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Scribe & Quill ~~ Aug/Sept 2005
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Vol. 3 Issue 6
ISSN: 1098-6375

Section 1 of 2 Sections

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MASTHEAD
~~**~~**~~**

* Editor & Publisher [ON LEAVE]
Bev Walton-Porter <editor@scribequill.com>

* Guest Editor
Donna "Kai" Wilson <danzmacabre@gmail.com>

* Humor Editor
Jaden Trinsic <humor@scribequill.com>

* Poetry Editor
Donna "Kai" Wilson <poetry@scribequill.com>

* Book Review Editor
Sonali T. Sikchi <sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com>

* Nonfiction Columnists:
~Joyce Faulkner <katieseyes@aol.com>
~Jill Vaile <jill@jilleliz.com>

* Fiction Columnist
Rick Chiantaretto <rick@facadeofshadows.com>

* Humor Columnist
Sharon Wren <swren1@msn.com>

* Video Game Reviewer
Jonathan Porter <jonp@scribequill.com>

* Staff Book Reviewers:
~Barbara Ardinger <bawriting@earthlink.net>
~Judith Woolcock Colombo <judithcolombo@hotmail.com>
~Ilona Hegedûs <fairylona@yahoo.co.uk>
~Carolyn Howard-Johnson <hojonews@aol.com>
~Bobbi Linkemer <bobolink@accessus.net>
~Rita Porter <beepmybeep2@mchsi.com>
~Sonali T. Sikchi <sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com>

* Guest Writers:
DK Wilson <danzmacabre@gmail.com>
Rachel Carrington <RCarrington2004@cs.com>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Editor's Note

~Reader Praise!

~Announcements

~Scribe & Quill Patrons

~ FEATURED ARTICLE:
Writing the Follow-up Novel -- You Aren't Really a Sophomore
By Richard Cox <rcox@richardcox.net>

~ FEATURED ARTICLE:
A Heroine's Paradise
An author's insight into the women who make the romance
By Rachel Carrington <RCarrington2004@cs.com>

~Scribes of Note ~ Virtual Quills

~Featured Fiction
Alive by
DK Wilson <danzmacabre@gmail.com>

~Featured Fiction Column
A Fresh Start
By Rick Chiantaretto <rick@facadeofshadows.com>

~Featured Poem
(untitled)
By DK Wilson <danzmacabre@gmail.com >

~Book Reviews
* "The Complete Writer" by Beverly Walton-Porter, Mindy Phillips Lawrence, Pat McGrath Avery and Joyce Faulkner
* "A Perfect Match" by Jill McGown
* "An Alien to Existence" by Jonathan Ark
* "The Magus" by John Fowles
* "The Blackbird Papers" by Ian Smith

~Call for Submissions

~Featured Contests

~Professional Writing Courses

~The Last Word: Recommended Links for Writers

~Contact and Submission Information

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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:
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Hello!

You know, sometimes I wonder what I'm getting myself into when I step in at the last minute. Y'see, I wasn't supposed to be Guest editing the issue this month, but our own fair stand-in has had an accident, and rather than delay the issue, I volunteered. And I've stepped up to the plate with a grimace that most are mistaking for a grin, but overjoyed to help out.

And what have I got for you this month? A great column discussing what it's like to write that second book, some brilliant reviews and information on books to grab and books to avoid - poetry and fiction from a staff writer and some great hints and tips on openings.

Hope you enjoy! I'm working on Zodiac, my new e-zine, and some other fun stuff at Lit-Luv, and playing with DanzMacabre, one of my newest projects, so if you'd like to stop by and say hello, I'd love it!

Happy Writing and I'll leave you with a piece of infinite wisdom from Wordsworth

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart...."

Still breathing with all my heart,
D Kai Wilson < Danzmacabre@gmail.com >
http://gael-song.com

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READER SUPPORT FOR SCRIBE & QUILL
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We have the BEST readers on the planet! It's because of your encouragement that we continue to publish our 'zine for writers. We believe in your writing goals and we are there to support you every step of the way. Thanks, in turn, for lending us support as well!

Here's what readers are saying about Scribe & Quill:

"The [May 2005 issue] has amazing articles -- the kind one doesn't see clones of all over the Web. Congratulations. Also, your staff is the greatest. You do yourself proud!"
--Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "The Frugal Book Promoter" (Star Publish), hojonews@aol.com, (http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.com)

"...Scribe & Quill is excellent work..."
--Rowdy Rhodes, Site Manager, Freelance Writing Organization - Int'l (http://www.fwointl.com/index.html)

"I just received my first issue of Scribe & Quill -- very informative and well put together. Thanks."
--Tsipi Keller (litwrks@yahoo.com)
Author, "Jackpot" (http://www.spuytenduyvil.net/fiction/jackpot.htm)

"I really think Scribe & Quill has a lot to offer. I've been promoting S&Q's writing courses on my website Femme Erotique [.] with one of your banners. I started Femme for the same reasons -- I want to help others attain their goals -- whether it be writing fiction or just improving their lives."
--Ann Melrose, editor of Femme Erotique
(http://www.femme-erotique.com)

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ANNOUNCEMENTS:
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SCRIBE & QUILL -- LEFT AND RIGHT!:

Have a question to pose to other writers about the technical aspects of writing? Want to post your latest success or sale? Need to promote a new market? This community is exclusively for the left-brained, linear side of Scribe & Quillers!
Post your messages here!
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***

Scribe & Quill also has a journaling community on Live Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/~scribequill Come express your innermost thoughts/feelings about being a writer in this community diary -- stream of consciousness and personal journal entries relating to the ups/downs/sideways of the writing life are welcomed! This community is exclusively for the right-brained, abstract side of Scribe & Quillers!

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BE A SCRIBE & QUILL PATRON:
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Developing and distributing a regular publication, either online or in print, requires time and incurs costs such as Web hosting, domain fees, program renewals and operating costs.

We are glad to deliver S & Q to our readers at no charge, but we appreciate any contributions made to show support for this endeavor. Become a patron of Scribe & Quill and help support the continued publication of this 'zine. When you become a patron, we will list your name on our Web site and run a short personal profile of you in our zine as our thanks to you for your support.

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Thank you for reading our magazine, and for your continued support.

