Q&A with author Tanya J. Peterson

Today I welcome author Tanya J. Peterson to my blog for a Q and A. Last week I reviewed Tanya’s book Leave of Absence. I found it unusual in subject matter and extremely informative. Leave of Absence deals with mental disorders and imbalances, some temporary and some long-term. I did a bit of research and the statistics are scary.

Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older or about one in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people. Even though mental disorders are widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 who suffer from a serious mental illness. In addition, mental disorders are the

Author Tanya J. Peterson

leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada for ages 15-44. Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for two or more disorders. In my research, I also noticed a large variety of other disorders, ranging from schizophrenia, to PTSD, to panic attacks.

1. You are a counselor with an education and background in this kind of work. You deal with facts – so what made you turn to fiction to create a story about mental disorders?

I strongly believe that fiction can be a power vehicle for conveying human truths.  There is a plethora of excellent non-fiction books written about the different mental illnesses, and that’s very necessary.  Non-fiction does a great job of teaching very important factual information.  For my purposes, though, it has two drawbacks that I wanted to avoid:  non-fiction books target a very specific audience, and they tend to focus on the conditions/disorders rather than on the human beings behind them.  In using fiction, I hope to attract a broader range of readers in order to spread the message further.  Also, with fiction, there are characters, people with whom readers can connect.  So, in the case of Leave of Absence, not only will readers see what schizophrenia, PTSD, depression, and loss really are, but they will see what it’s like for the people who experience these mental illnesses.  I suppose I should confess there is one other reason I opted for fiction.  Fiction is incredibly fun to write!  Even though this is a very serious subject, it was an enjoyable process. 

2. In my view, the ‘collateral damage’ is often forgotten i.e. the effects on family and friends who find it easier to walk away because they can’t cope with a loved one’s disability. How do you feel a fiction story can help them?

Sometimes, friends and family walk away not because they don’t care but because they are overwhelmed or don’t fully understand the implications of their loved one’s illness.  Reading the facts about a mental illness (or a physical one, for that matter) is essential and gives people a fundamental understanding of that illness.  Being able to recite the symptoms of or the helpful medications for a disorder unfortunately doesn’t help prepare someone for the day-to-day interactions with a loved one experiencing a mental illness.  In Leave of Absence, Penelope has schizophrenia.  Her fiancé, William, knows that this involves such things as hallucinations and delusions.  However, knowing this doesn’t automatically make things easy for him.  He has watched their lives change.  While they used to have an active social life, they have become isolated for various reasons associated with Penelope’s illness.  Penelope’s demeanour has changed, and she is different toward William than she used to be.  William struggles with this, yet he still loves her deeply because he sees the Penelope behind the illness.

Your observation of “collateral damage” suffered by friends and family of someone experiencing mental illness is very astute.  The lifestyle and relationship changes to which William has to adjust are very common.  In reading about the experiences of fictional characters (as long as the experiences are realistic and accurate), people can experience a sense of connection.  Their hardships can be normalized, giving a feeling that they’re not alone.  In seeing that the difficulties are common, they can feel a sense of relief that what they are feeling and experiencing is normal rather than a sign that they’re doing something wrong.

One more thought about fiction’s power.  Even if a reader doesn’t experience exactly what the characters of a story do (because mental illness is very individualized; schizophrenia, for example, doesn’t look the same for everybody who experiences it), he/she can use a novel as a tool for discussion.  A story and its characters can be vehicles for expression and a way to open up communication.  (A caregiver can say, “Penelope hears Eleanor Roosevelt, and she’s really mean to her.  What are hallucinations like for you?”)    

3. How did you come up with the two different characters in Oliver and Penelope?
   

That’s the fun part of fiction!  Oliver and Penelope are completely figments of my imagination, and developing them was a delight.  Before I began writing, I knew the theme I wanted to convey (that there are real human beings behind a mental illness, and they’re not fearful people) as well as the mission (to counteract negative stereotypes and reduce the stigma associated with mental illness by increasing understanding of it as well as empathy for those who experience it).  I also knew that in this novel I wanted to portray schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder as these are illnesses we hear a great deal about but have little true understanding for.  There are many negative, and incorrect, stereotypes associated with each of these.  With that in mind, I knew that I had to start not with a storyline but with people/characters.

 I have a personal quirk:  I love stories that have male characters with whom I can bond.  Therefore, I wanted Leave of Absence to have such a character, and Oliver was “born.”  I imagined him thoroughly, and it felt right that he be the one with PTSD (well, maybe not “right,” because that’s kind of mean, but you get my drift).   His story developed further in my mind, and of course I knew that the poor guy would also be suffering from depression and complicated mourning (complicated mourning isn’t a classifiable mental illness, but it is something that causes pain and difficulty).  I then turned to schizophrenia and imagined who would experience it.  After some visualization and brainstorming, Penelope was “born,” too.  I spent time with her as well.  I wanted to know these two well before I started to write their story.  By the time I was ready to write, I knew them so well that the story almost wrote itself!

4. I believe you have been on ‘both sides’ of the couch, and have experienced some of the anguish of stress. Can you tell us how this helped you in creating your characters?
   

I have indeed been on both sides.  I have an advanced degree in counselling, and I’m a Nationally Certified Counselor (in the US).  I’ve worked and volunteered my services as a counsellor.  This background has helped me understand the facts about mental illness with accuracy (although I didn’t rely only on this but rather conducted research before and during the writing process as well).  It has also helped me see the people behind the illness and understand their very human emotions.

The professional background was very helpful, but so was my personal experience.  I actually have been a patient in a behavioural health centre much like Airhaven in Leave of Absence.  It was there that I was diagnosed with bipolar I disorder and various anxiety difficulties.  The hospitalization came in the aftermath of a motor vehicle accident in which I sustained a closed head injury (and having two separate concussions in the months that followed this accident didn’t help matters).  There were other stressful events happening at the same time.  None of this caused bipolar I disorder, of course, but they all made it difficult to continue to deny and ignore.  Dealing with this has given me a deeper perspective than I would have otherwise.  Oliver and Penelope, and their experiences, are entirely fictitious, but my own life experiences (both professionally and personally) have (hopefully) helped me give them depth and dimension. 

