Happy Halloween, NaNo, & News

This is the last post for October. In just two days it will be Halloween, the spookiest, creepiest, giggle-fest of the year. I decorate on October 1 and I do enjoy the ghoul-fest, despite not having children. I have such great memories of trick-or-treating, but I think the reason my joy remains is the care Mother took in explaining WHY we did the things we did. Understanding helped make the holiday indelible and I thought I’d share with you.

Since the 1920s, kids in North America have been doing trick or treating. The idea is to dress up (so the real ghosts and goblins think you are part of them and don’t bother you), then you go door to door and ask for treats in lieu of a trick being played on the owner. Those who don’t give treats are tricked with soap or toilet paper (in the more gentle and benign tricks).  In those countries where they dress up, the costumes must be scary. Only in America will you find the custom has been altered to include the sexy, cute and Disney. 

Give good treats to appease the spirits. Long ago, the food was left on the doorstep and the spirits were invited to take what they wished and be happy. Can you imagine leaving unguarded chocolate on your front porch? Yikes! I don’t know what would be worse, the melting, the ants or the stampede!

Don’t forget to leave out a glowing Jack-O-Lantern! The lighted gourd actually began long ago in Europe. You carved out a turnip (not a pumpkin) and put an ember in it so that it told the roaming spirits that the house was taken or protected. Without the lighted lantern, you might be possessed! It was the Irish who brought the custom to America and found the pumpkin, then changed the custom.  The Jack-O-Lantern is named after the will-o-the-wisp, or the jacks, who were believed to spirts who hung out in the marshes and bogs.

Knowing some of the Halloween customs gave the holiday life for the little kid in me and I learned to love and not fear the fun. I think it’s why creepy and spooky highlights my writing, because I am not afraid to go deep into the dark. For only in the dark do you see the light.

I hope you share the customs of the day with your friends and children, then have a most haunting candy-fest. Remember to stay safe, and share some of your goodies with your children. haha

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honeymoon kids

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Yesterday was my 29th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it’s been that many years! My hubby and I spent the day being lazy and cuddly, enjoying each other’s company and then going out to dinner. I am blessed to have found such an amazing human being with whom to share my life. As with so many things in my life, I think about how I show long standing relationships with my characters and how I share the rich relationships. Nothing in my emotional life is wasted, every joy and sorrow is personal and fodder. But I must say, in this special moment of knowing and loving someone for so long, the depth of our caring is so much more mature than it has ever been and I make note how he and I manifest that love. A writer never forgets that every moment is noteable. But Happy Anniversary my love. Let’s go for another 29 years.

National Novel Writing Month

In just a couple days, National Novel Writing Month begins again! I’m in! I hope you will join me. Make your preparations now:  find a writing spot, identify your writing buddies, get all you snacks and papers together and mentally prepare for the daily write. If you are used to it, then get that outline ready to go. I’m poetphoenix on the website. Let’s hook up.

This year will be epic. I’ll give you updates at least weekly – stay tuned for videos too.

WRITER NEWS

You know what I’ve said about how important it is to market and promote, right? So here’s what’s been happening with me.

A great many events have been going on helping to market my latest release, LOVE AND BLOOD.

– Kicked off my promotion with an interview by my friend and fellow author Yvonne Mason of Off The Chain on blogspot radio. What fun! She’s showcased every book over the last few years and is a strong and generous supporter of Indie Authors. Check out her diverse archives!

– Hanging With Web Show has been a staunch supporter and hard marketer of all my books and right now they are heavily promoting Love and Blood. Check out their podcasts and see what Featured Authors they have because you might discover something new for your reading list.

–  Jennifer Wedmore of Wickedly Innocent Promotions worked a Facebook release for the book.

–  Jodi Hunley Bird of Ruby Red Romance Reviews, fostered me for Foster An Author 2018. As a fostered author, she promoted me for a week, from Oct 22-26 and wonderful promotions gave my book delicious exposure. Plus I made new contacts on Twitter, Instagram and on my Facebook page! If you haven’t done this program before (this was my first time), then I recommend you give it a try next year. #FAA4 #FosterAnAuthor #FAA2018

– On Oct 26, Laurie Kehoe interviewed me on blogspot radio program, Authors Corner. What a fun hour! If you missed the advertisement about it, please check it out. We talked writing, the new book and books we loved by others. It was a free interview and what a gracious gift to an Indie Author like me. Check into her archives too because she interviews all sorts of cool folks!

– Coming up, I’m a part of the 2018 Halloween Pub Crawl, and you can sign up! All you have to do is join a bunch of groups. Then starting Oct 31, the groups will give out passcodes which you will need to collect and then return to the main page and turn in on a form. The more passcodes you collect, the more entries you get to win. What do you win?  Some books and a $250 Amazon gift card! So what are you waiting for? The crawl only lasts 48 hours once it starts!

–Coming up on October 31, Silver Dagger Book Tours is going to do a month long showcase of my books. YOU CAN SIGN UP AND HELP! Go here and join in on the party. I will thank you!

