The Book Stacks

I started out keeping a journal. I was on my fourth year with this journal when I decided to make it a memoir. It wasn’t really my decision to write a book; it was a message from the other side. I had been ill and one evening while I was in bed, I was trying to finish my journals for my children. I wasn’t sure if I would be around much longer.

I had a visit from my grandmother on the other side; she told me I was going to write a book. She told me to put my life stories along with hers and mom’s in a book. She said it would not only help my children, but it would help a lot of people understand what forgiveness really means. She said I was meant to do this and I needed to just believe in the message.

My journals were much more personal and detailed then the book and they were also addressed to my children. So when I started to feel better I began the process of putting my words into a book. The chapters about my childhood were the most difficult part to write about. It is a part of my life that I am not fond of reliving and to write about it you relive it. This was never in detail in my journals and I ended up hiring a ghostwriter to interview me and help me transform my memories into words on paper.

My journal entries about my adult life were in detail and it was not difficult to transform them into the book. It was actually healing to watch the book take form and realize with clarity what an incredible life I had. The gifts that I had been given I could now share with people and hope that the message of forgiveness would be understood. The dream of writing “Stand” was always about the message of forgiveness.

It took me a long time to convince my mother to help me with her part of the book. She wasn’t ready to share her personal life with the world and she had not even begun to heal from the abuse she had lived with. I told her about grandma coming to see me and it was months after that she told me she had prayed about the book and the answers she received were, to just do it. She finally agreed to write the book with me.

We were going to interview her about her childhood because the memories were so very hurtful and this process helped me get through them. When it came time to start that process she passed away and left me with her journals. She also made me promise her that I would finish the book and not give up. She said she believed in my visit from grandma and she knew how important this book would be. I kept my promise and started the process of reading all her journals.

She had always kept journals and they were in meticulous detail. She had about sixty journals that I read through looking for the information I needed. It was not an easy task for me, reading about my mother’s childhood horrors nearly took its toll on me. I came very close to giving up several times.

I kept a clear focus on the message I had to share and when the first draft was done I sat alone in my office, and the impact of missing her finally set in. I was glad I kept my promise to her; somehow she knew that her journals would be devastating for me to read. The book was compiled from mine, my mother’s and a few of my grandmother’s journals. I have often thought about those journals and what to do with them. I decided to leave them for my grandchildren, and although some of them are heartbreaking, there is a lot of history in them.

The message of forgiveness has been misunderstood in the past and the impact it could have on our world is important.

I never understood how profound the meaning of forgiveness was until I went through it. Forgiveness can change the cycle of abuse and stop it from passing to future generations. I believe this with all my heart and I am proof that you can change your family and stop abuse from continuing on in its vicious cycle.

Healing yourself through forgiveness will change our world!

More about the author and her virtual tour can be found here.

by LaConnie Taylor-Jones

It’s been six months since my debut novel hit bookshelves and I’ve run out of fingers and toes trying to count the number of times someone has posed this question to me.
My response has been and will continue to be the same. Why not?

I love romance! Plain and simple. Based on the 2006 report from Simba Information, revenue from romance fiction was estimated at 1.37 billion dollars. With the exception of religion/inspirational books, romance fiction outsold every market category with a whopping twenty-six percent. So, there are a lot of authors and readers who love my addiction to the genre, too.

Romance first captivated my attention when I was a junior in college. As a matter of fact, I flunked an organic chemistry mid-term after staying up the entire night reading my first romance novel, The Flame and the Flower by the late Kathleen Woodiwiss.

That night, I knew then and there, I was hooked on romance for life, but not necessarily as a writer. Twenty-five years came and I was content to be an avid reader. Then I tossed my hat in the literary ring in August 2003, after fifteen years as a technical writer. There was no doubt whatsoever that the final product would be categorized as a romance.

Simply because I love romance doesn’t mean everyone does and that’s okay. A romance novel has the same characteristics as any other novel, except it centers on the love between two people, and provides an optimistic ending. The read is fresh, smart, and diverse.

Regardless of the genre an author pens, I’m willing to bet they write for the passion and sheer enjoyment of telling a good story, period. Frankly, that’s the way it should be.

Will I ever consider writing in another genre? Absolutely! As long it offers the same zeal, if not more than romance, I’m game!

I don’t remember when my love affair with books began—I only know that I can’t remember a single moment of my life when I was not madly, passionately in love with the written word. I’ve spent some of the happiest hours of my life curled up on my bed, reading, my glasses being bent horribly out of shape from laying on the side of them, but I didn’t care. I was Anne of Green Gables, I was Elnora from “The Girl of the Limberlost,” I was Jo March. I can recall the feelings I had when Mac and Rose finally recognized their love for each other (“Rose in Bloom”) and how I thrilled when Esther walked into the king’s court (“Behold, Your Queen”). That was my world as a child. It was all the world I needed.

Now that I’m supposedly an adult, you’d think I would have moved on. But no. Books call to me like a siren, luring me in with promises of love stories, adventure, drama. I feed on good plots. I breathe in good dialogue. A well-crafted phrase makes my heart beat. I can’t function if I’m not reading. It’s oxygen, it’s plasma.

I guess it’s only natural that with this fascination with books would come the desire to write them. I think I was about seven or eight when I wrote my first poem. And you remember that scene in “The Music Man,” when the boys’ band finally gives a show and the mother in the audience stands up and yells, “Play for me, Linus!” – well, that was the reaction my mother had. She took one look at that first poem and decreed that I was going to be a writer. I think the poor thing got a little jaded from that point—anything I wrote was good in her eyes, even the misguided poem I wrote about bread. Yeah, that’s right, bread. But the point is, she supported me, and I grew up feeling that I could someday become a writer.

Stories speak to me. I see a newspaper and read the headlines, and suddenly I’m crafting a whole world to go around those words. I was at Wendy’s last night and saw two girls eating with their mother, and found myself inventing their dialogue. When I wrote my first two books, it was history speaking to me, the desire to be known and understood, and I just wrote it down.

