M.J. Compton's Blog, page 70

SoL Sunday: My Introduction to the Bogeyman.

Do you remember the first time you ever heard of the Bogeyman?

I do. My mom had asked me to run down to the cellar and make sure the door to the hatch was locked. I didn’t want to do it. The cellar was dark, dank, spooky. The hatch was even worse. And there were spiders.

My older cousin was staying with us at the time, and she said, “What’s the matter? Do you think the Bogeyman is going to get you?” I had no idea what she was talking about, so she explained.

That made my trip to the cellar and the hatch so much more . . . memorable.

WIP Wednesday: Prepping for the New Year Part 1

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I do set goals every year. My best friends, my writing peeps (a.k.a. The Purples), and I have been doing goals together since 2005. We even gave a workshop on goal-setting to our local chapter in October of last year.

I first started seriously thinking about goals–specifically writing goals, but all goals–after attending then listening to a workshop by Barbara Samuel at the RWA National Conference in 2004. It seemed appropriate to run into her when thinking about my goals for 2015. I found this blog by her shortly before Thanksgiving.

I shared the link with the Purples. One Purple friend shared this link. And this one. Another Purple shared this. And another link showed up on our e-mail loop.

I think the recurring theme in most of these shared blogs is that we’re all feeling overwhelmed. We’re juggling too many roles. The demands on our time are increasing and any support systems seems to be vanishing. I once read a book–I thought I’d written down the quote, but I can’t seem to find it–in which the author wrote, “If one more person tells me to get up an hour earlier to do whatever they think I should do–eventually, I will never get to bed.”

We are too demanding of ourselves when we set our goals. We need to take a step back and take a deep breath.. Setting our goals needs to be rooted in reality–our reality, with our families, our homes, our day jobs, our spiritual communities, and other obligations.. We need to create realistic expectations for ourselves, and the number one goal should be, “Say No.”  Our goals need to be grounded in truth, not fantasy. One person can do only so much.

 

 

 

Reading By The Season: December

There are certain books I re-read at certain times of the year. There’s just something about the stories that suit my mood for that season.

Every December, I re-read Silver Lining by Maggie Osborne. My paperback copy is in tatters. The Kindle edition is on my wish list.

The heroine of the story is a woman alone in the 1800’s, who could have made her living on her back, as the preacher reminds the hero after their “forced” marriage, but instead worked all kinds of jobs to support herself. Her varied careers give her more insight into what makes the hero tick than he has into her. It takes his mother to point out certain home truths about his unwanted wife to the hero. There’s a perfect villain and a wonderful cast of secondary characters.

The reason I read this book in December is because of the Christmas scene. The heroine had never had a family. She’d never had a Christmas: “…she was positive that her first Christmas Eve with a real family would be the best evening of her whole life.” The hero’s family works together to give her a Christmas to remember. “Tonight was the most wonderful, the most beautiful, the absolute best evening of my life!”  It’s a turning point scene in the book. I shed a few tears every time I read it.

Do you have a favorite holiday story?

 

WIP Wednesday: My Newsletter

When I sold my first book, a friend suggested I start a Mail Chimp account right away. Mail Chimp is a popular newsletter program. It’s free. It’s easy to use. So I signed up for an account and put a “Subscribe to my Newsletter” tab on my Facebook author page. There is also a spot to sign up here on my website–far right column, scroll down a bit.

And that’s where I stalled. With the pending publication of my second book (and some other exciting prospects in the works), when I saw an on-line class for Mail Chimp, I immediately signed up. I finished the class earlier this month. If nothing else, I now have a better sense of what I want to accomplish with my newsletter. And, in my usual fashion, I know more about what I don’t want than what I do want.

So Issue One of the Comptonplations™ Newsletter is now a work in progress. I plan to issue it the first week of February. There will be exclusive newsletter subscriber content. There will be a list of places where I’m guest blogging, and the topics I’ll be covering. I will issue a newsletter only when I have something news-worthy to announce. I think this will be fun!

From Pool to Haven: Part 6

This past week sealed it: the back yard project is officially on hiatus until spring.

 

WIP WEDNESDAY: Acrobatics of Being An Author

According to Wikipedia, acrobatics  is “the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts as well as in many sports (sporting) events, and martial arts. Acrobatics is most often associated with activities that make extensive use of gymnastic elements, such as acro dance, circus, and gymnastics, but many other athletic activities — such as ballet and diving — may also employ acrobatics. Although acrobatics is most commonly associated with human body performance, it may also apply to other types of performance, such as aerobatics.”

Really? Clearly the creator of this so-called “definition” was never a mom who works a full-time day job and is trying to pursue a career as a published author. More than ever before, being an author also includes being one’s own agent and publicity/PR guru. Oh, and sometimes there are freelance editing jobs. Let’s not forget active involvement in  a local RWA chapter. Having so much on the plate goes far beyond mere juggling. And none of this includes life: cooking; cleaning; grocery shopping; spirituality/religious obligations; exercise. I don’t know what I would do if my children were still living at home and needing all the extra-curricular stuff that consumed my time for so many years.  No wonder I’m tired. No wonder I have trouble finding time to actually write.

A writer’s life is truly an example of extraordinary feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Maybe  it should be an Olympic event.

