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Scribe & Quill ~~ Sept/Oct 2005
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Vol. 3 Issue 7
ISSN: 1098-6375
Section 1 of 2 Sections
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MASTHEAD
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* Editor & Publisher
Bev Walton-Porter <scribequill@adelphia.net>
* Humor Editor
Jaden Trinsic <humor@scribequill.com>
* Poetry Editor
Donna "Kai"
* 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>
* Romance Columnist
Cynthia VanRooy <mail@cynthiavanrooy.com >
* Video Game Reviewer
Jonathan Porter <jonp@scribequill.com>
* Staff Book Reviewers:
~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:
~Kris Saknussemm,
author of "
~Kathy Watts <direwolf@stratlabs.com>
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
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~Editor's Note
~Reader Praise!
~Announcements
~Scribe & Quill Patrons
~ FEATURED ARTICLE:
Five Tips to Avoiding Total Disaster as a Novelist
from a Poor, Wretched Fool Who Had to Learn the Hard Way
By Kris Saknussemm,
author of "
~ FEATURED INTERVIEW:
An Interview with "The Writer's Writer," Jenna Glatzer
By Sonali T. Sikchi <sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com>
~Scribes of Note ~ Virtual Quills
~FEATURED ROMANCE COLUMN:
What's in a Name?
By Cynthia VanRooy <cvanrooy@juno.com>
~FEATURED FICTION COLUMN:
The Modern-Day Vampire
By Rick Chiantaretto <rick@facadeofshadows.com>
~FEATURED WRITER'S ALMANAC:
Heads Up!
The Writer's Astrological Almanac
Sept 22 -
By Kathy Watts <direwolf@stratlabs.com>
~ Book Reviews
* "Someone Not Really Her Mother: A Novel"
by Harriet Scott Chessman
* "The Bookman's Promise" by John Dunning
* "The Known World" by Edward P. Jones
* "Hattie, Get A Haircut!" by Jenna Glatzer
(with Monica Kendall)
* "Arturo el Rey" by Joan Upton Hall
* "The Return of the Golden Age" by Marilyn Peake
* "Black Cats" by Cara Doll
~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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Honey, I'm HOME! Errr...wrong place. I meant:
I'VE MISSED YOU ALL!
Okay, so maybe that was too enthusiastic, but it's true. I have missed putting out Scribe & Quill and hearing from readers every month. Here's hoping you got a lot of writing done over the summer and you're busy submitting your masterpieces so you can reap the rewards of your hard work.
While on hiatus from S & Q I did anything but have a vacation. No camping, no swimming, no relaxing in the sun. Instead, I spent time inside finishing up various writing projects. All work and no play made me a grumpy ole writer, that's for sure! But the good part is I got a lot of work done. I completed the manuscript for my upcoming August 2006 release from Writer's Digest Books, "Sun Signs for Writers," sold my first fiction book to Whiskey Creek Press (due out September 2006), was accepted into the Authors Guild and celebrated the release of "The Complete Writer: A Guide to Tapping Your Full Potential" the end of August.
Once all that was out of the way, I celebrated by travelling to The Tattered Cover in Denver on September 27th for author Neil Gaiman's (http://www.neilgaiman.com) book signing of his newest, "Anansi Boys." After meeting Neil for the first time I was on Cloud Nine! He shook my left hand and I considered never washing it again – then figured that would be gross, so I dismissed the idea! However, I must tell you Neil is a warm and welcoming author who keeps a smile on his face even as his signing stretched late into the night. He is truly a gentleman who cares about his fans!
Finally, I had the fortune of participating in an author interview (http://66.49.247.8/Authors_First_09-30-05_-_Bev_Walton-Porter.mp3) on ArtistFirst radio last week. Authors, if you're looking for a way to let others know about your book, ArtistFirst is a must-visit station. They showcase hour-long author interviews and will also review your book! Visit their archives section to listen to previous interviews as well as a variety of other interesting shows they run on a regular basis: http://www.artistfirst.com/Archive.htm If you're searching for a station to listen to while writing, this might be one to bookmark – I know I've placed it in my Favorites list!
Back to this issue, we have the cast of regular columnists and reviewers who always turn out interesting and informative content. We were lucky enough to snag "The Writer's Writer," also known as Jenna Glatzer, for a fantastic interview, so you won't want to miss it! In addition, I would like to welcome the newest member of the Scribe & Quill staff, romance author Cynthia VanRooy. She will be providing readers with columns on the ins and outs of romance writing in every issue. To learn more about Cynthia and her books, please visit her Web site at: http://www.cynthiavanrooy.com
In addition to Cynthia, we have also added
another professional editor to our select editing team. Steve Manchester
(shmanchester@statestreet.com) has extensive experience, with 12 books to his
credit as well as several others published under the pseudonym, Steven Herberts. His work has been showcased in such national
literary journals as Taproot Literary Review, American Poetry Review, Poetry
Finally, do you have a poem, story or humorous essay you'd like to share with readers of Scribe & Quill? Beginning writers are welcome! Visit our Guidelines page at http://www.scribequill.com/Guidelines.html for details on how to submit material for a future issue.
Before closing, I would like to extend positive thoughts and healing wishes to our regular columnist Jill Vaile, who injured her arm over the summer. Jill, we miss you and can't wait until you're back in the proverbial saddle again!
Again, it's fabulous to be back with you and I wish you a comfortable and cozy autumn season. With cooler weather, fall festivals and beautiful fall foliage, how can you not connect with the muse and create beautiful words?
Till next issue, write like a fiend!
Bev Walton~Porter, Editor/Publisher
scribequill@adelphia.net
http://www.bevwaltonporter.com
***
Mindy Lawrence, Asst. Editor/Advertising Manager
mplcreative1@aol.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! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ScribeQuill/
***
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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ADVERTISEMENT
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"The MuseItUp Club, winner of the Preditors and Editors Most Useful Writing Site Award and a Writer's Digest 101 Top Writing Site, is a writing critique community for writers serious about honing their craft. Now accepting new memberships. For more information, link here: http://museitupclub.tripod.com
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FEATURED ARTICLE:
Five Tips to Avoiding Total Disaster as a Novelist
from a Poor, Wretched Fool Who Had to Learn the Hard Way
By Kris Saknussemm,
author of "
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The problem with should advice is that it's either something you already know, i.e. your diet should include more fruit and vegetables than cheeseburgers and martinis -- or it's something really difficult (like consuming more fruit and vegetables than cheeseburgers and martinis). So, based on my own stumbling, fumbling experience, I offer the following list of things I would strongly advise aspiring and despairing writers not to do. I doubt that simply by avoiding these pitfalls you will be guaranteed international fame and fortune, but I'm confident that you will at least escape many unnecessary frustrations and defeats, so that you can be fresh for the really poignant failures and setbacks that will either make or break you -- and with any luck will do a bit of both.
