Come Visit Lobster Cove

Many of you have heard by now of the new series Wild Rose Press is introducing.  It is truly exciting and has this place “snapping.”  Now in case you haven’t heard or have missed some of the information, I wanted to bring you up to date.  Summer vacations are coming up so what better time to write something to fit this wonderful village.  We are looking for stories 20,000 words and up.  There isn’t a deadline but we will announce one at a future date.

So what is Lobster Cove, you ask.  Well, let’s take a look.  Lobster Cove is a fictional small town on the coast of Maine, near Bar Harbor. It is quaint and quirky with a colorful history, a friendly population of charming residents, and a vibrant tourist business.  It is located off of Hulls Cove which is on the Eastern coast of Mount Desert Island (pronounced Dessert), and is shaped like lobster claws. It is on the Eastern portion of Acadia National Park, 4 or 5 miles north of Bar Harbor, on Route 3. Frenchman Bay surrounds that portion of the non-sandy coast.   12 miles from Bar Harbor to the airport at Trenton, which is on the mainland (route 3). Trenton is where you cross the bridge over to the island.

The Hulls Cove Visitor Center for the park is located at Hulls Cove.  The Park Loop Road is 27 miles, and begins there and winds around the rocky coast, past Sand Beach (the only sand beach on the ocean (on the island) to the southwest, Thunder hole and Otter Cliffs.  There are scenic walks, ocean paths along Frenchman Bay. In the middle of the park is Jordan Pond House and they serve fresh popovers and fresh squeezed lemonade.

So far Lobster Cove has found a sheriff, a paralegal, a RE agent, a researcher, a waitress, a HS principal, a nurse, a doctor, a school board chair, a HS math teacher, a whale watching vessel captain, an artist or two or three, a lawyer, a coffee house owner, a ghost, a thug, an accountant, an FBI agent, a deputy, a dungeon master, and more.  We have a diner, a lobster shack, an art gallery, a book store, and more.  We even have a serial killer and a country fair festival.  (Wondering if those are connected, aren’t you? J)  Can’t you see the town developing? 

We are looking for well-written, engaging manuscripts from across all of our lines, from historicals to contemporary. Stories can be romance or mainstream and can be sweet or erotic or anything in between.  Submissions must take place in Lobster Cove and also meet the guidelines for the individual line, including heat level and tone.

Now, if you are wondering how to submit your query for this series, the process is easy.  For authors who are already published with Wild Rose Press, the query process is the same as always.  You may query your editor about writing a story for the Lobster Cove Series. Your editor will work with you and the line’s Senior Editor, as well as the coordinator of Lobster Cove (who happens to be me) to ensure your story fits within the guidelines of Lobster Cove.

If you are new to TWRP, please submit your story using our submission guidelines. Make sure you indicate you are writing for the Lobster Cove Series. Your story will be sent to the appropriate editor who will work with the Senior Editor and the coordinator (again, me J) on the story.  You can check our website for the email address and more information on us as a whole.

To maintain continuity across the stories, a basic layout of the town and names of landmarks and streets will be created. Once stories are selected and editing has begun, changes may need to be made to the stories for continuity of character names, events, etc.  As more information about this is decided, notifications will be posted so everyone is on the same page. A yahoo loop will be created for writers serious about writing for this series. Please do not ask to join the loop if you are not serious about writing for this series.   If you would like to join the loop, please contact me.

Anyone with further questions should contact me directly at lori (at) thewildrosepress.com.  I will be glad to talk through the process with you.

Welcome to Lobster Cove and we hope you enjoy your stay!

Better Reading, Better Writing

Better Reading, Better Writing

Whenever you find a problem in your writing, be it in the nuts and bolts of structure or in leaden dialogue or dreary flashbacks, you'll always find an answer by studying your favorite writers and seeing how they handle the problem.

Many writers keep notebooks into which they copy outstanding phrases or even sentences from their reading. They don't ever copy these into their own work but use them as a learning tool. Reading is always the key to great writing.

Not all readers write--though if you scan the number of e-books added daily to Amazon, you may doubt the truth of that--but all writers and editors read voraciously.

