From Conception to Release

        

 Books are like my babies. I guide, mold and offer my input through the publication process, then release them into the world. And then I miss them. Their day to day development, the late nights, and even frustrations are...gone. So, I start again. (No, I am not having any more kids. Five is plenty. I'm talking about books.)

 Funny thing is, unlike my children, I don't have complete control over the characters in my books. The main characters seem to take over while I write and I end up watching a seed of an idea grow from conception to full maturity. With some books, conception is a contest, others a request from a publisher to make a single title a series, but one is very different. Jewel of Ramstone, a medieval romance,  was inspired by a nightmare...then developed into a wonderful dream.

Sometime ideas get tucked into a "work in progress" folder, just waiting for me to infuse life giving words to the snippets of conversation I wrote down, or incomplete thoughts. They end up unfinished because I either had to tend to edits on a contracted manuscript, or because life simply got in the way. Just the same, those seeds of a story haunt me. They bounce around my mind like a sugar infused child.

I Don't Get Mad...I Write About It

I live on an island, and love the community I live in. Everyone knows everyone--except in the spring and summer. Everything changes. "Off-Islanders" swarm to the amusement park, the nearby beach, and state park. The stores fill up, the gas station lines are longer and the traffic increases. I love this time of year, but the increase of people just feels like an invasion on my island. Today, I got a taste of another kind of invasion. Rudeness.

There's a neighborhood store right next door to the bank I work at.  Today, I forgot to bring my lunch, so I stopped in the store to purchase a yogurt.

Yogurt in hand, I approached the cashier. Not only did a wench cut me off with a cartload, she smirked and nearly ran over my toes. I wanted to use the B word, and I'm not talking about beautiful. My fifteen minute  lunch break ticked away as I watched her to empty her cart... charcoal, lighter fluid, paper plates, cups, water, cat food, paper towels, cleaning supplies, 15 tubes of toothpaste, (who needs that much toothpaste?) and then she WALKED AWAY, saying she forgot something.  

Just when the cashier motioned me over to ring up my one item, the woman came running up, cutting me off again and slapped a pair of flip-flops and sunscreen on the counter. I guess she was going to the nearby beach with her fifteen tubes of toothpaste. 

Therefore, being a decent person, the cashier kindly told the customer she was going to go ahead and ring me up real quick. 

The woman put her hand on her hip, jerked her neck, reminiscent of the seagulls that hunt for garbage in the parking lot, and glared at the cashier. Then she squawked, "No. I was here first."

Wow.

I mentally started writing the rude woman into my next story:  A bank teller pours yogurt over a mean, seagull bobbing, squawking rude woman's head—then slaps a dollar on the counter and storms away. Heck with lunch. My character gets revenge.

I should wear a t-shirt: Be forewarned. I am an author. If you are rude, cruel, or just plain nasty I will write you into my next book—as a villain. Just saying....

Have you ever had such an experience? What did you do? Chime in; I'd love to know.

Blissfully Weird

Previously posted on my guest appearance at Laptops and Lingerie 

Have you ever been out somewhere and witnessed someone acting a little weird? More often than not, you are watching a writer's mind displaying itself in public.

How do I know this? Because I've received the following reactions: 

The old smile, head shake and giggle.  I was supposed to be listening at an employee meeting but I was thinking about a customer who visited my teller window earlier that day. He had clear blue eyes that I spotted even though he was waiting at the end of the line. Now, those eyes sparked an idea for a new story in my Magic Stone Series.  When my boss asked a question, I snapped back to reality and received the said smile and head shake. The giggle came later...when I told her about cutie-blue-eyes and how he would make a great character. Then she gave me yet another head shake.

The dreaded side-eye. I've gotten this a lot, but an incident at a coffee house was the most memorable. I was hanging out with my best friend, doing normal stuff like flushing out story plots while consuming vast amounts of caffeine. (Okay, you just shook your head didn't you?) Anyway... A guy spilled his coffee at the next table. The look on his face was so comical I giggled; hence the dreaded side-eye.  I apologized through my fit off giggles and proceeded to write on a napkin instead of offering one to wipe the mess. Okay, don’t judge me. I couldn’t help myself. 

People openly laugh and point at me. I deserve it. I've done stuff like write snippets of a conversation on my arm with eyeliner so I wouldn't forget it. Where is pen and paper when I need them?

Why do I tell you this? To give you a little insight into the writer’s mind. Well, mine anyway.  Don’t commit me.  I’m just creating new scenes, characters and worlds for you to enjoy. If it takes head shakes, side-eyes and pointing, I’m willing to be the recipient in order to follow my bliss.

 By the way, I married the guy in the coffee shop years later.

