The Gifted

The Gifted  was released today, July 1. That makes today a good day. July 1 is also my deadline for the book I'm currently writing. That makes today a pressure filled day. July 1 is also my granddaughter's birthday. That makes it a joyful day. Tonight, still July 1, was also a really hard night for me with Mom, so that made it a not so good day. My husband was singing at a church in a nearby town and the WV grandkids, who happened to be in that town due to the electricity being out because of the storms that went through their area, all went to hear him. I didn't get to go. I didn't get to see the kids. That made it a day I was feeling a little sorry for myself. All the same day but with such different ups and downs.

But a person should always concentrate on the bright side. The bright side is Jessamine is ready to share her story with readers. The bright side is that some people have already read The Gifted and I'm beginning to hear some reader remarks and see a few reviews. The bright side is that the first two reader reviews on Amazon had all the stars lit up. Here's what one of those readers said, "Full of rich detail about the lives of this reclusive religious group, it is fascinating reading for anyone curious about the Shakers, or anyone who is a fan of reading about the Plain people, though not necessarily Amish." That was nice - another bright side.

The bright side is that I am almost finished with the new book even though I did spend extra hours at the nursing home and finally had to leave with Mom angry with me. Due to emergencies with a couple of other patients, they were slow to bring her medicine. She had gone to sleep and when they woke her she was in a wrong mood. Refused her medicine. Refused to listen to me. Now I have to worry about how she's doing without that medicine. Sigh. 

It was just one of those nights when things didn't go smoothly. But I suppose I can be glad that the electricity didn't get knocked out by the storm. I can be glad for all the bright sides of this day, July 1. And I can be very glad that I have a new book available for readers. As soon as I get the new book off to my editor, I'll be sending out a newsletter with information about celebrating The Gifted with the chance for you to win some special gifts. A person needs to shine up the bright sides and celebrate the good things in life.

Thanks for reading and helping me shine up the bright sides of this day and every day. 

 

Titles, Titles, and More Titles

Inspiration can appear in many places when you're brainstorming ideas for titles. The beautiful, fragrant lilac was my inspiration for the title of my first Hollyhill book. The Scent of Lilacs. Almost until it was ready to go into print production, I had the title The Smell of Lilacs. Then I was standing behind the old bus my husband's quartet used to travel in and being almost overcome by diesel fumes which I really hate to smell. And it hit me! A smell is not always a good smell. Ah, but when you say scent, you think pleasant odors and I definitely had in mind pleasant odors for my scent of lilacs in that Hollyhill book. Fortunately, it wasn't too late for me to say, "Hey, how about we change smell to scent?" If it had been too late, I'd have probably always been thinking diesel fumes when I saw the title instead of the heavenly scent of lilacs.

As I told you Sunday, I've been brainstorming for title ideas for my book in progress. I jotted down everything that came to mind and then looked on Amazon to see how many books were already using those titles and how long since they were published. Titles are used over and over. For instance, one of the titles I thought up as a possibility was Promise Me Tomorrow. Lots of other authors had already thought that title up. Many books with that title. Also Tomorrow's Promise was a popular, much used title. So I threw those out as too popular and too recent. 

I want my book to have a unique and fitting title.  I'm not sure I came up with any unique and fitting ideas. I really prefer to wait until I've finished the book to brainstorm title ideas, and this book is far from finished. I'm still feeling my way and not totally sure how the ending is going to go. But the publishers need a title now. Maybe I need a title now too. Maybe that will focus my thinking and let me see the story in a clearer way. My working title for the book is Far from Rosey Corner. But while I was brainstorming I kept wanting to throw love into the title or chance or wind/winds. So we'll see. The publishers titling committee will look at my suggestions and try to figure out which title would work best. They might also brainstorm new titles of their own. Since I'm not particularly attached to any of the titles I came up with, I'll have an open mind ready to consider whatever they suggest. That's not always the case when I'm attached to the title I've decided is best for the story.


Many of the titles I have come up with have ended up the final titles on my books. I've also been told that I write to the title. I do tend to intertwine the theme of the title into my story. I certainly did that with The Seeker. And I have done that with The Gifted, my Shaker novel that will be out in July since a major theme of that book is the gifts we are given by the Lord. So it will be good to have a title for this work in progress, so I can continue to brainstorm the story. 


How important are titles to you in picking a book? What are some great titles? Gone with the Wind - that's classic. I like Cold Mountain and Snow on Cedars. But sometimes it's a combination of a story you love plus a title like The Secret Garden or Charlotte's Web.  

Thanks for reading, and I always enjoy reading your comments.

The Best Gift

My daughter and her dog, Sumo

"Time is free, but it's priceless.  You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it, you can never get it back." (Harvey MacKay)

Time - sometimes it seems there's never enough time to get everything we need to do done. That's certainly been true for me this summer as I struggled to get a new Shaker story out of my head and typed into my computer. Part of the reason for my struggle was that for about a year now my mom has needed someone with her around the clock due to heart problems and worsening dementia. It hasn't always been easy, but I did find out a few things about myself and writing.

First I discovered I'm not as fast a writer as I'd like to be. Second, I need a lot of alone time with just me and my computer to get a story out of my head. Third, I am an expert delayer if the words are not coming easy. And last but certainly not least, I can't do it all anymore. Maybe I never could, but for sure, I can't now.

Then again, maybe the best thing I learned is that I am loved. Of course I already knew that, but sometimes actions prove it all over again. My daughter gave me a week of her time. She used some of her vacation time and came home to sit with Mom in my place to allow me that alone time to finish my stubborn work in progress. That was not only very touching, but also very motivating.

I could hardly twiddle my fingers and find delaying trails to follow when she was here expressly to give me time to write. I had to write. And I did. I got to the end of the story. Not exactly finished completely, but the story is out of my head and down there on the screen paper where I can cut and polish. That doesn't take as much alone time. That I can do in the midst of distractions.

Time. These last few months the refrain in my head has been "How much time do I have?" That was how many hours before I needed to go to Mom's or cook dinner or turn in for the night. Or how many months, weeks, days before my deadline for the story. Not happy questions.

Time is such a gift. Both the time the Lord gives us each day and the time we share with one another. Thank you for spending a few moments of your time with me.