Rain Trueax's Blog, page 22
July 15, 2014
creativity begets creativity
As so often happens for me, an exchange with another writer led to thinking more about something that I then felt was worth sharing here.
When I have a conversation with another-- whether in real time, a thread of comments on a blog, through Skype, or exchanging emails-- it makes me put into words what I had been thinking. Sometimes it causes me to redefine my thinking because of taking into account new ideas.
In this case, the exchange was about the writing process and editing which is so much a part of writing. The other writer said that she thought a lot of the reason we can look at a book later and feel it's not all we'd want was based on our changing. We grow and see things differently. I agree with that and would add that our skills grow.
So editing has been where I've been this last week and working on three different books which had already been edited many times. But this writer had looked at one of mine and saw some things she felt were not working. She gave me specific ideas regarding where and why. That led me to take a long look at that book.
Sky Daughter was first written in 2002. It's one of the rare stories I sent to a publishing house after I had written it. The good part was the first editor liked it enough to send it to another editor in a different department. The bad part is both rejected it for different reasons-- the first for too much romance and the second for not believing in the paranormal aspect (this was before Harry Potter and the launch of so many urban fantasy books).
In June of 2012, I ePublished it. I brought it out after I had stopped doing free days. It was one of my first books to surprise me when it didn't have good sales. You know when you love a book, you think others will. ePublishing teaches you quickly that's not always the case. In its case though, after I got into this 7th or 8th re-editing of it, I was glad for those lukewarm sales and no free days.
Using her critique as a starting point, I found pluses in my writing. I still liked my hero, heroine, dialogue, the basic plot, its secondary characters, and believed in its premise. Sky Daughter was my first with a monster, and I had done research in terms of the experiences real people had claimed with such beings. The monster, as one of the characters, still worked for me. So much for the pluses.
But when I got into it, I was disappointed and surprised at the many places where my writing was not smooth. It happened most especially in transitional passages-- where you take characters from one place to another without dialogue. Also I had times where the writer's, hence characters' logic, no longer worked for me. Fortunately better logic was waiting to be found. So I worked on that and the places where I had been redundant, which no matter how many times you think you got them all, there they are.
When you see those kind of failings, it leads to a losing faith in your abilities. I remember sitting in the yard talking to my husband and telling him how disillusioning this re-edit was being. But if you are a writer, you trudge on. You hope that the changes you made this time will prove to be good in a year when you look at it again.
Anyway, if you bought Sky Daughter, delete it from your reading device, go to Manage your Kindle where you can ask for it to be sent again. Sometimes they send the corrections automatically, but they have to decide it's a major enough change to warrant it. I believe this is.
After seeing those kinds of goofs in a book I had thought was well written, I went directly to doing another re-edit. For From Here to There, I had gotten a critical review awhile back when I was too busy to get back to the book. The reviewer had written that overall they liked the story, but the writing was not as consistent as they had expected, and it had cliches. Unfortunately unlike with the Sky Daughter critique where I could ask for specifics in an email, this one on Amazon, I could not ask what they meant, but I worked it over last week (gave it a new cover too).
Fortunately in avoiding total depression as a writer, I found less of those what-was-I-thinking passages or the how-did-that-get-by-me places! Still I found enough where I could say it better (especially in those pesky transitional points), that I also republished it (one of the pluses to eBooks).
So again, if you bought From Here to There or got it free, where you have a record of owning it at Amazon, delete it from your reading device, go to Amazon and find where you manage your Kindle and tell them to send it again. They will do this but be careful you don't delete it from there. Once you do that, you have to buy it again or get me to email you a copy if you tell me you owned it and lost it. I will take your word for it.
After From Here to There was off to Amazon (and already up with its new cover and corrections), I went straight to a third edit to see how it held up-- Desert Inferno.
It's the first book I brought out as an eBook in December of 2011 and still one of my favorites as it takes the O'Brian family of the historical westerns to a modern story involving the Border Patrol. I also redid its cover.
Desert Inferno was less disappointing. No major glitches, but I still am able to write some of it better. When I can write something better, I will and I then republish. Like I said above, if you have bought this one, you can get the re-edit on probably Wednesday. Give Amazon time to get the new one up. This ability to redo them is one of the pluses of ePublishing.
It might seem that changing a book means it wasn't publishing ready. I guess that could be said. I mean if I can do it better today, shouldn't I have waited for today? Well what about this idea-- I could also do it better next year. So why ever put them out?
Thursday I have in mind discussing cliches in writing. I think it's worth looking at a little more.
July 13, 2014
Comes the Dawn
Writing Comes the Dawn took me back, through my characters as to what it's like to spend time in Sinagua ruins, which are spread throughout the Southwest in hidden canyons. Such an experience is always meaningful for me. You see bits of pottery, sometimes arrowheads, and you really do find yourself imagining what it must have been like to live in those beautiful canyons and build those homes.
