Elise VanCise's Blog, page 36

Judging a book by its cover

I admit I do. Many, many times I have picked up a book because the cover caught my eye. The cover for a book is like the model for the swimsuit.
The thin sexy beauty gets up there and struts her stuff across the stage. Clad in the designers swimwear. Sure we like the bikini, but what sells us on going to the store and trying it on is the model.
She shows us how good it makes her look and we think, "I would look so hot in that."  At least until we get into the dressing room. Once we get our...

Internet Connections

Remember the days when the only way to get on line was to use a dial up service. There were only maybe two companies to choose from at the time. And look at us now.
Businesses that operate only in this cyber world. Places like Facebook and message boards for us to connect with people around the globe. The internet has lengthened our reach to beyond our imaginations.
It was in November of 2007 I made a very important connection. I met my best friend and Sister in Heart Rose. We've never met...

Hungry

A deep rumble woke Ben. He sat up and looked around the loft of the stable thinking he'd been caught by old man McKeen.
The rumble came again only louder. It wasn't the old geezer tossing him out, it was Ben's stomach. Four days, it was four days ago his mama had left him at the station.
She left him behind, telling him to sit and wait. She would be right back with the tickets. They'd go to Virginia to live with his aunt. Mama never came back from the ticket booth. Her carpetbag was gone...

Gun

There it was resting on the table next to the morning paper. It was real, not a toy, the real deal. She picked it up in an awkward grip. It was heavier than she thought it would be.
Her fingers shifted over the grip pressing a button. The clip hit the table with a clunk startling her.
The gun fell from her hands making a louder sound as she pushed her chair back. She stood to quickly back away. Her back hit the kitchen counter making her jump again.
Hands covered her face she took a long...

Festival of Reading 2011

One of my favorite events of the year is the Lake County Festival of Reading.This year the festival theme was Murder, Mystery and Mayhem.
There have been some really great programs all week long and still two days left to go in the festival.  I had the honor of being the featured author for the Astor County Library for April 7th. 
Pam Goodson, library manager and the staff of Astor Library are all fantastic people. They have been very supportive of me as an author. I think it's important for...

Excellent Reader Review.... Sort of

Letter E in the A to Z Blog Challenge

Tonight was my big event of the year the Lake County Festival of Reading. But I'll save those details for the next post in the A to Z challenge. J  An older gentleman was one of the guests tonight.
He told me he'd checked out two of my novels, Don't Touch and Half. I'm always thrilled to notice one of my books missing from its resting place on the library shelf. Hearing from someone that did the deed is even nicer. Better yet, Mr. Tucker proceeded to tell ...

Damn Good Advice

Mark Twain once said, "Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be."
How many times do we use words like very or adverbs unnecessarily? If we really took Twains advice to heart our writing would probably come out much cleaner and uncluttered.
I think we tend to get hung up on getting across our vision to the reader and over describe things. The old adage of "less is more" is exactly right. We don't need t...