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Writer’s Life

15 10, 2018

The Tale of a Book Title

By |2018-10-14T20:32:47-05:00October 15th, 2018|A Writer's Life, Writer's Life, Writing Craft|2 Comments

Book titles and covers are important because the old adage — Readers do judge a book by its cover — is true. So, how can an author know beforehand what’s going to resonate?

Wiser people than me have come up with three criteria.

  1. A great title needs to create an image that synthesizes the story and suggest the story’s meaning or theme.
  2. The cover must also grab the attention of a casual book searcher.
  3. A title must describe the contents while being so piercing and articulate that readers will take notice.

Recently, I rebranded three previously published individual titles into a series. I considered coming up with new titles for each book, but each book already had an ISBN and the content was not changing. It wasn’t necessary.

Instead, I used a branding tagline or blurb (below) and a graphic — the ribbon — to link the books.

PROMISES series 

Two men and one woman met at Eighth Army Headquarters, South Korea in the turbulent Vietnam War years and found their lives linked together forever. The PROMISES series tells their stories through the decades that follow.

In making my decision, I examined my titles based on the expert’s criteria.

  • Book 1 is Love in the Morning Calm, Prequel to the Pendant’s Promise.

With love in the title, a reader gets the story will be a love story. The picture of Headquarters, Eighth Army identifies the setting as a military. A knowledgeable reader may also recognize that another name for South Korea is Land of the Morning Calm.

Conclusion: I may have I tried too hard.

  • Book 2 The Pendant’s Promise

The cover design with the Pendant, the Vietnam Wall, and the word promise signal another love story. I love this cover because my very talented daughter designed it. With the rebranding, my current graphic designer, Jim Peto at Petoweb.com, enhanced the graphics.

Conclusion: The title and the cover artwork make a reader notice.

 

  • Book 3 Until He Returns

The old Army green color clues a reader of the setting and time frame. The title suggests whoever needs to return is in the military. (Those who have read the first two books will know the character has been MIA since book 1.) Close examination reveals the character’s name on the dog tags.

Conclusion: Unsure whether this title hits the mark the mark or not. While the dog tags are clearly visible on the paperback cover, the tags are not readable on the eBook thumbprint.

 

  • Book 4 Promises to Keep

This is the final book of the series, which will be out next month. The title ties back to the second book’s title and the series title. The couple clues the reader it’s another love story. The sunset background suggests the end of the day and the last of series.

Conclusion: It synthesizes the story and suggests the story’s theme.

 

Overall, I give myself a generally good grade for my titles. What say you?

Should you want to read any of the books, simply click on the buy links on the sidebar. The buy link for book 4 will be added next month.

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1 10, 2018

Do mushroom rings appear in your yard?

By |2018-09-25T16:11:51-05:00October 1st, 2018|Make Me Think Monday, Writer's Life|1 Comment

As seasons transition from spring to summer or fall to winter, there’s lots and lots of rain and these little mushroom rings pop up in yards.

Fairy rings, as these sprouting mushrooms are called, frequently appear after wet weather. The bizarre rings are also found in parks and woods.

The mushrooms don’t last long, but the fungi living under the ground can grow for many years. You can spot a fairy ring when there are no mushrooms by a visible circle. Sometimes the circle is lush and green other times it’s a ring of dead grass. It depends on the type of underground fungi.

Fairy rings need nutrients in the soil to grow mushrooms and, without obstructions to inhibit outward growth, can grow as large as a quarter-mile like the one in Belfort, France that is thought to be over 700 years old.

The arcs appear in lawns because we fertilize to nourish the mushrooms. Organic stuff especially offers plenty of food for a fairy ring. Over sixty mushroom species grow from fairy rings. Some are even eatable, but be cautious some of the mushrooms can also be poisonous.

For me the most interesting part of fairy rings is their mysterious reputation and mystical legends.

Also called elf circle, elf ring, or pixie ring, these arcs of mushrooms are said to be portals to unearthly worlds where fairies and witches dance. According to English legends, the mushrooms serve as stools for fairies after nights of revelry.

Many folk beliefs paint fairy rings as dangerous places, best to be avoided as this illustration title Plucked from the Fairy Circle depicts.

By T. H. Thomas [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Entering a ring on May Eve, Walpurgis Night (the Swedish Halloween night), or Halloween night was considered especially dangerous. That’s when sacred fairies and their clans are said to appear within the rings in angry and scary moods

Source: commons.wikimedia.org File:Fairy_Rings_and_Toadstools_by_R_Doyle.jpg

It makes me smile to think of friendly fairies dancing around in our yard’s fairy rings or resting on a toadstool.

