If you haven't had a chance to check out my newly revised book on marketing for 2015, now is the time. I've added some great new links and two new chapters. One on using #hash tags, the other on creating your own book trailers.
And finally, my nonfiction Christian book, Conquering Your Goliaths: Guidebook has a new cover that now matches the fiction book of the same title, Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of the Five Stones.
UPDATE!! When I will be at the party will be different depending on your location! See below for your time!
Come and join me for a Happy New Year book release party. It will be going on ALL day for the release of B. E. McLaughlin's new book, Languish. McLaughlin's book is a mystery thriller.
When Cressida is kidnapped from her school, her parents go mad with grief and desperation to find their daughter. Luckily—as some believe, for the Clef's—one mother's celebrity status allows her tight-knit connections to the media. But as Chandra tries to fight off her wife's social explosion, her no nonsense attitude quickly turns to rage and fear when she realizes that the kidnapper is closer to her than she first expected.
Watching as everything starts to unravel before her eyes, Chandra risks the physical, mental, and social standing that she has to find her only daughter, her lifeline to the world. The lengths that one woman goes to protect her daughter test the bounds of a mother’s love and strength of mind.
I will be giving away a paperback copy of Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of the Five Stones AND The Feast: A Parable of the Ringon New Year's Day between 4 and 5 PM EST (2-3 P.M. MST). So please come on over and see what the party has in store for you!
About now you might be finding your purse strings a little tight. If so, consider giving a thoughtful letter instead of a carefully wrapped gift.
It may mean more to the receiver. And to you.
There is something about receiving a homemade gift (even if it doesn't exactly fit, or fit in with your color scheme),or receiving a service or a homemade card. Whether the giver has the money to spend or not, there's something truly magical to be said for the gift that comes completely from the heart.
I remember the year one of my daughters made me an ornament for the Christmas tree. She'd spent hours sewing the star together. She had just divorced her husband and had little money to spend. The star goes up every year on our Christmas tree, and I remember (every year) her thoughtful gesture.
Another year I got letters from my parents, plus some of stuff I no longer remember. I have saved the letters and re-read them.
Yet another year, a year when I had little children running around the house, we bought most of our gifts for each other from the thrift store. My favorite? An old doll house which my husband and I fixed up and gave to our children. The cost? Five dollars.
Maybe not having enough money sometimes is a good thing. It causes us to be creative, to think deeper than the bills in our wallet or our plastic credit card.
So if you're finding things a bit tight this year, and even if you're not, write a letter, (at least one) to a special someone in your life.
Unbelievably I finished all of the shopping last week. Though I still find myself purchasing small things here and there, I'm done, so to speak.
This week, the last few days before Christmas, is a little like finishing that long winded race; the race that was enjoyable at times, painful at others. When I see Christmas before me like a lit Christmas tree, I am ready to take the winnings in!
And the winnings for me far surpass the Christmas gifts under the tree.
I reflect on the hugs from family and friends. The well wishes for a Merry Christmas. I reflect on neighbors coming to the door with gifts of candy, cookies and more. In a nutshell, these last few days as Christmas approaches I tend to think more on the Savior, more on his love and sacrifice for me a recipient (an ofttimes unworthy recipient) of his gift of sacrifice.
My writing?
I do a little. But most of my time is spent doing other things. I find it more than a little difficult to work on my writing projects. At times I just want to sit and take it all in.
And maybe, just maybe, that's the best thing I can do.
One of the real struggles of being a writer is finding the time to write, especially if you already have a full-time job away from it.
But the truth is, for every human being on this planet there are opportunities, free time if you will, to do what you are really interested in. And if it's writing, there should be plenty of time to do it.
One of the amazing things I discovered early on when it came to writing was that whenever I replaced television watching for writing, I'd spend far too much time away from what I loved the most. The same was true when I had Words with Friends on my cellphone. There simply wasn't enough time to write.
