Bridges DelPonte's Blog, page 5

Get Your NaNoWriMo On!

Last year, I checked out NaNoWriMo–National Novel Writing Month–and managed to write 30,000 words on one of my writing projects. It’s a great way to kick start your writing, even if you don’t plan to crank out 50,000 plus words.

In honor of NaNoWriMo, my friends at Citrus Crime Writers (CCW – Central Florida Chapter of Sisters in Crime, Inc.) have asked me to lead a write-in at their November monthly meeting. So I’ll be joining CCW members for a virtual write-in on Sunday, November 14, 1:30-3:00 pm! We’ll socialize and hold a business meeting from 1:30-2:00, then convene a write in from 2:00-3:00.

Stay in touch with your fellow writers and get some writing done, all from the comfort of home. And have a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card when we draw a name from all of those present for the write in!!

If you are a CCW member, please watch your e-mail for a link to the Zoom meeting. If you’re not a member but want to attend, please email us at citruscrimewriters@gmail.com!  See you on Sunday!!

P.S. Check out more of the details about the meeting at any of these links:

SinC Nat’l Chapter Blog – https://www.sistersincrime.org/blogpost/1475420/381605/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/citruscrimewriters

CCW WordPress Website – https://citruscrimewriters.wordpress.com/

The Power of Books at Powell’s

Any writer’s visit to Portland will inevitably lead to Powell’s City of Books, one of the oldest and largest independent bookstores in the country. Started in Portland in 1971, it houses millions of new, used and rare books with thousands of different book sections. Like a lot of indie booksellers, Powell’s has survived the ups and downs of the bookselling business, including the COVID pandemic. In March 2020, Powell’s closed all of its locations and laid off most of its unionized workforce due to COVID. Since April 2021, three of its stores have reopened with lingering disagreements with its employees’ union over its rehiring practices. (For more see Powell’s, union remain at odds over bookstore’s rehiring practices).

Despite the pandemic and this controversy, Powell’s flagship store on West Burnside Street in Portland was abuzz with customers when I visited, even in the middle of the day and in the middle of the week. The store is enormous and you could easily get lost without a color-coded map…and maybe even a compass… to help you explore it. There was no way I could take in the whole Powell’s experience in a few hours. But I really enjoyed browsing its shelves and its expansive offerings of quirky note cards and book bags along with unique Portland-based products, like local bitters and sea salts. And only in Portland would the action figures at Powell’s be Biden, AOC, and Mueller! Even if you don’t have the opportunity to visit Powell’s, please check out your local independent bookstore–they can surely use your support during these tough times.

Getting Back to Writer Square?

Maybe it’s the dog days of August, but I’ve been somewhat unmotivated about my writing the past couple of weeks. It could be a bad case of novel post-partum—I’ve delivered my baby—Friends Like These—and now it’s on submission and I’m in a holding pattern, hoping a publisher likes my novel enough to buy it. But it’s been hard to get geared up for another long haul of writing my next book.

I’m sporadically hacking away on a first draft of a new novel and rewriting some short materials for an upcoming community event as well as a writers’ workshop. So I haven’t stopped writing. Yet I’m not really in the writing flow at the moment.

Hey fellow writers—what do you find helps you to get back on track with your writing and to get back to Writer Square? A writers’ conference? A writing retreat? A temporary break from writing? Thanks for any suggestions.

Love That Little Free Library!

Most of us share books we love with family and friends. But how about people we don’t know in our community?  I stumbled upon a Little Free Library in an adjacent neighborhood after a morning bike ride. It was beautifully crafted with bamboo supports and a thatched roof and painted in a tiki-style box…so Florida! The sharing library was nestled in green shrubbery in a small rotary in a cul-de-sac. The makers used a plastic door with a black latch to protect the shared books from the elements. Like any local author, I decided to return and bring back a free book, my mystery, Deadly Sacrifices, A Marguerite Montez Mystery, for that cute library. A fun way to promote book-sharing in my local community.

There is also a site, https://littlefreelibrary.org/ that promotes reading and book-sharing through registration of a Little Free Library. You can even use the site to search a map and find local free libraries in your area.   And they also give out awards to stewards of these little library gems who advance local reading and a sense of kindness and community with their book-sharing. Check it out—I think you’ll really find it a fun and informative site. Better yet, cruise your own neighborhood and find a Little Free Library that needs your support!!

