Update

The new blog that will fill this space, Write of Passage, will start here this Friday, and run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Meanwhile, for our regular CSC readers who weren't able to drop in last Friday, just scroll down to see the news. Thanks so much.

I hope to see you here again in a few days!

~ Linda

The Power of Transformation

Transformation is a deeply personal topic for the Critique Sisters this week. We met at a writing conference in Hawaii in August of 2009 and have been fast friends and co-bloggers ever since (well, the blog started a bit later, but not much). Having each other to bounce ideas off and strategize with has been fabulous, and writing this blog together has been a dream, but like all good dreams, it is coming to an end. The blog as it was, that is. The friendship and idea sharing go on! New dreams are being born for each of us, and that includes a new blog in this space, which I'll get to in a minute.

Karlene and Heather are each devoting themselves to tours with their books and fantastic business ventures, and are still blogging at their individual blogs that you already know so well:  Karlene at Flight to Success , and Heather at Heather's Odyssey.  When we talked about the transformation we were all going through and, in particular about CSC, they both suggested that I (Linda) inherit the blog space we've inhabited together up to now, and that they will come back and guest post often. I couldn't ask for two more generous or thoughtful friends.

I'm excited to tell you all that I'll be blogging in this space with a new writers' resource blog called Write of Passage. It will bring in the sensibilities of Critique Sisters Corner and will focus on the ideas, tools, processes, people, industry activity, and especially the fun of writing. Come back and check it out next week! Same space, same url. And before I sign off for the last time as one of the Critique Sisters (that kind of made me tear up), Heather and Karlene have a few words to share with you:

"Thank you Linda. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to blog with you and Heather, and I couldn't be more happy to pass our pen to you. The Write of Passage couldn't be a better name. To all our readers... we are not going away. Heather, Linda, and I, will continue to be the critique sisters. We will just be sisters behind the scenes. I know there will be many writers retreats in our future, in addition to guest appearances on Write of Passage. I am looking forward to Linda's new blog. I know you will too." Karlene

"Karlene said it so well that she didn't leave me much to say. I would say that I will miss all of you, but I won't because I'm not really leaving, just handing over the reins to Linda. As Karlene said, she and I will be back monthly to guest post, and like any good friend, we'll visit every day. It's Linda's time to shine and I hope you'll all remain dedicated readers and followers and embrace her on this journey. To help get her off to a good start we'll be doing a fantastic giveaway that you won't want to miss." ~Heather

~ Heather, Karlene, and Linda

Location, Location, Location

You've heard it time and again; it's all about location. But have you ever thought about how that plays into your writing? No, well perhaps it's time you did. It's no mistake that my first novel, The Secret Of Spruce Knoll, takes place in a tiny town in Colorado. I chose carefully based on the history of the area being colonized, and on the needs of my story and characters.

A truly good story uses setting as a sort of character. It becomes so much a part of the story that you feel as though you know the place, have been there, can feel it's weather, breath in its scents, and taste its native foods. If the location is well done in a novel, chances are you want to go back to it. This is the kind of experience we want to give our readers.

In To Ride A Puca, I worked hard to make the location of ancient Ireland take on a life of its own. From the damp mists that seem ever-present, to the towering trees (ancient Ireland remember) and rolling green fields, it is a place with a life of its own. A place I hope my readers will fall in love with as much as I did.

I can't help but think of location as I lounge upon the beach this week while on vacation in one of my favorite places on Earth. Oh yes, finally, I'm on vacation! I hope each of you get to take a vacation this year and use the experience to enrich your writing.

~Heather

Launch Tour for TO RIDE A PUCA by Heather McCorkle!! (Champagne! Balloons! Whoo Hoo!!)

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Hi Linda and friends, thanks for having me over. Today I’m dropping by to celebrate the release of my young adult historical fantasy about the last of the druids in ancient Ireland, To Ride A Puca. Though parts of it were heartbreaking to write, this one was a labor of love that will always hold a special place in my heart. Here is a bit about it:

Invaders are coming to take what isn't theirs, again.

Neala wants to stand and fight for her homeland, but as one of the last druids, she may be standing alone.

Persecuted, hunted down, forced to live in obscurity, the druids have all but given up. Can the determination of a girl who has barely come into her power bring them together? Or, just when she finally finds her place among her kind, will they end up losing a homeland their very magic is tied to?

Disclaimer: This novel contains some violence and difficult subject matter. It is recommended for mature YA and up.

I’ll be giving away great prizes, a new one to a new winner, every week for the next four weeks. This week I’m giving away an eBook of BECOME by Ali Cross, a twist on a Norse tale that will leave you breathless, and RUNNING WIDE OPEN by Lisa Nowak, an adrenalin pumping ride with a hot tempered teen who loves car racing. Stop by this link to enter to win. The contest will be open until May 27th, the winner to be announced on the 28th.

Linda: Thanks so much for sharing your launch of TO RIDE A PUCA with us, Heather.
I've had the opportunity to read this book and can tell you all that it is wonderful! The writing is crisp, the characters will draw you right into the story, and the story itself is as heartbreaking as it is riveting and filled with hope. If you are interested in history, Ireland, Viking invasions and/or druids (and their magic and the magical creatures who inhabit their world with them), you will love PUCA. And if you didn't know you were interested in all those things, you will enjoy a wonderful world of discovery with this book. (Plus the prizes! Wow.) Enjoy! 


