Thursday, January 27, 2011

To My Western Writer Buddies:

I think it's pretty well established that my preferred writing genre is Old West Fiction, or what everyone calls Westerns. That word conjures up a stereotypical picture of cowboys, Indians, and gunfighters. The Western genre is actually a very large one, encompassing not only cowboys, Indians, and gunfighters, but ranchers, gamblers, the military, settlers, traders, miners, railroaders, sheepherders, school teachers, and a host of other professions and callings, as well. I won't go into the red-light district here.

Sometimes I've chafed at the Western tag, mostly because my novels don't fit into the stereotype, and I've branded my books as "post-Civil War novels." Now I'm embracing the genre name, with a new look to my website coming soon, and a new signature in my email.

I've often wondered where the Western fiction market would be if we Western Writers could/would work the social media as effectively as writers in other genres do. You've got to admit some heavy word-of-mouth was involved in the success of the Suzanne Collins trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and MockingJay. That WOM was not only face to face, but using Twitter and Facebook and blogs and other varieties of social media to spread the word.

First, of course, Collins wrote a blazingly popular book, which wasn't her first, nor even her first series work. Second, readers all over the world eagerly anticipated the second volume, and then, the buzz for the third was unbelievable. Book review bloggers fueled the fire, and Collins's sales went through the roof. The buzz began MONTHS before MockingJay appeared.

Now, I don't read YA dystopian sci-fi novels, and I haven't read Collins's books. However, I do admire her sales record and respect the power of readers to spread their enthusiasm all over the world. We can take a lesson from YA writers and readers (whose numbers include a HUGE number of adults).

When are Western writers going to take the challenge, stop thinking in terms of the genre being a small niche, and bust the market wide open through getting a buzz going worldwide? No, not the morning-after buzz. The this-is-a-darn-fine-story-and-you-need-to-read-it buzz. Let's make it so more readers say about our books, "Oh, was that a Western I just enjoyed? Wow!"

Here's my challenge to Western writers: Start a blog. They are free. Write a post on it at least once a week. Interview your fellow Western writers. Review Western books you read. Get a Twitter account so you can tweet about your new interview/review/thoughts.

I won't go further into social media . . . yet. I do want you to keep an open mind about creating a Facebook fan Page, though. Get out of the Luddite mindset and embrace interacting with readers. Enable them to become your fans by reaching out and being available and approachable. Work together with other Western writers and readers to do your part to regenerate our awesome genre. It's either that, or get a job.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Shout Out Time

I'm on a lot of writer lists, and several people on various ones mention online articles that others might enjoy. One such piece was a recount of a recent independent bookstore conference in Washington, D.C. 

I read the article, then clicked on a link to one bookstore, whose owner was interviewed for the piece. I'm in the process of clicking more links, but thus far I've decided to give a big

Shout Out and Thank You to


who list my novels in their online bookstore!

Also:

Books and Books, which has independent stores in South Florida, Westhampton Beach and the Cayman Islands;

Red Fox Books in Glen Falls, N.Y.;

Hugo Bookstores, in Massachusetts;

R.J. Julia, in Madison, CT;

Watermark Books and Cafe, in Wichita, KS; and


Rainy Day Books, in Fairway, KS.

These indie bookstores are most likely plugged into the IndieBound network and get their feed of available books from them. However, the fact that these bookstores are reaching out and getting online, bodes well for their future stability as vendors of books.

I'm sorry about not using the ampersand in some of the bookstore titles, but the symbol persisted in showing up wrong, so I've used the word "and" in place of them.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Writers Conferences?

My usual schedule includes attending two to three writers conferences a year. I've had some unusual expenses, though. I'm considering dumping one I usually attend,

and saving money to attend another I haven't been to for a while.


Then there's another one I've never attended. Should I go to it, instead?

How do you determine at the beginning of the year which conferences you'll attend?

What factors do you consider? Give me reasons why I should attend a particular conference. Make me want to come!

The floor is yours: 

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Remington Steele Reminds Me of a Few Life Lessons

I mentioned earlier that I've been watching episodes of the beloved 1980s romantic comedy/mystery television series, "Remington Steele" lately. Mostly--grumble, grumble--when my Dish network conks out on me--which is a lot!

I've completed watching the third season now. Only two more, well, one and a half, to go. (After six episodes of the fifth season, NBC pulled the rug out from under MTM and Pierce Brosnan by canceling the show. Details can be found on the Internet.)

Anyway, I've remembered a thing or two from watching the show. The conversation below illustrates them. It's from an episode in the 3rd season written by John Wirth entitled "Springtime for Steele," and takes place between Remington Steele (Pierce Brosnan) and the world's worst singer, Rocky Sullivan (Lynne Randall), toward the end of the episode. 

