Visit From Award-Winning Author Carolyn Howard Johnson

Today, I am very pleased to present the award-winning author Carolyn Howard-Johnson who is sharing her work in progress with us, just in time for Halloween here’s...


Stories to Make Frankenstein Faint

A Sampler: Legends from Bohemia
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

(The introduction from a work in progress that
tells legends from around the world.)

Listen my Children. There is a place in Eastern Europe that is full of ancient graveyards and cellars where even today people read scary poetry by candlelight. It is an ancient city called Prague. There they speak a very, very mysterious Celtic language called Czech. There are strange circles and lines a little karets over the letters that make sounds like nothing we English speakers have ever heard.

In that city is an olden bridge. We who speak English call it the old Charles Bridge, but the people who live there call it the Karlov most. And that bridge looks like no bridge you have ever seen. Towers and gothic arches and stones, like a castle, are like sentries at the entryway. You can imagine horses hobbling and clattering over the cobblestones beneath as they move from the old town onto the bridge.

The people who lived in the town say a water goblin lives under the bridge. He crouches on the bottom, ready to devour children and adults don’t pay attention to the rules and go swimming after eating huge quantities of dumplings and pork and beef,. They die of the cramps and the goblin feels that they are fair game.

At the bottom of the river, in the shadow of the bridge, the goblin keeps pottery pots—or perhaps they are enameled metal—for both are still made around Prague today. These he uses to pop the souls of those who die and keep them there. He has quite a collection but, it is said that he has grown skinny and bored today because the river is no longer good for swimming so there are very few opportunities for modern children to encounter his long fingers and toes and hair that moves with the current like deep green seaweed or slender water grass in the sandy bottom. He must rely on his stores of days gone by.

That means that he is hungrier than he ever has been. So beware!

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson is known for her multi award-winning nonfiction how-to books for writers and retailers (http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/), but she is also an award-winning novelist (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/this_is_the_place.htm) and poet (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/poetry_books.htm) . Her novel This Is the Place won eight awards and her book of true short stories, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/harkening.htm) won three.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Instructor for the renowned UCLA Extension Writers' Program Web site: http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/ E-mail: HoJoNews@aol.com
Award-winning author of the How To Do It Frugally Series of Books for writers, including USA Book News' award winners The Frugal Editor http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870/The Frugal Book Promoter http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193299310X/The Great First Impression Book Proposal http://budurl.com/BookProposals Great Little Last Minute Edits: http://budurl.com/WordTrippersPB Love LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynhowardjohnson Squidooing at: http://www.squidoo.com/HowToDoItFrugallyforAuthors My iFOGO Page:http://www.ifogo.com/BRZ_AG/members/chjohnson.htmlTwittering at: http://www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromoAt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnsonBlogs for Writers:http://www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/ , http://thenewbookreview.blogspot.com/ http://www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com/

Now blogging on War. Peace. Tolerance and Our Soldiers at: http://warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com/

Just In Time for Halloween!

Halloween is right around the corner! Now might be a perfect time to introduce yourself to a brand new monster like the one in Winking Wot Warning, or to try a dish off the Mummy’s Menu, or to really find out Where Nightmares Dwell, if you dare.

An Eyeball in My Garden: And Other Spine-Tingling Poems is a collection of forty four spookalicious poems written by fourteen terrifyingly talented poets. Containing everything from the humorous, to the creepy, to the absolutely sinister, this collection is designed to tickle your funny bone and then perhaps, gnaw right through it.

This book is available from Marshall Cavendish, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or ask your local book store.

Be sure to check my the poems, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle.


To find out more, please visit http://www.eyeballinmygarden.com/

Guest Author-Heidi M. Thomas

For today's post, please allow me to welcome guest author Heidi M. Thomas.

