Hi all,
Yes, as we age we do go LARGE, but this is usually not of our own choosing. And all the duct tape in the world apparently doesn't want to hold up our sagging parts. Phooey! So much for living in the real world. I choose to visit the "unreal" world of writing where it's safe to go LARGE.
My second novel, A...My Name's Amelia, will be released at a future date in large print by Thorndike Press in either their Clean Reads or Wheeler Publishing lines. This gives a longer life to my hero and heroine, Amelia and Aaron, which makes me very, very happy.
All of this is yet another reason for me to opine the good deeds of Five Star - a part of Cengage Learning. From acquisitions to hardcover release, they are a great group with which to work. I am most fortunate to be published with them, sagging parts and all.
Jo(anne)
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter
www.joannesundell.com
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Wednesdays with Joanne - "Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference ... Ups and Downs"
Hi all,
Just wanted to share a few comments about the recently held Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference. This was my first time attending this noted Denver gathering.
Ups: The lineup was impressive, both for the conference content and the writers in attendance. Other Five Star authors were there, many of them presenting. Noted editors and agents took appointments to hear pitches; John Helfers from Tekno/Five Star among them. NYTimes bestselling authors Bob Mayer and Maggie Sefton were in the house. Author/pediatrician CJ Lyons wowed us all, too. The conference afforded a great opportunity to meet other writers, hear dynamite panels, and connect with agents and editors.
The Friday night signing was too much fun! Pretty cool experience, guys.
Downs: It's frustrating not to be able to attend all of the workshops. Can't be in two places at once. This is a good "down," right? If you don't attend conferences to pitch a new manuscript, I wonder if you're getting full benefit. While involvements and networking is key for writers, if you sign up for a conference and don't take advantage of the editor/agent appointments, perhaps you're not getting full "bang for your buck." Just my opinion.
Until next time ...
Jo(anne)
www.joannesundell.com
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter
Just wanted to share a few comments about the recently held Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference. This was my first time attending this noted Denver gathering.
Ups: The lineup was impressive, both for the conference content and the writers in attendance. Other Five Star authors were there, many of them presenting. Noted editors and agents took appointments to hear pitches; John Helfers from Tekno/Five Star among them. NYTimes bestselling authors Bob Mayer and Maggie Sefton were in the house. Author/pediatrician CJ Lyons wowed us all, too. The conference afforded a great opportunity to meet other writers, hear dynamite panels, and connect with agents and editors.
The Friday night signing was too much fun! Pretty cool experience, guys.
Downs: It's frustrating not to be able to attend all of the workshops. Can't be in two places at once. This is a good "down," right? If you don't attend conferences to pitch a new manuscript, I wonder if you're getting full benefit. While involvements and networking is key for writers, if you sign up for a conference and don't take advantage of the editor/agent appointments, perhaps you're not getting full "bang for your buck." Just my opinion.
Until next time ...
Jo(anne)
www.joannesundell.com
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Wednesdays with Joanne - "In the beginning...
Hi!
Despite the fact that the Jewish holidays are almost here, this is not a religious discourse but a few thoughts regarding "getting started" with our next book.
We've all been there. Our last manuscript is put to bed with the editor and copy-editor. Our ancillary material is complete and forwarded. And now, "In the beginning ... there was WHAT? I try not to panic at this juncture, suddenly remembering all of those writers I meet who have books, books, books and characters, characters, characters running around in their heads all of the time. Most of us have attended conferences where the speakers say they have to shut out one book, to get their current one keyed in on their hard-drive. Never my problem I can assure you.
Perhaps the reason is, I write historicals set in the West and I don't encounter any of my characters until I've jumped into the deep end of my research. The old chicken or the egg addage pops up at this time. Which comes first? My characters or my story? Okay, there's a very good argument that these are not separate in romance. True. In romance, "It's the romance, stupid." Ah, but you see I enjoy attempting historical romance and so a critical level of historical substance must be factored in. If there isn't a great story hidden somewhere in the history, wherein lies your historical romance? Thus my "chicken and egg" dilemma.
Pathos. Good word is it not? A wonderful editor I have the good fortune of knowing told me she thinks my characters have pathos. Well, once said ... there's no going back. If I don't write stories with pathos now, my chicken might just "lay an egg." Ouch.
You've been great to listen. Thank you. There are steps and more steps to the process of writing a great story, whatever the genre, but my FAVORITE is the writing of it. Beyond marketing and newspaper mentions and appearances and good reviews and good WorldCat numbers and a decent showing on Amazon (albeit sporadic), there is the ultimate enjoyment of finding the story hiding inside of us and writing it!
"In the beginning ... there was the story."
