Anyone out there know how to break a Christmas curse? Not sure if we need a witch doctor, a voodoo priestess, the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, or an exorcist (OK, probably not that last one).

Normally, I love, love, LOVE this time of year – Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah, we celebrate them all! And I’m a twelfth day of Christmas baby. Holidays good!

But a bad luck trend appears to be developing around our household on December 25. Last year, I took a spectacularly embarrassing fall and wrecked my knee, requiring surgery and many months or rehab. My right leg still doesn’t function quite right. This year we opted for a nice, safe walk on paved country roads around a local winery. What could possibly go wrong?

Then I noticed my darling, exuberant, sweet-tempered Vizsla (Remember, Ashton?) standing in a pool of blood. Wait, BLOOD?!?!

Her tail was wagging non-stop and her furry face looked to joyful. I thought, Oh no! Something must have died and Ashton stepped on it.

Alas, no. What Ashton had managed to step on was some hidden wicked thing that pierced through her paw…we never located the vicious object and Ashton didn’t even seem to notice anything had happened. It took us quite a while to convince her that she was injured, but the pain finally caught up with her during the horrid examination and cleaning process at home. In the picture above, she is wearing my inept field bandaging (a.k.a. a creative new use for orphaned socks) and waiting patiently for her vet appointment.

The humans of the household spent a jolly Christmas night cleaning up what looked like a crime scene around the house.

Bah humbug. Seriously.

The 2014 script, which is full of NEW stories of mysterious encounters and paranormal phenomena, was created by yours truly…and I’ll be hosting most of the tour dates:This project is a labor of love. Everyone involved in the tour production is a volunteer and 100% of the ticket sales go to support the Friends of the Dahlonega Gold Museum in their mission to promote, support, improve and preserve the Dahlonega Gold Museum State Historic Site.

We had a fantastic group for the first tour. It was so much fun, I can hardly wait for next Saturday to do it all again!

I will be posting about this event, my research in creating the script and maybe even sharing a few ghostly tidbits that didn’t get included in the final cut throughout September and October. Stay tuned!

I’m starting a professional group for published authors in the Dahlonega/North Georgia area. Here’s the article that ran in The Dahlonega Nugget:

North Georgia Authors Guild, a newly formed group of published, professional authors, has its second meeting upstairs at Starbucks at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8.  Discussion will include how to navigate the complex world of writing, publishing and especially successful marketing of books.

Traditional and independent authors are welcome. The group will be sharing successes as well as featuring regional authors during its regular programs.

I love to talk about the art of writing, the craft of writing and even the dreamy fantasies of writing. That said, crass as it may sound, if an author doesn’t learn and grow the BUSINESS of writing, then writing is just a hobby…and a very expensive hobby at that!photo credit: jessamyn via photopin cc

If you’re going to the AJC Decatur Book Festival (and you should go, really), stop by the Deeds Publishing Booth (Booth #101 – looks like it’s on the lawn in front of the courthouse – Click here for the festival map.)

I’ll be there 3:00 – 4:00 on Saturday 8/30/14 with handmade Millennium Falcon soaps (free with purchase of my book.)

Even if you can’t stop by to see me, they are going to be selling all of their books at a reduced price.

According to the festival website, “The festival will feature lectures and signings from more than 600 authors, including award-winners, best-sellers and some just getting started.” Woo hoo! Another article states that festival organizers are expecting 90,000 visitors during the festival…Oh my! Consider riding the MARTA. The Decatur stop is right under the festival.

A few of my personal highlights from the 2014 schedule:

• The fabulous Tom Angleberger of Origami Yoda fame (and a personal hero of mine) will be there. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll get there early enough to catch the The Jedi Council discussion (10 am, really?) but I will almost certainly be in attendance for A Farewell to Origami Yoda.
• Pat Conroy!
• SCBWI Crystal Kite award winner Vicky Alvear Schecter – if you have not read Cleopatra’s Moon, well you should fix that.
• Cassandra King – Love her novel Moonrise
• NYT best-selling Joshilyn Jackson (anyone who reads this blog knows I’m a HUGE fan of JJ)
• There’s going to be a Cooking Stage for the first time this year, not to mention 17 cookbook authors
• And much, much more!

We’ve welcomed a new Fuzzy into our home and she wants to say hello:

Hi there! I am Wirehaired Vizsla Point of Honor Vizcaya Dallas, but you can call me Afton…or Ashton….or Aston.

She’s a 4-year-old spayed female. Her breeder calls her Afton, after Afton Cooper from the original Dallas series, but our lips &/or brains can’t seem to spit out that name on a consistent basis. We seem to be calling her Ashton more often than not, and she responds very well to Ashton. So…yeah. Probably Ashton.

Although her coat is considered undesirable for breeding or showing, her heart is perfect for loving.

That said, she does have a few behavioral issues, including a quirky little phobia related to persons of the male persuasion. It’s not a constant problem, mind you. Just when the scary two-legged male persons move around without her permission….or cough…or, you know, do man things. Apparently, this troublesome phobia has made it difficult to place her in a permanent, forever home. Until now.

The man of THIS household is decent, kind, patient to the core and infinitely gentle with nervous dogs.

Technically, we only have Afton/Ashton for a trial period right now, but I am in love, love, LOVE with this fuzzy love monkey. Michael is slower to declare his feelings, but I believe he is also hopelessly smitten.

In order to fully explain how over-the-moon thrilled I am by this unexpected turn of events, I’ll have to tell you a star-crossed love story from my past….