If you're a writer, please share weird stuff you've done in the name of creativity. If you're someone that's witnessed odd antics (usually in a coffee shop--a usual writer's haunt) please share. We all need a smile...or head shake. 

Edits Suck

Authors suffer for their work. Yes, I said suffer.

Edits suck. If you are a new writer, you must go into edits expecting your story--yeah, the one you think is damn near perfect?--Well, it's going to be chewed up, torn apart and then put back together again. And just when you think it's over, there is round two...and three...and who knows how many more. All I know from experience is just when you think it's over, it's not. Sound negative? Nope. There is a reason I'm telling you this. If you haven't gone through it, then I'm preparing you. If you have...I see you nodding. Grin.

Guess what? Your book isn't going to be perfect until you go through editing. (Not to mention everything else  involved in the publishing process.)

Be ready for it.

 Be receptive, yet keep your writer's voice. If there is something you don't understand, ask. Don't take edits personally. If there is something you really believe shouldn't be changed, explain where you are coming from. Don't just dig in your heels and say no. There's no guarantee they will agree with you, so be ready for that too.

Most of all, (and I know this is hard) try to remember that you all want the same thing. A fantastic book.

Yes, edits suck, but they're well worth the hair pulling, discouraging feelings and re-writing. Why? Because after you go through the intense process, your book is better for it. To top it off,  you leave a stronger and more experienced writer. 

You also leave with the hope that maybe, just maybe, edits won't suck so much next time. 

Anyone have anything to add?

I'm a Writer Dammit!

Oh yeah, it took way too long, but I now realize that not everyone understands me--or why I find it necessary to write a list of how my mind works.

Just the same...take a look and tell me if you understand/relate to any of the things below. I'd love to see if anyone out there is as crazy as this author. Grin.

1. My fingers are at home on the keyboard of my laptop. Some of the letters are worn off of the keys. I write for hours on end. 
2. I don't even know that hours have passed. I've intended to do "a few edits" or "reread a chapter" and find out that the night turned to day and I forgot to go to bed. I'm not kidding. 
3. I write so long, I end up with a numb butt. When I stand,  knees crack, and I have to stretch a moment in order to stand like a woman my age instead of a stooped old lady. At that moment, I realize I have to pee--desperately. 
4. It may have been the medication, but after surgery I scribbled down notes about how I felt so I could write believably about pain.
5.  I've stood in snow so long I was just shy of freezing. Why? I had to write about it in a scene and I wanted my reader to feel it too. I know, weird right?
6. My characters become real. No, I mean it. Don't commit me. 
7. Every single aspect of day to day life is a seed for a new story, be it a snippet of conversation, a look or even a smell. 
8. Without my daily outlet of creating, there's no telling what could happen, so I don't try to find out. I have to write...then again, if I didn't, I'd have a clean house, laundry would be caught up, the butt-indent on my couch would disappear, and I'd probably eat more. 
9. When I sleep, I sometimes dream about my characters. Many great ideas come from those dreams.
10. Sometimes my  "author world" is a bit lonely. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm surrounded by people who love and support me. They congratulate me with a "Oh that's so nice!" with each contract. But they do not really understand the pure bliss of completing a book, or the joy of knowing I made a reader laugh, cry, or simply release a happy sigh. They do not understand the pain of edits, or the reason why just any picture will not do for cover art,or even why I write. All in all, I am a misunderstood creature. 
11. I am perfectly happy being different.

I'm a writer, dammit. And I certainly don't expect anyone to understand me. (Unless, of course, you're a writer too.)

(You are welcome to add to the list of crazies in the comment section! )

Photo courtesy of Dreamstime.com

This interviewer is insane--in a good way

C.E. Hart.
You may have heard of her. She does book reviews, blogs, and interviews people in the writing world. Not your run-of-the-mill interviews either. They are witty and entertaining. C.E. assures guests on her blog feel welcome--and, as she did me--surprises us with her wit.

Now, most writer's are a bit loony, (oh stop looking so shocked. You know it's true!) Ms. Hart hones in to that kooky quality in all of us, and then tickles it until we spill our deepest secrets about our writing, and in the process, makes everyone want to know more. Thus, the readers buy more, and everyone is happy. Looks like this woman is gonna be rising quick.

She writes sweet romances too. Be on the lookout for her work. (Piper's Passion Cookies buy link is here on my blog.)

All in all, C.E. Hart rocks. Someday I might even interview her! Oh to be so lucky. Sigh.

Take a look at her blog. You'll love her too.
 http://cehart.blogspot.com/


P.S. (Talking about lucky--I was interviewed by this woman. Grin.)

Reality? What’s That?

