Write Words / Arline Chase

Why won't my characters behave? -- writing tip

2012-02-23T07:11:00.000-08:00

Question: I wrote an outline. I know my story inside and out. But the characters keep going off and doing something else. What am I doing wrong?

Answer: The good news is, in writing there's no wrong way to do it. However works best for you, is the Right Way. There are two kinds of writers. Those who plan everything. And those who work on instinct. Most writers have a bit of both. For myself, I am never able to plan everything, though I taught thousands of students that outlining is a MUST, because that was in the curriculum I was hired to teach.

In the beginning I wrote lots of outlines. Then my characters, like yours, had minds of their own. Finally, I gave up trying to outline everything and settled for knowing where the story began and how it ended, then wrote my way, scent-by-scene, until I got there.

In my novel, GHOST DANCER, a New York debutante travels west for her health and meets a Medicine Man. The main character’s sister was used only as a impetus to get her to travel west. I had no plans for Elaine to be in the BOOK at all. She was a catalyst to get her sister on the road west, nothing more.

To my surprise Elaine walked into a scene in Montana, saying she'd had a "perfectly horrible trip." I started over. She came in again and refused to leave. I gave up and wrote a whole other scene. But Elaine wouldn't let me rest. She insisted on arriving, meeting the hero with some trepidation, and immersing herself in a steam-heated bath in the train's private car.

Later, I figured out that I needed Elaine badly to take over some action that would have made my main character look like a nitwit. But Elaine knew that all along. That’s why she kept showing up and making a nuisiance/fool of herself.

Trust your instinct. Give your characters room to take over. When they do, they may have a better story in mind that you could imagine.

Hush Puppies -- recipe

2012-02-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

Tonya Ramagos’s Hush Puppies

2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp. Flour
1 tbsp. Salt
½ tsp. Baking powder
2 tbsp. Chopped or grated onion
2 ½ cups boiling water

Mix all ingredients, except boiling water. Slowly pour ingredients into rapidly boiling water, stirring constantly. Cook until mush-like. Remove from heat. Shape, while warm, into 2-inch balls or patties and place on waxed paper to cool. Brown in deep hot fat. May be made ahead and kept in refrigerator several hours before frying.

Contributed by Tonya Ramagos, author of the Stockland Firefighter Series

What is sub-text? -- writint tip

2012-02-21T10:31:00.000-08:00

Question: What is sub-text? Someone said mine was "unclear?" Huh?

Answer: Subtext is what the reader understands from what is said, though it isn't really said.

Sounds a bit difficult, I know. But we all hear it and understand it every day. Usually, in dialogue, it's what the reader infers from what the character has said.

For instance:

In dialogue and narrative both there is always both text and subtext. First there is what is said, and second what is implied by what is left unsaid. Often, subtext, which the reader picks up on, is as important as what is actually said. Look at the following:

“Oh, is that slide show at the library with the nature photographer tonight?” John grimaced. “I’ll go if you want, but I’m really tired. After all, I was out to the Bible Study at church last night and you stayed home and read. This makes two nights in a row, for me. Of course, I don’t like to mess up your plans....”

Sounds like a nice husband trying to be understanding, right?

Wrong.

Of course he wants to mess up her plans. If he didn’t, he’d say, “You go ahead, hon; I’m too tired tonight. The subtext of the above dialogue is, “You couldn’t find time to go with me last night, so I’m NOT going to be nice about what you want to do tonight.”

The reader understands that the husband is being crappy on purpose and so does the wife. Though she can't very well say so, out loud.

Tuna Noodle Casserole - recipe

2012-02-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

Terry White’s Tuna Noodle Salad

2 cups macaroni, uncooked
½ cup low-fat mayonnaise
1 can tuna packed in water, drained
1 can peas drained, or 1 cup leftover peas
1 cup diced celery, or 1 tsp celery seed
½ teaspoon coarse ground pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Diced onion to taste.

Boil macaroni in salted water, drain and chill. Add other ingredients and mix well. A good one-dish meal on a hot day. Most of the salt goes down the drain. This will keep in the refrigerator for two or three days. Makes enough for four.

Contributed by Terry L. White author of FIRST WALTZ, the latest title in the Chesapeake Heritage Series.

Catching UP!

2012-02-17T07:33:00.000-08:00

Books that went to press, or back to press this week:

ALL ABOUT ME...ROOTIE'S HOUSE, by Elaine Simmons, done for Pig-E Arts Press.

Galleys that went out, or went out again:

SNOW ESCAPE, by Roberta Goodman

Galleys still with the authors:

DRAGON SPEAKER, by Ray Morand

Work began or continued on the following:

HIDDEN GOLD OF MU, Milton Brown, print

GHOST AT STALLION'S GATE, e-book editions

A FRIGHT OF GHOSTS, by Helen Chappell, e-book

LOOKING FOR MIDNIGHT, by helen Chappell, e-book

PORTALS, by Eleanor Cross, print

CLASS REUNION, by Michael E. Field, print

SNIPER ON THE ROOF, by Warren Graffeo, print

Best Sellers at Fictionwise, for Write Words, Inc. books only:

Best Sellers for ebooksonthe.net

Based on data gathered within the last 20 days. Icon explanations
1. A Medic in Iraq: A Novel of the Iraq War by Cole Bolchoz [Mainstream]
2. Memoirs of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs [People]
3. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie [Mystery/Crime/Classic Literature]
4. Dark Pool [Sequel to Banners of Alba] by Jen Black [Historical Fiction]
5. Calamity Jane by Martha Jane Cannary [History]
6. Lilah and the Locket by Nikki Leigh [Mystery/Crime]
7. Diary of a Teenage Hustler by Edward Petty [People]
8. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen [Romance/Classic Literature]
9. Modified by Ray Morand [Science Fiction]
10. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte [Classic Literature/Romance]

Highest Rated for ebooksonthe.net

Based on highest average ratings by at least 5 readers. Icon explanations
1. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Classic Literature/Children's Fiction]
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [Classic Literature]
3. Minder's Oath [High Places Series: Book 2] by Nina M. Osier [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
4. Ghost Dancer by Arline Chase [Historical Fiction]
5. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini [Suspense/Thriller/Classic Literature]
6. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie [Mystery/Crime/Classic Literature]
7. The Secret Adversary [Tommy and Tuppence Book 1] by Agatha Christie [Classic Literature]
8. Dark Elf: [Book 2 of the Red Knight Chronicles] by Ray Morand [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
9. Slow Dancing with the Angel of Death [Hollis Ball and Sam Westcott Series Book 1] by Helen Chappel [Mystery/Crime/Humor]
10. Tortured Souls [Arbiter Series Book 2] by Matthew L. Schoonover [Horror]

Lemon Balm Tea -- recipe

2012-02-16T06:55:00.001-08:00

Kate Stanhope's Lemon Balm Tea (Non-Poisonous)

2 cups boiling water
3 tbsp lemon balm leaves
Honey to taste
Few drops of lemon juice

Wash the lemon balm leaves and put them in a tall drinking glass. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the leaves. Strain. Add Tbsp of honey and 1/4 Tsp of fresh lemon juice. This is good for frazzled nerves, headaches and is an all-around delightful drink.

Contributed by Nancy Madison, author of Clues to Love...Investigating a murder, DCI Nick Connor concludes Kate was the intended victim....While Nick struggles to find the elusive killer, he falls in love with Kate, in spite of his vow to never love again. Can Nick catch the killer before he finds Kate?

Is My Character Stupid? --question from the e-mail

2012-02-15T07:17:00.000-08:00

Question: People in my writer's group complain that my character acts like a nitwit. She takes stupid chances and ought to just go and call the police. But that wouldn't help my story at all. I write romantic suspense. She has to be the one to solve the mystery. What can I do?

Answer: Sounds like a motivation problem to me. Motivation is the reason characters do things, plain and simple.

You can let a character make any kind of foolish decision or take any kind of dangerous chance if you give them a good enough reason for the reader to feel as if they might have done the same thing in the given circumstances.

In a nutshell, to coin a cliche, that is motivation. Good characters keep secrets, tell lies, and take risks for good reasons. (Thank YOU Alice Orr, for teaching me that, a long time ago.) Bad characters keep secrets, tell lies, and take risks, for bad reasons. But they all have a REASON to keep secrets, take risks, and tell lies.

That reason is the character’s motivation. One reason writers of romantic suspense get criticized is because the dimwit heroine always goes blindly into the House of Hell that is obviously filled with weird characters and murderers, just because she is determined to solve the mystery herself, when any sane person would go away and be safe. If she does that go on her own, she’s an Idiot!!

Now suppose her baby sister is inside and the heroine has been told her sister will die if she calls the police, then she has a Good Reason to go sneaking around Hell House trying to find out stuff on her own.

IWWG Problems and recipe

2012-02-14T08:09:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, members of IWWG received a notice from the Board of Directors that all future IWWG conferences and events were cancelled forthwith and that a lawsuit has been filed against the organization. Members were give an e-mail address where they could post their "thoughts."

I have recommended this organization to women writers of my acquaintance since 1978 when I joined. Over the entirety of my time as a woman writer, I have found IWWG to be an invaluable resource to one and all and because of the Guild and the women I met there, I am a far better person than I might have been otherwise.

Today, I sent my thoughts to the organization. Those thoughts may or may not be correct and have no place being discussed in an open forum such as this one. Such thoughts and ideas should be confined to the membership and the Board. It is the duty of the Board, and of all the individuals involved to find a solution to any problems in a manner that will not "throw the baby out with the bath water."

My thoughts are on record with them. Yes, I made assumptions. Yes, they may be in error.

If so, I plan to cook and eat the following:

Crow Casserole

6 to 8 Crow breasts (Discard the rest of the crows)
6 or 8, Bacon strips
2 medium or one Large Onions, diced
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
4 cups Ritz crackers, crushed
3/4 to 1 cup white cooking wine
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Bay leaf.

Remove crow breasts. Soak overnight in salt water to remove the "wild" taste. Parboil for 1/2 hour. Brown in butter. In a Covered Casserole, place a bed of 1 1/2 inches of crushed Ritz crackers, a layer of chopped onion. Place crow breasts on top and sprinkle with powered garlic.

Cover each breast with bacon strips. Add Bay Leaf. Cover with more of onions and more cracker crumbs. Pour white wine over the whole thing. Cover tightly and Bake for 2 hours at 350 degrees.

If it still tastes like crow, you did something wrong.

Serve to any and all friends who speak before they have all the facts.

2012-02-14T08:09:00.000-08:00

Catching UP!

2012-02-10T08:17:00.001-08:00

What with the computer virus, not a lot got done this week.

No books went to press, or back to press. No paper or e-books at all.

Galleys went out, or went out again, on the following:

DRAGON SPEAKER, by Ray Morand.

SNOW ESCAPE, by Roberta Goodman.

Work continued, or began on:

Rootie II, by Elaine Simmons. We submit work to the printer as a favor for the publisher at Pig-E Press.

WWW's BEST SELLING KINDLE BOOKS for the month of December, 2011:

A GHOST AT STALLION'S GATE, by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox
this is the latest in the Shannon Delaney series and was followed closely in sales by the others in that series.

SNOW ESCAPE, by Roberta Goodman

A MEDIC IN IRAQ, by Cole Bolchoz

HOUSE TO KILL FOR, by Judy Reveal

STILL LIFE WITH MUSIC, by C.M. Albrecht

Please remember these are the best selling among Write Words, Inc.'s own titles, NOT the best selling on the amazon.com site.

Agent Night's Chilli -recipe

2012-02-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

AGENT NIGHT’S QUICK & EASY CHILI

(also Gluten-Free)

This recipe is a delicate balance of sweet and spicy. If you want spicier flavor, add chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin and red pepper. This chili is great for freezing in individual serving containers and then heating in the microwave for a nice hot lunch!

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 pounds of 93% lean Ground Beef (sometimes I substitute 50% with ground turkey)

1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely or nearly pureed in the food processor

16 oz Cream of Tomato Soup (please see below for gluten-free options)**

28 oz Delmonte Chunky Diced Zesty Chili Style tomatoes or equivalent

1 large can of kidney beans (2.5 pounds)

Chopped fresh parsley as desired

1+ tbsp Worcestershire sauce to taste (Lea & Perrins is gluten-free)

Shredded Cheddar Cheese for garnish (optional)

NOTE: There are two ways to prepare this – standard stove top or crock pot. I prefer crock pot because it is maintenance-free. Instructions for both are provided.

STOVE TOP COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Brown beef in large pot, drain. Add remaining ingredients, cook on medium low until it starts to steam and bubble, then simmer for one hour. I usually let it cool, then put it in the fridge overnight to let the flavors mingle. The next day I heat it up and serve.

CROCK POT COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Brown beef in large skillet, drain. Add beef and remaining ingredients to crock pot, cook on low for up to 10 hours.

Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and serve!

Serves 6-8 people.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: Stove Top – 1-2 hours; Crock Pot – 8 hours.

**I can recommend the following gluten-free soups:

Pacific Natural Foods Organic Creamy Tomato (available in stores)

Heinz UK Cream of Tomato Soup (can be purchased online in the U.S. through the Gluten-Free Trading Company)

Questions from my e-mail

2012-02-08T09:22:00.000-08:00

Question: I finally sold the book we worked on together when I was your student. At the time, I had many reservations about your usage advice, as it differed greatly from what I had been taught in English 101, at college. Now that I'm working with a professional publisher, he is asking for all the same changes you did. Just wanted to say, I should have listened and how did you know?

Answer: Congratulations Janie. Is it still entitled MANY RIVERS? You had a good one going, as I recall.

To answer your question, all educational institutions teach students of English 101 to write exposition. That is written and punctuated far differently from fiction. Each English Department chooses its own teaching tools and the "rules" come out of whatever stylebook they choose to teach from.

Stylebooks vary. Kate Turabian's rules are quite different from E.B. White's, as given in Strunk & White. Many colleges use Strunk & White stylebook. Mine did. But it varies. Strunk is published in Great Britian and both its authors were British. So they follow (and teach) the rules of usage according to the United Kingdom. But the stylebook most professional publishers use in the United States is the Chicago Manual of Style, a US publication. It is a publisher and printer's tool.

Style and spelling varies greatly between the United Kingdom and the US. In Britain, you say, "Heigh ho!" to your neighbour, pay your bills with a cheque, and carefully leave off the final s in possessives if the name ends in an S. But in America, you say, "Hi-ho," to your neighbor, pay your bills with a check, and must make sure to add the final s in possessives (Zeus's, not Zues'), if the name ends in s.

In America, ONLY plural possessives get the apostrophe, without the following S.

All this may seem very picky to those who are not grammar buffs. But if a publisher puts out a book that doesn't follow the rules for his country, it makes him or her look like a dolt. You may not know it, but when I'm not wearing my writer's hat, or my teaching hat, I wear my publisher's hat, so I do know.

I recently was called to account by none other than amazon.com, because of purportedly "missing pages" in a book file. It seems the book started on page 3 and they wanted to know where pages 1 and 2 were. I have more than 550 books on Amazon.com. All of them are numbered accordingly. This is the first time they noticed...so I can only assume that some customer complained to them.

Every professional typesetter knows that page 1 is the cover of the book, page 2, is the inside front cover, and the text starts on page 3. Any "Front Matter" -- title page, dedication, and so on -- gets numbered in roman numerals. The text of the book always starts on page 3. If you don't believe me, pick a book off your shelf and look. If it was published by a real company, it will start on page 3.

If you see it otherwise in a PDF, it means the book was self-published, or published by someone who had no clue how a published book should look. It is also as described by the Chicago Manual of Style.

E-book files, because they are recreated and renumbered by whatever program converts them from a text.doc to the format needed for a specific brand of reader, will not be numbered that way, unless the typeset PDF was used to create them.

My late business partner, Sandra List, God rest her soul, was a professional typesetter for the GPO. I had set type at the newspaper, but had no clue about books. She gave me a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style and taught me what I needed to know so our books would look like they came from a "real publisher." I have followed her rules ever since.

So to answer the final part of your question, without Sandy, I wouldn't have had a clue.

Book Awards

2012-02-07T06:43:00.000-08:00

This one is an expensive entry fee, but I thought I'd pass along the info just the same.

Sharp Writ Book Awards

The 2012 Sharp Writ Book Awards are now accepting submissions!

Genres of works accepted by the 2012 Sharp Writ Book Awards:

GENERAL FICTION: Action & Adventure, Graphical Novel, Family, Saga, Historical, Humor, Inspirational, Metaphysicial, Political, Western, and Romance. Other genres may be considered - contact for approval.

MYSTERY: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Sleuths and Crime. Other genres may be considered - contact for approval.

SCIENCE FICTION: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, and Supernatural.

POETRY: All categories of Poetry

PSYCHOLOGY: Psychology and Self-Help.

GENERAL NON-FICTION: Career, Educational, History, Military, and True Crime. Other genres will be considered - contact for approval.

BIOGRAPHY / AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Books that are biographical or autobiographical in nature, including personal memoirs.

YOUNG ADULT: Books specifically targeted at a teen audience. All genres (fiction, non-fiction, etc.) of young adult are placed in this category.

CHILDRENS: Books specifically targeted at a child audience. Examples include picture books or easy readers that combine text and illustrations.

REQUIREMENTS FOR MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION:

1. All entries must be in English and, if published, have a publication date of

2009 or later.

2. A separate SWBA 2011 Submission Form must accompany each unique

entry (i.e. - 1 per title).

3. Printed or typed entries: 4 printed copies must be submitted by mail.

4. Electronic submission are accepted in the following formats:

Electronic Publication (.ePub) - MUST have ISBN assigned
Kindle (.prc)
MobiPocket Reader (.mobi)
Adobe (.pdf)
MS Word (.doc)

5. Electronic entries that are LESS THAN 19.9 MB: Email submission form and

entry to submissions@book-awards.org .

6. Electronic entries that are MORE THAN 19.9 MB: Submit the submission

form and a CD containing 4 copies of the entry to the shipping address below.

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submitted via mail or by Paypal. Paypal payments may be made directly

by clicking here or sent to payments@book-lovers.net. Remember to

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payments may be credited to the correct entry.

DEADLINES AND ENTRY FEES (subject to change without notice):

Super Early: April 30th - US $40.00 or equivalent in foreign currency.

Early Bird: June 30th - US $55.00 or equivalent in foreign currency.

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Member of a recognized high IQ society*: September 30th - US $55.00 or equivalent

in foreign currency.

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What do winners receive?

Category winners receive:

1. A personalized plaque honoring the achievement

2. Access to 1200+ members of Smart Book Lovers, including a 50 px X 50 px

display image of the winning submission on the home page for 3 months.

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winners announcements in prestigious publications.

5. A free review posted on our Intelligent Expressions Blog. The judging panel will

provide the full review; in addition, the winning entity (author/publisher/agent) can

provide their own mini-review (100 words or less).

6. 20 gold foil labels printed with the words "2011 Sharp Writ Book Awards" which

can be affixed to books. More labels may be purchased.

Runner ups (2 per category) receive:

1. Certificate of Achievement

2. A free review posted on our Intelligent Expressions Blog. The judging panel will

provide the review.

3. 20 gold foil labels printed with the words "2011 Sharp Writ Book Awards" which

can be affixed to books. More labels may be purchased.

INNOVATIVE VIDEO AWARD CEREMONY

Finalists will be announced in December, 2012. Winners will be announced via an innovative video award ceremony by the end of January, 2013. Click here to see last years video award ceremony.

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Virus effectively killed

2012-02-06T13:07:00.001-08:00

For those who hadn't heard: BEWARE OF BUGS

I picked up a virus on Friday. A warning that there was spyware popped up (and popped up and popped up and popped up), that offered to take me to a website where I could buy cure software.

Now I have good virus software and I had received one warning from it, that a stock photo I was about to download was infected. I halted the download, but evidently not in time.

More, I refused to pay them to remove the virus they gave me in the first place. I called my usual gurus and they came today and swept the machine clean.

Bless them.

Until this happened, I hadn't been aware that a virus or .exe program could be attached to a .jpg file. So I thought I'd post it here, just in case any of you guys were also unaware. Keep that virus protection updated and active at all times. And if something starts to happen, shut down right away and call the repair guys.

Anyway, I'm back and ready to go to work again. Sorry for the lost time.

Catching UP!

2012-02-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

New books out as of Feb. 1:

STAR WOLF, by Warren Graffeo.

Space opera. Faced with overwhelming odds, a crippled Star Wolf prepares to make a last stand, while Jarn and Elera are ordered to make a suicidal dash through the Gryll ranks to warn the fleet. E-BOOK.

