Jessica Knauss's Blog, page 65

Up Now at DailyCheapReads.com: Sail To Italy and Sail From Italy!

As of this moment, the amazing two-book set of Sail To Italy and Sail From Italy is up at Daily Cheap Reads (Jr. Edition). I can't think of a better reason to invest a small chunk of change into some fun reading! So click here and enjoy!

The series has a new cover and an open secret: very soon, a paperback edition will be available for purchase. It will be economical, too, and have the gorgeous new cover front and back. Check back for the big announcement!

Click on the Sail To Italy label at the end of this post to conveniently find summaries, excerpts, and videos about this silly series.

Interview Series: Fantasy Novelist and Fantastic Blogger Sharon Jones

Sharon Jones is the author of the work in progress (and surely soon-to-be-published) fantasy Ravenswynd:
Elizabeth Rose is in her last year at Rhode Island College. She's an excellent student, never misses a class and has each day planned to the minute. She and her twin sister, Melinda, have known their kooky friend, Fiona, since junior high and have endlessly put up with her unrivaled fascination with vampires. For as long as the twins can remember, Fiona has ranted and raved about all the strange local legends – especially the Raven Legends: once every ten years vampires gather in Providence to attend a very exclusive party. Rumor has it that a few "privileged" humans are often invited – hand-picked, and sworn to secrecy, of course. Elizabeth has to make the biggest decision of her life when Fiona announces that she has, in fact, received such an invitation, and not only is she planning on going, but she also wants Elizabeth to join her.  
Elizabeth believes the legends are nothing more than folklore and that it is only Fiona's wild imagination that has her convinced otherwise. But she decides to accompany her foolhardy friend to the party, if for no other reason than to keep an eye on her. As the girls are waiting to be ushered aboard the boat that will take them to an undisclosed destination, things are beginning to feel eerily strange, and Elizabeth begins to wonder if Fiona isn't right after all. What if they're making a gigantic mistake? When one of their hosts finally makes an appearance, all doubt fades away. They are now face to face with the truth: The Legends are true. 
JK: Ravenswynd sounds like a thrilling story. Is your fiction influenced by your real life at all?
SJ: Love - relationships - family: I'm sure all of these affect my fiction. I write from my heart, always wanting Love to win over everything else. Obviously, a work of fantasy is nothing like real life, but I've tried to make my characters believable within the world they live in. And since I've incorporated the element of romance I'm sure some of my own experiences may have seeped in a bit. (Well, perhaps some of my wishful thinking!)
JK: Not too many vampires in your real life, huh?
SJ: I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but finished school in Mentor, Ohio. After coming back to Milwaukee, I worked at several jobs, began marriage number one, and had my first two children: a boy and a girl. Once my youngest started school, I worked for a surgeon in Milwaukee as a medical assistant / insurance collector. This full time job gave me the much needed self-confidence and money enough to end said marriage.   Marriage number two: Husband had two children, and then together we had one more son. (We were not the Brady bunch...but we tried!) My husband had his own automotive business for about 10 years, and I did the weekly payroll, billing, banking, etc. Along with "his-mine-and-ours" we raised Polled Herefords on our 30 acre farm in Eagle, Wisconsin. (Polled Herefords are beef cattle without horns) We also tried our hand at chickens, sheep, pigs, and one lonely billy-goat.  Of course we had cats, dogs, bunnies, and more kittens than I can count.     In 1990, we decided to home school the kids. (our youngest- from K through 12th)  And then, in the mid 90's, dear hubby decided to go back to school himself.  And even though we moved several times during his undergrad, medical school, clinical years, and residency, (8 times to be exact) I was able to continue home-schooling the youngest until he graduated...and... still do a bit of writing.      During hubby's medical school years, I worked at the Medical School bookstore in Kansas City, and then during clinical years I worked at an Orthopedic clinic in Davenport, IA. Once we moved back to Wisconsin, I "retired" from working outside of the home, and not only was I able to spend more time with my awesome grandchildren, I was finally able to get serious about my writing again.
JK: And how about fiction? Does the vampire element in Ravenswynd have anything to do with current trends?
SJ: I suppose that some of the current modes of vampire stories have influenced my work to a certain degree, although I try to steer away from too many similarities. My vampires do not adhere to many of the usual characteristics, and they have some (hopefully) unique ones never before seen. I won't give away any details, but what my people experience during their transformation from human to vampire is quite awesome! 
