My Favorite Reading Memory by Mackenzie Crowne

I’m a reader and have been since I was a very little girl. I distinctly recall the surge of power I experienced as I sounded out the word Mayflower on the side of a big rig parked beyond the window of the truck stop diner on one of my family’s many road trips. From then on, I was hooked.

As a teenager, I often found myself slogging through the halls of my small town high school, bleary-eyed from staying up way past midnight to finish just one more chapter. In my twenties, when I was part of the corporate world in Boston, I normally read through my lunch hour and the daily commute to and from the city was spent with my nose buried in the pages of a paperback. Later, once I’d become a mother, I learned the art of turning pages while juggling babies, bottles and diapers.

I have fond memories of reading wherever I happened to be, including some unusual places. My girlfriends love to tease me about the day they found me curled up with a book in a public ladies’ room at the Bellagio Hotel on one of our girls’ trips to Vegas. Then, there was the time I accompanied my husband to his company Christmas party. No, I didn’t bring a book along that night, but was reminded of another time I had while being introduced to one of his colleagues’ wives. The woman grinned and said, “I remember you. You’re the lady who brought a book to the Diamondbacks game the company put together last summer. I was so jealous,” she added and shot her husband a chastising glare. “I planned to bring my own book that day, but he wouldn’t let me.”

But, my all-time favorite reading memory is from my eighteenth year. Summer was in full swing and I was working at the local cinema. My best friend earned mad money slinging pizza dough at her parents’ sub shop. As it happened, we discovered we both had a rare day off, so we headed to the beach, of course. As usual, I brought a paperback romance along.

We arrived at about eight in the morning and set up our blanket and chairs. Then I started to read. Out loud, while my friend listened. We were interrupted a few times, by friends who stopped by to say hello and for a half hour as we walked down to the café to buy a sandwich, but ten hours later, I finished and closed the book. My friend and I shared a sigh and a grin, then both spent the night nursing the blisters of our severe sunburns.

And if I got the chance to do it again, I’d do so willingly. I’m not exactly sure, but I believe the book was a Kathleen E Woodwiss title, however, the title and author don’t matter. Only the memory does and the continued love of reading that day inspired.

My phone doubles
as a paperback.

Thirty years later, my love of romance still holds true and my favorite place to read is the beach. Unfortunately, shorelines are scarce here in Phoenix, which is another reason I’m thrilled my son and his fiancé have chosen a cruise for their wedding this December. I see some beautiful reading spots in my future, but in the meantime, my backyard pool is a fine alternative. 

(Yes, that's me poolside in my back yard.) 

What about you? Do you have a favorite reading memory or place to read?

When Mac isn’t lounging poolside with a new romance, she’s busy weaving happily-ever-afters for her characters, like Chef Meggy Calhoun, the heroine of The Billionaire’s Con, Mac’s small-town romance (inspired by her home town of Saugus, MA) available at The Wild Rose Press and wherever e-books are sold.

See all of Mac’s titles at Amazon and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

I Wish I’d Known Sooner: Life Hacks by Rolynn Anderson

Recently I learned the term ‘hacks’ from Wild Rose Press whose marketing director had authors contribute to a book of hacks as a gift to readers. These are life hacks as in short cuts or nifty tricks to make life easier. Since hacking earns a malevolent connotation these days (Russian Hacking, Target card hacking, etc.), I’ve had to make two camps for ‘hack,’ one positive and the other negative.  Let’s stick to positive and pay some good hacks forward

Deviled eggs.  Love them.  Hate peeling all those eggs and wrecking half of ‘em.  Guess what, if you steam the eggs for twenty minutes, they peel like a dream!  I ONLY FOUND THIS OUT TWO MONTHS AGO!  Think of all the time I’ve lost and stress I’ve suffered badly peeling eggs for half a century. (Oh sure, I tried adding salt or vinegar to the boiling water, peeling eggs under running water…don’t think I hadn’t tried every ding-dang method.)  How did I miss the news about the steam method, which is so slick and sure, I’ll be deviling eggs by the dozen.  Happily!