5. What has been the response of readers to Leave of Absence?

I’ve been absolutely thrilled by people’s reaction to Leave of Absence.  I’ve had readers report that they have a deeper understanding of mental illness, that they see people with mental illness in a new light.  I also read a review by someone who said that he used to be a psychology teacher and that he wishes he would have had Leave of Absence to use in his classroom for illustration and discussion of mental illness.    Reactions like these are exactly what I am hoping for with Leave of Absence!

Additionally, I recently learned that Leave of Absence was selected as a finalist in the “faction” (fiction based on fact) category of the (US) National IndieExcellence Awards contest.  For me the best part about this is the category, because this really is fiction based on fact, and I hope that this will lend credibility to my work.

I’m also really pleased that many people seem to really connect with Oliver and Penelope.  I love it when people tell me that when the book ended they weren’t ready to be done with the characters (William, too).   I’m so happy about this for the sake of Oliver, Penelope, and William.

6. Where do you hope to take this new venture – are there more books in sight?

I feel so strongly about increasing understanding and reducing stigma, so I hope this new venture gains momentum and keeps going.  I’ve been giving presentations and talks about mental illness, and using Leave of Absence as a tool.  I’ve even been invited to speak about mental illness at the national conference (US) of the Mothers of Incarcerated Sons Society,Inc.  I’m extremely excited (and nervous) about that.  So I hope to be able to continue to speak about mental illness.

I do love writing, too, and I’ll always believe that fiction is a great tool for creating understanding and empathy.  I hope to be able to continue writing novels.  As a matter of fact, I am working on a new one right now.  I’m still in the very early stages, and I’m developing the characters at the moment.  It’s a bit difficult because I still feel connected to Oliver, Penelope, and William, but as I brainstorm and imagine, I’m already bonding with the new group.  This one will of course be very different from Leave of Absence, but it will address the same overall theme.  It will be fun!

7. Is there anything you’d like readers of my blog and the book to remember/take away with them?

First and foremost, I want you and your readers to know how deeply I appreciate all of you.  Fiona, thank you for hosting me on your blog, and readers, thank you for reading Fiona’s review of Leave of Absence as well as our interview.  I believe strongly in my mission (for the sake of others rather than myself), and I really hope to be able to spread my message.  It’s not easy to start up, though.  For a variety of reasons (the primary one is that I wanted to retain control over what I could and could not do with

Leave of Absence

Leave of Absence [I’ve been told I’m stubborn]), I decided against the traditional publishing route despite potential opportunities.  Whether I published traditionally, independently, or a hybrid of the two (which I did), I’m starting out unknown and I need to work to make readers aware of Leave of Absence.  I couldn’t do that without you, and I am truly grateful for your time and attention.  Thank you.  Fiona, your blog is incredibly well-done, and it’s an honour to be part of it.

You’ve asked terrific questions that have helped me convey my message, so I don’t want to be too repetitive.  To close, I will simply say this:  seek always to understand, for behind someone’s difficulties is a human being.

Here's wishing you a wonderful journey and great success with your fantastic book Tanya. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight with us today.

by Fiona Ingram

 

  

5 Easy Steps to Better Writing

John Yeoman has a novel approach to writing—he suggests a lazy 5-step program to improving your writing. Lazy? LAZY???? Does the word even feature in any dedicated writer’s vocabulary? Aren’t writers supposed to slog all hours that God gives in order to squeeze out some creative scribblings that may or may not be the next Amazon bestseller? I must admit, I feel guilty if I miss a day of writing. I read the phrase “It’s like having permanent homework” somewhere and it’s true. However, John has some very good advice in his article, which I have reproduced here with his kind permission.


A Lazy 5 Step Program to Make Your Stories Glow
Yes, and a thousand writing mavens on the web will hustle to reveal it to you. Truth is, there’s only one formula that succeeds, time and again. And here it is... the 5-step program that most top authors use, although they’ll rarely spell it out for you.

#1. Don’t be afraid to write dross: We’ve all heard that we must write every day, and it’s true. But what shall we write? Perhaps we’re developing a story or novel. We know where it should be going, but we’re stuck for words. Solution? Write garbage. And write it fast.

Drop in the first phrases that come into your head. Your object is not to write great literature—just to get that wretched episode finished! There’s no point in playing word games. Not just yet. Probably you’ll junk that whole episode anyway at the final ‘cut’.

Amazingly, the garbage approach works. We have no problems going back to a page of rubbish and, with an amused sigh, editing it into something sensible. Writer’s block? Forget it. There’s no anxiety in this approach so our mind stays calm. We can hack out 1500+ words a day, without pain. Make it your goal to draft total nonsense for an hour. How can you fail? You can then have fun improving it later.

#2. Study television dramas: Now you have a great excuse for watching television. Study how the actors in sitcoms and soaps behave. Every five minutes, somebody will insult, distress or romance somebody else. Watch their faces, lips, and body movements. Also hear how their voices change. Jot it all down. True, the actors overact. But you could use that body language, toned down, in your stories.
Also take careful note of every ‘scene hanger’, the way an episode closes. Maybe it’s an unresolved question or note of alarm. That uncertainty will tease us into the next scene, even across a commercial interlude. Adapt those scene hangers and you’ll soon have a wealth of ways to link the episodes in your own stories, so the reader stays hooked.

#3. Act as a walking tape recorder: Christopher Isherwood inspired the phrase ‘I am a camera’. It described his work. He had reproduced, without judgement or interpretation, what he actually saw and heard in post-war Berlin. You can do that in conversations that you overhear. Take a discreet note of every colourful turn of phrase. Folk say the most amazing things that you would never be able to invent for yourself.

Okay, we know that ‘real’ people do not speak the way they do in books. But you may be amazed at how often people fail to complete a sentence, or reply to a question, or even speak coherently at all. Almost all communication is done ‘between the lines’. If you get that sub-text into your stories, your characters will seem ‘real’.

#4. Find something boring to observe: Boring? Yes. Here’s a wonderful way to make a walk productive. Stop at random, wherever nobody can see you. And just look. Are you staring at a shop window? A poster? A car-filled motorway or a placid park? And is the scene boring? That’s wonderful! Why? Imagine what a child would make of that scene, if they had never seen it before but possessed an uncanny gift with words. A bare brick wall becomes a magic landscape. A mundane street is an adventure to be explored...

Write a description of that scene, using all the five senses—as if you had never seen anything like it before. And pack all that sensual detail into one sentence. Now is not the time to be lazy. Use words that precisely convey the uniqueness of that moment. In effect, write a haiku.

