The Blog that Binds Us

By Pamela

A few months ago the six of us gathered to discuss this blog to determine whether, in a sea filled with other bloggers, we should keep paddling along or abandon ship.

Last week marked the fifth anniversary of this blog and in those years we've collectively written over 760 posts. We originally set up a schedule that divvied up the duties between the six of us, so we'd post M|W|F each week with each of us posting once, every other week. Back then, I don't think any of us looked too far into the future; certainly I never thought that we'd rarely deviate from our original schedule over the next five years. But here we are, hundreds of posts later, still blogging about the writing life--the ups and downs of writing first drafts, editing second drafts, rewriting entire manuscripts, querying, researching stories, researching agents, entering contests, attending conferences, joining Facebook, Tweeting--and sharing it all as a team of six.

Our first retreat

We've now gone away on five annual retreats--with all six of us in attendance! Sometimes, in the planning process, it seems a little dicey that we'll all be able to make it (and this year, we weren't sure we'd get home after being iced in an extra day), but we always manage to make the retreat a priority and my hope is this year is no exception.

So, obviously, that lunch several months ago ended with all six of us still committed to keeping What Women Write out in the blogosphere. We'll continue to review books and interview authors and agents and editors. We're committed to encouraging each other and other women who write--whether she's pursuing publication, keeping a journal, working as a freelancer or just starting to find her voice.

My wish for every writer--male and female alike--is that you have a community of support as we do. That you surround yourself with sources of encouragement. That you pick yourself up whenever you feel like giving up. That when you think, 'there's got to be an easier way' you remind yourself that 'easier' isn't 'better' and if writing were easy, everyone would be great at it. That you take the time to reread your words and marvel how no one can turn a phrase the way you do. That you forgive yourself transgressions including misplaced modifiers and POV confusion. That you commend yourself for caring about the difference between pallet/palette and complement/compliment and stationery/stationary and understanding when others do not. That you love yourself enough to keep writing when doing just about anything else makes more sense.

We're so glad you've joined us on this five-year excursion--at whatever stage you stepped into the boat. Here's to the next five years! Bon voyage!

Change

By Julie

Mid-month check-in on NaNoWriMo here.

Two weeks ago, I reported on my retreat and also that I was making a goal of writing 30 thousand words on my new novel. Well, November turned into the month of NaNOT about a week ago, so I've revised my goals.

On election eve, I found myself feeling extremely irritable, annoyed by folks who don't normally annoy me, disgusted with the constant bickering and refusal to engage in civil conversation about the direction of our country, and last, but not least for me, anyway, completely bored and frustrated with The Novel That Would Not Be Written.

So I made some changes.

First, I quit Facebook for the rest of November. 

Well, that's not entirely true. 

I quit the Newsfeed. I quit responding. I quit posting statuses several times a day. Mostly, I temporarily just QUIT engaging my brain in any activity there that was making it want to explode unnecessarily. 

I did NOT quit private messaging. I turned off most of my notifications, but did NOT turn off things where I am tagged, so I can respond privately to folks who take the time to personally mention me or speak to me. 

I would be lying if I said I'd been 100% successful at all my quitting. I have peeked in now and then to see if the general mood of things is changing (sometimes yes, sometimes no—it's not time for me to return just yet, and December 1 is probably still a good target, because when my toes still curl 1.2 seconds after I hit the newsfeed, it's a good sign I'm not quite ready ). I glance in now and then on my private groups because I miss my friends and the conversations there, but it has been very healthy for me to stay quiet for now—to simply think about the various questions and statements posted in those groups instead of feeling as though I must immediately and without hesitation voice my (one-hundred-percent-accurate-and-you-must-hear-this-immediately-from-me ... OR-NOT!) opinions. 

