The Elevator Pitch

Today, we have a guest post from a talented, award winning writer, Elaine Faber. She Elaine Faberhas a number of mysteries published, including a four-book series centered around a cat who can actually solve crimes, and a three book series set during World War II.  She’s multi-published in magazines and over twenty anthologies. But today she’s telling us a little about her latest mystery, The Spirit Woman of Lockleer Mountain.  It weaves together mysteries about a secret government installation, a missing sister who may have amnesia, drug sales to teenagers, and sightings a illusive woman in a flowing green dress with a mountain lion, who just might be the legendary Native American Spirit Women.

And as you can see below, Elaine has an excellent sense of humor. You can expect to see some of that in this delightful book. And this book has a great cover that sells!

The blurb on the back of my latest mystery, “The Spirit Woman of Lockleer Mountainbriefly outlines the storyline. ‘While the government plans to build a secret facility, housing tract, and big box store that will easily put the local merchants out of business, someone is selling drugs to the teenagers on the nearby Native American reservation…

 In addition, the frequent  sightings of a mysterious woman in a flowing green dress accompanied by a mountain lion has Deputy Sheriff Nate Darling wondering if she is his missing sister, out of her mind and running with a mountain lion, or is she the legendary Native American Spirit Woman sent to help the troubled town?”

As an author, I always hold out hope for the chance to catch the attention of the big publishing house, but these days, agents are only interested in working with someone famous or possessing a platform of 10,000. We, of lesser fame and fortune must resort to Indie Publishing and self-promotion. Beyond writing a compelling plot and interesting dialogue, we must master the skills of publicist, bookkeeper, full time blogger, cover artist, and skilled orator, always keeping an eye open for opportunities to sell a book we happen to have handy in a large canvas bag.

I’ve become passably competent at most of the above skills, but I recently learned of another talent to master…In the off chance that I should run into that elusive literary agent on an elevator, or sipping a Carmel Macchiato at Starbucks, I must have memorized what is called in the publishing world, an “elevator pitch.” Once I have the agent’s momentary attention, I must deliver a compelling ‘hook,” and within sixty seconds, convince him everyone from a Texas cowboy to a New York stockbroker will buy my book with his last green dollar, and that it will become a Best Seller.

I have practiced my ‘elevator pitch’ in front of a three-way mirror and perfected where to smile, when to pause for special effect, and when to use hand motions to emphasize the final sentence.

Unfortunately, I fear if I should ever be fortunate enough to find myself on that much discussed elevator, in spite of good intentions and hours of practice, I expect the conversation would more likely go something like this.

Uh… You’re that Random House guy, right! Wait. Let me push this button and stop the elevator. I never thought… I have some notes here somewhere. Where is that paper? Well, never mind. I wrote a book, see? You’re not going anywhere special, right? About that book I wrote… You’re gonna love it. It’s called The Spirit Woman of Lockleer Mountain. Do you like cats? There’s a mountain lion. That’s a cat, right? This lady goes missing in an accident and then there’s a mountain lion and a Native American spirit woman shows up. So, about this cat…see….

****

The Spirit Woman of Lockleer Mountain is available at Amazon in e-book for $3.99.  http://tinyurl.com/y7rp7f3x

Elaine Faber is a member of Sisters in Crime, Cat Writers Association, and Northern California Publishers and Authors. Her short stories have appeared in national magazines.  Please leave a comment.  Click on “Leave a Reply” just below. We will respond.  Thanks.

 

The Vanishing Horse

Many years ago, I wrote a blog about a special Christmas gift I got for the kids.  I’ve been asked to repeat it this year. Since this is a difficult year, and a very difficult Christmas season, I am repeating the story.  I hope this brings a smile to your face. Most of all this year, we need to remember the good things of the past and not let the problems of today blind us to the good things we have experienced.

My second Christmas in Connecticut promised to be special. I had bought the house on Great Hill Road just a hundred feet from a quiet lake with maple, birch and spruce trees growing almost to the water line. The kids had ten free days to enjoy The Dolphin, a small row boat which they had helped refinish and paint, and which they could easily manage. If it turned cold enough and the lake froze, the ice skates would come out. And, though they didn’t know it, they were going to have a spectacular gift.