First Tip. Do not spend years gathering interesting material -- odd
quotations, overheard remarks, colorful phrases, bits
of trivia, weird statistics and obscure facts in the hope that you will one day
find a story to contain them. I ended up with a literal warehouse of such stuff
and I can tell you now with considerable confidence that the larvae of the
human botfly bore into the skin and gorge themselves, emerging as centimeter long maggots, while a Joshua Hendy nine-thousand
horsepower steam turbine delivers a cruising speed of 16 knots at 78 rpm. There
is nothing wrong in knowing that if left underwater for years brass gives off a
bright verdigris stain or that the first Birds of
Paradise shipped back to
Tip #2. Do not spend years experimenting with different forms of writing and various intellectual follies such as cut-ups and verbal collages, intricate multiple person narratives, dream stories, recipe books, anatomies, imaginary academic theses and the like. Yes, it's true that some of the world's most interesting literature has elements of these forms -- but that was then and this is different. If you are serious about getting a work of fiction published today you need quick sharp answers to the following questions. In what section of a bookstore or retailer's Web site will your book be found? Which authors can your work be likened to? In three sentences or less what's your novel about?
Tip #3. The Puritans believed in covering the body for modesty's sake. Yet they developed a sexualized fascination for the ears of women and the noses of men. My point? (See Tip #1) In apparent restriction there is unexpected release. Dickens created over 800 individual characters and laid down some of the most intense cultural satire in English -- but his writing really came into focus when Wilkie Collins hipped him to the detective story. I struggled for years trying to find a form for my writing, flitting around like a Ulysses butterfly. The moment I gave myself permission to write an action/adventure story, things started falling into place. Modern art has provided artists with unparalleled and some might argue paralyzing freedom. Don't waste time trying to create a new form. It's given to very few people in any medium to do that -- and many of their achievements end up looking like legless Birds of Paradise later. A seemingly simple repetitive musical style like the Blues has proven capable of expressing the full spectrum of human experience and has inspired countless variations and mutations. Give yourself over to an established structure and follow its guidelines, and suddenly interesting points will emerge to surprise you.
Tip #4. Read your work aloud, to some willing victim ideally, but at least to yourself. Storytelling began as an oral form and the ear (however erotically appealing) has a trueness to it that will reveal what's working and what's not in a more immediate and decisive way than simply scanning the page. This discipline will also slow you down psychologically and bring you into more intimate contact with your story. In the end, it will take no more time than reading back a page silently.
Tip #5. Ignore all reasonable sounding advice like "write about what
you know," "read as much as you can," or "try to write
every day." If you need to hear this advice you are in the wrong game. But
more importantly, reasonableness won't get the job done. One day in an
ice-stricken back alley in
Unless you are willing to face the unreasonable in yourself -- unless you are willing to entertain some strange notions (and deal with them when they stick around) -- unless you are willing to get lost, confused and even terrified -- then what you're doing won't have any meaning. The famous device of conflict upon which all stories are supposed to hinge starts within the writer. You are all the characters in your dreams and so too with a novel. You can't put your creations into jeopardy or into embarrassing or miraculous situations without going there yourself, and that is not a sensible ambition for a grown person to have. As a writer who has made more mistakes than most, my goal above all else is to be very, very unreasonable.
Copyright © 2005 Kris Saknussemm
===
BIO:
===
Kris Saknussemm
grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, but has lived abroad for a long time in
the
"
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FEATURED INTERVIEW:
An Interview with "The Writer's Writer," Jenna Glatzer
By Sonali T. Sikchi <sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com>
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Jenna Glatzer,
known as "The Writer's Writer," is an award-winning fulltime writer
from
Bride," "Screenwriters Utopia," "College Bound" and "MSN" among others.
She's a contributing editor at Writer's Digest and the editor-in-chief of Absolute Write, an e-zine with a subscriber base of 75,000 writers. Jenna is also the author of 17 books on subjects as varied as authorized biographies of celebrities, health, the writing craft, picture books, space exploration and culture. This year alone, she has published "Hattie, Get a
Haircut!," a children's picture book, and "Celine Dion," an authorized biography. Jenna operates several writing-related businesses, teaches classes, speaks at conferences and frequently appears as a guest on radio and television shows.
We caught Jenna in the midst of her hectic writing schedule.
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[Scribe & Quill]: Jenna, you write for numerous publications and publish multiple books every year. In addition, you're a prolific scriptwriter; playwright; copywriter for local and national businesses; and writer for greeting cards, magnets and bumper stickers. How do you manage to get such an incredible amount of work done?
[Jenna Glatzer]: I'm a workaholic. I spend most of my waking hours in front of the computer. I take my deadlines very seriously, and always have, even back in my school years. It used to drive me crazy when students would hand in papers late with lame excuses and either not get penalized at all or just
have a few points taken off their grades, while I always figured that planning ahead and making the work a high priority was a sign of respect and a requirement. So, in short, I was a nerd then and I'm still a nerd now. The major difference is that people used to tease me for it back then. Now they want my advice on how to become good little nerds. Ha!
[S&Q]: Have you always had an interest in writing? What made you determined to become a writer? And is it everything you wished it would be?
[JG]: I did always have an interest in writing, but it wasn't my career goal. I wanted to be an actress and was living my dream when I got hit by a terrible panic disorder that left me agoraphobic (housebound) for several years. I couldn't work outside the home anymore, so I needed to find something I could do, quick! I found writers' Web sites, picked up the "Writer's Market" and was soon off and running.
Honestly, my writing career is more than I
wished it would be. Back then, I believed in the "starving writer"
cliché and figured I'd never earn more than enough to just get by if I was
lucky. Never in a zillion years did I
think I'd be cavorting with celebrities, turning down offers from Simon &
Schuster and being named one of
job, and I know how lucky I am to have it. So, I continue to work really hard to earn it! I think everyone should quit their jobs right now and become fulltime freelance writers.
Wait, that was really irresponsible advice. Okay, I think you should save up some money first and do it part-time until you can take the leap, but do it! It's a really neat way to live.
[S&Q]: When and where did you publish your first piece? And when and where did you publish your first paid piece?
[JG]: My first-ever piece to appear in print was a short memoir I wrote in college for a course, which was then published in the school's literary magazine. It was such a thrill, especially because of two things. 1. An illustrator drew a graphic for the page. It may not have been the finest art
in the world, but it was an almost psychic representation -- the girl he drew looked just like me, and the room looked like my room, and the artist had never met me. What it meant to me is that he had really read my story and that I had managed to communicate it to him. 2. The editor told me that my piece was her favorite in the magazine, and she thanked me for sharing
it. What a rush!
