Denise DeSio's Blog, page 4

How Hope Became a Reality

Today, I'm helping cyber-friend, Victoria Ferrante, get the word out about HOPE, her brutally moving novel. Read what she has to say about her journey:

"How could someone do that?"

It was the question that started me on a six-year odyssey in writing.

Tammi, my sister-in-law, asked her question in response to a news story about a mother who murdered her autistic child and then made an unsuccessful attempt to take her own life. I cannot remember if the story came on the television or if it was in the newspaper, but what I do remember is the total look of shock on Tammi's face.

I realized then that it was the first time she had ever heard a story like that one. Not being a part of the "World of Autism" – being or having an autistic child – she was unaware that this news event was not a singularity. It dawned on me that in each community where one of these tragedies occurred, people for whom autism was not a daily part of their lives might believe it was a one-time event, because, for whatever reason, these stories do not become national news.

I do not condone the choice these people make. My heart aches for the children who are murdered and the family members left to deal with the tragedies. But, I understand how they can happen. Caring for an autistic child is beyond difficult. It drains you physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. My husband and I share this task, but, some moms and dads are out there doing this alone.

I decided my book would answer Tammi's question. Obviously, it would be fiction, but I wanted to show the harsh realities of this life. So, I based a majority of my main character's experiences upon the true events of my own life. Most books about autism appeal mostly to the people who are already a part of the World of Autism. I wanted to write a book neurotypical (normal) people would pick up and read. I wanted them understand what I already knew; how someone could do that. My Hope is those who read my book will have more empathy, will reach out, and maybe even prevent another tragedy.

I began writing Hope in a notebook with a pen, of all things, sitting on my steps as I waited for my daughter's bus to bring her home from school every day. I had about 45 minutes each day when I started. It probably would have taken me 20 years to write Hope only working 45 minutes a day, five days a week. After a couple of years with little accomplished, I convinced my husband, Tim, I needed a laptop and made more time in my schedule for "Hope." I set my alarm for 4:30 in the morning, weekends included, and wrote while my household slept. Some of those days I was so tired, my writing was a delirious stream of thoughts. I ran through my chores and skipped lunch. I managed to complete my first draft by early 2010.

In a move that was either brave or stupid, I posted my first chapter on Facebook. I wanted to see what type of feedback my friends would give me. Unbeknownst to me, one friend, Tim, shared my chapter with his friend, a book reviewer and editor. Jody loved my chapter and wanted to read more of my story. I hired her to edit my novel. Jody Kordana directed my stream of thoughts into a story that flowed in one powerful direction. The editing process took several months. When it was over, I had a well-written manuscript.

Then came the time I dreaded; trying to get the darn thing published. I wanted my story read ASAP. Also, I wanted control over the final decisions. I did not want someone who did not have an autistic child to possibly cut important details from my story. I decided my best choice was self-publication. I researched numerous self-publishing companies and choose iUniverse. Their website was easy to navigate and I recognized several books they had published. That sold me. After months of editing and designing the book, Hope went live on December 1, 2011.

There you have it. That is how Hope went from being a question aired at a family gathering to a novel held in your hand.

Victoria Ferrante is the mother of two children with autism. Hope is her debut novel. You can find out more about the author and how to purchase her book at http://hopethenovel.com/

[image error]

Writing Tips: Authors Beware!

You've written a book and managed to get it published. Now you want people to read it, so you plaster yourself all over the internet to get the word out. Your communication is full of typos, bad grammar and clueless punctuation. It's no big deal. After all, you're in a relaxed environment with friends, right? Wrong.

Your a published auther. Every ward you right is gonna be screwtinized and applied to your writing in jeneral.

You think that was funny? It's not so funny when you run out of friends to give your book glowing reviews, and the only thing that might motivate other people to buy your book is what you say on a social media site. Maybe I'm an anal snob, but just so you know, I've been known to delete Facebook posts and re-post them for a misplaced comma. So it stands to reason that, except in rare instances (when I know in advance that the author is a brilliant storyteller and that her book has been edited by an equally brilliant editor), if you can't write a simple paragraph on Facebook, there's no way in hell that I'm going to buy your book.

Even if you aren't rabidly seeking book sales, you should still be concerned about your social media presence. Published authors should hold themselves to a higher standard and be role models for aspiring writers. Sloppy blog posts with dangling participles, subject-verb disagreement, and the ignorant habit of assigning a subject to a prepositional clause degrade the English language. It is your job as a published author to remind readers, by example, what it means to use language properly.