Earlier in the month, after considerable research, I traveled into central Connecticut to look at horses. The selection process proved to be horse-angrycomplicated. A horse named Trouble pawed the ground, snorted, and would have bitten me had I not been considerably quicker than I am now. A second horse, Lightning, slept through the interview, barely managing to put two feet ahead of the other two. He failed to make the cut. The next candidate, Cara, passed with flying colors—until price entered the picture. Grace, a lovely sorrel, had two—no, make that four—left feet.

Eventually, I found a beautiful, if not young, roan with a gentle, if occasionally obstinate, disposition named Cheyenne. After a brief ride, I purchased Cheyenne.

Marvin Whittle, who was employed at the research lab where I worked, owned a stable right in town, not far from our house on Great Hill. We came to an agreement and I made arrangements to have Cheyenne transported from central Connecticut to the Whittle Farm.

Never in my life had I bought a saddle, but now I shopped and evaluated. What did I know about such things? There were western saddles and eastern saddles, but no southern saddles. Curious. I discovered that Western meant big and comfortable while eastern meant small and uncomfortable. Just like the states. I opted for a Texas style, not so big that the girls could not handle it, and with the proper leather smell.

Then came a bridle, blankets, and a source for hay.  Wouldn’t a dog have been simpler?

A week before Christmas, I had the present—Cheyenne and all the necessary items to outfit him, house him, and even feed him for the first month. Early on Christmas eve, I moved Cheyenne from the Whittle Farm to a neighbor’s near-by home. Things moved along as smooth as a well used halter.

christmas-tree-3The children were nestled all snug in their beds, with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. I slipped out, sneaked down a quarter mile to the neighbor’s house, and on tip-toes, lead Cheyenne to our place, and tied him securely to a bush outside the front of the house.

The land bordering on this part of Great Hill sloped down to the beautiful lake. Most houses, and ours was no exception, faced the lake. The main floor of the house, while at ground level on the side nearest the road, projected out eight feet above the ground on the lake side. Positioning Cheyenne in front of the house kept him well below the sight lines from bedrooms and the living room where the tree twinkled and presents waited impatiently to be unwrapped.

As was tradition, the kids arose before the sun, leaping from deep sleep to hyper-active as quick as a sneeze, clamoring to see what Santa had deposited in our living room. (They never expected to find only a lump of coal. In fairness, I guess they never deserved such.)

Christmas and presents, even if meager, generate excitement, screams of joy, and only occasionally envy. This Christmas was little different, if somewhat subdued. In truth, Santa had not been as generous as had been his habit in years past. Even those holidays when I was in graduate school looked somewhat fatter than this year. So, while it is not fair to say they were disappointed, well—it didn’t take long to open Santa’s leavings.

After a slight delay, wanting them to enjoy the non-horse items, I invited them to follow me outside. This produced a few groans, and actually made the Christmas offerings look a lot better and difficult to leave. But since I knew how excited they would be over the horse, I persisted. We exited the back and with a sly grin on my face I led them around to the front of the house.

Triumphantly, we turned the corner to find—nothing. No Christmas horse. No Cheyenne. No saddle. No blanket. No bridle.

To say I was stunned is to say the Sahara is a sand pile. Horse thieves in Connecticut? The kids, not knowing what to expect, just looked at me … expectantly. What was the big surprise? I knew what my surprise was. No Cheyenne.

Pulling myself together, not wanting to look too lost in front of the kids, I surveyed the area. Not only was the horse missing, the large bush he had been tied to was gone as well. Why would rustlers take my bush?

I mumbled some nonsense and sent the kids back inside to play with their meager cache. Slowly, I became a cunning tracker. Before long, I was picking out signs, some of which I will not describe, with the skill of an Indian brave trainee. After only a quarter mile, I heard the sound I had expected earlier: excited children. Rounding a clump of cedars, there was Cheyenne—as well as two young kids thrilled with the newfound present Santa had left for them.

I eased up, saying some soothing, cheerful things to the young boy and girl as I endeavored to take the reins. They clutched the leather tighter, accusing me of trying to steal their Christmas present. I bent low, hoping not to look like a towering monster, and spoke softly with an angelic smile on my face. Logic had always been a strong point for me, so I explained to them, in child-like terms, what had happened.