Once upon a time (almost 20 years ago), I took a job as a full-time dispatcher for the Cruelty Investigations and Animal Rescue unit in a large, metropolitan humane society. (I LIVED Animal Cops before it was a TV show on Animal Planet). Looking back now, it was one of those “best of times, worst of times” experiences but I’m not going to get into all the nitty gritty details from that period of my life. I just want to tell you about one particular case.

(*cue Dragnet theme music*)

It was a sunny, sweltering hot summer day. I received a call from the Airport Police Department. They had an animal cruelty case involving two dogs in a locked car…only one was responsive. The officers on the scene needed a humane officer to take custody of the dogs and advise on the charges to be filed against the owner. It sounded like an ugly situation, so I radioed the officers on duty to get out there as quickly as possible. They returned to the shelter with a deceased Rottweiler and a sweet little bundle of anxiety who looked a lot like this:

“It’s a Veeezuuuhluuuh,” Officer Manion told me, squinting at his case notes. “V-I-Z-S-L-A. Hungarian hunting breed.” The refugee in question had her whole body pressed against my leg with her head glued to my lap while I entered her information into our intake computer using my right hand. My left hand couldn’t stop stroking her velvety ears and smoothing the worried wrinkles on her brow. Even as her tail thumped the floor, she continued to cast nervous looks back and forth between me and Manion.

“She’s a very sweet doggie,” Manion said, (Hello, Captain Obvious.) “but she’s had a rough day. If you want, keep her here with you for a while before you put her into a kennel for the night.”

One of the best, most wonderful perks of being a humane society dispatcher is getting to bring some of the rescued pets into the back office for some one-on-one time. I couldn’t afford my own dog at the time, so spending time with these temporary companions was important to me. During the few short weeks she was in our custody, I brought the Vizsla into the office as often as I could. (Notice I have not mentioned her name. That’s because I don’t remember it. We were all enchanted with the word Vizsla and she responded when anyone called her Vizsla, so that was the only name we used during her entire stay.)

Everyone warned me not to get attached to her, but I couldn’t help falling deeply in love our darling Vizsla…even though she could never be MY dog.

This is not a tragedy, at least not for the Vizsla. I feel certain that dog lived a long, happy, healthy life. But after she walked out of our shelter, I never saw her again.

Skip ahead a few years to an all-breed dog show where I was watching the final Best in Show contenders file into the ring. Sitting alone on the cold, cement floor, I suddenly became aware of a gentle warming pressure along my back. Turning my head slowly, I came nose-to-nose with a face that looked a little like this:

Her owner/breeder could not stop giggling. “I think she thinks you’re related,” she said. “Your hair…” As she broke into another fit of giggles, I gathered my hair into a side ponytail and draped it over the dog’s head. Back then, I used to color my hair a coppery red that matched the dogs coat. I mean it matched EXACTLY. We sat like that, the Vizsla’s head on my shoulder with my hair falling over her ears while her owner took some pictures and I quizzed her about the personality and temperament of Vizslas.

I walked away from that encounter absolutely convinced that a Vizsla was my dream dog, the perfect companion for me. Energetic, but willing to cuddle for hours. Intelligent and sensitive without being neurotic. Obviously gentle and affectionate. But my lifestyle choices and finances still would not support dog ownership at that time. So it was a dream that I would have to put on hold indefinitely….

[To be continued...]

photo credit: hasensaft via photopin cc & peteaylward via photopin cc

This is the project that has been absorbing all of my time and attention over the past month and I’m very, VERY excited to tell you more. But I can’t share any details right now. The new script I’m working on for this year’s tour is still in the super secret development stage. So, for now, I’m just posting this as a Coming Attraction. Look for more information coming soon!

Repeat after me:
At this moment, there is no tomorrow.
At this moment, there is no yesterday.
At this moment, there is only today.
(Now breathe. Just breathe.)

This has been your moment of zen with Trisha & her Mister.

If your holiday is half as wonderful as ours, it must be spectacular. Enjoy!

Click here to learn about the Write Chain App

I’ve been busy plotting and planning and re-plotting that same paranormal mystery/ghost novel I’ve mentioned here…oh, a FEW times. Wow. I never knew how wonderfully hypnotic and energizing it can be to plan out an entire novel from first to final scene. I might even go so far as to call it hypnotic. However, there comes a time in every author’s process when you’ve got to dive in and type your way through that awful first draft. At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself for the past week. Then, instead of actually writing, I circle around my MacBook waiting for the keyboard to emit magical, magnetic writerly waves that will attract my lazy fingers to start typing.

Yeah…that’s not working so well. Once again, I find myself in need of motivation with a swift kick of accountability built in. Luckily, I discovered this lovely website called Writerology where someone named Skye recently posted a Write Chain Challenge. I’ve had the Write Chain app on my iPhone for…hmmmm roughly 4 months now. I just have never actually ever used the thing. Well this challenge will get me using the app.

It’s a simple strategy:

1. Come up with a daily writing goal. My goal is 500 words of fiction or blogging per day. Note: That may not sound terribly ambitious goal but I need a goal I can stick to on a BAD writing day.
2. Tell the world about your goal on multiple social media platforms. (Check)
3. Write and meet your goal every single day to earn links in a chain. 1 day at or above goal = 1 link.
4. Track your daily progress on the Write Chain App if you have an iPhone…or there’s another option for you nutty Android users
5. Post on Twitter to brag about meeting your goal, how many links you have earned, etc.
6. Most important part! Miss your goal even one day, your chain goes back to 0 links. All of the links disappear. (On the bright side, all those words you’ve written are still yours to keep, edit, polish & submit).
7. Start the chain all over again…or give up and find a Book Coach with a loaded gun.

