Kimberly Fish's Blog, page 5

Keyboarding Clatter

I’ve been holed up in my favorite hermit spot for a few weeks now, busily attacking the second draft of the work-in-progress, okay, it’s really called Harmon General. Gosh, it’s hard to keep a secret these days. As it is, my fingers fly so fast that I then have to spend a few hours re-reading and editing what plot elements have been brought on by copious amounts of dark chocolate, goldfish crackers, and Dr Pepper–not necessarily in that order, and sometime all at once. I’m looking forward to releasing some snippets from the story, once I feel they’re show-off worthy, to help build the momentum for the book release in 2018.

Hope you’ll stay with me for the ride, and that you’ll be pleased when you reconnect with familiar characters from The Big Inch.

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Packing My Bags for a Blog Tour

Hello, friends. Hope you’re in an armchair traveling mood. One of the reasons I write is to take mental vacations to places I want to explore and experience. (And buying a book is a lot cheaper than an airline ticket!) I hope that’s one of the reasons you read too.

Bloggers with Lone Star Literary are ready to take my latest book, Comfort Plans, on a tour and share their thoughts, insights, and reviews of the plot with their readers across Texas and assorted state lines. I’ve never met these bloggers in person, but I read their reviews of other books and hope they enjoy spending time between the pages of this Hill Country contemporary novel, uncovering the backstory of house that was ready to spill it’s beans about the past. I’ll be watching from afar, because I discover their reviews the same time you do.

I’ll be in Jackson Hole, Wyoming when the blogs debut on social media those first few weeks of August, so my bags are going to high country and I’ll end days of hiking and exploring with time around the computer, touching base with readers and friends who are starting or ending their days with Comfort Plans. I’m thinking of these blogs like a “trip advisor” for mental vacation spots! If you enjoyed your time in Comfort, please leave a review on the Amazon page or at GoodReads so others can know what other vacationers have experienced.

Comfort Plan is Let Loose on the Market

One of my favorite stories I’ve ever concocted is now let loose in the marketplace. I’m not sure an author should say they have favorites–that’s a bit like a mother saying she prefers one child over another–but Comfort Plans has been in my heart, imagination, and computer for many years. It’s evolution is one that I hold dear. My agent and I shopped this story (in an earlier version) because it was a fun story with memorable characters, but it wasn’t until I told the story that the old German farmhouse wanted to tell that the novel really took on some grit. As a fan of “house stories” –because who hasn’t thought that walls could talk??–I was able to tap into limestone of this Comfort location and mine it for new layers. The dust from that story added a new level of tension to the one going on with the house’s remodel and before long the architect and the contractor were getting remodeled too. The book’s cover is so dreamy that I’ve had strangers comment on the colorful design and wonder about the handwriting in the background. You’ll just have to read to find out why the cover is so perfect–thank you, Holly Forbes at Forbes and Butler Graphic Design. The book is on Amazon and local Longview stores–Barron’s and Louis Morgan. It will be formatted for Kindle soon, so if e-readers are your format, hang on, it shouldn’t be much longer until it’s up at Kindle. I’d value your kind reviews on Amazon or Goodreads, so enjoy the story and tell all your friends.Comfort Plans

Curiosity and TV interviews

I met a TV reporter today who admitted he didn't know the local history of the town he grew up in . . .and he was curious to learn. What's remarkable is that he's smarter than a good portion of our population who don't know what they don't know about the place they call home. I'm grateful for newspaper, magazine and TV reporters who try to change those statistics. Hopefully, this will load as I'll link the KETK news story here.

http://www.easttexasmatters.com/news/...

Vulnerability isn't easy, but it's good

I had the opportunity to speak to Zonta Int'l members in Longview about the journey I've taken (a bit twisty, and not without it's sudden drop-offs) and how grit and hope are the antidotes to digging one's self into a hole when all obvious purpose and plans seem gone. I'd never articulated that message out loud and it was a liberating experience to talk about the lengths women (ok, me) will go to and the crap we willing to endure to further an intrinsic need to make a community better. For me, the end result was creating the novel, The Big Inch. But as with all writers, this is not really the end. It's the beginning.

Writing Diversity

One of the challenges I face in re-creating a city from 1942 is trying to be true to the era without being disrespectful to diversity. The Big Inch pipeline was built during a time when immigrants were flooding into East Texas in droves (jobs, oil-related business opportunities, easy money from gambling, etc.) The Texas city that this story centers around, Longview, dates back to a post-Civil War era and the city fathers/mothers built monuments to Confederate war heroes. Those attitudes hadn't dissipated much by 1942. With my 21-st century mindset altered from those who fought the Civil War for States Rights (and a lot of those rights included slavery) it's a bit off-putting to write historical characters of color (african and middle-eastern) and be authentic to the sensibilities entrenched in 1942. Particularly, as I feel different about people of color (all colors) than these predecessors. So, how to do this and not re-write a time or culture? It was hard. I can't promise I got this right, either. But I did put thought into not repeating traditional, Southern stereotypes. As a daughter of the south, I'm well aware of where the lines were drawn, what I had no experience to speak of, was what was life like on the other side of the line.

I'd asked friends of color to talk to me about this 1940s culture, but most said they didn't know or they weren't from here. I think they know, they just didn't want to talk about it. So I took what I knew, and I put myself in shoes that didn't fit. I tried to walk a mile or so through my mental re-creations of Longview and I tried to imagine what it would have been like for folks who were seemingly invisible to the majority. I believe that regardless of the color of a person's skin, there's still character, dignity, and grit. I used that as a leaping off point. I'll know how that translates when I hear what readers think.

Pinterest Board for The Big Inch

If pictures do speak more loudly than words (and as writer I express some concern!) then check out my pinterest page at Kimberly Fish to see the inspiration photos pinned there. Thanks!

Playlists and Characters

Though I wasn't smart enough to figure this out at the beginning of my novel crafting life, writing scenes to specific music has given an intuition to my character's actions and comments--a zest that was missing before. It helped to sit down one afternoon and think through what style of music--and why--would appeal to the people coming to life on my pages. Some characters love music, love to dance, and can't hear a tune without tapping their fingers. Other don't even acknowledge that they recognize a particular singer or group. Much like personality profiles help to craft a character, music has a role to play too. Plus, it's fun learning this aspect of a character and using that knowledge to make the story more authentic.

Sold Out

Overjoyed, overwhelmed, and over stimulated: the over words that best describe the first 36 hours of my book release events for The Big Inch. The 100 copies I'd ordered for my book signing were gone before noon Saturday. Yes, I have a lot of very nice friends. So the question remains, where do I go from here? How do I translate positive momentum at the start into a marathon enduring strength? I'm not sure, but i'm learning and how to have a good story to tell when I get a little farther down the road. To those who bought my book this week, you have my deepest thanks.

Books Arrived!

I nearly kissed my UPS delivery man, Mr. Chumley. I did invite him to my reveal party next week, as Mr. Chumley has been an important part of my life for 12 years. He's brought me research materials, books, maps, coats, shoes, cookies, wine, movies, music, gifts, surprises, and old treasures. Our kids went to high school together, and we've followed each others lives through ups and downs. And now he's brought me my books. I told him yesterday, when he wheeled four big boxes into my garage, that he was bringing my dream come true. He thought he preferred bringing sporting goods--they were easier to handle. The books have arrived, and I'll be bringing them to my book release party and two upcoming book signings. A dream come true.