Sharon Struth's Blog, page 5

Are We on The Fame Page ?

Literary fame is something all writers think about. From contemporary stars like Stephen King and JK Rowling to authors of the classics, like Ernest Hemingway and Jane Austen, all that recognition sounds pretty darn exciting. These days, literary stardom can come overnight if you hit the right topic, and nothing can stop anybody from producing a book for the world to buy.

On a recent trip to England, I had a chance to think about fame and what it might really mean. Let me start by saying, I’m not a Janeite, the term coined in the late 1800’s for fans of Jane Austen. But I’ve read some of her books, get a little too excited over Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, and certainly admire Ms. Austen for writing about the strong societal topics of her era.

Yet upon our arrival in Bath, the romance writer who lives inside me got very excited. Because even I knew Bath = Jane Austen territory.

And here I was, walking the same cobblestone pavements that inspired Jane to write Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Even sleeping on the same street where she once lived, an unintentional hotel choice (although I learned Jane lived in several different apartments during her five years in Bath.) So naturally, when I passed the Jane Austen Center on our way to visit the Circus and Royal Crescent (Georgian styled homes made from local, golden-colored “bath stone”), I had to pay homage to the woman who’d created Mr. Darcy. Come on, don’t all romance writers and authors of women’s fiction owe her a little something?

Best Bathroom Doors Ever!

Only as our tour proceeded, I learned the celebrity status Jane owns in history is nothing she ever lived to see. In fact, Jane struggled to get her work recognized.

In 1795, early versions of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice were both rejected by publishers.


In 1803 Northanger Abbey was sold to a publisher for ten sterling pounds, but not printed.


In 1810 Sense and Sensibility was finally accepted for publication, only the author name showed the book as written by “a Lady.”


In fact, Jane’s name never appeared on any of her published books until after her death in 1817.

Thankful for my computer!

Imagine these facts, especially in light of how she’s viewed in today’s world of publishing. And Jane wasn’t the only author I stumbled upon during my visit whose written works were overlooked.

At Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey (London), I learned Geoffrey Chaucer is buried in the south transept of the abbey. Only I also found out that when Chaucer first died back in 1400, he’d been actually living near the abbey and was in royal favor. His burial, initially, at the cathedral was done with a plain slab near one of the chapels, mostly due to his friendship with the monks, but definitely NOT because of his writing career. Only over a hundred years later did the author of The Canterbury Tales end up being moved and buried next to Shakespeare, finally recognized by the church for his literary achievements.

So what do authors today desire? Stardom? Fame? Riches? Or do we want to write books so well-done that they withstand the test of time?

The only piece I control is the quality of my writing, with the hope for a decent paycheck. And the truth is, that’s what drives me to write. Not the others things. So if I’m Jane A., looking down on earth from some heavenly place, I’d be satisfied (and a teeny bit bitter lol!)

What about you?

 

Writerly Observation: So You’ve Written a Book…

The other night, I pulled out the first book I ever wrote. The unpublished manuscript has been sitting in a drawer for about five years. An exile I imposed on the material when I finished it.

I immediately started my second book, one��I already sensed had better developed characters. Two and a half years later, the second book was published by a small press. (The Hourglass, Etopia Press)

So was there a difference between book #1 and book #2?

Sure. I learned more about writing during that time by:

Taking on-line classes
Reading everything I could find on��the craft of writing
Sitting at the computer every single day and pounding out new lines, chopping away at shitty ones, making them better and stronger.

“The only kind of writing is rewriting.�����The words of Ernest Hemingway, who was simply telling it like it is.

Time passed and I completely forgot about the first book. I had a larger publisher pick up my next book, a series (Blue Moon Lake Romances, Kensington Publishing.) I even wrote a whole other book and it���s now with my agent. All this, while the first book collected dust in a drawer.

Every single day I had one goal; to produce the best quality work I possibly could. Not seeing my name in print. Not sales galore (although that would be nice).

