C.J. Petterson's Blog: Book launch scheduled, page 17

Readers have different expectations

cj Sez:  My first drafts are crappy and sparse, mainly for two reasons: First, first drafts are supposed to be crappy, and second, before a screenwriter course turned me on to creative writing, I was once a corporate journalist/editor tasked with relating the gist of a story in limited line space.

  When I’m finished with the first draft, and the manuscript has its usual dearth of details, I start work expanding the details: The five senses…hear, see, taste, smell, feel…and the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the plot.
  I incorporate action descriptors, but I consider too many of them stage directions. Some writers may use them much like adverbs to “tell” their readers what to think or as a way to add words to a short manuscript.    Action needs to have purpose. If describing an action doesn't contribute to the reader's knowledge of the character, scene conflict, or mood, then it’s stage direction. I write mostly suspense and thrillers and have a minimalist approach to action—using few words speeds up the pace and heightens the tension. On the other hand, readers of cozy mysteries or more narrative-based novels want, and expect, to know every detail.
  It’s a good way to control the pace of your novel. Even in suspense and thrillers, there are places where the reader needs a respite from the action. These would be the spots where I add more detail or beats. Places where I can reveal more of the characters’ growth, i.e., transformation, as the plot progresses.  Hint: Adding detail words slows the pace; being stingy speeds it up.
  When action is needed to set some mood for the scene, then yes, I detail the action. Sometimes I add details to slow the action and increase the tension. If I want a character to give the reader a sense of impending danger and fear, then I add more description to the action. I tend to follow the lead of my favorite authors—Robert Parker, Stephen King, James Lee Burke. Their succinct style of writing is what I like to read, and it is their fans who are my target market.

 

Hint: Write what you like to read and hit your target market.

 When I write, I take my cues from screenwriting, except I’m the actor. Since internal dialogue doesn’t convert easily to the movie screen, I tend to develop most of the characters’ personalities with action. I move through the scene in my mind and react to the events as my characters would, physically and mentally. I can do that because I’ve written their bios. I know their personalities well enough to know what they would do in a given situation. I want my readers to identify the character more by what s/he does and says rather than what I might tell them, also known as “author intrusion.”

 

  Fiction, non-fiction, whatever the genre, each has a different set of “rules” because the readers have different expectations and wants. The key is to make what you want to write the genre you read and analyze most often. Over time, the structure of the genre will become second nature.
  If you have any questions or more info to add to this post, please leave a comment. A reader but not a writer? Readers, that means you, too. Lyrical Pens would love to hear from you.

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Writerly/Readerly quote:   “All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it?”  —Philip Pullman

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On a personal note:   My short story "Puppy Love" in the Christmas charity anthology FINALLY HOME is being lived by my daughter-in-law.

  Yesterday, she introduced me to her puppy Ziva, a German Shepherd mix, that had to have one of her front legs amputated two weeks ago (birth defect). Ziva is running and happy and excited and beautiful and loving, and D-I-L (who is a Special Olympics volunteer) hopes her baby can be trained as a therapy dog.

  I sent along copies of my story for D-I-L to read and think you would enjoy all
the stories in the anthology as well. The FINALLY HOME anthology stories have a universal appeal, going far beyond the Christmas theme. 
  FINALLY HOME has eight stories, all about our four-legged friends and the special people who rescue them. From funny to sad to romantic, there’s something to tug at everyone’s heart strings. The publisher donates a portion of the profits to various animal rescue organizations, and the anthology is free on Kindle Unlimited. https://amzn.to/2Y9VPpe
And now a few words from my sponsor: 
THE DAWGSTAR is available as an eBook  https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5and as a paperback  Amazon Buy NowDEATH ON THE YAMPA is available as an eBook https://books2read.com/u/bxe1APas a paperback  Buy Paperback Yampaand as a #SCREAM, series phone app. 
  There are a lot of authors and their mystery/suspense stories available on #SCREAM. All you do is load up the app and search for the author’s name.§§
  You can ask your local library to order my eBooks for you. You’ll need to give them the ISBN number of the title you want to borrow.