I remained the evil Grinch.

With some subterfuge, I got one end of the reins, and shielded it from the now screaming girl. But my gain amounted to little, as the boy instantly clamped his tiny hands around the stirrup. The boy’s cries now echoed hers and people on the other side of the lake came out on porches to see what malfeasance had come to Rainbow Lake.angry-woman2

Trouble was closer at hand. An angry mother burst out of the nearby house, ready to kill the miscreant trying to kidnap, or otherwise harm, her children. She was followed by a big, burly man, surely seven feet tall, who’s eyes did not exhibit the Christmas spirit.

paul-bunyonThe woman ran to her children, shielding them from scoundrel me, questioning them as to what I had done. The man, his Paul Bunyan legs requiring few steps to traverse the distance, grilled me. I quickly recognized he was a seven foot interrogator for the CIA.

At long last, logic arrived on the scene, tardy as usual in such situations. The children finally managed to sob that I was taking their horse. Santa had left their present outside, since it was too big to go down the chimney. They had found it, and now, Scrooge was trying to steal it.

With the aid of the one rein still attached to the bush, I described how Cheyenne uprooted his hitching post and wandered down to their yard.

The mother’s translation did not cheer the children. But they were somewhat mollified when I promised to bring Cheyenne down and let them ride him later in the day.

horse-1a           Needless to say, when I once more enticed my children outside to meet Cheyenne, Christmas became a lot brighter. He was an instant star, and continued to be their favorite even when, a year later, a younger, more beautiful buckskin named Major joined Cheyenne in the family circus.

James R. Callan

Rejection ! !

 

 

Today’s blog will be brief, because no one wants to dwell too long on a rejection.  But, so you know you are not alone, here are some rejections that other writers have received.

Shakespeare’s name, you may depend on it, will go down. He has no invention as to stories, none whatever. —Lord Byron (1814)

A huge dose of hyperbolical slang, maudlin sentimentalism and tragic-comic bubble and squeak. —William Harrison Ainsworth, New Monthly Magazine, review of Moby Dick by Herman Melville (1851)

The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the “curiosity” level. —The Diary of Anne Frank

A gross trifling with every fine word. —Springfield Republican, review of Huckleberry Finn (1884)

Ralph Waldo Emerson [is] a hoary-headed and toothless baboon. —Thomas Carlyle, Collected Works (1871)

I am sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just do not know how to use the English language.
—San Francisco Examiner, rejection letter to Kipling (1889)

 

It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA. —Animal Farm by George Orwell

We fancy that any child might be more puzzled than enchanted by this stiff, silly, overwrought story. —Children’s Books’ review of Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carrol (1865)

 

And I’ll close with one I personally received from an editor at one of the big five publishers in New York for the first book I wrote.  In part, it said,  “Totally unrealistic. As an example, you have the man talking to his computer.”

If you’ve received an equally rediculous rejection, please leave a comment and share the rejection with us  Thanks.

Jim

 

 

 

Anthologies

Of late, I’ve received a number of questions regarding anthologies.    So today, I’m going to talk about anthologies.

First, what is an anthology?  In the simplest terms, an anthology is a collection of written works. It can be a collection of poems, plays, short stories, songs, novellas, or excerpts from longer books. These do not have to be related in any way, although often there is a theme associated with the anthology. There is not a real limit on how many – no minimum and no maximum.  The works are generally chosen by a compiler, which can be a single person or a committee.  An anthology generally contains works by several authors. However, there is nothing preventing an anthology containing various works of a single author. And, today, anthology may be used for a series of TV shows, or recordings of a single group or performer.

So, there is much room for an anthology to take various forms.  But, here are some suggestions to consider if you or your group is thinking about producing an anthology.

It is often a good idea to have a specific theme for the anthology.  For instance, an anthology of mystery short stories. Or an anthology of great opening chapters. How about an anthology of poems associated with Valentine’s day? An anthology of one-act plays.  It is best to have a defined theme, but one not so narrowly focused that few items will be submitted.

