The Right Hook

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

After completing Between Land and Sea, I attended a number of workshops where the facilitators stressed the importance of a hook or logline.

What is a hook/logline?

Very simply, it is a concise sentence that answers the question: What is your novel about? An effective logline provides enough interest to prolong the conversation with a prospective agent or publisher, encourages readers to pick up the book, and creates tweetable buzz.

At first, I found it a daunting task. How could I possibly condense 69,000 words into 25 words or less?

Continue reading on Sophia Kimble’s blog.

What’s In a Name?

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

The topic of pseudonyms came up on a discussion board. Several writers expressed an interest in using pen names and wanted more information about the legalities involved.

I was surprised to see so much interest in the topic. I had always associated pseudonyms with female writers such as Mary Anne Evans/George Eliot, who used a male name to ensure that her work would be accepted by publishers and the public.

While researching the topic, I discovered many more reasons for using pen names.

Authors who regularly write in more than one genre use different pen names. Romance writer Nora Roberts writes erotic thrillers under the pen name J.D. Robb.

A pen name may be used if the author believes that his/her name does not suit the genre. Western novelist Pearl Gray dropped his first name and changed the spelling of his last name to become Zane Grey.

In some countries, authors use pen names to write about controversial topics that could be politically unsafe.

Writers of romance novels are often advised to use pen names to protect themselves against stalkers.

In the past, prolific authors were asked to use pen names to prevent flooding the market with too many books in one year. Stephen King published four novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. After critics pointed out style similarities, the books were reprinted with Stephen King’s name. One of his books, Thinner, sold twenty times more copies after the changes were made.

Some writers wish to keep their writing career separate from their everyday life. Comic book writer Stan Lee was born Stanley Lieber. He used the pen name Stan Lee because he intended to save his real name for more serious literature. His career as a novelist never materialized so he changed his name legally to Stan Lee.

A collective name or house name is used with series fiction such as the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Bobbsey Twins series. The first book in each series was written by one writer, but subsequent books were written by ghost writers.

Collaborative authors like to have their books published under one name. Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini write their Coffeehouse Mystery series using the pseudonym Cleo Coyle.

Last year, J.K. Rowling was outed as the author of Cuckoo’s Calling, which she published under the pen name Robert Gailbraith. In an interview, she commented: “”I was yearning to go back to the beginning of a writing career in this new genre to work without hype or expectation to receive totally unvarnished feedback. It was a fantastic experience and I only wish it could have gone on a little longer.”

Regarding the legalities…

You don’t have to file any forms or hire a lawyer. Simply put the phrase “writing as” on your manuscript and let the publisher know your real name to ensure that you receive payment for your work.

Any other interesting pseudonym stories out there?

Fun Friday

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

The Evolving Mermaid

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

When I announced the release of Between Land and Sea, a novel about an overweight, middle-aged mermaid, I was surprised by the subsequent comments.

The typical male response was a Duchenne smile followed by a puzzled expression and several pointed questions…

Why is she so old?

Just how overweight is she?

What happened to her?

The men had preconceived notions of what a mermaid should look like—wavy auburn tresses, mesmerizing green eyes and a curvaceous twenty something body.

Continue reading at Kate Wyland’s blog.

Visiting Sarah Hoss

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

The lawyer shook his head. “I still don’t understand why your mermaid has to be old and fat.”

“Fifty-three is not that old.” I ignored the weight issue.

He persisted. “It is when it comes to mermaids. Why couldn’t you just let her be young, thin and beautiful?”

Thankfully, the conversation was interrupted by the facilitator’s call to resume the workshop. A few minutes more and I might have lost patience with the annoying lawyer who simply wouldn’t accept my vision of an older mermaid.

Continue reading on Sarah Hoss’ blog.

How to Celebrate Rejection…

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m always on the lookout for unique word combinations, but this one took me by surprise. I couldn’t imagine a more unlikely word pair than “celebrate rejection” and an even more unlikely source: an interview with Susan Sarandon.

