Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Contest: Celtic music CD by FiddleSticks

Anne Bradshaw holds contests from time to time on her blog, and for you who love Celtic music, here's a nice one that ends on Wednesday.

I Ordered Books

I've ordered 250 copies of Trail of Storms yesterday, so I suspect I won't soon be running out of books to autograph to your order.

The boxes should arrive late next week. Thank you for your patience.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Good News

I don't know when I last checked, but I'm happy to announce that Trail of Storms is now available at BarnesandNoble.com, aka www.bn.com.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

"Be Prepared" is not just for Boy Scouts

I have to make this quick, as I have a class at 2 p.m., but I wanted to pop in here from my retreat to urge writers and other artisans to always be prepared to make a sale.

I'm at a retreat for members of TOPS - Take Off Pounds Sensibly - and for talent night, I asked if I could do a reading from one of my novels. The director said yes, and since I had copies in my car, I was able to find an appropriate passage to read.

I always carry copies of my books, but I wish I'd brought more. Although I hadn't intended to sell books here, all of them are gone!

Be Prepared!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Books On Board

Books On Board, an e-book distributor, is now carrying the e-book version of Trail of Storms.


Woo hoo!

Tuesday morning

Wow! Is it only Tuesday? So much happened on Monday, that it seemed like the week surely must be advanced further.


I slept well, so I'm energized for today.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Today's News

Trail of Storms was just listed at LDS Fiction's blog. Once you've read the novel, be sure to go rate it.

Thank you!

The first day ends

I've been a bit closed-mouthed about where I am this week. I didn't know whether I would be able to get on the Internet, but lo and behold! Here I am!

I'm at a motivational retreat held by TOPS, Take Off Pounds Sensibly. It's for fluffy people who want to shed some weight. If you've met me face to face, you know I'm, well, good and fluffy. I have issues that have been difficult to master, and I thought perhaps this retreat would jump-start my downward path.

I'm exhausted, and we don't start the exercise regimen until tomorrow!

Edited: I couldn't send this last night, so I'm trying again. I guess the connection in my room wasn't as good as I thought.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Trail of Storms now on Amazon

Trail of Storms showed up on Amazon.com today. The listing says they don't have any books yet, but that will cease to be an issue once you start ordering. It's eligible for Free Super Saver Shipping (on orders over $25), by the way. If you don't own a set yet, order the other novels (The Man from Shenandoah and Ride to Raton) and get the series shipped to you for free.

The funny news is that someone already found out the book is available and has it for sale for a penny less than Amazon. It's a new copy, too.

Now, go forth and buy. It's one way to save the economy. =)

Monday, March 16, 2009

Update to the blog

I added a video bar to the sidebar today so you can watch the book trailers for my novels. I'm not sure exactly how it's supposed to work on a fast Internet connection. It appears to pop out a viewer screen, with a link to the YouTube site and a closer command. I'll check it out next time I've got a high-speed connection. If you click through to YouTube, please leave a comment, and consider subscribing to my channel.

Thanks!

The weather up here in the pines is lovely today. We've had some cold nights lately--still below freezing--after a nice interlude of warmer weather. However, I think it's probably going to warm up for good soon, with no further threat of a March snowstorm. I'll let you know if that doesn't pan out and we get a freak of nature event like two years ago.

Don't forget you can order a trade paperback (aka softcover) copy or the e-book version of Trail of Storms right now at iUniverse.com. If you're waiting for an autographed copy, I should have books by mid April that you can order from my website. I'll also have copies at the LDStorymakers Writers Conference April 24 and 25.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Lucky Friday the 13th!

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!

I am seriously jazzed and Happy Dancing all over the place. I just got a Google Alert on my name this evening that my third novel, Trail of Storms, is ready for sale at the iUniverse website!



And the price on the trade paperback (aka "softcover") book is one dollar less than estimated: it's $16.95, where the mock-up price was $17.95!!!

WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

It's also available as an E-Book download for $6.00.

Oh yeah! Happy happy happy! And grinning from ear to ear.

You'd think I hadn't done this before. Believe me, the publication of each book is exactly like receiving a new baby, brand-spanking new and fresh.

The miracle of the print-on-demand process of book production, is that it happens so fast. Six weeks, people! It's been six weeks from the time I uploaded the materials until it's offered for sale. Wondrous!

Okay, it's not yet on Amazon (maybe I should go check?) or Barnes & Noble, but it will be there very, very soon, and I estimate that I'll have books to autograph by the second week of April.

