Blog-Mountain Musings - P.J. MacLayne

#IWSG April Check-In

By P.J. MacLayne March 31, 2020 March 31, 2020 IWSG

April 1 question – The IWSG’s focus is on our writers. Each month, from all over the globe, we are a united group sharing our insecurities, our troubles, and our pain. So, in this time when our world is in crisis with the covid-19 pandemic, our optional question this month is: how are things in your world?
The awesome co-hosts for the April 1 posting of the IWSG are Diane Burton, JH Moncrieff, Anna @ Emaginette, Karen @ Reprobate Typewriter, Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard!

Covid-19? What’s that?

Okay, I can’t run with a joke. This situation is a mixed bag for me. I know too many people who are in the high risk groups not to worry. The ones I worry about the most (Hi, Mom!) are taking this seriously and doing all the right things. Decreases my stress level somewhat.

The trick is, I work for a hospital. (No, I don’t deal with patients. I’m not one of the heroes.) And I am able to work from home. That doesn’t mean I’m isolated from all the concerns and preparations, but we aren’t in a major city and had more time to work on social isolation. No deaths in the state yet. Keep your fingers crossed.

I have more time to write as a result. And I’m taking advantage of it. I’m editing one book and pretending not to write another. I don’t like working on more than one project at a time, but this book demanded to be written. There’s a bit of guilt that I have the luxury to write when people are losing their jobs and are worrying about having a place to live.

But I am hanging in there. And I hope that everyone who reads this is doing okay. The daffodils are coming up, and the promise of spring is in the air. We’ll make it through this.

Image by MrGajowy3 from Pixabay

Killing Off A Character #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne March 29, 2020 March 29, 2020 Open Book

March 30, 2020

How do you feel about killing off one of your major characters?

If you’ve read my Free Wolves stories, you know I’ve killed off quite a few characters. Minor ones, mostly, but I’ve thrown in a major one here or there. Villains are easy to kill off in those books because it’s true to a wolf-shifter heritage. Staying ‘civilized’ is more of a challenge. And I’ve seriously injured my main characters, but they’ve pulled through.

In my Harmony Duprie Mysteries, I’ve set about writing stories that don’t necessarily include anyone dying. Yes, I’ve had a murder or two, but they were off-camera. The stories are relatively light-hearted, and don’t contain a lot of gore. We’ll get back to them later.

In the first book I wrote (the one that went through about four revisions before I decided the plot was flawed and it would never be published) I actually killed my main character in one version. It made sense for the story, but I knew that readers would hate me for it. So, I switched up the story and gave it a happy ending.

But I cried hard as I wrote my heroine’s death. And cried harder when I wrote her funeral. And cried more when the hero (her lover) scattered her ashes to mingle with those of her late husband. In the revised version, they got to stay together as they aged, a no-tears, happily ever after ending. It was a good ending, but I thought the original was better. (Can’t say I liked it, but it was better.)

Now, let’s go back to Harmony. I’m currently editing the fifth book in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries, (The Samurai’s Inro) and I’m worried about her stories getting ‘stale.’ I love the character but she needed a shake-up. And the only thing I could come up with was killing of a major character- Eli, her lover. And I wasn’t happy about it.

Harmony and I have been known to have arguments about the plot of her stories, but oddly, she wasn’t talking to me about this idea. I didn’t know if she agreed with it or if she was mad at me for even suggesting it!

Well, as Harmony is wont to do, she let me know how this was going to go down in a dream. (Hey, I won’t reveal her decision now…that’s another book.) I’ve had several dreams about this book, leading me to places in the story I didn’t know it needed to go. I’m somewhere near 15000 words in a book that I haven’t officially started writing yet!

Let’s just say I’m okay with killing off a main character if it’s true to the character and to the story. It can be a fine line between that and not alienating the readers. If it’s well-written, true to the plot, and not done for the shock value, a good writer can make it work.

That’s how I see it. And if you follow the links below, you can find out what the other authors think.

Off topic: I hope everyone out there is doing okay. Things will get better. It’ll take some time, so hang in there.

March 30, 2020

How do you feel about killing off one of your major characters?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

Favorite Reads #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne March 22, 2020 March 22, 2020 Open Book

March 23, 2020

Ask your readers to share their favorite books.

This post is for you! Share your favorite books and tell us a bit about them.

Here’s one to get the ball rolling from Chelle de Notte on Twitter:

Tell the Wolves I’m Home is my favorite book. And a greater story…it paints a very clear picture of being set in a certain place and time, yet the emotions are timeless.

