S.K. Nicholls's Blog, page 86
August 11, 2013
Book Review: Red Clay and Roses by S.K. Nicholls
Red Clay and Roses is a historical fiction based on true stories, by S.K. Nicholls, majorly dating back to the period between 50’s and early 70’s. It is a story based on the lives of people, particularly women, of the small town of LaGrange and the circumstances that they deal with everyday, with the racism prevalent against the African-American citizens in Georgia, similar to the situation in many other Southern states, at the time when there was being seen a radical change in some areas of the country.
Howanxious has given me another very good, thoughtful, honest and thorough review. I appreciate the feedback!!!
August 10, 2013
This Latest Publishing Disaster
Reblogged from Tricia Drammeh:
I recently advised authors not to blog when they're angry, but as usual, I'm going to ignore my own advice and do what I want. Today, I'm blogging when I'm spitting mad. Furious.
By now, I'm sure you're all familiar with many of the sordid details of my publishing experiences with a small press. Well, guess what? The story gets worse...
Authors be cautious with small presses and independent publishers. Get your copyright filed first...even if you don't have it in hand when you publish.
August 9, 2013
Writing prompt: I thought I saw...an imagination
Reblogged from The Community Storyboard:
I have not been feeling very poetic lately, but I thought I would give today a try. It is very basic with simple words, nothing too complex on my brain right now:
I thought I saw a moonbeam on a sunny day
I thought I saw a mermaid swimming in the bay
I thought I saw a unicorn prancing on a hill…
First try at a little poem in a long while :)
Soul Cycle
Fields of amber swaying in the breeze
At a child’s eye height memory of tops dancing
How fast it grew being knee high in spring
Summer passed so quickly gone
Did not see it growing there so green
So long and lush blooming in a blink
Topped out rustling fruits brushing
Against one another sun parched
Wrinkles out its seeds withering
In the heat with age fading soul
Turns gray and returns to earth
Barren deceivingly so for a season
Peeps its offspring through the frost
Green tendrils seeking for a glimpse of sun
For the sake of repeating itself in
Fields of amber swaying in the breeze
~ S. K. Nicholls 1986
Photo by Miriadna.com
I copied this from an earlier post of mine, because I wanted a sunny picture on my site today.
Filed under: Poetry, Spirituality Tagged: cycles, fields, reborn, recycled, soul, wheat
August 7, 2013
Romancing September Across the World Blog Tour
Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour
Join us for Romancing September Across the World. We are looking for romance authors who want to promote their work on both sides of the Atlantic during the month of September. Romance author Stephanie Hurt from Georgia (USA) And Author Rosie Amber from Hampshire UK are joining forces in a double blogging event.
What a wonderful opportunity to promote your work!
The Seed - Now Available on Amazon Kindle!!!!!!
Reblogged from helenvalentina:
In yet more The Seed related news, I’m thrilled to announce that it is now available on Amazon Kindle at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ED8F19A
This is very exciting as uploading it there and getting it right was a bit scary for a newbie at this self-publishing business like me, so I’m delighted to find it was relatively easy to do and is now a finished product available in the Kindle store.
Now available on Kindle!!! Get your eversion today!
August 6, 2013
Not Going to Work Today
Not Going To Work Today, Nope!
I usually don’t rant on MY site. I save that stuff for ranting in the comments on YOUR sites. I would not want to appear unprofessional or undisciplined to my fans (both of them).
Today is different in so many ways. There are so many squirrels in my house and my head that I am feeling as if I should just have a nut fest and be done with it. Don’t ask me why I have been so terribly distracted. I really don’t know. All I know is that I have been and it’s been going on for about twelve hours. Here is what has been happening:
First, it was 12:00 midnight August 6th, and I was speaking with a dear friend, (I do have a few) Ionia Martin, about responsibilities. It occurred to me that I was supposed to go to work in the morning. I checked my work order. OMG, I have to be up at 4:00 am! I had looked at the calendar. The one that hangs on the wall in my study to keep me focused.
You see, I don’t work every day. I am a Registered Nurse and I do wellness screenings as an independent contractor. I am semi-retired (not making any major life or death decisions anymore for those who are worried). I pick up an occasional day here and there, but don’t have regular days or hours. I had myself scheduled to work for Summit Health at Flagler Construction, just about ten minutes from my house. Easy enough, right?