We’re Baaaaack!

Thanks to the Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA) Board, members, and guests in Fort Myers for inviting me to make an educational presentation on Copyright or Copy Wrong? The Basics of Copyright for Authors. (for educational purposes only, not intended as legal advice)

It was their first in-person meeting since Spring 2020’s COVID shutdowns so the room was abuzz with activity. So nice to meet fellow writers in SW Florida. A number of GCWA members also attended the session via Zoom. A special thanks to Christie Zarria for helping make the technical challenges of a hybrid session go so smoothly.

In my presentation, we discussed the basics of copyright protections, copyright registration, and infringement of creative works. We also considered key defenses to claims of copyright infringement, such as public domain and fair use, and other copyright resources for authors. There were lots of great questions from the GWCA members which made it a fun learning experience for all of us to learn more about protecting our literary works.

And at the end, I didn’t have to hold any office hours or grade any exams—what a relief!!

Check out the GWCA website for more info about its current and upcoming events – https://gulfwriters.org.

Inching Back to Normalcy

It seems we’re finally starting to inch our way back to normalcy as more people get vaccinated and COVID rates continue to fall in many locations. I’m glad to see that some local writer groups are feeling ready for in-person meetings while continuing to include Zoom options for those who prefer to participate online. This hybrid format is a great way to keep writers in touch. It’s also helped me be able to continue as a Sisters in Crime (SinC) member of the Citrus Crime Writers in Orlando and the Florida Gulf Coast chapter in Tampa after my move to southwest Florida. I wouldn’t be able to drive these distances for these SinC chapter meetings, but now I can still participate online.

This Saturday, June 26, from 10:00-noon, I’m doing a live educational presentation to the Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA) on Copyright or Copy Wrong? The Basics of Copyright for Authors. GCWA members can also attend using Zoom.

For all the details check out, https://gulfwriters.org/home-new/. Hope to see you on Saturday!

[image error]

Patience Is My Least Favorite Virtue…

My novel, Friends Like These, is on submission right now to potential publishers. My agent has given me some positive feedback about editor reviews of it. I’m anxiously awaiting any scrap of news about a formal offer for the novel. Although I’ve published short stories with small press anthologies and self-published 3 books, I have not had a novel go through a traditional publisher’s process. The waiting is both exciting and unnerving about what comes next.

That’s why I’m really looking forward to hearing from our guest speaker at this month’s Citrus Crime Writers (CCW) meeting on June 13, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. Our Ask the Expert session will feature award-winning writer and Chicago book coach, Mia P. Manansala, author of the newly-released culinary cozy mystery, Arsenic and Adobo (Penguin Random House – May 4, 2021), the first book in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery Series. Mia (she/her) will present on the joys and challenges of “Being a Debut Author.” To learn more about Mia, check out her website: https://www.miapmanansala.com/.

I’m looking forward to learning from her first-hand experiences. If you’re a writer, her presentation might be of interest to you, too. CCW Members–please check your email for a link to the Zoom meeting. If you’re not a member, but want to attend, please email CCW at citruscrimewriters@gmail.com. Hope to see you on Sunday!!

Help Simbi Promote Global Literacy!

As authors and readers, reading is so important to us. Yet there are millions of people who cannot read or lack access to books. My husband’s employer, Galvanize, participated in a holiday read-a-thon with Simbi in December 2020. It was an awesome experience to narrate books from Simbi’s library for global learners!! Simbi’s mission is to promote reading for the public good with educators and underserved communities.

Through its charitable arm, Simbi Foundation, Simbi has partnered with the UN Refugee Agency, and publishers, like MacMillan and National Geographic, and authors worldwide to reach out to over 3.5 million children and teens. Some young readers live in remote locations or in refugee settlements with little to no access to print books. We can all help promote global literacy in two ways—as an author or a book narrator for Simbi.

Simbi is the only reading platform that uniquely empowers kids to make a difference with the power of their own voice. Simbi combines learners’ and volunteer narrations with the text of a story to create an audiovisual book that other kids can read along to globally. Simbi carries books from Early Emergent Readers all the way up to grade 12, but the majority of Simbi’s library consists of materials for grades 2-5.

