What do you want to see?

I'm considering something here....I've been visiting other writers' blogs and one thing I've seen that has captured my interest is some of their writings. Actually, not just some of their writings. I've done that here a bit. What I'm talking about is them posting an actual book online, bit by bit, chapter or section by section. Is that something you think would be of interest? Would it give you an opportunity to sample my writing? Would you find that more interesting than simply bits and pieces of what's on my mind? I could, of course, still interject those bits and pieces.... Let me know what you think.

His Blood For Yours

I was recently asked if I had a favorite story in my latest book titled "Becoming..." and, although I love them all, I decided to go out on a limb and choose one that received mixed reviews as my favorite. I’ve been told the writing on that story was flawless, the main character marvelous, and the story spiritually challenging. However, there is a part in the story where the man, an individual who had shot multiple people before falling victim himself and getting saved by the female physician, tells her that he's not a bad man but had just had a bad day! That line hit a nerve with people. I was told he WAS a bad man! What I’d hoped to show was that people often do things when ran by emotion. The doctor shares real compassion with him and gives him hope. She shares with him about the Great Physician whose blood still cleans the stains from all of our bad days. I like the story and the fact that she ministers to him throughout. Unlike some of my other works, “Becoming…” is very faith centered. I would not call it preachy, however, all the stories deal with issues of faith.

Enjoy “His Blood For Yours” (Originally titled “Stains of a Bad Day”)

Lindsey Walker veered right, taking the exit ramp that would lead her to the Red Dragon Emporium. It was the place to find the perfect accessories to go in her newly redecorated living room. She’d chosen a warm, earthy pallet for the designer to work with. She loved how it was coming together, but decided it needed a subtle pop to liven the tranquility; something simple like a red vase.

This part of town was foreign to her. She carefully navigated her candy apple Lexus according to her GPS. Left turn, then right. Rounding the corner she saw a grouping of emergency vehicles. The hypnotic lights all flashed in unison. Blue. Red. Blue. Red. A young police officer motioned her away but she stopped instead.

“I’m a doctor. Can I be of help?” There were several bodies lying around. Each appeared to be responding to care; all except a man somewhat apart from the others. He lay in a crimson pool of his own blood while a young EMT frantically tried to stop the red flow.

“We’ve got a bleeder. Can’t seem to stop it. He’s, uhm, he’s the gunman. Responsible for all these…” He waved his hand to indicate the victims.

Lindsey nodded. “Let me see what I can do, okay?”

The policeman nodded. Lindsey got her bag from the car. He escorted her to the EMT. The young man looked up at them. “I can’t save him. Can’t stop the bleeding or even slow it.”

“Let’s have a look, shall we?” Years of training and experience as a top-notch surgeon taught Lindsey to be calm in emergency situations. It helped to ease the tension of those around her as well.

She knelt beside the body, barely noticing the blood soaking through her Calvin Klein jeans. A brief exam led her to a few tricks of the trade, all of which proved useless.

Dr. Walker moved her hair from her face while listening to the EMT rattle off the man's vitals. He shook his head. “He's a goner, doc.”

But Lindsey refused to give up. She closed her eyes and placed her blood-soaked, gloved hands together. “Father,” she whispered, “Tell me what I need to do to save this man. He needs a second chance with You.” She lifted her hands to the heavens and spoke the words she’d heard others say in the hallways as they’d prayed for loved ones before surgery. “Guide my hands, Lord God.”

A feeling of peace and knowing washed over her. She knew exactly what to do. Pulling the gloves off, she ordered the EMT to douse her hands with the antibacterial spray from her bag. Bewildered, he did as ordered. She called out tools and he lifted them from her bag.

Lindsey made an incision in the man’s side just large enough for her hand to fit through. The others who had gathered around watched in utter shock.

Lindsey closed her eyes, envisioned the internal body, and felt for the bleeder. “There!” she said at last. “Clamp.” The EMT handed it to her as her hand emerged holding parts of the man’s innards. The gurgling of blood lessened and stopped. Lindsey packed around the open wound. “We need to transport him immediately. He needs more than what I can offer him here.” Heads nodded. Activity followed.

As they began to wheel the man away on the stretcher, Lindsey leaned down and whispered to him, “He saved your body. Now let Him save your spirit. His blood for yours.”

