Jackie Houchin Went South

In June, 2012 we sold our horse ranch in Sun Valley, packed up our four cats, and moved to South Orange County. We’ve never looked back or regretted our escape from LA County, not even once. (Apologies to those of you still living there.)
My hair is gray now. Such freedom! No more pale roots and horrible dye jobs. Moving to a new community was the time to do it too. 
Since we moved, I’ve been to Africa (Malawi) twice with short-term mission teams from our new church. I hope to go again this spring. I wrote a dozen journal posts on my website about that first trip.
Unfortunately, six months later my website was hacked beyond repair and I took it down permanently. It was a traumatic experience; a lot of publishing history gone in a flash.  I eventually realized it was time to let it go and move on.
I’m thankful for the journalism experience I got writing for newspapers in LA, and while I’ve posted a few articles on the Mission Viejo Patch and considered a story for the OC Register, I think I’ve pitched my last newspaper.
So, you ask, what are you doing in the WRITERS in Residence blog?  Because I’m still writing! 
I have two other blogs. “Here’s How it Happened” is a mini-website, with a variety of articles. Check out the recipe for homemade Snickers. Yum!  “Morning Meditations” is a more serious journal blog of my early morning quiet times in the Bible and prayer.
I do proof-reading and copy-editing, which is SO appropriate for a perfectionist nit-picker like me!  I’ve worked on a couple mystery book manuscripts, a doctorate thesis, a “how-to” craft manual, and an African children’s novel translated from Dutch.  And I still review books for Mystery Scene Magazine!  
Look for my future posts on WinR about “The Agonies of Book Reviewing: A 12-step plan” “How Lillian Jackson Braun’s ‘Cat Who’s’ Inspire Me” and “Start Writing Cereals…er…Serials!” 

Catching Up with M.M. Gornell

What have I been doing since Jacqueline Vick and I last chatted? Looking back over what I would call my “accomplishments” during this last year, I’m at a loss. I can’t even comprehend a whole year has passed. Needless to say, my yardstick is what I’ve written (and promotions, too, but not so much).

In January I was working on my novel, Rhodes – The Mojave-Stone, and here in December, I’m still working on the same book! Not that there aren’t other book ideas floating around in my mind, and I have written synopsis or intro-paragraphs for several—mainly I’ve been struggling with my current WIP. Happy to say, I finally feel it’s almost there…

I can say Counsel of Ravens garnered a couple awards which I am very thankful for, and I attended Left Coast Crime in Monterrey, and the PSWA Conference in Vegas. Hard to explain how important these type of events are, along with the supportive and re-energizing writing cohorts you catch-up with at them. On the supportive cohorts front, right now thinking particularly about Writers in Residence!

Catching Up with G.B. Pool

Words Are My Life

It’s been a few years since we at Writers in Residence have posted and we all have a story to tell. Maybe that’s why we decided to dust off the blog and tell you about what’s been happening.

As for me, my back has been acting up and that has given me a great deal of time to write. Both my Johnny Casino Casebook series and the Gin Caulfield P.I. series have two additional books to keep the original ones from getting lonely on the shelf.

I found that Johnny’s past (The first casebook is subtitled Past Imperfect) led to a bunch of new stories. Johnny really found himself in the second book (subtitled Looking for Johnny Nobody). Digging deeper into his back story revealed things even Johnny didn’t know. In book three (subtitle Just Shoot Me) Johnny is working on several cases and it turns out some are connected.

Gin Caulfield is back in the private detective business in book two, Hedge Bet. This is where she belongs. It’s in her blood. I used to work in banking, playing with stocks and bonds. Gin gets a crash course that nearly kills her. And Damning Evidence, the third in the series, takes her on a ride you won’t soon forget. It takes place up at the old Tujunga Dam… a scarier place there never was. This is where Gin is pitted against a guy who threatens not only her but a vast portion of southern California.

