Laura McNeill's Blog, page 30

Recharge & Refocus: Why Girlfriends Rock

Recharge & Refocus:
Why Girlfriends Rock

 

We're all pressed for time—finding one spare hour a week is a huge accomplishment—considering the thousand things on each of our to-do lists.

On Tuesday, I rallied a group of my best girlfriends to meet the fabulous and talented Joshilyn Jackson (author of gods in Alabama and Backseat Saints). We dined on comfort food at the lovely Camellia Café in Fairhope, Alabama, and talked about husbands, home life, and our children. Near the end of the hour, Jackson stepped forward to discuss her latest novel— A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty—a delicious, Deep South story about three generations of women and undiscovered family secrets. Joshilyn Jackson was funny, energetic, and completely down-to-earth.

[image error]

My fabulous girlfriends at the Camellia Cafe with author Joshilyn Jackson

What made Tuesday twice as special, however, was connecting with these awesome women I am proud to call my friends. Each has her own challenges—one is moving into a new home, another is coping with a family member's illness, and one is juggling a job search. But for much of that hour, we laughed, talked, listened, and shared stories. For me, that's the best remedy for recharging and refocusing—and more valuable than anything money can buy.

[image error]

New Friend, Author Joshilyn Jackson

 

Now, I'd love to hear about your girlfriends. How did you spend a recent hour (or two)? What did that time meant to you?

Leave a comment below!

Lucky 13 … or 33? (Plus a Kindle)

Friday the 13th Blog Hop

 

Everyone's short on time. Life's too busy! Where'd the day go? It's a fact. You have to be selective about who and what gets your attention. If reading a good book helps you stay sane, then this Blog Hop is the perfect escape. 33 stops, a Kindle to win at the end! There's nothing unlucky about that!

As Stay Tuned is part of the tour, I wanted to share some details about the novel. It's based on a true story.

Before I began work at an Upstate New York television station as a reporter, the two main anchors (who were in a romantic relationship) got into a fistfight in the parking lot of the television station. They were fired, the incident made the newspaper, and a lot of ugly editorials and threats were exchanged.

The story—and the irony of these two successful people losing their jobs—has always stayed with me. While I was beginning to write Stay Tuned, I thought it might be interesting to have something similar happen—this time, while the anchors were on air—and watch what unfolded behind the scenes.

Now that I've shared those messy details, (See, you never know what might end up in a novel!) you can check out Stay Tuned for only *99 cents* today on Amazon. Here's the Link:  Stay Tuned for Amazon Kindle.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Blog Hopping & be sure to head over to Felicia's blog next.

Here's her link:  www.FeliciaRogersAuthor.webs.com/apps/blog

Lauren

 

Everyday Heroes: Nothing Short of Extraordinary

When author Doug McCourt contacted me about reviewing Notes from the Firehouse, he didn't know how this extraordinary group of men and women had already touched my life. My younger brother worked as a volunteer firefighter and a paramedic. As a nurse, my mother spent endless hours helping pediatric burn victims at the Children's Hospital of Buffalo. And in my former career as a television reporter, I witnessed first-hand how firefighters save lives and homes—as everything burned down around them. I was on set in the WTVY studio on September 11th, 2001—watching firefighters rush into the Twin Towers—while the rest of New York was trying to get out.

Doug McCourt's Notes From the Firehouse captures the true essence of these everyday heroes—men and women who sacrifice and put their lives on the line each day for strangers and neighbors alike. McCourt grew up in a firefighter family—his father, Edward, retired as a captain from the Medford, MA fire department. His brother, David, is a captain and active member. The author, a Marine Corps vet, also spent much of his career as a firefighter.

What I loved about McCourt's book was the raw honesty and real humor injected into the stories. I finished Notes from the Firehouse in about two days, with my husband stopping me on occasion to ask why I was laughing or what had me almost in tears. The book—dedicated to McCourt's father—starts with a heart-wrenching account of Mac's brush with death at the hands of an arsonist. The chapters that follow describe other harrowing situations in which the author and his colleagues' skill and fortitude are tested to the core.

McCourt describes this tight-knit fraternity in exquisite detail. As a reader, you feel as if you've been given a front row seat—if only for a few hours—to see the real goings on inside the walls of a firehouse. As McCourt discovers, "It's not all about fire…it's a collection of things…calming a terrified child in a traumatic situation, saving the belongings of a family…trying to help them, while not losing yourself in the process."

