Category: Writing life (Page 1 of 17)

Filling the Well

Julia Cameron lists the “artist’s date” as a building block to nurturing the creative side of oneself. The idea is to “fill the well” or your artist’s soul by going on an excursion by yourself and taking in all the details of the moment. What do you see? What do your hear? What do you smell? What do you remember? All these minutia “fill the well,” supplying a rich source of inspiration for the writer. 

As an introverted-extrovert, or maybe an extroverted-introvert, I relate to the concept of the artist’s date. I thrive on company. I love chatting and learning from others. I also crave quiet and solitude to repair my mind and heart from information overload. 

Ms Cameron says these dates should be taken alone, but on this date, my husband went with me. I needed a driver!  I’d been given a book on “Pioneer Churches” in my area and decided Sunday was a good time to go and explore some of them. As usual, I was more drawn to the graveyards than the church buildings.   

One of the places we visited was a military chapel and graveyard. Some of the gravestones at this site pre-date Canada as a nation. We walked silently among these stones, hushed and reverend as we trod on “holy ground.” There were other visitors, equally respectful. A few had laid flowers–it was Mother’s Day. 

We visited three sites. I soaked up the balm and beauty of these places. The babble and strife of the day-to-day world receded.  I felt the well filling, imagination stirring. I came home with my mind at peace.

On Monday I read an article at Writer Unboxed that filled me with dismay. The writer, David Corbett, explored good intentions and The Road to Hell, a serious discussion of the culture wars happening in society in general and in publishing in particular. The topic is huge and amorphous and thorny and slippery. Thankfully, the comments were mostly thoughtful, with a minimum of snark — a rare event on social media. Still, I felt my peace slipping away. 

Then I read the next article on the same website, a report on the memorial service for Hilary Mantel at Sourthwark Cathedral. The author, Porter Anderson, spoke of how the architecture and the music eased him away from the hurly-burly of the London Book Fair. His words brought to mind my sojourn among the tombstones on a Sunday afternoon. My mind filled with images of bluebells growing wild, a rabbit nibbling on some grass, a family’s love for a departed parent. My anxiety eased.

The David Corbett article is important. The topic is life-changing for authors and readers. I don’t recommend avoiding the hard topics or hiding away from the issues of our day. There are forest fires raging in my country, there are bombs exploding in Europe and Africa. There are millions of hungry people around the globe. There are families in my home town resorting to food banks. These things are real, and writers need to write about them. It is our job to reflect the world we live in, to try to make sense of it and to point to hope.

The young seaman who died after falling from the rigging of a sailing ship in the 1850’s lived in a completely different world than mine, yet his shipmates erected a stone in his memory. The cared about him. They missed him. They honoured him. 

Love, compassion, connections–these are the stuff of humanity, regardless of the ages. They are also the seeds of story. 

As a writer, I’m glad I took time out to fill the well. That makes me a better writer, and a better contributor to my community. I am grateful to Julia Cameron for giving me “permission” to nurture my own self without feeling guilty or selfish.  I encourage others to do the same.

I admit to an affinity for graveyards, but I doubt many share that quirk. Where do you go to fill your well? What inspires your imagination? What brings peace to your soul?

 

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5 Reasons to Write for Yourself

As though to confirm the question-the-premise wisdom that  I learned in Becca Syme’s workshop,  I am now reading a book that breaks all the “rules” I’ve learned as a genre fiction writer. 

This book was recommended by other writers on a blog I follow so, when I saw it at my local library, I quickly put in a request. It appeared on my shelf in no time, has a pretty cover, and a gardening theme. All things to make me happy and set me up to enjoy the story.

As I read the opening chapter, I was puzzled and then dismayed. The book did not contain any of the elements I’d been told a first chapter had to have. Then, following my initial reaction, I realized the book had many things to teach me about writing. I’m sharing five of those insights with you. .

