A GREAT DEAL AT STAKE

Welcome to another Suspenseful Seven Sentence Sunday. The following excerpt is from

DEFENDING GLORY

1st of the Piedmont Island Trilogy series.

The set up for today's excerpt: Glory is determined to help her brother, Logan, and she's equally determined to build a new life for herself on Piedmont Island.

Her parents reaction? Not what you'd think. They've hired a lawyer....

“If you want to help Logan,” Mordante said at last, “help yourself first. Return home. Forget about Minnesota and the retreat.”

“I can’t do that," Glory said.

“You have six weeks to decide what is important. There’s a great deal at stake.”

“There is, but not just for me.”

If you'd like to read more of Defending Glory, click here.

Please check out the SUSPENSEFUL SEVEN SENTENCE SUNDAY site for a complete list of participating mystery and romantic suspense authors. Happy Sunday reading!

SUCCESS = HARD WORK. PERIOD.

E-readers have changed the publishing industry. They've also changed the way readers read. They've also changed one author's life. No, not mine. (Although my Piedmont Island Trilogy series does take place in Minnesota where this author lives!) I'm talking about Amanda Hocking.

I first heard about Amanda at J. A. Konrath's blog. (BTW, if you're a writer and haven't visited his blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, you're missing out.) Konrath is an advocate for self publishing. He lives, breathes, dreams it.

Amanda Hocking's book sales took off last fall and her Trylle Trilogy has been optioned for a movie. Incredible success since the launch of her first book less than a year ago.

But back to the beginning of her writing career. She tried going the traditional route. Her stories were rejected by just about everyone. Working a menial job she hated, and ready to give up her dream of being a published author, she decided to self publish. Her books have gone viral. Hers is a success story every author dreams will happen to them.

Watch a recent television interview with her.

Still, Amanda pulls no punches. She vows her success is not a fluke. She got where she is today by working hard and putting in long hours. "So much of what people are saying about me is, "Look what Amanda Hocking accomplished in a year," when they really should be saying is, "Look what Amanda Hocking accomplished in twenty years." Because that's how long I've been writing, that's how long I've been working towards this goal."

In a recent post, a bit of a reality check, she said, "There is a common misconception that I published the first novel I ever wrote, and that is not true. The first book I ever published was My Blood Approves, and that was the eighth novel I'd written." She also said, "If you do not have the time to devote to working at your writer the same way you would a full time job, then the sad truth is that self-publishing probably isn't the right fit for you."

Everyone loves success stories. Especially rags-to-riches and overnight success ones. I tend to think that's just fiction! Sucess no matter how you slice it is hard work. Period. Do you agree?

SHE WRITES BLOGGER BALL

Hello and welcome to my little corner of cyberspace.

I've saved you a chair. Coffee's hot. Your favorite cookies are fresh out of the oven. (Better yet they're 100% calorie FREE!)

First order of business - Meg Waite Clayton deserves a standing ovation for organizing this incredible event, as well as EVERYTHING else she does for her fellow authors at She Writes. Thanks, Meg! You're an inspiration to us all.

Next on the agenda - Slide your chair a little closer to the computer screen as I top up your mug of coffee. Oh, and please help yourself to another cookie. (Go on, I'm not keeping tabs. Besides, they ARE your favorite!)

Comfy? Good. Take as  l..o..n..g  as you like to browse my blog.  

My blogging tips:
(1) Become a follower to blogs you like
(2) introduce yourself via a comment, and
(3) help yourself to another cookie. ZERO calories, remember? ;-)

Finally, enjoy the Blogger Ball, and thanks for dropping by.

WHY BLOG?

At a recent luncheon with my wonderful group of girlfriends (we call ourselves the Fab Four) I was asked how my next book was coming along. I admitted it wasn't. Every waking hour, I said, was devoted to self-promotion and marketing of my books.

Well, that and my blogs. All three of them.

My good friend who thankfully never censors a single word, blurted, "Well, why are you blogging? You should be writing!"

I considered her question. WHY was I spending all of my precious time on blog posts? Then, it hit me. Or rather, a comment I once read attributed to Ray Bradbury (I think it was Mr. Bradbury) hit me.

He lamented new authors no longer have the wonderful training ground he had when he first started out as a writer. He was grateful to all those magazines that published his short stories. Through them, he learned how to write, and over time (and practice) became a better writer.

I gave that comment a lot of thought. Are new authors at a disadvantage?

Not really. If anything, the opposite is true. I believe the Internet is today's writer's training ground. Blogging gives us the freedom to choose a topic and release it into the world. Better yet, readers drop by to read the post, and if they like what they see they either leave a comment, become a follower of that blog, or BOTH.

Blogging strengthens a writer's skills. In the few short months I've been blogging I've cut my preparation time by half. In the beginning I used to spend hours not only on the post, but just on the basics of how-to post a blog.

Everything I've read and researched about blogging suggests it has to be done frequently to maintain readers. A writer can't just set up a blog, post two or three times, and then abandon it.

Okay. They can. But they shouldn't.