My next piece was my first paid article, in the now-defunct "Link Magazine," for $.50 per word. I never mentioned in my query that I hadn't been published before, so the editor just assumed I had, and he seemed apologetic about the rate. "I'm sure you're used to better pay," he said, and I tried
to sound very convincing when I replied something like, "Well, I guess it'll do." Really, I was jumping out of my skin at the very thought that someone was actually going to pay me to write an article for a magazine!
[S&Q]: What would you say has been your proudest moment as a writer so far?
[JG]: Probably when René Angelil [Céline Dion's husband] called me and told me that he had read the first draft of my manuscript about Céline Dion. He left a message on my answering machine, and I accidentally erased it just a couple of weeks ago. Argh! Luckily, I wrote it down before I erased it: "I
read [the manuscript] after the show, and I couldn't stop reading it. It's so well-written, so good. So I wanted to thank you and talk about a few details. It was really emotional for me at some times to read what you had written. You captured Céline so well, and I'm really proud of you for doing that." Boy, did that feel nice!
[S&Q]: In order to become the most productive writer you could be, what was the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome?
[JG]: I faced a long period of time where I couldn't seem to get past low-to-mid-paying markets. It was extraordinarily hard to make a living, regardless of how productive I was. I had been carefully following the rules in the books available at the time, and I didn't really break out of my rut until I began tentatively breaking rules: e-mail queries, longer queries,
contacting editors for assignments without formal query letters and so on.
I also had to learn what it meant to study a market -- something all the writers' books mention, but rarely explain in full detail. Instead of coming up with an idea and hoping I would find an appropriate magazine or book publisher, I began working the opposite way: studying the magazine sections
and the publisher's catalogues, figuring out exactly what they published and [figuring out] what I could write that would fit in with that. In short, I learned how to target my submissions a whole lot better, and that moved me out of the $100 per article and $3,000 book advance range and into the $1-per-word-and-up article and $30,000-and-up book advance range.
[S&Q]: What are the five most important lessons you've learned so far in your writing life?
[JG]: 1. Be persistent.
2. Do more than is expected of you.
3. Never put an editor in a bad spot by missing a deadline or turning in something that's outside of the scope of the assignment (too long or too short, different angle than discussed, etc.).
4. Editors don't reject writers; they reject words. If those words weren't right for one editor, that doesn't mean the editor thinks you're a worthless human being or that another editor won't love those same words.
5. Know what you're worth and set out to get it!
[S&Q]: How have you leveraged your experiences from your former career as a professional actress in your writing career?
[JG]: Well, when I left off in my acting career, I was acting in a children's theatre...and boy, how I miss it! The main way it helped me was in writing stories for children. I missed the feeling of igniting a child's imagination. There's a sense of magic when you perform for kids -- there I was, playing Cinderella and watching these kids' eyes light up and hearing
them gasp and applaud when my rags turned into a ball gown and the pumpkin into a coach.
I took that same feeling with me when I wrote "Hattie, Get a Haircut!," which has a magical element to it, too -- Hattie's hair grows with super powers until it reaches all the way around the block and birds build nests in it. When you perform for kids, you figure out what they react to, what delights them. So I brought that knowledge with me when I began writing for kids.
I can't wait to do readings! That's the one way I still stay connected to the acting world. I get to go to schools and bookstores and read my book to kids and watch those eyes light up and hear them giggle and call out the same way I once did on stage. Kids are the coolest audience members. You always know if they like what you're doing or if they don't, because they'll
just yell it out to you from the audience!
[S&Q]: Do tell us the most interesting story you have come across while researching your books.
[JG]: I've delved into some really interesting topics, so it's hard to pick one. I like it when I get paid to learn about topics that interest me, so I try to pick assignments that have some kind of personal relevance. For example, I just finished working on the book "Fertility Foods" with Jeremy Groll, MD and Lorie Groll, and that intrigued me because my husband and I
are about to start trying to conceive. While researching for that book, I found out how many old wives' tales I'd bought into! (Like that boxers vs. briefs conundrum: It honestly doesn't matter. Or that stress causes infertility -- the research shows that if stress plays any role at all, it's very minor. And there are no particular positions that will help you
conceive, and there's no scientific way to improve your chances of having a boy or a girl.)
[S&Q]: What is your advice on freelance writing as a fulltime career and dealing with its business side for writers just entering the industry?
[JG]: New writers are often pushed into one extreme or the other: Either they're told that they need to starve to "pay their dues," or that they should aim for the top and negotiate hard from the beginning. I'm much more of a middle-ground advocate. On your first couple of assignments, you're in no position to demand high fees and have an editor rewrite a contract line by line. I think it's far more important to get those first clips any which way you can, which may mean working for free or close to it -- but I also don't advocate sticking around those markets very long.
Sometimes it saddens me to see the number of writers who are willing to write dozens of articles for "content sites" that pay $5-$10. There are some low-paying markets that are worthwhile as clips, but those really should be only a starting point. The more time you spend with them because it's easier
to get acceptances from them, the less time you have to hone your craft and work on building relationships at publications that pay reasonable rates.
Once you have a few clips under your belt, it's time to move to
better-paying publications and to negotiate. No matter what the offer is, always ask for more (more money, fewer rights, another assignment, etc.), remembering that the negotiations should remain cordial, not adversarial.
~~**~~**~~**~~
To read the entire interview with author Jenna Glatzer, please follow this link: http://www.scribequill.com/InterviewJennaGlatzer.html.
For more information on Jenna Glatzer, please visit her Web sites at http://www.jennaglatzer.com and http://www.absolutewrite.com.
===
BIO:
===
Sonali T. Sikchi is a Seattle-based freelance writer with feature articles and book reviews published in national and regional magazines and newspapers, such as History Magazine, Alaska Airlines Magazine, Horizon Air Magazine, American Women in Science magazine, HarperCollins First Look, Scribe & Quill, Midwest Book Review, World Sentinel, American Chronicle,
California Chronicle, Illinois Chronicle, Maryland Chronicle, Seattle PlanetGuru, San Diego PlanetGuru, Curled Up With A Good Book and many others.
As a freelance editor and proofreader, Sonali has worked with authors, magazines, book publishers and nonprofit organizations, such as Horizon Air Magazine, Washington Trails magazine, Scribe & Quill, The Mountaineers Books, The CarTours Foundation and others. She also manages projects that involve research and copywriting. Sonali is featured in "The National Directory of Editors and Writers for Hire: 600 Freelance Business, Proofreading, Copy, Technical, and Literary Editors, plus Book Doctors, Ghostwriters, Consultants, and Writing Coaches" by Elizabeth Lyon (M. Evans and Company, March 2005, Page 272, #457).