THE DAWGSTAR … ISBN 978-17369146-0-1DEATH ON THE YAMPA … ISBN 978-1-7369146-1-8
§§
  That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

P.S. TO ORDER any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

  If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my books for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.   The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.
➜ Follow me . . .     ➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

No magic formula for writing

cj Sez: The following format for a romance novel is a composite of information I’ve gleaned from various sources over the years.  I keep the following notes in front of me when I’m writing romantic suspense.
A likable heroine    This character can’t be weak or dumb and must be actively involved in the plot. There will, and should, be some moments of angst in the story, but they should be fleeting. You want your reader to root for the lady rather than think she deserves what she gets because she’s too dumb to win.
A likable hero    This guy should be strong (even if only emotionally), irresistible, smart, and actively involved. He does not have to be stereotypically handsome to be appealing. A well-developed personality can carry him into your readers’ hearts.
Emotional tension    What’s keeping your heroine/hero apart? What threatens her/him? Making these decisions early on helps keep the plot on track.
A believable plot    A twist on an oldie will work. According to some studies, there are only six (or maybe eight) possible plots in all of literature. Ergo every “new” story might today be called a trope. Example: Cinderella can be construed as a variation of the Biblical story of Esther, who was an orphan being raised by her uncle and who so charmed a king that he crowned her his queen. Julie Roberts was Cinderella in “Pretty Woman” as was Melanie Griffith in “Working Girl.” Star-crossed lovers, ala Romeo and Juliet, abound. 
   It’s your unique “voice” that’s important in relating your take (spin, twist) on the familiar story.   A Happily Ever After ending    A HEA is an absolute necessity for a romance novel. Love stories do not have to end happily, but romance stories, in all its subgenres, must have a happily ever after or at least the promise of one.  
  Three of those points are romance-writing specific, but it’s my belief that at least two of them—emotional tension and believable plot—can be broadly applied to all genres. Even a memoir needs a bit of tension and a plot to make it an appealing read. But you can help me out here. As a reader and a writer, can you think of a genre that wouldn’t use those two points.
  By the way, there is no “magic formula” for writing a novel in any genre, but with a lot of reading, analysis, and/or luck you might find a format to follow, kind of like Anne Lamott’s ABCDE formula for short stories (Action, Background, Conflict, Development, and Ending).   §§ Writerly/Readerly quote: “The historian will tell you what happened. The novelist will tell you what it felt like.”    —E. L. Doctorow §§ And now a few words from my sponsor:
   Hurricane Season is heating up along the Gulf Coast, and that brings to mind HOMETOWN HEROES, the Christmas anthology that gifts a portion of the benefits to the “Cajun Navy.” The Navy is that magnificent group of volunteers who help (on their own nickel) people in hurricane-stricken areas. This anthology may have been released at Christmas, but the stories are enjoyable year-round, and (big plus), it’s on sale.                                              §§
   THE DAWGSTAR is available as an eBook  https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5 and as a paperback  Amazon Buy Now
   DEATH ON THE YAMPA is available as an eBook https://books2read.com/u/bxe1AP as a paperback  Buy Paperback Yampa and as a #SCREAM, series phone app. There are a lot of authors and their mystery/suspense stories available on #SCREAM. All you do is load the app and search for the author’s name. §§    You can ask your local library to order my eBooks for you. You’ll need to give them the ISBN number of the title you want to borrow. THE DAWGSTAR … ISBN 978-17369146-0-1 DEATH ON THE YAMPA … ISBN 978-1-7369146-1-8 §§    That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Stay safe, hear?

cj

P.S. TO ORDER any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my books for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.

   The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.

