October 17, 2011 / Uncategorized / 1 Comment »

A new way to tout a book!

I am back from a much-needed vacay (finishing a book turns my brain into oatmeal) and am back at the worktable. Thought we’d start the week with some visual candy. A book trailer! (Think movie trailer with the “In theaters now!” line replaced with “In bookstores now!”) I have to say I really like the trailer my publisher came up with for A Sound Among the Trees, out on shelves now for about two weeks. It’s clever and cool and I like the music in the background. Makes me think of Hogwarts a little bit, which is totally not Civil Warish but is so inviting nonetheless.

What do you think? Have you ever bought a book based on its trailer?? If you want to see a few others to gauge your appreciation for book trailers, check out this blog post by publishing guru Michael Hyatt. Do you think book trailers have the power to sway you as a buyer? Would love to hear your thoughts!

October 4, 2011 / A Sound Among the Trees, The Civil War / 7 Comments »

A Sound Among the Trees – It’s HERE!

On a historic Fredericksburg street, Holly Oak stands in quiet elegance. The cannonball wedged between stone and timber is a silent reminder of what the house endured in the War Between the States; and a dot on the timeline of the women who lived there then and live there still.

When Marielle Bishop, an Arizona native, marries into the Holly Oak family she soon hears rumors that the ghost of Susannah Page, a Yankee spy, haunts Holly Oak’s halls, longing for pardon. But Holly Oak’s 83-year-old matriarch, Adelaide, tells Marielle that it is not her great-grandmother that is the ghost, but the house itself that is caught in a limbo of regret, like a needle on a scratched record, unable to reinvent itself as a place of refuge.

As Marielle struggles to fit into her new role as wife and stepmother, far from the desert she loves, she must reconcile her belief that it is people – not houses – that hang onto the past, with the strange aura of sorrow she feels inside Holly Oak’s walls and within the rustling of the trees that surround it.

The Civil War comprises four years of intense human drama and human drama is always the backdrop of a compelling story. I chose to set this book in Fredericksburg because of the particular events that occurred there, including its occupation and the insanely horrific battle in December 1862. We often talk about what houses would say if the walls could talk, and In A Sound Among the Trees, one of the main characters imagines that the house she lives in, which was her great-grandmother’s house during the Civil War, is aware of its past, that it aches over what happened inside it. Houses are supposed to be places of safety and refuge. This house was unable to be what it was designed to be. And in that respect, the house is its own ghost, at least to my main character and everyone she comes into contact with. What I hope to convey to readers is that the house is not the one unable to accept the past for what it was, it is the people inside it, namely my main character. She, though alive haunts the house, insomuch that she is tethered to the past.

Everyone in this house needs to be reminded, or perhaps told for the first time, that your past is not just what happened TO you, it is also what you responded to. You made choices, you made adjustments, you survived. And sometimes you do not see the whole picture until many years later. You were meant to see the whole picture. It is part of the picture of your changed life.

Read the first chapter here:
Buy A Sound Among the Trees here:
Tell me what you think so far right here!

October 3, 2011 / Blue Heart Blessed, Greenbrier Books, Kindle / 2 Comments »

I like the letter E

I was a Kindle hold-out for a couple years, I confess.

I had a debilitating devotion to paper and ink and I just didn’t want to give them up. I only wanted books with pages, thank you very much, and I ardently rubbed away any interest in an e-reader the moment it popped up.

But when you are in the book industry, you simply cannot ignore the signs of the industry’s times. You can ignore it if you are a reader, but not if you are a writer. And the fact is, e-books are the way in which we are headed. Just like cave drawings gave way to papyrus and papyrus gave way to paper, paper is giving way to digital. You can still read books on cave walls if you want to, but you can’t write one on a cave wall and expect anyone will read it.

All that is to say, I got a Kindle for Christmas last year, after hinting that I was ready to give it a try, and am flabbergasted by how much I love it. I can take fifty books with me wherever I go. I can get a book in seconds, if I need it. Case in point: When I finished reading Catching Fire, the second in the Hunger Games trilogy, at midnight, I nearly hyperventilated as I frantically clicked buttons on my Kindle to buy the third one so I could begin reading it at 12:01. Which I did.

