New video

Switching gears to another media, here is the new YouTube video I made. This is from a PowerPoint presentation. I have to say, I don't plan to ever convert a PowerPoint to YouTube video again. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't; it means I don't plan to do it.

I am very surprise that Microsoft didn't consider that people would want to upload their PowerPoint projects. It must be a proprietary thing that there wasn't sharing between the two companies.

Well, anyway the thing that I didn't like about the project was that the slide transitions available on PowerPoint were not available on Windows Movie Maker. You'll notice that I didn't use them in the video and it does make for an abrupt transition in places.

The music file was much easier to add in Movie Maker. It wasn't difficult to embed music into PP, but it was tricky to figure out how to package it so the file would play the music on other computers.

Both programs were easy to learn and with patience can produce good results. The key to making any of these projects is the material must copyright free. If you want to use someone's music or photos, you must get permission in writing. Email is fine, but print a couple of copies and keep it in a file.

So here is the end result. Thank you Carolyn Sheppard for the use of your song, Broken Rock.

Please watch:




Comments, please.

Intermission

I'm not ignoring that I didn't post on Monday. I deleted it because the aspect ratio of the YouTube wasn't fitting on the blog page. I went back to the blog party, almost a year ago now, and have looked at the coding for the YouTube items posted then.

The changes have been made to the post for Thursday. I didn't save Monday's post.

Glyn, his graphic artist friend (I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say his name), and I have been discussing the next edition of his book cover art. It is a much more detailed task than most people realize. I really appreciate the efforts being made and can't wait to show everyone the new version.

In the mean time, I'm posting the PowerPoint project that I converted to Window's Movie Maker so I could upload it to YouTube.

The biggest disappointment to me in the project is that the slide transitions in the PowerPoint were awesome and nothing really compared as choices in the MM software. After several weeks of working on it, I simply removed all the transitions except the first one, which was not in the PowerPoint.

The project is a collection of unsolicited comments about my books from some of you. All were used with permission, of course, and most of them are on my website. There are some of my beach photos too, for you to enjoy.

The headliner for me is Carolyn Sheppard's song "Broken Rock" recorded by the UK band, Shave the Monkey.

Please watch and listen. To view a larger version, click on the video and view it on YouTube or go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsPHmAxRYJA

Kathryn's Beach

One of the fun things about selling my books myself is that I know who my readers are. It wasn't that way before.

Someone I see regularly is reading Kathryn's Beach. It is fun to hear her comments. The latest one is that there isn't much dialogue. I admit, that is generally true in the beginning.

My writing style is not mainstream. Besides being literary in nature, there is that pesky first person present tense thing to get used to.

Quite honestly there are people who don't finish Kathryn's Beach. On the other hand, there are quite a few who do and are surprised with it. The industry standard is so firmly set that reading something out of the norm seems to be an awakening, sometimes an unsettling awakening.

The action is unconventional. It isn't physical action as much as the action of human development, and in Kathryn's case, human healing. The dialogue is there. It is tight. Plus a great deal of it is internal dialogue.

The books are a faux memoir, a genre that I made up. I had the sense of an old Kathryn sitting near a window on a rainy afternoon telling her story to someone much younger, perhaps a young woman version of Shasta, perhaps not.

There were complications to writing Kathryn's Beach. One of the most notable problems was to not write her too bold for the broken, reclusive person she was in the beginning. Even the decision to not tell her last name - that's right, her last name is not in Kathryn's Beach - was done to further accent how small she felt, a one name person.

How I left her in the end mirrored the beginning. Different setting and different companion was done deliberately. But in both the beginning and ending, there are just two people in the scene.

Betcha you didn't know all of that. If you've read Kathryn's Beach, make a comment about what you thought. Say anything you want (except details about what happens on Thanksgiving weekend, please). I won't delete any of the comments. I promise.

Supporting Characters

Everyone knows that in a novel there is at least a main character (MC) and their antagonist - the person who makes the MC's struggle real - and secondary characters, their friends or sidekicks.

One set of characters some novice writers forget to add judiciously are the background characters - the extras in a movie. These are the people on the street, in the restaurants, or neighbors. These people help flesh out the MC.

