L. L. BEAN AND ME: Story Characters

I never, never, never EVER use people I know or any other real people as characters in my stories.

So where do I find my story characters? In the L. L. Bean catalogue. Or Land's End, or J. Jill, or Macy's, or Nordstrom's or any other catalogue that I favor. I flip through the pages and look for smiles or eyes or a hair style or color, or any face that jumps out at me and says, "Use me. Use me." If the look fits with the plot elements I have in mind, I'll choose it.

Then I'll give that character a name. Or if I already have a name, a sort of psychic sense draws my eye to a face that naturally goes with it and with the plot. Then I tear out the page, or clip the image and tack it on the bulletin board over my computer. Once I have the look, I'll give the character flesh and bones and a personality.

Now even though I never use real people, there are times I might be inspired by something I know about a real person and use that to portray someone in a story, like maybe a character trait or some other element of a real person.

My book, "The Charmstone" due for release next April, takes place on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Monument Valley, Utah. I lived there for a time as a VISTA volunteer, and found that I used isolated impressions of the real people I met there to define some of my story people.

In the story, Amanda Bell notices that Durango Yazzie wears a watch with a chunky silver and turquoise watchband. She finds it and the man wearing it very attractive. That watch is worn by my Navajo friend Don Mose, but Don is not Durango.

Amanda herself represents the essence of my VISTA mates, three strong, adventurous, courageous and bright young women. But she doesn’t look like any of them, nor does she have any other facet of their personalities.

My secondary characters come alive to me just as my central characters do. But they are all created in my mind—Jack Rice, Judy and Jeremiah Moon, Elliott Sheffield, Sallie Rainwater and her two hunky sons Larry and Albert, Cammie Drew, Noah Tucker, Buck Powell. The others, the various Navajo Elders and Medicine Men and wannabes, all typify those I met or saw on the reservation, but no one in particular. In the story, they are all true to themselves.

Allbums added to my iPOD:
Graceland by Paul Simon

Podcasts added to my iPOD:
Joe Frank
Joel Osteen

Finding Time To Write Revisited

A few years ago, I wrote an article called "Finding Time To Write When You Have No Time". It was published in a writers' journal, then reprinted in e-zine AbsoluteWrite where it is currently archived. The subject of finding time to write strikes a chord with a lot of us who are struggling to fit one more activity into our crowded lives.

Some suggest that writing, or not writing, is a matter of priority, claiming that we always manage to find time to do the things we want to do most. That's true in some instances, but I don't believe it's true in all cases. It isn't always simply a matter of deciding to do it. If it were, I believe a lot more people would be pursuing their dream. It isn't the will that may be lacking, but the way.

My life isn't in the same place that it was when I wrote that article, of course. I'm not struggling with the same demands on my time that I was then. Instead, I now have a new slew of demands clamoring for my attention. :-) I'm sure it's no different for you.

As a result of these new demands, however, I'm re-examining how I spend my days, looking to carve time to write.

It's an on-going battle. One that I'm winning. So far. :-)

Regards,
Karen
http://www.karenfenech.com/

GREAT CONTEST - PREORDER ANCIENT EYES!

The Ancient Eyes Pre-Order Contest & Traveling Fiction Show



Here’s the deal. Anyone who preorders this book from any bookseller will be included in this drawing. I will work with the publisher to make sure we get all the numbers worked out for the different booksellers taking pre-orders. There will be a GRAND PRIZE and four runners up.

The Grand Prize will be a hand-bound manuscript copy of Ancient Eyes, annotated, illustrated and decorated by the author. I intend to cut leather (some of you remember when I hand-sewed pigs for “My Eyes are Nailed…” the chapbook from Delirium. Something like that, I suspect…I have no idea how to do it, or how I WILL do it…but I WILL do it…and the winner will have a one-of-a-kind collectible edition of this book that will no doubt be as odd as it is rare…

That’s the start.

From there I’m branching out. The other four prizes will begin with gift certificates.

The first is $50 certificate for Shocklines.com to be spent any way you like – plus two of my own books from my own stash (my choice).

The Second is a $50 certificate for Cemetery Dance Publications - same deal as above, plus two books of my choice. Thanks to Brian Freeman and Rich Chizmar for helping make this happen.