How does one of Hollywood’s most talented leading ladies celebrate rejection? Whenever Ms. Sarandon didn’t get a role, she’d go out for dinner or buy herself an album. In leaner times, she treated herself to an avocado. But more importantly, she did not dwell on it. She had a knack for replacing the negative self-talk with positive and affirming statements such as, This means I’m now available for something else.

Continue reading at MindBodyGreen.

Reinvention and Baby Boomers

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, Beth Carpenter is talking about transitions and introducing her new book, Recalculating Route.

Here’s Beth!

“And they lived happily ever after.” But what if they didn’t? Maybe the marriage didn’t work out. Maybe their career paths led them to a dead end. Maybe everything went just as planned, but now they are retired and need to reinvent themselves. “Happily ever after” isn’t a destination, it’s a journey.

Often, life feels less like a bed of roses and more like a tree on a riverbank, growing from the rock. While the river keeps washing the ground from underneath it, the tree is putting out roots, desperately trying to hang on, to keep from toppling over. Over time, that tree develops a certain grace, a sense of purpose that the pretty roses will never achieve. The struggle creates the beauty.

Baby boomers everywhere are making transitions. Many, after years at one career, are making the decision to move to another, either to fulfill a lifelong dream or from necessity as their old job disappears. Sometimes, they’re starting their own business from scratch. Others are making that jump to retirement, structuring their days and their lives without the framework of a career to shape them.

Sometimes I think it’s absurd that we expect eighteen-year-olds to choose a college major that leads to a career path. What do they know about life, about the possibilities? On the other hand, a person has to start somewhere, and maybe where they begin is less important than taking that first step. Knowledge is seldom wasted. Many people move from one career to something completely different, and yet the lessons from that first career shape the person and help him or her succeed in the next. I recently read Confessions of an Instinctively Mutinous Baby Boomer and her Parable of the Tomato Plant. In that book, Marsha Roberts tells of the parables she has experienced in her life. She was a nurse, but later became a successful producer. The two careers seem to have little in common, but her compassion, organizational skills, and experience working with people in difficult situations undoubtedly contributed to her success in her second career.

All our experiences make us who we are, and sometimes life seems to circle around, bringing us back to our roots. A few years ago, my brother agreed to help organize his class reunion. One of the other members of the committee was a woman he’d known in high school, but hadn’t seen since, who lived in a completely different part of the state. They’re happily married now, and they’re not alone. I’ve known of several couples from the same hometown who reconnected after years of living in different parts of the country. It makes sense. They have that common ground, that rootstock from which their life took shape. This gives them something to build on as they make their transitions.

Transitions can be fairly smooth. My own path from stay-at-home mom and avid reader to writer felt like a natural progression as my children grew up. A combination of life experience and those thousands of books I’d devoured over the years gave me a base to build upon in writing that I wouldn’t have had at twenty-five.

Other times, it’s not so smooth. In my newest book, Recalculating Route, the main character, Marsha, was happily married and had retirement all mapped out when her beloved husband died. That left her without a clue on how to spend the rest of her life. She meets Ben, who is also rudderless after selling his company and retiring. The two of them have to figure out what happens next.

As we make our transitions, whether by choice or by necessity, we need to keep in mind that we are in charge of our own “happily ever afters,” and happiness involves growing and changing. Enjoy the journey.

Where you can find Beth…

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Goodreads

Joanne here!

Thank you, Beth for sharing your wonderful advice and insights about transitions. I just finished reading Recalculating Route and highly recommend it. Leave a comment for Beth and you could win a giveaway package valued at $50. Check out the link to the Prize Description.

Eden Mills Writers’ Festival–2013

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

It’s hard to believe the Eden Mills Festival is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary. This annual literary picnic does not disappoint, even when the weather fails to co-operate. As the temperatures dropped and the rain fell yesterday, jackets were donned and umbrellas were opened, but very few people left the grounds.

Inspired by such internationally acclaimed writers as Linwood Barclay, Andrew Pyper, Cathy Marie Buchanan, David Bergen and Elizabeth Ruth, I also welcomed the opportunity to sit in on up-and-coming writers from the MFA program at the University of Guelph. I was impressed by the passionate and evocative voices of the 2013 Guelph Poetry Slam Team and not surprised to hear they are the current provincial slam champions.

