Why that particular book?

cj Sez: Rummaging through my LP archives for inspiration, I found a reader questionnaire (from another writer’s blog) and thought what a great idea. So, here is some Q&A for you to think about.  

Photo by The Haunted Book Shop

Q. What makes you want to buy a book –the cover? ... Or is it the blurb on the back of the book?

A. For me, it's both. The cover grabs my attention, then the blurb has to invite me to open the book . . . make me want to know more about the story.

Q. When you get into a story, what keeps you reading? Is it the bad boy hero or the tough, strong-willed woman or the cast of characters that help push the story forward?

A. First, I will not read for a long time to “get into a story.” It has to hook my interest early, certainly no later than the first chapter. Then whether hero or heroine, I want to find some action and a plot. I also like to find humor and some quick repartee in even the darkest of moments. When my heroine is about to go where she’s shouldn’t go or has never been before, I want the scene to be scary, yet inviting me along for the adventure at the same time.  

Q. What makes you like one author more than another?

A. I’ll admit to being a wordsmith, but I also “write tight” … which means I’m not into graphorrhea*.

 *    graphorrhea \ı graf-ә- rē-ә \ n : mental disorder marked by the writing of a long succession of meaningless words.

“A novel of such great length and of so little worth could only have been written by someone caught in the grip of graphorrhea.” 

   I want to be enchanted by the author’s voice…how she/he uses a few precise words and syntax to evoke some “show me” visualization and/or visceral emotion.

Q. If you’re into reading a series, when do you get tired of it…or do you?  

A. As long as the author keeps the storyline and characters fresh, I don’t have a problem with continuing to read a series ad infinitum. It’s when the storyline get stale and takes the same direction over and over that I’m no longer interested in reading the next book, and I’m on to the next author. A stale storyline can also happen in stand-alone books when the author gets stuck on the same formulaic style/theme.

Q. And how about reviews: Do you take a few minutes to write a review?

A. Without readers, authors have no audience, and without an audience, authors are out of a job. Whether on Amazon, Facebook, Goodreads, etc., constructive feedback is what keeps us going. We want to know our strengths as well as our weaknesses. We’re polite—we say please and thank you.

   Lyrical Pens would love to know your answers to these questions. So leave a comment, already.

§§

Books make great gifts, anthologies may be an even better option...a variety of authors and stories in one book...the gift that keeps on giving. 

And on sale now . . . 

§§

cj Sez: That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

§§

P.S. TO ORDER a book by any author on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my stories for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.

➜ Follow me . . .     

➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook

➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Did you remember?

cj Sez: Did you remember to turn your clock back an hour?  I did, and when the alarm went off this morning at 6:30 a.m. but my internal clock kept saying it was really 5:30 a.m., I was a bit … annoyed.  

   By the by, I think I found the answer to why there is a time change twice a year. According to a USAtoday dot com article:

“The U.S. first implemented daylight saving during World War I as a way to conserve fuel with the Standard Time Act of 1918, also known as the Calder Act.”

   If you’re an author, there a correct way to write it in your stories (which I learned this week). The correct term is daylight “saving” (not savings) time, and the AP Style Guide says it’s properly all lower case.

  Okay, that finishes that topic until next March.

/// 

Passing along info:

Chicken Soup for the Soul is looking for stories for these upcoming books:

Life Lessons from My Cat - deadline Nov 30
Running for Good - deadline Dec 15
Stories About Angels - deadline Dec 31
Stories About Miracles - deadline Dec 31
The Golden Years or Your Second Wind deadline - Dec 30

https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics

///

   Books are always great suggestions for Christmas gifts. BSP: I have stories in several anthologies with Christmas as the theme. Here are two:

Christmas Through a Child’s Eyes

Back cover blurb:

“The joy of Christmas often gets lost in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. For many people, fond memories of a childhood Christmas can bring back that special feeling. This book collects tales written by adults remembering their favorite Christmases of the past.”

Paul Harvey blurbed the front cover this way: “In a child’s eyes, Christmas is defined as never before.”

My story, written under my maiden name of Marilyn Olsein, is titled “Dancing with Daddy,” and relates how, as a six-year old, I reconnected with my Swedish father after a major upheaval in our lives.

The anthology is still available on Kindle.

Hometown Heroes, a Christmas Anthology will be available in time for the holiday. The publisher predicts it may even beat the projected Dec 4 launch date. Be sure to watch for it on Amazon. It’s a dual purpose book: Entertaining contemporary romance stories for you and/or gifts and proceeds to benefit the Cajun Navy. My story is titled “Hobbes House Noel.”

