Author, Writing Coach, Speaker
People are pretty forgiving when it comes to other people’s families. The only family that ever horrifies you is your own. ~Doug Coupland
Several of my friends indulge in memoir writing. I’ve given it a try too though I’m not sure I have the hang of it.
Not all dad’s siblings lived in our hometown, but those that did congregated at my grandparent’s house every Sunday for fried chicken, peas and corn bread, mashed potatoes, churned butter and egg custard pies—among other things. My grandma was a wonderful cook. After dinner, all the kids–no matter their age–hurried outside, yanked plums off my grandma’s bush and chunked them at each other. We had fun, and there wasn’t a squealer in the bunch if one of us got hurt. Looking back, I wonder what the adults talked about inside? Did they argue? Laugh with each other? There’s no one to ask. 
My cousin Sallie and I liked to play cowboy and wild horse. Of course, I was the cowboy and galloped behind her, circling the huge cedar tree north of the house, trying my best to rope her with my imaginary rope. For some reason, I was always Jesse James. Probably because my dad was named Jesse and my uncle was James. I was fond of singing, ‘put ‘em together and they’re Jesse James.’ Silly, huh? Every now and then, that little ditty pops into my head.
I loved these get-togethers, and being with all my cousins. Sometimes the family would meet a few miles away at a roadside park and spread our food on concrete tables and benches. To the left is my grandparents’ wedding picture. Weren’t they beautiful? Papaw (as I called him) would lift me high in the air every time I saw him. He seemed so tall. And in church, the pastor would call on him to pray and he’d kneel on one knee, beside the pew and bow his head. I love that memory.
Life as I knew it ended when my grandfather died in 1956. My mother called my school and told them to have the bus driver drop me off at my grandparent’s house. I remember seeing a wreath on the door and I knew . . . he’d been sick.
My grandmother’s death 21 years later ended us. Completely.
Are you wondering where my E-words come in? Well, sadly or maybe gladly, I’ve elaborated, embellished, expounded, enlarged, expanded my story so much and so often, that I really don’t remember what’s true and what isn’t?
How do you feel about name brands? My mother was a name brand mama. During my childhood, she worked nights and slept days. She was a private duty nurse. Both my parents worked hard—there was no social life other than church affairs and family gatherings. All this to say, my mother had very few dresses, but those she did have were quality, bought at the best stores—Fedway, Riffs and Perkins—in my hometown. Mom knew and recognized designer names. I never did unless those brands had to do with a pair of jeans—Wrangler or Levi. Or a pair of boots—Justin or Tony Llama. (My mother bought me a pair of black leather pants once. Yep, I took them back to the store.)Anyway, the necessity and importance of brand names spilled over into the daily products we used. Take fruit punch, for example. Mom bought Hawaiian Punch, and nothing else. I didn’t realize Hawaiian Punchwas so old. Did you know that in 1934 A.W. Leo, Tom Yates and Ralph Harrison developed the first Hawaiian Punch recipe in a converted garage in Fullerton, California? I didn’t either. I have no idea if my mother knew, or why she insisted that brand be the only brand we purchased. I remember we had quite a little disagreement about Hawaiian Punch back in the early 80s. Yes, I returned the off-brand I’d purchased, but we won’t reminisce about that, we’ll move on.
I’d like to say I purchase generic brands, but I don’t. I make very few substitutions.
Dial for Menhas even won me over, and I know my mother would have loved it. Dial for Menmight have been created especially for my dad to use on those summer days he came home from work all hot and sweaty. He was an electrician in the oil fields. ScottBathroom Tissue was another ‘only’ in our house, and I find myself following that family tradition. I hate it when they make several different textures of the same product. Soft Scott just isn’t the same as the regular Scott. And what’s the point?
I won’t go into all the other products I use and those I’ve decided to ban. But I’ve come to realize, I really am like my mother. With the exception of Hawaiian Punch, that is. She had her reasons for being a brand name mama, and I have mine. There’s no right or wrong. Just preference.
My grandmother’s maiden name was Chaney. I’ve always loved that name. In fact, that’s what we named our daughter. When my romantic comedy was contracted by Silhouette Romance, I had to choose a pen name. I chose Jessica Chaney. I thought it sounded romantic, fun, and memorable. Much to my disappointment, the editors vetoed my choice, insisting it sounded like the name of a horror writer because of you-know-who: Lon Chaney
Leonidas Frank Chaney was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Frank H. Chaney and Emma Alice Kennedy; his father had mostly English and some French ancestry, and his mother was of Scottish, English, and Irish descent. Her father, Jonathan Ralston Kennedy, founded the “Colorado School for the Education of Mutes” (now, Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind) in 1874, and Chaney’s parents met there. Both of Chaney’s parents were deaf, and as a child of deaf adults Chaney became skilled in pantomime. He entered a stage career in 1902, and began traveling with popular Vaudeville and theater acts. In 1905, he met and married 16-year-old singer Cleva Creighton (Frances Cleveland Creighton) and in 1906, their first child and only son, Creighton Chaney (later known as Lon Chaney, Jr.) was born. The Chaneys continued touring, settling in California in 1910. (taken from Wikipedia)I wish I could discover a family connection to Lon Chaney.
Are you related to anyone famous? If you are, who? If you could choose a famous relative, who would it be and why?
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I totally forgot that today is IWSG day.
The purpose of IWSG is to share and encourage and it was started by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Because I love IWSG and take it seriously, I’m tacking on a couple of great quotes to encourage you. Wish I knew this guy or gal named … Unknown.
When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place.
~ Unknown
~ Unknown
I have one sibling. A brother seven years younger. Ironically, his name starts with a B. I can’t remember when he was little. For that matter, I can’t really remember when I was little. How much are we supposed to remember about our childhood? I don’t know. I wonder if there’s something unhealthy about not remembering.
Since the ordeal with our mom, we’re getting to know each other. It’s a little weird. I look at him and I see a grown man. It’s not like he hasn’t been grown for years—he’s in his 50s. I realize I’ve never thought of him that way. When I think of my brother, I remember the kid that constantly tried to make me throw up. I have a very weak stomach and he enjoyed grossing me out. I remember how he always wanted to touch my neck—knowing full well I hated for anyone to do that; still do. I have a lot of quirky hang-ups. I wonder if he remembers them.
A few weeks ago, I sat across the kitchen table watching my brother eat little cuties, those small clemetines that are a variety of mandarin orange, and I noticed how large his hands are, how thick his fingers. I realized he’s got our grandfather’s hands. For some reason, that brought a lump to my throat.Have you ever looked at your brother or sister, or mom or dad, and noticed something you’d never noticed before? How did it affect you?
This is the first day of the A to Z Challenge. I want to thank Arlee Bird, the founder. What an amazing, fun group and activity he has created. I feel super-special to be able to participate again this year. If you don’t know Lee, visit him at Tossing it Out and say hello. He’s as special as his A to Z Challenge.
Many of you know I’ve been dealing with some family issues since my mother broke her hip. She’s moved into a nursing home (for lack of a better word) and I’ve been clearing out her home. Sometimes I just sit and look at pictures I didn’t know she had and read notes and letters to her from family, and people I don’t know. Every note sings her praises. I believe those notes because Mom was a nurse. A perfectionist. Someone who went far beyond the call of duty. Being a caregiver is who she was/is deep down in her heart and soul.
Not me. I’m not like that at all. I don’t think my grandmother (mom’s mom–the one on the right) was either. And that makes me wonder about my ancestors. What exactly do we get from our ancestors? I wonder what traits, talents, mannerisms of the people you see here (my maternal grandparents and gr-grandparents), are so inherent in me that, no way can I disown them.
Where do you think our talent comes from? Ancestors, God, or do we create it through our passion for … writing, art … jewelry design? A combination of the three? Do you think our environment plays a part too? Our birth order?
Starting Monday, I’ll be participating in the annual A to Z Challenge. As you might know, that means I’ll be posting every day during the month of April, starting with A and going through the alphabet. I did it last year, and posted off the top of my head. I was living (and posting) in the Ignorance is Bliss state of mind. I had fun and I’ve been looking forward to this year. I had hoped to blog a book, had a germ of an idea, but never got around to organizing my thoughts or posts. Yes, procrastination is still my middle name. So, come Monday, I’ll be winging it daily and hoping to acquire a few new followers and making a little bit of sense.
In the meantime … here’s a couple of markets for you:
Fairly Wicked Tales is a new anthology being published by Angelic Knight Press. Give them your favorite Grimm Brother’s Fairy Tale with a serious twist. They want to see the well known heroes and heroines become the bad guys. What if Snow White wasn’t as pure as the new driven snow? What if Cinderella was a raging bitch and her poor stepmother did her best? What if Little Red Riding Hood was something far worse than the Big Bad Wolf?
Submissions are still being accepted because they haven’t received what they’re looking for. Deadline is April 30th. That means the proposed publishing date has been extended too — to late June or early July. Word length is from 3000 to 8000 words. Please read the submission guidelines to properly format your subs before sending. Send all subs to angelicknightpress (at) gmail (dot) com
For more detail, you might want to go to their home page.
Have to tell you, my favorite TV show is
Once Upon A Time. Spoiler alert: Last weekend, Regina reached into the chest of Snow White and yanked out her heart. Snow had done something bad to Regina and we all know, Snow is perfect. Well, not any more. As we looked at her heart, we could see a dark speck growing. Snow is now in trouble … from the inside out. I can’t quit thinking about these fairytale characters and how brilliant the writers are. I love Pinocchio but The Mad Hatter was fantastic too. Of course, my very favorite is Rumpelstiltskin. He’s absolutely WONDERFUL! If you haven’t seen it, you can purchase the first season (yes, I have it!) Or watch it online.
Now … Another Market:
Manifesto:UF is a new and exciting anthology project they are working on. Tim Marquitz is the editor of Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous, which Angelic Knight Press published last September. Full submission guidelines for the anthology can be found on Tim’s website: http://tmarquitz.com/blog/?p=1131. All submissions should be sent to him at ufmanifesto (at) gmail (dot) com.
Hope everyone will come back to read me during the month of April.
If you have problems with characterization, show vs. tell, POV, deep POV, then Digital Ink: Writing Killer Fiction in the E-Book Age by Bonnie Hearn Hill and Christopher Allan Poe is an eBook for you. Even if you don’t think you have problems with these things, you probably do. I wish I could hand deliver a copy of this book to each and every one of you. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say, this eBook should be mandatory reading, given to every writer by every publisher–instead of a rejection slip.
Last week, I finished my line edits. My editor pointed out problems I didn’t know I had. I’ve always spotted POV switches and show vs. tell glitches in manuscripts I critique and felt confident I didn’t exhibit those problems. Was I ever wrong! And dangling participles? No, you’d never find one of those in any manuscript of mine, and certainly not two of them!Digital Ink: WritingKiller Fiction in the E-Book Age has every answer a writer needs to make his/her manuscript stronger and cleaner. My editing would have been so much easier had I read Digital Ink first—before doing my line editing. Even before I’d ever completed my novella. This book pin-points problems we don’t even know we have.
Digital Ink isn’t your traditional how-to-write-a-novel book, but one that points out the common problems all writers make and shows how NOT to make them.
“…your character must be proactive, and your character must be sympathetic.” Of course, we know this. Always have, but this book shows how to make our characters BOTH.
“POV glitches are responsible for most of the problems in your manuscript. Book too short? POV. Plot too thin? POV. Problems knowing where to end a scene? POV, honey. Every time.”
I bought this book one evening, downloaded it to my iPhone, read into the night and finished it the next morning. It’s worth every penny.
Digital Ink: Writing Killer Fiction in the eBook Age by Hill and Poe is THE BEST book on writing I’ve read in a long, long time. There’s something to learn on every page. The authors write in their last chapter, and it’s certainly something to think about: “Great authors and terrible authors share the same virtual bookshelf.” Yes, definitely something to think about.
I’ve been doing line edits on my novella. Not fun while feeling miserable. I don’t get sick often but when I do … it’s usually a whopper. I’m on the mend though so thanks for good thoughts coming my way.
About the line edits … It’s frightening to realize how much I don’t know about POV, showing and telling, and overwriting. The most subtle observation/thought/action on the part of a character can be a point of view violation. If I dwell on these things I don’t know, I’ll find myself in the middle of writer’s block quicksand—sinking fast. Instead, I’m trying to marvel at how much stronger my story becomes when I edit, choose stronger verbs, cut unnecessary words and repair those POV problems. And I’m trying to learn. Odd that I can catch these problems in other people’s manuscripts but not mine. Why is that?
My novella is called The Last Daughter and is part of the Scrimshaw Doll series by Oklahoma Romance Writers. It’s a romantic suspense and should be out later this year. Here’s an unofficial blurb:
Cursed Dolls Don’t Weep–Or Do They?
A thought for you:
Hope you’re all planning, preparing for success. If you need to study and learn, do it, but don’t quit writing even if you wonder if you’re doing it right. You learn by doing. If you believe in critique groups, then join one. If you don’t know one to join, then start one yourself: a person to person group or an online group. I believe it helps if you all write the same thing but other writers disagree. I also believe you should have some members that are a little more experienced than you are in that critique group. They can pull you up, help improve your writing, and teach you, but don’t hang your hat on them. Don’t be spoon fed. Make sure you study and educate yourself too.
My two cents except for this: there’s nothing wrong with praying for your writing. God created you. He gave you any talent you have. He also gave us freedom of choice so whether you use your talent to glorify Him is something else entirely—between you and Him.Nothing happens by accident. You aren’t going to stumble into that three-book contract. Tell me, what are you doing to achieve writing success in your life?
