CURRENT PROJECT - Decision

I hate decisions. Who doesn't. Going through the process of making them can have serious repercussions. Then there's the whole final decision that can still leave you with questions.

As you know, I've been fighting with trying to get to know my characters. I can SEE them in my mind, but they just were not telling me anything about themselves... until about a week ago. Since then, I've been piecing their history together and I'll be sharing their backgrounds in future posts.

For instance, did you know that Italians are typically blonde and blue-eyed. NOT the dark hair'd folks portrayed in television?  The coloring comes from immigration of Central European descent. Why is that important?

I KNEW my heroine, Katie, had blonde hair and blue eyes. That she always wears her hair in a high pony tail (think Sandy from Grease). From that, I had to look at the immigration of ethnicity into the NW Arkansas area in the late 1800's- early 1900's. Mostly Central European.

See, even when writing contemporary fiction, we have to know WHERE our characters came from. Even if we don't tell the reader everything, knowing their background is important in knowing their strengths, weaknesses, basic characteristics as well as things from their heritage that might influence their inner conflicts.

Through research and a long chat with my friend (author) Tara Manderino, I got a handle on Katie. I found out why she has this sense of people walking out on her. I'll explain more of that to you tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's a clip from Dharma and Greg. Dharma's dad is a good portrayal physically of Katie's dad.

CURRENT PROJECT - Update

As readers we think (or at least I've heard) that writing a book is easy. For those authors who are pumping out 4-6 books a year I just can't imagine. Do they not do anything but write? No other interests?

I have to be honest with you, dear readers. I am really struggling with Book 2. I have always had some experience, feeling, something to draw from and to add a dimension to my stories. With Book 2, I am starting with a clean slate. The closest I have to experience with this book is 1) my passion for all things Eureka Springs and 2) my desire to in some way, pay my respects to Corporal Donald Matney, the Korean War Veteran who inspired the secondary story line.

For those of you who are authors, you'll understand what I'm about to say next. The Hero, Marc, informed me last night that his last name can NOT be the same as the Veteran, because his mother (the daughter of the late Cpl. Sterling) married. Marc's name would be that of his parents... not his mother's maiden name.

So here I sit... twenty-two days from my self-imposed deadline to have the rough draft finished and I'm needing to fix this. I'm just glad Marc caught it and not one of you after the fact.

My strongest desires for Book 2 are to do justice to Cpl, Matney and his family and to put out the very best book I can.

I'm looking ahead now at two potential new release dates. Either around Memorial Day (buying me 2 extra weeks) or around the time that Cpl. Matney would have shipped out,being mid-June

To add to the timeline, we will have our granddaughters the last full week of March while they're on spring break then again from the end of May to mid-August for the summer. Their mom works from home and is pretty sure she won't be able to work with them home, so grandma gets to multi-task. Granted, my job does not have the stress level or the importance of hers. Besides, after missing out so much of their growing up in the past five years, I wouldn't miss this time with them for anything.

Summer will be a bit easier as Bob will be home for part of their visit, giving me a break to hide in the evenings and write. However, the way his schedule is in motion right now, he's probably going to be going back out about the time I drive down to pick them up

In the mean time, I'm still trying to line up guests. There doesn't seem to be a lot of releasing but tons of writing.

So tell me, are you are writer? a reader? both?

FINDING A GROOVE

I have to tell you, after so much time off finding that groove hasn't been easy. But as I sit at the table this morning with the laptop and cup of coffee, various planners surrounding the perimeter, I feel as if I might accomplish something.

Korean War Monument

I dug into the research on a now titled Book 2 last week as I'd planned. One night I hit a speed bump so sent a text to my sister. She's a good writer and amazing when it comes to research. No matter how hard I tried (okay with the exception of the one avenue she used) I could not find out any information about the high school situation in Eureka Springs in the 1940s-50s. I needed to know if Daniel had gone to high school in Eureka Springs? Were they going all the way to Berryville?

Details are important in ANY writing. Even if you do not use everything from your research in the story (and you never do), you just know something is going to come up in conversation between a couple of your characters and you'll need that gem to bring realism to the scene.

This story is as much about Cpl. Daniel L. Sterling as it is about Katie and Marc. Things they learn about the past will help them repair and rebuild the love they once knew.

I'm still contacting authors about spotlights. Hope to have those rolling by the first Tuesday in March.

Happy Reading!