Novel Journey Columnist Patty Smith Hall releases debut novel!

Patty has been a significant encourager to me (Ane) personally. A member of a local writers group with me, she whipped my writer's-tail until I began to make and meet a daily word count. I'm tickled pink to host her debut Novel Journey interview.

A romantic at heart, Patty Smith Hall is an award winning, multi-published author. Her stories of encouragement and hope can be found in Guideposts, Journey and Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul. Her Genesis award winning manuscript, Hearts in Flight, will be released by Love Inspired Historical in July, 2011. Patty resides in Georgia along with Dan, her husband of 28 years, two daughters and a Yorkie who loves to cuddle. Patty joined Novel Journey as a columnist in July of 2011.

Tell us about your new release:

Hearts in Flight

Serving her country as one of the Women's Army Special Pilots is Maggie Daniels's dearest wish. But there are obstacles to overcome above and beyond the enemies in the Pacific, including her overprotective family, skeptical fellow pilots—and handsome, distant squadron leader Wesley Hicks. Whatever it takes, Maggie will prove herself to Wesley, until she succeeds in winning his admiration…and love.

Wesley can see that Maggie's a first-class pilot. She's also too fearless by half. The war has cost Wesley so much already. Can he let go of his guilt for a chance at happiness—and can he learn to trust in God…and Maggie…enough to believe in love for a lifetime?

How did you come up with this story? Was there a specific 'what if' moment?

When my girls were younger, they spent a summer studying WWII—I don’t know if it was the Ben Afleck movie or a real love of history that got their attention but hey! It got them reading about one of the greatest times in history. Anyway, I was big on the girls knowing that women played a significant role in the war effort, so I was always looking for articles and books on women in WWII. One of them had a PARAGRAPH—one measly paragraph on the women pilots and I was totally hooked!

Did anything strange or funny happen while researching or writing your book?

The greatest thing that happened was that my grandma played a part in picking out the setting. We were going to a family wedding at this fantastic plantation house a few miles down the road where I grew up. Now, this house is so neat—it served as a union hospital slap dab in the middle of North Georgia! Anyway, I was walking Grandma into the house and she starts telling me these stories. Seems my great aunt and uncle had rented this house in the late ‘30’s and early ‘40’s, and turned it into a boarding house. Grandma even pointed out a mini ball in the second level bedroom door frame.

Every novelist has a journey. How long was your road to publication? How did you find out and what went through your mind?

I started playing at writing about ten years ago. I say play because I didn’t actually sit down and write! I took the classes, went to conferences but didn’t do the writing part. It wasn’t until my daughters graduated from high school and college that I truly turned my focus to writing full time.

Last March, I finally finished Hearts in Flight and turned it into my terrific agent, Tamela Hancock Murray, who gave it to Rachel Burkot at Love Inspired Historical.

Then the wait began—I swear, it was like waiting for Christmas morning, wondering if you’re going to get the big gift or a lump of coal. On August 5th while I was driving through the Chick-fil-a, Tamela called. LIH had not only offered me a contract, my book was going to be fast tracked for publication in less than a year! I still get choked up just thinking about it!

Do you ever bang your head against the wall from writer's block? If so, how do you overcome it?

Everyone has those head banging moments! But I’ve found that if I just keep writing, even if it’s not the best thing I’ve ever written, the block eventually goes away.

Do you consider yourself a visual writer? If so, what visuals do you use?

I’m a huge visual writer. Most of my descriptions come from old black and white pictures I found at the Marietta Museum of History, particularly the ones about the Bell Bomber Plant.

But I love hands on research. It’s nothing for me to climb into the cockpit of an old bomber or pan for gold. I remember feelings—how something felt in my hands or what muscles I had to use to do something. To me, those types of experiences help the reader go deeper into the story and the characters. And I just love doing that kind of stuff!

Novelists sometimes dig themselves into a hole over implausible plots, flat characters or a host of other problems. What's the most difficult part of writing for you? How do you overcome it?