Sonali has earned certificates in writing
and editing from the
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SCRIBES OF NOTE
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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:
Cindy Bement's
(c.bement@mchsi.com) writing workshops for kids through 826
Robert Ferrier (rferrier2@cox.net), former
fiction craft columnist for Scribe & Quill, read two poems at the 8th
Annual Woody Guthrie Festival July 16 in
poet George Wallace and former Oklahoma Poet Laureate Carol Hamilton, of
Joan Upton Hall has published "Arturo El Rey" through Zumaya Otherworlds
Mark Orr's (ortfan@comcast.net) fantasy serial, "The Mysteries of Nur," is now available via subscription from http://www.keepitcoming.net
Sara Webb Quest (saraquest@comcast.net) had
a filler article in Marie Claire magazine. Sara also conducts interviews with
authors and other professionals in the industry. Visit her
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/professional_writing/117747
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QUOTABLES
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I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.
~Richard Wright, American Hunger, 1977
Writing is both mask and unveiling.
~E.B. White
Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself.
~Franz Kafka
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Scribe & Quill ~~ Sept/Oct 2005
Section II
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ISSN: 1098-6375
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FEATURED ROMANCE COLUMN
What's in a Name?
By Cynthia VanRooy <mail@cynthiavanrooy.com >
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What's in a name? Everything! Names have magic. That's why we spend so much time and angst coming up with just the right ones for our characters.
Remember the first time your significant other spoke your name out loud? How wonderful, how intimate it sounded? Imagine your hero or heroine using the other's name for the first time, saying it with a smile, muttering it in irritation, forcing it from behind clenched teeth in anger or whispering it while making love. In every case the name will have more impact if you've chosen well.
There are a number of factors to take into consideration. For Silhouette Desire author and Holt Medallion winner Susan Crosby, the sound and rhythm of the name are paramount. Her favorite hero name ever, Gabriel Alejandro de la Hoya y Marquez, is from her book "His Seductive Revenge." Read the name out loud to yourself and you'll hear the rhythm. The heroine in this book is Christina Chandler, a name that's still rhythmic but a counterpoint to his more elaborate one.
This leads into another concern -— only one unusual or exotic main character name per book. Otherwise the story has too much of a made up, author-at-work feel. I have a friend named Theodora, a name I love and will use one day. You can bet, though, that the hero of that book will be named Tom, Dick or Harry, or the current equivalent.
And speaking of current—NY Times best-selling author and two-time Rita winner Suzanne Brockmann has a trick for insuring her characters' names are appropriate to their era. She searches Web sites that have lists of the most popular names for boys and girls born in any given year. If she has a secondary character who's 75 years old, she checks to see what was popular the year they were born.
Giving a character a name congruent with their times makes them more genuine for the reader. It's like handing the reader a quick snapshot of your character. Ensure you don't give a character a name that wasn't even in existence when they were born, i.e. don't name an historical heroine something like Tammy, Bambi or Tiffany. Extreme examples, to be sure, but always check to guarantee you don’t unsuspectingly use a name of too-recent origin.
You've probably read not to have two characters in a book with names that begin with the same letter because it gets confusing for the reader. The same rule applies to names that may be spelled differently but sound the same like Jack and Zack, Mary and Terry, Sam and Tammy.
And if you want the reader to take your characters seriously, avoid alliteration. Mandy Mathers and Tim Thomas may be wonderful characters for a children's story, but a little too cute for adult reading. Likewise, be sure that the combination of your hero and heroine's names don't sound silly together -—Jack and Jill, Pat and Mike, Mark and Cleo (Marc Anthony and Cleopatra for those not historically inclined), etc. Doing it on purpose as a plot point is fine. Just don't let your choices be an unfortunate accident. Have one or more of the characters comment on the combination of names to cement in the reader's mind that the combination was by design.
Be aware of which names have an
upper-class, old-money history and which sound like an up-by-his-bootstraps
working man. In historical
Along these lines, USA Today best-selling author Christie Ridgway advises that if a character isn't gelling for you, be open to change. Maybe they just need a new name. Her character, Jacob Cargill, started out a banker. When she decided to give him the more colorful career of monster truck driver, suddenly his name wasn't working. She changed it to Nash Cargill and voila —- truck driver.
A name can also provide a clue to a character's place of birth. Beau (recently shortened to Bo) is a Son of the South. Also southern are double female names -— Bonny Jean, Amanda Marie, Hazel Doris (my very southern cousin.)
What do Alan Francisco, Cosmo Richter and
Tom Paoletti have in common? They are all heroes from
Suzanne Brockmann's books. They have a guy-next-door kind
of sound. Suzanne picks a first name she likes and then reads phone books for
ethnic last names. Because the
Shorter, one-syllable names have a more macho, masculine feel—Shane, Matt, Jake, John. Two or more syllables to a name are more feminine than one, but both these suggestions are generalizations. There are always exceptions. To reach your reader on a subliminal level, give your hero a name that uses the hard-consonant sounds —- d ,g, k, t. Names like Kurt, Grant, Max, Dirk. Reserve the softer sounds for your heroine -—Gina, Sherri, Jennifer, Suzy.
Novelist and writing instructor Marian Jones advises against using names that end in "s." In the possessive (s's), the double "s" hisses on the page.
The most important point about character names is to make them something the reader can pronounce. They'll be calling this character by name in their heads as they read and they'll hear the character addressed by other characters. Every time the unpronounceable name comes up, the reader will halt, then stumble over it trying to figure out again how to pronounce it. They may just give up and quit reading. Even if they finish your story, they won't be inclined to rave about it to a friend if they're afraid of mispronouncing the main character's name. You can still go for exotic, alien or prehistoric as long as you choose something the reader can work with phonetically.
When you come across a name that strikes you, save it! Almost every writer I know maintains a notebook of potential character names. The hero of my book, "Everything That Glitters," is named Greydon Cantrell, something I felt reflected his Old South, old-money background. I discovered Greydon on the nametag of a checker at our local grocery store and made note of it. I knew I'd want to use it one day.
If you haven't already started a name notebook, do. Then when you're wracking your brain for the perfect name for your nuclear physicist, elementary school teacher, virtual assistant, advertising executive heroine you'll only need to page through the assortment of names you've already collected to find one.
Take your time naming your creations. Choosing a name that sings on the page for you will go a long way toward growing your characters. Shakespeare may have believed that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but romance writers know better!
===
About the Author:
Now that you've written the book, does the hardest part seem to be getting an editor to read it? Let award-winning romance author Cynthia VanRooy, published in both print and electronic formats, teach you in her information-packed e-booklet "The Secrets to Query Letters That Work" how seasoned professionals, even unagented ones, circumvent the slush pile and get their fiction in front of the decision makers. For more information click on http://www.cynthiavanrooy.com.
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FEATURED FICTION COLUMN
The Modern-Day Vampire
By Rick Chiantaretto <rick@facadeofshadows.com>
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Admit it. If you haven't written something that has included at least one vampire, you want to. It is my belief that an author isn't really an author until they have expressed a certain -- unrest? -- with a character that is completely uninhibited. Vampires are cross-genre and appear in almost every type of literature, from fantasy to children's stories, and especially in romance and horror. Some vampires are dark and mysterious, some animalistic and terrible, while others teach children to count. Before we write about these supernatural creatures, we need to understand the many different legends that surround them, and more importantly, what they all have in common.