Because an imaginary ruin in an imaginary canyon would be part of the setting of my story, I used my own feelings for those of my heroine. When I am in such a place it's easy to imagine myself a woman living in a place like Wupatki with the ball courts, the many rooms, and wide vistas.
The Sinagua generally only stayed in a site for 100 years and nobody can say why. They built these great looking apartment buildings such as Wupatki and then left it after about 100 years to build another. Was it disease? Religion? Or perhaps busy hands don't get in trouble.
Whatever the reason, it has left in the high plateau of Arizona many such dwellings hidden back in canyons usually with a water source nearby. In some cases, if the water dried up, that might've required a move. Another possibility is a need to build more fortified dwellings. The motives can long be speculated.
The theory on why around 1400A.D. the Sinagua and other peoples of the region totally deserted Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico is thought to relate to an extensive drought. There are other reasons suggested including a spiritual breakdown. Since dwellings were built about that time down in Mexico, it may be their migration related to the build up of the Aztec culture.
It's long been laughed about that Montezuma's Castle was named for the Aztec ruler and how silly. Except the Pueblo people of New Mexico tell of an Aztec leader coming there to see from where his ancestors had come. Often man's history is more intertwined than he wants to think.
In all of these sites you see middens which is where archaeologists go to get information on burials, diet and yes, longevity of a site. I may or may not have mentioned my daughter is an archaeologist and it's been especially interesting to visit such sites with her for what she sees while there.
Naturally you take nothing from such a place as it will then be waiting for the next visitor to also discover. Plus archaeologists learn a lot about a culture by what it left behind-- when it stays right where it was.
July 10, 2014
where it all happens
It seems lately all I have done is write or edit something; so I am going to take a kind of break on the day my new book officially comes out.
Comes the Dawn available now in eBook
Because it's an area I love so much, I want to share the energy of the part of Arizona where this book mostly takes place. It is a less traveled part of Arizona, a region many (from outside the state) don't know exists as they hit the national parks or resorts.
I can't offer you the fragrances or all the wonderful little discoveries that await as you drive or hike through this country but can offer a small look at diverse and beautiful area-- The Tonto Rim, White Mountains, and Mogollan Rim where the author Zane Grey placed so many of his books, where feuds have been fought, Indian wars raged, outlaw flourished, settlers built homes, and people like myself have come to love so much.
When I finished the third O'Brian story I wasn't sure if there was a fourth historical O'Brian out there, but it turns out there is another, which might or might not be written by me. For now I have other irons in the fire.
All photos are mine except the Sinagua ruin which is from the book, Echoes in the Canyons: The Archaeology of the Southeastern Sierra Ancha Central Arizona by Richard Lange. This is a detailed look at the many cliff dwellings tucked into hidden canyons in Central Arizona. The book is published by Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona (always worth a visit if you get to Tucson).
Truly an area rich in beauty and history.
Comes the Dawn available now in eBook
Because it's an area I love so much, I want to share the energy of the part of Arizona where this book mostly takes place. It is a less traveled part of Arizona, a region many (from outside the state) don't know exists as they hit the national parks or resorts.
I can't offer you the fragrances or all the wonderful little discoveries that await as you drive or hike through this country but can offer a small look at diverse and beautiful area-- The Tonto Rim, White Mountains, and Mogollan Rim where the author Zane Grey placed so many of his books, where feuds have been fought, Indian wars raged, outlaw flourished, settlers built homes, and people like myself have come to love so much.
When I finished the third O'Brian story I wasn't sure if there was a fourth historical O'Brian out there, but it turns out there is another, which might or might not be written by me. For now I have other irons in the fire.
All photos are mine except the Sinagua ruin which is from the book, Echoes in the Canyons: The Archaeology of the Southeastern Sierra Ancha Central Arizona by Richard Lange. This is a detailed look at the many cliff dwellings tucked into hidden canyons in Central Arizona. The book is published by Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona (always worth a visit if you get to Tucson). Truly an area rich in beauty and history.
July 8, 2014
win a book?
Comes the Dawn
Grace, a young girl in Tucson Moon, returns to Tucson after getting the education she did not originally want. The man in her girlhood heart has returned to Arizona after fighting with the Rough Riders in Cuba. Grace needs to know if all she has felt for him has been a fantasy.
Rafe had been through years of hell with his first marriage ending when his wife took his son back to Tucson to live with her new husband. To Yaquis, family is the center of their lives, and he’s been estranged from his small son. As bad as things seemed for him in the jungles of Cuba, they are about to get worse in Arizona. Before the dawn, comes the darkness which we all must at times come through.
