Monday's Mantra: Friendships

I had an experience over the weekend, one I never want to repeat, but it thought me a lot about myself and friendships. 

1. I'm much, much stronger than I thought. 

2. 

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James Tenedero on: The Writing Process

I’m thrilled to have been invited to contribute some thoughts on writing to What Blá Did Next; thanks very much Bláithín!

In this vein, for today’s guest post I thought I would blog about my own experiences in crafting my first novel, The Consistency of Parchment. More specifically (and hopefully not too presumptuously) I’d like to offer a few pointers that I now realize had served me fairly well in completing my book.

1) Research your topic

I firmly believe in the value of getting well situated in the topic that you’re planning to write about. With The Consistency of Parchment I had set out to create a novel based partly in modern-day Eastern Europe, with all its attendant political and social history. In order to credibly do so, I spent a lot of time researching the character of Communist rule in this region over the decades from the mid-twentieth century onwards. I had spent some time in Budapest in 2003, which gave me a good foundation from which to explore some of these issues. However, I also did a lot of archival research, collecting any and all manner of book, pamphlet, monograph, and other published document that would help me better understand the setting that I presumed to capture in my fiction.

While I certainly don’t profess any degree of real expertise on this topic, I do feel as though this legwork gave me a much better sense for how to position the story in its broader context. If nothing else, deep research gives you a certain amount of authorial confidence, which helps to see you through the difficult portions of the storytelling task that may follow.

2) Create an outline – and feel free to ignore it subsequently

I’m a consummate list-maker; I tend to sketch out even the most mundane tasks in exacting detail before I commit to action. When it came time to begin writing my book, then, I felt compelled to prepare very precise chapter-by-chapter outlines that would guide the upcoming grunt work. This exercise was certainly helpful, but more so for the mental discipline that it forced upon me than for the actual tangible results that it yielded.

I needed that broad framework to jumpstart my writing. Once I’d started, though, I felt perfectly free to deviate from the outline that I had spent so much time generating in the first place. It can be hard to abandon (or at least significantly alter) a huge chunk of work that you’ve spent so much time getting just right. In my experience, though, on the few occasions when I’ve done so the entire process seems to flow much more naturally as a result.

3) Write blindly

This point is closely related to the previous one. Once you have your outline in place and are either filling it in or have thrown it over in a fit of reckless (but warranted) abandon, write blindly – that is, with a minimum of revision and self-censoring. For me, this is probably the hardest piece of advice to follow. As a writer, I like to think that every word I commit to the page has been carefully weighed and judged eminently appropriate for the need at hand, and so it’s hard for me to let myself be carried away by the creative process. On those rare occasions when I’ve felt as though some particularly insightful prose might be within my reach, though, this controlling tendency does me more harm than good.

In general, I’ve come to believe that there’s a lot to be said for trusting your first instinct and making sure that you get the words out onto the page in the first place. The editing can come later – which brings me to point number four:

4) Edit mercilessly

Once I had the rough first draft of my novel completed, the first thing I did (after the requisite self-congratulation and back-patting) was to drop the manuscript into a drawer and try to ignore it for a few weeks. When I came back to my copy with a more measured opinion of the book, I edited it savagely and without remorse. Sentences or even whole paragraphs were excised, description was added to some chapters and stripped out of others, and grammar was tightened up considerably. This was tough, unforgiving work, but ultimately it provided me with a much improved – and more readable – piece of fiction.

5) Avoid checklists

As a final piece of advice, I would encourage you to be wary of anyone (myself included) who professes to distill the craft of writing into a seemingly simple checklist of steps. Writing is a hard slog, and as authors we all develop our own techniques to cope with the uncertainty and anxiety that grips us all too frequently in the course of our work. You may find some ideas here that pay off exceedingly well for you. On the other hand, some of the points I’ve suggested will be much less relevant. The important thing to realize, I think, is that there’s no best way of writing your masterpiece. Try some of these tips on for size, but hold them loosely … Be ready to let them go if inspiration seems to be pulling you in an altogether different direction.

Happy writing!

James

"Big, big thanks to James for stopping by today and sharing some fabulous incites and points with us!! Be sure to check out his book The Consistency of Parchment and connect with him below!" ~ Blá
 

LINKS

Author page: James Tenedero 

Amazon page for TheConsistency of Parchment

Blog: http://jamestenedero.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @jamestenedero

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: You wont want to miss this!!

Drum roll please... 

Many of you have been asking will there/ wont there be a sequel to The Meaning of Purple Tulips, today I am delighted to confirm there will!!! 

I've already begun writing it!! 

'Danger; Nettled in a Baby's Breath.' promises to be even bigger and better! 

~ any ideas as to what might happen to Faye, Nate, Brandon and baby Beth in the next installment?