My latest and most personal release was much the same way. As I sat down to write “Season of Sacrifice,” the words just flooded my mind. The experiences of the people who lived the story I was writing became a part of me and I was merely the conduit. It was a melding together of mind and heart and spirit, all coming together in the same place at the same time. I spent so much time writing that I got sick and didn’t care. All that mattered was the project, was giving honor to the words.

I’m not sure how all this started or if my desire to write will ever be quenched. I do know that I’d write even if no one ever read a single word. I’d write if all I had to write on was the back of a grocery receipt. And I don’t know if I ever will try to define it or understand it—there’s something fun about being mystical.

TristiPinkston.com

by Jean Hackensmith

I have been asked by a number of people why I strayed from my normal genre (time travel and historical romance) when I wrote “Checkmate.” Frankly, I was getting burned out on the “same old, same old”. It just wasn’t fun anymore. I also felt that I was limiting myself by being known strictly as a “romance author”. I wanted to write something new. Something different. At least for me.

As it turned out, the romance writer in me refused to die. While working on the book, the “strong, sexy hero” and the “vulnerable yet spunky heroine” fought their way to the surface. Hence the reason the book was classified as a “romantic thriller” by my publisher. It’s more thriller than romance, though. Readers won’t find even one love scene in the book. Those steamy liaisons have been replaced by suspense and terror. After all, when you’re being stalked by a homicidal maniac, who has time for sex?

A virtually new genre, the “Romantic Thriller” takes Romantic Suspense up a notch and combines romance with an edge of your seat thriller. The “happy ending” still applies, but the main couple must overcome seemingly insurmountable and dangerous odds to get there. In a strict romance, the main conflict is generally between the hero and heroine. In a Romantic Suspense, the things that could destroy them come from outside of their relationship.

The same holds true in a Romantic Thriller, but where a Romantic Suspense would receive a rating of “PG”, a Romantic Thriller is definitely rated “R”. The Romantic Thriller pulls out all the stops. Even good characters can use bad words and the villain is generally sadistic, sexually motivated, and downright mean.

Hence comes, Dan, the “stalker” in “Checkmate.” He almost beat his wife, Caryn, to death a dozen times. He tied her up, along with their children, locked them in the bathroom, and set the house on fire. They survived, he went to prison and, eighteen years later, he’s back and determined to finish the job. His twisted game consists of thirteen “moves”, each more violent than the last. Now Caryn and her new boyfriend must beat the odds and survive until…Checkmate.

I wrote my first novel with two other women, one being my sister, author Nancy Bush. That book was never sold. It was 1981. I remember there were rejection letters saying it had too much suspense in it. Ironic, I think, considering the path my career has taken.

So, when I did first get published, I wrote romance novels for Silhouette Books. Suspense was a no-no. I was told to take it out, out, OUT! Well . . . a little suspense always slipped in because I’m a suspense/mystery reader. I cut my teeth on Nancy Drew and The Black Stallion mysteries. LOVED them. Suspense came naturally

Isn’t that great. Once romantic suspense came into reading vogue again, I was all over it. Believe you me. I think it is what I was always meant to eventually write—suspense, thrillers, romantic suspense, whatever description suits doesn’t worry me. It just makes me happy writing it. I didn’t get to just leap in, of course. I studied the market. I considered the books that were being written and most of the time I thought the women authors covered the romance part of the equation pretty well, but I still wanted more straight suspense.

The reverse was true for the male writers. They left me wanting more about their characters’ relationship—ok, ok more romance. This is a pretty broad statement, and I found exceptions to my rule, of course, but my own desires as a reader ended up being what led the opportunity to write what I wanted and to bring readers something different.

I saw a path and I jumped onto it with both feet and at a dead run. I was finally able to write the kind of stories I like to read, complete with….you guessed it, HOT SEX AND COLD DEATH!

I haven’t left any of that behind, but I do have to say that my new book LOST SOULS is a bit of a departure for me. It’s got this whole vampire theme added in—are they real? are they not?—going along with a cult and some paranormal elements to heighten the thriller aspect of the books.

There’s a touch of the paranormal, too. I do love paranormal elements. Things like ESP and seeing someone die before your eyes—which actually is the paranormal element in LOST SOULS. When my character Kristi Bentz sees a person drain of color before her eyes she knows they are going to die.

Part of the excitement of writing thrillers is, for me, taking a germ of an idea and messing around with it. Think about it this way and that way, try to put a new spin on it. That’s when I start scratching notes. At this point, I always come up with the twist at the end.

I want to lead my readers on a breathless journey, but I want it be a puzzle for them, too…have them thinking of one thing when BAM!, out of left field (or right), the story turns on its ear and spins in a new direction. The “Oh, gees, I didn’t see that coming” moment.

Part of the thriller, I think, is the puzzle. “Who’s doing this and why?” The twist is the final chance for me, as the author, to say “Gotcha!” to my readers.

I’m addicted, that’s for sure, and very happy to keep on killing for the time being.

Don’t forget to play the Monday game for your chance to win!

All novels have characters, setting, and plot but only the mystery has clues. In order to make the clues more appetizing to the reader, writers need to inject a certain degree of foreshadowing and red herrings to accompany their clues.

Foreshadowing is simply the writer’s way of hinting to the reader that something usual is about to occur. The weather, time of day, character names or the decay of an object can all be used to foreshadow the events yet to come in a novel.

Red herrings are well placed distractions for the reader. In a mystery, the sleuth will often think that she has found a clue but it is in fact a red herring meant to provide misdirection.

Unlike foreshadowing and red herrings, clues are facts that will lead to the solution of the cozy mystery puzzle. Clues can come from the following sources:

• Character – The characters’ behavior, circumstances, lies and truth can all generate clues for the reader.

• People’s secret lives – Everyone has a secret in a mystery and these secrets can either individually or combined serve as a clue.

• Relationships – The origin or purpose of a particular relationship can be a clue. When deciding on which relationships to use as clues, remember that the character with the clearest motive is never the murderer and the least likely suspect is also never the murderer.