So, back to that first manuscript. As I read through it the other night, my very first thought was ���Thank God this never got published.���

Was it horrible? No. I���ll give myself credit for writing an entire book. Many writers don���t get that far. Plus, it told a cohesive story. But..

��It had weak dialogue. (almost embarrassing)
No clear goals.
Contrived conflict.
Scenes that did little to move the story forward.
Characters void of deeper motivation.
Too many POV characters (I now see they were tossed in to create forced conflict, but the characters had no real growth so they shouldn���t have been given center stage).
Oh, and it was too long��� almost 95,000 words. Too many for the genre.

On the plus column, it has a decent plot and might serve as a good outline for another book. And it was an excellent tool to learn how to put together an entire novel.

BUT���

It sure wasn���t ready for publication.

The art of writing well isn���t easy. Putting words on paper is easy. If you finished writing a whole book, you should pat yourself on the back. Then put it down for a while.

Not just two days. Try weeks. Or months. Look what I found five years later.

And while you���re waiting, go read some books in that same genre from the NY Times best-seller list, or another highly recommended source. And yes, there are some crappy books on bestseller lists; it happens. But try several. Then go pick up your book and reread it with a cup of tea. How does it compare?

Is it ready for publication? Don���t be afraid to admit it isn���t. Simply work hard, write hard, and make it a book you can promote with pride.

The Seeds of Friendship

Whether you love Facebook or hate it, you can’t��deny that it has a way of keeping our current friends informed about our lives, and–if we get very lucky–reintroducing us to someone we may have known in our past. I write this post in honor of “Throwback Thursday,” since I was recently thrown back into an old friendship thanks to the internet.

About two months ago, I received a friend request on Facebook from someone I knew in my childhood. During my elementary school years, she lived in my neighborhood��and I’d even say she was one of my best friends.��My parents��� divorced when I was in sixth grade, so��we��moved.��But by high school I was back in town and became re-acquainted with my old friend. But after college, I moved to another state and, as it happens, the two of us lost contact.

Then came her friendship request on social media, over thirty years after we last spoke.

We started to talk on Facebook.��Then send each other long email messages about our lives and interests.��I noticed when we did ���talk��� online we���d find humor in the same types of things and had similar outlooks on life.��Yup, it turns out we’re a lot alike now. Because we were a��lot alike back then.

Each correspondence with her, I’d feel so happy and comfortable.��We picked up as if not a single day had passed since our last conversation. Even way back in elementary school,��I seemed to innately understand that she was��someone��who I wanted to hang out��with. Someone I could��hand over a piece of myself, then sit back and just enjoy the ride while a��friendship bloomed.

As I think about other close friends I���ve made in my adulthood, I realize it always happens the same way. A little common seed sits between us, one that we nurture, and eventually it turns into grows into this beautiful��bond.

Last week I drove an hour to my hometown to have lunch with my dear friend. We talked for several hours, barely coming up for air. Thirty years have left us with a lot of catching up to do!

So thanks for your friendship, Sue. I feel so lucky to have picked up where we left off. Next time, lunch is on me!

Any one else renew an old friendship thanks to the internet?

 

 

 

 

 

Gardening Tips, Recipes & More on the 4th Annual Authors in Bloom Blog Hop

 

WELCOME to Musings from the Middle Ages & More, one of the��stops at the��4th Annual Authors in Bloom Blog Hop. This year, there are over��forty participating blogs giving away prizes.

This tour runs from April 8-17. To win the e-reader, you must visit all the stops on the Linky Tools link at the end of this post and leave a comment on each one PLUS visit Dianne Venetta’s site and enter via rafflecopter.

I’ll start with��a tip I learned at a vegetable gardening class just this morning at a local farm.

(Kensington Publ.)

I’d love to own a farm, including some goats. In��my Blue Moon Lake Romances series, book one is��about Sophie’s Shaw’s struggle to get possession of valuable land. She and her brother plan to restore the vineyards, the farm, and open a tasting room. While I live vicariously through my through my characters, I’ve been dabbling in some vegetable gardening of my own. It’s a real thrill to eat food you’ve grown!