Lighter accounts balance the serious nature and inherent danger found in many of the stories:  Helping homeowners banish a bat problem, the miraculous survival of a dog stuck in a snow blower, and the hilarious account of a rookie firefighter getting a pump truck stuck in the middle of the Mount Hood Golf Course.

McCourt did a fine job with this debut effort. I highly recommend Notes from the Firehouse.

http://www.amazon.com/Notes-Firehouse-Seventeen-Firefighting-Firefighter/dp/1452872392

Paperback: 222 pages (ebook version also available)

Publisher: CreateSpace (April 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1452872392

ISBN-13: 978-1452872391

Novel Writing: Does Real-Life Experience as a Journalist Help or Hurt?

A blogger recently asked if my real-life experience as a journalist helped or hurt when it came to writing a novel. After giving it some thought, I'd have to say both!

As a broadcast journalist, you quickly learn that everything is about deadlines. There's a deadline for the noon show, the 6 o'clock show, the ten o'clock, and so on. And not only do you have to complete your assignment, but the stories have to be accurate, compelling, and brief. Most of the time, my own stories were never longer than a minute and thirty seconds. That's not much time to get in the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How!

After working in the television biz for six years, I became quite adept at completing assignments, writing down my script in the news van (going over bumps in the road), and typing at (a little under) the speed of light. Unless I wanted to look for a new career, there was no missing any deadlines, so I learned to work fast and smart.

When I decided to retire from the news desk, stay home with my children, and dip my toe into the author world, my experience as a journalist certainly came in handy. I could come up with a zillion ideas, I was disciplined enough to crank out several pages of manuscript in a day, and I could create fun and interesting characters.

On the flip side, I wasn't used to working on a single project for longer than a day or two, so sitting down at a computer keyboard and working on the same story day after day was a challenge. Also, instead of the fun, noise, and excitement of the newsroom, I had my laptop and a tiny, quiet corner in my house. I'll admit, my first attempts at novel writing were not pretty—meaning, I didn't take the time to plot, I just sat down and wrote. My stories meandered and went in a million different directions, and when I tried to rein everything back in, I might as well have been trying to catch raindrops in a sieve.

After my first couple of tries, I had to completely re-think writing stories. I began to outline, I worked from note cards, and I had friends read what I'd written. (It still wasn't pretty, but it was better!) For me, planning, outlining, and getting to know my characters BEFORE I started writing was the key. I'd never had this luxury in the news business, but it was crucial to getting a good story together.

I did make myself finish each manuscript (approximately 80,000 words). I do think completion is important, even if your novel will never see the light of day. There's a huge sense of accomplishment when you can type 'The End.' It's not a waste of time, I promise. You have to work through the terrible, awful first drafts. Otherwise, it's too easy to give up. All that will get you is a bunch of ten thousand word drafts.

Of course, I still tend to be impatient and wish I could crank out three thousand words a day like Stephen King, but now that I am taking the time to plan, the actual writing part is much more fun. The added bonus is this:  the revising is a lot less painful. Think sweeping off your front porch with a broom rather than trying to use a toothpick.

So, did my experience as a journalist helped when it came to writing as an author? Again, the answer is yes, but it took being open to learning new methods and even greater discipline. The foundation is crucial—sentence structure, grammar, story structure—but the test is in your own tenacity. There's no trick or shortcut. It's about being in the chair, day after day, even when you don't want to sit at your desk or you feel less than motivated. There's no substitute for the hard work.

If you're a writer, make time for yourself, also. Celebrate when you reach that 20,000 or 40,000 word milestone. Kiss your children, hug your parents, and smile at a stranger. People watch—it's a great idea generator. Dream a little. Wonder 'what if.'

Every day, I feel blessed and lucky to be an author. And I will keep doing the hard work, because I wouldn't trade the life of a writer for the world.

*This article was published first on BlogCritics.org

STAY TUNED Book Signing – Photo Gallery

 Thank you!

Sincere appreciation and big hugs to all of my wonderful friends (Mary, Ken, Rebecca, Karen, Yvonne, Lisa, Julie, Lorie, Pam, Tomi Sue and anyone else that I might have forgotten) and to my family for showing such support for STAY TUNED at Carpe Diem Coffee & Tea Company's Christmas on the Hill event!