  1.  You may get a publisher. Jack Bickham says “Don’t describe sunsets.” The book I am currently reading spends pages and pages describing the countryside, the village, the cottage, the food and her car. None of the description moves the story forward.  I’m skimming. Yet this author has a backlist of nineteen books, published by a major publishing house.
  2. It may make for a happier world. Getting characters into trouble and then making it worse is a standard “rule” of genre fiction. “Don’t duck trouble,” is the way Jack Bickham says it, but rejection letters are filled with variations on the same theme. Yet this book raises possible troubles, only to solve them in one conversation or by an act of Divine Intervention. No nightmares here. The author has sold over a million copies of her books and have been nominated for various awards.
  3. It may please your mother. My Bickham reference book has a chapter titled “Don’t worry about what your mother will say.” Yet this book is dedicated to the author’s mother, and she has millions of readers who adore her work.
  4. It may make you happier. Writing is hard work. Trying to write to someone else’s criteria makes it even harder.  Judging by the many books I’ve read that don’t follow “the rules,” I’m convinced that an author’s individual voice and style is the key to creativity — and thence to commercial success. That sounds like blasphemy even in my own ears. You see, I’m a rule follower, so going against what the “experts” recommend is really scary. (Notice I used an adverb. Yikes!”)
  5. It may increase your output. Before I knew the “rules” I wrote for fun and as a personal challenge. I couldn’t wait to get to the keyboard, and snuck in extra minutes during the day to add just a few more sentences. The resulting manuscript pleased me no end. And . . . it sold. I wrote that book quickly, by my standards, and I went around with a grin on my face and an “I’ve got a secret” vibe in my soul.

The statistics on book sales are discouraging to say the least. Of the millions of books published on Amazon and other self-publishing platforms, 90% sell less than 100 copies. Even with traditional publishers, 86% of published books sell less than 5000 copies, the break even point for the industry.

The aim of this blog is not to make you quit writing. My purpose is to encourage you to write your stories in a way that works best for you. With the dismal outlook on sales, it is vital to a writer’s mental health that she enjoy the process. If making a lot of sales is your only motivator, chances are pretty high that you will be disappointed. But, if writing for love, writing for fun, writing for intellectual challenge, writing because you’ve a story that must be told, then go for it. Write your story, your way and be glad. And, who knows, you may make it big.

 

P.S. The cat picture at the top of this post has nothing to do with the subject matter but she makes me happy so I’m sharing her image with you.

 

 

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After HEA

I went to the theatre last weekend. It wasn’t easy. Our journey involved ferries, buses, Sky Train, a taxi and  lots of shoe leather. We went because a relative of mine had a lead role, and I always encourage my family members, especially in artistic endeavours.

The play was “Into the Woods.”  It’s a musical with words and music by Stephen Sondheim. The plot (?) is a mishmash of fairy tales. We had Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Bean Stock, Rapunzel and a cameo appearance of Sleeping Beauty and the Three Little Pigs, and a very odd cow. And, or course, there was a witch — and giants.

By the end of a long first act, Cinderella had gone off with her prince. Rapunzel had escaped the tower. Jack had climbed the beanstalk, found a goose that laid the golden egg and cut down the beanstalk, killing the giant.  Little Red Riding Hood had found her grandmother, killed the wolf and now wore his skin as a new cloak. The baker and his wife had fulfilled their quest and and the witch had lost her powers. The story had reached the Happily Ever After point. The music played like a finale and I wondered if there was mistake in the programme. Surely, the play was over.

But wait — there was a second act. These scenes concerned what happened after happily ever after.  In Act II we learned that Rapunzel had only escaped one prison to end up in another. Jack and his mother still did not get along even though the goose kept them supplied with funds. The longed for baby cried a lot and his parents argued about who should take care of him. Finally, the Prince turned out to be a faithless husband. When Cinderella called him out, he remarked that he’d “been made charming, not sincere.”

What’s more, the slain giant’s wife now stalked the village, bent on revenge. Several principle characters died. At the beginning of the play the voice-over warned of violence and death in the upcoming production but I wasn’t worried. Fairy tales are usually violent. The innocent suffer, then the villains are killed. It is standard stuff. I was surprised when my relative’s character met an untimely end. 😲

Act II, after the HEA, showed the characters learning life lessons. They grew in self-knowledge, in power and purpose. They faced the consequences of their decisions. They had left the world of childhood behind.

In romance, HEA is the normal ending of a story. It’s what readers expect. It’s what successful writers deliver. But what if we didn’t stop there?

Some authors add an epilogue to confirm the HEA. Some, like Gone With the Wind, destroy the HEA, so not a romance in the modern sense of the genre.  Some may start the story after an arranged marriage, so we have the wedding, (happy moment) but we still have to get the characters to fall in love with each other in order to achieve a true “happily ever after.”