To the right is a newly released cover for Share the Moon that I’m very excited about (thank you Kensington!) and a book trailer below.

 

 

Sharon’s vegetable gardening tip: ��

If you have a vegetable garden, be careful where��you put tall rising plants, such as tomatoes. Depending on which side of the garden they are located and where the sun rises, as the plants grow, they could cast shade on other plants, taking away��the six��to��eight hours of recommended sunshine��needed for the other plants to flourish.

MY GIVEAWAY!
If you stopped by, I’ll be giving away two-$10��AMAZON gift cards to two lucky winners. Enter by following instructions on this Rafflecopter link:—>��a Rafflecopter giveaway

Some recipes can be found on my blog, Recipes from a Hungry, Healthy Writer.

**BLOG TOUR GRAND PRIZE:

An ereader of the winner’s��choice (up to $200 value) with second prize a $25 gift card to the ebook retailer of their�� choice. TO ENTER….

STOP AT EACH OF THE PARTICIPATING BLOGS BELOW TO BE ENTERED.��
IF YOU STOPPED HERE, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW TO BE ENTERED IN THE GRAND PRIZE DRAWING.
Visit Dianne Venetta’s site and enter via rafflecopter.

PARTICIPATING BLOGS:

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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

Three Reasons Why You Should Read EVERY MOVE SHE MAKES by Jannine Gallant

I’m so happy to have one of my fellow Blue Ridge Literary Agency authors, Jannine Gallant, on my blog today. This looks like my kind of book…a character with a bookstore near a family vineyard and some intrigue. Adding this one to my TBR pile! First, a short blurb. Then I’ll pass the torch to Jannine.

Blurb:

No matter where she goes, he knows her every move���

Long ago, Rachel Carpenter was a glamorous soap star. She gave it all up to move to Napa Valley with her daughters to open a bookstore near her family vineyard. Her life is safe and dependable, until she encounters Kane Lafferty at a wilderness camp in the rugged High Sierra. A burned-out police detective struggling with his own demons, Kane is instantly attracted to Rachel. And like Rachel, he isn���t sure if he���s ready to open his heart. But everything is about to change���

Someone is watching from the darkness. A fanatic obsessed with Rachel for years has decided to claim what he believes is his. It will be up to Kane to not only protect his new love and her family, but to uncover the identity of the stalker before it���s too late for all of them���

Janinne’s Three Reason to Read EVERY MOVE SHE MAKES…��

Reason #1 If you haven���t spent time in the Sierra Nevada Mountains around Lake Tahoe, you���re missing out. It���s a gorgeous place. Reading about Rachel and Kane���s adventures there will whet your appetite���and give you someplace new to add to your bucket list!

Reason #2 EMSM is romantic suspense based on a who-dun-it format. Rachel has a stalker. Kane is determined to uncover his identity. The suspects are laid out. Do you think you can you figure out who the psycho is before they do? Come on, you know you want to try!

Reason #3 Feeling more than a little frustrated with your teenager? Rachel���s daughter, Lark, would try the patience of a saint. After reading EMSM, you���ll be convinced your child is just about perfect. If that isn���t a good reason, I don���t know what is!

In case you���re thinking no teen could ever make you believe that, read on���

(Excerpt Every Move She Makes)

���Wake up, girls. Last day of school.��� Rachel gave a perfunctory knock on Lark���s door before pushing it open to poke her head inside. ���Rise and shine.���

Standing with her back to the doorway, hair damp from a recent shower, her daughter wore nothing but a pair of panties and a bra. Soft light from the bedside lamp highlighted the small blue tattoo on the white skin of her left shoulder.

Rachel gasped and closed her eyes. Surely she was seeing things. When she opened them, the tattoo was still there, a delicate bird perched on a leafy branch.

