Books and birdseed

I got a bird feeder for Mother's Day this year. My very first one! We have lots of birds in the neighborhood, but not a convenient place to watch them in our yard. Or at least not one that the Big Guy is on board with using. (We have a lovely deck, but he's very protective of it.) So we went out and bought a shepherd's hook and planted it outside one of the windows. Now, I'm altering my normal patterns and sitting by that window more often so I can watch. It's a hummingbird feeder, and yes, I've seen several! They're hardly there long enough to take a picture (hence the window panes).

The Big Guy and I took a walk through a public garden last week (one that I adapted for THE GARDEN) and found a hummingbird there! It was a fairly windy day and as we walked under the grape arbor, we saw this little thing clinging to one of the branches on the top, letting the breeze do all the flying. The little guy never let go, never flew away.  

As I was contemplating what to write in my blog this week, I got to thinking about how readers can be like birds. Certain birds are drawn to certain feeders (like hummingbirds) the way readers are drawn to certain genres. And then there are those who flit from one feeder to the next in search of something they like, sometimes staying to enjoy the feast, and others taking a bite and moving on, or perhaps coming back at another time to try another taste as they flit by.

For all the "birds" who have stopped by my "bird feeder," thank you for sampling what I have to offer, and I hope you'll keep coming back. I'll try to make sure the birdseed stays fresh. 😁

Editors and deadlines

A funny thing happened on the way to finishing the fifth Hillendale novel. My editor's schedule filled up, so the release date was going to be later this year. I decided to adjust my writing schedule accordingly. Well, sort of. I always write on a schedule, but with new babies arriving over the next two months, I wasn't going to rush myself. As quickly as I'd decided to slow the pace, she found an opening. Now I'm on deadline!

I've been working with my editor for... I think this might be 18 books now? A bunch of years tied into that. I first started working with her when I wrote LIVING CANVAS.  I'm grateful when she's able to squeeze me into a tight schedule, and part of that comes from her trusting the quality of work she'll get from me (or so she says) and the fact she likes my books (or so she says). I feel very fortunate to have found her. People will tell you when you sign with an agent or an editor that they need to be your advocate, which means you should be "work" friends. I definitely feel that with my editor, and from the very first sample of my work when she pointed out things to work on (and I immediately fixed them), she told me she was impressed that I not only took the notes, but applied them. She's there to make my work better, and I appreciate that. 

So now I'm on deadline. I'm nearly finished with the first draft of Hillendale 5 (as yet untitled), but with my timetable moved up, I need to not only finish it, but make sure it's editor-ready (or at least close!). 

Anyone want to suggest a title? Here's the deal. Brynn got her happily ever after in Hillendale 4: INTERRUPTED MAGIC, and moved away, but Madeleine bought Brynn's house. Seems the people of Hillendale sort of like having a witch around. Madeleine's magic is a little different than Brynn's, including a gift for the power of suggestion. Madeleine has a history as a psychic detective, but a recent incident left her "gun shy." She dips her toes back into the water with a "not really missing" person and sees that investigation through, but the case that scared her off isn't closed yet, and the bad guy is looking for her.

I'm thinking "Forget Me Not" (for a variety of reasons) but not sure that sounds witchy enough. It might work with a witchy cover, though. What do you think? Any alternate ideas? If I choose your title, I'll give you credit in the book and gift you a copy of the finished book!

PS: Don't know who Madeleine is? You can meet her in INTERRUPTED MAGIC!

Cats or Dogs?

I have always been a cat person. Grew up with cats. Adopted cats when I got my own place. In fact, when I bought my first house, my husband wanted a dog. We went to the animal shelter and came home with... A cat. He couldn't decide what dog to take home and the people told him he couldn't take one just to take one. Me, on the other hand, I immediately bonded with Sammy-cat. To restore domestic tranquility, I agreed to adopt a dog, but I got to approve the breed. We got a Sheltie. Which is how I learned that dogs are maybe not so bad. My cat and his dog became fast friends. Fast forward. Three cats later (and no, I never replaced the dog), my children have dogs--my first grandchildren. 