But, you won’t find me out looking around on a Halloween night.

If you prefer not to have fairy rings growing in your yard, you can destroy the mushrooms using your lawn mower. That offers a temporary fix but doesn’t kill the underground fungi. Here’s a guide that will help you permanently remove fairy rings: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/kill-fairy-ring-mushrooms-45931.html

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24 09, 2018

It’s the Back to School Season

By |2018-09-24T11:31:32-05:00September 24th, 2018|Make Me Think Monday, Writer's Life|3 Comments

Texas is a seasonless place. Life here is lived in a constant tropical sun. It puts you in a constant state of seasonal disorientation.

I’m not complaining merely stating fact. I live here by choice.

The lack of the brilliant bursts of color on the trees to signal fall has arrived means using other clues for the shift from summer to fall.

Here in Texas the back-to-school sensation of September is what marks fall’s beginning.

The temperatures aren’t going to change until maybe December. It’s the excitement of back-to-school sales and the sound of the yellow school buses in the morning that mean the season is changing.

As a kid, I loved going back to school. Seeing friends, getting new school clothes and shoes. Fresh new notebooks with all those empty pages waiting to be filled and sparkly new pencils waiting to be sharpened. It was an exciting time for me.

Now, flipping the calendar to September still brings that anticipation of new adventures. It’s a turning point, not only signaling the arrival of fall but also new beginnings.

A New Year means making resolutions. September is a time to assess progress. Where are we? How much further do we want to go?

Summer with its freedom from routine and laziness is over. Fall is the time to harness the momentum of back-to-school excitement and make a positive push forward.

Do you get that “back-to-school” sensation in September?

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10 09, 2018

The Dog Days of Summer

By |2018-09-11T07:05:12-05:00September 10th, 2018|Make Me Think Monday, Writer's Life|0 Comments

Here in Texas we’re in the “dog days of summer.” It’s hot, it’s humid, and there doesn’t seem to be any relief.

We’re floating in swimming pools, searching for spaces to park our car beneath shade trees when we have to go shopping. Mostly we’re hibernating inside our air-conditioned homes to escape the heat and stay cool. Our dogs lie at our feet panting even though they’re not running around.

But summer heat doesn’t really have anything to do with dogs.

The term dog days of summer comes from astronomy and is a reference to the Dog Star Sirius, which rises and sets with the Sun in the summertime.

Ancient Egyptians believed that the brightness of Dog Star Sirius added heat to the sun and produced a long stretch of sultry weather during the forty days beginning July 3 and ending August 11.

The accuracy of those ancient “dog day” dates doesn’t hold true today according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Jim Andrews. Dog day dates vary based on in the rotation of the Earth and whether you live in the northern or southern hemisphere.

Anyone who’s lived in Texas knows that dog days in Texas can (and do) begin well before July 3 and extend long after August 11. Afternoon temperatures can soar to the nineties with heat indexes pushing well into the triple digits and heat wave warnings are sounded well into September.

Fortunately, dog days don’t last forever. And, summer can have its charm.

We get to enjoy lazy days sitting under the porch fan sipping lemonade and reading. Flip flops and sandals. Ice cream cones and frozen slushies. Watermelon and fresh veggies. It’s a laid back time.

Soon, these dog days will become a memory until they return next year. Fall will bring cooler weather and colorful leaves, pumpkins, and holiday bazaars.

I’m ready!

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23 07, 2018

Bottle Tree – A Southern Tradition

By |2022-09-16T10:25:43-05:00July 23rd, 2018|Writer's Life|0 Comments

“A bottle tree?” Visitors ask when they spot the rebar creation in my flowerbed.

I explain that people have been creating these “trees” in Southern states for hundreds of years.

Appalachian folklore says empty glass bottles placed outside near the home can capture roving (usually evil) spirits at night.

Sunlight the next day then destroys the spirit inside or the bottles can be corked then thrown into the river to wash away the evil spirits.

Some hold that African slaves carried the bottle tree tradition to Europe and North America in the 17th century when the slave trade began. Eudora Welty used this idea in her short story about a slave named Livvie.

She knew that there could be a spell put in trees, and she was familiar from the time she was born with the way bottle trees kept evil spirits from coming into the house — by luring them inside the colored bottles, where they cannot get out again.

Felder Rushing, a southern gardener, believes the tradition goes back much further in history to ancient Egypt. You can read his account here.