• The body – This is where the forensic information comes into play. The smallest item on the body like a speck of lint could be a clue or even how the victim was dressed when the body was discovered.

• Dialog – When characters talk to each other, sometimes what they don’t say can be a clue just a much as what they actually say. This can also take the form of a conversation being overheard.

• The scene of the crime – There may be something that the murderer takes with him or leaves behind.

• The missing item – This could be an item that would normally be there but is now missing such as a light bulb in a lamp, contact lenses solution and etc.
When deciding on your clues, remember to be selective and to be fair with your readers. You want to tease them but you don’t want to insult them or frustrate them too much.

Author Peter Nennhaus joins us today to talk about his book and much more…
***

This surprising question is being raised in my recently released book entitled Quo Vadis, Israel? Written with clinical honesty and directness, it takes a hard look at Israel’s future and comes up with an unwelcome prognosis. After a review of the Jews’ bitter history especially in Eastern Europe, and the liberating idea of Zionism, it turns to the untidy and worrisome effects the creation of the Israeli homeland in 1948 has brought about.

It enumerates its seven wars, the intifadas and the endless list of massacres, bombings, and other belligerence and concludes that in the sixty-year history of the State of Israel there has probably been only a single year that was truly peaceful. To this day, this persistent tragedy has not yielded to well over fifty peacemaking endeavors that have been made by the United Nations and numerous influential governments.

The book makes an appraisal of the underlying emotional, religious, and cultural causes of the conflict. It outlines a number of conceivable scenarios, none of which offer a reasonable chance of securing peace and normalcy. It reaches the conclusion that the dispute is basically irreconcilable and will be so in the future. As a result, I end up viewing Israel much like a patient whose illness is chronic and incurable.

That is not all. The so-called demographic time bomb is a well-known concern. The higher birthrate of the Israeli Arabs inevitably will reach a stage where they will outnumber the Israeli Jews. Not only would then Israel lose its Jewish imprint and character, but more ominously, it would expose the Jewish minority to the vengeance of Arab extremists. Whenever that happens, whether in three or four generations, it would likely spell out the demise of Zionism. In that case, the patient’s disease would be not only incurable but fatal to boot.

Had it not been for special circumstances, I would agree with those who think it inappropriate to paint the devil on the wall in this manner. It seems to violate our commitment and loyalty toward Israel and our determination to ensure its survival and security. Even though I might have had concerns of this sort for many years, nobody could have prodded me to tactlessly trumpet them out loud, if I had not been propelled to this dark prognosis by an optimistic and bold new vision.

By pure happenstance, I learned about a land, which not only would be a greatly superior homeland for the Jews than the present Israel, but which might actually be available for purchase. It is a territory presently called the Kaliningrad Oblast, located at the southern shores of the Baltic Sea. It used to be part of the old province of East Prussia, which the Soviet Union annexed upon Germany’s defeat in WW II. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the independence of all of the “satellite countries”, it has become an exclave separated from the nearest Russian border by some 500 kilometers.

As described in the book, it is economically non-viable and destitute and has succumbed to a welter of infestations that include rampant alcoholism, drug abuse, drug trade, AIDS, corruption, and an unhealthy society ruled by incompetence, criminality, and the permeating tentacles of the Russian Mafia. Of particular interest is the hopeless outlook for the future as both Moscow and the EU have abandoned all further attempts to provide assistance, thus leaving the territory in a state of limbo. In fact, rumors have been voiced in Brussels that before long Russia would be willing to palm off the Kaliningrad Territory to the West for a tidy sum.

That state of affairs gives rise to the thought that here is a land that might be available as an alternate location for the State of Israel. Were it to happen, it would offer an unimaginable wealth of benefits and blessings, chiefly for the Israelis, but also for all other involved parties. The Israelis would be miraculously extricated from a tormenting and fatal disease. Never again would neighbors accuse them of having stolen their land.

That new land would be larger, more fertile, climatically more temperate, and economically more advantageous than their present land in the Middle East. Becoming part of the EU, they would hardly be in need of armed forces. The Palestinians would be out of their minds with joy and begin to live like a normal nation. The Europeans would be delighted to have replaced “the Devil’s kitchen” with a vibrant and sound new occupant. The destitute Russian population in that land would become rich after accepting generous financial retribution for returning to Russia.

The Russian Federation would receive billions of Euros for decades for selling the land. Enthusiastic international approval would be guaranteed and the hostility ravaging the Middle East would fade as would much of Islamic terrorism. Suicide bombers would be a matter of the past. The world would take a deep breath of relief.

Certainly, there will be doubts, misgivings, protests, warnings and other objections, but whether or not the concept is eventually approved, give it your good attention first before discarding it. It is perhaps only a dream, but, for a while, enjoy the refreshing new vista it offers just the same and should you by any chance be concerned about recurrent anti-Semitism, this is a must-read book.

“Fear” – it’s only a four lettered word but boy what an impact it can have on your life.

There are so many people in this world that have great stories to tell, and maybe you’re one of them. So don’t let fear hold you back. Instead, put it under the spotlight and do something about it.

Here are three of the most common fears that writers have and what you can do to overcome them.

1. “I Can’t Write”
For most of us, grammar and spelling classes are a distant memory. So when you sit down and write your first paragraphs, you suddenly start to be super self-conscious about stringing together coherent sentences. And when it doesn’t flow the first time, it’s so easy to give up. The secret of course, is to practice, practice and then practice some more. And buy a really good dictionary.

2. “I’m Not Good Enough”
We all have our own inner critic sitting on our shoulder whispering snarky comments in our ear like, “Who do you think you are?” and “Why would anyone listen to you?” It can be very debilitating, especially if deep down a part of you secretly agrees. The way to overcome this is to think like a CSI Detective and gather “evidence.” Next time your inner critic speaks, get your pen and paper and write down three reasons to prove it’s wrong.