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~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**
FEATURED ARTICLE:
Writing the Follow-up Novel -- You Aren't Really a Sophomore
By Richard Cox <rcox@richardcox.net>
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You've heard this story before.

The writing bug comes early. You're a kid with ideas, with a desire to get them on paper, and one day you realize that you're not ever going to stop. You also realize that some people actually make a living writing books, and since you're going to be doing it anyway, why not get paid for the effort? You figure you'll write a novel, find an agent to represent it and land a fat publishing contract. Use the advance to pay for your mortgage, give yourself plenty of time to write another book. And so on.

For most of us it isn't that easy.

What you actually do is write a novel (a science thriller, in my case) in the evenings after work, spend a year or so on it, and then submit it to ten agents. You're rejected by all of them, so you rewrite the book and submit it to a different list of ten. All of those agents reject you, too. You keep trying. After 40 or so rejections, you begin to suspect this novel isn't going to sell. You've spent thousands of hours on it and the last thing you want to do is shove it into a drawer, but you don't have any other ideas.

Then one day, out of the blue, you think of one. You sit down and write and realize how much your skills have improved. The words pour out of you. A year later you've written the first draft of a second novel ("Rift," in my case) and you eagerly submit the thing to agents, knowing this time you've got a winner.

More rejections. Lots of them. You consider giving up, but by now you're determined more than ever to succeed. And finally, miraculously, an agent agrees to represent you. He asks for a couple more rewrites, but that's okay. You've come this far. You'll do anything to break into print.

After several months you're done with the manuscript. Your agent submits it to publishers, and all you get is more rejections.

But then one day you answer the phone, and it's your agent (what a couple of magical words those are -- your agent) announcing that an editor is interested in your novel. He tells you to expect a call from this editor. During the call, your agent says, you might be asked if you're willing to write another science thriller. This, you realize, is because the editor might be thinking of a two-book deal, so you eagerly say yes, you would be happy to write another science thriller.
There's only one small problem -- you don't have any ideas for another science thriller. The inspiration for a novel is an elusive thing, and it doesn't come around often. But this is your writing career on the line, so you'd better think of another idea, and fast.

During my agent search, over the course of eight years, I only had a couple of ideas that could support a novel. And yet, after speaking to the prospective editor, I went home, hopped on the Internet, and within a couple of hours had come up with the basic premise for my second novel, "The God Particle."
How did I manage to do this? I suppose I owe some of my success to Tim Berners-Lee. In 1980, while working as an independent contractor at CERN (a physics facility in Europe), Lee proposed the idea that became the World Wide Web, a now ubiquitous network of information that allows users to research information in a nonlinear, associative way. You read about an idea, click on hypertext links to other, related ideas and pretty soon you end up learning about subjects that weren't even on the radar when you started.

This is exactly what I did. Ever since I was a kid I've been interested in science and spirituality, the different ways they describe the world around us. I'm also interested in the amazing abilities of the human brain. So I went to Google and typed in something like "god science brain universe consciousness." I don't remember exactly what sites and pages this search returned, but every time I visited a page I learned something new. Part of what I read was pure speculation, but a lot of essays were written about hard scientific research. Everything I found positioned the subject matter a slightly different way, or mentioned something completely new, and so I clicked and I clicked and I clicked some more. The World Wide Web never looked so good to me.

I began working on the new book, and a few days later received the most important phone call of my life. I was having lunch in an Italian restaurant when my agent called to tell me that my novel, "Rift," had been purchased by the prospective editor. This is a moment that can only be experienced once, and it is special. I don't think I had a coherent thought the rest of the day.

The book deal in fact was for two books, so it was a good thing I'd already begun writing the next one. In the days that followed, many people asked if I was worried about being paid for a book that hadn't even been written yet. But when you've spent your entire adult life working toward publication, seeing that dream become reality drives you like never before. You find energy reserves that until then had been hidden from you. You're suddenly able to see the positive side of every situation. You're essentially born anew.

But you still have to sit down and write the book. You have to write every day in which it's realistically possible -- even some days when it isn't. When you're finished, you have to write it again, and again, and when your editor sends it back requesting significant changes, you realize how fortunate you are to have such a talented person involved in the creative process. You don't worry about the advance on an unwritten work because by now you've written a couple of novels (you aren't really a sophomore), and you know you can do it again.

And miracle of miracles, the second one turns out better than the first. Earns rave reviews. You only hope someone will buy the darn thing.

In the meantime you've written a third one and are sketching ideas for a fourth. It's what you've always wanted, even if it hasn't taken the exact form you expected.

You're a writer.

Copyright © 2005 Richard Cox

===
BIO:
===

Richard Cox is the author of the new book "The God Particle" (Published by Del Rey; May 2005; $13.95US/$21.00CAN; 0-345-46285-8) as well Rift. He lives in Tulsa, OK, and is currently working on another novel.

For more information, please visit the author's Web site at http://www.richardcox.net.

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FEATURED ARTICLE:
A Heroine's Paradise --
An author's insight into the women who make the romance
By Rachel Carrington <RCarrington2004@cs.com>
~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**

If you've written for any length of time then you know characterization. It's important to shape your characters so that the readers either love them or hate them. A character that leaves the reader feeling ambivalent can be disastrous to your book sales which is why I'm writing a series of articles on the main characters of your books. In this first installment, we'll take a look at creating a heroine the readers will connect with, someone they can empathize with, sympathize with and root for time and again.

Many different types of heroines exist and which one you use will, of course, depend upon the kind of book you are writing. For the sake of simplification, I'll be focusing on heroines for romance manuscripts only.

First, a heroine in a romantic novel is almost never a bitch unless she has a soft side. She can be tough, determined and even difficult at times, but she has to have a side that makes the reader want her to succeed in her task which we all know is living happily ever after with her very own Prince Charming. If you present your readers with a heroine who is hard as ten-day-old bread, unyielding and just plain irritating, they won't be apt to want her to get anything but her comeuppance and if they return, it will only be to read about her downfall.

Second, distressed heroines are no longer in vogue. While there is nothing wrong with the "hero saves the day" stories, books where the heroine is always in peril (especially if she continually puts herself in ridiculous situations) can be tiresome. The last thing a reader wants is a heroine whose life is constantly in jeopardy because of her own unending stream of mistakes.

