Tag Archive for: writing

The Bag of Tricks

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By Bethany Maines
On my last blog I discussed how I
keep the fictional worlds of my books organized (answer: spreadsheets and
lists!), but recently I gave a talk on writing to a local high-school and they
wanted to know the more nitty-gritty details. Since they are at the start of
their writer journey they have yet to discover that many of the struggles of
writing are shared by all writers. 
What’s that? You have two great scenes, but you’re not sure how to
connect them?  You have half a novel
written, but you don’t know who the bad guy is yet? You really need the hot guy
to land in the heroine’s life, but you don’t know how he gets there?  These are all questions with many possible
answers, and like common core math, many possible ways of getting to the answer.
I thought Kimberly Jayne’s recent
post about Mindful Daydreaming was a great way to answer many writing
questions.  And yesterday’s post from Sally
Berneathy’s post about “pantsing” vs. plotting a novel showed how she dives and
discovers her book as she goes along.  I
have discovered that being a plotter is usually a faster more efficient way for
me to write.  When I have all the answers
before I start writing, I can write even when I’m not feeling very creative or
if I only have five minutes.  But
recently, I found myself stuck on the outline. 
I stared.  I hammered.  I picked. 
I ignored it.  Nothing
happened.  And at some point I decided to
start writing because you know what happens when you don’t write? Nothing.  So I wrote all the way to where I had
outlined and I was just as stuck as I was on the outline.  I was back to being a high-schooler – how do
I connect those two scenes? How do I get the hero from point A to point B? Dear
God, what happens nexxxxxxxt????
Which is when I decided to take my
own advice.  I grabbed a notebook and a
pen. Changing the medium can sometimes change my perspective.  I wrote a synopsis of the story from the
villain’s point of view.  I wrote a
synopsis from the love interests view point. I drew little diagrams about how the
storylines connect. I wrote a few paragraphs about the villain’s history and
motivation, really diving into what he thinks about the events of the story.  It’s an old saying that each of us is the
hero in our own story, and that goes for villains too (see the great post from
Jennae Phillippe about A Villain’s Voice). 
How does a villain think that his actions are justified? As I answered
that question, I discovered more and more about how my story moved
forward.  Which is when I put down the
pen and typed up my scrawling notes. 
Organizing a novel isn’t just
about filing systems; it’s about herding all your characters and ideas into a
coherent plot and making sure that everyone gets to the end (or the right end
if they happen to be the designated dead body) in a satisfying manner.  But sometimes a writer needs to reach into
her bag of tricks and try more than one technique to get the job done.  As I told my room full of high-schoolers, when
in doubt…  try, try something else.
*** 
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Tales from the City of
Destiny and An Unseen Current.
 You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Winging It

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by J.M. Phillippe

Earlier this month, fellow Stiletto Gang author Bethany Maines posted a great blog about how she organizes her novels using spreadsheets and graphs — all online! I was super impressed. And then intimidated. Because my organization of a novel looks a lot more like this:

Images of writing notebooks
Sometimes I can’t even read my own writing.

 I don’t even remember to put all my notes about the same story in the same notebook.

I do start out trying to be super organized. I spend a lot of time procrastinating…er…pre-writing by creating elaborate systems and files that some part of me knows I will never maintain. I understand that that the more up-front work I do, the less back-end work I’ll have to do. And yet, inevitably, at some point during a writing project I find myself digging through various notebooks and poorly named Word files, trying to find that one piece of information I need to complete whatever section I’m working on. I have to scan first drafts specifically for continuity errors (like the spelling of a name), and if it wasn’t for eagle-eyed readers and editors, I’d miss small changes I made in even basic descriptions (did that room have a brown leather chair or a burgundy leather chair?).

Vader is not impressed with me.

I also only ever make it half-way through a novel outline before the drafting process takes over, and characters and plots move in totally different directions. It’s a little bit because I find outlines kind of boring, and a little bit more that if I get too detailed and figure out how it will all end, I lose interest. Generally, I never start with more than a vague sense of where I want to end up, and I find drafting it out so much more satisfying. And yet I know that an outline would probably make the entire process a lot less messy — and faster — if maybe not as spontaneous.