Let me begin by posing the question, "What is a vampire?" This may sound like a rather simple inquiry because we all know the facts: vampires have big fangs, sleep in coffins and are best dispatched by a stake through the heart. Most of all, we know that there are no such things. Right? Wrong. Granted, there may be no legions of undead stalking the streets and turning into bats, but vampires are much more than that.
I'd actually bet that you have met a vampire. Yes, a real one. There is a great article by Inanna Arthen entitled "Real Vampires" where a vampire is explained as more of a type than a creature. Have you ever met someone that drains all your energy when you are with them? Someone slightly eccentric, who, after being with them, makes you feel overwhelmed and tired? Some believe that vampires do not necessarily need to drink blood, they just need pranic energy, or life force.
Blood is rumored to be the highest source of pranic energy, but vampires can take it with more subtle tricks. When a vampire needs this energy they become a psychic vortex, striving for attention, sexually frustrated, aggressive and impossible to be around. When a vampire has too much energy, they become introverted. When you write your vampire story, be sure to include these mood swings. They can take place hourly, daily or in any amount of time your imagination can come up with. A vampire requires this energy, and needs to find his or her own stimulating way of finding it. If you were to write a vampire that didn't like the taste of blood, could you find another way to get them the energy they need?
The origins of the vampire is a disputed aspect, but there are a few things we know for sure. The first reference to the word didn't occur until 1047, and as such, take care that you don't use the word if your story is set earlier in time. Of course, this doesn't mean vampires didn't exist earlier than this, just that there wasn't a word for it. One of my favorite legends about the birth of the vampire is the lore that Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus the Christ, is to blame. The Bible, in a seemingly contradictory manner, discusses the death of Judas the apostle in two manners. The first, "And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself," while another reads, "...and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." The great secret, per vampirology, is that both are correct.
According to the first scripture, found in Matthew 27:1, a conversation pursued between Judas and those to whom he sold the Lamb of God. He later, according to Acts, purchased a plot of land with the silver coins for which he sold Christ. Because of his guilt, at sunset, he hung himself on a tree. The hanging, however, did not cause instant death, and Judas was still alive as the sun set. As the last ray of light danced on the horizon, the rope that suspended Judas mysteriously broke, causing him to fall and his bowels to gush out. He was dead, because his soul left him. He was not dead, because his life force (or pranic energy), combined with the spirit summoned to him by his act of betraying Christ, was still found in his body. I love this interpretation, because we learn that wooden stakes can harm vampires in the symbol of the tree that suspended the living Judas; as though the tree wasn't able to finish its job in the time past, it comes with more force in the hand of the slayer in the form of a stake.
Vampires can also be defeated by hanging or beheading,
finishing the job of the noose. A silver cross is a reminder of the silver that betrayed the Christ, and the cross on which he suffered for the pains of the world, including those of Judas. This legend is so absolute, incorporating all of these things and intertwining them perfectly with a great historic event.
Of course, you can make up whatever you want. I guess that's what is great about fiction.
Modern-day vampires are not cliché. Because they are so amazing to write, some consider the vampire myth to be overly exploited and boring to read! How sad! When you write your story, put a new twist on the old legends. Make them modern. You can do this by combining many different versions of legend. Will you use the Anne Rice philosophy that sunlight immediately kills a vampire, or do you think more like Christopher Pike and feel it preposterous that such a powerful creature can meet his doom by light? Are you like me, believing that it is all based on the experience and age of the vampire? Or can you think of another way to twist this aspect of legend?
A vampire is powerful, and has learned to use its naturalistic qualities to intrigue and impress. As humans, we are enthralled by something that claims no moral inhibitions. Part of being a vampire is disobeying the rules of society. They murder, deprave, shock and amaze, but that doesn't mean that they don't have a conscience. I've met some authors who connect the soul with the conscience, and write vampires that have no remorse or regret. I believe the morals and standards of a person are both logical and spiritual, and therefore believe that a vampire still feels that killing is inherently wrong.
I find the psychological exploration, between the struggle of what the creature knows it needs and knows it wants, profound. If your vampire is dead, this makes for an even harsher point. His remorse for what he has to do coupled with his desire to do it can literally be the purgatory in which his soul is rumored to roam. Expanding on this will give your character more depth, intrigue the reader and make them feel sorry for the creature.
You then have a perfect stage for a heart-wrenching plot –- romance, horror, fantasy or otherwise. However you choose to do it, a psychological element is a must, whether that be blatant mind control, intrigue, remorse, regret or a psychological horror element. Make it bittersweet (or sweetbitter, as the case may be).
Hopefully you have picked up on the following key points:
1. Vampires are emotionally draining and require the energy of others to survive. They are demanding, docile and unpredictable all at the same time (almost sounds like my ex-girlfriend, eh? I know you were thinking the same thing).
2. A vampire does not have to be dead, and can creatively be written as any character as long as they possess vampiric traits.
3. Focusing on pranic energy, instead of the common ways to obtain that energy, can allow you to create a vampire that is cruel, kind, horrific, loveable or anywhere in between.
4. Pick a legend -- or at least know the legends -- and improve upon, twist or interject your own experience into that legend.
5. Vampires are more psychological creatures than anything else. They represent a side of humanity that would exist if there were no moral constraints. They should act and intrigue accordingly. The surrounding characters should see them as something they long to become, but are afraid to allow.
As a self-proclaimed vampire lover, I am amazed at the levels and intricacies of the vampire world. An abusive spouse could be considered a vampire, as could Lestat, Count Chocula, Dracula, a stray dog, a loving mother, a wayward child, a human being or a creature of the night!
When we look at what truly makes a vampire, once we see past the clichés of fangs and coffins into the depths of the being and analyze the makeup of these fictional (or not so fictional) creatures, we understand vampires are an attractive, immortal, powerful, uninhibited and fearless portrayal of ourselves.
====
BIO:
====
Rick Chiantaretto is a student at
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FEATURED WRITER'S ALMANAC:
Heads Up!
The Writer's Astrological Almanac
Sept 22 -
By Kathy Watts <direwolf@stratlabs.com>
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Happy Autumnal Equinox.
Wednesday Oct 5 Mercury is conjunct Jupiter, and four hours later the Moon conjunct Jupiter. Think big. Big and prolific. The Moon is in Scorpio. Think big, prolific and intense. Friday Oct 7 Venus leaves the depths of Scorpio and enters Sagittarius. Much better! Visualize glossy coffee table books, book signings and publishing parties, conventions with friends. New clothes. But think fast. Saturday Oct 8, Mercury leaves Libra and enters Scorpio. Maybe now you can make some sense and articulate the difficulties of the last few months. To shed more light, the Moon will be in Sagittarius. Don't sit home and brood; spend the evening in cheerful company.
