My (early) holiday rhyme

Here’s my holiday poem, two thousand fourteen

(the year, not the number; you know what I mean):

It’s the second I’m publishing in a blog post,

and, to write it well, I pledge, I’ve done my utmost.

I’ll begin with a rundown of news and events,

and I’ll try to be humorous, while making sense.

I’ll cover the highlights, a few lowlights, too,

kind of like a book trailer (or movie preview).

I started the year with a weekend trip north–

to visit some college friends, chat, and so forth.

We met in New York. Before saying, “au revoir,”

We had a great time catching up, in a bar.

Soon after, back home, in the snow, I got caught,

driving that afternoon (to have stayed home, I ought.)

But like tout le monde in this fair city, I thought:

“I can make it, I know the back-roads and what-not.”

Ha ha! I was wrong, I’m quite sure you have guessed.

That fiasco made national news. We were stressed.

I got home that day just before dark, and was thrilled

To be off of the roads. Then my wine glass, I filled.

In March and in April, to Texas, I flew

To events for my mom-in-law, and my nephew.

One birthday, one wedding. And then, a vacation:

To taste wine, out in Napa; that was my destination.

To the west coast, I traveled again in November.

What I did in between? I can’t really remember.

Except, work on my books (what I do every day).

I come up with the words that my characters say.

I had fun in Long Beach, meeting those who love writing.

Talking books and releases was very exciting.

Now my thriller, redux, in two days, you can find! *

You can read it next weekend, if you’re so inclined.

I’ll close with these wishes: I’d like to say, clearly:

Happy Thanksgiving, Fête de Noel! –Me (sincerely)!

* Click here to find in print, digital, and audio versions

November 23, 2014 2

List Post, Numéro Trois (de novembre)

Polishing my presentation for my Author Focus panel at Bouchercon 2014 this Saturday, November 15 at 12 noon (Harbor B)
Anticipating Release Date of UNDERWATER, just two weeks from now, on November 25, 2014!
Downloaded the Bcon app on my phone; je suis prête! (I’m ready! Thanks for suggesting I look, Jim!)
One (print) signed book purchased last week: Truth Be Told, the latest from fellow Sister in Crime and Bouchercon 2014 attendee Hank Phillippi Ryan, whom I met here in Atlanta at the MJCCA Book Festival
Revision/Plot sharpening: After a decision to trim and sharpen the plot (while paying attention to pacing), WIP now at 24k words…If I write 1,000 words a (work)day between now and the end of December, I’ll meet my goal of 50k by year end (which will be more than halfway done)
Caught up with and heard her thoughts on the attributes of good audio books on Saturday evening, over a glass of wine with a good friend
Wish I could be in two places at once: This weekend is UNC Homecoming (my husband’s college roommate is rumored to be attending), and this Thursday night is the UNC Relay For Life Gala*
Noticed Goodreads Giveaway of UNDERWATER – It began on October 28 and ends on Release Date, November 25! Get on goodreads and register to win one of 20 copies!
Enjoyed a lunch out with mon prof et mes amies du cours : Just after I got a makeover, we met for class in Madame’s atelier and then had a French déjeuner at un restaurant français
It was a good football weekend: the Falcons and the Dawgs won! Let’s make that a trend!

* To which I donated print and audio versions of UNDERWATER, pre-release!

Ecoutez! (Listen!)

November 11, 2014 0

Who to hang out with?

If you want to be smart, hang out with smart people.

– Anonymous

Okay, it’s probably not that easy. But maybe it helps..and it can’t hurt, I don’t think.

And – it translates into some of my other objectives, when I substitute any of the following words for “smart:”

creative
productive
a writer (or, an author)
a French speaker
or even, a person with a good sense of humor

I work alone, but I like to connect with others, especially fun people, and those with whom I have something aspirational in common. (Is it really all about the 5 people you spend the most time with? Perhaps…)

Anyway –

Creativity: People who like to imagine, design, and brainstorm (en français, un remue-méninges). These are fun people, and open to inspiration. They like music, dancing, art, and the challenge of coming up with something out of nothing (like a blank canvas or a blank computer screen).
Productivity: People who work to achieve their goals, who are persistent and who don’t give in to discouragement, writer’s block, procrastination, or the idea that everything will just somehow happen. (Okay, I procrastinate, but I try not to, and always keep in mind how much better I’ll feel when I don’t procrastinate.) *
Writing: Those who write, whether it’s fiction, poetry, songs, or non-fiction. Those whose books are published and those whose aren’t yet. Those who can’t not write. Those who want to have their work read/heard. I’ve learned a ton being around these people about how to write, what makes a good story, and how to make what I’ve written better.
French: I knew my first novel would be set in France, and there was going to be a little bit of France/French in all of them. Donc (therefore), a few years ago, I set out to reattain my (youthful) fluency in the language, and I’ve gone from making un effort to succès. I’ve been surprised at how many French speakers I’ve met in Atlanta. Hanging out with them is toujours une bonne idée.
Humor: Okay, this is an easy one. My husband can (still) make me laugh, and so can my dearest friends! Because without humor, life is, well, a life without humor, and that’s impossible.