So I have shut off the tube more and have gotten rid of Words with Friends. I liked both pursuits, but found that much of my writing time was wasted when I substituted something I liked for something I loved.
Another issue with writing time comes in the form of distractions. These distractions (including again the two listed above) are those things that you find yourself doing simply because they occur on a given day.
Your mother calls you and speaks for an hour. Your friend drops by and you both decide to go to lunch. You have a terribly messy house and it needs to get cleaned sometime. Besides, cleaning will give you a chance to think about what your next book's going to be about.
Maybe.
But I have found that if I don't schedule a time for myself, say, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. without distraction, meaning I don't pick up the phone, respond to a text, or even answer the door between those hours. And guess what? I will finally have time to get a little writing done.
I'm not suggesting for a minute that we aren't friendly, that we, as writers, become total hermits. Because, quite frankly, getting out does something wonderful for our souls, and we may just gather in some new elements for our latest book. What I am saying is that we both take our writing seriously enough to make it a priority.
Getting the most out of your writing time means choosing writing over something else that may be equally enjoyable. If you have little time to write as I do, you know that finding the time means taking it seriously enough to schedule it, just like you'd do a dentist appointment or lunch with a
friend.
May I make another suggestion? Talk to those close to you in your life and let them know when you'll be away from the phone or door because you're writing. If they are a true friend they will appreciate your honesty and dedication to your craft.
1 If you don't think interviews with particular characters can get a little, shall we say, interesting, check this one out:
Tell me a little about yourself (where you live,
who you are, what you look like, what you hope to achieve, etc.
My name is Lt. Com Roy O'Hara. Currently I’m stationed aboard the T.S.S.
Phoenix, the Command Ship for the first fleet.
As a squadron leader I’m reasonable for training and leading 18 pilots
on tactical and defensive missions against the enemy. Most of the men and woman in my command are about half my age. I’m 38 now. I had retired a few years ago, but with the
war continuing we need every able bodied person on the line.
2 What do you like to do in your spare time?
Spare
time? We kind of don’t get a lot of down
time. Haven’t had shore leave in, I
don’t know, two years now. Spare time?
You see we’re on call 24/7 so most of our time is spent on training, physical maintenance, analyzing recent engagements and reviewing repairs on our
birds. But there are times when I don’t
have duties that are pressing. I tend to
us that time to eat, read a book, I like philosophy books and hit the rack for
a few hours of shut eye.
3
What is your favorite color and why?
My favorite color? Anything but black.
4
What is your favorite food? Why is it your
favorite?
Hot Dogs, not the cheep ones, the kind you
can get at mile high, with everything on them.
5
What would you say is your biggest quirk?
I don’t know. Never gave it much thought.
6
What is it about your antagonist that irks you
the most, and why?
The Serkin have no respect for life. Their goal is to kill or enslave us all. I would rather die than let
What or who means the most to you in your life?
What, if anything, would you do to keep him/her/it in your life?
That isn't something I feel comfortable
talking about.
8
What one thing would you like readers to know
about you that may not be spelled out in the book in which you inhabit?
Family is
very important to me, but the war took that away from me and now all that is
left for me is duty.
9
If you could tell your writer (creator) anything
about yourself that might turn the direction of the plot, what would it be?
Look, no
offence, but after twenty years of fighting and killing, I don’t really believe
in a creator any more, at least not one who I would care to know.
Getting ready for Christmas is a grand feat, one not to be taken lightly, but as I said in a previous post, one to make some special one-on-one time for.
Imagine a few hours with the Lord without any distraction. Imagine to yourself the journey, the feelings in your heart, the memories.
If you haven't, as yet, sat down with the Lord this year reading his word, listening to his voice, here's one last nudge from me that you do so.
You won't regret it.
Here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas! Kathryn
Tell me about yourself. What got
you started in writing?