Along with a specific theme, a specific goal should be set. It should be in writing, agreed upon by those involved, and re-read at every meeting. Some examples of a goal might be to highlight the writing talent of the best in your group, or area, or whatever domain you are choosing. Or, it might be to give a chance at publication to many who have not been able to achieve that yet. It could be to reward many authors who submitted an entry to your contest, or selected people who attended your conference.  Please note, this is generally different from the theme, although it is certainly possible the two could be the same, or similar.

While we are on the subject of a goal, the organizers must decide how finances will be handled. How will the project cover expenses upfront? Decisions need to be made early whether the anthology will be sold for a profit, or given away. I recommend, for anthologies made up of works from authors without a huge following, it is agreed that royalties will not be paid. Naturally, this must be determined before the call for entries. If the project pays for the expenses of production and a surplus exists, from the beginning those submitting works should agree any profits be used either to fund the next project, or donated to help the library or some other group fostering literacy. If you have high profile authors involved, then the division of royalties should be clear before submissions are sought.

It is best if the anthology is viewed as a group project. This is particularly true in the early stages. Get the group behind it and you are halfway there. A committee can and should work on finding participants (authors), help in the selection process, and offer to proofread the document before submitting it for publication.

However, it is best to have one editor. There can be a committee to help during the selection process. But when you are getting down to the final editing, while several may read for possible mistakes, a single person should be making the final decisions. Committees can get hung up with differing opinions and the project can grind to a halt.  In the end, one person has to be in charge to complete the project.

Anthologies can be an excellent project for a writing group. It can generate a lot of enthusiasm and participation. It can serve as excellent publicity, and often results in increased membership. Anthologies often prompt people who are reluctant to write, or to try for publication, to overcome that hesitation and become an active writer.

And they can be fun.

James R. Callan

Please add your thoughts on anthologies.  We can get an anthology of thoughts on anthologies.  Click the “comments” below.

The Mystery of Writing

Today’s guest blogger is Patricia Gligor, a Cincinnati writer of mysteries. Her latest is Small Town Mystery series, Book #2 – Murder at Maple Ridge.  She’s had a varied career, including managing a sporting goods department and proprietor of a resume writing service. But her passion has always been writing fiction. Here she talks about the mystery of writing.

 

I’ve always been in awe of the writing process. And, after seven published novels, I’m still amazed – maybe more than ever – at how writers’ minds work, including my own.

I love old houses and, several years ago,I went for a walk in my neighborhood and happened upon an old Victorian. As I stood gazing at the house, I thought about what it would say if its walls could talk. And the first book in my five-book Malone mystery series, Mixed Messages, was born. My twenty plus years in Alanon, a 12-step program for the friends and families of alcoholics, helped me to create two of the characters and gave me a subplot that would continue throughout the series.

I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and I’ve always wondered what it would be like to live in a small town. In my first Small Town Mystery, Secrets in Storyville, I explored that possibility. I worked in retail for many years, managing a sporting goods department, and I had lots of stories to tell – through the eyes of my main character. I’ve had friends ask me which scenes really happened and which were figments of my imagination.

Which brings me to my newest release: Murder at Maple Ridge. Once again, an old house inspired me. One I’d driven by – and admired – for many years on the way to a park about an hour from where I live. The knowledge I gained working in sporting goods – about firearms and hunting –was invaluable.

So, although I know what inspired me to write each book, the question remains: Where did the ideas come from to fill all those blank pages? How, as I write, do just the right people, places and things from my life experiences pop into my mind? How do physical and personality traits of people I know or have met, bits and pieces of overheard conversations, places I’ve lived or visited and a multitude of other things coalesce to create the characters, the plot and the setting for a book?

I’ll probably never know the answers to those questions but that’s fine with me because the not knowing, the endless possibilities, is what makes writing an adventure – and a mystery.

To read about her books and/or to order them, go to: http://tinyurl.com/8sd2cz4    

And we’d love to hear your “mysteries” in the writing process. Click on the little balloon at the upper right of this blog to get to the comments.  OR, down below the icons for FB, Twitter, etc, and click on “replies.”