I even wrote a stand-alone called Eddie Buick’s Last Case that features detective writer Frank Pennell who penned the famous fictional detective, Eddie Buick, a 60’s era gumshoe. When Frank’s family is killed, he goes on a binge and nearly kills himself, but Frank is saved by a guy who looks awfully familiar. The guy who helps him is his fictional sleuth: Eddie Buick.

But that isn’t all that came off the presses. I tried my hand at a Young Adult Romantic Fantasy (YARF) that features a lovely young girl who grows into a beautiful woman who has fallen in love with someone she thinks is a ghost. What he really turns out to be is the stuff of fantasy. The title: Enchanted – The Ring, The Rose, and The Rapier.

Then there is The Santa Claus Singer. An out-of-work lounge singer in Las Vegas ends up playing Santa Claus at the mall and makes a very sick young girl a promise that could cost him everything. But sometimes the best gift you can give is yourself.

And last, but not least, a story near and dear to my heart and one that features photos of many of the Christmas decorations in my home and miniature houses I built, is Bearnard’s Christmas. It’s the story of Elaine Ivy, a woman who loves animals, but sometimes she gets herself into trouble trying to defend them. Even her husband tells her she can’t save them all. At a Christmas Party she is given a stuffed Polar bear. A magical voice tells her its name is “Bearnard.” On Christmas Eve, Elaine falls asleep under the tree and wakes up at the North Pole where she meets Santa Claus, Mrs. C and a big Polar bear named Bearnard. It turns out even the animals at the North Pole need a little help, but it will take more than human kindness this time to make everything right.

I guess writers can’t help themselves. We have to write. Those words need an outlet and we at Writers in Residence keep finding a few more to share with readers. We are a diverse group, but our books can be enjoyed by all types of readers. I guess the fact we enjoy each other’s work will testify to that.

Happy reading. We’ll keep writing.

Welcoming the Newest Writers in Residence

melting momma by bethography

Writer’s in Residence has grown!  We’ve made room for two uber-talented new members, M.M. Gornell and Kate Thornton.  

Gornell is known for her Route 66 Mysteries, and she pulls you into  her character’s lives with ease. Thornton has more than 100 short stories in print along with a few novels. Both are extremely gifted at crafting stories that will stay on your mind long after you put the book down.

Here are links to past interviews with the authors, so you can get acquainted with them. We will be giving updates–filling in the gaps since we were last together–on ALL of our WinRs next week, so you can catch up with them, just like old friends. We’ll supply the coffee. (But we’ll percolate it, of course.)

From NARA, Taken by Lewis Hine, 1874-1940

Interview with M.M. Gornell from A Writer’s Jumble, January 6, 2014

Interview with Kate Thornton from Writers in Residence, June 27, 2010.

"Speed dating" with Authors at Burbank Public Library!

***Pardon our dust while we revamp the WinR blog, but this information was too juicy not to pass on!***

You’ve heard of speed dating – where people hop from table to table in the hopes of meeting the love of their life.  Well, Burbank Public Library is hosting an author showcase that is pretty comparable, except with authors, there are no in-laws, no toilet seats left up (or put down, depending on your preference), and, unlike dating partners, their books are guaranteed to bring you pleasure for the rest of your life!

The event takes place at the Burbank Public Library, 300 North Buena Vista Street, from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, October 18.  Here is more information.

We are so excited!  A few of our WinRs will be there:

Bonnie Schroeder will sign copies of her breathtaking debut novel, “Mending Dreams”.

Gayle Pool, who writes under GB Pool, will bring copies of BOTH her Gin Caulfield series AND her Johnny Casino series.

Other dear friends will be there, such as Alice Zogg, who writes series starring the lady detective  R.A. Huber and her motorcycle-riding assistant, Andi. Get a peek at her new standalone novel, “A Bet Turned Deadly”.

We hope to see you there!

Jacqueline Vick’s Blog: A Writer’s Jumble: Bonnie Schroeder Lives Her Dream with "Mending Dre…

Jacqueline Vick’s Blog: A Writer’s Jumble: Bonnie Schroeder Lives Her Dream with “Mending Dre…: Bonnie Schroeder started telling stories in the 5th grade and never stopped. After escaping from the business world, she began writing f…

Weight Loss for Writers, or How I Trim Ugly Fat from My Manuscripts by Jackie Houchin

Okay, I’ve followed up on those cool ideas for articles (part I). I’ve conducted my interviews, checked my facts and written my piece (part II). Now I’m ready to submit my story (along with the invoice, of course) and wait for my check to arrive, right?