I can fit my Kindle in my purse. I can make notes. I can highlight. I can do everything I did with paper books except loan them to friends – and I think the day is coming when that will change, too.

And the really wonderful thing about e-books for me personally is, my Out-Of-Print early books are finding new life in the electronic book format. Blue Heart Blessed, a fun romantic sorta-comedy that I loved writing and which has been out of print for more than a year, is now back in circulation as an e-book with Greenbrier Books. Three more of my OOP books will be available in the coming months via Greenbrier. And that’s happy news for me.

If you haven’t bought an e-reader yet, I totally get why you haven’t. If you have, may I suggest Blue Heart Blessed (the e-book) for the incredibly low, everyday price of $2.99? If you haven’t read it, and you love a love story, I think you will enjoy it.

I plan to blog again tomorrow. Yes, on a Tuesday! Something big is happening tomorrow…

See you then.

September 26, 2011 / Uncategorized / 4 Comments »

Cat bathing

My cat

I am working this week to get data files ready for some of my old out-of-print books to be available on e-book format so am feeling a little stretched for time as there really is just one week left in September. But I found this little lesson on how to properly bathe a cat – on the Ever Wise Internet of course – my thanks to Anonymous to writing it, and I just had to share it here to both enlighten you and lighten me. Much to do. Enjoy as always. . .

How To Clean A Cat

Thoroughly clean the toilet.
Add the required amount of shampoo to the toilet water, and have both lids lifted.
Obtain the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.
In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids. Note: You may need to stand on the lid so that he cannot escape. CAUTION: Do not get any part of your body too close to the edge, as his paws will be reaching out for any surface they can find.
Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a “power wash and rinse” which I have found to be quite effective.
Have someone to open the door to the outside and ensure that there are no people between the toilet and the outside door.
Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift both lids.
The now-clean cat will rocket out of the toilet, and run outside where he will dry himself.


This beloved dog, gone now, would’ve written this…

Sincerely,
the Dog

September 23, 2011 / Uncategorized / 5 Comments »

Writing What You Know

If you’re a Star Wars fan – and even if you’re not – you will enjoy this little 8-minute film called George Lucas in Love. Sometimes when you’re a writer you just need to hear you’re not meant to write agricultural space tragedies, you’re meant to write what you already know and care about. Enjoy:

September 17, 2011 / Uncategorized / 8 Comments »

I am back from the Dead Zone

I finished the book today. At a few minutes after 10 a.m. It was too dang early in the morning for champagne and only the dog and the cat were there to congratulate me, which they totally did not do.

Ninety-three thousand words were extracted from my head and heart and soul over the last four months for this novel and by-golly them words were snarky about it. This book, which is set partially here right in Sandy Eggo and partially in the magical city of Florence, Italy, is called The Girl in The Glass. There’s a cool historical thread in it involving the uber-audacious Medici family. They about wore me out. You will see it on bookstore shelves in 2012.

With The Girl in the Glass done I am no longer The Girl in the Dining Room Tapping Away at Her Laptop While the Rest of the House Sleeps. It’s good to be back. And because I am not so keen on writing today (you figger it out) I have here for your viewing pleasure a fun, fun video by author Maureen Johnson which aptly explains this thing I do in chair all day long. Enjoy. I might see you Monday. . .

September 9, 2011 / Uncategorized / 1 Comment »

So, the silence

Perhaps you’ve noticed I haven’t been hanging around the Edge the last couple weeks. I am in the home stretch of a manuscript and a deadline. The manuscript is almost done and the deadline is almost here. I’ve eighteen thousand words to go and the end of the month to capture them with my butterfly net.

This novel, which has my protagonist on the loverly streets of Florence, Italy, has been a bugger to write. Not because Florence isn’t grand, ’cause she is. But my historical thread this go-around is the Italian Renaissance (wow and more wow) but also the Medici family (gasp and more gasp).

They are a tough family to write about, those Medicis. They loved the arts, supported the arts, gave us the genius of Michelangelo, Raphael, Da Vinci, Brunelleschi. The jaw-dropping masterpieces that assault the senses all over Florence are there because the Medicis paid for them or comissioned them.