I use to be a pantser [seat of the pants writer] but I found it frustrating—it seemed to take me forever to finish a manuscript. So three years ago, I decided it was time to learn to plot. At first, I wasn’t sure I could even do it—I was a pantser for Pete’s sake. But I discovered through Laurie Schnebly’s Plot Via Motivation class that even I can plot! It changed the way I worked through my story.

Where do you write: In a cave, a coffeehouse, or a cozy attic nook?

This would have been a loaded question a few months ago because I didn’t really have a consistent writing place. I wrote Hearts in Flight at two places; either on the couch flat on my back or in the teen section of the local library.

But recently, my darling husband decided that I needed a place to go to write so now, I have a lovely office five minutes away from home where I get so much done!

What does a typical day look like for you?

I generally wake up around 7:30, eat breakfast, and do devotionals. Then I head to my office where I work from 9:30 to 2:30 or 3:00. After that, I come home, get things set up for dinner, then head off to meet my husband at the park to walk. Evenings are for spending time with Dan or our girls, reading, judging contest entries and watching Castle when it’s on!

Some authors report writing 5-10 thousand words a day. Do scenes flow freely from your veins or do you have to tweeze each word out?

Not me! I’m doing good to get about 2 thousand words a day. But some days, the story flows and before I know it, I’ll have 3500 words down. I love those days!

What’s the best writing advice you’ve heard?

The one thing I took away from the 2008 ACFW conference changed how I looked at my writing. Set a daily word count and try to meet it. Even if you don’t, you’ve got more words down than you started out with.

Do you have any parting words of advice?

Writing is a waiting game so to paraphrase Winston Churchill—never, never, never give up!

NJ: To get on the notices for Laurie Schnebly's classes, click here.

Read More

Guest Blogger ~ Gail Gaymer Martin

Award winning author Gail Gaymer Martin is the author of 40 novels with over one million books in print. She writes for Steeple Hill, Barbour Publishing, Writers Digest. Gail is a popular workshop presenter and keynote speaker across the U.S. Visit her website and her writing blog.

MAKING PASSIVE WRITING ACTIVE: When I talk about active writing, I’m not talking about passive voice. That’s a different animal all together. Active writing is important for every genre whether suspense, mysteries, romance, women’s fiction or westerns. Keeping your story filled with action-packed verbs helps the plot to move and creates a "page-turner." Selecting explicit verbs and avoiding "deadwood" sentence structure also creates a moving, active plot. So let’s look at passive voice and then at passive writing and how to change it. 


PASSIVE VOICE: The English class definition of passive voice is exchanging the positions of the subject and the object in a sentence. In active voice, the subject is doer; it does something. In passive voice, the subject receives the action. The note was signed by him rather than He signed the note. In most cases, the subject should carry the action.

Notice the word "was" in the first example. The "to be" verbs, such as: is, was, are, were, be, been, and being are usually connected with passive voice. Still, writers should not totally exclude these verbs in their writing. The "to be" verbs are sometimes needed when the subject is less important than the object. “Two million buffalo were killed by the Indians” is far more effective than “The Indians killed two million buffalo.” The focus here is on the buffalo and not who killed them.

CHANGING PASSIVE WRITING TO ACTIVE: Different forms of passive writing can dilute a good story. The overuse of predicate adjectives and nominatives, using weak or general verbs, using "deadwood" phrases, and telling not showing are all forms of writing that keeps the reader from feeling the action of the novel.

PREDICATE NOMINATIVES AND ADJECTIVES: Obviously, showing is better than telling. When you use predicate nominatives and adjectives, use them when a description will not enhance the action or when descriptive language will slow the scene. You can be far more affective and enhance the description by forgetting the "to be" verbs and creating word pictures that say even more. Let’s look at those three examples above:



Predicate adjective: She was beautiful.

Improved: Her angel face glowed in the sunlight while golden curls surrounded her cheeks like a halo.



Predicate adjective: He was quiet.


Improved: If she didn’t see him sitting there, he could have been a mouse in the corner, silent and cautious.



Predicate Nominative: They were soldiers.


Improved: They paraded into the room, their feet moving in procession, their uniform buttons glinting like their spit-polished boots.

