by Sarah | Sep 19, 2010 | Books, General, Writing
To this day if you ask my dad he’ll tell you that at the ripe young age of 3 years old I was reading the reader’s digest cover to cover. That’s not entirely true – there were still a few words I didn’t understand, but I did love to read. I would pick it up and look through it. I would read my picture books but I was hungry for more.
My brother, on the other hand, was not. He didn’t care to read, still doesn’t. Even now he will most likely only read a book if it’s on tape.
When I was still 3 years old I remember sneaking into my brother’s room. On his sparse book shelf, on the very bottom shelf sat a blue box with 9 blue books inside. I grabbed one and saw the picture of a little girl on the cover.
Then I started reading.
For weeks I would sneak into his room and read pages of this fascinating book until finally I got the courage to say “He won’t read this. It’s for GIRLS,” and took that box of books right out of his room.
Until I graduated high school I read those 9 books over and over again (It was 18 times from the time I stole them until the day I graduated).
Laura Ingalls story fascinated me. All of it.
The way they lived. Traveled. What they ate. What they sang. What they WORE. Oh, what they wore kept me even more enthralled (still does, but that’s another post).
I wanted to live it, breathe it, learn it.
The first thing I really wrote was a play based on Plum Creek, which I performed with my best friend and several other friends in 6th grade. I wrote papers about Laura in high school. I read biographies.
I branched out. I learned more about the late 1800’s. Read up on the Old West. The people, the way of speech, the way of life.
Rich folk, poor folk, everyone in between. I couldn’t get enough.
I watched Dr. Quinn with rapt attention, noting historical inconsistencies, but enjoying the setting anyway. Long after that was gone Deadwood came along. Once it was out on DVD and we had netflix, I watched every episode of that as well.
Once I started to write, I tried to write other genres, time periods, but every time it fell flat. When they say to write what you know, they mean it.
I’m certain I’m not the only one inspired, or enthralled by, Laura’s books. Even now if I’m feeling uninspired or just need a “comfort book” (the way some people need comfort food), these are the first things I grab. I love to be By the Shores of Silver Lake, or see The Happy Golden Years again. My first box of these books are very dogeared and worn down – so they reside in a place untouched by human hands now and I’ve got a new set to read to my girls…but I will never toss the old ones out. They are my first real books – ones I will always hold dear to my heart.
by Sarah | Sep 14, 2010 | Changing Tracks, Contests, Writing
It’s a sort of butterfly effect.
You change one detail and the whole story changes. It can be a good thing, it can be a bad thing.
With Mercury’s retrograde cycle finally ending on Sunday I found myself with an unusual flurry of activity. See, the last query I sent out to an agent was way back in July. July 6th, to be exact. At that point I pretty much stopped. I did send out the query to the smaller publisher, but otherwise I did nothing.
I waited on results from contests, I wrote a (very) little, I got my response back from the publisher, and I collapsed.
Not because the editor was cruel or the tips were unmanageable, or that I couldn’t handle the c/c. It just was not time for me to work on it.
I admit for one night I wallowed. Cried into my keyboard and my facebook page.
Then I left it. I left the notes, I left the story, I worked on my personal blog, and I worked on some of the 100 words projects. I even posted a couple of times here.
About a week ago I picked up those notes and fiddled with the ms, but not with much enthusiasm.
Then Sunday out of the blue I got a request for a partial. One of the last agents I had queried requested more material. A bit of hope sparked again, but something in me made me hold off.
Then yesterday I got the results/feedback from the one contest I entered. I didn’t final, but I got moderately helpful notes from one of my two judges. Plus, both confirmed my suspicion that my synopsis pretty well sucked (though not so bad, I did get a request for a partial off of it).
Now to the point of my post (finally)…
Today, energy and excitement returned. Based on the notes I got, I rewrote the synopsis. It’s FAR less detailed than my last one. I left out a lot of secondary characters I mentioned in the original. I actually left out part of the mystery to focus on the romance. I cleaned it and tightened it.
