Mothers who disappear. Fathers who die. Mothers who are in jail. Parents with hidden identities. And children who search and yearn for their parents and try to find, if not them, substitutes. The quandaries do not end there. Husbands with other families. Organized crime threatening safety. Diverse racial and religious identities within families. Florence Osmund is fascinated with identity and family. In The Coach House and Daughters, paired novels, and Nineteen Hundred Days, she disturbs the smooth surface of the life of her characters. She takes away their safety and then allows them to develop the strength to create safety for themselves. She told me, “Characters Marie and Ben are confronted with safety issues, both physical and emotional, beyond what most people face in their daily lives. The level of safety they feel is directly related to the risks they take.” Families ground and direct us, whether we remain or rebel. The complexity of the characters’ emotions reveals choices that were difficult and with relationships that remain complicated. Marie Marchetti, the main character in The Coach House and Daughters, discovers that important people in her life are not as she thought they were, whether her mother, her unknown father or her husband. Ben, 12 years…
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Bookstores are still out there!
In a world full of Amazons, Kobo, Scribd, (now Wal-Mart joining the bunch), and many more online book selling platforms, it may not be too surprising for you to hear about another major retail chain of bookstores closing. It doesn't mean that my heart doesn't weep each time it happens, though. A bookstore has always been a place I could disappear into for hours at a time - grab a cup of java; enjoy the soft leather of a cozy armchair while I perused the merchandise, deciding on which book I was going to take home. This was how I found most of my reads in a time when we didn't have Goodreads or Bookbub. Today, it reminds me eerily of the Blockbuster days right before they went out of business ... mainly because they refused to change and adapt to the times. But don't fret, there are many more options out there that allow you to check out both traditionally published authors and self-published authors, alike. I am a self-published young adult author, which means I have to hit the ground running and never stop ... my feet get tired, my figurative boots are muddy and war-torn and worn down to bloody stumps. If you're traditionally published, these days you have to…
The More the Merrier! Crowdfunding your Publication.
Experience with Crowdfunding by Dean Hamilton Author of The Jesuit Letter Crowdfunding is basically funding a project by raising money from a large number of people, each of whom contribute a relatively small amount. Think of it as the same process Leonardo da Vinci practiced, but instead of one big patron named Medici, you had several hundred. The end result – a Mona Lisa! Hopefully anyway… There are any number of crowdfunding platforms online available to choose from, each offering various pluses and minuses. Check out various projects, past and present, read up on the costs/benefits and pick the one most suitable for your specific audience and project needs. The two I am most familiar with are Kickstarter and Indiegogo. There are literally a ton of articles available online on crowdfunding, so I’m going to focus my comments on my own experience: Crowdfunding…
A Foodie Lit Thanksgiving
Herodias Long, born with an unusual name, had a long and unusual life. It was author Jo Ann Butler’s luck that while doing a genealogical search, she found this extraordinary woman in her ancestry. (Go to http://www.rebelpuritan.com/More.html for historical information pertaining to the novel.) Personal rights are a central of the trio of novels about Herod’s life and catalysts for many of Herod’s decisions. With her father and brother dying of the plague when she is 12 and the family finances at a low point, a need for one less mouth to feed causes Herod to be sent to work for her aunt in London. While she worked hard at her parents’ farm, Herod considers herself a slave at her aunt’s. The days of working class individuals, such as Herod and her families, were filled with an enormous amount of work from before dawn to late at night. Herod’s wish for freedom partially comes from this lack of any leisure. I was struck at how young children began to work. By as young as 3, children had small tasks and by 8 or 9, often were doing chores limited to older teenagers or adults today. Work from before dawn to after dark, little to…
A Novel Conversations with King Ludwig of Bavaria!
Dark Spirit by Susan Appleyard Q: Hello, I’m Helen the host of Novel Conversations, please do make yourself comfortable. Would you like a drink? Tea, coffee, wine – something stronger? You’ll find a box of chocolates and a bowl of fruit on the table next to you, please do help yourself. I believe you are a character in Susan Appleyard’s novel Dark Spirit. Would you like to introduce yourself? Are you a lead character or a supporting role? A: Mmm. Thank you. How did you know I adore chocolate? I am Ludwig, King of Bavaria, of the Wittelsbach family, and I am of course the lead character in Ms. Appleyard’s book. Read the Entire interview @ Novel Conversations!
A Ghost Story & Pumpkin Soup for Halloween!