So…in case you have not guessed, I’m posting this here for two reasons:

1. Any writerly friends out there having trouble meeting your writing goals? Want to join me? Go here and sign up. It’s free…and it could be fun. We could Tweet trash talk to each other. Brag, cheer and heckle each other. Come on, you know you want to just do it. Join me and together we can rule the galaxy…or just finish our projects faster.
2. This post counts as 450 words toward my daily writing goal. Boom!

There’s a deck of tarot cards near my writing desk at all times. It’s not the usual sort of deck, like the one pictured above (which always makes me think of Jane Seymour as Solitaire in Live and Let Die). My tarot is the Voyager Tarot. It’s a beautiful deck of photo-collage art with images from many cultures and religions.

I don’t keep it here to give readings (though it has made a few appearances at social gatherings with a select group of intimate friends). It’s not here to guide my love life or any financial decisions. I use it to help me write fiction.

Aside from my MacBook, notebooks and pencils, I believe this tarot deck is the most useful tool in my writer’s toolbox. It helps me build multidimensional characters with complex motives and desires. It’s a wonderful tool to play with plot structure and character arc. I have a few other oracle-type decks with some gorgeous artwork, but it is always my well-worn Voyager cards that help me sort out my worst plot problems and/or reignite my relationship with my characters.

To do this, I don’t shuffle and lay out the cards randomly hoping the universe will send a message about my current project. I tend to look through the whole deck, pulling the cards with images that seem to apply to the particular character or plot issue I’m working to resolve. Then I’ll arrange and re-arrange my selections into patterns until something clicks. And something usually clicks pretty quickly.

One Google search for “writer’s tarot” proves that I am not the only author who does this. There’s even a book called Tarot for Writers and Beth Barany has created a Writer’s Tarot Deck. That said, there are probably plenty of people who would think I’m twisted and weird for plotting books with tarot…and maybe they are right.

Speaking of weird…I told you all of the above so I could tell you this next thing.

Sometimes the tarot deck does freaky things. For example, last month the same card kept “jumping” out of the deck over and over. When I pulled the deck out of a desk drawer, the card fell on the floor. Later, while shuffling and sorting through the deck, the same card fell into my lap. It wasn’t one of my favorite images and it didn’t seem to have any relevance to my plotting questions, so I stuck it back into the middle of the deck and set everything aside. Thirty minutes later, Zoey jumped up on my writing desk to make a nuisance of herself while I was trying to write. Frustrated that I refused to quit typing to pet her properly, she deliberately shoved about 1/3 of the tarot deck off my desk. All of the cards landed face down except for one…yep, it was the same *bleep*ing card staring up at me.

The Hermit…

The Hermit – soul-searching, introspection, inner guidance

Which always makes me think about a certain “strange old hermit” who lived out beyond the Dune Sea (a.k.a Obi-Wan Kenobi). In the traditional tarot images, The Hermit could very well be a mystical Jedi Master…or a wizard…or a monk. It is one of the few traditional tarot images that I prefer over the Voyager version. So I took the time to research the card online.

Now I won’t get into all of the mystical, magical interpretations for this major arcana tarot card (because, honestly, I don’t remember most of what I read). The gist of The Hermit’s message is all about “going into the cave” to meditate, reflect and re-energize. At the time this card kept presenting itself to me, I was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. The details are unimportant, but I needed to unplug. And it felt like this silly little card with its three appearances in one day was giving me permission to do just that.

So I unplugged from just about everything that wasn’t absolutely essential for one month. And it felt soooooooooooo good!

Here’s the thing. This “going into the cave” routine is another important writer’s tool. For me, it is even more essential than the MacBook or notebooks or writing utensils. I know that all of the marketing wisdom is dead set against this hermit-like behavior. Oh well. Sometimes it is a mental health necessity.

During my month of unplugging we finished moving into our new house and I set up a new writing room. I created a 5 x 4 foot chalkboard (more on that another day), read lots of books, took some online writing tutorials and worked on Snowflake Plotting. Now my writerly batteries feel recharged and ready to go.

What do you do to recharge your batteries?

photo credits: ukslim via photopin cc & h.koppdelaney via photopin cc

WHAT?    Not So Long Ago, Not So Far Away Book Signing Event
WHERE? Lumpkin County Library
WHEN?   Saturday 5/17/14 – 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
WHY?      Because I’m giving away free Millennium Falcon soaps to anyone who buys my book…and to anyone who bought my book or eBook in the past…and to anyone who can beat me at a Star Wars trivia duel.

Note: The library is also hosting “Touch-A-Truck Family Day” and a Genealogy Workshop on Saturday around the same time, so there’s something for everyone at the Library tomorrow.

Also….(drumroll, please) it’s the Mountain Flower Art Festival in Dahlonega this weekend. So it’s a great weekend for non-locals to visit Dahlonega (and a great excuse for Locals to get away from the traffic on the square to visit the library).photo credits: ALA – The American Library Association via photopin cc & Clearwater Public Library System Photos via photopin cc

The great and wise Jedi Masters over at Deeds Publishing have slashed the eBook price for Not So Long Ago, Not So Far Away by 70% for the first 4 days of May to celebrate Star Wars Day. The temporary low price of $2.99 is currently available in all 3 of the major eBook formats:

• Kindle – http://amzn.to/1rTXHvl
• Nook – http://bit.ly/1lECnIm
• iBook – http://bit.ly/1rSJLSt

But act quickly. The price is going back up on Monday May 5.

