Emilie Richards's Blog, page 71

Sunday Inspiration: Sexy Men?

From the beginning of time, men have been scratching their heads about what women want in a man.

Of course, they could have asked us, and we could have told them.

Now all they have to do is read the latest study revealing that what women find most sexy about a man is … kindness.

Yes, good looks do help, but when put side by side, kindness, compassion, and altruism are the clear winners in sexiness.

Any surprises here? I don’t think so. Though self-absorbed “bad boys” might be a one-night-stand fantasy for some women, when looking for a long-term loving relationship, we want men who are conscious of the world outside of themselves and sensitive to the struggle of others and willing to reach out and help those who them.

These are the sexy men I like to read about and write about: men who believe in the words of Aesop that, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

Who is the sexiest man in literature? Ask yourself why.

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KiBITz and Pieces

Okay, did you notice I forgot to blog last Wednesday? Wait, don’t tell me. Some things are better left unsaid.

The Explanation Bit: Quite honestly I didn’t realize that I hadn’t blogged until Thursday afternoon when I was exploring architectural salvage warehouses with friends and putting lots of steps on my FitBIT. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday, my normal blogging days, happily digging into the engrossing lives of my new characters instead. In fact I’ve now written what amounts to fifty pages of my main character’s autobiography. And that’s just for starters.

The Tantalizing Bit: While I write these autobiographies for myself, sometimes it’s fun to share them with you. So beginning in early May I’m happy to say I’ll be blogging tidBITs from the first person stories of the three major characters in When We Were Sisters, accompanied by snippets of the book and photos of my characters–or at least the way I see them. They have insisted, and who am I to argue?

The Tantalizing Bit’s Sidekick: And before that? Well, on April 21st I have some fabulous photos to share with you relating to When We Were Sisters. I don’t want to say more, but this is a coordinated event with my publisher, and I really am excited. That’s a Thursday, by the way, but I’ll remind you on Wednesday the 20th to tune back in.

So while we’re kiBITzing today? More things you might like to know:

The Fun Bit: About that field trip to the salvage store? I only bought a cigar box, but it’s a very cool cigar box from Cuba and I’m sure it has a story to tell. The trip was, in a way, research for the new book as well as a chance to hang out with good friends. Want a hint about that book? One of the characters spends a lot of time looking through stores just like this one.

The Organizational Bit: Some of you on my email list may have gotten an email yesterday asking you to respond if you want to stay there. My provider filtered for readers who have not opened an email in over a year so I could clean up my list. Judging by the flood of responses, many of you DO open emails and want to stay. If you’re among them, please be sure to respond to that email this week–or use the form under contact at my website–to let me know. Just put “stay” in the subject line or be creative. If you are removed and don’t want to be, you can sign up again here. Be sure to fill out all the fields because when I choose a monthly winner for an autographed book or gift card, I must have your name and city.

The Free Book Bit: From Glowing Embers, first book in my Tales of the Pacific series is now free at all online bookstores. This is the ebook. At this time there’s no print novel to go with it. I advertised the new free price in the BookBub newsletter and got a gazillion downloads, plus lots of interest in the remaining three books, so that was fun. All four of these were filmed as movies of the week in Germany. They’re still being shown, but not in English. The book will remain free, so download at your leisure and enjoy if you’re interested.

The Final Bit: Don’t forget that if you don’t want to miss reading any of my blogs then you can sign up to have them delivered straight to your email inbox. The sign-up is on the top right under “Subscribe to Blog Via Email.”

**My bookstore links in this post go either to iBooks or Amazon, where I am an affiliate, which means I earn a smidgen if you buy through that link. Other bookstore options are listed at my website for every novel, and I encourage you to buy at your local bookstore first. Keep them open!

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Sunday Inspiration: A Daring Adventure

Just to be alive is an adventure, but shouldn’t life be more than that, shouldn’t it be a daring adventure?

Many of us thought about Helen Keller and her inspiring story this week when we learned that actress Patty Duke had died. Remember The Miracle Worker? Remember watching the movie or perhaps the play and wondering what life must have been like for that child, or later for the woman Helen Keller whose own life adventure was daring and stunning in a way we rarely think about adventure.

We don’t have to be mountain climbers or race car drivers for life to be a daring adventure — though that works for some. We can be adventurous in creating loving relationships, in raising beautiful children, in doing well at our jobs or our lives, or even in our spirituality. Patty Duke herself was adventurous in sharing her own personal experiences with bipolar disorder and working hard for mental health causes.