~ Linda

Author Celebration: Paul Dalzell

 Paul Dalzell

2009, August. Honolulu Hawaii. A group of eight were huddled around a desk with William Bernhardt. I was in the midst of fabulous authors fine tuning their skills. Reflecting on that time, I smile. Green comes to mind as my experience, and ability, compared to this group's trailed in comparison. But that's why I attended... to learn. This is where I met Linda and Heather, and we've stayed connected.

The memory of that conference lingers on, as do the stories that the other members of our group were writing. Last Dream Before you Die is one of those stories, and the author is Paul Dalzell.

Paul is a fabulous story teller, and a talented author. But more than that, he is one of the nicest people you would ever hope to meet. I hope you will all join me in supporting this author's success with his novel, The Last Dream Before You Die. 

The Last Dream Before You Die by Paul Dalzell

Jack Bone is a detective, and nothing gets in the way of solving a case—not even the recent death of his partner. Still reeling from loss, Bone accepts an assignment in Wolfston, investigating the profitability of England’s last woolen mill. There’s something strange about the staff at the mill, though—especially the night shift, who seem to have a lot of secrets. The employees at the Wolfston mill are vampires, and they don’t like Bone snooping around.

He escapes unscathed, but that isn’t the end of his troubles. Bone’s busy caseload also includes the suspected smuggling of illegal aliens into England in trucks owned by Astra Clothing. Nearby, in Leeds, he encounters the Russian gangsters who are running the show. In a curious twist, he finds safety with the Wolfston vampires, who agree to help him with his case while keeping him safe.

Bone is right on the gangsters’ tail when they produce their own powerful vampire, threatening the lives of Bone’s close friends and family. Fearing further loss, he vows to bring the Russians to justice before it’s too late, but how can he fight an immortal foe? This might be Bone’s last case, but he won’t go down without a fight.

Available now from Abbott Press, and Amazon. 

Paul, best of luck and success with your novel. I'm looking forward to reading it. I'm sure it will be waiting for me at home when I arrive.

Everyone else, please join me in wishing Paul the best of luck with his novel! 

XOX Karlene

Cause And Effect

For every action there is a cause and effect. This is vital to remember both as people and as writers. Something causes us or our characters to act in a particular way or to take a specific action. That action has an effect. To fully develop and understand that effect think of a pebble dropped into a pond. We as writers need to look not just at where the pebble dropped, but at the affect it's action had on the entire pond. If you are patient, sit long enough, and look hard enough, you'll see the ripples reach all the way over to the other side of the pond. Sure the ripple effect is reduced drastically by that time, so much so that it may be hard to see, but make no mistake, it is felt.

When you get stuck in a particular part of your story or want to add depth to a character or scene, think back on this pond. Imagine your character's action is like the pebble dropping into the pond, or your story. What effect does this action have on the entire manuscript as a whole?

Sometimes a boulder is dropped into the pond (or our story) and all seems completely hopeless for the character. No matter how much water is displaced, it will find it's way back into the pond, it will be filtered, enriched, and changed, but it will return. This holds true in life just as it does in our writing. That which seems irrevocably altered may in fact be, but what we end up with is just as amazing if not more than what we started with.

~Heather

Author of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll, Born Of Fire, Channeler's Choice, and To Ride A Puca. A short story of Heather's is also available in the free In His Eyes eBook anthology. 

What's Your New Beginning Process?

Yesterday I attended a literacy fundraiser brunch put on by The Seattle Seven writers, and had the chance to hear several well-published authors answer questions about their writing process. Guess what. They were all over the place. A lot depended on what part of the book they were in, but a lot also depended on their individual proclivities.

This was particularly interesting to me, because I'm beginning a new book. This will be the fifth book I've begun, and hopefully the third that I will finish. (One of the two that I didn't finish took six years out of my life and I thought it might kill me, but in spite of the distress that came with that, what the song says is true: whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.) My two finished books are mystery/suspense, a genre I love. This new one, honest to God, I just don't know. All I know is I'm going to write it.

This not-knowing leaves me with one thing to hang on to (besides just letting the ideas flow): process. Establishing a habit to make sure something happens on the page, not just in my head.

So this morning, what I want to ask you is, what is your writing process when you are starting a new novel? Is it highly structured and thought out ahead of time? Is it the opposite?

To start us off, here's mine:

• each morning I meditate for 15-30 minutes: an active form of meditation in which I ask questions and get answers (often unexpected, out of the blue answers)—for my story. So far, I have had shocking glimpses into my protagonist's character and her backstory; insights into secondary and tertiary characters who I didn't even have on my radar screen, let alone in my sights; and a few plot developments that add grounding and twists and give me some direction as to how this story might develop. 
• I scramble into the kitchen where I have my pad and pen on the island and furiously write these ideas down longhand, and then have a much-needed cup of coffee—which I hold in my left hand because I have writer's cramp in my right one. 
• then back to the living room and play the piano (badly) for 20-30 minutes. Something about that gives me unmatchable pleasure and completes the process for that morning 

What is the start-up of a new book like for you? Do you follow the same process each time, or no?

~ Linda