Wrong!

There’s one more step to take before I hit that “SEND” button. I must get out the scale and weigh my chubby little darling. What I usually discover is not pretty. My manuscript is not the lean, fit article I thought it was. There are double chins, love handles, and soft, flabby appendages. Eek! Now what?

Editing, like dieting and exercise, is not fun, but if I want a story tough enough to make it to publication, I must be ruthless.

Portion Control

The first thing I check is Word Count. Whether it’s a magazine guideline or an editor stipulation, I usually know the approximate number of words I can use. Mystery Scene Magazine limits reviews to 250 words. Some newsletters want no more than 400. The local newspapers I write for stipulate 600-700 words for articles, with an occasional “feature” story at 1,000-1,500.

Microsoft Word 2007 keeps a running count at the bottom of the document window. It also gives an accurate character/word/sentence count in its “grammar check” feature. I have no excuse for word count bulge.

If I’m only slightly over, I do a quick scan for superfluous words (“tiny little” to “tiny”). If I’ve switched words, I make sure I’ve eliminated the previous one (I drove the my car). Of the 15 times I used the word “just” I take out all but one.

Hyphenations change two words into one, so do contractions if the tone of the piece allows it. This is not exactly cheating.

Sentences average about 10 words, so if I can cut one word from each sentence, I’ve reduced my count by 10 percent. (I usually shoot for 20 percent.)

If I’m way over count, major surgery is required. I view the piece as a whole and consider where I can condense or cut entire paragraphs. I’m always surprised when this makes my article stronger. (Imagine how great you would feel if you could loose 15 pounds of fat overnight!)

Good Carbs vs Bad Carbs

Okay, my article is now comfortably within the allowed word count. Is it ready to submit? Not quite. While I have my red pencil out (finger hovering over the DELETE key) I review it once more, this time checking the “nutritional” value of my words.

I look for cliches (“pretty as a picture”), delaying words (“It seems that…”), redundancies (“I thought to myself,” “large in size“), and grand phrases (Institute of higher learning” instead of “college.”)

I change empty calories into powerhouse protein; “a dead body” is upgraded to “a corpse;” “he said in a loud voice” to “he shouted;” “dark golden horse” to “Palomino;” and “really very funny” to “hilarious.”

I exchange fat for fiber (the passive “was meeting” becomes the active “met”), and remove bloated descriptive words (some adjectives, most adverbs). Away with those unhealthy words and phrases! I want fat-burning, muscle-building prose!

Lean at last!

Editing is not easy. It hurts to cut away words and phrases (or paragraphs) that I thought at first were brilliant. I do it because I want my articles to be published. If I want clips, creds, and checks, I have to work (and re-work) at it. As they say, “No pain, no gain.”

Wait, was that a cliche? Darn!

Interview with Author Hugo Cipriani

We are honored to have as our final guest on Writers in Residence the indomitable Hugo Cipriani, an inspiration to us all. While many writers worry that it may be too late to start a career, Mr. Cipriani released his first book at 94 years of age, making the rest of us sound like whiners! And, yes, he does get out there and do book signings, including at the Los Angeles Time Festival of Books!
Va Fa Sa” is the name of your first book. What does this mean, and why did you choose this as the title?
The Italian words Va Fa Sa translate simply as “you go, you do, you know”. Struggling to become a student at UCLA, I realized the wisdom of You Go–Courage first, Action follows.
You Do –Confronted by new conditions, you do what you have to do to surmount all obstacles. You Know–With new confidence and knowledge you know why this proverb is true.
Would you tell us what your book is about?
The memoir explains why I left home in 1934 and had to leave again in 1938. My fateful first departure on Sunday, September 9th may strike readers with disbelief. But the second departure on Tuesday, August 2nd, was believable and more significant. My story unfolds with the fateful events that lead me to overriding truths. Infused with courage and a new confidence I surmount hardships in the Great Depression.

