The Space Between

Generally speaking, I'm usually antsy to move forward once I've finished writing - on to the next one. I found myself feeling that way as I moved to the last "get it ready for the editor" stage with THE MIRROR, except the book that was speaking to me isn't the next one I want to write. Go figure! I should pay attention to my gut, right?

So while I'm sitting here being wishy-washy and indecisive and impatient and a whole bunch of other unflattering adjectives, maybe I'll just share the new cover with you. What do you think? Epitaph 3 - THE MIRROR is Sandra and Garth's story.

When Sandra Meyer's violent ex-boyfriend returns to sleepy Edgarville, Illinois, she turns to the man who stood up to Nick Benedetto back in high school. If brawny Garth Benson will pose as her boyfriend on social media, maybe Nick will go leave her alone. Sandra adores Garth, but she can’t afford any ties to Edgarville. Now finished with a decade of dedicated service as her mother's caregiver, Sandra is planning her exit from this one-stoplight town.

Garth is firmly rooted in Edgarville with the family monument business and a trophy shop that will need a "mom" to his "pop." Garth has wanted Sandra ever since he slugged Nick more than ten years ago. Her secrets run deep, as do the strengths that he admires about her, but whenever he tries to move their casual flirtations from talk to dating, she backs away.

Small town life has strangled Sandra as effectively as Nick tried to when they were in high school. Garth might be the one man who can protect her from Nick, but what he expects in return is too much. On top of that, her deceased father’s unexpected appearance in the mirror of her new home exposes long-held secrets that will change Sandra's view of her family and hometown forever.

When the last tie holding her to Edgarville is cut, Sandra runs as fast as she can, but the world outside her small-town community isn’t all that she expected.

Blogs - guests and hosts

via GIPHY

Undeniably, the hardest part about writing is promoting/marketing.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been doing guest stints at various blogs to talk about THE TWINS and prepare for the launch of THE MIRROR. It has made me stop to think about all the pitfalls and/or benefits to hosting and guesting.

Would you like to see other authors pop in on my blog? Maybe a "Finding New Reads" feature?

For myself, I almost always schedule my blog posts ahead of time. Because I work a day job, anything I can do to plan ahead keeps me from forgetting things. I've noticed some of the bloggers who've hosted me don't do that, and on my scheduled post day, they're suddenly scrambling for last minute information. Others send me the permalink ahead of time so I know they're all set. Most of them provide buy links to the featured book, as well as for connecting with me. I'm always grateful for their hospitality, even if they don't always do things the way I'd like to see them done (like scheduling ahead or hotlinks instead of links you have to copy and paste). I was at one blog recently where the blogger moderated comments. I don't have a problem with that, as long as they DO moderate the comments. I left her a thank you that never appeared, and anyone else who might want to comment might not if they had to be moderated, or wouldn't get a response from me if the blogger never moderates comments. Blogs are about interaction for me. I LIKE responding to people's thoughts and comments!

I enjoy the character interview posts I've read and done. Authors "become" their characters during the writing process, so there aren't a lot of questions we can't answer, and it sometimes gives readers an extra peek into the character's background or motivations. Those types of posts seem more entertaining than your standard blurb or excerpt, although I like the excerpt posts, as well. That gives you insight into what the author's writing style is.

Guesting and hosting on blogs is fun and I enjoy meeting new readers and bloggers, which brings me back to you - my audience. Would you enjoy seeing guests on my blog? Samples and interviews from other authors to help you find new books to read? What are your favorite types of blogs to read? Interviews? Excerpts? A blurb? Inquiring minds want to know!

The third in the Epitaph series is ready for the editor and on schedule for release late July or early August. If you haven't already signed up for my newsletter, there's a tab at the top of the page so you will get notified on release day!

What did we do without the Internet?

Research can be tedious, and research can be fun.

I'm getting down to the nitty gritty with my editing phase and one of the things I'm trying to do involves shorthand. Anybody remember shorthand? I'm using it sort of like a secret code, or not so secret code, as the case may be. Yes, a million years ago, my mother made me learn shorthand. Yes, I hated it. No, I never used it. So going back at it now, I can step into my character's shoes and say "huh?"

When I wrote my first book, I spent HOURS in the public library, researching and studying and learning about things to make sure my story was authentic. I learned Italian! That was in the late 90's, so we're only talking 20 years ago. Now, much of the information I needed then is readily available on the Internet, in more forms than I could ever want. Instead of reading travel brochures to the Isle of Capri, I could watch a YouTube video and see it. Don't get me wrong, I still visit the library. Still love the library. There is much to be found there, including the fountains of information we refer to as librarians.

Shorthand has gone the way of other lost arts. It still exists, although high school students are no longer able to take classes. Instead of typing classes, now there are keyboarding classes, and those begin in grade school. So where does one go to translate shorthand into longhand and vice versa? YouTube videos are available to people who want to learn this lost art, and there are still textbooks one can use for reference. Lucky for me, I have friends who use it. So I tapped one of them to write me something to see how well I did. High school is a lot of years in the rearview mirror, but I have to say I'm proud that I was able to translate a lot of what she wrote for me! Now, as I near the end of my editing phase, I want to add authenticity to my character, who is struggling to translate what her mother wrote. I have the translation, but I need to see where she would stumble in the conversion of shorthand to longhand.

The Internet has a translator that goes from longhand to shorthand! Is this an amazing world or what? So my project this week is to type in the longhand version and then go back and try to read it in shorthand, annotating what I get wrong along the way (the way my character would). You might think this is cheating. I know what its supposed to say, after all. But with close to 70,000 words in the manuscript, there's no way I will remember the passage verbatim. Seems like a reasonable test of my skills.

Still tweaking, still filling in missing pieces, but I'm on schedule with MAN IN THE MIRROR. I can't wait for you to read it!

When "The End" means starting over

Yay! I've finished my first draft of the Man in the Mirror, the third installment in the Epitaph series. While I'm excited to have typed those two words (The End), this is where the work really begins. Now I have to go back to the beginning and see what I've screwed up in the process. Continuity errors, inconsistencies, gaping holes where I've neglected to provide missing information.

Writing a novel is about more than telling a story, it's about fleshing out your characters and making their story come to life. Even though I sat sobbing over some of my scenes, I was sobbing before I ever transcribed the words that you will read. The trick is getting that same emotion onto the page. My critique partners and I have a phrase we use, "Read what I mean." Too often, the way we feel inside our heads doesn't make it to the page. The words need to go along with what I'm feeling and seeing inside my head, and that's where the second draft comes into play.

Writing is rewriting. You may have heard that phrase used, and it's right on point. Being an author is about more than getting the words down, it's about making sure you've used the right words, about making sure you haven't left out crucial details (except in those instances where it's important to leave them out!), or in some cases, making sure you haven't included information that isn't relevant and slows down the story. And after you've assessed all of that, it's time to go back with the proverbial fine-tooth comb to look for the obvious errors, typos and overused words, etc.  In all, I generally do a minimum four full drafts before I send it to my editor, looking for different things each pass.

I have a tentative appointment with my editor, and then, in addition to all the corrections I made after looking at it with my own microscope, she'll point out those things that are still missing/wrong/need to be addressed.

So no, writing "The End" isn't the end of the process. That's when the real work starts.

I'm on track for release late summer or early autumn. Can't wait to share it with you! After a false start, I think it turned out pretty well! I hope you'll agree.