Cindy R. Williams's Blog, page 6

Wednesday Writer ~ Tristi Pinkston

By Cindy R. Williams

CRW: Welcome Tristi! It's a pleasure to have as our Wednesday Writer today on Writers Mirror. Tristi, in one sentence, please introduce Tristi Pinkston to us.

Tristi: I'm a mom, a homeschooler, a terrible housekeeper, a blogging addict, a lover of naps, a fairly decent wife, a dedicated Cafe World player, a new Cubmaster, a freelance editor, a Molly Mormon and proud of it (especially the Molly part) and the author of five, soon to be six, published books.

CRW: (Laughing) Why did you first begin to write?

Tristi: I first started writing when I was about five years old. I wrote a poem after church one Sunday and my mother started planning my first book launch.

CRW: What inspires you to write?

Tristi: Everything. I hear a song or a news report, or the little voices in my head start talking to me, and it all leads to writing. I'm just addicted to it.

CRW: Do you try to write daily, and if so, do you set a goal of a certain number of words?

Tristi: I would like to write daily, but it doesn't always happen. Rather than setting a certain number of words, I write in bursts, generally in half-hour bursts, and I typically get around 1,400 words at a pop. If the muse isn't flowing, I don't write.

CRW: What gets in your way of writing?

Tristi: Generally speaking, it's just the other tasks I need to do that keep me from writing. I might have a lot of housework to do, or I might be working for an editing client, and so I'll do those things and skip my own writing for the day. Although, if I'm going to be perfectly honest, and I think I should, more often than not the housework waits.

Sometimes I do get hung up on a plot point, but those tend to resolve themselves if I let them.

CRW: How do you get past it?

Tristi: When it comes to the plot point issues, I'll either let it stew in the back of my brain a bit, or I'll talk it over with someone. There's something about speaking the problem out loud that makes it easier to solve. My critique group is awesome at helping me figure out details, too.

CRW: What makes you CRAZY about writing –both crazy good and crazy bad?

Tristi: The things that make me crazy in a bad way are computer glitches and the fact that authors don't make much money. But I'm crazy about it in a good way because it makes me happy. I love sharing stories with others.

CRW: Where is the weirdest place you have worked on a writing project?

Tristi: In the waiting room of a hospital.

CRW: How long does it take you to complete a book?

Tristi: It all depends on the book - some of the Secret Sisters books took just six weeks to write, and then they went through the critique group process. Other books, like my historicals, take much longer. If there's research involved, it definitely takes longer.

CRW: Where do you get your ideas for your books?

Tristi: Under couch cushions, in the lint screen ... just kidding. Ideas can come from anywhere. It's just a function of asking yourself, "What if?" You hear a news story, and you ask yourself, "What if that person had reacted differently?" and suddenly, you've got the start of a story.

CRW: Where do you get your character's names?

Tristi: Occasionally, a character will pop into my head with their name intact. This was the case with Ida Mae Babbitt. She showed up, told me her name, and I never even considered changing it. Her counselor, Arlette, was the same way. I did change Tansy's name. She started out as Mitzie. But I have a friend named Mitzie who is very different from Tansy's character, so I decided to change the name. Took me about ten seconds to realize what the name should be.

Other times, I'll pull up a baby name website on the computer, or I'll turn to a list of names I started some years ago as I heard names I liked. I'll go through the lists until I find the name that "fits" that character.

CRW: What is your favorite writing food?

Tristi: I eat a lot of sunflower seeds, but they make my jaws tired. My #1 favorite thing to munch/drink is ice water, with lots of ice. I also consume my fair share of chocolate. I lean toward foods I can eat with one hand while scrolling or typing with the other. I consume a fair number of my meals at the computer.

CRW: What do you do when you get writer's block?

Tristi: I put it aside and don't worry about it. Ideas flow best in a stress-free environment, and if I'm stuck, there's no reason to push it. If I get away from the computer and watch a movie or take a hot shower, before long, the ideas start to flow again.

CRW: You mentioned you belong to a critique group? Please share with us how it helps.

Tristi: I've been meeting with my group for a couple of years now, and they are invaluable to me in pointing out those little things I either don't know or space off. I wish I had them when I first started writing.

CRW: How do you prepare your WIP to submit? Do you edit it yourself, or do you hire it out?

Tristi: I work as a freelance editor, so I edit it myself, but I run it through my critique group first.

CRW: Tell us about your book "Dearly Departed."