Comes the Dawn is the third book in the O’Brian historical series. The first of the O’Brians began with Arizona Sunset in 1883. Second, Tucson Moon, took secondary characters and brought them forward to 1886 for their own love story. The third, Comes the Dawn, is in 1899 set in southern and central Arizona with its core being love, healing, family, friends, what it means to be a father, the Yaqui culture, and the beauties of Arizona.
Arizona Sunset: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EV69EYC/
Tucson Moon: http://www.amazon.com/Tucson-Moon-Rain-Trueax-ebook/dp/B00GYL9DVQ
Comes the Dawn: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LMMLFA4
Unlike some writers, I don't really have a lot of ways to promote my books. Once upon a time I used to put them up for free days. Not doing that again as it didn't work for me (although some still believe in it).
What I would like to do for Comes the Dawn is offer its eBook version free to one commenter here (chosen at random) between now and the day it's published (the 10th). So if you would like a free eBook version of Comes the Dawn-- comment, say you want to enter the drawing or leave your email. Don't worry if you haven't been a regular commenter. This blog can draw over 100 unique visitors, but commenters not many at all; so this might be a way to get more commenters as well as give away a book. On the 10th, I'll post the name of the winner.
I wanted to do this because recently I've won books a couple of times at blogs or events. I thought it was pretty cool when I did, so I think I'll do this once in awhile. Sometimes it'll be with books already out there when I am writing about them or sometimes the newest release. It's said it can be a way to get new readers and maybe even a review ;). I figured you never know if something works well until you try it. I like giving away books; so if you like winning one, this is a win/win.
Still aren't sure if you'd like to read Comes the Dawn, check out its trailer:
how'd you like to win a book?
Comes the Dawn
Grace, a young girl in Tucson Moon, returns to Tucson after getting the education she did not originally want. The man in her girlhood heart has returned to Arizona after fighting with the Rough Riders in Cuba. Grace needs to know if all she has felt for him has been a fantasy.
Rafe had been through years of hell with his first marriage ending when his wife took his son back to Tucson to live with her new husband. To Yaquis, family is the center of their lives, and he’s been estranged from his small son. As bad as things seemed for him in the jungles of Cuba, they are about to get worse in Arizona. Before the dawn, comes the darkness which we all must at times come through.
Comes the Dawn is the third book in the O’Brian historical series. The first of the O’Brians began with Arizona Sunset in 1883. Second, Tucson Moon, took secondary characters and brought them forward to 1886 for their own love story. The third, Comes the Dawn, is in 1899 set in southern and central Arizona with its core being love, healing, family, friends, what it means to be a father, the Yaqui culture, and the beauties of Arizona.
Arizona Sunset: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EV69EYC/
Tucson Moon: http://www.amazon.com/Tucson-Moon-Rain-Trueax-ebook/dp/B00GYL9DVQ
Comes the Dawn: available July 10, 2014
Unlike some writers, I don't really have a lot of ways to promote my books. Once upon a time I used to put them up for free days. Not doing that again as it didn't work for me (although some still believe in it).
What I would like to do for Comes the Dawn is offer its eBook version free to one commenter here (chosen at random) between now and the day it's published (the 10th). So if you would like a free eBook version of Comes the Dawn-- comment, say you want to enter the drawing or leave your email. Don't worry if you haven't been a regular commenter. This blog can draw over 100 unique visitors, but commenters not many at all; so this might be a way to get more commenters as well as give away a book. On the 10th, I'll post the name of the winner.
Because I understand not everyone would want Comes the Dawn, free or not, feel free to comment (those are always much appreciated); and if you don't give your email or say you'd like the book, you won't be in the drawing.
I wanted to do this because recently I've won books a couple of times at blogs or events. I thought it was pretty cool when I did, so I think I'll do this once in awhile. Sometimes it'll be with books already out there when I am writing about them or sometimes the newest release. It's said it can be a way to get new readers and maybe even a review ;). I figured you never know if something works well until you try it. I like giving away books; so if you like winning one, this is a win/win.
Still aren't sure if you'd like to read Comes the Dawn, check out its trailer:
July 6, 2014
and Rafe
1899 Arizona Territory
When someone lives in a culture that is considered alien to the majority, it can build fear in them, destroy their confidence; or it can toughen them until they are the sort of person who can handle anything that comes along. Yaqui, Rafael Cordova, who was Cord O'Brian's deputy in Tucson Moon is of the latter sort.
As a man of the desert, Rafe has had a lot of things come along in his life that he didn't expect but nothing so painful as having his wife divorce him and take their baby. To Yaquis, family is everything, and yet he was left a man not raising his own son.
When the hoopla began for the Spanish American War, Rafe had no intention of going along with it, even though as a previous deputy to a U.S. Marshal, he was no stranger to guns and violence. He didn't expect his little brother to join up. He couldn't let him go alone.
Coming back from the war, he didn't expect to find love at a time he was least able to claim it. War has taken a toll on Rafe. He has a lot to forgive himself for, a lot to accept in the man he is.
