It seems to me that the end of October and first of November are just crammed with holidays/celebrations. Wonder why? Not sure if that applies to other parts of the year as well, but just saying, I was struck by this as I settled in to write this post. So, without further ado (but maybe a “Boo!” or two), here is some lists of reading lists as the months turn (with a special non-book-related link at the end). Image by  Larisa Koshkina  from  Pixabay Halloween (Oct. 31) Cozy Mystery List:  Halloween Mystery Book List   Elephant on the Road:  15 Spooky Romance Books To Read this Halloween Season   Goodreads Listopia (lists and more lists, by subgenre etc.):  Halloween Book Lists   Bookriot: New Horror Novels:  18 Books to Keep You Scared in 2021   Samhain (Oct. 31– Nov. 1) Goodreads Listopia:  Samhain reads   Best Kids’ Books:  Samhain   Irish Myths:  Samhain Reading List: 13 Frightening Works of Fiction for Ce...

When you upload your book to Amazon, you have the option of distributing to foreign markets and third parties. I have been surprised and delighted to see my books, which I don't market much, sell internationally. I have sold books in Germany, the UK, Canada, even India. Amazon continues to increase the number of countries to their roster. They currently have eighteen sites:  Australia  https://www.amazon.com.au/  (45 million customers) Canada  https://www.amazon.ca  (231 million customers) Brazil  https://www.amazon.com.br/  (115 million customers) France  https://www.amazon.fr/  (251 million customers)  Germany  https://www.amazon.de / (605 millions customers) India  https://www.amazon.in/ (295 million customers) Italy  https://www.amazon.it/ (270 million customers) Japan  https://www.amazon.co.jp/  (646 million customers)  Mexico  https://www.amazon.com.mx/  (89 million customers) Netherlands...

How do you choose the title of your book? Do you write the story, then give it a name? Or does the title come first and the story follows its lead? Or does the name evolve out of the developing WIP? Over a period of more than twenty years, my first novel's title and cover went through a number of changes before coming to rest under its current (and final) appearance and designation. Why did I have such a difficult time settling on the right title and look? First, I was a newbie at novel writing. Second, this likely happened in part because I wasn't at peace with one of my main characters. To take credit for this realization would be neither fair nor truthful. Over a period of a few years, two special writer friends, S. K. Randolph and Maryann Miller, urged me to take another look at my protagonist. The result: Katherine Kohler loosed the shackles holding her captive and evolved into a strong, decisive, admirable woman capable of carrying the story on her shoulders. Does this ma...

I just spent several days analyzing editor comments and corrections on a manuscript and fixing all those things the editor found that I had overlooked in my writing, revising, and self-editing passes over many, many months. Editors deserve so much praise for their knowledge of craft and story, the mistakes writers commonly make, and grammar and punctuation. We writers study and learn, but we invariably overlook repeated words or accidentally insert extra spaces as we enter changes. There are so many ways a writer can mess up a story. I know them all. At any rate, I went through all of my editor’s notes and made the fixes, then sent the manuscript back with my fingers crossed. Hopefully, I’ll get a passing grade this time. At least until the copy editor has her chance to check those dates, commas, ellipses, and all the other things copy editors look for.  You may have guess, all this happened because I now have a contract for my second novel of frontier fiction. In Defense of Delia ...

Patricia Smith February 15, 1949 - August 23, 2021 Bellingham, Washington In addition to being part of the Blood Red Pencil Team, Patricia Burkhart Smith was a journalist and experienced professional developmental editor, working for publishing companies and private clients, as well as running her own publishing company. She described herself as, "a writer who wants to explore the creative freedom the Internet provides. I am also the proud mother of two wonderful children, but I still haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up, or even if I want to grow up. However, I am certainly tired of "growing out," hence, this blog." Pat always said she had more hobbies than Hobby Lobby and her interests included gardening, cooking, mineral collecting, lapidary work, jewelry making, natural health, herbs, sewing, needlework, and stained glass. Her published works included: Fifty Shades of Santa: Clean and Wholesome Romance Short Story Antholog y Christian Family...

To borrow from a famous politician, changing one word, Villains are people too, my friend. Yes, they are, and they need to be written with the same care that you give your main characters. They need to be full-bodied, three-dimensional people with a backstory that, though you might hate them, you see why they developed as they did. We want to know what made them who they are, and if you fail to do this, you might be writing a cardboard villain. It doesn’t take much finesse to write totally evil characters, sneering and plotting the most dastardly crimes, but that doesn’t make them whole, and it doesn’t make them memorable or believable. The best villains are pitted against the noble hero/heroine: Lex Luthor vs Superman, Hannibal Lecter vs Clarice Starling. I remember reading Thomas Harris’s Silence of the Lambs , and Lecter was the epitome of evil. A sociopath, he had no moral compass, no reason he turned out the way he does. So why is he so compelling as a character? I believe in ...

It was with a sad heart that I read about the recent death of author Pat Smith ( Patricia B. Smith ) . Not only was she an accomplished author, she was a valued member of the Blood-Red Pencil blogging team due to the many insightful posts she wrote, as well as her kind and generous spirit. From the time she joined as a regular blogger, she fit into our little family of friends and colleagues. Most of us have never met in person, but we’ve forged bonds through the years that are deep and strong. Such was the case with Pat.   Patricia B. Smith After she got sick and was in so much pain, she still managed to get her blog posts written almost every month. She still managed to respond to the rest of us in our times of need. And she still managed to support everyone with comments on our blog posts. I was especially touched when she shared her kind spirit with me. We both had episodes of severe pain over the past few years, and if I shared my struggles with the team she never failed ...