Notice the lack of the "to be" verb (was and were) in each of the improved sentences. In each case, you can envision the person rather than just being told something about them. The improved version of these sentences are much more active than passive.

EXPLICIT VERBS: Using explicit verbs is an excellent way to improve writing. Rather than saying she walked through the doorway, try a word that better describes her movement: bolted, dashed, charged, paraded, moseyed, sashayed, meandered, ambled, glided. Each of these verbs creates a different word picture than the unspecific action of "to walk."

Compare these two sentences.


She walked through the doorway with her nose in the air.


She sashayed through the doorway, her importance punctuated with every sway of her hips.

Which sentence paints the more lively characterization? Obviously by changed walked to sashayed animates the character and allows the reader to truly see this character in action.



DEADWOOD KILLS ACTION
: Another writing problem is using "deadwood" phrases. These are words that add nothing to the sentence except length. In Strunk and White’s, The Elements of Style, the authors use these examples: There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the ground compared to Dead leaves covered the ground. Notice fewer words, yet a more lively sentence. The reason the second sentence sounds better is because the words "there were" have no meaning. There isn’t the subject of the sentence. The subject and verb have been buried in the middle of the sentence. Look at this example:

It was not long before he was very sorry that he had said what he had.


Removing all the "deadwood" from this sentence gives a clear, concise meaning with the subject in the forefront and an active verb. He soon repented his words.



SHOWING NOT TELLING: Most of the examples above illustrate the difference between showing and telling. We show when we use vivid words that brings the scene to life. When our descriptions create word pictures, emotion and emphasis action rather than only telling the reader. He was angry, for example, creates no emotion, we cannot see the anger nor the action his anger elicits, and again the telltale "to be" verb is the culprit.

He sprang from the chair, toppling it to the ground, and smashed his fist against the tabletop.

Now that’s anger. We see it. We feel it. We react to it.

ACTIVE WRITING: As you inject more action into your writing, remember that action is more than doing things and going places. When well-chosen active verbs are used to create vivid word pictures, internal thoughts can draw the reader into the story and create emotion as effectively as a car chase scene in a movie scene. Improve your writing by avoiding inactive and useless words, but remember active writing is not only action verb or descriptive passages. It is grabbing your reader by the hand and pulling them into your story with compelling and emotional narration and dialogue.


Dad in Training

How is Brent Runyan supposed to reach his troubled nephew? The workaholic businessman knows nothing about providing a real home to the orphaned boy who needs him so much.

Special education teacher Molly Manning thinks the answer is threefold: love, time—and a dog. But Brent can barely let his nephew into his heart, let alone a golden retriever.

With his tragic past, Brent knows what can happen when you love anything: you can lose it. Until Molly asks this dad-in-training to start with the basics by letting her stay…forever.

Read More

Author Interview ~ Peg Herring

Peg Herring is a former educator from northern Lower Michigan whose published works include plays, short stories, magazine articles, and novels. When not writing, editing or reading, Peg enjoys choral music. She and her husband of four decades love both travel and working on their ancient but comfortable home.

What book or project is coming out or has come out that you'd like to tell us about?

Five Star will publish my historical mystery, HER HIGHNESS' FIRST MURDER, in January of 2010. The protagonists, young Elizabeth Tudor and a crippled young man named Simon, are drawn into danger when they investigate the beheadings of a series of beautiful young women. Needless to say, Henry VIII does not know of his daughter's involvement in crime-solving.In addition, my first novel, MACBETH'S NIECE, comes out in large print in April of 2009. Since it's what's called a "sweet" romance, it is especially suited for older readers who want or need a little larger font size and enjoy a good story without a lot of sexual specifics. All my books are available in bookstores and on amazon.com.

Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract. What went through your head?

The journey is long, long, long! After I finished MACBETH'S NIECE, it took almost two years to find an agent. She gave up after a year, saying she loved the book but couldn't sell it. I had another manuscript finished by then, so I found an agency that took that one on. After a year, they also wrote to say that although they loved the book, they couldn't sell it. I was quite dejected, but about that time the first agent wrote to ask if MACBETH'S NIECE was still available. That led to a contract with Five Star but even then, the publication date was sixteen months later. That's a lot of waiting (six years total) to hear whether your work is good enough, catchy enough, sellable enough.