I’d always loved to read and write as
a child, but it wasn't until I was in my twenties, living in London and working
for an advertising agency that I decided to really go for it. Prior to moving
to the UK I had been living in New Zealand where my parents had emigrated to
from Los Angeles during my senior year in high school. One day I was walking
down Regent Street and out of the blue I ran into one of my friends from my
University of Auckland days. I couldn't believe it—neither could I believe that
she had just married the New Zealand sci-fi and fantasy writer, Hugh Cook. We
immediately picked up our friendship from where we’d left off, and Hugh, who
had also been at the university with us, was very encouraging and helpful about
my desire to write professionally. I don’t think I would ever have had the
confidence or knowledge to pursue writing if it wasn't for his invaluable
advice and interest. Sadly, Hugh passed away several years ago, but I will
always remember him with sincere gratitude for his help.
How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or do you prefer writing
freehand?
During the weekI mainly write at work—I know that
sounds weird, but I have a very flexible schedule and find my office is the
perfect location to come in early or stay late to get some writing done. I also
write there during lunch and other breaks. On the weekends I love to go to
coffee shops or museum cafes to write. I write my first drafts either by hand
with a fountain pen, or on my Alphasmart. I always use the Alphasmart for
second and subsequent drafts.
What's your favorite part about
writing? Your least favorite part about writing?
I love
discovery drafts. I’m a panster all the way, but once that initial draft is
finished I then impose a plot, strengthen my characters’ goals and motivations,
and write a serious outline so that I can re-arrange and rewrite everything to
follow a coherent storyline. My most disliked part of writing is the whole
synopsis-thing in all its 1-page, 2-page, etc. formats.
How do you come up with your
characters? Why would readers want to get to know them?
I use a lot of visual references from magazines and other
sources which I then turn into collages before I write. As I put the pictures
together the characters and plots appear like magic—they tell me their stories,
and I take dictation. I feel that when I hear them speak I am also meeting them
for the first time as a reader, so if I enjoy what my characters have to tell
me, someone reading about them might feel the same way too.
What types of marketing do you do
to promote your writing?
I have a website and a blog, and I’m
fairly active on Twitter and Pinterest. My favorite social media site is
Polyvore.com. I meet a lot of imaginative and creative people there who take an
interest in my work. I've also found the best marketing is what I can do in person: teach a class or workshop, volunteer at a conference, or sell books at
a local book fair.
I agree.
How do you schedule your writing
time? When do you write?
My schedule can be very erratic, so I've learned to take advantage of whatever free time I can get. It’s one of the
reasons I write by hand—it allows me to write absolutely anywhere: the car,
waiting rooms, laundromats, hotel lobbies, and restaurants. I do write every
day without fail—just not at the same time every day.
Read previous character interviewhere Get the bookhere What are you currently working on?
Do you have a new book out?
Starting next year I’ll be submitting
my new novel, The Abyssal Plain for
publication, as well as a nonfiction manuscript, A Pet Owner’s Book of Days, and a picture book manuscript. At the
same time I’ll be working on the second draft of yet another novel.
Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.
I have several unpublished collections of poetry and short
stories that I’m always tinkering with. My absolute dream is to illustrate them
and publish them as art books.
What would you tell a beginning
writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?
First I would say that “talent” is in the eye of the beholder.
What does it really mean? I've met hundreds of very talented writers who refuse
to commit to the writing process, or finish a manuscript, or submit a
manuscript for publication. So what does their “talent” give them except maybe
a topic for conversation? The most important thing a writer needs is discipline
(to both write and finish what he or she is writing) and perseverance. Keep writing,
keep submitting. And read, read, read as widely as possible.
Yes, today I'm sharing one of my favorite book trailers; one that most folks also consider their favorite. If you have a book trailer to share, please let me know! I will post it here in one of the next coming Friday's!
I don't know about you, but about this time I start feeling a bit thirsty for some well needed Christmas. I'm not talking about more shopping, or decorating, or even caroling, I'm speaking of the stuff that comes when you take a breather and just let the Christmas season sink in.
The true Christmas season.
Spend some time...
