Terry Odell's Blog, page 36
November 3, 2022
Do You NaNo?
Many people are using the month of November to crank out 50,000 words of a novel during NaNoWriMo. I thought about it this year, since I need about 50,000 more words to finish the novel I’m working on, especially since my editor has given me her availability as early January. If I cranked out those 50K words in November, that would give me plenty of time to edit and revise.
Yet I chose not to participate. Why? I gave NaNo a shot back in 2014, and although I “won,” I discovered it’s ...
October 30, 2022
Alexa’s Questions
I have an Echo Show. It sits across the room where I can see it, but only if I make the effort and turn to look at it. Every now and then, in addition to recipes, jokes, riddles, the weather, and music suggestions, Alexa poses a question which apparently it thinks I should want to know the answer to. Here are some I’ve made a note of over the past few months.
Who is the oldest person?Who is the coach for the Lakers?What’s the population of New Orleans?Who discovered penici...October 27, 2022
Mistakes Can Be Good
Mistakes Can Be Good
When I was in LA arranging to get Mom’s house on the market, I had the opportunity to talk to several real estate agents. Since you take research opportunities when and where you find them, I posed a couple of questions that related to the current WIP, since Gordon and Angie are in the process of finding a new house.
Their answers didn’t match completely, but I would have been surprised if they’d had firsthand experience with the questions I asked. When I got home, I did so...
October 26, 2022
Photography and Writing
I’m talking about revisiting and relearning photography, something I used to do as a hobby. Times have changed, and so have techniques. Pop over to The Kill Zone and get my take.
The post Photography and Writing appeared first on Terry Odell.
October 23, 2022
New Mexico
If you’ve followed this blog for the last couple of weeks, you know I was away on a photo tour in Santa Fe and Taos. Since it was a photo tour, how about some pictures? Our instructions were to move in close, focus on details.
Now Available: Cruising Undercover
It’s supposed to be a simple assignment aboard a luxury yacht, but soon, he’s in over his head.
The post New Mexico appeared first on Terry Odell.
October 18, 2022
Creativity Outlets
Being able to have a ‘backup’ creativity outlet can help when—for whatever reason—your main focus hits a roadblock. I got started in writing when I ran out of room on my walls for needlepoint.
As readers of my books know, there are several with specific references to photography. It’s a hobby I took up “back in the day” (black and white film, home darkroom), but abandoned other than pictures of the kids and occasional trip. Until relatively recently. My son’s business includes...
October 16, 2022
A New Way to Fight Spam?
Recently, I participated in a BookSweeps promotion in order to garner some new subscribers to my newsletter. People enter to win a collection of books, and the grand prize winner also wins an e-reader. Although I know going in that a lot of people who checked the ‘subscribe’ box next to my name are going to unsubscribe, I’m still looking to expand my reach, and this is one more way to do so.
Once the promotion is finished, I get a list of everyone who chose to receive my...
October 13, 2022
Train Trip Pictures
As I’m still easing my way back into the writing, I thought I’d share a few of the pictures from our rail vacation through Colorado.
Now Available: Cruising Undercover
It’s supposed to be a simple assignment aboard a luxury yacht, but soon, he’s in over his head.
The post Train Trip Pictures appeared first on Terry Odell.
October 11, 2022
My Two Cents
Thank you all for your patience with my blog posts. I was in LA on a last-minute trip to visit my mother, who passed away the day before I got there. The next two weeks were, needless to day, busy dealing with all the things that come into play when a parent dies, especially since my father died five years ago, so handling all the details fell to my brother and myself.
Mom was 96 and in failing health, so her death was not unexpected. However, the speed of her final decline was. S...
September 28, 2022
Last-Minute Travels
I have a last-minute trip out of town, so I won’t be around today. Meanwhile, I have a post about Gimmicks vs Plot Devices over at The Kill Zone.
Also, there’s a BookSweeps giveaway for 50 romantic suspense books. My Where Danger Hides is in the mix, but since I know all of you have already read it, I’ll point out that there are 49 other books you might want to read.
Two winners get all 50 books, and one of them also gets an e-reader. Click the image to see all the books and ...