Back soon,
Jo(anne)
http://www.joannesundell.com/
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter
http://www.fivestarauthors.blogspot.com/
Despite the fact that the Jewish holidays are almost here, this is not a religious discourse but a few thoughts regarding "getting started" with our next book.
We've all been there. Our last manuscript is put to bed with the editor and copy-editor. Our ancillary material is complete and forwarded. And now, "In the beginning ... there was WHAT? I try not to panic at this juncture, suddenly remembering all of those writers I meet who have books, books, books and characters, characters, characters running around in their heads all of the time. Most of us have attended conferences where the speakers say they have to shut out one book, to get their current one keyed in on their hard-drive. Never my problem I can assure you.
Perhaps the reason is, I write historicals set in the West and I don't encounter any of my characters until I've jumped into the deep end of my research. The old chicken or the egg addage pops up at this time. Which comes first? My characters or my story? Okay, there's a very good argument that these are not separate in romance. True. In romance, "It's the romance, stupid." Ah, but you see I enjoy attempting historical romance and so a critical level of historical substance must be factored in. If there isn't a great story hidden somewhere in the history, wherein lies your historical romance? Thus my "chicken and egg" dilemma.
Pathos. Good word is it not? A wonderful editor I have the good fortune of knowing told me she thinks my characters have pathos. Well, once said ... there's no going back. If I don't write stories with pathos now, my chicken might just "lay an egg." Ouch.
You've been great to listen. Thank you. There are steps and more steps to the process of writing a great story, whatever the genre, but my FAVORITE is the writing of it. Beyond marketing and newspaper mentions and appearances and good reviews and good WorldCat numbers and a decent showing on Amazon (albeit sporadic), there is the ultimate enjoyment of finding the story hiding inside of us and writing it!
"In the beginning ... there was the story."
Back soon,
Jo(anne)
http://www.joannesundell.com/
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter
http://www.fivestarauthors.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Wednesdays with Joanne - "You're never too old for Harvard!"
Hi all,
Yep, you can congratulate me. I've been accepted at Harvard College, ie, my novel, Matchmaker, Matchmaker, is listed as part of the Harvard College Library. Okay, admittedly it doesn't take much to get me excited (the beauty of being over 50 is that no one cares what we say or do anymore) but having my debut novel purchased by Harvard College, well ... I'm still trying to settle back down to earth! Sure I'm not the only Five Star author who's in the Harvard Library, I'm still dancing in the clouds on this one. I got into nursing school years ago on my good looks (yeah, right) but I got into Harvard on "my good book!" I know, I'm having fun with this one but why not, right.
If any more of my books are accepted at Harvard College, I'll eat my covers!!! Ummm ... deelish!
Thanks for letting me have my Academic Moment in the Sun,
Jo(anne)
http://www.joannesundell.com/
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter
www.fivestarauthors.blogspot.com
Yep, you can congratulate me. I've been accepted at Harvard College, ie, my novel, Matchmaker, Matchmaker, is listed as part of the Harvard College Library. Okay, admittedly it doesn't take much to get me excited (the beauty of being over 50 is that no one cares what we say or do anymore) but having my debut novel purchased by Harvard College, well ... I'm still trying to settle back down to earth! Sure I'm not the only Five Star author who's in the Harvard Library, I'm still dancing in the clouds on this one. I got into nursing school years ago on my good looks (yeah, right) but I got into Harvard on "my good book!" I know, I'm having fun with this one but why not, right.
If any more of my books are accepted at Harvard College, I'll eat my covers!!! Ummm ... deelish!
Thanks for letting me have my Academic Moment in the Sun,
Jo(anne)
http://www.joannesundell.com/
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter
www.fivestarauthors.blogspot.com
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Wednesdays with Joanne - "The HOOK in us all"
Hi guys,
Bet you thought I meant to say the BOOK in us all, but oh contrar`...
What I love about what we do, writing, is that we're all unique; all coming up with our own unique HOOK for our BOOK(s). Not so easily done, as we all know, but do it we must (if we want to sell a book or two along the way). Every time I meet a new author, I'm struck by the fact that this writer has actually written a book, then gotten it published of all things! It still is amazing to me that any of us get published but that's for another day. Right now I want to celebrate the HOOK in us all.
We are all unique, with our own perceptions, our own way of doing ... well ... just about everything. Geez, does that ever come in handy in attempting a novel. What are we without our uniqueness? Not a whole lot, I'm thinking. That is in fact what we bring to the writing table. We're ever in a daily struggle to combat cliche` and convenient storylines. When I have "fears that I may cease to" write, I do my utmost to remember that there is a HOOK, all our own, just around the corner. I just have to find it. Like Harry Potter, but not like Harry Potter. Don't we all love the wizardry he cooks up! Finding a HOOK is a bit like finding a "portkey" in Rowling's amazing stories. Once we do, we close our eyes, endure a bit of turbulance, then we're there!