Because in-between all of the sparkling lights and new hose for the upcoming Christmas party, there yet remains those moments to savor; those when we are with Christ--alone, for a time, quenching that thirst.
Last night, I finally made the time to drink and I was filled.
And I thought this morning, as I got up to exercise and begin another day; boy, I'm glad I took the time to drink in all of the goodness of the Lord.
I'm never discouraged about that. Never. I never wake up and wish I'd spent the time doing something else like watching a show on television. Never.
I wake up, grateful that I've spent whose time with person whose month this is.
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Tell me a little about yourself (where you live, who you
are, what you look like, what you hope to achieve, etc.).I’m 32
years old, a professional artist living in London, and I’m also a newlywed. I
was raised all over the world, thanks to my parents who were sound engineers
working for various documentary film makers. Prior to my marriage I rarely paid
much attention to my appearance, but since meeting my husband I've taken a new
interest in beautiful, dramatic—and expensive—clothing. My dream is to be a
highly-regarded portrait painter worthy of the National Portrait Gallery.
2.What do you like to do in your spare time?I don’t
have a lot of spare time. I’m always working, but I do like to try out new
mediums and supplies and go on sketching trips whenever I can.
3.What is your favorite color and why? My
favorite color is Payne’s Grey. I love its ability to add depth and shadow to
any color it touches. I also love the way it enhances negative space, which in
many ways is one of the most important and interesting parts of a painting.
What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite?Tapas.
Small plates. Cheese, olives, fresh breads. I’m a vegetarian so I love anything
salad-y and light.
5.What would you say is your biggest quirk?I
fantasize the worst possible outcome of any situation. I worry. I’m insecure
about absolutely everything.
6.What is it about your antagonist that irks you the most,
and why?I have several antagonists and the thing that infuriates me
about them is their inability to ever tell me the truth.
7.What or who means the most to you in your life? What, if
anything, would you do to keep him/her/it in your life? My husband
means the most to me of anything in my life. I would give up money, fame,
reputation, even my ability to paint if it meant not losing him.
8.What one thing would you like readers to know about you
that may not be spelled out in the book in which you inhabit?My
childhood frightened me. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't identify or
describe it.
9.If you could tell your writer (creator) anything about
yourself that might turn the direction of the plot, what would it be?I would love
to have a child. I want to give someone the childhood I didn't have.
Ask me any question. I've always wanted to know what a
character thinks about writers like myself. I'll answer the question at the end
of this interview. They say many books and stories are autobiographical or based in
some way on the author’s life, but does it ever work the other way? For
instance, how much do we as characters change your life as an author? Do you
ever take on any of our characteristics, hopes, and dreams and make them your
own, or wish you were more like us?
I I love this question. In most of my books there is an inkling (or more) of me and a bit of what I wish I could be. There are times I want more than who I am and I find that through a character I've created I begin to see things a bit differently, and (dare I say it) even more clearly than when I first began the book. I may even decide to take a particular characteristic, hope or dream, on.
Tell me a about
yourself. What got you started in writing?
In high school I fell in love with
Theater. Stepping out onto the stage and delivering a line that made over
200 people all laugh at once was the greatest feeling I had ever known.
An odd path for someone who was normally quiet and shy, but the theater bug had
bit and I was hooked. I chose to go to Northern Arizona University for
college as it was far enough from home to be completely independent, but still
a state school that wouldn't bankrupt by parent.
My major was Theater and my goal was to hone
my acting craft and take Hollywood by storm. Then I went to my first
college theater audition. Reality checks can be a cruel friend.
Despite NAU being a small college, the talent amongst the small group of actors
was overwhelmingly good. I never felt so
out of my league. Somehow, I got a small
part in that first show, but I could not see myself being successful in the
face of such great talent. And if I couldn't compete on the college level, I would never make it in Hollywood or
New York. Sadly I realized that acting
was off the table, but I still loved Theater, so I stuck with it hoping I could
find skill as a Director or Tech.
