t a bad thing but in a book, it’s murder. I’m going to have to come up with conflict for her too. Something more than “Boo Hoo that clerk was mean to me” or “My nail polish is the wrong shade for this dress.”  I do understand about conflict, I’ve just worked very hard to avoid it in my own life. A former boyfriend who dropped her due to her weight just isn’t enough. Obviously she’s not going to trust Gabriel right away but I’m not a fan of bickering relationship stories, and I tend to question women who go off with men they don’t trust for no other reason than a well filled pair of jeans.

Then again…

SET UP:  Gabriel is Mykhael’s half brother. In My Killer My Love he attempted to destroy an ancient sacred area, and was defeated by Kendra and Mykhael. Turns out he was influenced by some very nasty Atrahasis. He’s been given a chance to redeem himself by working among humans until he learns humility. It might be a long, long time. This is the first draft, which is mostly dialogue

“I do not have the strength to touch you without further action, could you please fasten your garment again?”

“You’re stopping?” Her gaze drifted down his front to where he was obviously aroused. “You want me…”

“Until my manly appendage is about to explode.”

“Your what?”

“I saw the phrase in one of your books…you don’t think of it in those words? The others seemed too crude”

“It’s a penis. Or a cock. Or a Mighty Wang of Power. A love handle. Take your pick”

Today’s Kristen Lamb post was about not wasting our time with weak writing, though for some of use the need to get words on the page supersedes everything else. Come editing time, that is another matter!

The Clock is Ticking—5 Tips for Tighter, Cleaner Writing.

In the quest to get those words out of my head and on to the page, I checked out Darynda’s Write or Die, which I mentioned in the last blog.  Looked pretty interesting, why not try it? I made sure everything was ready, dogs settled, coffee at my hand, and I sat down to write, with the level set to gentle.  Pretty cool, when I stopped to search for a word, the screen went to pink, then darker pink.  So I threw myself into getting words on the screen, playing out a conversation between Gabe and Clair the first time they talk about why she’s pretending to be her friend.

The phone rings.  I could say I was worried the caller might have a serious issue but the sad fact is I’m still Pavlovian about answering the phone. I’m working on that. She asked if I had a minute, I told her I was writing and she said “this will only take a second.” Now there’s my second mistake, as my brilliant organized friend told me. I should have said I’d call her back, and hung up. Lesson learned.

I was sure I could multi task and work on two conversations at once.  Until my coffee ran out, I went to get more, and didn’t hit keys often enough to make the W or D program happy.  The screen went pink, fuschia, red, then started a beeping alarm, even though I was pounding at keys.  Apparently it had locked up completely and my only recourse…the ONLY way I could SHUT UP that alarm…was to close the program.  Since it had locked up, all my words were gone gone gone.  Nope, not automatically saved.  Gone

Well, it was monumentally bad writing anyway. But I had retaught myself a valuable lesson. Given any sort of time pressure I can write no matter what.  So that evening I set a timer to fifteen minutes, and rewrote that conversation between Gabe and Clair.  Better. Stronger. Maybe not Six Million Dollars worth but certainly 750 words worth. Last night instead of conversation I started a love scene, and worked on it some more this morning. Now that’s a great way to start the day.

That caller? She’s kept right on talking. Now THAT’s focus.

I have several recipes to share, would you rather see the butter cookies or the spicy eggplant pizza? It’s ALL good