Waterproof mascara.  Discovered that early on.  No raccoon look…no dribbling gray stuff when tears come.  Love it.  16 hour lipstick (Covergirl).  I put lipstick on once a day.  Done.  Binder clips on the roll-up end of toothpaste.  All perfect hacks that I’ve used for decades.

So all you have to do today is contribute a hack or two that makes life easier for you.  And me.

Meanwhile, to take a look at a hackles life, enter my hero in CÉZANNE’S GHOST http://a.co/bQdl7jp  He’s an American tour guide in Aix-en-Provence, France, and over the last months, three young women from the U.S. have disappeared on his watch.  Where are they, and will there be a number four?

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

I #amwriting (live!) for INCENTIVES. How about you? by Rolynn Anderson

We’ve been talking about deadlines (set by self and others), lately, which don’t work nearly as well for me as incentives of the external kind.  Here are some examples:

San Luis Obispo county (and other state/county entities in California), entice residents to reduce the sizes of their lawns by offering a dollar for each square foot of grass we remove (replaced by a drip system watering drought resistant plants...that's the bargain).  When my DH and I realized we'd be recompensed about $6,000 for ripping out our thirsty, unhealthy, not-so-green carpet, we signed up.

The cash for grass program initially prompted our front yard makeover, but we're so pleased with the result, we've quickly taken on the back yard. See the amazing power of incentives? My husband and I have moved into  design and demolition with much more confidence and speed than we mustered in the front-scape design.  (You can see we're keeping a small patch of grass. Can't help it!)

 P. S. I promised you a picture of my giant bird of paradise, taking 10 years to bloom, so here it is, but you have to look look hard at this pic to see the majesty.  The black, narrow triangles in the middle of the plant make up the flower...in the closeup, you will see the four white blossoms poking upward (I had to hold a branch aside to give you a full view).

What entices an author to write more, and write better? Many of us are galvanized by great reviews, a growing cadre of fans, and the encouragement of colleagues, relatives and friends. Another bonus: getting the nod in a contest.  As you know, Bad Lies is a Rone finalist. Watch me work on my 9th and 10th novels with new verve now that Bad Lies has earned a pretty badge!

Money,  food (chocolate!), badges/certificates, avid fans, encouraging colleagues.  A vacation, a new outfit, an electronic thingy, a car.  Incentives always help to push me to the next level. I build on good results...energized by each success to improve the next project. 

What's been your go-to motivator lately? How about coming up with one right now?

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

Goldilocks Readers – too little, too much, or just right? by Leah St. James #amreading #amwriting

Several weeks ago, Margo bravely offered the reworked opening of her WIP (“On the Make,” Book 3 in her Brothers in Blue series) for some feedback.

I was the first to respond, and I questioned a couple things that confused me about the family dynamics. (Whose sons are they again???)

Jannine was next with some tough-love advice, including suggestions for obliterating info dumps.

Rolynn got stopped by some of the phrasing and character development and posed some questions to rethink the section.

Vonnie offered her version of the scene with some comedic elements.

And so it went.

It reminded me of the many committee meetings I’ve attended. You ask a question of a dozen people and get a dozen different answers. It’s not surprising in a meeting, and it’s not surprising from readers/writers either.

Just as each of us has a unique point a view, each of us has a unique “thing” we’re looking for in a book. 

We know, for example, that I love emotions and digging into relationships, so it wasn’t a surprise that I focused on the relationships in the scene.

Jannine likes “action, action, action,” so it makes sense that she suggested ways to bring more action to the scene.

What does intrigue me is that I didn’t necessarily see what my fellow Roses saw in the excerpt!

I didn’t get info dump at all from the scene. Introspection, yes, but I was completely hooked (although I did agree that Jannine’s suggestions were excellent!).

