Terry Odell's Blog, page 49

Panamanian Wildlife

Last time, I talked about disruptions in routines. Now that the Hubster is back, things can get back to “normal.” However, I’m now looking forward to my trip, and dealing with pre-travel tasks has created new disruptions.

In a nutshell, instead of one of my typical posts, here are some pictures the Hubster took in Panama.

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy them.

Trusting Uncertainty, Book 10 in the Blackthorne, Inc. series.
You can’t go back and fix the past. Moving on means moving forward.
“Filled w...

Routines and Expectations

Routines and Expectations

The Hubster was on a photo safari to Panama last week. Now, we’ve never been the sort of people with strict “His” and “Hers” tasks, but after 52 years together, there’s an unspoken division of labor. There are some things he does simply because he has the skills and I don’t. Same goes the other way. So, when he was preparing to leave, he gave me the list of “his” chores that he wanted me to handle while he was away.

Three items. Water the herbs in the guestroom. Water t...

Mending Manuscripts

Mending Manuscripts

Image by Esther Merbt from Pixabay

Long, long ago, when I was a wee lass, my mother was teaching me all the ins and outs of what the school system called “Home Economics”. I learned to knit (potholders), to cook (crushing Graham crackers for Mom’s cheesecake crust) to make beds with hospital corners. I learned to iron, starting with my dad’s handkerchiefs (because then all men carried white handkerchiefs) and pillowcases.

Mom and Dad’s generation had lived through the Depress...

Things Are Getting Tense

Things Are Getting Tense

Every Friday at the Kill Zone, we pose a question. Last Friday’s post initiated a lot of interesting responses, so I thought I’d repeat it here. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of books written in present tense. I’m not sure if it’s a decision by publishers or if authors like to write in the “now.” It’s one thing to use present tense in a blog post, but it’s quite a different game in a novel.

I have my own opinion of present tense. Let’s just say it’s not creating the ef...

Using Multiple POV Characters

Using Multiple POV Characters

In romance, it’s a ‘given’ that there will be two POV protagonists: hero and heroine. There might be more, but there are always at least two.

Mysteries are another genre. Most mysteries I read feature some kind of crime-solving detective, and often, they’re part of a series where the same character heads up the entire series.

And then there’s suspense, which by nature, requires more than one POV character, because the reader needs to know more than the protagonist—h...

Amazon’s A+ Content

Amazon’s A+ Content

Recently, Amazon, in an unusual gesture to all indie authors, not only those participating in its “Select” program, opened what it calls A+ content to anyone using KDP to publish. Previously, only traditional publishers could use the feature.

What is it? It’s content that appears on the book’s detail page on Amazon. It provides additional information, allowing authors to give potential readers a deeper look at the author and their work.

Curious (or procrastinating work on the...

Channeling Characters Redux

Channeling Characters Redux

I ran across this post I did back in 2008, and thought it was worth revisiting.

Central Florida Romance Writers hosted an all day workshop by Alicia Rasley on Channeling your Character. Since for me, a book is nothing without characters I can care about, I found the hours well spent.

I loved her opening quote … “Fiction is true, just not real.”

We identify with characters at a subconscious level, so she suggests writing in the 1st person POV of the character to get t...

Even More Friday Fun

It’s been a very busy week up here on my mountain, so time for some Friday Funnies. But first … A reminder: there’s still time to enter to win over 50 first in series romantic suspense novels and an e-reader. Enter here.

And now for a little fun.

 

 

 

 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

The post Even More Friday Fun appeared first on Terry Odell.

Marketing – a Necessary Part of the Writing Process

Marketing – a Necessary Part of the Writing Process

Marketing is a chore, but it’s part of the writing process unless you’re a Big Name Author with lots of publisher backing behind you.

One important aspect of marketing is having a mailing list. Having thousand of followers/friends on social media doesn’t mean anything, since you don’t own those names, and accounts can be cancelled at the whim of the provider. As someone once put it, you don’t build your castle in someone else’s sandbox.

Little ...

When is a Holiday Not a Holiday?

When is a Holiday Not a Holiday?

Most people in the states are celebrating a long Labor Day weekend. Most of them won’t have a clue about the holiday’s origins, but they’re happy to celebrate. We pass an RV campsite on our way to town, and it’s been filling up all week.

What about my own life? When you’re retired, or self-employed and working from home (or both), one day isn’t much different from another. “Have a nice weekend” is meaningless in our household, other than I don’t have any laundry ...