THE MISTAKE, by Bruce Castle.

by Bruce Castle

A couple is brutally murdered in Pittsburgh. Months later, several murders strike Baltimore County. Undoubtedly, these seemingly unrelated killings would have become a cold case if Detective Sergeant Aubrey McKensie of the Maryland State Police had not been assigned. e-BOOK

THE WRITE HONOR,

by Anna Dynowski

Harmony Village Series, Vol. 5

Though she’s a romance author, Krysia Barciniak has no illusions about love and romance and a happily-ever-after for herself. e-BOOK

LADY SLIPPERS FOR MY LADY

by Lynette Hall Hampton

Coverton Mills Series, Vol. 1

Whether it is coincidence, fate or predestination, 53-year-old author, Heather Masterson’s life changes in Asheville, NC, when a man lays a book in front of her and says, “Please sign this to the real Alex Hargrove.”

POSTCARDS FROM MR. PISH: A CROSS-COUNTRY JOURNAL

Mr. Pish series, Vol III

by K. S. Brooks

Postcards from Mr. Pish: A Cross-Country Journal, Volume III follows the lovable Jack Russell Terrier as he embarks on a new adventure, traveling from Washington State all the way to Maryland, through ten states and four provinces of Canada. Mr. Pish writes fun postcards with full color photographs and maps highlighting his days so that children, and adults, can learn about our world in an entertaining and memorable way.

PAPER BOOKS THAT WENT TO PRESS OR BACK TO PRESS THIS WEEK:

None.

E-BOOKS THAT WENT TO PRESS OR BACK TO PRESS THIS WEEK:

POSTCARDS FROM MR. PISH: A CROSS-COUNTRY JOURNAL by K. S. Brooks

THE MISTAKE, by Bruce Castle

THE WRITE HONOR, by Anna Dynowsky.

GALLEYS THAT WENT OUT, OR WENT OUT AGAIN THIS WEEK:

DRAGON SPEAKER, by Ray Morand.

Work began or continued on the following:

SNOW ESCAPE, by Roberta Goodman

BEST SELLERS AT FICTIONWISE

Based on data gathered within the last 20 days. Icon explanations
1. Lady Slippers for My Lady: A Coverton Mills Romance by Lynette Hall Hampton [Romance/Suspense/Thriller]
2. The Mirrored World by Meghan Roos [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
3. Mr. Right in Turn-Outs [Stockland Firefighters Book 1] by Tonya Ramagos [Romance]
4. Playing With Fire [Stockland Firefighters Book 3] by Tonya Ramagos [Romance]
5. A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson [Classic Literature]
6. Atonement [Farthinghome Book 3] by Nina M. Osier [Science Fiction/Suspense/Thriller]
7. A Medic in Iraq: A Novel of the Iraq War by Cole Bolchoz [Mainstream]
8. Murderous Roots by Virginia Winters [Mystery/Crime/Suspense/Thriller]
9. A Grandfather's Gift by Hugh Carter Vinson [Family/Relationships/Mainstream]
10. Two Faces Two Faced by Kathryn Flatt [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]

HIGHEST READER RATINGS AT FICTIONWISE:

Based on highest average ratings by at least 5 readers. Icon explanations
1. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Classic Literature/Children's Fiction]
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [Classic Literature]
3. Minder's Oath [High Places Series: Book 2] by Nina M. Osier [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
4. Ghost Dancer by Arline Chase [Historical Fiction]
5. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini [Suspense/Thriller/Classic Literature]
6. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie [Mystery/Crime/Classic Literature]
7. The Secret Adversary [Tommy and Tuppence Book 1] by Agatha Christie [Classic Literature]
8. Dark Elf: [Book 2 of the Red Knight Chronicles] by Ray Morand [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
9. Slow Dancing with the Angel of Death [Hollis Ball and Sam Westcott Series Book 1] by Helen Chappel [Mystery/Crime/Humor]
10. Tortured Souls [Arbiter Series Book 2] by Matthew L. Schoonover [Horror]

Basics of viewpoint -- writng tip

2012-02-02T06:35:00.000-08:00

Basics of Viewpoint

The best way to choose viewpoint is to ask yourself whose story or scene it is. Once you know who the story is about it’s safe to assume that most of the story will be told from that character’s viewpoint, either in first person “I” narrator, or third person “She or he” narrator.

There are several kinds of viewpoint. "First Person" is written with an "I" narrator, as if the story happened to you. "Third Person" limited, is written in third person, but limited to a single point of view. This is the viewpoint chosen for most short stories. Also most girl-in-danger stories are written in first person limited, while Harlequin and most genre romances are written in third person limited. In either case “limited” means limited only to the main character’s viewpoint. The reader cannot know anything the main character doesn’t see, think, or feel.

The reader should see through the main character's eyes, feel with the main character's heart, and think with the main character's brain.

One way to get emotion across for a character, when we're in another character's viewpoint, is to use body language to express the other character’s inner feelings. Describing body language the main character sees will get the other character’s emotions across to the reader, whether the observing character understands them or not. Remember the classic romance ploy where the heroine thinks the hero is mad because his teeth are clenched and the inevitable muscle in his jaw is jerking, but the reader knows it’s only because he’s in the throes of desire. We all read body language all the time. It does no good for someone to tell us, "I'm not upset at all," if their face is red, and their arms are crossed firmly on their chest, while one foot taps the floor.

In some third person stories, viewpoint can change from one character to another at scene breaks or chapter breaks, but it should not jump unintentionally from one character's head into another. Many well-published writers ignore this rule, but if there's a slip, reviewers will always notice...

Super Bowl Party - chicken wings

2012-02-01T07:24:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Servings: 40

1/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons butter
3 lbs chicken wings , tips removed

Directions:

Cut wings at joints.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Be sure wings are thawed and dry them well with paper towels.
Combine flour, paprika, garlic salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a plastic bag.
Shake to mix ingredients and add wings.
For easy clean-up, line a large baking sheet with Release foil and melt the butter on it.
Add wings to pan and turn to coat.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Turn wings over and bake for 15 more minutes or until crispy and done.

A tasty way to make wings. You can dip them in your favorite sauce when baked or they are yummy as-is.

Reviews are mixed. Can I do this??? -- writing tip

2012-01-31T06:51:00.000-08:00

QUESTION from the e-mail: I've always wanted to be a writer. Recently I finished my first book and got it published. Like most, I tried to promote it by getting book reviews. I got several three and four-start reviews, but many of the reviewers had a lot of negative things to say, too. Sure, they praise my story. They all like the action and suspense. But then they complain about my commas, and my "point of view," and my characters all talking alike. I went to college. I got good grades on all my term papers, so I ought to know a little about how to write. This negative stuff is hard to hear. Half the time, I don't even know what they're talking about. How can there be "too many semi-colons?" You use them when they're needed, right? Maybe I should just forget about this whole thing.

ANSWER: Good Reviewers almost always talk about both the positive and negative aspects of a book. If they don't, they are usually friends of the author who go and place a glorious, 5-star review just for friendship's sake. So first thing I know from what you said is that these are "good, honest, unbiased" reviews, not the kind you pay for. They looked for things to pick on as well as nice things to say. That's "fair and balanced" and tells folks right away that your reviewers are being honest with their praise.

Every first novel gets hit hard by reviewers. You should look up some of the early reviews on people like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Having said that, no less an authority than Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., has advised fiction writers to avoid semi-colons. He says they're "just showing off," and he may be right. In term papers, the goal is to sound "scholarly" and authoritative. In fiction, the goal is to create a vivid experience for the reader. One of the best things any writer can do is not to let the words get between the reader and the action. I read a submission recently where the writer had used every fancy word he could think of -- almost as if he had gone through with the thesaurus and picked out every fancy synonym he could find. It was distracting. Worse, one became so preoccupied with the words (I picked up the dictionary more than once), that the story got lost.

From what you said above, you have done well with the suspense and action and the reviewers all enjoyed the experience you created. So don't let the negative stuff get to you. Instead, think maybe they were trying to tell you something and learn from it. Look at the grammar guide in the back of your dictionary and read the section on commas. Look up some articles on viewpoint. If you have a writers' group, bring these things up for discussion. And when you listen to their advice, remember they are all still learning, too.

I taught writing for more than 20 years. No one learns everything there is to know, and then starts out to write. It's a lifelong learning experience. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Simple as that.

Also, the rules for fiction are definitely different than for exposition. In fiction you need to write dialogue, and write it so it sounds like people talking back and forth -- not stilted or preachy, or awkward. It's okay to use poor grammar or cliches, in dialogue, if your character does. The character's word choices are part of who he is.

Using vernacular was widely condemned by reviewers when Mark Twain first did it. They ridiculed him up, down, and sideways. They assumed because Huck Finn said, "We was fishing," that Twain knew no better. In later editions, he put a disclaimer in the beginning of the book, just so they'd know it was done on purpose. Later, vernacular became a popular device and was widely overdone in the years between 1920 and 1950.

Readers, today, don't have the patience to fill in all those missing g's and such. But the rhythm of the speech may very well be different with characters from different places, or different levels of education, or different backgrounds.

Viewpoint, was the hardest lesson I ever had to learn as a writer. I have posted here about it before. It was doubly difficult because many best-selling authors -- authors whose books I admired -- ignored that rule altogether. Once I understood it, I found that some of them changed viewpoint in the middle of a sentence. First, you learn the rules, then you decide when to break them. The main thing is not to do it unintentionally. Many new writers drop the viewpoint ball a time or two. I know I did. The good news is readers won't notice. The bad news is, good reviewers always will.

So my advice is to cut yourself some slack. You're an intelligent woman. If there are things you don't know yet, then make it your business to learn about them. With writing, as with anything else, practice makes perfect.

Don't beat yourself up because of the criticism. Go write another book.

Cranberry Jelly - recipe

2012-01-30T08:34:00.001-08:00

Joan Bramsch’s Home Made Cranberry Jelly

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 package (12 oz) Ocean Spray fresh or frozen cranberries

In a saucepan, mix sugar and water. Stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil. Add cranberries. Return to boil, reduce heat, and boil gently for 10 minutes or until jelly starts to gel: stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and cool completely at room temperature - then refrigerate. Makes approx. 2 1/4 cups. Serve with hot biscuits or it’s equally good over vanilla ice cream.

Contributed by Joan Bramsch, author of With No Reservations...This sizzling romance features Ann Waverly, hotel executive, and Jeffrey Madison, an unkempt late-night arrival seeking a room. Though he keeps secrets he awakens in Ann a longing so powerful, she is stunned.

Catching UP!

2012-01-27T06:58:00.001-08:00

Books that went to press, or went back to press, this week:

THE MISTAKE, by Bruce Castle

Galleys that went out, or went out again, this week:

DRAGON SPEAKER, by Ray Morand

THE WRITE HONOR, Anna Dynowski(e-books)

THE MISTAKE, Bruce Castle(e-books)

Work continued on :

SNOW ESCAPE, by Roberta Goodman

Still waiting after more than three months for approval from authors before going to press:

A GRANDFATHER'S GIFT, by Hugh Carter Vinson

COLLECTED STORIES OF VITOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

What does a publisher do for an author? -- question from the e-mail

2012-01-26T07:03:00.000-08:00

Question: What does a publisher do for an author? Couldn't I do that for myself and keep all the money? People tell me, "They just take your money and do nothing for you." How come you're not out there selling your authors' books?

Answer: The publisher operates a business and makes books ready for sale and distributes the files to sales sites. They collect the money from the sales sites and make sure you are paid what you are owed. That is not exactly "doing nothing." Remember, it costs money to operate any business, even on the Internet.

Business Costs involved include: Staff salaries and time, Internet web space, website design and upkeep, an operating web site store; a merchant bank account that will accept and process credit card payments, accountants, cover design, ISBNs, computer equipment and maintainance, printing (if POD is involved) shipping, postage and handling, too. Remember, the printer does not work for free and it costs upwards of $5 for every book we order them to print, including any and all proof copies. No printer gives out freebies.

Every book we publish costs at least $250 before it ever gets posted for sale on the Internet. Authors who ask a lot of questions, who complain about the process, who ask us to redo covers again and again, who change all kinds of things on the galleys because they thought of a better way to put something can raise that investment to $750 or more quite easily.

What publishers don't do, is promote, market, or advertise your books, except by making theme available for sale. Promotion is a time-consuming business and one that involves a lot of work. Some authors do a lot of promotion, some little, but the successful ones put in at least 3 to 5 hours a week in making sure people know about their work. Using social media, like Twitter, Linked-in and Facebook has proved to be a helpful way to do this for our more successful authors.

With more than 250 living authors, we don't have time to do promotion for all of them and it would be unfair to do more for one than another. All our authors are all talented. All their books are good. If we didn't believe that, we would not publish them.

No, Facebook doesn't allow you to sell on their site. But they don't mind if you post that your new book is being published, show an array of covers and ask friends to help you choose one, or mention that it's available on amazon.com or anywhere else when it finally comes out.

So what should a publisher do for you? Give you good, clean files so reader's won't laugh at you (and your publisher!) if a character uses a "pear of scissors" or "takes a peak" around a corner. A publisher should give you a good professional-looking product and make it available to as many on-line outlets as possible.

A publisher should offer your book for sale, collect the money, make sure you are paid for your sales, keep the accounts of what has sold, and pay you on time (we pay quarterly, but many do it once a year). Either way, that's a lot of work.

Most authors have a "day job." Few can live on what they make writing. Most of us write for no more reward than the fulfillment of having done so. I know I couldn't live on my sales, though I have twelve titles for sale. My "day job" is being a publisher and it keeps me so busy that I rarely find time to promote my own work on line. So I do understand when folks don't have time.

Many of you do work hard to promote your work, and for you, I am truly grateful. Most of you do the best you can and I'm grateful for that, too.

Tonya Ramagos's Teriyaki Chicken - recipe

2012-01-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

Tanya Ramagos’s Teriyaki Chicken

4 boneless, skinless Chicken breasts cut into strips
½ green bell pepper sliced 1/4 cut
½ red bell pepper sliced 1/4 cut
½ onion sliced 1/4 cut
2 tbsp. Vegetable oil
Teriyaki sauce

In a large skillet toss and brown the chicken breasts in the oil over high heat, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and onions; saute and toss until the vegetables are lightly browned. Add the teriyaki sauce; toss until heated through.

Contributed by Tonya Ramagos, author of, Forgive or Forget...Mackenzie Olsen's life seems to be falling apart.... Her mother has just informed her of her plans to elope with a man Mackenzie can't stand.

SOPA and PIPA dropped by Congress

2012-01-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's officially done for now and probably won't come up again until 2014.

And that's a good thing. We do not need another "Internet Law" to make book piracy illegal. It already IS illegal. Just ask the FBI and the US Copyright Office.

I've seen many posts on FACEBOOK lately, both for and against these laws. Many post that they don't want to lose "the right to make copies of books or music to share with their friends." None of them seems to understand that sharing e-books, movies, and music on line is Already Against the Law! We don't need a new law passed by Congress against this activity. We already HAVE a good one.

SOME posts, quite a few in fact, denigrate those laws because they don't want a law passed that "makes it illegal to copy and share material on the Internet." They really believe it is legal to do this and that someone is trying to take away their "freedom!"

BUT it already IS illegal to copy and share books, music, and movies. Half the stuff on U-Tube is in violation of someone's copyright. The other day I saw a video of some dogs playing Frisbee in the yard with John Denver singing, "Sunshine on my shoulders," in the background. Cute. Enjoyable. Sweet slo-mo of Rotweillers leaping in the sun...

Now John Denver is dead and cannot sue the dog owner, BUT his music publisher and heirs still hold his rights for the next 150 years, and can certain sue the playful dog guy if they wish to spend the time and money for a lawyer.

They won't, because the dog guy isn't in business, probably doesn't have enough assets to make it worthwhile, and is not using the material to sell a product, but they COULD, and they'd be within their rights. And they'd WIN. Because cute, or not, the dog guy broke the law.

In all my travels on line, I have rarely seen any "used with permisssion" copyright notices attached to uploaded material. Some books have them. Heather Summerhayes Cariou's SIXTYFIVE ROSES certainly does and books that Write Words, Inc. has published with musical references, like Brenda Boldin's series, also carry copyright disclaimers. Or we edited out the illegal references prior to publication.

It is legal to use song titles and the names of song writers. It's perfectly okay to write here that John Denver was singing "Sunshine on my Shoulders," as I just did. But it is NOT legal to use the recording as background music for the dogs at play, NOR to quote from the song lyrics in any book without the music publisher's written permission.

That's the Publisher, folks, not the song-writer.

Now back to the book pirate situation. As I mentioned before. Pirates are in business to collect your ID information. They don't care about the books. That's just the bait they use to get what they really want. It's not going to stop, even if another law IS passed here in the US. Another law will only complicate things, causing courts to wander back and forth about which one applies and how it should be interpreted. If you think this issue is a muddle now, just wait....

We don't need another new law here in the US.

NOW, or in 2012, or ever! We need a Worldwide International Trade Agreement with some teeth in it.

NO law passed by Congress will ever address the bulk of these pirates, who almost always operate Outside the United States -- with China and India leading the pack and Brazil running a short third -- and since they don't live here, they are Not Subject to Any penalties under the US Copyright Law OR any US law at all.

Web hosts will usually drop their sites if they get enough complaints, but those outside the US often don't bother, don't respond to complaints from US publishers, and so on.

ANY law ever passed by the United States will only affect citizens of the United States or people living Inside the United States. I know. I've a whole set routine of complaint procedures developed over the past ten years, and have succeeded in getting some pirate sites removed by their domain hosts. I just complained to the domain hosts that their customer was operating illegally and their site was removed from the web.

And what happened when I did? Pirates.com (not the real name) was back in business as Buccaneers.com within a month, hosted by another web host and with the same web site design, pages, and the same books listed, just as before. Even the old passwords worked. Only this time the web host was in India and they didn't do anything about my complaints and the complaints of other publishers.

Okay, that's negative. The whole situation is negative. And until folks realize that they are breaking the law by sharing their files and stop making copies to give away, the pirates will certainly stay in business, regardless of any and all laws passed. Knowing that their giving away the material to people who will almost certain steal their identity is no real comfort.

No one can legislate morality. Congress tried that with the Volstead Act and gave control of the country over to the law-breakers. Plenty of ordinary citizens ignored that law, because they didn't see any harm in breaking it, and they did whatever they wanted.

Plenty of ordinary citizens ignore the Copyright Law as well. Most would think again if they realized that they were actually stealing the money from another person's pocket. Until we, as a people, become aware that this is a wrong thing to do, nothing is going to change, no matter how many laws are passed.

Ginger Cookies - Recipe

2012-01-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

Brenda Boldin’s Ginger Cookies

2 cups self rising flour
(OR 2c. flour, 1tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. salt)
1 tsp. ginger
11/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
½ cup shortening
½ cup molasses
1 egg yolk

Mix sugar and shortening; add molasses and egg yolk. Sir in dry ingredients. Roll on lightly floured surface, 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes. Bake on lightly greased cookie sheets at 350-F or 177-C degrees for 10 minutes.

Cool before removing from cookie sheet.
Makes approx. 30 cookies.

Contributed by Brenda Boldin, author of the Alex Masters Series, Dead Birds Don’t Sing, Jailbird, and A Bird by Any Other Name...Alex Masters is back, calling herself “Lexi” now, and working a real job in her brother’s software company. Money disappears, disks go missing, then a dead body turns up, and once again Alex/Lexi is suspect Number One.

A cold and rainy Monday is the perfect day to make cookies.

Catching UP

2012-01-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

Rog and I still have the flu. We ARE getting better, but still feverish and "chesty." So not a lot got done this week.

THE CHECKS ARE IN THE MAIL!!

Books that went to press this week:

None.

Galleys that went out, or went back out this week:

DRAGON SPEAKER, by Ray Morand.

THE MISTAKE, by Bruce Castle

No new work began this week. Auditor still has the taxes and is working on them. We will mail out the 1099s as soon as we get them.

Wish I had more news.

Here are some statistics from Fictionwise.com. Please remember, they are based only on our own small company, not for the whole site.