Of course, come revision time, I then I have to backtrack and do all the work that I maybe shoulda coulda woulda done in the pre-writing process. I create a reverse outline of my chapters and sections. I make a style sheet and finally decide on a single spelling of a name (the search and replace feature in Word is very much my friend). Changes are always intentionally planned. I invest heavily in the revision process, and the story can change dramatically from draft to draft.

In many ways, starting off by winging it and then going back and organizing what I’ve written lets me discover the story in two different ways — as I write it, and after I go back and read what I’ve written. That process of discovery keeps me interested in the story, even if it is very labor intensive.

Still, I can’t help but look at the ways other writers organize themselves and wistfully daydream about my own set of spread sheets and graphs. Sometimes though, I’d settle for remembering exactly where I put that really great breakdown of the third act I thought of while on the bus two months ago. All I have to do is figure out what notebook I had with me that day…

***
J.M. Phillippe is the author of Perfect Likeness. She has lived in the deserts of California, the
suburbs of Seattle, and the mad rush of New York City.  She worked as a freelance journalist before
earning a masters’ in social work.  She
works as a family therapist in Brooklyn, New York and spends her free-time
decorating her tiny apartment to her cat Oscar Wilde’s liking, drinking cider
at her favorite British-style pub, and training to be the next Karate Kid, one
wax-on at a time.

Organizing My World(s)

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by Bethany Maines

An author’s job is not just to tell a story, but to decide how a story should be told. Is it better
in first or third person? Is it told in one long march of words or are their
chapters? We have to decide genre, tone and feeling. And once those decisions
have been made an author must create and track the main plot of the story – the
one that we struggle to capture in the blurb text on the back cover – as well as
the sub-plots, underlying themes, and finally, the characters themselves.  All of those pieces require not just the ability
to write, but also the ability to track information. Because, as any serious
reader will tell you (sometimes at great length), consistency and details
matter greatly to a well written book, and while we can rely on an editor for
some items, they are only human and can only catch so much.  It is in an author’s best interest to provide
the cleanest manuscript possible.
I’m currently working on two vastly different stories: the
fourth Carrie Mae Mystery Glossed Cause and a Romance Horror
novella Wild Waters.  Each story comes
with an array of characters, research and plot twists that to be perfectly
honest I can’t hold in my brain. 
Possibly pre-production of a toddler I could have kept hold of all the
details, but no longer. Now, to keep all my worlds organized, I must rely on a system of notes, plot outlines and
spreadsheets.

For the Carrie Mae books I track characters with a spread sheet
that notes who they are (name, basic role, job or company) and also what book
they have appeared in or if they have been deleted or omitted from a book.  I also have a rather extensive style sheet
that helps me keep track of how certain things, such as chapter headings are
formatted and whether or not I’m consistently formatting things like “AK-47”
and “INTERPOL” the same way over multiple books.
For Wild Waters I’m writing in two
different time periods – WWII and Vietnam ­– and they each use distinctive
slang that I organize in a couple of basic lists.  There are
also multiple character points of view and it is important to keep track of
what characters know and when they know it, so that each plot point is revealed
at the correct time. Tracking character
arcs are more difficult and sometimes require multiple ways of
visualizing.  I will frequently write out
the plot from each characters point of view or I will graph it out on a virtual
whiteboard, utilizing the main plot points.

There is no perfect system of course, and each author must
work the way that works for them. But when examining a well-written book, I am
frequently in awe, not just of the beautifully constructed words or strong turn
of phrase, but the underlying construction of a book.  Sometimes, I find it amazing that any books
get written at all.