Linwood Barclay photographed by Patricia Anderson

Andrew Pyper photographed by Patricia Anderson

Exploring, Changing, Dreaming

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today we have award-winning author Jacqui Nelson reflecting on her multi-act life.

Here’s Jacqui!

Act 1 – What to do when your life is a blank canvas?

Start exploring. I spent the first eighteen years of my life in one place—one community, one farm, one house. Most of what I knew had come from reading books. My first real challenge was to decide what I wanted to study, what I wanted to be. At the time I was reading Jean Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear series. I enrolled in a geology/zoology double major at the nearest university. I was going to be a paleontologist.

Act 2 – What to do when you don’t want to dissect a cat?

Be open to change. I love going to school, but I dreaded that dissection class. And how many jobs are there in paleontology anyway? I decided I should be practical. Computers seemed popular even if I hadn’t used them more than a handful of times. Note: this was in the latter part of the 80s. I took a two-year computer systems college course, got a job immediately upon graduating, and worked for seven years as a computer programmer/systems analyst.

Act 3 – What to do when you want a job you adore? tyle=”font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:’Times New Roman’, ‘serif’;”>Go after your dreams. I’ve loved animation for as long as I’ve loved reading. My theory became—someone’s doing that dream job, why not me? I went back to school, found my first animation job in Germany, worked there for two years, and then worked one year back home in Canada and four in England. I was pursuing my dream.

Act 4 – What to do when you burn out at your dream job?

Be crazy enough to give it up, then lucky enough to clear you mind and remember a previous dream– writing a book. I researched writing groups, discovered a Romance Writers of America chapter nearby, became a member, and started learning again…but slowly this time. I still need a day job to pay the bills. I’ve worked as a fund-raising assistant and in a variety of retail shops.

Today I work in a bookstore.

Seems like a good place for me. For now. For as long as I’m able to write in every free moment that presents itself.

And what advice can I give anyone planning to pursue a new act in life? Work hard at whatever you choose to do. The following anonymous quote has been with me (and kept me going) since the day I left my childhood home: The race is to the driven, not the swift.

As long as I push forward, as long as I keep exploring and changing and dreaming and even on occasion being a little crazy—I have faith that I can accomplish whatever I desire and that the best acts in life are yet to come.

Bio

Jacqui Nelson writes historical romantic adventures set in the American West and Victorian London. Her love of Western stories came from watching classic Western movies while growing up on a cattle farm. Her passion for Victorian London wasn’t far behind and only increased when she worked in England for four years and explored the nooks and crannies of London on her weekends. Jacqui currently lives in Victoria on the west coast of Canada where she works as a book seller. Her previous jobs have included animator, systems analyst and fundraising event coordinator.

Her debut release, Adella’s Enemy, is part of the Passion’s Prize anthology and the Steam! Romance and Rails series. She is a Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® winner and three-time finalist.

Blurbs

Adella’s Enemy (a novella in the Passion’s Prize anthology)

Can the pursuit of an old enemy lead to a new love?

Five years after the War Between the States, a Kansas railroad race heats up as former Rebel spy Adella Willows receives her mission from a Washington senator—play havoc with the Katy Railroad and derail its bid to win the race. The senator craves wealth. Adella craves revenge against the man responsible for her brother’s death. But her plans crumble into chaos when she matches wits with the railroad’s foreman, a handsome Irishman torn between two desires: winning the race or winning Adella’s heart.

The Passion’s Prize anthology (in the Steam! Romance and Rails series) features three interlinked Western historical romance novellas revolving around the true story of a cutthroat construction race between two powerful railroads.

Outlaws, soldiers and spies bedevil the Katy Railroad as crews rush to reach the Indian Territory border before the rival railroad. The stakes are just as high for three women whose lives hinge on the outcome.

In Adella’s Enemy by Jacqui Nelson, a spy pursuing an old enemy must choose to live for revenge or die for love. In Eden’s Sin by Jennifer Jakes, a woman with a soiled past must trust the one man who could ruin her future. And in Kate’s Outlaw by E.E. Burke, a railroad heiress abducted by outlaws must escape before her Cherokee captor steals her fortune—and her heart. Passions rise. Fortunes fall. In a race for riches, anything can happen.