   I write in chaos. The phone rings, kids shout, someone belches the ABC’s, my laptop catches fire, but I am unaware of it all, because I am writing. Okay, so I made up that thing about my laptop, but it got your attention, right?

     That is what writing is about, getting your attention—and keeping it. I must have the same kind of focus to do that. I delve so deeply into my story that you I no longer hear what is going on around me. Yeah, most call that losing touch with reality, but I see it differently. I block out the world long enough to allow an idea to unfold and create a new reality.

     My latest release, Basket of Hope, should be unbelievable due to witches, warlocks and the magical world they live in—but it morphed into plausible while I wrote. Why? Because of the emotions from my characters Kara and Machias. The magic became secondary once I grew to care what would happen to them.  These two characters grabbed my attention, and I watched them fight for what they wanted.  Some call that crazy talk, but. I’m wagering every writer relates. At least I hope they do. (Anyone from Battysville General need not comment.)

     How do you feel about this subject? Do writers really need to delve into the depths of the worlds they create for their characters? Is it necessary to shut out reality for a little while so the author can spark the imagination of their readers?  Chime in and let me know what YOU think. 


I guest blogged this 8/15/11 on another blog..

Hook Up a Trailer and GO!

      I took a scenic route on my road to publication and watched a few book trailers to give my frayed mind a break. It inspired me to make one of my own. Lordy, what a long detour that turned out to be. I figured I could just whip one up like a batch of Sunday waffles at a roadside café, but creating a book trailer is no easy task for an amateur like me. Though I only hold a learner’s permit in this field, I’m imparting what I gleaned through trial and error, so it’ll be a little smoother for anyone embarking on this road.

            First, watch a slew of trailers. There's many on YouTube.  Note what you like: Style of script, dialogue, effects, transitions, music, etc. Next, jot down your dialogue; a visual book blurb so to say. The whole reason for a trailer is to pique interest. Rocking graphics, cool music and neat pictures are fantastic, but if you falter on the dialogue, no one will want to read the book.  Just like a blurb, you want to give just enough information about the story.

            If you don’t have a movie maker on your computer, there are free choices to download. Windows movie maker live is my favorite. I find it easy to use.

            Next, assure your pictures are royalty free. The best site I found is Dreamstime.com. Be sure to give them credit on your video. Where you choose to place a book cover is up to you. I usually place it in the first frame, then again at the end, before credits. Don't forget to supply purchasing links in the end credits.  

            I like the effect of dialogue on the picture, but everyone has their own style. Photo duration varies due to amount of dialogue—but I suggest 5 to 8 seconds per photo. Don’t put too much dialogue on a frame—you don’t want your reader rushing through it.

            After you have the pictures and dialogue in order, add background music.  Incomptec.com, a site by Kevin MacLeod, offers many styles and only asks you mention him in credits. He sorts choices by style, mood and tempo and downloads are free.

            Have a few trusted individuals view your finished product before posting it—the feedback is invaluable, as they will be able to tell you of any problems. My greatest flaw is time limits on the frame.  I know what it says, so I don't realize how long others need to read it. 

            There are defaults built in to most video makers—duration fades, and fitting the video time to music, so as a beginner, you may wish to use these. Spread a project over a week or so.  Why do I suggest this? Well, your other choice is to follow my initial path--the one I followed out of ignorance.  I basically chained myself to the computer for so long my butt went numb and my eyesight began to blur.  I finished my book trailer in a day, but with a price.    When I stood, I looked like a question mark, much to my family’s amusement. My three-minute video required at least ten hours of work, not the hour or two I thought it would take. 

            Book trailers are a great marketing tool. Posting on social networks, blogs and YouTube are just a few places to post.  I’ve created three book trailers, and learn more with each one. Hopefully, these hints encourage you to hook up a book trailer to your laptop and journey through your next writing journey—without the wrong turns. Working together to create something worth watching is what I hope to accomplish here—I’m just getting the film rolling. (pun intended)

            I’d love to hear from others on this subject. I'm SURE someone knows more about this than I do. Even one helpful hint helps a newbie. The old saying, ‘What goes around comes around’, holds true. Besides, it feels good to help a fellow writer.

All my best to each of you,

J.M. Powers

Author Note: Though I mention several sites, I’m in no way trying to “sell” you on them. I’m merely sharing ones I found useful.

Basket of Hope book trailer

Hey all... what do you think of this book trailer? All comments and suggestions welcome! (and preorders are welcome too.)

Newest Cover Art for Basket Of Hope

After working with my cover artist, Victoria Miller, we made Basket of Hope look a little more "paranormal." It's amazing how a little bit of color and cool smoke will change a cover. Which do YOU like better?
Contest to win a free copy is coming soon. Follow this blog to stay updated!
Release date is July 22. Click here to preorder.