And one from me:

First off, it’s ridiculous to ask for one favorite book. So, I’ll bend the rules and go with the Harper Hall Trilogy from Anne McCaffrey. The story of Menolly, her struggles and her ultimate triumph, found a place in my heart the first time I read the books.

Now, it’s your turn. Share the books that have touched you, entertained, you, or taught you in the comments below. And if someone else has already mentioned your book, I don’t care, add it to the list again! I’ve already broken the rules, so you can too!

March 23, 2020

Ask your readers to share their favorite books.

Interview With My Cover Designer #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne March 15, 2020 March 15, 2020 Uncategorized

March 16, 2020

Interview your cover designer (even if it’s you!) (Talk about other covers they have worked on, what you love about their work, etc.)

I got lucky in having a personal acquaintance with a graphic artist (okay, she’s my sister!) to design my covers. I’m always astounded by her skill in being able to interpret my books’ characters and bring them to life. Although she’s on the road this week, she took some time to answer a few questions for me. I’m tickled to finally get her on my blog. Please welcome K.M. Guth.

*****

Describe your process for designing a book cover.

I work closely with my authors to make sure they get exactly what they want for their cover. We trade images and ideas back and forth, starting with the front cover. After that’s been drafted out, I move on to the spine and back cover. Because I often do covers for series of books, I try to use the same fonts and color families for each cover in the series so it all has a cohesive look while still maintaining individuality for each book.

I love what you’ve done for each of my books and the overall design of each series. It amazes me how well you can take different elements and put them together in a total design.

*****

Do you have a favorite among the covers you’ve designed?

This one is easy! “Wolves Knight”, the second book in the “Free Wolves” series. Everything went together perfectly and the image turned out so badass we used it to make a large banner for the table at conventions and signings!

I love that cover too! Tasha is such an interesting personality, and the cover reflects it. The intensity in her eyes gets me every time.

*****

Do you ever look back at one of your covers and wished you’d done something different?

Always! I don’t think any creator of any type will look back at something they’ve created and not want to change *something*. Whether it’s how I spaced pieces of imagery or the fonts or colors I chose … I’m always wondering how a cover would have looked if I’d done something differently. Even small changes can make a big difference!

I’ve watched you play with fonts until you get the “look” you want. No Times New Roman for you!

*****

Have you ever designed a cover for someone besides me? How was it different?

I have! I’ve done a couple of covers for another independent author whose books have a completely different audience and topic. The books were non-fiction and didn’t feature any people. Designing them was a totally different experience because I had to figure out where to focus the elements of the cover since there wasn’t a face to concentrate on. I had to be more creative with the text to really draw the audience in.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy week to ‘talk’ to me. May your travels go well. We’ll talk again in a few weeks when you’re ready to tackle the cover for “The Samurai’s Inro!”

On an off-topic and personal note…I hope each and everyone of you is safe and well. Please pay attention to the professionals in your area and wash your hands often!

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March 16, 2020

Interview your cover designer (even if it’s you!)(talk about other covers they have worked on, what you love about their work, etc.)

New Postcards!

By P.J. MacLayne March 14, 2020 March 14, 2020 Uncategorized

Check out this great new postcard my graphic artist made for me. Thanks, K.M. Guth!

If you come to an event I’m at, you can get your own copy. Check out the calendar on the front page. (So far, none of them have been cancelled.)

I apologize for the poor photography. I tried about five different ways to get a good shot, and nothing I worked. I kept getting shadows or glare no matter how hard I tried.

Audiobooks #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne March 8, 2020 March 8, 2020 Uncategorized

March 9, 2020

Are audiobooks considered reading?

I don’t listen to audiobooks. I have, but only a few, and never while driving. I know myself well enough that it would be a distraction. Heck, the other day, I parked on a different floor than normal in the parking garage and didn’t realize it until I entered the building because I was so deep inside Harmony’s head. (For those of you who don’t know, Harmony Duprie is the main character in my mystery series.)

Now, I have listened to a few audio books in my distant past. I was devouring the James Bond books, and there were some the library didn’t have on the shelves. I found an audio download of the books and grabbed the ones I needed to fill in the gaps. (Back in the day when audiobooks were on cassette or CD.)

And quickly realized how big of a difference the narrator makes. And that listening just didn’t cut it for me. I didn’t get the same satisfaction from listening to someone tell the story as I did from holding a book in my hands and reading it.

When I read, I like to take my time and savor some parts of the story and rush through others. (I’m looking at you, sex scenes. The rushing part. Most of you are boring. I can’t imagine listening to sex scenes.) I can’t do that when someone else is reading the book and I’m listening. I have to move along at their pace.