���Oh, my God.��� She started to speak again then stopped, struggling for words. ���What have you done?���

Lark spun, eyes defiant as she stared at her mother. ���It���s just a tattoo. It���s no big deal.���

Stomach churning, Rachel shook her head. ���You���re wrong. It���s a very big deal.���

Don���t yell. Stay calm.

She took a breath. ���Cutting and dyeing your hair was bad enough. Hair will grow out. That tattoo is permanent.���

���Lark got a tattoo?��� Jade peeked around the doorframe wearing a pair of pajamas with Girls Rule emblazoned across the front. Her red hair hung down her back in tangles. ���Wow, do you have a death wish or something?���

Ivy floated up in a long white nightgown. ���I want to see. Can I see it?���

���Get lost, both of you.��� Lark���s voice quavered.

Neither of her sisters moved an inch.

���Turn around, Lark. Let me see what you���ve done to yourself.���

Slowly her daughter turned, presenting her back for inspection. Rachel examined the tattoo. Thankfully the skin around it appeared to be healthy.

���At least it���s not infected. Why did you do it?���

���Don���t be so dramatic, Mom. It���s just a little bird. Rose got a rose, and I got a lark. Get it?���

���Cool.��� Jade���s voice held awe.

���Can I get a tattoo of some ivy when I���m older?��� Her youngest flipped her long, blond hair over her shoulder with a mischievous smile.

Rachel turned to glare at them. ���Shouldn���t you two be getting dressed for school?���

���We have to miss all the good stuff.���

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

About the Author

Write what you know.��Jannine Gallant��has taken this advice to heart, creating characters from small towns and plots that unfold in the great outdoors. She grew up in a tiny Northern California town and currently lives in beautiful Lake Tahoe with her husband and two daughters. When she isn���t busy writing or being a full-time mom, Jannine hikes or snowshoes in the woods around her home. Whether she���s writing contemporary, historical or romantic suspense, Jannine brings the beauty of nature to her stories. To find out more about this author and her books, visit her website atjanninegallant.com.

 

Author Links:

Website�� �� ����Blog�� �� �� ��Facebook�� �� �� ��Twitter

 

 

I Can’t Believe it’s Only Garden Vegetable Soup

Sharon Struth:

Hello Musings Followers!

Today I have started a new blog called Recipes From a Hungry, Healthy Writer. If you like to cook and enjoy healthy simple recipes, check it out!!

Sharon

Originally posted on Recipes from a Hungry, Healthy Writer:

Garden Vegetable Soup

I love creamy soups. You know��� the kind thickened with flour, no matter how hard you try to convince yourself it���s just mushrooms and broth.

Since I���m avoiding flour these days, I���ve been looking for other ways to make soups that have a substantial broth��without the added thickening agent.

Today I found one.

And the best part���it���s a crock pot��recipe. This broth comes out thick and flavorful. Add a little parmesan cheese, you won���t even think it���s good for you. Mix and match whatever veggies you have in the fridge, or from the garden.

GARDEN VEGETABLE SOUP

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil
1 stalk celery-sliced thin
1 carrot-peeled and sliced thin
1 diced medium onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp. oregano, basil (I used dried)
1/4 cup parsley (I used fresh)
Vegetables (I used 1 zucchini cut into one inch chunks, two yellow���

View original 138 more words

Author Visit: Cait Jarrod & Breaking All Barriers

Welcome Wild Rose Press Author Cait Jarrod, who’s here to give us a peek at her new release, Breaking All Barriers. Congratulations on the release, Cait! If you like romantic suspense, check it out!

 

Release Date: March 13, 2015
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Can a single kiss change your life?

Businessman Cole Dunbar stays focused inventing the latest techno gadgets. When he learns of his deceased wife���s betrayal, he shuts the door on any personal relationships. There���s just one problem���the sexy Dina Wright who lives down the hall. He can���t keep her out of his thoughts and fantasies. When he sees her frightened on a New York City street, he tosses aside his reservations and��reaches out to��her.