 

The Story Behind the Story – with Giveaway

Today’s guest blogger is Donna Schlachter, who also writes as Leeann Betts   Donna writes historical suspense. Double Jeopardy is her latest, due out in January, 2020. She and her alter ego Leeann have published more than thirty novellas and full-length novels.  They are active in American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime and other groups.  She lives in Denver with her husband, Patrick. Today, she gives us the story behind the story, plus a chance to receive a free book.

The story behind the story is often told in the form of back cover copy on the book, but I think it goes way beyond that. Sure, that bit on the back tells us a little about the main characters, the overall plot, and perhaps some about the decisions the main characters must make, because always—let me repeat this—always the choices they are faced with conflict with each other. At first glance, it seems they cannot have everything.

So let’s delve a little deeper into the story behind the story.

Rebecca Campbell was born in New York City, the only child of wealthy socialite Matilda Applewhite Campbell and Robert Campbell. Her mother is everything Rebecca—Becky to her friends—wants to be. Beautiful. Poised. Confident. Instead, she seems doomed to inherit all her traits from her father, who she adores. Reckless. Impulsive. A daredevil.

Becky’s father is gone more than he’s home. When a year passes with no word from him, she sets out, on her own, for his last known location—Silver Valley, Colorado. On her arrival, she learns he has been murdered. Determined to make his mine a success—his last letter promised that as soon as he struck it rich, he’d send for her and her mother—and to find his killer, she settles in at the mine.

But somebody doesn’t want her to succeed. And after a series of accidents and near-misses, she admits she’s in over her head. And the only person she can trust is Zeke—or can she?

The hero is Ezekial Graumann. Most everybody calls him Zeke. Zeke and his family own a fairly large piece of land in southwestern Colorado near the town of Silver Valley. Zeke has two married brothers, as well as two unmarried sisters. In good years, with enough rain, their land can support the three families if they are diligent and careful with their stock. However, the last few years have seen droughts and not enough snowfall, and the grazing is poor. Zeke wants to build his own house, maybe get married and have his own family, but the land won’t support another household.

Unless he can buy water rights from a spread upstream. But he doesn’t have the money to do that. So he looks around town for some weekly work to earn enough to buy the water rights and receive his share of the family land.

And along comes Miss Rebecca Campbell. She is feisty, stubborn, and doesn’t know anything about mining. Yet her determination to find her father’s killer and her resolve to make his mine successful gnaws at Zeke’s heart. And soon he finds himself imagining what it would be like to have her at his side as his wife. Except she’s obviously not ranching material, either.

But when accidents happen at the mine that threaten her safety, he must acknowledge that his feelings for her are more than mere curiosity. Now he must choose between saving his ranch or saving this woman who has stolen his heart.

So what keeps them from getting what they want? The villain, of course. Suffice it to say, it is a man. This man is one of the longest-term residents of Silver Valley, a man of impeccable reputation. On the outside, he looks wealthy. Wears nice clothes. Speaks well. Sounds well-traveled and educated.

Except on the inside, he’s dark, greedy, and lazy. Well, lazy only in the sense he wants to get rich quick. He actually spends a lot of energy trying to cheat and steal his way into wealth. If only he’d use his superpowers for good.

 

I will randomly draw a name from all who leave a comment over the next nine days to win a print (US only) copy of Double Jeopardy. Which means, if you stop by every day and leave a comment, you’ll have nine entries.

Double Jeopardy is available at https://shoplpc.com/double-jeopardy/ Amazon.com, and fine booksellers in your area.

www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com Receive a free ebook simply for signing up for our free newsletter!

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DonnaschlachterAuthor

Books: Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ci5Xqq and Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2gZATjm

Why Forensic Accounting Makes for Good Mystery

Today’s guest blogger is Leeann Betts, a pen name for Donna Schlachter.  Leeann writes contemporary romantic suspense. Missing Deposits is the eleventh title in her cozy mystery series.  Leeann and Donna have published more than thirty novellas and full-length novels.  They are active in American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime and other groups.  Today, she talks about forensic accounting and the mystery, and gives us a chance to receive a free book.

And this is how she started and how she got to forensic accounting.

When I sat down 15 years ago to see if I had one book in me, I had no clue where to start.