Best Sellers for ebooksonthe.net

Based on data gathered within the last 20 days. Icon explanations
1. A Medic in Iraq: A Novel of the Iraq War by Cole Bolchoz [Mainstream]
2. Murder by Bestseller by Gabriel Timar [Mystery/Crime/Suspense/Thriller]
3. The Dreamer Gambit by Kathryn Flatt [Suspense/Thriller/Romance]
4. Serious Nuts: The Inevitable Rise of Miss Grainger by Geoff Geauterre [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]
5. Mr. Right in Turn-Outs [Stockland Firefighters Book 1] by Tonya Ramagos [Romance]
6. Fighting for a Dream [Stockland Firefighters Book 2] by Tonya Ramagos [Romance]
7. Playing With Fire [Stockland Firefighters Book 3] by Tonya Ramagos [Romance]
8. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs [Classic Literature]
9. Tales of Courage by Marie Prato [Children's Nonfiction]
10. Blue Diamonds by Spencer Dane [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]

<input type=checkbox name=bookid53170  value=53170>1. <a  href="javascript:openWin('/help/icon-explanations.htm', 'openWin',  '400', '200')"><img src="/images/long.gif" border=0 alt="Long  [66889 words]" title="Long [66889 words]"></a><a  href="/ebooks/b53170/A-Little-Princess/Frances-Hodgson-Burnett/?">A  Little Princess</a> by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Classic  Literature/Children's Fiction]<br> <input type=checkbox name=bookid54461 value=54461>2. <a  href="javascript:openWin('/help/icon-explanations.htm', 'openWin',  '400', '200')"><img src="/images/long.gif" border=0 alt="Long  [121796 words]" title="Long [121796 words]"></a><a  href="/ebooks/b54461/Pride-and-Prejudice/Jane-Austen/?">Pride and  Prejudice</a> by Jane Austen [Classic Literature]<br> <input type=checkbox name=bookid104814 value=104814>3. <a  href="javascript:openWin('/help/icon-explanations.htm', 'openWin',  '400', '200')"><img src="/images/long.gif" border=0 alt="Long  [61049 words]" title="Long [61049 words]"></a><a  href="/ebooks/b104814/Minders-Oath-/Nina-M-Osier/?">Minder's Oath  [High Places Series: Book 2]</a> by Nina M. Osier [Science  Fiction/Mainstream]<br> <input type=checkbox name=bookid39327 value=39327>4. <a  href="javascript:openWin('/help/icon-explanations.htm', 'openWin',  '400', '200')"><img src="/images/long.gif" border=0 alt="Long  [98906 words]" title="Long [98906 words]"></a><a  href="/ebooks/b39327/Ghost-Dancer/Arline-Chase/?">Ghost  Dancer</a> by Arline Chase [Historical Fiction]<br> <input type=checkbox name=bookid51337 value=51337>5. <a  href="javascript:openWin('/help/icon-explanations.htm', 'openWin',  '400', '200')"><img src="/images/long.gif" border=0 alt="Long  [113180 words]" title="Long [113180 words]"></a><a  href="/ebooks/b51337/Captain-Blood/Rafael-Sabatini/?">Captain  Blood</a> by Rafael Sabatini [Suspense/Thriller/Classic  Literature]<br> <input type=checkbox name=bookid40919 value=40919>6. <a  href="javascript:openWin('/help/icon-explanations.htm', 'openWin',  '400', '200')"><img src="/images/long.gif" border=0 alt="Long  [57142 words]" title="Long [57142 words]"></a><a  href="/ebooks/b40919/The-Mysterious-Affair-at-Styles/Agatha-Christie/?">The  Mysterious Affair at Styles</a> by Agatha Christie  [Mystery/Crime/Classic Literature]<br> <input type=checkbox name=bookid74397 value=74397>7. <a  href="javascript:openWin('/help/icon-explanations.htm', 'openWin',  '400', '200')"><img src="/images/long.gif" border=0 alt="Long  [75310 words]" title="Long [75310 words]"></a><a  href="/ebooks/b74397/The-Secret-Adversary-/Agatha-Christie/?">The  Secret Adversary [Tommy and Tuppence Book 1]</a> by Agatha  Christie [Classic Literature]<br> <input type=checkbox name=bookid85523 value=85523>8. <a  href="javascript:openWin('/help/icon-explanations.htm', 'openWin',  '400', '200')"><img src="/images/long.gif" border=0 alt="Long  [68911 words]" title="Long [68911 words]"></a><a  href="/ebooks/b85523/Dark-Elf/Ray-Morand/?">Dark Elf: [Book 2 of the  Red Knight Chronicles]</a> by Ray Morand [Science  Fiction/Mainstream]<br> <input type=checkbox name=bookid46280 value=46280>9. <a  href="javascript:openWin('/help/icon-explanations.htm', 'openWin',  '400', '200')"><img src="/images/long.gif" border=0 alt="Long  [70408 words]" title="Long [70408 words]"></a><a  href="/ebooks/b46280/Slow-Dancing-with-the-Angel-of-Death-/Helen-Chappel/?">Slow  Dancing with the Angel of Death [Hollis Ball and Sam Westcott Series  Book 1]</a> by Helen Chappel [Mystery/Crime/Humor]<br> <input type=checkbox name=bookid39009 value=39009>10. <a  href="javascript:openWin('/help/icon-explanations.htm', 'openWin',  '400', '200')"><img src="/images/long.gif" border=0 alt="Long  [76981 words]" title="Long [76981 words]"></a><a  href="/ebooks/b39009/Tortured-Souls-/Matthew-L-Schoonover/?">Tortured  Souls [Arbiter Series Book 2]</a> by Matthew L. Schoonover  [Horror]<br>

Highest Rated for ebooksonthe.net

Rowan Cameron's Venison Stew -- recipe

2012-01-19T06:16:00.000-08:00

Rowan Cameron’s Venison Stew*
*non-hunters may substitute beef

1 to 2 pounds of venison haunch or flank steak cubed
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 can baked beans (you’ll have to trade for this)
3 medium tomatoes (if they are out of season, the white man has them in cans, too)
3/4 cup minced green onion (tops and all)
1 Leaf of Dried Miracle (bay)
1 tsp. Dried sage
1 tsp. Dried garlic
Salt to taste.
Water as needed.

Heat medium sized rocks in your camp fire until they get red hot. Trim all tallow from the meat. Deer tallow can taste rank, especially it the deer was old, or a buck. Slice and dice a good sized haunch round, or flank steak into 1 inch pieces. And place in leather pot. Add spices, water to cover plus 6 inches, and enough red hot rocks to make the pot boil hard.** When venison is good and tender and rocks have cooled to make the pot simmer, add the other ingredients.

** You can use a stove and a soup pot, but you have to let it boil hard until the meat falls apart at the touch of a fork. Then reduce the heat, add the vegetables, and simmer until done. This recipe works equally well with elk.

Contributor’s note: This is the stew Christy serves to her sister and ex-fiancé when they arrive from the east in GHOST DANCER.

Contributed by Arline Chase, author of GHOST DANCER

DRM and security -- writing tip

2012-01-17T04:22:00.000-08:00

Question from the e-mail: I notice that you don't use DRM. I have another book with a different publisher and they have assured me that it's absolutely necessary to use it. But I sell far more copies of the book I have with you, too. There seems to be a difference of opinion about whether DRM is reliable or not in my author's group as well. Any thoughts?

Answer: DRM or "Digital Rights Management" involves putting a code in the front of a file that requires a "key" (sent separately via e-mail to the customer) to get the file to open. People who fear Pirates often seek publishers using DRM.

To use it or not, is a decision a publisher makes as a business person. Some publishers feel this enhances the sales experience and will protect the author's file from pirates, which is why it was invented in the first place.

I made a consciencious decision not to use DRM after I received a number of complaints from customers that, even when they entered the key, the file wouldn't open. I also noticed those DRM protected files had more, not less, problems with Pirate sites.

Personally, if I hear of a pirate, I ask them politely to remove the material, pointing out that they have it illegally as the publications rights are contracted to me. If they do remove it, that's that. If they tell me, too bad, you can't touch us, I send a "cease and desist" letter prepared for me by an author who is also an attorney. I copy that letter to the company that hosts the domain of the offender, with a note pointing out that they are hosting an entity that is doing illegal business on the Internet. SOME domains remove the site forthwith. Some warn them. Some could care less, especially some hosts in China.

DRM protection sounds like a good idea. But I do not use it for the following reasons.

1. It annoys customers, who sometimes can't get the book they have just bought and paid for to open.

2. I has been known to scramble formats, making your carefully prepared and formatted files look like crap when they do open.

3. Anyone with a copy of Microsoft Word 7 or above can disable DRM on any file, if they know how. So it doesn't really protect anyone from Pirates, because they make it their business to know how.

Bottom line: DRM was a good idea, but it doesn't work very well. I believe the annoyance factor kicks in and costs sales. In addition SOME vendor sites will not discount or promote books with DRM enabled.

Small publishers get breaks with vendors, who will send e-mail to people who have bought others by the same author, or books in a series, and so on -- a case where spam can work for you -- BUT they do NOT get such breaks if DRM is enabled, or in some cases, if the book's price is $7.00 or more.

Chicken Soup -- recipe

2012-01-16T07:46:00.000-08:00

Roger and I both have the flu this week. Thanks to all who sent encouraging messages. Still working on the mailing, but am almost finished.

Meanwhile I made some chicken soup. We are both taking it easy as we can and starting to feel as if we may live.

Chicken Soup

Usually I make this soup on Mondays and use leftover roast chicken from Sunday dinner. This time I used a pkg of frozen chicken tenders. Sometimes I add 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, too.

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth
1/2 pound chopped cooked chicken breast
1 1/2 cups egg noodles
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion and celery in butter until just tender, 5 minutes. Pour in chicken and vegetable broths and stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes before serving.

Catching UP!

2012-01-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

Arline and Roger both have the flu. Progress is not progressing as we would like it to in the Chase household.

No books went to press this week.

No galleys went out this week.

Data entry was completed and Shelley wrote the checks this week. The letters and labels are in progress and Arline expects to finish the mailing by Tuesday or Wednesday, if the flu gets better...meanwhile we are snug, safe, and receiving help an tender care from Sid, Kathy, Shelley and David.

Slow Cooker, Baby Back Ribs - recipe

2012-01-13T07:55:00.000-08:00

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours

Ingredients:

2 racks of baby back pork spareribs
grill seasoning blend or salt and pepper
1 Bay Leaf
Sauce:
1 1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon dry mustard or Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 cup white cooking wine

Preparation:

Cut the ribs into serving-size portions and arrange in the slow cooker.
Season them with salt and pepper and add 1 bay leaf.

Combine sauce ingredients and pour over the ribs. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 12 hours, until ribs are very tender. Check after six hours. If the lid to the pot is not tight, steam may have evaporated some of the sauce. Add water, if necessary, to compensate.

Is Amazon Publishing Books Now?

2012-01-12T07:15:00.000-08:00

Question from the e-mail Elizabeth Eagan-Cox asked:

Recently, a neighbor who received an Amazon Kindle for Christmas (he knows I'm an author and has purchased my books) asked me if I planned on having "Singles" on Kindle. which I will not bother you with because there is lots of fine print involved.

This caught me off guard, I’ve heard of "Singles" on Kindle/Amazon but I confess, I’m ignorant about "Singles" what they are and what it entails.

So… I went to Amazon and on a page of information about "Singles," it lists the criteria (see below)… and a whole lot more information,

Anyway, the criteria for "Singles" are listed below, I took it from Amazon and I have the long link printed below it.

At first glance, this seems like vanity publishing (an author can submit a manuscript directly to Amazon)… Is it?

Elizabeth Eagan-Cox

Kindle Singles Criteria

• Length: 5,000 to 30,000 words
• List price: $0.99 to $4.99
• Original work, not previously published in other formats or publications
• Self-contained work, not chapters excerpted from a longer work
• Not published on any public website in its entirety
• We are currently not accepting how-to manuals, public domain works, reference books, travel guides, or children's books.

Answer: Amazon is helping customers Self-Publish AND incidentally providing themselves with a list of "Bargain Books" to offer to Kindle readers at very low cost. Is this Self-Publishing??? Absolutely!

I will do another blog about this when I get time to explore the fine print a bit more. Meanwhile, here's what I think I know about it now. Amazon is definitely aiming for the "self-published" market here. That means the books receive no vetting, no editing, and have no publisher, so no one gets paid except the author, hence the low prices. Authors do any work that gets done and make all the money, and that sounds like a very good deal to most of them. They can write whatever they like, however they want to, no one says, "Hey, there's no such thing as a fit of 'peak,'" and they never get a return. There is a whole new movement within authors' groups encouraging them to "keep control of the product" rather than seeking (and sharing earnings with) ANY publisher.

Some Self-Published Authors, like J. R. Rain who knows how to exploit the system, are doing Very Well with this. And not just with amazon. You'll find their books on most distributor sites. They spend many hours uploading all the books to sales outlets and tracking sales, a job publishers mostly do for you, and so on. They are very well informed about Internet technology.

But for self-published authors, who don't have Rain's techno-saavy, many will opt for the one outlet. Most of the other books listed this way are crap. A good many people are tiring of the "low priced book" phenomenon already (See Newton Love's Facebook comment yesterday. Newt, if you see this, you might want to post that comment again, here.)

Even "successful" self-published authors produce books where people "peak" at each other, look "threw" windows, and cut material with a "pear" of scissors. I have bought bargain books with all those errors in them and EVERY bargain book I've bought has many editing problems that will never be addressed. I laugh, but then I'm a stickler. Readers either don't know or don't care. Precision with words was once the pride of the publishing world. Sadly, I read a hard-cover Knopf-published book last week that had two errors that even spell-check should have caught. So much for paying proof-readers. Carelessness in such matters are, becoming the standard.

Some self-published authors, like Rain, are good story-tellers and know how to boost their visibility by setting the price at $0.00 for a week or weekend, then blasting the news on social media and offering prizes to fans who "share" the information." They tend to "go viral" and hit amazon's best-seller list while the price is nothing (sales are counted in number of downloads, not in earnings). Rain has thousands of downloads in a weekend and regularly tops amazon's best-seller lists. They also develop new fans that way. Some of them are good earners and actually make a living off e-book sales. One good ploy is to offer the first in a series free for a short time.

On the other hand, without publishers there is no one to "catch" any of the text and editing errors. Amazon certainly doesn't look at content and they will let anyone self-publish a book without even an ISBN. The only time they complain about content is when customers complain to them about the product.

Slow Cooker, Venison Chile - recipe

2012-01-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

1 15 oz can red kidney beans
1 1/2 cups thick-sliced celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground venison or venison sausage
(If your family didn't get a deer this year, you can substitute hamburger, or even turkey burger, but it's not as good.)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup toasted oat cereal
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tbsp Chile powder*
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1 can (15 oz.) no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
1 can (14 oz.) reduced-sodium chicken broth
Chopped tomatoes
* Those who like it hot can add chopped jalopenos to taste
Fat-free sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. In 4- to 5-quart crockery slow cooker place canned beans, celery, onion and garlic (and any optional peppers).

3. In large skillet quickly brown ground venison burger, half at a time, in hot oil. Place burger on vegetables in crockery cooker. Sprinkle with oat cereal, and seasonings.

4. Pour tomato sauce, undrained tomatoes and broth over mixture in crockery cooker. Stir. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 hours. Ladle into serving bowls. Top with tomatoes and sour cream, if desired.

Easy to do ahead and have ready and waiting after a day of play outside in the snow.

E-Book Pirates

2012-01-10T09:36:00.001-08:00

Question from the E-mail: I’m seeing more and more about e-book Pirates and it concerns me. I found one of my own titles on a site that was giving it away. Free! How can that happen? I am sure you didn’t give them permission to give away my book. Why do they give away books, anyway? There are HUNDREDS of titles on their site. Where do they all come from?

Answer: I can’t speak to how they got hold you’re your title, but I can mention some of the ways pirates are able to “find” material to give away and why they do it.

Some publishers, not me, but some, put the PDF up at Bowker’s Books in Print when they register the ISBN. As a protection to our authors, Write Words does not send the whole PDF there, Or to Google’s “search inside the book” or anywhere else except sales sites where we actively participate. Bowker’s security is good, but no Internet Security is infallible.

Authors get tons of spam all the time. One ploy is to offer “free advertising” to authors by e-mail and ask them for one free copy to use for promotional purposes. If the author sends them ONE PDF book file by e-mail attachment, they can then give it away hundreds of times and they can claim to have your permission to do so as it was sent willingly. I don’t know that this is how they got your book, but it DOES happen. A Lot. You would also get lots more “offers” from them to buy advertising on line.

Now all our authors get PDF copies of their books and so do authors with most other publishing companies, and they are then free to use them for promotional purposes, send them out for review copies and so on. That’s what they are for. “Free Advertising” sounds like a great deal to most authors, who are trying to get the word out any way they can, and they do have copies to give away...soooooo...when someone comes along asking for ONE free promotional copy, most of us will bite. But One Copy can be duplicated electronically HUNDREDS of times....

There are also e-book “trading” sites where people who have purchased titles can “swap” their previously purchased copy of your book for someone else’s “used” book. It doesn’t occur to them that there is no such thing as “recycling” a used e-book. The book is copyrighted material. Giving it away is illegal as you still have your original copy. MANY people will argue that they have the right to Sell Used E-Books just the same as paper. NOT the same thing at all! Making a copy to SWAP is just as illegal as copying a Movie, or Musical recording. It is a violation of the U.S. Copyright act and a Federal Offense, according to the FBI.

Bottom line: You can’t have your cake and eat it, too. That works fine with paper books. If I trade a book with you, we each have one book. But if we swap an electronic book, both of us will end up with Two Book Files. And either of us can make hundreds more copies. It’s just not fair.

I can’t say I’ve never made a cassette copy of a musical CD. I do it to hack around in my car with, so the original will not be lost or discarded by mistake when I’m cleaning out the trash. But I wouldn’t do it to SELL a copy. When you “swap” a title at a “used book” site, they are going to use it to MAKE MONEY. There is no other reason for those pirate sites to exist.

Such sites DO give the books away, but Ask You to fill out a “registration” form, to be eligible to “join” the site. It will say sign in, or Join Our Site, or something, but what they want is Your Information. Once they have it, they can send spam to your e-mail address, Pfish your addressbook , and innundate you with all sorts of Trojans and other e-nuisances by e-mail.

Then they sell all the e-mail addresses in your computer to people who want to advertise things and people who want to send out spam. This is HOW folks get those fake messages from you that says you’re in England and had your passport and wallet stolen and will they just wire you some money to help you get home? Because you’re desperate. You’d be surprised how many people fall for this one as the message is sent to people whose names are in their personal addressbook. The message looks like it comes from You and you are Someone they Know, so it looks legitimate. If someone wires them money, they don’t have to be in England to collect, either. They can go to any Western Union, worldwide, claim to be you, and pick up a nice piece of change.

It’s also how people receive viruses and Trojans and software that tracks everything they buy, from THEIR e-mail address. It looks as if YOU sent it. And anyone who reports the spam, reports it under YOUR name as the Sender, Not the Real Culprit. Because they can easily type your name in the “reply to” blank and it looks exactly as if it came from YOU.

Some of those “sign in” registrations ask for your Credit Card info, too. Especially the ones who give books away and sell other goods...and if you fill in the CC info, they then can steal your identity pretty easily. They can order goods or get cash advances sent to a different address “as a gift,” but give your CC number, telephone and home address and you will be hip deep in unauthorized charges that look just like you made them.

BAD things can happen through this seemingly “free book fun” site.

E-book piracy isn’t about the books, anyway. It’s about money. Many authors shrug it off, saying, well, at least maybe some new fans will find me and look for my other books. And that can happen. But if you see your book being given away, call it to the attention of your publisher. Report the abuse everywhere you can.

Because however it happened, it’s Not Free Advertising. It’s costing you sales and every copy they give away, is one copy you might have collected royalties on.

Catching UP!

2012-01-06T06:42:00.000-08:00

New Books were posted to the site on Jan. 1:

New Paper:

LOOKING FOR MIDNIGHT, by Helen Chappell, a stripper staying at an artist's colony while writing a tell-all book is murdered.

FIRST WALTZ, by Terry L. White. A sergeant from upstate New York falls for a local girl, while guarding German prisoners of war in Cambridge, MD.

ON WINGS OF TRUST, by Anna Dynowsky. Cupid Cat, the Harmony Village matchmaker, is back at work in the fourth of the Christian Romance series.

New e-books:

LADYSLIPPERS FOR MY LADY: First in the Coverton Mills Series, by Lynette Hall Hampton.

Whether it is coincidence, fate , or predestination, 53-year-old author, Heather Masterson’s life changes in Asheville, NC, when a man lays a book in front of her and says, “Please sign this to the real Alex Hargrove.”

THE MIRRORED WORLD, by Meghan Roos.

In this whirlwind adventure encompassing two best friends’ race to the truth, Rebecca and Riley discover the shocking power time holds through its influence on history – and how one mistake can threaten to send the lives of an entire civilization into chaos.

DEADLY RECEPTION, by C. M. Albrecht.

Chef Merle Blanc, he has the nose. And when millionaire Bernard Goldberg dies during his wedding luncheon in the chef's restaurant, Chef Blanc's nose, he smells murder!

MURDER BY BEST-SELLER, by Gabriel Timar.

Matching wits with competent criminals is the forte of Detective Sergeant Eva Wyatt. In this fast paced story, her quick thinking bags a contract killer, but to find the person who hired the shooter is a hard nut to crack.

PRINT BOOKS that went to press, or back to press, this week: None

E-BOOKS that went to press, or back to press this week: None

GALLEYS that went out or went out again this week: None

YEAR END bookkeeping and corporate tax info is complete and with the accountants. 1099s will be sent to all who earned more than $600 in sales.