In a moment he was whisked away from the crime scene en route to Emmert Memorial Hospital.

The next day, Lindsey went to see the stranger she'd helped to save. She knew exactly who deserved the glory and she didn’t mind telling others as much. Alone she could never have saved him.

Through bandages and tubes he smiled at her weakly. “Thank you,” he whispered. Lindsey nodded, watching him try for more words. “I’m not a bad man. Just a…..bad day.”

“I know.” She replied as she sat close to the bed. Her compassion brought him to tears. “Will you let me tell you about real hope?” He nodded gratefully.

Taking his hand, Lindsey spoke of another doctor, the Great Physician, who died upon a cross that we might have life more abundantly; whose blood still cleans the stains from all of our bad days.

No lack of ideas here…

I have been inundated with ideas. That’s a good thing, right? Well, yes and no. I remember when I wrote my first novel…as yet unpublished (as well as still mostly in handwritten form secured within the folds of one of my notebooks). I wrote the whole thing over Christmas break. That’s right! A whole novel in a two week time period. Is it any good? I don’t know. At the time I thought it was the best thing I’d ever done. Pride gushed from every pore of my body. Again, I don’t know if it’s any good. It’s about the Phantom of the Opera of all things! But, the important thing about that novel was that it revived a dream within me; one I’d buried many years ago. I LOVED the process from conception of the idea to the writing and rewriting. I practically worked day and night on the thing. Obsessed, I would say.

As I wrote I thought “this is what I want to do when I grow up.” Keep in mind I was just a few months shy of my 45th birthday! Nearing completion I began to consider a “career” change. I’ve done many things though the last 15 years have been devoted to being a mother and wife as well as volunteering with my local no-kill animal shelter. I also became card maker extraordinaire and designed custom specialty greeting cards. Awesome Cards for Awesome People was my slogan. I loved doing that too, although it barely paid for itself. I actually still do cards by request and have my “regulars” who email or call…regularly!

But, my youngest was getting ready to start school. I realized I would be alone for 5 whole hours every single day. What did I most want to do with that 5 hour time span? I knew. I wanted to write. And, as with anything we undertake…or at least it is this way for me…I began to doubt myself. What if I couldn’t think of anything else to write about? What if I wrote one or two books and then…nothing!

That didn’t happen. In fact, it has been quite the reverse for me. I have idea upon idea and each new story brings with it a whole slew of new ideas…so if you’re lacking, let me know!  Before I finish one, a new one is waiting (and usually I begin before the other is finished). That’s happening as I write A Marriage of Necessity. I have two ideas, in fact. Surprisingly they are both a bit different from anything I’ve done before. One was inspired by this flash of a vision I keep getting every time I walk out into the garage and get into my vehicle. It’s a bit frightening. The other inspiration came from the profile picture of a FaceBook Fan. I then read her story and knew why that picture was calling me.

It’s exciting to know the ideas are forthcoming. I could run out of them today and have enough in my file cabinet to support my writing efforts for the rest of my life. At the same time, it’s a bit frustrating because I want to share them NOW! I also have a job to do as I edit and format and help others achieve their writing dreams through my www.OneStopPublisher.com.

On a positive note….I have finally handed over some of my handwritten manuscripts for transcription. The day I watched the first one walk out the door I thought I would cry. I had to remind myself that she’d come back to me in a format ready to share with the world. Let her go! It’s the only way to do what I want to do…share NOW. And may the ideas be forever forthcoming….

WRITING IS FANTASTIC!

Author Melinda Richarz Lyons creatively explains why she thinks writing is
F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C as she shares some of the things she thinks are important when it comes to writing using her latest book—a young readers book entitled Murder at the Oaklands Mansion --as an example.

