Twisted Endings

My short pieces always have a twist at the end.

So when the new online magazine Twisted Endings requested submissions, I knew it was a perfect place for me to submit a piece.

Please read my flash fiction story "Brolly Folly" on page 5 of the March 2013 issue. 

I hope you enjoy it! 

And if you'd like to submit something, here's the link. 

Twisted Endings

Do you like surprise endings? 

Musicians, Maestros, and Muses

Aubrie Dionne is visiting my blog today to talk about how being a musician helps her write and inspired her new book.

How Being a Musician has Made me a Better Writer

1.     Music has taught me patience, hard work and discipline. Practicing an instrument is like exercising- you don’t see the rewards right away. It takes a good week of long tones to finally start sounding stronger at all and years to get the fuzziness out of your tone. It wasn’t until Grad school-twelve years of playing- that I started to achieve the clear, resonant flute tone that I have today by changing small things with the shape and size of my mouth, my lips, and my chest cavity. So, if anything, music has taught me that patience, hard work, and discipline will yield results sooner or later- you just have to keep working at it.

2.     Music has taught me how much time you really need to invest be a pro. I just read an article in Flute Talk magazine- yup there’s such a thing- about this conservatory teacher who asks his students to practice 20 hours a week- that’s like 3 hours a day! If you truly want to sound professional, than you need to spend A LOT of time with your instrument. I have to practice an hour or two a day just to maintain the level that I’m at for rehearsals and teaching.

The same goes for writing. 500 words a day isn’t going to cut it. Right now I dedicate 2-3 hours a day to my writing, and finally, I’m starting to see results.

3.     Music has taught me how to express emotion. The tools you use with music are different than with writing, but you need emotion in both just the same. With music, you use vibrato-waves in the sound, dynamics-loud and soft, rubato- bending the tempo, and emphasis on certain key notes to achieve an emotional result. They all have to work together in synch and make sense to produce the desired effect. With writing, you can achieve emotion with a mix of internal thoughts, outward actions, character arcs and development, and specific associations to produce a desired emotional effect- but it has to work right together- just like music to produce the emotional result.

4.     Music has taught me how to receive criticism in a positive way and how to use it to better myself. Each week at a music lesson, if you have a good teacher, your teacher will give you suggestions on how to improve. If you take those suggestions, over time you start to see how they can make you a better player. Sometimes you don’t want to hear how you don’t sound clear, or you’re playing the wrong rhythm, but you grow to learn that your teacher is there to help make you better. The same goes with your editor. You have to truly listen to what they are saying and then try to implement it in your writing.

Tell me, what part of your jobs or careers has helped you with your writing?

Buy it on Amazon
Buy it on Barnes and Noble 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reflection

Peaceful sun-kissed

Surface

Shining sparkling

Mirror

Scratching scraping

Reflect

You calm

You thrash what you’ve calmed

You ebb

You flow when you’ve ebbed

You give

You take what you give

You come

You go when you’ve come

You promise

You betray what you promise

You beckon

You banish when you beckon

Break the surface

Belies

Sinister underbelly

Current

Undertow pulls under

Drowns

This is dedicated to the residents of Plum Island who just lost homes.

http://magpietales.blogspot.com/

Deluge

The sky’s

Blue hue

When we’d

Entered

The restaurant

Transformed

To thick

Black clouds,

So

We quicken pace.

First drops

Splash down.

We shriek

We run

But we cannot

Outrun

The rain,

So you

Grab

Your umbrella.

I gaze

Your face

Sprinkled

With drops

As you fumble

The latch.

I quake.

The top

Pops

Open. Shelter.

Huddling

You and

I, we

Giggle.

Two girls trembling.

I feel

Abloom

With you.

My

Heart beats faster.

Our eyes

Padlock,

I freeze,

Inhale.

You, me. The rain.

Pitter

Patter.

Your lips

Reach

For mine. Soft, sweet.

I pull

Away.

Exhale.

Confused.

Your eyes wounded,

You pull

Away.

Lost

Moment. Undone.

You give

Me your

Shelter.

Hands brush.

No words spoken.

I want.

I can’t.

I don’t.

You

Retreat rain-soaked.

http://magpietales.blogspot.com/

Organizing a Blog Tour

Elizabeth Arroyo set up such a professional online book tour that I asked her to tell me how she did it. I’m happy to be a part of her book tour and share her expertise with you.

Promoting is one of the many hats authors wear. Whether your indie published or traditionally published, you must learn to promote yourself and your book. The blogosphere falls in line and should be part of that plan. I participated in quite a few launches for other authors and learned as I went.

I began the planning in October for the February launch.

I sorted my blogger list into three categories:

• Cover Reveal Bloggers
• Book Bloggers--Reviews
• Launch Bloggers

Book Reviewers: 
I researched specific bloggers using key terms that reflected my book--young adult, paranormal, supernatural, romance, thriller and horror. I used as many terms as I could to honestly represent my book, much in the same way you would seek an agent. You want your book reviewers to read and enjoy your genre before you send out that request. The publisher handled contacting the individual bloggers and sending out materials.

Bloggers for the Launch: 
I sent emails to bloggers who had expressed interest in helping out with my launch after I announced the contract on my blog, crit partners, beta readers, and folks I've featured in the past in my own blog. After, I started tweeting about the launch and added it to Facebook. I also have a permanent link on my blog for anyone who's interested in participating.

When planning your blog tour remember that you are still marketing yourself. I offered guest posts on topics I'm comfortable with writing, personally and professionally, while still offering the obvious interviews and book information. I wanted to make each post original. Yes, it's going to be hard work on the back end. Preparing guest post for 30 plus bloggers is not for the feint of heart, or the unorganized. So be sure to keep a record of everything. Spreadsheets help with this. 

I also created a separate private blog that I used to write the posts. This let me organize the posts in the private blog while allowing me to provide an html version of the post to bloggers using that button "compose" and "HTML" to go back and forth between the two. I found HTML to be the easiest way for bloggers to post the information and retain the formatting. However, be wary of other HTML codes you add like Goodreads, codes for trailers, etc., and delete anything that looks iffy. A lesson I learned the hard way.

In December I sent out a reminder to the bloggers with date and topic, and in January I sent out the posts with all relevant information. This gave everyone enough time to make sure the HTML versions were working. I also created a zip file of everything a blogger would need in case they needed that. But the HTML seemed to work best.

I wanted to spread promotions throughout the year and didn't add contests or giveaways during this round. The planning of those will have to wait until I regroup and see the sun again.

Short Synopsis

When a demon guardian comes to collect seventeen-year-old Gabby’s soul, she refuses to give it up. She’s not demon. She can’t be. Her father and twin brother are angels. The demon gives Gabby twenty-four hours to decide her allegiance, and then starts killing her short list of friends, leaving a message behind: She is the Second Sign.

           

As Gabby and Jake—her almost boyfriend—begin to unravel the mystery behind the Second Sign, she learns Jake may be the key to saving her soul. But it means a sacrifice has to be made that will change their lives forever.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

About the Author

Elizabeth has worked in the community for the bulk of her professional career. She enjoys quiet moments, action flicks, and dancing with her four-year-old.  THE SECOND SIGN is her debut novel. You can find more information about Elizabeth at:

           

Website: http://www.elizabetharroyo.com.

Blog: http://chandarawrites.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elizabetharroyo.author

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EArroyo5

Tempest

The storm swallowed the city

You were a beacon

Offering shelter

For customers who’d lost their way

I watched your lighted bar

Between my shutters

Distance insurmountable

Wind and snow not the only obstacles

I’d already consumed your spirits

Promises never fulfilled

Barely escaped whole

Betrayal bitter on my lonely tongue

Sorry is pitiful contrition

For the chasm you created

Loyalty meaningless

Savoring the ultimate victory

When he’d said, “Tu l'aime,”

You didn’t deny the accusation

Abstinence held promise

As did your final, sweet-wine kiss

Warmed by your radiance

I’m enticed to venture into

The pitch-dark night

Tasting your ripened lips on mine once more

 http://magpietales.blogspot.com/

I hope you're all dug out and safe from the storm, east coast friends. xo

Dojo and Mojo

“I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired to write at 9 o’clock every morning.” ~Peter De Vries

      01/10 marked the year since I started my writing support group Write On to Build On. We keep a daily tab of how much we write and how often we write. Since I began writing in 2006 (Yes, I’ve been writing seriously this long with this little to show for it), this has been my most productive year ever. I don’t know if my word count is higher, but I’ve been drought-free. For 365 days, I wrote, revised, edited, or critiqued all but 26 days.

      This consistent writing has paid off. I’m juggling all 3 contemporary fantasy projects, each for different age groups.

      I spent last year writing something new. I got the seed in 2009, but didn’t write anything else on it until 2011. By 2012, the word count was still low. I started the Write On to Build On group in part to push myself to finish the YA. I finished it in June and revised it for the next few months. It’s been through 2 readers and has been revised again. Now it’s off to 2 more readers.

      The 2^nd  manuscript I ever wrote has been hidden away for years.  My husband asked what happened to it. Back then the protagonist was too young for a MG, it was all show and no tell, and the. plot. lagged.

      I looked at the 1^st 4 chapters a couple of years ago and got some feedback. Then I overhauled the entire thing this summer. It went through more readers. Now I’m at the hell—please kill me now querying stage. I’ve received rejections and a glimmer of promise. Unlike many of my previous querying periods, I’m not going to give up too early. I believe in this story.

      My most recent work in progress got its inspiration when I visited my dad in Maine this past August. I took some notes and sat on it for a few months before starting a draft. Now I’m just over 20k into it. But I between critiquing other manuscripts and working on revisions for the YA, it has stalled. I want to give myself a push to finish this upper-middle grade.

So I’ve joined the The Writer's Dojo to keep up my mojo.

For February, there are 3 categories: writing, revising, and querying. I’ve signed up for the writing one. I choose my own goal (500 words per day) and I’ll check in once per week.

      My son got his black belt in taekwondo this December. My daughter is testing for her black belt in March. My YA black belt training in it. Now I’ll be working on mine too. (Too bad I’m not getting the fitness benefits.)

      Often I fail to see the progress I’m making. While I’ve had some small works published, I’m not as successful as I want to be. Besides writing fiction, I’ve also started building an editing business. I’ve edited the content of 2 websites and am about to do a 3^rd through the same person. Someone else has approached me to edit the content of his web design site. This may lead to other jobs through his site.

      All I can do is keeping writing, learning, revising, submitting. Giving up is not an option. It’s who I am. If all my stories have magical elements in them, I have to believe in a little magic in my own life.

Writers, how are you feeling about your writing journey?