My Critique Group

There are two things I do for myself each month almost without fail if I am in town. One is bunco and the other is my ANWA chapter meeting. This is my time out with my girlfriends and I love it. LOVE IT! Did I mention that I love it??? So, today we had our ANWA chapter meeting. What a great group of writers*! I came away energized and excited about writing, yet feeling like it's time to step away from free writing and do some plotting and a character bible. There are so many great resources out there for helping novice writers and I need to take advantage.

My father-in-law has a saying: "Pay me now or pay me later." Essentially, you have to pay one way or the other. I can either take the time now to plot and plan the basics or I can free write like crazy and spend a serious amount of time editing and re-writing and figuring out plot holes and what does/doesn't work in the end.

Why do I avoid it? I don't know the answer to that because the character bible class I took at LDStorymakers Conference was so much fun. Plus, I want a really strong character arc and I think that takes more planning than I have put in so far and I think it will be an aspect that is easier knowing up front. So much for being excited about my increasing word count... This week I'll be doing some of the "behind-the-scenes" stuff and hopefully it will turn an average story into a classic.

Dream Big and Write On!

*Check out the blogs of two of these writers: Tamara and Valerie. They rock!

One More Month

One more month of summer vacation. I loved summer vacation as a child. It meant the beloved bookmobile every other Tuesday. We would ride our bikes a few miles to the town park with our book-bags. We checked in our stacks and were so excited to see what new adventures would be waiting on the shelves. We left with lots of new stories to read. Mysteries and sci-fi were my favorite until I got older and then it was romantic suspense.

My parents had a pink over-stuffed chair that sat on the covered front porch. I loved draping my legs over one arm and lounging there for hours in far-away places with fantastic characters. Of course, none of that could be done until all my chores where finished. We lived on a small farm, so there was plenty to do, but I had great motivation for getting it done. It's hard for me to understand not loving books! I hope that what I write will someday inspire someone to read more and at least like reading. So for now, read on!

The Pool

It's been finished for a week now. The kids have played in it every day and my youngest has finally learned to swim. Through this adventure, I've thought about two things.

First the process of refinishing the pool from start to finish. Our salesman was fantastic and very knowledgeable - hence the choice of his company over a few others. We signed all the papers and went down to the showroom and picked out our color and our tile. They came and chipped out the old plaster. Then we waited. And waited. A worker showed up one morning to place the tile turtles on the step. This was fine except that I wasn't home and my husband kept sending pictures as I drove. Then we waited and waited some more. We called. They looked into it and I guess there was some confusion about who was installing some anchors. They finally came out and did a blue pebble-sheen finish.

So what does this have to do with writing? It's a long process, from rough draft to polished copy, but in the end we aim to have something wonderful that people will enjoy.

   

The second thing that occurred to me is that sometimes we have to jump in, learn all we can about our craft, trust our mentors (our crit groups, our editors, our agents etc.), have fun, and give it our all. Then, before you know it we are swimming like pros. Jump in and Write On!

Special Olympics

I am fortunate enough to have a daughter with special needs. She is an amazing girl that has blessed our family enormously. Most of us know someone with special needs - and if you don't, I challenge you to volunteer to help at Special Olympics and get to know these great people.

Clearly this is a cause that is dear to my heart and I was so impressed when my cousin Lauren decided to get involved. She is raising money for Special Olympics in Utah.  Special Olympics Utah is a non-profit organization that receives no local, state, or federal government or United Way support. They rely on donations of time and money to provide these great programs.

Please click here to learn more and join me in supporting Lauren and Special Olympics Utah.

Copyrights and TM

Copyright laws. It all depends on the question. Rather than try to cover everything there is about copyrights - which has already been done, I am going to list some of the resources I found in researching copyright laws.
Government website
Get copyright permissions HERE
Using trademarks in fiction - a publishing and intellectual property attorney's point of view
More trademarks in fiction - from a publishing company point of view
A chart of copyright terms and public domain in the US
An easy to use site with tons of links and resources.

Remember, citing a source is not "permission" to use someone else's work. Good luck and write on!

More Heroines

Yesterday started with me dropping my oldest daughter off for a week long youth conference. She is beautiful and amazing and by far the most persistent person I know. She going to have a great week.

Then I had lunch with a dear friend whom I met at the LDStorymakers Conference in April. She is such an inspiration. I truly believe that God puts people in our path from whom we can learn. Connie is one of those people for me. It's a little (OK, a lot) unfair - it's as if I am feasting at this great banquet and all I've provided is the cheese plate. I've started her LifeChange Program - a simple way to set goals and make simple but effective changes in your life - love it! I am currently listening to her Get Organized CD (yes, I need to get organized!) So, you can see, I am nibbling on this fabulous table of goodies thanks to her.

After a long and wonderful lunch, I went to see my best friend from high school. It had been way, WAY, too long since we'd gotten together (like 10 years). How does that happen? I guess it doesn't help that we live in different states - about 11 hours by car from each other. But still. I should be better at the keeping in touch thing, after all, she's another amazing person in my life - and I love her! She's had to face some incredible trials throughout her life.

But what does this have to do with writing you ask? Well, creating characters in our books that are believable and real sometimes comes as a challenge. What kind of attributes do I want my protagonist to have? These ladies are my heroes and the strength of their amazing character is a great example of the kind of women I want to write about. They have profound faith and true courage. Even when the pain blurs minute into minute and day into day, they reach deep inside, lean on the Lord - God is an integral part of their lives - and work through it. Thank you my friends for your friendship and your example and for being women of God.