* Now, to stop procrastinating and get back to writing that pesky WIP (work-in-progress), Book 4!

September 17, 2014 0

Ceci et cela (This and That): List Post

Recently received: 2 handwritten thank-you notes in the mail. One from France, one from Dunwoody, GA
The one from France written en anglais, avec une photo; the other, from une amie de longue date (old friend)
Writing research: Found (long) paragraph in THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES describing how Sherman McCoy is “going broke on a million dollars a year!” (Chapter 6, p 137)
Missed her: mom’s neighbor, “Z” (with whom I practice français de temps en temps) home from France where she was for the summer, but already on her way back there for a week
Stacking up: Books to read, on my nightstand (see my Goodreads “to read” list)
Falling: Temperatures…and time to enjoy the patio le soir
Tried it: Zumba! Toning. A break from spinning class…Fun! but hard on knees.
Writing: between now and Thanksgiving: 50K words in WIP? (that’s just 5K a week)
Planning: My (solo) 20 minute Author Focus panel at Bouchercon 2014 in Long Beach, CA, le 15 novembre à midi
sprechen Sie Deutsch? Amazon Crossing of Amazon Publishing is translating UNDERWATER into German! Release date sometime next spring.
Organisez! My notes for Book 4 (WIP) and my French notes!
Traveling: Not me (until November), but those I know, to the Bahamas, Rosemary Beach (FL), Folly Beach (SC), Turks & Caicos, Martinique, Las Vegas, Australia, Fiji, Prague, The Dordogne (France), Paris…Of those, I’ve only been to Vegas and Paris
Preparing: Book 3, ALL THE ABOVE, a true story, for publication in early 2015 (probably February). It’s been edited, but needs a cover. Can keep some quotes of song titles in it, but not song lyrics 😦
Finally….watching: Football! UGA Bulldogs, UNC Tar Heels and Atlanta Falcons!

September 16, 2014 0

Bon anniversaire, part 2

I always worried someone would notice me, and then when no one did, I felt lonely.

– Curtis Sittenfeld

Today is the anniversaire (birthday) of yet another of my August birthday friends. For some reason, I seem drawn to people born this month (and they to me, I hope). Other “birthday months” that work for me in terms of friendships are February, November, and May; a greater number of friends have birthdays during those months. My birthday is in October, and a handful of friends’ birthdays are, too.

I love birthdays–whevever they fall–and all sorts of other important dates, especially wedding anniversaries, and not just my own. My husband was born in February and we got married in June; it’s been nice to alternate celebrating one of our birthdays and our anniversary, every 4 months. When I was growing up, I always felt that my parents’ anniversary was more important than anyone’s birthday in the family; after all, it’s when we they became a family. If not more significant than a birthday, it was at least (way) more romantic. It meant they weren’t just alive for another year, but were together another year…and they continued to be, for 58 years, when my father passed away.

I grew up the middle child in my family, and tried to stay under the radar as much as possible. It wasn’t all that difficult. Not being noticed equaled having more autonomy and independence. But being forgotten about can have its downside.

It’s the paradox of a writer’s life, I guess: you need to want to work alone (I do), and not mind being alone (I don’t)–but you need to connect with others, too (I try). When I’m under the radar, I can get a lot done, but it’s a solitary endeavor–and sometimes it’s easy to feel a bit malheureuse.

La solution? For me, it’s to notice others, to connect, and to celebrate.

Bon anniversaire!

August 27, 2014 0

Joyeux anniversaire! Celebrating birthdays (and other anniversaries)

I love the French word for birthday: anniversaire.

It sounds a lot better than date de naissance. It also seems to suggest that birthdays (while fun to celebrate, and to be joyeux about), are perhaps no more–or less–important than other memorable dates in our lives.

They’re anniversaries.

I know four people who are celebrating birthdays–anniversaires–this week, and one whose wedding anniversary is Saturday. My son’s 19th birthday, May 8, 1991, was a memorable one, but not in a good way: on that date, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

It was the day after his last final exam at the end of his freshman year in college. Over the next 3 1/2 months, he endured invasive brain surgery and 5 weeks of radiation therapy–and he survived cancer.

