Knowing when to stop
You’d think by now I’d know how to spell the word “corral” as many time as I’ve used it, both in The Cowboy’s Baby and now in my new novel Arroyo. But I have to look it up in the dictionary every time. I want to type it as “corall”, which isn’t a recognized word to begin with, and I keep having anxiety attacks thinking I have writted “coral” every time. I am in the process of proofreading Arroyo for the very last time, but to be honest, what I’m really doing is copyediting it, changing things here and there that don’t quite seem right.
You have to know when to stop. There has to come a time when good enough is good enough, because there isn’t a thing you can write that can’t be changed (maybe for the better, maybe for the worst) if you keep on working on it. Ten years from now when I re-read The Cowboy’s Baby and Arroyo and whatever else I will have written in this time span, I know I’ll see things that could have been done better. Dean Wesley Smith has written a column about this that I’ve taken to heart, because I think he’s right. He says the more you re-write things from the original draft the more you lose your unique voice, which is what makes your novel worth reading even in a sea of others just as good. His article is contained in the Killing The Sacred Cows of Publishing section of http://deanwesleysmith.com
So, when I get to “the end” this time, this will be the stopping point for Arroyo (The Cowboy’s Baby has been on its own for more than a year now). Time to take a short break and then begin the next story. First up, The Taking of Rhinoceros 456, a short story. And then a mystery novel that’s only a germ of an idea in my mind right now. I’m calling it Talking To The Dead Guys, a Boo-Done-It mystery.
WHAT I READ THIS WEEK—Fever Dream by Preston & Child.
Photos by Roxanne Rix
Look for The Cowboy’s Baby at http://amzn.com/B003UYUVZC and for When Gymkhana Smiles at http://amzn.com/B005CWGIQ6. In about a month they will be joined by Arroyo, a paranormal Western.
Jan Hudson’s The Twin
You are going to love this Texas-centric romance novel The Twin.
An easy read full of humor and Texas warmth, The Twin by Jan Hudson is about beautiful Sunny Outlaw Payton, one of the two twin sisters owning the Austin chili restaurant Chili Witches. It’s Sunny who falls in love with a Texas Ranger while getting to know the fabulous Outlaw family she’s never met. She and her sister Cass are from the illegitimate side of the family tree and always assumed they’d be unwelcome. They quickly find out otherwise. It’s a great clan.
Clever, amusing, good-natured romantic tension permeates this short Harlequin American Romance novel, one of a series featuring the Texas Outlaw family. The Twin will leave you feeling good. It will leave you craving chili. And it may even leave you hooked on Jan Hudson books. Click on the Look Inside feature at Amazon.com and read the first couple of pages for free. Bet you buy the book. Link to it at
WHAT I’VE READ THIS WEEK—The Twin by Jan Hudson.
Photos by Roxanne Rix
Author Events
I just scored tickets to the author event of the year: A Conversation With Stephen King. I have actually met him before, a long time ago at the World Fantasy Convention that celebrated Fritz Leiber as guest of honor, but this may be my last chance for an autograph, seeing how Mr. King doesn’t do many book signings and probably no conventions anymore. So, I’m very pleased at this opportunity.
I just finished being a guest author myself, at Evening With The Authors in my small town of Lockhart, Texas. It was a casual and fun event that ended with me selling and autographing fifteen books. Fifteen books was not a chore. But can you imagine signing maybe five hundred books? I’ve been to plenty of book signings, the best of them being at BookPeople in Austin, Texas, and usually there are less than a hundred people there. Signing a hundred books while people wait in line for you has got to be damned hard too, but it’s not five hundred. I feel a little sorry for Stephen King.
Why do we want our books signed? For some of us, I suspect, it’s the perceived added value to the book. We can sell it on E-Bay for more. But for others of us, it’s the knowledge that someone we admire actually left their signature on something we possess, and that maybe they gave us a bit of their personal attention when we talked to them. Years later we re-read their work and remember the meeting. (I will always remember meeting George R.R. Martin, but I’m still buying his books anyhow.)
I wonder what memories meeting me Saturday night and having me sign The Cowboy’s Baby http://amzn.com/B003UYUVZC will elicit later in the life of that book. I heard the food was really good at the event. The weather was great. There were few-to-no mosquitoes. And good company. I also heard that one copy of my book is going to Baghdad where the recipient works at the American Embassy. That is so cool! I hope they like it.
So, go out and meet Stephen King this fall as he promotes his newest novel 11/22/63, and tell him thanks for sharing his stories with us.