Can you tell us how you came to start a new career as an author so late in life?

At age 88, I was diagnosed with cardiac heart failure. My doctor had recommended open heart surgery but I hesitated due to my advanced age and diabetes. With my life ebbing I got a sudden urge to write. I wanted to explain how my leaving home led to Va Fa Sa and my happiness at UCLA.

After typing a couple pages I was rushed to the hospital for surgery — a quadruple by-pass. While convalescing I returned to typing my first chapter, completing it in September, 2001. I was surprised when my grandson, Daniel Lowe, informed me that he put my chapter on his website and I was astonished that it made a “hit” with my family, friends and strangers. They encouraged me to continue writing. Four years later, with 18 chapters completed in 2005, it was prudent to close the memoir with my enlistment in the Navy. Still young at 29, my book’s title became “Va Fa Sa: A Young Man’s memoir”.

Personnel Addendum:

“My writing” began in 1934, after I left home. Writing letters became an obsession. In California, I had “free postage” during my stay in Camp Cummoche and in a CCC camp. I wrote profusely to family, relatives and friends and later, even more so, while at UCLA, Lockheed, and in the Navy. In writing those letters, I now realize, I began the writing of my Va Fa Sa memoir.

Note from WinR: You can find Va Fa Sa at Amazon.com, Independent Bookstores, and Barnes & Noble.

Interview with Cheryl Malandrinos of Pump Up Your Book

Cheryl Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. A regular contributor to Writer2Writer, her articles focus on increasing productivity through time management and organization. A member of Musing Our Children, Ms. Malandrinos is also the Editor in Chief of the group’s quarterly newsletter, Pages & Pens.

Cheryl is also a Tour Coordinator for Pump Up Your Book, a book reviewer, and blogger. Her first children’s book will be released in 2010 by Guardian Angel Publishing. Ms. Malandrinos lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband, two children, and three cats. She also has a married son.

You can find Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.tripod.com/

Cheryl, could you tell us about yourself and what Pump Up Your Book does for authors?

Thanks for having me as a guest on your blog today. I’m honored to be here. I am a freelance writer, copy editor, and perhaps by the time this interview appears, I’ll be able to add published author to that list. My first children’s book, The Little Shepherd Boy, is due out this month.

My main source of income, however, is as a virtual book tour coordinator for Pump Up Your Book (formerly Pump Up Your Book Promotion). Authors contract us to set up blog tours to promote their books. Whether the books are new releases or the authors are looking to draw attention to an older release, they hire us to send them on a journey around the blogosphere to create an online buzz for their books.

How many blogs can an author expect to be on during a tour, and how long does the average tour last?

This differs per company, but Pump Up Your Book offers a variety of tour packages at affordable prices. Authors can tour for two-weeks, which would be stops at 10 – 12 blogs, or they can tour up to two months, which means they would appear on 30 or more blogs. The most popular package I sell is the Gold package, which is a one month tour with 20 blog stops.

At what point in the book’s publication should a writer be thinking about setting up a blog tour?

While it is an excellent idea to research virtual book tour companies months before your book’s release, approximately two months before copies of the book are available will be the time to sign up for a virtual book tour. By this time you should have an idea of who you would be most comfortable working with, what is expected of you and what the company will provide. This should also give you time for bloggers to receive copies of the book to review. It takes a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks to put together a successful virtual book tour.

What are the advantages and benefits of a blog tour as opposed to a book store tour?

I’m not an either or type of person. I feel authors need to look at their marketing budgets and decide where their money is best spent. I have three events planned within the first few months of my book’s release, and I am coordinating a virtual book tour to expand my reach.

That said, virtual book tours allow authors to easily find readers beyond their local area. In our current economic situation, one of the largest advantages of a virtual book tour is that you don’t have to spend money on gas, a new set of clothes, and hotels. No one knows if you’re checking your blog stops from your kitchen table in your robe with your hair sticking out like you just jammed a fork in an electrical outlet.