True, this is a tough exercise. How can we describe, say, a graffiti-covered wall in words that make it fascinating? But it’s the key skill of a great writer. Master it and you’ll be able to ‘switch on’ this habit of perception instinctively.

I once had lunch with a popular UK author. ‘Look over there,’ she said. ‘Who?’ ‘The man with a face like a pork pie.’ She was describing her publisher, who had just entered the restaurant. I wager that phrase found its way into her next novel (if not her conversation with him). Point is, she couldn’t stop herself using colourful phrases, even in casual observations!

#5. Acknowledge that your story will never be perfect: Can you write a perfect story? Of course, not. Nobody can. Even Shakespeare’s plays have lines that make no sense at all, even to scholars. (Perhaps he was drunk...) Point is, you have to re-write a story at least a dozen times before it’s fit to present to anybody, let alone a publisher.

One painless way to do this is: get your story as good as it’s ever going to get (you think). Then drop it into a closet for a month. Drag it out and try not to laugh at how bad it has become, all by itself. That wonderful paragraph you spent hours on? Dross. And why do your characters drone on, and on...

The ideal time to re-write a story is when it has spent a year in limbo. Of course, you can’t afford to leave a story on the shelf if you write for a living. Professional authors have to make do with getting their work 80% perfect and letting their agent and copy editor tidy up the rest. Still, everything they submit will have gone through the ‘closet’ process a good many times.

Yes, there is a sure-fire formula for writing stories that succeed. It’s the one above and it has been around since stories began. Of course, no formula will work unless you have some writing talent. If you have, it’s just a matter of developing good habits, like those above. It's how every pro author started...

John's free book How to Win Story Contests for Profit and free 14-part course in story writing for the commercial market can be found at:

http://www.writers-village.org/writing-ideas.php

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Writing Tips From Downton Abbey

Anyone who has not heard of Downton Abbey must be living in a cave. This is one of the most popular series ever filmed, or maybe it’s THE most popular series ever filmed. Wikipedia has this to say about it: “Reception of the programme was predominantly positive; ratings were extremely high for what is usually considered a "genre" show, and the first series picked up a number of awards and nominations after its initial run. It has subsequently become the most successful British costume drama since the 1981 television serial version of Brideshead Revisited, and in 2011 it entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the "most critically acclaimed English-language television show" for the year, becoming the first British show to be so recognised. A second series aired in autumn 2011. On 3 November 2011, ITV confirmed that a third series has been commissioned and will be broadcast from September 2012.”


Wow! Now that takes some beating! I am an ardent fan of the series, and having endured nine hours of viewing Series 2 over a weekend, where we languished behind drawn curtains and were sustained by lots of snacks, I was inspired to write a post about this world-wide phenomenon.

Downton Abbey has much to teach any author, the most important lesson being, how to grip the attention of your reader. Ask yourself three questions:

1. Is your story compelling and gripping?

2. Do your characters play out their lives against a backdrop that adds meaning?

3. Are your characters believable?

If all your answers are ‘yes’ then you have a winner. I asked myself why Downton Abbey enabled hard-to-please me to so easily suspend my disbelief. Aren’t the characters just typical soap-opera types dressed up in costumes of yester-year? Maybe, but something about the script and the actors’ interpretations renders most criticism invalid. There are examples of stereotypes and clichés in many books. However, not many books can draw a reader in the way viewers have fallen in love with Downton Abbey. I know, I know, the series appeals to our nostalgia for by-gone eras when things were supposedly better and people had more honour/morality/virtues etc. Somehow the tangle of lives and loves, set against the towering backdrop of war-torn Britain has a magical ‘Love Potion Number Nine’ aura. Irresistible!

In my (humble) opinion, the script delves brilliantly into the complications of a society in transition. I think only the Brits truly understand and appreciate the intricacies of the class system in their fair isle. The rest of the world must stand back and admire at a distance. Upstairs and downstairs remain firmly separated and never the twain shall meet, lest there be dire consequences. However, there's nothing as strange as the human heart. Lady Sybil, (sorry, my dear), will firmly close all doors to her once she marries beneath her in uniting with the ex-chauffeur Branson. Even the Earl of Grantham (feeling neglected by his beautiful wife Cora)  finds his eye straying to pretty and willing housemaid Jane. Relax, she resigns before any damage is done! Maggie Smith, who has all the best lines as the Dowager Countess, encapsulates the mind-set of the era, yet constantly surprises with her practical and sometimes unexpectedly modern outlook.

I think what appeals to me the most (apart from being raging jealous of anyone who lives in Highclere Castle, the setting for the series) is the intensity of the characters—when they love, they love; when they hate, they hate; when they wobble, they truly fall! And even in their fall from grace or their triumph over odds, the characters carry the viewer with them, right to the end. Of course, films triumph over books because actors can demonstrate in a simple glance, shrug, or expression what it might take the author a few words/lines to create for the reader. But, dear authors, press on, I say. The fact is that the look, sigh, expression, or derogatory snort is part and parcel of the silent inner workings of the characters. I think we forget how much need not be spoken, but simply indicated to ‘speak’ volumes.

The lesson to be gleaned from Downton Abbey is to create real, convincing characters that will imbue your story with a truth and authenticity that cannot be shaken; to have those characters truly believe in what they represent, want, or plan to do. In addition, make sure your background or backdrop action (Okay, I agree, a world war is a big thing to just whip up in a trice but make do with what you have) as integral as possible to the development of the characters’ lives and choices. In Downton Abbey the war in Europe changes British society forever. But that’s life: nothing remains static, life moves on… I cannot wait for Series 3!

Learning From the Movies: Another Year

I love movies and make a point of ‘seeing’ my story unfolding before my eyes as I write. I pretend my book is a film. Will the reader see, hear, feel, and notice everything that I experience as I write? So, that takes me to the next point. If movies can be thought of as ‘moving pictures’ or books come alive, what can we learn from them in terms of plot and character development? Inspired in part by Jami Gold’s wonderful character and plot analysis of The Green Lantern, I thought more deeply about a film I saw recently. A film that didn’t say much; it didn’t really go anywhere … so why did it hold me and my friend absolutely enthralled?

