Category: Writing and Poetry

I have just received notice that my poem  has been selected for the Painted Words exhibit in Lawrence, Ks.

Poetry will be interpreted by Art. The artist has interpreted the poem and those interpretations will be displayed along with the reading of the poetry. I will read the poem and enjoy the reading of eleven other Kansas, District 2 Poets.

I am excited! The exhibit and reading will be on:

       March 30th, 2018                                                                                                      Aimee’s Coffee House                                                                                               1025 Massachusetts St.                                                                                                Lawrence, Kansas 66044

 Should be fun and all are invited!

(If you would like to read the poem I published it here in Nov. of 2016)

I have recently realized that I have the same problem as my protagonist. I sometimes get in God’s way. I want things to happen in my time instead of His. I have been struggling with waiting for results after sending about seven more query’s. I prayed about it and God very distinctly told me to be patient and wait and I am finding that very frustrating.  I also had a strong feeling that I should have the manuscript content edited while I wait. I have had a hard time doing that. FEAR. Fear that my writing is not good enough. That there are things that I need to change. I have read about writers that had to write out characters and completely change the book and that is so hard to think about.

We get very attached to our characters and it is hard to look too closely. Everyone wants to believe that when the words just seem to fall onto the page that God is helping us write and it is meant to be. I had to let go and send it to a content editor today. I know there will be suggestions and in the long run it will make me a better writer. I know that it is part of the plan and I have to listen to my characters and have patience and let it happen God’s time and stop trying to control it.

The second book is being edited and maybe they will both be ready for publication by the time I get it figured out but that’s okay. I have to step back and let go of the control. I am looking forward to the critique of the editor and as soon as my line editor is finished with the second manuscript I will get it content edited as well and I am not afraid of the work that it will take to make it a better book. Bring it On!

In fact while I am waiting I might just start book 111!

I have changed the working title of my MG/book to reflect the desire of the protagonist and her two best friends to be superheroes.

They grew up pretending to be, Persistence, Power, and Praise. As teens, they have left behind the capes but maintain a hand signal that reminds them of the power within. They call it their infinity sparkle. A small thing that binds them even if they are just passing in the hall. Here is a snippet from the book.

[Emily has turned away from God and her two friends after losing her mother. Sela is struggling with being patient and she comes up with a plan to let Emily know that they are still there for her. She wants to send Emily a daily note.]

Zach looked dubious, “I think you should talk to Max. I miss her too but we have to be careful not to push her too much.”

“I know. I’ve really been praying about this and I think it’s what I’m supposed to do. I will talk to Max, but it’s all getting out of control and she just seems to be avoiding me.”

Sela smiled with twinkle in her eye, “I’m going to ask God to let Emily’s Guardian Angel give her a little push. It won’t hurt to pray, Zach, and it’s not like Em will know.”

Sela had a little bounce in her step as she swung down the hall to class. It felt good to have a plan. She gave Zach the thumbs-up with infinity sparkle; the friendship thing the three of them shared, and disappeared into the science lab. Zach shook his head, smiling and went to Chemistry. Emily was walking behind them and saw Sela give Zach the “sign.” She felt a stab of longing.

I am working on getting a proof copy to show soon. I will post possible covers and would love in-put!

via Waiting

   I have been waiting for a publisher to contact me and one did. I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed because it was a “Partner Publisher.” I thought most of the publishers that received the list from Writers Edge were traditional publishing companies . I hope I will hear from others that are true traditional publishers.

   The company is transparent, in that you know up-front that you pay for the services but, they want you to pay 30 percent on 1000 books for the first publication. I understand that it is a risk to completely pay an author for a book. I totally understand that they have to pay the people that do the leg work to market, edit, design and all of the other things that go into it, but I think that is a little steep. If I pay $3.00 a book I will invest $3,000 dollars in the first book and will have to sell all of them at full price to re-coup the money because I will only make 30 percent per book in royalties.

    I am no math whiz but that seems like a poor investment. If you have used a partner publisher please share your experiences. At this point I thanked them and I am holding out for a more traditional route or I will publish myself and take my show on the road.

Where I have Been

Sadly I have not written since summer. It has gone so quickly that time slipped by.

I have been busy! About a month ago I sent my first manuscript to Writers Edge. A group that helps Christian Authors get their proposal out to Christian Publishers. They read and accepted my MG novel and gave me a few things to work on. I am encouraged by their words and hope to soon hear from a publisher or two. (fingers crossed)  They send the list to 71 publishers.

I have also written the rough draft for the second book. I had written about three chapters and during November (NANO) I completed the general story. Now the work begins. I have started the re-writing and editing and so far I like what I have. I wrote a lot of dialogue and now I must work to make it appealing and add some depth.

I will take this opportunity to wish everyone who reads this a Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year.

This has been quite a summer. I have had very little writing time. I have used some of the tools learned in the fiction class to revise my manuscript again and I am hopeful that I will begin the query process soon.

I would like to think that I will be able to have a book in print in at least one year. I have seriously thought about self-publishing but I am going to give traditional another try, because of the middle-grade genre.

My characters have all undergone make-overs and I have much more diversity in the book. Young people today have much of the same challenges that I did but also have a much more diverse world. They are also connected by social media, which make the world much smaller. We are connected to people of other cultures and beliefs more closely.

The little bit of my book that I shared with my class came under scrutiny because of my “Hallmark” writing style. I am trying to make it have more dimension without losing the innocence of the age of my characters. Making their problems a little harder to resolve has been a challenge.

I loved, Pollyanna, Heidi, Ann of Green Gables, Little House on the Prairie, and I still love Hallmark movies. I want to offer a book that touches on the problems that young people deal with without making them insurmountable. I love happy endings and in my books I will always want to eventually reach that positive resolution. I just have to balance that with the struggle they have to go through to get there.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

God Bless

Deb

Well, I certainly did not intend for a month to pass but it has and woosh it was gone.

 I have been re-writing my little book and I continue to learn. I am taking a fiction class at the University and the learning curve is huge. Some things  in the tool box I was using naturally and just didn’t know it had a name but sooo many are tools that I didn’t know existed.

My book is directed at middle grade but it is still too tidy; too Pollyanna.

I am working to correct that and add more dimension. My protagonist has a gift of incredible faith but she is still a 12 to 13 year old girl. I have worked out most of that but I still have the problem of her not struggling enough to find solutions. She can see her Guardian Angel and she has chats with her but ultimately the decisions she makes are her own. I want to create tension without making it too complex.

I am also taking a look at the secondary characters and deciding if they are developed enough. The third character is Zach. He is best friends with the protagonist but other than going to the same youth group my reader doesn’t know much about him.

I am also reading the manuscript and looking for imagery, and narration. I have a lot of dialogue and internal dialogue but not a lot of narration.

I will never look at another book without thinking about how much the author thought and re-wrote and then re-wrote again. I have a much greater respect for writers!!

I can look at a chapter and see it as a scene and I can use the tools given to us in our fiction class and take it apart paragraph by paragraph. AMAZING!! I find metaphors, drawing the reader in with the senses, or painting a  scene and letting the reader discover through dialogue and implication what they want to reveal. I can tell where the writer builds tension or sets tone.

I haven’t had a lot of time to revise my own work but when I do I will have a lot of skills to make it a better manuscript.