When I got the call (actually it was an email), it seemed like a vindication of all my work and worry. I had told no one except my husband and one of my sisters that I was trying to publish, but once I had that contract and that advance check, I was willing to tell anyone who would listen!

Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?

I don't really doubt that my work is interesting, because I've had great reader feedback. Due to my nature, however, I can always see areas to improve upon. What's strange is the feeling of "celebrity" for lack of a better word. Although most of my friends treat me the way they always have, some people look at me differently, whether in a good way or a bad one I can't say. I'm no smarter, better or more admirable than I was before, but the title "published author" makes a difference in people's perceptions. It's hard for me to put myself "out there" as someone who calls herself a writer.

Years as a reader and an English teacher taught me that styles differ. For every person who loves my work there will be one who doesn't. It's disconcerting to be asked for advice by aspiring writers, because I haven't got the magic they want. All I can do is give my opinion and tell my experiences. Yours will be both different and the same, somehow.

What's the best advice you've heard on writing/publication?

Persist! When at first I read that six years is the average wait-time for publication, I thought, "Not for me." I was wrong. Persistence is key, because so few succeed on the first try, with the first novel, or in the first year. Or five.

How do you plot?

Usually riding along in my car. I love to drive, and my sister lives seven hours away from me. The plot for HER HIGHNESS' FIRST MURDER evolved in that span. The creative part of my brain is free to roam in long periods of silence, so I carry a small recorder and tape what I'm "hearing" in my head. That provides the story's skeleton. Then I love to go to a library and surround myself with books, which provides a great deal of the story's "meat." Yes, I use the Internet too, but there's always a day or more of the library experience to sort of get my bearings. Could Elizabeth have lived in such-and-such a place when she was fourteen? What was Henry's condition at that time? Answers to such questions fill out the story, add characters, and keep me honest, at least as far as a novelist using real history is likely to be. Of course that's the fun part.

The work part is doing the actual writing, where things I thought would work don't and characters won't behave themselves and do as they're told. Shifts, often major ones, come in the writing phase, when creativity meets reality.

Do you begin writing with a synopsis in hand or do you write scenes as they come to you?

My story is very, very vague in the beginning. I'm like Mark Twain, who said that once he'd invented a character, he simply followed him and wrote down his story. I have a goal in mind, such as the solution of a murder, and as I think things through, the murderer shows up, perfectly willing to kill until I find someone who can stop him.

What's something you wish you'd known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?

Organize and file! Keep track of every idea, every person you meet, every snippet of networking information, everything you do to promote your work and yourself. Put it into some easily accessible format.

Organization is key to success in both the creative and the business aspects of writing. Plots need to be organized of course, but you need to know where to find the name of that person who said she might write a blurb or that agency that said to check back in six months and they might take a look, too. There needs to be a balance.

Is there a particularly difficult set back that you've gone through in your writing career you are willing to share?

The hardest thing for me is my personal life drifting like a snow-bank over my career pathway. It's hard to sustain the intense focus that writing a novel takes when there's something else niggling at my concentration. It's hard to arrange promotional events when medical necessity might wipe out all my plans.On the other hand, writing is a great escape once I get into it, so outside troubles can be made to disappear.

How do you think reading the work of others helps you as a writer?

I've become MUCH pickier about what I consider good writing. I recognize weak plots almost from chapter one, become disgusted with flat or illogical characters, require an ending that clears up all questions, and find redundant/incorrect writing intolerable.On the other hand, I SO appreciate the great writers who pull it all together and make me sad that the story has to end.

What piece of writing have you done that you're particularly proud of and why?

Like many writers, I love whatever I'm working on at the moment. I suppose MACBETH'S NIECE will always be special because it's the first one that won the "prize" of publication.

What is your best advice on maintaining a good editor-author relationship?