To be daring is to risk stepping beyond our comfort zones with the hope we can discover something new about the world and ourselves. Sometimes we might fall flat on our faces — that’s what risk means — but then we can get right back up and try again.

For me writing is a daring adventure. I may not leave my desk — though I do love poking around in different locations for my research. But my imagination takes me to amazing places where I can try, through the lives and exploits of my characters, brand new possibilities.

What daring adventures do you have planned for the rest of your life? What adventures are behind you? I think we should take a moment and count the ones we’ve already lived or are living right now. It’s okay to be proud of ourselves. After all, isn’t learning to be proud part of the adventure?

 

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Sunday Inspiration: The Messiah Is One of You

Happy Easter to all of you.

A favorite Easter story for me is “The Rabbi’s Gift” by M. Scott Peck. A monastery is dying, it’s five monks aging and dispirited, the buildings falling into disrepair, the grounds overgrown and unappealing, when a rabbi from a nearby hermitage shows up. When the abbot asks the rabbi if he has any advice on how to restore the monastery, the rabbi replies, “No, I am sorry. I have no advice to give. The only thing I can tell you is that the Messiah is one of you.”

When the abbot shares this information with his fellow monks, they are all deeply puzzled. What does he mean, “The Messiah is one of you.” Who could it be? Could it be the abbot? Could it be one of the monks? Could it be me?

Gradually the monks begin to see each other and themselves with new eyes. With the possibility that the person beside them could be the Messiah, their grumpiness becomes graciousness. They treat each other with greater respect and kindness. Smiles appear on their faces and laughter echos through the halls.

As their spirits renew and flourish, so do the gardens, and townspeople begin to visit once again. Sensing this inspiring energy, young men join the monastery and the buildings are repaired. Thanks to the rabbi’s gift, the monastery becomes a spiritual center once again.

Easter is a time of hope and renewal. As we celebrate, why not consider the possibility that the Messiah, the Christ, the Buddha, God herself is within each of us no matter our religion or politics or nationality. When we can truly see and sense that, then we will be the person I think we were meant to be.

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What’s In A Name?

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)
So what’s in a name and why does it matter to a novelist? Remember that third grade substitute teacher who pronounced yours incorrectly? Or how about the playground bully who always called you Bucky or Stretch? How about that delectable boy–or girl–in high school? Didn’t you die a little every time he or she had to ask your name, even though you’d met half a dozen times before?

If you think hard enough you’ll remember why the theme song from the television show Cheers made such an impact. “Where everybody knows your name.” Where everybody knows who you are and connects it to that word by which we recognize and affirm you.

What’s in a name? Wow!

Names came up this weekend on my author Facebook page. I realized as I was working on my new book that when I changed my heroine’s name to one beginning with “L” I hadn’t factored in another more minor character whose name also began with an “L.” Lester, a man in his late sixties or early seventies, is a country clubber, politically conservative, wealthy, demanding, and a stickler for appearances, Now I had to change it.

Why?

Great question, I’m glad you got this far.

Through the years I’ve learned a lot about naming characters. Here are some of the highlights:

Names should be easily distinguishable from each other. For example most of the time no two names should begin with the same letter.
The most common names are the easiest to forget. 
Choose a name that’s ethnically and regionally appropriate, or explain why not. 
Choose a name that’s acceptable if not overly common for an era.
Use nicknames that explain themselves, or if not, make the explanation part of the character’s story.
Avoid names already used for major characters in my 70+ novels.
Consider carefully before choosing a name that is easily associated with a famous character. Example: Linus or Atticus.
When all the above have been taken into consideration, choose a name that “feels” like the character.

So what does a character “feel like,” you ask? That’s impossible to explain. But until MY characters have names, I can’t feel them at all. So it’s a two-way process. I get a vague sense of the person I’m creating, then I find a name, then the name and the character together begin to solidify.

I decided to ask my Facebook readers for their suggestions. There were so many! I whittled down their list to 20+ which I’m still considering. Along the way, though, a few readers took issue with my choice of “Lester.” Lester, they pointed out, was a name from a different generation than my character. Nobody was called Lester in the 40s when he was born. I should call my character Tom, Steve, Doug–there actually is a Baby Boomer Douglas in this story–or something more common for a Baby Boomer of that era.

That, of course, hearkens back to my second point above. Names must be easy to remember. Some names blend into the page. They are so common they disappear, and readers can’t remember who they are. I try to avoid those.

So a few more points:

Don’t forget that names are passed down through generations. That boy you knew as Tim might have a birth certificate that reads Osborne Timothy Smith III. 
Sometimes people go by names that have nothing to do with their birth certificates. I had a beloved aunt I called Ronnie all my life. Her real name was Laura. My father-in-law was often called Sid because he looked like Sid Caesar. 
Names of people you know well should be used with caution.