Another Year, by director Mike Leigh, follows a year in the life of a sixty-something couple, Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen). He’s a commercial geologist; she’s an NHS therapist. The director is known for weaving stories around fictional ordinary folk. In Another Year we find Tom and Gerri (only one reference to the obvious in the movie) who live in a quiet street, somewhere in suburbia, and who are passionate about their allotment where they grow a variety of vegetables. They seem to spend a lot of their free time madly digging and planting; sometimes joined by their son Joe (Oliver Maltman), to whom they are devoted. Their smooth uncomplicated lives are punctuated by socializing with their son, and several friends with various troubled lives and personal problems. Nothing seems to shake Tom and Gerri. They reach out to communicate with their loved ones and then slide back into the comfortable, maybe even complacent shell that cocoons and protects them. In a way they are a sounding board to highlight the weaknesses and worries of the people around them. Their serenity only makes their friends’ lives seem even more chaotic.

So what is the captivating aspect of this film that quite simply moves through the four seasons in a quiet reflection of how times slips by? As I said, nothing really happens; or rather nothing happens directly to them. Tom’s brother Ronnie loses his wife and the terrible grief of these scenes is positively palpable. Again, sitting in the movie theater I asked myself what was so compelling about this film. With virtually no plot—no action, no real drama, no special effects, no computer generated gizmos, no car chases, no car crashes … we only hear about their neurotic friend Mary’s car troubles, we don’t see them—it can only be said that character, real living people drive this film.

The acting is sublime with characters such as their old friend Ken (Peter Wight), who visits from the North during the summer and masks an unhappy personal life with ample smoking, drinking and eating. His drunken behavior is totally cringe-worthy because we realize that we’ve all got friends like these. It is a tribute to the director that I felt as if I was watching real people; that somehow I had wandered into their lives by accident. I know and admire Jim Broadbent’s acting skills, but as Tom he was somehow not Jim Broadbent playing the part of Tom. He was Tom. From the moment I saw the opening scene of Tom and Gerri running through the rain from their front door to the car, with boxes of seedling and garden implements, I was hooked. I truly believed in the person called Tom and his wife called Gerri. Ditto for the remaining characters. The exquisite craftsmanship of the director draws the viewer into the situation so that by the time Mary (superbly played by Lesley Manville), their problematic friend, throws yet another tantrum related to her anxieties about ageing, you just want to throw her and her neuroses through the front door.

The film is made in unforgiving close-up, something I deeply admire the British acting fraternity for accepting as ‘part of the job.’ Most British films are characterized by a dearth of silicone and other cosmetic enhancements, minimal make-up, and plenty of real acting. The close-ups also reveal the inner soul of the characters and quite honestly, the internal life and drama of each person portrayed is so interesting, so much a raging tempest of emotional turmoil that one can do without the apparent lack of plot. Aren’t most of our lives like that? Fiction generally takes us into some unreal, often outrageous places and situations. It’s as if we need it to escape the dull humdrum existence that is life. Yet, somehow Another Year is like peering into a microscope at some seemingly insignificant leaf or drop of water, and seeing life teeming there. It seems that we are so blind to the beautiful simplicity of life as it really is that we need high drama and roller-coaster action to make a dent in our consciousness.

Writers, alas, have to work harder than directors or filmmakers. The human eye sees more in one image than we can say in a single word. Isn't a picture worth a thousand words? We have to work harder to ignite the imagination of the reader. Yet the joy and beauty of the printed page is that each reader will create a different image in their mind of what they just read. Each moment of the book will be unique to the people who turn those pages. Now that's creativity!

Writer’s Digest - 8 Ways to Write Better Characters

Writer’s Digest - 8 Ways to Write Better Characters

This is a great post if you're struggling with your characters and want to give them greater depth, develop their motivations and desires, or even just understand them better. Ask yourself just how much you know about your characters: their opinions, their likes/dislikes; what they'll die to save and what they'll kill to preserve; who they hate and why. Oh, yes, and lots more besides.

This article struck a chord with me today because while I was doing something very difficult in my Pilates class involving a ball and a theraband (?) my trainer asked me how I come up with my characters - do I plot everything out step by step or does it just flow? I had to admit that in fact it's a bit of both. I make a basic outline, place who I think will appear where in the story, and away we go. However, what I found hard to explain to her, although it seemed to make complete sense to her, was that often the characters surprise me, overturn my plans for them, and forge ahead with a better storyline for themselves. So, that tells me I didn't know them very well. In my first historical romance (The Dangerous Duke published by Aurora Regency) I created a wonderful baddie called Sir Marcus Solesby. Oh, the epitome of sleaze and just the man to disgrace and discredit the heroine. However, Sir Marcus refused to seduce the unsuspecting young lady. That's right. He refused because he said he'd fallen in love with her and although wooing her would definitely annoy her employer (the dangerous duke himself) and please said duke's nasty mistress Lady Penelope Vane, he wanted to court her honestly. Lucky for me he dug his heels in because the story took a sharp turn and ended up being a lot more interesting and exciting.

The conversation continued and I brought up the beautiful and malicious Lady Vane, the duke's mistress. As I was describing to my trainer what a complete cow this woman is, and how she's one of those ghastly females who always manages to turn any situation round, even though she is caught red-handed, I found myself being rather envious of my character's ability to twist everything to her advantage. I grudgingly admired the kind of rampant self-centeredness that makes Lady Penelope just the bitch she is. Well, she doesn't get away with it in the end, of course, but she survives...

So, just a little example of how well I did not know my arch-villain and villainess. How well do you know your characters?

Submitting a Manuscript for Review?

This is a question many authors have asked themselves. Is it a good idea to submit a manuscript as opposed to a finished and published book for review? I think the answer is yes. I recently reviewed a manuscript (see my book review below) and because I knew the author had not yet published, I was more tolerant of the few errors that a good editor would pick up anyway; and I was also more keen to be of assistance. I spotted things in the otherwise excellent story that I pointed out and suggested the author fix before actually publishing. Had this been a published book, I would have been a harsher critic. Surely, I would have thought, the author had an editor to fix these glitches. Alas, glitches are part and parcel of being a writer. I have recently prepared my children's book for e-publishing and OMG, would you believe it, I found something (actually there were two somethings) that almost made me curl up and die. OK, so they weren't too bad as mini glitches, but the awful part is I had my manuscript rigorously edited before publishing to hard copy. I also have an eagle eye when it comes to errors. So, yes, if you are considering getting your work reviewed at manuscript stage, go ahead. Critics will be more helpful when they know it's not completed. You may also pick up some very good pointers instead of the reviewer thinking, idiot, why didn't he/she get an editor?