Constant complaining, whining and a general, all-around moodiness aren't appealing in a heroine, either. Readers are looking for a woman who can get the job done without rendering the hero useless, women who are strong, yet vulnerable, determined yet soft and while there is certainly nothing wrong with putting a Sydney Bristow (Alias-ABC) in an action-packed romance, there has to be room for a man in her life. And he has to feel needed, wanted and necessary.

So now that I've told you the types of heroines who generally make readers wince, how do you create this elusive character who is feminine, charming and can elicit readers loyalty from page one?

Intelligence is a must. Making your heroine seem dim-witted can leave most female readers with a bad taste in their mouth. And yes, you can create a sharp lead woman without usurping the intelligence of her male counterpart. Think Sarah McKenzie on JAG or Amy Gray on Judging Amy. I could continue this list ad infinitum. These characters have all been created with intelligence, passion and a soft side which does not make them any less a strong, female lead.

Next comes that soft side I mentioned in the paragraph above. There is no such thing as a woman who does not cry or at the very least, succumb to the distress she is feeling at the time. And there is nothing wrong with allowing the reader to see through a heroine's tough, exterior shell. In romances, the heroine isn't flawless. She cries, screams, shouts, curses and even throws things, sometimes. That doesn't make her any less the heroine. It makes her human. The readers need to see that side of your heroine which they can relate to.

While some writers don't feel it's necessary to include a sense of humor in their heroine, especially if they're writing romantic dramas, I simply cannot create a female lead without giving her a strong sense of humor and sharp wit. Is it required that your heroine laugh several times throughout your story? No, but page after page of morose drama can be tiresome and if you consider your own life, you probably don't go a day without laughing even during the worst of times.   The same should be said of your character.

So putting the characteristics together, intelligence, softness and wit, I have my female lead. Oh, there are some nuances that I throw in for each heroine to separate them from one another. One might be bookish, the other somewhat of a tom-boy. I've had romance heroines who can match the hero word for word and yet, melt beneath his touch. And let's not forget the heroines who think they're defeated only to find that inner strength necessary to succeed in life.

Many personalities exist and if you use the right combination, you'll create a heroine which will have readers excited to follow her story. And when you think about it, as much as we write the stories for ourselves, we have to write them for our readers.

Happy writing!

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SCRIBES OF NOTE
~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**

At Scribe & Quill a virtual quill is our way of congratulating scribes of note who have made an article sale, published a book, snagged an agent/publisher or have reported to us a number of other notable successes in writing/publishing.

Our quills are virtual because they exist only in cyberspace. We honor the recipients here with an old-fashioned pat on the back and publication of your news so our readers can celebrate with you!

Have a success you'd like to trumpet to the rest of world? Send your triumph to editor@scribequill.com with VIRTUAL QUILL in the subject line.

This issue's virtual quills are awarded to:

Nicole Kurtz's (http://www.mochamemoirs.com/NGivens.htm) new novel, "Zephyr Unfolding," has been published by Double Dragon E-books.

Joy V. Smith (Pagadan@aol.com) had an article, Surviving the Writing Life, in the August SF & Fantasy Workshop newsletter and a book review of "The Savvy Author's Guide to Book Publicity" in the July Writer's Digest Book Club newsletter http://journals.aol.com/pagadan/JoysJournal/

Feather Schwartz Foster (fsf@comcast.net) has released "On The Road With the Old Gals" in e-book format via http://www.epsteinpublishing.com

Writing as Silvermane (P.A Gael-song), DK Wilson (danzmacabre@gmail.com), has had three poems accepted into a premiere anthology of pagan poetry for Mabon 2005 (around September 22nd). For more information, please visit: http://gael-song.com/poetry

Fayth C Reeves (fayth@faithsclub.com) has been selected to be one of the featured writers on Justus Roux in November, with her erotica story "What could I do?" http://faithsclub.com (adult content)

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Encourage-Connect-Support

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QUOTABLES
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"Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book, If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for?"
--Alice Walker

"English usage is sometimes more than mere taste, judgment and education -- sometimes it's sheer luck, like getting across the street."
--E.B. White

"If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster."
--Issac Asimov

"False history gets made all day, any day, the truth of the new is never on the news."
--Adrienne Rich

"Critics are by no means the end of the law. Do not think all is over with you because your articles are rejected. It may be that the editor has his drawer full, or that he does not know enough to appreciate you, or you have not gained a reputation or he is not in a mood to be pleased. A critic's judgment is like that of any intelligent person. If he has experience, he is capable of judging whether a book will sell. That is all."
--Lavina Goodell, Junior Editor, Harper's Bazaar, 1866

"Put the argument into a concrete shape, into an image, some hard phrase, round and solid as a ball, which they can see and handle and carry home with them, and the cause is half won."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart...."
--William Wordsworth

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End of Section I
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Scribe & Quill ~~ Aug/Sept 2005

Section II

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ISSN: 1098-6375

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FEATURED FICTION

Alive

By DK Wilson <Danzmacabre@gmail.com>

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Alive

That was the only word she could use to describe the city. Night had fallen, and the blood of the city moved through its heart and veins still beating with a rhythm all of its own. Lights popped on in harmony, tracing the backbone and the veins, arteries and capillaries for people to flow in like fast moving platelets.

From her vantage point, they were tiny germs, travelling in randomly defined companies: gangs, groups and gaggles. Others flowed solo, moving with unimportant grace and yet inexorable harmony. From her seat, high above the sprawling organism, she saw only resonance. Everything, though not always unhurried, reflected a savage perfection that was slowly eating the countryside in its relentless quest to expand and supply enough space for the microorganisms within.

No, the city breathed with a life of its own, and its life was evident from her flat. She felt so isolated, up here. Peace only descended at night.

There was no life in her flat -- she was alone -- or so it felt. The gentle lack of noise that accompanied the sleep of others drifted around the flat: a gagged banshee in place of the noise that had echoed and reverberated in this relatively tiny space just a few hours previously. Babies, especially her son, were never quiet, but the house was eerily still for some reason. She smiled, and the flat lifeless reflection stretched its lips back, a whisper of the joyful woman that had been standing here, watching the same general scene a few weeks ago. Was it a few weeks ago? She couldn't tell. Time was...different to her now.

