We have a winner in the book anniversary giveaway. I entered all the entrants’ names once, twice, three, four times per the rules and Random.org chose Christa Polkinhorn as the winner of the signed copy of The Brevity of Roses. Congratulations, Christa! Please send me your mailing address, so I can get your prize in the mail.
I’m sorry you couldn’t all win, but thank you for entering—and tweeting, plusing, and facebooking. I appreciate the free advertising. 
I owe an apology to my friend Darlene Foster. A couple of weeks ago, she tagged me for the Lucky 7 Meme. Then, with the twin punctuation posts followed by my absenteeism, that fact slipped into the often murky swamp I call my memory. So … I’m sorry, Darlene, and thank you for choosing me.
The rules of this fun meme require that you turn to page 77 of your work in progress. I have two WIPs, one I’m not leaking a word of in public yet, and the other is a collection of short stories. Those stories are in no particular order at the moment, so I don’t know which page will end up in 77th spot. Instead, I’ve chosen my 7 sentences from page 7 of one of those stories.
In this scene from “Better Left Alone”, a middle-aged and newly divorced woman, is on her way to have lunch with a man she hasn’t seen since high school.
Teresa left home early. Two blocks from the restaurant, she pulled over to check her hair and makeup one last time and to slow her breathing. What impression would she make if she arrived disheveled and hyperventilating? She restarted the car, but then sat for a moment wondering at her sudden insecurity. Yes, as a giggly girl, she’d had a crush on Mark, but life had tempered her in the years since high school. She’d raised three children, ran a small business, and—yes, she had—managed to keep a marriage solid for most of twenty-seven years. She was Woman, and could roar with the best of them.
Now then, the rules of the meme say I have to pass it on to 7 other writers, so here’s my list:
If these fabulous women choose to accept this meme, they must:
If anyone else wants to play along, grab the logo and rules and post your excerpt. And don’t forget to let me know, so I can drop by to read your 7 sentences.
First up today, we have a winner in the Invisibility Cloak Contest. Congratulations to Cristina Trapani-Scott! You have won a signed copy of The Brevity of Roses. I will contact you by email to get your mailing address. I hope you enjoy the read.
Thank you all for your support. Those of you who didn’t win today, stay tuned because I’ll be giving away another signed copy in a few weeks. You might be interested in Helen Ginger’s review of The Brevity of Roses at her blog today. And don’t skip her hilarious FTC disclaimer at the end.
Next, I’d like to point you to more free books. My friend, Christa Polkinhorn says: On Thursday and Friday (Jan. 26 and 27) my novels (ebook versions) about love, art, and family are available for free on Amazon. The freebie lasts ONLY TWO DAYS, so grab them while you can. Curl up on your favorite sofa and travel to Switzerland, Peru, Italy, New York, and Guadalajara, Mexico!
An Uncommon Family
Love of a Stonemason
Remember, if you don’t have a Kindle, you can get the free Kindle app for your computer, smart phone, or tablet.
As I said on Tuesday, I received two blog awards, so now I’ll thank Robin Hawke for the second one. Go check out her blog.
By the rules of the 7×7 Link Award first I’m to post links to seven of my previous blog posts, under the following categories of MOST: Beautiful; Helpful; Popular; Controversial; Surprisingly Successful; Underrated; and Pride Worthy.
Well, I’ve written over 500 posts, so to do it well, that task would have required more time than I could devote. My most popular post (judging by the number of page hits and comments) was only so because WordPress decided to Freshly Press that one. And when I sorted my posts by number of comments, I had to eliminate some that were only heavily commented on because I was doing a book giveaway or some such.
And another thing, who’s doing the judging? Is a post considered underrated only because it has few comments or because it didn’t get many hits? Hmmm … I’m doing that over-thinking thing again, aren’t I?
Anyway, I picked out seven posts that might represent the MOSTs. The “most” of what, you decide.
My perfect day … and then some
Ten writing rules I obey … and you should too!
Oops … I embarrassed my mother!
So, what’s the deal with Facebook Pages?
For the second part of this award, I’m supposed to pass it on to seven other bloggers. This part took some thought too, but I decided to choose some I haven’t linked to recently or ever. As usual, it’s up to my awardees to post their 7 Mosts and pass the award on to 7 others or not. Their call. But I’m proud to list my 7. Read their blogs (and books if they’re published), follow them on Twitter or Facebook or wherever. Say hello and tell them Linda sent you.
Go!
Writing proved elusive for me most of this summer, but I used that time to read. I’m an Indie author, so I believe I should support other Indie authors. I read books by five of them: Judy Croome, Davin Malasarn, Cathryn Grant, Natasha Alexander, and Christa Polkinhorn.
You may have heard a lot about how much junk there is at the online bookstores since self-publishing has become relatively easy and inexpensive. Well, I didn’t read any junk. They were all different genres, and ranged from fun to serious, but they were all worthwhile reads. I’ll share my reviews.
Dancing in the Shadows of Love is the kind of book that makes me wish I knew how to write a better review. I’m simply overwhelmed. Judy Croome has written a book that’s gorgeous, brilliant, heart-breaking, uplifting, empowering … and more!
