THE IMPORTANCE OF A MENTOR

In the mentor department, I hit the jackpot!  I wrote Page From a Tennessee Journal in four months at the end of 2002.  No eyes, other than my own had ever seen a word of it until I spotted a sign inviting wanna-be writers to a group discussion led by  Teresa LeYung Ryan.

     Teresa had just published her wonderful book, Love Made of Heart, in the Fall of ’02.  Despite her busy schedule, she made time to give back to a group of struggling writers. 

       In those first two meetings, I looked up to that group of unpublished writers, admiring them, envying their inherent talent.  How could I possibly possess such skills to become a writer–struggling or not.  That’s when Teresa stepped in.  On meeting number two, she ordered me (yes, she can be feisty when necessary), to read the first page and a  half from my manuscript.

        I protested with every fiber I possessed because I was nowhere good enough compared to the others in the group.  Teresa refused to have me refuse.  I read in the quiet of a Barnes and Noble.  The rest, as a million people already say, is history.

         Teresa’s reaction to my words was overwhelming.  She gave me positive and enthusiastic feedback.  I took it and ran.  With her words encouraging me, PAGE earned a finalist spot in the 2003 Maui Writers Conference, and eventually, publication by AmazonEncore.  Other works are in the offing, and I can truly say, I owe it all to Teresa LeYung Ryan.

        Read Love Made of Heart.  It will stir your heart.

APOLOGIES!

I’ve been away a bit too long from this blog.  Sorry.  It’s been a busy summer and fall.

      When I did have a chance to settle down, I read Christi Craig’s blog (quoting Lynn Capehart and the use of racial labels on characters).  Of course, I was fascinated.  Especially since some of Ms. Capehart’s cautions jiggled a question about  my upcoming novel, Paris Noire.  Ms. Capehart questioned writers saying ore than we mean to in out treatment of characters of other races.

   I’m not sure if her cautions are warranted or not, but the discussion took me back to one of my critique groups where one or two participants have expressed confusion about the race of the American soldiers portrayed in Paris Noire.

        Here’s a quick synopsis of Paris.  Marie-Therese, a mulatto immigrant from Martinique celebrates the liberation of her adopted city from the Nazis in 1944.  She shepherds her two grown-children through a tumultuous year with the help of her African-American literati and artistic friends. 

       In the scene I brought to the critique group, Marie-Therese is attending a celebratory party in the home of one of the African-American emigres (think Josephine Baker).  In addition to the other black ex-patriots in attendance, is a contigent of African-American soldiers.

       I describe the soldiers in an earlier scene, but the problem in the critique group arose when I did NOT place the label African-American on them during the party scene.  I simply called them “the Americans,” or “Americans.”  This confused one or two in the group (not all, by any means). 

       The implication seemed to be that if I wrote “American”, the assumption was that the soldiers had to be white.  To clarify, I was asked to write “black” or “African-American” at every reference.  This I’ve chosen not to do.  Yep, I’m going to skip the hyphen.  My way of reminding the world that Americans of African descent participated fully in WWII even though the military services were segregated.  And I want to nurture that seed–the one saying American doesn’t only mean European-descended folks.

         Anybody out there agree with me?

What an August!

I’m still trying to decompress from a flurry of travel that took me from San Francisco to southern Massachussetts, to Boston, to Hartford Ct., to Manhattan, back to SF, and then off to Whittier and Los Angeles in Southern California.  What a whirlwind!

      I loved it.  I attended a spectacularly beautiful wedding in the heart of Ivy League country and then traveled down to mid-town Manhattan where I met with a couple of AmazonEncore people.  Let me say that I am very encouraged and looking forward to a marvelous Fall.

       I’ve been told that PAGE will soon be released on the Amazon European websites.  I can hardly wait!  In fact, I can get my bags packed for Paris in about 20 minutes.  (Not only will France be one of the European websites to receive PAGE, my next novel is set in Paris 1944.  I’m ready!

e-mail Reminder

Just a reminder. I’m answering e-mail queries on the I Just Finished website until August 9th.  Now’s the time to get those tough questions out there!

ON-LINE INTERVIEW

I’m scheduled for an on-line, e-mail interview on the “I Just Finished” web-site.  The format is great.  Starting August 3 and ending August 9, people can send questions via e-mail about Page From a Tennessee Journal.

       I love to talk about PAGE, so please, ask me the tough stuff.  Yes, I’ll be happy to tell you my favorite author, whether I first began writing with a number 2 or a number 1 pencil, if you insist.  But PAGE is a story full of challenging situations and controversial characters.  Ask me about them.  See if I can convince you that John Welles is actually a saint in disguise.  Can there be any redeeming qualities in a man willing to put on a white sheet and run a black man out of town?  Maybe yes, maybe no.  Ask me!

Contestants in Print

Imagine my surprise, not to mention my excitement, today when I went to the ABNA website and found MY book headlining the “Contestants in Print” section! 

      What’s really exciting is the number of entrants to this new writing contest –began in 2008– have been plucked from the non-winner ranks to gain publishing contracts.  Now, I’m not certain, but I think all those signed up so far have come from the 2009 ABNA contest. 

      Best of all, not all the writers are AmazonEncore authors.  Off, the top of my head, I’d say a full 2/3 have been signed by other publishers.  This is fantastic and shows that “traditional” publishers are using the contest to search for talent.

       To all you writers out there, get thyselves into a writing contest!

BOOKS WORTH A LOOK

As thrilled as I am with the reception PAGE is receiving, I will never forget how extremely lucky I have been.  And I don’t just mean being plucked out of the Amazon’s ABNA contest.

      Before then, I had the support of two critique groups.  There I read the works of many writers who far exceed me in talent.  A few have self-published.  Others are still trying the traditional path.  I’ve met others on this writing journey who longed to see their words in print, be it a story about cats they’ve owned, a doty aunt, or the men who’ve loved them.  People put words to paper for a variety of reasons.  And audiences are as varied as writers.

       I would like to open a forum where lesser known books can be showcased.  Some of them may be Best Seller material, others may be the life work of an author who is only at the beginning of the writing journey. 

        If you know of such a book, post it here along with no more than a 5-sentence review.  I believe this is a way to show support to those thousands of writers out there for whom luck is still waiting in the wings.

      I only ask that your recommendations be “PG” or above.  No porn, no erotica, nothing indelicate.  That’s simply not my audience.  Let’s try to get attention to lesser known authors.

      What say you?