It was strange, though. Time seemed to have pulled a veil over her eyes and wrapped her in cotton wool again. Her mind felt fuzzy for some reason.

Nights were easy to remember. The ebb and flow of life passing her by, moving past her window without consciousness, but with the beauty of the knowledge of being truly alive. Even if alive was relative to the moment the people lived in as they passed by, to her they were.... It was quiet life: watching everything with the volume way down...only the loudest noises carried to this level.

She turned as the baby stirred and mumbled in his sleep, but he settled so she didn't disturb him. Smiling softly, she moved two paces from the window, then turned back, transfixed.

It was cold in here: she would have to remember to repair the heating, but for the moment, she was watching the world.

It was the life outside hers that fascinated hers: she should be in bed now...it was four a.m. and she was...indifferent to the lack of sleep that would plague others, haunting them. She didn't care. Numbness pervaded everything except the immediate. So she watched.

She had to. There was nothing more persuasive than the instinctual depth that this belief -- this need -- ran and it went beyond the maternal. She was to see that something didn't happen, and there was no time frame on it, so she waited. And while she did, the world flowed by.

Morning was coming: her heart felt heavy suddenly, especially as she heard the alarm go off. Four thirty a.m. and she felt so sad and lost. She felt transparent: she would be under the gaze of the love of her life, but her heart burned with the cold pain of the knowledge of the reason her other half was wearing himself to a shadow of the real man that she had fallen in love with.

She heard him go into the next room: it was their walk in cupboard. A soft voice carried through the still silent house then he went to the bathroom. She turned back to the window, shaking as she waited for him to walk through.

He came into the room and switched the light on; flexing his shoulders and yawning as he came then rubbed his head. She longed to straighten his mussed hair, to touch his bed warmed, yet cooling skin. He walked into the kitchen without a word. It hurt more than knowing she was slowly making him die inside. He would not talk to her and she didn't...she couldn't remember why. It was almost like there was a blank on that area.

Nights were crystal clear and evidently when she was completely aware of everything: the days were.... hazy. Lack of sleep possibly.

She turned back to the window: false dawn was spreading over the bottom of the horizon, a rapidly moving bleach covering the sky in reverse.

She could still see the stars.

She could still see the world moving by.

Silence, death and pain courted hand in hand. A long time ago, she had been a suicidal wreck: believing only that all she could do -- all she was worth -- was the ending of her pointless existence. Her life was a blur of rushed meetings and...not hard drinking, but she drank. Bad move on top of her medication.

Flashes of her past life caught her unaware:

An image of her dancing on a table, her long red hair pinned into an artlessly perfect style, huge blue eyes darkened to the point before they looked like black eyes, or brightened to almost comical perfection. All on a white tapestry: pure lawless white skin. Freckles hidden under a very sheer, incredibly pale foundation. In addition, a perfect pout: so good in fact that she would never kiss. To ruin all her work would be a crime. However, men didn't come near. This was just the way she liked it. She was an ice-maiden: arrogant and very sure of herself. She may never have been on her home turf, but she had a gaze that could stop a man in his tracks and scared everyone but her closest friends.

Then she had met her soul mate and slowly, her life began to knit. Broken feelings healed slowly. Woefully fragile at first, anything shattered them. Her work was hard: but a month after meeting him, the overtime had stopped and they got engaged. Happiness blossomed in a little oasis of Prozac and broke the shell that she had been living in. But Prozac got in the way, so she got shot of it. The cotton wool that she had lived in, underneath the glass shell of the medication, cracked and dented and falling apart because it was too small for the feelings of two, slowly washed away under the constant affection she was exposed to.

But that was the point: she was exposed. The glass bubble that had protected her for nearly a year was gone and functioning without it was hard. Life was spiny, sharp edged and wicked and she bled tears permanently. It took longer to heal than before: there was no absorbent layer.

He talked constantly of marriage: what they would do, and when they would set things up. She wasn't as sure, but New Year, almost three scant months after they met and he proposed again: he told her that if they managed through this year that they would set a date a year from then. But there was a problem. Suddenly, again, just after Christmas, she couldn't stop crying and she didn't understand why. The doctor's diagnosed another bout of depression and upped her dosage. She was told in no uncertain terms that she had to take her Prozac, she had no choice. So she obeyed. Until she discovered she was pregnant.

She found out an hour into the New Year and her life crumbled. Amazingly, her partner was delighted. She couldn't see the positive, only the negative. Termination was considered, and then rejected. Just as she got used to the idea, she nearly miscarried. The following six months were hell. But the baby arrived: a beautiful boy. Tiny and sweet, it seemed to bring her back. For three weeks. Three weeks of bliss and happiness.

Then things started falling apart again. He had cancer...terrifyingly it could have spread. Her old friend, the voice that told her to jump out of windows, to hurt herself, to be gone because she was unlucky came back. And even after her soul mate had been given the all clear, suicide had began stalking her, tormenting her dreams and showing her the sugar coated sweetness that tempted her deeply.

She came back to herself suddenly: it was night again and she was watching the world, her little corner of it. She was awake and aware again. She had obviously slept and now was conscious, refreshed and alert. She wondered if she was back on medication again...she couldn't remember and she couldn't tear herself away from the window. If it came, it would be from there.

She was the last line of defence, of that she was sure. It was just a problem of against what and where it would be coming from. So she waited. It was colder tonight: she really would have to do something about the heating, because her little boy was prone to colds.

Her reflection, as flat and mean as ever, stared back, so she shifted her focus, staring through herself into the cold night. It had begun to snow: crystal tears falling from the sky in rapidly shifting patterns. She wanted to cry, needed to cry, but her heart was frozen, stuck in a different gear. Waiting was easier: she could feel everything was ready for whatever she was waiting for.

Four a.m. This seemed to be her time: she wondered if she could ever leave the house, but dismissed it. She needed to be here.

She found herself thinking of their wedding. She remembered that. Clearly.

They had managed to save up and had the quietly romantic ceremony she had dreamed of: permission had been granted for their photos to be taken at the castle they had first declared their love to each other.

It was beautiful: the summer sun beat down, sealing their oaths as they posed for their photos. Dominic was her bunch of flowers: a little boy so beautiful, it hurt to look at him sometimes. They celebrated.... everyone was rowdy, kind and gentle. There were no fights: amazingly, her mother and his held their tongues. It was hard to see if either were angry, she only had eyes for her lover, and he for her. And so it was for a while, until life intruded on their happiness again.

***

He woke just after four a.m. The bed was empty, aside from him. It was hard to believe that this had been going on for a while: he'd lost something along the way, his partner had slipped through his fingers and they had parted. They had been soul mates: it was her term, but he used more, especially since....

Dominic slept on in the next bedroom, it was only four am, but he couldn't sleep. It felt cold. The heating was on the fritz and he needed to get it all fixed again. He could hear the hush of a veil of snow falling against the window. He wondered if she was seeing all this: snow and her child were the only two things that had made her smile. He touched her cold half of the double bed and a single tear slipped from his eye. He pulled himself out of bed. It was the hardest part of the day. Once he was up, he was up, but until then his body just wanted to lie there...to watch the room grow brighter around him.

But he got up: he needed to do a lot of things before 'Nic got up and doing some of the stuff in front of an 18 month old is just asking for trouble. His heart was heavy as he opened the walk in cupboard and switched on the computer.

"Good morning my sweet," he said, and kissed a photo of his love. The photo had been taken at their wedding. There was a single candle and a bunch of roses on the table below it. He broke the pattern of the last year and paused before lighting the candle, hands shaking. The urge to ask crossed his mind, hung on his lips and for the first time in over a year broke free.

"Why?" he asked, simply, the tears starting again. "Why did you leave us all alone?"

The funeral had been hard: he'd been in a daze since finding her after their fight. Half of him still expected her to walk in, to flatten his hair in the irritatingly mothering gesture that he suddenly longed for.

Accepting the fact that she was gone -- which he couldn't do -- was hard enough, but he just couldn't get his head 'round the fact that the vibrant, smiling woman that he had made love to (and had a child with) was now little more than memories and a stone in the cemetery. Photos kept her image alive, but their son...their son wouldn't even know her, other than the things that their families would tell him, imparting a hazy ghostly picture of the woman. The photos wouldn't even help: it was an instant in time that was flat and non-dimensional. Their son was going to be truly motherless: there was no way to let him see exactly who or what his mother was.

The tears stopped flowing and began to collect. As he held his six-month-old boy at the side of her last resting place, he stopped crying. And decided not to let go.

***

Looking out over the lightening sky, she suddenly realised that she was free. The reflection that had stood in her way for so long was gone and she could pass through the glass. Before she did though, she crept through into her little boy's room, who had suddenly grown so large, and was not a six month old and kissed his forehead. He opened his eyes, murmured "Mama" and snuggled back into his teddy. Deep in her heart, she knew that he was not a baby any more, she had acknowledged the toddler but it was hard to get her head 'round it.

***

He walked through into the room and felt a wave of peace wash over him. And for just a brief moment, he could see her: not the woman he had found dead on the kitchen floor: her huge blue eyes completely devoid of all life and the love they had imparted to each other, but the beautiful woman he had married and adored.

The thought occurred to him suddenly that things could be better. If only he'd let her go and get on with things. "I love you," he told the room.

"Goodbye" she said back, still resisting the urge to flatten his mussed hair.

And she was free.

====

Bio:

====

DK Wilson is our guest editor for August/September's issue. This and all of her other current works can be found at http://gael-song.com She also LOVES getting humour submissions (hint, hint ;)) for Scribe and Quill

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http://lit-luv.com – for the love of all things literary – featuring GREAT zines such as Authors and Editors, Zodiac and more, this project is a labour of literary love. Join us!

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FEATURED FICTION COLUMN

A Fresh Start

By Rick Chiantaretto < rick@facadeofshadows.com>

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When was the last time you opened your favorite comic book? My favorite is Calvin and Hobbs because we always find Calvin in an amusing situation with a big problem. Comic books use visual medium (thought balloons, narrative boxes, page space, bold text and exaggerated lines) to engage in dialog, move forward the story and show the reader the plot.

This column will teach you how to write a snappy, exciting, fun-filled, attention grabbing opening sentence that will inspire and uplift your reader. The purpose of this document is to...okay, if you ever started a piece of your writing like this, just don't tell me, okay?

I just gave you a good example of an opening paragraph, and a bad one. In the first, I asked you a well thought out and provocative question (right? RIGHT? Unless you hate comic books.), and immediately taught that if you can give me three things (1. a character 2. in a situation 3. with a problem) in the first sentence, I wouldn't be able to put down your work without first SOLVING the problem.

In the second paragraph, I murdered the momentum. I don't care what your seventh grade teacher taught you, telling me WHY you wrote the report/story/column/novel is not the way to begin. I don't care. And neither does anyone else. I don't want you to tell me what you are writing, but show me instead! A comic book may take away the imagination because it is watched more than read, but I want an opening statement that is just as bold, exaggerated and visual.

Even if you are writing an expository or technical piece, these same principles apply. Open with a command, a well-worded question or something thought provoking or funny. Don’t start with a quote or definition, but instead, use a wild metaphor that initially appears to have no relation to the subject. Catch your reader off guard, just remember to wrap it all up and render any metaphors intelligible by the end. Your creative opening may become a great point of discussion to future generations if it makes them want to pick up and read your writing.

According to Jane Yolen, one of the world's greatest opening statements was Herman Melville's "Call me Ishmael." Why? Because the reader doesn't know if it is a request or a demand. There is an heir of mystery that makes you recall the Biblical Ishmael, who we know was driven into the wilderness and forgotten. What symbolism!

But Jane Yolen then discusses what would have happened had another author written it. These following are all hers and I need give her all the credit, but I can't help sharing them. They can be found in "The Alphabetics of Story" by Jane Yolen:

If Dorothy Parker had written that line: Call me Ishmael. The story of a woman in love with a man who promises to phone but doesn't.

Or if Edgar Rice Burrows had written it?: Me Ishmael, you Jane. A story about a feral child brought up by whales.