Book Review: Cry of Eagles by Stefan Vucak

When the Valero refinery complex in Texas City is bombed, forensic evidence seems to point glaringly to one culprit—Iran, which had recently expanded its nuclear program. Instead of bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities like they did in Iraq, the vacillating Israeli government has done nothing to crush this potential threat to their national security. In fact, Matan Irian, a former Israeli Army Colonel whose family was killed years ago in a PLO terrorist attack, created this strategy to protect Israel: sabotage a refinery complex in Texas City, plant evidence that incriminates Iran, and sit back while an enraged United States strikes back in retaliation. However, the president of the United States hesitates to act without complete forensic investigation. There seems to be no logical reason why Iran would willingly antagonize the United States, calling down upon itself the wrath of a much mightier nation, and one that instantly mobilized its two carrier battle groups off Iran’s coast in readiness to strike back. The perpetrators of the covert black ops have made one tiny but revealing error: they left behind a minute piece of forensic evidence that traces the operation back to Israel. When the real culprits are revealed, the USA turns on its former ally and demands that Israel makes reparations and finally recognizes Palestine’s right to exist. Israel rejects this demand as naïve. When the USA immediately withdraws all economic and military aid, Israel must either seek peace with the Palestinians or go to war on their own.

This is a great read, a real page-turner. The author lays bare the deep-rooted hatreds, as well as the tribal rivalries that dog the composition of the Middle East and preclude a possible resolution. From the start the author draws the reader into a world where modern and historical animosities are twisted together in a knot that seems impossible to untangle. Or is this indeed so? The actions of two men, Namir Bethan (Director of Metsada) and Matan Irian, the man who proposes a drastic solution to the nuclear terrors that threaten his county, cut this Gordian Knot.

The author draws on current events such as international fears of a nuclear-powered Iran ready to hit the red button at any time, to the natural anxieties of the USA bigwigs, to the defiant and entrenched recalcitrant attitudes of the Israelis towards any attempt at removing what they perceive to be their God-given rights. The author also eases the unversed reader into the technical and forensic aspects of explosives and armaments, as well as laying bare the complexities, the chaos and the internecine rivalry that dominates government departments in the delicate interplay of politics and war. I enjoyed the development of the characters and the dialogue. Each character came with his or her history and motives, created in a believable and natural way. The author also has an excellent eye for visual detail to paint the picture of different environments for the reader. This is a must for lovers of political thrillers.

The only hollow note for me was the author’s opinion of the television station Al Jazeera, which has one of the finest teams of international reporters, and reports fairly on Middle Eastern and international matters, given the hard-line attitudes of Middle Eastern governments towards the unbiased dissemination of information.

First reviewed for Readers' Favorite by Fiona Ingram

Improve Your Child's Reading Levels

Lately I've been reading some disturbing stuff about the fate of books and libraries, and the decline of children's reading levels. It is ironic that in England the law says prisons have to have libraries, but libraries are closing in schools and boroughs because of spending cuts. I've also been reading how some children never open a book and as a result their grades suffer. On many occasions the reason is that there are no books to open! Believe it or not, there are homes with not a single book to read. Whatever the reasons for a child not reading, this situation can be reversed. Can parents make a difference and turn a non-reader into an avid reader? The answer is yes!

Parents already know that books are vital to their child’s scholastic achievements, and developing life skills. It can be disappointing when your child expresses absolutely no interest in reading. However, you can change that by coming up with new and interesting ways to ‘package’ the art of reading. Reading is a skill, just like any other skill. It has to be introduced, nurtured, and developed. Imagine trying to play championship tennis when you can barely hit the ball? Children don’t enjoy what they can’t do. And when reading is difficult, they shy away from even coming near a book. Turning your non-reader into a reader will require your participation and encouragement every step of the way.


• A good way to begin is to actually assess your child’s reading level. If it’s below par, then that’s one reason why he or she isn’t keen on books—books are the enemy, boring, a problem. Have your child read a page or two from a variety of books. Make a list of the words they find easy/hard/not understood. Once you have an idea of their level, based on vocabulary skills, then you can move forward. In fact, to build your child’s confidence, perhaps begin with a book for a younger age. Your child will skim through it, feeling proud at having finished and understood it, and you can offer praise by saying, “Look how easily you managed that! Shall we try something else?”

• A book can appear quite a formidable object to a non-reader. Begin small. Start with a thinner book, not some great tome, and say, “I bet we’ll finish this quickly.” Then let your child read the book in bite-sized pieces. Don’t try for ten pages—read only four or five pages. Your child will feel this is not a huge task after all.

• Reading aloud is something that all parents should do, regardless of children’s age. Most children really love that special time when Mom or Dad comes in to say good night. You can say, “Hey! I’ve got something really exciting here. Want to hear some?” Anything to delay turning off the light, your child will say (of course) “Yeah!” You can make this session into something really memorable by acting the parts and using your Repertoire of Funny Voices, but more importantly, stop at a really exciting point, just when the hero is about to be plunged into mortal danger. Close the book and say, “Gosh! I hope he survives. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out.” Generally, no kid can go to sleep without confirming their hero is indeed still alive…

• Praise and admiration boost a child’s confidence. You can do this by letting friends and family members know just how well your child is doing. “It’s amazing how many pages (child’s name) is reading every day now!” Soon your child will be the one to suggest reading. Use the time together to understand your child’s thought processes, and structure the book choices around what really sparks their interest.

• Get your child their own library card and encourage them to begin choosing their own material. Buying book vouchers instead of other kinds of gifts will encourage your child to start building their ‘own’ collection of cherished books.

• Go slowly—tennis champions aren’t made overnight….

How to Write Really Bad Fiction and Enjoy the Benefits of Rapid Rejection

As a writer I am always looking for articles to help me improve my writing. I happened upon an absolutely hilarious article by Hank Quense. His advice is given the other way around… but it works!

Hank: "I'm an author of five books and over forty short stories along with a number of fiction writing articles. From my experience, I've learned a number important lessons and I want to pass them onto others. One important lesson involves getting a book published; it changes your life. No longer can you sit in your office and spend your time writing more fiction. Once you become a published author, you also become the book's marketing manager and its sales manager, a terrifying situation if you're not prepared for it."