PAYROLL for the last quarter of 2011 has begun and should be complete in a week or ten days.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Barnes & Noble Mulls Splitting Nook Business And Selling “Dead Tree”
Publishing Company<http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/05/barnes-noble-mulls-splitting-nook-business-sells-dead-tree-publishing-company/>[image:
scaledwm-img_

40191]

Two bits of news crossed the wire this morning, neither of them good for traditional publishing. First, Barnes&Noble has reportedly put their publishing arm<http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970203513604577140973038330902-lMyQjAxMTAyMDAwNDEwNDQyWj.html>, Sterling Publishing (their vanity press function), up for sale, a company it bought in 2009 for $115 million. Sterling produces puzzle, game, and crafts books for kids and adults. Not as big a deal as it sounds, but it still points to a reduced
interest in paper-based sudoku.

Second, B&N is mulling the spin-off of the Nook business, a move that will shelter the burgeoning epub business and, more important, pull it out of the listing ship that is B&N proper (the Brick and Mortar Stores). The company reported a loss of $6.6 million this quarter, down about half from last year, but the Nook business has thus far been quite lucrative, leading the company to “pursue strategic exploratory work to separate the NOOK business.”

The Nook generated most of B&N’s online sales for a total of $327 million in revenue, an increase of 43%. Quote a B&N press release, “This increase was driven by continued growth of the NOOK business, offset by a decline in online physical product sales.” All nook sales brought the company $448 million, with an increased potion of that coming through third-party retailers – a point that doesn’t look good for the actual book stores.

In all, they sold 70% more Nook devices over last year.

Eastern Shore Oyster Fritters -- recipe

2012-01-05T07:34:00.000-08:00

A neighbor brought us a quart of oysters the other day.

I made some 0f Barfer Robinson Stew with half of them and will make oyster fritters with the rest. This is my great-grandmother's recipe, but it works just as well if you substitute vegetable oil for lard in frying.

1 pt. shucked large oysters
6 tbsp. cream (half & half will also work)
1/2 cup oyster liquor
3/4 c. pancake mix
1/2 c. self-rising corn meal
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup lard for frying. Add more if needed.

If batter becomes too thick from standing, thin it with more of the oyster liquor.

Drain oysters reserving liquor. Put oysters in bowl. Mix in cream and liquor. Add pancake mix, cornmeal, salt and pepper. Mix well. (Batter will be thick).

Heat lard in 10 inch fry pan until smoking hot. (If using an electric fry pan set at 360 degrees and wait until it is fully heated.

Drop batter into hot oil by tablespoon making sure to include 1 oysters in each portion. Cook until brown on 1 side, for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn carefully and brown the other side.

If there is batter left-over after all the oysters are fried, you can fry that, too, and serve it to toddlers or people who are squeamish about eating whole oysters.

My books disappeared -- writing tip

2012-01-04T07:09:00.001-08:00

Question from the e-mail: I sent a friend to Mobipocket to buy my books and she couldn't find them. I checked and they are not listed. They were there before. Any idea what happened...?

Answer:

Thanks for the heads up.

Mobi was bought by amazon several years ago. Just now they are revamping the site with new software. They have dropped their entire past inventory and are in the process of picking up their available titles from the Kindle store at Amazon and converting that information to Mobi format. Amazon is also in the process of opening new International stores in Italy, France, Germany, etc. for folks with Kindle devices who want to buy in Euros.

Your titles are both listed for Kindle. All the Kindle titles will be available on Mobi, so your book will "return" there whenever the software catches up.

Black Eyed Pea Soup -- recipe

2012-01-03T06:57:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Maggie Dix’s Heart-Healthy Black-eyed Pea Soup

2 ½ cups dried Black-eyed Peas
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. imitation bacon flavored pieces
1 handful of dried cholesterol-free (No Yolks) dumplings
Dash of salt (Garlic salt is good, too.)
Pepper to taste

Water to cover plus one inch. If water has cooked away, add water to cover plus 1/2 inch and bring back to a simmer before adding dumplings.

Place all ingredients except dumplings in a 2 quart pot. Cover with water. Simmer until peas are tender. Add dumplings. Cover and Simmer 10 more minutes. Serves four. If you believe in old wives's tales, double the recipe for New Years.

Maggie Dix .

Catching UP!

2011-12-31T06:34:00.000-08:00

Books that went to press or back to press this week:

FIRST WALTZ by Terry L. White

THE WRITE HONOR: Harmony Village Series, Vol. 5, by Anna Dynowski

LOOKING FOR MIDNIGHT, by Helen Chappell

A HOUSE TO KILL FOR by Judy Reveal

Galleys that went out this week:

THE MISTAKE, by Bruce Castle

SNOW ESCAPE, by Roberta Goodman

Work began or continued on the following:

None. Work continues on the year-end bookkeeping.

Once that is done we will begin payroll, so new work will not likely begin until Mid-January.

Meanwhile, back a Fictionwise:

Best Sellers
Based on data gathered within the last 20 days. Icon explanations
1. Blue Diamonds by Spencer Dane [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]
2. Portals by Eleanor Cross [Suspense/Thriller/Mainstream]
3. A Maine Christmas Carol by Phillip F. Harris [Young Adult/Family/Relationships]
4. Serious Nuts: The Inevitable Rise of Miss Grainger by Geoff Geauterre [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]
5. Two Faces Two Faced by Kathryn Flatt [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]
6. Almost Mine by Diane Marquette [Mainstream]
7. Emma by Jane Austen [Classic Literature/Romance]
8. Lust for Danger by K.S. Brooks [Suspense/Thriller]
9. Lightfoot the Deer by Thornton W. Burgess [Children's Fiction/Classic Literature]
10. Take Your Daughter to Work Day by Marie Prato [Children's Nonfiction/Family/Relationships]

Highest Reader-Rated
Based on highest average ratings by at least 5 readers. Icon explanations
1. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Classic Literature/Children's Fiction]
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [Classic Literature]
3. Minder's Oath [High Places Series: Book 2] by Nina M. Osier [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
4. Ghost Dancer by Arline Chase [Historical Fiction]
5. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini [Suspense/Thriller/Classic Literature]
6. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie [Mystery/Crime/Classic Literature]
7. The Secret Adversary [Tommy and Tuppence Book 1] by Agatha Christie [Classic Literature]
8. Dark Elf: [Book 2 of the Red Knight Chronicles] by Ray Morand [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
9. Slow Dancing with the Angel of Death [Hollis Ball and Sam Westcott Series Book 1] by Helen Chappel [Mystery/Crime/Humor]
10. Tortured Souls [Arbiter Series Book 2] by Matthew L. Schoonover [Horror]

Return -- writing tip

2011-12-29T07:24:00.000-08:00

Question from the e-mail: I got my book back from your company -- thanks for the feedback. Would you consider other titles I might submit? Also, I'm not quite sure what the readers meant by remarks about the "synopsis taking too much time" and "needing work." I thought the synopsis didn't count. Any ideas...?

Answer: We will look at a query from anyone about any book, but only consider solicited samples for publication. We would certainly welcome inquiries from you.

The "needs work" comment usually means there were grammar or usage problems -- missing caps, mixed homonyms, missing quotation marks, words that spell check won't find, but that are not the correct spelling for the use -- "a mountain pique, a pear of scissors," etc. The time comment on the synopsis may have to do with the many years involved in the timeline of your story. Most novels cover a year or less. Some cover a week. A story that covers a long time-period needs truly compelling characters, and enough suspense and tension to carry the story arc over the length of time.

I think that's what reader number one was saying. I chose her because she (a former student) had a similar problem with a story that covered 11 years -- from the beginning of the civil war, through reconstruction, then the characters moved on to another location and rebuilt built a different life. Her book was too long as well, about 250,000 words. She made it a series of three.

I may have said the writing in the synopsis doesn't count, but the story always counts. First the committee reads the synopsis to see what the story is about and how interesting it is, whether the characters are ones the reader will care about and whether the ending is satisfactory. THEN they read the three chapters to see whether the writing is up to snuff and whether it follows the synopsis enough that the book is telling the story as it was given.... They look at the sample in a business-like way. Writing is art, but publishing is a business.

Synopsis writing is All Telling. It doesn't have to be good, only accurate as to story: Cinderella wants to go to the ball, but has nothing to wear. Etc.

Writing a novel is a work of art, but the good ones can surface from the above filtering process. Every publisher's goal is to find and publish as many good ones as we can. As a writing teacher with 25 years of experience, I know there is a LOT of good work out there that deserves recognition, but goes largely ignored. It seems cruel to say the manuscript must be ready to go and not need editing, but the more editing we do, the more time it takes, the fewer books we can publish. We are a small publisher. Yet our goal is to publish four books per month. We do not have best-sellers to provide the cushion of heavy profits. Our only hope of solvency is in our numbers...

It is grossly unfair to judge a work of art on these standards, we know. A novel takes years to write and a great deal of devotion to complete. That's why writing is my passion, but publishing is a pleasant way to pass the time. To look at any book as a mere "product" may seem insulting and unfeeling and for that we apologize.

Trends in the E-book Business

2011-12-28T07:41:00.000-08:00

The following guest commentary was provided by Lori James at http://www.allromanceebooks.com

We have participated in their site for several years and find them to be an excellent sales site. They also were the first site to set a standard royalty at 70-% of list price. Of particular interest is what they had to say about lack of sales for Digital Rights Management or DRM files.

TRENDS, by Lori James

At the end of every year, ARe completes a trend analysis based on our prior year’s sales experience. 2011 was a very successful year for eBooks in general and for AllRomance.com, OmniLit.com, and AReCafe.com specifically. Although all websites realized an increase in traffic (we’re now receiving 5.8 million hits/month), we’re proud to announce that our flagship store, All Romance, has an Alexa rank in the U.S. of 6,330. On December 20, 2012, our 6,330 score outranked many of our competitors including 1PlaceforRomance.com (197,457), booksonboard.com (39,397), bookstrand.com (12,329), diesel-ebooks.com (27,973), ebook-eros.com (408,620), eBooks.com (15,032), eReader.com (44,830), fictionwise.com (24,415), and mobipocket.com (15,964).

Some general highlights

# Total publishers in 2010 = Approx 4700

# Total publishers in 2011 = Approx 7600

# Romance titles in inventory 2010 = over 52,000

# Romance titles in inventory 2011 = over 65,000

# Total titles in inventory 2010 = over 315,000

# Total titles in inventory 2011 = over 395,000

# of staff in 2010 = 12

# of staff in 2011 = 15

Growth in customer base 2009 to 2010 = 215%

Growth in customer base 2010 to 2011 = 102%

Some buyer highlights

We’re continuing to experience triple digit growth in the U.S. and the bulk of our sales are to U.S. customers. We are currently selling in 202 countries.

Top ten markets: United States, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, India, New Zealand Philippines, Malaysia, and the Netherlands.

Top ten U.S. markets: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania

Female = 89%

Male = 11%

Some bookish highlights

Heat Rating = over 97% of sales are on books rated 3 or higher, of significance is that the 5 and 4 flame sales have see a combined drop of 4% over last year with most of the difference shifting to the 3 flame rating.

Sales Revenue DRM v Non DRM = 97% was for Non DRM titles for 2011

96% was for Non DRM tittles for Nov & Dec

File formats = PDF and ePub account for 85% of files downloaded. Next is PRC/Mobi at 14%, other file formats combined equal less than 1.

NOTE: We believe PDF, ePub, and PRC/Mobi are the “must have” formats.

NOTE: If you want titles to be readable on the Kindle via our Wireless Transfer program – we recommend you create PRC’s or Mobi’s. PDF’s do not lend themselves to reflow on that device.

NOTE: If you are not already in the ePub market, you NEED to get into it as soon as possible. The ePub has been accepted as the industry standard and we are seeing both publisher and device manufacturers embracing it as the standard. Some to the exclusion of PDF. The market share for PDF, which has long dominated the digital market, is shifting. Now is the time to start creating quality ePub files if you are not already doing so.

We have negotiated a special rate with jimandzetta.com, a file conversion service, for our publishing partners. You can contact them via their website for details. We receive no benefit, financial or otherwise, from your use of this service.

Romance remains, by far, our biggest seller. Although still popular, the overall market shares for gay fiction, multiple partners, BDSM, and interracial were all down 33 - 67% from 2010. The overall market share for erotica increased another 22% in 2011 and sales increased significantly for all of speculative fiction sub-genres. In rank order we saw growth in sales of Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Vampire/Werewolves/Shapeshifter books. In addition…the Contemporary seems to be making a comeback with a 17% increase following last years 55% decline.

In terms of which romance sub-genres owned the biggest piece of the pie in 2011, the top 10 are = Erotica, Vampires/Werewolves/Shapeshifters, Gay Fiction, Paranormal, Contemporary, Sci-fi/Fantasy, Multiple Partners, Interracial, Historical, Time-travel, Drama, and BDSM.

The most popular non-romance categories include General Fiction, Family and Relationships, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thriller, Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Historical, and Non-Fiction.

NOTE: We realize that many books cross multiple sub-genres. We base our statistics on the category the reader selected prior to the purchase point. If it’s a M/M, Contemporary, Paranormal and they clicked on Contemporary prior to the purchase, then the sale goes to Contemporary.

A special note about DRM, the impact of agency, and piracy.

While ARe supports both the DRM and non-DRM business models, we advocate that publishers refrain from using DRM and provide open access – it’s what our customers overwhelmingly want. We appreciate and understand the concerns expressed about potential revenue loss due to piracy. We believe the best deterrent is to provide customers with easy access to appropriately priced content.

Tens of thousands of DRM titles were removed by what has commonly been referred to as “Agency” publishers in April of 2010. Data from Q1 of 2010 seemed to indicate DRM might have ended up being approximately 12% or more of sales in 2010, as opposed to the 4% that resulted. Although we certainly realized some lost sales due to the decrease in that inventory, data supports the fact that many readers simply found alternate content to interest them and accordingly shifted those purchasing dollars to non-Agency publishers.

The market share of DRM titles decreased further in 2011 to 3%. We attribute this to two factors: the decrease in overall market share of DRM inventory due to the loss of Agency publishers, AND buyer preferences shifting to Non-DRM publishers and Indie Publishers.

Agency Publishers returned to the site in early November. The DRM/Non-DRM market share split did improve during the subsequent two-month period of time (from 3% to 4%). We anticipate a 4-6% share in 2012, a far cry from what we believe we possibly would have seen without Agency interruption.

A special note about the timing of releases on ARe sites.

We know that several publishers purposefully delay releasing titles for distribution in an effort to increase the market share of titles being purchased directly from their own website where profits are higher. Readers who prefer to shop at All Romance find this very frustrating. If they discover a new release, come to All Romance to purchase it, and it’s not here…. What happens?

It’s a question we’ve been asking ourselves, and one included in our recent Romance Reader Survey. We currently have over 5,500 responses and have uncovered some interesting information.

Less than 17% of the respondents report they are purchasing the majority of books from a publisher's website. 83% report they are purchasing from a retailer of some sort (major or indie). If those customers are unable to find a book on retail site “A”, a few report they will check the publishers website, gaining the publisher potentially another 17%.

What happens to the other 83%?

They either ask retailer “A” for the title, which retailer “A” can't get, or they move on to retailer “B”, where they won't find it either, or they purchase something else, or they wait and make a note to check back.

So the question becomes… Is keeping that additional 17% worth losing the other?

If we look at the long-tail sales records for most books, they sell the most in the first 1-3 months when the authors and publisher are most heavily promoting it.

If we use a figure of 1000 books at $5 each - then the potential publisher gain at 100% of the revenue is an additional $850. But the potential loss of 60% of the 83% is $2490.

Do publishers who hold back on distribution come out ahead? We don’t think so. We would like to encourage publishers who have been delaying distribution to test pilot a simultaneous release strategy for Q1 of 2012 on ARe.

A special note about our Affiliate Program.

We have completed Beta Testing on our Affiliate Program, which we’d hoped to roll out right after the first of the year. We’ve identified some opportunities for improvement, particularly in the sign-up process, and therefore will be delaying the implementation. We want to thank everyone who has been participating in the program. As soon as the automated sign-up process changes are in place, tested, and approved, we will be able to offer Affiliate Contracts to any interested reader, publisher, authors…well, anyone. Affiliates will have an opportunity to earn a percentage of the total charge for any purchases made during a browsing session that was initiated using their Affiliate code. There will be a two-tiered payment system, one for General Affiliates and another for Exclusive Affiliates. Exclusive Affiliates are affiliates who have decided to make ARe their exclusive vendor of choice for digital books. Look for further details!

We will soon be presenting more results from the Romance Reader Survey along with some additional data based on sales experience at Digital Book World in New York. The presentation. Ladies First: Lessons from the Romance eBook Model. Hope to see some of you there!

Lori James

COO

All Romance eBooks, LLC

hyphenation question - writing tip

2011-12-27T07:09:00.000-08:00

Question: I have been taking a class this fall and just got my final paper back. I turned a story in to a teacher who insists I have left out many hyphens. What's wrong with describing a good looking man? Isn't she just being picky?

Answer: Yes, she's being picky, but she's also right. Hyphenate phrases that combine modifiers. Descriptive phrases like “good-looking” take a hyphen. The best rule of thumb is that if both words won’t act as modifiers alone, they should be hyphenated. For instance you could have a good man, but you couldn’t have a “looking man” because that wouldn’t make sense. You need a hyphen to hook the words together so they will both apply to “man.”

We are writers. Words are our tools. When we are not picky about them, we can end up like my uncle who once used a hatchet to drive a nail and ended in the ER with half an ear. Well maybe not quite THAT bad, but funny-looking all the same.

Turkey Croquettes - recipe

2011-12-26T08:17:00.000-08:00

Figured most anyone could use this one today.

Twice-Baked Turkey Croquettes Recipe

2 cups chopped, cooked turkey
1 cup leftover stuffing
1 small onion chopped
2 eggs, beaten
2 TBSP finely chopped parsley
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp pepper
1/3 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 TBSP butter or margarine, melted

This works equally well with crushed Ritz crackers instead of Bread Crumbs.

Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet. In medium bowl combine turkey, stuffing, onion, eggs, parsley, thyme and pepper. Shape mixture into 8 patties. Place bread crumbs on a plate. Coat patties on both sides with the crumbs. Place on baking sheet. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake 20 minutes, turning over about halfway through cooking time.

Catching UP!

2011-12-23T09:51:00.000-08:00

The best of Holidays to all of you. This will be our last post until after Christmas.

Books that went to press or went to press again this week:

None

Galleys that went out, or went out again this week:

FIRST WALTZ by Terry L. White

SNOW ESCAPE by Roberta Goodman

THE WRITE HONOR, by Anna Dynowski

For those waiting to hear from the Book committee, they are celebrating and will not be getting any files from the beginning of last week, until after the holiday. So please be patient if you haven't heard anything. None of you have been forgotten and you will all get answers as soon as I can.

Hope you are all ready. Roger is out delivering gifts. I am making ugly cookies this afternoon -- my sons' favorites. Everything else is done.

I will not be doing any work next week except to get the rest of the bookeeping finished. Just need some time off....

Gifts -- Poem

2011-12-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

Today is the Winter Solstice and also happens to be our Wedding Anniversary -- optimists to marry on the longest night of the year, right?

Many thanks to my "generous guy" for 55 years of happiness, and to all of you for enriching our lives with the gift of your friendship.

Gifts

So many blessed gifts piled high,
shiny, bright, all aglitter,
They crown my life with blessings.
Let me count them...

A generous man with a kind heart,
Sweet kisses, and hot coffee every morning
Strong sons, and daughters bring
laughter, rich conversation, and warm pumpkin cake.

Nieces, nephews, cousins, family,
friends—near and far—all bless us
with applesauce cake, Christmas dresses,
bluegrass music, and visits in haunted dreams.

Precious words kindle enjoyment
Written in light, on screen or paper
Sweet as rich dark chocolate are words—
both my own and those of others.

Roast chicken, whole ham sausage, better health,
Smoked venison, key lime pie, sweet potatoes
served with laughter, courage,
and hopeful felines underfoot in the kitchen.

Each and every day is a gift, shiny, bright,
drifting down like snowflakes.
Some bring sorrow, loss of loved ones, pain,
yet each fulfills us, as it paints the world anew.

Thoughts upon the Winter Solstice, 2011
— Arline Chase

Pecan Sandies, Cookie Recipe

2011-12-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

Pecan Sandies, Christmas Cookie recipe

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 tbsp vanilla
1.2 tsp maple flavoring
1 tsp. salt

1 cup pecan pieces

This is your basic one, two, three cookie recipe with variations.

Melt butter in Microwave until it is soft.

Add flavorings and nuts.

Cream in sugar.

Cut in flour, until dough becomes soft, then mix (like biscuit dough) with your hands until it leaves the sides of the bowl.

