Kae Cheatham's Blog: Whoa! Another Author?, page 25

Language Surprises

I really enjoy being surprised by language. When I'm reading along and take in a unique word that really fits, it makes me smile even as I continue with the story. After reading the unimaginative language in newspapers, magazines and most web sites, it's refreshing to find authors who haven't become lazy with their vocabulary. To assure that don't I succumb to the plethora of mundane word usage I read everyday, I often jot down words I like; in most cases they are words about which I had forgotten. Here's a list of recent finds:

lissome
weal
sintered
bucolic (it doesn't sound at all like its meaning)
lachrymal
obfuscate
fugacious
hircine
glabrous

Many of these are best used in narration. Normal conversation doesn't often bring forth these words. In fact, a recent read of a library book had good friends in a casual setting and one character said, "It seems things have become profligate recently." My attention shifted from the story line to looking for a reason he would use this word--some reference to his stuffy language or a habit of showing off his erudition. Nothing. So why not use extravagant or lavish? Those words would have been better suited to casual Sunday morning dialogue.

Nonetheless, profligate made my list of interesting words, no matter that it wasn't presented in the best of manners. I doubt I'll use it in dialogue, unless I have some bombastic character I want to spotlight. But it's a good word. I've already scribed a few sentences with words from the list--giving them a stronger place in my word bank. I have to remember to use the words wisely and in the right way. I'm sure some readers don't like language surprises, so I know I have to temper my vocabulary for the readership and not just use it to satisfy my own philological amusement.

Addictions

Okay. I admit it. I'm fairly addicted to electronic gizmos. I'd have them all if it weren't for strong will-power and a small budget. I want an iPad, I want a Droid phone, I want a Square-up for my business, I want....

Well, I went to Target a few days ago and bought an actual Kindle 3 (WiFi). I'd been using Kindle-for-PC for several months, but have now taken the plunge to the real thing. It's portable. I won't have to stare at clouds and tweedy backs of seats when I travel. One hand to turn a page when I'm lunching at my favorite pizza place....read the rest

Writing a Horror Story

I've been thinking about categories and genre recently, noting how the horror/thriller/mystery themes are really popular. I have supernatural happenings in my contemporary novel, and ESP in one of the historicals, but they don't dominate the theme.

When mystery writer J. R. Lindermuth had a short horror story posted on Thrills, Kills and Chills, I thought, I've got to try this.

Why not? I write articles on demand, have written nonfiction books to editor specs. I should be able to push myself to write a chilling short story.

My attempt isn't going so well. Here's all I have so far, and I don't know What Comes Next. Any suggestions?
==========

The monotonous slap of the windshield wipers didn't help Linda's attempt to stay alert. The drizzle outside made the twilight even murkier than normal. Getting a good night's sleep was essential if she wanted to reach Tucson by Wednesday evening. She passed a billboard advertising a KOA and shook her head. No camping. Pitching a tent in the wet evening wasn't an option. She had also seen flickers of lightning on the western sky ahead of her. A long way off, but she knew how the western storms could hit with sudden wind and heavy rain.

From the back seat, Troubie gave a long sigh, head on paws, black-and-white Irish Setter body comfortably ensconced on the padded seat.

"We'll stop soon," she said. She liked travelling with her dog—something to talk to even if it neither expected her to nor could give an answer. "I'm going to find a motel tonight."

Troubie shifted and sighed again.

Through the gloom, Linda made out the hazy glow of an upcoming town. Maderville, a sign proclaimed. Population 6,000. "Probably a decent place here," she muttered, suddenly feeling even more tired. Two days ago she had been in Pennsylvania. By last night she had made it to Jackson, Tennessee. From this western portion of Oklahoma, she was certain tomorrow's drive shouldn't take too long. The conference started on Thursday.

She began passing outlying segments of the town: Rundown car shops, eateries with large beer signs, raggedy fences marking lots with trailer homes and rusted tin on the front lawns. Only a few blocks of that, and the town became more hospitable. She followed the highway signs to the west. Small town bustle produced a modicum of traffic, especially when she passed a new strip mall with the usual big-box stores, a supermarket and a couple fast food stops. The bright lights lifted her spirits. An ad sign for Western Oak Motel caught her eye. She nodded and watched for the place.

Troubie sat up. Linda chuckled, amazed how the dog could always tell when something new was taking place. Maybe it was just the lights after riding along the dark road. Troubie whined.

"I hope this place allows pets," she said, glancing at him in the rearview mirror. Troubie didn't like storms, and the flickering in the sky she had noticed earlier seemed a bit closer.

