Goals for 2013 - at halftime

by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

It's hard to believe, but 2013 is half over. The weather is warm, the kids are out of school, and it's time for me to review how far I've come with my goals for this year.

As with any year-long plan, there have been some adjustments, but I think that's a good thing, right? Shows that I'm flexible and willing to change to meet new priorities. So, here's where I stand.

Submit my second Laurel Highlands story.

This is done. I sent it off earlier in June. Now it's just waiting to hear whether Mysterical-e will accept it (they accepted the first, so I'm hopeful).

Complete and submit my Black Orchid Novella Award contest entry.

This is done. There was some nail-biting ("Is it good enough?"), but I finally stuck it in the mail. The confirmation postcard is hanging on my fridge. Now to wait until December when the results are announced.

Read at least one craft book per month.

I don't know if I've done one per month. Well, that's a lie. I do know, and I haven't done one per month. But I've continued to read and I'm in the middle of a class on short fiction. So I'm making good progress. Right now I'm still in Plot and Structure; I think Donald Maass' Writing 21st Century Fiction will be next.

Complete the SFD of Hero's Sword 4 by May 31 and first revisions by July 31.

Because of the other commitments, this one had to be reset. Target for completion of the SFD is now July 31 (I am doing Camp Nanowrimo to help make that reality). And since I let things sit for a while post-completion, I probably won't get to first revisions until late August/early September.

Complete and submit two more Laurel Highlands stories by end of summer.

I've completed the SFD of a third story. But it won't be ready for submission by end of summer, and I won't have another one. So I'm going to have to move this to end of year.

Plan an anthology release of the Laurel Highlands Mysteries by the end of 2013

Another one I'm going to have to reset. This won't get done until Q1 of 2014 at the earliest now, so I'm going to put it on the back-burner for the time being.

And because I forgot yet another commitment...

Finish edits on my Sisters in Crime anthology story by June 24

I hit this one. I'm kind of proud, too. When I submitted the story I was only 6 words under the upper word limit. After receiving revisions from the first round of edits, I needed to shore up the ending, and I went almost 200 words over. But I managed to get it all back under count (by the original 6 words) all by my lonesome. But since I hadn't planned on the work (silly me), that kind of messed with the schedule. But it's all good.

So there I am. 2013 half over and I'm looking pretty good. Stay tuned for another update at the end of September!

Cover Reveal: Greenshift - Heidi Rub Miller

To celebrate the cover reveal for Greenshift, the e-book will be temporarily 99 cents at Amazon!





A tale set within the world of Ambasadora.


Mari's rare eye color makes her a pariah within Upper Caste society, which is why she prefers plants to people...except David, the former Armadan captain who shuttles scientists around on a refurbished pleasure cruiser.


But someone else is interested in Mari and her distinctive look--an obsessed psychopath who tortures and murders women for pleasure.


When the killer chooses Mari as his next victim, the soldier inside David comes alive, but it is Mari who must fight for her own life and prove she isn't as fragile as the flowers she nurtures.


Greenshift by Heidi Ruby Miller


Cover Art by Bradley Sharp


Foreword by Dana Marton


Space Opera/Science Fiction Romance paperback coming from Dog Star Books in August 2013

STORM CLOUDS Blog Tour with Bewitching Book Tours

by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

It's here! For the next month, I'm doing a blog tour through Bewitching BookTours for Storm Clouds: Hero's Sword Vol. 2. At various stops along the tour, you can win an e-copy of Storm Clouds (your choice of format - Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks). At at the end of the tour, one winner will receive a Kindle Paperwhite or Nook Simple Touch (Rafflecopter widget below).

I'm looking forward to "seeing" folks along the tour, so please take a moment and stop by any of the sites below!

June 17 Interview

Mom With A Kindle

http://momwithakindle.blogspot.com/

June 18 Guest blog

Escape Into A Book

Eatsleepread88.blogspot.com

June 19 Intevriew

Books in the Hall

http://www.booksinthehall.blogspot.com

June 20 Guest blog

So Much To Write So Little Time

http://somuchtowritesolittletime.com

June 21 Interview

jdpooker.blogspot.com

June 25 spotlight and interview

Happy Tails & Tales

http://magluvsya03.wordpress.com/

June 26 Spotlight

Lisa’s World of Books

www.lisasworldofbooks.net

June 27 Spotlight and review

Mom Loves 2 Read

www.momloves2read.com

June 28 Guest blog

http://claireashgrove.blogspot.com/

June 28 Review (Power Play and Storm Clouds)

http://mybookaddiction.com/

July 3 Guest blog

The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom

www.creativelygreen.blogspot.com

July 4 Interview

Books & Tales

http://www.booksandtales.blogspot.co.uk/

July 5 Spotlight

Reading In Twilight

http://readingintwilight.blogspot.com

July 8 Guest blog

Buffy Kennedy

http://buffy-kennedy.blogspot.com/

July 9 review (Power Play & Storm Clouds)

