Jessica Knauss's Blog, page 31

Interview: World of Joy Author Marcy Dyer

Welcome Marcy Dyer to the blog as the second guest in the World of Joy interview series. Her story in the anthology is called "Bleak Christmas."
JK: What is your World of Joy story about?
MD: The main character in my story is Gabby. She's grieving and wants nothing to do with Christmas. Until she meets a young girl, Jenny. Jenny's kindness changes Gabby's outlook.
JK: What was the inspiration for the story? How does it reflect your experience of the holidays?
MD: I have difficulty relating to Gabby, because I have never endured her circumstances, but as nurse who worked in hospice for many years, I've been with family members as they faced the holidays without joy because of their loss. They provided some of the inspiration for the story.
It reflects the holidays for me, because I feel Christmas should be a time of year to reach out to others — those who are hurting or less fortunate.
JK: What else have you written and published? 
MD: This story is a departure from my usual writing. I normally write Christian Suspense/Romantic Suspense. I have two books out now, Down & Out and Out for Blood. Both are available in electronic format and in February, Down & Out will come out in paperback.
JK: Thanks for visiting my blog for this joyous interview series.
Please visit Marcy's website: http://www.marcydyer.comHer books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.And don't forget to pick up your free copy of A World of Joy!

Interview: A World of Joy Author Elizabeth Rye

New Author Elizabeth RyeWelcome our first interviewee, Elizabeth Rye, who has many reasons to celebrate, because her writing debuts in AWorld of Joy! 
JK: What happens in your story?
ER: Blair and Derek have been divorced for two years when out of the blue Derek calls with an odd request. His Aunt Agnes is dying of cancer and has invited the couple to spend Christmas with her. The problem is that she doesn’t know about the divorce and Derek doesn’t want to tell her. Instead he calls Blair for help. “I was hoping you’d consider being my wife for the weekend,” he asks.
Despite his hostile attitude, Blair agrees. She’s never stopped loving him and decides that now is the time to fight for what she wants — what she wants is her husband back.
Will this Christmas be one of joy? Will Blair and Derek be happily reunited? To answer these and other questions, read “Weekend Wife” by Elizabeth Rye in A World of Joy.
JK:  Where did the story’s inspiration come from? How does it reflect the holidays for you?
ER: The story came over time. One day around the holidays several years ago, Blair introduced herself to me. All I knew was that she was divorced from her husband and that he’d called because his aunt was dying and wanted to see them, not knowing about the divorce.
That was the story I had. I didn’t know what the end was. All I had was the beginning. When the holidays ended that year I had gotten no further and the inspiration for a Christmas story wasn’t there in February for me and so I put it away. I didn’t look at it again until I saw requests for the ASMSG anthology,  A World of Joy .
This time, when I picked the story up, Blair was talking again, leading me onward to what her story was. Years ago I’d thought her story would be a novella but I soon realized that it wasn’t that complex. It was a simple story.
For me, Christmas is a time be thankful and a time to be with those we love. That is Blair and Derek’s story.
JK: What else do you write?
ER: I began as a writer of children’s stories and simple poetry. As the journey continued, my word vocabulary grew and I began to write adult fiction, though I still dabble with the latter two from time to time.
Currently I’m working simultaneously with a collection of essays chronicling historical events in America that have been forgotten, two romance novels and a mystery novella.
I find writing to be fun and above all, a learning experience. From all walks of life, a story waits and it is the writer who must pounce like a cat or spin a web as a spider does to catch the prey that will become our next book.
Though my short story, "Weekend Wife," will be my first official publication, I have published dozens of articles on my blog. These range from self-help essays for writers, writing exercises and advise, to historical and modern disasters and others that take on a lighter side. I believe a writer should never limit themselves. To that end I write what interests me, be it popular or neglected thoughts and dreams.
JK: Any other happy tid-bits to share?
ER: I have an old car with a warm heater. I still have enough money in the bank to pay off my Avon bill – I sell. My family and friends are supportive of my writing whether they understand/agree with it or not. In time, every story finds an ending.
JK: Can you share what you’ll be doing this Christmas?
ER: This Christmas I’ll deck the house out. This includes a green tree in the living room and a pink tree somewhere else. I don’t know if it’ll find its way to the dining room, entranceway or the landing – it’s been in all places over the years. I have my mini village from Wal-Mart/Walgreen’s/Dollar General to put up – that’s when the buildings still cost a dollar each. Stockings, of course, go over the mantle. Upstairs, I place Christmas Little Golden Books over each of the bedroom doors.
I plan to make several batches of cookies and let someone else clean up the mess. Naturally, I get to eat the first ones out of my 1926 Peoples Gas oven. I think we’ll have ham this year and I’m going to see a big mound of real mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce next to it. Surrounded by my family and my two year old turtle, Sparky, this Christmas will be one of joy.
JK: Do you have any other writing coming out soon?
ER: At present I don’t have anything else scheduled for publication. I have many irons, as they say, in the fire, with several nearing their final stages. Some of these will go the agent/publisher route, others I will self-publish.
JK: Thank you so much for being here.

