Congratulations to the winners in my Goodreads contest. Phoenix Carvelli, Audry Perkins and Karrisa Fabin, your copy of No Other will be on its way shortly!
The Story Behind My Blog's Title
Why is my blog named "My Father's Oldsmobile"? Click on the car and find out.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Don't Make Readers Stare at their Brains.
I'm first and foremost a writer, but I've also been working as an editor for a few years. I currently edit for two independent presses and occasionally take on freelance projects. I also do short story acquisitions for a literary magazine.
I've gained a few insights over the past several years; some related to writing, some having to do with character and people skills. For example: What's the best way to tell an author "We need to scrap the whole last third of the book" and make it sound enjoyable. As such, I thought it might be fun and mildly educational to journal on my blog about what I've learned.
I'm of the mind that very few rules are absolute. When it comes to writing though, one has to be careful. There's a fine line between having your own unique style (voice) and well... not having any style at all. Writers will try lots of tricks as they strive to discover their voice.
So, this brings me to my first observation: analogies. They can be beautiful, evoke just the precise image to capture that elusive feeling so that you've gripped the reader's heart and squeezed (gentle or with malice, depending on the author's intent). The other end of the spectrum is that you overreach or overuse -- or do both. You produce agony but not with intention. The inappropriate or misplaced analogy, or one that's simply a poor comparison can indeed induce eye rolls so extreme readers are forced to shake their heads to refocus their vision -- reread with hope of better understanding, eye roll, head shake and groan. This isn't the reaction you want.
My advice is to never use analogies flippantly. The analogy is a powerful tool. Reserve it for intense emotion; moments of emphasis. This includes everything from grief to humor, or even as an element of foreshadowing. But don't overdo it! The idea is to draw the reader into the experience. Readers will feel the apprehension as your character enters that big, old house, because your reader remembers the house is like a siren, tantalizing and dangerous -- ever beckoning, patiently waiting out his resolve until he succumbs and is at her complete mercy and will.
However, if the tree in the yard is like a monster with outstretched arms poised to attack, the upstairs windows are glowing eyes watching his every move, the front door is a mouth, wide and gaping, ready to devour, and the sidewalk leading up to the door is like a frog's tongue, stuck to its prey and pulling it toward its doom, then it's a lot less likely that readers will remember the foreboding feeling of the house being compared to a siren. Mostly their eyes will just be rolled so far back in their heads they'll be staring at their own brain.
Don't make readers stare at their brains.
And now to rid your mind of the ugly image of a brain here's a picture of my dog.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Lessons From the Open Road by K. Dawn Byrd
Lessons
from the Open Road
A couple of years ago, the idea of writing a
devotional about the lessons I learned while riding a motorcycle came to me. I
had no idea what I was getting into and how much writing devotionals would
minister to me as an author. I jotted down notes for weeks, hoping to come up
with enough lessons to take the reader through a month. Lessons from the Open Road ended with 33 lessons, each followed
by Scripture and prayer.
Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes learning new
things is hard. Just when I thought I'd mastered the parking lot where I was
learning to ride my little Yamaha Virago starter bike, I pulled out, forgot to
hit the brake, did an Evel Knievel, and jumped a short concrete wall, landing
in some trees. My poor little bike limped home with a hole in the crankcase the
size of a quarter. J-B Weld to the rescue!
I'm stubborn, too stubborn to quit. After I
recovered from the sore neck that resulted from my stunt, I climbed back on the
old iron horse. Eventually, I graduated from the parking lot and hit the
streets. When I'd learned to ride well enough to satisfy hubby, he bought
himself a new Harley and I inherited his anniversary edition Harley Davidson
Sportster. And, when I graduated with my masters degree, you'd never guess what
I wanted. Yep, a new bike. I became the proud owner of a Screamin Eagle V-Rod
(picture attached.)
All good things must eventually come to an end. I
enjoyed my days on the road, but found another passion. Writing. I work a
full-time job and since there's only so much time in the day, I have to choose
what's most important to me. The bike had to go. Occasionally, I miss it, but
for the most part, I'd rather be writing. I'm hoping the devotions in Lessons from the Open Road will minister
to your heart as much as writing them did to mine.
Lessons
from the Open Road is currently available in ebook format
and will be coming soon in print. I had planned to list it at no cost, but
Amazon wouldn't allow me to do so. I've listed it at the lowest price Amazon
allows, 99 cents, and all proceeds will be donated to my church's building fun
for the new church that's currently under construction.
For more information about Lessons from the Open
Road, you can check it out on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Open-Road-ebook/dp/B007OYYG64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332895452&sr=8-1
Bio:
K. Dawn Byrd is an author of inspirational romance,
romantic suspense, and non-fiction. She is an avid blogger and gives away
several books per week on her blog at www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com, most
of which are signed by the authors. She's also the moderator of the popular
facebook Christian Fiction Gathering group at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=128209963444.