But just because it’s not my preferred method of reading, doesn’t mean it isn’t a valuable experience to someone else. And if it works for them, I’m good with it. Different people learn in different ways, I see reading is the same way. I wouldn’t say that someone who reads braille isn’t reading, only that they use a different medium. Same with audiobooks, in my opinion.

So, is listening to an audiobook reading? I’ll come down on the side of yes. Information is being exchanged, just in a different format. The reader is being entertained or informed. In a way, it hearkens back to the days of the village bar, when most people couldn’t read and only the very wealthy could afford to own a book.

That’s my take on it, anyway. Now I’m going to hop on over to the other authors and see what they have to say. You can go too, by following the links below. And don’t forget to leave a comment and join in the discussion!

March 9, 2020

Are audiobooks considered reading?

Traditions in My Stories #IWSG

By P.J. MacLayne March 3, 2020 March 3, 2020 IWSG

March 4 question – Other than the obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family traditions/customs in your stories?

When I first saw this question, my instantaneous response was “Yes, of course!” Then I got thinking about it and couldn’t come up with a solid example.

I could mention going for walks in the fall and shuffling through fallen leaves, but that seems like a stretch. Or building snowmen and going sledding in the winter. The truth is, I want my characters to develop their own traditions.

Like the way Harmony, the main character in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries, always carries dog treats so she can give one to her landlords’ dog, Piper. Or the way she always pats some part of her car, Dolores – the roof, the hood- the trunk- before she gets in. Or how she counts the stairs going to her apartment on the third floor. But that may not be as much of a tradition as a symptom of her un-diagnosed ADD.

I tried harder in my urban fantasy/paranormal series, The Free Wolves, to create traditions as part of my world building. That was a necessity because part of the conflict in the series in tradition vs the modern world. To create a character who supports traditions while at the same time breaking those traditions frequently made for some great tension.

Here’s a quick snippet from Wolves’ Knight that highlights the conflict:

“In here, between us, I’d appreciate it if you call me Gavin. I’d get rid of the title if I could, but that’s not going to happen.”

“Pack tradition is hard to change.” Tasha used her free hand in a futile effort to return her hair to a resemblance of neatness.

“I didn’t realize how hard it would be.” Gavin frowned. “I thought that as our generation came into power, we’d be able to change all those things we talked about when we were younger. It never ceases to amaze me how many people our age are happier sticking with tradition because it’s easier.”

You can find out more about my books by checking out the other pages on this website.

So, the answer is no. I haven’t included family traditions. I leave it up to my characters to create their own.

The awesome co-hosts for the March 4 posting of the IWSG are Jacqui Murray, Lisa Buie-Collard, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and Shannon Lawrence!

Organizing My Stories #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne March 1, 2020 March 1, 2020 Open Book

March 2, 2020

Share how you keep your characters, storylines, etc., organized. Do you use an outline? Notecards? Post-its all over your walls?

As many of you know, I’m what is called a pantser. I don’t plot out my entire story ahead of time. I usually know the beginning and the end, but the middle is a mystery until I get there.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have to keep track of my timeline. My current work-in-progress, The Samurai’s Inro, runs over four weeks. There were times, as I wrote, that I lost track of what day of the week it was. Harmony is a creature of habit and follows a schedule, so I had to know if it was her day for the self-defense class or to clean her refrigerator. I ended up having to go back and “walk” thru the days, to make sure I didn’t send her to work at the library on a Sunday. I ended up with three different pieces of scrap paper scattered on my desk to track her calendar. Then, because I lost track of one of the papers, I had to go back and start all over.

By the way, I love to throw Harmony off her schedule.It’s loads of fun figuring out how she would react.

And you’re right, it’s not an efficient system, if you want to call it a system at all. But it works. Well, most of the time.

What’s more difficult is tracking a series over the course of several books. I’ve started a “book bible” for the Harmony series, but haven’t kept up with it as good as I should have. What color is Freddie’s hair? How about Sarah’s? I frequently have to go back to earlier books to get the details, and when I do, I add them the the file. (In fact, let’s play a little game. The first person to tell me what Janine’s last name is (she’s the chief librarian, remember?) will win a free ebook copy of the Samurai’s Inro when it is released. That’s a couple of months off. Leave your answer in the comments)

The Free Wolves series was a whole different creature when it came to tracking the stories. Because each book is a stand-alone story, with only the slightest of overlaps in the characters, I didn’t have to work as hard to keep things straight. They also weren’t quite so linear- I didn’t cover every single day- so I had more latitude in how each story flowed.