With your hands, roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place with plenty of space in between on a greased cookie sheet. (I use the quick release aluminum foil to cover the sheets and make things easier to clean up -- an important step if children or grand-children are "helping."

Flatten each dough ball to 1/2 inch thickness, with the bottom of a glass. I use a neat glass with a cut-glass flower on the bottom that once belonged to my granny. We made these together when I was a child and called them "Flower Cookies." It makes a little flower pattern on each cookie.

But any glass will do.

Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes, until cookies brown at edges. Allow to cool thoroughly before removing from the sheet.

Some people use a finger dipped in egg white to wet the top of the balls and then dip the glass in confectioner's sugar between cookies. Some wet them after they are flattened and then sprinkle little red and green sparklies from the supermarket on top. But they are perfectly good without any of that fuss.

Whatever ideas you come up with, will become a tradition in your family.

I found my paper book for sale in Israel -- writing tip

2011-12-19T07:49:00.000-08:00

Question from the e-mail: I found my paper book for sale in Israel at far more than the USA list price and with huge shipping and handling fees. First: Did YOU authorize this? Is it legal? Second: How can they be selling a book that we published? Third: How can they charge such huge prices?

Answer: It's a result of Amazon's worldwide marketing efforts, because we click on "worldwide rights." That means we can sell your books world wide in both e-book and paper editions.

You did authorize this when you signed our contract. We authorized the sale on your behalf when we listed your book for sale "worldwide" at amazon.com. They DO pay us and WE pay you. Price differences may have to do with rates of exchange and UPS shipping fees from North Carolina (where our paper books are printed) to wherever they will be delivered.

This all began when we first started listing our e-books for sale on the French web site, Mobipocket.com -- sometime around 1994 or 95. We listed books as available in English only, but sold throughout Europe and it freaked our local branch bank out when we got a transfer in Euros.

Later, Amazon bought Mobipocket.com and listed all the content already there as content for Kindle, the day if first went on sale. Recently they reversed that policy and now list everything from the Kindle store at amazon.com as available for sale at mobipocket.com. It's a manifestation of the truth, the more stores you're in, the MORE chance you have of selling your titles. Listing at amazon.com NOW also lists you at the amazon stores in the UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy, etc. Yes, they ARE working on Canada and Austrailia. It also limits royalties from those sites to 35% rather than the 70% paid for US sales, but more sales is good, right?

And then there is the "affiliate" program, which has been going on for a long time.

Anyone, anywhere, can sign up to be an "Amazon affiliate." An "affiliate" web site can list books of interest to their members. Most affiliate sites have a narrow field of interest special to them, but list the books that would interest their followers. For instance, many naturist web sites affiliated to amazon.com have listed the Nudist mystery series we publish by Byron and Kay McAllister: UNDERCOVER NUDIST, RUNAWAY NUDIST, TO KILL A NUDIST...etc.

So a nudist, er, excuse me "naturist," who frequents a web site featuring news and information aimed at their field of interest, may see a "books" tab, click on it, and find those books listed among other books of interest to naturists. If they click on the book, they will automatically be surfed over to amazon.com to buy the book. Amazon collects the money and pays us. It also pays the affiliate website a small amount based on the number of "clickovers" from there.

Affiliate web sites can also list print books, though it happens far less often than with e-books.

Authors who Google their names are quite often surprised to find books for sale on unheard of web sites in foreign countries. Novelist K.S. Brooks recently found her Agent Night series on a site in India. But rest assured, if someone clicks on the book, they will find themselves giving amazon.com their credit card number and WWI will make sure she gets paid for the sale.

Don'cha just LOVE the Internet?

Catching UP!

2011-12-17T13:50:00.000-08:00

Books that went to press, or back to press this week:

ON WINGS OF TRUST by Anna Dynowski

Galleys that went out or back out this week:

FIRST WALTZ by Terry L. White

THE WRITE HONOR, by Anna Dynowski

New efforts:

Still working on posting illustrated material to amazon.com and Nook. The good news is that if you submit them in the right formats, I can list them easily. Amazon needs files in .PRC format. Nook requires epub format. There are converters on line for both formats that claim to work with word.doc files and images.

The files K. S. Brooks sent us for Mr. Pish and her other books seem to be working well and we have almost completed listing them for sale.

Old Efforts:

Regular work is getting bogged down a bit right now as I need to get the year-end accounting done and have been in Christmas mode too. Thanks everyone for all the lovely cards. You are so great to think of Shelley and me.

Question from the e-mail -- writing tip

2011-12-15T06:45:00.001-08:00

Question from the e-mail: What is the difference between as "plot-driven" story and a "character-driven" story. As you may or may not recall, I write mysteries. Yet my writers' group keeps telling me my stories are too "plot-driven." How can a mystery story not be plot-driven?

Answer: There are two kinds of stories and both have to have plot or they don't go anywhere. Character-driven plot, and story-plot, as you said. They are never so apparent as in mystery fiction. Agatha Christie wrote her “little puzzles” and her characters were rather interchangeable. But her plots are always very tricky. Okay, Poirot was a Belgian and fond of his moustache and “little grey cells.” But what do we know about him, really?

In every book, somebody dies, Poirot “attempts the puzzle,” follows the clues, and eventually the murderer is caught. But Poirot, himself, never changes. He is always urbane, effective, and -- right! He, himself, is never affected by what happens in the story.

In Dick Francis, the detective character is always a part of the story. The problem, the puzzle, comes partly out of the character’s own vulnerability. I’ll grant you most of his characters are a side of Dick, who was once a world champion jockey, and so he tended to write books that involved horse racing in some way. In Odds Against, Francis’ first Sid Halleybook, the hero was an ex-jockey, one whose wife made him choose between racing and her (he chose racing), then after the divorce he had a bad fall and ended his career with a crippled hand. At the beginning of the story, Sid Halley had lost everything, his marriage, his career, and in part his self-respect. There is, of course a murder, and a puzzle to solve, and Sid does it admirably, just as Poirot does, though Francis's characters tend to be in considerably more personal danger than Poirot ever saw. In solving the crime, Halley (about whom the reader cares a lot), gains a bit of his self-respect back. He is changed by what happens in the story.

Now we never care about Poirot’s self respect. HE is never changed by what happens in the story. He is never in real danger of losing his life through the story's action. We know he was a World War I veteran, had been in the resistance, and had met Capt. Hastings, his British friend (a Dr. Watson substitute), during the war. But Poirot is not vulnerable in the current story, nor is he really part of the story, other than to play his detective game. If he fails to solve the crime, nothing will happen to him. His character will not be affected in any way. Sid Halley has a great deal more at stake. He is a character with a great deal at stake.

I picked exaggerated examples to make it easy. But in Christie’s stories, the plot’s the thing. They are plot-driven, every one. Her characters are only peripherally involved. Francis’ characters always have a lot at stake, one way or another. I firmly believe the best plot comes out of character. But you still have to have a plot. Odds Against had one with a hole you could drive a truck through. I wouldn’t have finished that one, if I hadn’t cared about what might happen to Sid.

Barfer Robinson's Oyster Stew -- recipe

2011-12-14T13:40:00.000-08:00

Since oysters are in season, I thought I'd offer a recipe given me by one of my characters, Barfer Robinson, the cook aboard the dredge boat, Hope V. Rogers. Barfer appears in several of the short stories in The Drowned Land (Maryland Governor's Award Winner) and in my first novel, Killraven.

Barfer Robinson’s* Stewed Oysters

4 (or five) strips of bacon
1 medium sized onion, (diced)
1 quart fresh cream (half and half, or milk for the faint-hearted)
1 quart fresh-shucked oysters with their own liquor
Salt and pepper to taste
Crackers.

In a deep iron skillet, or a Dutch oven, fry up three or four strips of bacon. Let them get crispy and then take ‘em out. Put ‘em in a bowl and after they cool a bit, crumple them up for later.

Brown up your (diced) onion in the bacon grease. Fish out the oysters with a spoon and put them in a bowl, then strain the liquor, because you know them worthless boys is bound to get some shell in there. Then add the oysters with their own strained liquor and cover the pot. Push it on the back of the cook stove (low heat). Let it simmer until the oysters start to crimp up (edges pucker).

Add your cream and stir it in a little at a time, and then let it come to a simmer again, but don’t let it get too hot or the cream will scorch. Then she’s ready to dish up. I like to sprinkle a little bit of that crumpled bacon on top of each bowl. It’s mighty good with oyster crackers, or saltines – you got to allow for the extra salt if you’re going to use saltines, though. You might have to do two pots on a cold, windy day, cause a six man crew can go through a lot of grub

Guest Blog -- Ann Nolder Heinz

2011-12-12T07:32:00.000-08:00

We love it when authors share news with us and are always open to Guest Blogs from authors at Write Words, Inc.

Today is our first such guess blog, from Ann Nolder Heinz!

Congratulations Ann, on becoming an "Award Winning Novelist!"

When Write Words, Inc. accepted my book Last Stop Freedom for e-publication, my delight soon turned to terror as I contemplated the fact that I would need to market the book myself.

A complete novice, I began by searching for reputable reviewers who would agree to read the book. One such person, Sandra Heptinstall, was so enthusiastic that she urged me to enter two contests, one of which was the 2011 Royal Dragonfly e-Book Award contest.

Sandra's suggestion was particularly timely as it came mere days before the contest was due to close on November 1, allowing me to squeeze in under the wire.

I was notified on December 2 that my book had won first place for historical fiction. Needless to say, I was ecstatic!

I would urge all other authors to go this route as well. There was a $50 entry fee, but it was well worth the cost, especially now that I am able to use my first-place award to further promote my book.

Full information about the awards can be found at www.dragonflyebookawards.com.

Catching UP!

2011-12-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

Catching UP

Books that went to press, or went back to press this week:

POSTCARDS FROM MR. PISH: CROSSCOUNTRY ADVENTURE, by K. S. Brooks
POSTCARDS FROM MR. PISH: CROSSCOUNTRY ADVENTURE, by K. S. Brooks, ebook edition
TOO DANGEROUS, by Geoff Geauterre, ebook edition
ON WINGS OF TRUST, by Anna Dynowski, ebook edition

Galleys that went out, or went out again this week:

DRAGON-SPEAKER, by Ray Morand

Galleys still out with the authors:

A GRANDFATHER'S GIFT by Hugh Carter Vinson
COLLECTED STORIES OF VICTOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

Not too much accomplished this week, but I am getting closer on how to publish illustrated material.

Porn or Erotica? -- writing tip

2011-12-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

Question: Thanks for answering my questions, from before. Maybe you can help again. As you may recall, I write steamy romances and have published some of them with Elora's Cave. A new member has joined our writers' group. And when I read a scene that I wanted help with, she didn't even wait for my questions, she just jumped right in and said, "That's just nothing but porn!"

I had opened my time by reminding everyone that I write erotica and was insulted by her reaction to say the least. The whole meeting degenerated into a long discussion of what porn is and isn't, while nobody seemed interested in that fact that erotica is a genuine form of literature.

Answer: An age-old question. I'm sorry they gave you a bad time. Given time to think, one of two things will happen. Either she will broaden her horizons, or will decide that your group isn't the place for her to develop her literary skills. All the others have heard you read before, have read your books, and have not objected in the past, have they? Just give them time to think, okay?

Evidence that erotica has long been a literary art form, comes from the dictionary meaning of the word: derived from classic Greek and meaning, "an artistic work having an erotic or literary theme." (Eros being the ancient Greek god of Love).

Pornography is defined by the dictionary as also coming from ancient Greek, and meaning, "writing about prostitutes" with the more modern definition given as "the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement.

Erotica has also been know to cause sexual excitement, but that is only one element of its creation. Pornography has no value of artistry or eloquence.

My own definition -- which may not be the same as yours, or even the Webster's definitions shown above, is a little different than either.

To me, it's easy to tell the difference: Pornography denigrates women. Erotic writing glorifies them.

Sex scenes in pornography often involves degrading acts, violence, and the women are depicted as depraved and enjoying everything that is done to them, however repulsive or painful.

In erotic writing sex acts are between two people who really care about one another and who have made a substantial commitment, and the acts depicted are an expression, perhaps even a glorification, of the emotions they share.

I have read your work, both in your class, and in your books, and I'd have say your books qualify as "erotic" but certainly not the alternative.

Hot Prawn Canapes -- recipe

2011-12-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

Nancy Madison’s Hot Prawn Canapes

12 slices of thin bread
1 lb. shrimp, boiled, chopped fine
12 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp onion, chopped fine
1/4 Tsp pepper
2 Tsp paprika
1 cup butter, clarified*
4 Tsp lemon juice, fresh
2 Tsp horseradish
½ tsp salt
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Cut crusts off of bread. Cut each bread slice into 1/4, either round, oval or toast point. Mix the shrimp and other ingredients except Parmesan. Cover bread slices with shrimp mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over bread. Place on cookie sheet and bake in 500-F or 260-C degree oven 3-5 minutes until cheese melts. Serve right from oven. 12 servings.

* To clarify butter, melt in a saucepan and measure out only the clear yellow oil from the top, leaving behind the whey residue at the bottom.

Contributed by Nancy Madison, author of Whispers...

Backstory - writing tip

2011-12-06T06:29:00.000-08:00

Question from a former student: I got a manuscript back this week, with a handwritten note by the editor that said, "Too much backstory. I can't find a problem statement. Start at the beginning." Any idea what that means?

Answer: Well she was nice enough to send a note, so she obviously liked your writing Technique. My guess is, Tara, that the problem statement arrives late. Until there is a problem for the protagonist to solve, there is no real action in any story. I used to do this myself all the time.

'Tis the season, so let's take the story of Christ's birth as an example:

It didn't start when the angel appeared to Mary in the shape of a dove. That was another story than the "birth." It really didn't start when Cesar Agustus said that all the world must be taxed. It didn't start with the journey of the very pregnant Mary to Bethlehem. It starts when there is "No room at the inn."

That's your problem statement and the place where the "Birth of Christ" story's action really starts. If there had been room at the inn, the whole story would have been different, so a problem has cropped up that will change everything, forever.

The rest is backstory. What happened before there was "no room," an obvious problem to be solved, is back story.

Now it is, of course, important for anyone hearing the story to know all those things, but start with the hook: Joseph and his very pregnant wife have no place to stay. Where will they go? What will they do? What will happen next?

Get your problem statement in right away. Work the backstory in by using mini-flashbacks as they search for a place, find the stable and move in among the animals, and so on. What's a mini-flashback. See example, below:

Behind the inn, Joseph spotted the half-open door of a stable. Concerned, he helped the pregnant Mary from the back of the ass, wishing Caesar Agustus had never requried everyone to travel to his home city to be taxed.

Scottish Shortbread Squares -- recipe

2011-12-05T06:37:00.000-08:00

Easy as One, Two, Three Festive holiday Squares.

1-2-3 Scottish Shortbread

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond flavoring ( or maple if you prefer)

2 pkg. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
3/4 cut chocolate chips
Whipped topping

Melt butter in microwaveable bowl. Stir in sugar and add flavoring. Mix flour in until pastry ball forms and sides of bowl are clear.

Roll out for a rectangular pan, or just press the dough even and flat onto a cookie sheet--not more than 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough into 4x4 inch squares before baking.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 350. Until it begins to brown.

Cool thoroughly.

Spread top of squares with cream cheese.

In Microwave, Melt chocolate chips in a spouted measuring cup and drizzle over top of cheese. Refrigerate half an hour.

To serve, Place single square on a dessert plate and top with whipped topping.

Catching UP

2011-12-02T07:09:00.000-08:00

Books that went to press, or went back to press this week:

MR. PISH'S CROSSCOUNTRY ADVENTURE, by K. S. Brooks
GHOST AT STALLION'S GATE, by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox
TOO DANGEROUS, by Geoff Geauterre
ON WINGS OF TRUST, by Anna Dynowski

Galleys that went out, or went out again this week:

GHOST AT STALLION'S GATE, by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox (ebook)
ON WINGS OF TRUST, by Anna Dynowski (ebook)
FIRST WALTZ, by Terry L. White
COLLECTED STORIES OF VICTOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

Galleys still out with the authors:

A GRANDFATHER'S GIFT by Hugh Carter Vinson

FICTIONWISE BEST SELLERS

Based on data gathered within the last 20 days. Icon explanations
1. A Medic in Iraq: A Novel of the Iraq War by Cole Bolchoz [Mainstream]
2. Blue Diamonds by Spencer Dane [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]
3. Class Reunion by Michael E. Field [Suspense/Thriller/Mainstream]
4. Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott [Classic Literature]
5. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie [Mystery/Crime/Classic Literature]
6. A Maine Christmas Carol by Phillip F. Harris [Young Adult/Family/Relationships]
7. Memoirs of an Insignificant Dragon by Marjorie Doughty [People]
8. Cheating Death by Judy Reveal [Mystery/Crime]
9. White Gold [A Zach Taylor Adventure] by Spencer Dane [Mystery/Crime]
10. Red Emeralds [A Zach Taylor Adventure, Vol. 3] by Spencer Dane [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]

FICTIONWISE HIGHEST-RATED

Based on highest average ratings by at least 5 readers. Icon explanations
1. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Classic Literature/Children's Fiction]
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [Classic Literature]
3. Minder's Oath [High Places Series: Book 2] by Nina M. Osier [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
4. Ghost Dancer by Arline Chase [Historical Fiction]
5. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini [Suspense/Thriller/Classic Literature]
6. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie [Mystery/Crime/Classic Literature]
7. The Secret Adversary [Tommy and Tuppence Book 1] by Agatha Christie [Classic Literature]
8. Dark Elf: [Book 2 of the Red Knight Chronicles] by Ray Morand [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
9. Slow Dancing with the Angel of Death [Hollis Ball and Sam Westcott Series Book 1] by Helen Chappel [Mystery/Crime/Humor]
10. Tortured Souls [Arbiter Series Book 2] by Matthew L. Schoonover [Horror]

Children's Books Question -- from the e-mail

2011-12-01T06:38:00.000-08:00

Question: You use to have lots of children's books on your site, including some that were animated. Now I have grandchildren and wanted to order some and can't find any. What happened to them? When will you have them for sale again?

Answer: Technology changes happened. Technology is changing all the time and have changed many times in the past ten years.

File submission requirements at the other sales sites are all different than they were ten years ago when we aquired the business from Connie Foster. Connie, a child psychologist, concentrated heavily on children's fare. And it worked well as long as all the reading devices would read .html language. HTML handled color and animation well and was readable by any computer, but not by most of the e-book reading devices. Some of those had two inch screens and were black on gray only. Many could not even be seen outside. The focus was muddy, at best.

Those reading devices had no color (not good for children's material) and many didn't have a graphics capability. As e-book devices became more popular, they had the lion's share of the e-book buyers. At that time, because of the reading device limitations, we dropped most of our children's titles because authors complained of lack of sales.

Today's newer devices, such as Kindle Fire, iPad, and Nook, have color, and will do animation. But preparing files for them is much more complicated than just putting together a file in HTML.

Because our authors have requested it, I am doing all I can to teach myself how to do illustrated books for young readers in all the newer electronic formats, but each device requires a different format, a different size and quality of image to be embedded in the file, and many require they be embedded in a different way, and so on.

LARGE companies, like Create-Space, owned by amazon.com, could do such a book in both digital and paper for a reasonable fee, and put them on the market for authors in digital stores, because they have the software to convert any author's illustrated Word files automatically. For them, it's a matter of pushing a button. For us, it requires many hours of file prep.

So automated software is available, but it costs thousands of dollars. Needless to say we are a small company and don't plan to spend that kind of money on a program necessary for only a small percentage of books we might sell. Doing illustrated books manually is almost impossible for the small houses in the digital book business, despite the new devices that are set up to read them. This is changing, as technical requirements are changing, with the distributor stores becoming more aware that accepting small publisher's book files expands their inventory, but it is not yet a simple process.

I knew how to do color and animated files when we first started and.html was the only format. Now there are NINE different formats. Children's books take many more hours of work to lay out and sell less frequently than books for adults. At the time we opted out, except for contracts already made, most of the reading devices wouldn't do illustrations anyway. SOME still wont.

Yet, I have requests from authors to carry illustrated children's books every week. And I'm particularly grieved to say no to those with whom we have already established a good working relationship.

I'd like to teach myself to prepare these files adequately, so that the product would look good everywhere and we could expand your markets . Illustrated books are difficult to lay-out, but they sell much better with the advent of the color devices like iPad, Kindle Fire, and Nook, I'm convinced that illustrated e-books for children will make a big comeback and continue to sell well in the future.

What I need to do is find a format that I can program myself that will translate reliably and adequately to the color screens with clear sharp images. PDF will, of course. BUT by the time an 8.5 by 11 (Or even an 8x8) inch page gets reduced to a 4x6 screen, the pictures may become pixelated and the text becomes so tiny as to be almost illegible and PDF graphics do not presently fit the needs of all the sites and so may "disappear." So there are problems with that solution.