If you Just. Can't. Wait. to get your own copy or download, go to iUniverse.com and plug in the ISBN 9781440126048 (or click here for a direct link to the book page).

Now, I've got to get my joy and breathing under control. After all, I have a reputation to maintain as a stodgy old lady.

Just kidding! Maybe a bit older, but not really stodgy.

Blog Tour: Kathi Oram Peterson

Today it's my privilege to host a stop on Kathi Oram Peterson's Blog Tour for her inspirational LDS YA novel, The Forgotten Warrior.


Kathi was born in the small town of Rigby, Idaho. Since childhood, she has loved reading and writing stories. After winning the Heart of the West (1994) and Golden Pen (1995) contests, she put her writing on hold to finish her English degree. Upon graduation, she worked for a curriculum publisher, writing and editing concept and biography books for children. She now devotes her time to writing inspirational fiction.

Welcome, Kathi! Tell us a little bit about the writing journey that brought you to this book.

The first few books I wrote were romantic suspense. I love the challenge of plotting a good suspense, and I've always been partial to romance. When the time comes, I hope I can revisit those books and make them marketable.

The Forgotten Warrior, which is my debut young adult novel, was a pleasure to write. My son suggested I write about the stripling warriors in The Book of Mormon. I wanted to have a young woman as my protagonist, and I wanted her to be from our time. So, of course, she had to travel through history. The story really took off from that idea. I loved imagining what Captain Helaman was like. I used Arnold Friberg's famous painting of Captain Helaman with the stripling warriors for inspiration, but a picture really doesn't tell a lot, so I did as much research as I could, and from there I developed my version of Captain Helaman and his warrior "sons."

I also wanted to use actual events from the Book of Mormon and write the story around the battles and trials the warriors lived through.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I have always enjoyed reading novels, but the writing bug didn’t bite until after I’d had my first child. My first book was dreadful. I’ve written many unpublished books and with each one I’ve learned more

How long did it take you to write this novel? When you started writing, did you think it would take that long (or short) a time?

I worked on The Forgotten Warrior a little over a year. Midway into writing I realized I had two books when it felt like the story climaxed just after the Battle for Cumeni, so I thought that would be a good place to stop book one. Book two could then climax with Syd fighting in the Battle for Zarahelma alongside Captain Moroni. I think it worked out for the best that way. And there’s the possibility for a third book that would follow Tarik coming to our time for a while then going back to help Moroni capture the City of Nephihah.

What is your main goal or the purpose you would like to see accomplished by your writing?

My deepest wish is to inspire young adults to believe in themselves, have faith in God, and to read, read, read!

Do you find that you put a little of yourself into each of the main characters of your stories, or do you create them to be completely different from you?

Sydney Morgan isn’t anything like me…except I’d like to think I have her faith. She is short tempered, holds a black belt in karate, and is very courageous. I could never do what she does. I think that is why I liked her so. She can do things I can’t or wouldn’t even attempt. Tarik, a stripling warrior and second-in-command to Captain Helaman, has nothing in common with me, except I’d like to think that someday I will have his loyalty and ability to always do what is right.

Many authors have said that naming their characters is a difficult process, almost like choosing a name for their own child. How did you select the names of some of your lead characters in your book?

For Sydney Morgan I knew I wanted a name for a girl that could also be thought of as a boy’s name, since she was going back in time and many believed her to be a boy. Tarik was a bit more difficult. I wanted a warrior sounding name, something different. Tarik is Egyptian and I liked the hard sound.

Have you ever had a character take over a story and move it in a different direction than you had originally intended? How did you handle it?

This recently happened as I was writing Chasing the Star. I had to do a ton of research and found the story of Julia, the daughter of Augustus Caesar. She started taking over my story, pushing Rachel aside. As soon as I realized what was happening, I retraced my steps, deleted quite a few pages and started again. The result is a much stronger story.

Location and life experience can sprinkle their influence in your writing. Tell us about where you grew up and a little about where you live now. If you could live anywhere you want to live, where would that be?

I grew up in Rigby, Idaho. I was very fortunate to experience a small town. My father owned a Firestone Store on Main Street. For a few years we lived in an apartment over the store. I could peer out our living room window and watch people milling about the sidewalks. The main highway ran right through the middle of town, so there was a lot of traffic: diesels, farm trucks and cars. The town had a great influence on my book An Angel on Main Street. While living there my mother suffered a heart attack. I was sent to stay with my parents’ friends who owned a farm. I loved playing in the barns, watching the kids milk the cows and jumping around on the haystacks.