This weekend I've been playing on the bite size Staples speedreader program.It's a fun way to check out your reading speed against the national average. You read a short passage, answer three comprehension questions and get a percentage comparison. And yes, I'll admit it, it's a wonderful excuse for procrastination.

If you're then looking to up your speed, try Spritzing. Content is streamed word by word, so your eyes spend no time moving around the page. This makes reading far easier, especially on small screens. Horizontal lines and hash marks focus your eyes on a red letter in each word, so you absorb the content you are reading far faster. You can also practice in different languages.

Interestingly after a few minutes on the Spritz website, I upped my score on the speedreader by nearly 40%.

Obviously the score would be better as I had already taken the test previously and knew what to expect but Spritzing led to a more relaxed yet more observant reading style. Worth a look especially when it comes to editing your work prior to submission.

Try it out. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Post your score if you see improvements in your speed reading. 

But if you prefer to read slowly and savor every word, tell us that too. How do you like to read?

* * * *

And as it's St Patrick's Day, celebrate by treating yourself to a rollicking read from The Wild Rose Press and practice your new skills on that. Here's a well reviewed historical with an Irish theme: Irish Destiny by Donna Dalton. 

Find the speedreader comparison check at

www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/technology-research-centers/ereaders/speed-reader/

Start Spritzing at

http://www.spritzinc.com/# 

And please remember to let us know if you'll be speed reading in the future in the comments below.

Anne Knol

Second Banana...But Not Necessarily Second Best

Where would Scarlet be without Melanie?  Harry Potter without Ron Weasely?  Luke Skywalker without Han Solo? Skipper without Gilligan?  I could go on, but I think you get the idea.  Now and then our heroes and heroines…well… get by with a little help from their friends.  

Call them what you want: the best friend, second fiddle, second banana or sidekick, but I like to think of these characters as seasoning—too much can ruin the taste, but the right amount can truly enhance the flavor and heighten the experience.  Whether you love or hate creating them, secondary characters are a vital part of your hero and heroine’s journey.

Maybe what makes these characters so much fun—to writers and readers alike—is the freedom they offer.  Since they don’t have to be heroic, there’s no pressure to make them perfect.  In fact, they can be as delightfully flawed as your imagination will allow.

A lot has been said about whether it’s okay to use the PV of a secondary, and when it’s appropriate.  I can only offer my take on it, and my preference for what we see in the historical department.  But here it is:

Secondary characters are a necessary tool to impart information to the reader.  Most often this is done through dialogue and interactions with the hero or heroine –we can learn a lot about our characters by who they call friend, after all.  It’s not often, but there are times when our second fiddle needs to step up to the plate.  A case in point: our heroine has been kidnapped by the villain (whose PV it is appropriate to use) and our hero has been knocked unconscious.  Who is going to drive the story?  Enter the second banana. Or—our heroine is delirious with a fever and our hero is miles away.  Who will carry the next scene forward?  Cue the sidekick.

When is it not okay to use a secondary PV? When your hero or heroine is present in the scene.  If they are present, alert and conscious, they really should be the focal point-- after all they’re the star of the show.  (Again, this is only my take on the use of secondary PV’s, other editors may feel differently.  If you’re currently working with an editor, it’s a good idea to ask his or her thoughts before adding in the PV of a secondary character.)

Another time the use of a secondary character PV wouldn’t work –and again, this is just my opinion, other editors may feel differently—is when the character is new to the reader.  Throwing in the PV of a secondary character whom the reader has not “met” before and won’t see again is never a good idea, IMO. Readers want to get to know your characters and relate to them, not be thrown into the PV of a stranger for a few paragraphs on page 150 and then back out.  Use of a secondary PV in this type of situation doesn’t do anything to move the story forward; it’s a detour that takes us away from the actual story.  If you find yourself doing this, ask yourself—what am I trying to impart here? That the hero’s second cousin’s maid of honor thinks he’s hot?  If that’s all, then it’s unnecessary. (A good rule of thumb: When in doubt, take it out!) But if there is vital information to be shared, find another way –or another character-- so it won’t be so jarring to the reader.

