Ghosts in the sidewalk

While I was "out and about" the other day, I came across handprints in the sidewalk. Not unusual, really, but it took me back to a time when I was very young, when I imagined all sorts of macabre things. 

There was a house on the corner, a big, old house with an apron under the porch that had a hatch for access. Heck, our house had a hatch, too, but I never imagined what my parents might keep under there, although it made for excellent storage (my parents didn't use it for anything other than access to the addition on the back of the house). I probably only saw the hatch on our house open once or twice in my entire life. But that house on the corner...

The family had two sons, both older than me and my sisters (or maybe as old as at least one of my sisters, although I don't remember for sure. I only remember they were much older than me). The one son, Doug, had long hair, and for whatever reason, I can remember watching him dry it in front of a fan. Keep in mind, this is back in the days of the song from Hair about "long-haired, freaky people," so he was a bit of an anomaly. Nice enough guy, as much as I remember. What does all this have to do with handprints in the sidewalk?

In the sidewalk that ran beside their house, their older son had carved his name in the wet cement. Because we're talking so many years ago, I can't recall if there was also a handprint, but I remember seeing the name and asking the people who lived there, as an inquisitive young child might do, whose name it was. Turns out Doug had an older brother, one who'd died, forever memorialized by his name in the cement of the sidewalk. Other than that small piece of information, no one ever told me anything more. I don't suppose there was more to the tragic story. I remember tracing the letters he'd left in the wet cement and trying to conjure him. In my vivid imagination, I imagined all sorts of things, starting with the hatch under the porch. Was he buried in there? This idea probably came from watching the old Peter Cushing / Christopher Lee Dracula movies. I can't imagine why else I would have dreamed up such a thing, and yet the idea stuck with me. For years. 

That family moved out, and another family moved in. I grew up and became the babysitter for the new owners' tribe of children. Few things made my uneasy growing up - I wasn't easily spooked - but once I'd decided the older son was buried under the porch, I never moved past wondering who was buried behind the hatch under the front porch. Even when I knew better. I'm quite sure I even saw that hatch opened a time or two, but guess who stayed far away from it? 

This author.

"Normal" people see handprints in the sidewalk, or other markings people leave in wet cement and see them for what they are. Vandalism. Hah. Well, maybe, but most people see them as remembrances. Or ways to mark their territory. Like taking chalk to create hopscotch, only more permanent. *Sigh* I suppose I was never normal. 

 

The long awaited excerpt

I know, I know. I've been promising you a teaser for weeks, but it's still under construction, doncha know. But a promise is a promise, and so here is a taste of the new book. What do you think?

A holiday week

Honoring those who have fallen in service to our country. In my family, we have a cousin - he would have been my second cousin once removed, actually - who died in service. In tribute, the male children born into that family since have been christened with his name. 

I've been continuing to work on the book that follows Horned Owl Hollow and am pleased to tell you I've made good progress. Still a ways to go, though. But this brings up an important announcement. The audiobook is done! It takes a while to find its way to all the sales outlets (although a couple of people have already found it through at least one of those outlets!) and once it's live "everywhere," I will be sending out my next newsletter. I have some thoughts on the performance of the audio, but I'll keep those to myself until I've seen what other people think. If you're an audiophile, you'll want to make sure you're signed up for my newsletter!

The Spoken Word

You may remember when I mentioned a couple years ago how I learned how to pronounce "Triquetra." It was thanks to the magic of the "read" feature in Word. Part of the editing process for me includes reading a story aloud to make sure I "hear" any mistakes that my eyes might miss.

I'm listening to the audiobook of Horned Owl Hollow - editing my narrator in a manner of speaking. Making sure she didn't miss something, or change something inadvertently. Overall, she's done an excellent job, but she read one word that jumped out at me - detritus. Is it possible I've never heard the word spoken? I'm familiar with it, obviously, since I used it in the story, but have I only read it in the past? Or have I heard it mispronounced? Before I tagged it as a "pickup," or a change I wanted her to make to the narration, I went to the Google machine and asked it to pronounce the word for me. Hah. Joke’s on me. I've been mispronouncing it all these years. She's right. 

