My Last Diatribe of 2013

Once Upon a Time. As writers, we carry an image in our heads of the scribe, hunched over his writing pad/typewriter/computer, under a dim light bulb in the attic of a Victorian mansion, slaving away at his manuscript. Once upon a time, said writer would have sent the work off to an agent or publisher and then voila! He’s instantly known worldwide, some kind of writing prodigy this guy, and he comes down from the attic and appears on Oprah looking remarkably well rested and smug. Well, don’t count on it. Publicity is up to the author now and visibility is key. Platform, platform, platform. Amazon author page. Facebook, Twitter, website, blog. Post/comment on other blogs and websites. Put a button on your website or blog going directly to Amazon so that your book can be ordered from your site/blog.


It’s becoming increasingly important in our new publishing world to think of yourself as a brand. So, once you are published, make the most of marketing by contacting schools, bookstores, libraries, county fairs, anywhere you can host a signing, keeping the appropriate audience in mind. You wouldn’t go to an elementary school to promote your 1,000 page Scottish historical fiction novel, for example. At your signings/appearances, distribute little niceties, such as refrigerator magnets, bookmarks, or pens with your book’s cover and your information on them. But keep your face out there because, well, we like to see it.

One last point with this, keep in touch with other writers, published and not published. I firmly believe that one way to guarantee your success is to assist someone else in attaining success. Participate in critique groups. Help edit a manuscript. Promote your fellow authors when their books come out. Review books on platforms such as Goodreads. Leave reviews on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Whatever you do to further someone else will come back to you in droves.

Don't be Modest



As writers, we're all different in the subject matter we choose to splash on a page and I understand that so before I go too far and make anyone uncomfortable, just know that I know and recognize that fact.

Our November speaker at SWG talked about the five plus one things he wished he'd known before he started writing a novel. One of the points he raised stuck out for me because, well, I've been known to get on my soap box about this very concept. He said, "write about something that scares you." Now, he didn't mean the "boo!" kind of scary. He was talking about writing about the dark stuff, delving into the unknown, pushing the envelope. And writing it real.

I maintain that no writer worth their own spit can write without coming up against an uncomfortable subject sooner or later. It's got to happen or there is no story, no tension. Your work will be one-dimensional. I find it similar to painting taupe on an off-white canvas. When you finish your great masterpiece, and stand back, crossing your arms over your chest and gaze upon your beautiful work, what do you see? Blah. But if you slam a bucket of wild red across the canvas, ah, then you've created interest. You've created dimension.

You see, I think we worry too much about what others will think about what we write, and I think this happens often within a writers' group. It's difficult to reveal your words, your inner brain workings, to others. What will they think? Will they think it's dirty or lewd, or twisted somehow? Will they be grossed out? Will it be a reflection on me? We should not be so modest.

I believe a writer must write in the moment. If your character is that person who unluckily became part of a convenience store robbery, and his face is pressed against the cold tile floor, you need to be able show your reader what the floor smelled like (all those rubber soles that went before), the hoarse panting of someone an aisle over (must be old, sounds hoarse, like a smoker's breath), how did it sound when the doors to the cold storage shattered as a bullet jetted through them, does he taste his own blood in his mouth because one of the assailants slammed him to the floor (bitter iron paint, spewing from his jaws)?

There are more controversial subjects; i.e., rape, incest, family violence, terminal illness, divorce, death, mental illness, or murder. Point is, at some point you need to pick one and let yourself write about it. Push the envelope. Write about something scary. Let yourself be free with it.

This is your challenge as we finish 2013 and move into 2014. Write about something that scares you to the bone when you go back and read it. And don't be modest. Do you think Stephen King got to where he is by being modest?

Be honest, write in the moment. Write about something that challenges you.

The Distant Hours by Sarah Morton v. The Family Sheedy at Springlawn Farm

Has a novel you've read ever reminded you of a real life event, an event you've been intrigued by and studied, without having read the novel in the first place?

I find myself in such a place, having read The Distant Hours by novelist Sarah Morton, and being fascinated with Springfield history, having done some research on our local Sheedy family and Springlawn Farm.

The Distant Hours concerns three spinster sisters, one of whom is certainly crazy, and maybe the other two are just as crazy but on another level of crazy. The sisters live in a castle in England, the estate of their forefathers, a place the sisters share a passion for. None of them ever married or had children, although the youngest sister had the opportunity to marry her true love but that opportunity was later thwarted by her eldest sister who murdered the girl's one and only by accident. Eventually, after much intrigue and drama, the castle was burned to the ground, and all three sisters perished in the blaze. Never more, never more, to sound like Poe.