His last day of radiation was exactly 4 years ago today: August 20, 2010.

It was a Friday, and the end of his first week back at school. His head was bald and his spirits were high. He was full of hope and grateful to be alive. A few weeks later, he joined the Survivors Committee of UGA Relay for Life. If you don’t know about Relay (I didn’t, until cancer happened to my family), it works to raise money for the American Cancer Society, to fight against the disease and find a cure.

Since then, my son has had countless (it seems) MRIs, all of which have been clean. He has earned his undergraduate degree, and he just started grad school.

And he’s had 4 more birthdays.

My daughter is a sophomore at UNC, and she has joined UNC Relay for Life.

Joyeux anniversaire!

I’ve written the story of my emotional struggle as my son battled cancer. It’s called ALL THE ABOVE, and will be released in 2015.

August 20, 2014 0

Writing what you know, and eschewing surplusage

“Use the right word, not its second cousin.”

– Mark Twain

Making the right word choice is one of the tenets of my writers’ group. At a recent meeting, we discussed the whether the words basic and ubiquitous mean (basically) the same thing–at least, in the sentence we were considering. So I looked them up in my iPad dictionary app. As you might guess, they don’t.

But in that context, were they so close that one of them should go? The person whose work it was would decide. At our weekly meetings, we offer feedback, make suggestions, encourage one another, and talk about writerly things. We have a few sayings, too, some stemming from the below Mark Twain quotes:

1. “Write what you know.”

We say this one a lot–it may be ubiquitous. Note that it doesn’t mean, tell a true story (unless you’re writing non-fiction). “What you know” includes the places you’ve been, the emotions you’ve felt, etc.

2. “As to the adjective: when in doubt, strike it out.”

We often say the second part of this (“when in doubt, strike it out”). Also, see above (basic and ubiquitous).

3. “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”

See #2.

4. “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.”

See #2.

5. “Don’t say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.”

(Show, don’t tell.)

6. “One should never use exclamation points in writing. It is like laughing at your own joke.”

(I’m guilty of this one, but I’ve gotten a lot better. Haha.)

7. “Write without pay until someone offers pay.”

I mean, what choice do we have, if we want to write?

8. “If the writer doesn’t sweat, the reader will.”

(Work hard.)

9. “I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”

(Conflict! And, see #1.)

10. “Eschew surplusage.”

(Don’t be wordy!) I’m working on this one, too. Just to be sure I understood it, I looked both words up, since it looks and sounds a little like “Chew sausage.”

And those are the basics.

August 11, 2014 2

Words, my friends

Somehow, July came and went – in a word, that was fast!

Independence Day, The World Cup, Bastille Day, the Tour de France, the milestone birthday fête of a friend (a few weeks late)…there was so much going on!

[VIDEO of fireworks (feu d’artifice) at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, July 14, 2014]

But during juillet, I was chez moi – I wasn’t en vacances. I was working, and I didn’t write a single blog post…

Cependant, I wrote fiction.*

I’m approaching the 10k (words) mark on Book 4, a suspense novel which is not a sequel to UNDERWATER, but which does tie into it…how, I won’t reveal yet.

I’ve also been working with the team at Thomas & Mercer to get UNDERWATER ready for its rerelease in November! It will be available not only in print and on Kindle, but as an audio book too.

While working on both of those projects, I’ve been steeped in words – coming up with them, changing them, cutting them, rewriting them, considering them, looking them up – and even using them when I play Words With Friends on my phone with, well, friends.

As I said to a friend (but not a WWF friend) at the birthday fête, I’ve learned a lot since writing my first novel, MAKE THAT DEUX. Just like anyone – including him, il y a longtemps – in any new ~~job~~ ~~trade~~ ~~endeavor~~ ~~métier~~ ~~career~~ ~~occupation~~ well, job, you don’t know everything when you start. It takes time, and commitment.

De toute façon, while working to revise what I write, I’ve noticed a few things:

1. I tend to use these words too much (and so they get cut a lot):

just

yet

at least

down

now

right now

okay

huge

well

2. I really try not to use these words:

really

truly

finally

suddenly

and anything -ly (adverbs)

3. I try to do the following (with the help of my writers’ group):

minimize -ing words (put in action, instead; i.e. -ed if in past tense)

put action BEFORE dialogue, minimizing tags

insert narrative in dialogue scenes, but don’t overdo

alternate narrative scenes with dialogue-driven scenes

paint pictures with descriptions, and try to be vivid

avoid clichés (should be obvious, but I have to remember it)

minimize the use of italics – only use when necessary

For me, it’s fun to work with words…after beaucoup de travail, eventuellement, they turn into BOOKS!