Similarly, I didn’t share Rolynn’s opinion of the main character (who had shown a lack of remorse over Husband No. 2’s death). I could absolutely see where she was coming from and how some would read it like that, but I was intrigued by the character’s reaction and just wanted to know more: Why isn’t she more upset about her husband’s death? Is she maybe (gasp) glad he’s dead? I was rooting for her without even knowing why or how she’d been widowed. (So maybe the task for Margo is to add one or two more elements that will endear the character to a reader—maybe a  tender exchange with one of the boys...something.)

Vonnie’s rewrite of the scene made me chuckle, and illustrated how a skilled writer can change the mood of a scene.

 

The varying reactions and suggestions made me ask myself: Is there a larger lesson here? What does it mean? 

Here's what I came up with.

It means, in this case, that Margo has a ton of suggestions to comb through to determine which are best for her project. :-) (Ultimately, she’ll have to satisfy her editor, who might have yet different ideas!)

It means that we shouldn’t despair when one reader loves the dark, grittiness of our story and another is  completely turned off. Or if one reader snaps up our romantic comedy and another calls it drivel. It’s normal to have a wide range of opinions. We are, I think, by nature Goldilocks readers.

But the biggest lesson to me is that as we craft our stories, we should each embrace our uniqueness. Yes, we need other sets of (skillful) eyes to help point out weaknesses, and we need to look at those suggestions with thick-skinned honesty. But we also need to trust our own voices and our own vision for the story. We need to own our stories and make them uniquely ours.

Once again I’m reminded how tricky and difficult this writing thing is! 

To my fellow 'Goldilocks-es':  Happy reading, happy writing!

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Leah writes stories of mystery and romance, good and evil, and the power of love. Learn more at LeahStJames.com, visit her on Facebook or check out her Pinterest boards where she pins books and videos she loves, along with recipes she'll probably never try and gardens she'll never plant. :-)

Hooked on #Audio by Betsy Ashton

I blame this affliction on my mother. And on my grandmother. It's inherited, just like my silver hair came from both women. Maybe a bit of nurture thrown in, but mostly it's nature.

I am a hopeless audio addict. I love listening to books read by great readers. I love poetry read by the poets, many of whom are the only ones who should read their words aloud.

My addiction started when I was two. My grandmother read stories before every nap and at bedtime. She'd read them over and over, particularly Little Golden Books. She'd check them out of the library or buy them used. I listened and by three was following along, my tiny finger tracing the words. Once I dared to correct my grandmother when she misread a sentence. She thought I'd heard the story so many times that I'd memorized it. She said, "Show me the word." I pointed to a word she'd read wrong. I was right.

Mom read to me as often as my grandmother did. Even when I was six or seven, Mom and I would curl up in an easy chair where she'd read aloud. Black Beauty. My Friend Flicka and Thunderhead. Sand Dune Pony. By then, I was reading the books myself, but it was our special time, Mom and me, when she'd read to me.

Many decades later, when she was too ill to read, I read to her. Role reversal at its finest. I finished one of her favorite books, The American President, the day before she closed her eyes the last time.

When my husband and I travel, we load up on audio books from the library. We're hooked on suspense, thrillers, and, of course, Stephen King. We take at least four long car trips every year, so we plow through writers like Jeffrey Deaver, John Gilstrap, Lee Child, Vince Flynn, and the Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child Pendergast FBI series. We've almost missed turnoffs because the story was so engrossing. And we've been known to sit in the driveway to finish a chapter. More than once.

There is something about the marriage of a good reader with the written word. I'm looking for the right reader for my Mad Max series. So far, I haven't found the right female voice, but I will. I want other fans of the spoken word to enjoy her as much as I do on the printed page.

If you listen to audio books, which are your favorite writers?

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Betsy Ashton is the author of the Mad Max Mystery series. Her stand-alone serial killer novel, EYES WITHOUT A FACE, is a departure from her normal fare.