WHAT I READ THIS WEEK—Roses by Leila Meacham. The Miniaturist by Jay Bonansinga. Still Life With Murder by Patricia Ryan.
Wordless Wednesday
Blogs
I spend too much time reading other people’s blogs. Granted, I’ve learned a lot from them and continue to do so. But I need to be writing more novels and short stories instead.
That said, if you also are a writer, here are some people you need to be keeping in touch with.
1. Kristine Kathryn Rusch. She posts about once a week and knows a lot about the publishing business, both from the writer’s viewpoint and the publisher’s, having been both. http://kriswrites.com
2. Dean Wesley Smith, husband of Kristine Kathryn Rusch. His Killing The Sacred Cows of Publishing series will open your eyes. He’s also offering comments on how he writes his newest short stories and offering them for free reading within a certain time span. http://www.deanwesleysmith.com
3. The Passive Guy. He ranges far and wide with his blogging and offers several different ones a day, but he is also a lawyer and often dissects bad contracts for his readers to understand. http://thepassivevoice.com
4. J.A. Konrath. Always controversial and often right. http://jakonrath.blogspot.com
Leave me a comment. Have you found someone interesting to follow? I have several more on my favorites panel, and check out others via twitter when they are highlighted, but the above are the ones I trust.
WHAT I’VE READ THIS WEEK—Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin.
Wordless Wednesdays
Last Call For Scare The Dickens Out Of Us
The postmark deadline for the ghost story writing contest Scare The Dickens Out Of Us is October 1, 2011. You’ve got just enough time to write that winning entry and get it in the mail. First place winner will get $1000.00 and a trophy. Second place will get $500.00 and a neat ribbon. Third place gets $250.00 and their own neat ribbon. The Junior contest winner gets $250.00 and a trophy. Runners up get ribbons.
Besides rewarding writers for the best ghost story we see, this contest is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Dr. Eugene Clark Library in Lockhart, Texas, the oldest library in Texas that has been in continuous use. The contest is privately funded. All the entry fee money goes to the Friends of the Library.
We have received some great stories in our three years of running this contest. They have come from all over the United States, Canada, and even from as far away as South Africa, Australia and England. We even get stories from Texas, though not as many as we would like. (Actually, only the correspondence coordinator ever knows who wrote the stories or where they are from until the contest is over. We did get asked once if we were Texas-biased. The answer is “no”.)
We get asked a lot of other questions too. Yes, it has to be a ghost story (not a zombie story or a devil story, etc). Yes, it can be gory. It can also be funny or touching or even, dare we say it, scary. You should type it in normal fonts and font sizes, doublespaced on one side of the paper (although we have seen entries that do none of the above). We will not reject you for not following the rules, except for the following: word count limit (5000 words and less), postmarked date of entry (no later than October 1), and lack of ghost in the story (you’d be surprised). And the Junior contest is only for ages 12-18.
Unfortunately for the judges, the majority of the entries will arrive the week the contest ends. Why not add yours to the pile. We’d love to read it. Full rules can be found at http://clarklibraryfriends.com and at http://rixcafetexican.com under the desserts tab.
WHAT I READ THIS WEEK–Number The Stars by Lois Lowry. And God Save The Mark by Donald E. Westlake. And Mile 81 by Stephen King.
Evening With The Authors
WHAT I READ THIS WEEK–A Pirate Looks At Fifty by Jimmy Buffett. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Flash Gold by Lindsay Buroker.
Lockhart has a very nice to-do every first Saturday in October called Evening With The Authors that raises money for the Dr. Eugene Clark Library. Dinner, wine, pleasant outdoor surroundings, tour of a Victorian house, and the opportunity to hobnob with writers (and to purchase their books). This is an offshoot of the Texas Book Festival that draws about 250 attendees.
This year I am one of the authors. I am very honored to be included. My book is The Cowboy’s Baby, available locally at Buffalo Clover http://buffalocloverflowerco.com and at Citrus Peel http://citruspeel.net and through the publisher Rix Cafe Texican http://rixcafetexican.com.
The other authors this year are Denniger Bolton, Vannetta Chapman, Elizabeth Engelhardt, Stephen Harrigan, Celia Hayes, James Hornfischer, Jeanette Larson, Christina Mandelski, and Wes Marshall.
If you’re interested in attending, check out http://eveningwiththeauthors.com .
AUTHOR LINKS:
http://utexas.edu/opa/experts/profile.php?id=1110
ALL PHOTOS ARE BY ROXANNE RIX
Another Wordless Wednesday, photos by Roxanne Rix
All photos by Roxanne Rix.