And speaking of the merry, merry month of May…it is shaping up to be a great and glorious month for Star Wars fangirling. The community is still buzzing over the Star Wars: Episode VII cast announcement on April 29th. Look at this picture:

*SIGH* If this picture makes you go “SQEEE!” like a tween unwrapping her first iPhone, you just might be a true, original, lifelong, R2-D2 Underoos-wearing Star Wars fanatic. (Ummm…but could someone please get Artoo out of the crate?)

Today is 5/01st Legion Day to celebrate The World’s Definitive Imperial Costuming Organization, especially their charity work. (Check out @501stLegion & #BadGuysDoingGood on Twitter to learn more). As previously mentioned, May the 4th is Star Wars Day. And, lest we forget, May 25th will be the 37th anniversary for the 1977 theatrical release of the first Star Wars movie.

Woo hoo! The Twitterverse and Pinterest are exploding with fabulous, fun, time-sucking Star Wars content. And I’m going to let myself wallow in it for 4 days. Then back to my previously scheduled writing goals. 

Note: If you see a particularly amusing #StarWars, #StarWarsDay, &/or #Maythe4thBeWithYou item that you want to share, please Tweet it to @SlaytheWriter, post the link in the comments below or post it to my Facebook. I am on all Star Wars all the time mode until Cinco De Mayo.

Today, I’m hosting a blog tour stop for this fabulous little writer’s resource:I was very excited to learn about this new book by Frances Caballo. The subtitle – A Blueprint for Writers to Create Online Buzz for their Books and Still Have Time to Write – is such a bright and glorious promise that I could not wait to learn the secrets written in its pages.

My Review:

You can’t just read this book, you have to USE it. So I’m going to write a two-part review:

Part One – Reading the Book

This book is a quick read, especially considering the fact that it is jam-packed with information and resources. The writing is clear, concise and action oriented. And when I say action oriented, what I mean to say is that I kept wanting to set aside the book to jump online and start using the strategies and tips being described immediately. The lists of resources – websites, social media management services, software and apps – might seem a bit daunting if you plan on reading and considering each one. I chose to skim over those sections bookmarking one or two on each list that interested me the most. (I can always go back to reread and rethink my selections.)

Speaking of skimming, if I had not agreed to write this review, I might have skipped over the first chapter – Why Social Media Is Integral to a Writer’s Marketing Platform. I mean, I know this. That’s why I’m reading the book, right? Well, actually, it would have been a HUGE mistake to skip this chapter. It’s not just the normal call to introverted writers to get over your fears of social media and start building a platform. No, actually Frances includes a detailed discussion of the user demographics on the most popular social media sites. Why do I need to know that? Because it helps me TARGET my social media efforts. It tells a writer where to find his or her target audience. I quickly figured out that there’s no need to worry about getting up and running on Google+ yet. My readers are not there. However, they are also not big on Facebook…um, what? Ouch. It turns out my readers are on Twitter & Tumblr. GULP. Guess who had been ignoring both? Yep, this chapter schooled me. It was time to change and expand my social media presence. Luckily, I had this book to help me get up and running quickly and (relatively) painlessly.

This book is constantly open to Chapter 2 on my desktop. The entire book is wonderful and I learned something new in each chapter. That said, if you put my hands to the fire, I would have to say Chapter 2 – The Four Step Cure to Social Media “Time Suck” – is worth the cost of the entire book…it’s actually worth more than the cost of the book. It gives you such a clear and easy to follow plan that, as the Geico ads say, “Even a caveman can do it.” (See Part Two.)

Now seriously, don’t just read the first two chapters. Every single chapter is full of valuable information. Read the whole thing. Consider it an investment in your writing career.

And, if you read the entire book, you’ll probably be hungry for more. I was. That’s why I follow Frances Caballo on Twitter.

Part Two – Using the Book

As mentioned above, Chapter 2 provides a simple, straightforward plan to build (or, in my case, redesign) an author platform on social media. As an experiment, I tried to follow the social media strategies in the book for two weeks to find out if the plan was feasible. (Note: Two weeks is not enough time to determine if the plan was successful in improving my social media reach. I simply wanted to know if I could manage the daily activities in 15 – 30 minutes per day.)

I followed the basic posting schedule for Twitter, Facebook & Pinterest. Prior to reading this book I was “guilty as charged” of sending broadcast messages on Twitter and Facebook instead of sharing content and having conversations, so I also set up an Alltop.com account to find better content.

Time Suckage Alert – I spent an hour or two to set up my Alltop page. It follows the topics that will interest my audience…but those topics also interest ME. So it is perilously easy for me to get stuck reading all of the fabulous content and, thus, waste valuable writing time!

After test driving both TweetDeck and the free version of HootSuite, I chose HootSuite as my main control panel for posting to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn (though I have not really been taking full advantage of LinkedIn as yet). Just fifteen minutes in the morning and I am able to schedule posts for the entire day. Then I spend 10-15 minutes checking in with my “Tweeps” in the evening and posting to Pinterest. And voila! I’ve accomplished my social media marketing for the day.

After years of puzzlement over why Twitter is so popular, I finally get it. It is fun!

Example: After exchanging Tweets with a fellow geek girl and Star Wars fan about her fabulous Han Solo leggings, the online retailer jumped in to let me know the discontinued item will be available again in May. Oh happy day!