To protect others from the trauma of this situation, I've put together a list of fiction writing techniques that will guarantee non-publication. Following them will ensure a rapid reply from editors who will use a preprinted form or a terse email. This rapid reply will allow you to maximize the rejections you receive in a given period of time.

Here is the list in no particular order:

• Always use adverbs! Lots and lots of adverbs. One of your writing objectives should be to use an adverb to modify at least fifty percent of your verbs. And don't forget about using them in dialog tags. Why show the reader a woman shredding a paper tissue? Make it easy on the poor readers. Tell them the woman is nervous. Thus, "He's making me so fidgety," she said nervously.

• A naked noun is evil! Adjectives exist to be used. Their primary purpose is to modify a noun, so make use of this most excellent writing technique. Load up your nouns with modifiers so the reader will have no doubts about the noun. “The skinny, ugly guy wore a hideous, ripped t-shirt, dirty, baggy pants and shredded sneakers.” Here's an even better example of clever adjective usage: “The scrawny boy used his undersized biceps to try to pick up the clumsy weight and place it in the old-fashioned truck before the foul-mouthed old man became aware of his clever trickery.” Get the idea? Remember, a naked noun is e-v-i-l!

• Use conversation. Don't limit yourself to dialog. Conversation is the stuff of life. Don't allow your characters to be stuck inside the story by restricting them to dialog that moves the story forward. Make your characters more life-like by letting them engage in idle conversation just like real people do.

“ How you doing?”
‘I'm cool. What’s up?”
“I'm good. Couldn’t be better. Watching the Yankees tonight?”
“Who they playing? . . . Yada, yada, yada.”
This stuff doesn't move the story along like dialog does, but it shows the characters are just as boring as real folk.

•Motivation is overdone. To properly show motivation requires a lot of creativity, time and words. It is much better to skip over that part and get right into the action. So what if the guy disarming the ticking bomb is only doing it because his shift doesn't end for two hours and he doesn't have anything better to do. The character doesn't have any motivation, but who cares; it keeps the story moving and doesn't slow it down with a lot of words explaining the motivation.

• Don't worry about Point of View rules. POV is perhaps the most technical of all aspects of writing and handling it correctly is time consuming and requires advanced planning. Who needs all that extra work when there is another scene to write or another crisis to defuse? Most of the readers will figure it out and sort of follow the story.

• The fine art of the -ing word. It's wise to develop writing habits such as peppering the page with –ing words. This technique will give your writing a pleasing sing-song effect. “Opening the door and running down the corridor while waving her hand, she tried shouting, calling attention to her life-threatening situation.” Doesn't that sentence make you want to hum along from all the –ing words?

• Use empty words. Very, really, ever, still, just and others are words with no meaning but they do fill up sentences and make them look more impressive. Fiction writing is filled with opportunities to use these words and titillate the readers. With a bit of imagination, you can also use these words to punctuate the sentence.

•Why bother with multiple-dimensional characters? Flat characters work just as well. Flat characters can fight, love and die just as well as the more complicated ones, but take considerably less work. The simple approach gives you more time to write still more stories.

• Character Voice. This attribute allows the reader to identify the characters from their dialog “voices.” What nonsense. That's what names are for. Just use the names in all the lines of dialog and the readers will be able to keep the characters straight.

Keep this list near your keyboard and refer to it frequently. Within a short time, your friends and family will be impressed by the huge stack of rejection notices you've accumulated. A side benefit is that your family will know you're really doing something in your office. Right now, they probably think you're goofing off and playing computer game. If you chose to ignore this excellent advice, there are alternatives listed in my book, Build a Better Story. Be advised that following the advice in Build a Better Story can significantly increase the response time from editors.

By Hank Quense © 2011 Originally published by Writing-World.com March 2011

Award-winning author Hank Quense lives in Bergenfield, NJ with his wife Pat. They have two daughters and five grandchildren. He writes humorous fantasy and sci-fi stories. On occasion, he also writes an article on fiction writing or book marketing but says that writing nonfiction is like work while writing fiction is fun. He refuses to write serious genre fiction saying there is enough of that on the front page of any daily newspaper and on the evening TV news.


I am looking forward to reviewing Hank’s latest work Zaftan Entrepreneurs. In it, an alien mining ship discovers a planet that holds promise to be a mining bonanza. Unfortunately, it is inhabited by humans, dwarfs, elves and other races and they object to the mining expeditions. Sounds like a whole lot of fun. Watch this space.

Find out more about Hank on his website.

Jo Davis & "Domestics"

Say hello to my eighth Virtual Book Tour guest. Jo Davis has published two books, several short stories, and numerous web content pieces throughout the World Wide Web. She also writes periodically for the local news and is currently working on another local history text. Jo holds a bachelor's degree in English from Purdue University. When not writing, Jo helps others get their writing right. Her company Bylines by Jo specializes in content creation and editing. The BBJ team is comprised of seasoned freelance writers with experience in areas from construction to web design, gardening to midwifery. All writers are experienced in tailoring the voice and content of the article or piece of text to match that of the client.

We’re going to talk about Jo’s book Domestics.

Domestics is a terrific read comprising two short stories that waste no time getting into the action. Sarah is married to Keith and severely abused by him. The day he beat their child Brandy to death, Sarah’s life forever changed. In a heated rage, Keith learned exactly what he has put Sarah and Brandy through. After the death of her husband, Sarah becomes a counselor for domestic violence. She helps these abused women in more ways than one. The day Rick comes into Sarah’s life, she finds herself attracted to a man after ten years of solitude. They seem to be a perfect pair, talking until all hours of the night. Rick is a Private Investigator and retired police officer. After the sudden death of his partner, he vows to prove it was murder. Little does he know that his new found love is tied into it. The last short story in this title is Smoke. Charlie finds himself craving the one thing he is most trying to quit....cigarettes. While on a plane, the craving becomes unbearable. He suddenly finds a cigarette in his belongings that he didn't know he had. Knowing he had a cigarette made it that much worse. When he decides to create his own fire, the airline attendants become worried about what he may be doing in the bathroom. Lucky for them, there is a Fire Marshall on the plane, but not so lucky for Charlie.