The play was thought-provoking both on a moral basis and as an example of story craft. It made me think beyond the HEA that is the standard in our genre.

I still won’t kill off the heroine at the end of the book, but I can push my characters to grow before the HEA.  if I demand that they put away childish thinking, that they give up harmful beliefs, that they suffer the consequences of bad decisions, while still seeking romantic love,  then the reward of a happy ending will be all the stronger.

Into the Woods was great fun. I laughed a lot. I loved seeing my great-niece on stage. It also made me consider just what constitutes a happy ending and how to make it better.

 

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On to 2023

Here we are in the season of resolutions –either making them or breaking them. I tend not to make resolutions — they are too much about my faults and not at all about my strengths. Still, January is a good time to take stock of the year just past and plan for the year to come. So . . .

 

 

  • I want to write more — what author doesn’t?
  • Exercise more — I complain about my knees, but they might work better if I made them move more. 
  • Look after my health. . . 

The above are more wishes than resolutions. I’ve made them before. 

No,  this year I want to focus on appreciation. I want to tune in to the good in my fellow beings.

A few years ago I began a collection of good news stories for December. It was great fun and some of you contributed your own stories to help cheer us all. I didn’t do that this year, but I did remark on several occasions that I had received exceptional service from store clerks, food servers, health workers, and others. With the nightly news full of stories about labour shortages and supply chain problems, these cheery, helpful, charming people brightened my life. They were the Spirit of Christmas, however brief the encounter.

The travails of the world are horrifying and endless.  We all try to help, but, no matter how much aid is collected, people are still hungry.

The war in Ukraine grinds on despite the resolve and courage of the Ukrainian people and the support of Western nations.

Homelessness in our cities continues to increase.

The pandemic seems to have unleashed a torrent of rage, fear and isolationism. The need on all sides is crushing.

So, when a clerk goes above and beyond, her small action raises my spirits exponentially. When a stranger lets me pat his dog, I relish the connection. When a reader says, “I liked your story,” I’m over the moon.

The classic Christmas movies, like “Wonderful Life,” and “Miracle on 34th Street” have one thing in common — they touch the heart. Not all Christmas offerings on the screen do that — they go through the motions but don’t stir the soul. Kind of like my New Year’s wishes — desire without commitment. For 2023 I’m on the look out for moments of real connection.

For some time I kept a gratitude journal, inspired by Ann Voskamp — detailing every day the many blessings that warmed my soul.  Finding items for that journal was actually pretty easy. This year, I’m making a new list. For 2023 I’m keeping my eyes open for human encounters that enrich my life. I’ll enjoy the moment as it happens and again as I write it down.

As we recover from the isolation of COVID-19, it is important to recognize the goodness of others. We’ve been afraid long enough.

Happy New Year, dear readers. May the days of 2023 be filled with positive encounters, good stories, and a happy heart.

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Christmas Short Story

Christmas seemed a long way off in November, now it is rushing forward at breakneck speed. So, I’ve been working on my annual short story. After numerous re-writes, I thought I had the text ready to publish. My friend had told me about using the reading tool on microsoft so I thought I’d do one last check using that. I found one typo and one repeat word but listening to my words read by a computer voice was . . . an experience.

For some reason, the computer voice did not recognize the name of my heroine — even though a google search showed it does exist. The word the computer used was totally mangled. For those who may have received the story, the heroine’s name is Riona, pronounced ree-owe-na. 🙂

I live in Canada and have always referred to my mother’s mother as grandma. Pronounced grand-ma. The computer must have been programmed in the southern States because it pronounced my grandparent as grand-maw. I had a hard time picturing the woman I’d written about sipping tea from a china cup with “maw” at the end of her name.

Usually, I do a final proof by reading the work aloud, myself, but that can put a strain on the voice and I’ve got a cough, so the computer option seemed like a good idea. It certainly speeded up the process, and reminded me that readers will come from different regions and different backgrounds. 

I’ve had a trying day arguing with various templates on the computer, but my story is now written, edited, and published in my newsletter. If you want to read it, please join my newsletter   here.  

If you are frantically working on Christmas projects, take time to savour the moment. You’ve still got seventeen days. Put some carols on your sound system, bite into a piece of shortbread, and remember the reason for Christmas.