Although the story takes place in a purposely undefined place and time, the characters are painfully real. The story follows three women, each with a damaged soul, as they yearn to be loved, but first they need to define love and, in order to do that, they must learn to forgive. The mysterious Enoch is their guide for this spiritual journey.
Judy Croome’s writing is impeccable and her insight into the soul of man astounding. I believe this book came straight from her heart—and that heart is a large and beautiful one.
If I could, I’d give this book six stars. I’m definitely looking forward to her next one.(Amazon; [ebook and print] Barnes & Noble; Smashwords)
The Wild Grass and Other Stories — One of the strengths of Davin Malasarn’s writing is his ability to make his characters, no matter the age, sex, nationality, or status, real and familiar to the reader. I was continually surprised to feel I’d lived a story, though he wrote of an experience foreign to me.
It’s no surprise that several in this collection of stories, written in beautiful, clean prose, have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and won or placed in competitions. The only negative for me is that I reached the last story too soon. (Amazon [ebook and print]; Barnes & Noble; Smashwords)
In Fatal Cut, Cathryn Grant has given her protagonist Madison Keith a delightful voice. Madison is smart, witty, and more than a little curious—perfect for a church receptionist. She’s also tattooed, pierced, and unusually perceptive. In this first of a series, Grant introduces us to Madison’s particular brand of detection and mystery solving. Fatal Cut is a page-turning tale that will satisfy, but leave you hungry for the next one. (Amazon; Barnes & Noble; Smashwords)
An Uncommon Family — In Christa Polkinhorn’s debut novel Love of a Stonemason, she introduced us to the adult Karla Bocelli and in this prequel she takes us back to Karla’s childhood. We learn more of what life was like for the child artist Karla as she dealt with the death of her mother and a long-distance father, but the heart of the book is a love story, complicated by secrets.
This time around it’s Karla’s aunt Anna, hardened toward love by a devastating secret in her past, who must decide whether to let artist and teacher Jonas into her heart. When Jonas, who has lost his beloved wife to cancer, discloses a secret to Anna, he only confirms her distrust of men. But the determined Karla won’t give up. She uses all her youthful ingenuity in trying to form those she loves into An Uncommon Family.
In this well-told story, the author takes us on tour from Switzerland to New York City to Mexico and back again, allowing us to experience these locales through the eyes and hearts of her characters. An Uncommon Family is another pleasurable read from the talented Christa Polkinhorn. (Amazon [ebook and print]; Barnes & Noble; Smashwords)
Just Desserts: Greed. Lust. Death. Tiramisu. — Does Natasha Alexander know how to create interesting characters, or what? This hilarious and outrageous romp features bombs, boobs, books, and a beach! What more could you ask for? Scrumptious food? Oh, yes it has that too—but watch out, it could be deadly. (Amazon; Barnes & Noble; Smashwords)
Nothing like a sex scene to get you in the mood! That was the original title of this post, but since it’s partly about subtlety, I nixed that one. Plus, it occurred to me how many disappointed searchers Google would send here.
As usual, I have more than one iron in the fire. I’m working on my next novel, and yes, I did write a sex scene today, but if you’re familiar with my writing, you know I love the art of the tease. In her review of The Brevity of Roses, Christa Polkinhorn said: “And, without any explicit love-making scenes, she creates a highly charged and sensuous atmosphere.” Yes, I do, and I’m doing it again in the next book.
Another thing I’m working on is determining what I do well in my writing. According to at least two of my beta readers, one of my strengths is subtlety. I expect my readers to think—not the drain your brain, reach for the how-to on literary analysis kind of thinking. I like to serve them delicate layers of meaning and just enough detail to incite their imaginations. I want to invite them into the story.
I’ve also just started reading a book that more than one person recommended to me before I finally took the hint. It’s Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing and here’s a passage that jumped out at me:
“If you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer. It means you are so busy keeping one eye on the commercial market, or one ear peeled for the avant-garde coterie, that you are not being yourself. You don’t even know yourself. For the first thing a writer should be is—excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it’d be better for his health.”
So yes, I’m writing again with zest and loving it. And writing subtle sensual scenes adds a little gusto … as well as alliteration apparently.
Are you only half a writer?
My email inbox is an abyss. If I don’t respond immediately, I’m likely to either think that I did, or forget I ever received the email. Two months ago Kate Cardon Parish awarded this blog the Versatile Blogger Award. Her email arrived during the comment blitz after WordPress Freshly Pressed one of my posts and was promptly buried in all those email notices.
Recently, Hannah Fergesen awarded this blog the Irresistibly Sweet award. Both rules for these awards state that I must share 7 random facts about myself and pass the award on to 15 other blogs. I’ll combine the rules, meaning I’ll reveal only 7 facts, not 14, and share them with only 15 bloggers, not 30. So, read the enthralling tidbits about me and then go visit Kate and Hannah’s excellent blogs. Then, visit the blogs listed below. Or be rebellious and do none of the above.
Now aren’t you glad you stopped by my blog today? I mean, really, how could you have lived the rest of your life not knowing those facts about me?
Okay, I’m supposed to pass these awards on to 15 blogs, but I know some of you already have these awards or don’t do “fun” posts. If so, ignore the rules and just consider this a shout out to your blog. And I’ll add one extra for luck. New and old friends, in no particular order:
