Family Traditions

FAMILY TRADITIONS AND WRITING

When I wrote THE VIOLIN, I flavored the pages with some of traditions that have passed down my family for generations. The story is loosely based on a real member of my family, my Uncle John, who died while fly fishing with his friends in May 1927.

In the book I have my characters gather at meal time to discuss the day's events and family affairs. I remember growing up spending meal time as family communication time. Sometimes it was debate time as well. Why couldn't I go out on a date in a car? Couldn't I do the dishes next week instead of this week? All in all, meals were great times to remember.

I also remember my dad's passion for wild birds. My sister and I carry on that passion. Both of our houses are surrounded by bird feeders and birdhouses.

My mother made everything she cooked from scratch. As crazy as it may be, my sister and I still make everything for family gatherings from scratch. It's probably just stupid pride because it's definitely hard work sometimes. Our clothes were all made by hand by our mother who was an expert seamstress. Although we don't sew everything we wear now, we do still sew a mean seam from time to time.

I incorporated these family traditions in THE VIOLIN because it is an almost true story about my family so I felt it was important to make it real.

For those of you who are writers, do you bring many of your family's traditions to your stories? What about you readers, do you feel more involved in a story when you read traditions woven into the story that are most likely taken from the author's own family?

Sarah McNeal

www.sarahmcneal.com

Hi everyone

I am back after some time away, a bit late but better late than never. I just wanted to tell you that A Kind of Loving has been to number two at Red rose Publishing list fictionwise and is now at number four. Too Hot to Handle is at number four at Eternal Press list fictionwise and A Shamefull Secret has gone up to number ten. It was at number one back in Jan- March then disappeared but has now revivied.

My second book in the Upstairs Downstairs series (Love & War) has been taken for audio - the first book was taken in Feb. So everything is all systems go!

I'll try to get in next week on time! LOL Linda

Unity - Dark Tarot

I have just handed in my line edits for Unity and I'm feeling just fine!

It's getting close now, due out in e-book later this month, with Tease Publishing's imprint, Tease Tarot.



:D

And here's a synopsis for anyone who's missed it previously posted:

Obstinate Darcy and artistic Celeste lives cross, starting them both on a path into the world of Faerie, which draws them in and comes alive for them. Their lives become those of true ladies, of balls and gorgeous men in dark cathedrals, as the world of abusive stepfathers and fits of depression are left behind them. As they change for their experiences, they realise that they a balance must be found between their Faerie travels, which they visit in their dreams, and the Real Life of their waking world.

I'll be back soon with excerpts!


Nikki Watson.
http://nikkiwatson.blogspot.com/

MIDDLES

MIDDLES:

Okay, I've been avoiding the subject of middles, mostly because they are harder for me to write than beginnings and endings. This, I am sure, isn't as tough for other writers, but it is definitely my personal challenge.

I start off a project full of moxy, excitement and enthusiasm. I'm in love with my characters and I know exactly how I'm going to torture them and finally reward them at the end. Then I get to page 150 or so and stare at the blinking icon on the too white screen of the computer and wonder what the heck I'm gonna do now.

I've often gotten the stakes so high that I'm not even sure myself how the heck I'm gonna get my people out of the mess they're in. It's like a raging storm that won't let me see beyond that spot into the resolution.

Worse, there are times when I just run out of steam and loose the energy of the story. My muse runs off to a dark corner and simply will not come out. Times like these I have to start a new project for a while until I get my momenum back. Yep. It's just hell sometimes.

I once thought a crit partner or group would help in the sagging middles but, for me, it just ain't so. They get me off track and send my thoughts out in too many different directions. I do better with crit groups when the work is finished--not in progress.

Right now I have two WIPs, Harmonica Joe's Reluctant Bride (a time travel western) and The Light of Valmora (a dark fantasy). It suites me to have a wide gulf between the two concepts of my WIPs because--well, I'm not sure why except that the extreme differences in the subject matter helps rejuvenate my mopping muse.

Am I the only one who has this problem? Are there other authors out there who cringe at the thought of getting through the middle? Or do most of you sail through the middle dulldroms of your unchartered novels maintaining your quest for the fire of your story unphased by the middle ground?

Sarah McNeal

www.sarahmcneal.com

Reader/Writers

I still would like to maintain, that after the last three years that I've been finding ePublishers around the place who want to publish my writing, the best part about the ePub industry are the people you come to meet and get to know. It's hardly a controversial statement to make that ePubs open and close, will give you grief and tears of happiness, but the friends you make, people who you can trust to read your work and give you an honest opinion, and the people who's work you can read in return, are the most valuable part of the ePublishing industry, and indeed, the most valuable part of any writer's art.

Having just finished a previous project (a project set after Unity, titled Awakening) which took me the better part of half a year to write to its completion, I have recently started on a new project, the next in that series. I like to think that the series I am creating has something of a Charles De Lint slant. I've spoken about him before. Just check the tags for previous posts I've made about the fantasy author. All of the stories I am writing right now are a part of the same universe, but the characters who are main shift and change and accommodate include new characters that bring new life and interest to a series that I think would be much less if it depended on previous novels.

But these are my novels. Of course I think they are something special.

After coming out the other end of a horrible stint of writer's block, with the help of one of my reader/writer friends, I only want to thank all of the people who are patient with me, who love to read my writing, who love that I read theirs. I think that all of you know who you are. I dearly appreciate you.

Thank you.


Nikki Watson.
http://nikkiwatson.blogspot.com/

New submission...

I was introduced to gay romance by the place I review for. Prior to 2006, I had never read a gay romance, never even knew they existed. Well, what can I say, now I'm hooked! So much so that I decided to try my hand at writing a couple of them. I'm presently working on Doomed to Be Charmed, a paranormal gay romance, and I just finished and submitted to a publisher Homecoming a science fiction gay romance.

Homecoming came about because I wanted to just write something and finish it. I love writing longer novel lengths but sometimes as an author I just want to write and finish something for that feeling of accomplishment you get when you do finish a work no matter how big or small. That can be the beauty of non-fiction articles which I also write, but I wanted to do something fiction. Anyway, this idea popped into my head and the old "what if?" reared its head, and became, "What if a younger man left his lover to see the universe, but then realized that it wasn't what he really wanted? Would his lover who was older, accept him back into his life after five years or would he want revenge for the pain he was caused?" Anyway that's the premise of Homecoming which I really enjoyed writing. It took me about six hours total from rough draft to polished version, but I was very happy with it when it was completed.

I'll be posting here once I hear back from the publisher I submitted it to!