If the above paragraph left you hopelessly confused, my greatest wish for you is to have an editor who was educated by a wayward nun, who tired of her catechism and  secretly read her grammar book from cover to cover for fun. For the rest of you, examples follow.

Dangling Participles – After sitting in the freezer overnight, my father served the ice cream. (Hm, one would think dad would want a cup of hot tea after sitting in the freezer overnight.) Sitting is the participle. It will attach itself to the nearest sentence element that it could grammatically modify, even if it turns your sentence into nonsense. Correct application: After sitting in the freezer overnight, the ice cream was served by my father. If you want to avoid using passive voice, an even better way to say it is: My dad served the ice cream after it had been sitting in the freezer overnight.

Subject-Verb Agreement – Our most illiterate president – come on, you know the one – misspoke this one. "Then you wake up at the high school level and find out that the illiteracy level of our children are appalling." Correct application: The illiteracy level IS appalling. Apparently, children, the plural object of the prepositional clause, confused him.

Prepositions ALWAYS take the objective case. The following are all prepositions: above, about, across, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, since, to, toward, through, under, until, up, upon, with and within.

I can't begin to tell you how disturbing it is to hear or read phrases like between you and I, for her and I, with she and I, etc. All of them are wrong. Yes, wrong, wrong, wrong. If you don't know the difference between a subject and an object, rush right over to a reputable grammar site like http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ and educate yourself. In the meantime, here's an aural test you can use to ensure that you never use subjective case after a preposition:

Say the sentence: It's between you and I. Now, remove one of the objects to see if it sounds right. It's between you? Yes, that sounds right. It's between I? No, no no! Correct application: It's between you and me. Here's another one: They came with she and I. Now test it. They came with she? No! They came with I? No again! Correct application: They came with her and me. Really, I'm not kidding you. They came with her. They came with me. See?

Okay, over and out for now. If you liked this article, leave a reply and/or subscribe to my blog.

[image error]

Jeri Estes Reviews Rose’s Will!

Someday soon, when you go to the movies to see Stilettos and Steel starring Dakota Fanning, you might want to remember that the dyke who wrote the book it was based on, read and reviewed Rose’s Will.  Just sayin’.

Jeri Estes, author of Stilettos and Steel

Rose’s Will by Denise DeSio is a stunningly well-crafted novel. Ms. DeSio delivers literary strikes, rarely missing home plate. Rose’s Will has received outstanding reviews which are mini-synopses. To avoid redundancy and the tedious nature of authors to play intellectual tennis, my review will only address the literary merits of this spellbinding family drama.

For range of effect, philosophical weight, variety of characters, originality of style, humor and tragic intensity, DeSio’s work captures these skillfully.This is a must read that explores the pain of estrangement between a mother and daughter. The author makes her characters’ struggles universal by spotlighting our unreasonable demands for acceptance, approval and love (unreasonable only to the one demanded upon).

Rarely has the human drama for acceptance been accomplished without being spoiled by exasperating Hallmark moments. DeSio meets this challenge with her sardonic wit. Rose’s Will is bold, authentic and most importantly, profoundly moving. The difference between a good book and a very good book is that the latter leaves the reader changed and entertained in the process.  - Jeri Estes, author of

Stilettos and Steel

[image error]

Jeri Estes Reviews Rose's Will!

Someday soon, when you go to the movies to see Stilettos and Steel starring Dakota Fanning, you might want to remember that the dyke who wrote the book it was based on, read and reviewed Rose's Will.  Just sayin'.

Jeri Estes, author of Stilettos and Steel

Rose's Will by Denise DeSio is a stunningly well-crafted novel. Ms. DeSio delivers literary strikes, rarely missing home plate. Rose's Will has received outstanding reviews which are mini-synopses. To avoid redundancy and the tedious nature of authors to play intellectual tennis, my review will only address the literary merits of this spellbinding family drama.

For range of effect, philosophical weight, variety of characters, originality of style, humor and tragic intensity, DeSio's work captures these skillfully.This is a must read that explores the pain of estrangement between a mother and daughter. The author makes her characters' struggles universal by spotlighting our unreasonable demands for acceptance, approval and love (unreasonable only to the one demanded upon).

