March is Spring; Trying a New Thing!

 Here in Oklahoma March has no clue if it's winter, spring, summer, or fall. Earlier this week, it got up to almost 80 degrees, (early summer), then it dropped to below freezing, (winter). West Oklahoma got a layer (briefly) of snow! Today it reached the fifties in the morning and then it rained, while a cold front blew in and it's going to get down to the twenties tonight. 

Even the cedar pollen doesn't know what to do. And this is spring break for most of the kids around here. Oh, well. 

Since the weather has decided to do different things, I decided to try different things, too. I have been working on a science fiction novel set in the ocean. I decided I was going to try my hand at self-publication of this one and post teasers ahead of time. That meant I needed a cover, a blurb, and whatever one does to promote a new book. I tried several things with my cover creator from Book Brush, using pictures from Pixabay and a friend with Photoshop. (I didn't want the fisherman with the whales. Wouldn't work!) The friend took out the fisherman, I took out the background on the whale and duplicated it with Book Brush, and then played around. For Photoshop people, we're talking about at least four layers. 

I bounced it off of several people, making changes and bouncing again. Let me know what you think. 

Me? Consistent? Whoops!

I noticed last year that I had consistently written a blog post every month until October. I did a September post and then a December one. And this will be my first blog of 2023. 

Okay, a one sentence excuse. It's hard to think about doing blogs when at least one person in the family is sick.  

Anyway, it's a new year. Time to be optimistic. And I am going to be optimistic. I am still writing. I submitted things to several contests after fixing mistakes from previous contests. You see, if we're progressing, no matter how slow, we are doing better. I pulled out several kid's short stories I wrote a long time ago, and as I was making edits and corrections, I realized they would be perfect as children's books. Wow! One started life as a magazine submission that sat on the shelf for almost twenty years. Another started as a flash fiction based on a critique group prompt. (I actually have several of those.) There was another magazine submission with a history of rejections. (It won a prize last fall.) Memories of my childhood, a memory of my college days. I doubt those would be kid's books, but who knows? It was so nice to get them out and dust them off and let others read them, critique them, and help me make them better. 

And lest I forget, my first book also got a dusting off. My Zorro publisher republished My House of Dreams with a new cover, a new back cover blurb, and new formatting after I gave it some fresh editing. It's amazing what a facelift can do! I'm grateful. 

What are you optimistic about or grateful for? Let me know....

 

Happy Holidays and Keep Reading....

 

When one says something like Happy Holidays during the late fall/early winter months, they aren’t just talking about Christmas, which undoubtedly is the biggest winter holiday. Still, according to webholidays.com, there are a good many others.  

 St. Nicholas (Ukrainian stamp)

I love finding out new things so I continued reading. Did you know Santa Claus has his own day? Well, actually St. Nicholas does (Sinterklaas). Now while the modern day Santa Claus derived from St. Nicholas, the celebration on December 5^th and 6^th celebrates the saint, or the Bishop who gave gifts to the poor way back in the third century. Even his sometimes companion, Krampus, (who gives naughty children the reward for their poor choices) has his own holiday!

 Siddhartha Gautama Buddha

December 8^th is Bodhi Day in Japan. The holiday celebrates the enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha). His enlightenment came after giving away his wealth and meditating—a lot of it. Part of the celebration includes meditating and doing kind acts for others.

I didn’t know that Christmas is celebrated in some parts of the world on January 7th. In Ethiopia, Christians follow the old (Julian) calendar which puts Christmas two weeks later than the December 25th celebration. Christmas, or Ganna, is a more solemn event, where the people wear white clothes, attend mass, and then play a hockey-like game. Kids might receive a small gift.

 Knud Lavard

The Scandinavians end the Christmas season with a holiday called St. Knut’s Day. On this festive day, the Christmas tree is “plundered” of all its decorations, including the cookies (which can be eaten, if one is brave enough after all that time), and then the tree is removed from the house. There are festivities with friends and family.

Amazing what one can discover by reading. Nowadays, it’s easy to find information on the internet (and yes, most wiki’s do have correct info), but I still find a great deal of information by reading books and magazines. I could even tell you about the time I entered a story into a contest and got flak about the outlandishness of the subject matter. The information came from a National Geographic.

Even fiction books have taught me  as I follow the protagonists through their adventures. In other words, reading has enlarged my world. How about this year making a resolution to do more reading.

So, happy holidays and keep on reading!

The Little Oak Tree that Could

 Last year I wrote about a beautiful pine tree that my husband and I bought and with Dani and Chris's help planted in the backyard. (That after having the folks that check for gas lines and underground cables come by and paint different colored lines around our yard.) Well, when my husband had his knee surgery, the poor pine tree was neglected and by the time I realized my error, it was dead. By late fall I finally pulled it up and took it back to Lowe's. No questions asked, I got a refund. I didn't like the look of any of the trees that were left, so the spot was bare for a couple of weeks. 

