BOTB Results AND Guess The True Statement and Win! (Statement #59)

Before I get to the *real* post, I wanted to do a few, quick things.

1) Health update. Drat it. I am still sick. I don't think I am worse, but I am not better either. I have added a saline rinse (think netti pot) to my arsenal after the Wednesday blog. Maybe if I did that on the hour??? Bah.

2) Battle of the Bands Results. I fully expected Nat King Cole to beat Eva Cassidy's version of Autumn Leaves... and he did. However, many of you liked her version quite well - just not enough to vote for it over The King. Ah well. I really like both versions, so I fully understand your quandary. How did it end with your votes?

Nat King Cole - 20

Eva Cassidy - 6

I know that seems like a horrible showing for Eva, but it is NOT. Many of you said very sweet things and then voted for Nat. And it is hard to do battle with any King. So there. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Eva Cassidy version. It is slower. One of you said "sparser" and that echoes what is happening to the trees. Life, for them, is slowing down and starting to look a whole lot sparser. I will add my vote to the Eva Cassidy column, but it doesn't change anything. See you again on the 15th for a new song and new battle.

NOW FOR THE ACTUAL POST! WHEE! IT'S TUESDAY. TIME FOR ANOTHER EDITION OF ALL THINGS WRITING...

GUESS THE TRUE STATEMENT & WIN JESSICA BELL’S THRILLER, WHITE LADY! (Statement #59)

To celebrate the release of Jessica Bell’s latest novel, WHITE LADY, she is giving away an e-copy (mobi, ePub, or PDF) to the first person to correctly guess the one true statement in the three statements below. To clarify, two statements are lies, and one is true:

The following is a chapter title from the book:

a. I may look like a cow, but you can go eat shit if you think you can put me in a field and bark at me.

b. OMG, i bet u think i stink.

c. There’s nothing more satisfying than stabbing a knife in a big fat slab of porterhouse steak.

What do you think? Which one is true? Write your guess in the comments, along with your email address. Comments will close in 48 hours. If no-one guesses correctly within in 48 hours, comments will stay open until someone does.

Want more chances to win? You have until October 31 to visit all the blogs where Jessica will share a different set of true and false statements on each one. Remember, each blog is open to comments for 48 hours only from the time of posting.

If you win, you will be notified by email with instructions on how to download the book.

Click HERE to see the list of blogs.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

*This novel contains coarse language, violence, and sexual themes.

​Sonia yearns for sharp objects and blood. But now that she’s rehabilitating herself as a “normal” mother and mathematics teacher, it’s time to stop dreaming about slicing people’s throats.

While being the wife of Melbourne’s leading drug lord and simultaneously dating his best mate is not ideal, she’s determined to make it work.

It does work. Until Mia, her lover’s daughter, starts exchanging saliva with her son, Mick. They plan to commit a crime behind Sonia’s back. It isn’t long before she finds out and gets involved to protect them.

But is protecting the kids really Sonia’s motive?

Click HERE to view the book trailer.

Click HERE for purchase links.

Jessica Bell, a thirty-something Australian-native contemporary fiction author, poet and singer/songwriter/guitarist, is the Publishing Editor of Vine Leaves Literary Journal and the director of the Homeric Writers’ Retreat & Workshop on the Greek island of Ithaca. She makes a living as a writer/editor for English Language Teaching Publishers worldwide, such as Pearson Education, HarperCollins, MacMillan Education, Education First and Cengage Learning.

Connect with Jessica online:

Website | Retreat & workshop | Blog | Vine Leaves Literary Journal | Facebook | Twitter

Bullets for Breakfast

I haven't tried a bullet point post in a while. Those are fun. They are bite-sized thoughts. Who doesn't love bite-sized goodies?

