Month: December 2024

It’s Obligatory – Setting Goals #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Dec 30, 2024

Setting goals for 2025: what are your writerly New Year’s resolutions?

It’s that time of year.

Everyone will tell you so. If you haven’t done it already, you should set your goals for the New Year.

Bah. Humbug.

I hated the whole goal-setting thing even when I was in a paid position. Too often, the team goals were artificial and based on factors outside of our control. Yet, they were used to help determine our pay raises. So, why would I want to set goals for myself?

Sure, the idea makes sense. Goals can create a sense of accomplishment when they are reached. But they also carry the taint of disappointment and worse, self-deprecation if circumstances interfere with them. We all know life happens. And writing can be hard. We don’t need to put obstacles in our own path.

But I have things I plan to do.

I’ve committed to writing a short story for an anthology supporting K9s for Warriors. (service dogs for disabled vets). The second book of the Edwards Investigations is taunting me. (After writing the first chapter I was stumped, but I think I know where I went wrong. I started in the wrong place.) If all goes well, there’s another story in the Free Wolves series that is hanging out at the back of my brain.

I won’t finish all three. (That’s what is called a stretch goal and is doomed to failure.)

If I want to pad my goals, I could include this weekly blog hop post, the critiquing I do for other writers, and my social media involvement. I would include the numbers of festivals and book signings I participate in. (No goals on how many books I will sell. Experience shows it’s impossible to predict.)

So those are my hopes for 2025. Not goals.

How about the other authors on this hop? Do they set goals? Find out by following the links below. (New links will show up mostly on Monday, but could show up all week long.)

And, as always, until next time, please stay safe.

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Dec 30, 2024

Setting goals for 2025: what are your writerly New Year’s resolutions?

It’s the Merriest Time of Year #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Book Hooks, Open Book

Dec 23 2024

What My Characters Would Give (and Get) for the holidays?

It’s that time of year.

We’re doing the hop a little differently this week because of the upcoming holiday. Not all the authors may participate, and the ones that do may cover different topics. But I hope you’ll take the time to visit the other authors. 

I’ve avoided writing holidays into my books. It wasn’t done on purpose, it just happened. I’ve considered trying to craft a Halloween story in my Free Wolves world, but it hasn’t come to life. Yet.

But what about the series I’m currently working on, The Edwards Investigations? What would Annie McGregor and Mike Edwards get for each other? (For those who haven’t read the book, the story is set in the mid-1980s.)

Annie would be easy to buy for. She’s lived a minimal lifestyle since her divorce, aware that her vindictive ex might force her to move again. Since Mike, her boss/mentor, has been there several times, he’s well aware of her lack of “extras.” Things like pillows for her couch or a set of matching glasses. Since they are friends as well as co-workers, he wouldn’t get her anything too personal. 

So what would Mike get Annie for Christmas?

Knowing her fondness for Western books, Mike might buy Annie a collection of Louis L’Amour stories. She has an almost-empty bookcase, so they would be a welcome addition. Plus, it wouldn’t seem critical of the lack of personal touches in her apartment.

It might be tougher for Annie to figure out what to get for Mike. He lives a very private life, and Annie has never been to his place. But he has a Camero that is his pride and joy, and although it’s a very generic gift, getting him a gift certificate to a local car shop would be the perfect gift.

I wish buying gifts was always that easy to figure out!

Here’s wishing that you have a happy holiday or holidays. As always, please stay safe until the next time.

Image by Bianca Van Dijk from Pixabay

Dec 23 2024

What My Characters Would Give (and Get) for the holidays?

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Mind Your Own Business #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Dec 16 2024

If your book had a soundtrack, what would be on it?

The old-term was country-western.

Now they call it country, but the music has changed.

Before I started editing the first chapter of The Rimer Files, I wanted to get in the mood. Since the story was set in the mid 1980s. I knew Annie McGregor, my protagonist, was not a rock-n-roll chick. With the opening scene in The Outlaw, a country-western bar, it made sense to continue that background music throughout the book.

George Strait, Hank Williams, Jr., and Willie Nelson all hold places on the playlist, along with Merle Haggard and Alabama. Not musicians I listen to on a regular basis, but perfect to inspire my writing. I found a playlist on YouTube of a 1985 top ten country music and set it to play in the background as I wrote. Of course, it included the supergroup “The Highwaymen.” With members Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. (I think I still have one of the LPs in my collection. Willie is the only one still with us.)

There were women singers who made the charts but not my list. Reba McIntyre, The Judds, Dolly Parton. As I mention in my blurb, it was a man’s world—even in the world of country music.