JK: Is there any particular author who inspires you to be unique?
SJ: My favorite book is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I don't even remember how many times I've read it. It is a time-travel, historical fiction, love story like no other. Diana writes with such pure emotion and wonderful description! This book is the first in a series of seven, and she is writing the eighth right now.
JK: I just love those novels that combine everything you love in one small package! I always wonder where those authors get their ideas. Do you generate ideas or just let them come to you?
SJ: My inspiration (in general) comes in a variety of ways ... dreams, conversations, every day life, and quite often an idea pops into my head when I'm standing in the shower! I actually invested in one of those awesome water-proof notepads so none of those ideas flow down the drain! You can get them online for under 10 dollars!
JK: Super cool. I only need a small light by the bedside in my case.
SJ: Inspiration for my current novel came from one of the most vivid dreams I've ever had. I woke up at 2:30 in the morning and took notes ... and the next day I wrote three chapters. The scene from my dream didn't even come into play until a few chapters later. Another bit of inspiration came from a most unusual sight at a local mall ... my main male character's appearance, characteristics, and his innate ability to turn heads. Yep ... I saw him!
JK: That's how you know it's meant to be. What are some of the linguistic perks of writing fantasy?
SJ: Many of my characters are from the UK, and one is from the Hebrides (Scottish Isles) so I have tried to incorporate some of their colloquialisms and accents into the dialog. My main male character never uses contractions, but my human girls are completely American, slang and all. 
JK: I understand you have a lot of responsibilities. How disciplined are you as a writer? Any unusual habits?
SJ: I'd like to say I spend about 4-6 hours a day writing...but lately it has been less, what with blogging, twittering, and face-booking! I work in the living room at my desk surrounded by bookcases and all my books. The only unusual thing I can think of is that I never use any type of outline ... I write as the ideas come to me, taking notes as I go so that I can refer back now and then to keep things in order. I wrote the ending of Ravenswynd when I was about half-way through the middle. However, writing the ending gave me more ideas for a sequel!
JK: That's a great way to never get writer's block. It's also a technique that forms early on, if at all. How long have you been writing?
SJ: I wrote short stories when I was in high school, and then played around with poetry as a young adult. I've wanted to be a writer ever since reading Little Women around the age of 12. I've always prided myself at being good in grammar and spelling, and it always seemed that I was much better at expressing myself clearly and effectively with the written word ... hopefully these characteristics continue in all my works, at least enough to not drive my editor too crazy! (I love my editor.)
JK: What kind of feedback do you get? Do you have a definable fan base? Are your family and friends supportive? 
SJ: I have gotten positive feedback as far as my story goes: character, plot description, etc., from all who have read my book. My sister in law is my "editor" and she tells me when something just doesn't flow correctly, or when I've used too many commas! So far, it has been mostly family members who have read all, or parts, of my novel – except for a few excerpts that I've posted on my Writer's Page, where I did get some positive feedback from non-family members as well.
My mother, daughter, sister-in-law, and sister are all very supportive ... except for the times they nag me to hurry up and get published!
JK: How far along are you in the publishing process? And what else are you working on?
I am (hopefully) working on the final edit of  Ravenswynd, and I have written ten chapters (so far) of the sequel.  My muse has not let me know yet if there will be a third!
I'm also in the middle of writing a time-travel book and having lots of fun with that! One of these days I'd love to get back to my first novel that's been sitting on a shelf for years. It needs a ton of editing, but I love the story and the characters!
JK: Well, I'll let you get back to all those great projects. Thanks so much for chatting with me.
SJ: Thank you for having me, Jessica! It's been a blast ... and talking about Ravenswynd has prompted me to get serious about writing my synopsis for the dreaded query letter! Wish me luck!
JK: I'm sure we all wish Sharon the best fortune in her writing ventures!
Follow Sharon on Facebook (where she often posts excerpts in the Notes section!).
Sharon blogs here: http://color-me-read.blogspot.com/

East, West, North, South

Doc Holladay said it, not me.It's starting to get seriously hot in Arizona. I wouldn't notice much if it weren't for my dear husband, who melts at the very thought of 85 degrees, not to mention the 120 averages we can look forward to. Added to his weird job and our accommodations on the floor of our apartment, I really can't blame him when he says out of the blue, "We have to get out of here!"

