Competitions

Before I get caught up with actually writing my novel (for a change) when NaNoWriMo starts on Tuesday, Ist November, I thought I'd mention these competitions. Plenty of encouragement to get the creative juices flowing!

The New Writer Prose and Poetry Competitions
Lots of great competitions. Closing date: 30th November 2011
Full details on TNW website

SAW St Andrew's Day Short Story Competition
Short stories of between 1,500 and 2,000 words - judged by Robin Pilcher.
Closing date: 30th November 2011. Full details here

Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Short Story between 2,000 and 5,000 words
Closing date: 30th November 2011. Full details here

The following is an unusual competition I've been asked to mention - warning: it's absolutely feminist!
Mookychick Feminist Flash 2011
Poem or fiction under 200 words. Full details on website

Good luck!
Rosemary

Introducing C.K.Volnek

I'm delighted to welcome fellow MuseItUp tween author, C.K. Volnek, to my Flights of Imagination blog today. C.K.'s wonderful debut novel, Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island, is an imaginative contemporary story inspired by a real mystery on the island from the 16th century.

Please pop over and say hello to C.K. on Flights of Imagination!

Rosemary

Lavender Dreams - Anthology for Cancer Research

I'm delighted to announce that a new anthology, 'Lavender Dreams', has just been released from one of my Canadian publishers, MuseItUp, and it includes one of my short stories. The collection is in memory of one of the well-loved editors who died from cancer earlier this year. I'm so pleased it's released in the week I'm celebrating fifty plus years of a relatively healthy life, as it reminds me of others. I dedicated my story to my lovely mother who survived a major operation for cancer many years ago and lived cancer-free to enjoy another ten years or so before she passed on at 80 years of age.

Lavender Dreams contains ten stories: fiction, fiction based on a true story, and one non-fiction. My story is called 'Waiting' and is fiction based on an actual incident. The idea is that stories from different Muse authors will be featured another year, so that the book always remains fresh. All royalties from the authors and the cover artist will go to cancer research. It is also coming out in print in a couple of weeks and will be available on Amazon as well as from the publisher.

If you would like to buy a copy to support cancer research, Lavender Dreams is now available in ebook from:

MuseItUp Publishing (all e-formats) at $1.99
Kindle Amazon (US) at $2.30
Kindle Amazon (UK) at £1.44

If anyone would like to display this lovely badge on the side of their blog, please feel free to support it in this way! Thank you.

Rosemary

NaNo Decision Made!

Well, I've pondered all the comments here and elsewhere and thought long and hard about signing up for NaNo, and I made my decision half an hour ago. I am now signed up and, if not quite ready to roll, at least I'm trying to get other things up to date so I can start as organised as possible on November 1st.

Thank you all so much for the advice and opinions - all gratefully received. I'm going to treat it as a fun challenge to try and cut down my terrible procrastination. And if you think I'm kidding about my lack of focus, I'm still a bit undecided which piece of writing to tackle during the challenge. These are the contenders:

• Continue the Regency novel that already has 22,000 words - but even that needs restructuring
• Continue another Regency novel that has only 3,000 words but might be fun to write
• Continue the contemporary novel set in Scotland that already has 14,500 words
• Continue the contemporary novel set in Scotland that already has almost 16,000 words
• Write the late Victorian crime novel that has only 2,200 words and a rough synopsis
• Write the 12th century novel that has only 2,700 words so far
• Continue changing a 2000 words short story set in 16th century Venice into a novel
• Continue the children's time-slip novel set partly in Ancient Egypt that has about 7,000 words so far

And that's just the novels that are already started! I'm also redrafting another children's novel and a mainstream adult novel to send out. Let's forget about all the short stories for the moment!

Shocking lack of focus isn't it? In my slight defense, some of these novels were started for the purpose of entering the novel competitions at our annual Scottish conference (for a critique). Only I didn't finish them afterwards and started another one each year - apart from the tween novel being published finally in March 2012). And I completed the mainstream novel that had a good NWS report from the RNA last year (now looking for an agent). And of course, one previous NWS Regency finally made it to publication this year.

Remember I mentioned I was a butterfly writer? Now you see the evidence! So, one decision is already made - need to make the other one this week so I can register the title of my NaNo novel. But I promise you, I need that month of focus!