A simplification? Perhaps. At the end of the day, we get ourselves to the end of our book(s), hoping indeed our hook(s) can withstand reviewers and skeptical readers, appealing to many a librarian and bookstore owner. Whew! The ride can be a turbulant one, but I think we can all agree it's definitely worth it!
Relax, it's just writing!
Hah! Want to know where that came from? I read off a gift bag from the Hustler, their motto: Relax, it's just sex! (For all you chick-lit writers ... good title for you.) Anyway, my point here is that when we're looking for our next Big Bad HOOK: RELAX, IT'S JUST WRITING!
Until next time ...
Jo(anne)
http://www.fivestarauthors.blogspot.com
www.joannesundell.com
author@joannesundell.com
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter
Bet you thought I meant to say the BOOK in us all, but oh contrar`...
What I love about what we do, writing, is that we're all unique; all coming up with our own unique HOOK for our BOOK(s). Not so easily done, as we all know, but do it we must (if we want to sell a book or two along the way). Every time I meet a new author, I'm struck by the fact that this writer has actually written a book, then gotten it published of all things! It still is amazing to me that any of us get published but that's for another day. Right now I want to celebrate the HOOK in us all.
We are all unique, with our own perceptions, our own way of doing ... well ... just about everything. Geez, does that ever come in handy in attempting a novel. What are we without our uniqueness? Not a whole lot, I'm thinking. That is in fact what we bring to the writing table. We're ever in a daily struggle to combat cliche` and convenient storylines. When I have "fears that I may cease to" write, I do my utmost to remember that there is a HOOK, all our own, just around the corner. I just have to find it. Like Harry Potter, but not like Harry Potter. Don't we all love the wizardry he cooks up! Finding a HOOK is a bit like finding a "portkey" in Rowling's amazing stories. Once we do, we close our eyes, endure a bit of turbulance, then we're there!
A simplification? Perhaps. At the end of the day, we get ourselves to the end of our book(s), hoping indeed our hook(s) can withstand reviewers and skeptical readers, appealing to many a librarian and bookstore owner. Whew! The ride can be a turbulant one, but I think we can all agree it's definitely worth it!
Relax, it's just writing!
Hah! Want to know where that came from? I read off a gift bag from the Hustler, their motto: Relax, it's just sex! (For all you chick-lit writers ... good title for you.) Anyway, my point here is that when we're looking for our next Big Bad HOOK: RELAX, IT'S JUST WRITING!
Until next time ...
Jo(anne)
http://www.fivestarauthors.blogspot.com
www.joannesundell.com
author@joannesundell.com
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Wednesdays with Joanne - "The Write Trip"
Hi all,
Summer is trekking along, so get those vacation hours in quick!!!
I just returned from The Write Trip: Author Day at Five Star-Thomson Gale, Thorndike Press, in Waterville, Maine. What an honor to have our publisher create a day just for us! Too much fun. Not only did we have an opportunity to meet our fellow authors with Five Star, but the staff of Thomson Gale and Thorndike Press as well. We were wined (on H2O and soda) and dined (lobster and chicken) on delicious fare as well as conversation. My feet are back on terra firma (barely) but I have wonderful writing memories to keep me warm on cold Colorado nights to come.
New England is rich in history, and I'm talking Writing history! For me, a romance lover from Virginia who now resides in Colorado, driving along on my Write Trip, passing signs that read Walden Pond ... well, you can imagine. A literary moment, certainly. Another one came, of course, when I stopped in Camden, Maine. For those of you who enjoy my love for The Hallmark Channel, as in Sarah, Plain, and Tall (the series is shown often) ... roaming Camden, where Sarah wrote her advertisement, "to make a difference," made my heart skip, yet again.
On my way to the airport in Hartford, my Writing Trip took me through the state of MA where John and Abigail Adams wrote (thank goodness they did) so many letters to one another, David McCullough could put them together for his wonderful biography. John Adams is one of THE best books I've ever read! (I'm still reading Harry Potter - Deathly Hallows ... so I'll let you know ... I DO love Rowling!)
Hmmm ... I'm of the thought that one could step out their door in this great country, go in any direction, via any means of transportation, and suddenly discover they are on their own Write Trip! It is America The Beautiful!
Until next time...
Jo(anne)
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
A...My Name's Amelia
The Parlor House Daughter (12/08)
http://www.fivestarauthors.blogspot.com/
http://www.womenwritingthewest.blogspot.com/
http://http://www.joannesundell.com/
Summer is trekking along, so get those vacation hours in quick!!!
