Fiction Scribe

I’m hosting part of a progressive dinner blog carnival! (No, I’m not talking about the Scribes carnival.)

Have you ever been to a progressive dinner? You start out at one house or restaurant to have hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, then move on to a different one for appetizers, and continue moving from place to place all the way through dessert.

That’s the idea behind the new Progressive Dinner Blog Carnival…

Soup To Nuts is ONE BLOG CARNIVAL presented in five “courses”, each with a different host.

Entries are being accepted NOW.
Dinner will be served on Wednesday, January 30th.

{You can submit one post, per blog, on any subject - please do not use any post more than once}

You can participate in 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 courses

(more…)

If you’re interested in either interviewing authors and/or reviewing books, this is worth checking out:

Tour Host Info

You can get a link to your site for being a host and a copy of the book. When you sign up, you can say you only want to review books about relationships, biographies,fantasy, romance, non-fiction …. books, whichever. They even have the occasional recipe books come in, all you cooking bloggers.

Cheers!

Hello everyone!

Today I have talked to the lovely Ms. Judi Moreo who is talking about her achievement journal (pictured on the right). If the name Judi Moreo sounds familiar to you, I interviewed her previously. You can read the interview here.

Hello and welcome back to Fiction Scribe, Ms. Moreo.

It’s nice to be back. Thank you for interviewing me again.

In August of 2007, I interviewed you about your book You Are More Than Enough: Every Woman’s Guide to Purpose, Passion, and Power. You are currently on tour once more for your Achievement Journal. Could you tell us a bit about that and how it relates to your book?

Yes. The Achievement Journal is the companion to my book, You Are More Than Enough. It was designed to assist anyone who is wanting to find out more about themselves or anyone who wants to achieve their dreams and goals. Or both. It is a fast, easy, convenient way to record your wants, hopes, and desires, to write down your ideas, and to create the life that you’ve dreamed of.

What exactly is an achievement journal? What can people expect to do and accomplish with this journal?

When you write in this journal on a regular basis, it keeps you future focused toward the achievement of your goals and dreams. It will provide you with a record of your strengths and successes as well as an acknowledgment of the characteristics, values, talents, people, and things for which you are grateful.

What inspired you to create an achievement journal?

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Hello everyone! It’s Thursday once again, meaning most of us are focused on the fact that tomorrow is Friday and not so much on the fact today is Thursday.

I know how it works.

Despite the the sounds of crickets surrounding my last Thursday Thirteen, I rather like asking you all questions about your writing and your work. So, today I’m going to continue on that track and ask you about your current work on progress.

You can answer any or all of the questions in the comments section or you can use the answers as your own Thursday Thirteen. If you decide to do the latter, be sure to let me know and link to it in the comments section.

1. What stage is your current WIP at? (Notes, first draft, editing, second/etc draft, submitting…)
2. What type of writing is it? (Short story, novel, poetry…)
3. What is the title?
4. If it is poetry, are you working on a single poem or is it a collection of poems?
5. If it is a story, is it fiction or non-fiction?
6. If it’s fiction, who is the main character?
7. Who is your favourite character?
8. Who is your least favourite character?
9. What is the setting?
10. What was your initial inspiration for what you are working on?
11. Do you know the ending already or are you ‘just along for the ride’?
12. What is the protagonist like?
13. What will the ‘back blurb’ sound like for your book?

Check out my other Thursday Thirteens at Write Anyway, Long Relationships, and The Book Stacks

The Plot is open for another wild pub night and you are all invited…

Actually, YOU aren’t invited - your characters are.

Yes, tonight is the first ever ‘characters only’ pub night where you can set your characters free to drink, socialize, and complain about their authors to each other.

The doors are officially open, so feel free to stop by. Rose will be happy to see you.

The Writer Beware Blog has entered into 2008 with what I feel is a great piece of advice – especially for new writers:

“Don’t look for agents on the Internet.”

Writers, agents, and publishers have been working together for a long time before the internet came into being, and you can survive doing a little extra legwork to make sure your time, work, and money are as safe as they can be.

Like anything on the internet, it’s more than easy to simply take everything for truth. And like in the offline world, that’s exactly the right way to get someone to take advantage of you.

Yes, the internet is a fantastic resource, but what harm does it do you to check out your local library for The Writer’s Market or talk to someone you trust about things?

Before you do anything, you should at least have an idea of who you want to talk to, what you’re after, and at the very least learn some publishing industry terms. Don’t learn for the sake of dropping words; learn for your own sake. You are trying to get into an industry, here.

Many of the agents, publishing houses, etc listed in The Writer’s Market and other books like it list their websites. If nothing else, you’re narrowing down your scope easily instead of treading through Google pages and wondering what’s reputable.

Not only does this post give great advice, it also list many links you might find useful.

In the spirit of the post, though, keep in mind that I haven’t had the time to check out all the links, so use your own discretion.

It seems to me that an increasing number of reviewers (and critics in other areas as well, I imagine) think that the only way to make a name in the business of reviewing is to hate everything they read, make snarky comments as often as possible, and have a general loathing for humanity thrown in just to make things interesting.

Granted, those are the more extreme cases, but there truly are a lot of people out there who seem to think that the only way to make a name in the review world is to loathe everything.

I do understand. It wasn’t until I put up my first review of a book I didn’t like at all up on The Book Stacks that I started drawing a bit more attention to my reviews. Yes, you do need to have the occasional negative review so you can preserve your credibility and show that you aren’t someone who is scared to hurt people’s feelings.

That doesn’t mean you need to ‘hate’ everything for the sake of appearing ‘tough’.

Yes, be honest in your reviews. Yes, point out things (gently, not vindictively) that didn’t work for you. Yes, do put in the occasional negative review to help you become a well-rounded reviewer.

Don’t hate for the sake of hating. That’s just boring.

Plus, at least in my eyes, having all negative reviews is the same thing as having all positive reviews – I can’t take your reviews seriously.

PS. If you think it will take ‘forever’ for you to become ‘known’ as a reviewer then talk to me. If you have a site, I know how to get your review site more views. No trollishness needed.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Has it been a long time since I’ve done reminders or is it just me? I think it’s just me and my mind is starting to go… And to think, I didn’t think my mind would go for a couple decades yet.

There’s not all that much to report this week because…I’m lazy and I want cake. (Actually, I’m not lazy. I’m down six pounds baby! Cheers to moi.)

So. The reminders. Yes.

Soup to Nuts Carnival
As you likely have seen in previous posts, I am hosting one ‘course’ of the Soup to Nuts carnival. This should be a lot of fun with a lot of links, so join in. You can find more details here.

Comment Eating Monster
We here at 451 have finally discovered why Akismet has turned into a comment eating monster. Now that we know why, hopefully we can get it fixed soon.

However, if you make a comment, feel free to let me know. I try to regularly go in and save comments, but knowing one is waiting is a good way to light a fire under my bum to get it done.

Fiction Scribe Contest
I need to think of a contest. What do you want to do? What do you want to win?

I need ideas!

What am I missing?
If you have a contest, a blog you want me to look at, whatever, let me know. I don’t bite hard, and I’m always happy to promote fellow writers.

That’s it! Have a great week.

I say … and you think … ?

1. Dream big ::
2. Competition ::
3. Torn ::
4. Modeling ::
5. Coaster ::
6. Slut ::
7. Spread ::
8. Amanda ::
9. Romance ::
10. Paradise ::

Brought to you by Luna Nina

I’m hosting part of a progressive dinner blog carnival! (No, I’m not talking about the Scribes carnival.)

Have you ever been to a progressive dinner? You start out at one house or restaurant to have hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, then move on to a different one for appetizers, and continue moving from place to place all the way through dessert.

That’s the idea behind the new Progressive Dinner Blog Carnival…

Soup To Nuts is ONE BLOG CARNIVAL presented in five “courses”, each with a different host.

Entries are being accepted NOW.
Dinner will be served on Wednesday, January 30th.

{You can submit one post, per blog, on any subject - please do not use any post more than once}

You can participate in 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 courses

(more…)

Hello and welcome everyone.

Today we have a special interview and a first for Fiction Scribe. Today we are talking to Carole Schutter, the woman who wrote the book September Dawn which is based off the movie September Dawn.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Schutter. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I’m a romantic who has had the good fortune to live in romantic places. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii with its enormous diversity of culture filled me with stories from around the world and nurtured my love of history and the people who came before us. From there, I moved to Aspen, Colorado which is completely unique and different from almost any place on earth. Again, I experienced a world of glamour, excitement, and tragedy.

Now, at a time when most people are heading for retirement, I have finally jump-started the writing career I always dreamed of. Thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ, I became part of the 1.1% of all screenwriters that ever get a movie made. The book, by the same name, was based on the movie, “September Dawn.�

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I “wrote� my first story at five years old. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer. But life got in the way.

You’re currently on virtual tour for your novel September Dawn. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Based on an act Look Magazine calls one of the greatest crimes in America, “September Dawn� is the story of the daughter of a Christian pastor and the son of a Mormon Bishop who fall in love in an atmosphere of fear and hatred. The Mountain Meadow Massacre oddly enough occurred on September 11, 1857.

September Dawn started out at a movie. Could you tell us a bit about how you go about writing the novel version of a movie?

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Hello! Here at Fiction Scribe, posts tend to be…well…not so focused on you, the readers. I want to use this Thursday Thirteen as a way to get to know you, the readers, by asking questions about you and your writing. (Which can also help me with the direction this site should head in.)

Feel free to answer any or all of the questions in the comments section or use your answers to these questions for your own Thursday Thirteen.

If you opt for the latter, please leave a link in the comments section letting me know you’ve done so.

Thirteen Questions About You and Your Writing

1. Do you write novels, short stories, poetry, fiction, non-fiction?
2. When did you start writing stories?
3. Did you start with fan fiction or your own creations?
4. What is the first story you ever wrote? (How long, what’s it about…)
5. From all the books you’ve read, who is your favourite character?
6. Who is your favourite character from your stories?
7. Are you/will you actively pursuing a job in the writing/publishing industry? (Other than writing books and hoping to get published.)
8. What is your greatest ‘Achilles heel’ as far as grammar goes?
9. Are you published in any way (paid or not)?
10. What are your dreams for your writing?
11. If you could talk to any author, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
12. What inspires you?
13. Why do you write?

Check out my other Thursday Thirteens at Long Relationships, The Book Stacks, and Write Anyway

Hello everyone! Today I bring you a special bonus interview for this week.

Joining us today is Cheryl Snell, the author of the novel Shiva’s Arms. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her to the site.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Snell. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

Thanks for having me, Jaime. I was trained as a classical pianist, and performed and taught music for many years. When I married into a Hindu Brahmin family, I began to write seriously to make sense of my new situation. Over the past six years, I have published three poetry collections, and earned several Pushcart Prize nominations. I am on staff at Alsop Review as book reviews editor.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I can’t remember a time when I did not scribble. I’d write poems for family birthdays and little pieces to amuse my father. My love of words can be traced to him, I think. At the table, he would recite Chaucer, Coleridge and Robert Burns, complete with brogue. He had a great library, and I had the full run of it.

You’ve recently published your novel Shiva’s Arms. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

It’s a literary novel that crosses cultures and genres. It has religious and political elements, and some readers have called it a love story. Here’s a brief synopsis—

When Alice marries Ramesh, she is plunged into a battle of wills with her mother-in-law, named Shiva for the Hindu god of Creation and Destruction. The older woman usurps Alice’s authority in her own home, and never lets her forget her lowly place in the Indian joint-family. On one annual visit, the power struggle between the women is interrupted when a family secret is revealed that costs Shiva both her health and her reputation. It is up to Alice to heal the rift between them, as the story evolves into an exploration of freedom and duty, rootlessness and belonging, cultural identity and the meaning of home.

What inspired you to write Shiva’s Arms? Where did the idea begin?

(more…)

Come one, come all!

You are all invited to my new site The Plot where books are showcased, you get synopses and excerpts, and you also get to read interviews authors conduct with their characters.

What’s more is that every Wednesday there is a pub night where you can come and talk with published authors, writers, and readers alike.

Stop by and have a drink. Your hostess, Rose, will get you whatever you need.