Brooke Blogs

http://www.brookeblogs.com

July 10 Interview and review

A Chick Reading

http://achickreading.blogspot.com

July 11 Spotlight

Fang-tastic Books

www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

July 12 review

Gimme The Scoop Reviews

http://gimmethescoopreviews.blogspot.com/

July 15 Spotlight and review

Teen Blurb

www.teenblurb.org

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Being a Stereotype Doesn't Make it Untrue

by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

One of the reviews for Power Play: Hero's Sword Vol. 1 mentioned that the conflict between the main character, Jaycee, and the "popular" cheerleaders was a bit stereotypical. When I read that, I kind of stepped back. Was I stereotyping? Maybe. Perhaps I was relying on my own memories of middle school a little too much. Maybe it's become sort of an overused trope of writing.

For the non-writers, a trope is technically using words in anything other than their literal sense, such as metaphors. But Wikipedia says, "Since the 1970s, the word has also come to mean a commonly recurring literary device, motif, or cliche." (emphasis mine)

So, using tropes is not necessarily bad, but using cliches isn't the best writing. I mean, who wants to have worn out, uninspiring prose based on overused, trite ideas?

So I began thinking: Maybe I need to backtrack here a little. Maybe things have changed since I was mocked for not wearing Jordache jeans (you children of the 80s will understand that).

Remember that saying? The more things change...

My daughter is almost Jaycee's age. Normally a strong, independent child, this week was, well, not pretty. See, the girls at school are taunting, dare I say bullying her. And whereas boys are bad enough, at least they are physical. You can hit the bully back. Girls are sneaky. It's all verbal. "Those jeans look dorky," or "you're so ugly," or "you're so lame because you don't have an iPhone" (I am not making that last one up - seriously).

And I'm right back to Jaycee and her cheerleader adversaries.

What I realized is that it may be a trope, and maybe it's a little stereotypical and cliched. But it's still true. This garbage still goes on. Kids, boys and girls, still find themselves outside the sphere of "cool" for the stupidest of reasons.

Which tells me that Hero's Sword is real and it sends a message that is still relevant. Even if you aren't "cool," you're all right. It's okay not to be like the "cool" kids. Find your identity. Claim your space. And don't be ashamed of it.

That's Jaycee's journey. That's the journey that my daughter, and the thousands of kids like her, are taking right now (okay, across the US it's summer vacation, but you get my point).

They say that for your writing to be good, you have to feel passionately about it. After this week, I'm feeling rather passionate about Jaycee. I've got the final scene of the series written already. I know where I want Jaycee to go. I hope I can get her there in (relatively) one piece, especially emotionally.

To quote Donald Maass, I'm not sure Hero's Sword is going to change the world. but if it makes one kid feel better about standing his or her ground and saying, "Hey, you can't make me feel bad about myself, bully," well, I'll consider it a job well done.

Photo courtesy of nist6ss; used under Creative Commons.

COVER REVEAL: The Revelations of Preston Black

by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73


THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK BY JASON JACK MILLER

Coming June 2013 from Raw Dog Screaming Press

Cover Art by Brad Vetter
Preston and Katy face a new darkness....

Sometimes a battle between good and evil doesn't look much like the ones they show in movies. The good guys don't always wear white, and they don’t always walk away with the win.

And sometimes you're better off with the devil you know.

The last time Preston went down to the crossroads, his best friend died and he nearly lost his brother. But Old Scratch doesn't take kindly to fools, especially not those who come knocking at his front door. And before all is said and done, he's going to teach Preston a thing or two about what it really means to sacrifice.

LINKS:
Read the first 100 pages of The Revelations of Preston Black - http://jasonjackmiller.blogspot.com/p/the-revelations-of-preston-black.html

Pre-order The Revelations of Preston Black at Raw Dog Screaming Press - http://www.rawdogscreaming.com/books/the-revelations-of-preston-black.html

Pennwriters 2013 in Review

by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

Last weekend I attended my first ever Pennwriters conference (first for me, that is). Sorry, I don't have a lot of pictures. I was too busy having my mind blown.