• When I was a kid I used to love to tell (anyone who would listen) what happened on a TV show. Usually, it was M*A*S*H, but not always.
• Now that I am older, and my mom lives with me, she loves to tell (anyone who will listen) that I would take an hour to rehash a half hour show.
• Apparently, this drove both my parents *crazy* when I did it... all of those years ago.
• Do you remember your parents saying things like, "I hope that when you have kids they are just like YOU!"
• Well, I didn't have any kids, but I have my mom who is *crazy* for this TV show Heartland. She is watching it from the beginning on the Up Network.
• Last Friday night we went out to dinner and she talked the entire meal detailing what happened on the last episode of Heartland. When the check came, I said, "You and dad wondered where I got that endearing trait of relaying TV shows... well, it was from YOU."
• I am here to tell you that karma always happens. It comes back to you. Sometimes from your kids. Sometimes your parents, but it comes back. And it is annoying. I can see why I drove my parents *crazy.*
• Battle of the Bands... I appreciate everyone who listened and voted in this most recent installment of Battle of the Bands. You rock!
• The song was Up The Ladder To The Roof. The combatants were The Supremes and The Nylons.
• For a LONG time, this battle was a tie. Back and forth it went. Man, that did my heart good. ::air kisses for you::
• And then The Supremes pulled ahead and The Nylons did not regain that ground. 
• The final vote: 15 to 10. The Supremes take it.
• Make it 15 to 11. I vote for The Nylons. I love that group. I found them in the 80s and wore out the tape on my cassette One Size Fits All. When I went to college, turns out I wasn't the only one who loved it. My freshman year, someone would put that tape in and we would sit around playing euchre (if you're from the north, you know what that is). Such fond memories go with The Nylons.
• I am so happy with those of you volunteered to read my novel. Seriously, you guys are awesome.
• Elsie sent me some comments about the first scene (or two) along with a note to cut the word "that" whenever possible. Yesterday, I ran the Find Function on the word "that." Holy cow. I kid you not, but that word "that" is Everywhere. I think it snuck into my writing and bred like rabbits. I deleted the unnecessary ones, but couldn't always delete the space it created. 
• Solutions sometimes create different problems.
• Last night I read a blog over at The Kill Zone by James Scott Bell. It was called Revisiting the Mirror in the Middle. Or something close to that. You can click the link to read it for yourself. Essentially, he said that if you go to the middle of any book, movie, etc. that in the middle is that mirror moment for the character.
• Of course, I immediately logged out of blogger and back into my novel. I needed to know what was in the middle of my book. 
• It was what I call the Revelation scene. Woah.
• And then I had a revelation of my own. Let me tell you about it...
• Back in 2006, I wrote the scene that was the inspiration and eventually Back Story for this novel.
• At first, I used it as The Prologue.
• Then I read how so many people didn't like Prologues and absorbed it into Chapter 1.
• I have moved it all over Chapter 1, still not that happy about where it is.
• Last night, I moved it to the Middle. It belongs in that Revelation moment. Of course it does.
• Ironically, James Scott Bell talks about starting in the middle and working forward and back.It turns out by putting this scene there... that is kinda sorta what I did. 
• I haven't read his book (yet) about writing this way, but I think he means that the inspiration for your story is very likely the moment, the crisis, the event that started the character on this path. That point in the middle is the place where the MC questions all of it. Maybe things are starting to make sense or maybe it is all crazier than ever... but it is that point where the MC pauses and says, "Holy crap. What am I doing? What have I done? Where am I going? Can I continue like this????"
• Naturally, this is going to force me to rework the middle scene, the revelation scene. 
• Solutions sometimes create different problems.

Have your kids or parents thrown any of your bad habits back at you? How did that feel? Did you vote in Battle of the Bands? Did the outcome surprise you? Have you noticed in your own writing, reading, watching of movies, that the main character has a mirror moment in the middle (sometimes with an actual mirror and sometimes not)? Have you ever written the middle first and worked forward and back? Have you read any of James Scott Bell's books on writing?

Two Easy Chicks

I have a special guest here today.  If you have never met Carol Kilgore, from Under The Tiki Hut, you are in for a treat. If you have met, you're still in for a treat. Carol graciously agreed to pen something for my All Things Writing feature. Carol is a wonderful writer and all-around fantastic human being. I hope that you enjoy this as much I did. And here she is...

When Robin asked if I’d like to guest on her All Things Writing feature, I jumped at the chance. I asked if she wanted me to write about anything in particular or if there was anything she wanted me to stay away from. I told her I was easy.

She responded that I had a free hand to write what I wished. And that she was easy, too.

So here we are--two easy chicks, who also happen to be writers, having a good time. You were thinking what? Stop that!

Moving along . . . this is All Things Writing.

I don’t usually talk about writing because each of us is unique. I’m a little weird. Things that work for me probably won’t work for you. And vice versa. Basically, if you know the story you want to tell and write it to the best of your ability, you’re off to the best possible start. Then edit, edit, edit so that readers can experience your vision, too.

Doesn’t that sound easy?

So instead of writing about writing, I decided to talk about another part of the writing process--one you’ll deal with at some point unless you’re a selfish, crotchety old troll. But I think Robin’s bouncers toss all of those back under their bridges. The part of the process I’m talking about is giving back to the writing community by paying it forward.

I’m overflowing with gratitude for all the writers who’ve helped me along the way and those who are still helping me. Some held my hand while I cried. Others showed me how not to tell. Some sat by me at the bar while we moaned together about how unfair the publishing industry was (true or not). I’ve also been blessed with a couple of fantastic editors, lots of critique partners, and many blogging friends.  Like Robin.

I love visiting here, and I especially love Here’s to You Thursdays. I may be a die-hard Joan of Arcadia fan. Ahem J

I’m also easily distracted. Can you tell? So . . . getting back on track with paying it forward, now it’s time for me to return the favor.

Writers do this in all kinds of ways. The way I’ve chosen is to provide other up and coming writers, like myself, a new outlet for readers to discover their work by running a monthly contest on my website at http://www.carolkilgore.net and all of you are invited to enter.

Each month, an author will give away a book, an ebook, a gift card, swag—whatever she chooses. To enter, all you need to do is answer a question about a photo prompt. There are no wrong answers. The winner will be chosen at random on the last day of the month.

I’m starting small by giving away the first prize this month—a Kindle copy of my debut novel, In Name Only.

In the meantime, feel free to pass the word about the monthly contest to all your reading friends. If you’re an author and would like to try my contest for spreading the word about your work, please email me at tikihuttime AT gmail DOT com. I’d love to hear from you!

To return to one other thing about writing, there’s this: The more books you publish, the more non-writing work there is to do. Scheduling and time management become top priorities. My advice is to master these skills early on--preferably before you publish. You’ll be glad you did. I wish someone had told me that.

It’s hard work for an easy chick.

Carol, thank you so much for guest posting here and sharing a bit of what you've learned on this writing journey. 

Note to self: schedule your time better now. Your future self will thank you later.

I hope that you will visit Carol's blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon site, or Goodreads site (all listed below). She is EVERYWHERE. And enter that monthly contest!

This is her newest book. ::thunderous applause::

By the end of a long evening working as a special set of eyes for the presidential security detail, all Kat Marengo wants is to kick off her shoes and stash two not-really-stolen rings in a secure spot. Plus, maybe sleep with Dave Krizak. No, make that definitely sleep with Dave Krizak. The next morning, she wishes her new top priorities were so simple.

As an operative for a covert agency buried in the depths of the Department of Homeland Security, Kat is asked to participate in a matter of life or death—locate a kidnapped girl believed to be held in Corpus Christi, Texas. Since the person doing the asking is the wife of the president and the girl is the daughter of the first lady’s dearest friend, it’s hard to say no.

Kat and Dave quickly learn the real stakes are higher than they or the first lady believed and will require more than any of them bargained for.

The kicker? They have twenty-four hours to find the girl—or the matter of life or death will become more than a possibility.

BIO

Carol writes grocery lists, texts to her family, new lyrics to old songs for her dogs, love notes to her husband, and novels for herself. And for you. In between, she blogs weekly at Under the Tiki Hut and is active on Facebook and Twitter.

