It's that time--resolutions that work

 

The cover of my upcoming novel release on February 24th.

 Yes, yes, it's that awful time of year, resolution time, ugh. But, it doesn't have to be painful and we don't have to fail. With three general tools success will be the key word for 2012.

First tool: PRIORITIZE. Instead of trying to: lose weight, stop smoking, exercise, eat only fresh food cooked yourself, write five new novels, learn Spanish and French, grow three inches taller even though you're 55 years old and ... well, you get the idea ... instead ask "What's most important to me to accomplish in 2012?" Focus on that one thing. That's why I have the cover of my upcoming novel as an illustration. My most important priority is to write the second in this trilogy: THE MALL FAIRIES: WAR.

Second tool: ORGANIZE. My mom called this "clearing the decks." There are a lot of ways to stumble and fall off the ship if your deck isn't clear. While organizing, refer often to your #1 priority and set up systems that will support that priority. For example, I like to work to self-imposed deadlines, so a calendar with those deadlines noted helps. Which brings me to the final suggestion ...

Third and perhaps most important tool: BREAK IT UP. Trying to do everything all at once is an automatic failure. Imagining writing 300+ pages for the new w.i.p. makes it seem an impossible task. Break up your first priority into manageable pieces. For myself, I can't write an entire novel in a month, I've done NaNoWriMo and never turned out 50,000 words total. BUT, I can often do 1000 words a day, or one scene a day. So I compute how long it will take (and give myself a little wriggle room) and impose my deadlines accordingly.

I hope this helps with everyone's resolutions. Readers, any suggestions? Any stories of what has worked for you?

AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

SEE YOU IN 2012!

Merry Christmas! TAKE A BREAK!

Three views of my blooming Christmas Cactus!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! 

 

The title of this post comes from my noticing that several stores are OPEN Christmas Day--oh, for heaven sakes. Then I realized that us creative folk also often "stay open" every day. That only leads to fatigue and an empty well of creativity. So everyone, I suggest you take tomorrow off, regardless of your beliefs. Just cause.

 

And here's a video Christmas card starring Puck, our rat terrier, Puck the Puppy's Christmas Wish.

New Venture! New Market for Writers too!

Above is the logo for my newest venture, Barbarian Books.We are an eBook publishing company. 


Why would a well-published writer, with contracts with other great publishing companies, L&L Dreamspell, Muse It Up Publishing and Freundship Press, for example, open an eBook publisher? Am I insane? I'm a writer, so of course. But not when it comes to Barbarian Books. My permanent boyfriend Bruce came up with the idea to answer several important questions. E-readers mean that it's a new world for writers. With, I believe, some tremendous advantages for us writers.


Since I'm certain the majority of my readers know about the publishing world here's a couple of thing in brief: The big publishers are no longer taking newbies, or often even trusted mid-listers. Anyone can self-publish for e-readers. And many, many do. How does an author stand out in such a crowd? Unless you're someone like Jim Murdoch and you have a great blog such as The Truth About Lies or Dennis J. Smith and know all about social networking, it's a struggle to promote your self-pubbed e-book. 

And who do readers trust to find good reads at a reasonable price? 


The answer is: small publishers. There are a number of legitimate small publishers out there. If you've written a good book, there'll be a spot for it with a good small publisher.


This is the great thing about this new world--you can write what you want and it'll find a place. Every publisher is looking for something somewhat different. For example, Barbarian Books is looking for genre fiction (no children's or erotica). We're looking for novel length crime (including mystery), horror, romance, science fiction, westerns and cross genre. We'll open soon for other lengths and genres. And we're looking for that great, unclassifiable and unusual novel that might fit our philosophy that there are a great many readers looking for great reads.


So, if you have a finished product, do your homework (i.e. read the publisher's websites and contracts, go to Duotrope, Absolute Write and Preditors and Editors) and then submit!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN ALL!

My favorite earrings to wear during October! Today is the day I prep for NaNoWriMo and try to stay out of the candy until the Trick or Treaters have come! The little ones provide oodles of inspiration for my characters. And since I work well to deadline, I always do NaNo. I have yet to write 50,000 words in a month, but I always get further along in my writing. How about you? Do you work well to deadline? Or does something like NaNo make you shudder in horror?

How do you celebrate the holiday? Or do you?

Help! I have the life I've always dreamed of and I'm swamped!

Bruce and me in PARIS!

One great reason I've been conspicuously absent from the Internet.I had something else to do! Meanwhile, everything piled up at home. And great things they were too. I've received the first round of edits for THE MALL FAIRIES: EXILE. Good stuff has come in for my new venture. FANGTALES  is out. I'm doing NaNoWriMo.

Help! I'm swamped! I know there's a lot of great creative people out there to help. How do I get all this done?! How do you prioritize? How are you effective with your time when there's not enough time? Please let me know and thanks!

Sell! Sell! Sell! Outside the box.

Eclectic Collage II, the just released anthology I have a story in.

Loy Ann Bell, the president of the Twin Falls Idaho Writers League and me at my talk. Wearing purple was not a requirement.

 Another anthology I'm in that will be released in October.

Since I've got three (!) new anthologies (including Untied Shoelaces of the Mind) that I have a story in coming out or have just come out, this post is about thinking outside the box when it comes to marketing. Sure, you need to do what everybody else does, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon Author page, etc. etc. but it's also smart to do stuff that others might not do. You might discover other surprising connections. Here's a few ideas:

Most pages now have "like" (facebook) buttons on them, this includes Amazon Author Pages, blogs and websites. "Like" away everything you, well, like! Including your own work. )Even if you don't like your own work.) When you find a blog/website that you like to share, share it!

The publisher of Eclectic Collage, Jane Freund of Freundship Press says that the world has changed, bookstores are no longer the (only) place to sell books and may be the least effective to sell books.She's right. In a bookstore, you're title is one among many. Think of other places that might be interested in selling books. For example, my brother has a tea shop in Texas.The tea shop sells other little items. People who drink tea also read. What better place to place my titles? My mystery novel, "Starke Naked Dead" comes out next year by L&L Dreamspell. The main character is a jeweler. I love jewelry and jewelry stores. Am I going to be asking at some jewelry stores if they would like to have my titles? Have a signing?! You bet.

Book reviews--everyone says you need to get a lot of book reviews, but as my mom always said, "You have to give to get." All writers love to read. So review, often. It not only helps out other writers, but it's a great way to get your name/brand out there. (And of course be honest and straightforward with every review, no matter what. An excellent example of a good reviewer is Jim Murdoch at his blog The Truth About Lies. His reviews are interesting in and of themselves.

 And last, but not least, Kathy McIntosh of Well Placed Words suggested this great idea. In Boise, there's a Community Education. People volunteer to teach classes in....everything. This type of community service is common. Kathy's suggestion--teach a class in something! Great way to connect in a lot of different ways!

So, dear readers, any more "outside the box" suggestions?

Next my newest venture!

Miscommunications means missed communication and missed opportunity

 Me after the wedding

Recently, I almost missed a friend's wedding.Bruce mentioned work and then mentioned the wedding and I fused the two conversations in my mind. So I believed Bruce was going to the wedding of the daughter of a co-worker whom I'd never met, much less the daughter. Bruce thought it odd I didn't want to go, but I'm all grown up and can make my own decisions. Then a couple of nights before the wedding, Bruce mentioned something about our friend going to the wedding and I asked, "Why is he going?" When Bruce said, "Because it's his daughter getting married, of course," I was all, "Ohmigod, of course I'm going too!"

This story illustrates how easy it is to miscommunicate and miss the communication and miss an opportunity all in one. This happens more often than you'd think, even in fiction. Ask yourself how many times you've been stopped while reading something and thought, "What does that mean?" Or, "I don't think the author meant those words the way they do mean."There's where the communication has been missed. And the opportunity? Why, to keep the reader reading, of course! Getting bumped from a story is never good and can be catastrophic.

So how to avoid this problem? Beta readers and critique groups both are great--if they are the readers and groups that give solid feedback. Also, set aside the draft and return to it after a pause and you'll find a lot of these mis-communications. Finally, I have a friend who reads everything aloud and swears it works best. This, however, has never worked for me and drives me crazy.

What do you, dear writers, to avoid the dreaded "mis"?

Why write short stories? To sell, of course.

 One of the several anthologies I have a short story in.

The world has changed. Selling our words is different now.And it's changing every day. The "old" rule was to not bother writing short stories if you wanted to make a living writing. Oh sure, you might write a few if you had a novel coming out, or for a friend's anthology, or a magazine you loved, but usually, don't bother. Or you'd bother if you were like me and loved writing short stories. But nobody, with a few exceptions, made a living writing short stories.The wisdom was: readers really prefer novels.

POD technology gets cheap.The e-book arrives and takes off. Turns out the "wisdom" was wrong. Turns out readers love to read short stories.When print was all there was it was difficult for readers to find magazines and anthologies, for they were few and far between and often expensive. Even single "famous" author collections were rare. But now many small publishers publish short stories, as a stand alone e-book or in an anthology, or both. Now there are a variety of online magazines, for all sorts of tastes, that publish short stories. Some of those magazines do both print and electronic, now.

This post came to mind because I'm doing a talk on "Selling the Short Story" to the Twin Falls Chapter of the Idaho Writers League. And boy, now the writer can really sell those shorts! I'm published/being published in several magazines/anthologies/e-book stand alones. Including a print version of a previously e-published short story by Big Pulp.

So write short and sweet and sell!

One Buck Horror Review

One Buck Horror is a brand new magazine selling horror short stories for, you guessed it, a buck. The first issue is available now and I had the great pleasure of reading it for this review. As I've said before and will say again, I love short stories.

This first issue has a theme, for me a good theme. Every of the five stories have children (some of them quite young and some teens) as the main characters. Now, there are people out there who disapprove of stories where kids get...uh, into trouble, major trouble. I say, this is horror and what's more frightening than bad things happening to children? One of my favorite stories in this issue was the first so short it might be a flash story entitled, "Jenny's House," a little gem.

Now I really liked One Buck Horror. For a couple of strong reasons. One is that these are truly horror stories, awful bizarre things happen to good people. Delightful, to my sensibilities. Some stories labeled "horror" are too vague/literary for my taste. If I have to ask, did somebody have something bad happen to them or not? I don't consider it horror. The other reason is that none of the stories are horrendously long. By that I mean over 5000 words. In printed anthologies, sometimes there are no stories that are actually short. Give me something tight and quick and hard with bite.

So, if you enjoy horror short stories, buy One Buck Horror!

Happy Fourth of July!

Here's Puck, the rat terrorist, channeling Uncle Sam with the help of Baxter's fur!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! 

Happy Father's Day!

My dad's frowning because he was photo sensitive and it was a sunny day. The baby is my brother, who is a dad himself now.

My Dad was an artist and the one who set me on the creative life course. Thanks, Dad. My brother is a great guy with great kids. My s.o. Bruce is too. The fantastic dads I know are far too numerous to mention. Dad who do a great job of being Dads. Thank you all!

Ohmigosh, it's been weeks since I've posted--my apologies to everyone. I have wonderful excuses. First, I sold TWO novels to two different publishers in 10 days! Woot! Plus, Bruce and I participated in this year's i48, in which film makers have 48 hours to make a film, start to finish, whew! If you like, you can view the film here:

http://video.boiseweekly.com/video/Ticket-Home;i48-2011#c=5551V21KMHL4L16S&t=Ticket%20Home.

Here's to returning to the writer's life and...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Memorial Day

A Rose for Remembering

I'm back! It's been a while since I've posted because Google blogger has been having problems.Still a few difficulties, but at least it's back enough for me to post!

And may everyone have a day to remember those who have gone on. In so doing they live on, with us.Honor the dead this Memorial Day.

Market! Promo! SELL!

Here I am at "An Eclectic Collage" book signing partaking of a wonderful cookie the publisher provides--with the cover on the cookie--great marketing idea!

Since every author, whether published or not, whether they want to or not, must now sell themselves, here are some ideas and tips that I've culled from all sorts of places. Plus, how to create an Amazon page.

To get started...my favorite tip: have a bumper sticker of one of your book's titles or web page created and place on your car(s) and your relatives' cars. This tip comes via The Marketing Goddess and she mentioned that here in the mid-size city of Boise, a bumper sticker gets around 600 views a day of driving around town! Try to make your bumper sticker funny/dramatic/curious/odd. I've noticed that I remember certain bumper stickers because they're funny/dramatic/curious/odd.

Now everyone will tell you about Internet marketing, here's a quick rundown and then the best piece of advice I've received about the overwhelming world of the Internet.
1. Join social networks, including those that are about what you write (ex. have a mystery with recipes? Join cooking groups, etc., think outside the book!).
2. Have a blog, post at least once a week, cross post to Twitter and Facebook and your other groups, comment on other blogs.
3. Tag EVERYTHING. Try to think of all the tags appropriate to your book or blog post or whatever.
The best advice I've read about all of this: the writing comes first! Remember if you do a little of the social networking, etc., you're doing a lot. It's not necessary to spend your whole life on the 'net.

How to create an Amazon author page:
First, google Amazon author page (I swear, this is the only way I've found to get to this site, anybody have a better way?). It's called Author Central. Follow the prompts to join and create your page. The prompts will ask and show how to list your books. It's easy! (One flaw: if you are an author of several in an anthology you will need to e-mail, on Amazon's provided form, Amazon telling them you are one of the authors of that title. Hopefully, they fix that soon.)

Have I missed anything major? Let me know!

And since this post is about marketing, here's my next signing--come and enjoy those cookies!

How about a good book and beverage to start your weekend? You’re invited to a book signing event for An Eclectic Collage: Creative Works by the Women of the Pixie Chicks’ Writers Group Saturday, May 21, 2011 (10:00 AM to Noon) Moxie Java Coffeehouse (1750 State St. – Boise) Other Freundship Press books including Mooser on the Loose, Grandma, Does My Moon Shine Over Your House? (English and Spanish versions) and other books will also be available.

Come meet the local authors of An Eclectic Collage: Creative Works by the Women of the Pixie Chicks’ Writers Group, a collection of short stories, poems, life essays, recipes and other writings.

    

Questions: jane@freundshippress.com or (208) 407-7457

Happy Mom's Day!

Happy Mothers Day!

And IMO, there should be lots of Mother's Days!Not just the one. Thanks to all the moms of the world.

A Successful Week to Celebrate!

Okay, here's the fun part that writers often don't do. And the fun part that we need to do. It's the part that fills up the well for our writing. We all slog along and struggle with the work and then wince at the myriad rejections. So we all need to celebrate our successes! Here's mine this week, with thanks to members of the writing community for all their help and support towards these successes.

First: thanks to Aubrie of Flutey Words, who mentioned the market on her blog, I sold a short story to the anthology Fangtales.

Second: thanks to Su Halfwerk of Vivid Sentiments, who mentioned this wonderful promo market, Munaty Cooking, my incredibly delicious recipe is just released in their May issue. Writers if you like to cook, submit one of your recipes!

Third: The contract for my short story "Blood Tells" arrived for it's reprint in Big Pulp's June paper edition.

Fourth: My article, "Kiss a Garden" will be released in June's edition of Treasure Valley Family Magazine, both online and print.

AND LAST (does the big happy dance): I sold my mystery novel STARKE NAKED DEAD to L&L Dreamspell! Yay! It will be released in 2012, I can hardly wait! L&L Dreamspell also published my short story in their anthology Dreamspell Nighmares and it's been a pleasure working with them and I'm looking forward to doing that again.

And a big thanks to my friend and fantastic editor, Kathy McIntosh of Well Placed Words for her great help in getting the novel edited for submission! It worked!

So there you have it, my celebration. What do you have to celebrate? It can be a tiny success, writing a new paragraph on your w.i.p., for example. But celebrating creates success!

Next up: Nowadays, all writers must market, even before they submit. I've been doing this for a while, so I'll compile some tips and easy ideas and how to create an author page on Amazon.

Happy Easter!

HAPPY EASTER!

Some virtual flowers for everyone. And did you know chocolate is good for you? Everyone enjoy a chocolate egg today!

Life Changes Fast and What to Do or Not Do

Cleo and I and Bruce and Puck

Cleo passed away a little over a year ago and now we have a new dog, Puck, who was not a dog when we got him a little less than a year ago.Life changes fast! Since I'm a writer, my head is spinning from the whole world of publishing changing every moment now. How do I keep up? How do I decide what's next for my books? What would be best to do? Every day I see blog posts about this and apps and other wild stuff for promoting and social networking. What's Tweepi? What's Amazon vine? What's....Aargh! When do I write?

And yet, I love this new world too, and want to KEEP UP! I love my new e-reader! I love the ease of e-books, except for one small problem, reading in the bath tub by candlelight...ah well. Now I have plenty to read. So when do I write?!

After asking myself this question several times and realized the answer is simple: Content is King! Write first and foremost. If I don't have product, I won't have anything to sell. So I'm working to avoid the incredible time suck of the electronic world (although, as I now get e-mail on my phone, it can be hard) and write first!

Readers, are you having the same problem and if so what are you doing about it?

Don't Niche Me Out

Yes the title is ungrammatical, but apt, as is the poster for the next signing of "An Eclectic Collage" next Saturday in Eagle, Idaho.I'm one of the contributors to "An Eclectic Collage" with both an article on exercise and several recipes.The Collage contains, well a collage of writing: short stories, poetry, articles and yes, recipes!

Which brings up the reason for this post. There's been a lot of e-talk about writers needing niches in this new world to succeed. Why? Because a niche becomes a brand which becomes the impetus for traffic to your publications. Of course, that seems to make sense. But I resist it. Why? See above. I'm one of those writers who are the definition of "eclectic." I like to write almost anything (even a little bit of bad poetry from time to time) and while I'm sorta/kinda in the genre (mystery, horror, fantasy) camp, some of my best short stories have been literary.

It feels like a niche would cut off some of my writing arms, to my dismay. Doesn't "niche" mean restricted to a small space? Or does it? Perhaps it just means that I'm a writer obsessed with dead things and bright shiny objects (many long stories, and short ones too, although not so much in my articles and recipes) and that's my niche. Now all I need to do is let readers know, right? Or?

What do you think? Is a niche like a brand or completely different? Is it a good thing...or maybe too constricting ala the writers who are forced to write books in the same series...forever. Or just another tool to get your words to the readers?

And those of you who live close to Eagle, hope to see you Saturday!

An interview with Fiona Dodwell

Welcome to my blog, writer Fiona Dodwell, author of The Banishing, released this month from Damnation Books here. 

Fiona's great answers to my questions about the creative process of writing follow. Be sure to check out her blog and website. 

You say on your blog that you starting writing at age 11, what was the impetus for starting at an early age?
It is true that I began writing at an early age. I think it's because I surrounded myself with books that I loved from the first moment I learned to read. Books were a passion of mine, and as a child it was my escapism, to get lost in a good book. Reading so much at an early age in turn inspired me to try writing myself, and even when I was still in primary school, I received some very positive and encouraging feedback about my creative writing - I think that is what spurred me on to create poems, short stories and novels over the years. As a teenager I entered fiction contests (some I won, others I wasn't so lucky) but it all gave me a good grounding in writing and helped me find my voice.

Has your preferred genre always been horror, and if so, why? If not, why not?
Yes, I fell in love with horror right from the start and my passion for it has simply grown over the years. I have read other styles and genres, but I always find myself returning to horror. I certainly only ever write horror because it's what I love the most, and, like anything in life, if you love something, you want to be a part of it.
I think I love horror so much because I love the element of suspense, mystery and fear. It's a dark cocktail and I am addicted to it. I read, watch, write and breathe horror!

Like many writers, you seem to be interested in a wide variety of different subjects. Did you pick psychology, theater and theology, or did they pick you and if so, how?
I am quite an inquisitive person by nature, I am always striving to learn, cultivate, experience. I have been interested in so many things over the years - from acting to studying sea life, so you see, it's just who I am to learn and explore these worlds. I don't think I consciously chose to study particular things, I just notice something that grabs my attention and see where it leads me. Often, it will help plant ideas for stories in my mind, which is always helpful.

Do you believe it is a necessity for a writer to study/experience far and wide in order to write? Or is it more an individual thing--a writer can find plenty within a simple life to write about?
I think it might help to experience and study different areas - the more we learn, the more we can explore these things in our writing - however I don't think it's always a necessity. I believe we each learn from everything in our every day life. It doesn't have to be a significant event, sometimes we can learn from watching people on the train next to us, or talking to a manager at work, or even chatting online to friends... learning comes in all shapes and sizes, it's not restricted to academic studies, in my opinion. A writer can learn something valuable even popping into town to shop... it's being part of everyday life that influences us, when all is said and done.

Please tell my readers something about how you work as a writer and creative person.
I try not to plan my novels rigidly. I like to find a tiny seed of an idea, have a very general outline of what I want to happen in my mind, and then write freely as the inspiration comes. Some writers cannot work this way, but our methods vary because we are individuals - what works well for one might be useless to another. I loosely plan plots, events and characters and then let the story come alive in its own way. That's where the magic truly happens as an author: when you see your story come alive and take off on its own journey.


And what's up next for you, Fiona, in your writing career?
I am writing my third novel at the moment, called The Shift. It's another dark horror story, but it's early days so I don't want to give anything away. I'm also working on a novella called The Governess. My second novel, Obsession, is currently being considered for publication.

Thank you, Fiona! Readers, any questions for our guest?

Film Cautionary Tale

Photos of Bruce and me at the recent shoot for my short film ENCORE. These were taken by Kathy McIntosh of Well Placed Words, thanks Kathy!

Recent shoot? On February 20?! And there lies the crux of this post. When I say "short film" I mean a page and a half of script, two characters, one location and silent--no dialog. A simple, easy, really short film. We even kept the cast and crew to a bare necessary minimum. So I kept a running tab of how long it will take start to finish for this film.

Around a 100 hours.

What?! How could that be possible? Why would it take that long? Simple. The process of making a film is long and complicated, with many different elements and myriad details. All of which take time and effort.

What's the cautionary part of this tale? My realization that this time sink is true of all creative projects, whether filming or art or writing or jewelry making or...And my realization that all creative people always underestimate the time it takes to create, start to finish. Why? Because it's so much fun! We're doing what we love to do!

The caution: remember it will take more time, effort and energy to create. Don't beat yourself up about it, just recognize it and try (try) to put a little wriggle room in your projects.

Do any of my readers not have this problem? Do any of my readers have some solutions to this problem?

Happy President's Day Let Freedom Ring

OUR FLAG FLYING FREE

And oh, how grateful I am that two great men struggled mightily so that I now live in a land where I pretty much live as I want! 

What do you do with your freedom?

The Revolution is OVER

What revolution am I talking about? Why, the one important to writers, the e-Revolution! What made me realize that the revolution was over? Simple.

Back in the nineties, the dinosaur age of the Internet, I used to work for a little, independent bookstore. I was also published in anthologies and magazines during this time. Fast forward to now, when I'm again being published in anthologies. And it's totally different.

How? Well, did I, while I worked for the bookstore, promote all the other authors in the anthologies I was in? Or the publisher who bought my short stories for the anthologies? Or even the publishers or their magazines? Of course not! Why would I? To what purpose? I might have signings for the anthologies, might mention to friends and family and that's it. Nobody even considered promoting another author or publisher.

NOW: Every time an author in An Eclectic Collage talks/mentions/sells the book it promotes me. Every blogger who blogs about Dreamspell Nightmares is also blogging about me. Instead of just me alone telling my friends and family about my writing, I've got all the authors promoting. And promoting authors of the publishing company that published my e-book story Changing Woman Ways, promotes my name. Why? The Internet. Connections are quick and easy to make and the more presence on the 'net the better.

Why do you think, my dear readers? And those of you who are writers, am I right? Or all 'net wet?

Happy Valentines Day!

HAPPY V DAY with some virtual roses

And may you all, my friends and family, follow your passion today.

How do you celebrate this holiday? Or don't you celebrate? Do you think it's delightful? Or disgusting?

A Childhood Recipe to celebrate An Eclectic Collage

Crispy Rice Cereal Treats Dyed Bright Pink!

Okay, I realize the top photo looks like hamburger...but I promise, it's not. This is a new beloved childhood recipe I'm posting to celebrate the release of An Eclectic Collage  a compendium of the Pixie Chicks Writers. In An Eclectic Collage, you'll find more of my fun recipes that you can add/change and foster your creativity.

Basic Recipe:

4 tablespoons margarine or butter

6 cups crispy rice cereal

1 16 ounce bag of marshmallows (fresh mini marshmallows work best)

In a large saucepan, heat the butter on medium heat until it melts. Add marshmallows and stir constantly until marshmallows all melt. Remove from heat. Add crispy rice cereal and stir well. Using a greased spatula, spread mixture in a buttered 15 X 10 inch pan. Cut into bars when cooled.

Okay, now for the variations:
Add vanilla or rum or orange or lemon extract, a teaspoon or two.
Add a cup of nuts, or raisins or any dried fruit, or a cup of chocolate bits (or a third a cup of each!).

Add any spices you like, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, cardamon.
Add 1/3 cup of cocoa.
Or be daring and trying a bit of pepper and hot sauce to the cocoa! Strange but good if you like it weird and spicy!

Cooking creates!

And just one off topic note--there's an interview about my childhood life and how it comes out in stories at midlist writer. No recipes, just the Navajo!

BSP is hard to do

Above are a couple of examples of BSP. The first is a recipe card that is a teaser or taste (pun intended) for the second, a signing for the upcoming release of the compendium, "An Eclectic Collage." The recipe cards I make by cutting and pasting onto Avery White Quarter Fold Greeting Cards Avery 3266. I copy and paste till each section is filled and then I have 4 cards per sheet.Then the cards promote the book at the signing.

I've had the good fortune to be published several times lately and have an upcoming release, a couple of things in "An Eclectic Collage." So I've been attempting to promote my work. And finding it a bit difficult. Oh, not in opportunities to promote, but rather in the feeling that BSP is somehow a four letter word. Perhaps it's the word, "blatant," does anybody want to be blaring an accomplishment? Doesn't that seem egotistical? Then I remember what my mom always said, "If you don't tell people, they won't know." She repeated this often because my dad was an artist and, a very shy man, he hated gallery openings, media interviews, etc.He just wanted to go do his art. I think that may be true of many creative people.

So when I worry about mentioning something and I'm procrastinating about promoting I tell myself, "Maybe some people might want to know about this."

How about you, dear reader? Do you enjoy promotion? Hate it? Don't care? Care too much?

New Year's Resolution, just one

My one resolution this is year is to relax as much as possible about my creative life. Yes, all creative people are neurotic and driven, I believe, but this year I'm working hard to remember what my friend Kathy of Well Placed Words says, "Writing is my love, my passion. When I remember that, I write more, better." How true for all us creative types!

Anyone else have a "creative" resolution?

And...

HAPPY NEW 2011!