Then I looked at my ms again. I looked at the notes I’d received. The first two chapters were fine, but an idea tickled me on the third based on those notes (part of what was requested). I realized that with one small change I could alter those opening chapters. In one moment the manuscript could make more sense, run smoother, and cleaner.
Now I’m going to have to go through and make some minor adjustments in the next few chapters along with the basic cleanup recommended by the editor…but with one change I feel confident again.
So I was right. I didn’t have anything to lose. I had everything to gain.
by Sarah | Sep 9, 2010 | Books, Reviews
In the past few years I’ve been lucky enough to get a chance to review two new releases by the Historical Fiction Author, Sandra Worth. I’ve enjoyed both novels immensely, and when I learned that she would have a new novel coming out early next year, I asked if she would mind doing an interview. Thankfully she agreed to sit down and answer a few questions for me and my readers!!
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First of all, Sandra, thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and let my readers get to know you better. I’ve enjoyed reading your last two novels, and am glad you could take the time to stop by for a quick interview.
Thank you, Sadie. It has been my great pleasure to have your lovely reviews of my books. Reading them has made my day on several occasions!
I was pleased to have a chance to review them! Your novels opened my eyes to a period of history I’d never known much about before.
Can you tell my readers a little about who you are?
Well, I’ve written five novels on the Wars of the Roses and the demise of the Plantagenet dynasty in England. I’ve won numerous awards and prizes for my novels, and each of my five books is a multiple-award winner.
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Pale Rose of England
I know you have a new book coming out in February 2011. Can you tell us what to expect from this story?
Pale Rose of England: A Novel of the Tudors follows the life and loves of Lady Catherine Gordon, princess of Scotland. Her first husband was the mysterious young man who claimed to be the younger prince in the Tower, Richard of York. You may recall that the Tudors said Richard III murdered his two nephews? That is disputed by historians. No one really knows what happened to the princes, and their disappearance remains a cold case file to this day. All that is known for certain is that they were never seen again past the autumn of 1483. A new book that came out about three years ago raises questions that can only be answered if Catherine’s husband was the true prince, Richard of York, as he claimed. The Tudors called this young man “Perkin Warbeck,” but he was believed by many of his contemporaries—and by all the crowned heads of Europe—to have been King Edward’s son. The news of his survival thundered and blazed across Europe, and rocked the fledgling Tudor dynasty.
The Princes in the tower
The story of the princes in the tower is fascinating, one I became familiar with thanks to your last release, The King’s Daughter. Richard’s re-emergence in England is wrapped in such scandal and deception. Can you tell me how you research something so wrapped in mystery?
With the help of a Ph.D. medievalist, a lot of delving, probing, many visits to the university library, and a few really good text books!
How much of the story becomes your own imagination versus research?
As regards Pale Rose of England, I’d guess that about sixty percent is research, and forty percent is imagination. The broad outlines of the lives of Lady Catherine and Richard/Perkin are well known, so I work within those confines. However, history didn’t record what Catherine and Richard thought, and little of what they said. This had to come from my imagination. Also, nothing is known about how these two young people felt about the monumental events that happened to them but what little is recorded gives us a peek into the kind of man Richard was, and into Catherine’s character. Extrapolating from her actions—and the few words she spoke that did get recorded—she was a remarkably spirited, adventurous, and courageous young woman, one who stood up for her convictions, even against a king.
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Previous Books & Your love for the Rose/Tudor times
Your previous books have all centered around the War of the Roses and the emergence of the Tudor dynasty. In fact your first books, The Rose of York series, all centered around King Richard III and Anne Neville. What first drew you to Richard III?
I would say the shock of discovering a gross injustice. In defense of Richard III, here’s something to consider: If Hitler had won the war, what would FDR’s reputation be today? The Tudors accused Richard III of murdering his nephews, his brother, his brother-in-law, and his wife. They said he committed incest with his niece and died a coward on the field of battle.