After discovering that one of her backers had bought up all the tickets to her previous show and given them away so it appeared that she was a hit, but that her managers' plan was for her to fail since they'd sold "pieces" of her amounting to 500%, she has lost confidence and doesn't want to go out and sing. The elipsis indicates irrelevant dialog has been cut.

Rocky: I can't go on.
Steele: Of course you can.
Rocky: I'm a fraud...I've lost it.
Steele: You know, Rocky there have been times in my life when I felt as though I couldn't go on. As though I had nothing to live for anymore. When everybody I seemed to trust failed me.
Rocky: That's funny. That's exactly how I feel now.
Steele: Rocky, we're not always able to anticipate or affect the way people treat us. I suppose that's what makes life exciting and frightening at the same time. But still, there is one constant we can control.
Rocky: Yeah? What's that?
Steele: You. No matter what happens, you can be the best Rocky Sullivan there ever was. And no one can do a thing to stop you.

Okay! Awesome writing, awesome delivery!

Well, maybe I would have written one line differently: "When everybody I trusted seemed to fail me." Maybe John Wirth did, and Pierce Brosnan muffed it--the actors in this show were extraordinarily careful to say the lines as written, so I can only think he muffed it and the production crew missed it. But I digress!

The two things that stand out to me here are 1) everybody needs a cheerleader, and 2)  we have no control over how readers or relatives or critics or neighbors or reviewers or members of our faith community treat us. However, we can control one constant: we can be the best self/writer/friend/sister there ever was.

Thanks for reminding me of that, John Wirth.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Blog Tour: Meg's Melody by Kaylee Baldwin

Today is my turn on Kaylee Baldwin's blog tour for her debut novel, Meg's Melody, a copy of which I received from her publisher, Cedar Fort, Inc. Although some unexpected events in my life delayed this post a while, I'm excited to put in my two cents worth about this tender book. First, isn't that a gorgeous cover? CFI's cover designers are some of the best in the business. Meg's Melody was released in December, 2010.


Now for an excerpt from the back cover copy:


She paced the small confines of her bathroom as she waited the obligatory two minutes for the result. Yet, part of her sensed the truth. Not only did Austin take her self-esteem and plans for happiness, but he also took her get-out-of-this-marriage-free card.

The plus sign glared at Meg from the white plastic frame of the pregnancy test. The test fell from her hands and clattered into the bathtub as Meg’s back slid against the wall until she reached the floor.

“I’m pregnant,” she said into the quiet.



Talk about knowing how to tug on your heartstrings! Meg Sanders's short marriage has fallen apart, she's discovered she's pregnant, and she feels like she is alone in the world. She has nowhere to turn but back to her roots, and the faith that she left behind to marry. Kaylee Baldwin really knows how to put her protagonist up a tree and throw rocks at her. Meg's journey through rejection and pain and into joy and redemption is a well-crafted read, suitable for lovers of clean romance, whether they hold to the LDS (Mormon) faith or not.

If I hadn't known beforehand, I would not have guessed that Meg's Melody is Kaylee's first published work of fiction. Her touch with the characters is deft and sure, and her dialogue is very natural. I appreciated that Meg likes to sing. It's a distinctive characteristic that not every author would have thought to use to create a protagonist with depth.

Kaylee is holding a drawing for a copy of Meg's Melody, so leave a comment on any of the blog posts about Meg's Melody to be entered into a drawing to win a copy. You can leave comments on multiple blogs for multiple entries. Kaylee will give you another entry if you become a follower of her blog, found at kayleebaldwin.com. The drawing will close on January 22nd.


Stops on the Blog Tour:
January 10th
January 11th
January 12th
Jolene Perry (Jolene also did an interview with Kaylee here)
January 13th
January 15th
January 17th
January 18th
January 19th
January 20th
January 21st


Kaylee Baldwin grew up in Mesa, Arizona, and graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in English literature.

She and her husband, Jeremy, live in southern Arizona with their three children. When she is not writing, Kaylee enjoys reading, starting new craft projects, and spending time with her family.

I'm sure we haven't heard the last from Kaylee Baldwin. 


Meg's Melody is available at Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle edition formats, at Deseretbook.com, and in LDS bookstores.

Monday, January 10, 2011

What I Learned About Writing from Remington Steele

Lately I've been watching episodes of the private-eye television series from the 1980s called Remington Steele, which starred Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist. I have all five seasons on DVD. Remington Steele became a hit show because of intriguing mysteries, witty dialogue, and the romantic chemistry between the two lead characters.