➜ Follow me . . .      ➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page ➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook ➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson ➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

 

My friend Fen and his friend, Elmore Leonard

cj Sez: When I worked in Chrysler’s Employee Communications Department, I met an ad man who was an honest-to-gosh World War II American hero (served with General George S. Patton in France and Germany). Fen became a dear, dear friend, and we stayed in close touch until his death at age 97 this past January. It was Fenton Ludtke who introduced me to Elmore Leonard’s writing discipline.
(Out of Print)
   Fen had worked with Elmore Leonard at an ad agency for a time and had great admiration for his writing and his discipline, as I came to appreciate also. But I appreciated Fen most of all: a gentle man with great wit, sensitivity, and quiet earnestness who unflaggingly supported and encouraged my feeble first attempts at writing a novel.
   Back to Elmore Leonard: I wish I could have begged, borrowed, or stolen some of the man’s discipline for writing. What started as necessity for him (his job required it) turned into habit when he became an established writer.

“To support his family, he worked as a copywriter at an ad agency, where he developed his aversion to adverbs, and also his knack for brief, punched-up prose. He began a habit of waking at five a.m. and immediately starting to write -- not even putting the water on for coffee until he had something down on paper -- then going to work at the office, first in advertising and later writing educational films for the Encyclopedia Britannica.”

(Source: http://www.biographile.com/a-capital-crime-elmore-leonard-deserves-a-definitive-biography/22523/ ) 

   It used to be that I worked better when I had a short-term deadline, as was always the case in my job in Employee Communications. After I retired and began to write novels and short stories, I thought if I gave myself a deadline to meet, I’d knock out stories in no time flat.
  Found out that’s not true. I manage to bury any self-imposed deadline under weeks of procrastination that I call “research.” (Elmore Leonard paid others to do his research.) It seems that the more I research, the less creativity I have. I get lost among the fascinating facts in those research rabbit holes, and my story suffers. I am learning a lot of stuff, though.      Unlike Mr. Leonard, I’m not usually such an early morning riser after I retired. Six-thirty is about all I can manage and still stay awake the whole day. However, occasionally, as was the case a couple of mornings ago, at four a.m., I will make a note about one of the WIPs I have in my computer and promptly crawl back into bed. I sometimes get good ideas just before I fall asleep or when I’m dreaming. That’s why I keep a pad of paper and a pencil on the table next to the bed. Some ideas I use, others don’t turn out to be the good idea I thought they were.
   I’m not a believer in writer’s block. When I get stuck, I think I just need to take a break from my WiP, and I will read some other author’s fine work. It doesn’t make a difference the genre. It might even be a book of poetry. 
   I find that an escape into someone else’s work almost always provides the nudge I need to send one of my characters up another proverbial tree so I can throw rocks at her in the middle of the manuscript.
   How about you? When do you get your best ideas? How do you conquer the blank page in front of you? §§ Writerly/Readerly quote: “My alma mater was books, a good library…. I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.” - Malcolm X §§ And now a few words from my sponsor:
   Someone said, it’s never too soon to start your Christmas shopping. (I think it was one of my kids.) 
   These anthologies make wonderful gifts, filled with timeless stories that are wonderful reads all year long. Bonus points: Part of the proceeds of three of them benefits charities.

   THE DAWGSTAR is available as an eBook from the etailers listed here... https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5 and as a paperback  Amazon Buy Now
   DEATH ON THE YAMPA is available as an eBook from multiple etailers...  https://books2read.com/u/bxe1AP as a paperback  Buy Paperback Yampa and as a #SCREAM, series phone app. There are a lot of authors and their mystery/suspense stories available on #SCREAM. All you do is load up the app and search for the author’s name. §§    Draft2Digital tells me that you can ask your local library to order my eBooks for you. You’ll need to give them the ISBN number of the title you want to borrow. I’ve listed mine below. THE DAWGSTAR … ISBN 978-17369146-0-1 DEATH ON THE YAMPA … ISBN 978-1-7369146-1-8 §§    That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.
cj   P.S. TO ORDER any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us    If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my books for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.    The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.  ➜ Follow me . . .      ➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page ➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook ➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson ➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

AGATHA AWARDS WINNERS

cj Sez: Applause and congratulations to the 2021 Malice Domestic* Agatha Awards Winners!

