Terry Odell's Blog, page 299

Friday Field Trip - Bellingham, WA

After the Emerald City conference, I spent a couple of days with a good friend (from back in our Jr. Hi days). She had to stop by a friend's house to return a book, and the place was spectacular, even though it was a gloomy, drizzly day. Their house overlooks Chukanut Bay, and the entire back wall was a huge panorama window. How would you like this view every day?Her friend, Art Caputi, was kind

Homicide - Hussey: Adventures in the Paranormal 1

I'm up to my eyeballs in revisions for a new project - that's all I can say right now. And since Halloween is fast approaching, I thought we'd revisit one of Homicide Detective Mark Hussey's posts - cops and haunted houses. Gotta love it. (This is Part 2 will air next week, so be sure to bookmark or follow the blog)Most cops, by the very nature of what they do, are stark realists. There's an

More on the Big E

I was going to continue Emerald City workshop recaps today, but decided to piggyback onto Pamela Loewy's post from yesterday, especially after a conversation with a couple we met while out to breakfast. The coffee shop is small, as is the community. We'd seen this couple in the shop many times, and finally made those introductions. During the getting acquainted phase, I mentioned I was a writer.

Brave New (Virtual) World

Romantic suspense author Pamela Loewy shares her thoughts about our new wired universe and the challenges it poses to writers, publishers and booksellers. She'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic as well. Welcome, Pamela!As a newly-published author facing the daunting proposition of marketing my book in our 21st century virtual landscape, I've been thinking a lot about the future of books

When Your Characters Aren't Talking

What I'm reading: Play Dead, by Harlan CobenAnd, once again, because this is my blog and because I can, I want to share an email I got from my friend. I'd visited her after the Emerald City Conference, and she was kind enough to buy a few of my books to give as gifts to her friends. This is what she wrote about a friend she'd given NOWHERE TO HIDE: My friend was falling asleep while we were out

Bonus Pictures

I went outside to enjoy the great weather and found we had a few visitors. Note: this was my little point and shoot; the doe likes her ears scratched, so she'll approach. Her kids aren't quite so sure about actual contact, but they're curious.

Friday Field Trip - Seasons change

Yesterday, I received an email from someone who follows my blog AND used to live in this neighborhood. She was kind enough to send along some of her pictures, taken from the deck of her home, so I'm sharing them with you. I've also got a few shots taken Monday morning when the weather did a rapid turnaround. We haven't had any visitors like this next one, which was taken on her deck in 2004.And,

Technical Difficulties

According to my preview, there's an embedded video about School Pride in today's post. However, in 'real time' it doesn't seem to be there. Might be a browser issue. If I can find the error and fix it, I will. Meanwhile, you can go here

Emerald City 2 and School Pride

Not long ago, my guest, Tom Stroup, talked about his involvement with the School Pride project. It debuts tomorrow night on NBC, and I encourage you to check your local listings, and if you can't watch, set your recorders. It's gratifying to see people giving back instead of taking for a change. And, for more of my Emerald City recaps....The Core Idea for Your Book, and Conflict, the Fuel of Your

Emerald City Part 1

Thanks to Gerrie for yesterday's post. Writing seems to be something inside us, and we're going to do it no matter what.After wrapping up notes from the Writers' Police Academy, it's time to plunge into recapping workshops from the Emerald City Conference. The first workshop I attended was about writing emotionally gripping scenes, given by Margie Lawson.First, it's important to understand that