I now live in the Salt Lake area. A big theater complex as well as restaurants and grocery stores are a block away. In many ways my neighborhood reminds of my childhood and growing up in a small town, though children aren’t as free to play as they were in my day. I like where I live, but I’d also like to someday have a cabin in the mountains.

What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write?

I don’t listen to music unless I’m editing. I find it too distracting when I’m creating scenes.

Are you currently working on any writing projects we should watch for?

I turned in a sequel of The Forgotten Warrior to my publisher. They really liked it but wanted to see how well the first book is accepted before committing to another book. However, they did accept a little Christmas story I sent them, An Angel on Main Street, which will be out in the fall of 2009.

This story, which takes place in 1953, is very near and dear to my heart. I created a small fictional town in Idaho. Eleven-year-old Micah Connors and his little family have recently moved to town. Micah’s father was killed in the Korean War. His mother works as a waitress and his little sister, Annie, is very sick.

A few days before Christmas, a nativity begins to appear in the center of town. No one knows who is building it. Annie tells Micah that she believes when the baby Jesus arrives he’ll make her well. Her condition worsens and Micah doesn’t think she can wait until Christmas. He's desperate to find the nativity builder and borrow the Jesus doll for Annie. I won’t spoil it and tell you how things turns out.

My most recent project is a two book project titled Chasing the Star. It is another YA time-travel adventure. The story is told from three different points of view: Marcus, a Roman Centurian; Rachel, a 19 year-old girl; and Joshua, her 12-year-old brother. It’s Christmastime and Rachel has come home from college. She doesn’t know how she is going to tell her parents that she’s dropping out of school to pursue a singing career. Worse yet, she has kept an even more disturbing secret from her family.

For years Rachel and her father tried to prove that there was a real star of Bethlehem. But Rachel’s astronomy professor has convinced her there was no such star. In fact, Rachel has lost her faith in God. Upon her arrival home, she finds that her parents were killed in a car accident and Josh was badly hurt. She goes to her brother, but when she is called to the nurses’ station to fill out paper work, Joshua disappears. As Rachel searches for her brother, she is given a stone which sends her back in time to the belly of a pirate ship sailing on the Mediterranean. There will be more to come.

Is there an established writer you admire and emulate in your own writing? Do you have a writing mentor?

For years I adored Mary Higgins Clark. The first book I read of hers, Where Are The Children, grabbed me from page one. I even met her once in Omaha, Nebraska, at a writers’ conference. Very inspiring woman, who has paid her dues for the success she now enjoys.

I’ve also admired Francine Rivers’ novels, especially her "Voice in the Wind" saga.

I have many mentors. I belong to a wonderful writing group with many authors. We’ve been meeting for over 20 years. They are all my mentors.

Thinking about your writing career, is there anything you'd go back and do differently now that you have been published?

Although it’s taken me many years to find success I’m glad my first published novel is The Forgotten Warrior. There were days when I felt as though I was being guided as I wrote.

What one thing are you the most proud of in your life?

My family. As life has given us highs and lows we’ve clung together. My husband is the rock in my life. My children, who are all adults now, are kind and caring people. Last year my husband was away on my birthday, but my children brought me dinner, cake and ice-cream and celebrated with their mum. My son-in-law takes such good care of my daughter and grandson. I truly feel blessed to be a part of their lives.

Thank you, Kathi. Is there anything else you'd like to share with my readers?

Anyone who wants to find out more about me and what I’m up to can go to my website: www.kathiorampeterson.com. For those who want to read more of my writing, you can go to my blog: www.kathiswritingnook.com. The Forgotten Warrior can be ordered online at covenant-lds.com, barnesandnoble.com, and deseretbook.com.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

HURRAY!

Trail of Storms has gone to the printer!

Although this milestone makes me very happy, I'm saving the jumping up and down for the day when the first carton of books is delivered.

I am going to add a label, though. Just because I'm joyful.

=)

Monday, March 09, 2009

Good News!

I received final proofs for my latest novel, Trail of Storms. It will be available on my website and from online vendors very soon, which I hope translates into "within a month."




Here's the teaser from the back cover:

"After her sister suffers a brutal attack, Jessie Bingham and her family flee post-Civil War Virginia and undertake a perilous trek to New Mexico Territory. When she learns her former sweetheart, James Owen, took a wife, Jessie accepts Ned Heizer's marriage proposal, on the condition they wait until journey's end to wed. But then Jessie encounters James again . . . and he isn't married now!

"In her third novel about the Owen family, award-winning author Marsha Ward reunites Jessie Bingham and James Owen in a bewildering tangle of values, emotions and high adventure."