Consumers are busy people. Many people buy more products online than in stores. Amazon is my best friend between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I rarely step into a mall during the holiday season. Authors need to go where the buyers are. A virtual book tour gets you and your book into search engines so potential readers can find you. Bloggers have loyal followings. If they recommend your book, it’s just as good as their next door neighbor telling them how wonderful some new product is.

The other great advantage to a virtual book tour is its longevity. Readers can find out about your book months after your virtual book tour is over. Tours are also an excellent way to network. Bloggers are some of the nicest folks out there. If they like your book, they’ll tell everybody about it!

How can an author judge a blog tour’s success?

Obviously, authors are looking at sales numbers. If I don’t sell a boatload of books while on a virtual book tour, then it can’t be a success. Right?

The objective of a virtual book tour, like any marketing tool, is to help you create a brand and let people know about your product. Virtual book tours do this by splashing your name all over the Internet, putting you in touch with markets you wouldn’t easily reach unless you’re online. If you can type your name or the book’s title into Google and have your blog stops come up within the first three pages of results—the only ones most readers look at—then your tour is a success. If you’ve gotten some reviews you can post on your website or use blurbs from in a press release, then your virtual book tour is a success. If you’ve networked with bloggers who are willing to help you promote your next release, then your tour is a success. Yes, the ultimate goal is sales, but spending time to create that brand must come first.

How can an author get in contact with your company?

Authors can visit our website at http://www.pumpupyourbook.com If they go to the “Book Your Tour” tab they will find our current offerings and fee schedule. There is a contact form on our website. I can be directly reached at cg20pm00(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thank you so much for taking the time!

Thanks again for letting me discuss virtual book tours with your readers. When I began working for Pump Up Your Book three years ago, virtual book tours were the wave of the future. Now, like cell phones and social media, it seems we can’t imagine life without them. Like e-Books, they aren’t half as scary as they seemed when they first came out. They help put authors in touch with readers all over the world!

Just a note: Cheryl will be on A Writer’s Jumble this fall when her first children’s book is released!

Interview with Author Pam Ripling

Pam Ripling as Anne Carter

While romantic mystery and suspense are her favorites, Anne has written middle grade mysteries, literary shorts, poetry and non-fiction. Long a lighthouse fanatic, it was only a matter of time before her obsessions intersected and a series of lighthouse novels emerged. Paranormal elements abound in both POINT SURRENDER and CAPE SEDUCTION, where mystery, romance and troubled ghosts provide hauntingly entertaining tales set in California lighthouses. A member of Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles, her short story Just Like Jay (written under author name Pam Ripling) appears in their newest anthology, MURDER IN LA LA LAND.

When she is not writing, editing or promoting, Anne enjoys time with her husband and children, two happy dogs and a psychotic cat. She is a skilled photo editor and loves restoring old snapshots and creating digital slideshows. Watch for the third paranormal lighthouse mystery, ANGEL’S GATE, coming soon!



For more about Anne Carter and to read excerpts, visit www. BeaconStreetBooks.com or write AnneCarter@BeaconStreetBooks.com.

Cape Seduction is your most recent romantic suspense released under the pseudonym of Anne Carter. Can you tell us a little about the plot?

How’s this:

1948. Post war, recovery. Hollywood was wooing back the public with blockbusters like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo and The Three Musketeers. The beautiful people were “seen” at the Brown Derby and held their not-so-secret trysts at Chateau Marmont. They drove fishtail-finned Caddies and flew in the luxurious Douglas DC-6.

Darla Foster wanted to be in pictures. Just 21, she worked the circles, attached herself to the arm of any available actor with connections. On this night, March 20, 1948, one of her dreams came true as she sat at Sid Grauman’s Chinese Theatre watching Hollywood’s brightest accept their coveted Oscar statuettes. Later, at the Derby with her date, she met one of Tinsel Town’s favorite sons: the suave, slick headliner, Jordan Kent.