///

That’s it for this post. Please join me next week when I’ll write a bit about the significance of Poppy Day. You all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

A few more Christmas gift ideas:

Choosing Carter    https://amzn.to/2CJxs8Z

Deadly Star   https://amzn.to/2O8NFGZ

The Posse, a Western anthology   https://amzn.to/2EKUA9B

Pieces, a Mobile Writers Guild Anthology  https://amzn.to/2Dk84Yr

GIVEAWAY CHALLENGE . . .

If you’ve read any of my works, let me know you left a review at Goodreads, Amazon, wherever—good, bad, or simply “I read it.”—and I’ll put your name in the raffle hat. It doesn’t have to be a new review. The random name I draw on December 6 will receive a nice gift bag of goodies. I’ll post the winner’s name on my Facebook page, so be sure to stop by.

Qrtly newsletter sign-up:  cjpetterson@gmail.com

cjpetterson/author on Facebook   

Amazon Central Author Page =  https://amzn.to/2v6SrAj

Simon&Schuster Author Page = https://bit.ly/2uo1M0Z

Footnote: USAToday reference:   https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/11/01/daylight-saving-time-ends-sunday-get-ready-fall-back/1846836002/

Re-introducing cj

cj Sez:  I’ve been re-reading some of the old Lyrical Pens blogs and am surprised at how writerly I was when I started  in 2009.

It’s been a while since I’ve introduced myself, and since August is rather an august month for me, I think today is good day to do a re-introduction.

My pen name is “cj petterson.”  I currently live in Mobile, AL, raised two sons, am enjoying three grandchildren, been single for more years than I was married, and on Aug 25, am ten years post-heart surgery . . . which was a real surprise for me at the time because I didn't know I had a problem heart. I worked out, ate "moderately well," and worked in my two-acre yard. Stay alert out there, ladies.

After I moved to Mobile from Detroit, my desire to write creatively bubbled to the surface. Retirement, it seemed, was not simply going to be the start of a new chapter in my life, it is where a yet unwritten book would begin. A class in creative writing at the University of South Alabama in 2002, an honorable mention in a state-wide contest, and first-place awards (money involved!) for the first pages of two works-in-progress sent me on my way.

Three of my short/short personal essays were published in three different anthologies in 2008: Cup of Comfort for Divorced Women, Christmas Through a Child's Eyes, and Christmas is a Season, 2008. By the way, the stories in these anthologies are timeless.

As odd as it sounds, at first I didn’t write to get published. I wrote for the accomplishment of starting a story, finishing it, and hopefully having someone think I’d done a good job.

I write because I like the rhythm, the music of the words. I write because I like my characters—they are not complete fabrications. I know them personally, or at least some part of them. I see them in my mind's eye. I watch them walk. I see their gestures as they speak, hear the tone and timbre of their voices, understand their meaning. All of this visualization came about as a result of a screenwriting course. Though I admit there are scenes that tell my own story . . . I'm the one who’s been there, done that, said that, or wished I had.

Sometimes the words flow across the page like the broad strokes of a house painter's brush. Sometimes each page comes to life slowly, as if it were a rendering of a copse of Alabama's longleaf pine trees being completed by the single strokes of a pen and ink artist.

When I write, I turn on the television to the Weather Channel. I need a voice other than the one in my head to keep me tethered to the real world that I abandon to create my own version of some protagonist's reality. Why weather reports?  I can tune out the drone of a talking head, but I can’t

tune out music.

My drive to write abated somewhat after I had those first pieces published. I’d achieved my goal of having my work recognized, but I continued to submit to anthologies. I was also determined to finish the two novels I’d started.  

I finished the stories, edited them after each critique by several writers, including members of an international mystery writers’ organization, and started querying. Some queries were ignored completely; others received real rejections, usually a postcard, but one actually had a comment on it. 

Finally, my first novel, DEADLY STAR, was accepted by the fledgling Crimson Romance imprint of F&W Media. I submitted it in October 2012, and it was in eBook form in early 2013.

I continued working on the second novel and was also was fortunate to have other short stories published in anthologies.

I submitted my second novel, CHOOSING CARTER, to Crimson Romance in May of 2015. It was in eBook form in August that year and available as print on demand two months later.

I was, and still am, amazed with the successes.