Edits and NaNoWriMo

I'm right in the middle of the second edits of my forthcoming Tween novel, 'Summer of the Eagles', and I'm enjoying them immensely. Not because I don't have many (I do!) but I'm learning so much from this particular content editor. The publisher, MuseItUp (MuseItYoung imprint), is Canadian, the editor is American, and I'm allowed to keep my British spelling and phrases where possible. But what a lot I'm learning - about using active verbs and getting rid of far too much use of words like 'was', 'had', 'would', and so on. I don't always agree with every suggestion, and Susan is happy with that as she wants me to think for myself and keep my own voice. I'm now going to go through all my other writing and put some of this into practise - I hope!

I've been reading and hearing a lot about the annual NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I must admit I'm tempted to sign up for the first time. I'm a bit wary about the committment to try and write 50,000 words in one month, as I have a competition to judge during November, as well as the other writing projects on the go. BUT... I can't quite get into my next Regency novel as much I should and that's about the number of words I still need to finish it.

The connection between the edits and NaNoWriMo is that the whole philosophy behind the November writing month is to switch off your internal editor, forget about spelling, punctuation and grammar, and get the story down. As a panster type of writer, I think this might be an ideal way for me to move on with the book. After the month's challenge, of course, the book then has to be redrafted and edited, but I love that part of the process. It's getting the initial full length book written that's my problem as I'm too easily distracted by other writing.

So, I'd love some advice, opinions and experiences about NaNoWriMo, please, from anyone who has tackled it in a previous year. Or even if you're thinking of signing up this year. I need to decide soon!

Rosemary

Interviewed on Jude's blog

The fascinating Jude Johnson, who I profiled on my Author Spotlight last week, has now posted an interview with me about writing and Dangerous Deceit on her own lovely blog, Words that Remain.

Thanks, Jude!
Rosemary

Monday Market: The First Line

I found details of this intriguing little journal and thought their 'first line' approach to stories very useful for kickstarting ideas, as well as for submissions to their publication. They provide the first line of a story and entries should be between 300 and 3,000 words.

The first line for the current submission is 'It had been a long year', and entries should be emailed by November 1st 2011. They offer a token payment of $20 for published stories, but it's also a great site for first line ideas. This is often all we need to start the seeds of a storyline, so it's a valuable creative exercise.

Full details and rules of submission are on The First Line website.

Rosemary

Author Spotlight - Jude Johnson

Today, I’m delighted to welcome very interesting fellow Champagne author Jude Johnson into the Author Spotlight. Jude’s first novel, Dragon & Hawk, was published a few months ago and it introduced me completely to another time and way of life.

It’s always fascinating to read about an unfamiliar period of history through fiction and Dragon & Hawk takes the reader right into the later part of 19th century Arizona. The story is rich in historical detail, from the dangerous conditions in the mines to the saucy girls in the local saloon. The excellent characterisation of the three very different Welsh brothers drives the story forward. Each brother is carefully depicted but it is Evan Jones, the dragon of the title, we follow most closely in this book as he seeks to find his true love, the Senora.

The Senora herself is an interesting character – a curandera, a healer, and the hawk of the title. Their love is never straightforward and is hard-won but they are meant to be together. The author doesn’t spare the grittier details of life, the hardship and cruelty, but the characters feel like real people who lived and loved in those difficult times. An added bonus, or distraction, depending on your taste, is the addition of Spanish and Welsh phrases throughout the story, but they are always understandable and add to the authenticity of the period. Dragon & Hawk is an enthralling read!

Jude kindly agreed to answer the following questions.

Do you prefer to write (and read) historical fiction?

At the moment for writing, yes. I’m a Gemini, so I change my minds (my multiple personalities have multiple personalities) rather often, but so far writing history enthrals me. Though I have dipped my nib into fantasy a couple of times, it still was historical fantasy.

Reading-wise though I am all over the place. I have a huge stack of paper books and e-books to read: an Arthurian fantasy, a contemporary murder mystery, and a Persian-flavored take on Cinderella are all calling to me. Plus I’m reading nonfiction history of the American Revolution.

Why did you write about three Welsh brothers?

