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I’ve got a lot of years under my belt and in all that time I’ve learned a little something about a lot of things. I like gardens and plants and flowers, so I’ve learned which ones like sun and which prefer shade. I know which like a lot of water and which don’t like much at all. I’ve learned which ones look good with which others and which ones look better all by themselves. That’s one area where I know a little something, but I’m not really an expert.

I’m married and have raised three kids, so over the years I’ve done a lot of cooking. I know how to make things taste good. And to keep the boredon out of the whole process, I’ve tried to get creative with lots of dishes. So, now I’ve overheard others say, “Oh Alice . . . well, she’s a very good cook.” I’m glad to know that, but I also know that Martha Stewart doesn’t need to worry.

I’ve lived in several different homes and always liked to decorate them myself. I liked doing that, because I needed to only please my husband and myself in terms of its aesthetics. I don’t really know why others compliment the finished products. I always thought they were being polite. I think I know a little something, but I don’t think I’m an expert interior decorator.

And now a new one has popped up in my life. I have gotten two emails from other authors who have recently published books. They contacted me for advice on how to market their works. Well, yes, I have spent a few years marketing Becoming Alice and am happy to say I’ve had a fair amount of success in doing so. Of course my book never made it onto any Best Seller list and I am still being bombarded by others, like myself, who are now trying to sell me their expertise. None of their books have made the Best Sellerlist either.

So, I’d like to say that I obviously know a whole lot more about marketing a book than the newly published authors do, but I would never want to sell my knowledge to anyone. You see, I am not an expert at this undertaking either … otherwise I might have made it onto one of those coveted Best Seller lists.

I must admit however that I am mighty proud of what I know about gardening, gourmet cooking, decorating, perhaps playing tennis, and the relatively large number of books Becoming Alice has sold. At least I know a little something.

Wow, what a week. I can't begin to convey all the information, advice and tips that were zooming around this conference.

The Muse Conference is an amazing concept. I will plug it from now until next year's is at our doorstep. It is an astounding opportunity for writers to learn their craft, or a new one, get advice and tips, network, and move forward in their careers.

Before this week I didn't realize that Lea Schizas and Carolyn Howard-Johnson actually thought of disabled writers who can't attend conference in person and writers who can't afford to go to them when they considered joining forces to attempt this wonderful and arduous undertaking. This type of altruistic act is a blessing for those in these categories. It allows us to partake of the knowledge and experience of wonderful writers, authors, editors, marketers, and publishers. And, it gives us the opportunity to get professional critiques of pieces of our writing within some of the workshops offered.

But hold on, if this isn't enough, you are given the opportunity to PITCH YOUR WORK!

I couldn't be more thankful and appreciative of Lea and Carolyn's time, effort, expense, and the obvious caring that goes into these amazing conferences.

So, what am I actually saying here? Simple: Sign up for next year's Muse Online Writers Conference as soon as you can!

Registration opens in November; I'll post a link here when it's available.

And, while it is absolutely FREE, if you can afford to please help out with the conferences by donating whatever you can - even a dollar is something!

Did you find it as fantastic as I did? I'd love to know.

Well, that's it for now,

Karen

A weekly column from children’s author Simon Rose

As well as personifying a set of personality traits, or conjuring up images of a famous person, names can also be related to class or social status and also to the person’s ethnicity.

If you’re setting a story in a particular country and you’re not familiar with that part of the world and its first and last names, do your research. There is no shortage of websites these days on surnames popular in Ireland, Germany, France or most other countries. After all, if your book is set in Ireland, or even in the Irish community in a North American city, how many readers are going to take it seriously if the hero is called Carlos Fernandez and the heroine is Heidi Bergmann?

The era of your story is also of crucial importance, whether this is set in the distant past or in relatively recent times. Names that are popular today were not in such abundance in earlier eras and in some cases may not even have existed at all. In medieval England, for example, surnames were not used until well into the twelfth century. When they did come into everyday use, they were often at first based on a person’s occupation such as Carpenter, Smith, Cooper, Cartwright and so on. Some surnames were related to the aristocratic estate where the person worked. Other names were derived from geographic features, such as wood, brook or hill and of course the word ‘son’ began to appear at the end of names, which is where we get surnames such as Johnson, Jackson, Williamson and so many others. There seems to have been a lack of standardization until sometime in the seventeenth century, by which time surnames were well established.

Another important consideration is that there were a limited number of Christian names in use in the Middle Ages. Men would have been known as Henry, Thomas, William, John, Richard, Robert, Roger, Edward and a few others that are familiar, in addition to names that are not as common today, such as Walter or Hugh. For women, names appear to be even more limited, with many ladies being called Elizabeth, Mary, Anne, Margaret and some that are now uncommon, such as Joan or Matilda. Consequently, it’s vital to choose the right name for the right time period. Obviously, you won’t use a very modern name for your medieval character, but you also don’t want your story that is set in 1300 to be littered with names that weren’t used widely until the mid-fifteen century.

The same applies to stories set in the late eighteen century and Napoleonic era, when names like Charlotte, Cassandra, Louisa, Charles, James and others, which are less popular today, were very much in favour. An examination of the names used in novels of the period, such the works of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, is a good starting point for this, but websites are again an excellent source for this era.

If you haven’t entered our daily book giveaway this week be sure to do that today! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment for the day’s post.

The book we’re giving away today is Stubby’s Destiny, a charming picture book written by Dixie Phillips and illustrated by Kim Sponaugle.