The third is a $50 certificate with our friend and all around book dealing nice guy- Bill “Alienmotives” Lindblad at his on-line store. This one comes with a copy of “The Mote in Andrea’s Eye,” signed by the author (me) and the following deal. If you are a member of the Shocklines Forum you will receive $75 worth of books for your coupon – if you spend the coupon on works that were either written by me, or that I am a contributor to – you will receive $100 worth of books. How’s that for a deal? Click here to visit Bill’s on-line bookstore and check out the goodies that could be yours!

The final gift certificate is worth $50 with a local bookstore (who also sells on line) named Carolina Moon Books Melanie has some VERY cool antique books, as well as a lot of others that you might not find at the standard genre stores…because she doesn’t run a genre store. This one also comes with two books by me (my choice) as the Shocklines coupon did.

Can you tell I want to SELL this book? I also intend to do a podcast of the excerpt that you can read at My Web Site

So….go. Preorder this book. You know you want to. You won’t be charged at any of these sites until the book ships…some of them not until it’s in the store…

Preorder Ancient Eyes from Shocklines.com

Help me reach 200 copies as soon as possible. The sooner we do it, the sooner the book will come out – the sooner you can WIN.

ONWARD!

DNW

Introducing myself...

Hello everyone,

I'm Lonnie Cruse. My hubby and I live in Metropolis, IL. I recently signed with Five Star to publish the first in my planned Kitty Bloodworth, '57 Series, titled Fifty-Seven Heaven. It's about a baby-boomer couple, Kitty and Jack Bloodworth who find the body of her VERY irritating cousin stuffed in the trunk of their trophy winning Matador red, '57 Chevy when they enter the car in a local contest. The book is due out late in '07.

Meanwhile, besides getting ready for the important publishing date, I'm still working on my first series, the Metropolis Mystery Series. I have three books published in that series, Murder In Metropolis, Murder Beyond Metropolis, and Married In Metropolis, which was just released. This series features a male sheriff, Joe Dalton, who solves fictional murders in the real town of Metropolis, Illinois, home of Superman.

As the only Metropolis in the US zip code book, we became the "home of Superman" several decades ago. We have a 15 foot tall statue of the superhero at the courthouse, a piece of kryptonite (large ugly rock sprayed green on a major street corner) and a Planet newspaper. We have a Superman Festival every June and fans come from all over. My new series is also set in the Metropolis area, but with different characters, different, ummm, tone?

I look forward to blogging with you all, and getting to know everyone. I'm uploading a picture of our statue so you can see how big it is. Thanks for inviting me in! Lonnie

What's In A Name?

I spend a lot of time thinking about names. Actually, I collect them. I write them down in my "name" journal. Since my husband and I aren't planning any more children, that would seem like an odd preoccupation, but the truth is the search for names has become an important pursuit for me.

I wasn't always into names, but as a writer I've found that having the right name for my characters is key. A character named James behaves differently than one named Jim, or Jimbo.

With BETRAYAL, due out this November, I had the great fun of researching names from the twelfth century. One of my discoveries was "Elspeth" a variation of Elizabeth. I couldn't resist giving that name to one of the characters in my story.

If I have the pleasure of meeting you one day, I hope you'll understand if I take out the little notebook I carry in my purse and jot down your name. :-)

Regards,
Karen
http://www.karenfenech.com/

Me and My iPod

I bought an iPod a couple of weeks ago. It was strictly an impulse purchase. I went to Best Buy for a new stereo, and as an after thought asked about iPods and ended up with an iPod Nano. I didn't know how to use it, wasn't sure what I'd use it for, but omigod! I love this little thing!

I didn't know how to work any of the controls, and it didn't come with instructions, so I bought a "Rough Guide to iPods" instruction book. That helped a lot. Also, the Apple website has instructions and a tutorial, but if you're impatient like me, you won't sit still to wade through it.

To be honest, my iPod purchase was influenced a little bit by Kristen Nelson, an agent in Denver. I'm in the habit of reading her blog and everyday she mentions what tune is playing on her iPod. I'm always interested in knowing what music people listen to just like I'm curious about what books they read. By the way, you might want to check out her blog. She's been explaining and analyzing agent and editor contract clauses.