ER: Thank you, Jessica, for taking the time to conduct this interview and for all your work in the writing industry. Writers' work hard and it is in these moments that our dreams are realized.
A World of Joy is available now for free download.

Holiday Anthology Debut

Please join me in welcoming the holiday anthology, A World of Joy , into this world! Twenty-two stories of yuletide cheer for you to enjoy for free!

My story in this collection is called "Axe Man." I've never written a "holiday" story before, so I dug around in my own life experience and the resulting story is based not-very-loosely on my husband and me. It shows our situation accurate in everything except the fine details, and I hope it communicates the depth of our love for each other. What could be more appropriate for the holidays?

The plot centers around our longing for stability after these years of moving every six months. And yes, it features a visit from a certain Christmas eve traveler! I hope my take on St. Nicholas is unconventional and surprising without subtracting from the spirit of joy he imparts.

So anyway, if you'd like to read a slightly fantastical story about two tired people in love, you can do it for free with a download of A World of Joy . It will soon be available in all the ebook stores you can imagine.

In December, I'll be featuring short interviews with six of the other authors of the varied stories in this exciting anthology. Be sure to tune in!

November Recap

In November, I've done a few things, including:

I met my NaNoWriMo challenge goal and wrote 25,000 words for Waterfire, Part II of the Providence Trilogy, converting it officially into a novella. More on that later!

I cut more than 2,000 words from my epic Seven Noble Knights  (while keeping the old copy just in case) as well as cutting a few words from the title. I sent out a few query letters, got a few rejections, and a few leads.

I edited and copyedited and proofread my story, "Axe Man," for the anthology A World of Joy (debuting soon!).

Rare photo of a male Javan rhino. IRFMy husband and I decided to celebrate the holidays by giving. We chose to donate to the International Rhino Foundation because of all the organizations we looked into, the money seemed to go the farthest with them. It is my fond hope that our small amount of cash will make a difference in the lives of the most endangered, largest land mammals on Earth, Javan rhinoceroses. We also decided to "adopt" a Sumatran rhino through the World Wildlife Fund because we couldn't resist the swag! Merry Christmas and prosperous 2014!

Yours truly with WWF Adoption swag, an
achingly cute (and hairy) Sumatran rhino plush. We'll put
him back in the bag to open on Christmas.
In other rhino-related news, I wrote five pieces of flash fiction in October, in honor of the five surviving species of rhinoceros, and submitted them to an anthology after polishing them in November. My husband loves these little vignettes and I hope at least one of them is accepted. They will be added to the Rhinoceros Dreams omnibus in the future.

I haven't moved yet, so that's still hanging over me like the Sword of Damocles. There was a lot going on at Loose Leaves, too, enough for a full time job!

For the month of December, this blog will be celebrating books! I'll have interviews with six of the authors from the new free holiday anthology, A World of Joy, and at the end of the month, for the third year, the annual Knauss Awards.