Wednesday Oct 12 the Moon is in Aquarius.
Aquarius, too. Aquarius is opposite Leo, where Saturn is. This
Saturn-Neptune opposition will be in effect
for a long time, too (they're slow moving planets). With Moon conjunct Saturn,
expect difficulties but accuracy and authority. With
Monday Oct 17 is a partial lunar eclipse at 24 Aries. Solar
eclipses indicate what the outside world dumps on you, where lunar eclipses focus on what you dump on yourself. Use this eclipse in Aries to fire up your motivation, enthusiasm, sense of competition (if only with yourself), your need to be the best.
Wednesday Oct 19, the Moon conjuncts Mars and then enters
Gemini. Take that slow-cooker Taurus Mars energy, plug into the
Gemini spout, and stand back. This can be one productive day.
Sunday Oct 23, the Sun enters Scorpio. If you haven't
buckled down and chained yourself to your workspace, consider now.
Tuesday Oct 25, the Moon is in Leo, conjunct Saturn and opposed
Scorpio, a classic 'be careful what you ask for' kind of placement (and it's going to last for a good year). Double heads up.
Wednesday Oct 26, the Moon will still be in Leo but Neptune (who's been retrograde since the middle of May) now goes stationary direct. That Neptunian fog won't dissipate but it may be thinner. Record your dreams and see if they're any clearer.
Friday Oct 28, Venus conjuncts Pluto. What you lay down in
the artistic and social realm will take root and be there to bless or to haunt you. The good news is, it happens at 23 Sagittarius. That party contact you make tonight, that e-mail or phone call you return, it all goes into the writers' networking karma pool. Be good to one another. Sagittarius likes generous.
Sunday Oct 30 Mercury enters Sagittarius. Always a good
thing for writers.
Oct 31, Halloween has the Moon in Scorpio. A deep heavy finish for a deep heavy season.
Persistence Furthers! May your work this season be powerful,
serious, deep and blazing.
Heads up!
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BOOK REVIEWS
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RATING LEGEND:
**** Quills = Excellent
*** Quills = Good
** Quills = Fair
* Quills = Poor
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"Someone Not Really Her Mother: A Novel"
Author: Harriet Scott Chessman
Reviewer: Sonali T. Sikchi (sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com)
Publisher:
Format: Adult, Fiction, Hardcover, 162 Pages, 2004, $21.95
ISBN: 0525947930
Rating: * * * * Quills
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0525947930/scriquil
"Someone Not Really Her Mother" is a hauntingly beautiful new work by Harriet Scott Chessman.
The first time I encountered anyone with Alzheimer's disease was in Dame Judi Densch's portrayal of Iris Murdoch in the movie "Iris." While we observe all the frightening ramifications of the disease, we always see Iris from the outside. In Hannah's character, Chessman flips that perspective on its head and shows us the frightening, muddled world that inhabits the cranium of a person with Alzheimer's disease.
"All of them talk quickly" -- Hannah's world is decelerating, moving at the speed of her comprehension. "She feels herself slipping out of this present [...] where she's sure she held knowledge, like a bird, in the palms of her hands." This self-knowledge of one's dementia must be one of the most agonizing sufferings inflicted by the disease.
The story charts the progress of the disease by traveling backward through the layers of Hannah's memories as they disappear one by one, from the most recent to the oldest: her granddaughters, her daughter, her husband who died soon after World War II, the loss of her Jewish family at Drancy and
Poetry brought Hannah and her husband Russell Pearl together; a landmine separated them forever. And despite being very young, in a new country, not knowing English very well, nor having much money to her name, she makes a life for herself and her daughter Miranda, first in England and then in the U.S.
"Is one safer if one is ignorant?" All her adult life, Hannah spent trying to forget the horrific tragedy of her past, but the shadows come to visit her in her twilight. And as these unbidden memories surface, her daughter Miranda and her granddaughters Fiona and Ida learn more and more about the
woman who has always been in their lives. In one sense she is slipping away, and in another sense she is giving more of herself to them.
Despite the encroaching plaque on her brain, Hannah clearly sees what no one else took the time to see: Ida beleaguered by love, at once "douce et triste." This is knowledge that is not a product of memory, but one she discerns with all her senses; thus, it is not a lost ability.
She perceives the changes wrought in her granddaughter Fiona after her son Seamus's birth as the same ones wrought in herself at Miranda's birth: unbounded love, and a determination to protect, nurture and shower with happiness. And the certainty of having accomplished those goals means that "...sometimes happiness enters in a rush of light, as if through a doorway one had not known was there."
Chessman delicately teases out strand after strand of connections across the generations of this family, as in the instance when Hannah identifies the Yiddish baby song Fiona is singing to Seamus as the same one her own mother sang to her as a child.
The language and prose style are achingly
lovely. Like the pear tart Hannah remembers from her childhood in
English narrative.
I consider Harriet Scott Chessman to be a major talent, a writer who never wastes my time. She has a towering ability to make each of her works matter, and she has never resorted to showy prose. She makes me live her story; her work is everything I have always loved about books.
===
BIO:
===
Sonali T. Sikchi is a Seattle-based freelance writer with feature articles and book reviews published in national and regional magazines and newspapers, such as History Magazine, Alaska Airlines Magazine, Horizon Air Magazine, American Women in Science magazine, HarperCollins First Look, Scribe & Quill, Midwest Book Review, World Sentinel, American Chronicle,
California Chronicle, Illinois Chronicle, Maryland Chronicle, Seattle PlanetGuru, San Diego PlanetGuru, Curled Up With A Good Book and many others.
As a freelance editor and proofreader, Sonali has worked with authors, magazines, book publishers and nonprofit organizations, such as Horizon Air Magazine, Washington Trails magazine, Scribe & Quill, The Mountaineers Books, The CarTours Foundation and others. She also manages projects that involve research and copywriting. Sonali is featured in "The National Directory of Editors and Writers for Hire: 600 Freelance Business, Proofreading, Copy, Technical, and Literary Editors, plus Book Doctors, Ghostwriters, Consultants, and Writing Coaches" by Elizabeth Lyon (M. Evans and Company, March 2005, Page 272, #457).
Sonali has earned certificates in writing
and editing from the
~*~*~*~
"The Bookman's Promise"
Author: John Dunning
Reviewer: Sonali T. Sikchi (sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com)
Publisher: Pocket Books,
Format: Adult, Fiction, Paperback, 470 Pages, 2005, $7.99
ISBN: 0743476298
Rating: * *1/2 Quills
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0743476298/scriquil
"The Bookman's Promise" is part
historical fiction, part book collector arcana, part
cop thriller and part romance. It is part of a series featuring former
histories of books and spouting pithy quotes, such as: "In those early Internet years, I posted an epigram over my desk, 'A book is a mirror. If an ass peers into it, you can't expect an apostle to look out.' That was written two centuries ago by a German wit named Lichtenberg, but I think the same thing applies today to a computer screen."