Tristi: "Dearly Departed" is the second book in The Secret Sisters Mysteries series. Our main character, Ida Mae Babbitt, is back to solving crime - this time, infiltrating a nursing home where she believes a murder has taken place. The first book, "Secret Sisters," is available wherever good LDS books are sold, and also on Amazon.

CRW: Who is your publisher?

Tristi: I just signed with Walnut Springs.

CRW: Congratulations Tristi! (Clapping, cheering, cartwheels) Please give us your best "Elevator Pitch."

Tristi: With a broken arm and a broken ankle, Ida Mae Babbitt is in a perfect position to infiltrate a suspect nursing home and discover who did away with the blue-haired lady on the upper floor. But she'll need her motorized wheelchair to catch the culprit once she learns who it is.

CRW: It sounds intriguing and . . . hilarious. Please tell us about your other books.

Tristi: My first novel is titled "Nothing to Regret," and is about the Japanese internment camps during World War II, specifically the one called Topaz down by Delta.









Next came "Strength to Endure," which is also set in World War II, but from the German perspective.






After that, I wrote "Season of Sacrifice," which is the true story of my great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Perkins, who engineered the passage through the Hole in the Rock in southern Utah. This book was the most spiritually fulfilling for me to write, as it's my family history.








Then I released "Agent in Old Lace," which was my first contemporary book and also my first mystery. It has some elements of humor in it as well, as a male FBI agent must pose as a woman to bring the bad guy to justice.








Last March, I released "Secret Sisters" the first volume in The Secret Sisters Mysteries. It's a fun, light-hearted mystery which spoofs a lot of things about LDS culture in a non-offensive way.

CRW: Where can Writers Mirror Readers purchase your novels?

Tristi: They're found in LDS bookstores everywhere, but they're also all found on Amazon.com. I would recommend going there first - my first two books are out of print and no longer available, but you can get them on Amazon. Here are the links:

"Nothing to Regret"
http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-regret-Historical-Tristi-Pinkston/dp/1930980914/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1290017052&sr=1-7

"Strength to Endure"
http://www.amazon.com/Strength-Endure-Historical-Tristi-Pinkston/dp/1932280480/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1290017052&sr=1-5

"Season of Sacrifice"
http://www.amazon.com/Season-Sacrifice-Tristi-Pinkston/dp/0979434017/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1290017052&sr=1-4

"Agent in Old Lace"
http://www.amazon.com/Agent-Old-Lace-Tristi-Pinkston/dp/1599553082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1290017052&sr=1-1

"Secret Sisters" 
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Sisters-Tristi-Pinkston/dp/1935546090/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1290017052&sr=1-3

You can also get two of my books for the Kindle.

"Agent in Old Lace"
http://www.amazon.com/Agent-in-Old-Lace-ebook/dp/B0049B327E/ref=sr_1_cc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1290017052&sr=1-2-catcorr

"Secret Sisters"
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Sisters-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B003X4M8IW/ref=sr_1_cc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1290017052&sr=1-3-catcorr

CRW: Okay, now here is the toughie. Why are you a writer?

Tristi: That's not a toughie - I'm a writer because I don't have any other choice. It just ... happens.

CRW: Well put. What would be the best complement you could receive from a reader?

Tristi: Readers most compliment me in three ways - when they tell me they stayed up all night reading, when they tell me the book made them cry, or when they tell me that the book helped them realize the truth behind an important gospel or life principle. Those are the compliments I most remember. Of course, though, any and all compliments are welcome.

CRW: If you were only able to write one more book to leave as your legacy, what would you write about?

Tristi: I already did it. "Season of Sacrifice" is the book I feel I was supposed to write. Everything else that comes after it is icing on the cake. That doesn't mean I plan on retiring any time soon, but it means that I feel a measure of accomplishment having done that.

CRW: Lucky lady, you get to cross that one off your bucket list. Where can we read more about you or contact you, such as website or blog sites?

Tristi: My blog: http://www.tristipinkston.blogspot.com/

My website: http://www.tristipinkston.com/  You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter, just using my name to search, and I also write regularly for Families.com

CRW: Thank you for sharing this with us on Writers Mirror.

Tristi: Thank you for hosting me! It's been a lot of fun!

Eat, Write and Be Merry For Tomorrow We Sleep!

by Cindy R. Williams

Eat, write and be merry for tomorrow we sleep. Do you live your life like this sometimes? Do you have writing jags that keep you flying and you stay up most of the night? Maybe you are in the re-writing stage, the editing stage. the proofing stage. No matter what stage, it can happen.

