I had the pleasure of writing about Carol Price a true winner in many ways for Active Aging this month.  She went back to school and got her degree, started a new teaching career, lost 50 pounds and went to Germany to celebrate.  You’ll be inspired by this wonderful lady and all she’s done.

Reading about dental professional, Lucynda Raben, DDS will prove that you don’t have to be afraid of dental care.  This professional treats her patients like family and is very active in the volunteer community as well.  You’ll enjoy getting to know her and more about her practice in the August edition of Womens Focus.

I’ve heard it said that some books are very cinematic, and I agree.  Some authors create worlds so vivid that I see them in my mind as I read.  Many times readers are disappointed in actual film adaptations of their favorite books, partly because it doesn’t fit what they saw in their minds, and partly because you can’t always portray the book as fully in film as the written page.

When I write I hear the dialog, and as I get to know my characters I begin to see them in my head.  With Feisty Family Values the pictures in my head were of people I knew that physically reminded me of the character – my feisty little friend Kim was who I pictured when I wrote about Tillie, only with white hair.  One of my instructors always glides into a room, and wears bangles and broomstick skirts, so she’s who I thought of when I was writing Regina.  However, Annabelle was a culmination of my grandmother and what I pictured in my head of the consummate grandmother figure from my childhood.  She was pretty much imaginary, but vivid.

Once I began to get to know my characters they morphed and my friends were no longer prominent. The characters came alive, in my head, of course.  One of my first readers is a very pragmatic person and always laughed when I talked about my characters as if they were “real” people.  She’d roll her eyes, too.  Once Feisty Family Values was polished and then published she read it again, and this time they came to life for her.  She even called me one Sunday morning when she saw a lady who made her think of Annabelle in a flowered dress with her pocketbook on her arm, probably on her way to church.

I’ve often read authors who said they felt like they were the scribe and the characters were telling the story.  To some degree that came true for me also.  As the story grew and the characters became more familiar the pictures in my mind became even more distinct.  So, if you as a writer have trouble picturing the character or scene in your mind then the reader may have difficulty as well.  Make your story come alive using all the senses and clear descriptions.  Hum, I think I’d better check for that in the new novel (Patchwork Family) I’m editing now, just to be sure I can “see” things clearly.

Enjoy the journey.

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Sedgwick (KS) Senior Center last night to a great group of people.  There were seniors, a contingent from the local library, and a reporter from the Harvey County newspaper.  I must tell you that seniors, librarians, and journalists are some of my favorite people. HONEST! Best of all, they are readers.  It just doesn’t get much better than that.

We talked about my journey writing and editing Feisty Family Values, as well as my publishing experience and what’s coming next.  Not a lot of hands came up when I asked who was writing, but a few were brave.  I heard stories of family scribe’s and encouraged them to share their family stories.  Extended families don’t live together like they did many years ago and I fear our stories will be lost if we don’t share them with our kids, both verbally and written.

I read a little bit from Feisty Family Values and the room got really quiet.  I heard a chuckle or two during the funny parts, so it was a success for me.  Then we started talking about our favorite authors, which was tons of fun.  There are so many awesome authors out there that many of us pulled out a piece of paper to write them down.  I promised Dorothy the name of a good historical fiction writer and here it is:  Sara Donati.  Her writing style is very similar to Diana Gabaldon and among my faves.

I’m happy to say that no one left without their feisty pin.  And I want to thank them for their warm hospitality.

About every year or two I attend a writer’s conference and every time I learn something new and meet great people.  While I usually stay in the Midwest (Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri), this year I’m going to the Southwest (New Mexico). 

I have a new writer buddy who lives in Albuquerque and is a member of the Southwest Writers organization.  Olive writes mysteries and I know you’ll be seeing her work in print one of these days (I would say “soon”, but publishing takes a bit of time to accomplish and “soon” doesn’t quite fit).  Watch for her!

My second novel, Patchwork Family is in the tweaking phase and is almost ready for prime time.  After the shine is put on this manuscript, I’ll need to write a synopsis and a knock your socks off query.  I’m hoping to get some advice at the conference on how best to accomplish these last two things, because I get a little nervous writing them. They are too much like a book report and a cover letter for an interview. While I used to love writing book reports and drawing the illustrations for school, the whole interview process for a job still makes me a bit nervous. (Can you say sweaty palms?)

I’m pretty good at interviewing someone else for an article or about a subject I need for a book, but I’m not as comfortable talking about myself.  It’s not that I’m shy, far from it, it’s just that I have my foibles like everyone else. But I digress.

Conferences are a great place for networking with other authors, agents, editors, and publishers.  The competition is so tight these days that who you know might make the difference between a small independent publisher and film and foreign rights.  (Personally I think Feisty Family Values and Patchwork Family would make great films.) 

If you get an opportunity to attend a writer’s conference, do so. Check ShawGuides.com for one in your area, or Google writer’s conferences to find one.