Cynthia Harrison's Blog, page 58

Back in ’73

A couple of weeks ago, I went to my 40th high school reunion at the beautiful botanical gardens in Taylor, Michigan, where I grew up. I don’t live there anymore, but my BFF Lisa was in town staying with us, and we decided it would be a fun trip down memory lane. Was it ever!

That’s Dave Allen and me in the pic above: he was my first love, my first kiss (!). The first kiss was not good. I thought kissing involved a lot of moving your head around, because that’s what it looked like on TV. Dave has no memory of how bad I was at kissing, but over the summer of ’69, he taught me:)

Now Dave is married to Diane. He plays guitar in a band. Like the MC5 shirt Dave is wearing, they kicked out the jams at the reunion, with a special appearance by Mike “Crawdaddy” Crawley on harmonica and vocals. Several ladies took the dance floor, along with a couple of the men, including Jesse Enriquez, another pal from way-back-when. Saw Mike Woodby too. I always loved him; he was so nice to me! He never tried to hit on me like most boys did back then. Not saying I was some beauty, far from it, it’s just guys. They’re like that when they’re teenagers.

Back to Dave for a minute. God, I loved him! I had one boyfriend before Dave, and I never let him kiss me. He put his arm around me at a dance and I thought he was getting fresh! But Dave, I was ready for him. That kiss he doesn’t remember was on the bleachers at West Junior High. Lisa and I drove by there after the reunion. We lived around the block from each other and drove by our houses. Trip back in time. Without the LSD.

So, Dave. I remember sitting in my parents’ basement and him casually talking about “when we got married.” I was thrilled! I remember his mom bringing us cold drinks as we sat on his porch. I remember I went with the family to Cedar Point. This was true love for a twelve year old. Or was I 13? Dave remembered another incident in which I gave him a love bite that was clearly visible to his mom. She didn’t hold it against me.

We were so innocent. All we did was kiss. And love each other lots. The best part of seeing Dave is he told me he sometimes reads my blog! I had no idea he even knew I had a blog. Crawdaddy brought a print copy of The Paris Notebook all the way from Kentucky for me to autograph. That was sweet, too. Just good people, good times, and yes, gray hair.

To Ad or Not To Ad

I get lots of email from “people” asking me to link to their site, or that they’d like to “sponsor” my blog, or that if I display their widget, they will pay me to do so. Some name a price, some don’t. Some say it will be “mutually beneficial” others are more blatantly commercial.

When this blog went live, there were very few blogs for and about writers. Now almost every writer has a blog. Even some of the literary ones:) It is a “platform.” It is a “marketing tool.” I get the feeling that sometimes, for the writer, her blog is a necessary nuisance. That’s not why I blog. I blog to connect with other writers. And I like writing about writing. Call it a quirk.

I have not done any research on how prevalent these emails selling ads to bloggers have become. For a new blogger, and sometimes for a not-so-new one, some of these pitches are enticing. I just got one that said they’d give me a $50 Starbucks card if I linked once to their grammar site (I teach grammar) in a post. I will do almost anything for coffee, but not that.

I like the look of my ad-free blog. I used to be an “Amazon Associate” figuring I link to them anyway, so why not use their ad-link? Three reasons: 1. they look like ads. 2. they don’t pay much. 3. they are kind of a hassle.

Just not worth it. OTOH some people get paid very good money from ads. If you have a huge readership and outstanding content, if you can name your price and do it in a classy way, if you believe in the product you are hawking, then sure, make money off your blog. Make a very good living off your blog. Cheers.

Once, early in this blog’s life, I got an email asking to place a small text ad in my sidebar for six months. I could name my price. I asked Mike, my son & webmaster, what to do and he said “think of the highest dollar amount you’d like to receive, then tell them that’s your price.” I came up with $1200. They sent the money to me immediately through PayPal. Mike put up the text ad and “sponsored by” in the sidebar and we split the profits. After six months, they did not renew (guess I didn’t sell very many used laptops). I have not accepted an ad offer since.

Here’s why. Mike, among other IT things, builds corporate websites for a living. He is my expert. I forward him the more delicious sounding offers and he always says “I wouldn’t.” So I don’t. I was telling him about the guy who said “if you’re ever in my city, I’d love to meet for coffee.” Mike says it wasn’t really a person, it was a “bot” and what I thought were real human interactions were in fact spam. He said not to reply at all.

It’s up to you, but if you’re a writer, think about advertising. Your own work, for sure. In a subtle classy way, of course.

Murphy & Everything Else

Murphy is visiting. He’s an energetic one-year-old Cardigan Corgi, and he is adorable. Mike and Jessica are here too. Jan stopped by yesterday to say hi. Since she lives right behind us, it was easy for her to pop in. Then Aunt Louise and Marie stopped in bearing many gifts. Four bottles of Cupcake wine, feta cheese pizzas, chocolate molten cakes, pretty little treasures for the house.