As of right now, I’ve been fortunate to have other short stories published in anthologies but was on the verge of submitting my third novel to Crimson, when the imprint was closed by Simon&Schuster, who had purchased it about two years ago. I’m currently toying with the idea that I will submit to a couple small houses, and if I have no takers, will consider self-publishing.

We’ll see how much ambition I have.

It’s been my pleasure to meet you-all guys here at Lyrical Pens. I’d love to learn about your writer’s story and have left the comment box open for you.

You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

And there’s still a few days left for some fun and fast vacation reading…stop by Amazon and pick up copies of DEADLY STAR and CHOOSING CARTER, and I shall be forever grateful. The eBook versions are free at the time of this post.

Qrtly newsletter sign-up:  cjpetterson@gmail.com

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Amazon Central Author Page =  https://amzn.to/2v6SrAj

Simon&Schuster Author Page = https://bit.ly/2uo1M0Z

ABCDE Short story structure

cj Sez: Since yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, I’m sending all of you my wish that the Luck o’ the Irish (includes health, happiness, love, success…all the good things) continues with you throughout 2018.  

***

I’ve taken to writing more short stories recently and find myself referring to the following notes for guidance and reassurance that I’m on the right track. I’ve posted about this before, but perhaps you’re new to the process, and the notes will help you as well.

The first thing I do is put a copy of Anne Lamott’s ABCDE structure of a short story within eyesight:

Action—Start with something happening to draw the reader into the story. 

Background—Provide context for readers to understand how the characters came to the current situation
Conflict—The characters must want something they don’t have and work to achieve it (sometimes against each other)
Development—The 70-80 percent of the story describing the characters’ struggles to get what they want. Each time it appears they have the goal within reach, give them something more difficult to overcome until they reach the climax  (cj Sez: That’s the part where you get them up a tree and throw rocks at them.)
Ending—What happens after they reach their goal. In a romance, the hero and heroine realize their “happily-ever-after”. In a mystery or thriller, all the loose ends are tied up. In a literary story, the ending may be rather ambiguous.

***

I merge Ms. Lamott’s guidelines with a ton of writing tidbits I’ve cobbled together from how-to workshops and essays. And this is what I’ve learned (and a lot of this applies to novels as well)…

Short stories are about ONE thing, so start as close to the central action as possible, and I find that to be close to the end.

Try to let the setting help reveal the character and advance the plot. This is where a deep point of view can reveal internal character through reactions to setting.

In a short story, every line should (probably must) serve more than one purpose.

Every character needs to want something, even if it’s only to be left alone so s/he can take a nap.

Make the reader care about your main character. Snappy dialogue, beautiful settings, or surprising plot twists won’t keep your readers turning the pages if your main character is boring or unlikable. They need someone to root for.

That being said, all great characters have flaws—something that readers recognize or sympathize with. You don’t have space in a short story for paragraph-long character descriptions. This is where less is more, necessarily. One significant detail can tweak the imagination, and a complete character is formed in the reader’s mind. This is the character that can lead the reader to an unexpected twist ending, perhaps best exemplified by the master of twisted endings, William Sydney Porter (O. Henry).

 

A story with a moral appended is like the bill of a mosquito. It bores you, and then injects a stinging drop to irritate your conscience. ~ Strictly Business by O. Henry 

***

Okay, all you short-story writers, is there something I’ve missed that you’ve found helpful?

That’s it for this post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

By the by, Adams Media has closed the Crimson Romance imprint. My books are currently still available on Amazon, but I’m on the hunt for another publisher for my next novels. Wish me luck.

cj

Short romance stories in:

      Pieces Anthology 20+ short stories by Mobile Writers Guild

    The Posse a Western anthology of 8 short stories

cjpetterson/author on Facebook

Amazon Central Author Page

Simon&Schuster Author Page     

Qrtly newsletter sign-up at cjpetterson@gmail.com

40 Days of questions, and a good copy edit is a must

cj Sez: Daylight Savings Time is here. Did you remember to Spring Forward one hour? I did then forgot to actually do it (sigh).

☺

I wonder how many of my Lyrical Pens visitors have been, like me, the beneficiaries of author and editor Ramona De Felice Long’s 40 days of questions.  Instead of fasting for Lent, Ramona, my Sisters in Crime/Guppy mate, pledged to ask three thought-provoking questions (writing tasks) every day for 40 days.

