Judith Post's Blog, page 83
May 14, 2018
Chapter 17’s up
https://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/
Also, I added my BookBubs links to my author info, if anyone would like to follow me there. My urban fantasies as Judith Post: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/judith-post?list=author_books
For romances and my upcoming mysteries as Judi Lynn: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/judi-lynn
May 12, 2018
I went to hear Alice Hoffman speak last Monday night. Th...
I went to hear Alice Hoffman speak last Monday night. The Jewish synagogue near Old Mill Road invites a prominent author to Fort Wayne once a year and the public is welcome. I fell in love with Alice Hoffman’s writing years ago when I read TURTLE MOON and PRACTICAL MAGIC—before the movie came out with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman—before I knew what the term magical realism even meant.
I’ve bought many of her books, including the latest, THE RULES OF MAGIC, but you won’t find any of them on my bookshelf because I pass them on to my daughters, who love her writing as much as I do. So, I didn’t have a book for her to sign, but that’s all right, because I’d rather come away with a feel of the author than an autograph. And Alice Hoffman was fascinating and charming. I’m so glad I went to see her.
For a sense of her many interests and wit, she has a beautiful webpage. It’s stunning, and her blog is as charming as she is. You can find them here: http://alicehoffman.com/ Her top blog entry was one of the things she shared with us in her talk. She grew up with a Russian grandmother who told her fairytales when she was a child to entertain her. She also told her that life is hard and you can trust potatoes. Other veggies can be tampered with, but a potato is what it is.
Because of her grandmother, the first books Alice Hoffman cherished and read were collections of fairytales, myths, and folklore. She said that’s why magic plays a part in so many of her stories. When asked how she creates her characters, she said that she creates a place, and once she gets that place fully realized, the characters come to populate it. Sort of like the movie Field of Dreams. She does all of her own research and that inspires her writing, too. She usually knows the end of each story she writes, but said that the ending, even though it usually doesn’t change, might not be the way she envisioned it. Her characters influence the story’s direction, so the same event might happen, but if she envisioned it as happy, it might flip to bittersweet. Or if she thought it would be sad, it might have hope.
She told us that most people think writers write because they have answers they want to share. She doesn’t believe that. She thinks most writers write to find answers to questions they’re asking themselves. How did this person end up here? What happened to shape him? She wrote the novel The Dovekeepers because she visited Masada in Israel and saw a small plaque that said only two women and five children survived the Roman siege there. She hadn’t known there were survivors, so that made her wonder who survived and how that happened.
I enjoyed hearing the process she uses to write. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy going to hear other writers. I’m always interested in how they became writers and how they approach finding ideas and filling blank pages. Even if his/her process wouldn’t work for me, their passion flames my own.
I hope something inspires you to put fingers to keys, and happy writing!
My webpage: https://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/
My Author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JudiLynnwrites/
Twitter: @judypost
May 11, 2018
May 10, 2018
May 8, 2018
May 5, 2018
Finding Balance
I’m a Libra–the sign of the scales, so I thought my life came with some automatic balance. Come to find out, one of my favorite astrologers explained that being a Libra meant I was constantly SEARCHING for balance. A whole different thing entirely. And after I thought about it, aren’t most people striving for balance, too?
The old saying “Too much work and no fun make Jack a dull boy” could apply to too much of anything. I read a thread on twitter recently where Ilona Andrews and Jeaniene Frost (both New Times bestselling authors) worked so many hours writing their books that Jeaniene Frost ended up in the hospital and both suffered from too much stress and felt everything else in their lives got neglected. What were they missing? Balance.
Now, I’d love to be a bestselling author, but not enough to ONLY write. I like seeing my husband, kids, and grandkids. I like having family and friends over for suppers. I enjoy cooking and gardening. I’m not very exciting, but I’m happy. Of course, if all I did was play, I’d feel out of sync, too. I like checking off goals when I finish them. They give me a sense of accomplishment. Too much down time, and I get antsy.
As a writer, I strive for balance in my books, too. I recently finished reading Maria V. Snyder’s POISON STUDY. I really liked it and highly recommend it, but the book had so much action, with the heroine under constant attack from enemies on all sides, that it felt like too much of a good thing. For me, the book’s rhythm began to feel repetitive. She created wonderful characters, and I’d have liked to spend a little more time with them. Valek, especially, was fascinating. So were many of the minor characters. On the other hand, though, I’ve read books where action would be welcome. It feels like nothing is happening, page after page. No character development. No clues to add up. The pacing’s so slow, the story barely moves forward.
I also recently finished reading Cee Cee James’s cozy mystery CHERRY PIE OR DIE. I loved the characters, the interaction between them, and the clues sprinkled here and there that teased me to solve the murder. The pacing took its time, taunting me with tidbits of information and red herrings, like cozies do. And that’s one of the things I liked about the book.