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Avoid the Second Night Blahs

At one time of my life I was involved with amateur theatre. I loved it. Rehearsals were a blast. Meeting the cast, who became your family for the run of the show. Costumes, make-up, staging– it kept me coming back year after year. Opening nights were the best. The air buzzed with excitement. Players vibrated with nerves and anticipation. The energy backstage could have powered the stage lights. When the curtain went up, we reached out to that audience with both hands, determined to shake them out of their seats and send them home amazed by the talent right there in their home town.

The second night, meh. . .  The actors were exhausted from the effort they’d put into opening night. We had to work at putting energy into the performance. Second night audiences always seemed uninvolved. Even though the show might be technically more polished than opening night, it usually felt flat to the cast. We just hoped the audience wouldn’t notice how hard we were trying.

The book I just finished, felt a bit like second night at the theatre to me. It wasn’t wrong, it just wasn’t right. If this had been the author’s second book, I’d have put its shortcomings down to time pressure — an editor or agent demanding a new book in a few months whereas the first one took a year or maybe years.  But this was the third book. What happened? How can we avoid this let down in our own writing?

I’ve just finished reading a book I anticipated with joy. Unfortunately, the actual book disappointed. I’d read two of the author’s previous books with pleasure. The latest had the same WWII, England setting. The main characters were a group of women, just like in the earlier books, yet this one relied on too many co-incidences, too many unmotivated changes of heart, and too easy resolutions to the conflict. 

          Have a Big Idea   

 Sometimes, with the pressure to produce a new work in less than your comfortable timeline, an author may jump at the first idea that presents itself. If it’s a small idea it may work for a short story, but won’t be enough to carry a whole novel. Even if you are a pantser, try to jot down a few turning points to be sure your idea will carry a whole book.

         Do You Have a Passion for this Book?                   

 That first book, was likely a story that had been brewing in your imagination for some time. You just had to write it. You were in love with the characters. The setting was a place you knew well, whether real or fictional. You couldn’t wait to spend time in that place with those people.If you are now writing on command from reader or publisher expectations, you may be creating a less interesting place with one dimensional characters. Even if you are under pressure, make sure the story you tell is one you love.

          The Editor on Your Shoulder

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could “un-know” much of what we’ve learned as we wrote those first words? In blissful ignorance, we plunged right in and let the characters tell the story any way they wished. We didn’t worry about head-hopping, or point-of-view, or beats, or three-act structure. Now, all of those writing crafts are important. Learning them and using them in your own process will improve the quality of your book in second and third drafts. But all that stuff can clutter up your brain in the rough draft. Replace that nagging editor with a bluebird of happiness — one who chirps “great line”, “too funny,” “I’m crying.” That’s the voice you want to listen to when getting the story onto the page. When you’re ready to edit and revise, set the bluebird free and let the nagging editor do her job. Just don’t let her try to edit the blank page.

Remember the Rules of the Craft

After years of writing and a bunch of manuscripts, it’s possible to go on automatic pilot. That may have been what disappointed me in the book I just read. First rule, we need conflict and it has to matter.

In this book, the conflicts were real and important, yet they were easily resolved with a single conversation, or even a character just having a change of heart for no particular reason.

Character development. In this example, the characters had a sameness to them although they came from very different backgrounds. There wasn’t enough difference in their speech or in their inner dialogue to make them stand out. And they were all “nice.” We all want nice people in our real lives, but in fiction they are bland and boring. 

Go Deep on POV.  It seemed to me that this author had given us an outline of her story rather than the finished product. She set up intriguing situations but only scratched the surface of the characters and the  conflicts. Even the setting was given a mere glance. Rationing, food shortages, enemy bombers, black marketers . . . these are all riveting elements for a novel, yet I was never really afraid, or hungry. Mostly I was disappointed. An author that I know can write a gripping tale, had short-changed me on this one. I don’t know why. I just know I’ll think twice before putting down money for another of her books.

And that is the real lesson for authors in this experience. It is a truism that you are only as good as your last book. Don’t kill your career by putting out something that is less than your best.

 

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Write of Hope

Planting seeds=faith and hope

I missed posting last week’s blog because COVID hit our house at Thanksgiving. Taking on all the household chores and tending a person in isolation takes a lot of time. On top of that, I caught a cold. It was just a cold. I tested on day one, day three and day five. All came out negative for Covid, but a rotten cold can wreck havoc with a schedule too.