Review Comment: Davis did a magnificent job with this title. Full of action from beginning to end, I loved this book. I give Domestics ***** (5) Stars, B.K .Walker, Author of "Near Suicide" and "Dares And Dreams."

Chatting with Jo
Your career is steeped in helping other people get their websites or writing up to the mark—how and when did you decide to branch out into writing?
I found that a lot of my freelance work was doing just that. The clients that I created content for started asking other questions about their sites and keeping their material fresh. At first, I raised my prices to accommodate these extra tasks, but it became easier to just offer a separate service.

Your two books are completely different—one is non-fiction, and the other a short stories collection. Tell us how that happened!
I was actually commissioned to write the manuscript for Michigan City Marinas by the Michigan City Port Authority, as a 50th anniversary review. I got the manuscript published and found the accompanying photos to get the book that you see today. Domestics was a short story for a competition that grew to a small novel. I actually used Domestics to get the commissioned job.

You have a university background in English—did you ever dream or plan to be a writer?
Oh yes. I was an avid reader as a kid and a daydreamer. Writing was my way to create the different worlds like the ones I read about. Surprisingly, I began my college career as in accounting. I never knew anyone who made a living as a writer, so I believed that I had to make a living first and then write as a hobby. I know now that is not true.

What's the fun part of writing? Creating the people, places and things that make up the stories.
I am a daydreamer, as I said before, so it isn’t very difficult for me to imagine these what-if’s that make up fiction stories.

What's the hard part of writing?
Editing my own work. I see what I intended to put on the page, not what is truly there. I have to set my work aside for a while, detach from it, before going back and editing. That is part of the reason why I write longhand. I edit as I am typing the words in. This forces me to pay attention to the words. Even then, it is still work.

Do you have new books planned or outlined in your head?
I have a handful actually. I am currently editing Carrying On, a mystery novel about a single mother who is thrown into the middle of a murder mystery. She is under qualified and her best detective is a career criminal who is constantly getting caught. Meanwhile, another case surfaces that involves two grown men, a pink Cadillac, makeup and drug deals. There is also a very hyper ferret that goes by the name Fred.

Switching from nonfiction to fiction—was it easy/hard/a cinch?
I wrote the nonfiction book like a novel, with characters, plot, conflict, etc. I am told that the book isn’t like other local history books. It is full of pictures, but beneath them are not captions, but the story behind the marinas’ rise from mud pit to a yacht harbor.

Some advice to writers—the best advice you ever got/something you should have done but didn't...
I was much younger when I heard a famous actor say to find your passion, think of the one thing that you think of when you lay down at night and that is on your mind when you get up in the morning. That is your passion. Practice it often and it will become your life’s work.

Tell us something you'd like readers to know about you or your work.
I am not one of the disciplined writers with outlines, plotlines and structure about doing the work. I just write. I create. I sometimes wish that the disciplined, structured way was mine, but what fun would that be?

My thoughts exactly! Want to find out more about Jo and her books? Visit her website Bylines by Jo for more info and book purchase.

Generality Is the Death of the Novel

Generality Is the Death of the Novel

Another great post by K.M. Weiland and one that is particularly pertinent to filling in the blanks in one's novel for the reader, or else making a character jump from flat to full. In this post the writer discusses how tiny, perhaps inconsequential details, make up the portrait of a scene or a character, filling it out and breathing life into those pages. Is it important that your character does certain things, likes a particular kind of biscuit with his tea, or has a penchant for scruffy tracksuits? You might not think so, but perhaps these tiny details add immeasurably to the back story you're trying to feed into the plot. Relook at your characters and get to know them as old friends, with all the quirks you already enjoy and love about your real old friends.

On the other hand, attention to detail can also drag down your plot or slow the action. A good guide line when considering piling on more detail is this: does it add to the plot? Does this figure in my readers' understanding of the story and the characters' motivations? If not, leave it out. I once began a book which I have no doubt would have been interesting, but I could not get past the first few chapters. The author took the reader on a painful journey from the moment the main character opened his eyes, through to the shower, into the kitchen, describing in minute detail how he made a cup of coffee, how long it took him to dress, his decisions on what socks to wear etc. Eventually I had to give up: I was drowning in minutae that had absolutely no bearing on the book. Unless, of course, the main character had obsessive compulsive disorder, but alas I didn't read long enough to find out.

(Your) Ten Golden Rules For Writing Fiction

As a debut children’s author, one of the first things I made time for was reading tips on writing, style, creating characters, and developing plots. As you can imagine, pretty soon I was completely confused as to what advice I should follow. I did find my own way and my own inner voice, but only after something of a struggle because I didn’t quite trust myself. After all, I reasoned, everyone else must know best, especially if they are already established, published authors with quite a few bestsellers under their belts. That’s actually not the case.

While any prospective or new writer should read around to glean as much as possible in the way of tips, one’s own inner voice is perhaps a good place to start. That said, I recently came across a two-part article in The Guardian (UK) giving various great writers’ Ten Rules for Writing Fiction. I read them all and chose Michael Moorcock’s advice because it appealed to me the most, especially his advice in point 10. Other excellent writers that have contributed their comments include Hilary Mantel, Neil Gaiman, David Hare, and Margaret Atwood.


Michael Moorcock (Science fiction and fantasy writer)

1 My first rule was given to me by TH White, author of The Sword in the Stone and other Arthurian fantasies and was: Read. Read everything you can lay hands on. I always advise people who want to write a fantasy or science fiction or romance to stop reading everything in those genres and start reading everything else from Bunyan to Byatt.

2 Find an author you admire (mine was Conrad) and copy their plots and characters in order to tell your own story, just as people learn to draw and paint by copying the masters.

3 Introduce your main characters and themes in the first third of your novel.

4 If you are writing a plot-driven genre novel make sure all your major themes/plot elements are introduced in the first third, which you can call the introduction.

5 Develop your themes and characters in your second third, the development.

6 Resolve your themes, mysteries and so on in the final third, the resolution.

7 For a good melodrama study the famous "Lester Dent master plot formula" which you can find online. It was written to show how to write a short story for the pulps, but can be adapted successfully for most stories of any length or genre.

8 If possible have something going on while you have your characters delivering exposition or philosophizing. This helps retain dramatic tension.

9 Carrot and stick – have protagonists pursued (by an obsession or a villain) and pursuing (idea, object, person, mystery).