I've been lucky with copy editors. My initial-reading editor is very patient and helpful. My editor at Five Star is also great. Because I know she's very, very busy, I try to maintain clear communication without bothering her with needless questions. I've found that the author's handbook I was given provides answers to most of my concerns. I do keep my editor informed of my promotional activities, because it helps the company keep track of where sales are and when they need to consider reprinting. It doesn't hurt to let them know that I'm out there working on it, either!

How many drafts do you edit before submitting to your editor?

That's hard to say, since the computer allows mini-edits. Once I've got a finished first draft, I like to edit in layers, so I'll do a read-through just looking for sensory detail, another just looking at dialogue, another for chapter length, and so on. I'd guess I read a work twenty times before I submit, probably print it out five times (I'm a former English teacher and need to feel the pen-in-my-hand edit) but I've had the luxury of time so far. It should get easier as I get more practice.

I always tell aspiring writers to put the MS away for a long time, six weeks to six months, once you think it's finished. When you come back to it you'll see the big problems. However, that's not possible once an author starts on a publisher's schedule. For example, a friend just told me her publisher gave her six months to write, edit, and submit her next novel. That requires multi-tasking as you write and edit. A good piece of advice I've heard is to read the whole thing in one day as a sort of test to see if it holds together, then go back for a final edit.

We often hear how important it is to write a good query letter to whet the appetite of an editor. What tips can you offer to help other writers pen a good query?

I do three paragraphs: one on the book (genre, length, why it's exciting), one about me (very basic stuff related to publishing), and one on my marketing strategy and promotional experience. Some in the industry feel that the query is losing importance because everyone these days gets lessons on how to do it well. I don't know about that, but it's a requirement, so try for sparkle without sounding either pompous or silly.

Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?

Not really. I get frustrated because everything moves so slowly in this business, but I have a very supportive husband who just says, "Keep doing what you love." And I do love it.

How much marketing/publicity do you do? Any advice in this area?

I use my teaching background as a base and present on a variety of topics at libraries, writers' groups, and schools. This provides lots of contacts, and I feel that I'm not just "pushing" my book but offering an entertaining/enlightening presentation as well. Writers have to work with what they have in terms of promotion, and we all have different strengths. I've seen writers who wear costumes, writers who make outrageous claims about their books, writers who make it their goal to visit every bookstore in the United States. They say in promotion that everything works, you just don't know how much any one thing works. Oddly, I've seen a lot of writers spend time promoting to other writers, which seems to me less productive than going where the readers are.

Have you received a particularly memorable reader response?

The most recent one was from a young mother who berated me (in a teasing way) for keeping her from home-schooling her four young children. "I can't put your book down!" was the opening line. Another was from a former school principal who claims that MACBETH'S NIECE should be required reading in every high school where Macbeth is taught, because students would like the story. I wish she ran the Department of Education!

Parting words?

Thanks to Sandra for the "pulpit" and to everyone who reads and promotes reading. As a teacher, my highest goal was to create readers, because they are people who will never be bored, will never be dull, and whose worlds will always be expanding.

Read More

Cheryl Wyatt on How to research Action Romance

Born Valentine’s Day on a naval base, Cheryl Wyatt writes military romance. Her Steeple Hill debuts earned RT Top Picks plus #1 and #4 on eHarlequin's Top 10 Most-Blogged-About-Books, lists including NYT Bestsellers.

Okay, let’s talk research. How does one research for action romance? That sounds interesting, since action romance is unique. Tell how you get your ideas for the action, for the career choice for the hero and heroine, etc.

On researching action romance and choosing interesting character careers for action romances:

I actually like to find real people who are in those career fields and pick their brains. I found this so hard to do prior to getting contracted because I didn't want to come across as a stalker or something. LOL! Now that I can actually say, "I am a multi-published author" or "I'm researching for a contracted book," it's much easier for me to step out of my comfort zone and ask for assistance.

Thankfully with the release of my third book (Ready-Made Family-IN STORES NOW) in my Wings of Refuge Series from Steeple Hill, which feature a team of U.S. Air Force Pararescue Jumpers (PJs for short) people in those fields or related to PJs who have become aware of my books have started contacting me and offering assistance because the books truly honor their career. So they're happy and honored to help.