For all Rafe had not expected, a lot more is to come.
Snippet from Comes the Dawn out as eBook 7/10/14:
Riding into the foothills, where the slope was too steep for his horse, he stopped, turned his horse, and looked back out at the valley. Somewhere out there, visiting Rose or maybe out with a young man who was more like her, would be Grace. He had blocked thinking of her since that fateful day in 1894 when she had… No, he wouldn’t think of that.He did think of Ellen and her odd, almost crazy behavior. One moment she seemed to want him back. Then next she was ready to attack him at least verbally. What had been going on with her? How could he find out? The one thing he knew is he wasn’t getting back together with her. There were a lot of reasons for that but Ellen herself was enough of one that he didn’t need the others.Until Ellen had taken his son, he had drifted along without much bad ever happening. He had had no preparation for that, not with how Yaquis were taught to value family. He had even condemned Cord for not being there for Grace, for leaving her with grandparents. What a fool he had been. Now, he could be with his big family, witness their sharing and joy, but he was not part of it. He wasn’t part of anything or anyone.
When someone lives in a culture that is considered alien to the majority, it can build fear in them, destroy their confidence; or it can toughen them until they are the sort of person who can handle anything that comes along. Yaqui, Rafael Cordova, who was Cord O'Brian's deputy in Tucson Moon is of the latter sort.
As a man of the desert, Rafe has had a lot of things come along in his life that he didn't expect but nothing so painful as having his wife divorce him and take their baby. To Yaquis, family is everything, and yet he was left a man not raising his own son.
When the hoopla began for the Spanish American War, Rafe had no intention of going along with it, even though as a previous deputy to a U.S. Marshal, he was no stranger to guns and violence. He didn't expect his little brother to join up. He couldn't let him go alone.
Coming back from the war, he didn't expect to find love at a time he was least able to claim it. War has taken a toll on Rafe. He has a lot to forgive himself for, a lot to accept in the man he is.
For all Rafe had not expected, a lot more is to come.
Snippet from Comes the Dawn out as eBook 7/10/14:
Riding into the foothills, where the slope was too steep for his horse, he stopped, turned his horse, and looked back out at the valley. Somewhere out there, visiting Rose or maybe out with a young man who was more like her, would be Grace. He had blocked thinking of her since that fateful day in 1894 when she had… No, he wouldn’t think of that.He did think of Ellen and her odd, almost crazy behavior. One moment she seemed to want him back. Then next she was ready to attack him at least verbally. What had been going on with her? How could he find out? The one thing he knew is he wasn’t getting back together with her. There were a lot of reasons for that but Ellen herself was enough of one that he didn’t need the others.Until Ellen had taken his son, he had drifted along without much bad ever happening. He had had no preparation for that, not with how Yaquis were taught to value family. He had even condemned Cord for not being there for Grace, for leaving her with grandparents. What a fool he had been. Now, he could be with his big family, witness their sharing and joy, but he was not part of it. He wasn’t part of anything or anyone.
July 3, 2014
there was grace
In 1886, Grace O'Brian arrived in Arizona as a waif in the book Tucson Moon. In the following years, she grew up and left at seventeen to go to college back east as part of the first wave of American women reaching out for an education at a top-rated university.
Going away to school in 1894 wasn't Grace's first choice for her life. She loved the desert, the outdoors and ranch life. There was also something else to love on her parents' ranch, the Circle O. Being a young woman with an inheritance, her parents wanted her to have an education and broader set of experiences. Finally she yielded and went.
As a child Grace had enjoyed art, pressing flowers, petroglyphs, every opportunity her stepmother could afford her to try new things. When she had arrived at college, it was obvious her choice of a major would be relatively new as an option for women in 1894, although already happening in Europe-- architecture.
My inspiration, for Grace's potential career came straight from a woman who designed buildings a few years after Grace would have graduated-- Mary Colter. If you are not familiar with her life and work, it's worth a look, and I might someday do another blog just on her (when I don't have a book coming out). You have seen some of Colter's buildings if you have been to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon: Hopi House 1905; Hermit's Rest 1914; Lookout Studio 1914; Phantom Ranch 1922; Desert View Watchtower 1932; and Bright Angel Lodge 1935.
Bright Angel Lodge is still one of those places that everytime I am there I think, I'd love to stay in one of those cozy and interesting looking cabins on the rim, but they are booked literally years in advance. Colter's designs use the land, the culture and an understanding of design and structure to create buildings that are still inspiring and in use today.
As Comes the Dawn opens, Grace has attained her education. She is unsure what she wants next, but she has returned to Tucson and her beloved Arizona. She is an accomplished, wealthy and very intelligent young woman but with a longing for something that goes beyond any of that.
Writing about a woman like Grace who uses her education and money in the ways I personally admire made her not only enjoyable as a heroine but as a woman and as a part of her time and period in history.