Be warned, though, if your hero or heroine’s best friend starts leaping off the page at you or you find yourself adding them into scenes more and more or creating situations just for them…you might soon find yourself writing a second story, this time with your second banana in the lead role. Today’s sidekick may very well be tomorrow’s hero!

Who are some of your favorite secondary characters from popular fiction or movies?

Why Bother to Write? By Betty Hanawa

Originally Published in the Wild Rose Press Greenhouse

Why Bother to Write? By Betty Hanawa

The air is sweet with perfume of springtime blossoms. There's a cool breeze blowing no longer holding the sharp bite of winter. It's time to be enjoying the outside before Summer's heat and humidity makes everything miserable. The last thing you want to do right now is sit at a blasted keyboard and try to write a book.

Why bother?

On the other hand, you've dealt with cranky co-workers all day, came home to a family who has the audacity to demand supper and clean clothes. The last thing you have time for is to write on a book that odds say is never going to be published anyway. So why bother?

But wait! The Muse showed up with a perfect scene. You finish cleaning up the supper dishes and head to the keyboard. The words are flowing. But the youngest kid leans against your shoulder and you realize he's got a fever. The teenager screams from the family room that the dog just puked up all the corn chips the teenager thought it was fun to toss so the dog could catch them. Naturally, you have to clean it up because the teenager will puke herself if she attempts the job. Now you've got a headache. You might as well go to bed after taking care of all the family's needs. The Muse will be gone anyway.

Why bother to try to write?

Because you have to do something for yourself.

Everyone needs a creative aspect in their life to make their soul sing. You're reading this newsletter because your soul needs to write, whether it's a journal you keep for your own self-pleasure, articles for newsletters, or a story with characters you've created and love.

But how do you get time for yourself to create with the Muse?

There's not much you can do about the cranky co-workers and the day job, except to firmly remind yourself what happens at the job, stays at the job. You're not paid enough to worry about the dratted day job on your home time.

Household chores - a teenager and a spouse can each make a dinner meal once a week. A four year- old can set the table and help with clean-up. And, yes, teenagers and spouse can be introduced to Ms. Washer and Mr. Dryer and be responsible for laundry. Everyone lives there. Why are you the only one doing the household chores? The teenager made the dog sick, she can clean it up - then clean up her own mess.
Granted a feverish kid needs your attention. But once the kid is dosed up and put to bed, there's no reason for you to provide entertainment. A sick child needs sleep. Check on him once in awhile, but it's amazing how quickly a child gets well when bed rest and nothing but bed rest is enforced.

To fill your own creative need, you must get back to the Muse

Now here's the thing about the Muse. If you make the time to show up at the keyboard, the Muse shows up, too. It might take awhile. You might have to force yourself to write garbage for a while - which is really hard if you haven't discovered yet how to kill that stupid Internal Editor who sneers at any imperfection. But, if you write enough garbage, eventually the Muse gets curious, comes back, and says "Here, let me help."

The Muse always, always appears when you sit down to write. You've all heard of the tools to help you write while away from the computer. In addition to a laptop, there's the AlphaSmart and its companions The Neo and The Dana. If those are out of your price range, there's always the standard yellow tablet and pen or pencil.

The Muse needs the invitation to join you.

The invitation gets issued when you sit to write. If you deny your creative urge to write, you'll get frustrated, then resentful, and you become the cranky one your coworkers and family complain about.

For your own peace, for the peace of those who love you, take time from each day to write. They'll complain at the beginning, but don't give in. Your coworkers and boss need to learn that your time away from the office is your time, not theirs. Your family will not only learn to respect your private time, but gain their own self-respect by learning skills that will serve them in their own lives.

When you don't grant yourself the self-respect to value your writing, how do you expect respect from anyone else?

Spring is the time of new life. Give your writing a new life. Set writing goals of pages per week and make those goals despite all the distractions life throws at you. Be firm and make sure the family and friends respect your time for yourself. Getting them in the habit of leaving you alone now makes it handy when you're published and have unmovable deadlines.

And if the warm Spring breezes and blooming flowers are completely irresistible?

Take your writing tablet and pencil outside and invite the Muse to join you. Start writing and the Muse will come.