Heidi grew up on a working ranch in eastern Montana. She had parents who taught her a love of books and a grandmother who rode bucking stock in rodeos. Describing herself as “born with ink in her veins,” Heidi followed her dream of writing with a journalism degree from the University of Montana and later turned to her first love, fiction, to write her grandmother’s story.Heidi’s first novel, Cowgirl Dreams, has won an EPIC Award and the USA Book News Best Book Finalist award.Follow the Dream is the second book in the “Dare to Dream” series about strong, independent Montana Women.Heidi is a member of Women Writing the West, Skagit Valley Writers League, Skagit Women in Business, and the Northwest Independent Editors Guild. She is also a manuscript editor, and teaches memoir and fiction writing classes in the Pacific Northwest.

Heidi, please tell us about your book, Cowgirl Dreams

This is the story of Nettie, a young woman who has a dream—to become a rodeo star, against many obstacles, including her own mother. She is a strong, independent woman who has a goal and will do almost anything to achieve it. The book loosely parallels the life of my grandmother who rode steers in Montana rodeos during the 1920s. It is suitable for both adult and young adult readers.

What made you select your grandmother’s tale to tell?

This was such a fascinating thing, having a grandmother who was a rodeo rider (she rode wild steers). I thought it was incredibly brave and so unusual, and of course that prompted the writer’s question “What if?” I just had to write a story about her.

Can you tell us a little about the sequels…?

The sequel to Cowgirl Dreams has a working title of Follow the Dream, and it is the second half of Nettie’s life, after she marries. Her dream of rodeo stardom lingers, but family obligations, drought, and the Great Depression delay that dream further.
I've just started the third "Nettie" book in the series, working title "Nettie's Cowgirls." This will take place during the 1940s, when women area losing their place in the competitive arena with men. Nettie is fighting this trend.

The fourth book in the series, working title Land of Milk and Honey, is about the next generation, Nettie’s son and his German war bride. This one is based on my mother’s story, when she meets my father, an American soldier during the occupation of Germany after the war ends, and after he is shipped home, accepts his proposal to come to America and marry him. Again I see this as a very courageous venture, moving so far from family, to a foreign country where she didn’t speak the language, where she was regarded as “the enemy,” and where she didn’t know anyone except this man she hadn’t seen in two years.

The fifth book, Rescuing Samantha, is purely fiction, but my character is Nettie’s great-granddaughter, who moves from the big city to the old family ranch, hoping to make a go of raising thoroughbred race horses, again against financial and climatic odds.

Tell us about the classes you offer in beginning fiction and memoir writing.

After I’d started sending out queries on my first book (which is now the third in the series), I received a couple of comments from agents or editors, stating that my characters were “flat.” I didn’t know what that meant or how to fix it, so I enrolled in an extension course in fiction writing through the University of Washington. After that, I thought I would like to share what I had learned with other beginning writers, so I stepped out of my comfort zone and started a community fiction class. And because most of my novels came from family history, I realized the importance of preserving those family stories and memories, so I now teach a memoirs writing class as well.

You also offer editing services?

Yes, my degree is in journalism and I had quite a bit of experience editing in that genre (I had the world’s best copy editor on the newspaper where I worked!), and later when I started writing fiction, I was in a great critique group where I could hone my fiction editing skills as well. As my skills increased, I began editing for others outside the group and have had great feedback from my clients. I belong to the Northwest Independent Editors Guild.

When do you find time to write, Heidi?

That’s the million dollar question, especially now with adding marketing to my list of things to do. I’m trying to learn to better prioritize my tasks, make lots of lists, and try to remember to “do one thing at a time.” I do have a tendency to try to do everything at once—but that’s a little like walking a tight rope while juggling my mother’s best china.

What does your family think of Heidi the author?

Oh, they’re so very proud—and supportive! I couldn’t have done this without my family’s love and cheering me on. I’m so fortunate!

And the last word, Heidi…?

You know, it sounds a bit cliché, I suppose, but having this book published (after 10 years in the process) is a dream come true for me. And I’m struck by the realization that we all do need to have a dream. My advice for other writers is to persevere—never give up!