Are any of these conversations helping me sell my books? I don’t know. But I do know that this is a painless, reasonable and feasible plan to increase my presence on social media. The next phase of my plan is to track my analytics and adjust my strategy, (See Chapter 6). Oh, and I need to figure out Tumblr.

In conclusion:  I highly recommend this book for published authors who want to improve their social media marketing strategy and for newbie writers working toward publication. It’s never too early or too late to get your author platform in order.

You can win a FREE copy of this fantastic resource book. Frances is hosting a giveaway on Goodreads. Click here to enter. (But act quickly. The contest ends on April 30.)

Paperback: 136 pages
Publisher: ACT Communications; First edition (January 15, 2014)
ISBN-10: 0985559225
ISBN-13: 978-0985559229

Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers Who Want to Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, as well as at your local bookstore.

Visit Frances Cabello’s website here.

No matter how sad, anxious, awkward or lonely I may be feeling, this lesson from Yoda always makes me feel better.

“I grew up with the religion of Star Wars, frankly. That’s when I realized there is something bigger out there… and it’s called The Force.”

- Trey Parker

photo credits: 1. Chris Devers via photopin; cc; 2. h.koppdelaney; via photopin; cc; 3. Spirit-Fire; via photopin; cc; 4. Captain Kimo via photopin; cc; 5. “The Wanderer’s Eye Photography” via photopin; cc; 6. Lieven SOETE via photopin cc; 7. Defence Images via photopin cc; 8. brentdanley; via photopin; cc; 9. Personal photo

I have a new mid-year resolution which should supplement & enhance my Accentuate the Positive in 2014 New Year’s resolution. Every time I finish a novel I’ve truly enjoyed – no matter what its topic, age group or intended audience – I’m posting a quick recommendation here. And by quick I mean SUPER quick. An image of the book’s cover, some basic stats and a sentence or two on why I enjoyed it. Also, if the book I’m posting reminds me of other book(s) I’ve loved in the past, I’ll recommend those books too. 

(Why so brief? See, I have this issue that normally stops me from posting book reviews. I love to read, I love to write, but I do not enjoy writing detailed reviews about works of fiction. This issue has been preventing me from spreading the love and, for an author, that is just BAD juju!)

Today’s Recommendation: RULES FOR GHOSTING by A. J. Paquette

I have a voracious, nearly insatiable appetite for non-horror ghost stories and this one is fantastic! It’s full of eccentric, creative characters that made laugh. Paquette’s descriptions of Silverton Manor are pitch-perfect while her use of alternating viewpoints between the living boy and the ghost girl really brings the story’s tension and mystery to life. I should donate my copy of this novel to a library so more grade school readers can enjoy it, but I don’t think I will be able to part with it. (Sorry, kiddies!)

• Age Range: 8 – 12 years
• Grade Level: 3 – 6
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Walker Childrens (July 9, 2013)
• ISBN-10: 0802734545
• ISBN-13: 978-0802734549

Other middle grade fiction I’ve loved that you will probably enjoy if you like Rules for Ghosting:

• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• A Drowned Maiden’s Hair: A Melodrama by Laura Amy Schlitz
• Anything by Lemony Snicket

Note: I’m always thrilled to find new, wonderful ghost stories that won’t scare me to death. If anyone out there would like to recommend books to me based on my avid adoration of non-horror ghost stories (a.k.a. Casper the Friendly Ghost Syndrome), please post in the comments here, or post on my Facebook author page, or send a Tweet to @SlaytheWriter.

“When a person makes fun of you, when a person is cruel to you, it has nothing to do with you. It’s not about what you said. It’s not about what you did. It’s not about what you love. It’s about them feeling bad about themselves. They feel sad.”

Wil Wheaton, you are a credit to nerds everywhere. I salute you.

Mondays are hard. But a Monday after a writing conference is especially difficult.

This past weekend I attended my first SCBWI SpringMingle Conference. After a whirlwind weekend of writing tips, trends and inspiration, this is how my brain feels:

Seriously, how can I be expected to function as a productive member of society with my little gray cells in this flittery fluttery state? *Sigh*

Anyhoo…there’s something else I want to discuss. Briefly. Before I have to drag myself out of bed and back to the mundane details of my weekday, workday existence.

During a fabulous presentation on her Fairytale Life, Illustrator Ruth Sanderson casually mentioned that she has a fear of public speaking (something you never would have guessed while listening to her). In fact, she wants to throw up every time she has to get up in front of an audience. But she gets up there and speaks anyway.

I think someone somewhere once said that’s the true definition of courage – when you fear something, but you do it anyway.

While I don’t fear public speaking, I have plenty of other fears to keep me awake at night. Most of them are pretty standard, silly little things. Some feel like gargantuan beasts that like to sit on my chest in the wee hours of the morning, sucking away all the oxygen in the bedroom. One of my most horrible, terrible, pressing fears is the next book in my Star Wars Fangirl Trilogy.

To be clear, I’m not saying that I have a certain fear that I’m transforming, by the amazing alchemy of writerly magic, into an inspirational topic for my next book. Nope. That would be healthy and productive. What I mean to say is I’m afraid of writing my next fangirl book.

There. I said it.

Sometimes We Strike Back is a darker story than NSLA. The narrative voice of this novel has some serious anger management issues. There’s suicide. There’s GLBT issues. The bullying gets far, far worse and my main character gives in to the Dark Side.

Oh yes, this story scares me. And yet I have to write it. I do.

What fears are you challenging yourself to overcome this year?

photo credit: zenonline via photopin cc

This video is aimed at professionals in the health care industry, but I think it’s a wonderful reminder for each and every one of us. Fair warning: It makes me cry every time I watch it.

