Writing With Joy!!!

A few years ago I bought an oil painting at a local consignment shop. It was $15, on the stretcher bars but unframed. It's a lovely depiction of pink and white striped tulips in a clear glass pitcher, and named 'Peppermint Candy'.

I know the name because the artist, Helen Evensen, wrote it on the back of the canvas. Beneath the title she also wrote, in pencil,

Tulips: Red, pink & peppermint stick!! Painted with much joy in May, 1999 by Helen Evensen, painter!!! Cedar, Michigan.

All those exclamations are Helen's. If you are of a creative bent you can't help loving her enthusiasm. She painted something, she was proud of it, she was proud and excited to BE a painter!!!

The tulips hang on the wall across from my desk so that, everyday, I am reminded to take joy in the process, as Helen did. Even the unfinished work--and there is one tulip that looks not quite complete to me--is a beautiful thing. A thing to take pride in.

The writing community nurtures each other, and that is a good thing, because we are all of us, a great deal of the time, working on something that's not quite done, never quite finished or perfect in our eyes, even once it's published. But it's still beautiful and deep down, even the most jaded among us must treasure those little joyful moments when we say to, and of ourselves, Author!!!

New Cover And A Blurb!

Okay, as promised here's the latest on the cover for Framed. My graphic artist, Julie Beckett with Almond Advertising has tweaked the original to give us an indication of trouble ahead! See what you think and let me know. The back of the cover is still a field of green awaiting a blurb!

I owe much to Lana Williams, my writing buddy, who is always there to give me her thoughts and make some tweaks of her own, which are very appreciated! So now, you get the first sneak peek the back cover blurb for Framed:

When housing contractor Kay Conroy finds her son’s soccer coach dead on his kitchen floor, her well known dislike for the man soon turns into a motive for murder.

Now, anxious to aim the finger of guilt elsewhere, the quick-witted but daydreaming single mom must squeeze her own investigation in between car-pooling her son and overseeing the construction of a home for a local socialite. The evidence she discovers puts her at the top of the suspect list even though she knows she's being framed. Meanwhile, there’s an attractive landscaper she'd like to know better and an amorous CEO she’d like to lose.

With the aide of her salty-tongued best friend and the sixth sense of her puppy, Kay digs for dirt. What she finds are broken hearts and bottom lines...not to mention danger!

What do you think? Let me know, I'm always curious what does and doesn't catch a reader's eye.

Is Page 99 REALLY My Best?

I found a fun little website the other day for authors. You upload a brief description of your book, and then page 99 from your book. Then anyone who cares to can read your submission and comment on whether or not they'd read your book!

The whole concept here is that by page 99 you've settled into your rhythm and style-you're no longer over thinking every word, you have any idea where you're going-or you should!-and the real writer in you is starting to show up: good, bad or ugly!

I'm not so sure about the concept. If you are being totally honest (and you know the Pollyanna in me made me be a good girl--well, pretty good!) and posting your real page 99, it's kind of a crap shoot what you come up with. Some page 99's are full of action, thrills, spills and S-E-X. Others find your protagonists in a contemplative mood, which a reader might not totally appreciate if they haven't already covered 98 pages of character development.

I've posted page 99 from both The Shell Keeper and Framed (my upcoming book) and if ever there were two different as night and day examples, I think these are the two! Check them out, see what you think, and let me know what you think of the whole Page 99 concept.

The Shell Keeper: http://www.page99test.com/read-my-page/1515

Framed: http://www.page99test.com/read-my-page/1539

New Year, New Book!

Welcome to the New Year...and yes, I am planning on publishing my second book in the very near future. Just have to remember how I did it the first time! I know, it's pathetic, but all this techie stuff is endlessly over my head. Clearly, my number one resolution is to take better notes as I go along. Particularly if I'm likely to ever be asked again how the heck I did this!

Soon, my holiday company will be gone and it will be, once again, just me and my computer. We have a love/hate relationship. When I'm writing, and the screen has words growing into pages, into chapters...I'm in love. When I in publishing mode, there may be some foul language employed, though, aside from personal catharsis, it never seems to have any great affect on my laptop.

The final edits are nearly in place. Then I will once again resort to begging the techie offspring to help me figure our MOBI, HTML and Calibre (maybe). However, there is a tentative cover-check it out and let me know what you think. Does it catch your eye? The lovely Julie is tweaking it so expect a new version, with a touch more 'darkness' to denote foul play!

Meanwhile, I am wishing you all a Happy New Year! May it be one filled with blessings for all of us!