K.C. Sprayberry's Blog, page 113
February 19, 2018
Realistic Dialogue
Good morning and welcome to Monday Blogs. Today, we’re going to be talking about realistic dialogue.
When I first embarked on my writing career, I faithfully took online courses, researched how the best way to write a book was, and took all that advice to heart. My office was soon exploding with all the notes I’d taken, references I worked hard to follow. After all, the people giving this advice had to know what they were doing. They claimed to be experts in the field and I was so very new that I needed to know how to present my stories to magazine and book publishers.
One thing that was emphasized by certain sites over and over was that you couldn’t use contractions, not even in dialogue. This was the polar opposite of what I’d been learning in my creative writing classes, but I figured these people were experts and knew what they were talking about. So, I went through my stories and made sure there were no contractions at all. None.
Needless to say, my characters didn’t sound natural. What I had thought was a tightly written story now sounded stilted, stiff. But I wasn’t the expert so therefore, I needed to follow their advice. Right?
Wrong…
Not much later, I had the chance to get advice from a published author. Her words were to forget what all these experts were saying and just write the story, as it came from my heart. At that point, I heard the truth of her statement. She was selling her work with contractions in it all the time. I got to work and put contractions back in my work. I spent time around people, listening to them talk, to make my dialogue more natural.
In essence, there are rules of writing you need to ignore. The one about no contractions is one of those rules. Readers don’t want to wade through a book where there are no contractions. That’s not how they talk and think. So, slip in a few contractions. Make your writing be more natural.
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Find out more about my books at these social media sites:
Website
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Google +
Manic Readers
AUTHORSdb
Readers Gazette
February 18, 2018
Holding Out Hope
Good morning and welcome to Sunday Blog Share. Today, we’re talking about holding out hope when all seems lost. Of never giving up despite insurmountable odds.
Get Lost Soul Barren Heart 1 on Amazon
A holiday they will never forget…
Blurb
The neighborhood knew what Cody Allen Luther endured on a daily basis for five long years. Everyone except Brandy Mason turned their heads. After all, it was a parent’s right to discipline their child. On Christmas Eve, 1969, Cody finally can’t take the brutal abuse any longer, but not for himself—his mother turns her unreasonable anger on his younger stepsiblings and he makes a life changing decision, killing her instead of allowing her to keep hurting his family.
Only one person has ever understood the why Cody reacted as he did that Christmas Eve of 1969. Brandy Mason will do anything to protect Cody, even stand up against classmates willing to petition the governor to have Cody tried as an adult for murder once he is released from juvenile detention.
Excerpt
Ten year old Cody Luther walked alongside his dad. They had a very important job to do today, finding the perfect Christmas tree. Cody didn’t really understand what was going on, just that his daddy had been real sick lately. It had something to do with his service in the Marine Corps during the Korean War.
“It’s going to be tough on you, son.” Dad stopped near a Douglas fir and examined the branches. “I know this isn’t what you want, but the courts said you had to do this if I… I…” He wiped away a tear from beneath an eye. “If I’m not alive anymore.”
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Find out more about my books at these social media sites:
Website
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Google +
Manic Readers
AUTHORSdb
Readers Gazette
February 17, 2018
Take Chances - A New Look
Active shooter!
Two words that strike at the heart of everyone who hears them, whether you are in the place where school violence is about to occur or are seeing the action unfolding live on social media or your local news station. Everyone demands answers immediately, as images of frightened children and their terrified parents are flashed before us.
Such was the case on Valentine’s Day 2018. Another high school was undergoing the tragedy of violence most people can’t imagine occurring. News media broke into regular programming. Social media was instantly filled with news—with little concern for the accuracy. People were demanding answers even though as the dinner hour approached on the East Coast, the incident was still ongoing. As the night wore on, as the Easter season opened with Valentine’s Day becoming a night of mourning rather religious observation or couples enjoying the most romantic day of the year, all Americans and the world knew was that a teenage boy—his age was said to be seventeen, no eighteen, no nineteen—had entered a high school in Parkland, Florida and attacked students who were his former classmates before casually dropping his weapon and leaving with the panicked teens.
Take Chances on Kindle
As we enter the weekend, stunned and mourning families are picking up the pieces. Some are demanding instant answers. The suspect in this case is in jail, awaiting his day in court, but that’s not enough for families burying children, or even their husband/brother/father. There were heroic acts on Valentine’s Day 2018. Some were small. Some have already been mentioned. Yet, one has to wonder if those teens who are now attempting to sleep but are reliving that event in their terrifying dreams are capable of understanding that they are heroes too.