Originally, bottles were hung on the bare limbs of Crape Myrtles, a tradition thought to be connected to the myrtle tree’s significance to slaves in the Bible. The crepe myrtle tree appears as a reoccurring image representing freedom and escape from slavery in the Old Testament.

An interesting side note here is that Victorians adapted the bottle tree idea into hollow witch’s balls they placed inside their homes.

Bottle trees also appear in Hoodoo folk magic. Practitioners believe spirits remain among the living for generations and, when captured in the bottles, provide protective powers. Hoodoo bottle trees use only blue bottles to attract ancestral spirits.

The most prized bottle trees today are those with milk-of-magnesia bottles. Since those bottles aren’t produced anymore and the ones you find in flea markets and antique shops are pricey, most folks settle for blue wine bottles.

Remember the Southern blue porch ceilings. It’s something about the color blue and its ability to discourage the “haints” that attracts us southerners.

Whether you believe all the hocus pocus folklore or not, you will find bottle trees in gardens and yards throughout the United States. If an actual tree isn’t available, you can find numerous styles of iron trees at garden shows and nursery showrooms.

I love my bottle tree! It blooms all year and brightens my garden. And just maybe, it helps keep the haints away.

Want to learn more about bottle trees? Check out these sites:

http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2015/06/bottle-tree.html

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16 07, 2018

Answering Writerly Questions

By |2018-07-10T20:48:20-05:00July 16th, 2018|writer, Writer's Life, writing|0 Comments

Once people know you are a writer, they ask questions. Usually questions you’ve heard a thousand times before, and you’d think writers would have a quick answer ready.

Instead, most of us appear at a loss for words. Not because we don’t want to talk about our work. It’s just writing doesn’t lend itself to easy or simple answers.

Let me explain what I mean with responses to some frequently asked writerly questions.

  • “How’s the novel coming?”

There’s really no good answer for this one because writing a novel is a long, tedious process. It’s like asking a pregnant woman if she’s had the baby yet.

Lauren B. Davis calls novels wild, unwieldy beasts that resist being tamed. “You have to keep at it day after day, even when it seems like absolutely nothing good is happening,” she says.

On a good day, the answer to this question would be the novel’s coming along. On a not so good day, you don’t want to ask.

  • Are your stories autobiographical?

The short answer is, of course, we writers extract from our lives for the elements of our work. Sometimes we fictionalize and disguise, sometimes we write vivid memoirs and call them fiction.

Fact is everything and anything is inspiration and fodder for a writer’s creative mind, including dinner party conversations and the clothes you’re wearing.

And once that answer soaks in you’ll never look at a writer the same way again.

  • “Are you published?”

This is such a double-edged question.

Any published author has an easy answer. You should expect to be handed a business card with all pertinent information.

But be prepared. This question may also raise an infomercial about everything a writer’s written since learning the alphabet.

On the other hand, for writers who are submitting to editors and agents with little or no results, it can be like salt in an open wound. It’s hard not to be sensitive when you’re working so hard to grab the golden ring.

  • When’s the next book coming out?

Writers love this question. Well, I do, but it’s a complicated response because you have to understand the process.

First, a writer has to complete a draft (writer speed greatly influences draft completion). After which, revisions and edits begin (and there can be many, many of these).  Revisions and edits lead to more rewriting. A cover must be designed, back cover copy and blurbs prepared, and interior formatting done before the book finally goes on sale.The whole process can take years.

The answer depends on where a writer is in this publication process.

I’m not saying you should never ask questions. Quite the contrary, please do. We writers love to discuss our passion. Just understand when our answers aren’t quick and simple.

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9 07, 2018

Do you talk to things that can’t talk back?

By |2018-07-08T17:40:49-05:00July 9th, 2018|A Writer's Life, Make Me Think Monday, Writer's Life|1 Comment

I talk to my dogs, my plants, my car, and lots of things that can’t talk back.

It’s anthropomorphizing—a big word that means attaching human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities.

Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago and anthropomorphism expert says:

“Historically, anthropomorphizing has been treated as a sign of childishness or stupidity, but it’s actually a natural byproduct of the tendency that makes humans uniquely smart on this planet. No other species has this tendency.”

Why and how humans have this ability can’t be fully explained because our brains are so very complicated. Finding human characteristics in inanimate objects signals the brain’s creativity at work.

Anthropomorphizing is also part of our nature. We are social animals. We want to befriend everyone we meet, give them a name, or have them give us their name, and talk to them.

If you saw the movie Castaway, Tom Hanks’ beloved best friend was Wilson, a volleyball with a face. If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s a great film.