   When the pandemic necessitated cancelling the in-person Malice Domestic in 2020 and then again in 2021, the Malice Board of Directors decided the second cancellation gave the organization an opportunity to try something new . . . ergo, MORE THAN MALICE, a virtual Malice Domestic Festival, was born. The idea was to fill the in-person conference void “by allowing their community to gather in a virtual environment for a fun and informative weekend.”

   And it worked. This year’s winners were announced July 17 at “More than Malice,” the virtual Malice Domestic Festival.
   For your reading enjoyment, here’s a list of the winning stories and their award-winning authors (maybe your favorite is among the winners):
Best Contemporary Novel    All the Devils are Here, by Louise Penny (Minotaur) Best Historical Novel     The Last Mrs. Summers, by Rhys Bowen (Berkeley) Best First Novel    Murder at the Mena House, by Erica Ruth Neubauer (Kensington) Best Short Story  "Dear Emily Etiquette," by Barb Goffman (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Sep/Oct) Best Non-Fiction    Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock, by Christina Lane (Chicago Review Press) Best Children's/YA    Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco, by Richard Narvaez (Piñata Books) 
 (*Established in 1989, Malice Domestic is a fan convention that takes place each year in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. Malice celebrates the Traditional Mystery, books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. The genre is loosely defined as mysteries which contain no explicit sex, or excessive gore or violence.) §§ Writerly/Readerly quote: “Once you have read a book you care about, some part of it is always with you.” - Louis L’Amour. §§    After you’ve read a book—whether mine or another author’s—please leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon or wherever you can. It shares your joy of reading with others and means the world to the author. Please and thank you. §§
And now a few words from my sponsors:    Someone said, it’s never too soon to start your Christmas shopping (I think it was one of my kids). These anthologies make wonderful gifts, filled with timeless stories that are wonderful reads all year long. 
   Bonus points: Part of the proceeds of three of them benefits charities.

And new for 2021...
   THE DAWGSTAR is available as an eBook 
https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5 and as a paperback  Amazon Buy Now
   DEATH ON THE YAMPA is available as an eBook https://books2read.com/u/bxe1AP as a paperback  Buy Paperback Yampa and as a #SCREAM, series phone app. There are hundreds of authors and their mystery/suspense stories available on #SCREAM. All you have to do is load up the app and search for the author’s name.
§§
   Draft2Digital tells me that you can ask your local library to order my eBooks for you. You’ll need to give them the ISBN number of the title you want to borrow. I’ve listed mine below. THE DAWGSTAR … ISBN 978-17369146-0-1 DEATH ON THE YAMPA … ISBN 978-1-7369146-1-8
§§
   That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.
cj P.S. TO ORDER any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my books for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.      The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.   ➜ Follow me . . .      ➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page ➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook ➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson ➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Starting the second half of the year