I’m currently working on the next-next Harmony book, and I’m 3 or 4 chapters in and still on day 1. (I’ve written everything by hand so far, and have’t the foggiest idea what the word count is.) I need to start keeping track now so I don’t end up in the same situation I was in with Inro. Will I? Somehow, I doubt it!

And that’s how I do it- track my stories, that is. I’m pretty sure we have some plotters on this hop, and I’m going to go check them out and see if they can inspire me to join their ranks.

Happy reading!

Share how you keep your characters, storylines, etc., organized. Do you use an outline? Notecards? Post-its all over your walls?

Unethical Practices #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne February 23, 2020 February 23, 2020 Open Book

February 24, 2020

What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?

The sad truth that this is even a topic for discussion tells you much of what you need to know about my decision to go indie at the start of my fiction writing career. It was not the only reason, but it played a part.

The biggest problem I see is the poor payment most authors receive. I’ve never signed a publishing contract, but I’ve heard about the minimal amounts signed authors get after paying off their advances. A quick search revealed that most authors get in the area of $1.25 per book that sells for over $20. And that’s after they’ve paid off their advance.

But the authors who work with the big companies know what they signed up for. So it’s not exactly unethical. What is shady is companies will use “interesting” accounting practices to count the number of books an author sells. And authors have no way to verify the figures provided by their publishers are correct.

All of that is bad, but not what I consider the worst. What I consider the

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

most unethical is how hard it is to authors with traditional publishers to get the rights back to their books. Publishers will only promote a new book for a short period of time (if at all) , but contracts give them rights to the book for several years. Even then, if the author is self-promoting their books and sells copies through the publisher, it extends the life of the contract. (And the number I was quoting by an author in this situation was low. Really low.) Meaning an author who works hard and makes their own success may never get the rights back to their stories.

I’m sure there are (unfortunately) other examples and that’s why I’m heading over to see what the other authors (with more experience in the topic) on this loop have to say. I’m sure it will reinforce my decision to be an indie author!

February 24, 2020

What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?

Emotional Tightrope #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne February 16, 2020 February 16, 2020 Open Book

February 17, 2020

Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?

When I first started writing the Harmony Duprie Mysteries, I had some early critiques that pointed out her seeming lack of emotions. The thing is, despite her eccentricities, Harmony is a logic-driven personality. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel things deeply, she just doesn’t show that side of her persona easily.

It also makes me wonder how often this question is asked of women vs. men, and of female characters vs. male characters. There are still lots of people in today’s world that believe that women are emotional creatures driven by hormones and therefore somehow “less” then men. Obviously, I’m not one of those people.

There are times when writing Harmony is like walking a tightrope. Too much to one side or the other, and I lose what makes her who she is. Just because she keeps her emotions tightly controlled doesn’t make her heartless. It’s just means that she’s weighing her options carefully.

I hold that the same is true for writers. Not every book is driven by emotions. There’s good vs. evil and right vs. wrong. Sure, human emotions play into these plots, but they aren’t necessarily the focus.

On the other hand, emotions are what drive readers to like or dislike the

Photo by Marcelo Moreira from Pexels

characters, to feel a part of their story. If all emotions are stripped from a book (is that even possible?) readers won’t find anything to relate to. And how difficult would it be to write an engaging story with no action and only emotions? There’s the tightrope again.

Back to the original question. I’m going deep here. One of the characteristics of a sociopath is shallow emotions. At the same time, they can be charming and manipulative. And isn’t that what a writer is doing when they write a book? Attempting to manipulate the reader?

Oh, and we’ve entirely skipped the whole idea of non-fiction books that are factual, not emotional. (Text books, anyone? Technical writing?)

So, yes, I believe that someone could not feel emotions strongly and still be a writer. For fiction books, I’m not saying they’d be a good writer, but yes, they could be a writer.

I’d love to hear your take on the topic. Just scroll down a ways. Keep scrolling, you’ll get there. While you do that, I’m off to see what the other authors on this hop have to say.

February 17, 2020

Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?

Rules:

1. Link your blog to this hop.

2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.

3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.

4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.

5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

P.J. MacLayne

#IWSG April Check-In

Killing Off A Character #OpenBook Blog Hop

Favorite Reads #OpenBook Blog Hop

Interview With My Cover Designer #OpenBook Blog Hop

New Postcards!

Audiobooks #OpenBook Blog Hop

Traditions in My Stories #IWSG

Organizing My Stories #OpenBook Blog Hop

Unethical Practices #OpenBook Blog Hop

Emotional Tightrope #OpenBook Blog Hop

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