#Amwriting: Author filter systems are Wide Open by Rolynn Anderson

Whales, humpbacks, for example, are filter feeders.  An easy, efficient process if you think about it: open the mouth wide, swim, and snack.  Recognize the posture?  Once we’re into writing a new story, our author filter systems (our brains) glean relevant facts we can use for our characters, plots, and settings.  We pick up details from eavesdropping in Starbucks; snatch a piece of information out of the New York Times; during conversations with our friends or family, we jump onto tidbits of dialogue we could use in our books.  I present one sample…my new ‘Drone Filter.’

Drones.  FIRE IS NICE, the book I’m madly editing presently, has plot turns dependent on drones.  Of course I’ve done the research on drones (you can snap up one for $400, but the big ones used by the police run about 25 grand)  With my feeding filters open, lazily swimming through my days, I’ve been gathering factoids on drones, some

astonishing:

1.  The National Parks don’t allow them (usually) because they interfere with the park experience and upend our rights of privacy as citizens.  Drones are legal to use when ‘watching’ non-citizens, but since U.S. folk mix in visitors from other countries, drones have been a no-no in the Parks.

2.  Drones are now used by lifeguards to locate swimmers in trouble and throw life saving equipment to them.  Saw that in the New York Times.

3.  Homeland Security has a stable of drones they can’t use (a legal issue).  I have my character in FIRE IS NICE, borrow them.  Convenient, huh?

4.  My husband is on the board of our 50-home community council.  In rewriting the covenants, whether or not to allow drones in the neighborhood, has become an issue.  Do you want drones flying over your house?

5.  Drones are flying.  All over the place, I guess.  Not to be paranoid.  But.  They fly 15,000-60,000 feet above us and take pictures, constantly.  Where, we aren't sure.

6.  Worse?  Drones are being used by Mexican cartels to kill people: https://www.rmus.com/products/rmus-heavy-duty-police-drone?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=27915714241&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6LPv2NP42AIVzol-Ch3m9g-BEAQYAiABEgI1pfD_BwE

I reiterate, authors are filter feeders when it comes to enriching our stories.  What are you learning a lot about lately because it’s important to your manuscript?

 

One focus when I wrote BAD LIES was caves on the Amalfi coast.  Want to fly with me to Italy and see some caves?  You can pretend you’ve got a chance to win a golf tournament helped by the caddy of your dreams.  Here’s BAD LIES http://a.co/0DuYNPn:

Italy’s haunted caves spell danger for an American golfer and a NATO geologist

***

Sophie Maxwell is a late-blooming, unorthodox golfer, and mother of a precocious thirteen year-old. Determined to put divorce, bankruptcy, and a penchant for gambling in her past, Sophie goes to Italy for a qualifying golf tournament.

Jack Walker turned his back on a pro golfing career to become a geologist. As a favor to his ailing father he’ll caddy for Sophie; off hours, he’ll find caves on the Mediterranean coast, suitable for NATO listening posts for terrorist activity.

Someone is determined to stop Jack’s underground hunt and ruin Sophie’s chances to win her tournament.

On a Rome golf course and in the Amalfi coast’s haunted caves, all the odds are stacked against Sophie and Jack.  In their gamble of a lifetime, who wins?

Web and Blog:

http://rolynnanderson.com

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rolynn-Anderson/188767867821613  

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/rolynnanderson

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4990049.Rolynn_Anderson

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/author/rolynnanderson

Authors and the No Sit Problem

Happy New Year, Roses and Friends of Roses!

What a fabulous December we had here on our blog, a wonderful variety of well-told tales around the prompt: “Pulling this off would take a Christmas miracle.”  In the hub-bub of the holidays, I relished the time to sip my morning coffee and enjoy a new story section.  Well-drawn characters, interesting plots, and poignant endings, all.  Thank you, Buds!

Some of us saw the ball dropping last night and watched the second hand click to 2018, but even if we slept through the switch of the year, we’re forced to put that snowman at the end of 201_!  Mushing on is what we writers do.  We create another story, edit the heck out of it, title and cover it, publish it and figure out ways to sell it, learning from last year, but not letting our 2017 troubles weigh us down. 

Resilient and persistent we are!