Darla’s life was about to take a sudden left turn as she found herself cast in Jordan’s next big film, about star-crossed lovers, a lighthouse and murder. Exciting fantasy or true life?

In 2008, photojournalist Rebecca Burke can’t just walk away after experiencing the lingering pain and heartache surrounding the abandoned, off-short beacon on Dragon Rock.

In Cape Seduction, you travel back and forth between present day and 1948, and the latter includes a lot of authentic detail. Where did you go for your research on forties Hollywood?
I grew up in North Hollywood, California – just a short drive from the studios that made Hollywood famous. I hung out, with my girlfriends, anxiously hoping to glimpse a famous face now and then. So I was already a movie buff by the time I started writing books. Of course, the internet is a tremendous resource for any author. Finding out what it was like to be a person of affluence during the post-war years was lots of fun. Many, if not most, of the locales mentioned in the book are still in existence. The trick is to embed those details without committing the sin of an “info dump.” The reader has to experience the era, not be inundated with impressive but useless facts. The aura of 1940’s Hollywood can be subtly created through bits of character dialogue, nuances of setting, recognizable events, etc.

Once again, the story revolves around a Lighthouse. Could you give us some background on the story’s Dragon Rock Lighthouse? And what makes you choose a particular lighthouse for each book?

Dragon Rock is a fictional name, but the lighthouse that inspired the setting for CAPE SEDUCTION is St. George Reef Lighthouse, located off the coast of Crescent City, California. I could write volumes about this intriguing beacon. When I first discovered its remote, lonely existence, I immediately went into author-mode. I thought about how scary it would be out there, surrounded by angry seas, all alone and fearful that no one would ever come back. I read everything I could get my hands on, interviewing others who had actually been to St. George Reef (including one of the last Coast Guard lighthouse keepers ), hoping to authenticate my story.

My previous lighthouse story, POINT SURRENDER, deals with a completely fictional lighthouse I placed somewhere near Big Sur, California. But in my mind, I saw it as looking much like Heceta Head Lighthouse near Yachats, Oregon, a classically beautiful, cliff-hugging sentinel that has a rich history and is said to be haunted.

Were you passionate about lighthouses before you started including them in your stories?

Absolutely. In fact, I don’t know why it took me so long to incorporate them into my work! I’ve loved them forever, visited many, and collected numerous knick-knacks and all sorts of lighthouse memorabilia. I am also a member of the United States Lighthouse Society.

Congratulations are in order! Your short story, Just Like Jay, is in the newly released Murder in La-La Land anthology by Sisters in Crime. How much time do you dedicate to short stories?

None, actually. When I heard the criteria for this submission, it sounded like fun—a murder mystery that involves nuances specific to Los Angeles. I did it as a lark, didn’t really expect to be chosen, and I was. I started out writing short stories many years ago but stopped in favor of full-length fiction. The anthology has sparked new interest, however, and I’m thinking of revisiting this fun form of fiction.

You write Young Adult fiction under Pam Ripling. Do you have any new Pam Ripling books in the works?
I have one middle grade reader published, titled LOCKER SHOCK!, about a boy and the gun he finds in his middle school locker. I wrote a second, OLD ENOUGH, that involves the same group of friends. I have not submitted it, however. I’ve found it extremely difficult to support two personas, two very different genres, simultaneously. I’m not sure at the moment what I will do about that!

Could you tell us what’s next for Anne Carter?

I’ve just begun the third lighthouse mystery. This one will center on Los Angeles Harbor Lighthouse, also known as “Angel’s Gate,” and the portion that deals with the past will probably concern the California coast during World War II. This will be the first time I write about a real lighthouse using its real name. Angel’s Gate is set to begin a $1.8 million dollar restoration project, and I’m hoping to get the opportunity to visit this not-open-to-the-public beacon that sits at the end of the breakwater in our harbor. (See my lighthouse blog for a stunning photo of this lighthouse.)

Thank you so much for stopping by!

My pleasure! Thank you for having me. I so enjoy this blog and am thrilled with the opportunity to stop over.

Note that Pam will appear on “A Writer’s Jumble” on September 10th.