Which brings me to another thing that annoys me. I have one review somewhere, I don't remember for what book or at what outlet it was, where the reviewer accused me of "obviously using a thesaurus and not understanding the words I was finding that were clearly out of context." I'm not going to argue with my reviewers, as a rule, and I didn't respond to her comment, but in this forum, I feel I must. As a reader, you are exposed to millions of words. I have a HUGE vocabulary that I'm careful not to overuse, especially after my mother-in-law pointed out my "big" words in my first book. When I was in school, I used to ace vocabulary and spelling. That doesn't mean I have to use all the words I know or have learned. Detritus might well fall under that umbrella, but it fit, and so I used it. Likewise, for the reader who accused me of consulting a thesaurus and using words out of context, here's my response. Yes, I do consult a thesaurus from time to time, and the reason is generally because I can't think of the word I want. You know, it's like this one, but that's not the right one. I've even been known to Google "what's the word for..." when my mind goes blank. Or consult one of my critique partners to help me pull the word out of the dark corners of my mind. We're not talking "big" words or "fancy" words, necessarily. Just words that are playing hide and seek. And you know what? Sometimes I consult the thesaurus for a "less fancy" word to use. Maybe I should have done that in this case - use "garbage" in place of "detritus" - except detritus seemed a better choice in this case. 

I've finished listening to the audiobook version of Horned Owl Hollow and sent back my "pickups" to the narrator, which means it will be coming to all the audio outlets soon! I've posted up a taste at my website so you can get a sneak preview!

Writer's Block

I've always said I don't believe in writer's block. I still hold to that, although there are definitely writer's speed bumps.

When I get stuck with writing, I can spend hours going down rabbit holes and chasing distractions (Candy Crush? Words with Friends? or my latest is online jigsaw puzzles). None of those are productive. What IS productive is writing. Even when it isn't part of the story. What does that mean? 

As I was writing last week's blog post, I was using my blog as my distraction. Stuck in a time warp, not knowing how to move forward and out of the ONE DAY my story has encompassed so far. As I wrote the blog, I shook loose an idea. Writing ABOUT the story sometimes gets me past one of those speed bumps. I also do this regularly by emailing one of my buddies to hash out what in the story has me tied up in knots. Talking through (or typing through, as the case may be) the roadblock will often help me clear it. 

As I was writing that blog, I started thinking about a character I'd introduced (and who I have been referring to very vaguely over the course of two books now). I gave him a name. Rule of thumb, if a character has a name, they deserve a place in the story. So as I was wondering what to do with my "problem child," I considered this newly named background character. (Problem child being the person in trouble in this book.) I can't leave them on their own, and they aren't going to put up with a "minder" (as they say across the pond). Enter the character who has been named. They have a vested interest. They don't know what's going on, but they do know they need that character. So while my problem child is "lost," the character who has been named can unwittingly care for them, which benefits both parties. And now my character who has been named has a reason for being named. They now have an active role in the story. All as a result of writing a blog and working my way through one of those speed bumps.

Which brings me to the subject of "how many drafts should a writer write?" I know one author who says one draft is all you should have. I'm not a subscriber to that way of thinking. For me, especially when I get stuck on a speed bump, my writing can become notes that needs to be expanded on. Then, maybe I expand on those notes so that now its a story. Except the story isn't always "good" after the notes are first transcribed, although they are more "story-like." My next step is to make sure I'm not leaving out important details. For instance - someone died. And maybe that's what I've written. Ho hum. Important details might be the characters' reaction to that death. Is it an OMG moment? A trigger moment? A sad moment? A welcome relief? And there are descriptions to be added. Something that stands out about a character or a scene. What does it "look" like? These are all ways to get words on the page and break loose more words. If I can see it in my head, if I can feel it in my soul, there are more words waiting to follow on. Sometimes just flat words that will need to be fluffed up later, but at least it gets the writing going. That's what drafts are for. Get down the ideas, and you can expand on them later.

Writer's Block? I've always heard the cure is to "just write." I subscribe to that idea, including writing even when it isn't "words in the story." Write notes. Write ideas. Write to someone else about what is stuck in your head and often that logjam breaks apart. Bottom line? Write. 

I did promise you an excerpt of the new book, but I'm not ready to share quite yet. There's a certain matter of writer's angst yet to deal with. (Is anybody going to read this next book? Will it be as good as Horned Owl Hollow?) I will take the leap next week and share a piece I hope will interest you!

