Turtle Summer

By: Mary Alice Monroe
Every morning I gaze out at the sea with anticipation. My back pack is filled with supplies, my probe stick stands at the ready, and my team T-shirts and cap lay patiently in my dresser drawer. My annual season of being a “turtle lady” lays just on the horizon.

Loggerhead laying eggs

Every spring the sea turtles begin their long journey home for a new nesting season along the southeastern U.S. coast. The stretch of South Carolina shoreline that I am blessed to call home will soon welcome home caretta caretta, the loggerhead, who will venture onto the beach to give birth. And her arrival will mark the beginning of another turtle summer for me.

Available May 8th

My fellow turtle team friends and I like to bet when we’ll get our first turtle nest on Isle of Palms or Sullivan’s Island. The year I discovered our first nest of the season happened to be on May 25-- my birthday! I’ve been a member of this wonderful turtle team since 1999. My experiences inspired my first southern novel, The Beach House, in 2002, followed by the sequel, Swimming Lessons. And now, ten years later, Beach House Memories, the prequel of the series, is ready to make its debut on May 8th. This serendipitous timing of a new hardcover release with the start of a new sea turtle nesting season and the tenth anniversary of my first bestseller---makes this an extra special turtle summer for me.



A rescued hatchling in hand



It is an honor to share with readers the inspiration I’ve felt from being a “turtle lady” all these years and the life lessons the sea turtles have taught me. I hope through the pages of Beach House Memories, others will feel inspired by the turtle team characters of my story world and the real life details of the magnificent loggerhead that I am so fortunate to write about and share with the world this turtle summer.

What is one thing you're looking forward to that will make this summer season special for you?

Mary Alice Monroe is an award-winning, bestselling author of 13 novels and is an active conservationist. She lives near Charleston, SC. Her newest novel, BEACH HOUSE MEMORIES is available May 8th. Visit her at http://www.maryalicemonroe.com/.



Is It Blood or Fire

Back when I was struggling to make it as a young author, I launched two books under two names---Mary Alice Monroe and Mary Alice Kruesi.  The premise behind this poor advice from my agent---that at the time seemed like a good idea---was not to confuse the readers because I had sold two different kinds of books to two different publishers.  The Monroe name was used for books considered  Women’s Fiction.  My married name, Kruesi (pronounced as “cruise-ee”), was used for my fantasy novels.   I still can’t believe I agreed to do such a thing, considering that my own family members still sometimes misspell my married name.   

There I was with two contracts with two separate publishers. Sounds like a happy problem, right?  Be careful what you wish for.  I was committed to writing two novels in one year.  At that time, I was also a young mother of three children—fourteen, eight, and six years old.  It was a lot for any author to take on, much less a new one.

One day I burst into tears, sure that I was going to fail as a writer, as a mother, and pretty much as a human being.  So I picked up the phone to call my friend Nora Roberts.  Who else would better understand my dilemma of writing two books a year than America’s favorite romance writer with a solid reputation of churning out wonderful novels at rapid-fire pace? 

From a professional standpoint, Nora has no compassion for excuses or laziness.  She is well-disciplined in the craft, writing at her desk for eight hours a day, seven days a week.  And she expects others to do the same if they are serious about making it in the writing world.  As my friend, she also understood how hard it was to try to find the time to write while raising young children.  Nora offered me the greatest writing advice I’ve ever received—and now I’ll share it with you.

Nora told me how, when her two boys were young, she put a sign on her home office door that stated in big, bold red letters, IS IT BLOOD OR FIRE? IF NOT, GO AWAY! 

What Nora taught me that day was that a successful writer had to have enough respect for her time and craft that she wouldn’t let trivial distractions interfere with serious work time. Once the author was committed, she had to buckle down and see the project through without tears or excuses.  Though, chocolate and French fries were permitted.

The advice reminded me of Virginia Woolf’s admonishment in her book A Room of One’s Own:

    “A woman must have money and a room of her own to write fiction... So when I ask     you to earn money and have a room of your own, I am asking you to live in the presence of reality, an invigorating life."

That very same day I wrote the message in red magic marker on an 8X11 sheet of paper and slapped it on my office door.  My children thought it was funny at first and ignored it. Were they surprised when I firmly ushered them out of the office and closed the door in their faces!  I played fair.  At the same time I established a writing schedule that began the moment they went to school and I turned off the computer at three o’clock when they returned home. For years, my youngest thought it was very special to come into my office when he arrived home knowing I was waiting for him with my full attention.  He’d sit on my lap to tell me about his day.

My children learned to respect the sign after some trial and error, and a few tears.  But that simple sign gave me the balance I desperately needed in my home life and budding professional career.  It set boundaries, both physically and emotionally.  The process taught me how to respect the craft of writing, my writing space and time, and it taught my children to respect it also.  Mom’s business meant business.  And yes, I finished two books that year.  (I can’t say I’d do it again.)

Writing this blog entry today makes me realize that I’ve slowly slipped away from this discipline as my children left home.  I am at the office every day, but I take for granted my free time and allow phone calls, drop-ins, even pets to disrupt my schedule.  For 2012 I’m resolved to re-establish those precious writing hours that ban all outside distractions-- unless it’s blood or fire.  It’s time to put that sign back on the door!

Mary Alice Monroe is the NY Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels.  Her new book, BEACH HOUSE MEMORIES, prequel to her Southern hit THE BEACH HOUSE, will be released May 2012.  Learn more at http://www.maryalicemonroe.com/.   

Have you read a good Acknowledgment lately?

By Judy Pace Christie

The first time my name was mentioned in a published book was in 1975. 

I, college student Judy Pace, was included in the acknowledgments of a hefty biography called "Audie Murphy, American Soldier" by Harold B. Simpson.

The author thanked me for my assistance at the Texas Collection at Baylor University -- where I worked for minimum wage to help pay for college. My scholarly contribution mostly involved hauling materials up and down from the archives.

I was so touched that I paid an outrageous $12.50 for a copy of the book. In a normal week (i.e, one when I hadn't seen my name in a book), that money would have bought three-for-a-dollar tacos or  ten-cent Dr Peppers and convenience store hot dogs.

I was hooked on acknowledgments.

While normal readers scan the first five pages of books, I look for the lists of friends, family members, pets, teachers, agents, publicists and editors it took to bring a book to life. 

You can tell a lot about writers' voices from acknowledgments, even if they're quite brief. It's a bit like a chat with authors, often telling you more about who they truly are than their bios.

As a novelist, I'm hungry to learn about what goes into great books -- and acknowledgments offer clues. Plus, they provide a potent reminder. No book, no matter how famous the author, is created in a vacuum.


When I embarked on the book-writing life a few years ago, I envisioned solitude with tons of time to stare out windows and debate passive verbs versus active.

Instead, I've encountered a life that revolves around community -- family, friends, spouses, children, grandchildren, readers, other writers. This is where ideas, energy, and the right words often come from.

While I savor quiet moments, quite a web of cheerleaders make it possible for me to write. 

Acknowledgments even contain themes: Great teachers. Mentors. Agents and editors who improve work and push for it to be published. Pals who listen to whining. Spouses who laugh at bad jokes. Children who are patient. Readers who spread the word and come back for more.

For fun on a hot summer day, pull a few books off your shelves and read their dedications and acknowledgments. Perhaps they'll remind you to run out and thank those who make it possible for you to put words on paper or those who helped make your favorite book come to life.

At-a-glance from my bookshelves:

• "To My Mother." That's the simple dedication for "The Catcher in the Rye," by J.D. Salinger. Many books, including my first, the nonfiction "Hurry Less Worry Less," are dedicated to moms. Most of us know if we have the good fortune to have a book published, we owe a lot to Mama. Wherever you are on the writing journey, give her a call and say thanks.

• Teachers of writing love to talk about the first line of "Moby Dick," by Herman Melville. This is the dedication for that classic: "In Token of My Admiration for His Genius, This Book Is Inscribed to Nathaniel Hawthorne." One of my great joys of becoming an author has been the help and friendship of other writers.

• Acknowledgments are friendly and affectionate -- and often fun and inspiring. Steve Martin's acknowledgments in "Pure Drivel" are as funny as his essays. In "Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller," Marshall Chapman starts her acknowledgments with simple phrases that remind me of a chat with her.

• Most writers owe much to teachers. Friend John Corey Whaley's debut novel, "Where Things Come Back," was just released. I loved the book (a great southern YA tale), and he dedicated it to a "teacher and friend." His acknowledgments make me want to have dinner with his parents and listen to musician Sufjan Stevens.

• I can never thank my husband, an eighth-grade science teacher, enough. He cooks for me, doesn't roll his eyes when he finds Post-it notes in our bed and laughs and cries at the right places in my manuscripts. I've had nine books published, and I mention him in each. Plus, I immediately sign the first copy of each book to him -- one small thanks for helping those pages appear.

Who did you dedicate your first book to? Who is your favorite book dedicated to? Please comment! Happy Summer!

About Judy Christie: Wrote my first novel when I turned 50. Longtime newspaper journalist. Appreciator of porch swings and primitive antiques. My fourth novel, "Rally 'Round Green," part of the Green series, will be out this summer. (It's dedicated to my good friend and fellow journalist Kathie Rowell.)  My first YA novel, "Wreath," will be released in October (dedicated to my 13-year-old niece, Mel, an avid reader). For more info, see www.judychristie.com or say hey on Facebook. Thanks!

My Best Friends are All Adventurers

by Patricia Sprinkle

My friend Miriam once confided, "I always wanted to be an adventurer."

She and I recently returned from a five-week trip to India and Nepal. She wrote me a note afterward: "Thanks for the adventure of a lifetime."  It was. The real purpose of our trip was to teach creative writing for three weeks to middle school students in a small village school, but we can also check "Ride an elephant," "Visit the Taj Mahal," and "See the Himalayas" off our bucket lists.

Only recently have I begun to appreciate how brave we were. We went alone and made our own travel arrangements, staying in moderately priced hotels and hiring our own guides. Everything went exactly as planned except when our train from Agra to Delhi took us to a station across the city from our hotel. We will never forget our late-night ride through Delhi traffic in an auto-rickshaw, also known as a tuk-tuk. Most of the tuk-tuks we saw had some religious talisman swinging from the mirror or painted on the front. We know why. Riding a tuk-tuk through India's traffic does wonders for your prayer life.

Or maybe we weren't so brave. Maybe we were just finally having some of the adventures our favorite characters have been having for years. You see, Miriam and I are both avid readers. As I think about it, all my best friends are avid readers. Seldom am I with a good friend that we don't discuss at least one book.

     If people who read are adventurers at heart, that goes double for writers of fiction. We inhabit two worlds most of the time--the mundane world our bodies move around in and the far-more-exiting world our characters know. No reader enjoys an adventure in a book that the author hasn't already experienced, revisited, and honed down to its bare bones.    


Maybe that's why the authors I know are so enjoyable to be around. Every one of them is as interesting as the people s/he writes about. While the mystery writers don't generally go around killing people, the romance writers are seldom involved in torrid affairs, and the southern novelists don't spend their entire days drinking mint juleps and coming up with cute new expressions, they are all curious about life and aware that there are more things under the sun than any of us will ever comprehend. As the late Charlotte MacLeod once said, "Don't write what you know, write what you want to know."  Anybody who meets Charlotte's quirky characters will be astonished at how many things Charlotte wanted to know.

So let's lift a glass to readers and writers, people who know that life is short and ought to be lived to the fullest. As a note says on the bulletin board above my desk, "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather let's skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, total worn out and loudly proclaiming, 'Wow! What a ride!'"

If your own life gets too dull, let me recommend a ride in Indian tuk-tuk.

Patricia Sprinkle is the author of twenty mysteries and three novels. Her most recent novel is Hold Up the Sky. A fourth, Friday's Daughter, will be released in March. 
 








   

The Pulpwood Queen Announces FALL BACK INTO READING at A Good Blog is Hard to Find and MORE!

Dear Readers,

I run this southern author blog outfit but goodness, gracious, I'm an author on the go!  SO!  We had a lapse in author blogs, I am making up for it and now we are back on schedule!  First the photos!

The bottom photo is taken at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.  Author, Deeanne Gist of "Maid to Match", a Houston, Texas author had an open invitation to take a "Getaway with Deeanne" at the Biltmore!  This was the Ultimate Girlfriend and Booklover getaway as we not only were able to experience the Biltmore Estate from top to bottom of the home to every end of the all the fascinating places on the estate we had our sparkly southern author to lead us!  Author, Deanne is the third person on your left!  I'm that READhead in the back!

Now her book "Maid to Match" was set at the Biltmore and girlfriends, why didn't I think of this.  Note to author, set your book where you most want to go, hehhhehee!  For more photos and story go to www.deeannegist.com!

Now that reminds me of more Girlfriend Getaways that are involving authors and books.  Check out my Event page at www.beautyandthebook.com for all the many literary loving adventures I am planning through the next coming year including, Books Alive and Girlfriend Weekend in Jefferson, Texas featuring authors, Sam Bracken, Echo Garrett, Pat Conroy, Fannie Flagg, Rick Bragg, Mark Childress, Marshall Chapman to name just a few as close to 75 author featured at those two little ole literacy promoting shindigs.

Then if that isn't enough, check out my Pulpwood Queen Cruise to the Bahamas with the authors and so far booked to go are authors, Echo Garrett, M.L. Malcolm, and Deeanne Gist.  Friend me on Facebook at Kathy Louise Patrick and I'll send you the cruise info!  It's going to be amazing! I have already almost two dozen signed up and we launch that cruise, June 24 - 27, 2011 out of Miami, Florida!

Last is the photo of Nashville born and raised author, Sam McLeod, who wrote "Big Appetite: My Southern Friend Search for the Meaning of Life", which currently stands as the #1 Bestseller on my Pulpwoodqueen Top Twenty Countdown of Bestsellers for September at www.pulpwoodqueen.com!  You'll recognize many of you there!  That's Sam McLeod, my minister, Allison Byerley, me, Sara Whittaker, my co-youth leader and youth group members, Sarah Jones and Paige Huntington of the First United Methodist Church of Jefferson, Texas.  Sam spoke and brought in The Waffle House to serve a breakfast dinner for this fundraiser to help pay for our NEW Youth Group Building!  We raised over $2,000 because of this southern author who also just happens now to live in Walla Walla, Washington.  You see great things and good can happen when you feature southern authors and all share a meal!  We learned that COMMUNITY can do good works and so can our Southern Author COMMUNITY!  Thanks for joining us!

Next up will be all our authors writing of their most beloved books, favorite author and who their best friend is that is an author!  It's the story behind their stories so stay tuned tomorrow as we begin this NEW southern author reading journey.  What are you waiting for?  Reading changes lives so please share with all your friends and remember!  A book is a gift that keeps on giving and this blog does too, share it big time everyday!

Last, heading out this week to the southern festivals of all festivals, The Southern Festival of the Book in Nashville as moderating two panels on Friday and Saturday, The Pulpwood Queen Presents the BEST in Southern Authors!  I hope to meet and greet, mingle and tingle with all my NEW and old bookloving friends there!  It's FALL back into reading time and nobody, I mean nobody is as excited as ME!

Your NEW Southern Author Blogger Fearless Leader!
Kathy L. Patrick
Author of "The Pulpwood Queens' Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Life", Grand Central Publishing
Founder of  the largest "meeting and discussing" book club in the world, The Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys!
www.beautyandthebook.com to join the fastest growing book club in the world!
www.pulpwoodqueen.com, my daily to weekly blog with PHOTOS!
www.readinggroupguides.com, of which I periodically contribute and an excellent resource for readers!

MY CRAZY 10 YEAR PUBLISHING JOURNEY by Maryann McFadden

Since Kathy Patrick asked us to share our publishing stories—how we got started, and all—I’m going to do just that. If you’ve heard it before, sorry! But I love telling it, because it reminds me of how lucky I am to be sitting here, published, and participating in this blog! And yes, it’s kinda long, but hey, this is 10 crazy years we’re talking about!

When I was in my forties, and my kids were heading off to college, I rediscovered a dream I’d all but forgotten, to be an author. It happened quite by accident. You see, I went back to school, too, for a Master’s in Education because I wanted to teach high school English. After a decade in real estate, I wanted security, benefits, and summers off. But a funny thing happened, in the English class we did a lot of writing, and I just LOVED IT! I hadn’t written in a decade, since leaving a freelance journalism career for real estate. But suddenly, sitting in that classroom, writing those creative pieces, something lit up inside me! I was an eleven year old girl again, pecking away at my Dad’s old Underwood manual typewriter as I wrote my first short stories. Dreaming of being an author!

I switched programs and got into a Master’s in English with a concentration in Writing and in my very first class, I created Joanna Harrison, a corporate wife in a short story who runs away to Pawleys Island. Two years later, in 1999, when I wrote my thesis, I wrote 120 pages about a corporate wife who runs away from her life in NJ to start over on Pawleys Island, SC (exactly where I’d still like to run away to!). The Richest Season was born.

After graduating, it took 2 more years for me to finish the novel, getting up at 5 am most mornings and writing before work, and also on weekends. By August of 2001, I had a 500 page manuscript, with not just Joanna, the wife’s journey, but the corporate husband, Paul’s, transforming story, as well as that of an elderly woman, Grace, who gives Joanna a job. I was so excited! This book had everything I love in it, the beauty of nature, the need to get back to the simple things in life. Rediscovering our dreams after getting caught up in the busyness of life! (And I didn’t even realize art was imitating life, it was simply subconscious!).

Well, there wasn’t a happy, tidy little ending to my story. It got rejected for the next 5 years, again and again, and I shelved it 3 times! Now there were some good moments—I got some glowing rejection letters, the best one arriving on October 11, 2001, exactly a month after 9/11. She loved the book, but the publishing world was in flux. I decided to wait a while before trying again. Later in 2002, I had a very big agent call me on the phone! From her vacation home! She wanted the manuscript exclusively, and I was jumping up and down. Two weeks later when she called again, I heard the BUT before she uttered the word… “but I wanted some humor.” I was ready to bang my head against a wall. I had no idea chick-lit was becoming a hot genre, and that’s what agents wanted. Then another agent read my manuscript and asked me to (and I swear these are her words) “ditch Paul and ditch Grace, I just want Joanna.” I realized she wanted a romance novel. I wasn’t willing to give up what I thought were 2 incredible characters.

In the meantime, I kept hearing the same refrain from friends and relatives who were reading the manuscript in a fat 3 ring binder: Your book is wonderful! Why isn’t it published?

A milestone birthday came and went. I began writing another book, while still working full time as a realtor, and I was frustrated as hell. I began to do some soul searching.

I wanted to keep writing. I didn’t want to give up. But what defined success to me as a writer? To be read! And to move people when they read my work. I wanted The Richest Season to be out there in reader land, for people to know about Joanna, Grace and Paul, three characters who I believed deserved to live in reader’s imaginations. I wanted them to fall in love with Pawleys Island, as I had more than 20 years ago.

And so I decided to take one of the biggest gambles in my life: to self-publish The Richest Season. After all, I reasoned, if I could sell houses, which I’d done very successfully for nearly 20 years by then, I could sell this book!!!

I found a small print on demand publisher in California which I’d never heard of, and I was hoping no one else had either. I wanted the book judged on its own merits, not with the stigma I knew it would carry if the truth were known.

My self-published edition of The Richest Season debuted in May, 2006. I immediately orchestrated a book launch at our local college. I sent press releases to our local weekly, and our local radio station. I hung posters all over town. But the week of the launch I was a wreck. I was now feeling like a bit of a fraud. The local paper interviewed me, took a picture, and ran an article with the headline: DREAM OF BEING PUBLISHED COMES TRUE. I thought I would die from embarrassment! Obviously, that wasn’t exactly accurate.


The night of the launch, I was scared to death. I knew most people would have no idea it was self-published. I had no idea how many would show up. Despite a torrential downpour and with little parking nearby, I managed to fill the parlors. One of the first women who came in, who’d gotten the book online—the only place it was available-- hugged me and said, “I loved your book. I wanted to live it.” I went on to sell over 100 books that night. Needless to say, I was beyond thrilled. But still…there was that nagging feeling, despite what they thought: I wasn’t the real deal. I wasn’t a real published author.

I began pounding the pavement. Getting a bookseller to read a self-published book isn’t easy. The big stores and chains simply won’t. So I focused on the independents. I went into each store with shaking knees and trembling hands, as I brought a copy of my book to one store after another.


Then something magical happened. One bookseller loved it, and then another. They began to help me, recommending the book to their book clubs, asking me to do signings. I got up the nerve to call booksellers in other states. Tom Warner at Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island (my setting), loved it and said “next time you come down, we’ll have you for a signing.” I told him, “I’m coming later this month!” (I wasn’t actually, but after he said that, I knew I had to). The next thing you know, I’m on a Southern book tour, with stops at Park Road Books in Charlotte, and McIntyre’s Fine Books near Chapel Hill! I sent press releases to all the nearby papers and got coverage, because I was that squeaky wheel, who called and emailed until they responded.

I even went to a bookseller’s convention and walked the floor, handing out review copies to some surprised booksellers, as the big name authors signed at booths, with long lines, a very humbling experience.

The next eight months were exhausting as I continued to market my novel in any way I could, while still working. I racked up 25 signings, some library and senior talks, and met with nearly 40 book clubs in 10 states, many via web cam. Reader feedback was unbelievable. I sold more then 2,000 books, what some literary books do in a lifetime, I learned. In one indie, The Richest Season went on to become their top selling trade paperback for 2006, outselling The Kite Runner.

Needless to say, I was exhausted. I had no time to write, and booksellers kept saying to me, “You have to stop selling books out of the trunk of your car (I was supplying many on consignment) and get back to writing. People are asking for your next book.”

One night in November, I decided to search for an agent again. I sent out e-mail queries loaded with all my bookseller and reader quotes, newspaper reviews, and the fact that I had several thousand readers waiting for my next book. The very next morning I got a call from The Victoria Sanders Agency, asking me for an exclusive. I agreed. Eight weeks later they called, asking me to come in.

On the last day of January in 2007, after a harrowing trip into New York that included snow, ice and a train shut-down because of a terrorist alert, I was rewarded with a smile and these words from Victoria: “This is a wonderful book!” Validation! Finally!

But we still had to sell it to a publisher. I knew I was only halfway there.

Victoria asked me to add a few scenes early in the book, something I’d already been thinking about because of all my book club discussions. In April of 2007, with those new scenes added, she sent copies of the manuscript to major publishers in New York on a Thursday. The following Monday morning she called me and said “I think we’re going to have multiple offers.” I literally jumped up and down.

Shortly afterward, she decided to hold an auction for the rights to The Richest Season. It was an exciting and nail biting time, waiting for her call. When it came, I was thrilled to learn that Hyperion Books won, offering me a 2 book hardcover deal. This was it! After years of rejection, I was the real deal!

And the astounding thing was this. All during my low moments, and there were many over this entire journey, my best friend kept singing the Disney song, “When you wish upon a star…” I then learned that Hyperion is owned by…Disney!

Within a few weeks, Random House in Germany bought German rights in a 5 way auction, and Mondadori took it in Italy in a preempt. It’s now being translated into Spanish.

In June, 2008, The Richest Season debuted in hardcover, as an INDIE NEXT PICK. The following summer, my second novel, So Happy Together, also an INDIE NEXT PICK, also debuted in hardcover. Both are now out as trade paperbacks.

I’ve just turned in my third novel, The Book Lover, about a struggling independent bookseller who discovers…a self-published author! I don’t think there’s anything out there quite like it! It’s truly fiction, though I do use a bit of my backstory, but it tells the entire journey of how a book begins in an author’s head and ends up in a reader’s hands. And it’s got lots of drama, and some great characters, you’ll just love.

As I begin the first tentative steps into my fourth novel, there are still days I can’t quite believe it’s true, that I’m a real author. And I'd nearly given up.

My advice to aspiring writers with a dream is work hard, persevere, and BELIEVE!

Maryann McFadden lives in NJ, although her heart is in the Lowcountry of SC. She was a freelance writer for ten years, then sold real estate, before returning to writing, her first love. You can read more at www.maryannmcfadden.com