Hope everyone's holidays are merry and bright…Enjoy the photos!

 

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

Stay Tuned Facebook Photo Winners

Thank You!

I want to say a big thank you to all of the people who took the time to enter Novel Publicity's Photo Sharing Contest for Stay Tuned. It was really fun and exciting to see all of the different entries on my Facebook Page!

It meant a lot to me that everyone took time from their busy schedules to post the pictures. All of the photos were great! Some were really sweet and some made me laugh. I was thrilled to receive an entry from Greece (Yiota)! Please know that it was not easy choosing the winners.

To view all of the photos, visit my Facebook page and go to the Photos tab:  The link is here:  Lauren Clark

In the Group category:

[image error]Yiota Yiotini wins $50.00 (maybe she will share that with Arxideas Mastakounas, Xrusanthemo Ge, and Alex)

 

 

 

 

In the BFF Category:

[image error]Tara Turner and Emmett (Best Friends) win $50.00

 

 

 

 

 

In the Most Creative Category:

[image error]Allison Collins wins $100.00   (Great job Allison! Everyone loves your photo!)

 

 

 

 

 

Judge's Choice:

[image error]Kevin Carey-Infante wins an autographed paperback copy of Stay Tuned, a tote bag, and keychain.

 

 

 

 

Just some of the other wonderful entries:  (Go to Lauren Clark to view all of them!)

[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]

 

 

 

 

 

*Please note that Novel Publicity employees were disqualified from winning any prizes, but we sure appreciate their enthusiasm!

 

 

Grab a Book. Take a Photo. Win Money!

Grab a Book.
Take a Photo.
Win Money!

 

This week, you can win one of four prizes—up to $100!

Here's how to enter:

Pick up Stay Tuned for 99 cents on Amazon or BN.com or Smashwords.
Take a photo with your copy of Stay Tuned (a paperback from Amazon works, too!)
With the photo, tag my Facebook page*
If you'd prefer to email photos, send them to laurenclarkbooks@gmail.com. The photos will be added the author's Facebook page Photos tab.

A $100 prize will go to the most creative photo, $50 to the best BFF photo, and $50 to the photo with the most people in it. An autographed copy of Stay Tuned is also up for grabs.

Upload your photos anytime between now and midnight Friday, December 2, 2011. Winners will be chosen and notified by Monday, December 5, 2011.

Good luck and happy reading!

 

*How to TAG on Facebook

 You can tag a photo on Facebook in the same way you would tag a friend.

1. Click the photo you wish to tag and select "Tag This Photo" below the photo.

2. Type the name of the friend or FB page you wish to tag.

3. Click "Done Tagging" in the bottom left corner.

These photos will appear on the "Photos" tab on the page, and not on the wall. A page can be tagged by anyone on Facebook, not just people who have liked it.

 

The Fine Print

Readers are welcome to enter photos in each of the categories (Most creative, BFF, and # of people). There is no limit to the number of photos readers can submit. Entries close at midnight December 2, 2011.
The autographed book will be chosen by random selection from all of the entries.
By submitting a photograph, the reader gives permission for the image to be used on the author's website and Facebook page
Winners will be chosen by the author's publicist and/or designated representative

Roberts Tackles Censorship with Book of Mercy

Book of Mercy By Sherry Roberts 

If your family is full of avid readers, and your house is stocked with books, consider this:  On average, about 500 books are challenged every year in the United States, according to the American Library Association—and those are just the ones reported.

Among the books challenged or banned in the United States in 2010-11 were The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, as a parent claimed that it gave her 11-year-old daughter nightmares and could numb other children to the effects of violence; What's Happening to My Body? Book for Boys: A Guide for Parents and Sons, which was banned in 21 Texas schools after a parent complained about it; and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, challenged in Republic, Missouri schools because it is allegedly "glorifies drinking, cursing, and premarital sex."

In the recently released Book of Mercy, Minnesota author Sherry Roberts tackles the topic of censorship in a small town. Roberts' story centers on a group of influential women—the Mercy Study Club—whose leader decides to remove "undesirable" books from the school library. The movement gathers support, and eventually, the school librarian is bullied into taking a select group of books off the shelves.

