WOW! Look at Karen Dionne

I like to follow the stock market news. Big surprise? Clicking through the AOL stock section, as usual, I targeted an article about Border's bookstores. A quick scroll through the article to preview the length and whether I really wanted to read it, and guess what I saw?

I should say, guess WHO I saw. Karen Dionne! Karen and I met long ago on the writer's forum, Backspace. There is a small fee to be a member since it is a private forum. However, it is a place where some agents hang out and some very well known writers...one million dollar writer I can think of right off.

Karen is the driving force in an annual mystery writing conference in New York City. She is also the author of Freezing Point and Boiling Point, both ecological disaster thrillers. As anyone who knows me can guess, I have autographed copies in my library. That's one thing you can't do with ebooks, BTW.

So, go check out Karen's article:

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/if-borders-closes-authors-will-lose/19808389/

Matt Laman is engaged

Meagan is escorted to...wow, look at that!

Maitiu is on his knee.

That's my boy! And Meagan said, "Yes!"

Remember when...?

Do you remember when I posted daily? I seemed to have less trouble posting every day than I have aiming for a weekly post. Last year was horrendous, personally, for me. The good bit was, of course, getting Cactus Rain Publishing off the ground after working toward that end for five years.

I've been in California for a funeral and it was wonderful to be with my family again and at home. It was a chance to revalidate me and the Cactus Rain project with family.

Let me recap where Cactus Rain is: The debut novel, The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister (by Glyn Pope) is doing awesome. The reviews are great and we're waiting for one promised from the BBC. It is still being considered for adaptation for the stage. It has been published in ebook form for Kindle, Nook, iPad, and Sony reader by Coyote Moon Books.

You can see the cover art on the Cactus Rain website (link on the sidebar to the left).

There are more that I simply haven't had time to preview. I know that waiting for an answer is difficult, but then again that is part of the industry process. Nothing happens fast in this industry.

Keep writing, rewrite and edit after you get the first draft completed. It definitely shows when you do it the other way around. The story simply is not as dynamic when edits are done during the first draft. (A word to the wise.)

Something most of us knew.

Social media doesn't deliver sales as well as direct marketing (emailing a list or word of mouth) and a website.

There are only 24 hours in a day and Facebook (et al) isn't where I'm spending even one of them.

The fact is that books are discounted on Cactus Rain Publishing website all day - every day. I can't make it any simpler than that.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/12/survey-social-media-brings-few-customers-to-online-retailers.html

My view

From my back patio the view is the golf course. If you are imagining lush lawns, think desert. The only green I see is the tee (look by the cactus outside the fence). However, it has provided insightful entertainment. I'll put a writer's spin on it, if I can.

Some people love golf so much that they play in the rain, yes, they swing metal rods around while it is lightening. Real writers have passion and will do whatever it takes to get time to write.

Some people wear brightly colored knickers and matching golf shirt. Real writers know it isn't the laptop that is going to make a story good.

Some people have a horrendous swing, but the ball gets to the green. Some people have a knack for writing.

Some people swing like they practice a lot and have had lessons from the pro shop. Some people work at their craft to produce the best written work possible, including taking lessons.

There isn't any way to tell before the ball is hit who is going to drive it into a nearby house, sometimes a window. (Always be ready to take cover.) Most writers know that there is always someone looking to make money on writers, rather than on writing and you can't always tell how good their info is until it flies into a wall. Don't be a dope.

Some people drive quickly past the tee and eventually circle back through the desert. Beginning writers often think they are done when the first draft is finished. There is no excaping rewrites. Everyone does them, and lots of them.

Once in a while someone walks the course. (You write this one.)

Almost everyone looks like Fred Flinstone in their golf cart. Don't be full of yourself. So, you're a writer? Prove it!