Cowgirl Dreams is available through my website http://www.heidimthomas.com/ (for an autographed copy), and from my publisher Treble Heart Books http://www.trebleheartbooks.com/SDHeidiThomas.html

Thanks for stopping by Heidi.

Please visit Donna McDine's blog at http://donna-mcdine.blogspot.com/ on Thursday, September 30 where she will be featuring Kathy Stemke.

Zombies and Werewolves and Gargoyles, Oh My

I received my contributor’s copy of An Eyeball in My Garden yesterday and I’m very happy with the final result. From the font and the typeface, to the illustrations, to the great poems themselves, this is a fine book of poetry and I’m thrilled to have been a part of it. So with Halloween right around the corner, this is a perfect time to introduce yourself to brand new monsters such as The Winking Wot, try a dish off the Mummy’s Menu, or take the lead in the Goblin Parade and pick up a copy of An Eyeball in My Garden and Other Spine-tingling Poems. This collection is available at:

Marshall Cavendish
http://www.marshallcavendish.us/marshallcavendish-us/children/catalog/poetry/978-0-7614-5655-4.xml

Barnes and Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?ean=9780761456551

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Eyeball-My-Garden-Other-Spine-Tingling/dp/0761456554/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284567010&sr=8-1

Or ask your local book store. Be sure to check out my poems, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle.

New Interview Over at Morning Coffee

Hi All,

I’m being interviewed today over at Charlene’s Haukom’s blog “Morning Coffee”. I talk a bit about the writing and publication process, as well as my new role as the Technical Director for Guardian Angel Kids. If you get a chance, stop by and say hello.

The interview is posted at http://charlenehaukom.blogspot.com/2010/08/author-interview-kevin-mcnamee.html

Nice Review for An Eyeball in My Garden

A writing friend sent me this review from Publishers Weekly, which I thought was very nice.

An Eyeball in My Garden Selected by Jennifer Cole Judd and Laura Wynkoop, Johan Olander (illustrator). Marshall Cavendish, $15.99 (64p) ISBN 978-0-7614-5655-1
Gr 4-7— Readers should be prepared to shiver and shake through these 44 poems about ghosts, gargoyles, and more. Olander adorns each page with ominous ink images of spiders, monsters, and other terrors, while the verses temper horror (Craig W. Steele’s “Where Nightmares Dwell”: “I know too well/ What creatures lurk/ Where nightmares live and grow.../ The shadows found me years ago!”) with humor (Stella Michel’s “Mummy’s Menu” includes “Blackened pudding filled with flies,/ Crispy scarab beetle pies”). Whether it’s Halloween or not, this creepy collection will please readers with a taste for the supernatural.
–Publishers Weekly August 9, 2010
I have two poems in this collection, titled, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle. My poems weren’t specifically referenced, but there is a nod to The Gargoyle. I received an advanced copy of this book and read through it. I do have to say that the poetry and illustrations are top notch. Halloween will be approaching before we know it, this book might make a good gift for your favorite “trick or treater”.

If you are interested, here is a link to the book on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Eyeball-My-Garden-Other-Spine-Tingling/dp/0761456554

or ask your local book store.

Kevin

Sneek Peek at My Brother, the Frog

My virtual book tour group is taking the rest of the summer off and should be starting up again in September. In the meantime, I’ve been working on a couple of poems, a new picture book, and two new mid grade novels. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like I’ve been making an incredible amount of progress on any one of these projects. But my creative process has always been like that. It ebbs and flows like the tide. The only thing I can do is keep plugging away, and the progress will come.

I did want to share a new cover that I’ve received for my picture book, My Brother, the Frog. It’s being illustrated by Alexander Morris. I’ve seen some of the preliminary sketches and it looks like this is going to be a funny book. I don’t have a firm release date yet, but will keep you posted.

Happy Writing!

Kevin