Story Time . . . with Dr. Seuss

Story Time . . . with Dr. Seuss

by | Sep 8, 2009 | What We're Reading

I know, I know, this isn’t my usual idea of “story time.” But as I’ve been reading different books to my daughter and noting which get my 18-month-old son’s attention, it’s got me on yet another Dr. Seuss kick. So why not share? LOL.

Last summer I bought Xoe a huge “collection” book of Dr. Seuss stories, and she immediately latched onto “What Was I Scared Of?” Although she calls it “Green Pants.” For good reason, but it’s still cute. While we were going through the great travail of potty training, we read this story so many times that I STILL have it memorized.

As a writer, I find children’s books very interesting. They don’t follow the rules we’re encouraged to observe in fiction-for-adults, and wouldn’t work if they did. The writing is often what would be deemed terrible by adult standards. But they work because they appeal to their readership and, in the case of Dr. Seuss, capture the imagination with fabulous rhyme and rhythm.

In my opinion, the mark of a good rhyming poem of story is the one that gets stuck in your head not in words, but in cadence. When you go around going “Du du du du du DUM; dunna dun uh, du dum du dah.” (Okay, really pathetic attempt there, LOL, but you get the idea.) The kids pick up on it just like we do, and it helps them remember the words, learn about rhyming, and improve their vocabulary. Last summer we were reciting “Green Pants” in the car, and when I forgot the next line, Xoe would give me a prompt. It was great.

I love Dr. Seuss books because the grab my kids’ attention and hold on. They entertain, they educate, and they spur their imagination. When my youngest, who will not sit still for ANY book, stops to listen to the fun sound of a Dr. Seuss, when my daughter recites it with me, when I pause after a line to say, “Wow, that’s brilliant,” then you know you have a winner. Dr. Seuss will forever remain one of my favorites, and I’m loving the excuse to rediscover his work with my kids.

Modern . . . Title Followup

by | Sep 7, 2009 | Modern Mondays

I was going to post the Title Contest results in a weekend blog, then I thought, “Nah. Monday’s a holiday, I can be lazy and do that in place of my normal post.” Mwa ha ha ha.

So pooling all the votes from the different sites my blog posts too (ShoutLife and Facebook, by the way), Yesterday’s Tides won by two votes, with The Storm Still Raging coming in second and Deeper than the Sea getting third.

The winning title was inspired by Sandi Rog, so I will be emailing her shortly with a choice of three out of the four books, and send the other to our third place winner, Mary Proctor. (Second place is my mom, and she said “No books, please.” Perhaps because she has little shelving. Perhaps because she’d already read most of them, lol.) So congrats to these two lovely ladies who will soon be enjoying some fine reading!

I had a lot of fun with this and am going to keep it in mind for future brainstorming needs. You all rock! Now, off to enjoy my lazy holiday. Hope everyone has a good one!

My Friends Choose Awesome Titles!

by | Sep 4, 2009 | Misc.

Instead of spotlighting an author friend today, I’m spotlighting my awesome readers, who have rocked out the title contest. I was truly amazed at the creativity y’all showed, and the lists a few of you came up with.

Several people said they had no interest in the free books, just wanted to play, and some of their suggestions were oh-so-good. So here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m going to pick some finalists. You all are going to vote. The books will either go to the winner or, if the winner was one who didn’t want the books, I’ll divvy them up between the other finalists.

Ready? Drumroll please! . . . .

The Storm Still Raging (my mom)
Awaken the Dawn (Kristen)
Deeper than the Sea (Mary)
Yesterday’s Tides (a rewording of one of Sandi’s)
Tempest of the Heart (Debbie Lynn, though I took out a word;-)

So get voting! And lemme just say . . . you guys warmed my heart with your enthusiasm for the story as well as the contest. This is totally how I’m going to decide on titles from now on, lol.

Thoughtful About . . . Rewrites

by | Sep 3, 2009 | Thoughtful Thursdays

Many, many moons ago I started writing a book. Well, it started as a short story, which pivoted around the crucifixion. As I went through college, I kept bringing it out over holidays and summer breaks, writing, writing, writing. I had a hard time writing it when class was in session, because both school and the story were so intense that I couldn’t hold both in my little brain;-) But because the first two years of my college focused on the era, I absorbed. Sponged. Took notes. I finally finished the book within a week of my college graduation.

Now, my hubby had spent the past for years working in printing and felt led to start a print shop of his own. Only, he didn’t want to print business cards. He wanted to published books. So naturally, we decided that I was the only possible person to use as a guinea pig, lol. Hence why A Stray Drop of Blood was the launching title of WhiteFire Publishing. He has since added other titles to the WFP lineup, learned a lot . . . and I’ve learned a lot about writing. So. My publisher and I (ahem) have decided it’s time to do Stray Drop justice and start over. (Okay, partly because we’re running out of hardbacks [woo hoo!] and don’t want it to go out of print, so have decided to release a paperback. And since that requires a new ISBN anyway, I might as well improve the book too!)

For my husband, this decision is a lot of logistics, most of them nightmarish. For me, it means going back through a book I love and hacking it to pieces. I love it the way it is. I do. And if the only people to read it were readers, I’d leave it as it is. But I have a lot of writing friends now, and I’m totally embarrassed to let them read my headhopping and adverbs and . . . lol. So I’m going to take a few weeks and “correct” my manuscript. Trim it down. Make it tighter. And, please Lord, improve the story I still adore, which I believe in to the core of my being.

That said, I’m going to need endorsers (already have a few) and influencers (ditto), a new cover design (have a few ideas but lack the skill to do them), and time to work (don’t know where I’m gonna pull that from). If anyone is interested in taking on one of the first three slots (or play babysitter, lol), let me know! Cover designer will obviously be paid. Influencers and endorsers will receive a copy of the book and my eternal gratitude. 😉

You can see info on the book at my website to get an idea of what it’s about and if you’d find it interesting.

Remember When . . . Sears Sold Houses?

by | Sep 2, 2009 | Remember When Wednesdays

First, don’t forget the TITLE CONTEST, detailed on Monday! Now, onto the real post . . .

In my ’20s research for Mafia Princess, I checked a book out of the Library that got into very detailed descriptions about the time. One of the most interesting things I came across was drawings for houses that you could order from the Sears catalogue. I mean, lol. Housewares, sure. But houses?

The layout of houses changed greatly around that time. Back in the day, rooms were small and many because of the heating source–keeping them small cut down on the transfer of smoke and dust from one room to another. But as cleaner fuels and electric heating gained prominence, rooms opened up. Got bigger, but fewer in number. Interesting, huh? I didn’t realize until then that that’s why really old houses have so many teensy tiny rooms.

In the same (or nearby, anyway) section of the book, it talked about the extreme dichotomy between rural and urban life. In the country (read: where I live), it looked like it had for the last century. Horses, buggies, no electricity . . . indoor plumbing wasn’t a must. (I shudder at the thought.) In the cities, everyone had electricity, cars were more numerous than horses, and I daresay the advent of bathrooms that included toilets were welcomed with open arms.

When I eventually sit down to write the sequel to Mafia Princess, which will be titled Gangster’s Girl, part of the book will travel to my hometown of Cumberland, Maryland. I’m looking forward to this–I get to go to all the historical stuff around here and try to get an idea of what this place looked like in the ’20s, when it was a booming railroad city instead of one barely larger than a town. Back then, we’d earned our nickname of Queen City, being the second largest in the state. And I can just see my bobbed blonde sauntering down the brick streets!

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