-Finally, if you want a treat, join me for my monthly live chat, FIRESIDE WITIH THE PHOENIX, on my Facebook Author page, Hallloween day 1pm EDT for 15 min (or so) of craziness. No telling what I might do on that spooky day!

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As you can see, marketing is both a pain and important. You can’t skip it if you expect to sell books or gain visibility. I hate doing it, but doing it means someone new might learn about me. So help me by checking out these fabulous people (and maybe they will be helping you later.

If you have read any of my books, I would be very grateful for your support by leaving me a review on Amazon, Goodreads and BookBub. Your love is always best shown by reviews. Authors think of them like hugs.

NEWSLETTER!!! Going out by Halloween! Sign up NOW.

Hope your Halloween is FRIGHTFULLY fun.

Yours Between the Lines (and in the dark)

Sherry

I find myself alone at the end of a five day, self-imposed retreat and I’m feeling a need to share the revelations from my ruminations. My husband went to a 50-year high school reunion and I stayed behind to work the home stretch of my current book-in-progress. While he’s been away, I’ve noticed I’ve passed through various stages of “being,” as a person and as a writer. The writer in me is interested in both and I wanted to share some of my discoveries about writing and myself (something I rarely do).

I should preface by saying I’m happily married and have been for nearly 29 years. I don’t like it when hubby and I are separated for too long (more on this coming). I must also tell you that the book I’m working on has put me through the wringer and I have been my best and worst friend because of it. Knowing those two issues will help to understand my revelations.

I know how I am, so I prepared for be alone. That means I planned what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. I’m a past Girl Scout and a retired military member, not to mention an Aries, so planning and organizing is deeply ingrained in my nature. Be prepared! So I was.

One must have plenty of coffee, tea, sweetener, milk, cheese, and the biggie — chocolate! I did not want to have to go out and shop for the basic necessities. Then I prepared meals in advance too and this time (versus previous days I had alone) I planned not to cook. I ordered overly stuffed and delicious sandwiches from a favorite shop, one for Friday through today. Whatever else I needed I could toss together, ie., a scrambled egg, some toast, a salad. Add a bottle of wine (or two), Bloody Mary mix and good vodka (always available) and check and check. Such preparations require you know yourself well with realistic limits.

Domestic things next. Laundry done. Sheets changed and washed. Towels clean and refreshed. Areas that needed cleaning, cleaned. Me clean. Check and check.

Important writer items, printer ink and paper. Check and check. I am a slave to paper copies. I save to the cloud and flash drives and DVDs too but the paper copies are my friends. I’ve lost too many computers and broken too many flash drives not to be a copy fiend. So check and check.

When last Thursday rolled around and I was alone, the work began. And work I did. Tempted as I was to take advantage of a silent house and steal much wanted long hours of uninterrupted sleep, I didn’t. Instead I rose early (always before 7), ate (read: consumed two cups of coffee) and went to work (by 8:30). Some hours were better than others. All hours were productive. Break for an hour at lunch. Break at 4pm til either 7pm or later, depending. I had a book I was reading too.

I stopped long enough to have a tea party with some wonderful young girls on Thursday (before I really dove deep into my work) who allowed me to tap into my younger self through pure enjoyment of my friend’s children. It’s good to remember innocence and simply joy.

And I took another break on Saturday for a delightful phone call with a long distance friend whose friendship developed from first meeting online. She brightened my heart and shared laughter is fuel for the spirit and salve for the soul. 

I also paused to see the Warriors win the NBA title and Justify capture the Triple Crown. It is important to be there when history is being written. Those moments are never wasted, even if you can’t be there live. After all, you always need experienced fodder for the stories you write.

The rest of these five days (my last one is today as hubby is expected around 5pm), I’ve discovered how I have changed. When I was first alone it was a party. Eat, sleep, snack, shower all when I wanted. Slept like a baby that first night alone.

Second day/night. Productive. Feeling excited about my accomplishments. Slept well but woke anxious to get started the third day.

Third day feeling a little less motivated. Filled the bird feeder. Washed my recent dishes. Wanted to watch a movie and drink some tea. Instead, read a book for an hour, drank my mug of tea and went back to work after my phone call because my mood was significantly lighter. Didn’t sleep as well Saturday night. Mind was on the book and I missed my love.

Sunday brings the NASCAR race. I rose early, got the paper, drank my coffee and was at work by 9. The race came on at 2pm and I worked through their rain delay and still never really watched what little there was of it. I felt distracted despite not watching the TV. Decided later that night to watch a movie because I needed to put aside my work and give my brain a break. Besides my eyes were tired from the computer glare. Felt guilty not working. 

Slept badly last night. But today I’ve been energized again and hubby will be home tonight. I’m anxious to hear his stories about the reunion and the family he visited. I’m anxious to hold him and remember the feel of him and the sound of his voice. I missed him.