Ideally, we would return to the place we met, Beautiful Boston. I had made a conscious decision to live within the Hub's radius when I completed my degree in England because anything else was just too far from civilization. Boston retains so many old world traditions it's practically madness, including letting cattle "plan" the city layout. But I know the city layout. It's carved upon my heart, no matter who came up with it originally.

Boston thinks it's a big city, but really it's a cozy size, surrounded by suburbs that count as Boston in any normal tally. On a nice day with good shoes, you can walk from end to end of the city limits effortlessly and see hundreds of years of history as you go. Alternatively, the public transportation is not only safe and convenient, but real people use it every day, to the astonishment of some Westerners. This is all in contrast to where we live now, where everything I'd like to do is so far away from where we live that the buses won't take me there unless I ride for literally hours. After waiting for 45 minutes under the burning sun. (Why don't people in the desert create shade? The Pima had ramadas for a reason, people!)

I fell in love with Boston during my college days. I went to Wheaton College, which is much closer to Providence, Rhode Island, but both of those places are satellites to the Hub. It's still easy to see the city as the ultimate college town, so there are a lot of intellectuals and resources for a writer like me. Also appealing to me, they have nonstop flights to Spain and something like 8 Spanish restaurants, most of them very good. I could go on and on.

But it's far from healthy to do so. Boston has its disadvantages, the only one I can think of now being that, as a coastal city, it will be flooded with rising ocean levels by midcentury.

But seriously, we may get out of Arizona soon as a result of my husband's never-ending efforts in that regard, but it will probably not be a return to the city where we met. We just don't seem to be welcome there among employers. While I too, will be glad to put an end to our Arizona Year Without Furniture, I will hold some things about it very dear: the progress I've made in my writing, editing career and blogging, and an announcement I'll save for later this month. Luckily, these things are not material, so they'll fit comfortably with us in our compact car when we leave for... the next great adventure.

No Six Sentence Sunday, Cucumbers

The magnificent organizer of the Six Sentence Sunday institution is judiciously moving the site to somewhere she considers more stable, so I'll just take this opportunity to say that I love that one of Yahoo's big searches this week has been "deadly cucumbers." One of the most unforgettable scenes in the novel I've been excerpting from, The Seven Noble Knights of Lara, will involve a highly ominous cucumber (that has nothing to do with salmonella). No, really. I'll post an excerpt when I've written it.


Come back next Sunday for the titillating banquet scene!

Handsome, Successful Businessmen Love Tree/House!

This is actually a picture of my husband, who enjoyed Tree/House very much and supports all of my writing efforts besides. Thanks, dear!

My husband is the hardest working person I know who does a job he's not especially interested in. When he lost his lucrative position at the big-bad-we-break-your-kneecaps-if-you-don't-pay-your-student-loan place, he didn't hesitate to take a job at a place my dad calls WallyWorld so we could still eat while paying the mortgage with savings. WallyWorld is not an easy place to work for. It is physically demanding: he lost a lot of weight he'd put on because I love to feed him and went through pain relievers like candy because of the aching muscles. It's mentally draining: most of the workers treat the job according to pay level, meaning that they don't care at all. My husband has an inherent impulse to do a good job, so when he was working in grocery the place had never been so spotless, and there had never been so many customers satisfied with the way they'd been treated. There was never a more efficient checker, and when he became a supervisor over the checkers, the place had never run more smoothly.

The situation was not sustainable, because, as I hinted above, the pay is laughably miniscule. We were going to be on the snowy street if we stayed there, and that's one reason we came to Arizona. I know I'm not making up what a good worker my husband is because when he had to leave the Arizona WallyWorld he'd transferred to, they did everything they could to keep him, including offering to hire me in the bakery department. Even with the two small incomes, I'm sorry to say, that situation would have been just as untenable as the previous one in Pennsylvania.