Dina is high on life. Not only is she starting an advertising agency and her best friend��is returning��to NYC, an honest-to-God hunk is sending her spine-tingling looks. Despite past betrayals interfering, the budding romance picks up momentum, but Mother Nature spins her wrath. Amidst the chaos, Dina vanishes.

Excerpt:

A single gunshot echoed in the night.

An invisible death-grip tightened his throat. The road and buildings warped. Sound faded. Cole���s fear came to fruition, the worst moment of his life.

He needed eyes on Dina now!

Cole forced his legs to move faster into the darkness. The small amount of glow, seeping around the trailer from the junker���s headlights, gave him a visual to the only other intact car, parked next to the overturned truck.

The cloud pattern shifted and the moon brightened the darkened sky. Beyond the downed trailer, demolished truck, past the crinkled unmarked car, hope soared, clenching Cole���s heart and stealing his breath. He stopped and stared, not sure if he could believe his eyes.

The moon spotlighted Dina standing in the middle of the wreckage, staring at the road, her body shaking. Fright and pain visible in her profile felt like a bullet to his chest, forcing the wind out of his lungs and weakening his muscles.

Her gaze left whatever caught her attention and she peered over her shoulder. Their eyes locked. In that moment of time, no one else existed, not the swirling bright blue and red lights approaching or the loud sirens demanding attention.

Too afraid if he ran, his legs would give out from the overwhelming emotions, he walked toward her.

Not moving her gaze from his, she pulled her lips inward and wiped a hand across her face. She���d been through so much. Instinctively, he wanted to pull her to him, feel her warmth against his chest. Afraid sudden movement might scare her, he tempered his urge and stopped in front of her. ���Awe, babe.��� He stroked a finger down her cheek and searched her face.

Tears welled in her eyes, and something more frightening smeared across her skin���a reddish-brown color���blood

Buy it links:

Wild Rose Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=6127

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-All-Barriers-Cait-Jarrod-ebook/dp/B00TM7UAT8/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1424917174&sr=1-6&keywords=cait+jarrod

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breaking-all-barriers-cait-jarrod/1121218877?ean=2940150098602

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/breaking-all-barriers

Don���t miss Cait Jarrod���s other works:

Kidnapped Hearts – Band of Friend Series, Book 1

Mystic Hearts-Band of Friend Series, Book 2

Entangled Love

Girl Code anthology, releasing Spring 2015

��

 

The Little Things

Record low temperatures. Paralyzing snowstorms. Snow piled so high it has insurance company phones ringing with unprecedented claims. The winter from hell.

And finally, it looks like the tide of our season is starting to turn.

For me, it���s more than the temperatures being a reasonable 35 degrees instead of hovering around zero. Since I walk my neighborhood with the dog every day, small details have brought me the strangest joy.

A peek of the grass, once hidden by buried snow, appears along the roadside. Maybe not much to us people, but to my miniature schnauzer the better spot to sniff means everything. She���s one fussy dog and snow doesn���t figure into her bathroom plans.

How I Felt This Winter

Hibernating neighbors have ventured from their homes. How I���ve missed their smiling faces! Months of chilly, lonely walks around my block, reminiscent of Omar Sharif���s journey in Dr. Zhivago��� I���ll stop���so it wasn���t that bad. Still, I���ve missed the camaraderie of my friendly neighbors during my strolls. This week, I saw many familiar faces.��A sure sign we���re heading out of the storm.

For over two months, stacked snow from countless snowfalls has sat on the rooftop of my daughter���s unused car (due to her semester abroad). Yesterday, it miraculously disappeared. Cross that chore of my list. Thanks Mother Nature.

What? I have a back deck? About half the snow has disappeared, not enough to grab the sunscreen and work on my tan, but the gas grill is finally within reach without slipping on snowshoes.

In a few months, the delights I���m treasuring will seem commonplace. Grass will be something to mow. The deck will be something to be brushed or cleaned off before use. Greeting the neighbors won���t be filled with dramatic winter-war stories of our time apart. More like a simple, ���How���s it going?���

So for now, I���ll appreciate the little things I see every day as we transition to spring. Pretty soon, I���ll be wearing flip-flops and complaining about the heat. Because deep down, I do love winter.