Awakening Avery by LC Lewis

LC Lewis typically writes historical novels but has switched gears with her just-released novel "Awakening Avery." The following is an excerpt from an interview with her.

Author Interview with Laurie Lewis

Laurie, why did you switch genres and write “AWAKENING AVERY?” It’s not historical is it?

No, ”AWAKENING AVERY” is current, so it’s a nice diversion from my historical work.

What is the message behind the title, “AWAKENING AVERY?”

Our lead character is an LDS author/wife and mother who gets catapulted from her comfortable support role in the family to the lead after the untimely death of her wonderful husband. Although her husband, Paul, had been slowing fading for a long time, Avery had closed her eyes to the toll his illness and death had taken on her and her family.  Her oldest son tells her he needs to get away to deal with his grief, and she is forced to face some hard truths—things are falling apart in her once perfect family, and instead of preparing for the eventuality of Paul’s death, she has been shriveling away.  Avery needs to step up and take action, a daring thing that requires her to grow and stretch in ways she never imagined.

So is this story primarily about handling grief?

The Thompson family’s grief is the vehicle we use to address the major theme of the book, which is family vigilance. Their grief opens cracks in their spiritual veneer that weakens them, and makes them vulnerable, but hopefully readers will recognize that all of our families are vulnerable if we lower our vigilance for whatever reason. But another lesson from the book is the power available to us as we draw upon our families and friends for strength. The book is very hopeful.

The themes are serious, but you call "AWAKENING AVERY" a chuckle-out-loud and grab-a-hankie read.  Why?

Avery is grieving, but she goes through a summer of self-discovery  where she opens her narrow world up to receive a host of quirky new friends. They all have life experience and strength she can draw from, and she discovers she has a few things to teach them as well. So it’s not a sad book. Parts are very tender—happy tender and sad tender— and parts are a riot. We’ve got some fun, crazy characters in here.

 Like Teddie and Rider Davis? They’re hilarious!

Yeah, I love them! They remind me of kids playing dress-up, but they have already been through the fire, and under all their designer duds, they are people of great substance. They have been tested in the crucible of faith, and they are stronger because of it.

And George?  I hear the dedication of Awakening Avery is also very personal to you.

It is. It reads, “To my father, Allen K. Chilcoat, the chef behind the magic of slumgolian and peanut-butter balls; and to my mother, Bernice, who kept us alive despite his kitchen exploits.”

Of all the books I’ve written, or that I will ever write, this one probably best reflects my childhood memories of my father. He is the model for George because when Dad went into the kitchen to cook we knew it was going to be an adventure.

So Slumgolian is a real dish? You actually ate it?

Oh yes! I think the recipe had its beginnings in Iceland where my father was stationed for a time. The men threw whatever they had into a pot and called it Slumgolian. One evening when we were camping, after a long day of crabbing in the Chesapeake Bay, my dad offered to make dinner. Mom was horrified at what was being thrown together—baked beans, chicken noodle soup, corn, peas, you name it—but Dad insisted we’d love it. It looked dreadful, but Dad’s presentation and sales pitch transformed it from slop to Slumgolian, a very exotic foreign dish.

And the Kool-Aid pancakes and Peanut Butter Balls?

Yeah, they were all my dad’s recipes.

Avery is an author. Was that meant to be another biographical element?

No . . . I needed Avery to have a career that made her mobile enough to take this journey, and to provide her with a tool with which she could measure her personal growth. Writing her as an author fit that bill, and I already understood that industry. For Avery, her writing and the writings of another author—Axel Hunter—provide an outlet for expression . . . of her grief, her fears, her hopes. I think we all need an outlet.  Hopefully one of our outlets is good friends.

Axel Hunter figures critically in this book.

Neither Avery nor Gabriel sees any personal life for themselves after their spouses die.  Axel’s books open their eyes and hearts to possibilities they had shut out. As a writer, I’d love to think my books made a difference like that in anyone’s life.

That’s powerful, but there is also great power in humor. I love the story of the Carson sisters and the pink flamingo rug!

That was the most fun scene to write! I hope to begin a new pink flamingo trend in home décor!

The Thompsons are LDS but the Carsons are not. That becomes a major theme in the book as well.

“Awakening Avery” explores the additional tensions that arise in a marriage when religious differences exist, and the devastating consequences that occur when partners allow that to build a wedge in their family. The absolute essential nature of strong families is the underlying theme of “Awakening Avery.”

So what other projects are you working on?

I’m still promoting my Free Men and Dreamers series. Volume three, “Dawn’s Early Light,” debuted in December, and I’m hoping we’ll see book four on the shelves by late summer.

Thanks for the interview, Laurie Lewis. “Awakening Avery” sounds like a great gift for mothers and wives.



Reviews. . .

Readers will love the journey that Avery takes them on and will find themselves transformed in the process. —Martha Adams

“Teddie and Rider are most delightful, and they immediately find a place in Avery's heart and in the reader's heart as well.”

“I had to chuckle out loud.”

“A very . . . compelling read.”

“[This] author has a definite knack for making her characters' voices distinct.”

“I love Avery . . . a middle-aged woman being the heroine.”

Click on this link to reach chapter one: Awakening Avery Chapter One or click here to go to Ms. Lewis' website.