I’m posting this video for two reasons:

1. The world always needs love…and more empathy!
   • Imagine what a wonderful world it would be if everyone looked at their fellow humans this way. What if that grocery store clerk who seemed rude is actually fighting through a migraine headache? What if that guy who cut you off on the highway is actually rushing to the hospital to hold his newborn for the first time? What if that waiter who messed up your order just learned his fiance is cheating on him with his best friend? Most of the mundane stresses and annoyances that suck the joy out of our daily experiences would pretty much disappear with a liberal dose of empathy.
2. This video perfectly depicts my favorite way to build fictional characters; it’s how I walk around looking at the world every day.

Which is not to say I’m some omniscient being who casts my eyes upon mere mortals and immediately KNOWS what is happening in their lives. Nope. I make it all up. Walking through life in my little writerly, Walter Mitty-esque bubble, I assign the most outrageous, twisted, heart-wrenching stories from the darkest depths of my imagination to perfect strangers.

Some people might believe this practice to be rather sick and wrong. I believe it’s the perfect way to build a huge arsenal of complex characters.

What do you think? Am I the only one who does this? Or is there anyone else out there who endures a long checkout line by dreaming up weird and wild stories for everyone else in the line?

According to 11Alive news, this weekend is going to be absolutely gorgeous – sunny with highs in the upper 60′s – a glorious Spring day. In fact, Saturday is predicted to be a perfect 10 on the WIZometer.

Woo hoo!!! This will be a FABULOUS weekend for the Dahlonega Literary Festival.

Even though I’m recovering from knee surgery – still unable to drive or walk without crutches or navigate stairs – words cannot fully express how much I’m looking forward to actually getting outside of this house and being around people who love books.

The lineup of authors is absolutely stellar this year! Here’s my own personal highlights:

• Joshilyn Jackson – Anyone who reads my blog knows that I shamelessly hero-worship Joshilyn, but did you know her most recent novel (Someone Else’s Love Story) and the prequel short story (My Own Miraculous) are set in Dahlonega?? Both works are wonderful and amazing. Read them up!
• Mark Braught – One of my favorite SCBWI illustrators. This guy is an incredible inspiration….and I should mention his illustrations appear in the Harry Potter novels.
• George Weinstein – When I bought/read George’s first novel, Hardscrabble Road I was a little nervous to read it; afraid the subject matter might be depressing. The MC’s life seemed so desperate and dreary! Guess what? I fell in love! Completely, hopelessly in love. I can barely wait to dive into his second novel, The Five Destinies of Carlos Moreno.
• Cassandra King – After listening to an NPR interview with her, I purchased Moonrise and thoroughly enjoyed the story. It’s a modern Southern Gothic with a heavy dose of inspiration from du Maurier’s Rebecca.
• Deanna Raybourn – She writes a-MAZE-ing novels about romantic, mystical creatures, but I loved her most recent historical novel – A Spear of Summer Grass.

NOTE: The first person who walks up to me during this festival and says, “May the literary Force be with you” will win a FREE copy of my novel (NSLA, NSFA).

Here’s the full DLF Schedule (taken from their website):

photo credit: Thomas Hawk via photopin cc

Excuse me while I freak out for a moment…
As I have been mentioning all over the Internets in every place where I normally post personal things about myself for the whole world to see, my right knee is badly damaged and in need of surgical repair. Surgery is scheduled for Thursday 1/23/14. And that is a good thing.

Whenever people notice me hobbling around on my crutch with a crooked leg and ask how I’m doing, I tell them I’ll be much better after my surgery. Every person who hears about the surgery responds in a way that tells me they think having surgery is about the worst possible thing aside from dying. It’s not. The worst possible thing aside from dying would be to hobble around on a twisted leg, in pain, with no hope of repair. Surgery is a blessing, folks.

To tell the truth, my knee has been wonky (a.k.a. unstable) for YEARS and this surgery is going to make it better than it has been since 1993. Seriously. A good thing this surgery is. (Picture me squinting and nodding with Yoda-like certainty.)

So…why am I freaking out?

1 – The beloved Man Pillow has a cold. He is shuffling around in his bathrobe, speaking in a voice that is a full octave lower than normal, drinking pots of tea, making chicken soup and coughing. Which is a polite way of saying he is spewing nasty germs all over MY living space. ARGH! When he told me he was sick, I cursed. Loudly. I was a flat-out, selfish, unsympathetic meanie. I seriously considered tying a bandana over my nose and mouth.

The poor man is miserable and I should be taking care of him. I should be making the soup and brewing the tea. I should be massaging his back lovingly with no selfish thoughts about my own health. I swear, this would be the way I would normally behave. But I’m not. Instead, I am hiding in the spare room. Why? Because I NEED this surgery.

When the medical scheduler called me, she tried to schedule surgery for mid-February and I unleashed some serious freak out on her. The words “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for me to take a bath like this?” came out of my mouth. (Side Note: If you are now or have ever considered a career as a Medical Scheduler, reconsider. Know that you will be dealing with a segment of the public that is coming to you damaged, upset, and possibly in pain. You will be verbally abused. On a daily basis.)

Long story short, I practically twisted off that poor woman’s ear to get this surgery scheduled for this week. Now I’m afraid they may have to postpone it if I get a cold.

Is that true? Does anyone know if you can get knee surgery with a cold? Or will my surgeon have to postpone if I catch this [bleep]-ing illness that has invaded my home?