The premise is this: a beautiful, intelligent, excitement-loving woman named Laura Holt, who we might nowadays call an "adrenalin junkie," determines to become a private investigator. She studies, serves an apprenticeship, and gets her license. Eventually she opens her own agency--but no one beats down the doors to hire her.

Bruised but not conquered, Laura invents a masculine boss who she says acts in an advisory capacity, which explains why he never interacts with clients. She names him after her Remington typewriter and the Pittsburgh Steelers football team. Then she hires a sassy secretary and a male investigator she knew from the firm she left, and soon the new agency known as Remington Steele Investigations takes off in a big way.

One day, a handsome, mysterious, blue-eyed man with a British accent (let's call him Harry) walks in the door and tries to run a con on Laura and her associates as they work on a case involving the firm guarding precious gems being used in a promotion. In a ploy to steal the jewels, he impersonates an official from South Africa, and talks his way into accompanying the agency crew on their rounds.

When the client insists on the participation of Mr. Steele, Laura goes into the song-and-dance used on such occasions, where her male investigator books a hotel room under the Steele name, hangs an entire wardrobe in the closets, and disturbs the bed. The usual plan is that Mr. Steele suddenly gets "called away" on an urgent case, and thus he is never seen by a client.

Before that can happen, the real South African official shows up and introduces himself; and the client mistakes the con man for the living, breathing Remington Steele.

In a--by turns--madcap and serious exploration of how the fictitious Remington Steele came alive, Harry assumes the role of the head of the agency, a necessary thorn in the sides of Laura Holt and her employees.

Besides the eye-candy factor, the series is enjoyable because there are lessons to learn from the characters.

First, Laura never gives up. She has a goal to run her own agency, and even though no one wants to hire a female private eye, she finds a way to achieve her goal. Her use of subterfuge leads to frustration when an interloper becomes her titular employer, but she comes to terms with the consequences of her actions and presses on.

Second, "Harry" grows and changes, from a scoff-law into a respectable citizen, from a figurehead to a useful member of the team through learning the fundamentals of investigation and applying his skills.

Writers like me can take a lesson from both characters. Never give up. Face up to your shortcomings and conquer them. Press forward.

Now, I think it's time for me to go watch another inspirational episode of Remington Steele. See you later!

Monday, January 03, 2011

A Look Into the Future

Sometimes things don't turn out as you first imagined they would, and you get glimpses of the folly of poor choices. Marie Owen certainly has gotten herself into an interesting place:

Ed Morgan halted the horses in the dooryard of the cabin, set the brake, and looped the lines around the handle.


"Lizzie, don't fret," he said in an undertone, but loud enough that Marie heard it as she stood behind Ma.


Lizzie? I'd not like to be called that, Marie thought, biting her lip to prevent herself from frowning. Good thing my name is plain enough and can't be made small.


"Elizabeth," Ma said. "Mr. Morgan."


Her voice wasn't cold, Marie judged. It merely gave the barest of greetings. What was wrong?


"Julia, you picked a pretty place to settle," Mrs. Morgan said, climbing down from the wagon over her husband's feet. "Look at this meadow, and you have your own creek!"


"We have a river," Ed Morgan muttered, but his wife ignored him.


She turned to give the house a good looking-over, shading her eyes from the rays of the lowering sun. "Your cabin is so sweet, just like your house back home."


"This is home," Ma said, a trifle stiffly.


"Yes, yes, of course. It's so quaintly situated. Did Mr. Owen pick the location?" She went on, with no expectation of being answered. "Of course he did. Only a man would put such a distance between the house and the water." She turned on a smile.


"I picked the location," Ma said, and this time, ice crept into her response. "I'll have a garden put in next spring between the creek and the house."


"Well, I never! You're going to have to bring up the water? Your man won't see to it that the boys water the vegetables?" She turned a circle and faced Ma, her smile broadening.


Ma squared her shoulders. "Come in and quench your thirst, Elizabeth. We have water enough here for that."


"Oh, we couldn't wear out our welcome when we've just arrived," Mrs. Morgan answered. "Just tell us where to pitch our camp, and we'll settle in. Mr. Morgan and the boys need a good night's rest so they can do a good day's work on your barn."


Marie heard her mother's quick inward breath. "Suit yourself," Ma said, and waved her hand toward the south. "Pick out a spot." Her voice sounded for all the world as though she spoke through clenched teeth.


She refused our hospitality! No wonder Ma's cross with her. What sort of family am I fixin' to join?
Is hysteria next? 

Have you ever realized you've made a poor choice? What did you do to mend the situation?
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