I'm excited! Are you?

Friday, March 06, 2009

Author Interview - Liz Adair

One of my favorite friends and all around good examples is author Liz Adair. She has written several novels for the LDS market, writes a pithy blog or two, and her newest novel, Counting the Cost, is targeted at a general audience. Liz lives in Washington State.

Welcome, Liz! Tell us who you are and what you do.

I’m a very ordinary senior citizen. I’m a native of New Mexico, married 45 years, mother of 7, grandmother to 17. I still work almost full time in construction management, and I don’t plan to retire soon. I’m a Christian, an active Latter-day Saint, and I teach a class of Young Women each Sunday.

I also teach workshops to writers’ groups and family history groups in “Writing Family History as Fiction”.

How long have you been writing? What made you start?

To answer that, you have to define ‘writing’. I remember when we studied the middle ages in the fifth grade, I wrote a long narrative poem that began, “I am a serf; I live on a fief.” Heavy stuff. But as far as writing in earnest, I think I must have been about thirty-five. A friend, Mary Safsten, and I collaborated on a three-act musical entitled “The Stuff of Life.” It was presented in our stake and in a stake in Pittsburg, and I received a royalty, so I considered myself a playwright. That was, until I wrote my first novel.


My first novel is the one that’s out this year. I wrote it shortly after my mother died, and because it’s about my mother’s family history, I think it may have been part of my grieving process.

When did you sell your first book?

Here we go with definitions again. Deseret Book bought electronic rights to my first mystery, so though it wasn’t published in ink and paper, my first book sold was The Lodger. That was in 2000, I think. A year or two later, they offered to publish it and the next book in the series, After Goliath. The second book wasn’t written, so I had to scramble to get it ready in time.

What type of writer are you? Do you plan ahead/plot or do you simply fly by the seat of your pants?

I channeled Counting the Cost. It was a gift, and came, boom, in a rough version of what will be published in March. All my other books have been plotted quite carefully, which is extraordinary, considering how seat-of-the-pants I am about most things. I develop first a skeleton plot and then I go through and write a detailed synopsis of each chapter. After that, the thinking is done and I can just get in the zone and write.

What sparks a story?

I’ll answer this in the context of my other writing, not this new book, because, as I said, Counting the Cost came to me fully formed. It was an irresistible force that flowed through me. I was simply a conduit.

But with my other books, I would say that what sparks a story is faith. You have to have faith to think, “So, I’m going to write a story about a fellow who…” If you open yourself to the possibilities, they will come in battalions. But, you have to take that first step and open your mind to the possibility of a story.

What was it about your genre that interested you enough to choose to write in it and not in another genre?

I’ve written three mysteries and one romance/intrigue. I like puzzles. I enjoy a clever mystery, and I especially enjoyed writing The Mist of Quarry Harbor, because it was a romance with a twist. Counting the Cost is mainstream or general fiction. Again, I didn’t choose it. It chose me. Probably the next book I write, I’ll go back to the romance/intrigue genre.

How do you choose your characters' names?

I use family names a lot. In Counting the Cost, Heck’s surname is Benham, which is a family name back three generations. If I don’t have a family name that works, I keep watch for one that does. Ace Lazarra, in The Lodger, was named after a student of mine. I asked her mom if I
could borrow the last name, and she gave the go-ahead.

Character you wish you had created?

Hmmmm. Probably Atticus Finch. He’s my kind of hero. Quiet, principled, rock solid.

What authors do you look to as a role model and inspiration?

Actually, Marsha, you’re someone I look to as a role model and inspiration because of all the service you give to the literary community. You’re a great teacher. I’ve learned so much from you. I’m long past thinking I’ll write the Great American Novel, but if I can reach out and give a hand to the next generation of writers, who knows? Maybe the Great American Novelist will be one of those.

I believe good writers read a lot. What do you use to mark your page when reading?

I’m so embarrassed. I dog-ear pages. If the book isn’t mine, I make sure I have a bookmark of some kind—usually it’s one of the advertising cards from the middle of Time Magazine. I have some really nice bookmarks with my own picture on them, but I have no idea where they are. Someplace in my office, which is a scary thought.

What is your daily schedule like?

I’m up at 6:30. I still work part time, so I may not get to my computer until the evening. If I’ve got a work in progress, or if I’ve got a blog posting due and I’m not working that day, I go right into the office and get busy. If I didn’t have to get up and go to the bathroom, I’d probably stay there, hunched in one position over the keyboard until my joints locked up. Luckily for my senior joints, my senior plumbing ensures I get up often.