Around my house, my vacuum cleaner is Ugh-glow, my canning strainer Shirley, and the metal art dragon in my yard is Custard. My houseplants have names too and sometimes they even perk up with a pep talk.

My Old English sheepdog Finnegan MacCool and I communicate well. So does his older brother, our Maltese Buster.

I ask them if they’re hungry as I pour the food into their bowls or if they want to go play outside. I tell them to keep the giraffes away from the house when I leave and say “I’ll be back soon” as I walk out the door.

Fellow pet owners will relate. Others think I’ve gone cuckoo.

That’s okay. I take comfort in Epley’s words. Anthropomorphizing is superior intellect and creativity showing forth.

Do you have any inanimate friends you have anthropomorphized?

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25 06, 2018

In My Garden – Resurrection Fern

By |2018-06-23T09:54:30-05:00June 25th, 2018|A Writer's Life, Writer's Life|0 Comments

Almost a year ago, we moved back to Texas. Our top priority was to find housing. We were very fortunate and quickly found a place that suited our needs.Not only was the interior exactly what we wanted, the giant oak tree in the front yard captured our hearts. It was love at first sight.

After we moved in, we noticed dried brown leaves curled on the branches of the big, beautiful tree and feared the giant oak estimated to be 200 years old was dying.

“Oh no,” said the neighbors. “That’s resurrection fern. Once we have some rain, all the leaves will turn green.”

Raising my eyebrows, I tilted my head and smiled. I’d never heard of such. Sure enough, the first rain those ugly brown knobs of dead leaves unfurled to life.

The name resurrection fern comes from the plant’s ability to live for 100 years without water. Common names include little gray polypoid, scaly polyploidy, and miracle fern.

The resurrection fern is an epiphyte — an organism that lives on another living organism without negative impact on the host. Air and rain nourish an epiphyte.

Even though it can lose up to 75 percent of the water in its cells during droughts, the fern can exist with only air. Rain revives the plant as it absorbs the water into its cells and it becomes a healthy green fern again.

The fascinating fern carpets the branches of large cypress and oak trees like ours. It can also be found growing on the surfaces of rocks and dead logs as well. Frequently Spanish moss, another epiphytic plant, is found nearby.

Here’s a YouTube video of a fern resurrecting. You can see the brown leaves stretch outward and turn green. I’ve never actually seen the process happening, but I can attest that it does.

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9 04, 2018

Texas, My Texas

By |2018-04-07T13:10:47-05:00April 9th, 2018|Make Me Think Monday, Writer's Life|4 Comments

I recently changed my FB banner. I know, I know. FB is a touchy subject these days, but in order to connect with readers I keep an active FB presence. But I digress…

I chose a Texas bluebonnet picture. It’s the one you see on the left. When I think of Texas, I think of bluebonnets. I missed them when I lived away.

Famous Texas Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) Wildflowers.

Texas is bluebonnets. People also associate the state with Lone Star beer, cowboys and rodeos, astronauts and space centers, cattle and the Texas Medical Center.

Texas is a very diverse place. Same thing’s true of a Texan and I’m not talking about the football team players.

We all have a picture in our heads when we think of a native Texan. Usually it’s someone with a cowboy hat and boots, but there’s more to a Texan and even Texans who never wear cowboy boots.

Hurricane Harvey gave images of real Texans and not many of them wore Stetsons. The folks in those pictures looked like anyone else helping their families and neighbors when hard times strike.

Texas has its own language, Texas-speak. A whole slew of vocabulary that can have folks scratching their heads. I just used a Texas-ism—slew, meaning a whole bunch.

We’re always y’all-ing and gonna and fixin’ when we talk. Non-Texans do sometimes need an interpreter.

When I’m lazy in my writing, Texas talk naturally flow into my first drafts even if my characters are not Texans. My critique partners and editors often catch phrases like:

come hell or high water – proceeding, regardless of the problems, obstacles, etc.

conniptions – get upset and raise a ruckus

hissy fit – kin to a conniption; a state of extreme agitation and not a pretty thing to see

hot as tin toilet seat – in Texas we know that’s HOT

screaming bloody murder or banshee scream – not a pleasant sound at all

bone tired – yep, been there

slow as molasses – visualize molasses syrup oozing out of the jar

keep your pants on – meaning not what you think, but to be patient!

If you’ve ever been to Texas, you know it’s a special place. You love it or hate it. Seems there’s no in between.

But there’s something in a natural born Texan’s blood that tends to bring them back to Texas no matter how far or how long they wander. My daddy always said I’d come home and I did.

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