When not reading or writing, K. Dawn Byrd enjoys
spending time with her husband of 16 years while walking their dogs beside a gorgeous
lake near her home and plotting the next story waiting to be told.
Links:
Book giveaway blog: www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com
Young adult blog: www.zoe-mack.blogspot.com
Website: www.kdawnbyrd.com
I'm also on Twitter (kdawnbyrd)
and facebook (K Dawn Byrd.) I am the moderator of the Christian Fiction
Gathering facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=128209963444)
If you join this group, you'll get reminders about the weekly book giveaways.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Book Review: When Love Collides by Michelle Sutton
Raquel and Scott have a past together. Once close friends,
Raquel broke Scott’s heart when she chose to marry someone else. Over the years
their lives drifted in vastly different directions bringing both pain and
disappointment. As faith healed their hearts, circumstance merged their paths
once again. Will the trial that brought them back together also be the one
thing their love can’t conquer?
When Love Collides is a precious story about choices:
choosing to let go of the past and move forward; and choosing to love even in
the certainty of hardship. Through good times and bad, sickness and health,
Raquel and Scott must love against the odds and find hope in their faith and
with each other.
The story's tone is a realistic one of sweet sadness, as
sometimes we must accept circumstances beyond our control. The message,
however, is uplifting and the ending will leave you with a smile.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Book Review: Freeheads by Kerry Nietz
*****+
When I got this book to read, I didn’t realize it was
actually the last book in a trilogy. The author did a great job of filling in
enough detail that I never felt lost or had a hard time picking up with the
story. I do, however, recommend reading the books in order since that’s how the
author intended the story to be told.
But WOW! What can I say? I read a lot. I find a lot of books
I enjoy, and I’m not stingy with my five star reviews, but books like this make
me consider that maybe I need to be, because books such as this really belong
in a different category all together. From the beginning of the story I was
enthralled with Kerry Nietz vision of the future. Sometimes I was a little
terrified. So many of the issues -- faith vs indoctrination, freedom vs
control, truth vs deceit -- are utterly relevant for today, and even serve as a
warning when we consider where our future may lead. While the setting was a
little different, it was easy to envision how technology, such as iPhones and
the global network, could evolve into the ability to directly stream
information via a chip implanted within the brain.
This story is both captivating and thought provoking, with
characters who gripped me from beginning to end. The action is fast-paced and
the plot is wrought with tension; yet there are tender moments that allow the
reader to experience new emotions, new lines of reasoning and discovery right
along with Sandfly. Amongst the turmoil and chaos of Sandfly’s world, we find
beauty. I could gush for another couple of pages but I think you get the point.
I absolutely loved this book and am loving the series as I read it now. I’ve
been enthusiastically recommending it and will continue to do so. I even bought
the series for my mom! Freeheads , and the entire Dark Trench trilogy is a
definite must read. The story will stay with you in unexpected ways long after
you’ve put the book down.
Monday, April 23, 2012
I'm doing a giveaway on Goodreads for three copies of NO OTHER. Here's the button to enter.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Meet Author Jillian Chantal
I'm excited to introduce Jillian Chantal today and her book, The Gambler. I had the privilege of meeting Jillian last week at RT. It's a real treat to be able to host her so soon after that meeting.
Thanks to
Shawna for inviting me to be here today on her blog. I love to hang out with my Desert Breeze
Publishing house friends. We are a pretty tight group of writers and have great
fun talking about books and ideas. I
recently met Shawna in person and she's adorable and a wonderful person to be
around. I'm visiting today to chat a
little bit about my newest release, The
Gambler. This is the first book in a
series of three which will be released over the next year, with this book being
based in 1937.
The Gambler is the story of Dirk McSwain, a man who has been
responsible for the care of his mother and younger brother since the death of
his father. He has a talent for playing
cards and winning so he's made his living with that skill since he had to leave
his legal apprenticeship once he had dependents as his apprenticeship didn't
pay enough to support a family.
Dirk
meets three Irish sisters on the ocean liner, the RMS Queen Mary. Two are
twins, Lilith and Eve and the third is their older sister, Eden. Since her sisters were born, Eden has lived
in their shadow as they are beauties. During the course of the ocean voyage,
Dirk is accused of cheating at cards.
The next day, the accuser dies.
Eden and
Dirk team up to figure out what happened to the man and if his death was from
natural causes or something more sinister.
Along the way, Dirk helps Eden to see that she is a valuable person and
has a lot to offer to the world.
As I
wrote this story, I realized about two thirds of the way through it that it was
actually a variation on the Cinderella theme. I didn't start out with that in
my mind, but that's where this story went as I created it. I hope those who
read it find the parallels like I did.
Thanks
again to Shawna for having me here. It was fun!
Come by
my blog sometime to say hello. My
website is http://www.jillianchantal.com
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