The plan goes off the tracks when Antigone Brown discovers the plot. Brown is a woman who has trouble reading road signs, keeps a stone in her pocket to help her remember right from left, and despairs of ever being a good mother to her unborn child. Brown is a quirky, smart, loveable everywoman that readers can't help rooting for. The situations she finds herself involved in are messy and true-to-small town life. Though she is far from perfect, Antigone's moral compass never wavers. The challenges she faces are formidable and her foes are deliciously evil.

"This novel is inspired by an actual book challenge that occurred in my daughter's high school in North Carolina," Roberts says in an interview via email. "She came home one day and said, 'Mom, they're banning books!' A parent complained about The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes, and the school took it out of circulation. Eventually, the book was returned to the library shelves, after a public meeting and a review committee assessment. However, in the process, the English teacher resigned."

Roberts adds, "Every parent has to face the same question that Antigone Brown ponders: how do we protect our children from the world but save the world for our children?"

Roberts is also the author of Maud's House, and two non-fiction books about the city of Greensboro, North Carolina. She has contributed essays and articles to national publications such as USA Today. Visit Sherry Roberts's blog: www.sherry-roberts.com. To read an excerpt of Book of Mercy: www.sherry-roberts.com/sherrys-books/the-ban-of-the-month-club-excerpt-from-book-of-mercy/

Available in paperback and eBook through www.osmyrrahpublishing.com, www.Amazon.com and www.BN.com

ISBN: 978-0-9638880-4-4

Article first published as Book Review and Interview: Book of Mercy by Sherry Roberts on Blogcritics.

Get a Jump Start on Gift Giving!

Books for the Holidays:  Fiction, Non-Fiction, & YA!

Hard to believe, but the holiday season is only weeks away. Ready for parties, presents, and sharing good cheer?

I love the festivities and excitement, but if you're like me, the thought of going to the mall or a big box store makes you break out in hives! My suggestion this year (and most years)? Books.

Since they never go out of style, spoil, or expire, books make the perfect gift for almost anyone! So, stay home, check out these picks, and remember to shop Indie Bookstores. (See, everyone wins this holiday season!)

Happy giving, receiving, and reading!

Fiction

11/23/63 – Stephen King – The 'King' of creative genius does it again! Though the length and the price may be daunting, the plot is irresistible! King takes his protagonist back five years before JFK's assassination, plops him down in Texas to learn the lay of the land, then shoots him off on his journey to thwart Lee Harvey Oswald's plans to kill the president.

Dreams of Joy – Lisa See – You never would have convinced me that a novel about Communist China in the 1950's would be a gripping read, but Lisa See makes the characters come alive. I listened to the story on Audible (often in the driveway of my own home!) and found myself wondering about the next chapter and the next. A true coming of age/mother-daughter book.

Other picks – The Affair – Lee Child, The Litigators – John Grisham, and The Dovekeepers – Alice Hoffman

Non-Fiction

Moneyball – Michael Lewis – One of the breakaway hits of the year! Even if you're not a baseball fan, there's something to be learned about life, statistics, and relationships. Director and actor Brad Pitt read the book several years ago and poured his heart and soul into getting the movie made. Worth the money for sports fans and Monday morning shortstops alike!

No Higher Honor – Condoleezza Rice – One of the nation's finest leaders shares her thoughts and insights about working for the White House. With refreshing honesty and candor, Rice weaves her story from her time as national security advisor to secretary of state.

Other picks – The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer – Siddhartha Mukherjee, Outliers – Malcolm Galdwell, and Unbroken – Laura Hillenbrand (yes, this was a 2010 release but deserves all of the acclaim it has received! A truly marvelous, moving story about perseverance and redemption!)

YA

Farsighted – Emlyn Chand – Alex Kosmitoras's life has never been easy. The school bully is out to get him, his parents are dead-broke, and to complicate matters even more, he's blind. Just when the embarrassment reaches epic proportions, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all.

Forbidden Mind Series – Kimberly Kinrade – Just shy of her eighteenth birthday, Sam is forward to living a normal life, go to college, and being on her own. But Sam is far from `normal'—she's extraordinary—she reads minds. When Sam discovers that her employer (referred to as Rent-A-Kid) isn't willing to grant her freedom, she teams up with Drake to launch an escape plan.

Other picks – The Heroes of Olympus Series – Rick Riordan, Nate Rocks the World (Children) – Karen Pokras Toz, and Noah Zarc:  Mammoth Trouble – D. Robert Pease.

 

Article first published on: blogcritics.org

Seeds of Faith

Small as a Mustard Seed by Shelli Johnson

Today's interview is with author, freelance editor, and former sports journalist Shelli Johnson. Her novel, Small as a Mustard Seed won two awards: a grant from the Weisman Fund and the Grand Prize in the Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards. Shelli is a big football fan, went to graduate school in Chicago, and got her Master's Degree in Fiction Writing. Read on for more about Shelli and her novel!

Have you always been a writer? 

I've always loved writing. The earliest memory I have of it is writing a story in the first grade & having it be selected by the teacher to be read to the Kindergarten class. I don't even remember what it was about. But I do remember thinking that writing was all I wanted to do. My favorite part of writing is when I get so caught up in the story that I lose track of time. There's nothing quite like the feeling of that for me; it keeps me coming back. Plus, I love my characters. I actually look forward to sitting down and seeing what they're going to do next.

Stephen King was the biggest influence in pushing me toward being a fiction writer. When I was a kid, my family & I went on vacation up to a cabin in Maine. There was no running water, no electricity ~ "roughing it like the settlers" my dad said. Not great, though, for a 12-year-old girl. Under one of the bunk beds, I found a box full of Stephen King books & I spent those 2 weeks reading his early work, which is absolutely fantastic. I wanted to be able to do what King did ~ make people feel scared, angry, happy, whatever ~ just by telling them a story.

Tell me about your book, Small as a Mustard Seed, and what inspired it.

I was writing about the main characters ~ sisters ~ for about four months, both of them as adult women. The story wasn't really going anywhere, and then one morning one of them showed up as a 10-year-old in a barn, scared out ofher mind, her father with a gun to his head & threatening to pull the trigger. That scene ended up being the first chapter of the book. Once I got that idea, the rest of the story just came along with it.

Here's a brief description: As a child in 1960′s rural Ohio, Ann Marie Adler finds herself caught between her father, Frank, a veteran who survived the war in Korea but with devastating post-traumatic stress, and her mother, Adele, who is blindsided by the mental illness that accompanied him home. In a series of escalating dangerous episodes, Frank confuses reality with soul-searing memories, believing he's still a soldier fighting for his life in battle-torn Korea. During the delusions, Ann Marie and her younger sister, Jolene, become the enemy, which leaves them fearing for their lives. Unable to fully protect her daughters, Adele scrambles to keep order while her husband's threatening and unpredictable outbursts slowly tear the family apart.

Here's an excerpt:  http://shellijohnson.com/excerpts/small-as-a-mustard-seed/

How did you create your characters?

As the writing began to take on a life of its own, the father arrived with schizophrenia and then, later in the process, became a Korean war veteran. Early on, it was set in a more modern time period until I realized it needed to happen in the 1960′s. It had two little girls as the main characters and an overwhelmed mother struggling to keep her family intact.

I did a lot of research. The father was the hardest to write:  A man, a Korean war veteran, and schizophrenic ~ all things I had no personal experience in at all.

What about the title?

Small as a Mustard Seed is part of a quote from the Bible about how a tiny amount of faith can make a difference. While the book is not Christian fiction, there is the idea of faith running through the story. As a reader once said, "In the end, sometimes a small amount of faith is all we have left."

What's next for you?

The book I recently finished will be coming out in 2012. It's still untitled. Here's a synopsis:  When Rose Harlen struts into PJ's Tavern in the scorching heat of an Illinois summer looking to cool herself off, she ends up discovering Danny, a charismatic man who alters the trajectory of her life forever. Instead of following her dream of acting on stage, Rose chooses the stability and comfort of marriage. But Danny has a life-changing secret. You can read an excerpt here: http://shellijohnson.com/excerpts/unpublished-work-in-progress/

Finish this sentence:  If you really enjoyed ______ and ______, you'll love Small as a Mustard Seed.

I'd say The Bluest Eye and Bastard Out of Carolina. Editors have compared my work to books by Jodi Picoult & Elizabeth Berg. Once a reader said she liked my novel "much better than The Kite Runner & I LOVED that book." My former agent likened my book to The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

To buy the book:

AMAZON KINDLE: http://ow.ly/7s0Ty

BARNES & NOBLE NOOK: http://ow.ly/7s0Vu

For more information on the author:  www.shellijohnson.com