10 Ignore all proferred rules and create your own, suitable for what you want to say.

Following on with tips for new writers, Suzannah Freeman at Write It Sideways asks the question “How does one go from thinking “I like to write,” to “I need to write,” to “I want to be published”? She then supplies the answer in 37 questions that aspiring writers should be asking themselves if they truly are serious about writing as a career. She says, “If you’re going to get serious about something, you need to know what you’re getting into, where you want to go, and how you’re going to get there."

If you want to start taking your writing more seriously, stop and ask yourself these questions first: 37 Questions New Writers Should Ask Themselves.

Writer's Block: Imagined or Real?

Writers block: does it exist? Anyone who has ever experienced it will nod their head vigorously and say yes, of course it does. Other writers will smugly say they have never experienced it. There are differing viewpoints on exactly what one should call the phenomenon of when ideas grind to a halt, plots get stuck, and why one just can’t seem to move the action or the characters forward. Advice to Writers offers some interesting viewpoints of writers from Toni Morrison to H.G. Wells to Irving Stone on what they consider to be writer’s block and what to do about it. Some are very amusing.

Whatever one does or doesn’t like to call it, many authors get to a point where they’ll do anything except sit down and write their book. Carrie Lofty, a romance writer with a passion for history, has a new take on an old problem: it's called 'fiddling' and when writers don't want to write, they fiddle. Let's hear it from Carrie who has the solution to the writer’s habit of ‘fiddling!’

Are You a Fiddler?
By Carrie Lofty

I like to think that I've been writing romance since I was 13, but that wouldn't be entirely accurate. Although I finished a romantic screenplay at that age, I wouldn't complete another work of romantic fiction until September of 2006. In the interim, I wrote a series of fantastic, incomplete 100-page attempts. Some didn't even make it to 100 pages. I might finish a few chapters, or a chapter … or a scene.

To say that I hit a wall would also be inaccurate. I've never had writer’s block. After all, the ideas were always there. And that was the problem! I would dive headfirst into a new idea only to be distracted, a few days or weeks or chapters later, by a newer and shinier one. My husband threatened to stop listening to my writing discussions if I changed stories again.

This carried on until that fateful summer in 2006 when my husband flew to Virginia for an internship. I stayed behind in Madison, Wisconsin with our two daughters, who were then aged two and three. I wanted desperately to finish a novel so that I, too, could have a career that would take me around the country. And more importantly, I wanted to prove it to myself that I could finish. I couldn't stomach the idea of being a wannabe who always talked a good line, but never actually finished their “some day” novel. What I had been doing was obviously not working. I would write a chapter—then print it out, eviscerate it, revise it, reread it.

In essence, I was a fiddler.

After the initial burst of inspiration wears off and the hard work of actually finishing a 300+ page novel begins, hesitant writers are left with only one recourse: to fiddle. Revising, creating note cards, reading craft books, rereading—all of these can be useful skills and techniques, but only if they are used productively. I was using those same techniques to delay. After all, it looked like I was working!

I believe it stems from fear. The new, bright, shiny, beautiful idea in your head can be an intimidating muse to live up to. While first drafts are messy and unwieldy, the idea in your head looks more like a polished novel or a big-screen movie. The contrast between those two—what you’re attempting to create and what you imagine—can be so dissonant and daunting as to cause a fatal case of fiddling. It's fatal to your chances of finishing a book, that's for certain.

How did I break the cycle?

I started with a very reasonable goal. I would write 1000 new words every day. No matter what. Rain, shine, cyclone—no excuses. The first night was the hardest. I wanted to go to bed. I wanted to give up, go back, and mess with what I had already written. But I persevered. After days of practice, and then after weeks of success, those 1000 word slogs began to add up. I finished my first draft in 88 days.

Granted, revising the sucker took four months. I was still learning, and that first draft was truly horrible. But I had done it. I had finished my thought. I had resisted the urge to fiddle. What's more, by the time I typed “the end,” the beautiful bright-and-shiny idea that I'd started with didn't glow quite so fiercely. It didn't hold as much appeal. I had moved the flawless “one day” idea out of my head. Now it was a tangible “that day is now” novel. My sense of accomplishment and pride was far outweighed by distress about how many revisions it still required.

So…are you a fiddler?

Do you have so many ideas, all of which you hope to get to “some day”? Do you often start a project, only to abandon it part way through in favor of a newer, better idea? Do you obsess about research and character backgrounds, or reread and revise chapters—all to the detriment of producing new words?

Then I would suggest that you need an intervention. Set yourself a small, reasonable goal to produce new words every day. No matter what. Do not reread what you wrote the day before. Once you’ve filled up your pages, you can go back and fiddle to your heart’s content. And if a new, fantastic idea comes along, use it to motivate yourself into finishing this idea first.

That’s my take. I hope you glean wonderful things from it. But just like eating healthy or exercising or quitting smoking, the real impetus to make lasting changes in your writing habits begins with you.

Carrie’s witty and observant reflections on life can be found at her website and if you’re fascinated by historical romance that takes risks, then check out Carrie’s latest book Scoundrel’s Kiss (and enjoy!).

Some Top Advice

Alan Rinzler (Consulting Editor) has a great post that suggests perhaps one of the reasons you can’t finish that novel is because your plot is not clear. His advice is simple and clear: get your outline right.

Matthew Stibbe (writer in chief at Articulate Marketing) suggests that concentrating on writing will get you over your hurdles and offers 22 ways for staying focused on your writing.

Have you overcome your writer’s block? Got any great suggestions? Please let readers know.

Getting Passionate About Life & Purpose

The Savvy Book Marketer has some great advice for anyone starting new projects in 2010 and this is particuarly helpful for would-be writers contemplating turning their dream into a reality, or people who are dithering about what their goals really mean to them. Allison Maslan is the author of Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan To Launch Your Dreams Into Reality. Her advice will help you make your projects happen. Here are some of the topics she covers.
* Getting in touch with what really matters to you in the world and in your life. What moves your passions or really stirs you?
* Gathering your thoughts and focusing your energy toward these ideas. Find a way to involve yourself in this activity.
* Exploring several possibilities before settling on one. However, if one really moves you, then go for it!
* Connecting with other people on a regular basis who are passionate about these ideals or activities.
All this applies to authors so head over to The Savvy Book Marketer and read more about Allison.