Other research methods are: Obtaining true/real training manuals from those careers. One of my trademarks as a writer I think is that I love to come up with very unique careers, at least for one of my lead characters. My editors are telling me the Wings of Refuge Series is selling well. And I think that a big reason for that is due to the very unique career of the Pararescue Jumpers that this series highlights.

As far as matching up a heroine to such a strong, Alpha hero, it's kinda nice to have the heroine (or hero if the heroine happens to have the more unique/edgy career) other character to be in a more normal career. That adds to the "opposites attract" angle that I commonly have in my books. Though some of my books do contain both hero and heroine who have very unique and far-from-mundane/cliché careers, most have one “normal” career for one of the lead characters.

Another way I research is through the Internet, but you have to be careful and triple check (at least) anything you find online. Libraries, books and other forms of media are a huge draw for me when I'm researching. I visit forums of the careers I choose for my characters. For over five years now I have been on an F-22 Raptor forum with fighter pilots so I can hear their dialogue and get the terminology right and ask them questions and have them verify my research as best as possible.

I have a really funny story about that but I'll suffice it to say that, after about thirty hours of exhaustive research, I'd finally nailed a certain scene in the book. And the pilots let me know that I was on target and that it was authentic....expect for one thing....They had to remind me that birds don't generally cruise at 30,000 feet. LOL! I'm talking feathery birds, not planes. So though I'd gotten all of the technical stuff down...I'd somehow lost my common sense. Not sure what the moral of that story is...but I laugh every time I think about it.

Cheryl's favorite research and writing spot

It helps to have family members and friends in these career fields too. But if you don’t, visit the communities that they “hang” in and let them know you’re in need of research assistance. BE SURE they are TRULY in that career field, especially if you are writing special forces/special ops. MOST men who are REALLY in those careers won’t tell strangers. Same goes if you’re writing FBI, CIA, snipers, detectives, private investigators and other “undercover” type characters.

Writer’s groups and conferences are a great way to come in contact with professionals who are willing to help writers with research too. ACFW has a list of research professionals in their Member’s Only section with contact information of people in career fields you may have your characters in. Romance Writers of America and ACFW both host workshops by individuals in certain career fields that authors tend to write about a lot, such as law enforcement, military, investigative careers, etc.

I HIGHLY recommend authors to join these writers’ groups and attend conferences or at least purchase the conference CDs to get the teachings. You will be able to use much of what you learn. Also, Discovery channel programs and programs on TV that highlight certain careers in a documentary form are good for getting ideas on unique careers. But be careful of the fictional shows like CSI and medical dramas, etc. Most of those do not accurately portray those careers, though those shows are highly entertaining and some of my favorites, I would never use things I “learn” in a CSI episode to plot a book. LOL!

Best of luck in your research endeavors and in choosing a career for your character that will interest editors and agents, rivet your readers from the first page to the last, and leave them longing for your next book.

My last advice is don’t skimp on research, because your readers in-the-know WILL call you out on your errors. LOL! Yet don’t add EVERY detail either or your readers will be bored to tears and lost in the unfamiliar technical jargon.

The most important thing I want to mention when researching and creating characters with unique careers is to be as honoring as possible to those careers. That way the “real” heroes and heroines out there will be honored by the stories rather than offended. Word of mouth in those communities sell a LOT of books. Or not, depending on how you portray their career.

Ready-Made Family, Wings of Refuge series - In stores now! Leave a comment and be entered in a drawing for 1 of 3 copies of Ready-Made Family!

Amelia North needs refuge, and finds it--in Refuge, Illinois. Stranded there after a car wreck, the single mother expects to be cold-shouldered. After all, she’s already been rejected by her parents, her church and her daughter’s father. Instead, she finds a town full of people with open hands and hearts…including pararescue jumper Ben Dillinger.

Ben wants to help Amelia and her daughter find safety and stability. Instead, he finds himself freefalling—right into love with the ready-made family.

Read More