Category: Books

The Market Says

Discussing the magazine market with my friend, she said there was a bigger market for ‘how to write’ especially in the speculative fiction field than there was for the fiction. She’s been researching for her own magazine, and I don’t doubt it.

But it’s a little funny, since in order to write for any genre you need to be familiar with the genre. Of course, they’re probably buying books instead of magazines, but why?

If we’re out for the short story market, it’s best to get our hands on the actual publication we want to have purchase our work. (I’m sure that’s best in every market.) Wouldn’t that make the demand equal for both products?

Are we trying to write in a vacuum?

Maybe we’re listening to the characters in our head. What’s to stop them from taking over the story? Not that it’s bad for them to take over the story, that’s part of what happens when they become real to the author. I guess I’m asking: How do we know they have the best plot possible, if we have nothing to compare to?

Not that we want to redo a plot. I know I’ve heard Twilight has a lot of similarities to Wuthering Heights (can’t be bad to be compared with a classic), but I wonder sometimes where the line can be drawn between using an old plot with newish characters, like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and the arguable every plot can be traced back to one of [insert number of plots below 50 you think there are].

Have you ever wondered what the true fascination with Zombies really is? I think if I get around to reading those re-makes, I’ll choose Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters instead…

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Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing

All right, I’ll admit it: I browse writing books like kids browse candy aisles. I read a bunch of rules from well-known writers prompted from Elmore Leonard’s book and found interesting things, so when I ran into it at the library (a place I am found frequently) I popped it into my check-out bag.

What surprised me most about this book is that it’s heavily illustrated. Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing took me about half an hour to read. A lot of that time was spent absorbing the words and the pictures. The reviews on Amazon are extremely mixed, and I can understand why.

While there is good advice in here, most of it could be found other places. If a writer is looking for a how-to book, only a few things are going to be stated and none of this is in the detail required for a beginner to grasp the nuances of the craft. There are other books for that.

What I liked about this was the feeling of a picture book aimed at adults about a subject I love. I agree with many of Leonard’s Rules, and it’s nice to have them put in front of my face here and there: “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.” I’ve been writing some poetry lately for a challenge put on by an acquaintance, and I struggle to configure the words properly for the forms. On the other hand, it might mean I’m just so accustomed to writing with the clarity of prose that it’s a struggle to pull out the poetic license.

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Tuesday

Okay, today isn’t Tuesday… But the book is. I checked it out of the library, doing a random run-through with my daughter looking for more books to read to her.

David Weisner wrote this 1992 Caldecott Medal Winner. It has 32 pages and very few words. Amazon says Tuesday‘s aimed at children 4 to 8. In this book, it catalogs many terrific happenings beginning on Tuesday around 8 pm.

In my opinion, picture books are to help parents talk to children and show them stories. It doesn’t matter how many words are on the page – I can describe the pictures to begin a conversation with my daughter. (Okay, it’s a one-sided conversation since she doesn’t have enough words to chatter back in a way I understand.)

I am excited to share it with her again as she gets older.

In other news, I entered two contests that ended at midnight last night. Cross your fingers for me.

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Reading to Baby

I try to do this every day. Sometimes it’s difficult to choose the right books to read.

Writing and reading are related activities. I think about everyone agrees that reading to your children is a great activity to involve the family, but what do you read to your kids?

I vaguely remember the scene from Three Men and a Baby where Tom Selleck is reading to the baby from a sports magazine and telling one of the other guys, “It doesn’t matter what you read, what matters is the tone you use.”

Finding books on the subject isn’t too difficult. I’ve been reading Baby Read-Aloud Basics and I have another book on the subject that I haven’t perused yet. (love the library- they feed my brain!) They had it partly right. The tone does matter.

But it also matters what you read. Reading is giving your child a solid foundation of language. It’s also why you’re supposed to talk to the baby all the time. (even though it’s really hard when you never get coherent answers.) This is how the baby learns to speak, and the more you can do it, the better off the baby will be.

I know, that’s speaking. Reading is just as important though. Those books that you cart around have words you don’t always hear in regular conversations. It’s a wonderful way to boost the vocabulary. Yes, I mean baby books. No, I don’t mean Dr. Seuss.

Don’t think I’m knocking Dr. Seuss, though. He wrote wonderful books, but they’re for the beginning reader. (Proudly marked on their covers that way.) The beginning reader isn’t looking for tough things to say or read, just to gain familiarity. If we only read beginning reader books to our children, we aren’t giving them as many different, complex, learning tools for their vocabulary as we could be.

So one question is, when looking for a book for your baby: Will you be reading it, or will the child? Don’t shy away from books with larger words in them. What’s wrong with fuchsia for a color or exhilarating for a description when the adult is reading it to the baby? Absolutely nothing! If you never introduce your little one to those words, they’ll never know them.