• My 3rd book, ALL THE ABOVE, is creative nonfiction (a true story) and is finished! I’ll be choosing its cover this fall and planning its release for early 2015!

August 4, 2014 1

Character vs. plot: comme vous voulez

“Before I began writing my suspense novel UNDERWATER, I knew the basic plot and the conflict that my characters would face (I didn’t know how to start without it). I had identified the plot points and story arc, though I also had “unplanned complications” along the way. When I began writing the story, though, I started with my characters. I had to know them well (especially the heroine and the villain), so that I could describe their behavior and write their dialogue – so that I knew how they would engage.

However…I realized that another character needed to be different from what I originally planned…I made some changes, and she became more vital to the story, and a stronger, much more interesting character. Problem solved!”

– a Comment I made on writer Deanna Raybourn’s blog post of March 13, 2014. (I met her earlier this month at the Dahlonega Literary Festival when we were both a panelists discussing suspense in fiction.)

About half the panel: Deanna’s on the far right, wearing a reddish-pink scarf, and I’m wearing gray.

The question was about plot versus character, and Deanna and I responded to it differently. For her, it was all about plot – she starts with that, then thinks up and creates her characters. For me – and for the other panelists – characters came first.

We all agreed that either way works – it’s all about writing a compelling story, no matter what your approach. But I didn’t fully understand Deanna’s (or realize how much it and my own have in common) until I read her blog post.

The character that I had to change in UNDERWATER – who became more vital to the story – was someone who developed as I wrote the book. I realized that her personality, her backstory, even her demons were integral to the plot. I knew she would play an important role, but originally, I didn’t know how important.

Hopefully, neither does the reader.

In any case, for me it’s important to imaginer les personnages – imagine the characters – before crafting a story’s plot. That doesn’t mean I don’t have the plot in my head, or even ~~on paper~~ on a computer file (I prefer a blank screen over a clean sheet of paper; typing flows better for me than handwriting).

La réponse to the question? Comme vous voulez – as you wish. Either can work, but flexibility seems key. That way, you’re open to “unplanned complications” (and other elements) that can ~~solve~~ pose problems!

Vive la différence!

March 18, 2014 0

From Typing to Skyping…

Last summer, I went to a local antiques store with my daughter. She saw an old typewriter for sale and walked over to it. A piece of paper had been inserted, and she tapped one of the keys.

“It doesn’t work,” she said. I walked over and typed my name on the paper. “You have to hit the keys,” I told her. “You don’t just touch or tap lightly!”

I took typing in high school for one quarter, and learned to type at a decent (but not very fast) rate. Mistakes counted against your grade, and I let speed suffer in my effort to avoid typos. In college, I remember having to carefully retype entire papers (before Liquid Paper came out).

Luckily, my French professors didn’t require typewritten papers – with so many accents, it was nearly impossible. So they had us turn in handwritten papers. A bit less of a hassle…but still.

How things have changed! Liquid Paper was a blessing in my first job at a downtown Dallas bank. Though I wasn’t a secretary, I typed a memo or two…

Fast forward to today. Though we still “type” on computer keyboards, things are different now. Communication has evolved. Writing business (and personal) letters is done via email and social media messages. People read books on their phones and tablets. To sum up a recent blog post by writer J.A. Konrath, ebooks are here, and there’s no turning back.

And people visit with each other on Skype.

That’s how I appeared at a Book Club meeting last night that had chosen to read my suspense novel UNDERWATER.* My contact there – far from my home – had invited me to Skype with the group to discuss the book and my writing. I was thrilled to have the opportunity, to meet such a great group of readers, and to answer their questions over a glass of wine.

Before our scheduled call, I set up my iPad to Skype in my home office and wanted to test it. But now I was the one saying to my daughter, “It doesn’t work!”

I texted her at her North Carolina university, and a few minutes later she had downloaded the app on her laptop. Then she called my Skype name…

Between “So pick up” and “Just finished and it went great!” (over 3 hours later), she helped me make sure my device was ready and that I was happy with how I looked onscreen.

She’s minoring in French, and sometimes (though rarement), that’s how we communicate.

Merci, ma fille! Tout s’est bien passé!

* If your Book Club chooses UNDERWATER and would like me to appear at your meeting via Skype, please let me know!

February 27, 2014 1