That’s right. These survivors of this attack are heroes. They will continue high school, without friends, teachers, or an assistant football coach. They won’t feel like heroes but they are because they will walk through halls that won’t seem as safe. They will attend classes but look around with a sharper eye on the details. Not many of these teens will take much for granted. At times, they will huddle together, affirming that terror isn’t going to rain down on the again.
Take Chances in paperback
Take Chances is a book I wrote, rewrote, edited, started over, and finally found the right story to tell. It was first published in 2013. This week, in honor of the students of Marjory Stoneman High School, I’ve updated the cover and blurb, to reflect how society as a whole has felt since this news first broke.
Julie Bond and her friends are fictional characters but through intense research, I made them real people struggling to survive a madman in their classroom. They managed to make decisions that kept them alive despite their sheer terror. Instead of allowing the shooter to destroy them, they made a conscious decision to survive, even though they’d witnessed three people die already.
Active Shooter Civilian Response Training
This, too, required many hours of research, where I discovered the internet had a wealth of information about organizations who teach students and teachers how to be smart in these situations. The link above is one parents should demand their school districts check out. Teachers and students can learn how to hide, how to avoid, and how to survive. So many are demanding that certain weapons be banned, they want sweeping legislation to deal with this in a harsh manner, yet that won’t stop the terror that descended on one high school and could on others. So many factors have to be overcome before that can happen, but our children can learn how to react in a way that could ensure their survival if they’re ever faced with an active shooter.
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Find out more about my books at these social media sites:
Facebook Twitter Website Goodreads Amazon Author Page Google + Pinterest
Manic Readers AUTHORSdb Readers Gazette Instagram Email Me
February 15, 2018
New Release ~ Cupid's Arrow Vol. 2
Valentine’s Day encompasses romance for all ages. People go out of their way to show their affection for the one they love with flowers, candy, perhaps a special meal. Just how did this day come to be?
Valentine’s Day can be traced back to the third century, when Emperor Claudius III of Rom decided young men made better soldiers than those with wives and families to care for. Valentine, a young man who preached the word, felt this was injustice at its worst. He defied the emperor and secretly performed marriages for young lovers in secret. Once his actions were discovered, the emperor ordered he be put to death.
Get Cupid's Arrow Vol. 2 on Amazon
Today, we honor his memory by celebrating romance with the one we love. To honor St. Valentine, Solstice Publishing presents Cupid’s Arrow Vol. 2, a collection of tales of love.
An essence of bliss makes everything delicious.
Her last word before kissing him was, “Hush.”
Never say never...
She's not your grandmother's matchmaker.
Separated by the winds of war
They meet time after time…
Can love possibly come again?
Real life isn't a fairy tale... or is it?
Love is a wonderful spell.
Love is a special feeling between couples. The sweetness of caring deeply for each other. A waterfall of romance is brought to you E.B. Sullivan, Jeffery Martin Botzenhart, A.A. Schenna, Adam Zorzi, K.C. Sprayberry, A.J. Kohler, Veronica Peters, Noelle Myers, and Palvi Sharma
February 14, 2018
You Can Do This
Good morning and welcome to wwwblogs. Today, we’re talking about older authors and what we’re capable of achieving.
First of all, put aside the idea that you can’t learn social media if you’re over a certain age. Perish the thought. I am well past my forties, might as well admit it, sixty is in the rear window. I embrace social media as a promotional tool and have since I was first published. Oh, it wasn’t easy but I never gave up.
What has this earned me? Yes I’ve earned my position as a social media maven. I do that by being involved daily on Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and Instagram. Not just “buy my book” links either. That’s the fastest way to have your posts ignored.
Just how do you attract attention to your books? I’m asked this often. My response is that I plan every day what I’m going to do. I have spreadsheets and documents dedicated to promotion. All of my posts on every social media site have images attached to them, because those attract attention. Only half will have a buy link attached, and I use a geo-tracked link, so interested readers and fans from other countries can go directly to the book’s Amazon page in their local store.
Once I’m done with all of this, I don’t just stop and go on about with my writing day. I take numerous breaks throughout the day, to wander through these sites, share interesting posts from friends or followers. I respond on intriguing posts from them and get into discussions, although I do avoid discussions about hot topics such as politics or religion. Not because I don’t have opinions but I know many of the people I’m attracting to my books don’t have the same beliefs I do.