A book's opening is sometimes a challenge to write as in where to start. This one though had no other place than to bring Grace full circle. Following snippet is from Comes the Dawn, third in the O'Brian series and due out July 10, 2014 as eBook and paperback--
Grace O'Brian, wearing a silk blouse, skirt to match, with as stylish a hat as Chicago could provide, descended the train steps, a small valise in her hand. She could not help but compare it to the first time she’d come to Tucson on the train, a small child, wearing a little straw hat, scared out of her wits. She was returning an educated woman, who had traveled, and experienced so many things but maybe she still felt a little scared.
The Tucson heat hit her as if a physical blow reminding her how much she’d missed what to some might have seemed extreme. Tucson was passionate, full of life with a heat of summer that was likely to send the unprepared right back on the train. It wasn’t just the bustling city, which she saw had grown in the five years she’d been gone, but the raw desert just beyond its reaches. She loved it from the hazy purple mountains to the north, the Santa Ritas to the south and the Tucson Mountains to the west. She had relished her first sight of the saguaros that she’d missed while in the East.
Well, she had seen the things her parents wanted for her. They had insisted she needed to go away to school, to go to college, an opportunity few people and even less women ever had. She had done it all and more. Perhaps they had been right about what she had needed. The options hadn’t all been hers.
“Miss, I set your trunks by the bench there,” the conductor said smiling at her with the look of respect that she had frequently experienced once she had acquired some polish.
“Thank you. I think someone will be here soon.”She scanned the few people on the platform looking for her tall father and blonde mother as the rest of the passengers began dispersing. She could arrange to get south to their ranch, but she had been sure they would be here. As she turned toward the town, still not seeing the ones she had sought, she saw him. He was leaning against the back of the depot, his hat low over his eyes, smoking a cigarette. He had never smoked. When had he picked up that habit? Had he brought it back with him when he returned from war?He walked slowly toward her, his spurs jangling. Still that handsome face with the dark skin, high cheekbones, black hair curling around his neck. There was a toughness in him that she had never seen, lines that told of suffering. His Yaqui heritage was in his features, the proud way he carried himself, a tall, lean body, muscular and strong. If she had hoped he'd be less attractive to her, she'd have been disappointed. She hadn't hoped though-- not after dreaming of him night after night.
Going away to school in 1894 wasn't Grace's first choice for her life. She loved the desert, the outdoors and ranch life. There was also something else to love on her parents' ranch, the Circle O. Being a young woman with an inheritance, her parents wanted her to have an education and broader set of experiences. Finally she yielded and went.
As a child Grace had enjoyed art, pressing flowers, petroglyphs, every opportunity her stepmother could afford her to try new things. When she had arrived at college, it was obvious her choice of a major would be relatively new as an option for women in 1894, although already happening in Europe-- architecture.
My inspiration, for Grace's potential career came straight from a woman who designed buildings a few years after Grace would have graduated-- Mary Colter. If you are not familiar with her life and work, it's worth a look, and I might someday do another blog just on her (when I don't have a book coming out). You have seen some of Colter's buildings if you have been to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon: Hopi House 1905; Hermit's Rest 1914; Lookout Studio 1914; Phantom Ranch 1922; Desert View Watchtower 1932; and Bright Angel Lodge 1935.
Bright Angel Lodge is still one of those places that everytime I am there I think, I'd love to stay in one of those cozy and interesting looking cabins on the rim, but they are booked literally years in advance. Colter's designs use the land, the culture and an understanding of design and structure to create buildings that are still inspiring and in use today.
As Comes the Dawn opens, Grace has attained her education. She is unsure what she wants next, but she has returned to Tucson and her beloved Arizona. She is an accomplished, wealthy and very intelligent young woman but with a longing for something that goes beyond any of that.
Writing about a woman like Grace who uses her education and money in the ways I personally admire made her not only enjoyable as a heroine but as a woman and as a part of her time and period in history.
A book's opening is sometimes a challenge to write as in where to start. This one though had no other place than to bring Grace full circle. Following snippet is from Comes the Dawn, third in the O'Brian series and due out July 10, 2014 as eBook and paperback--
Grace O'Brian, wearing a silk blouse, skirt to match, with as stylish a hat as Chicago could provide, descended the train steps, a small valise in her hand. She could not help but compare it to the first time she’d come to Tucson on the train, a small child, wearing a little straw hat, scared out of her wits. She was returning an educated woman, who had traveled, and experienced so many things but maybe she still felt a little scared.
The Tucson heat hit her as if a physical blow reminding her how much she’d missed what to some might have seemed extreme. Tucson was passionate, full of life with a heat of summer that was likely to send the unprepared right back on the train. It wasn’t just the bustling city, which she saw had grown in the five years she’d been gone, but the raw desert just beyond its reaches. She loved it from the hazy purple mountains to the north, the Santa Ritas to the south and the Tucson Mountains to the west. She had relished her first sight of the saguaros that she’d missed while in the East.