***
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Tales from the City of
Destiny and An Unseen Current.
 You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

On writing

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Most
authors have a book—or part of a book—that they don’t talk about much. The
project that refused to take wings. The practice manuscript. The story that wrote
itself into a corner. The manuscript lurking
under the bed with the dust lions.
I
have two failures to launch.
The
first is set in the 1920s and was to be a romance between newspaper columnist Tinsley Ledbetter and bootlegger Nick Woodfield.
I
did an inordinate amount of research on the 1920s (I love research. It’s a
rabbit hole that can lure me away from almost anything). I adored the heroine.
I didn’t adore the book. I put it aside.
Fast
forward three plus years.
I
recently looked at Tinsley’s adventures with the idea that she didn’t need
Nick. What she needed was to solve mysteries. 
The
years when Tinsley languished, abandoned and almost forgotten, on a hard-drive
changed my writing.
Before: She forced a laugh. It sounded brittle,
like it might break into hysteria if anyone poked at it, so she hurried to wave
the sound away with a flip of her slim fingers.
After: She forced a laugh. It
sounded brittle, as if it might break into hysteria if anyone poked at it. That
wouldn’t do. She waved the splintery sound away.
The
first change—I used a preposition when I needed a conjunction. Like it might break should have been as if it might break. An easy fix.
The
second change – I added a sentence. That
wouldn’t do. It gives the reader a peek at Tinsley’s thoughts.
The
third change – I deleted so she hurried to wave. Why? It’s telling. I told the reader about
Tinsley’s intent. It’s better to show her actually doing something. Namely,
waving.
The fourth
change – I added splintery and
deleted slim fingers from the last sentence. Why? Splintery describes a sound.
Slim described Tinsley’s fingers. The problem? In theory we’re in Tinsley’s
head, would she describe her fingers?

I’m not sure if
Tinsley will emerge from that old hard-drive behind. If she does, I have loads
of work to do.

Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders. 

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean–and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is–she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions. 

Her next book, Clouds in my Coffee, releases on May 10th.

Forget Contests – Writing Itself as a Competition

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Forget Contests – Writing Itself as
a Competition by Debra H. Goldstein

Joel can’t understand my addiction
to cooking shows like Chopped and Top Chef – especially with my well-documented
aversion to the kitchen. He is even more confused at the hours of TV watching I
do when I acknowledge that I could care less what pan, spice or heat any of the
chefs use. I’m impressed with how these cooks take bizarre ingredients and
repurpose them into something enticing.

I acknowledge their plates aren’t
always perfectly composed or that sometimes the meat is underdone or the
ingredients mixed together into something lumpy and unattractive. That doesn’t
matter. What counts, as I repeatedly explain to Joel, is the imagination and
skills the chefs rely on preparing their dishes.

What I don’t share with Joel is that
these shows keep my attention, but not enough that I can’t multi-task while
watching them. I also don’t admit that if it was just one chef demonstrating
what could be made from a mixture of ingredients, I would change the channel. I
love the competitive aspects of Chopped and Top Chef. To win, not only must the
cook personally stretch using ingredients that even a professional has never
seen before, but they have to produce a project that is better than that of
their competitors. Being told to “Please Pack your knives and go” or “You’ve
been Chopped,” means the final plate lacked innovation, style, or contained a
fatal flaw.

In a way, these shows are like the
process of writing. A writer can enter contests or respond to open

submission
calls, but the reality is that the writing itself is a competition. Writers,
especially in series writing, won’t succeed if the plotlines or characters are
just called in. Readers will not come back if the word choices are poor, the
spelling and punctuation lacking, or there are gaps in the storyline.
Creativity and dedication revision are necessary for a work in progress to take
the championship.

This is not a world for those who
are unwilling to work. Even the best wordsmiths toil at the craft. But that is
the fun of the competitive edge of writing – trying to produce a work that not
only is a personal best, but one that stands just a bit ahead of comparable
works.    
SHOULD HAVE PLAYED POKER: a Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg Players Mystery releases on April 20, but win a chance to win a copy – Goodreads Giveaway now until April 28
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

A Working Writers’ Retreat

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by Sparkle Abbey

What do you think of when you think of a writing retreat? Do you imagine exotic locations? Maybe a mountain escape? Or a beachside resort? Or maybe an isolated lake cabin? We found some wonderful ones listed in this article from The Write Life. All incredible places we’d love to visit, but we’d argue exotic is not necessarily required for a successful retreat.

Writing Retreat Websites
http://thewritelife.com/writing-retreats/

We recently did a weekend plotting retreat with three other writers who are members of our long-time critique group. And it was a bit different than the ones listed in the article.

Our purposely not exotic location was a nearby town. We had adjoining hotel rooms, a breakfast bar, and restaurants in the area that delivered. We know our limitations and just how easy it is to get distracted if we leave the retreat. (We also brought way too many snacks, but that’s another story.)