Now back to reality.  Persistence implies more time at our computers, right?  Lately my legs begin aching a half hour into a writing spree.  Usually I get up and walk around, do a chore, etc., but I’d like a different solution.  I am well aware of the dangers of sitting for long periods.  Recent research is worrisome: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/well/move/why-sitting-may-be-bad-for-your-heart.html

So maybe in 2018 I should write standing up as well as sitting down.  I’m thinking about buying a gizmo to raise/lower my computer so I can stand half of the time I write.  Before I decide to buy the $500 thing, I want to learn more from people who use one and how it’s working for them. 

Tell me about yours or your friends’ experiences…or alternates to the $500 purchase. 

And if you have the need to put your legs up, here’s a book to read!

BAD LIES http://a.co/0DuYNPn:

Italy’s haunted caves spell danger for an American golfer and a NATO geologist

***

Sophie Maxwell is a late-blooming, unorthodox golfer, and mother of a precocious thirteen year-old. Determined to put divorce, bankruptcy, and a penchant for gambling in her past, Sophie goes to Italy for a qualifying golf tournament.

Jack Walker turned his back on a pro golfing career to become a geologist. As a favor to his ailing father he’ll caddy for Sophie; off hours, he’ll find caves on the Mediterranean coast, suitable for NATO listening posts for terrorist activity.

Someone is determined to stop Jack’s underground hunt and ruin Sophie’s chances to win her tournament.

On a Rome golf course and in the Amalfi coast’s haunted caves, all the odds are stacked against Sophie and Jack.  In their gamble of a lifetime, who wins?

Web and Blog:

http://rolynnanderson.com

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rolynn-Anderson/188767867821613  

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/rolynnanderson

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4990049.Rolynn_Anderson

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/author/rolynnanderson

My Suspense Novel Dedication Gives Me Bragging Rights

I have a sister and three brothers, so I have many people to brag about.  Today, I will be touting my brother, to whom I dedicated BAD LIES.  Colin is the rock hound in the family, with a penchant for hiking, climbing, tunneling, and caving, all for the purpose of examining the geology of a given place.  In fact, for most of his career, he’s been under contract with our own and foreign governments, helping them understand how to ‘use’ geology.  For example, if Norway wanted to develop a structure below-ground to keep their commanders safe, my brother would help them find such a location.  Another example:  If the U.S. needed a new spot to store nuclear waste, where would that be?

He has traveled the world, delighted to examine the contours of this earth in each place.  Here he is in Norway, high above a fjord, on top of the world, one with the rocks.

When I wrote BAD LIES, I was interested in how criminals might use caves to hide their activity.  I chose the Amalfi Coast partly because I enjoyed my trips to Italy so much, and partly because of the rich history of cave use in Italy.  I was soon over my head with the research, so I consulted with my brother, Colin.  He delights in sharing his knowledge with family and friends, always augmenting his advice with a wealth of research, pictures, and outrageous scenarios.  I could have written a whole series focused on the caves in Italy!

My simple question was: How easy would it be to hide certain criminal activity in a cave?  Second: How do you find your way out of a cave without use of the usual senses?

My brother answered these questions breezily, more interested in telling me how the Nazis built a space ship in an Italian cave, and how earthquakes affect certain cave structures in that country.  To say he is passionate about geology is an understatement.

After I collaborated with Colin, caves seem to be on my mind.  I’m working on a novel right now that has a spelunking aspect as does BAD LIES.  Presently I'm reading a book on Karst Caves.  Way over my head.  Again.  The geology bug bit me, and I thank my brother for it!

So I'm giving you permission to brag about a sib, son, daughter and grand kid...one with a passion that makes you burst your buttons with pride.  Brag away!

Here’s BAD LIES http://a.co/0DuYNPn:

Italy’s haunted caves spell danger for an American golfer and a NATO geologist

****

Sophie Maxwell is a late-blooming, unorthodox golfer, and mother of a precocious thirteen year-old. Determined to put divorce, bankruptcy, and a penchant for gambling in her past, Sophie goes to Italy for a qualifying golf tournament.

Jack Walker turned his back on a pro golfing career to become a geologist. As a favor to his ailing father he’ll caddy for Sophie; off hours, he’ll find caves on the Mediterranean coast, suitable for NATO listening posts for terrorist activity.

Someone is determined to stop Jack’s underground hunt and ruin Sophie’s chances to win her tournament.

On a Rome golf course and in the Amalfi coast’s haunted caves, all the odds are stacked against Sophie and Jack.  In their gamble of a lifetime, who wins?