And now, all this time and more than 30 books later, every time I face the blank page, it’s the same. Where to start?

I’m an avid reader of mysteries, particularly what is now known as cozy mysteries, but at the time were simply called Agatha Christie-like mysteries. If you mentioned the name “Jessica Fletcher”, and said your books were like that TV show, everybody knew exactly what you meant. Amateur sleuth, small-town settings that eventually expanded into New York City and major locations around the world, and a personal reason to solve the crime—usually a friend or relative was the victim or the suspect.

That was my basis. But I wanted a main character more like—well, like me. I didn’t have any idea how a teacher thought—Jessica. Or an older woman in a hamlet in England—Miss Marple. Or a retired detective from Belgium—Hercules Poirot.

I needed someone I could relate to. That hadn’t been done to death. No pun intended.

So I went to the library, and started strolling through the children’s section on occupation. And the word Forensic jumped out at me. CSI and NCIS were hot shows at the time, so I picked it up. And that’s where I learned about Forensic Accounting. In the days when I was in college and in the business workforce, we called those guys the Auditors or the Inspectors. They came in and went through all our work to make certain we were doing it correctly. To make certain nobody was embezzling funds. To ascertain clients’ trust funds were secure.

Being a forensic accountant requires specialized training, and involves ferreting out financial information, understanding its implications, and applying that understanding to the situation. It also means preparing reports, spilling the beans on somebody, and testifying in court.

While a lot of people think accountants are boring, Carly Turnquist is out to prove them wrong.

And in case you think forensic accounting can’t be an exciting or important job, just remember: Al Capone was imprisoned for tax evasion by the 1930’s equivalent of a forensic accountant.

Question: When you read a series, do you have to start at the first book, or can you still enjoy the series if you pick and choose?  Leave a comment for a chance to receive a free copy of this book.

About Missing Deposits:

When a rancher discovers copper on his property, he learns that mining can be dangerous business. Can Mike and Carly figure out who the killer is, or will they end up buried in an unmarked grave in western Colorado?

We will randomly choose from amongst the comments for a free print (US only) or ebook (winner’s choice) copy of Missing Deposits.

Paul Paris won a free book by commenting on last week’s blog.  You could be the winner this week – IF you leave a comment. And you can get entered EACH time you leave a comment. 

Website: www.LeeannBetts.com Receive a free ebook just for signing up for our quarterly newsletter.

Blog: http://www.AllBettsAreOff.wordpress.com

Books: Amazon http://amzn.to/2dHfgCE  and Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2z5ecP8

What’s in a Name?

Have you read a book lately that had a character with an interesting name? Did you wonder where that name came from?  Did the name just pop into the author’s head?  Or was it an accident – that turned out to be fortuitous?  Or is it a name that will become an icon of the future?

Suppose Margaret Mitchell had named her protagonist Jane.  Would that have started the reader with a different impression than when she chose Scarlett?  Before we even meet Scarlett we have a feeling about her.  Scarlett reminds us of heat, emotion, energy, fire.  We expect a fiery, energetic, volatile woman.

Do we start out with a different impression if the man guy is named Winston or Joe?

J.K. Rowling is one of the most successful writers of our time.  Do you think she spent time on her characters’ names – and not just the major characters?  And did they start us out with an impression?  Draco Malfoy?  Nymphadora Tonks?  Ron Wesley? Servius Snape?  Those names did not just trip off her tongue; she worked to come up with them.   Why, with all those great names, did she name the protagonist a rather plain name – Harry Potter?  Perhaps she wanted to give us the impression that he was an ordinary person, a reluctant hero.

The name is part of the character.  Why do some people change their name in real life?  Because they want a different persona, a different outward expression that better reflects how they feel about themselves, how they want to be viewed.  So you, the writer who is creating this character, need to decide how the character views herself.

In Deadly Additive,  Donn Taylor named a secondary character who always operated on the edge, Brinkman.  An accident?  I don’t think so.  Ian Fleming gave us some insight into the character of his antagonist in The Richest Man in the World when he named him Auric Goldfinger.