We had white boards, flip charts, post-it notes, plenty of markers and this time we also brought magazines and poster board. It can be extremely hard to switch off the day job work week mind and move your brain to creative thinking, so we decided to start the retreat with vision boards.

Each writer chose a particular project (story) to focus on for the retreat and with stacks of magazines by our sides, scissors and glue sticks in hand, we dove in. Each of us created a vision board of images related to our stories. For some it was a story not yet started and for others a story in progress. The main idea of this exercise is not to over-think the selections. To pick out images or words you’re drawn to. As you sort through them you may discard some, add others, move pictures and words around. And through the process, you may discover some new things about your story. Things that may have been lurking in the back of your mind.

The next morning we hit the breakfast bar and then we begin the hard work part of the retreat. Each writer (or in our case writing team) gets a two-hour time slot for plotting. We need to add here that some in the group are hardcore plotters and others, well, not so much. So each writer starts their time with setting the boundaries on what kind of help they’d like during their time slot.

We work. We brainstorm and eat snacks. We take notes and often photos of the notes we’ve made on the white board. And then we move on to the next writer’s story. With a break for lunch, we begin again. Brainstorm, notes, snacks, photos. Then dinner is delivered because we don’t want to change from our yoga pants and sweatshirts. And then…repeat.

By Sunday morning we’ve covered a lot of ground and after hitting the breakfast bar for a dose of energy and much needed caffeine, we’re ready for wrap-up. Each writer gets an hour of clarification or additional brainstorming time because sometimes after you’ve slept on that brilliant idea you find that it’s full of holes.

Other writers’ groups do retreats in different ways, but we’ve found this to be a productive and fun way to work out the kinks in a story idea and to support each other. We’ve done this for several years and it works for us. Still..the beach or the mountains would be nice, right? Maybe next time.

Have you attended a retreat and, if so, what type? A writing retreat? Something to do with your job? Or perhaps something creative like a quilting or scrapbooking retreat? We’d love to hear about your experiences!

And for a little creative get-away at home, we’ll draw from all who leave a comment for this great Cats & Dogs adult coloring book.

Doesn’t it look like fun?

Sparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mystery series. They are friends as well as neighbors so they often write at ML’s dining room table or at the Starbucks up the street. If they could write anywhere, you would find them on the beach with their laptops and, depending on the time of day, either an iced tea or a margarita.

They love to hear from readers and would love to connect with you via their website at: sparkleabbey.com or on Facebook or Twitter.

The latest book in their mystery series is Raiders of the Lost Bark.

Mindful Daydreaming to Discover Your Story

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By Kimberly Jayne
As an author, I use many tools to coax my stories onto the
page. One of my favorites is mindful daydreaming, a sort of self-guided meditation that breaks through mental blocks. I equate this activity to excavating the gray matter, digging past the idea mantle, and settling into the planning and
plotting layers where scenes and sequences are born, and where I mine for story nuggets that will elevate my work to its highest form.

Last week, I needed to mindful daydream a couple of story sequences that were only partially done, and I really wanted to brighten them up with unique details that would boost the tension and the emotions, exacerbate the conflicts, and improve the flow from one scene to the next. And while I didn’t exactly have the ideal place to do it, I did have a few hours in which I was doing nothing: sitting in the center seat on a flight from Austin to Phoenix. 
It worked far better than I’d have guessed, because in less than 15 minutes, I had about five explicit scenes and sequences drawn in my mind—some entirely new. I couldn’t wait to land and get them down on paper.
Want to try it?
Here’s how I do it:
First, I find a quiet place, get my body into a relaxed
position (preferably lying down), and close my eyes. Then I pull out a file
from my psyche—at least, that’s how it feels. In this file are the fragments of
a scene, an unfinished scene that might be giving me trouble, or a scene I want
to enrich. And then I let my imagination run wild. 

Like directing a movie, I visualize character movements, hear dialogue, taste flavors, touch objects, and
generally feel sensations as my character or as an observer of my
character. I spend anywhere from five to twenty minutes in this state,
sometimes replaying the scenes and adding or modifying as I go. At the end of
the session, I quickly write down the new scenes I’ve created so I can flesh them out
as time permits. 

