What makes good internal conflict?

The FOO will do it every time...

My guest today is the vivacious, hard working-hot writing SARAH KADES.

Thanks Mahrie for having me as a guest on your blog! I first met Mahrie at Alberta Romance Writers’ Association. We’re not all romance writers as the name would tease, but a group of folks dedicated to the craft of writing in many different genres. Our group just happens to have a romance history.

Which is a nice segue into FOO (Family of Origin). For better or worse, FOO can continue to impact us well after we have flown the proverbial coop. 

And it makes excellent tension in stories.

Characters reacting to their FOO can be as dramatic, comical and emotional as we are when rolling with our own family of origin.

Kiss Me in the Rain is book one of the Tanner Family Series, which showcases the adult children of messy-divorced parents. I’ll be honest, while writing I laughed, I cried and thoroughly enjoyed the amazing journey the characters took me on.

Happy Reading, Happy Writing!

Sarah

 

KISS ME IN THE RAIN 

Glaciologist Savannah MacIntyre was happy with her life far away from her family. But sometimes life has a way of bringing you back home when you least expect it and most need it. When the opportunity to reconnect with her estranged dad comes up, she takes it. Then finds herself distracted from her turmoil by ex-CSIS agent turned archaeologist Gabe Tanner, who would rather get another bullet to the head than reconcile with his own father. Family betrayal has taught both Savannah and Gabe not to trust, or love, which makes navigating their mutual attraction on a remote archaeological survey beyond frustrating. But somewhere between roaring fathers and dense spruce forests, they let go of the past and learn that love doesn’t care who the extended family is.

 

 

MORE ABOUT SARAH

Sarah Kades loves writing romantic fiction where nature, humor and love meet. She has a lingering fascination with helicopters from her days as an archaeologist, but it is great writing inspiration, so she’s not too worried. Her first publication was the novella Claiming Love, followed by the short story Duke Out at the Diner. Kiss Me in the Rain is her first full-length novel. It is Book One of The Tanner Family Series, a five book series set in western Canada. When she is not writing, she is playing, usually outside, with her family or planning their next adventure.

More BY Sarah... a novella and a short story

  Claiming Love

 

Duke Out at the Diner

Who Likes Editing?

Why I prefer editing a novel to writing one....

 

This blog prompted by Ellis Shuman Writes: December 24th, 2013 - a blog of the same name.

1) Create the story 

As I struggle through my first draft, I hang on to the knowledge that soon I will have enough material to edit. Creating that pile of bits and bites and words and sentences is for me the harder part of the writing process.

I've tried planning extensively, pantstering and a combination. After writing seven books and managing to shape and publish two of them, I still search for that elusive "best way to write." 

Let's face it - there is no ONE best way - there is only the way that works for you. And that may change from one project to the next. 

2) Edit the story

BUT EDITING--that's where I find my feet on solid ground. I enjoy the hunt and delete, the search and improve, the prune and clarify process that takes my cumbersome draft and molds it to a readable product. I consider that a plus because the big name authors I've heard speak and whose blogs I've read all say that rewriting and editing is what generates success. 

TWITTER is a great place to meet like minded writers. Ellis Shuman, author of books and short stories and insightful blogger, explains this process far more eloquently than I do. Follow his tweets and visit his site.

  ELLIS SHUMAN WRITES  

 

90 Million reasons to write older protagonists.

Logo provided by Joanne Guidoccio

OVER 90 MILLION BABY BOOMERS in North America. As part of that demographic, I enjoy reading about older female protagonists and I'm excited to introduce authors who write Boomer Lit and are willing to share their stories.

 TODAY I'M WELCOMING  JOANNE GUIDOCCIO,  author of novels featuring female protagonists in the second act of their lives. She's also a savvy blogger with an informative and inspiring web site, On the Road to Reinvention.

HERE'S JOANNE

Joanne Guidoccio - Between Land and Sea

In my late forties, I realized that I no longer enjoyed reading novels with 20something and 30something protagonists. It felt like poking into the heads and hearts of young women who could easily be former students. So, I started searching for novels featuring an older crowd and discovered several late-blooming authors who had launched successful second acts. I longed to pen my own novel, but family and career obligations prevented me from launching a writing practice.

When I retired six years ago, I was ready to write. At first, I focused on the non-fiction market and wrote book reviews and articles about careers, education, money management, personal growth and development, and wellness. While I was pleased with the response from newspapers, magazines, and online publications, I felt a growing restlessness.

It was time to pen the novel.

Two different storylines emerged, each incorporating a fifty-three-year-old woman at a crossroads. I thought I had randomly selected that particular age but later realized it was my retirement age. The similarities do not end there. Both protagonists reinvent themselves as career counsellors hoping to focus on the boomer population. Toward the end of my teaching career, I enrolled in the Career Development Practitioner Program at Conestoga College. Originally, I intended to open a career counselling office, but personal and health challenges forced me to change course. Instead, I am living vicariously through my protagonists.