I can’t believe how fast the time has flown. Only a few more days to go. I’ve saved them all as reminders and cues while I’m writing.

The next time you’re on Facebook, slip over to Ramona’s site and ask to friend her. You can reach her on Facebook at http://bit.ly/2FuOiqB  or at her website:  www.ramonadef.com

☺

Speaking of editors, do you ever open a book, read a few chapters (or even a few lines), and then put it down because of errata gremlins, i.e.; those typos, misspellings, and factual errors that drive a pedantic like me crazy. One or two will make me shake my head and pause. More than that and the book becomes a give-away.

It used to be that indie books were the worst. They tended to be poorly edited and poorly written. Now, I find errors in books by established authors and big publishing houses who should know better. Perhaps the problem comes down to the time it takes to do a detailed copy edit vs. getting the book on the market.

Self-published books are so often done on such a shoestring (cost-wise) that the author can't afford to hire a copy editor. Unfortunately, I have come across some who simply don’t want to go through the process.

Speaking from experience, self-edits and beta readers do not, will not, and cannot catch everything that a good copy editor will. You do not, however, need to hire a copy editor for your first draft…nor your second or third or however many drafts it takes to get your story told.  Don’t presume that because you’ve typed “The End,” your manuscript is ready to publish. It’s probably months away from publication. It needs fresh eyes. That’s when you should consider hiring a copy editor.

What does a copy editor do, you ask? Besides checking spelling and correcting grammar and punctuation, copy editors review the manuscript for proper word usage and syntax. They make sure the author has maintained a logical and consistent flow of style, and they polish the story structure. 

Personally I want my manuscript to be the best I can make it. I read the document on the computer screen, and then I print a few pages. Because the text looks different when printed, It makes it easier to find the missing comma, period, or quotation mark that was missed on numerous computer-screen read-throughs. Sometimes, I make a copy of the printed page. Copying changes the size of the font once again, and I will (too often) find something else to correct. When you’ve gotten this far, read it out loud. Your mind won’t self-correct what isn't on the page when the text is read out loud. 

It’s a personal and financial consideration for each author, but please consider hiring an editor if you can afford it. Caveat: Expect that if your manuscript is accepted by a publisher, their punctuation rules and style manual for how they want their publication to look may differ from your copy editor’s input, and there could be more changes needed. But don’t think of your copy editor dollars as being wasted. They got your story accepted.

                                       ☺ 

Got any horror or triumphant stories to share? Lyrical Pens would love to read them.

You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

And now some verbiage from my sponsors:

PIECES ANTHOLOGY…I’m thrilled to have two stories included in this collection of short stories and poems by more than 20 authors from the Gulf Coast of Alabama, including USA TODAY best-selling authors Carolyn Haines and Craig A. Price Jr. The anthology is available at http://amzn.to/2BTiqt5

cjpetterson/author on Facebook

Amazon Central Author Page

Simon&Schuster Author Page     

blog at: www.lyricalpens.com

Qrtly newsletter sign-up at cjpetterson@gmail.com

Milestone or millstone?

cj Sez: I am pleased to announce that I recently passed another annual milestone: I had a birthday—of course, the cake was chocolate.

I spent the day taking advantage of free celebratory lunches and free desserts at more than one restaurant. Interestingly, those freebies were not age-based. That is, I didn’t have to be a certain age to qualify. But that age thing is a big deal for me and a lot of women, maybe “most” women. Aging can be a millstone if you let it.

We (that plural pronoun includes men) have come to the realization that the world is geared to the younger generation. They get ads for computers, tablets that can do everything but dance, hundreds of phone apps, outrageously sexy vacations, every sort of sports equipment you can think of, and flirty workout apparel that’s sure to inspire you to shape and tone. Past the age of let’s say 35, it seems the majority of advertising is aimed at medicines … for constipation, overactive bladders, or erectile dysfunction.

Agents, some of whom look like they’re two years out of high school, voice their interest in finding the unique voices of young writers that they can “develop.” I was personally exposed to this attitude at a conference a few years ago, and it put a damper on my ambition…for a short time.

Then I decided, I didn’t need an agent to write. Personally, I didn’t even “need” to be published, (although I have appreciated very much publishers' affirmations of my story telling skills).

I did and do, however, need to write.

Here’s a quote by author Babette Hughes that I keep on my computer:

Age is not a disability, it is a second chance at life. I’m 92 years old and Post Hill Press has just published my three-novel Kate Brady series; (The Hat; The Red Scarf; The Necklace); I’m working on my fourth novel (Searching For Vivian) and fifth book, and am a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post. 

(cj sez: Babette is now 94 and has published that fourth novel, as well as a memoir, Lost and Found. If this post seemed familiar, it’s a modified re-run.)

I had a wonderful time at the 2^nd Annual Mobile Literary Festival today, an event that shines the spotlight on local authors and poets, both traditionally and self-published.

The talented writers conducted workshops on marketing and publicity, writing the forbidden, story creation, and an emerging writers’ workshop exploring world building and character development methods. Poets read from their published works; and fans of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, magical realism, and the supernatural enjoyed the Speculative Fiction discussion panel.

All of that in one day. And it was free! The Festival was sponsored by the Mobile Writers Guild, the Mobile Public Library, and the Metro Mobile Reading Council. Thank you and sa-lute.

So, tell me. What keeps you from writing? More importantly, what inspires you to write?

That’s it for this week’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

And now some verbiage from my sponsors:

PIECES ANTHOLOGY…I’m thrilled to have two short stories included in this collection of short stories and poems by more than 20 authors from the Gulf Coast of Alabama, including USA TODAY best-selling authors Carolyn Haines and Craig A. Price Jr. The anthology is available at http://amzn.to/2BTiqt5

cjpetterson/author on Facebook

Amazon Central Author Page

Simon&Schuster Author Page     

blog at: www.lyricalpens.com

Qrtly newsletter sign-up at cjpetterson@gmail.com

Word counts and “rules” for newbie writers

cj Sez: Wanted, Readers and Writers in the Mobile, AL area. Come on down to the 2018 Mobile Literary Festival on March 3 at the Ben May Main Library. I’d love to see you there.

    Back in 2012, Writers Digest contributor Chuck Sambuchino wrote: Word Count for Novels and Children’s Books: The Definitive Post. I’ve excerpted his informative post below because I think he offers “good rules of thumb” for writers to use as a guide. (I did a Google search for genre word count, and found Internet sites in 2017 that still reference Mr. Sambuchino’s info.)

“Word count for novels and books is something I don’t think about too often until I travel to a writers’ conference, and then someone asks a simple, innocent question: “How long should a book be?” With that in mind, I’ve tried to put together the definitive post on word count for fiction (novels, young adult, middle grade, children’s books and even memoir).

The most important thing here is to realize that there are always exceptions to these rules. However, aiming to be the exception is setting yourself up for disappointment. What writers fail to see is that for every successful exception to the rule (e.g., a first-time 175,000-word novel), there are at least 100 failures if not 300.

“But what about J.K. Rowling???” asks that man in the back of the room, putting his palms up the air. Well—remember the first Harry Potter book?  It wasn’t that long. After JK made the publishing house oodles and oodles of money, she could do whatever she wanted.  And since most writers haven’t earned oodles, they need to stick to the rules and make sure they work gets read. The other thing that will make you an exception is if your writing is absolutely brilliant. But let’s face it. Most of our work does not classify as “absolutely brilliant” or we’d all have 16 novels at this point.

ADULT NOVELS: COMMERCIAL & LITERARY

Between 80,000 and 89,999 words is a good range you should be aiming for. This is a 100% safe range for literary, mainstream, women’s, romance, mystery, suspense, thriller and horror. Anything in this word count won’t scare off any agent anywhere. Now, speaking broadly, you can have as few as 71,000 words and as many as 109,000 words. That is the total range. When it dips below 80K, it might be perceived as too short—not giving the reader enough. It seems as though going over 100K is all right, but not by much. In short:

80,000 – 89,999:       Totally cool
90,000 – 99,999:       Generally safe
70,000 – 79,999:       Might be too short; probably all right
100,000 – 109,999:    Might be too long; probably all right
Below 70,000:           Too short
110,000 or above       Too long

Chick lit falls into this realm, but chick lit books tend to be a bit shorter and faster. 70-75K is not bad at all.

SCI-FI AND FANTASY

Science fiction and fantasy are the big exceptions because these categories tend to run long. It has to do with all the descriptions and world-building in the writing.

With these genres, I would say 100,000 – 115,000 is an excellent range. 

Writers tend to know that these categories run long so they make them run really long and hurt their chances. There’s nothing wrong with keeping it short (say, 105K) in these areas. It shows that you can whittle your work down.