I just returned from The Write Trip: Author Day at Five Star-Thomson Gale, Thorndike Press, in Waterville, Maine. What an honor to have our publisher create a day just for us! Too much fun. Not only did we have an opportunity to meet our fellow authors with Five Star, but the staff of Thomson Gale and Thorndike Press as well. We were wined (on H2O and soda) and dined (lobster and chicken) on delicious fare as well as conversation. My feet are back on terra firma (barely) but I have wonderful writing memories to keep me warm on cold Colorado nights to come.
New England is rich in history, and I'm talking Writing history! For me, a romance lover from Virginia who now resides in Colorado, driving along on my Write Trip, passing signs that read Walden Pond ... well, you can imagine. A literary moment, certainly. Another one came, of course, when I stopped in Camden, Maine. For those of you who enjoy my love for The Hallmark Channel, as in Sarah, Plain, and Tall (the series is shown often) ... roaming Camden, where Sarah wrote her advertisement, "to make a difference," made my heart skip, yet again.
On my way to the airport in Hartford, my Writing Trip took me through the state of MA where John and Abigail Adams wrote (thank goodness they did) so many letters to one another, David McCullough could put them together for his wonderful biography. John Adams is one of THE best books I've ever read! (I'm still reading Harry Potter - Deathly Hallows ... so I'll let you know ... I DO love Rowling!)
Hmmm ... I'm of the thought that one could step out their door in this great country, go in any direction, via any means of transportation, and suddenly discover they are on their own Write Trip! It is America The Beautiful!
Until next time...
Jo(anne)
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
A...My Name's Amelia
The Parlor House Daughter (12/08)
http://www.fivestarauthors.blogspot.com/
http://www.womenwritingthewest.blogspot.com/
http://http://www.joannesundell.com/
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Wednesdays with Joanne - "Keeping Up Appearances"
Hi guys,
No, I'm not talking about the delicious, vintage BBC tv comedy (featuring the ever-engaging Hyacynthe Bucket), but about "Keeping Up Writing, Reading, Signing, Conferencing, Library, and Bookstore Appearances, et al." Whew! Anyone exhausted yet?
With each book happily sold ( three now, thank goodness) to Five Star-Thomson Gale, I'm beginning to get it: to get all of the things about marketing that I didn't know! The first lesson (an obvious one) is that I wasn't "Keeping Up Appearances" in getting my book on The List at any and every bookstore within shouting distance, for a signing. The second lesson is that I wasn't "Keeping Up Appearances" in clever on-line connections. The third lesson, ready for this, I wasn't even "Keeping Up Appearances" by keeping a notebook handy at signings for readers to sign up for my Newsletter! Oh well, and oy vey!
Lest any of you doubt it, I'M NOT SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER!
I won't bore you with Lessons four and five. Suffice is to say, I'm learning to schlep my writing gear in a somewhat more organized fashion to stores and libraries. Geez, I didn't want to be known as the Five Star Bag Lady! The fifth lesson was the hardest to go down: Do everything you're supposed to do re marketing today, yesterday!
Now that I'm a little more street-wise in Keeping Up Appearances, I'll do what I can to Keep Up With The Joneses (all of those deliciously wonderful, talented authors at Five Star)!
Until next time...
Jo(anne)
www.joannesundell.com
author@joannesundell.com
www.fivestarauthors.blogspot.com
No, I'm not talking about the delicious, vintage BBC tv comedy (featuring the ever-engaging Hyacynthe Bucket), but about "Keeping Up Writing, Reading, Signing, Conferencing, Library, and Bookstore Appearances, et al." Whew! Anyone exhausted yet?
With each book happily sold ( three now, thank goodness) to Five Star-Thomson Gale, I'm beginning to get it: to get all of the things about marketing that I didn't know! The first lesson (an obvious one) is that I wasn't "Keeping Up Appearances" in getting my book on The List at any and every bookstore within shouting distance, for a signing. The second lesson is that I wasn't "Keeping Up Appearances" in clever on-line connections. The third lesson, ready for this, I wasn't even "Keeping Up Appearances" by keeping a notebook handy at signings for readers to sign up for my Newsletter! Oh well, and oy vey!
Lest any of you doubt it, I'M NOT SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER!
I won't bore you with Lessons four and five. Suffice is to say, I'm learning to schlep my writing gear in a somewhat more organized fashion to stores and libraries. Geez, I didn't want to be known as the Five Star Bag Lady! The fifth lesson was the hardest to go down: Do everything you're supposed to do re marketing today, yesterday!
Now that I'm a little more street-wise in Keeping Up Appearances, I'll do what I can to Keep Up With The Joneses (all of those deliciously wonderful, talented authors at Five Star)!
Until next time...
Jo(anne)
www.joannesundell.com
author@joannesundell.com
www.fivestarauthors.blogspot.com
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