It almost makes me want to read my dictionary to her, but not quite. Now if it had some pretty pictures…

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Meeting the Readers

Okay, not all of them. But I went to a local mother-daughter book club and I had a wonderful time tonight. They read my book!

I think I had as good of a time as they did. They had so many questions about the writing and rewriting and publishing and even the naming of the characters. I loved listening to their discussion of the book and I could even ask my own questions of them. (And did, once or twice.)

I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of their discussion. They were great girls and their moms seemed awesome. The girls yelled ‘Thank you!’ as I left. And I smiled. Very big!

Thank you to Amber, Dahlia, Izzy, Gracie, Kylie, McKenna, and Sophie and to their mothers for letting me join them at their meeting.

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The Green Bronze Mirror

Notes from the Author:
I wrote this book when I was 14, when I was a dreamy, bookish
adolescent who could listen to the teacher with half an ear and
write the book at the back of the class. My main reading at the
time was novels set in Roman, Greek or medieval times. A
weekend trip to Anglesey with my Mum gave the backdrop for
the starting point, and traveling back in time was always a
favorite fantasy. I believed my main character, Karen, was fictional, but with hindsight I realize she was me. Once started, the ideas flowed thick and fast and before the end of one chapter, the next would suggest itself. I did some additional research but even so slipped up on a couple of things that the editor later spotted, for instance the Romans had no tomatoes: they were brought to Europe from America centuries later.
I was thrilled when a publisher accepted it, and of course a huge fuss was made about such a young author. However, I spent the rest of my teen years trying to live it down. Boys didn’t go for clever girls and if anyone mentioned it at a party I knew my chances were snookered. The book has been gathering dust in my memory for decades, so I was frankly
astonished to be contacted by a private publisher last year, wanting to re-issue it. However, when I look at it again, I’m surprised how good it is, and friends of mine are now begging for copies and reading it themselves.
These days I’m a Speech and Language Therapist, but I’ve had a variety of jobs, including teaching English to foreigners, working in a bookshop, leading pony treks in the Welsh Mountains and running riding holidays in the Scottish Borders. I’m an outdoor person at heart, love animals, wild places and wine. I have two sons who are the best thing in my life, even though when I was younger I thought I didn’t want children.
If you want to write, just sit down and get on with it. Then go over what you’ve written, reduce and condense by at least a third, delete the word “I” wherever possible, and don’t stick to a strictly chronological order of events.
Review of the Book:
By Geraldine Ahearn,
Inspired by historical novels, which was Lynne Ellison’s favorite reading material for many years, she created a Masterpiece of historical adventure. This novel fills the pages with fantasy as it takes the reader on an amazing journey, after Karen looks into an ancient mirror that she found buried on the beach, and is transported back in time to the Roman Empire. What trials and tribulations must Karen face, during her struggles to return to her own time? I highly recommend this book to all fantasy lovers, children, and young adults. The adventure is breathtaking, the story is spectacular, and the unique characters come to life. The last thing Karen remembered was glancing into the mirror, while daydreaming, what happened to the island, and where did she wind up? How many years did the mirror take her back in time? Who asked Karen if she was a runaway slave, and where did he take her? What was Darvus ordered to do for Karen? Who was Cordella, and what did she give Karen? Where did Karen meet Kleon? Who bought Karen, and where was she going, after the auction? Where did Karen meet Locusta, and how did Locusta hide from the soldiers? Did Locusta’s magic help Karen find her way through the dark passages? Does Karen find her way back to where it all began, and is there a happy ending? Find out the answers in this breathtaking adventure as we follow Karen to see if there will be light at the end of the tunnel. “THE GREEN BRONZE MIRROR” is as mysterious as LEFT BEHIND and as captivating as Steven Spielberg’s, THE GOONIES.
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Mozart in the Future

Reviews for the Book:

By: Lady D in San Diego
The book begins in a small village in Vorarlberg where we meet
Max one of the main characters who loves to play the piano,
along with his mom and dad, a sister, too. This family has a
similar lifestyle as mine, the love of gardening, cooking and
preserving food. Right away Tania reveals to us the family
dynamics of a laid-back father, a strict mother who strongly
desires for her two children to be successful in music and a four
year old sister who adores her brother.
The main characters, Max and Mozart meet one another and
develop a beautiful exchange of friendship. Young readers will
stay captivated as the plot flows along in today’s world with TV,
cell phones, elevators and escalators. The boys seem to need
each other and the spirit of music inspires them both. This
wonderful book written by Tania is a powerful love story of
music and a fun adventure filled with imagination and
inspiration for all young musicians and music teachers to read.
I was so impressed with Tania’s detailed descriptions with her
writing skills! Page 44 reads: “Max takes him to a room where the piano is. Mozart runs to it like a person who has not had a drink for days and suddenly sees a jug of water.”
If you are a creative person in need of inspiration to continue
with your composing and practicing of your instrument or if you
find yourself performing in front of crowds of family and friends
with joy and strength from your heart and just need a reminder
of refreshment to keep dreaming, creating and shining brightly
for all to see, then I highly recommend this great book to you. It
is definitely one that I will want my piano students to have in
their library. You will want to find out if Mozart can return to
the past when the future is in his mind! I love music and I love
this book! 5+ *****
There’s a Torte recipe at the end of the book that you will enjoy,
too!