He left that job, which he's called his favorite job ever (!), for something that still doesn't pay what we were used to before economic armageddon, but is just about livable.  It involves working at an office park in the middle of nowhere with scorpions and coyotes in the parking lot, at weird hours, and with an ever-shifting landscape of unpredictable people. And he's doing the best job he can do there, too, and he's so good at it.

He's the thing: when he comes home to me, he really comes home to me. He's with me, present and fully involved, no matter how much his job exhausts him, interested in my day, willing to clean the house, and ever so much in love. I'm so blessed to have such a husband!

Interview Series: The Blackberry Patch Author Gina McKnight

Today Famous Writer welcomes freelancer and children's author Gina McKnight.
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JK: When did the writing bug bite you?


Gina McKnight: I began writing at an early age. Elementary school provided the catalyst, opportunity and inspiration for writing. I had phenomenal teachers/professors that encouraged writing. Having the support of family is of the utmost importance, but teachers provide the tools needed to become a successful writer. Elementary school through college, I always migrated towards the creative writing courses. Characters can be tricky; my children's books are non-fiction, first person and continue in a series of four releases with the same character. 

JK: Is your latest book a part of that series? What is it about?
GM: My current book release, The Blackberry Patch, is about overcoming the elements to search for fresh blackberries! It has been a great success and taken me to a lot of different places, with the opportunity to meet fabulous people from all walks of life. The story is intended for children ages 4-8; however, the book has done very well for mature readers. It is nostalgic and brings back childhood memories of blackberry picking.
JK: What kind of feedback have you had, meeting all these new people?
GM: The best feedback comes from elementary children, when I visit their school and read my stories to them. The feedback is instantaneous and very rewarding. When I released The Blackberry Patch, the feedback was extremely positive.
JK: How much real life finds its way into your fiction?
GM: To date, my books and articles have been non-fiction. I have a novel up my sleeve –positive that real life scenarios will be a prominent part of my fiction writing. Real life experience is easy to write about and some of my experiences will definitely provide quality fictional plots and characters!
JK: So true. Do you find your writing influenced by fiction at all?
GM: My favorite children's book is Black Beauty by Anna Sewell; favorite novel is Dracula by Bram Stoker. Books do influence my writing; however, I find that growing up and living on a farm is great inspiration for writing, as well as life events, siblings, neighbors and friends. 
JK: Did they inspire what you're working on now?
GM: Specific inspiration for my most recent project, which is a new children's book to be released in late Fall of 2011, comes from my experience with horses and trail riding. Trail Ride to Snake Hollow is about an actual place where I live. It takes readers through Wayne National Forest, USA, on an American Quarter Horse to see the splendor of nature and our environment. The idea of the story is to guide those who have not had the opportunity to trail ride to experience the event first hand. The book invokes all your senses, leaving you with the feeling that you smell like a horse, have listened to the forest, feel the canopy of nature and that you have touched new elements.
JK: That sounds like something we could all really enjoy in this day and age. Tell us a little bit more about your inspiring real life.
GM: I grew up on a farm in Southern Ohio, USA. I still live on the farm with my family.  I am a fulltime author, writer, speaker and poet. I sponsor creative writing contests for my local School District, local County and I had the grand opportunity to recently co-sponsor/judge the Marwar Cup Creative Writing Contest held at the Indian Institute of Technology, Rookee, India. Besides writing, I like to horseback ride, needlepoint (a State and County Fair winner!), crochet and read. I have a son that I love spending time with; he is my joy and priority.
JK: You must have a lot of discipline in order to get any writing done.
GM: I devote a minimum of four hours for writing daily when I am not traveling, the rest of the day I use to collect research and organize information. I have an office in our barn, near the stables, which adds great inspiration (and a late afternoon nap in the hay), as well as an office in my home. The best part of being a writer is that you can write anywhere and new technology makes it even easier to send manuscripts with deadlines from remote locations. The best method I have for collecting thoughts is keeping a handheld recorder with me at all times. Sometimes ideas come at the most inconvenient moments…those are usually the best ideas!
JK: I couldn't have said it better myself! Do you find that you use language differently when you write for children as opposed to your non-fiction?
GM: Language is important for differentiating characters, of course, and it plays an integral role in story development and conclusion. Writing children's books, one is limited to language barriers due to the genre; however, writing freelance allows the opportunity to explore new writing styles, themes, characters and ideas. My favorite word is "serendipity." It means that I can think outside-of-the-box and be creative without much prejudice from my audience, while fulfilling my own need to express myself!
JK: I worshipped the word "serendipity" when I was growing up. That just proves to me that you're a wonderful children's author. Thank you so much for stopping by.
GM: Thanks! I sincerely appreciate being part of your blog. 
Gina says, "I don't blog, would rather spend that time actually writing." More power to her! You can still find links to Gina's freelance articles, reviews and all the latest on her work at her website: http://gmcknight.com.