Well, she had seen the things her parents wanted for her. They had insisted she needed to go away to school, to go to college, an opportunity few people and even less women ever had. She had done it all and more. Perhaps they had been right about what she had needed. The options hadn’t all been hers.
“Miss, I set your trunks by the bench there,” the conductor said smiling at her with the look of respect that she had frequently experienced once she had acquired some polish.
“Thank you. I think someone will be here soon.”She scanned the few people on the platform looking for her tall father and blonde mother as the rest of the passengers began dispersing. She could arrange to get south to their ranch, but she had been sure they would be here. As she turned toward the town, still not seeing the ones she had sought, she saw him. He was leaning against the back of the depot, his hat low over his eyes, smoking a cigarette. He had never smoked. When had he picked up that habit? Had he brought it back with him when he returned from war?He walked slowly toward her, his spurs jangling. Still that handsome face with the dark skin, high cheekbones, black hair curling around his neck. There was a toughness in him that she had never seen, lines that told of suffering. His Yaqui heritage was in his features, the proud way he carried himself, a tall, lean body, muscular and strong. If she had hoped he'd be less attractive to her, she'd have been disappointed. She hadn't hoped though-- not after dreaming of him night after night.
July 1, 2014
yes, writing can be fun
This has been a good period for writing if not so great for my personal self. Starting with the negative stuff: after an earlier foot/ankle problem, followed by a fall where I broke my nose (yes, literally broke it), followed by an ongoing tooth problem which I originally felt was ill-fitting crowns, one above the other, but as the discomfort grew, I went to the dentist again hoping another adjustment would solve the problem, but worried it would not.
The x-ray showed an infection below the tooth, which meant a particularly strong antibiotic and an appointment with a doctor specializing in endodontics... one root canal in short or should I say at the least as my dentist wanted the two teeth side by side looked at by the specialist...
So that comes tomorrow and you can imagine I am not looking forward to it, but this tooth has been an ongoing problem for well over a year; so it is overdue and maybe my putting it off, thinking it would get better, led to the irritation below the tooth and probable infection. It just goes to show you can be religious in check-ups, cleanings but some things come internally. Ignoring mine, toughing it out, may have contributed to this or maybe it's all age. Oh the myriad joys of aging ;)
Then the pharmacist was scary regarding this antibiotic as it's known for severe, very unpleasant side effects which it was claimed impact almost everyone who takes it. Anything where its sole job is to kill off all the bacteria in your body, by definition, is not great. So far my side effects have been minor. Hopefully the root canal will follow in line and not amount to as much as I worry about.
To end off this string of unpleasant experiences, my cat came into the house Monday with what I at first thought was a wounded or dead hummingbird. Before I assessed what it was, I picked it up. It turned out something totally different-- a bat killed by one of our two cats!!!
That led to an assortment of phone calls, taking the dead body into the OSU diagnostic center to find out if it had rabies. Our cats have their vaccinations, but it appears the vaccines aren't 100%. It also seems the state wants a 45 day quarantine by law to keeping the cats in the house if the bat turns out positive for rabies...
Now that is very scary. This pretty well takes the summer and turns it on end if this should happen to be rabies. Then... they could get it even after the vaccinations? We would have to watch for symptoms for 45 days even after giving them the vaccine which has its own risks for the cats' health (try reading about that online to get an idea of the concern). I still cannot find the data on how much risk our cats now have if that bat turns out to be rabid. :( This was the worst of the last two months news. Hopefully the bat will be clear of it, but 10% of all bats in our area carry rabies. :(
This is just one more thing to worry about which we will also know either way on Wednesday. I have to say, this has been the perfect time to be engrossed in someone's world besides mine.
On the upbeat side, my newest historical romance, Comes the Dawn will be out July 10th. If you read Arizona Sunset, Tucson Moon and liked these stories set in Arizona, history in the background but with strong characters, I think you will love this one. Some earlier characters are back and two of them are here for their own love story.
I always think it's interesting to hear why other writers chose the stories they did. I am sure a few writers just turn out one romance after another to a formula; however, for most, there is something that particularly interested them in choosing the characters, story and setting.
Comes the Dawn surprised me as I had no intention of writing a third of these Arizona stories about the O'Brians. Admittedly, I had no intention of writing a second. These truly grew out of the characters and the place it all happens. I've spent a lot of time in Arizona and have many places in nature there to which I'd love to return. When I write something like Comes the Dawn, I get to be there along with my characters. I write my love of place. I feel the winds, hear the brooks bubbling, and look out across the vistas through the eyes of someone else. It's a great way to revisit a beloved location.