In December, I'll also be taking a course in writing magical realism. I'll be sure to let you know how that went in January. Thanks for stopping by — see you again soon!

Cover Reveal: A World of Joy

Happy 11/12/13!

It's my pleasure to reveal the cover for a yuletide anthology I'm going to have a story in. This lovely, cheery cover was designed by Lauren Jolles of Filmchild Creations at Deviant Art.

Many authors from the Authors Social Media Support Group — which has become so much more than that — have gotten together to bring you family-friendly, holiday-themed stories (to reiterate, one of them is mine!) for absolutely no cash. That's right, hours of seasonal entertainment for free.

The World of Joy Anthology will debut on November 29. I'll be sure to include links for you to download. I'll tell you all about the strong sentiments behind my story then, too, and in December, I'll have interviews with a few of the other authors. Be sure to stop by for a warm, friendly experience in all the cold weather.

The Votes Are In...

Thanks to everyone who let me know what they would prefer to read, here or via Facebook or Twitter. I read a lot of helpful comments and learned something about my readers, so that's always a wonderful experience!

The overwhelming vote was for the firestarters.

I'm really excited to go full out on this story and finish it! It's conceived as a companion to "Middle Awash in Talent," which is now going to be called "Hope & Benevolent." It takes place in a world where most things are just like they are in our daily world, but the general population is joined by people with three different kinds of Talents: telekinesis, pyrokinesis (firestarter talent), and psychics.

Because these powers manifest in members of otherwise normal families when the child is in his or her early teens, these stories are YA or NA and most characters are 13 to 20 years old. Once I finish this one, I plan to start a third story, about psychics. No promises that I'll be able to start it in November, but that would be the ideal.

Otherwise, this series of long stories, which I will put together in a single book when they're all complete, is intended as a celebration of Providence, Rhode Island, where I spent some of my formative years among college students. So the series will be called PROVIDENCE and this firestarter story, "Waterfire."

Waterfire is a real-life art installation I can't wait to describe for you in the story. Suffice to say for now that it's amazing.

Time to get to work! These pictures are sure inspiring. The blog will be confined to practical updates and supercool announcements about publications. (Watch for those!) Otherwise, I'll see you again in December!

Goals

Next month is NaNoWriMo, a month which has become sacred in the lives of professional writers and those who plan to use it make the leap into professionalism. It's a marathon writing session, and like real races, the writing athlete has to train for this one.

Mainly, what's involved is research and planning, because the words come out a lot more slowly when you have no idea what you're writing about.

It seems I find myself here most Octobers: how do I decide which project to work on in November so I can do the proper planning? It seems my muse loves the change of seasons, because I get more serious ideas for writing projects in the autumn than at any other time.

For the 2013 exercises, I'm really not sure how many words I'll be able to make for a reasonable goal, because I anticipate a lot of fundamental life changes. Then again, I made my goal of 25,000 words and actually completing my novel in spite of a few setbacks and my husband coming home to vacuum when I was ready to type the last word. (I'm not sure I'll ever know what that was about.)

Setbacks this year include:

   Not having any of those trappings I pictured and wrote about in my completion post. There was some serious inspiration in those unassuming objects, and as of this writing I'm still (five months later!) in a hotel with only the barest essentials. I left behind everything but the computer, convinced we would get the sentimental objects out of storage within four to six weeks. Sigh. But I do have story notes I can use because the ideas for both projects came to me here.
   Not being able to decide which project to write!
   Probably moving and waiting for my stuff in storage to come to me some time in November.
   Most likely, my husband ending his job. Nothing like money worries to take one's inspiration away.

But I have grit. Cervantes wrote in prison, and a hotel is definitely better than that. So here are the possibilities:

A YA paranormal story about a sassy girl who can start fires with her mind. Her school is oppressive and she's got to find the self-confidence to break out in spite of some serious traumas. It's conceived as a companion piece to "Middle Awash in Talent" (title soon to be changed), which is about a sassy girl whose sister can move objects with her mind and who has control over whom in that relationship. Like "Middle Awash," this one would be 16,000 to 20,000 words and I would complete it if I chose it for NaNo. Then the question would be whether to try to carry on with the third story I plan to write in that universe, thus completing the book-length project entirely. The third story will be about a psychic as defined against the Talents in the other two stories.