Since I can use my books without anyone's permission, I'll use them for examples. In Kathryn's Beach there is a convent. The most prominent nuns are Sister Elizabeth and her sidekick Sister Theresa. However, other nuns walk in and out of scenes, perhaps say a line or two, and leave. It wouldn't be very believable that Saint Mark's was a real convent with only two nuns. To tell the truth, I had to keep a list to remember which nun was the school principal. They weren't that important to me or to the story to remember their names. But they played an important role in making the convent and the two main nuns seem more real.

The same goes for the mention of the traffic on the freeways in Los Angeles. I don't make a big deal of it, but it would be lacking to not mention the traffic problem that caused the detour Kathryn and Sister Theresa took that lead to Sister Theresa's big question to Kathryn in High Tide. Wouldn't it seem odd to drive all over LA and never mention traffic?

Also at the airport in High Tide, even though Kathryn couldn't go to the gate now like she did, she could when the ms was written (pre-September 11, 2001). It makes sense for the traveler to bump Kathryn with their carry-on bag and the people she encounters on the escalator. LAX is a very busy airport. There had to be people in it for anyone to believe Kathryn was at LAX. Whereas, Kansas City International (KCI) closes down early and no one is around when you get off the plane - very spooky!

Storm Surge switches settings requiring a whole new group of background characters had to be cast, like the gardner. Some of them had been introduced in High Tide, so the trilogy carried over from one book to the next. Otherwise it would be like Kathryn had been plucked out of the two previous books and plunked down into a different story all together.

Keep in mind camera angles and you won't forget the background characters. There is always a wide angle or pan to show the other people in the location, then it narrows onto the principle characters per that scene. Pay attention to that when you watch TV and translate it to your writing - don't forget to cast a few extras in your novel.

BUZZ-BUZZ BOOK BUZZ

by Glynis Smy, Cyprus, guest blogger

I love to read when at the airport and onboard the plane. When I leave for my journey I always have a new travel companion, a lovely new book, something to bond with during the hours cruising the clouds.

During my most recent journey I had in my hot little hand, Kathryn's Beach by Nadine Laman.

I am not very good at writing book reviews, but I will try my best to portray what this book did for me.

Having run away from her life, Kathryn is still haunted by the court rulings in one of the child abuse cases she is involved with, five years later she returns, only to find that her nightmare will not go away until she solves the mystery of a letter.

The book captured me, the story flowed and the characters were believable. Each person I met throughout the book came alive. I could visualise each one as they entered a scene. I felt comfortable in their presence, they relaxed me, drew me into the book. There were no fireworks, no raunchy sex scenes, just a great read.

Kathryn returns to memories, new beginnings, nightmares from the past and emotionally draining daily events. Uplifting new meetings and realisations, serene moments and positive actions made me realise this is real life in book form.

I have now ordered High Tide and Storm Surge by the same author, I wanted to go further into Kathryn's world, I had walked her beach and wanted to learn more, to follow her return and these two books will allow me to do so.

Nadine Laman has a new fan and she also has a great blog ~First Draft.

Thank you, Glynis! You do a wonderful job reviewing! I love reading your blog too! Your pic is so lovely that I've posted it, something I wasn't going to do because my blog is a draft, but I love your smile!

Glynis is a British writer living in Cyprus. She has a wonderful blog, check it out and follow her: http://www.glynissmy.com/2009/09/my-travel-companion-book-review.html

Party with NADINE LAMAN!

by Ivana Marić, Croatia, guest blogger

Party, Party, Party...can you believe we have been partying for three weeks? Let's keep celebrating and give away more autographed books today! Everyone, world wide is invited...EVERYONE! Want free books? Play the game and/or comment in the comment section.

Carrie is the winner of Joy and Joyce's book yesterday. Congratulations! (email me, please)


Nadine Laman and I have met two months ago, but in many ways it feels much longer than that. Incidentally or not, we met on my birthday.

I had to see what was all the buzz about Nadine Laman and Kathryn’s Beach on Filedby. Seeing the words dyslexia and writer at the same page—in the same sentence, was my WOW moment. We started chatting, and Nadine heard my whining about lack of new books in English in our bookstores as I was unable to make online purchases. Not two weeks later, Kathryn’s Beach arrived at my home.