I'm guilty. Sometimes the world revolves around my manuscript. I have decided it is NOT good. Oh, once in a great while it's okay, but for the most part NOT! I believe it's possible to go off the deep end if we don't learn to balance the writing life. It's far healthier for mind, body, emotions and spirit to live with a good dose of the staples of life. "Moderation of all things" is my new motto.

Read up on some of the big name authors, and you'll find that many of them plant themselves in their chair anywhere from two to eight hours a day, on a regular basis. They respect their writing and treat it as a job. Then they STOP! They enjoy the other wonderful things in their lives.

Sounds like a plan, a good plan. No need to sacrifice all sanity nor my lovely family. It can all work together with moderation in all things.

I DID IT!

THE QUERY LETTER IS DONE!
What's a query letter you say? It's a letter that is meant to convince an editor that your story is the greatest story ever told and that they absolutely have to have it even more than chocolate. A query letter is your proposal of sorts, your calling card, you're desperate plea to "PICK ME! PICK ME!" without sounding the least bit whiny or desperate.

I have been flying on Sparkin the dragon's noble back over Arizona for three years now and yet found the query letter ...

2nd Annual SUMMER TREASURE HUNT

Welcome to our second annual "Summer Treasure Hunt: Dig for Clues and Win" Contest! My author friend, Joyce DiPastena, organized this SUPER SUMMER contest again this year. A prize is given away everyday from June 1 through Juloy 8th. We have something for everyone: romance, fantasy, mystery, suspense, historical, contemporaries, young adult and middle grade fiction; children's picture books including Cindy R. Williams' Award Winning "Chase McKay Didn't Get Up Today."  (Hey, isn't she the the ...

Book Review ~ "Summer in Paris" by Michele Ashman Bell

SUMMER IN PARIS by Michele Ashman Bell
           "I declared bankruptcy this morning. We've lost everything." Kenzie's father took a breath and continued. "We have thirty days to auction off our belongings and move out of the house."
      Kenzie's mouth dropped open with disbelief. "Bankrupt," she whispered. That one word had the power to reduce her life from chauffeurs and credit cards to nothing.
     "While we sort this out," her father continued, "we've made arrangements for you to stay...

Book Review ~ "I'll Know You By Heart" by Kimberly Job

The day Stephanie Roberts met Jared Wakefield, she didn't realize they had met before. Running from an abusive marriage and trying to safeguard her children, Stephanie turns to Jared for support--but he needs more from her than she might be capable of giving.  With her abusive husband looming in her past, the difficulties they must overcome seem insurmountable.

Is it possible for love to conquer all?  "I'll Know You By Heart" is a timeless romance that explores the possibility that...

Book Review ~ "The Thorn" by Daron D. Fraley

"The Thorn" by Daron D. Fraley is a new release by Valor Publishing Group, LLC. Writers Mirror has been invited to participate in the book blog review tour. Let's start with the captivating blurb on the back.

Three tribes are at war on the planet Gan, unaware that the sing of Christ's birth on an unknown word--Earth--is about to appear in the heavens.

During a bloody skirmish with Gideonite troops, Jonathan of Daniel spares Pekah, a young enemy soldier, gaining his trust forever. These two...

Wednesday Writer ~ Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen

Author Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen
Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen was born and raised in Rexburg, Idaho, received her Associates Degree in English from Ricks College and studied writing at Weber State University and Utah State University. Her first article was published in a 1994 magazine, and she has since published numerous articles and short stories in print and online mediums. Her first mystery novel, MISSING, was published in 2009, and her second novel, TRAPPED, will be available in stores next month.

CR...

Wednesday Writer - Author Nichole Giles

Nichole Giles was born in Nevada, raised in Arizona, and graduated high school in Utah. Her early career plans included becoming a megastar actress or rock star, but she decided instead to have a family and then become a writer, in that order. Writing is her passion, but she also loves to spend time with her family, travel, drive in the rain with the convertible top down, and play music at full volume so she can sing along.


CRW: Welcome, Nichole, to Writers Mirror. It is really great to...

Wednesday Writer ~ ANWA Writer's Conference

If you are ready to take your writing serious, you won't want to miss the ANWA Writer's Conference. It is one of the best in the west, with some very big names in the business and the cost is about a third of most other writer's conferences.

ANNOUNCING THE ANWA 2010
WRITER'S CONFERENCE
"Start Write Now"
Open to all writers on this or any other planet.


The 2010 ANWA Writers Conference
Saturday, February 27, 2010
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Dobson Ranch Inn,
1666 South Dobson Road
Mesa, Arizona 85202-5699

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