My age doesn’t slow me down. I see being in my sixth decade as a challenge not a disability. I’m always on the lookout for a new site to use, a new place to place my books for promotion. That’s what all authors in their “golden years” should be doing. Don’t hand me that tired excuse of “I simply can’t learn something new.” or “I just don’t understand social media.” Our generation is the one associated with making computers available for use in homes. We’re the people who worked with machines so slow we often sat for hours trying to get a simple report compiled and printed. Why are we letting the social media years slow us down? Or rather, why are some older people swearing they can’t possibly learn social media? It’s a lot simpler than working on a 250K computer where you had to use two floppy discs in order to have the program and your data working at the same time.
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Find out more about my books at these social media sites:
Website
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Google +
Manic Readers
AUTHORSdb
Readers Gazette
February 13, 2018
Discovering Love
Good morning and welcome to Tuesday Blog Share. Today, we’re talking about discovering love, no matter the circumstances.
Get An Angel Sang Tonight on Amazon
Johnson and Caryn have always been together. She’s a fabulous singer; he’s a gifted musician. Will they realize their feelings are stronger than the adversity they’re facing?
Blurb
Christmas was almost here.
Caryn O’Brien and Johnson Angel lost the music in their lives when circumstances tore them away from each other. Together, they were a talented team, but separate, all they had were empty spaces in their souls. It didn’t help that the gulf between them was being forced open even wider by the bigotry and anger that surrounded them.
They had no way of knowing that those very things, which drove them apart, would also bring them together.
Excerpt
Caryn O’Brien stood in front of the choir, at the front of her church. On Christmas Eve she would celebrate her twenty-third birthday the same way she had done it since she was seven—by singing a solo of the one holiday song that meant so much to her.
She bowed her head forward, letting her copper colored hair conceal her face. It was better this way, so no one could see her excruciating pain. The source of said pain wasn’t visible. How does one show that their heart has shattered? How does a person get over the worst betrayal of their life? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t bring her voice to the level of intensity required to make this song memorable.
I’ve loved Silent Night since the first time I heard it. Why can’t I sing it right now?
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Find out more about my books at these social media sites:
Website
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Google +
Manic Readers
AUTHORSdb
Readers Gazette
February 12, 2018
Best Seller Lists
Good morning and welcome to Monday Blogs. Today, we’ll be talking about those elusive best seller lists.
We’ve all seen these lists. USA Today, the New York Times. Oh, the famous authors who have graced those pages. Doesn’t it just make you long to have your book and your name featured on them? I mean, everyone certainly wants to be on these coveted lists. We’ll certainly do anything to get on one. To be honest, that was one of my goals when I made the decision to go from the writer with a huge stable of stories I was always editing, rewriting, and tweaking on to a published author. It seemed so simple to get there. All one had to do was research the guidelines to get on one of those lists.
Ah, how naïve I was. How out of touch with the reality of the publishing world was I? I honestly thought a lot of hard promotion, getting my book out in front of potential readers, raking in the sales, and being available for interviews would put my right at the top of the books those lists wanted.
Reality soon set in when I began researching exactly how one gets on those lists. Like my search for the perfect publisher for my books, I dove into the internet, seeking the guidelines to submit my book to both the New York Times and USA Today. In my mind, these were respectable publications and would more than welcome a book by a new author.
Did I mention how naive I was? Yeah, that feeling of conquering the world was seriously chipped when I discovered you, the author, don’t actually submit your books to these lists. To be honest, the rules for submission if your book wasn’t with one of the Big 5 publishers were pretty discouraging and always began with: Your publisher or publicist must contact us.
So, I looked further and what I found turned off my desire to be a part of these lists. This decision was further firmed when I heard about the scandal regarding a book that somehow “bought” its way onto the New York Times Best Seller list. It turns out a book with ten thousand or more paid pre-orders makes it onto this list, even if the book hasn’t been published yet. Handbook for Mortals had the distinct notoriety of being on this list in August of 2017. It was listed as “out of stock” on Amazon and there were no physical copies in any Barnes & Noble stores. Yet, this author and the website that had just become a publisher managed to take over what has always been considered a prestigious spot.
This incident brought to light exactly how books are rated on the NYT list. Only books selling well at a certain number of bookstores and a few online retailers; these stores or online retailers were not indicative of anything but the sales in a limited area.
Getting your book on the USA Today best seller list is less restrictive but just as hard, as it requires a lot of sales online.
What it boils down to is that new authors with small publishers or authors who elect to self publish need to continue their hard work not just promoting their book but also branding their name but they should also be happy with the fact that they are developing a good fan base. That hard work might one day get you on one of these lists, but not without doing what it takes to get noticed.
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Find out more about my books at these social media sites:
Website
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Google +
Manic Readers
AUTHORSdb
Readers Gazette
February 11, 2018
Lover's Reunited
Good morning and welcome to Sunday Book Blog. Today, we’re discussing when lovers reunite. How can they overcome the trouble in the past that separated them? Can they make a bright, new future?