Back stage during the rehearsals for
that show I was in, Bill, a senior, the lead in the show, and the most talented
actor I had ever met, asked me where I got the monologue I used in the
audition.I told him I had written
it.“Really?” he said, “it was good. You should consider making it into a full
play.”
Wow!
This guy who I thought was 100 times more talented than me had just
given me an unsolicited complement on something I had created. I had dabbled in writing before, getting
encouragement from family and teachers, but never thought of it as a something
I had a gift for.
The encouragement from
the upperclassman who everyone looked up to was enough to keep kick start the
project, but it was the words on the page that kept me going. I fell in love with the creative aspect of
the work and had a complete one act play in just a couple of weeks. Now I’m not one of those writers
that says, “I write for myself and don’t care if anyone likes it.”
To me that foolish. It’s like a poet who only read their work in
a closet so no one can hear. So I needed
to find something to do with my play.
Fortunately every year the school held a play-writing contest open to all
students. The interesting thing about it
was that it was a blind competition. A
group of professors would evaluate each entry, but would not know the name of
the writers, since most would be students from their classes. My freshman year, going up against lower and
upperclassman, I won. I won a contest
that was completely based on my work and was not enhanced or limited on
anyone’s opinion of me. I had found
something that I was truly talented at and I loved it. A few months I received my prize, a black-box
production of my play. To see my work
come to life was better than being on stage and getting the laughs and tears
myself. A world that I had created was
brought to life before my eyes...
As time passed I kept writing on the
side as a hobby and hoped I would find that inspiration to write a Broadway
quality show, but as a career it was a very distant dream. Then I met this beautiful red head named
Carleesa.
One of the first things she
told me was that she liked a man who was
as comfortable in a kilt as he was in a suit.
She loved art, theater and anything creative. On our first date I told her my best theater
and Disney stories as well as all about my plays. She hung on every word and I got lost in the
joy found in her eyes. As you may have
guessed we fell in love, got married, had two wonderful sons and…, well were
still trying to live happily ever after.
Our love for each other is stronger than ever, but life has not been
that easy.
As we settled down I moved up
into retail management and eventually became a store manager making a decent
living. She had a career in non-profits
as a charity campaign manager. Yet when
the economy took a nose dive I got let go and couldn't find work for nearly a
year, and once I did find work it only paid a quarter of what I was
making. My spirits were crushed and I
was feeling very lost. That year, when
it was so bad we nearly lost our house; Carleesa never once blamed me or did
anything to make me feel like I had failed in any way. Instead, on my birthday she gave me a copy of
The Writers Market. A book I used to buy
myself every year that would list all the publishers, agents and contest where
you could submit writing. She included a
message that said, “No matter how bad things get, I never want you to give up
on your dreams.”
Carleesa and Matt
I
picked back up the pen that day. There
were a couple of ideas for plays I started, but there wasn't enough inspiration
to finish them. Yet there was an idea
for a couple of sci-fi characters that I had been thinking about for a very
long time, but never had a story for. A
space fighter pilot in the future meeting and falling in love with a beautiful,
red headed, medieval woman who could do magic.
Giving it more thought I considered it might make a good movie, but I
needed to outline a story first. So I
started writing out a short story, just so I could get it clear in my
mind. Within a week I had over 42 pages
and had hardly reached what would have been scene three. I was writing a novel and I was loving
it.
Every day I couldn't wait to get
some free time to write because, like a reader, I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. That’s
how I write. With only a vague idea of
where the story is going, I let my imagination flow out onto the page and
discover it as I write. Each day my
passion for the book grew and after five months of lunch hour and late night
scribing I had completed the first draft.
I presented it to my wife for her blessing. That sounds extreme, but it is because I
trust her with not just my love, but with my life. She would never say an unkind word to me, but
she would also never let me do anything that would lead to embarrassment or
shame. So as a critic she is kind, but
honest. When she read the book she told
me that she loved the story and then discussed what could make it better.