All in all, during this absence, I’ve realized that I am focused and motivated but I am influenced by my emotional attachments. I function my best when I connect with the people I care about and not operate completely in a vacuum. Yes, I need silence (or certain kinds of music) on my schedule. I don’t like noise that isn’t mine and I don’t like to be interrupted when I’m in the middle of my work. I alternate between ravenous and “who needs food?” And most of all I like how I am and what I do.

I also realized after spending so much time alone that I am a good friend to myself. I think part of that comes because I’m older and I know I need to be my best friend. But more than that, I don’t have a problem amusing myself. Sure I may get lonely but being alone isn’t a problem. The difference isn’t about other people, but in me. I guess I never thought that much about it before now.

So, I’m still hard at work in this the last full day of my self-made retreat. I’m going to be useless Tuesday as I plan to spend some quality time with hubby. Then Wednesday  I will be back in my office, door closed, mug of tea by my side and printer and laptop whirring as I write. After all, I need privacy while I kill off a darling and then I want to have dinner with hubby.

Find time to do some ruminating of your own. The self-revelations are necessary, even if you believe you have nothing new to learn about yourself, I think you might be wonderfully surprised. Oh and don’t feel guilty about taking a break or reading a book. Go on outside, drink some sunshine or moonlight and count yourself lucky.

Thanks again for stopping by.
I remain, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry

Truth. This morning I realized it was Monday. I hadn’t written my blog post! Honestly folks, I’m neck-deep in final book edits, did a live chat on Facebook on Saturday Aug 26, watched Eclipse 2017 last Monday and had a variety of workers/delivery people at the house — okay, so maybe I’m making excuses but real life does have a way of pushing some things out of your mind. Despite my PAA reminding me last Thursday to start my blog, I let it slip away. So let’s catch up.

First, the eclipse last week was incredible. We live in one of the “almost total” area, 98.7%. Not total darkness, not even a real twilight for us, but then everything turned a bit hazy green, shadows sharpened, crescent shadows were everywhere and I was as excited as a kid going to her first birthday party. The shadow shot is from my driveway and the crescent shot my husband took with his smartphone through glasses (that’s why it looks dark). That’s as close as we came to a full eclipse. For me, it was as if I experienced the big bang. I am so easy to please and hey, a once in a lifetime experience!

Confession. We plan to see the total eclipse in 2024 by going to Indiana (warning, family!).

Besides the multitudes of people passing through our place this last week (Sears, Trugreen, ValuePest, Salvation Army, Schwans, UPS) and being a total and complete distraction, not much else happened. Everyone’s been planning for the kids to head back to school, and wondering if a roundabout built in a major intersection would be done in time for school.

And yes, it is done and people are acting like they’ve never driven a circle before. Indeed most have not if they have never been overseas or to another large metropolitan area. It is a bit laughable to hear people cheering how they successfully navigated a circle. I don’t mean to be mean, but honestly, it’s a circle.

I suppose it isn’t nice to laugh at people’s discomfiture, but from the videos posted online, it is funny to listen to people breathe and laugh at themselves when they realize there was nothing to their fear. I laugh harder when they say, “oh I didn’t realize it was only a circle.” Too rich.

As for what’s happening with me? I’m working on the final edits of my new book, Time and Blood. Later this week, my PAA and I will get together for the oral read through. That’s always painful, long and often funny. Next week, I will write about why that is so important.

(Please note the reference books:  Words’Worth by Jane Riddell; How to Write Dazzling Dialogue by James Scott Bell; Writing Fight Scenes, by Rayne Hall; and Revising and Self-Editing, by James Scott Bell)

Also next week I should be working with my cover designer, Marisa-rose Robyn, owner of Cover Me Darling designs to do the exciting new cover. Marisa did the covers for my books, The Gypsy Thorn (my last book), Breaking the Glass Slipper and The Book of Now. She’s won several awards lately and will make my book shine. Her cover work on The Book of Now has won a couple awards. 

At the end of September/first of October, Cassy Roop of Pink Ink Designs will do the formatting for the new book. She did the formatting for The Book of Now and Breaking the Glass Slipper. The interior of The Book of Now won an award from Independent Press Awards (IPA). 

You can see why I revisit designers and formatters who do fine work. And yes, they are worth the money. Please pay for quality work. And if you decide to do your own covers, learn how to do them well and learn about the various genres including fonts and colors. Or do as I do and leave it to the award-winning professionals. They will make you look good!

A few personal notes. I do a Fireside With the Phoenix live Facebook chat at the end of every month. Most of the time I discuss a little something about writing, make some thanks yous, answer questions sent to me, and talk about upcoming events, giveaways, or contests. You don’t want to miss these going forward. Trust me. Keep an eye to my Facebook Author page for the when and time of each live chat.

Finally, every Monday I like to participate in #pinyourpen. It’s a fun way to showcase your favorite handwriting tool. Some like fountain pens and others like ballpoint. Some like gel pens and others collect quill pens. Whatever you like, be sure to join in on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and show me yours. This is mine for this week.

Thanks for stopping by for a bit of this and that. See you next time.

Until then, I remain,