Do you write best at a certain time of the day?

I’m an owl-shaped person who has been pounded by life into a lark’s format. I really blossom creatively at night, but, unfortunately, I have to be up early in the morning, so I don’t do much late night writing.

How do you handle life interruptions?

I embrace life’s interruptions, because they’re usually from people I care about. I have two children and eight grandchildren living nearby. I have a job that I really enjoy. If I have an interruption that is unpleasant, I just remember it and use it as fodder for a future book. I deal with it by putting it in my writing.

Do you write with music playing? If so, is the music likely to be songs with lyrics or only instrumentals?

I usually write in silence, although two of Lyle Lovett’s songs were the catalyst for Counting the
Cost. The first is entitled “Walk Through the Bottomland” and is about a lady from New Jersey who falls in love with a rodeo cowboy. The other is “If I Were the Man You Wanted” and ends that sentence with, “I would not be the man that I am.” When I was writing that book, I’d sit with the headphones on and listen to Lyle Lovett sing his country songs.

Though I like to write in silence, as mother of seven, I have learned to block out anything, so I can write through just about any distraction.

What food or snack keeps the words flowing?

Diet Pepsi, probably, though when I’m really into it, I don’t think about food.

What one thing do you like most about writing? Least?

The thing I like most is the surprise when I come back to something that is completely cold and say, “Whoa! Did I write that? I didn’t know I could write that well.” The thing I like least is the umpteenth rewrite, when something doesn’t feel right, but I haven’t been able to fix it yet.

Your new novel is called Counting the Cost, published by Inglestone Publishing. Tell us what the book is about.

Counting the Cost is set in New Mexico in 1935. It’s about a cowboy who grew up so poor the Depression didn’t make any difference in his life. He meets and falls in love with an east-coast socialite who has come west, and they have to find a way to bridge the differences in the way they were raised and the way they think about themselves and each other. This story is rooted in family history, from the story of my Uncle Curtis, who died before I was born. The rest of my extended family didn’t talk about him much, but Curtis was a hero in our house, because he was the one who listened to the LDS missionaries, and through him, my mother was the sole Latter-day Saint convert in the family.

Why should anyone part with their hard earned cash and precious time to read your book? Sell it to us!

First of all, let me say that I advocate buying used books. Even mine. So, don’t part with the full price if you can help it.

That being said, why should you read Counting the Cost? I think it has value for several reasons.

First, it’s a great story. It’s as old as Samson and Delilah, Rhett and Scarlett. I think it rings true because it’s a story based on real people. In fact, the pictures on the front are of the people who sparked the story.

Secondly, it’s a snapshot of a place and a time in America’s not-too-distant past. It helps you understand the people you sprang from, makes you proud of them and what they accomplished, let’s you see that you come from good stock. It also lets you see that we’ve grown past some narrow-minded notions, too.

The last reason is the same as the first. It’s a great story. It’ll make you laugh. It’ll make you cry. It’ll make you angry. It’ll make you hope. And it will stay with you after you’ve closed the book and put it aside.

Where can readers buy your book?

You can buy it at Amazon.com or from the publisher at www.inglestonepublishing.com.

What is your next project?

I’ve got three plots vying for attention in my brain and I don’t know for sure which one I’ll land on. But I’m working on the skeleton plot of a story set around Tularosa, New Mexico. It will be a romance/intrigue for the general market.

What's the best advice you ever received?

“Less is more.” I tend to be too wordy, and I’ve learned that paring down the verbiage makes me a stronger writer.

What is your advice for other writers?

Write! Write! Write! Join a writing group. Hone your craft. But first and foremost, write. It’s like scales on a piano. To get good, you have to keep at it. To me, the act of sitting down at a keyboard and beginning each day is a profound demonstration of faith. So I would say, “Keep the faith!”

What other work of yours has been published?

If I can remember correctly, here’s the list:

Lucy Shook’s Letters from Afghanistan, 2002, GAL Publishing (go to lettersfromafghanistan.com)
The Spider Latham Mystery Series:
The Lodger, 2003, Deseret Book
After Goliath, 2003, Deseret Book
Snakewater Affair, 2004, Deseret Book
Mist of Quarry Harbor, 2005, Deseret Book
Counting the Cost, 2009, Inglestone Publishing

Thank you for the interview, Liz. It's been very illuminating.

Thanks, Marsha, for giving me this opportunity. You’re my hero for the way you promote and sustain writers. And now, with this book, we’re fellow western writers.

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