3. “What If No-One Buys It?”
So you’ve overcome the first two obstacles and you’ve finished your manuscript. The fear now becomes whether an agent or a publisher will want to publish it, or whether any customers will buy it once it’s on the shelf. The good news is that this one is easy to overcome. You have to be your book’s number one fan. If you can’t say why it’s amazing, fabulastic and the secret solution to world peace, then how can you expect anyone else to get excited about it?

And on that note, if you really want to kick your fears into touch, then “Gulp!” gives you a 7 day roadmap to show you how, plus tons of practical techniques, action plans and inspiring stories of people who’ve overcome their fear and turned their dream into a reality.

If you’d like an inspiration boost right now, then watch my “Gulp!” book trailer. It might just be the nudge you need.

By
Thomas M. MacKay
http://members.cox.net/thomas.mackay

Writing fantasy fiction, you would expect it would always be easy to think of a way to get your characters where you want them to go, but sometimes you just get stuck. You’ve introduced your (insert fantasy race here) hero to the reader, and now you want to get him/her/it into trouble so you can have fun writing a way out of it. Or even worse, you’ve gotten your character into so much trouble you can’t figure out how he could possibly get out of it. When this happens to you - and it inevitably will, if you keep writing - here are some tried and true plot devices to get things moving.

The MacGuffin

The term “MacGuffin” was made popular by Alfred Hitchcock to refer to some object that all the characters in the story value as being supremely important. This is typically an object whose importance is far beyond the value of the object itself. The microfilm in a spy story or the loot in a thriller; the key to the MacGuffin is that it doesn’t matter to the plot what the object is - in the spy story it could just as easily be secret papers, a disk, a DNA sample, or Hitler’s pen - the plot revolves around everyone wanting it, not what it is.

This is a common device in fantasy stories, typically appearing as the object of a quest which your hero must acquire to save the kingdom. Once your protagonist knows what it is and what it’s for, the plot is off and running.

I believe you’ve mistaken me for someone else…

Mistaken identity is a great way to get your character involved in situations that do not progress naturally from your protagonist’s own actions. Whether this is the evil twin, the long lost brother, the bad guy using magic to look like the protagonist, or just someone wearing the same clothes - there are a wealth of opportunities to get your character in trouble.

Another common variation on the mistaken identity device is when the protagonist herself is mistaken about her own identity. She believes that she is a simple woodcutter’s daughter, when really she is the hidden heir to the kingdom, or the prophesied heroine that will fight the dark. This is the unknowing heir variation of mistaken identity, and typically the bad guys know the truth before the protagonist herself does, which provides the initial momentum for the story.

The “get out of jail free card”

This is one to be careful with; used too much it becomes deus ex machina and robs the story of any real sense of drama. But used sparingly it can be surprisingly effective at lending a sense of mystery to the story - always a good thing in fantasy stories. There are essentially two variations of this plot device: the Rube Goldberg machine, and the prescient patron.

Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist who is famous for drawing cartoons of extremely complex and indirect machines that perform very simple tasks. The idea is to have your character do something the consequences of which are apparently insignificant, but which cascade into other consequences in a continuous chain until it comes back around at just the right time to help the character out. We’re talking mechanical, not spiritual - this is not Karma coming back to help out, but a side effect of a seemingly rational chain of events.

The protagonist knocks over a pitcher of milk that attracts a cat who is chased out by the barmaid who accidentally trips the delivery boy with the broom who stumbles against the innkeeper who drops the cask of brandy he’s manhandling right on the toe of a guardsman who jumps up with a curse and disrupts the spell of the evil wizard, allowing the protagonist to get away. This is a crude example, but when around that same number of connections is stretched across a longer work it can be an effective and humorous way to get the protagonist out of one dire situation.

Use it more than once and it quickly becomes tired, but it can be an easy device to retrofit back into a story once you’ve written your protagonist into a corner you can’t get him out of.

The prescient patron variation is much simpler; a minor character your protagonist encounters gives her a seemingly low value gift - typically as a reward for a good deed. It’s not until your protagonist finds herself in a nearly inescapable situation that she realizes that the gift is exactly what she needs for this one situation. The implication is nearly always that the giver had some foreknowledge. Again, this is a device you can typically only use once in a story without it losing its effectiveness, but the thought that there are really no coincidences is a staple in fantasy literature so don’t be shy about using the “get out of jail free” device.

The Tasks of Hercules

Literally a classic, the Tasks of Hercules are a set of quests, each building on the last, which the protagonist must complete in order to attain a single ultimate objective. The tasks are usually imposed by a single authority figure, as opposed to arising naturally from the development of the plot - this device is a plot driver, not a plot consequence.

Often the Tasks of Hercules are intended to prove the quester’s worth, though typically the authority figure assigning the quests will have a hidden agenda opposing the success of the protagonist. Your protagonist must be already skilled and knowledgeable in some arena for this plot device to work; after all, nobody would bother to assign a series of quests to the pot boy.

The nice thing about the Tasks of Hercules is that they can be used in even short works since you can jump into the story at the beginning, middle, or end of the series of tasks, depending on what you want to write – and the classic nature of this plot device requires little explanation or set up.

Out of left field

More commonly known as deus ex machina, or “god from a machine”, this plot device relies on something the author introduces suddenly without any plot setup in order to resolve a thorny plot situation – like the fairy godmother appearing just when Cinderella needs to get to the ball. Use of this plot device is generally frowned upon, as it can be jarring and will tend to disrupt the reader’s willing suspension of disbelief.

There are a couple of ways to get away with using an “out of left field” plot device.

At the very beginning of a story this can be effective to get the ball rolling, as long as you later do something to tie the divine assistance back into the plot – to explain why it happened. You can also combine this plot device with the mistaken identity device; the super-powered assistance or act of god was intended for someone else, and your protagonist just received it by mistake. The rest of the story is your protagonist trying frantically to keep up because the real hero missed the message and is off somewhere sipping margaritas and chatting up dryads.