Where to find Jacqui…

Website: www.JacquiNelson.com

Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/jacquinelson

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/JacquiNelson

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JacquiNelsonBooks

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Jacqui_Nelson

Joanne here!

Thank you, Jacqui for sharing the long and winding path that led to your successful literary debut. I’m certain this post will inspire many readers to start exploring, changing and dreaming.

I Hate to Be Pigeonholed

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Debra H. Goldstein talking about a childhood promise, high-powered careers, and writing.

Here’s Debra!

When I was a child, I spoke so quickly I couldn’t be understood. My parents dragged me to professional speech therapy supplemented by reading poetry aloud every night. My favorite poem was John Greenleaf Whittier’s “Barefoot Boy.” It inspired me to never want to be confined in my thoughts or actions.

My resolution to think outside the box resulted in choosing to graduate college a term early, determined to immediately go to New York to try to accomplish two goals: landing a publishing job and getting on Jeopardy. Lest you not think me pragmatic, by day I looked for a job while at night I applied for admission to law school. Eight months later, my two goals fulfilled, I started law school. I figured down the road, I would mesh writing and law.

My first job out of school was as a corporate international tax attorney. I hated it. A year later, I gave up my big salary and benefits to become a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor. I loved litigation and kept my hand in writing by producing a number of boring legal articles and continuing legal education pieces. After a few years I reached a fork in my legal career—continue as a litigator or seek a federal administrative law judicial appointment. Many people advised me not to get my hopes up as I was in my thirties and the average age for a federal Administrative Law judge was fifty-eight, plus only thirteen women held the position in the country. I applied anyway. In 1990, whether because of luck, having tried an equal pay case of first impression, or I don’t know what, I became one of the youngest people ever appointed as an Administrative Law Judge. During the next twenty years, I carried a heavy docket, raised four children, was a wife, volunteered in the community, and continued to write legal articles and decisions. I also was the go to person for party skits, but other than occasionally commenting that I’d like to write, that was as far as my creative writing went.

In 2009, two friends challenged me to stop talking and actually write. One went so far as to loan me a beach condo for a weekend. I left that condo with eighty-five hand-written pages and the confidence I could write a book. Maze in Blue, a mystery set on the University of Michigan’s campus in the 1970’s, was published in 2011. It contained four or five pages from the original eighty-five. Between juggling promotional appearances, signings, my continued responsibilities as a judge, and making a consistent effort to write non-fiction and fiction pieces, the next two years flew by. I found myself joking that I had a day and a night job.

I started to feel I only wanted to do one of these jobs. When I announced that I was stepping down from the bench, my colleagues thought I was crazy. They pointed out that the last three judges to retire from our lifetime appointments were 89, 86, and 79. I responded that I had been on the bench twenty-three years and that with luck I might have the opportunity for my new career to last as long or longer.

Will I write the great American novel? Probably not, but I’ve been enjoying a very diverse new career. It includes writing non-fiction, fiction, and beach or bedside fun pieces like my 2012 IPPY Award winning novel, Maze in Blue, and the book I now am shopping, Should Have Played Poker: A Mah Jongg Murder Mystery, which recently won an Alabama Writers Conclave First Chapter Award. Whether this is my final act or an interim one, I know the variety of things I have done and people who have influenced me can all be tied back to the decision I made in childhood to never be pigeonholed.

Bio

Judge, author, litigator, wife, step-mom, mother of twins, civic volunteer, University of Michigan grad, and transplanted Yankee are all words use to describe Debra H. Goldstein. Her writings are equally diverse. Her debut novel, Maze in Blue, a murder mystery set on the University of Michigan’s campus in the late 1970’s received a 2012 Independent Book Publisher (IPPY) Award. Even though Maze in Blue is a murder mystery, it is a safe bet that when it comes to her writing, “It’s Not Always a Mystery.”

Where to find Debra…

Website: www.DebraHGoldstein.com

Blog: http://debrahgoldstein.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DebraHGoldstein

Joanne here!

WOW! Thank you, Debra, for giving us glimpses of the beautiful life tapestry you have expertly woven.