As I just commenced into my education on the world of publishing, Nadine answered many of my questions, sometimes even those unstated, on her blog, First Draft. Nadine is a mentor and friend who takes notice when I’m not around and takes time to email me and asks if everything is fine.

I am reading Nadine's High Tide. Kathryn is one of the most believable characters out there. Nadine's writing style is compelling in the sense you get a peek into Kathryn's mind and heart, making her all the more believable-and enjoyable.

What I learned from Nadine is that there are no obstacles in pursuing your dream-and if they still get in your way, how to easily avoid them.

With this blog party, which is really a terrific idea, she introduced so many great authors and readers I feel blessed to have met. She brought us together to celebrate what we love and what is our mission-writing our stories. Nadine magnanimously put others under the spotlight for the past few weeks. Today, Nadine, the stage is yours! Come out, take a bow and enjoy all that jazz!

Original music by Nadine's youngest son when he was 14. Photos from Seal Beach, California, taken by Nadine and family...often with a disposable camera (or a 35mm Minolta).




Thanks, Ivana. That was very sweet. You did a better job than I would have. I'm not surprised after the review you wrote for Kathryn's Beach. http://willingtoseeless.blogspot.com/2009/08/now-real-tss.html

I think everyone must know by now that Kathryn's Beach began as a short story emailed to a friend, a chapter a night. The whole thing was planned about as well as this blog party five minutes before I said, "Party!" (The planning came after the announcement.) In the short story, I gave Kathryn a frail but resilient personality. After Terrie, my friend, insisted I write a novel, then a second (the third was my idea), I was stuck with the characteristics I had given Kathryn in the short story.

Kathryn's Beach is the story of Kathryn's return home to resolve the past that haunted her. After knocking the wind out of Kathryn toward the end of KB and having her dust herself off, High Tide gave her a few more bumps and busies and laughs. All of the struggles and triumphs came together so she could meet her biggest challenge yet in Storm Surge.

I would rather not give away spoilers, since I know most people at the BLOG PARTY have not read my books, otherwise, ask me anything about the books, the differences in writing a trilogy, or my well documented ability to jump off cliffs!

Party game: As we were thinking about a party game, Nadine mentioned she hated Haiku poetry. I’m not a fan of it either, so let’s turn it into our advantage and have fun. Write a Haiku in the form 5-7-5 syllables that has to have the words Nadine and Beach anywhere in it. If it doesn’t give you a brain hemorrhage, do more than one. It’s not so difficult once you give it a try! (Oh yeah, giving away autographed books!)


This is the place to party without worrying about typos in the comments (who cares?) -- this is after all, only the FIRST DRAFT.

**If you need help navigating blogger, here are some basic instructions: http://nadinelaman.blogspot.com/2009/08/just-few-basics.html

The comment section is below this line. Click on the word "comments." That's where you can leave a note. eMail me if you have trouble with this...NadineLaman(at)aol.com

Turning Point: Writing Kathryn's Beach

This is actually a continuation from Friday.

During an ice storm, my reading maniac friend, Terrie, called with a bad case of cabin fever. She had nothing in the house to read and couldn't get out to get a 'fix.'

I told her to check her email in an hour and I'd give her something to read. She had no idea I wrote - no one did. So I banged out a short story, the first chapter (basically) of Kathryn's Beach.

She emailed back, "Then what happened?"

I replied, "It is a short story, you make up the rest. Either she goes and it works or doesn't, or she stays and it works or it doesn't."

She writes back, "NO! I want to KNOW what happens."

Well sheesh, I didn't know what happened, it was a short story. What was wrong with her? Short stories are -- SHORT!

She won. I wrote an hour or two a night and emailed it to her. In three weeks, I had the first draft of Kathryn's Beach written. I'm done!

Nope, not only was she printing off the email manuscript and giving to people to read (un-edited), she was hounding me about what happened NEXT!

You get the picture - I'm doomed.

http://nadinelaman.blogspot.com/2009/07/64-question.html

View The Back Of The Book Feature

What is inevitable when someone picks up a book? They eventually look at the back cover. Since the ONLY place to buy my books is on my website, we added a VIEW THE BACK OF THE BOOK FEATURE.