For an author, after all that it really does come down to “feels like.”

What’s in a name? The recognition that this person and this word have merged and forever after we will not think of either without the other.

By the way? What names from my Facebook Page made the cut? Why not weigh in if you have a favorite. I’ll let you know what I decide:

Chester, Walter, Wallace, Ken, Vincent, Vance, Herb, Hank, Van, Wyatt, Archie, Forrest, Chet, Mitch, Ozzie, Brad, Howard, Vaughn, Harold, Reggie, Preston, Herman, Dennis, Malcolm, Roger, Boyd, Bernard, Vance.

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Sunday Inspiration: When did you stop singing?

“In many shamantic societies, if you came to a medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions: ‘When did you stop dancing? When did you stop singing? When did you stop being enchanted by stories? When did you stop being comforted by the sweet territory of silence?'” – Gabrielle Roth

It’s certainly natural to feel disheartened from time to time, but too often the remedy that people seek is in a bottle — whether alcohol or drugs or medication — instead of following the advice of a wise shaman, sensitive clergy, helpful therapist or caring friend to seek and promote healing within ourselves.

When did you stop singing?

Not always, but frequently the best way to dispel our inner demons is not to run away but to live more deeply: to dance, to sing, to read (my personal favorite), and to surround ourselves with silence. Our bodies naturally seem to want to follow this path, but our minds often block it with guilt, fear, and shame.

Of course serious depression needs serious intervention from a professional. But if you’re feeling a little low, a little too worried or overburdened, I encourage you to follow this ancient prescription for happiness and health: dance, sing, read (and listen), find harbors of silence.

Give yourself time and permission. Let your spirit rise.

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What Readers Think: My Interview with Nancy Lepri

I am always interested in what readers think about my books but also books in general. What appeals and what doesn’t? What matters in a novel? What makes a book a wall-banger?  What makes it a keeper?

I asked some of my most loyal readers, my Krewe of Review, what they thought about conducting reader interviews monthly here at Southern Exposure, and they were enthusiastic. Nancy Lepri was my first volunteer, and what a great one. Nancy has authored children’s books, reviews regularly, and reads voraciously. She was perfect to be my first.

Without further comment, I give you Nancy in her own words. I know you’ll enjoy getting to know her, as I did.

Nancy Lepri was born and raised in Massachusetts, though she has lived in FL and LA, finally settling in NC. Married for almost 45 years, she has a married daughter and very spoiled cat. Nancy holds an AA degree in Visual Art from Cape Cod Community College and a BA in Liberal Studies with a concentration in writing from Western New England College as well as a Certificate in Editing from Cape Fear Community College.

Working as a freelance reporter for local newspapers, magazines, and two international food-industry trade publications, Nancy has authored and illustrated two children’s chapter books and illustrated many others.

Semi-retired, Nancy occasionally accepts editing jobs, but her main love is reading. She pens reviews for ReaderToReader.com and New York Journal of Books and especially enjoys reading contemporary women’s fiction. Her favorite authors are Emilie Richards, Dorothea Benton Frank, Claire Cook, Jody Picoult, Anne Rivers Siddons, and Debbie Macomber. Her second favorite genre is mystery and horror and the works of Dean Koontz, Stephen King.

See what I mean about a natural for my first interview?

I decided we needed some fun questions, which will change with each interview so no one will have a chance to slave over answers ahead of time. Here we go.

1–You’ve been stranded on a deserted island. Luckily you find three novels in a trunk, Dan Brown’s sequel to The DaVinci Code, the first book in a brand new series by a romance superstar, and a new find from Harper Lee, which documents Atticus Finch’s boyhood. What order would you read them in and why?

I would probably read Harper Lee first because I thoroughly enjoyed “To Kill a Mockingbird.”However, if I am stranded on a deserted island I’d read them all because I always need something to read. 

Don’t we all? And wouldn’t yet another Harper Lee novel be something you’d be dying to share? Hope that boat rescues you soon, Nancy, so you can tell the world.

2–Design your ideal book club and its participants.

My ideal book club would include women my age. This way we would more or less choose the same genre and titles. We would much lot in common and being senior citizens, and we’d be more apt to discuss the books and authors than talk about our children or husbands.

Just so you know, I’ll expect an invitation, but you have to move to Florida.

3–What makes you stop reading a book forever? Even toss it against the wall?