Get Last Chance on Amazon
The horror they survived have separated Keri-Lynne and Jack. Can they move past that and reunite?
Blurb
The tragic death of their child in a horrific fire scars Keri-Lynne and Jack Montrose in ways they never could have imagined, driving them apart for eighteen years. It is only when the truth of the fire comes out that they have one last chance to accept and embrace the love that they buried for so long.
Excerpt
A soft breeze, the kind that came during the warming from winter to spring, ruffled Keri-Lynne Montrose’s waist-length blonde hair. Her hair wasn’t the blonde idolized as the perfect American female but rather a honey color with streaks of strawberry tones that never came from a bottle. Creamy skin most thought would burn under the South’s strong sun tanned gently. Hazel eyes surveyed a greenhouse hidden behind a high hedge, to keep others from knowing she was experimenting with the forbidden, but only forbidden by hidebound traditionalists who feared change.
“What today?” She examined the herbs she nurtured in this glass building. “I have to find a way to help Mother.”
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Find out more about my books at these social media sites:
Website
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Google +
Manic Readers
AUTHORSdb
Readers Gazette
February 7, 2018
Book Contests
Good morning and welcome to wwwblogs. Today, we’re going to be talking about contests.
That’s right. It’s contest season. Authors all over the world are looking over contests that litter the internet, in the hopes they find something worth their time, energy, and wallet draining fees.
How does the new author go about finding the right contest?
The answer to that is both simple and difficult. First, you should be getting to know more experienced authors. They know the contests that are worth paying money to enter. They can tell the new author what contests to avoid, as they’re nothing more than a popularity contest where you have to get people to click a link to vote for you. And they will be more than happy to help you figure out where to find the best contests, the ones that will get you the most exposure.
You can also do an internet search for book contests. Be sure to be genre specific or you’ll have a massive amount of information to wade through. Another thing to look for is if this is a juried competition. Are there judges who will go through your book before it’s moved on to the next round?
Finally, you need to weigh the cost. Some of these contests can be as little as twenty to thirty dollars. Others can run as much as a hundred dollars or more to enter. This is where you need to read all of the guidelines, to see if those in charge have listed information about past contests. Are their expected expenses in line with what they’re charging for the contest? Or do you feel they’re charging far too much, especially if there are a large number of submissions expected?
Next, read the guidelines thoroughly. Ensure there are location limitations, such only people from a certain area can enter or your book must be a certain length. Is this contest limited only to those who are part of the hosting organization?
It seems like this is an awful lot of work to do to enter a contest. But if you want a chance to have your book received well, you need to ensure you are entering the right contest. Once you’ve done this, go through the entry form carefully. Ensure you can do an electronic version of your book if you’re sending in the form through email. Or does this contest require that you send a certain number of print books for evaluation?
Once you feel comfortable with the contest’s host, go ahead and enter. Remember one thing, though. Many other authors are also entering. Don’t think of the entry fee as money lost if you don’t get through the first round, or even don’t place in the final round. You entered your book into a contest. So did thousands of other authors. To have it read by the first round judges, even if they didn’t select it to move on, is great!
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Find out more about my books at these social media sites:
Websites
Goodreads
Amazon
Google +
Manic Readers
AUTHORSdb
Readers Gazette
February 6, 2018
Forgiving Mistakes
Good morning and welcome to Tuesday Blog Share. Today we’re talking about forgiving yourself for the mistakes of the past.
Get Love Anew on Amazon
Treena and Rick made choices for their future, but soon found themselves regretting their decisions.
Blurb
A promise to wait forever shatters from doubt. Doubt in her fiancé and doubt in herself causes Treena Andrews to make a choice she comes to regret. Fifteen years later, can she make the broken pieces of her life whole?
Excerpt
Treena Michaels glanced at the miniscule diamond engagement ring on the third finger of her left hand. Four months ago, Rick Wilson had put the ring there and promised to return to her. Everything she’d dreamed of had happened in the space of two short years. She no longer lived with her father—a man who preached blind obedience for women to their men and enforced his teachings with fists and hateful words in his home. For the first time in her life, she was free to pursue a career she’d always dreamed of having, becoming a social worker for children who lived as she had after her mother disappeared. Within the next year, she would be Rick Wilson’swife. All she had to do was wait for him to come home from the War on Terrorism unscathed.
“He’ll come home,” she whispered. “Rick promised.”
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Find out more about my books at these social media sites:
Website
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Google +
Manic Readers
AUTHORSdb
Readers Gazette