The Western Oak did allow pets, and the rates were good, too. She hustled back to the car in a rising wind, pulling up the hood on her rain jacket. She grabbed her satchel (everything she needed for the night), from the passenger floor "They don't mind dogs," she said to Troubie. "Our room is right here where I parked the car."

Thunder growled.

She took Troubie's leash and opened the back door. He sat in the far corner staring through the windshield at the pleasantly-lit motel.

"Come on. Let's get inside before it starts pouring." She leaned in, stretching to reach him, and clipped on the leash. "Let's go."

Troubie walked slowly across the seat and jumped to the ground. He looked up at her, brow furrowed.

"Come on." Linda slammed closed the doors. "There's a place across the street." She hurried him to the grassy strip across the alley, where he dutifully lifted his leg for a long period of relief. The rain picked up. "Better?" He gave a few wags of his tail and Linda hurried back to the motel.

Card in slot. Green light, she opened the door and an automatic light showed a nicely laid out room. Two steps in.

Troubie pulled back on the leash so hard Linda nearly fell. "Troubie!" He thrashed against her hold, and only the choke collar kept him from getting away. "What's wrong with you? Get in here." Lightning flashed and the rain picked up. Linda shortened the leash and got behind Troubie. With some strong urging, he finally went into the room, panting as if he'd run a race.

And he stood there, having to be nudged aside so she could close the door. When Linda started to shrug off her wet jacket, Troubie turned to the door and began scratching it and whining. Lightning lit the room from the edges of the blackout curtains. Thunder quickly followed, and Linda stared at her dog--who would normally be smashed against her leg for comfort--now anxiously begging to go outside.
She surveyed the room, looking for the source of his discomfort. Everything was looked nearly new, including the carpet. But Troubie was insistent to leave.

Linda pulled up her hood, took his leash from where it trailed on the floor and opened the door. A torrent of rain greeted her, but the dog bolted for the car. Once she unlocked and opened the back door, he leapt in, yanking the leash from her hand. He crammed himself against the far corner, eyes wide.

Too much weather to argue with him. She slammed and locked the car door and dashed back into the motel room. Exhaustion permeated her. She let her wet jacket drop, kicked off her shoes and slumped onto the bed frowning over Troubie's actions. She knew animals were much attuned to things people couldn't fathom. What had gotten into him--and why?

Taking up the remote, she flicked on the TV. It chattered a reality dance show behind her as she washed her face. The storm, which had pounded so relentlessly, seemed to be fading, with just a light rain pattering on the roof. She settled on the bed, staring vacantly at the posturing, whirling couple on the TV screen. A Latin beat pulsed.
Then she was asleep.

Pesky Compound Words

When I proofread or copyedit, I am always on the lookout for those compound and combined words (such as lookout, copyedit and proofread) that can be so troublesome. Improper forms of these English language anomalies occur even in published books. When do you use the hyphen? When are the words combined or separated?

There are no reliable rules.

Single-word combinations and compound words can have different meanings: such as workout (n) or work out (v); freehand or free hand, wind bag or windbag. It is important to use the proper spelling to be certain readers know what you're talking about.

Here are examples that show the variations:

You can go to the courthouse, but not to the highschool;
use a coffeemaker, but not a coffeecup;
Drink from a wineglass, but for the plain stuff, use a water glass;
Houses can have a backyard (adj. & n.), and courtyard (n), yet front yard is never compound.
Then there is bedroom, while livingroom and diningroom are incorrect (space between words, no hyphen), yet bathroom is okay and so is mudroom and workroom.
Spell the word teenage, yes; but middle age is not compound, while middle-aged (adj.) has a hyphen.
Snow plus another word is almost always compound: snowfall, snowshoe, snowplow, snowmobile, snowblower. Same withfoot and door.
But take special care with words beginning with half, variations are abundant.

In my own manuscripts, I usually type a word as compound, and go to the dictionary if the spellchecker (not spell checker, although spell check (v) is correct) gives it a red line (not to be confused with redline, which refers to the upper limit of acceptability). I check then double-check those pesky words to get my manuscript in the best possible form.

The following are correctly spelled, although they are often misspelled in publications. Do you see a pattern?
(Not)

airship, air force, airhead, air conditioner (n), air-conditioning (n), breakeven (n), break-even (adj), cutback, doorjamb, dark-haired, shorthaired, fair-haired, longhaired, long-sleeved, long johns, street-smart (the same meaning as streetwise), longtime (adj.), long-term (adj.), long-standing (adj.), anklebone, cheekbone, hip bone, wellborn, well-bred, well built, cross-legged, crossover, crosscut, cross section, nerve-racking, landgrab (n), land-grabber (n), windowsill, windowpane, window shade, workday, pent-up, streetlight, majordomo, major general, searchlight, shoreline, workpeople, townspeople, firsthand, neckband, make-believe, make-do, makeover, make way, pinprick, wingspan, midday, midyear, mid-afternoon, day-to-day, show-and-tell, short-circuit (v), short circuit (n), wide-eyed, openmouthed.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg (not ice berg).