You can see why being surrounded by strangers and squished in an airplane seat may not be the optimal environment for mindful daydreaming, but my experience proves that the more you do it, the better you get at it, and the faster your results no matter where you are. I personally never leave a mindful daydreaming session without new and exciting elements to add to my story. 

Mindful daydreaming has the added benefit of leaving me
feeling refreshed and rejuvenated afterward—and psyched to get back to my
story. Also? Mindful daydreaming helps you work through real-life problems, as you dig to find your personal truths and solutions you might not have been able to see before. 

Try it, why don’t you, and let me know how it works for you.
Kimberly Jayne is the author of romantic comedy and dark fantasy. You can find more about her and her novels at “Read Kimberly Jayne” (http://readkimberly.com). 

Take My Husband, Please! By Kimberly Jayne


After Sophie files for divorce from Will, his unexpected financial apocalypse brings him back under her roof. Awkward! And if that’s not bad enough, Sophie’s new guy—a sexy and successful entrepreneur—is not keen on dating her without proof that Will is truly out of the picture. Sophie and her best friend concoct a brilliant bet to keep Will “occupied,” but things take a surprise turn for the crazy when Sophie gets roped into sending her ex on five blind dates! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, but you won’t want this story to end.

Also by Kimberly
Jayne:

Art and the Political

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There is some pretty good advice that floats around the Internet that says that fiction writers should refrain from engaging in political debates, and certainly refrain from posting blogs about their own political beliefs. The idea is that writers should strive to remain neutral so as not to take away from the fictional worlds they create (and also not to deter readers who might not agree with them from buying their books). And yet, there is an equal idea that art is inherently political, that our own politics and beliefs are not only reflected in the art we create, but should be, because we owe it to readers to speak our own truths.

In the United States, it is an election year. Politics are everywhere these days — in the news, on social media, at holiday dinners with family members you are not actually convinced you are related to, and in random conversations between eclectically dressed strangers at the store. Everyone has an opinion. Actually, they have lots of opinions, and links, and memes, and sound bites, and graphs, and polls, and when will this election be over already?

The thing is, as a writer, I also have opinions. Lots of opinions, actually. Tons and tons of opinions I would like to share with people in lovely (and hopefully well written) paragraphs and blogs.
I am trying to resist the urge. For one thing, engaging in political conversations on the Internet has never actually led anyone I have argued with to actually agree with me. Humans are hard wired to actually actively ignore information that doesn’t match what they already think thanks to confirmation bias:
And while there is also a valid argument in the fact that not only is arguing on the Internet a waste of time but is also yet another way of avoiding the kind of writing I should be doing, I do think there is some value in engaging in online discussions to some degree. But online discussions have a way of devolving into drawn out battles where each side is more determined to win than to actually consider another opinion. 
Over the past few days, I have been finding myself posting more and more political things and engaging more and more with other people about the things they have been posting. All it ever really gets me is a rise in my blood pressure and an uneasy feeling that Somebody is wrong  (and the even more unsettling feeling that that Somebody could very well be me). There is also this feeling that maybe I am putting too much of my political self out there, that this goes against what I should be doing to brand myself as a mostly-likeable-and-non-controversial author. Is that a standard I should even be striving for? How much politics is too much? 
And in the end, if art really is political, should I be saving my political views for my fiction (however subtly or overtly they come across)?
What do other’s think? How do you handle art and politics?