Great books create a balance between action, dialogue, setting, character development, and building momentum through pacing and tension. Not many of us get every scene, every page right. And not all of us can even agree on what’s good and what’s not. What excites me can make another reader close the book and toss it aside. But for whatever you’re working on now, I hope you find a good balance. And happy writing!
My webpage: https://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/
My author Facebook page: https://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/
Twitter: @judypost
May 1, 2018
Chapters 11 & 12
I put up chapter 11 for Empty Altars on Sunday and chapter 12 just now. Enjoy!
April 28, 2018
Too many book boyfriends
I think Julia Donner writes the best male characters ever! I like ALL of her lead characters, but when I read her Regency, THE HEIRESS AND THE SPY–if I wasn’t happily married–I’d have wanted me a clone of Peregrine Asterly. But doggone it if she didn’t just keep writing more and more wonderful men. I didn’t see how she could ever outdo herself until I read her historical Western, AVENUE TO HEAVEN, with Jake Williams. Drool worthy. Her newest Regency–the 11th in the Friendship Series–is available for pre-sale now and comes out May 1st. It has all of her usual–wonderful characters, a luscious hero, and wry humor. So I invited her to be a guest on my blog today for a Q&A session. I hope you enjoy it and welcome her.
Q & A for Julia Donner, A Laird’s Promise:
I never thought about being a writer until I had my two daughters and, as a surprise, my husband signed me up for a class once a week, WRITING FOR FUN AND PROFIT. He wanted me to have some fun, and he picked the perfect thing. I fell in love with writing. You’ve always loved to write, though, haven’t you? When did you get started? And what were some of the first things you wrote?
Julia: I can’t remember when I wasn’t writing. Did the typical angst poetry thing during the teens then got serious about the craft when I had to give up theater. The first thing published was an article, not my forte, but it was romantic and dramatic, about the Monterey Cypress.
You grew up in Galena, IL, didn’t you? Did you develop your love of history there? What are some of your favorite periods of history? If you could have dinner with one historical character, who would it be?
Julia: Aunt Marie, curator of her own museum, fostered it, made history come alive. I love all history and particularly drawn to 1800’s, ancient Roman & Egyptian and especially applying those two eras to Biblical understanding. Then there’s the whole archeology aspect. I’d love a chat with Jane Austen.
Your eleven Regency books are part of the Friendship series. Some writers use a setting to connect their books. Lord and Lady Asterly help to connect yours. I was taken by Lord Asterly before I’d finished the first chapters in THE HEIRESS AND THE SPY, and happily, he and his Elizabeth play different parts in most of your novels. Can you explain how that works? How does friendship hold this series together? How are the men in your novels unusual for their time period?
Julia: Asterly has a mysterious air, and Elizabeth is crafty, a bit sly. They have insights and talents as insiders in the political/social climate and offer aid to friends. In every book of the series, an aspect of friendship is realized, sometimes discovered and then strengthened. The series came into being to honor my friends. They’ve always been there when I needed them. It’s one of life’s most precious gifts.
A LAIRD’S PROMISE takes place in Scotland, for the most part. Why did you choose that for your setting?
Julia: The fascination with Scotland became visceral when I first visited. There is something about the country and people that is very like US Americans. But it’s more than that. Something almost spiritual. The setting was chosen because it fit the characters and the plot. Not a very interesting answer, but that’s why.
5.The book before this was a departure from the Regencies. AVENUE TO HEAVEN was the first book in your new Westward Bound series. It’s historical, too, but tells of the American west. Did you have to do a lot of research to write about a new setting and time period? And what prompted you to write it?
Julia: Working in my aunt’s museum was like living in that time period. A great deal of research was needed about Native American cultures, which tribe would work with the story, its warfare history and cultural aspects. So many inaccuracies about Native Americans thrive to this day that it was important to get it right. I was fortunate to be able to speak with a Lakota tribal historian and find John Stands in Timber’s book.
I was prompted to write this story for reasons too personal to list. It’s the first book I’d attempted and put away for many years after endless revisions. Readers of the rough drafts encouraged it back to life.
In your blog, you’ve said that you need new challenges to keep your writing fresh, and that’s why you write other genres under M. L. Rigdon. Do you have more Regencies and historical fiction to share with us? Please, say yes.
Julia: The next book in the regency series is To Jilt a Corinthian, released this summer.
Every book has its own atmosphere and some are a bit darker or with aspects of mystery. For a change-up, I like to make the following one brighter with more humor. Here is a partial blurb for Corinthian:
Beatrice Allardyce is too busy for something as inconsequential as marriage. And love? A waste of time when there are so many books to read and a father who needs her care. Getting caught in a compromising situation with the haughty Sir Joceyln Warfield is definitely not a part of her agenda.