By Patti Davis The Blue Hour by Patti Davis The Blue Hour is dusk, that time between day and night that slips in silently, a few moments each day. It was Joshua Baron’s favorite time of day, a peaceful time when the world’s edges begin to blur. For an alone boy like Joshua, it was a time he was content, at one with nature and free from people, who could be bothersome. The Blue Hour is one of those wonderful books that is part fairy tale, part allegory, part time-slip and… part mean adolescent bullying. It is for young adults and adults alike, in the way that The Little Prince, Alice in Wonderland or The Giver are. It has a clear message yet the characters, the magic and the quest are expertly woven together from the first to the last word, so the book is not moralistic. It is haunting, a perfect Halloween read. The Barons move to small town Clearoak to escape LA and its lack of civility, charm and freedom to be safe. The run down house is rehabilitated; Josh’s room is painted blue and the townspeople hope the news family will drive away the ghosts. Yet the ghosts remain. Joshua thinks…
Marketing Strategy!
Good to have you join us Misty. Thank you coming and sharing your thoughts on marketing- “You seem to be having some success in your marketing. I know other authors are always interested in what a successful author does.” If you define ‘success’ as making savvy business decisions by placing ideas on a dartboard and then putting a blindfold over your eyes and playing a game of chance… well, then, yes, yes, I am successful at marketing. Just kidding, sort of. In actuality, the best way to learn and grow is to network. Meet fellow authors in your genre and industry, especially the ones who are cleverer and more experienced than you are (I begrudgingly admit). When I first self-published in December of 2017 I was in for a rude awakening. Little did I know that marketing would be tougher than finishing my first novel that I’d been working on since 2012. I am a young adult author so I felt it in my best interest to seek out my peers. So I decided to join a closed Facebook group called “An Alliance of Young Adult Authors”. Best decision I've ever made. If you’re like me and you like to stay low-key, maybe…
Imperial Passions and Olives, Nuts & Bread!
By Eileen Stephenson Byzantium in 1039 is not a time and place known well to many in the modern western world. The author sweeps away many misconceptions in her historical novel, Imperial Passions. One fascinating view is of the role of women. While medieval women had few rights in most parts of the world, Eileen shared with me that “Byzantine women held positions of more consequence than elsewhere, and they had opportunities that women in the rest of Europe did not have until centuries later.” Two women ruled Byzantium in the 12th century, “Empress Zoe and Empress Theodora, who the people of Constantinople were fond of, despite their flaws. I think it just got people used to the idea that women could be in positions of authority.” Importantly, as Eileen noted, literacy became common in 11th and 12th century Byzantium, reaching down into the middle classes and included women, which helped them accomplish more. Eileen gives us tantalizing views of female doctors and empresses, minority groups, generals and deposed kings, all in this cosmopolitan city. It is the many glimpses of women which are so fascinating and personal from Xene, abused and isolated by her husband to main character Anna Dalassena,…
FACT TO FICTION: The Writing of The Call
Fact to Fiction- Learn about stories that inspire great books! When I started writing my novel The Call, only six female umpires had worked in professional baseball, none of them at the major-league level. In 2016, I found that fact hard to swallow, so I wanted to explore it in fiction. As a lifelong baseball fan, I thought I’d absorbed enough knowledge to write about the game. But I had to know a lot more facts before I could write realistically about the people playing it. Especially during the time period I had in mind, the early 1980s, when there had only been three other women who’d taken the field in umpire blues. The story itself—because fiction needs a good story—began with another fact. On October 11, 2015, Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley made a late (and borderline illegal) slide into second to try to break up a double play. In doing so, he broke New York Mets second baseman Ruben Tejada’s leg. Utley was given a two-game suspension that was later overturned. Major League Baseball then ruled slides like Utley’s illegal, but Mets fans like me were still steaming. That’s when I knew I had to write…
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Most Discussed Posts
- Fact to Fiction - The Eternal and the Holy
- "The Child, the best immigrant"
- The Journey to Holy Parrot
- What inspires an award-winning tale?
- Fire in the Cascades!
- From Ruins to a Shining City!
- Your First Chance!
- The Blurb- Buy or not to Buy
- On the road with Apple Turnovers!
- Grab a Meat Pie and travel back in time!
- A closer Look
- Egyptian Jews- a Culinary Community
- What do you know about self-publishing?
- The Plague!
- Trucking Together!
- A conundrum!
- Memories of the Deli-
- Time Travel
- A Trip into Medieval England
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