Merida Johns's Blog: Searching for Merry-Go-Rounds, page 4

What's in a Brand?

Recently, I was challenged with the question: How would you describe your current brand voice?  For example:  Upbeat, creative, fun, hip, artsy, edgy, serious, friendly, passionate, playful, sassy, whimsical, nostalgic, or . . .

This question forced me to do some introspection.  In my heart, I knew my brand—creative, courageous, committed to telling stories about the woman's experience in carving out a path to her North Star.

But had I communicated my brand to the hundreds or thousands ...

How Journals Inspire Me

We should write, above all, because we are writers whether we call ourselves writers or not." – Julia Cameron

 

Since I was a child, I've had a fascination with diaries and journals.  It's not that I'm a habitual journal keeper—it's that I'm curious and nosey!  I want to draw the curtains, peek into the windows of people's lives, hear their voices, and commune with them. Reading journals, diaries, and old letters lets me do that!

 

In the novel that I'm now writing a tattered journal arrives...

How a New Cast of Characters Is Keeping Me Company and Comforted in 2021

"We should write because it is human nature to write. Writing claims our world. It makes it directly and specifically our own. We should write because humans are spiritual beings and writing is a powerful form of prayer and meditation, connecting us both to our own insights and to a higher and deeper level of inner guidance as well… We should write because writing is good for the soul… We should write, above all, because we are writers whether we call ourselves writers or not." – Julia Cameron

...

How Luci, Sam, Barry, and the Gang of Nerds Helped Me Cope in 2020

As many know, I began writing a novel in late winter of 2018. Writing fiction was always a dream—to use my creativity in imagining and writing about regular people and how they faced and overcame challenges. However, it wasn't until meeting and overcoming a significant medical challenge myself that I put a computer keyboard to a digital screen and started writing my first story, Blackhorse Road. Writing this novel has been a journey of fulfillment, personal introspection, insight, and, yes, a st...

The Worthy Villain: Five Criteria

Who is the loathsome villain in Blackhorse Road that makes our protagonist, Luci, shine in the end? 

 

To avoid a spoiler, I will not share who plays the villain. But I will share the five thresholds that any villain of mine must cross before being worthy of the role!

 

The first bar is that my villain must be relatable. I ask myself, What is the villain's hook?  What draws the readers to the villain's web?  Who in the reader's life might the villain represent. It could be a crazy uncle, an...

The Surprising Secondary Characters in Blackhorse Road—Time

Tony Hoagland, author and poet, writes that "The glory of the protagonist is always paid for by a lot of secondary characters."

 

In Blackhorse Road, time is not an add on or a placeholder. Instead, it is a secondary character that adds depth and perspective to the protagonist, antagonist, and other secondary characters. 

 

Stories are about relationships with people, but people also have a relationship with the eras.  I wanted to make those relationships come alive in Blackhorse Road, wheth...

First Book Club Virtual Discussion

The first virtual book club discussion for Blackhorse Road is happening tonight!  So excited to hear the insights and answer the questions from the twelve members who hail from Maryland.  

 

 

The Vision for Blackhorse Road

As soon as I saw this article, I had to share with the readers of Blackhorse Road. "A novel changed the life of Francesca Lo Basso—and there's scientific evidence that she's not alone."

 

This is exactly what I hoped for Blackhorse Road.  Read the article from The Greater Good Magazine--Science-based Insights for a Meaningful Life

 

How Reading Fiction Can Shape Our Real Lives

 

 

Use Writer’s Block to Recharge Your Creativity

I recently answered a question on Goodreads, "How do you deal with writer's block?"

 

There are myriad definitions of writer's block, but Merriam-Webster probably has it right—a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece.  I think we all have experienced writer's block one time or another that invokes irritation, frustration, exasperation, and even conjures up an inner critic who is ready to heap tons of self-blame on us.

 

When I get writer's block, I see it a...

More Praise for Blackhorse Road

Thrilled with the new review of Blackhorse Road from Our Town Book Reviews: 

 

"A really nice read. What a picture of life in the 60's. This book deals with so many items, emotions really. From the moment I began to read about the true hardships, the real picture drawn by the people trying to immigrate I wanted to keep reading to see what happened. I wanted to see where this was going to lead. At first I thought the letters would create a back and forth kind of reading confusion. That didn't h...