What do I read? That was one of the first questions I was asked when I pitched my first book. That worked out really well, because my new favorite author was represented by this particular agent.
However, this is not the reason I read. Mostly I read to escape. Maybe that’s why I read across genres. Currently, besides Andre Norton (my all time favorite), I read Tess Gerritson, Robert Dugoni, Roxanne Snopek, Susan Clayton-Goldner and Neil deGrasse Tyson. I also use the books of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. This might sound like a strange combination, but it is working very well for me. The fiction books are character driven. The non-fiction are research information and a source of interest.
Another reason to read is that it helps me understand what others are looking for. I write Soft Science Fiction with elements of Romance. Listening to the characters others create helps me create and understand my own better. It also helps me build my worlds.
So, reading and sharing helps me build the worlds my characters live and travel through, as well as giving me direction to escape my somewhat boring life. I love that there are multiple ways to use my love of reading.
Sometime in the not too distant future, I hope that you will be able to use my writing to escape your world and your problems. When that happens, together, we will benefit from the worlds and lives of the characters who draw us in and let us escape.
I will continue to read and enjoy the books of others as I write my own.
Keep the coffee flowing.
Respectfully submitted,
Jodi
This last week the registration for The Surrey International Writers Conference opened on Wednesday, June 6th at noon. By 1:30pm they were 1/2 sold out. I expected to register at 2:30pm, on my lunch break. But 1/2 sold out, can you believe it? I was scared I would be left out and be unable to participate in one of the best writers’ conferences that I’ve ever been too.
Luckily my boss let me take an early part of my lunch. However, even then I had a difficult time getting registered. You’d think that, because I work everyday to help people get their debit and credit cards freed up or at least prevent them from getting blocked, I would have had the sense to call my credit card company to let them know I was processing a transaction in Canada. But no, not me, it took three denials before it sunk into my brain.
Maybe it was not such a bad thing that it took that long to finally get through the registration process. For some reason I was thinking of Friday as the day before the conference. When I was scheduling my blue pencil (a sitdown with a published author) and my pitch (a sit down with an agent), I was scheduling it later in the day. In the final process I put in for my pitch on Friday morning with Nephele Tempest, an agent with The Knight Agency and my blue pencil, Friday afternoon with New York Times best selling author Tess Gerritsen. Doing this, once I’m finished, I can settle in and enjoy the rest of the conference.
I must admit that there is still a lot of stress and angst. However I can participate in the workshops and concentrate on polishing my craft when I don’t have to worry about pitching or sharing.
Well, now that I’ve gotten past the registration, I can now concentrate on the latest edit of my book “Not Too Late Forever”. I hope, and must admit say a prayer or two, that this will be my year. Time alone will tell if that miracle happens. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy the process.
Keep the coffee flowing.
Respectfully submitted,
Jodi
This coming week will be the first chance to sign up for the Surrey International Writers Conference in Surrey, British Columbia. I’m still going back and forth on who I should pitch and blue pencil with.
I’m not sure that pitching is going to work for me. I have pitched several times in the past. A couple of years ago I even tried a cold submission to a new agent. There have been kind responses and silent ones. None have lead me any closer to being published. Despite this I am still determined to participate at the conference this year. It is always a great experience.
Each year that I participate with this writers’ conference I have some great experiences. My favorite is meeting with friends I’ve come to know of the years. Another favorite is having opportunities to meet and talk with successful writers.
The workshops over the years have helped me polish my craft. I continue to learn and understand the craft more each year.
In the next few days I will make my choices and sign up for SiWC18. Until then I’ll study and work on my writing.
Keep the coffee flowing,
Respectfully submitted,
Jodi
This week I’m determined to work through another edit of the first chapter of my book. I never thought I would enjoy the edit as much as I enjoy the original creation, but I do. More than that, it is like having a small shed and transforming it into an gleaming sky scraper.
Over twelve years ago, I made a commitment to write a book. After that, I worked to learn more about my craft by traveling to my first writers’ conference. Going to the conference I had three very rough chapters, that have since been transformed into a book of over 107 thousand words.
Each day I work on my writing, I enjoy other worlds and cultures that up to now only I and a few in my writers’ group have come into contact with. It continues to be a dream that I will some day be able to share it with others and inspire their imaginations.
I’ve said it before, and I’m sure that I will say it many times more, that it has become so much more than I ever anticipated. Many things, not the least of which are the names and expressions of the characters, have changed. Words that at the time seemed to take a lot of thought to create, now seem like the only words I could have chosen to express what they portray. An example of this is the skimboard. Shaped like a skateboard, it is hydrogen powered, using water that is broken down into oxygen/hydrogen atoms. The oxygen atoms enrich the atmosphere and the hydrogen when split release the energy needed to propel it and its passenger(s) forward. The boards come in various sizes and carry anywhere from one to four passengers.
That’s just a sample of something on my world and in my new universe. There is still much work to do, but now is the time of the edit. Words, time and circumstances are in place, but may yet change. Only by getting back to work on it will I ever know.
Keep the coffee flowing.
Respectfully submitted,
Jodi
This week I continue to work on the edit of my first book. I should have more time on Friday and Saturday. A local resort, The Oregon Caves Chateau is the home of an evening meeting for the Illinois Valley Grants Pass/Josephine County Chambers of Commerce. I’m taking it as an awesome opportunity to experience some real secluded writing time. That is I’m going to work on my writing, after the meeting.
Hopefully I’ll enjoy more than one kind of spirt there. Wine will be served at the meeting and later in my room, maybe one of the resident ghosts will come for a visit. Elizabeth is the best know of these. I haven’t shared this information with my family who are going with me. One in particular is much more superstitious than I. It will be interesting to see how this works out.
During the evening I plan on working on the edit that I’ll take to my writers’ group on Sunday. I’m making pretty good progress on this, but I want to really dig in and get most of the work done before I go to #siwc18, The Surrey International Writers Conference, in Surrey BC. This takes place in late October.
Another thing I need to concentrate on is my Midgrade Urban Fantasy. The characters could and should start screaming at me very soon.
In the meantime, keep the coffee flowing.
Respectfully submitted,
Jodi