Or James Joyce: Ishmael. Ishmael. Yes. And Ishmael. Yes. Ishmael. Call. And yes, yes, call.

Or Tama Janowitz: Call me a cab, Ishy.

Or Isaac Asimov? Call me Ishmael – 4000B

Or Maurice Sendak? Ishy, once, Ishy, twice, Ishy eats fish soup with rice.

Or Ogden Nash: Call me fishmeal.

Now I thought some of those were pretty good (can you imagine a college paper starting out in rhyme?). Jane's point is simple: The opening sentence is the fiber that points to, and becomes the building blocks for, the rest of your work. None of those openings were bad in their own realm, but they definitely didn’t inspire Biblical reminders of Ishmael, and couldn't possibly begin Melville's novel. Jay Atkinson put it this way. "When a writer opens a story, rolls down the white space and hits the first line, for better or worse, the narrative course has been fixed."

Remember that. Edit and rewrite your opening over and over again if you have to. Just do it well.

====

BIO:

====

Rick Chiantaretto is a student at Weber State University where he is studying computer science and English. His first book, "Facade of Shadows," is due out in late 2005; more information can be found at http://www.facadeofshadows.com. Rick is a regular volunteer at the Utah Humanities Council (where his favorite work is helping with the Great Salt Lake Book Festival). He is a writer of horror and dark fantasy, with a flair for satire. Rick is also a member of the League of Utah Writers. A native of West Valley City, Utah, Rick stays busy with his own technology company, Sentinel Technology and hopes for a career in computer security. That is, if he doesn't become a best-selling author first. You can contact him at rick@facadeofshadows.com

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FEATURED POEM

(untitled)

by DK Wilson <danzmacabre@gmail.com>

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The sun has hidden itself again

cloaked, in hushed, grey havens

hidden from view as

a chill bite, blindfolded tumbles

and unending banks of clouds

Fingers numbed

endless unrelenting cold

the touch of tormenting

deeper, nearer the clouds

unfurl, no longer festooning

instead

a numb filter

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BIO:

===

DK Wilson is the author and writer responsible for over 51 Web sites and a book of moving and melancholy poetry entitled "12 Days of Rain"

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UTNE Magazine - A different read on life!

https://w1.buysub.com/servlet/OrdersGateway?cds_mag_code=UTR&cds_page_id=8825&cds_response_key=ZK2040118

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BOOK REVIEWS

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RATING LEGEND:

**** Quills = Excellent

*** Quills = Good

** Quills = Fair

* Quills = Poor

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"The Complete Writer"

Authors: Beverly Walton-Porter, Mindy Phillips Lawrence, Pat McGrath Avery and Joyce Faulkner

Reviewer: Judith Woolcock Colombo (judithcolombo@hotmail.com)

Publisher: Red Engine Press, Inc

Format: Adult, Nonfiction, Paperback, 174 Pages, 2005, $17.95

ISBN: 0974565261

Rating: * * * * Quills

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0974565261/scriquil

Gone are the days when the writer was romantically cast as a disheveled loner scribbling away in his garret or as a spinster whiling away her time penning novels based on withdrawing room conversations and the plight of the gentry. Writing, although still an art, has also become a business capable of supporting the author. However, like any business it must be nurtured in order to prosper. "The Complete Writer" is a collection of essays that strives to guide the new as well as the established writer through the heartaches and pleasures of writing for profit.

The book's authors are all seasoned writers who bring a wealth of experience to this work. The articles are varied in content, length and depth. The book is divided into sections covering topics, such as freelancing, the writer's spiritual side, networking, how to get the most out of your computer by the effective use of MS Word tools and the Internet, time management, traveling for research, writing resumes, query letters and dealing with writer's block.

"Live Your Freelance Writing Dream" by Bev Walton-Porter encourages writers to look for opportunities on the net. The points made in this article, although general, are good advice to maintain the writer's spirit. On the other hand, "Developing an Effective Press Release" also by Walton-Porter is specific. The essay explains clearly what a media release is and why it is needed. The author outlines how to create an effective press release in five steps and gives a list of Web sites with good examples so that the reader may get a feel for "the rhythm of writing they use."

Pat McGrath Avery's essay, "Making $$$ In the Non-Fiction Market," covers a wide area of marketable nonfiction writing, including technical writing, motivational writing, how-to books, biographies and history books. She also discusses the skills needed to write for business and how to go about soliciting those jobs. Avery advises the aspiring freelance writer to seek out human-interest stories that will appeal to the target audience.

At the other end of the spectrum, essays like Joyce Faulkner's "Exercising the Writer's Soul - Tai Chi" addresses a writer's mental well being. Faulkner talks about the stress of writing and how she relieves it through the practice of this relaxing series of movements. Faulkner's point is that writing can be all consuming and stressful, and in order to not damage ourselves, we need a physical outlet to alleviate the stress.

Mindy Phillips Lawrence, in her article on writing and mindfulness, warns against allowing ourselves to be distracted by the minutia of daily life instead of focusing on the here and now. If you are writing, think only of your particular project and nothing else.

Some of the articles express the authors' opinions and are suggestions rather than prescriptions; however, overall "The Complete Writer" is filled with sound practical advice that will aid you in your career as a writer. I found the book to be excellent and well written. I acquired new knowledge and was reminded of concepts that I had forgotten.

====

BIO:

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Judith Woolcock Colombo is the author of "The Fablesinger" and "Night Crimes." For more information and sample chapters, visit her web site at http://odin.prohosting.com/~night01, or send her e-mail at judithcolombo@hotmail.com.

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"A Perfect Match"

Author: Jill McGown

Reviewer: Sonali T. Sikchi (sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com)

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, New York

Format: Adult, Fiction, Hardcover, 189 Pages, 1983

ISBN: 0312600690

Rating: * * * 1/2 Quills

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0312600690/scriquil

"The September dawn crept over the sky like water on blotting paper, spreading a fine, thin light to supplement the yellow glow of the street lighting." So begins Jill McGown's first literary whodunit, following in the fine tradition of British crime writers, such as Ngaio Marsh and P.D. James.