For authors:  Children, middle grade and YA authors you can donate a free license to the Simbi platform while retaining your rights to your works. You can send a watermarked copy of your work to Simbi using this link for their content review and approval: https://form.asana.com/?k=_4CZ-9rjJPeIPwGaiCfxLA&d=1116562775386739. If approved, you’ll be distributing your content to Simbi’s school partners as well as underserved and refugee communities.

For narrators: You can also narrate books for children to read along with from Simbi’s vast global library of books on Simbi’s easy to use recording platform. Their platform let’s you read each page and you can delete and correct those recordings as you go. Every week, Simbi sends a report on all of the children who read your narrated books that week.

My illustrator, Michelle Bakay, and I donated The Little Dusties: The Roar of the Silver Dragon to Simbi. Here’s a link to our narrated book on the Simbi platform: https://read.simbi.io/listenin/Pn51To6f2Q?utm_source=simbi-webapp&utm_medium=copy-url.

A great way to promote global literacy and support the power of reading from the comfort of your own home!

Link to Simbi Community: https://simbi.io

Link to Simbi Foundation: https://simbifoundation.org

YouTube Simbi Explainer Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29tGGrnM-4I

Farewell to a Great Lady

Prolific author. Colorado cowgirl. Westie lover. Car enthusiast. Roller derby queen. Beauty pageant judge. Spiritual thinker. Loving mom. Supportive friend. Multi-talented author, Ruth Riddell, passed away last week at age 89, surrounded by loved ones, in her native Colorado. Ruth wrote a wide range of middle grade, romance, young adult, and adult fiction both in novel and short story forms through traditional and independent publishing.

At age fourteen, she wrote her first novel and used different pen names throughout her long writing career. When asked when she knew she wanted to be a writer, Ruth said, “It was always a dream but I didn’t come from a literary family. Books were never a part of my childhood experience and when it came time to think about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, my parents encouraged me to choose something practical. I did, but I never gave up the search or the dream.”

Initially, she published her first middle grade sports-oriented novels, Face Off at Center Ice (Steck-Vaughn 1973) and Red-Hot Wheels (Perfection Form Company 1980), under her pen names, J.S. Riddell and Jacqueline S. Riddell. Avalon Books then published her two romance novels, Orchids for Hillary (1978) and Summer of Pearls (1979), under her pen name, Shannon Sayer. Publisher Atheneum subsequently released three more of her middle grade/young adult novels, Haunted Journey (1987), Shadow Witch (1989), and Ice Warrior (1992), under her pen name, Ruth Riddell. Ruth also embraced independent publishing with three novels with Western themes; A Small Courage (2014), Destiny’s Dance (2014), and Whistlewind (2017), and an earlier cookbook, Chicken – How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways… – Chicken Over 300 Ways From Mom’s Kitchen (1991).

Her family and friends hope to publish some of her remaining completed works in the future. Her feisty, passionate spirit and love of writing inspired many and will live on as she passes on to her next chapter. Farewell dear Ruth….

Third Time’s A Charm?

My latest novel is a Boston-based dramedy about three women friends without children who face challenges to their health, career, family, and love lives with heart, humor and warmth as they enter their forties. It is my third novel, but my first novel for which I’m working with a literary agent. My previous two novels, a legal mystery, Deadly Sacrifices, A Marguerite Montez Mystery, and a fantasy novel, Bridles of Poseidon,  were self-published.

The temporary title of this new novel, Friends Like These, will likely be changed before any final publication. I spitballed a bunch of different titles with friends and my literary agent which was a fun process. It has been a long road, but I’m very excited that my third novel is finally on submission to major publishers of women’s fiction. It’s a great development and a big step forward in my writing life.

I feel like this phase is the part of the roller coaster ride when the car wheels are clacking, slowly climbing up the first hill. You can see the crest of the hill and you’re holding your breath in anticipation of what’s on the other side. I’m hoping for a happy thrill ride and that the third time’s indeed a charm in selling my work to an amazing publisher. I will keep you in the loop as I go through this process for the very first time!