None of this is true. The Tudors rewrote history to justify their usurpation. Richard has been denied the presumption of innocence that he gave us! That is correct—surprising as it is, Richard III gave us a body of laws that together comprise the presumption of innocence. His laws were picked up by our Founding Fathers. Three hundred years after the outcome of the Battle of Bosworth, his legacy, silenced by the Tudors, rose again to blossom in the New World, making him the grandfather of democracy!
In Lady of the Roses, you chose the unique perspective of Isobel, Sir John Neville’s wife to display the War of the Roses. What makes you choose certain characters over others?
I’m not sure I know why. It just happens, like a spark to flame. Why do we choose to be friends with one person, and not with another? We’re drawn to them by something intangible. When I come across someone in history—someone admirable, of outstanding character, who tries to do the right thing in exigent circumstances, I’m drawn to them.
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The Future
After Pale Rose of England, what is next for you?
Ah, I am hard at work on a secret project!!! I’m dying to talk about it but I can’t. The time is not right, and I feel it’s bad luck. One thing I can tell you, though—it’s not set in England. I’m going farther afield for this one.
That sounds exciting! You definitely have me intrigued, and I look forward to when you can spill the beans a little about this new project!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
There is something. I feel that reading is a chemical reaction between a person and a book. We each bring something to the experience. As the old adage goes, “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.” In the same way, one person may love a book, and someone else may loathe it; it may not be a great book, and it may not be a bad book. It may, in fact—whether positive or negative—say more about the person who read it than the person who wrote it. Authors (like cooks) can’t please everyone all the time, nor should they try. To my readers out there who have read my books with an open mind and an open heart, and who have taken the time to send in a review—and to those judges who chose them for the honors they have been given—I embrace you all!
That’s a wonderful take on it, and I totally agree! You can’t write for everyone, you can only write the story you love – and odds are others will love it too! I appreciate every opportunity to review a book, and am anxiously awaiting the day Pale Rose of England arrives in my mailbox!
Thank you, Sadie, for this interview, and the chance to meet your readers.
And thank you, Sandra. It was wonderful to have you stop by! I hope we’ll be able to do this again for your next book.
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Sandra Worth’s website can be found HERE. There you can read more about her five published novels and her love of the Plantagenet Dynasty.
To pick up her novels, or preorder her upcoming release, click one of the links below!
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*images from Sandra’s site*
by Sarah | Sep 7, 2010 | Changing Tracks, General, Train To Nowhere, Writing
I like to blame it on Mercury being in retrograde. Messing up my writer’s brain and functions.
It sounds so much better than “in a funk” or “writer’s block”.
Either way, that’s where I’ve been. The only thing that has been written are the 100-words pieces.
A few weeks ago I got a rejection from a mid-size pub that was helpful. It had plenty of notes, and it really got me even more wedged into my ‘stuck’ place. Once that came, not a word was written for the third book in the series (which I’m only 1/3 done with).
The past few days I’ve begun to find a bit of hope underneath all the negative ‘blah’ energy.
I’ve been playing with some alterations for Train to Nowhere and have been working on a mock-up cover (which I always love to do). The characters are changing just a little, and every time they do it excites me even more.
I took Changing Tracks back out of it’s nap. Started a new file and edited the first few chapters according to the notes I received. I’ve set a tentative schedule of 2-3 chapters a day of actual focused editing. I’m changing the font and trying to catch what I missed. There are some things I won’t get after all the edits I’ve done – but I’m hoping to make it just a little tighter and nicer. The good thing is that the first 3 chapters now sound much more like the rest of the books, I didn’t have to change much so the difference was not as tremendous as I thought.
On Thursday I’m pleased to say that I’ll be posting an interview with Sandra Worth. I’ve been privileged enough to get a chance to review the last two novels she’s had published. With a new novel coming out in February 2011, she was kind enough to agree to an interview now – and a review at the release! So keep an eye out for that Thursday.