2 – Honey responded to my terror of infection by doing some research. Then he proudly told me I may not have to be put under general anesthesia for the surgery. I may even (he told me with an excited look in his eyes) be able to WATCH my surgery on a TV while it is happening.

Uh…what the WHAT?!?!?! Who thinks that is a good thing?!?! Not me. I have no (zip, zero, nada) interest in watching a sharp instrument cut into my flesh nor in seeing foreign objects rooting around inside my body. EEEWWWWWW!!!!

Both my mother and I think he is wrong about this. We think they will put me OUT like a light. But the very thought that they may not put me out is like this giant monster zombie chewing on my brain. And I won’t be able to ask my surgeon until Tuesday when I see him for my pre-op appointment. Hence this desperate plea for information.

Has anyone out there had knee surgery to repair the ACL? If so, did your surgery use general anesthesia or local? Please post in the comments or on Facebook or email me.

photo credit: macwagen via photopin cc

That’s it. I have only two resolutions this year. Accentuate the Positive and Write More Fiction Faster.

Now, if you know anything about setting goals for success (or if you happen to remember this post from my Creativity Diet blog), you will know that my resolution is a very poorly stated goal. How much more is more? And how am I measuring it? Words? Pages? How fast is faster? What is my motivation/reward? What’s the time frame for completing this goal?

Quick Answer: I need to complete two novels before June 2014.

What? Two novels in six months?!?!

Yep. Two completed (though not entirely edited) novels in six months. And I have not yet figured out all the rest of those questions marks. But I will. This month. Before Chinese New Year.

Strategy is my theme for January. I need to change my basic novel writing strategy.

In the past, I’ve always been a Pantser…which, in case you don’t know the term, is a silly word to describe a novelist who just spews out the first draft of a story without an outline. Writing by the seat of your pants = Pantser. That’s all well and good. It’s fun to type and type and type until you feel ready to type “the end.” It’s a hoot to print out a fat manuscript and wave it around saying, “Look, I wrote a novel. Isn’t it thick?”

But then comes the majority of the work. Months or even years of rewriting, editing, tweaking, critiquing, then rewriting some more. NSLA required no less than 8 rewrites before it was ready for publication. That is too much work!

On the other end of the novelist spectrum is the Plotter…which does sound a bit dreary, doesn’t it? But it’s not. Really. I want to learn to be a successful Plotter. Producing novels just takes WAY too darn long the other way.

So…I’ve renewed my lapsed subscription to Writer’s Digest tutorials. I’ve pulled all of my most favoritest How-To-Get-That-Novel-Written-Faster books (of which, I own an embarrassingly high number) off the bookshelf and stacked them on my desk. And yes, I’ve even cracked a few open and started taking notes; piecing together my new strategy.

These are not my writing books. Sadly, my collection is much larger. But I’m too pressed for time to snap a pic of my bookshelf and upload it.

2014 started out on a bit of a sour note for me. I have a badly damaged knee that requires surgery. (The full story is scheduled to post on Creativity Diet later today). But, in keeping with Resolution #1, there is a silver lining to my current state of impaired mobility and the forthcoming enforced post operative bed rest. I’ll have plenty of time to plot and plan my next two novels! Yay.

What’s your strategy for making the most of this year? Have you made any resolutions? Or are you pantsing your way through 2014?

photo credits: Jeff Hester via photopin cc, Kathleen Tyler Conklin via photopin cc & avrdreamer via photopin cc

Let’s start with the amazing, brilliant & endlessly buoyant John Green blasting just the sort of positive news needed to muster new hope for the new year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUhA6fjgnLY

Woo hoo! You go, John! Sometimes it feels like rampant negativity is a modern disease more virulent and destructive than any influenza pandemic. The talking heads on TV are always screaming, “It’s the end of the world as we know it and no one feels fine!” Every time I log on to check my email, I’m assaulted by horrible news feeds depicting death, disease, despair and other tragedies. Even speaking to friends and loved ones can quickly devolve into a detailed discussion of all the “bad things” that plague our daily lives.

So, this year, I’m going to accentuate the positive. No, really. I am. The glass is now officially half full.

I resolve to write down 3 things that make me feel grateful every night before I go to sleep.

A list of 3 seems quick, easy and doable, doesn’t it? What actions will you take to accentuate the positive in 2014? Or do you think this is a woo-woo waste of time?

254

“Hope” is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—

I’ve heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.

Emily Dickinson

photo credit: AlicePopkorn via photopin cc

Heh, heh, heh. I’ve been saving this photo since Dragon*Con and I almost forgot to post it. Now don’t throw any rotten tomatoes. No matter how you feel about Jar Jar, the person wearing this costume is a sweet, lovely, selfless person who was doing this to raise money for charity. And the younglings LOVED it.

I loved this:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Jawa handing our candy canes. Too cute!

And the winner is…

Trish!!!

(Who is not me, I swear. An entirely different Trish.)

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a wee bit obsessed with the 70′s…particularly with strong, creative, brave women coming-of-age during the Age of Aquarius. So, when I learned about this new anthology, I practically begged the lovely folks at WOW! to let me host a stop on the blog tour. YAY! They agreed! (Confession: I was chiefly motivated by a selfish desire to get my eyeballs on the review copy. Keep reading for my review.)

AND…I’m very excited to offer another FREE giveaway! All you have to do is comment on this post for a chance to win. I have a print copy or e-book for US mailing addresses (or an e-book for international mailing addresses).
First, here’s a bit of “official” information about the book.