As an experiment, I have tried working with material supplied by another publisher who lives in my county and who asked for help. I did manage to lay out her paper book, ALL ABOUT ME, ROOTIE. Consequently, I am closer to being able to do e-formatting for this kind of book than I was six months ago. But chances are I will not get to experiment further until next year, as corporate taxes are due, year-end bookkeeping must be done, etc.

Based on experience, e-sales is where the market is and where the future market will be. Paper is easier to do, though much more complicated than laying out a novel. But sales of paper books for our company average about 1 in 18. Sometimes 1 in 25.

So this is something we'd like to do in the future. But right now, we can't. Nor can we say when, or even if, it will become possible.

Angel Hair Pasta -- recipe

2011-11-30T07:22:00.001-08:00

Katrina’s Angel Hair Pasta with a fresh sauce ... (for two angels)

2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ Vidalia Onion
1 vine ripened tomato diced
a shake or two of sea salt
a dash of pepper

In a frying pan, add about two tablespoons of olive oil (I add a fresh sprig of rosemary and two cloves of garlic to my bottle of oil to flavor it) one half of a Vidalia onion, cut up fine.
Cook onion in the oil till almost transparent. Add one vine-ripened chopped up tomato
Cook only for a few more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Boil enough angel hair pasta for two angels. It only takes a few minutes, so do not over cook.

Use this fresh sauce over the cooked angel hair.
Top with freshly ground Parmesan cheese (Reggiano).

Catching UP!

2011-11-29T13:27:00.001-08:00

Catching UP is late, because we had a hardware failure on Wednesday afternoon and the gurus couldn't get it fixed until late yesterday.

Sorry for the lag...believe me!

Books that went to press or back to press last week:

HOUSE TO KILL FOR, by Judy Reveal
ON WINGS OF TRUST, by Anna Dynowski
A FRIGHT OF GHOSTS, by Helen Chappell

Galleys that went out, or went out again:

LAST STOP FREEDOM, by Ann Heinz (new corrected e-book files)
TOO DANGEROUS, by Geoff Geauterre
STALLION'S GATE, by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox

Work began or Continued on the following:

WRITE HONOR, by Anna Dynowski
FIRST WALTZ, by Terry L. White
DRAGON SPEAKER, by Ray Morand
LOOKING FOR MIDNIGHT, by Helen Chappell

Roast Mallard Duck

2011-11-23T07:51:00.000-08:00

Dad was a great hunter, when I was small, and usually brought home a wild Goose or 3 or 4 Mallard Ducks for Thanksgiving Dinner.

He liked duck best and especially loved duck gravy over baked sweet potatoes. He often boasted he could eat his weight in it.

First shoot and dress your ducks. Then soak them overnight in the roasting pan, covered in salt water, to remove the "wild" taste.

Drain and wash ducks and pan. Place ducks on a wire rack, and salt and pepper to taste. Always use a rack so drippings go in the bottom of the pan. Place half a large peeled white potato inside each duck. While it's roasting, this will absorb any "fishy" taste, due to the duck's diet. Discard potato after duck is done.

Roast in an open pan, at 350 degrees, until duck is tender and breast meat shrinks down from the bone a bit. Using a pastry brush, baste every half hour with chicken stock and red wine, but DO NOT poke the birds with a fork, if you want the meat to be juicy.

Use the dripping to make gravey. Pour about half the dripping into an a deep iron skillet or Dutch oven, Fry 1 onion and 1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms in the dripping. Use judgement on amounts of onion and mushrooms, more if more ducks, less if one or two. Deglaze pan with 1/2 cup of red wine. Add 2 cups of warm water ( or 1 cup for each duck if there are more than two) cover, and bring to a boil.

Thicken with 1 tbsp corn starch for each duck. Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 to 2/3 cup cold water (depending on number of ducks) then pour into boiling gravy stock. Stir until gravy thickens, then reduce heat to keep warm until serving.

To bake sweet potatoes: Wash whole sweet potatoes. (Do not wrap in aluminum foil.) Butter skins liberally and place on a cookie tin. Bake at 350 for an hour or until potatoes are soft to the touch. If you have a large enough oven, it's okay to put them in the oven while the ducks are baking.

Dad used to make his own red wine, too. But that's another recipe.

Sweet Potato Pie -- recipe

2011-11-22T07:26:00.000-08:00

This week, I'm featuring recipes of all my Mom's Thanksgiving favorites. Today, it's her sweet-potato pie, that was my Dad's favorite thing.

Ingredients

1 (1 pound) left over baked sweet potato
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup Pet evaporated Milk (I use Half and Half when I make this now)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

Leftover baked sweet potatoes are great, but you can used canned, or if you have fresh ones, grease and bake a couple 40 to 50 minutes, in a medium oven until done. Remove the skin.

Mash the sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, zest, baking soda, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Prick a pie shell with a fork to prevent bubbles, then pour filling into the unbaked pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Oyster Casserole - recipe

2011-11-21T06:52:00.000-08:00

1 c. canned Evaporated Pet milk
2 c. crushed Ritz crackers
1 pt. fresh Chesapeake Bay oysters
1 onion, diced small
4 strips bacon fried and drained, reserve for later.
1 sm. or half a large onion, diced fine (about half a cup).
2 tbsp. butter
Pepper & salt to taste

Fry bacon strips and reserve them for later garnish.

Fry onion in bacon grease.

Grease casserole dish with butter, (or spray with PAM).

Mix milk, onion (straight from the cooled frying pan, bacon drippings and all), oysters, with 1 1/2 cup of cracker crumbs and pour in casserole dish.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Use remaining cracker crumbs to top casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Garnish top with bacon strips and place in oven for 5 more minutes.

This is my mother's recipe that she made every Thanksgiving. It is based on her grandmother's recipe for "oyster stuffing" with some modern changes Mom made to it, like replacing the corn meal with Ritz. She also said NEVER to put it inside the bird, but always cook in it's own dish. If my cousins were home, she had to make two. One for them and one for the rest of us. She always said it HAD to be Ritz crackers, too, as using any other cracker would ruin the flavor.

Catching UP!

2011-11-18T06:07:00.001-08:00

Books that went or went to press again this week:

None.

Galleys that went out, or went out again this week:

GHOST AT STALLION'S GATE, by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox

ON WINGS OF TRUST, by Anna Dynowski

Work began or continued on the following:

The Mistake by Bruce Castle

Mr. Pish III, by K. S. Brooks

HOUSE TO KILL FOR, by Juditth Reveal.

Galleys still out with the authors:

THE COLLECTED STORIES OF VICTOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

A GRANDFATHER'S GIFT, by Hugh Carter Vinson

Pumpkin Pie--Recipe

2011-11-17T06:36:00.000-08:00

Birdye DeCoursey's Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

2 cups pumpkin (canned or puree)
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups heavy cream (modern cooks may want to choose Half & Half)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
9 inch pie crust round

Directions:

1. Fire up the woodstove so the oven will be medium hot, but not too hot.
About 350 degrees F.

2. Place pie crust dough round into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edges to extend about a 1/2-inch over the rim of the pan. Fold edges under, and press to seal. You can make this beforehand and keep it in the pie safe in the springhouse overnight, so it will be good and cold to start.

3. Prick the pie shell with a fork, so no bubbles form while baking.

4. Bake pie shell 15 minutes in your medium oven. Then Cool completely on a wire rack.

5. Place 1 Quart jar of canned pumpkin in a large bowl. I can a lot of pumpkin when it's in season, so we can have this year round. (Modern cooks will need two regular size cans from the store.)

6. In a separate bowl, beat eggs well. Beat in half and half, vanilla extract, brown sugar, salt, and spices until thoroughly blended. Add in the pumpkin mixture, mix well.

7. Pour pumpkin mixture into pie shell and place in center oven rack . Bake for 30-40 minutes until the filling is firm.

8. Cool completely on wire racks and serve with whipped cream.

Homemade Whipped Cream Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. With a fork, whip cream until almost stiff. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until cream holds peaks. Spread over top of cooled pie or serve in a chilled bowl for individual serving.

What is "layering?" -- writing tip.

2011-11-16T07:16:00.000-08:00

Question from the e-mail: Someone in my writers' group mentioned "layering" as a technique. I never heard the term before, can you tell me what they meant?

Answer: Sometimes, I use a method I call "layering." I'm sure this isn't a technique original to me and believe that many writers may work in this fashion. Didn't know anyone else used the term, but then when I taught at the correspondence school I carried an average student load of 500 over the 15 years I worked there. So, I have a lot of ex-students who might have gone on to call it that, too, for want of a better name.

I write in layers, concentrating on one thing at a time and going through the material several times with a single objective in mind. This method works for me and it worked for some of my students. My usual practice is to write the first draft hot -- slash and burn straight through to the end of the story -- not stopping for anything. No rewriting until the first draft is DONE.

Some writers see the action "like a movie" in their head. Some are auditory. I tend to "hear" my characters, so I know my images in first draft are weak. First thing, I go back and layer in every image I can think of. I'm only working on images at this point. Show, show, show, show, show!

By the time I've finished that, I discover that I've added a lot of the "over-explanation" that seems to plague my work. Then I go back again and cut prepositional phrases. I search for: and, to, of, because, but; for, and any other prepositions and make certain that I need BOTH bits of information. If, as often happens with me, I've said the same thing two ways, then I cut one prepositional phrase.

Then I go back again and rewrite the transitions, and end of scene hooks, to make sure I've not left out anything important. The transition (opening sentence of a scene) must ALWAYS contain the who, where, and when, and I remind myself, when checking these, that the viewpoint character Must be mentioned First. The end-of-scene hook should leave the reader with a question that will be answered later in the story.

For my final layer, I look for anything that can be left out of dialogue. In real life if someone says, "Where did you get that hat?" Someone else will say, "Why? What's wrong with it?" But in dialogue, the answer should be, "Macy's." Sometimes I have a real tendency to let characters talk on and on when they should be saying, "Macy's." So for this layer, I tighten things up.

I have a one-track mind and sometimes it jumps the track. I can't think of everything all at once. Thank goodness, in writing, we don't have to.

Sure it would be nice if everything came out perfect in the first draft. That may happen with some writers, who knows? But it sure doesn't happen with me. So I use "layering" to fix it.

The good news is, as Anne LaMotte is fond of reminding us, no matter how execreble a first draft is, once we have that one down, we can fix it.

Jalapeno Cheese Balls - Recipe

2011-11-15T07:02:00.001-08:00

Ed Petty’s Jalapeno Cheese Balls

2 lbs. mild and grated cheddar cheese
1 lb. prepared pimiento cheese
1 lb. softened cream cheese
1 7-oz. jar of chopped jalapeno peppers
2 medium chopped onions
6 cloves of minced garlic
4 tbs. lemon juice
4 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 4-oz. bottle of chili powder

Mix all ingredients except chili powder together and shape into 1-lb. balls. Put chili powder into a flat dish and roll each ball until all of them are covered. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap or tin foil and refrigerate until all of them are set. Makes four to five balls depending on size.

Contributed by Edward Petty, author of Four Flesh Feasts and an After Dinner Mint, Naked, and Jared’s Little Playground...People can only be pushed just so far before they snap and claim justifiable revenge. This is not your everyday, garden-variety retelling of 'Good' versus 'Evil'.

Royalty Payments Question -- writing tip

2011-11-14T07:45:00.000-08:00

Author K. S. Brooks posted this on Facebook, thinking it was a joke.

A testimony to the economy for authors: "I got my royalty statement for last quarter and instead of a check there was a bill with it."

This whole thing started at my hairdresser yesterday. She asked how the "book market" was and I was trying to explain to her that last quarter had slowed down a lot for everyone I've spoken to. She actually came up with the "bill" with the royatly statement instead of a check! I thought that was pretty funny. :)

This is not really a joke.

Actually, some sales sites charge authors an annual fee to list their books for sale. Some charge $12 a year, some more. We have seen listing fees as high as $35 annually.

Amazon would never do this, but some other sites do. In some cases, the fee gets billed whether or not there are sales to deduct it from! So this actually DOES happen to some authors who list books for themselves. Publishers with more than 25 titles are usually exempted from such fees...

Self-publishing makes perfect sense if your name is already known. Recently self-published authors like Steven King and J.K. Rowling will have no problem finding an audience. Authors who are prolific, technically adept, and good at self-promotion, can make a good living just selling e-books.

But there can be disadvantages, there, as well. Those "listing fees" for instance that only crop up in the finest print, where it stresses they will be deducted from your royalties. It may not mention that you will still have to pay the fee if there are NO royalties. When a slump comes along, as it did last quarter...well, authors get bills instead of checks. That's not a joke.

We have more than 300 authors. Only 78 got checks last quarter. But NOBODY got a bill for their titles being listed for sale on our website! Or for our listing their work for sale in anybody else's on line store, either. And it takes quite a bit of technical expertise to get the books listed on the other store sites. Each site requires submission in a different format, for instance. Converting all the book files takes us a lot of time, but it also gives our authors more of a chance to offer their work to a growing audience of e-book readers. That's not being good-natured. When our authors make money, we make money. It's work we SHOULD do.

There are, though, sales venues we don't pursue. Some venues are in business to sell books, even some who charge fees are in business primarily to sell books. But the plain fact is that some venues are in business to make money by charging authors for services. We deal only with those sites that we genuinely feel have the authors' best interests at heart. We choose not to deal with sites that may be designed to make money from selling services to the authors, rather than from actually selling books.

One venue we queried, after authors mentioned it to us, offered to sell us a book on how to prepare our files to be uploaded on their sales site, and the book was available to anyone who wanted to post books with them, at only $25! Most sites provide a free PDF with file prep directions to anyone who clicks on "download."

We read their contract VERY carefully, and decided to opt out of that venue, even though other publishers were (at the time) shouting that they were the best thing ever, the "only place you need to be!" and the answer to the prayers of all self-published authors who wanted to "maintain control."

Now, on some private lists, those same enthusiastic people complain of non-payment.... And for the record, I'm not saying they aren't being paid for sales at the venue. We are quite certain the company adheres to the letter of their contracts. We have no personal knowledge of how that venue operates financially, as we are not participants there. We only know that after reading their contract, we chose not to sign it.

Many fee-charging venues are Big Business with well-recognized names. Others are smaller. It's the Internet. ANYone can set up a web site. If you are self-published, check out all venues carefully. Note how many hits they get per month, see how many books they have of their own, or how many are the result of being an "affiliate" of a larger site. Check how many larger sites they list their original titles with. Then read the contract again.

Not all sales venues charge fees, of course, and I won't name the ones that do here. I'm just saying to READ all contracts carefully. Be aware that such fees exist and then choose whether the price is worth it to you.

Catching UP!

2011-11-11T07:21:00.000-08:00

Books that went to press or went to press again this week:

A FRIGHT OF GHOSTS, by Helen Chappell

Gallleys that went out, or went out again this week:

TOO DANGEROUS, by Geoff Geauterre

Work began or continued on the following:

The Mistake by Bruce Castle

Mr. Pish III, by K. S. Brooks

HOUSE TO KILL FOR, by Juditth Reveal.

Galleys still out with the authors:

THE COLLECTED STORIES OF VICTOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

A GRANDFATHER'S GIFT, by Hugh Carter Vinson

Ginger Cookies - Recipe

2011-11-10T06:04:00.001-08:00

Brenda Boldin’s Ginger Cookies

2 cups self rising flour
(OR 2c. flour, 1tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. salt)
1 tsp. ginger
11/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
½ cup shortening
½ cup molasses
1 egg yolk

Mix sugar and shortening; add molasses and egg yolk. Sir in dry ingredients. Roll on lightly floured surface, 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes. Bake on lightly greased cookie sheets at 350-F or 177-C degrees for 10 minutes.

Cool before removing from cookie sheet.
Makes approx. 30 cookies.

Contributed by Brenda Boldin, author of the Alex Masters Series, Dead Birds Don’t Sing, Jailbird, A Bird by Any Other Name, and Swan Song...Alex Masters is back, calling herself “Lexi” now, and working a real job in her brother’s software company. Money disappears, disks go missing, then a dead body turns up, and once again Alex/Lexi is suspect Number One.

Question from the e-mail -- writing tip

2011-11-09T06:30:00.000-08:00

Question: What's a Triple-O Outline? I never heard the term before....

Answer: It's a technique I used to teach in my classes, though not in the workshop you attended at the International Womens' Writing Guild conference at Saratoga where we met. Essentially, it's a shortcut to doing a plot outline....

I have a handout on it and will post it below.

Triple O Plot Outline

Every story is about someone who wants something and whether they get it or not. Any story plot can easily be broken down into three parts: Objective; Obstacles; Outcome, sometimes referred to as the Triple-O Outline. There are hardly any new plots, so don’t be discouraged if “it’s been done.” The challenge for any writer is to make the characters and events so fresh and interesting that the reader forgets they have seen the plot before.

Plots for short stories should be short. If too much action is incorporated, the story will grow longer and longer and may become unwieldy. If too many obstacles occur, the reader could grow impatient and give up.

Be careful not to confuse “back story” (information needed to explain the characters personality and mindset to the readers), with current plot action. Whatever has happened before the real action begins is “back story”. Be careful not to confuse explanatory action, with a plot turning point. A plot turning point is always when something CHANGES forever.

To use a classic example, in the story Cinderella her mother’s death and her father’s remarriage to the evil step-mother, are all “back story”. The mean way the rest of the family treats Cindy is explanatory action used to set up the objective--more back story. Because the Objective for Cinderella, is that she wants to go to the ball. Until Cinderella decides she wants to go to the ball nothing has really happened, everything is going on as usual. Remember, plot always happens when something changes. When the character knows what he or she wants, that is the objective and the objective is always the beginning of the story, the beginning of the Plot. Now the character has a problem to solve – how to get what s/he wants. Once there is a problem statement, it’s time to get on with the story.

If there is no problem, nothing is happening, and there is no story. Stories are about overcoming something. If there is no “overcoming” then there is no satisfaction to the reader at the end.

Here are The Triple-Os

Objective: The objective (some call it object, but I like objective better) is what the character wants. Once your character knows what s/he wants, s/he has an objective. Cinderella wants to go to the ball. Her sisters are going and she darned well wants to go, too.

Obstacles: Whatever stands in the character’s way of getting what s/he wants are Plot Obstacles. There's an old writer's axiom called the "rule of three" that tells us not to include more than three things in any one sentence.

For hundreds of years three has been a magic number in our culture. Genies grant three wishes, Cinderella had two ugly sisters, there are usually three turning points or complications in a story plot, with the last one resulting in the crisis/bleak moment (some people call it the “black moment” and my friend Carla Neggers calls it the “big gloom”), just before the resolution. So it is unwise to plan more than three obstacles in any plot.

Cinderella’s obstacles are not the ugly step-sisters, the way she is treated by her mean and jealous step-mother, or her father’s inability to see through his new wife. These are her obstacles:
1. She has nothing to wear.
2. She has no way to get there.
3. She has a fairy-godmother (who solves the first two), BUT she must be home by midnight or the magic wears off!

As with most story plots, obstacles one and two are overcome, but obstacle three leads to what I like to call the bleak moment. In every story there is (or should be) that moment when it looks as if all is lost. For Cinderella, that moment happens when she’s in the Prince’s arms and the clock strikes 12. She runs, for she knows that when the clock finishes striking, she will be standing there in rags. For Cindy, the party is over and she’ll never see the prince again. (Bleak moment)

Outcome: The outcome is simply how your story ends. Every story has an outcome. Some are happy, some sad, but whatever the outcome the main character or his or her circumstances should change because of it. In our sample story, the Prince finds the slipper. Truly smitten, he searches for Cindy until he finds her. And the Outcome, of course, is they marry and live happily ever after.

Not every story has a happy ending, of course, but there must be a resolution and the story will be better received if that resolution is satisfactory to the reader. Take the movie version of Titanic. (Another Cinderella, story plot.) Unlike Cindy, Rose is rich, but she is also a victim of her family and of her abusive fiance. Here, quoted from the movie, is Rose’s problem statement:

"I saw my whole life as if I'd already lived it...an endless parade of parties and cotillions, yachts and polo matches...always the same narrow people, the same mindless chatter. I felt like I was standing at a great precipice, with no one to pull me back, no one who cared...or even noticed."-- Rose DeWitt Bukater

Rose’s Objective: Is to escape the life she lives and a loveless marriage so that she can find freedom.

Rose’s obstacles:

1. Her family and fiancé who punish her when she doesn’t conform

2. Depression that leads her to consider suicide.

3. The ship’s sinking and Jack’s death (bleak moment)

Rose’s Outcome:

Though Jack dies, Rose is rescued and goes on.