Not Happy with the way things are going? Remember:

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Finished The Hunger Games? The Forbidden Trilogy is your next must read!

AND

For 2 days only August 20- 21, 2012, 

Forbidden Mind by Author Kimberly Kinrade 

is on sale for only 99cents on Amazon in honor of being featured on EReader News Today! 

Check out the book trailer on Youtube!

Synopsis:

Sam thinks she's months away from freedom. After spending her life in a secret school, rented out to the rich and powerful as a paranormal spy, she is ready to head to college like any normal eighteen-year-old.

Only Sam isn't normal. She reads minds. And just before her big going-away party, she links to the mind of a young man who changes everything.

Drake wasn't raised as a 'Rent-A-Kid.' He was kidnapped and taken there by force. But his exceptional physical strength and powers of mind control make him very dangerous, especially to Sam.

When they meet, Sam is forced to face the truth of her situation, and to acknowledge that not all is as it seems in her picture-perfect world. For what awaits her on her eighteenth birthday isn't a trip to college, but an unexpected nightmare from which she may not be able to escape.

To survive, they must work together.

But will their powers be enough to save them before it's too late?

What are the critics saying?

Described as X-Men meets Alias but with a human trafficking twist (and more romance), fans of Katniss and The Hunger Games will find a new heroine to root for in the action-packed Forbidden Trilogy.

Reviews:

"...a thrilling, dark and deeply romantic read that had me sitting on the edge of my seat and eagerly awaiting the next installment." - Refracted Light Young Adult Book Reviews

"Do not make any plans on the day you begin, as once you start, you will not be able to put it down." - L.M. Stull, Author of A Thirty-Something Girl

"...hooked me in from the beginning." - L.E. Manning

"This book was fantastic!" - Patti Larsen, Author of Family Magic

"Forbidden Mind is beautifully written and worth your reading time." - BookWormSans 

"Definite must read. For once you start, you simply can't stop. 5 out of 5 stars!" - H. Badgwell

Excerpt:

The door to the studio hung open just a crack, and angry screams assaulted us as we approached. Luke and Lucy looked to me as if I knew what was going on.
I shrugged my shoulders in the universal I've-got-no-freaking-idea way and crept to the door. I could have just slipped into their minds, but listening to people talk both out load and mentally was hard to track and gave me a pretty big headache. At that moment, what they were saying, or rather screaming, to each other was more interesting.

We didn't want to budge the door and draw attention to ourselves, so Luke pushed his head through. He bobbed in and out so quickly I almost missed it. Being able to walk through anything was mighty handy at times.

I nudged him. "Well?"
"Higgins and Mr. K. They both look pretty pissed."
They sounded it too. I'd never heard Headmaster Higgins yell at any of the teachers, or students for that matter.

He wasn't a pushover by any stretch, but he'd always been levelheaded—until today.
Higgins shouted at Mr. K. "How could you enter her without permission from me? Do you realize what you've done? This could ruin the school and everything we're doing here."

Was Higgins talking about me?

Mr. K replied with the same volume and anger. I could imagine the vein over his left eye bulging. "You have no idea how talented that girl is! She should be at the best art school in the world, not hidden here like a freak of nature. It's my job to make sure she has a future when she leaves this god-awful place, and I'm not letting you, or the people you work for, stand in my way. Or hers."

They must have been talking about me, but it made no sense. Why didn't Higgins want me entering the contest, and why did Mr. K hate this place so much?

"Don't you mean, the people we work for? They employ us both, and you'd do well to remember that, Mr. Krevner. Their reach extends beyond the gates of this school."

I couldn't believe it. Was the headmaster actually threatening my art teacher? What was going on?

"You will pull her from that competition and clean up the mess you've made, or your days here are numbered. Am I making myself clear?"

Something crashed into a wall, and my friends and I jumped back in surprise.

"Everything is very clear. You use her and her gifts, rent her and all these kids out to the highest bidder as spies. You make billions on these Rent-A-Kids, as they call themselves. And now you want to snuff her chance to shine doing what she truly loves? No. If you want to destroy her dreams, you can do it yourself. I'll have no part in it."

Footsteps approached the door. I tripped back, grabbed Luke and Lucy, and the three of us ducked around the corner of the building. I peeked out just as Mr. K stormed from the studio, his face bright red and contorted in anger. Not his best look.

Headmaster Higgins followed him out moments later. He adjusted his navy blue suit and plastered a calm mask over his face. His midnight black skin did not reveal his recent spike in blood pressure the same way that Mr. K's pasty complexion had, but the tight way he held his shoulders and the fists he made of his hands spoke to his anger.

Tears stung my eyes, and I swiped at them with the back of a hand still stained with splashes of paint. If they pulled me from the contest, hundreds of hours of hard work would be wasted, and my future would get flushed down the toilet. That couldn't happen!