Julia Mitchell, a beautiful young widow, lies strangled by a boating lake. Her movements prior to her death are known, as well as all the people with whom she had any interactions. The evidence point to Chris Wade, the young man last seen with her, as corroborated by multiple witnesses. However, the deeper Inspector Lloyd and Sergeant Judy Hill dig into the mystery, the more clues pop up that tangle up an otherwise straightforward conviction.

The minute after I had my "aha" moments, McGown would throw in information that would murk up the picture. And thus, I followed along, page after page, to the story's startling conclusion.

McGown's characters are at the heart of her plot. The story flows naturally from them, and as the plot develops, so do the characters. They also reinforce the setting of a provincial little English town by mannerisms, speech and interactions with each other. For a debut novel, McGown writes sophisticated dialogue, which she uses to develop characters, uncover elements of the crime and to further the plot McGown's excellent eye for detail allows us to run the story in our heads like a movie as we read.

Her stylistic location of the last paragraphs of every chapter to anthropomorphic thoughts and movements of different animals in the forest just didn't work for me -- it brought the story to a crashing halt, and what should've been a cliffhanger for the chapters ended up deflating the built-up tension. However, this was a comparatively minor bump in an otherwise excellently written story. I look forward to seeing this writer grow into her talent.

====

BIO:

====

Sonali T. Sikchi is a Seattle-based freelance writer with feature articles and book reviews published in national and regional magazines, such as History Magazine, Alaska Airlines Magazine, Horizon Air Magazine, American Women in Science magazine, Scribe & Quill, uncapped, Citysearch, WritersCrossing, Review-Books and others. As a freelance editor and proofreader, Sonali works with authors, magazines, book publishers and nonprofit organizations. She also manages projects that involve research and copywriting. Sonali has earned certificates in writing and editing from the University of Washington. In her earlier career, she was a software engineer at Microsoft. Sonali can be reached by e-mail at sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com.

~*~*~*~

"An Alien to Existence"

Author: Jonathan Ark

Reviewer: Rita Porter (beepmybeep2@mchsi.com)

Publisher: Iceni Books, Tucson, AZ

Format: Adult, Fiction, Paperback, 140 Pages, 2004, $12.95

ISBN: 1587364158

Rating: * Quill

http://www.icenibooks.com

Newell was taught at a young age to believe in magic, thus creating a vast well of imagination. He began as a very religious person, but as he grew older and watched religion fall apart for him, Newell gave rein to his other beliefs, letting them mature within his mind. In his late teen years, Newell starts getting migraines that last for days, stunting his creativity. Newell spent his childhood suffering through repeated misunderstandings and punishments, because a diagnosis of his schizoaffective bipolar disorder was not done. His condition remained undiagnosed until he was almost 19 years old.

Having reached 30, Newell was unable to hold down a job, get along well with people in society and fighting a battle with drug abuse and mental illness. He had hoped he was going to succeed at his art, his writing and his multimedia Web designing. During this time, Newell met many women, most of whom fell in love with the honesty they perceived in his writing. But by rushing into things, he created very intense relationships that most women found threatening.

Newell met Heather just in this way. They bonded almost immediately, lending him the courage to get his works published. As Heather toyed with his heart, Newell pushed his writing forward, alienating his family with its publication. Newell didn't understand the difference between being understanding or being taken for granted in love. The relationship with Heather turned out to be his ticket into hell.

Following the life of Newell in words is as confusing as it would be in the real world. Mood swings mixed with the delusional mind trips were well placed and written in a manner that the reader is more or less as confused as the main character Newell must have been. It appears Newell often gets lost in dreamland, which is as real to him as reality is to us, or he seeks to hide away from the truth of life as most people would see it. While he had the support of his family when he was little and had a strong start in life, with the coming of age, his actions cost him that support and also cause him a lot of anguish.

There were not that many characters in this story to worry about seeing how well they interacted. Newell's character was strong on the mixed-up level, with few lucid moments. Getting too attached as those with unstable mental conditions are known to do, and being unable to tell when he was being taken advantage of, Newell hid from his own self. Trying to hold true to his own beliefs, Newell always sought the higher power in all things.

The confusion part has to be one of the hardest things to deal with while writing; Jonathan Ark did that very well. The mental issues touching around the edges of science fiction were confusing. With such few characters, the path through Newell's mind could have been a touch less cluttered with minute details. Little to no actual conversation taking place makes the story seem over-detailed.

I found this to be a well written story from a mental illness person's point of view, though I began the story lost and continued down that same lost path throughout the tale. Recommendable if you are wanting an insider's view to the total mass confusion of the workings of a schizophrenic-bipolar person's mind.

====

BIO:

====

Rita Porter is a Missouri-based poet and writer who is a regular book reviewer for Scribe & Quill.

~*~*~*~*~

"The Magus"

Author: John Fowles

Reviewer: Richard Crowhurst (rcrowhurst@connectfree.co.uk)

Publisher: Vintage Classics (reissue)

Format: Adult, Fiction, Paperback, 656 Pages 2004

ISBN: 0099478358

http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/catalog/book.htm?command=Search&db=main.txt&eqisbndata=0099478358

When womanizing drifter Nicholas Urfe takes a job as an English teacher on the remote Greek island of Phraxos, he anticipates boredom and beautiful scenery. What he doesn't expect is Conchis, the wealthy recluse living in the hideaway of "The Waiting Room." What begins as a psychological game between the two men, soon becomes an obsession for Nicholas as he finds himself becoming a willing pawn in Conchis's new forms of theatrical presentation.

However, Nicholas cannot escape his past. As he meets his ex-lover, the insecure Alison, in Athens for the weekend, he finds himself wanting the dreams that Conchis seems to offer, even as they change with the tide. The closer that Nicholas comes to understanding Conchis's games, and obtaining the beautiful delights presented by the enigmatic and untrustworthy Julie, the further away they seem. As his world is confused by violence, blackmail and kidnapping, Nicholas wonders where the games will end; even his return to normality is terrorized by his pursuit of answers. The ultimate fear is that he is the victim of a plot of his own creation -- then again, is he?

The book and its inhabitants travel back to the past, with themes and stage magic. Part love story, part psychological thriller, "The Magus" is a book that affects everyone who reads it and will linger in your consciousness long after the final revelation.