In deciding this book was a novel, not a novella, it played into it how much I liked several secondary characters which included heroes from the other two, Sam Ryker and Cord O'Brian (reformed outlaw and reformed marshal); plus a new secondary character cut out of the same kind of father-figure hero-- Raul Cordova, a Yaqui leader in Pascua Village, Tucson, Arizona.
So for the fun of this write, I had a romance, hero and heroine I really enjoyed, a beautiful setting and these three great guys in their mature years (mid 50s to early 40s)-- who represent the kind of father figures I have had in my life. Great fun to write bromance type scenes with tough guys who each like to do things their way.
The x-ray showed an infection below the tooth, which meant a particularly strong antibiotic and an appointment with a doctor specializing in endodontics... one root canal in short or should I say at the least as my dentist wanted the two teeth side by side looked at by the specialist...
So that comes tomorrow and you can imagine I am not looking forward to it, but this tooth has been an ongoing problem for well over a year; so it is overdue and maybe my putting it off, thinking it would get better, led to the irritation below the tooth and probable infection. It just goes to show you can be religious in check-ups, cleanings but some things come internally. Ignoring mine, toughing it out, may have contributed to this or maybe it's all age. Oh the myriad joys of aging ;)
Then the pharmacist was scary regarding this antibiotic as it's known for severe, very unpleasant side effects which it was claimed impact almost everyone who takes it. Anything where its sole job is to kill off all the bacteria in your body, by definition, is not great. So far my side effects have been minor. Hopefully the root canal will follow in line and not amount to as much as I worry about.
To end off this string of unpleasant experiences, my cat came into the house Monday with what I at first thought was a wounded or dead hummingbird. Before I assessed what it was, I picked it up. It turned out something totally different-- a bat killed by one of our two cats!!!
That led to an assortment of phone calls, taking the dead body into the OSU diagnostic center to find out if it had rabies. Our cats have their vaccinations, but it appears the vaccines aren't 100%. It also seems the state wants a 45 day quarantine by law to keeping the cats in the house if the bat turns out positive for rabies...
Now that is very scary. This pretty well takes the summer and turns it on end if this should happen to be rabies. Then... they could get it even after the vaccinations? We would have to watch for symptoms for 45 days even after giving them the vaccine which has its own risks for the cats' health (try reading about that online to get an idea of the concern). I still cannot find the data on how much risk our cats now have if that bat turns out to be rabid. :( This was the worst of the last two months news. Hopefully the bat will be clear of it, but 10% of all bats in our area carry rabies. :(
This is just one more thing to worry about which we will also know either way on Wednesday. I have to say, this has been the perfect time to be engrossed in someone's world besides mine.
On the upbeat side, my newest historical romance, Comes the Dawn will be out July 10th. If you read Arizona Sunset, Tucson Moon and liked these stories set in Arizona, history in the background but with strong characters, I think you will love this one. Some earlier characters are back and two of them are here for their own love story.
I always think it's interesting to hear why other writers chose the stories they did. I am sure a few writers just turn out one romance after another to a formula; however, for most, there is something that particularly interested them in choosing the characters, story and setting.
Comes the Dawn surprised me as I had no intention of writing a third of these Arizona stories about the O'Brians. Admittedly, I had no intention of writing a second. These truly grew out of the characters and the place it all happens. I've spent a lot of time in Arizona and have many places in nature there to which I'd love to return. When I write something like Comes the Dawn, I get to be there along with my characters. I write my love of place. I feel the winds, hear the brooks bubbling, and look out across the vistas through the eyes of someone else. It's a great way to revisit a beloved location.
In deciding this book was a novel, not a novella, it played into it how much I liked several secondary characters which included heroes from the other two, Sam Ryker and Cord O'Brian (reformed outlaw and reformed marshal); plus a new secondary character cut out of the same kind of father-figure hero-- Raul Cordova, a Yaqui leader in Pascua Village, Tucson, Arizona.
So for the fun of this write, I had a romance, hero and heroine I really enjoyed, a beautiful setting and these three great guys in their mature years (mid 50s to early 40s)-- who represent the kind of father figures I have had in my life. Great fun to write bromance type scenes with tough guys who each like to do things their way.
June 29, 2014
June 29, 1943
A brief time out for my partner in writing. He reads all my books. He critiques them from a male point of view. Helps me with guns and any scene needing masculine type action. He is their publisher and supports my writing by saying he believes in what I am doing. He is part of what makes it possible for me to be living my dream and writing books.
He is also incidentally or not-- my life-mate. I married this man almost 50 years ago. We share two wonderful children, two children-in-laws, and four grandchildren not to mention the cattle and sheep ranch where we live today.
We've certainly had our ups and downs, but we are best friends today. We mostly like the same things. He's creative and has his own work where we each let the other be. We laugh a lot together. We also can yell at each other and then an hour later joke about what we had argued about.
