Required Reading

Remember when we were in high school and we had assigned reading? How many of those books did you enjoy? Some were unexpected gems, others were painful slogs. 

When I left my job, one of my friends asked if this was a new era for me, if I was going to put my skills to use to make my own money rather than off the back of industry. My response was a firm no. I had a certain skill set which I was happy to provide to my employer, but I was done with "required reading." On the plus side, on the job, most of the required reading was boilerplate, cut and paste and customize to apply to your client. Applying that to a private editor position - well, most people don't write boilerplate. Add to that the fact that at least with the boilerplate, I was looking for errors rather than content most of the time. Not that content wasn't most important, but the subject matter was mostly written "as expected." 

Last year, I had an author approach me with an editing project. Did I want to dip my toes back in the water? Not really, but it felt like an opportunity, the world reaching out to me to "use my gifts." I agreed to "look" at her work (not to DO the work) to see if I could help. One chapter in and I backed out. Despite her promise to pay me market rates AFTER other editors had already gone through it. That was probably one of the deciding factors - her comment was "an editor told me to do this, but I don't want to." Well, if you're paying someone for professional advice and then you choose to ignore it, why am I wasting my time telling you what you don't want to hear? But I digress...

I just got my editor comments back and am busily addressing what needs to be fixed, smoothed over, corrected. While she had my work, I took the "down time" to catch up on my reading. I have a long TBR list which I have been ignoring. Granted, sometimes I skip over the TBRs in favor of personal recommendations or books I WANT to read first. (For instance, it's Christmas time. Shouldn't I be reading Christmas books? Spoiler alert - for me, the answer is yes.) The problem is I can't get to the books I WANT to read because there are books I PROMISED to read and haven't yet. Required reading. It's like reading Huckleberry Finn when you want to read Harry Potter. 

As I mentioned at the start of this post, sometimes you encounter unexpected gems in your required reading stack. When I was in high school, I picked a book from the "discretionary" list because I had to read something. WHEN THE LEGENDS DIE turned into an unexpected gem for me. The title appealed to me, but I had no idea what to expect. It's a story about an indigenous boy who is taken from his heritage and forced to live in a white man's world. He has a talent with horses and makes his way on the rodeo circuit. It's about personal struggle, about trying to conform who you are to who the world expects you to be. In the end, he goes back to his heritage.

Reading is considered a leisure activity. I've discovered many new voices and stories picking up books here and there, and I admit to still rebelling against the "required reading," books I read for research or books I promised someone I'd read. This is where I remind you that reading is subjective. When I read OUTLANDER, I recommended it to my mother because I was so blown away by it. My mother hated it. One person's treasure is another person's garbage. We don't all connect with things the same way. As one of my critique partners likes to say, "not in target audience." 

I've knocked out my winter quota of required reading, so once I've attacked these edits to my own work, it will be back to my TBR list (and probably a few Christmas books). What books are you choosing to read this December? 

Cover Reveal

I sent out my newsletter too soon! When I went to schedule it to coincide with this sale, I instead hit publish now. Call it snow blindness, or brain cramps, but whatever it was, here's the sale. All my books are half off during the Smashwords end of year sale.

And the other thing my newsletter announced? COVER REVEAL! Sharing that here since it's already out in the wild. The new book (retitled - Unidentified Remains wasn't quite romancey enough), WHEN THE PENNY DROPS, will be coming out January 7. Waiting for comments back from the editor and then it will be all systems go. Want the sneak peek? Here ya go...

What's it about? 

Ten years ago, an unidentified woman was buried after a train accident. With advances in DNA testing, the NAMUS project wants to dig her up and try to identify her. But when they exhume the coffin, there's a second body...

In Carlos’s five years with the police force in the sleepy town of Bells Hill, Illinois’, he's only encountered one violent crime, one that continues to haunt him. That incident has left him reconsidering whether he’s cut out for the job.

Bella, her best friend Shyan, and Carlos have been friends since high school, but when Carlos went to the police academy, Bella felt it was the ultimate betrayal. As a teenager, her father would call the police to track her down when she wasn't where she was expected to be, creating trauma and distrust of the police in general. While she loves Carlos when he's not in uniform, she can't see past the badge when he's on duty.