Last night, I printed out my work order, signed off of the computer and went about preparing for my work day. First, I couldn’t find my white shirt, the one I have to wear. It was not in my closet. It was not on the back of the chair where I toss my not so dirty clothes; it was not in a drawer. Next, I could not find my black pants. They were not in the closet. Then I remembered that they must be in the dryer. I checked the dryer and found my white shirt. Why was my white shirt in the dryer with my dark clothes and where were my pants? I hung up my white shirt and spent another half hour looking for my black pants. Finally, I decided I would wear a different, more uncomfortable pair. I undressed to take my shower. It is going on 1:00 am and I decide to wait until morning to take my shower. I pick up my housecoat from the top of the wardrobe, and there they are, my comfortable black pants. Whew!
I crawl into bed, knowing that I have to crawl out too soon. The alarm goes off! I get up and fix some coffee using the last of the creamer. I could have sworn I bought more coffee creamer. I make it into the shower and spend another thirty minutes drying my hair and getting out of the door.
Luckily, I made it to Flagler Construction on time with five minutes to spare. There is not a soul around. It is 6:00 am. The gate is locked, there are no cars in the lot, and the lights are off. I pick up the phone and call the Team Leader. No answer. I call the next number and reach a nice lady on the team, who is trying to get ready to go to work, somewhere else. She informs me that we aren’t scheduled for the job at Flagler for another week. We laugh at my stupidity and I turn the car around to take my sleep deprived butt back home.
Well, I was already awake, and my shoulder was hurting too bad to try to go to sleep. I popped a few Ibuprofen and poured myself a cup of coffee. Damn! Why didn’t I think to pick up some coffee creamer? I sipped the strong black coffee and started putting away the dry goods I had left out last night after making supper. I opened the pantry and there is the coffee creamer. You know, the “must be refrigerated” coffee creamer. I decide that I really need to eat some breakfast with this medicine on my stomach, right? I can’t find the cereal. I put the probably ruined coffee creamer in the fridge (surely there are enough preservatives in there to keep it from spoiling). After all, I just bought groceries yesterday. There, in the fridge, is the cereal. I have breakfast.
My husband gets up and I see him off to work. I am thinking, “You really should get a nap.” But my shoulder is hurting and I need a pain pill. I open the bottle and chase down a little white pill with the coffee. What the hell! Didn’t I just take Ibuprofen? What is this? I, the RN, read the label, “Daisy Nicholls, Prozac 20 mg.” (Yes, my dog is on Prozac..it’s for thunderstorm panic and it works.) Being a firm believer that Prozac should come in aerosol form, I retire to my room with my painful shoulder and try to get a nap. It worked. I slept for a couple of hours and woke up feeling rather refreshed…and happy!
This time next week, I shall be at work, at Flagler Construction, but for today I am off……way off. ~ S.K. Nicholls
Filed under: Short Stories, Uncategorized Tagged: coffee, memory loss, mornings, sleep deprivation, work
She touched the little box in her pocket and smiled...Prompt: Sea Treasure
Reblogged from The Community Storyboard:
She touched the little box in her pocket and smiled. Pushing it deep into her pocket, she wrapped the heavy coat around her against the winter. Kate had not worn that coat since February of last year. The last time was during the funeral, when Grandmother was laid to rest. At twenty years old, Kate had tried hard to stay strong, to not sob like a child.
Short story from Community Storyboard, a really cool place for writers to practice creative ideas.
August 5, 2013
Becket (Assistant to Anne Rice) Reviews St. Charles at Dusk
Reblogged from ...and then there was Sarah:
So, something incredibly cool happened to me this week. And its just Monday!
It started a few weeks ago when Becket, who is the endlessly interesting and endearing assistant of Anne Rice, posted on his page that he was interested in knowing what other indie authors were working on. He is getting ready to publish his own stories, and has been very supportive of the indie community as a whole.
This new Indie author really has it going on. I love her writing style and here is a particular review that says I am in good company. Read "St. Charles at Dusk" and follow that with "The Storm and the Darkness". I promise that you won't be disappointed. You can say, "I knew her before she became famous!" But you best hurry :)
August 4, 2013
What is Faction?
What is Faction?
No, I did not misspell the word fiction.
Faction: Webster
1: a party or group (as within a government) that is often contentious or self-seeking: clique
2: party spirit especially when marked by dissension.
I know, in literary terms, that tells the reader nothing.