There is one author I loved when she was first published. I will not mention her name, but I feel her writing has become sloppier. About ten years ago I got her newest release as a gift. The sentences were paragraphs long and almost all of them began with “And” or “But.” I know how difficult it is to have a publisher accept your work and to submit the “perfect” manuscript. A college professor once said, “Writing is easy, it’s the rewriting and rewriting, that’s difficult.” Well said, in my opinion. This author is well known and even if I had nothing to read but cereal boxes, I’d pick them over her novels. And, by the way, that last book of hers I started to read, I DID toss it against the wall.

Ouch. It sounds like her “rewriting time” was minimal at best.

4–What character from a novel had the biggest impact on your life?

That is so difficult to answer because there are so many books I have read that have impacted my life in different ways. I just finished one for review, which isn’t due to be released until July, so I won’t name the title. The protagonist is a woman who lost her husband, her home, just about everything. She needs to start over and moves to a small town where some local women welcome her with open arms. These types of stories of women facing difficult challenges and being befriended by others who also share or have shared difficulties are the types of books that impact my life. They prove that women do not have to be controlled by their fears and insecurities for they can succeed to become whomever they want.

I hope you’ll come back in July and share this title with us so readers here can give it a chance. I think everyone who stops by Southern Exposure is always looking for another good book.

Again many thanks to Nancy for taking the time to tell us what readers think. I learned a few things about what to include in these interviews, and she was a good sport from beginning to end.

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Sunday Inspiration: The Color of Light, Traffic Cops and Fairy Godmothers

I must have the best job in the world.

As exasperating as publishing can be, I am always aware how lucky I am to be able to pursue everything that interests me and spend months exploring, probing and recounting what I learn along the way. But few books required as much reflection as The Color of Light, which was released in August of last year.

This week I was reminded of Analiese Wagner, the major character of The Color of Light, when the audio narrator, Karen White, and I each decided to give away a CD copy of the book.  The Color of Light isn’t the first book I’ve written about a minister, and each one has made me think more deeply about what I think and believe. But this book was special because the minister is a woman coping with the day to day crises of a church and her own personal life. Along the way she is introduced to fourteen year old Shiloh Fowler, who with her family comes to live in an apartment in the parish house.

Do you remember when you were fourteen? Do you remember trying to make sense of the world, of the bits and pieces of theology you’d picked up along the way, of the disparity between the rich and the poor, the blessed and the damned, the believers and the doubters?

You don’t have to be fourteen to have doubts when your world falls apart. I felt lucky to explore those moments in the following exchange. I hope you’ll enjoy another look at it.

“And my dad?” Here her voice thickened, as if the words were harder to push out. “He had a good life, and he did good things for other people. Then everything fell apart and suddenly we needed good things done for us, only everybody was trying to move away, or grab whatever jobs were left. And nobody was left to help us.”

“That certainly doesn’t seem fair.”

“Do you think God made that happen?”

Analiese knew her answer was important. “I don’t think it helps to imagine God as a traffic cop. This person gets to go, this person has to sit at the light, this person has to pull over so God can give her a ticket. I don’t think it’s like that.”

“Then what’s the point of praying?”

“We can ask for guidance and strength, and I really believe we receive them. But I don’t believe God just steps in to change the world to suit us.”

“When you say things like that you don’t sound like a minister.”

Analiese made a turn on to a busy highway. “You aren’t the first person to think so.”

Shiloh was silent so long Analiese thought the subject had ended, but just before they got to the church she looked at Analiese again. “If what you say is true, I have to change my bedtime prayer.”

“Not if you feel God’s listening the way you say it now.”

“Not that much.”

Analiese sent her a smile. “Then try asking for patience and maybe strength to get you through this difficult time.”

“I want more than patience. I want to know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Then you have to be willing to listen for an answer.”

“How do you know when you get one?”

“That’s tough. I imagine it’s different for everybody. I feel things settle into place inside me. I feel calmer, like I’ve found a good path.”

“Do you get answers right away?”

“Sometimes I don’t even want them because they aren’t the answers I’m hoping for. So I don’t listen.”

“I kind of liked thinking of God as my fairy godmother.”

“That would be fabulous, wouldn’t it? Especially if it worked.”

Like Analiese, I don’t believe in a God who is a traffic cop or a fairy Godmother. I do find strength and patience through prayer, an immeasurable gift. What do you find when you pray? And if you do pray for something special, are you willing to listen for an answer?

I loved thinking about this. I hope you do, too.

Karen’s giveaway ends today, and mine ends on the 16th. So enter while you can for a chance to win The Color of Light and hear Karen’s beautiful rendition of Analiese’s story.