She sees mystery and subterfuge everywhere. And she’s a sucker for a good love story—especially ones with humor and mystery. Crime Fiction with a Kiss gives her the latitude to mix and match throughout the broad mystery and romance genres. Having flexibility makes her heart happy.

LINKS

Either/or, please. There are preformatted clickable links or individual links with the full URL included. Your choice – use whichever works for you.

You can connect with Carol and her books here:

blog . website . facebook . twitter . goodreads . amazon

OR

You can connect with Carol and her books here:

Under the Tiki Hut blog:  http://www.underthetikihut.blogspot.com

Website with Monthly Contest: http://www.carolkilgore.net

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carol.kilgore1

Twitter: http://twitter.com/carol_kilgore

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6094110.Carol_Kilgore

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Carol-Kilgore/e/B008FRCXQY

 

All Things Writing ~ Susan Says

Welcome to another addition of All Things Writing. I have a special guest here today to share her thoughts on GENRE. Susan Gourley/Kelley has published novels in multiple genres and crossover genres. If you aren't following her blog, I urge you to give her a read. Her blog is one of my favorite stops in this Blogger journey. She doesn't write solely about writing, but covers a broad range of topics... including writing.

Susan, thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts today.  Without further ado... Susan Gourley/Kelley from Susan Says.... 

Some Hard Speculation

My last two romances and my current WIP are all science fiction novels. My publisher labels them futuristic, and they are that, but I prefer the science fiction label because I, well, I love science. Though my college major was health and physical education and my masters is in health education, I also carried a minor in science. I even taught biology one year. So when I write my futuristic romances, there is some real science in there along with the science I crafted during my world building.

When people talk about science fiction novels they often distinguish between them using the words, hard-core versus soft. There are many ways to describe those two types of writing but I taught high school for quite a few years so I know how to make things simple.

In hard-core science fiction, a large portion of the story is about the technology and how it’s used. There may be long descriptions of guns or space vessels. Battles may be determined by the level of advancement in an enemy’s weapons. The characters take second place to the plot’s factors in the futuristic world.  Usually the story revolves around the ‘hard’ sciences like chemistry, physics and astronomy. Writers and readers of hard-core term biology, psychology and ecology as vague or soft sciences.

In soft science fiction, the story revolves around the characters and their growth and personal challenges. The world around them may be filled with big guns and fast space ships, but the plot is about the personal battles and struggles of the characters. Writers and readers of this kind of science fiction never call it soft but usually will call it by one of its subgenres like dystopian, steampunk, or perhaps space opera.

There are fans of both types and some fans who overlap when a novel manages to combine both intriguing technology and world building with vibrant, engaging characters. One point I should make is that hard-core or soft, the science can be just as realistic in either type of writing.

In my science fiction romances, I try not to break any real laws of physics, but if a novel is going to involve space travel, some science must be invented. A long-burning fuel source would be needed for space travel, so my intergalactic space vessels use a mineral called crystallized iron. But one of the metals they need to build their technologies is iridium. And just like on Earth, the deposits my characters discover are from meteor strikes. It’s still a rare element in my futurist setting as dramatized in my most recent release, The Marine’s Heiress.

A lot of the science I use in my Recon Marine series is biology, specifically genetics. Mankind is discovering new things about our genetic codes and how our DNA determines our intellect, ability to fight diseases and more things about our health and well-being. My Recon Marines have been genetically engineered to be perfect soldiers. The drama ensues when the marines decide they no longer want to be used as weapons of war.

The definitions I’ve applied to science fiction are my own opinions and you know what they say about those. I’m sure a hundred writers could come up with one hundred different descriptions. Speculative fiction is a term that covers a lot of area so maybe we should use that one. 

The Marine's Heiress, Book #2 of The Recon Marines, takes up the story of Vin. If you read the first book, you know who Vin is. At the end of the first book, Vin left his marine brothers, alone in his anger and need for revenge. The second book will delve further into the origins of the genetically enhanced soldiers and the people responsible for their creation and downfall. Can there be a happily ever after for a man who believes his one chance at a normal life has been lost.