Slice of Life Sunday: Movie Review-Authors Anonymous

I reserved the movie Authors Anonymous from my library after someone recommended it. The plot sounded amusing. I’m in a writing group. I’m always looking for a good flick.

The story started out cute, a mock-umentary of sorts, and I thought I would enjoy the movie. But almost immediately, the alleged heroine wasn’t likable. She never went to college. I don’t see that as a problem. But she couldn’t name a favorite author. She couldn’t name any author. Throughout the entire movie. She’d never read a book, yet she was a writer and became extremely successful during the course of the story. She’d never even heard of Fitzgerald or Hemingway. Because she’d never been to college.

EXCEPT: I read Fitzgerald and Hemingway in high school. I went to a small, rural public school, not a posh, private school for exceptional students. We read The Great Gatsby, The Old Man and the Sea, and several other books/authors mentioned in the movie.

I really didn’t like the portrayal of successful authors as ignorant. Authors read other authors. Even the prolific Nora Roberts says, “I don’t think you can write — at least not well — if you don’t love stories, love the written word. One of my greatest pleasures is falling into a story someone else has written.”

The other female in the writing group couldn’t pronounce anyone’s name.  She was trying to come off as smarter than she was, and it didn’t work for her.

The only redeeming quality in the movie was the realistic portrayal of vanity publishing.

This movie may have been directed by a woman, but the underlying misogyny of the writer and his jealousy of the romance genre were first and forefront.

One star.

WIP Wednesday-The Re-Launch

I’m going to be restructuring WIP Wednesday after the first of the year, with a guest author only once per month.

I’ve had so much fun meeting a variety of writers, most of whom I would love to hang out with, sipping wine, listening to great music, and talking about our favorite TV shows from the past.

I’d like to thank everyone who participated by taking the time to answer my questions as I tried to find a unique twist to the author interview. Hope you all had as much fun as I did.

WIP Wednesday will continue every Wednesday, but I’ll be talking about my own Work In Progress on the dates I don’t have a guest scheduled. I do have some wonderful authors lined up–and a list of others I plan to reach out to. I do hope you’ll continue to join me here every Wednesday.

Slice of Life Sunday: Pool to Haven Pt 5

Apparently one of my neighbor’s father was selling plants out of the back of his pickup. My landscaper bought a bunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My landscaper also moved some stone.

Then it started raining. Almost daily. For weeks. So here we sit.

WIP Wednesday: Taryn Elliott

Today I’m delighted to host author Taryn Elliott for Work In Progress Wednesday. Taryn, what are your top three dream destinations and why?

TE: Hawaii – hello…it’s Hawaii. Ireland – went once and wanted to immediately figure out a way to live there forever. San Francisco – I’ve been completely intrigued by that city for years.

MJ: What is the top book on your TBR pile?

TE: PRISONER – Skye Warren & Annika Martin.

MJ: If you didn’t write, what would be your creative outlet?

TE: #1 would be graphics and design, but since I actually get to do that because of writing…I’ll say jewelry design. I used to love to do it, but there never seemed to be a decent return on it for selling my work.

MJ: Name one thing you won’t leave home without.

TE: Hair tie – I have wild, long hair and I’m always sticking it up.

MJ: What do you normally eat for breakfast, or do you skip it and get straight to work?

TE: Depends on my level of sleep deprivation. I normally like a little sausage egg and cheese scramble.

MJ: Describe your ideal/dream writing space.

TE: A tower with one big, circular desk that I can have all set up for writing, research and design. And the perfect chair that is made for me and my shortness. LOL!

MJ: Name 3 things on your desk right now.

TE: Charger for my phone, Bose speakers for my tunes, and about 5 fruit snack wrappers.

MJ: Do you listen to music when you write? Explain.

TE: YES!! I make a Spotify playlist for every story.

MJ: Do you collage your story before writing? Explain.

TE: Yes, I have a Pinterest board for all my books. All my chars have pix and clothes and setting pictures. As well as a few inspirational ones. Ahem.

MJ: I know what that Ahem means. What do you love most about your WIP hero?

TE: Logan King has an amazing capacity to love – even with all the trouble following him around, he is falling hard for Izzy. I love that protective instinct in him.

MJ: What genre is your current WIP?

TE: Sexy Romantic Suspense.

MJ: How did you chose the setting for your current WIP?

TE: I love upstate NY. But I have a crap sense of direction – so I didn’t want to make any mistakes. So I created my town and have allllll of the control. Muahaha.

MJ: LOL! Okay, now it’s time for the lightning round! Addams Family or The Munsters?

TE: Addams Family

MJ: Stephanie Plum or Eve Dallas?

TE: Eve Dallas!!!!

MJ: Favorite TV show?

TE: Supernatural

MJ: Favorite band when you were in high school (Marching band doesn’t count)?

TE: Def Leopard.

MJ: Coke or Pepsi?

TE: Pepsi Max.

MJ: Favorite ethnic food?

TE: Italian.

MJ: Now, can you share the first few lines of your current work in progress?

TE:  I literally have just started the plotting on book 2; Bulletproof Weeks.

MJ: Great title! And you just had a book come out last week –where can readers find it?

TE: Anything But Mine is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks.

MJ: And how can readers stay current with what you’re up to?

TE: My website/blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Goodreads.

MJ: Thanks for joining me today, Taryn, and good luck with sales!