Well, Springlawn Farm, here in Springfield, belonged at one time to Mike Sheedy, a potato farmer from Ireland, who brought his substantial family over to the US and eventually settled in north Greene County, prospering like a maniac. He had sons, of course, but for whatever reason, it seems the sons died young. He had daughters also, the last three of whom remained on the Sheedy property, known as Springlawn Farm until their deaths. The last Sheedy daughter, Helen, passed away in 1979 and in 1980, a mysterious fire engulfed the beautiful Sheedy home and the place burned to the ground, only stone pillars and a stone fireplace remain.

Supposedly, Mike Sheedy committed suicide on the property and his ghost now haunts it. But, I have to ask, are we referring to Mike Sheedy the original purchaser of the property, or his son, Mike Sheedy? Can't find any details on that, but it's intriguing just the same.

Springlawn is a mysterious place now. If you drive out North National, past Greenlawn North, and take the first left after the cemetery, you will find a new subdivision named aptly "Springlawn." Just a mite farther from the last house in that subdivision, on your left, still heading north, you will notice the stone pillars, and the stone entrance to something on the property that was at one time important. The barn, much prized during Mike Sheedy's time, has been destroyed. Only the silo remains. You may notice a path over something that could have been a creek once.

Sad that such a magnificent footprint has been erased.

Driving out past the new Springlawn subdivision, I am heartened by the glimpse of a street sign, Headley Place. Nice. Mike Sheedy bought the acreage from someone named Headley and so, history remains.

Back to The Distant Hours and a comparison. Whether or not the stories are related, and most likely they are not, it's a fascinating sketch into the past and the passions governing the characters sought.

Have you had such an experience? The melding of the past into the present? If so, do tell.

 

Apple Crisp

I haven't posted a food post in I don't know how long but I had to today because it's autumn, and I particularly love the autumnal spices and herbs, the bounty, the whole crisp deliciousness that speaks to autumn.

So, today, we're making an apple crisp - perfect for fall, a great compliment to a meal of pork and potatoes and root vegetables. But enough about that. Let's get to the apples!

Okay, here is what I do.

Now, if you know me at all, you know that I support local growers and I urge others to do the same. So for my apples, I went to the local farmers' market and purchased five big Honey Crisp apples from a local grower.

So now we have apples. Goodie. Let's move on.

Like me, you are in your kitchen now, pulling out your casserole dish, assembling the items from your pantry and your refrigerator and here is what you will need:

1 lemon, make it a good one, large and medium soft
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger

So, peel and core your apples, cut them into generous chunks. Squeeze the lemon juice over, partially to prevent your apple slices from browning and partially because the lemon adds a clean, fresh element to your dish. One caveat here - do not, and I repeat, do not, buy the reconstituted lemon juice stuff from the local grocery store. Buy real lemons and squeeze. It's better.

Throw the rest in and stir. Give your baking dish a generous swipe of unsalted butter. Drop your apple mixture in.

For the topping, you will need, and here it gets dicey because I don't measure anything, so go with your gut.

3/4 cups of flour (3 or so palms)
1/2 cups of white sugar (or maybe two palms)
1/2 cup of brown sugar, or possibly a bit more if you're like me and you like the brown sugar action more than white
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
Oatmeal - how much depends on your take on the flour but I'd say a cup
Unsalted butter - five or six tablespoons according to the packaging.

Now really, it's all about your taste buds and your flavoring so work the ingredients to your specifications. Mine are simply general.

So, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter your baking dish, doesn't have to be huge, just a nice baking dish, not a 13 x 9 baking pan. You want the topping to bake down over the apples to soften them so no big dish is required.

Put your topping ingredients together, use a fork and combine and drop it over your apple mixture already in the baking dish. Bake for one hour until the apples are tender and the crust is browned. Serve with ice cream or a nice home made whipped cream.

Shop your local markets, folks. Fresh is better, support your local growers.

Good News for Local Writers - Local Publishing House Opens

It's starting to rain for unpublished, local writers, like you and me. I really believe that. We can self-publish, we can epub, we don't necessarily have to submit query after query, only to receive the form letter - "it's not you, it's us" kind of thing.

I believe there are more opportunities for local writers than there have been, well, ever.

One of those opportunities comes in the form of a local publisher, Paperback-Press.

I don't know about you but the big publishing houses wear me out. What they've done, I believe, is pay outrageous royalties to authors, and then failed to recoup the money in sales. One by one they're folding, merging, doing what they can to keep that bottom line. But, problem. They're now afraid to take a chanced on anyone who isn't Stephen King, or a celebrity (gag). Celebrity-authored books in print make me cringe. I know there's an audience for celebrity work but I mean, it bothers me that good stories aren't being published by the big guys, stories that could potentially save the book business, but the big guys seem all too eager to publish a missive written by a rock star/actor/porn star, etc.