MIDDLE GRADE

Middle grade is from 20,000 – 55,000, depending on the subject matter and age range, and the word count of these books has been trending up in recent years. When writing a longer book that is aimed at 12-year-olds (and could maybe be considered “tween”), using the term “upper middle grade” is advisable. With upper middle grade, you can aim for 40,000 – 55,000 words.

YOUNG ADULT

Perhaps more than any other, YA is the one category where word count is very flexible. For starters, 55,000 – 69,999 is a great range. 

The word round the agent blogosphere is that these books tend to be trending longer, saying that you can top in the 80Ks. When it gets into the 80s, you may be all right—but you have to have a reason for going that high. Again, higher word counts usually mean that the writer does not know how to edit themselves. A good reason to have a longer YA novel that tops out at the high end of the scale is if it’s science fiction or fantasy. Once again, these categories are expected to be a little longer because of the world-building.

PICTURE BOOKS

The standard is text for 32 pages. That might mean one line per page, or more. 500-600 words is a good number to aim for.

WESTERNS

There wasn’t a whole about this on agent and editor sites, but from what I found, these can be anywhere from 50K to 80K. 65,000 is a solid number to aim for.

MEMOIR

Memoir is the same as a novel and that means you’re aiming for 80,000-89,999. However, keep in mind when we talked about how people don’t know how to edit their work. This is specially true in memoir, I’ve found, because people tend to write everything about their life—because it all really happened. Coming in a bit low (70-79K) is not a terrible thing, as it shows you know how to focus on the most interesting parts of your life and avoid a Bill-Clinton-esque tome-length book.”

And cj Sez: Before you submit to an agency, be sure to check the agency’s website for their specific requirements. Okay, you-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

Is your word count in the ballpark for the genre you’re writing?

And now, from my sponsors: 

PIECES ANTHOLOGY…A collection of short stories and poems written by more than 20 authors from the Gulf Coast of Alabama, including USA TODAY best-selling authors Carolyn Haines and Craig A. Price Jr. and, hand waving frantically, me, cj petterson. The collection is available at http://amzn.to/2BTiqt5

cjpetterson/author on Facebook

Amazon Central Author Page

Simon&Schuster Author Page     

blog at: www.lyricalpens.com

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BOOK REVIEW of Rosanne Bittner's PARADISE VALLEY

cj Sez: Paradise Valley by USAToday best-selling author Rosanne Bittner is not a new release but one that I happened across while doing research for my Western work-in-progress.

The novel is historical fiction—a Western romance about Maggie McPhee Tucker and Sage Lightfoot. Violated, battered, and widowed while on her way to Oregon, Maggie is determined to exact vengeance for her husband’s murder. Sage lets her tag along with him even though he has his doubts, but Maggie holds her own and then some in untamed Wyoming in the mid 1880s.

Ms. Bittner knows her historical facts but didn’t beat the reader over the head with them. I particularly enjoyed that the fast pace and conflict were not interrupted by the historical detail dumps that some writers in this genre pack into one complex sentence.

I’m not into sappy romance stories with bleeding hearts, and Paradise Valley is none of that. It’s tightly written, gritty, and tough, as I would expect the Wild West to be. If you like strong women and men who will do what it takes to do more than just survive, you’ll like this novel. I give it 4.5 Stars.

***

Calling all mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime writers. Sisters-in-Crime is an international organization of several hundred authors able and willing to encourage and applaud your work. And they do not hesitate to share their expertise.

The next time you’re on Facebook, drop by their page and see what’s happening.

https://www.facebook.com/sistersincrime/

*** 

In case you didn’t read Lyrical Pens last week (and why not?), here’s a reminder of an upcoming one-day reader and writer event—The 2018 Mobile Literary Festival:

Discover book marketing and publicity
Every author, no matter the publishing method, is responsible for marketing and publicity. But, why go it alone? The Book Marketing: What Works! panel discussion brings together Emily Chambers Blejwas, Angela Quarles, Frank Kelso, and Lee Ann Ward to reveal their marketing success stories, challenges, and pitfalls experienced along their way to becoming not only authors, but sellers! See you at this and other programs at the Mobile Literary Festival on March 3, 2018 at the Ben May Main Library.

*** 

cj Sez: That’s it for this post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

Now a word from my sponsors…

PIECES ANTHOLOGY…The Mobile Writers Guild’s collection of short stories and poems by more than 20 authors from the Gulf Coast of Alabama, including USAToday best-selling authors Carolyn Haines and Craig A. Price Jr. Available on Amazon at http://amzn.to/2BTiqt5

PS: (I’m one of the more than 20 authors, too.)