You can actually reuse this plot device in this type of story, deriving humor out of the increasing puzzlement of the powerful messenger with long suffering questions like “Are you sure you’re a hero?” adding spice. Even with this setup, though, it’s easy to overuse this device. There just isn’t that much dramatic tension when the protagonist doesn’t have to work for his victory, and the joke will eventually get old.

The Joker’s Death Machine

Everybody is familiar with the Joker, of Batman fame. The Joker was constantly capturing poor Batman, tying him up, and unleashing some diabolical and slow acting death machine, and then going away – the better to savor the elimination of Batman over chianti and fava beans. Of course, Batman always had time to figure out a way to escape. When your protagonist is surrounded by overwhelming odds, and you don’t know what to do, let them be captured. The construct some reason why they can’t just be hacked to bits, but must be subjected to some longer, more elaborate demise.

For example, staked out alone in the holy grove beneath the light of the second moon, there to be eaten by the gnarly grue. This provides ample opportunity for the hero to figure out an escape. Then you can get back to your plot, and begin building up the suspense once again.

Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

Oops. So you got your hero to the finish line too fast. Now what do you do for the next 30 pages? No matter how sure success seems for your protagonist, the story isn’t over until the last word is written. The magic staff can be stolen, or turn out to be a fake. The princess can be kidnapped moments before the wedding. The villain can escape from the guards – they’re only henchmen, after all. How good could they be?

There are a variety of misfortunes that can befall your poor hero even after he has success within his grasp, any of which can set him dearly back – and next time, it won’t be so easy. This plot device is a great tool in the toolkit for when you’ve made your hero too good. Kick him in the shins a few times, steal his wallet, spray paint graffiti on his shield, and he won’t look so shiny.

Readers prefer a hero with a few dings, anyway. Repeated setbacks can be frustrating for the reader, so like all plot devices moderation is the watch word, but we all sympathize with the guy who loses when he thought he was winning – and we’ll cheer the more for him when he makes a come back.

Along for the Ride

Everyone is the hero of their own story. Tolkien understood this perfectly well. The hero of the Lord of the Rings is, perhaps, the least assuming person on the cast. Gentle, well mannered, anything but a fighter – quiet dignity and iron determination perhaps best characterize Frodo.

It would have been easy to cast Gandalf or Strider as the main protagonist of the trilogy, but the character that is best beloved - that captures the imagination - is Frodo. Poor Frodo, who wanted nothing more than a prosaic life in the Shire, is dragged along by Gandalf, events, and an unwanted legacy into an adventure from which he emerges changed beyond all fit with his past, but with the respect of the most powerful and wise in the land.

This plot device is based on linking your protagonist to another character or characters whose nature or position naturally leads them into an adventure, with your protagonist dragged along almost unwillingly. This allows your protagonist to be just an ordinary guy who emerges a hero through sticking to his basic principles through extraordinary circumstances. It’s much easier for readers to identify with this type of protagonist than one who is preternaturally wise, powerful, or strong – since few of us experience those qualities in our daily lives.

The Djinn’s Bargain

Sometimes your protagonist needs to accomplish an objective that is so large in scale or scope that there is no way for the character to do it by herself. You need to be able to get her some powerful help, but without detracting from the character’s own struggles. This is when you’ll use the device of the Djinn’s Bargain.

In this device, the djinn is any powerful person or being who has the power to help your protagonist, but who will do it from their own motivations and goals – and who inevitably will exact a price for the assistance. This could be a political ally or enemy, a demon, a dark wizard – generally the “djinn” in this device is someone whose natural inclinations are opposed to those of your protagonist. Then your heroine gets to deal with the consequences of her bargain, which allows you to preserve the scope of your outer conflict and add a tangible inner conflict as well. Lovely!

Wake Up Patrick Duffy! (it was all a dream)

…then she wakes up, and the whole thing was a dream. Dreams have a long and checkered history in fantasy literature – and other forms of entertainment as well. On of the most infamous uses of this device was on the TV show “Dallas”, where during the 1985 season Bobby Ewing (played by Patrick Duffy – see how this all ties together?) dies. At the start of the next season you see Bobby in the shower, and the entire previous year’s season was “just a dream”.

The uproar from the fan base was significant, but it was the only way to get Duffy back on the show, since much of the season was about the repercussions of his character’s death. That’s a bit much, though the dream device is certainly used to famous effect in Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”, the entirety of which is supposed to be a young girl’s dream.

You probably don’t want to go this far with your use of the dream plot device, but dreams can be useful as transmitters of information, or as transformative tools for your character; for example, one recent book uses a series of dreams to educate a young mage in her craft. Warnings and portents, wisdom and eldritch connections – all are fair game for the dream plot device. Dreams also open up the opportunity to explain something about your protagonist’s past without resorting to either exposition or flashbacks. The former can make the story drag, and the latter can be jarring as it yanks you out of the story.

Additionally, conversations with dream beings can be far more candid than conversations your character would have with other characters, and dreams offer the opportunity to use that bit of imagery you’ve been trying to find a place for.

This list is by no means comprehensive, but these ten provide a substantial tool kit to start with, with an infinite number of variations and combinations possible. So when you’re stuck, grab a plot device, wedge one end into your story, and yank. That will get things moving!

Thomas M. MacKay is an author in the Return of the Sword anthology. For more information click here.

by Robert Rhodes
http://rrhodes-writer.blogspot.com/

1. Read. Read quality speculative and non-speculative fiction to know what has and hasn’t been done, to learn from others’ craftsmanship, and to be inspired.

2. Pay attention and take notes. Ideas may strike at any time. Have quick access to a notepad and pencil, and use them before the real world intrudes. (A draft message in an email account may also work.)

3. Master the basics. Understand the rules of composition. When necessary, consult a dictionary or manual such as The Elements of Style (Strunk & White), but only dust off a thesaurus as a last resort. Remember that spell-checking software can’t, for egg sample, bee trusted.