But they weren’t the kind of people to write home about. It’s crazy that they adored beauty and lived lives of ugliness. Not all of them, but most. I’ve come across a couple here and there who didn’t rock heaven with their choices. . .

Hence, my dilemma.

Wait.

Dilemma in a novel is GOOD.

Dilemma equals conflict. Conflict equals tension. Tension equals emotional investment. Emotional investment equals great story.

Sigh.

Back to the salt mines I go…

August 22, 2011 / Room / 1 Comment »

Room: A review

I knew when I first heard the premise for the novel ‘Room’ that I wanted to read it. I am always up for a first-person point-of-view story from an unconventional point of view. That’s why I read – and loved – The Art of Racing in the Rain, written from the point of view of a dog named Enzo. It was an unforgettable story with a plot that kept me riveted.

I found the same thing happening to me when I began to read Emma Donoghue’s Room. I was sucked into the highly dysfunctional world of of the five-year-old narrator, Jack. So drawn in, in fact, that I read the book in two days, something I hardly ever to do anymore because life is so crammed full. But I couldn’t put it down. I HAD to know what would happen next to this little boy and his brave mother.

The premise is this: “To five-year-old Jack, Room is his entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it’s where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.”

In her interactive website for the book (which is very cool) Emma writes: “In my experience, the bond between mother and newborn is a tiny, cozy world that gradually relaxes its magic to let the rest of the world in. But motherhood — even under ideal circumstances — also has elements of nightmare as well as fairy tale, sci-fi as well as realism: it’s a trip like no other, and it can occasionally feel like (let’s admit it, shall we, mothers of the world?) a locked room.”

Couple that insight with the spectre of the Room actually being a prison mom can’t escape from and the idea that Room is all the world her son knows, and you have the backdrop for a page-turner. I can’t say much more without spoiling the plot for you. Suffice it to say that as a mother, I was challenged to question what I would be willing to do to keep my child safe, not just in the physical sense, but in every sense.

So how about if I give you a link to read the first chapter so that you can check it out for yourself. Just click on the link at the right where it says “Read first chapter free”

And if you’ve read it, let’s chat in the comments section where we won’t spoil anything for those who’ve yet to read it. . .

August 15, 2011 / Gina Holmes / 3 Comments »

Gina Holmes, my sweet guest today on Edgewise, is the bestselling author of Crossing Oceans and the newly released novel, DRY AS RAIN. She’s the founder of Novel Rocket, (formerly Novel Journey), a registered nurse, wife and mother who makes her home in Southern Virginia. You can learn more about her at www.ginaholmes.com

Edgewise: Welcome Gina! Your debut novel, Crossing Oceans – which I loved! – hit ECPA, Amazon, PW and CBA bestsellers lists and was a finalist in every major Christian book award, including Christy, ECPA, Retailer’s Choice, Carol Awards, and won RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice. Does having that kind of success put the pressure on for your second book?

Gina: I try not to think too much about it. I didn’t expect that kind of success but am very grateful for it. I had a lot of pressure on me on this releasing novel, not because of the success of the first book, but because, unlike the first, I didn’t have all the time in the world to write it. Some books flow smoothly, this one I had to yank out like a bad tooth. I faced multiple rewrites, some of them pretty major, all while trying to promote my all important first novel. I was still working full time, mothering, running Novel Journey (now Novel Rocket) and all of that, so this was a tough tough book for me to produce.

Edgewise: What you can you tell us about your latest release, Dry as Rain:

Gina: I’m a really bad pitchman so I’ll just repeat the back of the book copy:

Behind every broken vow lies a broken heart.

When Eric and Kyra Yoshida first met, they thought their love would last forever. But like many marriages, theirs has gradually crumbled, one thoughtless comment and misunderstanding at a time, until the ultimate betrayal pushes them beyond reconciliation. Though Eric longs to reunite with Kyra, the only woman he has truly loved, he has no idea how to repair the damage that’s been done.

Then a car accident erases part of Kyra’s memory—including her separation from Eric—and a glimmer of hope rises from the wreckage. Is this a precious opportunity for the fresh start Eric has longed for? Does he even deserve the chance to find forgiveness and win back Kyra’s heart . . . or will the truth blow up in his face, shattering their last hope for happiness? A richly engaging story of betrayal and redemption, Dry as Rain illuminates with striking emotional intensity the surprising truth of what it means to forgive.