I fell in love with Cymraeg, the Welsh language, and started studying back in 2001. Then I went with my son’s (then) grade school class on a field trip to the copper mining town of Bisbee in Southern Arizona where one of the miner tour guides told us how the original mine managers went to Wales in the late 1870s to recruit workers. After all, the Welsh coal miners were renowned even then for their knowledge, skills, and scrappiness. Suddenly, a circuit snapped on in my brain and I imagined how they must have reacted when they arrived in such a hostile environment so totally alien from their homeland. I mean, Wales is lush green and trees and rain and sheep. Southern Arizona has this vast desert; Bisbee even then had no trees, no rain, big deadly rattlesnakes, and the Apaches weren’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat.

How did you do the research needed for Dragon & Hawk?

I started with things I didn’t know: mining details and how those men lived. Thank goodness for historical societies and how they preserved so much of those days! I am fortunate to live in Tucson where the first Territorial historical society was formed in 1874. Their research library has a ton of original documents, photographs, maps - even the original, hand-tooled leather ledger book of all the stagecoach and train robberies compiled by the Wells Fargo Detectives. I would get lost for hours reading and noting the little details, such as a real stage robber who came from Wales. I was also fortunate at the time to have two Native shaman and a long distance horse racing enthusiast to consult. My mom had also shared stories of my grandmother, who was a curandera - a Mexican mystic and healer back at the turn of the twentieth century. Those details were vital for me; I wanted my Welsh friends to know what it was like for them here, and I wanted my Arizona friends to learn about the cultures immigrant miners brought to our state.

I recently signed a contract with Anaphora Literary Press to have my research about real Welsh immigrants published. It’s called Cactus Cymry--Influential Welsh in the Southern Arizona Territory. (Cymry is the Welsh word for Welsh people.) It should be released in the next month or so - woot!

How important is natural medicine to you?

I have to kind of chuckle here because when I first shopped my manuscript around, a number of publishers labelled it a fantasy because of the natural/Native healing rituals. These aren’t fantasy to many, but are used constantly around here. We even have an “Integrative Medicine” clinic at the University of Arizona Medical School that incorporates herbs and Native medicine rituals. It’s second nature to me to use herbs and natural elements before anything else. My “real career” is as a chiropractic physician, and while I limit my practice to strictly accurate chiropractic manipulation, I tell my patients where to find information on alternatives if they so desire.

Are you writing a sequel?

Two sequels are already written and are in the queue for publication by Champagne Books. Book Two is Out of Forgotten Ashes and is scheduled for release in April 2012. Book Three is Dragon’s Legacy and will be released in July 2012.

My next project is in a different time and space from Dragon & Hawk. I’m working on a Revolutionary War tale based on the true story of a friend’s ancestor who was pressed into the British Navy, jumped ship in Boston Harbor, and nearly froze to death hiding out in a cranberry bog. And that’s just the beginning of his adventures!

Any tips for new writers?

Write what you love to read, or write what enthuses you. If you aren’t excited about it, how can you expect anyone else to be? Don’t worry about trends or what’s hot; the cycle always turns. And be open to change; characters don’t always do what you want them to! Sometimes their ideas are better than your original ones, so be ready to go with the flow.

Fascinating! Thank you for your insight, Jude.

Where to find Jude:
Website; Blog; Facebook; Twitter
To buy Jude's Books: Champagne Books
Jude's Amazon (US) Page
Jude's Amazon (UK) Page
Fictionwise

Coming soon (from catalogue): Anaphora Literary Press

Author Bio: Granddaughter of a curandera, a Mexican healer who uses herbs, psychology and a little bit of mysticism, Jude incorporates a bit of family legend into her Dragon & Hawk series. Currently, Book One, Dragon & Hawk, has been released by Champagne Books, with Books Two and Three slated for release in Spring 2012. Jude's short story Within The Mists, about a Lieutenant of Nelson's Navy rescued by a selchie (a woman on land who becomes a seal in the sea), is now also available from Champagne Books as an e-read.

Jude loves adventure, action, romance, and fantasy to spirit her readers into a different time and place. She has studied the Welsh language – Cymraeg - enough to order beer, swear, order pancakes, and ask for the facilities. Trips to Britain to capture the cadence of the melodic Welsh accent and attitude allowed her to infuse her Welsh immigrant characters with realism. Jude also speaks fairly bad border Spanish. Home is situated in the Catalina Foothills of northern Tucson, Arizona, near Pima Canyon and not too far from Sabino Canyon. Jude lives with her long-suffering husband and son, as well as two deranged cats who don't mind watching bobcats, coyotes, and javelina frequent the yard - but only from behind the double-paned windows.

Behind the Scenes Novel Spot

Way back when, the Champagne Books authors were given the opportunity to apply to be a featured writer on the Behind the Scenes Novel Spot. Although my first novel was just coming out, I reckoned October was far away and duly applied.

Well, from today, I'm the featured author all this week! This is a novel idea (excuse the pun) as I had to write an autobiographical piece to be spread over 7 days - kind of showing the writer and the influences behind the writing, as it were. It was fun to compose, although when I begin to read it over this week I'll probably wish I'd mentioned this, or left out that!

Online writing can seem a bit removed from real life sometimes, until we realise people might actually read it - a bit like any kind of writing really. And isn't that why most of us write and send work out in the first place, even though it's a scary thought sometimes. But it's fun to think about some of the influences through our lives that shape us today.

And if anyone wants to read my 7-day ramblings, they start today on Behind the Scenes!

Rosemary

Friendly Blogger Award

It's always lovely when blogging friends acknowledge one another and perhaps introduce writers and readers to blogs they haven't come across before.

So I'm delighted to accept this cute Friendly Blogger Award from my lovely writing friends: Janice Horton and Gilly Fraser. Than you both very much - I love reading your blogs!

In the spirit of giving, I'm now passing this award on to the following friendly bloggers. I follow many more, but these are the people whose blogs I regularly read and enjoy:

Vikki Gemmell  (my talented daughter)

Joan Fleming (supportive friend and new blogger)

Myra Duffy  (another supportive friend quite new to blogging)

Teresa Ashby  (one of my favourite short story writers and amusing blogger)

Joanna Campbell  (another favourite short story writer)

Joanne Fox  (yet another lovely short story writer)

Frances Garrood  (novelist and writer whose posts often make me smile)

Diane Fordham  (encouraging Australian writer)

Carol B  (friendly writing snippets)

K.C. Woolf  (inspiring words for women)

Paula Martin  (bloggging writer who feels like a friend)

Debs Carr (friendly Jersey writer aided by Grumps her dog)
Angela Barton (another lovely blogging friend)

Please pick up your award, ladies, and take a bow for keeping me entertained!

Rosemary

The Day After the Launch!

I had such a good time last night at my very first book launch and reading. Thank you so much to all my family and friends who came along to support me, and a special thanks to my daughter and her friends who helped to set out the nibbles and clear it all away! My dear, long-suffering husband deserves extra special thanks for everything he did to make it such an enjoyable evening. And I even sold many books (you can tell I'm not a busines woman). Dear Lorna brought me the gorgeous flowers in the photo. Thanks too, to all my lovely blogging and Facebook friends who wished me well. 


As a bit of fun, and hopefully some interest, I tried to dress in a vague semblance of Regency style. I just adapted a dress I had at home by sewing a ribbon under the bust, and I wore medium long white gloves, and even sewed some pearls on a cream ribbon to tie in my hair. Unfortunately, the hair wasn't long enough to pull neatly into a topknot, but my heroine, Lydia, usually had rather untidy hair.

I also brought along a parasol, a fan, a reticule and a shawl to illustrate the kind of items a Regency lady wouldn't be without. And I even showed a mask which my daughter bought me last Christmas - it might feature in the next book, if I ever get it finished! I've posted some photos of what a real Regency lady might look like on my romancing history blog.

So, all in all, I had a lovely evening and the venue was perfect. And the icing on the cake was the fact the local Art Club has an exhibition on in the elegant hall at the moment, so the walls were beautifully adorned with lovely paintings. Roll on the next launch!

Rosemary

Live Book Launch and Reading!

Well, it's finally here - my very first book launch and reading of Dangerous Deceit. It began with a fun cyber launch in May for the e-book and now it's a live launch of the print book in front of family, friends and acquaintances!

To make it more interesting and fun (I hope), I'm dressing in vaguely Regency-style, adapted from what I already have. It won't be completely authentic, but will give a flavour of the evening fashion of the period. I also have a fan, parasol, shawl, something that will pass for a reticule, and even a mask - although I won't be wearing the latter. Think I must be a frustrated actress!

The lovely venue is the Watt Hall, in the Victorian era MacLean Museum in my original home town of Greenock, from 6.30pm to 7.30pm, this evening, Monday 3rd October. I don't know whether to be excited or nervous, or both!

Rosemary