OR

Begin and pledge a reasonable number of words for the rhino novel. An ingenue stumbles into corruption and intrigue on the rhino preserve where she gets a job. The ideas have become unexpectedly thriller-like as I think them through. There is some urgency to this project, since I'd like to complete a novel about rhinos before they're gone from the real world.

And I must make this decision while furiously typing away on a story for a holiday anthology due at the end of October (more on that soon).

Please weigh in. Firestarters or rhinos?

New Review of Law and Order in Medieval Spain

Whenever I sell a copy of Law and Order in Medieval Spain , I'm a little amazed. I love finding out that there are some people looking for a nonfiction book of literary criticism of thirteenth-century poetry based on legal tracts. I recently had occasion to be dumbfounded when I wandered onto the Amazon page for this book with a different objective to find that a thoughtful reader had taken the time to leave an unsolicited (but much appreciated) five-star review.

Readers, there is nothing that makes an author's day like an unexpected bit of honest appreciation from someone who connected with that author's book.

"A book for a well rounded library," this singular review proclaims. "Enjoyed reading this book and so glad I found it. In college I took a music history class that covered the cantigas of the Virgin Mary."

Me, too. My first exposure to the Cantigas was in "Música Española," a class for American college students in Córdoba, Spain.

"I did find many other books but they were mostly in Latin and the prices were in the range from fifty dollars up to six hundred. This book was at the right price for me but the author put her heart into this book."

Quality academic publishing is expensive, but students are the people who can least afford high prices. I priced the book to be accessible to everyone who might have a hint of interest. Yes, I admit, I put my heart into this book — thanks for appreciating it!

"All her research is well documented and footnoted with names of other authors and universities where I could even get more history."

The highest academic standards were in place at all times during construction of this book. Blood, sweat, and tears. It's nice to know readers like that.

"The ancient art work is a treasure to behold especially since I don't think I'll be traveling to Spain. The subject of this book can interest those who like history, religion, music, or art. All these reasons are why I think this book is for a well rounded library."

That's what I love most about the Cantigas de Santa Maria: they touch so many aspects of medieval life. They aren't unitary, but a combination.

"I even wish the author would write a second book with more on the cantigas of the Virgin Mary." 

Of course this makes me want to drop everything and head to the library to start researching more! 

You can read the whole review without interruption by scrolling down here. Thank you for sharing my joy.

Rhinos While They Last

I'd like to share two similar infographics, each with its own point of view and information (click on the sources for better views):

From the Huffington Post :



From Al Jazeera :


Complex, but not hard to understand when you come from the point of view that all such destruction comes from ignorance and greed.

A much-needed dose of sanity about the possibility of legalizing trade comes from Annamiticus.

In a nutshell:

1. Rhino horn is worth nothing to human beings.

2. Rhinos must be saved.

3. It's not too late.

I'll expand on these bits of knowledge next week. Feel free to ask questions and let me know what isn't obvious about the rhino crisis.

Columbus Day and Spanish Heritage

In the picture above, the pulverized remains of Christopher Columbus rest in the casket supported by the four kingdoms of Spain in the Sevilla cathedral below a painting of St. Christopher. Of course, no one is sure those are his actual remains, despite research and DNA testing. Columbus's final resting place has become as equivocal as his legacy.

October 12 is not only the day Europeans first set foot in the Bahamas, but also a day to celebrate Hispanicness, whatever that means to you.

Here are a few suggestions for how to mark the day:

Celebrate Spain with the medieval Spaniards.
Celebrate Spain with historical novelists.
Celebrate Spain with me.
Feel the thrill of fear on the first Columbian voyage.
Read about another unforgettable event in 1492.

Mostly, enjoy!