Rarely has the human drama for acceptance been accomplished without being spoiled by exasperating Hallmark moments. DeSio meets this challenge with her sardonic wit. Rose's Will is bold, authentic and most importantly, profoundly moving. The difference between a good book and a very good book is that the latter leaves the reader changed and entertained in the process.  - Jeri Estes, author of

Stilettos and Steel

[image error]

Stilettos and Steel

Jeri Estes has made it no secret that Jesse, the protagonist, in her novel, Stilettos and Steel, is closely modeled after her own life. So let's hope that all of Estes' former Catholic school teachers are dead or demented, lest they run across her book. Not that a Catholic school girl turned lesbian runaway is a shock anymore, even to a nun, but a lesbian runaway turned butch whore gangster professional pimp would surely make Sister Marie Ella Phant blanch and lock herself in the confessional booth to self-flagellate for not having been a better influence in the classroom.

It all begins when Jesse, discovers she's gay and, fearing a parentally mandated lifetime of "asylums, shock treatments and lobotomies" the 16-year-old flees her comfortable middle class home and ends up hooking in the Tenderloin, San Francisco's sex mecca. By 19, Jesse is broke, shooting smack, and inches away from death when Bunny, an experienced high-ticket whore, takes a shine to her. (Wouldn't you?) In no time, Bunny cleans up Jessie's drug habit, prinks her up in shiny new duds, and turns her into the dildo-packing butch heartthrob of every lesbian hooker in the district.

Armed with a mental catechism of best business practices, gleaned from watching her father manage a stable of door to door Electrolux salesmen, Jesse uses her charm, swagger, sexual energy and good looks to draw a loyal stable of cheap, mid-priced, and high end whores. Offering fare for any budget, Jesse soon becomes the "head-pimp-what's-in-charge of the Tenderloin.

Abashedly, I have to admit that I was momentarily swept away on a sea of political incorrectness and tempted to cheer for the twisted girl-pimp's rise out of poverty (Who's your daddy?). But Jesse lives the high life just long enough to piss off her competition. When a big brutish thug with the mentality of a small soap dish–. Why am I telling you this? Read it yourself! Suffice it to say that the outcome brought me to my senses and left me righteously redeemed.

Do I bristle at Este's glamorization of her character's dirty deeds? As a fairly political lesbian, and totally honest person, I have to say that I do. Taking power away from male pimps in order to form a female-owned stable of whores doesn't win any prizes for breaking through the glass ceiling, in my book.

Fortunately, for Estes, I don't review books for feminist values or superior moral content. I review books for the author's use of language:

"…the air stole through my silk shirt…the neighborhood lost its civility……gossip flowed like sewage."

I review books for well developed characters like the amoral Jesse, who still believes that a Catholic god has her back, and the beautiful Carmen, whose fierce devotion to her butch and dreams of a house in the suburbs would make Jerry Springer proud. I review books for peripheral but colorful characters like Johnny Fuck-Fuck, Little Bastard, Tattoo Jean, Two Bits and Helmet Head.

I review books for smart humor, like the hilarious scenes in which it dawns on Jesse that Bunny's girlfriend, a "six-foot dyke with 350 pounds of undiciplined flesh" might view Bunny's interest in her as a problem.

Lastly, I look for a good story with interesting events. You can't get much more interesting than this band of misfits with it's own distorted code of honor, in an explosive setting where anyone might turn up as a corpse.

If you're the type who spells women 'womyn', protests the attendence of male children at the Michigan music fest, and thinks Venus De Milo is pornography, fine. Don't read this book. But anyone who enjoys a well-written book with story elements that create a highly engaging read, I urge you to run right out and get yourself a copy. Did I mention the hot sex? Oh but you probably don't want to know about that.

Kudos to Estes for her riveting tale, and especially to her editor and copy editor who did a hell of a job putting it together.

[image error]

If You’re Cranky and You Know It…

Some writers should consider another format, such as oral story telling, film-making, or photo-essay. Yes, find some other method of communication that doesn’t involve spelling, grammar and punctuation. I’m all for supporting my kindred struggling authors, but damn it! Edit your freaking work before you inflict it on me, especially for a review!

I don’t say this lightly. I edited my novel for ten years before I allowed a single soul to see it, and even after it was checked by a professional editor, re-checked by me and published (in eBook form) by a mainstream publisher, I still found a few stray errors. So I know it’s difficult. But let’s face it. If you don’t even know the rule, it’s not a typo. For the love of literature, please! At least make an attempt. Just sayin’.

[image error]

If You're Cranky and You Know It…

Some writers should consider another format, such as oral story telling, film-making, or photo-essay. Yes, find some other method of communication that doesn't involve spelling, grammar and punctuation. I'm all for supporting my kindred struggling authors, but damn it! Edit your freaking work before you inflict it on me, especially for a review!