As far as the title of this blog? It was a song originally written in 1949 and sung by Hank Williams. In 1986, Hank Jr. took it back to No. 1. How much more country can you get than that? (Reba sang it with him, but that’s just a side note in the articles I read. It’s a man’s world.)

Check out the soundtracks of other authors by following the links below.  And, as always, until next time, please stay safe.

Dec 16 2024

If your book had a soundtrack, what would be on it?

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My Best Line #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Dec 9, 2024

What’s the best line you’ve written recently? Or ever?

I’ve been toying with three different stories recently.

But I don’t feel as if I have a good enough handle on the characters to write great lines – yet. All three have potential.

So, let me share some a few from my previous writing. The first two are equal in my mind.

Here’s a selection from The Fall of Jake Hennessey. In fact, I turned it into a meme.

She paused on the last landing. He imagined the cogs in her brain whirling.
“We never decided on plans for tomorrow,” he said casually.
“No, we didn’t.” She descended the last few stairs as if each were a decision to be made.

The next one comes from The Ranger’s Dog Tags. FYI, Harmony Duprie (Whose point of view this is from) is known for being a bad shot and missing her targets.

I didn’t hesitate as I squeezed off that second round. I shoved it on its way with every ounce of pain that Eli had suffered, every bit of rage I carried. I prayed for it to hit. And hit hard.

But my very best line (in my humble opinion) comes from a poem I wrote eons ago after a trip to one of my most favorite places in the world, the Beartooth Mountains. I was going to quote a large part of the poem, but it’s old enough I don’t have it in digital format, and the storage boxes are buried underneath the Christmas totes. (which have taken over my house!). But the last two lines are the ones I want to share.

I taught myself to breathe again
Twelve thousand feet high

I’ve got other good lines.

I bet every writer out there has written words that are better than they get credit for. But these are the ones that stick out in my memory. What lines are the other authors going to share? Find out by following the links below.

As always, please stay safe until the next time!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Dec 9, 2024

What’s the best line you’ve written recently? Or ever?

 

And the Ending Is . . . #IWSG

  By IWSG

December 4 question – Do you write cliffhangers at the end of your stories? Are they a turn-off to you as a writer and/or a reader?

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the December 4 posting of the IWSG are Ronel, Deniz, Pat Garcia, Olga Godim, and Cathrina Constantine!

Don’t you want to know what happens next?

Yeah, me too. And I don’t want to wait until the new book releases in a year or so. That’s a long time to wait.

So no, I don’t like cliffhangers at the end of a book. (In the middle, it’s a given.) There was an author that I followed for a long time, and then he wrote a book that ended in a cliffhanger. Reluctantly, I waited for the next book. (Which was a disappointment. I’m afraid he’s lost his mojo. I haven’t bought any more.) I won’t share his name.

And no, I don’t write cliffhangers. I don’t want to cheat my readers. Each of my books is a complete story. Even in my mysteries, which are chronological, the progression of the stories is built on the growth of the characters, rather than a continuing plot line. I work hard to make each book a stand-alone. (Although I may reference earlier books.)

There may be wiggle room for authors who make it clear that a story is part of a continuing series before the first book is ever bought. But I’ve been known to not buy an otherwise enticing book if I’m aware that it ends in a cliffhanger.

I won’t leave you hanging. That’s all I’ve got for this post.  But, as always, please stay safe until the next time.

The Time Is Now #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Dec 2, 2024

What’s the best book you’ve read this year (besides your own)?

Confession: I haven’t read as many books this year as I should have.

Confession 2: This book was in my TBR (to be read) stack for close to four years.

Confession 3: The author was a teacher at my high school, way back in the day.

The Time Is Now by Joan Chittister

I don’t normally read this genre of book, which is probably why it took me so long to pick it up. It’s a series of written meditations focusing on how people can confront challenges to their personal ethics in today’s societies. (This book was released in 2019, during Trump’s first term as president.)

But her suggestions are just as relevant now as they were then. She draws on the wisdom of past great minds, including Plato, Maimonides, Daniel Berrigan, and many others. Each chapter ends with a quote to ponder. For example, “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” T. S. Elliot

I should mention that while this book is primarily aimed at people with religious beliefs that include social justice, it holds lessons for many of us. (Joan Chittister is a Roman Catholic nun who has been described as a social justice warrior.) I can’t say I’ve absorbed every word, but each time I open the book, I find something new to ponder.

So, that’s the best book I’ve read this year. To find out what the other authors on this loop are reading, follow the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


Dec 2, 2024

What’s the best book you’ve read this year (besides your own)?