Month: October 2016

Being an aspiring author, you hear one phrase over and over again: writers write every day. I know I missed my blog post last week, but still found time to write while on vacation to Cahokia Mounds; Springfield, Illinois; Madison, Wisconsin and the suburbs of Chicago. I didn’t write every day, but now I’m going to have to.

I checked my email this evening and had a response back from one of the publishers I pitched my story to at the Ozark Creative Writer’s 50-anniversary conference earlier this month. The publisher found my work interesting and funny and my voice unique. So much so they want to offer me a three-book contract. I’m getting one step closer to being a published author. I’m looking forward to working with them and joining a great team.

Now I have to get busy writing. I have the idea for my second book, but the topic of the third book is anybody’s guess at this moment in time. I’m going to be a writer and write every day. My hard work paid off. Yours can too. Write every day, go to writing workshops, read writing books, surround yourself with writing activities. The more involved you are with your writing, the better writer you’ll be. So far this journey has taken over two and a half years, it’s not over yet. Hard work pays off, you just have to be dedicated to it. And one day you can say, “I’m a published author.” After all, history doesn’t write itself.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. This afternoon, I finished reading The Boston Raphael by Belinda Rathbone. I’m going to read a couple of writing magazines and then turn to Bloom County for some light-hearted fun with Bloom County Episode XI A New Hope.  After that, I’ll get back to my Theology of the Body series by St. Pope John Paul II. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.

Last week I attended the Ozark Creative Writer’s 50^th-anniversary conference in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It was a beautiful weekend and a great conference. I pitched my book to five publishers and one agent. Only one publisher declined, and that was because they do not publish historical fiction after 1920. My story ranges from 1939 to 1969. The experience of the whole weekend was golden. This was the first time I’ve ever pitched any of my work, and it felt good to share my characters with publishers. I sent my emails this week to the publishers, and after changing the ending, I will email the agent next week. Writing is a lot of work. However, it is extremely fun to do. I don’t know what will happen, but I would appreciate your good thoughts and well wishes. After all, history doesn’t write itself.

Next week I’ll be indulging in my other passion: collecting playing cards. The annual 52 Plus Joker Playing Card Collectors Club convention will be in Schaumberg, Illinois. I’ll be there surrounded by thousands of decks of cards and a wonderful, and knowledgeable, group of people. Decks can tell so many stories, especially used casino decks. Who held the winning hand with these cards? Who lost everything they had? How many people touched this deck of cards, and how can their stories be extrapolated to a dynamic tale of adventure, or woe, in the keyboard of an author? The same can be said of the really old decks, the one now turning a hundred years old. Who first bought them, and how did they end up on a table for sale in Schaumberg, Illinois? I believe the answer would be difficult to find, but it would be a great journey. After all, history doesn’t write itself.

At the writer’s conference, four of my fellow aspiring author’s were in attendance as well. Between the five of us, we one over fifteen awards. It was fantastic to see each of us being applauded for our work. I placed third in two historical fiction contests and won the “tell a story in all dialogue” contest. All the writing I’ve done, all the workshops I’ve attended, all the critiquing I’ve taken, all the work I’ve done to build my platform, it’s getting me closer to being a published author. It’s a long journey, but well worth it.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. Since my last blog post, I finished reading Carl Hiaasen’s Skin Tight, Pope Benedict XVI’s God is Love encyclical, and Jim Toomey’s Happy as a Clam: The Twenty-First Sherman’s Lagoon Collection. All three are reviewed on GoodReads.com. Currently, I’m reading The Boston Raphael by Belinda Rathbone. If that is not following my own advice, I don’t know what is. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.

Last weekend I was in Kimberling City, Missouri, a resort town on Table Rock Lake that is associated more with Branson, Silver Dollar City, and all the amazing shows on a winding, congested road through the town. The very nice and wooded condo was a great place to relax, mainly because there wasn’t Wi-Fi in the condos themselves. You could shlump up to the Activity Center and surf to your little heart’s content, but it would have really been nice to access the World Wide Web from the condo. So that’s why I missed last week.

Sky is another background / minor character in my manuscript. Although she is shouting in my head right now saying she plays an important part and should not be labeled as such. She’s a working girl in Eustace’s bordello where my main character, Bill, works. Sky is obviously not her real name, as the time frame is 1939 and I seriously doubt anyone would think to name their precious daughter Sky in 1911, her birth year.

Sky is a high school graduate and even managed to take a college course or two. However, her college days began a few weeks before the stock market crashed in 1929, leaving her family unable to continue to pay her tuition. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and she eventually turned to the world’s oldest profession to sustain herself as the economic downturn trudged on for years.

Sky bonded quickly with her fellow sister and soiled swamp dove Ariel at the brothel in the shotgun house in Bayou Cove, Louisiana. I do have a happy ending for her in my mind. However, it is not mentioned in the manuscript. When I do get a publisher, if they feel Sky’s story should resolve better, then I’ll write it up. Of course, if they don’t, then watch this blog and I’ll post it here. I believe you’ll enjoy her story, after all, history doesn’t write itself.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I’m reading Carl Hiaasen’s Skin Tight. I should finish it up this week. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.