cj Sez: July seven come eleven…do you realize half of 2021 is over and done with?
   I find that keeping on-track with remembering my appointments is getting harder and harder and results in conflicts. I could alibi that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew in terms of volunteering in the midst of necessary stuff, but that’d be an untruth. The truth is my short little attention span is getting shorter, so I need to pay attention and keep a better appointment calendar—as in just one. 
   Right now, I have at least two and occasionally three. I’ll note an appointment or paperclip a card on the calendar by the kitchen telephone (yes, I still have a landline) and forget to write it in my planner or vice versa. That wouldn’t be much of a problem if I would just check both places every morning . . . which, of course, I don’t. The third “occasional calendar” I mentioned is simply the collection of all those little scraps of paper and back-of-business-card notes that I shove into the bottom of my purse. Who I’m supposed to meet when and where just disappears, as does my memory of them.
Out of sight, out of mind is the term.
Re my writing    I’m a visual person (is that a right brain or a left brain thing?), and that shows up in my writing. Scenes are the least complicated for me to write. I enjoy creating the details that permit my readers to visualize where the characters are and what they are seeing. But I try to keep my details incorporated into the flow of the scene’s action. I don’t tell the reader the office is small and crowded. I’ll let the character do that by having her desk chair bump against the wall when she stands up and then walks the five or so steps it takes to open the door for a client to enter her office.
   I recently delved into “Darkwater” and “Ravenscroft” by Dorothy Eden…both are Gothic novels (not what I usually read) and rich in setting details. I think I must incorporate more of that into my stories but without sacrificing the more modern-day deep point of view, of course.
   Dealing with personal introspection / emotions / internal dialogue is more difficult for me since I “see” the action in my stories as movies in my head. Narrative doesn’t exist in movies unless there’s a voice-over, so I tend to use very little of it. I’ve been told and I do understand that I need more narrative in my novels, and I’m working on expanding my use of internal dialogue.
   All you thriller/suspense readers out there: How much internal dialogue do you like to read? §§ Writerly/Readerly quote: “Great readers (are) those who know early that there is never going to be time to read all there is to read, but do their darnedest anyway.” ― Larry McMurtry, Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen: Reflections on Sixty and Beyond §§    After you’ve read a book—whether mine or another author’s—please leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon or wherever you can. It shares your joy of reading with others and means the world to the author. Please and thank you. §§ And now a few words from my sponsor:
THE DAWGSTAR is available as an eBook  https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5 and as a paperback  Amazon Buy Now
DEATH ON THE YAMPA is available as an eBook https://books2read.com/u/bxe1AP as a paperback  Buy Paperback Yampa and as a #SCREAM, series phone app. §§    Draft2Digital tells me that you can ask your local library to order my eBooks for you. You’ll need to give them the ISBN number of the title you want to borrow. I’ve listed mine below. THE DAWGSTAR … ISBN 978-17369146-0-1 DEATH ON THE YAMPA … ISBN 978-1-7369146-1-8 §§    That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

P.S. TO ORDER any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my books for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.        The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.   ➜ Follow me . . .      ➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page ➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook ➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson ➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

245 Years of Independence and counting

cj Sez:  Happy Birthday, U.S. of A. As we as a nation celebrate our freedoms, I wish each of my readers and your families a safe and wonderful Independence Day.
  I am grateful for and indebted to the heroes/patriots whose years of blood, sweat and tears went into creating and protecting this holiday.       “The Declaration of Independence *      “We celebrate American Independence Day on the Fourth of July every year. We think of July 4, 1776, as a day that represents the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation.     “But July 4, 1776 wasn't the day that the Continental Congress decided to declare independence (they did that on July 2, 1776).     “It wasn’t the day we started the American Revolution either (that had happened back in April 1775).     “And it wasn't the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence (that was in June 1776). Or the date on which the Declaration was delivered to Great Britain (that didn't happen until November 1776). Or the date it was signed (that was August 2, 1776).     “So what did happen on July 4, 1776?     “The Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. They'd been working on it for a couple of days after the draft was submitted on July 2nd and finally agreed on all of the edits and changes.” (*Source:  http://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/fourth-of-july/ ) §§    cj Sez: The American in me loves the history of why we celebrate the Fourth of July. The writer in me loves that last line.     
Note: Two more Independence Day Facts:

+ John Hancock, the first signatory, was the only person to sign on July 4.

+ The Lee Resolution, also known as the resolution of independence, was first proposed by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia on June 7, 1776. It is the earliest form and draft of the Declaration of Independence.

§§ Writerly/Readerly quote:   “Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.” — Mason Cooley  §§ And now a few words from my sponsor:
   To get the SCREAM series phone app   All you need to do is download the Scream app from wherever you usually get apps. If you have an iPhone, that would be the Apple app store (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scream-chills-thrills/id1555324728). If you have an Android phone, you can download Scream from the Google Play app store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stardust.scream&hl=en_US&gl=US).       You’ll be looking to download Scream: Chills & Thrills, not the title of the book. Once the Scream app is downloaded, then you can open it and search for the title or author name §§    Draft2Digital tells me that you can ask your local library to order my eBooks for you. You’ll need to give them the ISBN number of the book you want to borrow…I’ve listed them below.
   Order the Dawgstar from your favorite E-retailer, including Kindle, here:   https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5  (To ask the library to borrow, tell them ISBN 978-17369146-0-1 )      Buy Death on the Yampa eBook at https://books2read.com/u/bxe1AP   (To ask the library to borrow tell them the ISBN is 978-1-7369146-1-8 )      The paperback of Death on the Yampa, a homegrown-terrorist adventure, is available on Amazon:    Buy Paperback Yampa

   The paperback of the international thriller The Dawgstar is available here:  Amazon Buy Now   

§§
   After you’ve read any author's book, please leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon or wherever. It shares your joy of reading with others and means the world to the author. Please and thank you.
§§
  That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. cj   P.S. A two-fer--TO ORDER any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us
   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my books for you, be sure to tell them.      The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.   ➜ Follow me . . .      ➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page ➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook ➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson ➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

James Lee Burke shows how it's done

cj Sez:  First: Once upon a time I was ready to close my Facebook Author page on June 30 but now have been persuaded to keep it operating. The Welcome Mat is out so please keep visiting https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor, and commenting, and questioning. I’ll be looking for you.

   “The evening sky was streaked with purple, the color of torn plums, and a light rain had started to fall when I came to the end of the blacktop road that cut through twenty miles of thick, almost impenetrable scrub oak and pine and stopped at the front gate of Angola penitentiary.”  ― James Lee Burke, The Neon Rain  (the first title in his Detective David Robicheaux series)

cj Sez:  Setting is all important to readers (and agents) and that sentence invites the reader into the story. Every adjective works with its verb in that sentence and carries the action forward. The reader is on the road with the character, sees what the character sees, and ends up where the character ends up. A fantastic opening line to draw in readers, and a wonderful example of show, don’t tell.

   That is not to say that poetic words don’t have a place in a novel. Burke uses them also, and they still show what he wants his reader to see.
   Write your descriptions, tell your readers everything, then re-write everything in a way that shows them. How to do that, you ask? Read, read, and read some more. Get familiar with how your favorite author handles the task. It just takes practice …writing and re-writing and re-writing and re-writing, and sometimes it seems re-writing ad infinitum.

"There's nothing like rejection to make you do an inventory of yourself."    James Lee Burke

   I’ve had a few of those (makes for elephant-hide skin).

   That opening line is why James Lee Burke is one of my favorite authors. Who are yours?§§    Hope you’ve had a chance to read The Dawgstar and/or Death on the Yampa. Let me (and other readers) know what you think, okay? §§ Son’s photo of a vixen and her kit, taken on Dauphin Island, AL. 

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Writerly/Readerly quotes:     “We read five words on the first page of a really good novel and we begin to forget that we are reading printed words on a page; we begin to see images.” —John Gardner (On Becoming a Novelist)

§§And now a short message from my sponsor:

The Dawgstar from your favorite E-retailer, including Kindle, here:   https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5

The paperback of the international thriller The Dawgstar is available here:  Amazon Buy Now


Buy Death on the Yampa at https://books2read.com/u/bxe1AP    
   The paperback of Death on the Yampa, a homegrown-terrorist adventure, is available on Amazon:    Buy Paperback Yampa
   Here's some help on accessing the suspense/ thriller/ mystery series phone app #SCREAM

   All you will need to do is download the Scream app from wherever you usually get your apps.
   You’ll be looking to download Scream: Chills & Thrills, and once the Scream app is downloaded, then you can open it and search for the title or my author name.

   If you have an iPhone, that would be the Apple app store (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scream-chills-thrills/id1555324728).

   If you have an Android phone, download Scream from the Google Play app store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stardust.scream&hl=en_US&gl=US). 

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   If you've enjoyed reading any book by any author, please leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon or Facebook, or wherever. It shares your joy of reading with others and means the world to the author. Please and thank you.

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   That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

P.S. Indie bookstore plug: TO ORDER my books or any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize it for you, be sure to tell them.

   The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.

➜ Follow me . . .     ➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page ➜ on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

It's Father's Day

 cj Sez:  Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there, and to those who can’t be at home with their family because they are serving our country in far-away places, my prayers go up for your safe return.

   Father’s Day, like Mother’s Day, has a history that goes well beyond greeting cards. The first known American celebration to honor fathers happened in 1908 at the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South in Fairmont, West Virginia. A Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton wanted to have a memorial service for the more than 200 fathers who had died in the Monongah mining explosion that occurred on December 6, 1907. Described as “the worst mining disaster in American History,” the explosion left some 1,000 children without fathers.
   Father’s Day was formally observed in Spokane, Washington, on June 19, 1910 (the third Sunday in June). It became an annual celebration there and in some other cities but did not become a permanent national holiday for decades. In 1966, Lyndon Johnson used his Presidential Pen to issue a proclamation designating the third Sunday in June to honor fathers. In 1972 President Richard Nixon signed the law declaring Father’s Day be celebrated annually on the third Sunday in June.
   cj’s note: According to a National Review analysis, at the time of the mine disaster in the early 1900s, fewer than eight percent of kids under the age of ten lived in a household that didn’t include their biological or adoptive father. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, today 19.5 million children, more than 1 in 4, live without a father in the home.§§ On a personal note Eric and Rosa Wed
   My father struggled through a harsh childhood, and I don't remember that we ever said "I love you" to each other. But I knew he loved me because of the unexpected and gentle things he would do for me. What follows is an excerpt from a personal essay I wrote for the 2008 anthology “Christmas through a Child’s Eyes.” It's my favorite memory of him. It was my first Christmas in Detroit, and I was seven-years old.

“On Christmas morning, I woke to the sound of music I remember hearing when I was little. Daddy was in the kitchen, listening to a radio station that played Swedish music. I slipped out of bed and peeked around the door. He began to sing in Swedish while he stirred a pot of oatmeal, then he twirled and danced a schottische around the kitchen. I was overflowing with happiness at the familiar sounds and sights. Watching Daddy dancing alone made me giggle out loud.

“God Jul, litet dotter,” he said and swept me up in his thick arms.

Merry Christmas, Daddy!” I responded happily.

I held tight to his neck and laughed while he sang, as we spun around the kitchen floor. I smelled his spicy aftershave and rested my cheek against the coarseness of a beard he could never completely shave off.

He's been gone for a lifetime, and I still miss him dearly.

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Son’s photo of a hummingbird, taken on Dauphin Island, AL.

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Writerly/Readerly quotes: 

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ― Dr. Seuss

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And now a short message from my sponsor:

   ON SALE NOW . . . $1.99 until June 30:  The Dawgstar from your favorite E-retailer, including Kindle, here:   https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5

   Buy Death on the Yampa at https://books2read.com/u/bxe1AP   

   The paperback of Death on the Yampa, a homegrown-terrorist adventure, is available on Amazon:    Buy Paperback Yampa

   The paperback of the international thriller The Dawgstar is available here:  Amazon Buy Now   

   If you've enjoyed reading one of my books, or any author’s books, please leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon or wherever. It shares your joy of reading with others and means the world to the author. Please and thank you.

§§

A note from The Haunted Book Shop …

  On Monday (June 21) and Tuesday (June 22), take a bite out of prime! Bookshop.org is offering free shipping on all orders. Check out our storefront there at https://bookshop.org/shop/thehauntedbookshopmobile. We do get a commission on any sales you make through us, but also a slice of it goes into a kitty split between all member stores, so shopping through bookshop dot org supports indie bookstores nationwide!