4. Create a complete, vivid story. Almost all good stories, speculative or not, integrate these elements: (1) a compelling character (2) in a fascinating setting (3) overcoming vast difficulties (4) by his or her own efforts and (5) achieving a worthwhile goal. (This guideline is a paraphrased summary of the excellent article “What Is A Short Story?” by Marion Zimmer Bradley, found on the website of her literary works trust: http://mzbworks.home.att.net/ .)

5. Reach for the stars. Write one of the very best stories you’ve ever read. Even if the final work falls just short, it will still be outstanding (unless you just read junk).

6. Beware of infatuation. After initially completing a story, celebrate—then step away and go work on another story or in the real world. Once you stop wanting to admire your immortal prose, you may have the emotional distance needed to revise it mercilessly.

7. Be open to criticism. Identify a handful of skilled and honest proofreaders, and carefully consider their comments. At the same time, develop the craftsmanship, instinct, and confidence to be the best and final judge of your work.

8. Be—or pretend to be—a professional. Carefully identify viable markets for your story. (A good starting point is ralan.com.) Follow submission guidelines to the letter. Understand standard manuscript format or the alternative requested. Proofread any cover letter, and keep it brief. Resist the temptations to brag to or flatter the editor or make the physical manuscript “stand out” (e.g., by using colored envelopes/paper/ink/font). The story will speak for itself; everything else should be black and white and clean to the point of starkness. Never reply to a rejection notice unless it was extremely gracious or helpful, in which case you may send a brief thank-you note.

9. Reward yourself. If your purpose is simply to write for yourself or your friends, fair enough. If your purpose is to be read widely, remember that money should always flow to authors in exchange for their difficult work. Accordingly, submit your work only to markets that pay real money. (Markets that only offer “exposure” don’t even offer that, as most readers use their time to read authors who are good enough to be paid, and no one is trolling those markets to discover new talent.) Avoid vanity presses and self-proclaimed agents who want money up front. Read contracts carefully, and don’t hesitate to ask questions.

10. Never, never, never quit. The first story you write will probably not be the first story you publish. Keep reading, writing, and submitting. If you have a good story that’s “just not right” for one market, submit to another within three days. Publishers, editors, and agents don’t want to keep genius undiscovered; they want to sell as many books as possible and usually have a fair sense of what will sell. For better or worse, reading tastes are what they are, and the marketplace has never been more competitive. But if you write an incredible story, it will almost certainly sell. If it doesn’t, give the industry—not yourself—the benefit of the doubt, and keep reading, writing, and submitting until your art is too powerful to be ignored. Writing well is ridiculously difficult and demands talent and persistence. Between the two, persistence is arguably more important—and the trait everyone can have. Now go write.

Robert Rhodes is a book reviewer and author whose fiction has been accepted by markets including Black Gate and Flashing Swords Press. He is also a co-author of “The Sword in the Mirror: A Century of Sword & Sorcery”, forthcoming in The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Contemporary Popular American Literature. He can be contacted at rrhodes.writer@gmail.com or on facebook.com.

For Return of the Sword purchase info click here: http://cyberwizardproductions.googlepages.com/returnofthesword

*Special guest book review by Nick Oliva.*

Beatle George Harrison wrote “Something” for her and it remains one of the most covered Beatle songs ever. Eric Clapton, the guitar hero of the world for over three decades wrote the Derek and the Dominoes 1974 Album “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs,” that fast and furious super-hot rock and roll epic about his love for this model and former wife of George Harrison and eventually Eric’s-Pattie Boyd. She’s the only woman to have two superstars write songs to her, and in her prime, her intoxicating beauty was that of a sexual siren driving men’s souls to the rocks in pure passion.

Her new book “Wonderful Today” is a biography that seems to want to tell all, and indeed sheds light on this wonderful woman who came from an abused childhood to make it as one of the world’s top models. Ms. Boyd begins in a chronological fashion with pictures of family and tales of Kenya with snakes, tigers, and scary natives. Quite the childhood, but then when her parents separate she is forced back to England with an abusive and cruel step-father.

The voice of the book is sweet and innocent, but the sixties flower children go through an innocence of their own and as the drugs they use to free their minds and give them empowerment for hope eventually drive them to pure misery as well. She became the wife of Mr. Harrison at the end of a fairy-tale courtship, but due to the heavy hand of the Beatle’s Manager Brian Epstein, was denied a proper wedding, as the public was not to know George was “no longer available” in the heady days of Beatlemania.

She and George lived a simple life, in a relatively small house with George off to the studio each day and Pattie embracing the role of wife, lover, cook, and home keeper. It was all she wanted and needed. George on the other hand became intensely involved in meditation, ironically because of Pattie’s suggestion, to fill a need for a childhood he never completely experienced, and they all went off to the Yogi Master Maharishi Mahesh in India.

For those who haven’t read past books on the Beatles, her book is full of references such as their Los Angeles house on “Blue Jay Way” and Prudence Farrow, Mia’s sister, was the “Dear Prudence” who would not leave her house in India with the Maharishi. Sergeant Pilcher was the British police officer who busted John Lennon, George, and many other rock and rollers of the day for drugs including Mick Jagger. “Jennifer Juniper” was a Donovan song for Pattie’s sister Jennifer who was also Mick Fleetwood’s main squeeze off and on and there are many other tidbits of rock trivia that have their place in history connected to Pattie’s life with George.

George eventually became emotionally unattached to her as he began binging on drugs and then meditation trying to find his way through a lost childhood. Eric Clapton then appears writing her passionate letters and begging her to leave George for a life with him.

At first, she thinks this is all very nice and flattering, but then Eric goes on a heroin binge because of her refusal to give in and be with him much like a spiteful boy. Eventually George’s lack of attention and Eric’s determined persistence, get the best of Pattie and she leaves George to follow Eric on tour. Years go by and the addiction to drugs, alcohol, and heroin take their toll on “Slowhand” and he shows no attempt to stay faithful to any one woman.

As much as Pattie wants to understand and deal with the issues of his dalliances and drunkenness, she indeed compromises her own principles in doing so, the relationship grinds to an inevitable crash as Eric “keeps on keepin’ on,” in full persona of what a rock star “is all about-After Midnite”-sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Pattie was and is only looking for love with someone who can make her laugh, and treat her as an equal.