Can the name mislead us?  Certainly, if you want it to.  Just don’t let it happen by mistake.  Tiffany can be a person who spends her life helping the homeless, living and eating with them, and then returning to her one-room under the Elevated. Maybe her parents are rich and she was to be a debutant.  But the girl wanted to do something more important.

You can use the name to help make the case for who this person is, or who the parents imagined she might be.  Holly Golightly was a happy, carefree woman.  Sam Spade was a straight forward, no-frills, hard-working person who dug for clues.

Suppose your heroine is named Catherine. If she calls herself Cat, that tells us how she sees herself, and how the reader should view her.

Select the names of your characters carefully.  Do not use the name as simply a way to distinguish one character from another.  Make a conscious effort to select a name that helps build your character.

You work hard to give your book a name that will entice the reader to pick it up and read.  Select your character name to make that character and your book memorable.

I’d love to hear your comments on your favorite names in books.

Free Ice Water

To those of you who have been with me for seven years, I apologize. But the other day, a friend ask me to reprise this blog.  So here it is.  It still has merit today.

On a recent road trip, we passed through Wall, South Dakota, and visited Wall Drugs.  That’s almost all there is in the small town.  But, it is something to see.  It now fills a square block, and claims to be the largest drug store in the country.  I have no doubt it is. It has many, many rooms for various items that might tempt a tourist to part with some dollars, play areas for kids, some excellent art, and a restaurant that can handle 500 people at a time.  Oh yes, there is a pharmacy, but it is almost lost among the opportunities to buy just about anything.

You have no trouble finding Wall Drugs. For a hundred miles east and west you will see signs along the highway for Wall Drug Store.  Many of them simply say, “Free Ice Water.  Wall Drug Store.”

Today, with our air-conditioned cars and fast food places every ten minutes, free ice water doesn’t seem to be much of a draw.  But back in 1931, things were different.

In 1931, the owners of Wall Drugs, a young pharmacist and his wife, were about to give up that hot summer.  They had agreed they would give it five years and if they couldn’t make it in that period, they’d pull up stakes and move to a big city. Their five years were almost up.

One hot day, the pharmacist’s wife came in and said she had an idea that might get some of the people driving down the highway to stop and come into the store. What did people really want on a hot summer day driving in a hot car through a dusty area?  Ice water. She suggested putting up signs on the highway that said, “Free Ice Water.”

The pharmacist and a high school boy drove out and put up the signs. Before they got back, cars were stopping and people were asking for free ice water.  Some of them decided to get ice cream. And some bought other things. Business began to grow. By the next summer, they had to hire eight girls to handle the sales.

In 2012, a good day will see 20,000 people come through the Wall Drug Store. The highway signs advertise many items sold at Wall Drugs. But many of the signs still read, “Free Ice Water.  Wall Drug Store.”  And “5 Ȼ Coffee,  Wall Drug Store.”  Yes, when you get there, you can get free ice water and you can still get a cup of coffee for 5 Ȼ.  But the customers spend much more than a nickel.  The same family still owns the store, although it has passed on to the children and grandchildren of the original couple who found a way to bring business into their store.

How did they do it?  They found what people really wanted and provided it.  But, it was the simple signs that brought the people in.  As writers, we need to decide what it is that people really want in a book. We must then provide it.  But the big step is to advertise it. Let people know that what they want is available.  The difference is that today, we will put our signs on the Internet highway.  People cruise down it every day, twenty-four hours a day.  We must get our signs out there.  Simple, to the point signs, that offer the public what they want.  Maybe we give something away.  It might be a first chapter.  It might be a drawing for a free book.  (You can’t afford to give a book to everybody.)  Maybe it only needs to be a very short blurb that entices the passerby to stop for a moment, read a bit more, maybe decide to buy.

The key is to provide what the public wants, and tell them about it so they can pass the word around.

One last thing. You’ll notice I didn’t say “readers.”  We might as well aim for a larger group.  Write a book that will bring more people into the reading community.  Expand our fan base. Find today’s “Free Ice Water” and put out those signs on the highway.

And today, I’d appreciate a comment as much as a glass of ice water.  Thanks.

 

On Amazon in digital, paper, or audio formats:    https://amzn.to/2UDjXxw