By mid-week, I was well enough to go to book club. We read The Rosie Project and everyone had a good laugh. In my book club, good conversation and lots of laughter signal a successful meeting. We’re not big on literary critique.

However, at the end of the meeting talk turned to the local election, the war in the Ukraine, protests in Iran, climate change, destruction of the oceans, drought, floods, violence on the streets, crisis in health care, to name only a few of our cheerful topics.

Then we reviewed our book list and nearly everyone agreed that they only wanted to read uplifting, hopeful stories for the time being. Tales that take us into places of darkness and disaster and despair are too hard to take, given the situation in the world today. We’ve read them before and we’ll read them again, but not right now. Right now we need to hear hope, we need to see light and we need to live in a world of possibilities.

So to all you authors who write about love and family and home and faith, thank you. Even if others tell you to write “real” books, don’t be dissuaded or discouraged. The stories you (we) write that show right triumphant over wrong, love beating hate, and happily-ever-after winning over despair are the message many need to hear. 

By Providence, I received a devotional in my morning mail the next day, based on .  Hebrews 11: 1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  The letter was written over 2000 years ago to a despairing, persecuted people, a reminder that the evidence of our eyes — the sight of evil, poverty, greed, hatred — are not the only reality. We need not be overwhelmed. We can live in hope.

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6 Sources of External Conflict

I went to an all-candidates meeting in my municipality last week. We have 13 candidates vying for 6 council positions, plus 3 candidates for mayor.  I always vote and I want my vote to be as informed as possible. The meeting was jam-packed and it became clear early on that housing density vs green space was a hot button issue. It made me think of a workshop I went to years ago where the presenter suggested we create the “village” and let the conflict flow from there. It seemed an odd idea to me, but by the time her presentation was finished, I saw the merit in starting with the place.

I tend to start my stories with an idea of the characters and then wrestle with the conflict. The old saw, “she’s a pyromaniac and he’s a firefighter” was my starting point.  Using the “village” idea, and my recent encounter with grass roots politics, it’s easy to see how real life events can create conflict.  So much of public life comes down to “us” vs “them.” Here are some examples.

  1. Owners vs renters. In a story this could create conflict between a landlord and a tenant. 
  2. Preservationist vs developers. This trope is so prevalent in romance fiction it is almost cliché. Still, in the hands of a skilled writer this universal concept can be made fresh. 
  3. Rural vs urban.  My community is currently rated rural/rural residential, but there is enormous pressure to urbanize.  This friction brings in the question of farming vs housing.  Generally, everyone is in favour of farmers, but most people want to save money on the grocery bill.  So, do we really support farmers? Which brings us to the next conflict . . .
  4. Environmental protection vs commercial interests. When does a neighbourhood coffee shop become the villain? Does one commercial activity inevitably lead to more and is that good or bad? In a story, the owner of a heritage home operates an Airbnb in order to save the heritage home. She opens a cafe in the original dining room.  Can’t you see the conflict growing out of that scenario? Which side of the equation is she on? Who opposes her? Why?
  5. Young vs old. YA authors often use the generation gap in a family as a source of conflict but it can also be an issue in the larger community. At the meeting I attended there were distinct hints of resentment from younger families wanting to buy houses against older folks who already owned them. Is the older homeowner being greedy or is he just living in the family home his parents built years ago?
  6. Taxes vs Services. This division was very evident in the meeting I attended. Everyone wants lower taxes and many want more services. You can’t have both. What is the trade off? Do you pay for expertise or rely on volunteers?

These are only a few ideas that tickled my brain as a result of the all candidates meeting. A good story won’t rely entirely on external conflict. The author will build in internal conflict and emotional challenges as well. Still, the external, the “village” may be a good place to start the story.

Oh yeah, if there are elections happening in your area, vote! The ballot is the greatest tool in a democracy. Make it count.

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My Summer Vacation

    In my part of the world, school starts this week. Even though I’m long past school age, at this time of year I still get the urge to purchase a clean note-book and a sharp pencil with a fresh eraser. Another back to school ritual is the “how I spent my summer vacation” essay. I think teachers used that topic in the first week to give themselves time to organize the classroom and memorize the students’ names. Anyway, here’s my essay.