Gina also frequently writes articles for the Going Gaited website.
Follow Gina on Facebook!

Things That Set My Heart Aflutter, Virtual Likes Edition

In this day and age, there are plenty of external gauges of popularity. No longer do we have to wonder whether they like us: the cold hard numbers will tell us whether it's so. Facebook has the "like" feature, which is becoming more common in other venues, and turning into rating features on a couple of my published flash fictions.

As of this writing, there have been 155 hits on "A Business Venture in Glue," five people have rated "The Writer's Wet Nap Dream" "six-tacular" (though that number seems to fluctuate up and down), and I have 33 "likes" on my Facebook author page (that's not as many as I have friends on my normal user account, but I'm still impressed by people's generosity!) I've also received interesting comments on other pieces floating around out there.

Any feedback fulfills my purpose as an author. Seeing the numbers grow, and especially whenever an actual comment appears, makes my job as a writer truly worthwhile. Yes, it makes my heart leap! Thank you!

Happy Memorial Day!

Six Sentence Sunday, Tenth Century Style II

Burgos in 2005, seen from Castle Hill. The cathedral is about three centuries too
late for our story.I was so pleased that my snippet from last week seemed interesting to you all. Thanks so much for visiting and for all your constructive comments!

Since I don't have any battle scenes in this book written yet (I'd have liked to celebrate Memorial Day in that way), I'm going to continue with the wedding preparations. The bride, doña Lambra, is sitting with her trusty servant, Justa, in their tent, waiting in dread for the ceremony to begin. Remember, this is a first draft, so any suggestions are welcome.

* * *They both looked at the tent flap when they heard the women's song. Too soon, a line of twenty singing married women opened the flap and beckoned to Lambra. She felt infinitely small: so small that the women lifted her up on their shoulders and carried her toward the city as if she were a water jug. Lambra looked desperately below in search of Justa's braids. She walked solemnly, far behind all the married women. "Justa, don't leave me alone!"
* * *
Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to check out all the great excerpts at sixsunday.blogspot.com.

Things That Set My Heart Aflutter: Followers Edition

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, for many reasons, one of them being the Mega Author Blog Hop that ended last Monday. I got involved late because I couldn't wrap my head around the concept until I saw an example, so I was scrambling to put it together and make it not seem too bad or lame. Overall, the whole thing, with more than 30 authors, was a giant success.

Here's what sets my heart aflutter: for most of the week, every time I logged on to Blogger, I had at least one new follower here! Wow! Yippee! Without pandering or begging, I now have twice as many followers as when I started the blog hop! I even have more than some of the other authors in the hop. I never really thought I'd have that much of a "popularity" quotient because my writing is so unusual.

So thank you, thank you, to all the truly awesome people who have their picture over there! I promise to keep providing interesting content and make sure you're not sorry that you follow me here. I accept suggestions any time.

New Format For My Poetry Book

After much nose to the grindstone, I'm happy to announce that the digital version of my poetry volume, Dusk Before Dawn, is looking much better than it did before. It contains all the previously published items listed in the Good Reading page (except "Real") as well as many many gems unavailable elsewhere.

It will be available in Kindle shortly, and is already up for Nook. Enjoy!