When both men were gone, the three of us snuck into the studio and closed the door behind us. My enthusiasm had drained out of me like dirty bathtub water. I sniffled and wiped my traitorous eyes again.

Lucy put her arm around me. "Cheer up, Chica. We'll figure this out, I promise. They can't keep you from this, not after all the hard work you've done. And you'll be leaving for New York soon. Luke and I will join you there, and we'll make all of our dreams come true, just watch!"

I tried to smile, for her sake, but the smile didn't reach my eyes.
Luke rubbed my head as if I were his pet dog. "Where's this painting I've been hearing so little about?"
I swatted his hand and couldn't suppress a small, but genuine, smile. Luke could always cheer me: funny, gorgeous, and so much like a brother it sucked.
"Over here." The canvas draped over my painting appeared undisturbed. A sigh of relief escaped me. At least nothing had happened to it. "Close your eyes."
They both groaned but did as told.
Fear and nervousness buzzed through me as I pulled the canvas off. What if they hated it? What if everyone hated it and my dreams of being a real artist died before they could even be born? My lungs clenched with stale breath and I exhaled before I got too dizzy. "Okay, you can look."

They stood there, jaws dropped, stunned into silence. They either hated it or totally loved it.
"Um, is this a bad or good silence?"
Lucy pulled her mouth closed and swallowed before she spoke. "O.M.G. Sam, this is the most incredible, unbelievable thing I've ever seen in my life. You painted this?" "You like it?"

Her mental voice slammed into me. 'Would I lie to you? It's amazing!'

Relief flooded me even as I laughed at her joke. I could read minds, sure, but she was the human lie detector. No one dared lie to her.

Luke hugged me and whispered into my ear, "I'm so proud of you, Sam. This is truly epic!"

We stood there staring for several minutes. This painting represented so much about me, my life, my future... everything. I hated to leave it even for a minute, but my stomach protested its neglect with a loud rumble.

Luke grabbed my hand. "Come on, let's feed you. My treat."

With the buzz of success filling me, and Luke's hand in mind, I entertained a what-if. What if I could get past the whole brother thing with Luke? I took in his tall, well-defined frame, his dark hair and bright blue eyes. Gorgeous inside and out, but... nothing. No spark at all. Such a pity. Of all the guys at school, he was the only one I could even imagine being with, but I couldn't force the chemistry and neither could he.

We walked to dinner hand in hand, and I consoled myself with the fact that I had the best friends a girl could want. Not a bad consolation prize after all, and worth a hundred boyfriends.

Bio:

Kimberly Kinrade was born with ink in her veins and magic in her heart. She writes fantasy and paranormal stories for children, YA and adults and still believes in magic worlds. Check out her YA paranormal novels Forbidden Mind and Forbidden Fire and her illustrated children's fantasy chapter books Lexie World, Bella World, and Maddie World all on Amazon.

She lives with her three little girls who think they're ninja princesses with super powers, her two dogs who think they're humans, her two cats who think they're gods, and her husband, also known as the sexy Russian Prince, who is the love of her life and writing partner.

For a list of her books, check out: http://Amazon.com/author/kimberlykinrade

Website: http://KimberlyKinrade.com

For a fun fan experience, join the team at I.P.I. at http://IPIAcademy.com

For kids and parents of young kids, join the Lost Kids at http://ThreeLostKids.com

Twitter: @KimberlyKinrade

IPI Twitter: @IPIAcademy

Facebook: /KimberlyKinrade

IPI Facebook: /IPIAcademy

Email: Books@KimberlyKinrade.com

Do you really have to work hard to achieve? I say no!

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You know I am fond of a nicely depicted 'mantra', quote or saying. Lately while searching for some ones to share with you all I'm coming across a lot of 'Work Hard, Be Humble' ones. Great sentiments... but its got me thinking... do we really have to work hard to achieve what we want?

Of course we need to work, that goes without saying... but hard... really?

I'm going to say no we don't, we don't have to work hard to achieve the results that we want, I am saying that we need to work smart to achieve what we want...

As they say, there are several ways to skin a cat, and several wants to achieve your goals. My way is do this the smart way, not the hard way.

Do you agree?

{Oh of course, I totally agree with saying humble!! :) }

I've been Bertha Sized'! ~A Book Review!

What do I love about being an author?

{Even more than the writing?}

Reading... I read ALOT... and yes I should, put more reviews up and I will. Perhaps I'll try shorter ones?!

Hmm that is going slightly off the point.

{We've established} I like to read. But what I especially like to read are books from Authors I can connect with; be it by email, blog, facebook or twitter! And the lastest book I read I got to do all of the above.

Bertha Size Your Life by {the lovely} Jane Carroll is a self help book... but one with a difference!