Janeway has just paid a hefty sum of $29,500 to acquire a real gem: a pristine signed first edition by famed nineteenth-century explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton. He is then invited to a literary dinner at the house of U.S. District Court Judge Lee Huxley, who is also a book collector. There he meets Hal archer, a writer whom he much admires and who is a boyhood pal
of Huxley. He is introduced to attorney
This is followed by days of crank callers
interested in
of an ancient mind, certain events immediately following this meeting convince him to set off on a search for the books.
Following extensive research, Janeway attempts to retrace
keep secret.
This entire story starts out with details unfolding at an almost luxuriously slow rate. The scene between Gallant and Janeway is one of the finest in this book: tender, mysterious and imbued with layers of human emotions handled with care and tact to do any writer of literary fiction proud.
However, a third of the way through the book, as the action tightens up, the book deteriorates into a characterless, hackneyed, Grisham-esque story, with Dunning's characters running around doing impossible things. For example,
60-year-old Koko
is off with Janeway, whom she barely knows, to parts
unknown in
Characters don't need to be sacrificed at the altar of plot in order to add thrills to a story. Take Elizabeth George's books, for example. The characters are what make the story exciting; take them away, and the plot will deflate like a poorly made soufflé.
~*~*~*~
"The Known World"
Author: Edward P. Jones
Reviewer: Judith Woolcock Colombo (judithcolombo@hotmail.com)
Publisher: Amistad Press
Format: Adult, Fiction, Paperback, 432 Pages, 2004, $13.95
ISBN: 0060557559
Rating: * * * * Quills
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0060557559/scriquil
When you look through a collection of old photographs, some of the images are clear and others are faded. As you stare at the people and places shown in these pictures, you can't help making up stories about them and the time in which they lived. The reverse is true when reading the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Known World." In this novel, you encounter a wealth of characters: young and old, black and white, master and slave. As you turn the pages, you find yourself conjuring up faces to go with each character. Long after you put the book back on the shelf, the images of people and places linger like cherished memories.
"The Known World" begins ten years before the end of the Civil War and tells the story of Henry Townsend, a black slave owner, and his family and slaves. The story opens with Henry dying at thirty-one. He leaves behind his young widow Caldonia, 33 slaves and more than 50 acres of land. Although a fair
master, as masters go, Henry is strict with his slaves, and after he dies, Caldonia does not maintain the same level of discipline. Chaos ensues until order is finally restored.
Henry was born a slave on William Robbins' plantation. His father Augustus, a skilled carpenter and furniture maker, bought the freedom of his family starting with himself, then his wife Mildred and then Henry. While waiting to be freed, Henry endeared himself to William Robbins. Even after his
father bought his freedom, Henry remained loyal to Robbins who in turn became his patron, helping him to establish his shoemaking business, to purchase his land and to buy his first slave.
The novel's power lies in its characters: Augustus and Mildred who can't understand why their son would want to enslave others of his race after experiencing slavery himself and Henry who although black and a former slave identifies more with his former master William Robbins than with his own father. This former master is one of the novel's most complex characters. He
is the richest man in
The book's other characters are no less brilliantly developed. The author explores the lives of Henry's peers, the free black upper class, and also of his slaves. These characters include: Caldonia and her twin brother Calvin, William Robbins' children Dora and Louis, Moses who is Henry's slave overseer, Henry's slaves (Alice, Elias and Celeste) and their children and
many others. We become intimate with their hopes and dreams and suffer their disappointments with them.
Jones relates the stories of his characters by moving backward and forward through time and from place to place. Although some of these transitions are flawless, others are so sudden as to cause mental whiplash, leaving the reader disoriented. Despite this, "The Known World" is extremely well written, profound at times and always riveting. It is deserving of its Pulitzer Prize and a great addition to your library.
===
BIO:
===
Judith Woolcock Colombo is the author of "The Fablesinger" and "Night Crimes." Visit her Web site at http://odin.prohosting.com/~night01 or e-mail
judithcolombo@hotmail.com for info and sample chapters.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hattie, Get A Haircut!"
Author: Jenna Glatzer (with Monica Kendall)
Reviewer: Carolyn Howard-Johnson (hojoreviews@aol.com)
Publisher: Moo Press, Inc. (Imprint of
Format: Children's (Ages 4 and up), Fiction, Hardcover, 32 Pages, 2005, $19.95
ISBN: 0972485309
Rating: * * * * Quills
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0972485309/scriquil
Not only is "Hattie, Gets A Haircut!" the perfect book for a child who doesn't like to sit still for the barber as one might guess, but it is also a delightful poem touched with humor and a lovely little lesson in giving.
Hattie hates to have her hair cut and is quite vehement about it. As I recall, my daughter wasn't nearly so vocal, so even parents who think their child tolerates getting a haircut well might be mistaken. At any rate, the day before the dreaded scissors are taken to her hair Hattie protests, "You can make me eat my broccoli / give me pointy shoes to wear, but I will never / no way / not at all / let someone cut my hair!" Aha! How lovely. A child who is allowed to express her emotions.
That night Hattie goes to bed in quite a snit and dreams that her hair is growing…and growing…and growing! When her hair gets so long that grandmothers start knitting it and birds start building nests in it, she knows she is in trouble. She, of course learns a valuable lesson about the nature of fear, and later, a clever hair dresser and her mommy suggest donating her tresses to a charity that makes wigs for children who have no hair.
The rhyme is easy, and it keeps the subject light and adds to the humor. Monica Kendall's pencil and watercolor illustrations capture Hattie's moods perfectly. I would have liked to see this book include the name, Web site or other contact information of a charity that handles the donation of hair. This lapse may be forgiven, however. Other than that, Hattie is a honey!
===
BIO:
===
Carolyn Howard-Johnson's first novel, "This is the Place," has won eight awards. "Harkening," a collection of stories, has won three. She is also the author of "The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Wont," USA Book News' "Best Professional Book 2004," and a new chapbook of poetry, "Tracings," available at http://www.finishinglinepress.com. Learn more at http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.com.
~*~*~*~*~
"Arturo el Rey"
Author: Joan Upton Hall
Reviewer: Rita Porter (beepmybeep2@mchsi.com)
Publisher: Zumaya
Publications,
Format: Adult, Fiction, Paperback, 380 Pages, 2005, $17.99
ISBN: 1554102588
Rating: * * * * Quills
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/1554102588/scriquil
The year is 2010. Lance Corporal Art Reyes is standing militant riot control duty on the steps of one of the few remaining hospitals taking in refugees from the plague. He is simply taking orders from his supervisor until either he or his supervisor drops dead of the plague. The next order to come down from far above is for Reyes to get out and try to find some place safe.