You can read the first chapter HERE.

Edgewise: This novel feels different than Crossing Oceans and yet I sense the same emotional pull.

Gina: I didn’t intent to write something completely different and I think it feels that way because of the characters telling the story. In Crossing Oceans, Jenny was our narrator and she was a melancholy, all woman sort.

In Dry as Rain, we have Eric, who is a man’s man and doesn’t think in flowery language and descriptions so it would have been wrong to write him that way. While both books have a heavy subject matter, Crossing Oceans was much more so. You can’t get heavier than dying, so it was bound to be more emotional, no matter how I wrote the next book.

But, my genre seems to be relational drama which both are and I like to pepper in a quirky cast and that’s true of both books.

Edgewise: Wow. First writing first person from a male’s perspective and having a protagonist who does a lot of things that aren’t very cool, like cheating on his wife, lying, etc. is kind of a gutsy move in the Christian market. Are you afraid this might hurt your sales in the Christian market?

Gina: The thing is Eric’s a nominal Christian at the beginning of the book, lukewarm about his faith like many who call themselves followers of Christ. This is his journey though and he doesn’t end up where he begins. I wanted to tell the story as truthfully as I could and at the end of the day let the chips fall where they may.

Edgewise: Applauding here. I totally get that. So tell us What happened to your long time website, Novel Journey?

Gina: www.noveljourney.blogspot.com is now www.novelrocket.com You can get to it by either address but we decided on an overhaul because we wanted to drop the blogspot address and just have a dot com. The guy who owned Novel Journey didn’t return our emails to sell so we had to do something a little different. This turned out to be a good thing maybe because we’d been chewing on broadening the site for some time. We’ve got some exciting changes now, the most notable is the addition of “Rocket Pages” a sort of Craig’s List for writers to find the services they need to launch and sustain their career.

Edgewise: I LOVE the Rocket! Well done. What’s going on with you personally?

Gina: Well, I’m blissfully married, mom to two, stepmom to three, and owner of 2 dogs and a fish. I bought a guitar and hope to start fiddling with that soon and just writing a lot. Nothing too exciting over here but that’s the way I like it. I’m the happiest I’ve been in my life. I’ve accomplished many of the dreams and goals I’d hoped to and I always tell my husband, if I died today, I’d feel I lived and full and rewarding life. Not that I’m looking to die just yet.

Edgewise. More applause! What are you working on now?

Gina: I can’t give the title yet as that’s a work in progress but it’s a story very close to my heart. I’m more excited about this one than anything I’ve ever written. Hopefully my publisher agrees and you see it on the stands in the next year or so. That’s really all I can say for now.

Edgewise. Well, okay. So tell us something we don’t know about you.

Gina: I’ll tell you a few. I thought I was afraid of heights until I bungee-jumped and loved it. I’d love to skydive for the first time in the next year, white water raft and get at least a little skill on the guitar. My husband is a talented songwriter. My kids are the sweetest in the world, (yes, the world!), and I love to get my hands dirty. That should do it. Thanks for having me!

Edgewise. Pleasure was all mine. See you in the marketplace, but not the bungee-jumping cliffs, cutie. . .

August 12, 2011 / heroes, prickly pear / 4 Comments »

Prickly outside, sweet inside

My son the gourmet decided to pick a prickly pear from the cactus growing in our yard.

He knew inside the I-dare-you-to-touch-me globe was sweetness.

They stood at the ready like soldiers with lances.

Bristled and brave.

“Do not trifle with us,” they seemed to say. “We are warriors. We stand our ground. You are doomed.”

But it was obvious a squirrel or rabbit or coyote had found a way – without gloves – to empty the prickly pears of their treasure.

And so, properly attired and most respectful, my son exposed the fruit inside, and we all tasted, mindful of the spines that wanted to cling to the slices.

“Kiwi,” we said. With a hint of melon.”
A delicate taste, subtle and squishy.

Outside a warrior, inside a tender-heart, life-giving and sweet, as so many outwardly stoic souls are.

Heroes unmasked.

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