A ghost follows Carlos home from the exhumation and takes up residence in Bella's coffee shop. It warns that "she isn't safe," but the "she" in question remains uncertain. In addition, several women in surrounding jurisdictions have been turning up dead, and the one thing they all have in common is complaints against the police officer who terrorized Bella in her youth. Is Bella next?

Special shout out to my nephew, George "The Mechanic" Fram, for alerting me to the story of the Tonti Stone. Another story applying artistic license to a real-life story. 

Let it snow, man

It snowed! A lot! Almost a foot, in fact. Fortunately, we could watch from inside since we had no place to be (I feel a song coming on…)

We spent the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving traveling, so we missed out on all the traffic and delays. I had a lovely day with my kids and grands eating a traditional meal. Shout out to my daughter for hosting. They recently moved, although the chickens haven’t relocated yet. This one decided to try flying - she’s apparently ready to go to the new roost.

After we came home, I spent time finishing the new book to send to the editor. While it isn’t perfect yet, it’s close. Now to see what she has to say, and still getting input from my critique partners.

I’ll be sending the cover reveal in the December newsletter, so if you want a sneak peek, make sure you’re signed up!

While I wait to make final edits, I’m planning some reading days, inside, where it’s cozy and warm with picture perfect winter views out the window.

The Editing Passes

I've just finished "scrubbing" words from the finished product. Editing overused and filler (stuffing?) words. Examining word usage. It's a tedious process, always, and every time I wonder how so much verbal garbage gets through. Then again, until I reach the editing phase, I don't pay close attention to how the words get on the page, only that they tell a story. Every book has its own unique error code. In this book, I found myself missing the extra "o" on too. Must be lazy fingers this time around. 

As I look through demonstrative pronouns and prepositions, I discover they often don't belong. What's worse, they are usually part of a broader pattern that doesn't belong. Case in point, "it was as if it was..." How many of those words really belong? And isn't there a better way to say that? Talking about feeling like a turkey. But again, my brain was in "get the words down" mode, which is why there has to be an editing pass. 

As I finish this next round of edits, I fret that I haven't caught all the errors. There are more. An author's life is filled with such worries. In the end, I probably won't catch them all, but I do try. I'm always proud that I caught most of them. There will be more editing passes. My next phase is to read through the whole darn thing now that I've picked apart targeted words and phrases. I'll see what I've broken in the process, and on this next read, make sure the story tracks and all the threads are trussed up. This will probably be my last pass before it goes to the editor for her input. Then, fingers crossed, I'll only have minor corrections and potentially two more proofreading passes - one of them proofLISTENING, with Word reading the story back to me for snafus I might overlook with my eyes but my ears will catch. My critique partners are also still looking things over for me. They almost always think of things I've overlooked.

I took time out between some of my editing passes to celebrate the holiday with family and will spend tomorrow with friends. My heart is full, getting to spend time with my kids and grandkids all in one place at one time. I am thankful and truly blessed.

My best wishes to everyone for a Happy Thanksgiving. 

Live and Let Die

The title for this blog comes from the James Bond movies of the same name, or rather, from the James Bond soundtrack. Because #MyLifeIsAMusical, I keep hearing "and in this everchanging world in which we live in" in my head. Maybe I should have gone with Bob Dylan? For the times, they are a-changin'. (Get on with it Karla.)

I recently read something from an author about how they are reshaping their book distribution. Because of the hot political climate, people are making bold choices. Amazon, once the powerhouse, has long been under scrutiny. I have friends who actively avoid buying their books there based on principle, but the fact remains Amazon is still the largest distributor of ebooks. Usually. Me? Apple works well for me, too. But this recent move by a big-name author? It changes the game. Aren't we all a little tired of making the rich richer? Don't we all want to make a statement, now more than ever? So here's the deal. 