Its a story. 

A story with short snappy chapters, each with its own lesson. Bertha, as you would expect, is your teacher! Despite Bertha's cringe worthy wardrobe I loved this book! I often found myself saying ' why didn't I think of that'... 'or that's genius'!

It's a must read! A fun, must read! I couldn't put it down and I know I will be dipping in and out of it again again!

Check it out on Amazon US and Amazon UK to get your copies today!

Rating: 10 out of 10 ~ MUST READ!

Beaumount Hospital is no Seattle Grace!

I had a few tests in the hospital yesterday.

To say I was in the 'bowels' of the hospital is an understatement; but several thoughts struck me as I made my way through the myriad of corridors and passageways to find the X Ray Department.

1. Does anyone ever put anything away in this hospital? 

The trollies with patients aside, the corridors where littered with boxes, cleaning supplies, abandoned chairs, water buckets and signag ~ {ironically} all accidents waiting to happen!

2. Why is it that hospitals smell like old farts? 

I don't think is needs any further elaboration. But surely it doesn't cost he HSE to open a window?

3. Medical Dramas are not reality {ok, this I knew} 

I had the misfortune of coming into {too} close contact with two female doctors in the corridors; both stank! The stink you can only get from being on your feet for 56 hours and that repeated deodorant can no longer mask.

This got me thinking... the reality for doctors? Quickies in the 'on call room' are the fantasy of screen writer's... ;)

I left, my hopes of being 'examined' by McSteamy or McDreamy severely dashed!

I'm extraordinary, are you?

Source: style4style.tumblr.com via LaylaGrayce on Pinterest

Consumers: Its OKAY to say NO!

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This is going to come off a little like a rant... I am sorry for that { I'm just hoping it will be a coherent rant }.

I'm a business woman. Each day I {and I hate this} 'sell myself'... let me clarify... I'm a Wedding Planner. So in essence I sell my time & expertise to couples; hence the 'I sell myself'. :)

What really gets up my goat is people's in ability to say no if they don't want to hire me. Instead they string me along for days, weeks and months, with 'oh we haven't discussed it yet' or 'we're away at the moment could you call back next month' or they plan ignore me.

You see I'm a good business woman, and until I get a firm 'no thank you', you are still an open lead.

And let me clarify {again} I'm not insulted {and only a little} disappointed if you don't hire me. I'm realistic, I know that not every {potential} client I meet is going to sign on the dotted line.

So how are you at saying no? Do you often buy things cause you just can't say no? Or ignore phones calls, emails and knocks at the door cause you don't know how to face salesperson?

Take if from me, if you are not interested, can't afford it or realise its not for you; tell us, we wont bite and we would appreciate the honesty! Perhaps its something we could even use to improve ourselves or perhaps we have something else that might suit you even better! Or maybe that is just the end for you and me :) either way... tell me!

Ok, rant over... thanks for listening...

Love to hear your comments!

First Review for The Meaning of Purple Tulips

To say I am delighted is an understatement! The first review of my new book is in and and 5 Stars and quotes like 'Bestseller Material' have made my day... no, my year!

Take a look for yourselves:

Bestseller Material... July 31, 2012
 

By N.S.K.

 

Before you read The Meaning of Purple Tulips you could be fooled into thinking that this story is "just" a romance; something breezy to read over the summer which does not provoke much thought... and while this book is certainly something to read this summer it is far from a breezy sketch of a storyline that gets you through your lazing by the pool. This book is a stay up all night page-turner! You are immediately sucked in to O'Reilly-Murphy's female protagonist's life and by the time you realize that this fabulously written book is full of ingenious plot turns and is more than just a typical romance but encompasses the nature of love, family and the ideals of marriage you are unable to stop until you find out what happens in the end, and to O'Reilly-Murphy's credit you would be hard pressed to predict it! This is a book that should be on a bestseller list. 

Here is a link to the original review left on Amazon. 

If this sounds like the book for you, you can buy it:

Kindle,
Nook
Sony E-Reader
EPUB
PDF
MOBI 
 

Live your life!

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Maeve Binchy's passing has got me thinking... 

 

That's it for her, the end. 

 

Of course she leaves a legacy and it will probably be a very long time before she's forgotten, but still... there is nothing more she will do; at least not physically. 

 

What if 30 years ago she never decided to write. Or never took those first brave steps to approach a publisher. Would the world be the same? I would think not. For every story she told and wrote, for every character  and novel she created a life as changed, not least her own, and that all combinated in a change in the world. 

The world is a different place because Maeve Binchy wrote... 

She was brave... she did what she wanted. 

How would the world be if you did what you wanted... how would the world change? How would your world change? 

We rarely regret the things we did but we always regret the things we didn't do!