There were definitely things I was looking forward too. For one, I was going to get to (finally!) meet Twitter friend Jenna Bennett. And I would be able to (finally!) meet one of my remote Sisters in Crime friends and a fabulous editor, Ramona DeFelice Long. And, of course, I'd be able to hang with all of my local SinC friends as well.

And learn stuff. Don't forget learning stuff.

And boy, did I learn stuff! Lots of panels on branding and marketing. A fun session on bladed weapons to start things off (I picked the right sword for my Hero's Sword series - yes!). An in-character panel, where I learned I really do understand Jim Duncan, my PSP trooper hero of the Laurel Highlands series (and yes, pretending to be a 35-year old man is a challenge).

I really wanted to attend the Thursday pre-conference session with Donald Maass. But there's, you know, that money thing. But I did buy his books - and got them autographed. He's a charming, funny guy.

I had a fabulous dinner Saturday, talking to all my SinC sibs and visiting with the always lovely Hank Phillippi Ryan - and Hank, we're all right about that title business.

And I met people - oh boy, did I meet people! I won't even bother to try and list them by name, because I will forget someone and feel horrible. That's just the way it is. But I met two wonderful ladies from the Buffalo area, where I grew up (finally - people who understand that snowfall in "Buffalo" is all too often actually in the suburbs!). Had breakfast on Sunday with some fine folks from eastern PA. Shuttled two agents from the Amtrak station Thursday, before the conference, to the Marriott. I did behave myself - I didn't meet them at the station with manuscript in hand. I do think I scared them a little bit merging from Liberty Ave. onto the Ft. Pitt Bridge. But hey, that's Pittsburgh, right? Talked with Jason Jack Miller and wife, Heidi Ruby Miller, who are funny and friendly. (And, thank you again, Jason for talking me off the ledge when I thought I was going to have to start my digital footprint all over again!)

I learned that writers, of all types and genres, are fabulous people. But you knew that, right?

But I suppose the most powerful moment of the conference was Friday night's keynote by Donald Maass. Two things he said:

1. In the 21st century, life changing books will be written.
2. This is our (writers) century - because we're going to write it.

Oh. My.

I suppose Friday and Saturday could have, and maybe should have, been spent mingling and schmoozing. But I couldn't. I went back to my room and finished my current round of revisions on Wedding Bells: Hero's Sword Vol. 3. On Sunday, I finished reading Revision & Self-editing. And then on Tuesday, I plotted a new Laurel Highlands story. I was so fired up and ready to write, I just couldn't do anything else.

Will any of these stories change the world? I don't know. I hope I at least entertain, if nothing else. But you can't change the world with a blank page. You can't entertain unless you tell the story. Learning is important - critical, even - but unless you put pen to paper (or pixel to screen) what's the point?

Will people be inspired, entertained, changed by what I write? I don't know. But doggone it, after last weekend, I'm going to try.

Because if I don't try, really, what's the point?

Kidlit Blog Hop Giveaway!

by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

Welcome to my first ever KitLit Blog Hop hosted by the fabulous folks at Mother-Daughter-Son Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews!

What's the idea of the blog hop? Simple - to find quality literature for kids. The Hop is designed for kids under 18 and there is a great list of participants.

In an age where people are constantly worried about kids reading (will they read, do they read, read paper, ebooks, what about all that screen time?), I think the challenge is to find quality material. At least, that's my challenge as a parent of two tweens (one almost a teenager - yikes!).

Since my husband and I are both bibliophiles, you wouldn't think this is hard. But despite the (literally) hundreds of titles on our shelves, I still hear, "There's nothing to read."

Part of this is taste. My daughter likes dystopian, vampires, and books along the lines of Pretty Little Liars. My son is not a huge reader, but he likes mythology, such as Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series.

The challenge is how to find similar books - similar enough that the kids will give them a chance. Sure, there are bookstores. You can search Amazon. But how do you find recommendations, how do you know which ones are worth the money?

The list below should help in the search.



As part of the hop, I am giving away copies of Power Play, the first book in the Hero's Sword series to fifteen winners (one entry per person, please). Just leave a comment on this post and answer this question: What's your favorite childhood book memory?

Good luck and have fun checking out all of these awesome sites!

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