My web designer, Joyce, used the same process to create this SUPER FANTASTIC idea as she used on my photo page.

On my website homepage is the front covers of each book in the trilogy, Kathryn's Beach, High Tide, and Storm Surge. Want to see the back cover? Click on the book. Ta-da! There it is. And it is a readable size.

Click on the link to my website on the sidebar to the left of this post. (This feature is also on the books page...go check that out!)

Just another innovative idea from Nadine Laman Books, LLC. How about that? Personally, I don't know any other writer who has the real back of the book on their website. If you do, leave a link in the comments section.

Back on track

Wow, I get sidetracked easily. I finish a manuscript and totally forget where I was going with the posts of excerpts from the books -- you'd think finishing a ms was a big deal. Well, it IS a big deal, very BIG.

You know what it is like to finish reading a book? Finishing writing one is a million times MORE. More what? More everything.

Back on track: I like to use places I've been as settings. Thanks to my mom's Gypsy spirit, I've been lots of places.

For example, how about a bit of wheat harvest?

The following day Mr. Goldstein returns for what is to become our daily ritual: a walk on the beach. Since California is the only place Mr. Goldstein has lived in the U.S., he asks questions about life on the prairie.

I tell of the combines cutting wide swaths around the wheat field until it circles down to the final pass of the equipment. “There is haze in the air from the machines churning out the chaff to remove the grain from the heads of the plants.”

Only the most essential activities occur during harvest. It was always a race with the weather and crop prices. Nothing else mattered until the wheat was in, until harvest was finished.

Twelve-year-old children, women, and old men drove two-ton grain trucks. Some trucks were so old they looked like a parade of vintage vehicles creeping down Main Street. Some farmers had several matching new grain trucks that were bought on the gamble it would be a good crop this year.

There are long lines of trucks at the elevator waiting to weigh and dump their load of grain. The drivers got out of their trucks to stand under shade trees along the road, waiting their turn at the elevator and worrying about their grain’s moisture content. Sometimes two or three drivers would gather near the lead truck, visiting with each other while watching the activities across the yard at the double circle CO-OP® elevator for their turn on the scales.

From Kathryn's Beach: http://nadinelamanbooks.com/books.html

Setting the set

My writing style is a bit old school. I tend to make the setting part of the story, which isn't as common now. In the excerpt [below] from Kathryn's Beach, the playroom wall comes alive as it advances center stage for a brief close-up shot. It is never mentioned again, but makes the transformation of Saint Mark's Convent and School into Spirit of Hope Homeless Shelter have more depth. More of the convent is detailed in the excerpt from [again below] High Tide where Shasta leads Kathryn through the convent hallway to her secret passage.

Like Hemingway's, Old Man And The Sea, of course, I feature the beach as a character, especially in Kathryn's Beach. Since Kathryn is less dimensional in Kathryn's Beach, the beach takes on more moods and dimensions to fill in the gaps of a full bodied character that every story needs. I'll remind everyone again, Kathryn doesn't even have a last name in Kathryn's Beach.

As Kathryn travels through the trilogy, her character develops and the list of characters around her increases. This is especially true in High Tide where the cast of characters increases dramatically from the cast list in Kathryn's Beach.

In writing fiction, it is almost as if there is a formula to the balance of character elements with the other elements in the story. As the character side of the balance needs less from the setting to balance their weight in the story, the setting specifics diminish, as I think you'll see if you read Kathryn's trilogy from beginning to end.

While the speed of the story is a main feature in an adventure story, literary devices have to be employed more in stories, such as mine, that meander along in the telling. That is not to say that a good adventure story is less well written, which isn't the case, than a story-story.

As I find the focus of this blog, I will continue to share excerpts from the books, even the unpublished third book, Storm Surge, and discuss elements in the story telling process -- much like a director's commentary is done for a DVD. Hopefully, I will be able to enhance the reading enjoyment without tipping key elements of the story line with these excerpts that have not been posted anywhere else on the internet.

A good writer writes to the enjoyment of the reader -- not the publishing industry, not for their own satisfaction -- but for the reader's enjoyment.

Here are pictures of the setting in the trilogy.
http://nadinelamanbooks.com/photos.html