I don't say this lightly. I edited my novel for ten years before I allowed a single soul to see it, and even after it was checked by a professional editor, re-checked by me and published (in eBook form) by a mainstream publisher, I still found a few stray errors. So I know it's difficult. But let's face it. If you don't even know the rule, it's not a typo. For the love of literature, please! At least make an attempt. Just sayin'.

[image error]

Look at Me!!!

The truth is I'm an attention whore. Positive, negative, it makes no difference. I'll do anything for a laugh, or even better, for that horrified look that normal people get when I say or do ridiculous things that they would never in a million years embarrass themselves with. So you could imagine the extra dose of adrenaline I got when it occurred to me that being a published author with mounting five-star reviews might get me an interview and my picture in a magazine!

Yes! First ECHO, then Ellen…damn! I'm too late for Oprah. Oh well, Rose's Will might be a little too edgy for her anyway. Maybe 60 Minutes. Yeah, that's it. They like controversial topics that the Tomorrow's News From This Morning's Today Show can't handle.

In a moment of lucidity, though, I decided that I might need a little more practice before I talked to Leslie Stahl, so I surfed around to a few sites that offered author interviews, "Hey there, do you want me to talk about my new book – yeah, Rose's Will, the one where I throw a blue-collar family man, a Bulgarian Holocaust survivor and a lesbian atheist together and make them deal with an awful Italian woman from Brooklyn? Oh, you do? Great!"

Here's one on fellow author Lori Moore's site and another on Super-E-Books.com

Thanks you guys! You're the best! I'm also available for book signings, book club discussions, or your mother's house (if she makes good lasagne).

[image error]

[No] Life After Publishing

I used to be a linear, focused person, accomplishing tasks in an orderly manner with a minimum of stress – until www.48fourteen.com published my novel. Now, I am a scattered, harried, recognition-seeking madwoman. I'm registered with Linked-In, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ so I could , add skills, like, tag, re-tweet, and post by the hundreds to who knows who. I follow blogs of authors whose books I wouldn't read in a million years, stalk the internet for potential readers, intimidate my friends into purchasing Kindles, and lurk on Goodreads, waiting for innocent victims to ask for a good book recommendation.

I'm ashamed to say that last week, I sent this email to a friend: …and for the LOW LOW PRICE OF ONLY $4.99 you can have the amazing new novel by Denise DeSio. BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! When you download Rose's Will in the next 32 seconds, we will include: A jpg of the beautiful cover art – in in not ONE, not TWO, but THREE stunning colors!!! Don't wait. Get your copy today!

It was a joke, but…not so much. I blame the publisher. Wasn't it their job to purchase massive amounts of air time on national TV and promote Rose's Will for me? No? What do you mean no?

I'm kidding. I love my publisher but I think that the only thing harder than marketing your first novel would be marketing your second novel if the first one sucked. Luckily, for me, that's not the case, judging from the positive reviews Rose's Will has gotten. Which brings me to a place of gratitude and peace.

The other day I learned that 48fourteen wants to add a print edition of Rose's Will. That's a risk they are willing to take thanks to my first group of readers who have so generously taken the time to read it, and to post their heartfelt reactions online. New authors desperately need that kind of support and I am truly grateful to every single one of you who has bought, reviewed, recommended, tweeted, posted and got caught up in my frenzy. Thank you so much.

[image error]

UPMARKET FICTION: Controversial?

I got a call from a Facebook friend objecting to my description of Rose's Will as upmarket fiction. "Doesn't that sound just a little conceited? Not that your book isn't better than 90% of the others out there," she said, "but it's probably a term better left to your readers to decide."

After the call, I scoured the internet for publishing terms, and indeed, by some standards, the term is controversial. What a surprise! Do I ever do anything that isn't controversial? Despite ruffling a few feathers, however, upmarket fiction has come into it's own right as a standard genre. More and more agents and publishers are requesting it.

What is upmarket fiction? Basically, it's commercial/mainstream fiction with enough literary elements to appeal to the literary reader, making it span both genres and therefore have wider appeal. It is typically a character-driven story, with vibrant language, well-developed characters, and dimension that, by turns, expresses wisdom, irony, insight, and humor.

Rose's Will is no Odyssey, but 've held it to a higher standard. Am I not entitled to use the term to describe it? What do you think?

[image error]