       First, I took a break from writing this blog. I don’t cope well with hot weather and we had lots of hot days this summer. The weeds flourished, but the garden suffered from a cold, wet spring. Even plants that grew well failed to produce much fruit as the bees were missing at the vital time. For years we’ve been hearing about the loss of honey bees and how that effected the honey producers. This year, every gardener in my neighbourhood witnessed the effects of no bees first hand.  I’m preparing for next spring by hunting for bird feathers on the beach. If it is too cold for bees at blossom time, I’ll use the feather for a little human-assisted pollination. 

The lovely Jennie Crusie hosts a blog called Argh Ink One day a week she asks the question, “What made you happy this week?” I love reading the answers. Happiness, it seems, comes in many different forms. For me, happiness is good friends. So I’ve spent a good part of vacation time re-connecting with friends finally coming out of COVID protection. I know the virus is still out there and poised to whack the world again, but we’ve all been lonely these past few years so I’m hoping the endorphins released by laughter, along with all my vaccines and boosters, will help my immune system win the battle. Plus, I’m staying off cruise ships. I know a lot of healthy people who went on a cruise and came home with COVID.

    Over the Labour Day weekend, I had triple happiness as I was able to combine my garden, friendship, and nostalgia with a trip to our annual Fall Fair.  The photo at left shows my ribbon haul. I consider it a win if I get ribbons on at least 50% of my entries and enough prize money to cover my entry fees and my admission to the grounds. I declare success on all fronts this year.

   I reconnected with my farm roots as I walked among the horses and cows and chickens and sheep. (See photo at top.) Jeans and straw hats bring happy memories. Score one for nostalgia.

   Then,  I met my friend at the fair. We’ve been doing that for over twenty years. This  long friendship makes me happy. Our fair experience together is also a happy one. I give her produce from my garden, she makes jam and wins a prize. We’re in this together!

    Speaking of friends, my pen pal from the other side of the world is a “best seller” in Canada with the first book in her Guardians of the Crown series, By the Sword. So, I’m happy for her.

   So, the first day of school is over. I’ve written my essay. Tomorrow the real year begins.

  What did you do for your summer vacation? Did it make you happy? 

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A Beginning

The calendar reads July, summer, hot days, lazy days, vacation days, winding down days. January or September is the time for new things, days when the weather is sharp and clear, the garden is put to rest and a new term has begun. Yet, today I began work on two new projects. When the mood strikes . . .

First I organized a reading list for my book club. We won’t meet until September but many of us like to have the reading list in advance so we can get a head start. We’ll read nine books over the fall and winter. We take December, July and August off. The suggestion list is long and enticing. I had a hard time paring my choices to nine. Some I’ve read before, like The Dictionary of Lost Words. Much as I enjoyed that book and think it would make for a great discussion, I didn’t vote for it because there were so many other intriguing suggestions.

Ann Patchett is on the list and she’s one of my favourites so one of my votes went there. There’s a history of Victoria that I want to read even if it doesn’t make the final cut.  There’s a family saga that will go into my TBR pile, along with a romance, a couple of mysteries and a Canadian Classic, Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies. There is a book set in Japan, another written by a First Nations author and another set in Afghanistan. 

I’ve mentioned my book club before on this blog. We’ve been reading together since 2000, with the same core members. Of course, over twenty two years there have been some changes. We all started out as working women and now we’re all retired. We’ve seen each other through some major life changes, like big moves or the loss of a parent or a spouse. We’ve read nearly 200 books — everything from children’s literature to William Faulkner. Through the medium of books, we’ve gotten to know each other very well. 

The marquis at my local gas station reads “the best antique is an old friend.” Well, my book club is full of some genuine “antiques.”

The other new thing I’ve started is a contemporary story with a “seasoned” heroine. Since I usually write historical with twenty-something heroines, this is a whole new endeavour, but I’ve started it in July, so there must be something drawing me on. 

One of the advantages of growing older is that we become more secure in who we are. I’m hoping that attribute will be one of the main characteristics of my heroine. Instead of a girl/woman feeling her way into adulthood, I’ll write about a woman who knows her own mind. Who knows what she values in a partner, and knows the cost of love is often heartbreak.

I hope you are all enjoying the lazy, hazy days of summer. Unless you live in Australia, in which case I hope you enjoy the nip of frost in the air and a warm apple cider by the fire.

 

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