One
of the first lessons I learned was that I had habits of a playwright that I
needed to get rid of, such as brief descriptions and relying on dialogue to
tell the story. At that point I became
a student of other writers, reading classic as well as contemporary books from
the best sellers list. Studying entire
series from a few authors to see how they progressed and listening to audio
books to understand the pattern and timing in successful writing; all the while
working on rewriting the book based on notes found on practically every
page.
It
took me an additional two years and ten drafts to finish the book The Warrior’s
Stone. It is something that I am proud
to put my name on and to list my Carleesa as my muse on the inside page.
What's your favorite
part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?
I
write the way people read. The idea for
a story might be a character or situation, but I never know what’s going to
happen until I write it. So my
inspiration is to find out what is going to happen next. My lease favorite part of writing is going
through the work and fixing all the typos and spelling errors that my editor
has pointed out. Even though I have
improved a lot, I still make a lot more mistakes than I should. One thing that I do to catch and fix them
before I show the work to anyone is to have the computer read the text. It’s the difference between knowing what is
supposed to be on the page and hearing what is really there that the eye didn't see.
How do you come up
with your characters? Why would readers want to get to
know them?
It
depends on the story. More often than
not the main male character is an idealized version of myself. Not who I think I am, but who I wish I could
be. The character of Roy, in the
Warrior’s Stone, is brave, honest, very analytical, smart, cleaver, but also deals
with deep emotional scars that make him cold and distant until he meets a
woman who he can’t help but fall in love with.
My personal narrative has some similarities, but is not nearly as
dramatic or interesting as Roy’s story. The main female character of Katreena beings
with my wife, in her kindness, a need to be helpful to others and her ability
to make those around her feel loved. Yet
as I develop the story, that characters take on a life of their own. I don’t know what they are going to say or do
until it happens. As I get to the end of
the book, they have evolved into something different than what I started with,
so I often have to go back to the beginning and rework parts to keep them true
and consistent.
What types of
marketing do you do to promote your writing?
As
an independent writer I don’t have the backing of a big publishing house, so
I’m on my own for everything, from the book covers to the press. So most of what I do in on the internet;
Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Authors web page, participating on book blogs,
doing my own blog, and posting on any site that will let me. I also put together a couple of book trailers
on YouTube, paid for some advertising on Google and Facebook (I don’t
recommend) and paid for a press release.
Yet in the end the best results have been from people I gave the book to
and had them read it. So far everyone
has loved it, recommended it to their friends and written great reviews on web
pages like Amazon and Goodreads.
What are you currently
working on? Do you have a new book out?
I’m
finishing the rewrites and edits on book two of the New Terra Series, the
sequel to the Warrior’s Stone and then will go back to book three. I actually started both book two and three at
the same time and had planned on the other one to be the second book, but about
five chapters in I decided the time line worked better to have that book come
third.
Book
two in the series should be out early 2015 and the third one out early 2016, so
long as I can get all the rewrites and editing done. It’s hard for me to all a book done. I always feel like I can do better and put
myself through another draft, which then requires proofing, editing and
reviewing. So we will see.
What would you tell a
beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe
he/she has enough
talent?
Go
to the library and check out three best selling writers in the genre that you
want to write in. Here is what you will
find. 1.
They don’t use any magic words.
The most popular writers don’t write like Shakespeare. They use everyday language they you and I
do. 2.
Read the work with a critical ear.
Here is what I mean. As you read,
listen to the voice in your head and break down the pattern and sounds as if
you were listening to music. This is
where you find the subtleties in successful writing. You will find that the best writers have
learned to not over use words, unless it is in dialogue that fits the
character, and they string their words together to keep the reader interested,
even when the story drags. 3. Find someone you trust to read your work and
give CONSTRUCTIVE feedback. This should
be someone who loves to read and cares about you enough not to discourage you
from writing. 4. Keep writing. No one ever wins their first race.
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