Wikipedia, while not always the most reliable dictionary, often explains the definition of contemporary word usages that might not have become acceptable standards.
Faction: Wikipedia
1: Faction (literature), a type of historical novel rooted in fact.
A faction is a non-fiction novel.
The non-fiction novel is a literary genre which, broadly speaking, depicts real historical figures and actual events woven together with fictitious allegations and using the storytelling techniques of fiction. The non-fiction novel is an otherwise loosely defined and flexible genre. The genre is sometimes referred to as or faction, a portmanteau of “fact” and “fiction”.
Historical fiction, by definition, is a fictional story that is written about a time before the author’s birth.
All fiction, to some degree, is based on the author’s real life experiences as well as imagination and creativity. Fiction writers have often been called the world’s greatest liars. 
A non-fiction novel can be written about a historical event or real events in a person’s life or in the character’s lives. A non-fiction novel is less of a lie.
In the 1970s non-fiction novels were all the rage. Since the ’70s, the non-fiction novel has somewhat fallen out of favor. However, forms such as the extended essay, the memoir, and the biography (and autobiography) can explore similar territory. I would like to see a resurgence in popularity of the non-fiction novel as I have always been fond of “true stories” and the storytelling experience.
Norman Mailer‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning Armies of the Night is perhaps the most critically appreciated non-fiction novel, a narrative which is split into a history and a novel, and which autobiographically recounts the March on the Pentagon in 1967 from the third person.
In contrast, Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be empirically factual. Some non-fiction may include elements of unverified supposition, deduction, or imagination for the purpose of smoothing out a narrative, but the inclusion of open falsehoods would discredit it as a work of non-fiction. Some fiction may include non-fictional elements
The first line of my novel’s dedications and disclaimers page causes people to do a double take. This sentence states, “Inasmuch as this is a work of fiction based on a true story, references to real people, events, establishments, organizations or locales are intended only to provide the reader a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously.” How can it be fiction and be true?
My novel, Red Clay and Roses, is a non-fiction novel. The novel is faction. It is a fictional account of a true story. It is not historical fiction, by definition, because much of it occurred after the time of my birth. (Hey, I am not THAT old!) It is; however, a historical account of a true story which is written in the style and manner of fiction. Facts regarding what actually occurred have been imaginatively woven into the story. The events in the story are true events and the people are real people. Embellishments came in the form of dialog and additional narrative concerning people who are no longer living or people who were telling me about other people (ie. I could not ask them what they were thinking when this or that event occurred or how they would have reacted. I only had the storyteller’s information as it was related to me either years ago or through a third party.)
It is not an essay, a memoir or an autobiography. It is a story about the lives of real people during a time in history when the world was going through very dramatic changes. During this time, blacks (or any people of color) and women in the South had much fewer opportunities and suffered serious oppressions. Non-white men were seen as the enemy. This was the general undertone, although there were individual exceptions. Unconstitutional laws were repealed, but it took society a long time to respect the new law and to enforce it due to generations of indoctrination. In many ways, we still are not there yet. Times were even more drastically different in the 1950-60s and early 1970s.
Photo credit: Mr. Nussbaum.com
Jim Crow Law not only allowed for discrimination, it encouraged the bigotry in society. Blacks could not dine in the same restaurants as whites, drink from the same water fountains, utilize public transportation the same way, and attend white schools, or frequent public libraries or swimming pools. It was not simply discouraged for blacks and whites to mingle, it was against the law. It is difficult to imagine such times as these now.
Women were expected to be domestic, to stay home and cook, clean sew and serve.
Although WWII brought many women into the workforce, by the early fifties women were back into their traditional roles. Men had little involvement in the actual child-rearing process. Women also carried the brunt of reproductive rights and responsibilities, as they do for the most part today, Orders to pay child support were not enforced.
The book is set in small town USA, in a very real place, where the events truly did occur. The dialog and story narrative have been fabricated to some extent to allow for the fictional sense and feel of the read. There are embellishments to the extent that much of the story was based on old interviews, the stories of a few people, and the diaries of one individual.
I don’t know if my mini research paper has clarified or confused the reader further, but it is the best explanation I can come up with for my literary work and its design. The paperback with a slight revision of the first chapter will be available soon. ~ S. K. Nicholls
Filed under: My Novels, Writing, Publishing, & Marketing Tagged: faction, fiction, history, Red Clay and Roses, S. K. Nicholls, true stories
