Policy 101 and Phone Calls #MFRW #Authors #13

Molly here…..

I’ve got a confession:  I rarily have to research anything for my books.  In fact, as I was writing the Arbor University series (Kenzie interupts:  You’re still writing it!  Molly:  Yes, I know; wait your turn)-okay, the first SEVEN books, the only book I truly ‘researched’ was the eating disorder one, and even then, not much of that research ended up in the book.  I concentrated instead on the emotional aspect, the weight loss itself, and the consequences of binging/purging.  Any other ‘research’ went like this:

*Calls BFF*

Hi, need you to stretch your memory….*BFF groans*…..Remember that guy you dated on (insert month/year) and one night you came in hopping mad?  What was the argument about?  (or even, ‘What caused your breakup?’)

BFF:  OMG….I can’t believe you remember that!  Let me go get my photo album….

*We then spend several minutes going down Memory Lane until I get sufficient material/ideas for next scene*

I thank her for her help and hang up.

Kenzie here…..

I’ve had a few minor issues rear their ugly heads in a few books.  For instance, while writing All She Ever Wanted, I ended up consulting a lawyer and a city inspector when it was revealed Amber’s cafe was shut down for violations.  In Class Reunion, I consulted a friend about the pharmacy industry.  In Teacher’s Pet, I had no idea how a school board meeting would be conducted, if a teacher were accused of sexual harassment.  Thankfully, I had a friend who happened to be on our local board, so she was a huge help!  I also consulted a lawyer about policies concerning said harassment charges.

I also had to call Nicky’s Restaurant in Estes Park, Co, when Brad in Wild At Heart, happened to go there for dinner.  I needed to make sure of certain menu options, since I at first had him eating an elk steak.  Turns out they only serve beef, so whew!  Glad I checked!

As far as The Chosen series went, I did fine until Kira’s story.  Duffy ends up renovating a house, so I took a virtual tour of any older homes up for sale, in order to create both of the homes in that story.

Curious about how other authors do needed research on their books?  Go here.

Thank you all for your input on last week’s cover-gate issue:)  Personally, I’m not that happy with them, but am getting mixed reviews from readers.  I just hope I like the print cover better!

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Easter!

*Can I just be slightly irreverent for a moment? *

“Christ has died….”   

(3 days later)….

APRIL FOOL!

It’s just so hilarious how that works out this year!

No Contest….#MFRW #Authors #12

This week’s post is going to be very brief, since the only writing contest I’ve ever entered ended in a rejection.

It was for Writer’s Digest, and about twelve or fourteen years ago.  They did not accept my guest post, and since then,  I’d rather spend money on inventory, paying cover artists and editors, and saving up for table fees.

Indiana is experiencing bi-polar weather, or else someone has really pissed off Elsa.  I’ve been at my parents’ house the past week, since Dad wasn’t able to drive after his knee surgery, and this weekend, a foot of snow is supposed to be dumped in Lafayette.  I have to be home for a meeting Monday morning, so I’ll be traveling south, and trying to beat the weather.  To add to this craziness, Dad isn’t supposed to lift over 10 lbs, so I’ll have to drive back Monday afternoon, in order to take out the trash and go grocery shopping.

I do have good news to share….my Anderson Chronicles novellas have been repubbed by Stardust Romance. Books #2-4 are live at the moment; there was some confusion with #1, and should be cleared up by next week.  I have to admit, I’m not exactly thrilled with the new covers, but we’ll see what the print antho looks like.  Go ahead; tell me your opinion on these.  I had zero input, so yea or nay, please weigh in with your opinion!  The originals are still up on Kenzie’s Korner page, for comparison.  Which covers would entice YOU to buy?

 

 

 

 

 

 

To find out about other authors contest experiences, click here.

See you next week!

Chores I Detest….#MFRW #Authors #11

Going to try to keep this brief; I misread the topic and actually wrote next week’s post!  So that’s one last thing I have to do next week….

If I never had to dust, clean toilets/bathtubs/showers, wash dishes by hand, or run the vacuum, I’d be a happy lady:)  Or, if it’s writerly chores, I’d love to have a never-ending supply of ink for the printer, a computer that doesn’t crash, and a built-in editor so I’d never have to pay for editing services.

Sometimes, it would be nice to give up sleep, so I could get everything accomplished…just kidding.

It would also nice to have that steady flow of income, so cooking would be an optional thing, not something I’d have to do every day.  Because let’s face it; when I’m ‘in the zone’, the last thing I want to do is stop and fix dinner!

I’m headed down to Nashville, TN for the day, to see several authors friends I’ve not seen in two years, then on Saturday, I’ll be in Indianapolis for the day at the Wanderlust In Indy book signing.  To add to the confusion, my dad had knee surgery on Wednesday, so this week has been rather hectic.

To find out about other authors contest experiences, click here.

See you next week!

“Bacon Powder Biscuits” #MFRW #Authors #10

I was stumped this week, trying to recall something that was so unique about my family, only the five of us would understand.  About to give up, I even began to title this post ‘The Shelter For Dysfunctional Felines” because, well, back in 1991, our four kittens were rather dysfunctional!  We had Rosie, the Identity-Crisis one, because for the first six months of his/her life, we thought s/he was girl, only to discover the boy parts one sunny day in September.   Tag, born second, was our Abuse Victim, since the first time he ventured out of the box, my husband accidentally stepped on him, bloodying his tiny nose.  Gizmo, who would later prove to be the only female of the bunch, was our Incest Victim, when Tag’s hormones kicked in, and he tried to get some.  Giz went off to the vet the next day!  Finally Tiger, the baby, was our Eating Disorder ‘child’….I made the mistake of giving him an egg, and he decided he preferred it to his kitten chow.

“So why the title change?”

I was trying to think of a catch-phrase, or incident, much like the inside jokes my oldest friends and I have, and suddenly it it hit me.  Something that I am constantly teased about whenever my hubby decides to make homemade biscuits.

For the record, I was raised in northern Indiana, and I ended up marrying a farm boy from the southern end of the state.  Early in our relationship, he mentioned making the biscuits, and I’ll admit, this is either the first time my hearing loss reared its ugly head, or I simply didn’t understand his accent.

For what I HEARD was ‘bacon powder biscuits’, and after puzzling over it for a few moments, asked him how they were made.  Was it made of crushed bacon bits, or did he fry up the bacon extra crispy, in order to grind it into powder?  I was pretty sure I’d never seen it in the store.

He stared at me.

“What the hell are you talking about?  Ever hear of Clabber Girl ‘bacon’ powder?”

The light bulb went off in my brain.

“Oh, you mean BAKING POWDER!”

“That’s what I said!  BAKIN’ Powder!”

Bacon-bakin’……yeah…….

Go ahead, laugh at me.  There’s your Friday chuckle!

When I posed the question online, about today’s topic, a friend reminded me about my dad’s job….he worked for Frito-Lay, so we got to test the new chips that might or might not make it.  We enjoyed Sun Chips, Funyuns, and Wavy Lays before they hit the store shelves:)

As she so aptly put it….”One-off new types of prototype chips”

Curious about other families?  Click the link:)

In other news, it’s Kenzie’s birthday week!  She officially turned TEN YEARS old March 5th.  She’s also ahead in the book release count; 12 to Molly’s 10.  Not too shabby for a pen name that’s technically not supposed to read her own work, lol…..

 

Facebook reminded me this morning that NiKoh’s Chosen is about to turn three years old:)  Answer this easy-peasy question and you’ll be given a chance at a free download:  What is NiKoh’s job?  Leave me your contact info in the comments.

HINT:  Answer can be found in the blurb either at the Amazon link or on The Chosen page of this website.

 

Catching Up #MFRW #Authors #8 and 9

Did you miss me last week?  Or didn’t even notice?  That’s fine too….truthfully, the week got away from me.  I arrived back home and was plunged into family drama.  I didn’t even get online until Saturday!  So here’s my *brief* catch up post:

Worst writing advice I’ve gotten:

Probably the 2nd publisher/editor I had.  I was questioning everything I’d learned, from dialogue tags to sentence structure.  In desperation, I sent one particular paragraph to my 1st editor, with the following plea:

“Am I just being a diva, or do I have a legitimate complaint about her editing skills?”

Thankfully, an answer popped up within the hour.

“She must be using a 1st grade editing manual.  You’re right; stick to your guns.”

That 2nd editor argued with me at one point, so I told her I’d consulted others, and would take the heat if anyone complained about that one scene, and the way it was written.  To date, NO ONE HAS!

That company folded two years later, and I sent my original MS to another publisher, and I’m happy to say it is now PROPERLY edited!

What would I invent if stuck on an island?

Given my current survival skills, probably a method of writing on dried leaves with berry juice and a pointed stick.  If you mean my FICTIONAL survival skills, then of course I would make a two-way radio out of a coconut, AND be able to fix my broken boat, plus be able to concoct delicious meals from whatever I found on said island.

Unless I managed to be stuck on an island where civilization was just on the other side…..and by civilization I mean a 5-star resort!

Yeah, I suck at survival…..to read better posts, go here, and I’ll try to be more entertaining next week.

Provided no more family drama happens.