Just in time for the holidays, Linda Joy Myers, Kate Farrell and Amber Lea Starfire launch their anthology Times They Were A-Changing: Women Remember the ’60s and ’70s. The book is the perfect gift for opening discussions with friends and family members and illustrating what a powerful time the ’60s and ’70s truly were.

Forty-eight powerful stories and poems etch in vivid detail breakthrough moments experienced by women during the life-changing era that was the ’60s and ’70s. These women rode the sexual revolution with newfound freedom, struggled for identity in divorce courts and boardrooms, and took political action in street marches. They pushed through the boundaries, trampled the taboos, and felt the pain and joy of new experiences. And finally, here, they tell it like it was.

Through this collection of women’s stories, we celebrate the women of the ’60s and ’70s and the importance of their legacy.

Paperback: 354 pages
Publisher: She Writes Press (Sept. 8, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1938314042
ISBN-13: 978-1938314049

Times They Were A-Changing: Women Remember the ‘60s & ‘70s is available in print and as an e-book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, She Writes Press and Indie Bound.

Find out more about the book online:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TimesTheyWereAChanging

Times They Were A-Changing blog: http://www.timestheywereachanging.com

Twitter: @womensmemoir60s

My Review:

To be honest, I don’t read many anthologies…or non-fiction…or politics…or memoir. I’m a novelist who devours novels. So this was a very unusual literary selection for me. That said, I absolutely LOVED this book and would wholeheartedly recommend it. Times They Were A-Changing is not just a collection of memories and nostalgia by a bunch of women who survived the 60′s and 70′s, it’s an honest exploration of a weird, wondrous, bewildering and, at times, violent chapter of the 20th century. I believe this book would be a brilliant gift for any woman, but especially for younger women who are curious about the two decades that changed, well, just about EVERYTHING about coming-of-age as a female in this country.

While the editors have put together a solid, well-written collection of poetry and prose with no weak links, there were a few selections that really stood out for me:

• The Magician (Laura Singh) cast a spell that sent shivers over every inch of my skin. Maybe it’s the fact that I was once a single girl in San Francisco, but I dreamed about this surreal encounter after reading the story.
• While reading The September Wind (Sara Etgen-Baker) I had to jump up off the couch, pump my fist and yell about the awful betrayal of a mother unwilling to invest more than $20 in her daughter’s college education (Micheal promptly asked me to stop reading for a while)
• I actually cried real tears when the narrator of The Day I Met the Suffragette (Lynn Sunday) thanked the older woman for giving her the right to vote.
• Fast Forwarding Evolution (Linda J. Nordquist) sent me on a research binge to learn more about Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique.
• As a fan of Dr. Raymond Moody, I was intrigued by the psychedelic near-death experience depicted in Altamont (by Amber Lea Starfire).
• Speaking of psychedelic experiences (which I’ve never had, by the way), both Tripping on High (Venus Ann Maher) and The Trip (Lucille Lang Day) use awesome, vivid, poetic descriptions of hallucinogenic drug use. Day’s piece left me feeling uplifted with a strange urge to hug her while Maher’s piece left me itching to slap her mother…a few times.
• Generally, I prefer listening to poetry (as opposed to reading or writing it), but Collage (Ana Manwaring) had me wishing I could stand on stage and read it as my own.
• Also, I suspect the wildly clever poem Who Wrote the Book of Love? (Dianalee Velie) could be amazing if it was read aloud by the right person.
• My favorite quote from the whole book came from Earth’s Children (by Julie Ann Schrader):

“We don’t know where we’re headed, or how long this will take. We thrive inside the Mystery.”

This anthology manages to combine a heady mix of history, politics, education and inspiration while still being a highly entertaining read!

One disclaimer: I would classify one or two of the selections in this book as Rated R and some of the political issues depicted are still burning with controversy today. While I would NEVER advocate censorship, be sure you’ve read the book before sharing it with anyone under the age of 18.

About the Editors:

Kate Farrell earned a M.A. from UC Berkeley; taught language arts in high schools, colleges, and universities; founded the Word Weaving storytelling project in collaboration with the California Department of Education with a grant from the Zellerbach Family Fund, and published numerous educational materials. She is founder of Wisdom Has a Voice memoir project and edited Wisdom Has a Voice: Every Daughter’s Memories of Mother (2011). Farrell is president of Women’s National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter, a board member of Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club, member of Story Circle Network and National Association of Memoir Writers.

Linda Joy Myers is president and founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers, and the author of four books: Don’t Call Me Mother—A Daughter’s Journey from Abandonment to Forgiveness, The Power of Memoir—How to Write Your Healing Story, and a workbook The Journey of Memoir: The Three Stages of Memoir Writing. Her book Becoming Whole—Writing Your Healing Story was a finalist in ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award. A speaker and award-winning author, she co-teaches the program Write Your Memoir in Six Months, and offers editing, coaching, and mentoring for memoir, nonfiction, and fiction. www.namw.org. Visit her blog at http://memoriesandmemoirs.com.

Amber Lea Starfire, whose passion is helping others tell their stories, is the author of Week by Week: A Year’s Worth of Journaling Prompts & Meditations (2012) and Not the Mother I Remember, due for release in late 2013. A writing teacher and editor, she earned her MFA in Creative Writing from University of San Francisco and is a member of the California Writers Club in Napa and Santa Rosa, the Story Circle Network, National Association of Memoir Writers, and International Association for Journal Writing. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time outdoors. www.writingthroughlife.com

Reminder:  Comment on this post before midnight 12/16/13 to win your own copy of Times They Were A-Changing.