Book Release Day for The Telling Stone!
Congratulations, Maureen McQuerry on the release of your new book The Telling Stone from the Time Out of Time series!
The Whole Point; What’s the Climax of a novel? by Victoria Mixon
From: http://jamigold.com/2011/11/story-climax-the-whole-point-guest-victoria-mixon
We must understand, for now, only this one, fundamental thing: the Climax is the real reason we write our stories.
Once upon a time, two teenagers became so distraught over their passion for each other they committed suicide—that’s the premise. Cause? Their parents wouldn’t let them marry or even date—that’s the story. Cause of that? Their families hated each other—that’s the backstory.
—Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare Read More
Story Climax: Forcing Characters to Move Forward; by Jami Gold
From WRITING STUFF: http://jamigold.com/2015/04/story-climax-forcing-characters-to-move-forward; APRIL 30, 2015
Editor Victoria Mixon states that our story’s Climax is “The Point” of our story. Whatever confrontation, revelation, redemption, growth, realization, etc. happens in the Climax is often the reason we decided to write the story back when it was just a twinkle in our muse’s eye. *smile* Read More
Character Cue: Whose Line is it Anyway? by Katrina Kittle
An Easy Exercise to Strengthen Voice; 01 May 2015
From: http://writerunboxed.com
Voice is one of my favorite aspects of craft to play with and talk about. Voice was the subject of my very first post here at Writer Unboxed. Today’s post will be short and sweet—a nifty, easy peasy, so-simple-it-seems-stupid trick to strengthen voice in revision. Read More
In the Wake of Lewis and Clark
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In 2014, C. Mark Smith was asked by the American Queen Steamboat Company, which operates the American Empress cruise ship on the Columbia River, to write a short history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that their passengers could reference as they cruise the Snake and Columbia rivers. In the Wake of Lewis and Clark: From the Mountains to the Sea, was published in 2015. The book is designed to help American Empress passengers better understand what the Lewis and Clark expedition experienced during those momentous years of 1804–1806, but also to be able to see through vintage photographs and other images what the members of the Corps of Discovery saw before the rivers were changed forever by hydroelectric dams. It affords an opportunity to travel “in the wake of Lewis and Clark.”
A Sleep of Prisoners
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From Amazon…
In A Sleep of Prisoners, Mr. Fry investigates dramatically the problems of four prisoners of war. Locked up in a church in enemy territory, the men find that both personal and general conflicts become more explosive in confinement. One soldier loses his temper and half strangles his friend.
In succeeding dreams each prisoner demonstrates his inner response to the events, extending himself, his companions and the problems they face on to a spiritual plane. The immediate surroundings suggest Biblical protagonists to the dreamers, and the attempted murder is seen successively in the stories of Cain and Abel, David and Absalom, and Abraham and Isaac. The general situation is seen by the fourth dreamer reflected in the story of Shadrac, Meshac, and Abednego.
The play develops themes Mr. Fry has dealt with successfully in The Firstborn. The main interest here is incisive exploration into how men see themselves, each other, and the struggle of the world to find a meaning and a progress.
Republished from the original by Phoebe Seiders.
Short & Happy (or Not)
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From Amazon, Short & Happy (or Not), edited by Richard Bunning and
… brings together authors from English speaking countries around the globe and a sprinkling of ex-pats who enjoy life in non-English speaking countries as well. Their stories cover just as wide a spectrum of subjects. Humor (or humour), light romance, science fiction, fantasy, memoir, satire, reflection, exotic locales … it’s all here in bite-sized pieces.
And it includes two short stories by Wordherder Lenora Rain-Lee Good, “Dream Time” and “Granny Hitt”.
The Awakening
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Written by Allen Johnson,
From out of a barefoot boyhood among endless rows of olive trees, and a forbidden passion for a courageous Moroccan beauty, to a horrific struggle against tyranny in the war-torn streets of 1936 Granada, comes a story where love cannot exist without mercy . . . mercy one carries for one’s whole life as a badge of honor . . . mercy and compassion passed down from generation to generation.
Diego Garcia is now the gentle patriarch in a sun-scorched village perched among the rolling hills and olive groves of Andalusia, Spain. Diego survived the bloody Spanish Civil War only at great cost, and his enduring wish is that he could have saved others. His granddaughter, the lovely Lupita, is the town’s physician, whose competence is surpassed only by her compassion. Together they breathe new life into a mysterious American stranger, brutally beaten and robbed, suffering from amnesia, whose suppressed past is so scarred by his own malice and deceit that he dare not awaken—save through the guiding grace of love.
Together, the three forge a new beginning and find redemption in trust, love, and acceptance of the past . . . a past they would do anything to leave behind.
The Support Group
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When dealing with the death of a loved one, many find great comfort in the company of others who are experiencing the same sense of loss and fear. In The Support Group by Donna Reutzel Underwood, seven mourners and three facilitators of the new support group at the Grief Clinic are about to embark on their own journeys of discovery, help, and healing.
But a story in the local paper shakes the clinic staff with news of the death of an ex-client, Mr. Sorenson, who had just completed his sessions six months earlier. Following the tragic drowning death of his wife, he and his daughter were overwhelmed, confused, and unable to move beyond their sorrow. Now Mr. Sorenson has also drowned, and his death is ruled suspicious after questions arise during his autopsy.
The story also catches the attention of the family of another of the clinic’s former clients, who died a year earlier. Mr. Marcus, another widower, was found at the bottom of a cliff, and while his death was considered an accident, his family always suspected foul play. This new situation motivates them to contact the clinic to request another look at these deaths.
Fear, concern, and suspicion become bedfellows for all connected with the clinic. Are the support-group participants being targeted by a killer—or killers? Only time will tell.
When Raven Dances
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Young Marisol’s father was killed by a Nazi bullet and in that second her innocent, sunny New Mexico childhood shattered, leaving dark questions to be lived out one empty day at a time. At WWII’s end, Marisol became a reluctant passenger on a cranky, recently converted troopship headed to a place so unlike New Mexico she could hardly comprehend her fate. Mama and Marisol felt resilient by the time the ship disgorged them in Seward, Alaska, a locale that was vital to the Allied wartime success. In 1946 Seward struggled to discharge itself from wartime scars, swarms of military troops and rusty munitions.
But frightening memories remained among the citizens; Marisol and Mama shared their stories and offered friendship in return. Marisol acquired a lifetime friend; a handsome army major bestowed charm and exotic gifts upon them; an indigenous leader shared the wisdom of his land. A clever, pesky, bird claimed the right to be Marisol’s sentry. Others advised, warned, or encouraged Marisol as she encountered mystical treasure, treacherous ocean currents, and more in her quest for maturity and understanding.