Either Friday or Saturday I hope to post the net 100 words – but as the word this week is ‘Rotten’, I’m not sure if the muse will grant me such cooperation.
On a side note – my L key keeps skipping. That’s way too many typos for my liking. I need to fix it fast.
by Sarah | Aug 12, 2010 | General, Train To Nowhere, Writing
We all know what it’s like.
You have an inkling of an idea. Just the slightest hint of what something might become, what it could be come. We’re at point A, but point B is FAR away. The road to it is winding and crazy and we’re not sure how to get there.
We get mired down in details. Questions. Plots. Characters. Devices.
The How’s, What’s, Where’s, When’s, Why’s and Who’s.
We get stuck.
I had a story idea. A small little niggle. It had developed into two characters. I had the basics of who they were. Their names, their brief back story. Then I got stuck. Where was I going with it? How would it develop? I knew a basic conflict, but in the end it didn’t seem enough. I needed more.
I set it aside. I worked on other things totally un-writing related. I even left my Jane Doe series to linger on the vine (I have out queries/contest submissions, book 3 is started, moving slowly, I’m not in a huge rush). I pulled out knitting to distract me. Watched TV to distract me.
Then for some reason I kept getting stuck on the location. I knew what state I wanted it in. The approximate year. For some reason my muse wanted me to find out WHERE. I didn’t understand why I was stuck on this detail, but I was.
Then it happened.
By researching the WHERE, by studying the state I planned to set this in. By learning the history of the land I’d chosen the story formed before my eyes.
The light bulb clicked on and now my story was forming.
Train to Nowhere was getting somewhere.
So now I officially have my new story idea. I’ve been fleshing out some details, working on some characters. I’m letting it continue to stew a little. I am eager to write this story – but I also want to finish my Jane Doe series, because it feels wrong to leave it ‘unfinished’ (Yes, I have a first draft complete, but it’s a very weak outline that I want to make sure is properly plumped and finished).
So, I continue on. I also have a couple of other little ideas starting to form, but nothing solid yet.
In the mean time – my husband is writing now too. I have to say I’m jealous – so far I love what I’ve read from him.
Off to ponder the word of the week for 100 words. Hoping I can get something good for it. It’s a powerful word.
by Sarah | Jun 27, 2010 | Changing Tracks, Contests
Last week I had another first.
I entered Changing Tracks into its first contest.
After I hit send I wandered around the website for the contest. Then I panicked. I had known from the start that this particular contest gives ms feedback to all of its entries. At least, I had read it. It didn’t really hit me until after.
I think it was seeing the form that they use for feedback that did it. Looking at all the areas the scant 35 pages they are seeing will be judged.
Don’t get me wrong – I’ve known all along that the ms would be judged. Not just in this contest, but by every single agent that receives a partial.
There is something about having every little detail laid out in front of you in black and white that makes you start to panic. Seriously. Palms sweating, mind racing, ‘what did I just do’ panic.
I calmed down. I moved on. I’ve continued editing and fine tuning. I’ve completely changed my query (this time getting NO feedback on it and ending up w/ a partial request.). I’ve kept querying. I’ve made plans to enter it in another contest. In fact, that one does not give feedback to every entry, but it takes the full manuscript.
In two months time I’ll know one way or another, because both contests have said that they’ll notify finalists by September.
I’ve got nothing to lose by entering. If I’m not a finalist nothing is lost. If I am, a ton is gained.
Once I have them sent off, though…I have the same issue I do with all of this querying.
Putting it from my mind.
I’m SO bad at that.
To this day if you ask my dad he’ll tell you that at the ripe young age of 3 years old I was reading the reader’s digest cover to cover. That’s not entirely true – there were still a few words I didn’t understand, but I did love to read. I would pick it up and look through it. I would read my picture books but I was hungry for more.
The way they lived. Traveled. What they ate. What they sang. What they WORE. Oh, what they wore kept me even more enthralled (still does, but that’s another post).