Lessons Learned

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It’s been a just over a year since The Deep End released. One year. Three hundred and sixty-five plus lessons about publishing. Here are six of them.
The first lesson: I woke up on February 17, 2015 expecting confetti cannons and champagne. I traipsed down the stairs, poured my morning coffee, and waited for something marvelous to happen…and waited. I spent the day in front of my computer, replying to blog posts, stalking Amazon numbers, and secretly hoping that the damned cannon would just explode already. When Guaranteed to Bleed released in October, I was ready. I made sure I had a celebration planned. The lesson? Having a book published is an accomplishment. Celebrate that accomplishment even if you have to buy your own champagne.
The second lesson: There are countless “experts” who are thrilled to tell authors the secrets to selling books—often for a price. Social media sells books. Social media doesn’t sell books. You must blog. Blogs are dead. Take all advice with a grain of salt. The author who swears Facebook ads are a waste may have created an amateurish ad without a clear call to action. The author who claims a hundred newsletter signups a day may be exaggerating. The lesson? There are two. What sells one book won’t move a single copy of another. Find a couple of social media outlets that are comfortable and forget the rest.
6 Tips When Publishing Your Book by Julie Mulhern
The third lesson: Write. There are so many variables in publishing and authors control only one of them—the quality of the next book. The lesson? Write a good book.
The fourth lesson: No one in your regular life—not your soulmate, your best friend since first grade, or your mother—will understand stalking Amazon numbers, the thrill of a positive editorial letter, the agony of editing, or the stake through the heart of a bad review like another author. The lesson? Your writer friends are priceless. They will keep you sane. Mine are called to action often.
The fifth lesson: Your editor is your friend. True, that friendly feeling may not be evident when you’re reading a revision letter that twists your guts into unholy yoga poses. But—trust me on this—you both want the same thing, the best possible book. The lesson? Read revision letters then put them away for a day or two. Ponder. Consider. And, if there’s still something you completely disagree with, talk. Publishing a book is a collaboration, not a dictatorship.
The sixth lesson: On February 17, 2014, I hoped to one day be published. Two years later, I’ve seen three books make their way into the world. This year I will see another three. It is all too easy to get caught up in deadlines and word counts and editing. The lesson? Remember your dream and take time to savor your successes.
Julie’s latest Country Club Murder is Guaranteed to Bleed. Her next one, Clouds in My Coffee, releases May 10, 2016.

Bethany’s Rules for Marketing

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by Bethany Maines

In my quest for world book domination I frequently peruse
tips on how to better market myself/books. 
Some come up with some interesting strategies that are worth pursuing
and then there’s this list…
I won’t mention the name of the blog I found it on because I
don’t believe in public shaming.  But let’s
just assess a few of the items on this list shall we? 
Comment on Blogs – The
theory is that you will become recognized and friends with other blog
commenters as well as those running the blog and then you will RISE TO
FAME!  Or… not.  Of course, having additional friends will help
you expand your fan base.  But pursuing
that strategy for the sake of selling books is so lacking in any genuine
feeling that it will actually turn people against you. 
Bethany Rule #1 –
always be your best self online.  Only
comment on a blog if you have something interesting and positive to add to the
conversation. Trolls don’t sell books.
Create a Viral Video –
Let’s just hop right on that shall we? 
We’ll get out or cell phones and film our cats and then, bam, done!  As this article on
Slate indicates, only 10% of YouTube videos get more than 1000 views.  Videos these days are higher in quality and
there a simply MORE of them out there than in the beginning days of social
media. Here’s my attempt at a viral video
– it’s awesome, you should watch it.  But
I only paid for food for the crew and a make-up artist to make the video
happen, everything else was done in trade. 
I felt comfortable with my investment  and I view the video as a great sales tool to
introduce people to my book series, but I never counted on it going viral. 
Bethany Rule #2 –
if you have to pay a lot of money for a product that you’re going to giveaway
for free, it’s probably not worth it.
Go on National TV – Yup,
I’m just going to dial up Oprah right now, promise her some bread, and book
myself on National TV.  Getting air time,
particularly on a National level, is one of the things that happens when you’re
ALREADY famous.  There’s a reason Donald
Trump has ceased to advertise.  He’s
getting 15% of the national news time (according to a recent news piece I saw
on my local news) and 50% of the election coverage.  He doesn’t NEED to advertise.   I’m not recommending that you be Donald Trump
– one is more than enough – but being getting air time is something that you
either pay for, or you get because your famous for something already.

Bethany
Rule #3 – work to be
locally famous.  Join groups.  Send press releases.  Volunteer to judge writing contests.  Talk to people.  Network and connect – people sell books.


The internet is full of many tips, some are more helpful than others.  I just hope that you find mine a little more helpful than the one from the blog that shall remain nameless.



Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Tales from the City of
Destiny and An Unseen Current.
 You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.