Special Give Away

Here's a special give away. Free books are always nice.


On Thursday, September 16 only, comment on Stephanie Barko's blog for a chance to win a hardcover of the sold out The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900 by Mike Cox. Cox will receive the A.C. Greene Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Annual West Texas Books and Music Festival in Abilene.

Click here for your chance.

On Promised Land - a Novella

The novella On Promised Land went live on Smashwords and Kindle. $0.99 No print version, mostly because this is the beginning section of a WIP. I hope to have it completed early in 2011.


About the book:

ON PROMISED LAND is set in the 1840s at the end of the Second Seminole War. It details the great American dream of all pioneers who settled the western lands. But these are black pioneers. Black-Seminole pioneers. These stalwart, industrious folk strive and survive in what we think of as the "American Way" even when they aren't recognized as Americans--or Seminoles--or free. Yet they persist.

Warner B. Bair Web site

I just learned that Warner B. Bair II has a new Web site.
Lots of information about his upcoming mysteries, as well as the new release, .
Check it out

Interesting New Titles

I went to my Public Library yesterday. School has started here, and I hoped that meant the shelves that had been a bit barren during the summer, would have a greater selection. They did.

I found some interesting titles--books of short stories, a SF, a mystery or two.

Most of the summer I've been reading eBooks. Not having a dedicated eReader, limited me to reading at my desk; that's sort of okay. I like my desk and my office and my computer. But there are limitations.

An advantage to a DTB--it's fairly portable.

I also like browsing at the PL--sort of like bookstores used to be before the AV and music got included.

Hopefully my selections will warrant sharing with others.

Kansas Dreamer - History, Mystery & ESP

When I learned about the acute interest in paranormal occurrences that thrived in the mid-19th century, the ideas for Kansas Dreamer: Fury in Sumner County began. I read between the lines and interpolated the way my protagonist might have viewed things. My fiction characters usually endure situations and learn things that a lot of people haven't considered important.

I also wanted to tell about cattle drives and the interesting politics occurring in Kansas after the Civil War. For me, writing historical fiction is like doing a jigsaw puzzle where you work to get all the pieces—the history, the story, the characters—shaped into a coherent whole.

Unfortunately, the only online review of this title is from someone who "read" the audio version. The audio was done by Books-In-Motion and is still available, but the reader (who is also an actor) tried to be all the characters, giving a different voice to each one. I understand the reviewers comment. I had trouble listening to it when I received my copy of the audio from BIM.

I'm looking into ways to get the positive reviews I received up on the Amazon site. Maybe those will counter the 2-stars from the listener.

Rethinking Child of the Mist Promo

GoodReads has allowed me to learn a lot about myself. Visiting the forums and GR sites of other authors, I've decided that, when it comes to promoting my books, I'm way too conservative. I can come up with ideas and promo plans for other authors, but for my own titles—Weak! I have to remember words my grandmother always said, "Nobody wags the dog's tail for him."

So I've got to do more tail wagging, and I'm starting with a rewrite of the promo material for Child of the Mist, hopefully making it more exciting and also more in keeping with some of the subjects it seems readers are looking for today. I put up part of this rethought-out overview on Mental Geysers. Below is my finished (but not final) change.

Child of the Mist:
After the death of her father, Juilan Pranss lands employment that takes her off planet—for the first time. She immediately begins having strange dreams and illusions that continue, even after Joddrie Ferstan kidnaps her. Joddrie Ferstan, a soldier of fortune with grandiose plans. He takes her to a planet that is being colonized by her known world, where the Ceitwans—the humans of this distant planet—have existed for more than a millennium. They along with the indigenous Xirophans, are resisting the invasion.

As Joddrie compels her with him to implement his plans, Juilan's often-terrifying dreams persist and she fears she has been possessed.
Juilan escapes Ferstan, with the help of the moody outcast, Trenner Curembac. He promises to help her with these mental aberrations and also gives proof that she is Ceitwan and heir to the mysterious Holder position. He helps her prepare to handle the Evincor—a crystalline anomaly that defies known physics as it yields critical information about the planet.

Juilan also learns that an economically-powerful, sadistic psychopath is stalking her every move, waiting to capture her so he can become dictator of the culture. His plans to achieve this could mean her death.

Feedback on this new overview is welcome.