New Cover!

I did get one BIG thing handed to me recently��� a new cover for Share the Moon from Kensington Books! A more suitable cover to the content, and one I���m thrilled to share. So excuse the shameless plug, but I���m still a little punchy from the frigid temperatures.

Are you noticing any��little things��around you this week as��spring tip-toes toward us?

Writing Observation: Know When to Rip Up the Check

The other night, I��put on “Better Call Saul”, a��spin-off from the AMC hit show “Breaking Bad.” Mid-program,��I found myself paying less attention to Candy Crush, and more��attention to the television.

In the scene, Saul opens his mail, pulls out a check, stares at it for a second, and–without much fuss–tears it into multiple pieces.

This simple slice from Saul���s day made me��think about the craft of writing and everyone’s favorite rule, “show, don’t tell.” Showing a��written scene is more active, but did you ever think about how showing can be used to build suspense,��too?

When Saul ripped that check, I wanted��NEEDED to know why.

As a viewer,��I’ve been told��nothing else. I���m left curious and must��sit there to learn more.

The next scene, Saul doesn’t disappoint. ��He walks into an upscale��law office, where a bunch of lawyers are waiting for him in a conference room. He tosses the pieces of the check on the table and says, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

This is the part of storytelling when writers are tempted to eek out a few facts. Toss in a “tell” to establish the back story and let the reader understand what���s going on. But if you simply let the conversation play out, you can lead the audience into a deeper labyrinth, almost put them in the room with these people. Where you don���t tell a thing, and, hopefully make readers want to wade in further.

Which is exactly what the writers of this show did. I got some answers, but the scene left me with more questions. So guess what? I’ll watch the next episode…I’ll turn the page.

When writing, don���t hand out all the goodies in one fell swoop. Not once during the show did the action stop so Saul could narrate to me why that check mattered. Everything fell out organically, as if I were a pesky fly, who buzzed into the conference room and observed from a distance. Make your readers want to hang around to learn more. Even lose some sleep because they can’t put your book down.

Give the readers just enough to keep them wanting more. Like Saul, know when to rip up the check and walk out of the room.

 

To hug, or not to hug…

���I���ve learned that there is more power in a good strong hug than in a thousand meaningful words.���–Ann Hood

Today is National Hug Day. An entire website has been devoted to this celebration(http://www.nationalhuggingday.com/) and has voted the most huggable character this year as Baymax, from Big Hero 6.

Hugs make us happier.
Hugs make us smarter.
Hugs make us healthier.

At least that���s what the research says, and I do believe it. Excluding family, though, I���d be the first to admit that the act of hugging isn���t without awkward moments.

You��know I���m talking about. That instant when you see a friend you haven���t seen for a while. Do you go in for a hug? A peck on the cheek? A simple hello, where you chat, and save a little joint squeeze for parting? Or simply leave it as hug-less encounter?

I���ve had moments where I���ve had ���hug-regret.��� Where I opted for nothing, and later realized how happy I was to see that person again and wished I���d shown them a more personal greeting. Then again, my regret has fallen the opposite way, too. Where I���ve gone in for the embrace, only to realize the stiffness of their response suggested they weren���t as into me as I may have thought.

This week I witnessed a cringe-worthy hug���Secretary of State John Kerry���s greeting upon meeting up with French President Francois Hollande. The moment was aired over and over again on television. Poor John K., so overeager. So desperate. Each time this appeared on the news, I���d squirm in my seat and wish for him to get��a do-over. One can only hope that President Hollande received some of the aforementioned health benefits, although he didn���t seem too happy.��This��analysis by John Stewart is hilarious.

How do you feel about hugs? Love ���em, like ���em, or feel they have a time and place?

Oh, and Happy National Hug Day! If I see you, I’m going to give you one…