When I worked at a small town community newspaper and sold display advertising my boss explained that effective advertising is an on-going process. It has to be maintained to be effective. (Think Coke and McDonalds. Both names are recognized around the world.)

My boss gave the analogy of an airplane. To get airborne it must use a great deal of fuel and power. To STAY airborne the pilot must keep the engines running. Coasting won't do the trick.

So, think of your blog as an airplane. Keep the engine running. Don't let it crash and burn. Thoughts?

Love and Chocolate Anthology Giveaway

Love is in the air, and you can read all about it in the LOVE AND CHOCOLATE ANTHOLOGY by Vanilla Heart Publishing authors.

More than 100 pages of poems, recipes and short stories, including my short story "Caroline's Gift". It's yours. It's FREE. It's perfect reading all year long.

Click here and leave a comment to receive your free copy.

NECESSARY GOALS

What one how-to write book is a must on your bookshelf? Why?

I was recently asked the question by Deanna Jewel as part of an author interview. My answer, along with the complete interview, will appear on her blog on March 3rd.

However, while every writer strives to keep her readers in suspense, I have no intention of making you wait three weeks for my answer!

The book is "Techniques of the Selling Writer" by Dwight V. Swain.

It’s an invaluable resource that offers something for the beginning writer to publication and beyond. If you write fiction and do not have a copy of this book, get one ASAP. Make it a top priority. Better yet, make it a 2011 writing goal.

Speaking of goal, every character in your story must, should, ought to have a goal, and they should have a goal in every single scene. Otherwise, there is no story.

I love the simplicity of Swain’s definition of goal. The character, he says, wants "something. That something always falls into one of three categories:

(1) Possession of something...a girl, a job, a jewel: you name it.

(2) Relief from something...blackmail, domination, fear.

(3) Revenge for something...a slight, a loss, betrayal.

In DEFENDING GLORY, first of the Piedmont Island Trilogy series, the heroine wants to build a retreat. The villain wants her to stop construction and leave the island. The hero, of course, is determined to complete the retreat AND protect Glory. Three distinct characters. Three diverse goals that carry the story to the end.

My question for readers: What is the goal of the main character of the book you are currently reading? Why do you think it is important?

My question for writers: What one how-to book is a must on your bookshelf? Why?

USING THE BEST & WORST OF LANDSCAPE

“An author knows his landscape best,” Tony Hillerman once said, “he can stand around, smell the wind, get a feel for his place.”

Piedmont Island, the location for my debut novel, DEFENDING GLORY, as well as the setting for books number two and three, may be an imaginary place, but like Tony Hillerman I know every detail of that incredible landscape. After all, I created it! But make no mistake, this is a place based on truth. Located in the north eastern part of beautiful Minnesota, I have kept Piedmont Island well within the framework of its geographical location.

That means there is not a swaying palm tree, desert cactus, rain forest, or snow capped mountain in sight.

There is, however, a wide woodland expanse of pine, maple, spruce, cedar and birch trees. Four distinct seasons bless these rolling hills, tranquil meadows, and quiet streams and ponds. Surrounded by the world’s largest fresh body of water – Lake Superior, Piedmont Island is also home to a lighthouse still in use to warn captains of lake freighters and small pleasure craft alike to be wary.

Why do I mention the lighthouse? (The picture above, by the way, is of Minnesota's Split Rock Lighthouse, located just south of Piedmont Island.)

Because even fictional places should be based on fact. My research indicates there are 49 documented shipwrecks along this rugged stretch of Minnesota coastline.

Although I have not yet made reference to that imaginary lighthouse or those very real shipwrecks in my books, I expect I soon will. Why? Because Piedmont Island is a small community where troubles outnumber inhabitants. Bad stuff happens to good people. How else can I keep readers up at night turning the pages?

One reader confided this past week she read DEFENDING GLORY in a single day. I was thrilled. That meant I’d done my job as a writer. My story held her interest to the exclusion of everything else that was going on in her life that day.

Another reader emailed to ask where I get my ideas. Each of my stories begin as a grain of sand that through trial and error transforms into a full length novel. I tend to start with a murder. The scenes that follow are determined to a large extent by the characters themselves as they do their utmost to stay alive long enough to solve the crime, but setting does play a significant role in what happens next.

Back to Piedmont Island. Imaginary or not, summers can be cold or wet or they can be hot and humid. Thunderstorms can, and do, appear off Lake Superior with sudden terrifying fury. As do hailstorms, strong northerly winds, and perilous choppy waves. Winter blizzards can be particularly treacherous and deadly, especially if they cause a power outage. But standing there, facing everything Mother Nature throws at it, is the lighthouse. A monument to time. A beacon of refuge and safe haven.

Or is it?

A lot can go wrong there. The heroine could be held hostage or trapped inside the lighthouse. The villain can use it as a hide out, or a vantage place to shoot at the hero. The staircase up to the top of the lighthouse is a great place for a chase scene, and again, all sorts of things can go wrong. Especially if the hero or heroine is afraid of heights.

Hillerman was correct when he said “an author knows his landscape best.” I believe an author should also know the worst of that landscape. And not be afraid to use it. Thoughts?