Rose is Cindy in reverse. She’s a girl who has everything, money, position, and a millionaire fiancé. Yet Rose is severely depressed and feels confined by her life. Then she meets Jack, a free spirit. Instead of going to the palace ball, they dance with the peasants in steerage. Even though Jack dies when the ship sinks, Rose goes on to dump her fiancé, and to live out all the dreams she and Jack had planned together.

This is evidenced by her photo collection, Rose as a pilot, on a roller-coaster, riding a horse, and treading the boards as an actress.

So ther's not a happy ending to the romance, but a satisfactory ending to the story, because Rose has escaped from the narrow-minded people and her confined life, she has changed forever, and goes on to find a fulfillment for herself.

Even though the hero dies, Titanic is still a romance.

The ending, while sad, resolves the issues, and is satisfying to the reader.

Cranberry Jelly - recipe

2011-11-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

Question on Lending - Bottom line: writing tip

2011-11-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

Question from Elizabeth Eagan-Cox: I noticed this week that on Amazon's home page, they have a notice regarding their new feature: "Kindle Owners' Lending Library". How will this impact our book sales and profits?

Elizabeth also included the text of Amazon's message to customers below:

Today we're announcing a new benefit for Kindle owners with an Amazon Prime membership: the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

Kindle owners can now choose from thousands of books to borrow for free, including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers — as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. No other e-reader or e-book store offers such a service.

Answer: There is currently a big brou-ha-ha about this decision on Amazon's part as if none of us ever heard of the concept before. But years ago, in a letter that went out with our authors' payment checks, I mentioned that Amazon was doubling (yes, that's right, doubling!) their current royalty fees to authors who would allow future lending of their books. If they didn't want to "lend" later, authors and publishers had to notify them immediately.

The difference between 35% and 70% being obvious, I said I planned to take advantage of the increased royalty and to let me know if they disagreed so I could opt their titles out. No one objected.

In fact I had several e-mails from authors wanting to know if I was aware of it and "on top of" getting them the increased fees. Why the increase? Several other stores were already paying 70%. Amazon decided to meet their price, because they wanted publishers to list books with them and to make certain their inventory was as wide as possible, and they weren't left out as a market in favor of stores that paid a higher royalty rate, especially as the release of the first Kindle reader was imminent.

Amazon pays 70% royalties on all Kindle books sold in the US, 35% for foreign sales, and they have been paying that for years, all the while promising Kindle owners that e-book lending was coming. Now they've posted a notice that it's here, and it's a Big Surprise?

So what's the bottom line?** Say, Amazon pays 70% royalty, on a book that costs 6.50, a total of $4.55 gets paid to you and your publisher. Publisher and author split that 50/50 and each of us gets paid $2.27.

How does this compare to an e-book sold by a mass-market publisher with hard backs on bookstore shelves?

Most mass-market Standard Publisher's Contracts pay the authors 15% of the retail price for hard cover and e-book prices. A new e-book from a mass market publisher usually sells for around $14.99. Fifteen percent authors' royalties on that is $2.25.

So at 70% payment, if they sell one copy, and lend one copy out for free -- you are still even with the original 35% payment.

**Amazon and other bookstores pay a percentage of what they COLLECT, and often discount books to special interest groups, book clubs, readers' groups and so on. So the figures given above for the list price, may not reflect your exact payment on every sale, but authors ALWAYS collect 50% of royalties paid to us from outside sales venues.

What does your publisher do for their share? I can't speak for other publishers, but this one edits the copy, prepares the files for publication and distribution, assigns an ISBN, Typesets the manuscript, does the page lay-out, and designs the cover. We also invest the salary of employees and pay any fees involved, all without cost to the authors.

We then convert the files to the needed formats sales venues' formats and upload to online bookstores for you, making your book available in digital stores in formats ready to run on the many different e-book reading devices.

We then check on each of nine sales venues to keep track of sales, extract sales data, and compute amounts due. They pay you every cent due, every quarter. They prepare W2s for you, and any other authors whose earnings mount high enough to require them, for the IRS.

Now most of the discussion I've read on the publishers', authors' and industry lists has not adequately taken into consideration that to "borrow" a book, the customer must be a member of Amazon Prime. NO ONE can borrow unless they Sign Up for Amazon Prime! Bottom line: This is a SALES GIMMICK! And that's all it is.

What is Amazon Prime? Let Amazon answer that...

"Amazon Prime is a membership program (like other buyers clubs, you pay to belong to) that gives you and your family unlimited fast shipping, such as FREE Two-Day shipping and One-day shipping for $3.99 per item on all eligible purchases for an annual membership fee of $79!"

Members who own Kindle devices can also choose from thousands of books -- including more than 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers -- to borrow and read for free, as frequently as a book a month with no due dates, from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

That sounds like you're getting to borrow thousands of books, until you read the part about "one per month! "

So, bottom line, to ever "borrow" a free book, the customer must be a Member of Amazon Prime, and must be a Kindle Owner, and if they meet both criteria, they can "borrow free" ONE BOOK per month! Or Twelve in a year!

My advice, Elizabeth, is to look at all this as a free promotional opportunity. Get on Facebook and Twitter and advise any Amazon Prime customers to "borrow" a free copy of GHOST OF A CHANCE, the first in your series. If they like it, they might actually BUY the rest before the month is out.

I'm serious. As a happy Kindle owner, though Not an Amazon Prime Customer, I can tell you that the best part of my Kindle is Instant Gratification.

In the old days, BK (before Kindle), I would see a book mentioned on TV and think that's interesting. Then six months later, when I happened into a bookstore (a 68-mile drive from my home), I might see it and pick it up. Or a year or so later, when it came out in more-affordable paperback, I might buy it at Wal-Mart or the supermarket, if they had it, and if I remembered.

With my Kindle, I can see an author on a morning show, push the button, and the book downloads automatically into my Kindle, before the next commercial is over. I did this last Friday and finished the book on Saturday morning. Enjoyed every minute of it, too! Also the Kindle price is comparable with a paperback and MUCH less than the hardcover price...

So use this opportunity and don't listen to all those sour-grapes people who are shouting, "AMAZON IS OUT TO STEAL YOUR WORK AND CHEAT YOU!"

That's just not true. Amazon is in business to make money for Amazon! They don't care about you and me, they care about their customers and making money. Period. And, usually, when they make money: we make money, too.

To Amazon, we are simply product suppliers. To US, they are a door marked, "Opportunity."

Catching UP!

2011-11-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

Books that went to press or back to press this week:

GHOST AT STALLION'S GATE, by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox

DREW GETS IT RIGHT, by Ludima Burton

YOUR PLACE OR MINE, by Lynette Hall Hampton

OCCUPATIONAL HAZZARDS, by Michael Field.

Galleys that went out, or went out again this week:

A FRIGHT OF GHOSTS, by Helen Chappell

A HOUSE TO KILL FOR, by Judith Reveal

ON WINGS OF TRUST, by Anna Dynowski

Galleys Still Out with the authors:

THE COLLECTED STORIES OF VICTOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

A GRANDFATHER'S GIFT, by Hugh Carter Vinson

Fictionwise best sellers:

1. Last Stop Freedom by Ann Nolder Heinz [Historical Fiction/Mainstream]
2. Snow Escape by Roberta Goodman [Mystery/Crime/Suspense/Thriller]
3. Calamity Jane by Martha Jane Cannary [History]
4. Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm [Classic Literature/Young Adult]
5. Blue Diamonds by Spencer Dane [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]
6. The Telepaths of Theon [Sarah's Landing Book 2] by Elena Dorothy Bowman [Science Fiction]
7. The Barbarians [Sarah's Landing Book 3] by Elena Dorothy Bowman [Science Fiction]
8. Genesis [Sarah's Landing Book 4] by Elena Dorothy Bowman [Science Fiction]
9. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Classic Literature/Children's Fiction]
10. Cheating Death by Judy Reveal [Mystery/Crime]

Fictionwise highest reader rated:

1. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Classic Literature/Children's Fiction]
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [Classic Literature]
3. Minder's Oath [High Places Series: Book 2] by Nina M. Osier [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
4. Ghost Dancer by Arline Chase [Historical Fiction]
5. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini [Suspense/Thriller/Classic Literature]
6. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie [Mystery/Crime/Classic Literature]
7. The Secret Adversary [Tommy and Tuppence Book 1] by Agatha Christie [Classic Literature]
8. Dark Elf: [Book 2 of the Red Knight Chronicles] by Ray Morand [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
9. Slow Dancing with the Angel of Death [Hollis Ball and Sam Westcott Series Book 1] by Helen Chappel [Mystery/Crime/Humor]
10. Tortured Souls [Arbiter Series Book 2] by Matthew L.

Getting Started -- writing tip.

2011-11-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

Question from the e-mail: Arline, how did you get started as a writer? How did you find time to write?

Answer: I am a late-bloomer, but from the time I learned to read, I had wanted to be a writer. Life happened. Then two other things happened. I hit 40 and read a book called Wish-Craft.

That book changed my life. In essence it said that it's never too late to pursue your dreams. All you have to do then, is follow them in ways that fit in with with your practical day-t0-day life. I wanted to be a writer. I lived in the boonies, had a husband, home, full time job, and juggled two teenagers with college classes. I had thought that "following my dream" would mean leaving everything else I cared about behind so I had never pursued that dream. But the book said, if I wanted to be a writer, the important thing was to write: on some level, somewhere. I took a writing class as part of my college work and started writing and thanks to the good advice I found in Writer's Digest magazine, I started selling right away.

Articles and short stories were written between 4 a.m. and 6:30 when the kids got up. Mostly they sold to small magazines or regional magazines and newspapers. I sure didn't get rich on them. But I was enriched BY them.

When arthritis interfered with my job as a librarian (books are heavy, yunnno), I was offered the only job I ever had in my life that didn't require my lifting anything heavier than a pencil. Due to that job, as a reporter on a Daily newspaper, I only wrote one book, Killraven, before disability sent me home for good.

Then I had more time to write books.

Pavlova -- recipe

2011-11-02T06:54:00.002-07:00

Barbara Adams’s Famous New Zealand Pavlova *
*The Australians claim it, but we are sure it started in New Zealand.

3 egg whites
3/4 tsp. Vinegar
3/4 cup fine sugar (Confectioner’s Sugar)
½ tsp. Vanilla
pinch of salt

Beat 3 egg whites till stiff with three quarters of a teaspoon of vinegar.
Add a pinch of salt. Gradually add three quarters of a cup of fine sugar
and half a teaspoon of vanilla. Beat till thick. Pile onto dampened grease
proof paper and bake for three quarters of an hour in a cool oven (200-F or 93-C.
When cooked, cool, then cover with whipped cream and decorate with pieces
or peaches, strawberries or kiwi fruit to give in a real south sea flavor.

Contributed by Barbara Adams, author of COBWEBS...Sue cannot shake her misgivings when her timid aunt marries an overbearing bully....An intricate web of lies and deceit is slowly unraveled. But where does Sue's boyfriend Jason fit into the puzzle? The reader is drawn towards an enticing but sticky ending.

Character Planning Interview-- writing tip

2011-11-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

Question from the e-mail: I lost the materials I had from the course I took with you. Do you still have the character planning sheet from the course.

Answer: Actually the one from the course is copyrighted to Writer's Digest and as I no longer work for them, I can't distribute it now. Here, instead, is one that I originated and you will find it quite different from the other, but still, I think, useful.

Who IS Your Character?

Plot should come out of character, evolving naturally from each character's beliefs and desires. To understand your characters' feelings, take a look at the events that shaped their lives. Look first at the character's emotional life, then at world events.
Use the following interview sheet to get closer to your characters. Remember, good characters do things for good reasons and bad characters do things for bad reasons, but all characters should have a reason (motivation)to do what they do. Fill our a sheet for each major character. Questions with a (*) must be answered.

Name, date of birth and place of residence? (*)

What does he or she want? (*)

What stands in his or her way? (*)

How will the character be changed by what happens in the story? (*)

What is the character’s reason for taking action?

What are his or her strengths and weaknesses? (*)

What secrets does the character have?

What childhood or personal events shaped the character’s life?

What world events shaped the character?

Physical description: (*) (Hint: Sometimes it helps to pick an actor to play the role, so you will have a visual image of what he or she looks like)

Death by Chocolate -- Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T08:30:00.001-07:00

Raye Morand’s Death by Chocolate

1 package fudge brownie mix (19.8 oz)
3 boxes chocolate mousse (3.5)
8 Heath Candy or Butterfinger bars (1.2 –1.4oz sized bars)
½ cup Kahlua
1 package Cool Whip (16oz)

Bake brownies per box instructions. Pierce brownies with a fork all over then pour Kahlua over it. Let cool. Make mousse according to box instructions. Break up candy bars with hammer while still in package or crunch up in zip lock bag . Crumble brownies into a serving bowl. Cover brownies with half of mousse. Sprinkle with half the candy. Cover with half the cool whip.
Repeat process of layering ending with Cool Whip and sprinkling of candy. Refrigerate for two to three hours then serve.

Contributed by Ray Morand

Catching UP!

2011-10-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

YAY! The port is open at Nook, and I am uploading new books there as quickly as I can. Will spend most of the weekend on this. Everything should be there by Tuesday, at the latest. So if your book is still "missing in action" on the Barnes & Noble site next WEDNESDAY, please let me know at once.

This is a good time for everyone to check their listings in the Nook Store. They said they had uploaded my whole list, yet I've had still more complaints of missing titles that were on the site and are Now Missing Again, so.....

Print Books that went to press, or back to press this week:

ROUGH WATERS, by Gianni Hayes

TOBY MARTIN: PARK PATROL

Galleys that went out, or went out again this week:

GHOST AT STALLION'S GATE, by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox

ON WINGS OF TRUST, by Anna Dynowski

A HOUSE TO KILL FOR, by Judith C. Reveal

TOO DANGEROUS, by Geoff Geauterre

Repairs were made or work continued or began on the following:

A FRIGHT OF GHOSTS by Helen Chappell

ONE STOP FREEDOM, by Ann Nolder Heinz

PLAYING WITH FIRE, by Tonya Ramagos

Galleys out with the authors:

A GRANDFATHER'S GIFT, by Hugh Carter Vinson

THE COLLECTED STORIES OF VICTOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

NEW TITLES ON THE SITE For November 1, 2011

E-BOOKS

CLASS REUNIONS

HIDDEN GOLD OF MU

SNIPER

ROUGH WATERS

TOBY MARTIN: PARK PATROL

PRINT:

ROUGH WATERS
TOBY MARTIN: PARK PATROL
ROUGH WATERS
DREW GETS IT RIGHT

They changed everything -- writing tip

2011-10-27T07:39:00.001-07:00

Question from the e-mail: I sold a short story to a magazine and it finally came out this month. I am very disappointed. I wrote it about my daughter's experience and they changed her name, her school, the name of our town, all sorts of things. WHY would they do that? They didn't even ask me!

Answer: Did you sign a contract with them? An "all rights" contract? I suspect you did. If so they can change anything they want and don't have to ask you. You have sold the story's content to them and they can do ANYthing they want to it. It belongs to them now.

I know that "overjoyed" feeling you get when you get that first acceptance in the mail. I know what contracts look like, too. Confusing as hell, all those legal terms.

With the excitement of that first acceptance, most of us would sign just about anything, and I know I certainly did. But from then on, anything that comes from it belongs to them, not to you.

So be glad that people will be reading about your characters, regardless of the names, and be certain to read the contract and think hard about it, before you sign the next one.

Pesto Sauce - Recipe

2011-10-26T07:14:00.000-07:00

Best Pesto Sauce

* Pesto is best when fresh, once made it does not keep well, unless frozen right away. A minor drawback for such a great item.

½ cup fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup parsley leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
5 Tablespoons walnuts
Grated rind of ½ lemon
1/4 cup grated Locatelli cheese (optional. Locatelli cheese is a hard, strong tasting, grated cheese.)

(Try adding Thyme for a taste change)

In blender, puree oil, garlic and nuts. Add basil and parsley a little at a time. Add cheese and lemon. Puree until smooth. Serve over pasta, vegetables, or fish. Goes well with just about anything.

Yields: Approximately 1 ½ cups, takes about 15 minutes to make, coats one pound of pasta. Or serves as a dip, or a side dish, or, well...whatever.

Problem statement--writing tip

2011-10-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Question (from my e-mail): I got a note back from a prospective agent saying, "I can't find a problem statement." Any idea what THAT means?

Answer: Well the protagonist of any story has to have a problem. If there's no problem, there's no story--no evil to be overcome. Nice things happening to nice people are the stuff of daydreams. Conflict and people in danger of losing what they want are what's needed for a real story. The problem statement is where the writer lets the reader know what the problem is, and should appear as close to the beginning of the story as is physically possible.

The sooner the reader feels involved in what is happening in the story, the better. Reader involvement happens in all kinds of successful books and the problem statement definitely should appear within the first 3 pages or so, otherwise the reader has nothing to care about.

If at all possible, the problem statement should be included in the first line's opening hook. See if you can guess the central problem of the story from these examples of first lines taken at random from my bookshelf:

"My worst dreams have always contained images of brown water and fields of elephant grass and the downdraft of helicopter blades. The dreams are in color but they contain no sound, not of drowned voices in the river or the explosions under the hooches in the village we burned, or the Jolly Green and the gunships coming low and flat across the canopy, like insects pasted against a molten sun." --James Lee Burke, TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN.

"I inherited my brother's life. Inherited his desk, his business, his gadgets, his enemies, his horses and his mistress. I inherited my brother's life and it nearly killed me." -- Dick Francis, STRAIGHT.

"He had followed her three times in a week. Today made four. Gabriella Starr decided four was enough." -- Carla Neggers, A RARE CHANCE.

"Lady Callista Taillefaire was a gifted wallflower." --LESSONS IN FRENCH by Laura Kinsale.

"'He slaughtered a mother and two children.' Hennepin County prosecutor Chris Logan was a man of strong opinions and stronger emotions. Both traits had served him well in the courtroom with juries, not always so well in judges' chambers." --PRIOR BAD ACTS, by Tami Hoag.

"When Wesley Smith's colleagues asked him -- some with an eyebrow hoicked satirically -- what he was doing with that gadget (they all called it a gadget), he told them he was experimenting with new technology, but that was not true.
"He bought the gadget, which was called a Kindle, out of spite." -- UR by Steven King.

"Her name was Gladys Melbourne and she was crying." THE VAMPIRE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by J. R. Rain.

All the above examples are are also best-sellers listed at amazon.com.

Maine Potato Candy -- recipe

2011-10-24T08:53:00.001-07:00

Nina Osier’s “Writer Who Has a Day Job” Variation on Classic Maine Potato Candy for Busy People

Mix thoroughly:
2/3 cup mashed potatoes (without butter, salt, or anything else added)
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 large package shredded coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla

Butter a 9 x 9 inch baking pan, and spread mixture in it evenly. Then melt in a quart-sized microwave-proof bowl (or on the stove in a double boiler) 1 large package of semisweet chocolate chips, with 1 stick of butter or margarine. Spread evenly over the potato mixture, and then chill for about 15 minutes. “Mark” the chocolate (which hardens quickly) with a knife so you can cut it more easily later. Chill until firm, several hours at least, before cutting into small pieces (these are very rich!). Keep refrigerated until ready to use, and refrigerate the uneaten pieces if you have any…but you won’t.

Contributed by Nina M. Osier, author of the High Places Series

Catching UP!

2011-10-21T06:41:00.000-07:00

Print books that went to press or back to press this week:

OCCUPATIONAL HAZZARDS, by Michael E. Field

DREW GETS IT RIGHT, by Ludima Burton

e-books that completed this week:

ROUGH WATERS, by Gianni Devincenti Hayes

TOBY MARTIN: PARK PATROL, by Barbara Grengs

Galleys that went out, or went out again, this week:

A HOUSE TO KILL FOR, by Judith C. Reveal

TOO DANGEROUS, by Geoff Geauterre

GHOST AT STALLIONS GATE, by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox

Galleys still out to the authors:

COLLECTED WORKS OF VICTOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

A GRANDFATHRE'S GIFT by Hugh Carter Vinson

FORCED PARADISE, by J. C. Compston

BEST SELLERS AT FICTIONWISE:

Based on data gathered within the last 20 days. Icon explanations
1. A Medic in Iraq: A Novel of the Iraq War by Cole Bolchoz [Mainstream]
2. Snow Escape by Roberta Goodman [Mystery/Crime/Suspense/Thriller]
3. NIght Undone: Agent Night Cover Me Series by K.S. Brooks [Mystery/Crime/Suspense/Thriller]
4. Cheating Death by Judy Reveal [Mystery/Crime]
5. A Ghost of a Chance [Shannon Delaney Series Book 1] by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox [Mystery/Crime/Romance]
6. Music Room by Judy Reveal [Mystery/Crime/Mainstream]
7. Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas ( Pere ) [Classic Literature/Historical Fiction]
8. Serious Nuts: The Inevitable Rise of Miss Grainger by Geoff Geauterre [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]
9. A House to Kill For [Lindsey Gale Series Vol. 3] by Judy Reveal [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]
10. Reap the Whirlwind by Josh Aterovis [Mystery/Crime]

Based on highest average ratings by at least 5 readers. Icon explanations
1. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Classic Literature/Children's Fiction]
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [Classic Literature]
3. Minder's Oath [High Places Series: Book 2] by Nina M. Osier [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
4. Ghost Dancer by Arline Chase [Historical Fiction]
5. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini [Suspense/Thriller/Classic Literature]
6. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie [Mystery/Crime/Classic Literature]
7. The Secret Adversary [Tommy and Tuppence Book 1] by Agatha Christie [Classic Literature]
8. Dark Elf: [Book 2 of the Red Knight Chronicles] by Ray Morand [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
9. Slow Dancing with the Angel of Death [Hollis Ball and Sam Westcott Series Book 1] by Helen Chappell [Mystery/Crime/Humor]
10. Tortured Souls [Arbiter Series Book 2] by Matthew L. Schoonover [Horror]

Quotes II -- Writing tip

2011-10-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

Question: Okay, I did use her grammar, so you're saying I should have cleaned it up a little? Also I should believe sources when I know they're lying?