This book is not a kiss and tell epic, and one would love to hear some of the intense times of emotion and vase throwings I’m sure, but one can sense the immense pain she had in finally putting this to words for all to read without destroying her relationships especially with Clapton.

Her only mistake was believing in young men that couldn’t tie their shoes on their own, and needed to grow up and take their marriage seriously. But now at last she is on her own, enjoying her life without expectations and has accepted her responsibility in enabling these “boys” and being a part of the problem. She still maintains great beauty within and without and is and will always be the mythical lady immortalized much like Helen of Troy in that Pattie launched a million flickers of light for encores at concerts everywhere in the world.

“Layla, you still got me on my knees…”

The Truth, (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) has so many topics imbedded into it for mothers and daughters and anyone who has walked the path of growing up as a girl that I hardly know which to pick. But since I must pick-let me pick purity of heart.

Purity of heart is in my opinion as a woman, a positive psychologist and having been a girl, a special vision that we often have in childhood. It is not just seeing with our eyes. It is a sixth sense combined with tender feelings and acute awareness of our surroundings. For example, when Laura Ingalls describes to us the way she ran through the prairie grass and looked up into the sky to follow hawks and looked at the stars at night while her father played the fiddle, her words evoke a purity of heart sensation in even adults.

She was able as a writer to create the whole atmosphere of her life on the prairie so that we feel something new and fresh and yet eternal as we read The Little House on the Prairie. In The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) I have tried to capture the same sense of purity of heart.

When the ‘girl’ is upset when her cousin swears it isn’t because she is making a moral judgment. It is because the swear words just feel bad as they hit her across the room. And when she dances with her mother up in the bedroom to rock and roll music, the relief of connecting with her mom and the pleasure of moving, laughing and hugging together is all there is. This is the moment and it is pure.

Purity of heart is a clean feeling and when we have purity of heart moments we can feel cleansed and delighted at the same time. Or if they are upsetting moments, as when the ‘girl’s’ cousin swore at least she knew he was not right and there was some relief just in the expression of her emotions.

I wanted to incorporate purity of heart into The Truth as we at all ages need to remember the intense pure feelings of childhood, both for ourselves and for the next generation. We need to remember them for ourselves so we can go there once again and experience the sweetness and passion that goes with really being alive, not just sleepwalking as sometimes we do as grown-ups.

And for the next generation’s sake we need to remember because we need to connect with our children and grandchildren and we need to reassure them and help validate for them that their emotions are not only pure but often more in tune with what is right that we are. Aging is not necessarily becoming emotionally more astute. Aging can sometimes just be aging.

The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) has many themes and one of them is most certainly don’t sleepwalk. Stay alive as you age and let the kids you know refresh you as well as the kid you were. After all, she is still inside of you! I promise and that’s the truth!

Hello everyone! Today I have a very special guest, author LK Silva who is here talking about her writing space, how she writes, and getting her books written.

I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her to The Book Stacks.

***

So you saw my library. Nice, huh?

So, what do I do in there?

I pull out my fountain pens and ink, college rule paper and clipboard, and get to work. I have always written my novels longhand first for a number of reasons. First off, I love the kinesthetic feel and the intimacy that fountain pens lend themselves to. There’s something more personal to me about writing than typing. The second reason is that I can do it anywhere, and since I travel so much, anywhere is important to me.

I have never been a diva when it comes to writing. I can write anywhere, any time. I think this is important if you plan on actually finishing anything. There are ALWAYS a million other things that need our attention, and that’s such an easy trap to fall into. I have a friend who could be a great writer, but she’s so balled up about having the house clean, making sure everything is in order, that she never finishes a thing.

So I write longhand with my beautiful fountain pens…and I write in the morning while I have my tea, and in the evening, after I have finished with all of my teaching and grading papers. I usually get a couple hours of writing in each day…I’m lucky that way…at last, I feel very fortunate.

After I finish the rough draft by hand (which I usually start at some exotic location like…well let’s see…I wrote Tory’s Tuesday in 2 week on the beautiful Greek island of Santorini. I wrote the first Across Time in Puerto Vallarta. I wrote one the paranormal novels in Thailand, and the last two Storm novels in the rainforest of Costa Rica), then it’s library time. On my desk sits two laptops…a regular 15.4 inch that is connected to my Jumbotron 24 inch monitor. Since I do so much online teaching and writing, I decided to be good to my eyes and get a monitor that spoke to me. I’m pretty sure it lights up the entire neighborhood. Maybe that’s why all those giant moths have crashed and burned into my window.

Ya think?

Along with that, I have my mini…a cute little 3 pound 12 inch monitor that I recently purchased so I can travel and not lose functionality. If you’re looking for a handy little no name brand that packs a punch, try Everex. It even comes with an extra battery all for about 500.00. The life of the battery is almost 5 hours, so with the two, you can really stay wired.

So, my rewrite process begins when I transcribe the first draft onto the computer. This is when I start to add detail, paint a better picture, and focus on exactly how I want the scene to read. I go back and check for continuity….are her eyes blue or green? That sort of thing. With a series character, you have to focus in all the time and really know your characters. After that, I let it sit for a week or two before going back in for further revising. After the second revision, I send it to www.lulu.com, where I have the manuscript bound for my pre-readers. This is an awesome way to give them a book to read so they aren’t carting around a 10 pound ream of paper. They have really come to appreciate these little pre-reading books.

After they read, I go through and make another set of changes. Then I spell check again, and send it out. Once my editor, Katherine Forrest gets her hands on it, she sends it back with suggestions on how to tighten the writing and make the characters more realistic. Katherine is so good at what she does, I fix 99.9% of the things she questions and wind up with a much stronger piece.

So…that’s my process…

When the book arrives from the publisher, I usually open it alone. There’s something mystical and magical about opening a box of books that are going to have my name on them. I have my own little ceremony (which I can’t share here), and it’s the same for every novel. Across Time means as much to me as Taken By Storm…maybe even more because I had to start from scratch.