                                                                                §§

   That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

   P.S. TO ORDER my books or any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize it for you, be sure to tell them.

   The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.

➜ Follow me . . .      ➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page ➜ on Facebook:  cj petterson on Facebook ➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson ➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Authors are real people

 cj Sez:  I just finished critiquing a new writer’s first few chapters and was reminded of my first efforts in creating a story or a poem people might read and enjoy.

   Authors are real people, with real insecurities and ambitions, just like the reader audiences they hope to reach. Writers may have vivid imaginations but transcribing that into well-written, well-researched stories takes skill. Like all skills, from learning to feed ourselves to walking and talking, learning how to write the story a reader can escape into takes practice and instruction, not always in a classroom…it’s why writers must be readers, too, with an emphasis on “must.”

   As an author, I want to write the best and truest stories I can. I want the facts, the dialogue, and the emotions to ring true. To help me do that, I read the stories that are wonderful examples of “how to,” as well as the stories that are wonderful examples of “how not to.” As a reader, if I don’t like something about the story, I put it down and pick up another book. Sometimes it takes a concerted effort to separate the writer-editor in me from the reader and continue reading. I’m not always successful.  

   I have acquired a lot of to-be-read stories, most of them are just for the pleasure of reading—the most recent on my Kindle being a reprint of Dashiell Hammett’s “Crooked Souls,” first published in 1923. What’s in your TBR stack or Kindle library of stories? 

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Son’s photo of an Orchard Oriole, taken on Dauphin Island, AL. 

               §§

 

Writerly/Readerly quotes: 

“Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.”        —E. B. White

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News of my newly released books: 

   Ebooks ON SALE NOW . . . $1.99 until June 30.

     Buy The Dawgstar from your favorite E-retailer, including Kindle, here:   https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5

   Buy Death on the Yampa at https://books2read.com/u/bxe1AP   

   The paperback of a homegrown-terrorist adventure in Death on the Yampa is available on Amazon:    Buy Paperback Yampa

   The paperback of the international thriller The Dawgstar is available here:  Amazon Buy Now    

Reviews are encouraged and would be much appreciated. 

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   That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj 

P.S. TO ORDER my books or any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

If you’d like me to autograph or personalize it for you, be sure to tell them.

The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.

➜ Follow me . . .     ➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page➜ on Facebook:  cj petterson on Facebook➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

A new phone-app publisher

cj Sez:  This is awesome and scary at the same time for me: A new marketing direction for my action / adventure / thriller novels. I signed a contract with a phone-app publisher to add my latest releases to their new #SCREAMapp!

A new audience for my novels

  The app audience tends to be a new/different readership base than readers who are browsing Amazon or B&N or going to the library for books.

  This from the publisher: “Death On The Yampa is releasing on #SCREAMon June 5th. This FREE app features novels tailored with drama, conflict, suspense, and the fear-inducing action that will keep you gripping your phone and on the edge of your seat.”  App aficionados, here's how to get started ...

  The first four readers to send me their user IDs::: I'll forward your IDs to the publisher who will deposit some free access coins in your new account to get you started on your great escape into all of the authors' SCREAM stories. The coins are used for users to read the stories on the Scream App.
                                         §§
   Son Jeff D. Johnston’s photo of the Hooded Warbler, taken on Dauphin Island, AL.
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Writerly/Readerly quotes: 
  “Why shouldn’t truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.”     —Mark Twain

 

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In eBook news:

And for the paperbacks: 
  The paperback of the homegrown-terrorist adventure in "Death on the Yampa" is available here:  Buy Paperback Yampa
  The international thriller paperback "The Dawgstar" is available here:  Amazon Buy Now   
§§
  That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

  P.S. TO ORDER my books or any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

  If you’d like me to autograph or personalize it for you, be sure to tell them.

  The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.

➜ Follow me . . .     ➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page➜ on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6