When it came time to query agents and publishers, I faced another challenge. While writing Between Land and Sea, I had crossed several genres by introducing an overweight, middle-aged mermaid, who was abandoned on the fog-drenched shores of southwest England and forced to reinvent herself using a magic tablet.

I experimented with several descriptors that were not well received.

According to one agent, it was not dark enough to be labelled urban fantasy. When I followed her advice and used contemporary women’s fiction with romantic elements, there were very few responses. I was relieved when Soul Mate editor Debby Gibson offered me a contract and then classified Between Land and Sea as paranormal romance. But the confusion persisted after the book’s release on Amazon. One friend confided: “I assumed you were writing about witches or vampires. I’m so glad to hear you’re writing about mermaids.”

Still wondering about the “right” descriptor, I started reading articles about literary genres and sub-genres and discovered boomer lit and hen lit. Both sub-genres focus on older female characters as protagonists and address such themes as dating after divorce or widowhood, giving birth after age forty, dealing with multiple generations living in the same house, and launching second (third or fourth) careers.

This is definitely a growing market and one that deserves more attention from agents, publishing houses, and booksellers. In the meantime, I will continue featuring older protagonists and, when discouraged or frustrated, reread the excellent reviews I have received from readers of all ages.

Between Land and Sea - paranormal mermaid story

 After giving up her tail for an international banker, Isabella of the Mediterranean kingdom is aged beyond recognition. The horrified banker abandons her on the fog-drenched shores of southwest England, leaving her to face a difficult human journey as a plain and practically destitute fifty-three-year-old woman.

 With the help of a magic tablet and online mermaid support, Isabella evolves into the persona of Barbara Davies. Along the way, she encounters a cast of unforgettable characters, among them former mermaids, supportive and not-so-supportive women, deserving and undeserving men, and several New Agers.

Find Joanne's book here:  Between Land and Sea

Follow Joanne on Facebook or Twitter

3 ingredients to look for in a writing group

ACCEPTANCE, INSTRUCTION, SUPPORT

The 3 the key ingredients to a successful writing group

27 years and counting - that's how long I have belonged to my writing home, The Alberta Romance Writers' Association. ARWA is one of the longest running, self-supporting craft oriented writers' groups in Alberta. We started as romance writers dedicated to supporting and educating romance writers. We're still here. We must be doing something right.

Time changes all things and our group is no exception. Our members now write not only romance but also  mystery, suspense, crime, paranormal, SIFI, fantasy and more both for the adult and YA markets. Numerous members are published in short stories and poetry and many wrote or write non-fiction on the job and in magazines, newspapers and books.

Over 400 people have belonged to the group at one time or other with about 50 active members each year. 30% of our membership are distance members - either living outside Calgary or traveling much of the winter and the average attendance at meetings is fifteen.

WHY DOES THIS GROUP SUCCEED?

• First and foremost it offers a safe haven for all writers- those who want to publish and those who write for themselves. Within a policy of maintaining non-judgmental attitudes members are encouraged and shown how to use feedback methods that support and inform.
• Educating writers on how to write better remains at the core of workshops, events and discussions. The accumulative expertise within the membership is astronomical.
• Active, engaged members share their knowledge, in writing skills, career expertise and technical assistance for social media, MS formatting, marketing and more.
• Hard working volunteers run the workshops and fund raising events (with a breakeven-or-better philosophy) and provide liaisons with the larger writing community.
• Low annual fees. I know of no where else to get the level of professional training ARWA offers for $50 a year.  (Subject to change although it has not changed in over a decade.)

 

ARWA MEMBERS WRITE

• 14 novels published this year (2013-14)
• 5 more scheduled to publish before the end of 2014
• 16 short stories published
• 12 or more finished first drafts

  

 

 

 

ARWA PROVIDES

• craft and marketing workshops (1 evening and 1 Saturday per month- 10 months a year)
• a public web site and Facebook page
• a private Facebook page for members
• 10 newsletters a year
• challenge teams (writing support pods geared to various levels and stages of writers )
• Beta Readers, cover input, assistance in areas of self-publishing or traditional submissions
• launches and blog boosts for our published books
• outside speakers on various topics from police work to play writing
• camaraderie and support
• shared information on all things writing related

BONUS BENEFITS -Writing friendships 

There's nothing quite like sitting in a room with a group writers, talking about writing. Nothing quite like writing friends you can email or Skype when you've had a horrible writing day or a fantastic story idea.

There's nothing quite like WRITERS and ARWA has writers.

Do you belong to a writing group? What is the best thing about your group?

Lorraine Paton: 13 Tips on Book Cover Design

Lorraine Paton: 13 Tips on Book Cover Design



As always, Lorraine delivers concise, practical information as well as links to further ideas. If you are planning your cover, read her blog first!