Mom called this morning and Dad is cleared to travel (he just got a new knee). They will be here tomorrow night. This is the most I’ve ever got to enjoy having Mike and Jessica here now that her mom is gone to NC and we have a guest room. Mike and Jess are on a month long adventure across the USA. Stops included Montana, Michigan, North Carolina, and California. Probably Arizona too. I’m happy that this is OUR time:)

Al left this morning for his NASCAR race weekend. Mike and Jessica are going to a Tiger game, and I have a work luncheon. But we will all meet back here tonight:) And tomorrow night Mom will get to see her grandson. As she has repeatedly told me, “I just want to see Mike!” So that works out. Whew.

I start work Tuesday and am not completely ready. I want to attend the meeting/lunch before I commit my syllabus to the copy center. There may be new things I need to add. And I’ll be meeting my new dean, who has been very patient and supportive of me during my time off. Also, don’t think I’ll get the next book done before school. That’s fine. You might notice that Mike put the image of Blue Heaven with the other widgets on the side of my page. You click it to buy. But of course all of you who read this should know: Blue Heaven will be free exclusively on Kindle October 1-5!

Now to dress for work…

 

The Scoop

Woke up this morning with bags under my eyes and dark circles too. This has never ever happened before! What is going on? Other than getting older.

Still I must soldier on as in less than a week, I will be back in school. I need to write my syllabus. And tonight, my son, his wife, and their dog are coming to stay for a few days! So excited:) Before that I need to vacuum, dust, shop and go to the dentist. No problem! Then, my husband is on vacation next week. Yes, the very same week I go back to class. Still, we’re going to grab a few days together because I only work part-time.

So that’s the scoop. Maybe if I cut a cucumber and put a slice on each closed eye?

Bringing the Sexy

My publishing contract states there must be at least one consummation scene in every book. Most people call these sex scenes, but an article I read on writing them (yes I need instructions!)  said they are really “love” scenes because  when the hero and heroine make love for the first time, it’s a turning point in the story. They are committed.

Last time my critique group met, I gave them pages with the love scene deleted. Just a little note where the scene went. They insisted I send it to them. This is a first for our group, and we’ve been together for several years.

These scenes are the most difficult to write. When I reviewed romance novels and women’s fiction for a living, I saw too many mixed metaphors and cliches. The only consummation scene I’ve ever read and liked was in Jennifer Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation. I prefer the flirting and the attraction and the yearning. When they get there, I want to close the door.

Still, they’d all asked for it, so I sent the scene, which was less than a page and a half. Here are my favorite comments:

“Can you begin the the sentence with a word other than ejaculation?”

and

“I don’t think she’d be thinking of biology class at this time.”

Ha. Those critiques were both from women. A male member, no pun intended, asks me to switch paragraphs. I need to look at that a little closer to see how it flows. The other male in our group gave his wife the pages and she commented for him:)

I like writing the first kiss, the first touch, the major attraction moments, the almost did it but were interrupted scenes. I have lots of those. Consummation? Only what the contract calls for.

Actors always say things like “filming a love scene is anything but romantic.” Same goes for writing one. At least for me. If you’d like to read my consummation scene from The Paris Notebook, it comes (sorry!) early, Chapter Four, pages 22-25. Page 24 to be exact.

Don’t Want to Write

Today, and to be totally honest, lots of days this summer, I have not been in the mood to write. It used to be that I did it anyway. First thing. Now I look at email and Twitter and Facebook first. I am upset that somehow I lost my writing routine. Social media is a fun place for writers to hang out. But you go to the bar after work, not before.

I finally decided I would look up my old posts on motivation (there were only four of them) to see if I could find anything I could use now. This is from August last year:

Yesterday…

I made coffee instead of tea, did some morning pages while sipping that first cup of coffee. As usual my journal was a bitchfest. And then I just stopped. I was not into brooding. I decided to let my body lead and leave my thinking mind behind. So I watched an Oprah show I’d taped over the weekend. I never watch television in the morning. Just switching to an unfamiliar schedule turned out to be the way to turn off the me, me, me.

After that hour, without even thinking about it, I came up to my writing room and worked on WIP for an hour. Then I walked on my treadmill and did some yoga and weights.  

When I woke up today the two things I did not want to do were 1.write 2. exercise. I did them anyway. I put away my short term “don’t wanna” went on a little t.v. vacation and  then cruised on the sweetness of how having done those two things would make me feel.

A lot of the time it isn’t that I want to write. It’s that I want to have written. Always, I don’t want to exercise, and always I want to have gotten in some exercise. So that’s the key. Not what I want to do in the moment but what I want to have done by the day’s end.

Switching things up every now and then seems to be the key. Must be time to switch from social media first thing to working on the novel first thing.

Topping my Gratitude List Today

[image error]

 

And so another novel has arrived. I feel such gratitude to my husband, who put me through grad school just to see me take years off the day job to write; to my publisher The Wild Rose Press, and to my editor DJ. Also to all the friends who support me and my writing. Most of all to my son Mike, who put me on this path (or should I say platform) creating a corner of the web for me to write from. xo

Early Release!

[image error]

When I was in junior high, I tried out for cheerleading. No matter that I couldn’t see and refused to wear glasses so there would be no way to learn any of the cheer footwork since feet were fuzzy and too far away. No matter that I’d never turned a cartwheel or done anything athletic in my life. I jumped in and did it. And I failed. When I saw what the other girls could do–human pyramids!– I understood that cheer was not something I could join in order to learn. It was something that needed previous practice. So girls who had parents that took them to classes before they tried out, or even just girls who went out and hunted down someone, an older sister, a neighbor,  to train them, were in and I was out.

I have a new challenge ahead, and like every challenge I face, I’m reminded of why I failed at cheerleading try-outs. I was not prepared. I also thought I was clumsy, just a natural clod, until I started yoga many years ago. Through yoga practice I learned headstands and plows and half moons. I learned balance and loved it. So when I have a new challenge I also think of yoga and what I can do. So, I felt both fear and elation when I learned that Blue Heaven is going to be released this Friday exclusively on Amazon.

All the hard work of writing, when you don’t want to, when you’ve revised to death, when you’re unhappy with sales and think “Is this really worth it?” It is. And the way I feel right now is why. Fizzy with happiness. Elation mixed with fear. What if my book sinks without notice? So many books do now since indie publishing has gained tremendous momentum in our popular culture. How to stand out? How to sell?

This “early release exclusive” is a marketing ploy; I’ve used some of the tricks before, when I was on my own and didn’t have the savvy of a publisher and super media consultant. I cannot wait to see the results this time! There are a couple of steps to this extended release. First step is Friday. I can feel myself at the keyboard all day saying “Hey!! Look at me!! I published a book!!” Hmmm. Maybe I should apologize for being obnoxious up front. Maybe during my cartwheels, I’ll fall right on my tush.

Marketing does not come easy or naturally to me. Some folks have it and some of us don’t. But I’m going to try for my little book. Books are like pets or children in that you will go places you absolutely fear to ensure their happiness and health. And healthy sales bring happiness. So, watch me as I try to do this thing called marketing. No cartwheels necessary.

 

Cover & Blurb

[image error]

 

With a tight budget and two months, Eva Delacroix has to turn six dilapidated cottages on Lake Huron into a shabby chic tourist destination. Fulfilling her father’s renovation dreams and her own needs for family, Blue Heaven is Eva’s last resort. Daniel Bryman will do anything in his power to stop city girl Eva from destroying the integrity of the historic structures his ancestor built. But as they work together to rebuild the main cabin, Eva’s determination makes him question his own life choices. Despite their opposing views, they do agree on what to do with the attraction between them. When everything they’ve built threatens to crash down around them, will love be enough to save Blue Heaven?

Editors & Endings

I read a great book this weekend that would have been much better with a little help from an editor. As I started to read the novel, I was thinking “This person is so good. Why is s/he not traditionally published? Why isn’t there a movie deal on the table?” Sure, there were a few typos, maybe ten in the entire book. An editor would have caught those, but okay, the story is so good, I just read on.

And then I reached the end. Reader, it wasn’t good. It didn’t give that sense of completion a great ending always strives to achieve. It was like this person just stopped typing. And I felt really bad for that author, because an editor would have helped improve the weak conclusion. My editor at The Wild Rose Press spotted the sloppy ending of Blue Heaven, my soon to be released novel, right away. It was the first comment she offered me. And when she said it, I knew she was right. I scrapped 50 or so pages and got back to work.

As much as I love the indie community, everyone in it should have an editor. I have two degrees in English literature, taught writing to college students for almost two decades and worked as a staff reviewer in  two top trade magazines. I’ve read widely and have given editing advice to thousands of college freshmen. And I still need my editor to get my novel right.

About those college freshman…by far the most common problem I see in their essays is not grammar or usage issues, it’s the conclusion. College students can’t wait for the assignment to be over, so many of them dash off a weak conclusion. Novelists can’t afford to do that. Our endings should wrap up the story, but more, they should offer one last special something for the reader. Brilliant endings are just as important as fabulous openings. Conclusions can make or break a book. If the ending doesn’t work, that’s likely all a reader will remember. If an ending is special in some way, readers will remember that, too. And they’ll buy your next book.