Answer: Yes on the grammar. Cleaning it up is just a nice thing to do and will make anyone happier to talk with you a second time. That's important when you have a regular beat where you deal with the same sources over and over. When I worked on a daily newspaper, I had cops and courts. Cops are almost always glad to talk about their work, but few of them know grammar.

Second, and most important: IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO BELIEVE WHAT THEY TELL YOU TO WRITE DOWN THAT THEY HAVE SAID IT.

Mulled cider -- recipe

2011-10-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

Jessie Brady’s Mulled Apple Cider
* as served in the five star romance As Big as the Sky

¼ cup brown sugar
3 whole allspice
3 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon
1 quart apple cider
Juice from ½ an orange or lemon

Combine the juice and spices with the cider. Boil for about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and return it to boil and boil for 5 more minutes. Ladle into cups. Makes about 6 servings.

Contributor’s Note: Want to feel warm all over? Have some of Jessie Brady’s Apple Cider. This spicy drink will take the chill out of your bones. In the old days, people sat around the fire and sipped the cider as they chatted away with their friends, using the popular drink as an excuse not to go outdoors into the cold.

Jessie Brady’s recipe will take the chill out of you. You can spike the cider with rum for some added holiday flavor. Instead of brewing the cider you can also heat it by taking a red-hot fireplace poker directly from the fire and hold it in the cup. The poker as well as the rum are optional.

Contributed by Jan Springer.

Quotes -- writing tip

2011-10-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

Question from the e-mail: I quoted someone in an article and was careful to make certain it was an exact quote of exactly what she said. NOW she comes back complaining that I "made her sound stupid." How do I deal with that??

Answer: Well quotes can be funny things. Accuracy IS the most important thing, so be careful not to say someone is for an issue, if they SAID they were against it, whatever you may believe the truth to be.

However not everyone is articulate. I have, many times, when an interview subject has spent half an hour trying to explain something, had to put words in their mouths by saying, "So what you really mean is...." and stating the obvious simply and succinctly. They repeat it back to me, and THEN it becomes a quote.

Remember, quotes enliven the prose and produce a closer reader involvement. When quotes are used, the reader feels as if the subject of the article who is speaking directly to them. The only tricky thing about quotes is they have to be absolutely accurate. You shouldn't have any problem with that, though I've had past students (and fellow reporters) who did.

Two things about using quotes. As I said it's important to be accurate in quoting your subject. A tape recorder can be helpful, but you should probably take written notes as well when you do your interviews. It can be difficult to find the right part of the tape, especially if they talk a long time, and you could have to listen to a couple of hours of material to find the right few words.

If you take written notes during the interview, you can star or underline important paryts, and you will have them at the end and can double-check the quotes for "accuracy," to make sure the person you interviewed understands and is willing to be quoted. This works only if you are interviewing willing subjects.

Also, if the person you interview speaks poor or accented English, or in dialect, or uses profanity or slang, it's permissible to "clean up" their prose, so they sound intelligent and articulate in the article, as long as you don't change their meaning or the basic content of what they have said!

That doesn't mean you should make everybody sound like a lawyer, but if you're quoting the chief of police and he says, "Me and the boys was going over to Kelly's drinking beer after work, when we gets this call about a 10:51 PI." You can say, "I was at Kelly's with the boys after work, when we heard the call about a personal injury accident."

Your reader will understand, including the ones who frequent Kelly's Bar, and most of your interviewees will thank you for it -- if they notice the difference at all.

Adirondack Apples -- recipe

2011-10-17T06:42:00.001-07:00

Adirondack Apples:

3 Empire Apples
1/2 cup of New York State Maple syrup
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp.of genuine vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400-F or 204-C degrees. In a bowl, mix well the syrup and the vanilla extract. While oven is preheating, wash, core, but do not peel the apples. Place apples in a baking brick or other high-walled oven dish. Insert a cinnamon stick into each apple, and fill in the remain core space with the syrup/vanilla extract mix, drizzling remaining mix over the apples. Cook for fifty minutes.

Catching UP!

2011-10-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

The checks finally went out YESTERDAY!! Yay.

Books that went to press, or back to press this week:

ROUGH WATERS, by Gianni Devincenti Hayes

DREW GETS IT RIGHT, by Ludima Burton

Work continued or began on the following:

HOUSE TO KILL FOR, by Judith Reveal

ON WINGS OF TRUST, by Anna Dynowski

HOUSE AT STALLION'S GATE, by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox

Ebook work began or continued on:

DREW GETS IT RIGHT, by Ludima Burton

TOBY MARTIN: PARK PATROL, by Barbara Grengs

Galleys still out with authors:

A GRANDFATHER'S GIFT, by Hugh Carter Vinson

COLLECTED STORIES OF VICTOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

OCCUPATIONAL HAZZARDS, by Michael E. Field

FORCED PARADISE, by J. C. Compston

hyphenation question - writin tip

2011-10-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

Question from my e-mail: Arline, I'm reading a hard back book from a well known publishing house and I see make-up spelled both with a hyphen and then again as all one word. These people are definitely the "big leagues," so don't they know which is correct? I know, I know, I have way too much time on my hands, but I'm curious.

Answer: Actually, both may be correct. A make-up test gets a hyphen, but makeup that you put on your face gets none, according to the Mirriam-Webster dictionary. Spell check will almost always let you down with compound words like facial makeup, as it concentrates on the individual words, encouraging lots of folks to hyphenate if they know the words "belong together" and spell check doesn't recognize them. The dictionary is always the best reference for this kind of thing.

As a general rule, Hyphenate phrases that combine modifiers. Descriptive phrases like “good-looking” take a hyphen, for instance. The best rule of thumb is that if both words won’t act as modifiers alone, they should be hyphenated. For instance you could have a good man, but you couldn’t have a “looking man” because that wouldn’t make sense. You need a hyphen to hook the words good and looking together so they will both apply to “woman.”

Scalloped Vegetables -- recipe

2011-10-12T07:20:00.001-07:00

Ray Morand’s Scalloped Potatoes and Carrots

4 cups thinly sliced peeled potatoes
3 cups thinly sliced peeled carrots (or parboil baby carrots and use instead)
½ cup chopped onions
1/3 cup chopped parsley
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon dill
2 teaspoon seasoned salt
3 cups milk

Combine potatoes and carrots in casserole. Preheat oven to 350-F or 177-C degrees.

Saute onion and parsley in butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour, dill, and seasoned salt and stir in milk gradually. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Pour over vegetables in casserole, mix well.

Bake covered for thirty minutes. Remove cover and continue uncovered for one hour or until vegetables are tender.

Contributed by Ray Morand, author of the Red Knight Chronicles.

Apostrophes - writing tip

2011-10-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

Question: Big fight about apostrophes at my writing group Saturday. Does a word ending in S, get an apostrophe S for possessive? Half say "absolutely" the other half scoff at the idea. Which is right? Marcy.

Answer: Actually both are right, depending on where they live. In US English, words ending in S get an apostrophe S, UNLESS they are plural possessives, according to the Chicago Manual of Style and some other US style books. In UK English, they get no s following the apostrophe, according to Strunk and White and other UK style manuals. Weird, huh?

For the record, in the US: Apostrophes are used in contractions, that is a shortened version of two words, but never in abbreviations. Can’t instead of can not, it’s for "it is" (the possessive form of “it” never takes an apostrophe), and didn’t instead of did not. But CDs, las an abbreviation, wouldn’t take an apostrophe. Apostrophes (usually apostrophe followed by an s) are used, for possessive clauses. Mandy’s house. Tammy’s CDs. Do you see what I mean? Possessive forms of proper names take an apostrophe s even if they already end in s, such as Silas’s car. But plural nouns and pronouns get the apostrophe without the s in the plural form. I visited Mandy’s parents’ house. Plural form of proper names get an “es” rather than a plain s, and no apostrophe. Both the following are correct. “The Williams’ car,” for possessive if the car belongs to the whole family, and “The Williamses came to dinner,” for plural.

Catching UP!

2011-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Am working hard on Pay Roll. Thank goodness Barnes & Noble came through with the sales statistics, so now I know whom to pay.

Books that went to press, or went to press again, this week:

None.

Galleys that went out, or went out again, this week:

DREW GETS IT RIGHT, by Ludima Gus Burton

GHOST AT STALLION'S GATE, by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox

ROUGH WATERS, by Gianni Hayes

Work began or continued on the following:

OCCUPATIONAL HAZZARDS, by Michael E. Field

TOO DANGEROUS, by Geoff Geauterre

A HOUSE TO KILL FOR, by Judith Reveal

ON WINGS OF TRUST, by Anna Dynowski

Galleys still out with authors:

A GRANDFATHER'S GIFT, by Hugh Carter Vinson

COLLECTED STORIES OF VICTOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

Sales statistics have been compiled and checks should go out sometime next week.

FICTIONWISE BEST SELLERS THIS WEEK

1. A Medic in Iraq: A Novel of the Iraq War by Cole Bolchoz [Mainstream]
2. A House to Kill For [Lindsey Gale Series Vol. 3] by Judy Reveal [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]
3. Last Stop Freedom by Ann Nolder Heinz [Historical Fiction/Mainstream]
4. Terror Reigns by Eleanor Cross [Suspense/Thriller/Mainstream]
5. Serious Nuts: The Inevitable Rise of Miss Grainger by Geoff Geauterre [Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Crime]
6. Bleeding Hearts by Josh Aterovis [Mystery/Crime]
7. Journey of the Eagle by Priscilla Maine [Historical Fiction]
8. Tyger, Tyger by Ann Bannon [Romance]
9. Shape of Fear [Arbiter Series Book 3] by Matthew L. Schoonover [Horror]
10. Angels Unaware by Priscilla Maine [Historical Fiction]

FICTIONWISE HIGHEST READER RATINGS THIS WEEK

1. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Classic Literature/Children's Fiction]
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [Classic Literature]
3. Minder's Oath [High Places Series: Book 2] by Nina M. Osier [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
4. Ghost Dancer by Arline Chase [Historical Fiction]
5. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini [Suspense/Thriller/Classic Literature]
6. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie [Mystery/Crime/Classic Literature]
7. The Secret Adversary [Tommy and Tuppence Book 1] by Agatha Christie [Classic Literature]
8. Dark Elf: [Book 2 of the Red Knight Chronicles] by Ray Morand [Science Fiction/Mainstream]
9. Slow Dancing with the Angel of Death [Hollis Ball and Sam Westcott Series Book 1] by Helen Chappel [Mystery/Crime/Humor]
10. Tortured Souls [Arbiter Series Book 2] by Matthew L. Schoonover [Horror]

Write a page-turner? -- writing tip

2011-10-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

Question: Someone who read my manuscript told me they "didn't care" about my characters. What is this? A popularity contest? I don't want them to fall in love with my characters, only to keep on turning pages.

Answer: I'd pay close attention to motivation here.

Once an editor told me my manuscript "lacked tension" and I had no idea what she meant by that. Now I know it's because the reader didn't care enough about what happened to the characters. A reader should be invested in your story, should care about your characters and whether they get what they want, and eagerly turn the pages to find out what happens next.

One way to write page-turner fiction is to build tension and suspense into every scene..
Without those two elements, there is no real story. Someone has to want
something – usually, it’s the main character – and wondering whether
they will get it or not is the definition of reader suspense. For tension to be
present, the reader has to care about that character, to be rooting for him to succeed.
One way to make the reader care is to use motivation
(why the character wants the something) to increase the tension. If they want it for greed, that's not a good reason. But if they want it to save someone's life, that's a life-and-death reason to care.

All characters act for reasons of their own. Good characters have a good
reason for acting as they do. Bad characters have a bad reason, but ALL
characters MUST have a reason. That reason is called motivation.

So look at your characters' motivation and see if their reasons for acting as they do are important enough to generate the risks they take. Ask yourself if the reader can identify with them. If they would take the same risk, if the result can be truly devastating should the character fail.

Wahoo!

2011-10-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

Got them at last~!!!

Barnes & Noble came through!!!

Sales are down everywhere this quarter, but that's to be expected in the summer when folks are gardening, vacationing, and doing things outside. We always sell more books in cooler weather.

Potato Puff Recipe

2011-10-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

Nancy Madison's Potato Puff

8 ounce package of cream cheese
4 cups of mashed potatoes (about 3 large bake potatoes)
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup drained, chopped pimiento
1 teaspoon salt and dash of pepper

Soften the cream cheese, blend with mashed potatoes. Add the beaten egg, finely chopped onion, drained, chopped pimiento, salt and dash of pepper..Bake in buttered 1 quart casserole 350-F or 177-C for 45 minutes. Serve at once.Serves 4.

Contributed by Nancy Madison, author of Whispers and Clues to Love ...Investigating a murder, DCI Nick Connor concludes Kate was the intended victim....While Nick struggles to find the elusive killer, he falls in love with Kate, in spite of his vow to never love again. Can Nick catch the killer before the killer catches Kate?

Barnes & Noble Sales Statistics MIA -- Heads UP

2011-10-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I am collecting sales statistics from the various sites, getting ready to make your quarterly payment for October 2011.

At present we are having technical problems with Barnes & Noble's NOOK site and I'd like to say they have been working very hard to fix things for us. We discovered in August that 78 titles of our 577 title inventory, were missing from the B&N site, including parts of several series. Thanks to everyone who let me know about the missing titles.

Originally, when B&N bought Fictionwise.com, their plan was to pick up content from FW automatically listing everything there available for NOOK. This was not happening for us, as most of the newer titles had not been "picked up" automatically, or otherwise. They were showing on FW, but not on Nook. Somehow they had gotten lost in cyberspace.

I spent a couple of days compiling the "missing" list for B&N and we made a different arrangement for uploading our files directly to Nook, bypassing their original "getting picked up from FW" arrangement. Now we will upload the Nook titles ourselves and have complete conytrol of what goes up there. We will still upload to FW as a sales market, just not depend on them to redistribute to B&N.

The changed account required a change in payment arrangements and basically a whole new registration and payment set up. That went very well so far. Checks from B&N have been arriving regularly and ON TIME every month without missing a beat. All the missing titles are NOW listed for sale on NOOK -- the exception being those published within the last two months as we cannot post to update the new list until AFTER all our present inventory appears.

Now comes the COMPLICATED part. No sales statistics information shows in the old account, because it is now cancelled and all the data in the process of being moved over to the new sales platform. No sales statistics yet show in the new account, as it is not yet "officially open" and is not yet listing our titles, even though they are all for sale now. The move is still In Process. Yes, this is October. Yes, I did say August... But at least the formerly missing titles are now for sale for Nook. And we are being paid PROMPTLY for sales, whatever they are.

The good news is they are selling books for us and making payment for them. The bad news is the sales statistics to show which of your titles have sold and which of you we need to pay are TEMPORARILY unavailable to us. WE WILL, EVENTUALLY, receive ALL the sales data, once the new account is complete.

Now there's no question they have the data, as they would not be paying if they didn't know we had sold books. So the information is there. SOMEWHERE.

We asked for help last week on this issue, and were told that we would receive the data on Monday.That didn't happen, and we have, as yet, no further information. If we do not receive the data by Friday, we will go ahead and pay everyone, without the B&N sales included and will pay your 3rd Quarter B&N sales in January, along with the 4th quarter royalties due then.

That's the best we can do, as it would be unfair to everyone wait for all their money.

Any questions?

Catching UP!

2011-09-30T07:28:00.001-07:00

Books that went to press this week:

THE DREAMER GAMBIT, by Kathryn Flatt

TOBY MARTIN: PARK PATROL, by Barbara Grengs

Galleys that went out, or went out again, this week:

GHOST AT STALLION'S GATE, by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox

OCCUPATIONAL HAZZARDS, by Michael E. Field

DREW GETS IT RIGHT, by Ludima Gus Burton

TOO DANGEROUS, by Geoff Geauterre

ROUGH WATERS, by Gianni DeVincent-Hayes

Work began, or continued on the following:

A HOUSE TO KILL FOR, by Judy Reveal

ON WINGS OF TRUST, by Anna Dynowski

Galleys still out with the authors:

A GRANDFATHER'S GIFT, by Hugh Carter Vinson

WARNING...WARNING...WARNING...DELAYS AHEAD...DELAYS AHEAD!

It's time to do payroll again. :D

My favorite thing to do is to pay my authors, but it is a long and tedious process to collect sales statistics from 9 different venues and compile them accurately so everyone can get every cent that's due them. It does take time away from the regular work schedule for both myself and Shelley, so please expect me to get very little regular work done in the week ahead.

Always a fun time to see who sold what and how many. I hope we all make lots of money together.

Coincidences -- writing tip

2011-09-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

Question: The people in my writers group complain that my plots have "too many coincidences." What's wrong with a coincidence? They happen all the time.

Answer: In real life they happen all the time, it's true. But Fiction is a compressed world. There, everything has to be cause and effect. So usually, coincidences are a no-no for fiction writers.

If you're going to have a coincidence happen, try to make sure it is foreshadowed by previous action so that the coincidence will be believable. For instance say two people are going to meet by accident (okay I can't resist a pun) in a fender-bender at a certain intersection.

Although fender-benders happen all the time, the reader might feel their meeting was too coincidental. But you could foreshadow that by saying having the driver see the upcoming light and remember that the traffic light there was malfunctioning last week. Then the possibility of a fender-bender (the next thing that happens) there becomes more likely. It's expected, not a shock.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies -- Recipe

2011-09-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

Gianni Hayes’s Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Contributor’s Note: These cookies are absolutely delicious, and the softer you make them, the better. For Christmas, you might want to stir in red and green M&Ms. It's easy and quick to do but the secret's in the chilling. This is a recipe handed down to me by my neighbor Diane Davenport. Everyone in my family makes them now.

1/2 cup cooking oil
4 squares baking chocolate, grated and unmelted
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup powdered sugar (reserve for baking)

In a large bowl, mix the chocolate, oil, and sugar. Add the 4 eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Mix well, add vanilla

Next, stir in baking powder, the flour, and salt. Chill several hours or overnight (This is an important step). After thoroughly chilled, pre-heat over to 350-F or 177-C degrees

Make small to medium-sized ball; you can use a teaspoon for this. Drop the balled dough into the powdered sugar and roll it around to cover it with the powder. Place 2" apart on greased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Option: Leave out grated baker’s chocolate and add into mixture chocolate Tollhouse morsels or M&Ms. Makes about 50 cookies.

Contributed by Gianni D. Hayes, Ph.D, author....

Write Words / Arline Chase

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Questions from my e-mail

Book Awards

The winners of the 2011 Sharp Writ Book Awards have been announced! Please click here.

﻿Genres of works accepted by the 2012 Sharp Writ Book Awards:

REQUIREMENTS FOR MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION:

DEADLINES AND ENTRY FEES (subject to change without notice):

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Super Bowl Party - chicken wings

Ingredients:

Directions:

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SOPA and PIPA dropped by Congress

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Directions

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Slow Cooker, Baby Back Ribs - recipe

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Is Amazon Publishing Books Now?

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Guest Blog -- Ann Nolder Heinz

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Roast Mallard Duck

Sweet Potato Pie -- recipe

Ingredients

Directions

Leftover baked sweet potatoes are great, but you can used canned, or if you have fresh ones, grease and bake a couple 40 to 50 minutes, in a medium oven until done. Remove the skin.

Mash the sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, zest, baking soda, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Prick a pie shell with a fork to prevent bubbles, then pour filling into the unbaked pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Oyster Casserole - recipe

Catching UP!

Genres of works accepted by the 2012 Sharp Writ Book Awards: