Hi, everyone! I have to start with a big thank you to Delilah for letting me come play in her space again. I always have a great time with all of you.
It’s my birthday today, and I was thinking the other day about birthdays past. The ones when you’re a kid and they’re a bigger deal. In our house when I was growing up, my mom would make us what we wanted for our birthday dinner, plus bake and decorate our cake (also the flavor of our choice). Blowing out the candles on the cake was a huge thing, making that wish. Trying to decide what to wish for. I don’t think I remember any of those long-ago wishes, I’m sure they were frivolous things, silly things to an adult, but probably important to a little kid—a new doll, some books, a new pet, things along those lines.
Now I’m the adult and the meal and cake are my responsibility, which is fine, I do the same thing for my husband and sons (though I don’t bake their cakes, my decorating skills are awful!).
I do still think about birthday wishes…what I’d like if a birthday wish could come true. I’m a writer, after all, and wishing and what-ifs are part of the job description. These days, though, my birthday wishes are much different than when I was a little girl. I would wish for my family to stay healthy and safe. For more sanity in the world, for people to care about others more and be less hateful. This week, I’d wish for people to treat animals better—there are a lot of stray and feral cats in our neighborhood, and just last week, a pregnant cat showed up; she has a flea collar, so she belonged to someone, but she’s hungry, so she’s showing up at our house where two of the strays have made their home in our carport. I could come up with a more frivolous wish or two if pressed—I’d wish to win the lottery and then I could make sure the cats in our area were all taken care of (after I’ve made sure my family is taken care of, of course, haha), or that I’d sell tons of books—but mostly I think my wishes would be more practical.
What about you? Can you still come up with some fanciful wishes to go along with more practical wishes for your birthday? I’d love to hear about them. If you comment with your birthday wish(es), I’ll enter you into a drawing for a choice of one of my ebooks. I’ll draw the winner on Monday, July 31, 2023 after noon, so you have a little time to think of a good wish or two.
Thanks again to Delilah for having me!
About the Author
Lifelong book addict Elizabeth Andrews fell in love with romance novels as a teen, a love that’s carried into adulthood. Now she writes her own, full of sexy heroes and strong heroines. Her stories range from paranormal to contemporary, to who knows what her imagination might come up with along the way, but happy endings are a guarantee!
Light the Way Home Single dad Nate Baxter has his hands full with his son and his haunted lighthouse. He doesn’t have time to spend with a woman…especially one who won’t stick around, like his ex-wife.
But Lucie Russo’s not like other women Nate’s met. She’s sweet and sexy, and his mouth waters every time he’s around her.
Will a family emergency cause him to break his relationship rules? And if he does, will his heart be broken too?
Hunting Medusa Medusa’s Daughters Book 1: When Kallan Tassos tracks down the current Medusa, he expects to find a monster. Instead he finds a wary, beautiful woman, shielded by a complicated web of spells that foils his plans for a quick kill and retrieval of her protective amulet.
Andrea Rosakis expects the handsome Harvester to go for the kill. Instead, his attempt to take the amulet imprinted on her skin without harming her takes her completely by surprise. And ends with the two of them in a magical bind—together. But Kallan isn’t the only Harvester on Andi’s trail…
Protecting Medusa Medusa’s Daughters Book 2: Being the Medusa will put a real crimp in a woman’s social life. Lucky for Philomena Gregory, she gave up on men long before Athena’s curse landed on her head. Not even the naked man in the bathroom will change her mind.
Ryder Ware has waited six years to meet Mena in person. Flirting on the phone and via email is no substitute for face to face when a man is so intrigued. But now that Athena’s Harvesters have found her, Mena has no choice but to let him keep her safe—and close, very close.
“I was practically driven to Rome in order to obtain the opportunities for art culture, and to find a social atmosphere where I was not constantly reminded of my color. The land of liberty had no room for a colored sculptor.”
Thus, Edmonia Lewis was quoted in the December 29, 1878, New York Times‘ article: “Seeking Equality Abroad. Why Miss Edmonia Lewis, the Colored Sculptor Returns To Rome – Her Early Life and Struggles.” While saddened by the familiar story of trials and tribulations faced by African Americans in this era, I am nevertheless heartened that Edmonia Lewis refused to let adversity keep her down.
Born on July 4, 1844 of African-American and Native American heritage, Edmonia was orphaned by the age of nine, but had two aunts and her half-brother Samuel to care for her. Samuel struck it rich in the California Gold Rush and was able to finance her education. She attended New York Central College from 1856-1858 then Oberlin College in 1859 where she was one of 30 students of color. A white mob, believing she had poisoned two students, beat her and left her for dead. Exonerated of those charges, she was later accused of stealing paint brushes and a picture frame. Even though cleared again, the college refused to let her re-enroll for her last term in 1863, thwarting her chances to obtain her degree. In 2022, Oberlin awarded her a degree.
She relocated to Boston in 1864, where she received the patronage of abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison. Sculptor Edward Brackett became a mentor and helped her to set up her own studio. She sculpted and sold images of famous abolitionists on medallions made of clay and plaster. Her first real success came from the bust she created of Colonel Robert Shaw, the white officer of the all-black 54th Massachusetts Infantry Civil War unit.
She traveled to Europe and settled in Rome by 1866. While there, she created one of her most famous works, The Death of Cleopatra. It was shipped back to the US and displayed at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876. In 1877 while in Rome, Ulysses S. Grant commissioned his portrait from her. Edmonia remained in Rome where she could work without always having to combat the hostility of being Black and Catholic.
Life in Europe was no paradise, however. Sexism against female sculptors, regardless of race, was rampant. Nevertheless, Edmonia established herself and created pieces that included, but were not limited to, African-American and Native American themes. Her neoclassical style of sculpting fell out of favor in the 1880s, and Edmonia fell into obscurity. She moved to London in 1901 and died there on September 17, 1907. You can learn more about her and see her work on this website: https://edmonialewis.org/
Unfortunately attacks these days on opportunities to enable modern day Edmonia Lewises to emerge make her 1878 NYT quote still relevant. For a chance at a $10 Amazon Gift card, leave a comment on Edmonia’s life or on someone who you know persevered despite discrimination.
“The Spirit to Resist” by Michal Scott from Hot & Sticky: A Passionate Ink Charity Anthology
A woman may be made a fool of if she hasn’t the spirit to resist, but what does she do if, for the first time in her life, being made into a fool is exactly what she wants?
Excerpt from “The Spirit to Resist”
Florence lifted her face into the cool of the night and gazed at the stars. The breeze’s gentleness put her in mind once more of Harold’s sweet entreaty.
It’s just that I’d hoped to show you something different, something pretty special. Just for you.
The remembered words caused her nipples to pucker.
From here she could see the Edwards pavilion. It loomed surprisingly stately, given its frivolous purpose. She remembered her silliness with Harold over that tub of strawberry ice cream. A smile twisted her lips. What different, pretty special something had Harold planned just for her?
In her mind’s eye, she recalled control in that woman’s eyes back at Mrs. Wanzer’s. From memory, she reheard the sounds of pleading in the man’s grunting and groaning. The scene reaffirmed what she always believed. For sex to be satisfying, there had to be an exchange of power. Until she found a partner who believed this, too, she’d be a vanilla until her dying day.
She gazed toward the Edwards pavilion again. A similar exchange happened between her and Harold when she teased him. He enjoyed receiving her taunts as much as she enjoyed delivering them. They shared a mutual respect whenever they spoke, whenever they caught one another’s eye, even when no teasing occurred.
He’d had something planned for her tonight. Something different. Something pretty special. Something just for her. What might that something be? Something that said Harold, like Madison Dugger, respected the power of the cunt?
I’m thrilled to introduce a brand-new werewolf trilogy—Lone Wolf Legacy. The first book is TAMING THE WHITE WOLF.
Who are the lone wolves?
Since the rise of the werewolf, there has always existed a single lone wolf—with pure white, gray, or black fur and eyes that match—who answers to no alpha, belongs to no pack. Merciless and deadly, he wanders the world, both judge and executioner of rogue wolves who senselessly kill, endangering all their kind.
When one dies, another takes its place, awakening to his purpose the first time he shifts to his wolf form. Known by the sign of the lone wolf—a sickle over the heart—the short-handled, circular blade remains as a tattoo on the man and as a mark on the wolf. A lethal combination of intelligence, brutal strength, and keen instinct, he walks a lonely path, shunned by pack, always alone.
For the first time, there are three in the world—white, gray, and black—who all bear the mark on their chests. No one knows why, least of all them…
Taming the White Wolf
Lone Wolf Legacy, Book 1
The lone wolf answers to no alpha or pack. From his first transformation, he knows his destiny: to be both judge and executioner for rogue werewolves. Welcome to the spellbinding first book in New York Times bestselling author N.J. Walters intense new werewolf series.
White wolf Devlin Moore has spent nearly the last century following his destiny: hunting rogue werewolves. His fate is to be the only one of his kind—hardened, feared, and brutally ruthless. Only now, Devlin’s not alone. There are two others. And if that wasn’t unsettling enough, Devlin is drawn to New York City for what appears to be a human…
As far as Devlin can tell, vibrant artist Zoe Galvani is no threat. But there’s something about her— from her unusual eyes that look similar to the same shocking hue as his own, to his growing need to mark her as his that suggests magical forces may be at play.
Now there’s no escaping each other, or the attraction that grows stronger by the second. But no one, especially a human woman, should have this effect on a lone wolf. And just when he’s sure that having her could be his undoing…the truth steps out of the shadows.
TEASER:
Stuffing her phone in her bag, she stepped off the sidewalk. A horn blared. Tires squealed. A heavy hand landed on her shoulder and yanked her back. The deli bag slipped from her hand and dropped to the ground. Off balance, she would’ve ended up on her ass except she rammed into someone.
What the hell! Heart pounding, mouth dry, she trembled.
“Watch where you’re walking, lady,” the driver yelled, speeding away. Stunned, all she could do was blink. It had happened so fast.
“You okay?” The voice was impossibly deep and vibrated in the very marrow of her bones.
Tilting her head back, she stared up and up. Holy cow, he was one of the biggest men she’d ever seen, and every inch of it was prime. The black T-shirt he wore stretched across an acre of shoulders and clung to rock-hard abs. At a loss for words, she catalogued his features. He wasn’t handsome. That was far too tame a word. Primal sprang to mind. His face was all hard, sharp angles, his jaw stubborn. She curled her hands into fists to keep from reaching up to touch him to make sure he was real and not some figment of her overactive imagination.
Maybe I’m dead and this is heaven?
*~*~*
If you want to read more, you can find Taming the White Wolf here:
N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, assassins, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
It’s Sunday and time for me to update my weekly plans so I can make some forward progress on EVERYTHING—work, art, workspace (meaning cleanup!), etc. As is my habit, I pulled a card while thinking about what challenges I may face this week.
And here’s the card.
Pentacles, again! I should sigh with relief after last week’s card, which heralded a possible disaster if I didn’t dedicate myself to getting some things done. What does this card mean?
This being my favorite, most-used deck, I’ve come to trust the depictions in the artwork. Here, we have Daedalus, again. Do you remember him? The father of Icarus who flew too close to the sun that melted his wings? Anyways, Daedalus was a successful man who earned respect and wealth. Here, he’s wearing a golden robe and stands before a pile of gold coins. The grapevines climbing the pedestals also hint at his “plenty.” And that’s as far as I can go with interpreting the card by reading the art, but I get a sense that I should be enjoying the results of my hard work. Which, I am. Yesterday, I took an entire day off to spend time with the family and went to see Oppenheimer.
The history nerd in me (one of my college degrees) loved all three hours of it (I really didn’t note the passage of time), while my daughter and SIL were bored AF. LOL. The “Barbenheimers” dressed in pink with their double-tickets for O and Barbie, were likely very ready for a dose of mindless fun after the heaviness of Nolan’s film. Excellent performances all around. I loved the way he interwove differing timelines, and his use of color-no color to subliminally tell us when we were seeing the events through O’s eyes—brilliant! The bomb shook the movie theater. Anyways, I LOVED it. And it is one I’m glad I saw on the big screen. However, I can see how it wouldn’t be for everyone. I’m just saying, a TON of Oscars should be heading its way.
Anyways, back to the card. I have to consult the book to see what the seven of pentacles is telling me…
From The Mythic Tarot: The nine of pentacles “augurs a period where one may be justifiably pleased with oneself and with what one has been able to achieve.” It also tells me that I have pride and confidence in my ability and that my sense of accomplishment isn’t unearned. Basically, I earned it, I can enjoy it. Well, duh. On Tuesday, we’re seeing Barbie. The faces of the folks who left that theater were all glowing and animated, so my daughter was relieved to know Tuesday’s movie will be more to her liking. 🙂
And just for fun, I had to share this. If you didn’t know—I’m a HUGE Star Trek fan, from all the way back in 1966 (I was eight!). I can still remember watching the first episodes on our brand-new color TV! I CANNOT wait for this episode! This Trek series, Strange New Worlds, is just SO MUCH FUN!
July is here, and that means 2023 has passed the halfway mark. For many people, July marks the beginning of the fiscal year. It wasn’t until I began this article that I realized the federal government fiscal year begins October 1 and ends September 30. Maybe I did know this but never paid it any attention or gave it thought because I’m so used to working with how the state measures the fiscal year which is July 1 to June 30. In any case, despite when the fiscal year is acknowledged, July marks the beginning of the third quarter for many others (using January as the starting month). Thus, I thought goal-setting would be an appropriate topic.
Just because July has begun doesn’t mean goals can’t be set. It’s never too late to set goals.
Writing goals on paper, in an electronic document, and/or on a vision board helps to make them more “real” and easier to remember. However, documenting them isn’t enough. They need to be kept in a place that can be either easily seen, viewed daily, or both.
Clearly define what it is that you want to achieve. Having a goal to be happy is fine but often too vague to be achieved. What specifically would make you happy? Does that entail traveling, getting a new job, or both, or neither? Ambiguous goals should be specified in order to develop an effective plan of how to achieve them. Think of it this way. If a person is always disappointed at the birthday gifts he/she receives, how will he/she ever be given gifts he/she wants if she doesn’t tell others what he/she likes and desires?
Don’t be afraid to change, modify, or alter goals. Life is a series of ongoing events, and sometimes adjustments are needed. In her youth, an associate had dreams and a goal of having a large, fairytale wedding. As she aged and her loved ones passed away, her desire for an extravagant wedding dwindled. Her revised wedding goal is to have a pretty dress for an intimate or private ceremony and to have a fun honeymoon. She’s not to the point of eloping in Vegas, but she’s far removed from the 200+ guest list.
& 6. The next suggestion actually is in two parts or can be viewed in more than one way, and that is to set goals that are measurable and the goals need to be realistic. One reason why people fail to reach their goals is because they do not feel they are making any progress. Here’s an example.
I once worked with a young man (I’ll call him Eddie, but of course, that isn’t his real name) who engaged in self-injurious behavior in the form of striking his head with either his hands or nearby objects. The policy of the place where I was employed was that any incidences or forms of self-harm were unacceptable. That wasn’t an unreasonable policy to have. However, the method of measurement was one of the huge issues. As a result of this policy, Eddie had been written a behavior modification goal of having zero incidents of self-injury each month. Here’s the problem. Read the rest of this entry »
I pulled this card, and my stomach dropped. This does not augur well for me.
Just looking at the card, I can see danger. There’s Jason (you know, of Jason of the Argonauts fame) and his girlfriend, the sorceress, Medea. He’s facing the dragon that has captured the Golden Fleece, Jason’s goal in this particular trial. It does not look good for him. For me. To win his prize, he must be brave, be quick on his feet, and he MUST slay that damn dragon.
How does this relate to my situation? Well… I finished and published a book last week. During the days that followed, I had a very difficult time keeping my attention on my work plan/schedule. I wanted to piddle and rest. So, I’ve fallen behind on my editing schedule, and the only way to conquer “the beast” now, is to dedicate myself to the task, and power through. Whether I have the stamina is the real question.
Let me take a quick look at the book that goes with my cards, The Mythic Tarot…
Yup. This isn’t good. This next week will be a “time of struggle” where I have to “battle with the dragon” and push aside “mundane” activities as they begin to go wrong and “make compromises” to get the job done. F**k.
Now, I have to ignore the family and sequester myself in my “mole hole” to work. I probably will have to sacrifice some sleep. A lot of sleep.
Do you have any words of encouragement? When you find yourself in a deep, dark hole of your own making, how do you dig yourself out?
How many of you have heard the terms “plotter” and “pantser” and have some idea of what they mean? For those of you who don’t here’s a quick summary. “Plotter and pantser” describe two different writing methods. Plotters plot everything out beforehand. They write detailed outlines and sometimes even outline each scene. Pantsers on the other hand, write “by the seat of their pants”—they make everything up as they go along, with no clear idea of where the story will take them.
Both types of writers can be successful. And many writers, myself included, use a kind of “hybrid” method, pantsing up to a certain point in a book then stopping to think through the rest of the story—plot it, as it were. That technique, of taking a short break at some point to consider the big picture can work for plotters too. Often as plotters write, even from very detailed outlines, they discover things they hadn’t expected that take the story in a new direction. For both plotters and pantsers an hour or two of big picture thinking can be really helpful in maintaining momentum.
Remember, there’s no need to enact any changes on the writing you’ve already done—that can be fixed in your next draft, but a better picture of your overall plot might get you back on the fast track for the remaining pages.
So how do you get your mind back on big picture when you’ve been working on fine details? There are a few cute little tricks you can try. Here are some ideas:
Work on your pitch. We used to call these “elevator pitches”, ie. the way you would pitch your book if you found yourself in an elevator with, say, Steven Spielberg. Now these are more simply described as “Twitter pitches”—140 (or 280) character blurbs summarizing what your book is about. Perfecting these in the middle of your writing process helps you to crystalize your premise, your themes and your characters and may give you a clearer idea of the path ahead.
As a fun side-quest to the above, try writing a Haiku book review or summary to your book. You get seventeen syllables only, in lines of five, seven and five syllables each. You’d be surprised how well this exercise gets your to the core of your story.
Write (or rewrite) the summary you would use in your query*. It is often said that if you can’t clearly summarize your book in 250 words then your plot has serious problems. I don’t think that’s true for all books, but writing your query halfway through the writing process will help you to check the overall health of your book. It may also help you see the path to your conclusion if that has been evading you.
Go old school and write out the beats of your existing and remaining plot on index cards. Use colored pens or tags keep track of multiple protagonists or subplots. Lay them out on the floor or a pin board. Once this is done you can literally step back and see the shape of your story. Is it weighted correctly? Is it balanced? Do subplots or characters disappear for long periods or dominate certain sections? Are there characters or subplots that aren’t pulling their weight and can be deleted? Where is it going?
Write discussion questions for your book. That’s right, discussion questions, the kind you can find on study guide websites or in the back of some “book club editions” of books. Dreaming up discussion questions will help you to think about what you are trying to say and how you might succeed in saying that in the remaining pages of your book.
One of the confounding things about novel writing is that doing it well ultimately involves more thinking than writing. If you feel like your writing is stalling or stumbling or meandering aimlessly in a forest of bad metaphors, taking a little time to think about the big picture might help. The above are just a few thinking exercises you can try.
*Out of interest the query summaries I wrote for most of my books ended up as the basis of the flap copy/marketing copy for those books!
About the Author
G.S. (Gabrielle) Prendergast is the bestselling author of numerous books for children and teens. She studied writing at the University of New South Wales in Australia, at San Francisco State University and the University of British Columbia. After years of working in the music industry, in social welfare, and the film industry, Gabrielle began writing books when she became a mother, so she could work from home. Her books have received nominations for the White Pine Award, the Canadian Library Association Award, the Vancouver Book Prize and several other honors. She won the BC Book Prize for her YA sci-fi Zero Repeat Forever and the Westchester Award for her YA novel in verse Audacious. Born in the UK and both an Australian and New Zealand citizen, Gabrielle now lives in East Vancouver in a permanent state of “under-construction”.
Tagged: Guest Blogger Posted in General, On writing...|Comments Off on G.S. (Gabrielle) Prendergast: When Pants Become Plots: Hitting the Halfway Mark Without Losing Speed|Link
Both types of writers can be successful. And many writers, myself included, use a kind of “hybrid” method, pantsing up to a certain point in a book then stopping to think through the rest of the story—plot it, as it were. That technique, of taking a short break at some point to consider the big picture can work for plotters too. Often as plotters write, even from very detailed outlines, they discover things they hadn’t expected that take the story in a new direction. For both plotters and pantsers an hour or two of big picture thinking can be really helpful in maintaining momentum.