I probably won't use my iPod while I'm writing, but now that I've learned how to put my own music on it, I'll use it mostly while working out at the gym. Here are the albums I have on my iPod so far:

- Play by Moby
- Indigo Spirit by Higher Octave Music
- Myth by Chorus of Tribes
- Life by Simply Red
- A Decade of Steely Dan by Steely Dan
- Music by Madonna

When Life Gets in the Way...Unless you stop it

I've been going through a bit of a rough spot. I lost a job I hated on the 2nd of June...and I have been caught in the whirlwind of resumes, worry, etc. ever since. Today I go to lunch with the VP and COO (Chief Operations Officer) of a new company...a new start...and I'm happy to say that, through all of this, I managed to maintain my focus.

I thought I'd take this time to remind folks about my novel, "The Mote in Andrea's Eye." It's pretty cheap over at www.amazon.com - you can get it for a little over $16 (not bad for a nice HC novel). It's filled with action, adventure, a horrible hurricane, a courageous heroine, and the Bermuda Triangle...how could this be bad?

It's gotten rave reviews in Publisher's Weekly and Library Journal and has collected several others, so you don't have to take my word for it...



And if you have a spare moment stopy by my live journal. I've conducted some interviews over the past week - bestselling author, filmmaker and entertainer John Mason Skipp - and Gerard Houarner, one of the great modern short fiction authors working h dark fantasy and horror...

The Deep Blue Journal

And finally...as you sip coffee, read and write, think of me today and my lunch/interview and send good vibes. It would be nice to get back to work!

DNW

The Charmstone Edits

I'm working on the first edits of my romantic suspense, "The Charmstone," scheduled for release next April. I actually enjoyed the process, though it was made a bit more time intensive because the manuscript had undergone some revision since it was first submitted. As a result, I had to go through the edited copy and the revised copy page by page by page, word for word making the changes. There were more than I remembered. Events in the first three chapters had been rearranged. A new chapter had been added at the end, and a chapter in the middle lengthened by half. In between were word or phrase changes, and some minor rewriting.

But I like that kind of intensely focused work. Turn off the phone, put on the coffee, hunker down, and just do it.

I'm not familiar with this edit software, though, have never seen it before, so I'm sure I gave my very thorough and capable editor, Diane Kirkle, fits with all my questions about how it worked. I hope I didn't make a mess of it. She hasn't said anything, so either I used it correctly or she's too polite to tell me how badly I screwed it up.

I also enjoyed reading the story again and becoming reacquainted with my characters, lapsed socialite Amanda Bell, and Navajo Cultural Center director, Durango Yazzie. They found themselves thrown together in Monument Valley, the remotest part of the Navajo Indian Reservation, and had to come to grips with exactly where in the world they belonged. Amanda, on a mission to fulfill her deceased father's last wish, turned her back on her life in a gated mansion in Beverly Hills. Durango, newly returned to the reservation, was committed to reconnecting with his Navajo heritage, a way of life he had previously cast aside.

They work it out, though, but not without a whole lot of turmoil. You'll see when you read the book.

A List of My Life

Ever have a day when you couldn't think with any clarity? I did and when it happened to me I panicked, afraid that I'd somehow used up all of my ideas. The real problem though wasn't a lack of ideas, I found, but too many of them. I had information overload.

We have so much going on in our lives. There are so many people and things clamoring for our attention every moment and often, simultaneously. It's no wonder that with so much to think about, at times, thinking of even just one more thing, like writing, is impossible.

When this happens, some writers I know take a break from the keyboard and do something different, like taking a walk, or watching a movie, or going shopping. I find that something else works for me: I make a list of all of the things that are going on in my life.

The things occupying, or preoccupying, my thoughts are always about the current events in my life, so I write down all of those things, even the silly and the mundane. Somehow, seeing my life on paper like that is freeing and I find that once I've made my list, my thoughts and ideas start to flow.

Maybe the reason I'm able to think clearly again is that once I've listed these things, I now don't have to worry that I'll overlook someone or something. Or, maybe it's just that once I see what's been consuming my thoughts, I usually end up laughing, realizing how trivial most of it is.

Here's wishing that all of the things keeping you from thinking clearly are trivial, too.

Regards,
Karen

www.karenfenech.com