My daughter started with one, and then a second. Then those two dogs had puppies and they kept one. Grand total=three. Her dogs are... high strung. Or low strung, or very family-centric (or one of each). With that being said, now that there are real grandchildren and the dogs are a little older, the dogs are more mellow. The high strung one brings me a ball to play fetch (and how can you resist puppy eyes?) The low strung, family-centric ones still guard the family and keep a watchful eye, although petting is required from time to time. They are part of the family, after all.

Then there's my son. His wife wanted to be sure he would love her dog before she agreed to a serious relationship. She had a black Lab who easily wormed her way into my son's heart--and everyone else's. They've since added a second Lab (chocolate) - a very energetic puppy. I have to say, they are very smart dogs. When you call out a specific toy, they know exactly which one to get. I was visiting over the weekend, and the puppy (who is about a year and a half now) decided we should play a game - a very sneaky game that it took me a minute to catch on to. I wear a scrunchie on my wrist in case I need to put my hair up, say, to eat. It took him a long time to discover this, but once he did, suddenly he was asking for extra pets. Except every time I complied, my scrunchie slid closer to my hand. If you know anything about Labs, they are soft-mouthed dogs, which means he was grabbing that scrunchie very subtly. I have been laughing about his antics for days. 

I see they've caged you while you eat, human.

I, too would like to taste your lunch

This is where I tell you I'm still "not really" a dog person, but after all these grand-dogs, I may have been swayed. Now I find myself smiling over a rambunctious little dog who brings me his ball and gives me puppy eyes asking if I want to play. I chuckle at a sneaky dog who wants something of mine to play with, while he watches to see if I'll notice him trying to take it from me. If I were to adopt another animal, rest assured it would still be a cat, but I do enjoy playing with my granddogs. 

I have lots of inspiration for the dog that shows up in the next Hillendale novel. {grin}

What about you? Most people have definite inclinations one way or the other. Cats? Or Dogs?

Cuss words

I recently read a blog about cuss words in novels, and how some authors use them to project realism into their characters--that's how certain people respond. Another author in the same genre made the point that you can inject that realism without the cuss words. It's a sensitive topic for some people.

When I was growing up, my mother's go-to cuss word was "crap." If she got REALLY upset, you might here a "damn" from her, but that was very rare. In fact, the crap wasn't thrown out very freely and was reserved only for highly inflammatory moments. The funny part is that as she got older, she would talk about picking up cow sh!t for her flower gardens. Go figure! The point here is that I didn't grow up with "blue" language, and I don't often use it myself. Possibly more often as I get older and my filters don't work the same way, but that's a topic for another day.

The first book I found myself using any notable amount of profanity in was Mist on the Meadow, and in the middle of writing the story, I stopped myself. Wolf's language could easily be considered offensive. The problem was that the character who used it used it. As much as I tried to tone him down, he kept fighting back. Eventually, he won out, and I gave him the potty mouth he insisted on. He had issues, after all. With that being said, I did try to minimize his usage so it wasn't overdone. We all have to be civil--or at least I think so. 

Many characters have a go-to cuss word, like my mother and "crap." I think the trick is to not overuse it. Diana Gabaldon comes to mind and her "Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ." Claire uses it, but sparingly. In fact, one might even forget that's her go-to epithet. And that's the point, right? People slip up. They get wound up and the words tumble out. It's human nature. But people don't get wound up every day. 

As I work on my next novel, I've found my main character expressing her displeasure with an epithet that probably isn't needed. Displeasure is one thing. "Wound up" is something else entirely. So I'm back to reconsidering my usage. I don't think she overdoes it, but I may need to find one of those quirky, silly expressions for her when she's thwarted or frustrated, and save the big guns for the real crises.

You can find out more about the Mist Trilogy here