Call for applications

 cj Sez: Sisters in Crime is accepting applications for their 2024 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award.

  The Eleanor Taylor Bland grant is administered by Sisters in Crime, a 4000+ member international organization of mystery authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers and librarians.

 “Submissions Now Open through March 31st!

  The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award is an annual grant of $2,000 for an emerging writer of color. 

  You do NOT have to be a member of Sisters in Crime to submit an application.

  This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grantee may choose to use the grant for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, and retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work.

  For complete details on thee award and the process of submission, go to:

https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/EleanorTaylorBland

§§

For readers and writers:

  Mark your calendars and SAVE THE DATE . . . 

. . . for an upcoming one-day reader and writer event—The Mobile Literary Festival at Mobile’s Ben May Library in conjunction with the Mobile Writers’ Guild. Published authors will present panels on character development, setting, marketing, and plotting. Pick up a book and have it signed by the author!

 And best of all, this amazing literary festival is FREE. For more information, click this link: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MobileLiteraryFestival/

§§

  Okay, that’s it for today's abbreviated post . . . lots of life taking my mind in another direction—son Jeff was diagnosed with Covid after spending two days being the official photographer for a couple of Mardi Gras krewes events. I tested negative but will need to do that again in a couple of days.

  You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you and yours.

cj

Now some words from my sponsors:

  VALENTINE’S DAY PIECES, A Mobile Writers Guild anthology. Available for $1.99 on Kindle at the time of this post:

  Filled with wonderful short stories and poems perfect for every day of the year.

Buy Valentine’s Day Now

  Also for your to-be-read stack: 

  My novels, THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA are fast-paced, thriller/suspense stories with sassy banter and a touch of romance. 

  The books are available on Amazon or through your favorite eTailer and bookstore. Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla.

  The Haunted Book Shop has signed copies of my paperback books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  

  If they happen to be sold out, shoot me an email for a personalized copy. I have a small stash (for a discounted price plus shipping).

➜ Follow me on . . . 

➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

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

➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Deadlines and rabbit holes

cj Sez:  I wish I had a bit of Elmore Leonard’s discipline for sitting down and going about the business of writing. What started as necessity for him turned into habit when he became an established author.

Recognize anyone?

“To support his family, he worked as a copywriter at an ad agency, where he developed his aversion to adverbs, and also his knack for brief, punched-up prose. He began a habit of waking at five a.m. and immediately starting to write -- not even putting the water on for coffee until he had something down on paper -- then going to work at the office, first in advertising and later writing educational films for the Encyclopedia Britannica.” (Source: http://www.biographile.com/a-capital-crime-elmore-leonard-deserves-a-definitive-biography/22523/ )

  It used to be that I worked better when I had to crash for a short-term deadline. So I thought if I gave myself a deadline, I’d have the incentive to keep writing. Found out that’s not true because somehow I seem to know the deadline is self-imposed. (As if.) I manage to bury my deadline under weeks of procrastination that I call “research.” (Leonard paid others to do his research.) It seems that the more research I do—I learn really fascinating things—the less creativity I have.

  However, I’m not giving up on my current work in progress. Last night I made a note or two when I went to bed . . . I get a lot of good ideas just before I fall asleep. That’s why I keep paper and pencil on the table next to the bed.

  I don’t sit in front of this computer very long on Sundays but I’ll start writing on Monday … right after I feed all the critters, including me, do some weeding or picking up pine cones and deadfall, do a bit of housecleaning, and by then it’s time to watch the news at 5, 6, and 6:30. After I make supper and do the dishes, I’ll put BIC in front of the computer. But I promise you I won’t make any deep dives down research rabbit holes. (I need to promise you because if I promise myself, I’ll find something irrelevant to do.) 

  

  How about you? When do you get your best ideas? How do you conquer the blank page in front of you? How do you stay out of the research rabbit holes? I really need some help.

§§

  The international writing organization Sisters in Crime (of which I am a member) announced their Eleanor Taylor Bland Emerging Crime Writer of Color Award Recipient: 

“We'd like to congratulate Shizuka Otake of Jackson Heights, NY on being named the 2022 Eleanor Taylor Bland Emerging Crime Writers of Color Award Winner! Her submission, Murder in Tokyo, is a story of a Japanese American teen’s life which is shattered when her boyfriend is arrested as the prime suspect in a classmate’s murder. “I lived in Tokyo as an adult and found it painful to be viewed as different,” said Otake. “I expected to fit in and wondered how much harder that experience would have been if I was a vulnerable teen.” 

  Otake’s story was selected from more than fifty submissions

§§

Gremlins

  Over the past week, Blogger re-issued Lyrical Pens posts for December 5, 2021, and January 2, 2022. I guess Google's been messing around with their programming and LP subscribers received an auto-idiot email. I’m wondering how many posts will be reissued before they correct the problem. Sorry about that, but I can issue a true disclaimer: I didn't do it. 

§§

  By the by, as the masthead above says, if you have a book (new or old) you want to promote with a blog post, drop me a note. We can arrange a blog date…the only caveat is that this site is PG 13.  

§§

  That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Prayers going up for your health and safety.

cj

P.S.  The Haunted Bookshop has signed Paperback copies of my books in stock. TO ORDER my author-graphed books or any book of your choice on-line from an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  

P.P.S. Pre-signed copies of THE BIG FANG are not available at The Haunted Bookshop, but when you order a book from them and want it author-graphed, let them know, and I'll pop down there and sign it for you. Thanks!

➜ Follow me on . . .           

➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

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

➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

  

A fresh look, ready for fresh eyes, and a giveaway!

cj Sez:  Fresh cover, fresh edits, new info, new ISBN, new name, and ready for fresh eyes: THE DAWGSTAR 

The novel formerly known as Deadly Star, launches April 15, 2021. Find out where to order your copy here:  https://books2read.com/cjpettersonauthorBooks

   Place your pre-order, send a copy of the receipt to me    ( cjpetterson at gmail dot com ) and I’ll put your name in the running for one of three prizes! Pre-order price of 99 cents goes up on launch day, April 15, 2021.

§§ 

   An invitation to apply for a grant from Sisters in Crime: The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award. Submissions Open March 15 - May 15

   “The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award is an annual grant of $2,000 for an emerging writer of color.

   'This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grantee may choose to use the grant for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, and retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work.

   "An unpublished writer is preferred, however publication of several pieces of short fiction and/or up to two self-published or traditionally published books will not disqualify an applicant.”

cj Sez: To find out more visit:  https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/EleanorTaylorBland

 §§

   Do you know the difference between ellipsis and ellipses? From Fiction University comes this post on How to Use an Ellipsis in Writing (Without Overusing It)  

   “Sometimes informally referred to as “those three dots,” Merriam-Webster officially defines ellipses as “marks or a mark (such as … ) indicating an omission (as of words) or a pause.”

   "In Latin and Greek, “ellipsis” means to fall short or leave out — an omission. At its core, that’s exactly how it’s used in grammar, to indicate words have been omitted or left out.” 

Read the entire post here:

https://thewritelife.com/how-to-use-ellipsis/?utm_content=bufferb01e2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR0xXTAoLTqTeK-v5XEgl4EsyoGFhSbQXccSqm_oBYlPVTS_CGeK2wMLvrI 

 §§

Writerly quotes: 

   cj Sez: Love this . . . 

§§ 

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

cj

P.S.  TO ORDER my autographed books or any book of your choice on-line from an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   The store has re-opened to limited hours, so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.

 

➜ Follow me . . .      

➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

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

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