By Glenda A. Bixler

What a wonderfully fun story–Mozart in the Future is not just for children who are interested in music! Written by Tania Maria Rodrigues-Peters, with beautiful illustrations by Pedro Caraca, the story can help children and parents realize and finda balance of activities in their lives. I love children’s books that take special care to provide appropriate and complementary covers, artwork and format. Indeed Mozart in the Future does that extremely well. For instance, instead of boring quotation marks for dialog, every line that shows somebody talking begins with a musical note – Isn’tthat Cool? And the young Mozart is simply precious, in my opinion.Then you will meet The Spirit of Music, who comes first to Max, as a beautiful woman dressed in yellow, whose violet eyes and hair match! Max is a young boy who loves learning how to play the piano, but also wants to play with other children. However, his mother believes he is the next Mozart and must constantly practice! Until Max becomes ill and the doctor orders complete rest. It was during this time that The Spirit visited! Because she actually knew Mozart when he was a young boy–and guess what? Mozart had a very strict father who demanded the same thing from him–constant practice! And Mozart had never had an opportunity to have a friend or play, just for the fun of it! Until The Spirit of Music brought Mozart into the future! Can you imagine what two small boys might get into when they meet for the first time, having had no time to play, or have a close friend? Can you imagine what Mozart, especially, must have been thinking when he saw all the magical inventions that were now available? Well, you really don’t have to imagine–Tania Maria Rodrigues-Peters, in Mozart in the Future tells us about Mozart watching TV for the first time, about his seeing an escalator, etc. But Mozart has a whole life of creating beautiful, wonderful music! How is he going to get back home, into his own time?You know what? I was having just as much fun reading this book, as you and your children will have! Yes, this is a perfect stocking stuffer for Christmas for any child, from say, 6 to 96! Bring a little music into the lives of your children… You’re going to love this one, just as much as I did! Don’t let this one go without checking it out!
About the Author:

Tânia Maria Rodrigues-Peters was born on a beautiful hot night in the summer time in 1964. She holds a professional teaching qualification in Artistic Education for pre-school children and completed a Media course in Publicity andAdvertising. She worked as a teacher in several schools teaching children from primary to high school level.

She won the first prize in a nation-wide travel diary competition of the Turismo Brasil Service Magazine and got 7th place in a short story competition in Spain.

After spending several years in Brazil, Germany, and Spain, she now lives in Vorarlberg, Austria with her husband and her three children.

Check out more about the book here.

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Preditors and Editors Reader Poll 2009

The results are in! The Art of Science placed 4th in the reader poll.

I’m really happy my book did so well. Thank you for all the votes! It really makes my day when someone loves my stories, and this even more so since it’s my first novel published.

I’m still working on the next project, and I’m hoping good things come of it.

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… not self-published

Really, I’m not. Which is why I was so surprised to read this: http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=262529

Most of the information is no surprise. I do reside in Des Moines, I am going to be reading from my novel on Saturday, but my publisher would be shocked to hear she doesn’t exist! (Right, Vivian?)

I sent a note to the paper, and I think I’ll also contact the bookstore. Just so my readers know: I won a contest at a small press publisher. I entered my manuscript in January 2008, and I found out in March that it won.

Since then, my small-press publishing company has editors who helped me improve the novel, and it was published in March of 2009.

It’s available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and through my publisher’s website. And if you don’t want to order online, I believe you can walk into any Barnes and Noble and ask them to order it for you.

Meanwhile, I’m contacting the paper and the bookstore. I’m even thinking about writing a letter to the editor about self-published vs small press authors.

I’m also gearing up for a reading at River Lights 2nd Edition. I’m really excited to make an appearance at another bookstore!

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A “Real” Author

I’ve seen some of those thoughts going around – am I a real writer? I had a moment today where I felt like a real author. Part of it is being published, I’m sure. But today the moment came where I read part of my book to people in a bookstore. It’s amazing!

Yes, I write. That makes me a writer more than anything else. I know that. I have respect for a lot of writers that may or may not be published, simply because of what they write. I know I have a lot of weaknesses that I’m working on, one at a time.

But I love to share my stories with people. And having people take time out of their days to listen to part of mine makes me feel like a real author. I love it!

I’m also amazed at what people can find when they research the ‘real’ author.

Thank you to everyone who could make it to Prairie Lights today. For those who couldn’t – there are some signed copies out there for sale.

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