If you don't want to throw your support into Amazon any longer (and I'm on board with that idea), this author is doing preorders on Kickstarter. Yes, it's one more place to sign up. Then the books are distributed via Bookfunnel. Yes, that's one more place to sign up. The difference is that you are buying direct from the author, and the author retains more of their own royalties. The deal is that you "pledge" your support (the cost of the book). There's an extra step in that you then have to fill out a questionnaire (not really a questionnaire, more of a "where do I send your book" type stuff). Okay. Color me intrigued. Does that mean you CAN'T buy your books at the usual places? Heck, no. For those people who don't want two more logins to remember, they can still get the books at all the usual places. 

I'm going to be honest here. While I do see preorder action, I'm not sure it warrants setting up new accounts. If this were ongoing instead of just for the preorder phase, I might be more inclined to give it a go (Hey, Joe 𝅘𝅥𝅯🎵𝅘𝅥𝅰... sorry, more songs in my head). 

My new book? I'm planning a release in early 2026, which means I have to plan for how to launch it into the world. What do you think? Would you fund a Kickstarter to avoid buying at the evil overlord sites? 

Inquiring minds...

Plotting - or plodding - to "The End"

I'm nearing the end of my first draft. That's good news, because my editor wants to see it in a couple of weeks. Nothing like a deadline to push me over the finish line!

This book has been fun to write. Sometimes, writing requires gnashing of teeth. Not this time. The conflict is built in, the struggle is real. Take, for example, your Scarlett O'Haras versus your Melanie Hamiltons. (Funny side note, I couldn't remember Melanie's name, so I checked Imdb to look it up and she's buried WAY DOWN on the cast members. Mm-hmm. Case in point.) Complicated or conflicted characters are vastly more interesting.

I'm currently writing "the climax." When the bad things happen. Generally, this is difficult for me, because I prefer the "fiddle-de-dee" approach. Why do bad things have to happen? Well, it would be a pretty boring book if they didn't. Reaching this point in the writing always means a slow-down for me. Where do we go from here? I don't want to rush to the ending, but I also hate drawing out the agony. As an author, I want to draw the reader into what's happening, so if I say, "She had a car accident, but she's okay," it becomes a non-event. There needs to be crashing of metal and breaking of glass and seeing stars as heads connect with windows. In this instance, there also needs to be response. Will this result in someone else being killed because now attention is divided as a result of the injury rather than chasing the bad guy? (This, and more, coming in a book to be released next year!)

So I'm plotting. Making notes. Plodding? Yes, because I don't like to dwell on "bad things," but they are a necessary evil. I'm also excited to finish, because there are many things that need to be addressed in the second draft.

On a side note, I reached out to one of my resources to "get it right" and got an unexpected "hug." Virtual, mind you, but when people are kind enough to compliment my writing, it feels just as real. I'd given him a gift copy of the last book he helped me with, and of course there's the "I'll read it {mumble, mumble, mumble}. I know. On Vacation!" I've heard that enough times that I don't expect much, but turns out he actually did read it on vacation. Not promptly, mind you, but he read it, nonetheless. And he was "so impressed." He doesn't understand how people can just create entire worlds and stories in their heads. Welp, that's kind why I do what I do. Because I can. I thanked him for his time this go round, and he said, "No, thank you for writing such a good book!" (The Jane Doe Ghost, in case you're wondering.) He also left me a review, more feedback for my soul that motivates me to keep writing. In this month where we celebrate things we are thankful for, I'm thankful for readers I can connect with.

I don't know what I don't know

Working on the latest Work In Progress and I've reached the point where I need more research. To talk to a real person. I can make it up, or watch a television show that addresses the issue, but that rarely depicts the truth. It's a sensitive topic. It deserves to be addressed properly.

What is it? Well, I don't want to spoil the story for you. Suffice it to say Bella has had issues with her family, but there are reasons for that. If I'm going to delve into her story, I need to understand the issues. Nobody likes cardboard cutout characters or quick and easy explanations. "Oh, THAT'S why." Sure, I could just say it and people would understand, but being an author is showing, not telling. 

I'm past the midpoint in this story, moving toward the end. My villains have been trading hints for who the killer is, and one of the plot points I wrote for myself to address answers that question for me. Now to prove my theory. I've been fairly single-minded to get to the end, hence my missed post last week and my brief post this week. I see light at the end of the tunnel!