Today is his 71st birthday, and I just want to say I appreciate all he's given me through those years as a partner who is always interesting if sometimes challenging. Hey, who wants boring!
He is also incidentally or not-- my life-mate. I married this man almost 50 years ago. We share two wonderful children, two children-in-laws, and four grandchildren not to mention the cattle and sheep ranch where we live today.
We've certainly had our ups and downs, but we are best friends today. We mostly like the same things. He's creative and has his own work where we each let the other be. We laugh a lot together. We also can yell at each other and then an hour later joke about what we had argued about.
Today is his 71st birthday, and I just want to say I appreciate all he's given me through those years as a partner who is always interesting if sometimes challenging. Hey, who wants boring!
June 26, 2014
A time to consider
Where it comes to reading reviews of my work, I have mixed feelings. There are times I'd think I'll never read a review again as they can be devastating and like so many things in life-- the most negative is what I normally remember the longest.
An example of long memories: when I was in high school, not sure what year this was, one of my periods was working for the high school health teacher and counselor. It meant typing, taking dictation, carrying around notes, and doing errands. It was, of course, also for grades as well as work experience.
This particular day, I walked into the Junior High on one of those chores and two of my brother's friends were with him as they saw me. One said, "Hey, Trueax, your sister is as ugly as you are." I pretended not to hear because what can you say to such a comment!
Now the irony is my brother was not remotely ugly, but that's not why I (and many like me) would remember such a comment. It's because someone is saying I was ugly. If i was a celebrity, I would never read comments under any article about me as some get the most joy out of tearing apart someone else.
Reviews for any creative work definitely fall into a place that anonymous can strike. How seriously should one take the words of a stranger whee it comes to your painting, writing or any creative effort? Is it beneficial to read them? Might it help your work-- or not?
Recently I realized I hadn't visited Good Reads for quite awhile (this is a place well known for snarky reviews for indie authors). I browsed through to see if my books had new reviews. One had several new ones.
Basically the complaint for this book came down to it being paced too slow. Evidently romance readers don't want slow growth of characters. They want a plot to have something exciting every scene, I guess. (actually I thought this book did have exciting things going on but they were neither sexual nor violent so maybe they didn't count. If my books were regarded as literary works, the depth of development of characters, the slow pace as the story unfolds would be a plus. When they are romances, not enough is happening.
Recently I visited one of the romance writing sites that I had joined, I looked at the books that were out there and being promoted. I felt like there is no way I fit into that at all. One was about a serial killer where the first third person point of view was a young woman who was about to be murdered. The blurb indicated one of the detectives will end up at the killer's mercy-- doubtless she will be saved by the hero since she was a heroine. A lot was though-- definitely happening.
The thing is that's not the kind of book I want to read or write. I keep reminding myself-- writing is the joy. To thine own voice be true... but sometimes it can get depressing and I'd be pretending if I didn't address that now and again. Are we successful in our creative life if other people think we failed but we feel good about what we wrote or painted? Does what someone else think play into how good something is? I can think of films, the arty type, that didn't do well at all at the box office. Did that make them a failure?
Another writing site (this one at LinkedIn) had one author pose the question-- is selling important to you in writing? A well known writer had said it's writing that matters the most-- not the selling. But she happens to be a successful author.
Of course, all writers want to sell. Unfortunately it's not in their control whether critics or readers like the kinds of books they write. I can though, after a lifetime of writing, say that to me the most important thing is the writing. Whether I bring books out or let them stay on my computer, I will always be writing something new. I'll write more about the story I am currently working on, but it may never be ePublished as it's the last of the Oregon series. It's the series I have been debating whether to bring it out. It doesn't delete the worth of writing its final story-- Love Waits.
I have held off on those books because they relate to Oregon and are dear to my heart. If others tore them apart or rejected buying them, it might hurt more than with other books which I love but with which I don't have such a lengthy history. I mean if I put something out, it means I believe in it. I have no reason to do it otherwise.
J.D. Salinger went years without bringing more books out after his classic, Catcher in the Rye. Most believe it was because he hated the critics part of having his work torn apart. It's not too hard to see how he felt-- even if mine is not being torn apart by professional critics.
When I first got into ePublishing, I pretty well knew my books weren't likely to be immediately well-received. I thought of cycles in books and what readers want. I would put mine out and they'd be there someday for a reader to find who wanted my kind of writing. It's harder to let myself do that then I thought it would be.
Once upon a time we had a tea rose outside our bedroom window with a coastal type pine behind it. One freeze saw the apparent end of the tea rose, but the hardier root stalk came up with something new-- a red climbing rose. So we let it go. One year we realized it was climbing into the pine tree above it. We have let it be and this year it is nearly to the top of that 30' pine. They look so gorgeous together, so unexpected. Sometimes the unexpected is the blessing.