In the meantime, I had found a volunteer twig growing under one of the grow boxes. When I pulled it up, I found an acorn at the bottom of the plant. Where the nut had come from was beyond me, but I put it in a pot and and watered it. Then after the pine died I decided to plant it in the vacant spot. Almost immediately, it shed its leaves. Poor little twig. We continued to pamper the bare 'nekkid' tree all winter. 

About halfway through spring when I thought the oak was dead, too, and I was ready to dig it up, I saw tiny little leaves popping out on the twig. They grew large and the little sapling was holding its own. I suspect it will shed its leaves this year, too, but I won't worry about it like I did the previous year. 

Will we live long enough to enjoy its shade? I doubt it, but someone will and that's what's important.

Helping Out an Author

I will be perfectly honest here--I love hearing people say that they loved my book. I have written and published twelve books, (not including my stories in several anthologies) so I have lost count of the number of times someone has said that about one or the other of my books. 

With that said, I periodically check the reviews on Amazon. Authors are continually told how important reviews are. "Authors live and die by reviews. Readers like to see lots of reviews before they buy a book." So do I! However, there is a disparity between the number of reviews my books have and those who have said they love this or that book. I guess I getting down on my knees and begging. 

If you have read one of my books, or any other self-published, or struggling/beginning author's book, please post a review, whether on Amazon, Goodreads, the publisher's website, and so forth. 

I am saying this for those author's who are not in the James Patterson or J.K. Rowling league. A new review there would get lost or take someone three days to wade through them all. Don't get me wrong, I have done reviews for famous authors. However if I only have time to write one review and it's a choice between C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and a fellow author, I will write the review for the fellow author. They need it more. 

And it usually only takes a few minutes to write a short review. (And you notice that I didn't say 'a review if you liked it.') We like honest reviews. If you thought my book sucked, say what you didn't like about it. (Nicely, of course. I can use those comments when I am working on my next book.)

Thanks in advance!

 

And let me know your thoughts!        

Making the Unfamiliar Sound Familiar

 I was on a Zoom critique meeting yesterday afternoon and had an a-ha! moment. We were working on each other's chapter that had been submitted. I had been submitting chapters of my latest sci fi novel, Voyage of the Sea Dragon. (Or some such title...) The setting of this one is a repurposed LA class submarine. This story isn't supposed to be a thriller. As I mentioned, it's sci fi and will have an alien or two, something else wonky (but I'm not going to give that one away). 

This one didn't tell me much!

The basic premise is that a scientist and a high ranking naval officer manage to take a decommissioned U.S. submarine and convert it to scientific research. Yes, there are some naval personnel as well as the scientists (someone's got to run the boat). 

I have done some research, read submariners' stories and tried to make this setting as realistic as I could. I also wanted to not have to spend pages explaining things that are commonplace on all modern subs. So I was questioned on how submarine toilets worked, (the crew would call them heads) since I was telling about how an uninitiated character experienced a mishap with said head. I realized I am walking a very thin tightrope. I have never been on a submarine--any submarine. And yet I want you all to feel like this is a real and dynamic place. I don't want part of the suspension of disbelief to be the setting as well as the aliens. This is probably the biggest stretch for a novel I have done, but I have loved working on the draft. And thank goodness for critique partners who let me know when I need to change something, explain something, or add something. 

I have also been very fortunate to have found a YouTube channel called Smarter Every Day, where the host was able to spend time on a nuclear submarine, specifically the USS Toledo, an LA class submarine. I have some research to do!  

https://youtu.be/5d6SEQQbwtU?list=PLjHf9jaFs8XWoGULb2HQRvhzBclS1yimW

Let me know of your writing 'stretches.' 

Events and Attention Grabbers

 Last month I flew out to Tennessee to attend the Children's Book Festival at the World's Fair Park in Knoxville.  The weather was warm, but there was a nice breeze and the event volunteers had erected canopies for each of us. I had forgotten about all the hills in that part of the country. I guess I've gotten spoiled living in central Oklahoma. 

I had copies of all of my books, (the dozen published books and two anthologies.) I had giveaway cards, bookmarks, and stickers as well as a few other things for the kids and parents. I also had my lifelike (and cat-sized) stuffed black kitty and baby possum. I got everything set up and ready for whoever came. 

And came they did! I heard later that it was in excess of 12,000 people. The kids were drawn to my stuffed TB (Toe Biter, in case you forgot. LOL). He was like a magnet! It was fun to talk to everyone who came by.  

It turned out to be a red letter cat day. My two books about TB the black cat, Realms of the Cat and First Realm were the book of the day. I sold all nineteen copies of them. I only sold a few other book titles. It was interesting that when I had no more copies and put my stuffed TB  away, I stopped getting visitors. 

That had me thinking that I should try to find eye-catchers for my other books. I wonder if a 'tornado in a bottle' would work for Billy Bob Flybottom? I'll let you know at my next event. I just got the table top tornado a couple of days ago.  

If you have any ideas for my other books, let me know in the comments below. 

At a previous event, TB is holding up a book.