F—The “F” in fantastic stands for fun! Writing is fun! When you write fiction—just think about it. It is the only time in your life that you can make things up and get away with it. You can make up a story that is not true when you write fiction. Now it is important to remember even if you make a story up you still need to write about what you know. Like the murder in my story is made up, but the facts concerning the Civil War that are in the book are true and the things about Murfreesboro, where the story takes place, are true. Because first of all, I lived in Murfreesboro, and second, I did a lot of research on the Civil War before writing the book. So write about what or where you know and then do research if you need to. Your story can be made up but your background information has to be believable. It is also fun to create characters out of thin air. Like in my book, I needed a bad character and thought, “what do I want him to be like? How do I want him to look?” So I just made up a name and started creating this murderer. I decided to make him older. Then I decided to make him an aging hippie and decided he would have a long gray ponytail and he would drive an old flowered bus. I pictured him as scruffy and it was fun to dress him and put words into his mouth that made him sound mean. So remember, writing is fun because you get to use your imagination.

A—The “A” in fantastic stands for action and activity. Nobody wants to read something boring. Think about the books you like to read. They have action in them, don’t they? And you have to create action and activity. Let me give you an example. In my book, I have the main character, Brooks, witness a murder. Okay—I could have just written something like “Brooks heard a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot. Then somebody fell down.” That tells what happened but it isn’t very exciting. So instead I wrote, “Brooks heard several loud crackles and then he felt something fall against him. It was the man who had been standing right next to him. The man was just lying there on the ground bleeding! Brooks stood there frozen and then he heard someone scream, “Call 911!” Both those passages basically say the same thing, but the second one adds a lot more action and activity. Don’t just tell your reader what is happening. Make your reader hear the gun, see the man fall, and use details. It is a lot more effective to say the man was bleeding. That makes you see the fact that he really is hurt. So make your writing have that A in it for action and activity.

N—The N in fantastic stands for never. You never need anything but your mind and your English skills to write. You can write anywhere anytime and it doesn’t cost anything. You can use a computer or just a pencil and a piece of paper. Writing never has a time limit, either. You can write for fifteen minutes or you can write for five hours. That is one of the things I love about writing. Like with my book, I would think of something I wanted to add to it or change, and I would sit down and write. I never had to write in a certain time period or in a certain place. And you almost never have any limits on your writing. By that I mean you can go wild with your imagination. You can create a character and a situation right out of your head. And think about this--you are almost never too old or too young too write. I was 11-years-old, the first time I got paid for my writing. So remember, the N stands for never.

T—The first T in fantastic stands for teach because writing teaches you so much. You know when I was talking about the fact that you need to try to stick with what you know, even if you write fiction so your background information will be accurate. Like with my book, I started with what I knew—my town of Murfreesboro, TN, and I did know quite a bit about the Civil War. But I wanted to make sure all my facts were correct, so I did a lot of research at the library and on the internet. Doing the research took a lot of time but it was really fun. And just think how much that research taught me. I learned all kinds of things about the Civil War. Also each time you write, it teaches you to be a better writer. Remember when you learned how to swim or skate, or ride a bicycle. At first you weren’t very good. You feel off your bicycle a lot. But then with practice you got better and better. Writing is like that. The more you write, the better you get. So the T stands for teach as writing teaches a lot of different things.

A—The A in fantastic is for accomplishment. When you finish writing something, you feel like you have really accomplished something. Your words are on paper. What was in your head is there for anyone to read. There is no better feeling than when you write something and it touches someone else. Like if you write a poem for your Mom and she reads it and cries. How great is that? Writing is very powerful. You can make people cry or laugh or get angry—just with your words. One time I wrote something and a woman who read it sent me flowers. I felt so very accomplished. Like I had done something important and touched someone with my words. What I wrote meant something to someone else. So the A stands for the accomplishment you feel when you put your words down on paper. It feels like you have done something important and you have!

S—The S in fantastic stands for success. But becoming a successful writing involves a lot. First, writing is very hard work and takes a lot of time. I often say that the word writing may be spelled with one r and no e’s. But actually when you think about it writing has two r’s and by that I mean writing involves rewriting or revision and rejection. You don’t just jot something down and you are done with it. Like with my book, I spent more time on the rewriting and revision than I did actually writing the book. I think many authors spend a lot of time making their writing as good as it can be. Now the other r that is involved in writing is rejection. If you write much at all, at some point you will face rejection. I have enough rejection letters from publishers to paper a room. Honestly! But what you have to do is take rejection as part of writing and try to learn from it. Just like when you teacher corrects something on your paper. Most of the time, if you change it, your paper will be better. And the e’s that are actually part of the word writing go along with this—edit and effort. You have to spend a lot of time on those revisions and rewriting. You have to edit your work and then it will be edited by others, like your publisher. It takes a lot of effort to be a writer. But to be a success at anything in life, you have to work hard. Now if you decide that writing is what you want to do for a living, there are many different ways you can do that. You can write fiction or non fiction books, or be a journalist. You can work for a newspaper, a magazine, or a tv or radio station as a writer. You can also find success writing speeches for a congressman, or writing commercials for an advertising agency. Or you can teach writing! So remember, S is for success and that takes a lot of time, rewriting, revision, rejection, editing and effort.

T—The second t in fantastic stands for tools. This is very important. You have to have the right tools to write! Learning grammar is vital. Proper use of the English language is very necessary for any writer. I know sometimes that seems kind of boring, but if you don’t have the basic tools, your reader might not understand what you are trying to say. Writing is about communication, and without the basics you can’t communicate your thoughts on paper to anyone else. It is just like building a house. You couldn’t just start building a house, without having some education about how to do it. And you would have to have the proper tools to build your house. You couldn’t even put up a wall if you didn’t know how to use a hammer. So you have to learn basic rules about grammar and sentence structure and things like that, to be able to write. And it doesn’t matter if you ever want to make your living as a writer. Everyone needs to know how to write because good communication skills are the key to success in any job or career. No matter what you do, you need to be able to communicate. And that takes education and tools. So remember your T is for tools.

I—Inspiration. I am often asked where I get my inspiration. The answer is simple. All around me! I see someone who looks or acts interesting and I think about how I could use that to build a character. Or I see something happen and it inspires me to write. Sit outside some day and just look around. Do you see an old man walking across the street? What do you think he is like? What if you made up a story about him? What would it be? Imagine a story built around something you see right in front of you. For my book, I got my inspiration from a real situation. My neighbor across the street had a little boy. He and I started doing things together and that is where I came up with the idea for the book. I decided that the little boy could be the main character in Murder at the Oaklands Mansion. Then I made the woman across the street from him his aunt. Then I took some of the things we really did do and put them in the book. For example, we really did go see the ice sculptures at the Opryland Hotel and we really did go to a movie audition. And—we really did go visit the Oaklands Mansion. I started with those things and then I thought, well that wouldn’t be very interesting. What could I have these characters do that would be interesting? Oh—how about getting them involved in a murder? So you can get inspiration from things all around you and again—it sometimes goes back to what you know. Your inspiration is often right in your own backyard. Sometimes writers can get inspiration from an event. Like in the movie “The Perfect Storm” that was about a boat sinking. The storm really did happen and the boat really did sink, but the writer who wrote the book made up the things that happened at the end. He wasn’t on the boat and everyone went down with the ship, so he really had to make up what they said and did right before the boat sank. So he was inspired by a real event. Or sometimes a writer is inspired by something that he feels strongly about or is upset about. Or a writer can even be inspired by another person. That is how biographies get written. So the I in fantastic stands for inspiration.

C—The C in fantastic—our last letter—stands for construction in creation. It is important to have a plan when you write, just like when I was talking about having the proper tools. Think of it like building a house again. You have to have the proper tools and education to build a house, but you also would not start building a house without a plan or a blueprint. Writing is the same. Most writers, including me, start by brainstorming. Before you can create, you have to construct. That is what brainstorming is all about. I sit down and think about what I want to say. What is this book or story about? Where I want to start and how I want to end my story? What kind of characters do I want? How do I want to develop them as I go along? You can always change things when you rewrite. But you have to have a basic plan about what your goals are with each piece of writing. For example, what is your purpose? Like with my book, I first wanted to write a book that kids would enjoy reading. I wanted it to have some funny things in it, some action, some suspense and some mystery. I also wanted it to be informative about the Civil War. I always thought history was boring, because when I was growing up, history in school was just memorizing dates and names. History is much more than that and I wanted to make it exciting to learn about the history of the civil war. So I tried to include as many interesting and sometimes scary or even funny things about the civil war in my book. As I went along, I did change some of my original plans as I was writing the book. But I started with a basic construction plan so that I could create. So C is for construction in creation.


Melinda Richarz Lyons, an amazing author and individual, earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of North Texas, and has been a free lance writer for over forty years. Her work has appeared in many publications, including True West, Cats Magazine, Nashville Parent, Frontier Times, Cincinnati Family Magazine, Kids, Etc. and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She is a co-author of WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty (Echelon Press). Ms. Lyons’ story “Twice in a Lifetime” was published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: True Love (2009). Her current book is Murder at the Oaklands Mansion. For more about the author and her writing: http://www.melindalyons.com/

Slipping Between Life Phases

I was reading a post by Dorothy Sander on her Aging Abundantly blog titled Midlife Shadows. She talks about Midlife being a time when we become who we are meant to be. I like that. It reminded me of a conversation I'd had with Mr. Tom Murphy, former Drama teacher at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, AK. I did not have the honor of being taught by Mr Murphy, however, we are now FaceBook friends and I do enjoy that greatly.

In one of our first connects I commented to him that I was now entering into the complexities of "the aging woman" and attempting to do whatever it was I needed to do to leave my mark on the world. He informed me that in a few years I would be "a woman of a certain age" and I would find that a good thing. He told me "When you get to be of a certain age, man or woman, you can do whatever you think you should do, and woe to those who say you nay! As "the aging woman" you still have responsibilities that will have vanished when you get to be "of a certain age". I know this because I have been "of a certain age" for years now."

I liked that as much as I did Dorothy's post. In fact, Mr. Murphy's comment led to a story. I'd like to share it with you now.....

A Woman of a Certain Age by Linda Boulanger

When I was a child, I spoke as a child…then it came time to put away those childish things. As I packed them away, slowly over many years, I tried to figure out who I was. I became the teenager who thought she was all that; though underneath she really wasn’t sure at all. She was followed by the young lady who tried to be all things to all people and never really succeeded at being any one of them.

I finally settled into the mature woman and was becoming pretty comfortable with her only to find I was moving into yet another phase; the aging woman. I wasn’t so sure about her. She didn’t look familiar or feel familiar. She tormented me so with her aches and pains and sags and dimples. She developed laugh lines and wrinkles around the eyes. She was no longer confident that her tilted head, crinkled nose, and award-winning smile would get her what she wanted. She bought pretty little bras that could cinch things back into place with just the slightest twinge of pain but only when she breathed, and pants long enough to cover those nasty little spider veins that appeared more prevalent on a daily basis. Yes, I called it fashion; said whatever it took to make myself feel better. But I didn’t like her.

And then a wonderful thing happened. I became a woman of a certain age. Oh that was a glorious day because on that day, I finally became the woman I was meant to be. I arrived.

I can’t tell you how it happened. It simply did. I awakened one day, my nest was empty, and the only work I had to do was that which I desired. I got out of bed with my head held higher on my wrinkled neck, ran my hands through my graying hair and decided I would not color that day as I’d planned. I rather liked the fringed look even if the color did knock a few years off. Who was I kidding? The only person who cared about seeing those years disappear was me! My friends had all let theirs go years before and they were all happy, so it seemed. Much more so than I had been!

I turned to spread up the covers and decided not to. I’d be crawling back into them in a few hours anyway because I’d already planned a luxurious afternoon nap followed by a late night indulgence of eating popcorn in bed and watching movies I’d missed over the years. I’d been told that the fact that I hadn’t seen Beaches made me borderline criminal and an affront to womankind. I didn’t care about that but I did want to see the movie just the same. I made a list so I could run to the video store later. I hadn’t been since my kids were home. I wondered if I still had a membership. Well, they could jolly well set me back up if not!

With a smile, I realized I could do whatever I thought I should do and woe to those who said any different because I was now a woman of a certain age. She was strong, stood for what she believed was so, and no longer did only for others. In fact she didn’t ponder so much on what others thought. Oh I really liked her. I felt as if I had grown up at last.

I’d been told one time that some people are ready for different adventures at different times in their lives. I believed that now and, as a woman of a certain age, I could respect that; enjoy it actually.

I dressed, choosing my gardening bra; used for maximum breathing ability as I crawled among the foliage. It really didn’t look all that bad. I wondered what my kids would think of their mother in a pair of bike shorts. The grandchildren would love it. It made me laugh.

I entered the world that day seeing through eyes that were far younger than they had been for many years. I was thankful for this transformation to a woman of a certain age. I would enjoy her for as long as I could. I also realized, as her, I was no longer fearful of the phase yet to come: the old woman. She was the one who would teach me to enjoy where we had been. As her, I would truly cherish my life.

That story makes me smile. It's a great reminder of where we've been and where we have yet to go. It also won a second place in the FaithWriter's Challenge! I was happy...happy enough to include it in my collection of faith-based short stories: Becoming... Thanks Dorothy for a lovely post and thank you, Mr. Murphy for helping to ease the pain of slipping from phase to phase. You always bring about your own special blend of perspective.

Portrait of a Written Snapshot

Last night I had the honor of attending the play Picnic with my oldest daughter. I hadn't intended to go simply because the logistics of getting out of the house without my other 3 children is nearly unfathomable. However, when my oldest (15) explained to her dad that she wanted to take me as an early birthday present and that her drama teacher has specifically said I should come to see the performance, how could he resist? So, I got a "night out" with my daughter.

The play, written by William Inge in 1953 is set in a fictionalized town near Independence, KS. My family and I just happen to spend many Saturdays in Independence. It is a nice 45 minute drive North from Bartlesville and my husband's grandparents used to reside there so he has fond memories of the place. It's a nice town to visit. They have a lovely park, a free zoo, a little train that takes you around the track twice for a quarter and a carousel that offers rides for just a nickel! I have a deep fondness for the old buildings and the newer statues that garnish the city in different places. I like to make my children pose by them. They look awesome on our Christmas cards :)

The play? Oh yes, the play. It was the High School Drama production which, I have to say, was quite impressive. Under the molding of a teacher I believe to be exceptionally skilled at her profession, Ms. Susan Crabtree, the cast performed wonderfully (I don't have to say that either. My daughter has an A in the class!). Just as I was with their portrayal of the Helen Keller story in The Miracle Worker in the Fall, I watched in awe as the cast and crew unfolded the story with an ease that made the task seem simple. Undoubtedly they put in a lot of hard work which paid off and was greatly appreciated by those of us observing.

In 1955, the play was made into an Academy Award winning movie by the same name. According to Answers.com, the film is "sometimes cited as a richly detailed snapshot of life in the American Midwest during the 1950s"; a statement which got me to thinking....isn't that exactly what I'm trying to do in my books and stories? Am I not offering my readers a snapshot?

Sometimes writing feels more like a play-by-play and the little details seem mundane or unnecessary, like when it takes 3 lines to let the reader know Terry has a mass of curls that she tucks behind her ears when she's nervous. Just like a fluttering hand to the throat of the main female character in a play right before she smoothes her skirt, however, these details may seem small but they are very telling and oh so important in the sculpting of that character. Each detail goes into the building of that snapshot.

I'm very glad I went to see this play. It took place in a short amount of time; the morning and evening of Labor Day as well as the next morning. Yet in that short span of time the character of these characters were brought out, explored, and exposed for who and what they truly were. We saw their past, their present, and their future. Not only did I enjoy the performance through the laughter and the tears (yep, I admit it! I was one of the ones with my tissue in hand) I believe it helped me to refocus in my goal as a writer. I realize now more fully that I must define the snapshot I want to create and compose the details in a compelling fashion that will evoke emotion in my readers just as the play did in its audience. The words are important, however, it is the snapshot those words create in the minds of my readers that will truly make the book a success worth telling others about. Thank you Susan Crabtree and the Bartlesville High School students. Bravo!

Everything Old Is New Again....writing the same story differently

I had a brilliant thought this morning concerning a missing zinger for the novel I'm working on. (I borrowed that "zinger" part from my friend Kristen who just so happens to be celebrating a birthday today...Happy Birthday!). I LOVE this book I am writing. I LOVE the characters, I LOVE where it's going...but, it needed a pop; that bit of the unexpected. There has been so much intensity from point A to point B. I didn't want to lose that for those who will read it as I head to point C. And I GOT IT! I won't tell you where I was when I got it. Okay, I will.....in the bathroom. That is the best place ever because, even if I'm not doing anything in there, I can shut the door and no one bothers me until I come out!!! I ALWAYS take my notebook with me to the bathroom :) Keep in mind I'm the mother of 4 children, with 2 cats, 2 dogs, and a husband. There's no such thing as privacy here!

Anyway, I can't share what "IT" is yet but hopefully your mind is flowing and you're beginning to wonder, especially if you have read the first part on my website (LindaBoulanger.com under Preview Page). Just know it's going to be worth the wait and then you'll be unable to put it down :) It's a hibernation book: find a comfy place and don't come out until you're done.

When I first got the idea for this book, A Marriage of Necessity, I was concerned because it's kind of a book about an arranged marriage. They didn't marry for love. In fact, they met for the first time and agreed to get married within a 30 minute time span, I would say. I loved the idea and the possibilities that began to spin in my head, but I wondered how I could make something that had been done before different enough to make people want to read it. In reality, and we've talked about this before, everything has been done before. Think about the books you've read and the movies you've seen. How many tackle something that's completely different?

When I reconnected with my friend and co-writer, Patrick Sipperly, he was very much in the throws of writing a screenplay. It's a great screenplay, by-the-way, and I have faith he will pitch it and it will get picked up and you'll get to enjoy it on the screen someday. I was blessed with a pre-read as well as a great lesson as Pat pointed me in the direction of a book by Blake Snyder called Save The Cat! This book deals with screenplay writing, however, I read it and found so very much of it pertains to novel writing as well. Blake devotes a whole chapter, 26 pages, to giving a twist to the same old theme. According to Blake, you can run right up to the same old same old but then you'd better give them something just a bit different. I've kept that in mind with everything I've written and tried to put that fresh spin on things. Not always easy when one is in the thick of inspired writing. Oftentimes, just as it happened today, I will be writing only to get that spark (perhaps the truly inspired part?) and know I've got IT!, that one bit that will make it the same only different.

So keep in mind that everything old can be made new again with the proper twist. Our job as writers is to create that tension and add the turns that will keep our readers interested all the way from A to C including the coast through B. Once this book is finished I'll expect feedback as to whether I've managed to accomplish that very thing. Not intending to be cocky here but I'm feeling pretty good about my success rate on this one :)

The Birth of a Book

I woke up one morning a couple of weeks ago with a new story idea in my head. It had to do with a woman having to marry this man with a bunch of kids. Now I’ve been working on what I thought would be a trilogy of stories that would go in a book called Love With A Twist Of Lime. The three stories (2 of which are already mostly written) were to have the common theme of each of the main female characters being unable to have children and it making them feel somehow unworthy to be a wife. Crazy idea perhaps but, hey, it was the one I had and they were turning out pretty good.

Now, as I said, two of the stories are pretty much done and now I have to decide what I will do with them because this third story quickly let me know it would not be told in 70 pages. It wanted full-length novel status. So what of the other two? I’ve considered lengthening them into their very own stand-alone books or, perhaps I’ll have to write another story that will go in the trilogy in place of my current project and the subject that led me to create this blog. (A bonus of being self-published; I can make those decision changes at whim.)

Back to the original line of this post…I sat down at my computer and began to type the story that was unfolding in my head. I hardly ever do that – type it directly into the computer. I almost always write longhand in a notebook and then transcribe, making changes as I go. But not this time. I started the story, got to a good stopping point and zipped it off to my mom and author/illustrator friend Christina Janzen. “Read it,” I pleaded (had to twist their arms, of course). Almost immediately they shot back requesting I get busy so they could read more which, of course, prompted me to continue.

The book is titled A Marriage of Necessity and is, of course, evolving into much more than just a woman having to marry a man with a bunch of kids. As the teaser says, there’s an unfortunate accident, the death of a spouse, a man in need of help, and the threat of a lost inheritance. If you’d like to read that first part I sent to them, it is available on the preview page of my author website: http://lindaboulanger.com/PreviewPage.aspx. I haven’t fixed the errors yet and a couple of things have changed. That always happens as the rest of the story is written, but hopefully it will be enough to bring you back to see how it’s going. I’ve managed to type in about 51 pages though I have a lot more handwritten ones (yes, I reverted back). The 51 typewritten pages equate to approximately 130 book pages. How many pages do I expect it to be? As many as it takes to tell the story to completion though 300 seems like a pretty good number to me….always subject to change. :)