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Book Giveaways. What’s the Point?

“But you’re too generous,” a reader says in an email about my latest book giveaways. “Why give away what readers should buy?”

To understand my fascination with book giveaways let me show you just one of my closets. There’s another in my study that’s worse. Then there’s a tall queen bed with boxes of books stored underneath. Every time I publish a novel my publisher sends me fifty copies with which I can do anything I want except sell. And every time the same book is reissued I get another 50 copies of the newer version.

Of course there are also the multiple copies in languages I can’t read.

Through the years I’ve gotten better about finding uses for my author copies. Reviewers and booksellers, not to mention libraries, often receive my extras. When I lived in Cleveland copies went into the attic for insulation. In Northern VA I was confident we could use them to filter fallout in case of a nuclear attack. I am nothing if not resourceful.

My favorite use, however is as “gifts” to my readers, often in the form of giveaways.

This week I’m not the only one giving away my novels. My publisher is sponsoring a twenty book giveaway on Goodreads for When We Were Sisters.* Twenty books is huge. What a great idea. These are uncorrected proofs, also known as Advanced Reader Copies. The cover is much the same as the one that will appear at bookstores on June 1st. The novel itself is the unedited version that went to my publisher. Some small changes have been made. The most interesting is the way I changed a minor character’s name halfway through the manuscript. Of course my editor caught that and only the winners of the Goodreads giveaway and my Review Krewe–who received copies from me–will ever know who it was.

Right now over 800 people have entered the giveaway, but you never know where lightning will strike, so enter before March 29th for your own chance to win. And then try the next one.

Karen White, delightful narrator of all my Goddesses books, is giving away one CD version of The Color of Light to a lucky winner. All the details are at Karen’s site. And generous soul that she is, she has made sure that anyone entering will need to visit the Asheville page at my website in order to comment and enter. Deadline is March 13th so get busy. Thank you Karen. A lovely idea.

And because it was so lovely, I decided to do exactly the same. So I am giving away one CD version of The Color of Light, too. In order to enter the giveaway, you must visit Karen’s website and click on her impressive audiography. Just choose one book that Karen has recorded that you would like to listen to someday–not one of mine because that’s too easy–and email me here to let me know which book you put on your wish list.  Of course you don’t have to buy the book you choose, although nobody will fault you if you do. The deadline for this giveaway is March 16.

More details on my website giveaway page.

Three book giveaways. And, of course, if you subscribe to my newsletter you know I give away a book each month to one lucky reader.

Does this mean that readers no longer have to buy my books? Of course not. But we all need a little fun, right? And authors need to get the word out about their books. If we can do both of these things together, how cool is that?

*I am an Amazon Associate and if I link to a page at Amazon and you buy, I get a small commission. But remember you can find my books anywhere and all the online bookstores are listed at my book pages.

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Sunday Inspiration: The World Is Our Teacher

**With thanks to Michael, Emilie’s husband and UU minister, for today’s Sunday Inspiration.

I saw this quote a couple of weeks ago, and it stuck in my head. I can’t remember where I saw it or even who said it. But the words are so wise. Yes, the world is our teacher — IF we pay attention.

What an inspirational idea this is, that we can learn from everything we encounter, whether it’s the people we love or the people we don’t, whether it’s a grand vista from a mountaintop or a tree in our backyard. Whether it’s a beautiful concert or sitting quietly and listening to the waves on a beach.

As a minister I learned to pay attention to the world around me to find sermons. Emilie learned as an author to pay attention to the world around her because there are ideas for stories everywhere. But there are so many other lessons to be learned.

How do we pay attention?

First, we need to pause. Sometimes we need to stop the world, stop the merry-go-round for just a little while so that we can find space and time for solitude.

Then we need to be present, to open our eyes and other senses as well as our imagination and curiosity so that we can see what we usually don’t notice, and listen to what we usually don’t hear and feel what we usually push away. Remember when our teachers would take roll. When our names were called, we would say, “Present!” To be present means to live fully in the moment, aware of the miracle of existence.

Finally, we need to let ourselves grow through everything we’ve learned, to resist the fear of change.

As I write these words, I’m sitting on our lanai gazing out over our pond and the cypress and pines and oaks beyond, a Great Blue Heron swallowing a huge fish as our neighborhood alligator looks on, ibis feeding in the marsh, a hawk swooping through the trees, a brilliant blue sky. I’m fortunate to have so many beautiful teachers around me, but I’ve also been taught by the faces of hungry children, cries of despair, and my own grief.

There are so many teachers and so much to learn. What have you noticed today that taught you something new that will enrich your life?

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