Writing For Children

I'm reading another book called Writing For Children by Catherine Woolley (who is also Jane Thayer). It's a thought-provoking, 167- page book with a bibliography and an index. It goes into great detail about characterization, conflict and setting. I took a look at my book and asked myself, "What is my main conflict?". I realized I had several and would have to rework a few places to make one of the conflicts the main one.

The author also does a wonderful job of reminding us to to keep in mind the perspective of the child. I have difficulty with this when I'm on a roll. This book helped to keep me on track. I like that the author suggests humor in children's books as I agree. I'm finding that my humor can be a bit sarcastic, especially between siblings, and I don't care for that style. I'm trying to correct it.

The author is adamant about, "you cannot hope to become a first-rate, recognized juvenile author unless you possess some sense of world history and literary history." She goes on to explain that she doesn't mean all writing should be of historical events (unless you want to). She means a writer should be an educated person if books written for children are to have substance. I'm still out about this one. Of course, I've written one small, regional children's book. What do I know?

Take care.

First Person vs. Third Person With Reggie's Ghost

Well, I've overcome another huge roadblock and am now in the process of rewriting the whole first seven chapters. Sigh.

I'm used to writing in third person. I like that it suits any age and I'm able to sneak in more information about the characters that way. This book has to be written in first person. Reggie has to tell her story in her own words. She's too strong and independent to have someone else tell it for her.

This means I am using some new writing muscles. I have to write better. I have to be able to have Reggie tell her point of view and do this consistently.

The prologue has been rewritten and checked out by Nick, Amanda and Jim. A thumbs up times three. It's time to move on.

Title pages are drafted and the book cover designer will get some materials this week. With a down payment, of course. Grin.



Life marches on. Take care.

I'm Starting From Scratch

Okay, now that I've had a rest (yeah, right) I've decided to start over with Reggie's Ghost. I had a prologue written and asked two kids to read it.

They both said it was sad, so sad. I asked them if they would want to finish
reading the book after reading the prologue and one of them said, "Well, does
it have a happy ending? I might want to if it has a happy ending."

I'm rewriting the prologue. I'm creating more intimate and detailed character
sketches and I am slowing down. I need to learn to stop imposing impossible deadlines on myself which I've created. Sometimes I'm a friggin' bonehead. I do this over and over and over again. Pavlov's dog here. Bark.



But no more Pavlov's dog for me! I'm changing my ways! I've listened to The Secret audiobook and watched the DVD! Over and over and over again...LOL!

Take care.

An Author's Threat - Be Warned

As I'm slowly destroying every last brain cell I have with my NaNoWriMo project, I want to warn everyone out there...



...be nice to me or I'll put you in my next novel!

Take care.

Suicide is Painful - Writing Will Go On

I sit here, after a sleepless night, wondering if I should post this on my blog. For some reason, something is telling me to do it, to get it off my chest and to move on. I've had a hard week. About a week ago I received two phone calls on the same day: 1)My first cousin had died and; 2)A great friend since high school (he was my junior prom date and he introduced me to my current husband of 18 years) committed suicide. He lived near Schenectady, New York and his funeral was yesterday. I will miss him forever, he was such a funny, kind person. My cousin has been cremated and we will come together as a family in the spring. Enough said. I think I do feel better.

This past week I was in a fog, trying hard to keep up with my regular job. My housework wasn't so great, well, it never usually is, but it was even worse than usual. I don't remember what I made for dinners. I know one night I used the crock pot, what a great cooking tool that is. Friday we ordered pizza. The kids are still doing well which is what matters most to me anyway.

Another thing that begain on November 1st was/is my involvement with NaNoWriMo. I joined earlier in the year when things weren't quite so hectic. NaNoWriMo is the abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month. Here, I'm going to take this directly from Wikipedia:

"NaNoWriMo is a creative writing project originating in the United States in which each participant attempts to write a 50,000 word novel in a single month. Despite the name, the project is now international in scope. Nearly 80,000 participants registered in 2006, with almost 13,000 winners verifying their novels as meeting the goal. The cumulative word total for all participants in 2006 was 982,564,701."

It boils down to 1667 words per day. I'm okay up to now as I've got 5018 words in. No plot, some characters, and it's my first attempt at writing a teen chick lit book. Piece of cake. Yeah, write. I'll keep typing away and see what comes up. It helps to avoid contractions as that adds to the word count, LOL.

I'd like to finish Chapter 7 and 8 of the Adirondack Nightmare sequel. Then I think I need to devote a day to a bulleted outline to kind of keep myself on track. We'll see how the day goes. I was going to try to put some pics in this blog but I guess I'm not up to it.

It's sunny and beautiful out, a perfect Adirondack autumn day. Take care.

Goosebumps or Grossbumps?

I'm on Chapter 5 of the sequel to my first book, Adirondack Nightmare: A Spooky Tale in the North Country. This sequel is much longer and won't leave readers hanging as much as the first one did. My apologies for that, I rushed and was psyched to get it to print. A common mistake for first-time authors. So, I learned a valuable lesson. Quality!

I will write a very nice prologue in this second book to get readers up to speed as time has moved very quickly for William Durant. Here's his daughter, Reggie, the protagonist in my second book.



Well, Reggie has a step-brother who likes to read the "Goosebumps" series of books. I'd like to put this in the book but a question has come up. Do I need to get permission to use that word? If so, it might take forever and a day so, instead, should I use "Grossbumps" with the implication of, well, you know.

I kind of like the idea of Grossbumps because it cracks me up. We'll see what happens when I call the R.L. Stine folks. I'll let ya know.

Take care.

Author's Access Web Site

Here's a great web site:

Author's Access

They boast "Visit Authors Access podcasts: www.authorsaccess.com where authors get published and published authors get successful."

I've listened to many of the podcasts and they are so helpful and interesting.
I just listened to one about the importance of book covers featuring Patrick Snow who has "spent over ten years of his life developing this unique system that is designed to save you both time in money in your quest to achieve your publishing and book promotion goals". His web site is here and I strongly urge any author or author-wanna be to check it out.

Take care.

The Chronicle (Glens Falls NY) Book Fair

The Chronicle Book Fair In Glens Falls, NY will be held at the Queensbury Hotel on the corner of Ridge and Maple Streets in downtown Glens Falls. It is on Sunday, October 14, from 11a.m. until 4p.m. Almost 120 authors will be there, including yours truly!



Come early for "coffee with the authors". Their restaurant will be open and they'll also have a "grab and go" self-serve soup and sandwich vendor on site.

I hope to meet you there! Take care. PS I'm nervous!

Win a Publishing Contract With Court TV

I'm busy writing my second children's ghost story but thought some of you might be into this.

Court TV is looking for the next big crime writer. If anyone is interested
here's the link:

http://courttv.gather.com/



Good luck! By the way, the second book is coming along great. If anyone would like a peak at the first chapter, let me know. I'd love your comments/suggestions.

Take care.

Adirondack Nightmare $100 Cash Winner!

Our winner is....(how do I put a drumroll on a blog?)...



Sally Sears-Mack! Congratulations, Sally, and thanks to everyone who purchased a book and sent in a ticket.

We've now sold over 500 copies of our book on its first-run. We're so thankful to everyone who has supported us. It's been quite a ride, that's fer sure!

Take care

My Book Order Form Is A Nightmare...With or Without The Adirondacks!

Well, now that I've had some downtime with the book, I decided to revamp my order form. It was suggested to me by a fellow blogger and she's right, mine was a mess.

Here's the new form. I think it's pretty straightforward and a bit neater. I haven't had any orders from my web site yet so I'm curious to see if this helps.

I also added a button to direct folks to this blog on each web site page. A blog button used to be on just my home page and I think that made things look inconsistent. I'd been putting it off, to be honest, as it's pretty monotonous!

Tomorrow, Nick and I will go to The Bookstore Plus in Lake Placid for a signing with John Briant of the Adirondack Detective book series. It might be cool but I'd rather have that than heat any day. Here's to hoping the rain holds off!

Adirondack Nightmare Is Selling Like Hot Cakes, Rachael Ray!

Well, I just got an order from my book distributor, North Country Books, Inc., for 40 copies and one retailer, Raquette Lake Supply Company, just reordered! Theresa said she's down to three copies and needs more! You betcha!



Now, back to Rachael Ray. I haven't heard from her regarding an endorsement for the michigan sauce recipe in the book. Hmmm, I'm quite surprised. I just called John Rosen's office at the William Morris Agency. He's Rachael Ray's contact person. When I tried her office at the Food Network, the mail room guy said he sent it to her New York office. Anyway, I still haven't spoken to John (or is it Jon?) but John's assistant took down the information again.

The Devil Wears Prada, anyone?

Ok, time to do my running around and get my act together. Take care.

Pounding The Pavement in the Adirondacks Part 7

I took Patty's advice and stopped at The Lake Store in Indian Lake. It's very close to Sabael, where Patty's Squaw Brook Motel is. Sure enough, Eris was nice enough to bring in six copies of the book. What a great way to start the day!

I went into Indian Lake and saw a store called Gramma's Things on Big Brook Road. The owner, Jean Turner, was a bit hesitant to bring in the book so we made a deal. I promised to not hit any other stores in Indian Lake if she took a few copies. It makes sense as it's a fairly small town. Sure enough, she took in four copies. She is so talented with quilting. It was hard to leave without buying something.



Time to move on to Raquette Lake, which is where the book takes place. I had some great tips from my friend, Jan, so I started with the Raquette Lake Supply Co. right on Main Street. Her sister, Theresa, works there. I went into the office and she greeted me as if I were family! She also brought in twelve copies of the book. Her store is amazing as there is a little bit, no a lot of, everything. I mean everything and then some.



OK, Patty's store isn't quite that big but it felt like it at the time. I also stopped at the Raquette Lake Free Library and Carolynn, the director, brought in two copies. I walked over to the Raquette Lake Navigation Company and that place is so cool! They have a caboose gift shop and urge people to "Climb Aboard the W.W. Durant", a wonderful ship which tours Raquette Lake. The protagonist in my book is William Durant. No one was there so I had to move on. I'd love to do that tour someday.



Next stop was Blue Mountain Lake and I was more than happy to see they already had the book in stock at the Adirondack Museum. I'm not much of a museum fan but this place is more than a museum. It's an entire day of fun and exploration. I love it.

On to Inlet and the Inlet Department Store. They were so psyched when they saw the book it made me blush! The owner said that the day before a tourist was in looking for a book just like it to read around a campfire. That's exactly what this book is good for. Twelve more copies sold!



I was getting pretty tired and hot at this point but I was determined to make it to Old Forge. I stopped at the Adirondack Reader bookstore on Main Street in the center of Inlet. The owner was so excited I couldn't believe it. She bought fifty (yes, 50) copies on the spot, signed us up for a book signing and invited me to her upcoming author's fair! I hit the big time!!



OK, OK, I stopped at the local wine store and bought a bottle of wine to celebrate. Sheesh, can't get away with anything on this blog. On to Old Forge. I should have stopped when the going was good but I was determined. And exhausted. I went to the Old Forge Hardware Bookstore and they reluctantly brought in ten copies. I won't go into it. I'm grateful to them for bringing the book in and I was simply too tired to sell any more books.

Not a bad day.

Pounding the Pavement in the Adirondacks Part 6

On Thursday, June 28, I hit the road again to peddle books. It was a bit late in the day, about 2:00 p.m. or so, and I was determined to hit Raquette Lake, Indian Lake, Inlet, Blue Mountain Lake, Old Forge and Tupper Lake. Not necessarily in that order.



Well, I guess I haven't learned yet. I tend to get lost easily. I took I87 (The Adirondack Northway part) and got off at Exit 29. My husband assured me that was the right exit. Then I was to take a right then a left. Or was it a left then a right? OK, I got lost. I also got stuck in some pretty heavy duty construction which took a good 45 minutes off my time. The radio kept broadcasting severe thunderstorm warnings with winds up to 60 mph and hail and to get to a safe shelter, preferably one with few windows. Sigh.





When I made it to "undisclosed location", it was 4:00 p.m. I was bummed out and tired. I stopped at the first store I could find to ask for directions for a hotel or a cabin as I was going to stay the night and start over fresh in the morning. I went in, the place was empty, and was "greeted" by a man I assume was the owner. The place will remain anonymous because this turns out a bit creepy.

I asked for directions to a hotel/cabin and he said there were none in the area. He was very talkative, asking me a lot of questions. He kept talking. And asking. Finally, I got a bit abrupt and walked out, explaining I had to leave. He followed me out of the store and into the parking lot. Then I heard him say, "You fertile?" I heard it loud and clear but couldn't believe it so I turned to him and said, "What?!"

He was shaking all over, hadn't been before, and he had a big bugger coming out of his left nostril. I won't go into more detail but I became very scared. I closed the trunk of my car and he came toward me. I went to the driver's side, got in and locked the door. There he was, still shaking and his nose...eeewww.



I left (ok, I "peeled out") and found a place with a public phone. My cell phone had no service for quite some time. I was very upset and told Jim I was going to find a place to stay the night, get up early and start over. I told him what happened and that I'd call him when I found a place.

I did! After driving a bit I found the Squaw Brook Motel in Indian Lake. Indian Lake is such a wonderful place! Patty Eicher, the owner, greeted me warmly, gave me a room and let me use her phone to call Jim. I went in my room, it was so quaint and warm, and called Jim again. I started to cry. I was so tired and creeped out and hadn't sold one single book. He asked me if I wanted him to drive down. I said no, I'd be fine, I just needed to veg for a bit. I told him I'd call again in the morning.



I brought the phone back to Patty and she told me about her free continental breakfast and, after we talked a bit, she said she'd buy a book in the morning! I went back to my room, wrote for a bit, then drove down the road about a half a mile and had dinner and a glass of wine. I felt much better. I went back to my room and slept like a brick.

Patty's coffee and continental breakfast were perfect. She bought a book and told me to go up the street a ways to check out a store where her sister worked. I was on my way again, ready to tear up the road.

Rachael Ray, Are You Out There?

Well, I did a little detective work and found the contact information for Rachael Ray. I sent her two more books, a fan letter and a pre-stamped, self-addressed postcard. All I'm looking for is a little written endorsement for the michigan sauce recipe in our book. That would be so cool and the press would be great.

Are you out there, Rachael Ray?

We missed the deadline for the North Country Cultural Center For The Arts (NCCCA) newsletter. They send out to 21,000 people. Ouch. So, our "Dream Picnic Book Event" isn't in the newsletter. It's on Saturday, June 30th from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. I've been able to get fliers in most of the 3rd-5th grades in the area, about 1100 of them. I also visited the Plattsburgh Public Library and they put up a flier and said they'd order the book. Put some fliers in a few other places. I'm running out of ideas...anyone have ideas for me? I'll look at some books I have for marketing to kids. I sent notices to every single local calendar of events media I could think of.

I've got to get pounding the pavement again this week. The kids will be out of school and can fend for themselves for a day. I really want to get to Tupper Lake and the surrounding area. Something always seems to come up. Like life. Or death. My neighbor and friend, Dot Scott, passed away and I'm brokenhearted about it. The wake is today and her family will be here all weekend. Time to go pay respects. Take care.

Win $100 Cash!

Well, Jim and I just flew back into Burlington from a business trip in Ohio. Nice people out there. They remind me a lot of "Dackers" (Adirondackers). We almost didn't make it as there was an "Orange Alert" at the Dayton Airport. We were there when it happened and were stuck in the airport for quite a while. They told us all to go in the bar and wait. Someone turned CNN on and there we were.

Here's what happened, according to shiotv.com: "There were some tense moments at the Dayton International Airport after reports of a suspicious package had been found Thursday night. Officials said the front part of the airport was evacuated as a precaution and flights were allowed to land, but not take off. The package was found shortly before 7 p.m. and was later determined to be discarded phone books. Things returned to normal around 9 p.m. There were no injuries."

While sitting in the bar, sipping a glass of wine, I started writing about the incident. I mean, what if we were in the middle of a big story? That's how I think. Well, it looks like this is the story. End of story.

Now for the big news! Nick and I are giving out $100 in cash to someone who buys our book. Details are on our web site at www.rebeccaleonard.com. Good luck to all who enter!

Can't Peddle Books Today!

Well, today was to be the day I was going to peddle "Adirondack Nightmare" in Tupper Lake.I was also going to pick up some checks from a few retailers in Wilmington who now carry the book. I trust them...how could I not trust Fran Betters? So why am I here, blogging? Because Amanda's sick from school and she needs me at home. I have a sneaking suspicion she's stressing from school. She had a lot of homework last night and finished it but I think she's worn out. Anyway, she's not her usual bubbling-cup-of-sunshine self so it's good she's home.

I miss my drives into the Adirondacks. I'll get there eventually. I love my hybrid. I'm rambling.

Instead of peddling books I wrote a few letters, shamelessly promoting the book. Sent a free copy out to someone who might be interested. Got caught up on my emails from the self-publishing yahoo group I belong to. No one in the group is answering a question I posted so the heck with them for a while. A lot of them are going to the BEA in NYC so I can understand how they're a bit busy. I hope to be going next year, with another published book under my belt.

I see the book is now "in stock" on Amazon. Finally. I won't even go into what that took to do. Ok, if you want to know just email me. I'll tell you my secret. My printer rep is also supposed to make sure the book is listed with Ingram THIS WEEK. Gee, it's only been months.

As you can probably tell, I'm still working on the patience thing. It just takes too long.

Maybe I'll make a few follow-up phone calls. Take a nap with my daughter?

Now THAT'S the ticket.

Take care.

Learning to Blog to Promote Our Adirondack Book

Ok, I've spent quite a few hours getting used to this blogging stuff. It's pretty fun! I changed my template so many times that I finally gave up and am happy 'nough with what I have now.

I need to learn how to connect with other bloggers in the region. Any suggestions out there? I'll take all the help I can get. I learned a lot by looking at other blogs and paying attention to what caught my eye. I think I need to learn to have some patience with blogging and not rush things.
I'm learning that labels are pretty important and when I rush, I miss labels.

I have a problem with patience. I'm working on it as fast as I can. Ha ha ha.

My husband, Jim, wants to know where the word "blog" came from. He thinks it's a weird name. He called me a "blog" and I told him I'm a "blogger" not a "blog". According to Peter from peterme.com, it began in 1999. He writes, "'Blog' would have likely died a forgotten death had it not been for one thing: In August of 1999, Pyra Labs released Blogger. And with that, the use of blog grew with the tool's success."

So, I googled "Pyra Labs blogger" and came up with this link, http://www2.blogger.com/about. It's an interesting article, you should check it out if you're a noob like I am. My son, Nick, told me recently that the new word for "newbie" is "noob". Feelin' groovy now, I am.

Ok, since I'm getting off topic, it's time to end my second post.