Amazon 5 star review for BAD LIES:

"If you enjoy a tightly written romantic suspense novel, then this is the book for you. Bad Lies is a real page turner. When I say I couldn't put this book down, I mean it. Read it in just a few sittings. Great characters you're drawn to immediately, playful and sophisticated dialogue, intriguing Italian setting, and a tense plot that keeps you guessing all the way. Ms. Anderson knows how to spin a terrific yarn and this is a very, very good one."

Web and Blog:

http://rolynnanderson.com

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rolynn-Anderson/188767867821613  

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/rolynnanderson

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4990049.Rolynn_Anderson

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/author/rolynnanderson

My Golf and Writing on Parallel Paths by Rolynn Anderson

I’m a retired Washington State high school principal (and English teacher) who traded Seattle’s gray skies for sunny California in 2000, decided to write suspense novels, signed up for the golf experience at Cypress Ridge Golf Course in 2001, started writing...and never looked back.

Sixteen years later, I realize my adventures in writing matches my journey to become a skilled golfer.  I’ve learned golf and writing share the same pains and joys…and I wouldn’t give up either endeavor.

Let me show you how my golf and writing careers have followed parallel paths.  For instance, after writing eleven novels in nine years, I was picked up by Wild Rose Press-my thriller, LAST RESORT.  In golf, I chipped away at my index, dropping from a 28 to an 18.  For those of you who know the game, that means I took ten strokes off a round of eighteen holes of golf.  Yippee!

And I challenged myself by playing difficult golf courses, pocked with bunkers, and plagued by narrow fairways that took right and left turns at will.  As an author, I challenged myself at every crossroad, following LAST RESORT with a quirky series of three novels about a boutique funeral planner whose dead clients refuse to rest in piece.  Every book presents a new ‘golf course,’ forcing me to dig deeper for confidence, skill, and persistence.

You’re well aware of the old saw that we learned everything we need to know about life in Kindergarten.  Forget that.  I learned everything I know about writing from golf.  I whack at a golf ball with the same intensity I attack a sentence, no holds barred.  Each ‘lie’ (or plot sequence) is different.  Every hole (or scene) requires fresh insight.   I must learn the ins and outs of a new character…same with a new golf club.  Choosing a club, aligning the ball and calibrating my swing match my deliberate word choice and word order.  I love playing with great golfers as much as I’m inspired when I read novels by fabulous writers. Conflict?  Oh yeah! Novels are juiced up by conflict, as is competitive golf.  Each 'game' can go down because of a psych-out.

But the most important thing I learned from golf is the ‘practice’ element.  You can’t be a great golfer or writer without consistent, repetitive, focused encounters with the skill.  I write every day, revising and crafting new stories…and my golf index improves if I play two or three times a week.

I will tell you that in many ways, golf is easier than writing a novel.  Most books take me eight months to write, with the editing part as painful as labor.  In golf, four hours may produce a score of 82…or not.

I ask you to pick up a glass of champagne and join me in a cyber toast:  Here’s to golf (and chipping two more strokes of my index) and the launch of my new golf/geology/Italy/cave novel, BAD LIES.  Big sales and tiny handicaps to us all! 

To celebrate, I’m offering BAD LIES, in e-version, free for three days, July 10-12.  Download it, read it, and please review it on Amazon/Goodreads.  If I get 20 reviews, I can promo the novel on Book Bub…that’s my goal!  Thanks for helping me get there!

Here it is, BAD LIES http://a.co/0DuYNPn:

Italy’s haunted caves spell danger for an American golfer and a NATO geologist

****

Sophie Maxwell is a late-blooming, unorthodox golfer, and mother of a precocious thirteen year-old. Determined to put divorce, bankruptcy, and a penchant for gambling in her past, Sophie goes to Italy for a qualifying golf tournament.

Jack Walker turned his back on a pro golfing career to become a geologist. As a favor to his ailing father he’ll caddy for Sophie; off hours, he’ll find caves on the Mediterranean coast, suitable for NATO listening posts for terrorist activity.

Someone is determined to stop Jack’s underground hunt and ruin Sophie’s chances to win her tournament.

On a Rome golf course and in the Amalfi coast’s haunted caves, all the odds are stacked against Sophie and Jack.  In their gamble of a lifetime, who wins?

Seven Suspense Novels Spiked with Romance

Web and Blog:

http://rolynnanderson.com

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rolynn-Anderson/188767867821613 

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/rolynnanderson

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4990049.Rolynn_Anderson

http://www.amazon.com/author/rolynnanderson