Qrtly newsletter sign-up:  cjpetterson@gmail.com

cjpetterson/author on Facebook    

Amazon Central Author Page 

Simon&Schuster Author Page

Choosing Carter  -- Kindle  /  Nook  /  Kobo   /  iTunes/iBook

Deadly Star --  Kindle  / Nook  / Kobo

California Kisses—10 book publisher’s bundle @ 99 cents (includes Deadly Star)

The Great Outdoors  8 book publisher’s bundle @99 cents (includes Choosing Carter)

Bodies in Motion — 10 book publisher’s bundle @99 cents (includes Choosing Carter)

2018 Mobile Literary Festival

cj Sez: Wanted, Readers and Writers. The 2018 Mobile Literary Festival kicks off on March 3 at the Ben May Main Library, and if you’re in the Mobile area, we’d love to see you there.

Excerpts from press releases:

How do you begin? Where do you go from there? How do you get from brilliant idea to “I hate every word,” to published novel? The Emerging Writers’ Workshop will explore story creation, world building, and character development methods, including Michael Hague’s Six-Point Plot Structure, story mapping, free writing, and spider diagrams. The workshop features Emily Blejwas, Carrie Dalby Cox, Angela Quarles, and Joyce Scarbrough, and participants will be given the chance to discuss their own story ideas with these distinguished authors.

And for you fans of Sci-fi, fantasy, horror, magical realism, or the supernatural: Transport, beam, or ride your broomstick over to the Ben May Main Library for a Speculative Fiction discussion panel featuring authors Craig Price, Jr., Meleesa Swann, Steven Moore, and Lee Ann Ward. Readers and writers will go behind the curtain of their favorite genres. Following Speculative Fiction, audience members can explore the genres of Women’s Lit, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Poetry, and Hybrid Fiction. 

Find more updates and the day’s schedule on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MobileLiteraryFestival/

I’ll be there as well, so be sure to stop by and say “Hi.”

PIECES ANTHOLOGY…The Mobile Writers Guild has published a collection of short stories and poems by more than 20 authors from the Gulf Coast of Alabama, including USA TODAY best-selling authors Carolyn Haines and Craig A. Price Jr.

Other authors featured in the anthology include: Candice Conner, Joyce Scarbrough, Lady Lester, Frances Roberts, Ron Polizzi, Mavis M. Jarrell, Dee Jordan, Oksana Leslie, Rachell Jackson, Carrie Dalby, Caren Rich, Isabella N. Jetten, D. Dean Carroll, Steven Moore, Ross Conner Smith, Christa Stanley, Jodie Cain Smith, Jim Hancock, and Me, cj petterson. The collection is available at http://amzn.to/2BTiqt5

Valentine’s Day is coming up and the Mad Catters have put together the perfect gift: The Trouble with Cupid—an anthology of short stories, all featuring fun-sized bites of Trouble, the black cat detective. But wait, there’s more. The anthology is a feel-good two-fer. You get to read 10 great, short story mysteries spiced with romance and all proceeds from the sales of the anthology go to BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SANCTUARY, a caring place for homeless pets. Such a deal! Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and the Mad Catters thank you for your support.

Order it now on Amazon:  http://amzn.to/2GLL0R5

*** 

Question: What’s your favorite book that made it to the big screen?

My answer:  Without a doubt, my favorite is Charlotte Brontë’s JANE EYRE. Neither of the characters is perfect, not in features and not for each other. They are deeply flawed; yet, they make it through somehow. It’s the ultimate romance story.

Now you: What’s your favorite book that made it to the big screen?

cj Sez: That’s all for this post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

Sponsors say: Here’s how to get a lot of reading for a little money…buy one (or all) of these great romance bundles:

California Kisses—10 book publisher’s bundle @ 99 cents (includes Deadly Star)

The Great Outdoors  8 book publisher’s bundle @99 cents (includes Choosing Carter)

Bodies in Motion — 10 book publisher’s bundle @99 cents (includes Choosing Carter)

Qrtly newsletter sign-up:  cjpetterson@gmail.com

cjpetterson/author on Facebook   

Amazon Central Author Page

Simon&Schuster Author Page

Choosing Carter  -- Kindle  /  Nook  /  Kobo   /  iTunes/iBook

Deadly Star --  Kindle  / Nook  / Kobo