Thankfully, there is an alternative for the little guy, and that is an auxiliary publisher. Paperback-Press is such an entity. Paperback-Press is owned by Sharon Kizziah-Holmes, a former road musician and current Master Barber. Her passion is to help local writers become published without the high overhead and demands of the big publishing houses.

What can she do for you? Sharon is able to format your manuscript for e-publication, soft cover and audio book. She can do cover art and artwork for your CD/DVD/Audio covers.  Her prices are reasonable.

Check her out at www.paperback-press.com or contact her at Sharon@paperback-press.com.

Take care and keep writing!



October





A few days ago, I posted something on facebook, something like, "I wish October would stick around just a bit longer." Not only is it one the most beautiful months of the year, but it's the most inspiring and reflective months for me as well.

Last evening I was perched on a hay bale, witnessing two beautiful young people pledge their commitment to one another in the middle of a corn field. The sun was just setting, a chill was invading the air, solar lanterns were beginning to glow. It was a beautiful night and a beautiful, albeit short, ceremony. The bride came riding up in a hay wagon (45 minutes late but well, that's her style), the groom stood pink-cheeked and patient. I thought back to the forced poses of my wedding photos, the awkward stance, the crooked bouquets, and I watched how naturally this bride and groom reacted to one another. It was a pleasant sight. If I was to ever marry again (highly doubt it), I'd like the same type of ceremony, the same naturalness, the same lack of pretense.

Just some October thoughts. The leaves here aren't turning as quickly as usual, maybe because we've had so much rain this summer, but they're beginning to tip red and gold. I noticed the backyard was damp this morning when I took Ella out, My marigolds are thriving again in the cool damp air, but my sage and coneflowers are done for the season.  It's time to put some things away, time to pull up impatiens and put my clay pots back in the garage.

October goes by too quickly for me. I've just gotten back into my cooking groove - I found some beautiful gala apples at the farmers market the last few times I've gone and some tasty apple crisps have come out of that. A bowl squats on my kitchen counter filled with acorn squash, winter squash, fresh garlic and sweet potatoes. Yesterday, I concocted a chicken pot pie, with carrots and onions  also from the farmers market.  October's kind of an organic time for me, as they say, farm to table.

So, I'm looking forward to bonfires, soups and stews, wool sweaters and heavy socks. I'm  thinking of red and gold plaids scarves, carving pumpkins, football and cider. And maybe I'll get the chance to perch on a hay bale at some point again before month's end.

What's your favorite month or time of the year and why?

Certainty

 

As writers, we step out into the unknown every day. Each time we sit down, fingers poised over the keyboard, ready to type out our missive, one foot and then the other steps off the well known path and we free fall. We free fall into a place less certain.

Someone said today, about a life changing move he made some time ago, that had he known at the time how much bravery it took to make that move and then, after realizing he was really there, to work that move, he possibly wouldn't have done it at all. He would have remained at his 8-5 job, made babies with his wife, looked forward to a retirement someday, but he would have never have known what it was like to step off that cliff and let himself experience a place less certain.

We overvalue certainty is the conclusion I am coming to. I had to stop and think about that concept for awhile, not just in my writing life but in my personal life as well. I was fairly certain at one time that my parents would live forever, that nothing would change and they would always be in my life as the head of our family. In February 2011, as I stood helplessly by, watching my mother slip away, that concept was shattered. I was no longer certain. Then, in January 2012, my beloved lab and pal of 12 and a half years, Sunny, left me after suffering a stroke, and again, certainty was ripped out of my hands.  Here in 2013, I'm standing on the brink of a coming circumstance that is going to change my life for the rest of my life, and I find myself in a place that is not certain. Changes and decisions I am going to have to make are not going to be comfortable for me and some of the things I was certain of are now off the table.

We become dependent on the routine of our lives, the rising and setting of the sun, the turning of the seasons, foolishly, we believe that nothing is ever really going to affect us.

But as writers, the circumstances that do affect us are part and parcel of what we write and how we write and why we write. Probably we should never be in an absolute certain place because, wouldn't we become complacent? Self-satisfied? Could we miss an opportunity for growth if not for being shaken up from time to time? With change comes growth, and growth is the raw element of all things, isn't it?

Growing as a writer is of paramount importance. Personal growth is important. How do you find the two concepts mesh? How does it affect your writing?