Beta readers: what are they and where do you find them? Firstly, alpha and beta readers aren't the same thing. An alpha reader is someone who reads your draft and helps you with story development as you write it. You need someone qualified to analyze story structure with knowledge of the expectations of your genre. A terrific, qualified critique group can serve as your alpha readers. There are many places to connect with other writers willing to work together, virtually as well as in person. I built my critique group by going to local writing events. Finding Your Tribe A beta reader is someone who reads your completed, polished novel and spots problems. They react to the content. Some authors consult sensitivity / diversity readers to evaluate their content for political correctness. Please note that alpha and beta readers are not a replacement for editing, though they catch typos. Unless your critique partners are experienced editors willing to work for free, it is best to fi...

The more I write and the more I edit, for myself and for my clients, the harder it is for me to read for pleasure and not want to whip out that old red pencil. Sigh... Most of the time I've been able to ignore some simple craft issues. There seem to be more and more lately in so many published books, so I've told myself to throw away the editing hat, and the writing hat, and just read. That works for a while, then I come across another book by an author with a penchant for going to extremes in finding active verbs that absolutely make no sense in the sentence.  For instance: "Frank ditched around the door and headed for the desk." And: "Sam jammed out of the dining room and grabbed his briefcase before leaving for work."  Changing common verbs to something unique seems to be a thing now in writing, and I get it. We often tire of using the same ol' same ol' words for a character's movements. I can get so tired of having a character simply walk...

I admit I have not read any of Neil Gaiman's books. I should probably remedy that. I have, however, enjoyed the TV series Lucifer . I was on the fence about the new series Sandman based on comics which are described as "a dark, fantastical, fearless genre-bending riot of creative storytelling." The story breaks genre expectations.

Click to enlarge Pages 50-51 of The Tough Guide to Fantasyland (OMT stands for "Official Management Term")   We’ve covered the use of tropes in fiction this month, so it’s apt to end July with a review of the ultimate in tropic tongue-in-cheek fantasy fun. Diana Wynne Jones wrote The Tough Guide to Fantasyland in 1996, and followed it up with The Dark Lord of Derkholm in 1998, and its sequel, The Year of the Griffin , published in 2000. Derkholm and The Tough Guide go hand-in-hand, although they can be read as standalones without spoilers. The Tough Guide is a dictionary of fantasy tropes, written as though the reader is on a tour of a theme-park-style world – an alphabetical list of what to expect. The Dark Lord of Derkholm is that tour, from the point of view of the world’s “Dark Lord”. With a twist. The people and resources of “Fantasyland” have been exploited for generations by Mr Chesney, the owner of a specialist tour company that runs adventure holidays in the...

Others have started their posts this month on tropes with the definition. I shall be no different. A literary trope : the use of figurative language, via word, phrase, or an image, for artistic effect such as using a figure of speech. The word trope has also come to be used for describing commonly recurring literary and rhetorical devices, motifs, or clichés in creative works. How does a writer avoid hackneyed plot tropes? The hard-drinking cop/detective who can’t forget his mistake that cost a life. The single woman who goes back to her hometown to either care for an ailing relative, attend a class reunion/funeral, or for a hundred other reasons, and reconnects with the hometown love of her life who dumped her. The serial killer who kidnaps women and how the latest victim does him in or the persistent detective finds him before he kills her. The female cop trying to prove herself in the face of misogynist male cops who typecast her as a lightweight. We know there’s nothing new....

I wish I knew the answer to that question. Maybe by the time I finish my homework, I'll get it. As a writer who understands rules, guidelines, and beats, I’m never happy when writers and editors come up with new words to describe old concepts. I ignore. I resist. I pretend it’s not happening. Yes, I do the same thing in life when linguists, academicians, and activists try to alter the language I’m accustomed to. I guess that makes me old-fashioned, stuck in the past, or maybe just plain old. Regardless of my excuse, I can no longer stick to my guns when it comes to the word “trope.” Haha, my Word editor just typed “tripe.”  I’m currently writing a cozy mystery, mindful of the cozy rules: no on-the-page violence, no despicable language, and no graphic sex. Pixabay     Now must I understand what tropes are to avoid stereotypes in setting, characters, and plot? If I want to write a series, do I have to learn the difference between novel tropes and series tropes? Geesh. So ...

I read a lot of Fantasy. I love the rich worldbuilding. I love magic. I love fantastical creatures. The ultimate pleasure is disappearing into a rich, enchanting, new world with memorable characters. We are tackling tropes on the Blood Red Pencil this month, so I wanted to touch on a few troublesome, perhaps trite, Fantasy tropes and suggest ways to change them. 1. The Chosen One In a sense, the Protagonist is always the "chosen one." The protagonist is the character who ultimately solves the overall story problem. That said, they don't literally have to be "chosen" or "destined." They may just have the right skills, knowledge, or determination to win the day. I liked the character Kaz Brekker in Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows because he wasn't a "chosen one." She left that up to Alina in the Shadow and Bone series. Kaz was motivated to overcome adversity because of a rough childhood. He wasn't "perfect" or infallible. H...