With the gang wars killing some of the survivors of the plague, mankind is brought down to its animal-like behavior, killing what can be killed before it kills you. Reyes meets up with the Knights, a group of people he knew before the plague struck, and he reforms this gang from his childhood. Trying to survive and help the people who are trying to help themselves, the Knights and Reyes travel across the land fighting off marauders. No known home base for him and his kind.
In
The meld of characters works very well for this story, each complementing the other and bringing together wholeness to individual ones, equal parts good and evil for the characters, and not leaving out the fatal flaws of anyone. Their conversations flow with a rhythm that accounts for each separate voice.
Joan Upton Hall has given the reader a book that may appear slow to start but will quickly pull them deep into the lives of the characters as the different parts of the story begin to assemble like a puzzle. The inclusion of the past mixes well with the here and now and is easy to follow as each character steps through Hall's tale.
A very nice mix of drama, adventure and fantasy with romantic touches, "Arturo el Rey" hands the reader a multitude of aspects in one book.
===
BIO:
===
Rita Porter is a Missouri-based poet and writer who is a regular book reviewer for Scribe & Quill.
~*~*~*~*~
"The Return of the Golden Age"
Author: Marilyn Peake
Reviewer: Carolyn Howard-Johnson (hojoreviews@aol.com)
Publisher: Double Dragon Publishing
Format: Young Adult, Fiction, Paperback, 140 Pages, 2005, $14.99
ISBN: 1554042569
Rating: * * * * Quills
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/1554042569/scriquil
Ahhh. The legend continues. In "The Return of the Golden Age," sequel to "The Fisherman's Son" and "The City of the Golden Sun," our hero Wiley is charged with revealing the secrets of their own heritage to the people to whom he was born. They, a charmed race, now live in a poverty stricken village. It will not be easy. He must first hide his six young friends and then introduce them without rousing suspicion. It is a job similar to convincing a modern -- but backward -- population of Atlantis' reality.
In this, Marilyn Peake's third book, young readers are the beneficiaries of the author's ingenious description of undersea life, as they were in her other books. We see eels and turtles and even talking porpoises and whales. Still, she somehow creates them as real, breathing animals; they maintain the personalities we, as humans, sense they have, and though the colors and shapes of the fish swimming by seem dreamlike, and anyone who has snorkeled will know them intimately.
Marilyn's Peake's language is up to the task of creating fantasy from our real world. When Peake says, "...as the moon rose higher in the sky, it lit up the edges of the trees, illuminating them with a gentle white glow. It reminded Wiley of his mother lighting candles at night...," a young reader will accept the simile and also come to love the music of the language, the images it creates and its ability to enchant.
This trilogy's mantra is indeed fitting: "Drink deeply by land or sea. Earth comes only once."
~*~*~*~*~
"Black Cats"
Author: Cara Doll
Reviewer: Rita Porter (beepmybeep2@mchsi.com)
Publisher: Lulu Press
Format: Adult, Fiction, E-Book, 184 Pages, 2005, $22.96
ISBN: 1411628802
Rating: * * * Quills
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/1411628802/scriquil
Markus copes with bad juju. Almost every woman he comes into intimate contact with dies very soon after of natural causes.
Markus sees Violett almost daily and is attracted to the young woman. In trying to control the outcome of not losing her, too, Markus turns the memory of his first meeting with Violett into a fuzzy blur for her. However, becoming aware that Violett knows one of his best friends, Gian, makes it near impossible for him to pretend he is not very aware of her. For Markus,
the deaths of the other women were not that serious, but Violett's would be a different story for him, so he tries to keep their relationship at a level of friendship.
But this sets Violett up for a harder time with his ex-wife Kate, for Kate thinks of it as a game. She will not allow anyone Markus touches in an intimate way to live. As long as Violett is with Markus or inside his home, she is safe from Kate and all her minions. God only plays favorites with a
select few. As the book gets deeper into the tale, little parts are let known about Kate and why she is the way she is.
The small cast of important characters and the hidden aspects of Kate keep the plot moving until the reader is sure they understand all the key points. The personalities of the characters mesh well and keep the story lively. Each independent person is shown in many different ways. The dialogue
between the characters is somewhat weak, but this tends to be unnoticed for the most part due to the drama of young Violett's character. Very few secondary characters have a part in this story. Though Kate does seemingly hold that secondary slot, she is a main focal point holding the key to all the main characters.
Overall, "Black Cats" is a well-written story, giving the reader some idea of the plot at the beginning, without failing to live up to its expectations. Cara Doll has handed her audience a romantic suspense novel with all the drama and heartbreak a reader might crave.
~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**
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eBookNet.org is a new Web site dedicated to the new media, e-publishing, e-books, digital reference, doing business on the Web, digital content, its creation and distribution, DRM technology and other related issues. We are looking for authors!
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Writers of comedic essays, articles, short stories, poetry, shopping lists and other forms are invited to submit.
Mona founded the Foster City (CA) Writers
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Works up to 750 words in length should be typed, double-spaced, accompanied by a money order or check for $5 to cover administrative costs, payable to "The Mona Schreiber Prize." No limit to entries but each must have a separate fee. Put contact information on the first page.
No SASEs, please. Include e-mail address for notification of winners. All entries must be postmarked by December 1 for a December 24 announcement of three winners: 1st: $500. 2nd: $250. 3rd: $100. All three winners receive a copy of "What Are You Laughing At?: How to Write Funny Screenplays, Stories
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Previous winners at www.brashcyber.com/mona.html
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===
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THE LAST WORD --
RECOMMENDED LINKS FOR WRITERS:
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Fiction Factor, http://www.fictionfactor.com
Food Writing, http://www.food-writing.com
Gila Queen, http://free-path.org/gilaqueen/
OrganizedWriter.com, http://www.organizedwriter.com
Paying Writer Jobs PayingWriterJobs@yahoogroups.com
Sell Writing Online, http://www.sellwritingonline.com
SF Romance, http://www.sfronline.com
SpecFicMe Market Newsletter, http://www.specficworld.com/sfme.html
Vision: A Resource for Writers, http://www.lazette.net/Vision/
Worldwide Freelance Writer, http://www.worldwidefreelance.com
WritingAustralia.com eZine, http://www.writingaustralia.com
WriteCraftWeb, http://www.writecraftweb.com
WritersCrossing.com Newsletter, http://www.WritersCrossing.com
Writer Gazette, http://www.writergazette.com
The Writer's Hood, http://www.writershood.com
The Writer's Life, http://www.thewriterslife.net
Writing for Success, http://www.writing4success.com/newsletter.htm
Write Success, http://writesuccess.com
The Write Way, http://www.write101.com
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