In the meantime, have I mentioned Horned Owl Hollow is coming soon to audio? Stay tuned...

The Muddle in the Middle

Yep. I'm in the middle of the new book and feeling boggy. 

I've done a rough outline so that I make sure I stay on task. There's one character who wants a bigger role (and will likely get one). Because of the outline (and this is why I avoid them most of the time unless I'm wandering aimlessly), I'm eager to get to the plot points that are on the horizon. I spent one day writing, then went back to look at my chapter points and realized I'd jumped ahead. Went back to the start, kept what I'd written (because it will happen eventually) and followed the road I needed to get there. 

Which brings me to my problem with time. You've probably heard me go on about how I lose track of what day of the week it is, or what month, or any number of time concepts. In this book, I seem to be stuck on one day. For almost 20 chapters, it's still the same day. At some point I'm going to have to move on to "the next day." My future chapter notes that are waiting for me cover at least a week, so I need to figure out what to do with my "problem child" for a week. 

Muddling. Stuck in the middle of the story and trying to get my feet out of the mud. But you know what? That's what first drafts are for. Once I get to the figurative other side, I can go back and mop up my muddy footprints. 

In the meantime, I'm still trying to decide on a series name for my haunted house books. I've had a couple of good suggestions that I'm chewing on, but still undecided. Ran a contest in my newsletter, and now I'm opening it up for my blog audience. What do you think? Here are some of the suggestions I've received so far:

Elle Barclay’s Eerie Happenings
Mysterious Phenomena
Haunting Spirits
Shades of Elle Barclay
Specters of Elle Barclay
Restless Spirits

You can send me your suggestions HERE. If I choose yours, I'll give you your choice of one of my books (including the upcoming new release). 

Applying all that I've learned

Thanks for touring around Spain with me these past several weeks. I saw SO MUCH, and really had the best time. Since we've been home, I've been trying to capture much of the experience into the new book--the locations, the food, the atmosphere. And most of all, one of the ghost stories I heard.

I spent so much time absorbing everything that I didn't even consider the new story until I got home. Well, that's not entirely true. I did take the Paranormal Tour with the intention of finding inspiration (and I did). But for the rest of the trip, instead of taking copious notes like a good author, I chose to live the experience, to be present. Then, on the last night, we were walking past a storefront (one we'd passed every day while we were there, but apparently not at night), and I saw something that screamed (take a picture!). What was inside was unexpected. It wasn't a store, per se, more of a storeroom with a glass window. Aside from the ghost story I was clinging to, it was the only thing that caught me off guard enough to take notice. I'm hoping to use that photo for the cover of the new book, but we'll see if/how I can incorporate it. 

I managed to write all the Spain blog posts shortly after we returned home, and then I buckled in to begin work on the new story, which is coming along great, thanks for asking. I'm about 20k words into it, and dreaming up all kinds of trouble for Elle and Laine and the other people in their lives. I'm also reliving my trip through their eyes, and borrowing experiences from some of the other people who also took the trip to throw at Elle. I've created a Pinterest board to refer back to. Many of the references are in Spanish, but with the magic of the Internet, those pages are easily translated. Not all of the pins will make it into the new book, but they were all things I wanted to know more about after I'd seen them.

Am I using the story I heard while I was in Sevilla? Yes and no. All good stories have to start somewhere, and while I was inspired by some of the things I learned, I've put my own spin on the places I visited and the history that goes with them. Expanded on a theme, you might say. The funny part is that while I'm doing research, I forget the "my own spin" part. While chasing the "real" story, I suddenly find I want to stick to just the facts, ma'am. The research took me to Granada, which is one place we didn't visit. Then I remind myself that the story is loosely based on the legend. I don't have to reference Granada. I can have my characters go someplace I went while they chase leads, like Ronda, for instance. I'm an author. I get to take artistic license. I get to make things up! This isn't something anyone else is going to know and scold me for getting wrong (as opposed to facts that can be verified and checked). It's Fiction.

So back to work, and next week maybe I'll share a snippet with you. In the meantime, if you haven't already read Horned Owl Hollow, get acquainted with Elle Barclay and her ability to see those spirits whose energy remains in this realm! (And don't forget to let me know how you liked it!)