But I started…and I’m here to tell you….there’s nothing better than holding your own book in your hand after months and months of babying her. It’s wonderful!

Today we have a guest post from the lovely Amanda Ford, who is currently on virtual tour for her book Kiss Me, I’m Single. Today Amanda talks about her love of books…

***

Since this is a site devoted to the love of books, I thought I’d share a story with you about how I came to love books. The story starts with my mother on a date with a man, her first date with this man. He took her to a bookstore in Seattle’s edgy Capitol Hill neighborhood. My mother has forgotten the name of that store now. She has not forgotten, however, that as she reached for a book on the shelf, he placed his hand on hers, sending a flood of energy through her muscles and marrow. That was the first time my mother experienced the transformative power of a simple touch. The man bought that book for my mother that afternoon, and six months later he moved into our house and stayed for nearly a decade.

They say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. I guess it depends on the girl. For it is not that stone that makes me swoon. No, if you want to build a home in my heart, if you want to cross the threshold to my unyielding affections, you need only make one modest offering: Buy me a book.

I attribute the fact that I my knees buckle when presented with a paperback to the arrival of that man. His name was Ashoka, and I was four years old when he unlocked my mother’s heart and keyed his way into our home. By her late thirties my mom was both a widow and divorcee.

Her first husband died unexpectedly of a heart attack when they were both twenty-nine. Just out of college and frugal when they married, they gave up the pomp and circumstance of diamonds and opted for matching gold bands that they exchanged along with their vows. A few years after her first husband’s death my mother met her second husband-my father-and although she was truly still a grieving widow, he managed to woo her with a gleaming engagement ring.

Soon after their wedding day, I was born, and even sooner after my birth, my parents divorced. Faced with the prospect of raising a daughter alone, my mom decided to pawn her fancy ring, needing money much more than bling. But it turns out my father’s diamond was actually plastic, a humiliating fact she learned after the jeweler peered down at her ring for four seconds and then looked up, loop still attached to his eye, and blunted her with, “It’s fake.”

That’s probably why she fell for Ashoka. Having learned that marriage vows cannot protect one from catastrophe and that diamonds aren’t always what they seem, my mother needed something she could trust. That something was the exact thing that Ashoka offered; that something was knowledge. Ashoka brought books into our house by the bag load.

Through those pages he introduced my mother to writers, philosophers and dreamers, to activities, skills and techniques that taught her that she was not merely a pawn to Fate’s wild will, but rather an active player, an architect, a conductor with the power to direct her own life as she chose. Ashoka took me to the library to obtain my first library card, an outing that remains one of my most vivid, exhilarating childhood memories. By introducing us to the books he loved, by encouraging us to ignite our own reading romances, Ashoka woke our minds and softened our hearts.

Nine years after moving in, Ashoka was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma and died one year later. His last gift to my mother was a hardback book about papier-mâché filled with vivid color photographs. That was fifteen years ago and to this day my mother still opens that book, using it as inspiration for the craft that has become her passion in the years since Ashoka’s death. Today my mother specializes in papier-mâché bracelets and bowls that sell in art galleries and boutiques around Seattle. She learned the art form from that book, and every time she finishes a new creation we marvel at how his spirit always imprints itself upon each piece.

For me, as I approach thirty, I often long for Ashoka’s advice on how to navigate the stormy waters of adult life. Luckily he was not the type to give a diamond ring and call it good. He was the type to buy books and pile them in stacks upon stacks. At my mother’s house we have room dedicated to his collection. Whenever I need guidance, I pull one from the shelves and let Ashoka speak to me through the words he cherished while alive.

I cannot say whether a diamond ring will ever hug my finger. I can say, however, that any man who arrives barring books will remain with me until I gasp my final breath.

Amanda Ford is the author of Kiss Me, I’m Single. You can visit her at her website by clicking here.

Today author Dyan Garris is here to talk about her book and manifesting in your life.

***

You’ve read The Secret. You think positive thoughts. You apply the laws of attraction. You visualize. You even clear pathways to abundance. And you manifest NOTHING. You long for someone to tell you the real secrets about money and manifesting so you can get out of debt and get out of the psychotherapy, which you have begun in order to discover why you cannot manifest anything.

As a clairvoyant counselor, I talk to a lot of people every day; and one of the main things that repeatedly came up recently was, “I’m applying everything I learned in The Secret, so why can’t I manifest?” There is more than one reason; but mainly it is because it is not enough to think positively, apply the laws of attraction, and/or even have faith that what you’re putting your thoughts on is going to come to you eventually.

You must learn how energy functions and you must learn how to implement and integrate this learning into your life. It is also not enough to simply think about clearing limiting beliefs unless you know (1) where these beliefs came from (2) where and why they are stuck (3) what to do after you manage to clear them.

I wrote Money and Manifesting to help people take the basics of what they learned in The Secret many steps further. People should have the real secrets to what stands in their way of manifesting, how to unblock the energy flow of money, or anything, and how to actually transform energy to get what they desire.

And this is not just a book filled with helpful information. Parts of the book are fictionalized, so there is an interesting story here as well. It is a story that everyone can identify with. When we can identify with something or someone, we then have a platform for change. When we have a platform for change, we can use it to make the leap into transformation and subsequently shift our entire paradigm.

There is another benefit to reading this book. The way it is written takes the reader on a journey of left brain/right brain integration. You move back and forth inside the pages, from a story which is processed with one part of your brain, to information which is processed with another part of your brain. When you get done and you close the book, you will feel the shift. Automatically.

Dyan Garris is the author of Voice of the Angels Spiritual Cards, The Book of Daily Channeled Messages, Talk To Your Food! Intuitive Cooking, and Fish Tale of Woe – Lost at Sea. In 2005 she created a series of music and meditation CDs for healing, Automatic Chakra Balance,™ and vibrational attunement of mind, body, and spirit.