====

BIO:

====

Richard Crowhurst has been a full time writer for about five months now, after leaving his well paid managerial job last year. To date, he has been published by a number of magazines and Web sites, including TimeTravel-Britain.com, the Hesperus Press Magazine, Chapter and Verse, Inkwell Newswatch, Lincolnshire Pride and others. Full details and examples of his work can be found on his site at http://www.freelance-writer-and-author.co.uk.

~*~*~*~*~

"The Blackbird Papers"

Author: Ian Smith

Reviewer: Sonali T. Sikchi (sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com)

Publisher: Doubleday, New York

Format: Adult, Fiction, Hardcover, 326 Pages, 2004, $24.95

ISBN: 0385511361

Rating: * *1/2 Quills

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0385511361/scriquil

Wilson Bledsoe, a Nobel-prize winning wealthy Dartmouth professor of ethnobiology, is a popular teacher, a sought-after doctorate advisor, in a loving marriage, an owner of a red Mercedes, and is one of few African-Americans on the faculty. One night, he fails to reach home while driving from a party held in his honor. Local New Hampshire and Vermont police first conclude it is kidnapping for ransom. But when Wilson's body is found brutally murdered, they conclude it is racially motivated and arrest the leaders of a local hate gang.

However, when his brother Sterling Bledsoe, a maverick FBI agent, is informed, he senses that this conclusion is too pat, too convenient -- it is what the perpetrators of the crime want everyone to take at face value. As he starts interviewing different people, a whole underlying sinister crime emerges. Indeed things, and especially people, are not at all what they seem on the surface. (They rarely are!) In particular, Sterling's curiosity is piqued by Wilson's latest pet project, the journal paper on blackbirds.

For a debut novel, Ian Smith has shown himself to be a storyteller who can hold your attention from beginning to the end and plot a tale with layers of crime and detective sleuthing. His thorough research of the place, police work and biology of blackbirds lends depth and credibility to the events in the story, while grounding the reader firmly in time and place.

The biggest clunkers for me were the stick action figures Smith has employed. Even though Smith gives us some insight into Sterling's emotional state, Sterling never came alive for me, neither did I care for him or anyone else in the story. While this sort of characterless style has been made popular by the John Grishams and Dan Browns of recent years, you only have to read Elizabeth George to know what a huge impact well-crafted personable characters have on a mystery story.

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An Alien to Existence by Jonathan Ark

Publisher: Icena Books

ISBN number: 1587364158

Newell is a genius too advanced for his time, strung out between fantasy and reality. He creates artistic projects that are superb but unappreciated; his autobiography is a piece of the finest writing ever put to paper. But he can't find a medium to get it out into the world. Severely depressed, suffering from headaches most of his life, Newell has a nervous breakdown. Under its spell, and with the help of guides on a higher plane, he learns the secret of existence. Unfortunately, it might be too late for mankind to learn from the knowledge he has gained.

http://www.wheatmark.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BS&Product_Code=1587364158&Category_Code=LIT

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LIVE TO WRITE. WRITE TO SELL.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**

Beginning or intermediate writer? Scribe & Quill offers courses by PUBLISHED PROFESSIONALS that are affordable, fun, motivational and focused on results -- we deliver that, and more!

Sign up for affordable writing workshops taught by *published* professionals who work in the writing/publishing field. All of our facilitators are multi-published and offer one-on-one interaction with students.

Course sessions are perpetual, so you may sign up and begin your course at your own convenience!

Currently we offer personal instruction in these areas:

--**NEW COURSE** Writing the Short Story**

-- Creativity 101

-- Editing Essentials

-- How-to Articles

-- Memoirs

-- Nonfiction Book Proposals

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-- Query Magic

-- Writing for Regional Markets

For more information on how our courses work or to enroll,

visit our courses page located at: http://www.scribequill.com/Courses.html

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CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS!

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CALL FOR UPLIFTING AUTISM STORIES

A Cup of Comfort is a best-selling anthology (book) series published by Adams Media, an F+W Publications Company. Each volume features 50 creative nonfiction stories about the experiences and relationships that inspire, sustain and enrich our lives.

Submissions are now being sought for the following new volume:

A CUP OF COMFORT FOR PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

A child’s diagnosis of autism usually strikes fear in the hearts of parents—and often turns their world upside-down and their lives inside-out. The incidence of this mysterious neurobiological disorder has risen dramatically in recent years, leaving parents in search of answers, support and hope. For this inspirational volume, we seek personal anecdotal stories (not prescriptive articles) about the unique aspects of parenting a child with autism and related disorders (Asperger syndrome, Rett's disorder, disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder). Possible themes include, but are not limited to: impact on other members of family; creative solutions to everyday challenges; breakthroughs; effective treatments; silver linings; tender moments; helpful support; unexpected positive outcomes; blessings large and small; reasons for hope; adult children with autism. We are most interested in stories written by parents, but will also consider and likely publish some stories written by professionals and family members or friends with intimate knowledge of the child and parents in question.

Submission Deadline: November 15, 2005 (extended from Oct. 1)

Stories must be original (not derived from another published work), true, positive, in English, and 1,000-2,000 words. Open to unpublished and published writers.

Payment: One $500 grand prize per book; $100 each, all other published stories. Copy of book.

Guidelines: http://www.cupofcomfort.com (click on "Share Your Story"); or e-mail request for guidelines to cupofcomfort@adamsmedia.com; or send SASE to P.O. Box 1539, Cottage Grove, Oregon 97424 USA.

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BOOK OFFERINGS FOR THE READER IN YOU!

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Looking for a great book to read?

Visit Scribe & Quill's Online Book Gallery

Featured listings include:

* "Coquina Key" by Micah O'Brien (fiction)

* "Alien to Existence" by Jonathan Ark (fiction)

* "Phonetical Imagery" by Mark Stellinga (poetry)

* "First Saturday" by Rosemary O'Brien (fiction)

* "Going Solo: How to Survive and Thrive as a Freelance Writer"

by Bobbi Linkemer (nonfiction)

* "Night Crimes" by Judith Colombo (fiction)

To view all the offerings in our gallery, please visit:

http://www.scribequill.com/Gallery.html

Promote your book in our Book Gallery. Single book listings only $5 per month; only $8 per month to list two titles:

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THE LAST WORD --