A few positives have come out of this experiment:  

• I am engaging more in "real" conversations through email and private messaging than I have in ages. Conversations where my friends or family and I can speak to each other freely, without worrying what the rest of the world will think. Sure, Facebook threads are real, but think of how loaded they are, too. 
• Even though I originally thought I would stay away from ALL social media for the rest of the month, I decided to make an intentional and more regular attempt to understand Twitter. As a result, I'm finally enjoying the quick dips I can take there—where I have to be very succinct (140 characters or less!) and completely aware that just about anyone in the world can see what I'm writing, not just "friends" I've given access to. All 800 of them. Yep, 800 of my closest friends, who may or may not be folks I actually remember granting access to my somewhat private life. I think this is a good process for me, three months out from publication of Calling Me Home. It's making me consider who and what I really want to be online.
• I have been a calmer person than I have been in a long time. I am remembering that I am the one with control over what I read or view or listen to or react to--not the rest of the world. It's good to feel in control of that part of me again.

So there's all that.

The second big change I made is this: I quit writing The Novel That Would Not Be Written.

I learned a few things in the process. Okay, I REMEMBERED a few things in the process:

• For me (and not necessarily for YOU), if I talk about the story I'm working on too much, it loses its magic. This story lost its magic completely. I had spoken about it not only to my agent, but to friends and family, and sometimes to perfect strangers. And when I'd sit down to work on it, there was no mystery. No special sense of working on something that only I knew about, that only I could write about at this particular moment in time. It was becoming a community project, for lack of a better way to describe it. And this was completely my fault. I have always held my previous stories close to my heart—refusing to talk about them much, if at all, to anyone until I felt an irrevocable connection to them, until I knew that chatting about them with others would only make me MORE excited about them, and not make me completely confused and uncertain about where I was going or WHY. Sometimes until I'd written a complete first draft.

• It's okay to quit sometimes. If the thing you are trying to do is making you nuts, if it's making you bored and listless and unproductive, it's probably time to really sit down and figure out why. Often (MAYBE more often than NOT) it's just you being human, and you need to buckle up and power through. But sometimes it's not, and you need to quit. I think it's that way with any activity we pursue. Writing isn't special that way. Jobs, hobbies, relationships—they each need to be weighed and considered in this way on occasion. If the activity is making you constantly question yourself, your ability to do valuable things, your identity and your self worth, it might be time to quit.

• Often, something better is waiting to be discovered in the aftermath. Is it crazy to admit that almost as soon as I quit The Novel That Would Not Be Written, a new idea came to me? Like, within about two hours? Like, it was just waiting there patiently for me to give up on the other? (The bath helped. Showers and baths are proven to be beneficial to writers again and again and again, so why we put them off so long is anyone's guess.) This is an idea that has had me scrambling all week to research certain aspects, eager to record the thoughts fighting for attention in my mind, excited about the voices of characters and situations and themes. And, sometimes better doesn't necessarily mean "the most unique idea ever to strike a writer." I know beyond a doubt that my new idea isn't the most unique idea ever. But I'm excited about it, and I know that nobody else can tell this story in exactly the way I will tell it. So I'm shrugging and moving forward. And I won't be telling you or much of anyone else about it for a while. 

Posted this picture last time. And I'm posting it again.
That's me, being by myself for a while, seeing a little patch of blue sky
through the imperfection. And I kind of like it. :)

I have a book coming out in less than three months—I need to be engaged in a new story before that happens, or a new book may never happen. That's reality for me. I've revised my NaNo goal to ten thousand new words on this shiny new idea instead of thirty thousand words on the The Novel That Would Not Be Written. I am being patient with myself, allowing myself the time I need to research and explore the new things, but also setting myself a manageable goal so I have a solid project going before the book drops.

And I feel good about it. I feel good about both of these changes. 

What's up with you? 

((hug)) a Writer Week

By Pamela

I've blogged before about how cruel the world can be to writers, with the anonymity of the Internet providing the perfect cover for people to unleash their fury. You write the best book you can, land a publishing contract and get a book into the hands of the public only to have them lambaste you for your efforts. It's perfectly fine to dislike a book; it's another thing to rip a fragile author's ego to shreds.

So, in the spirit of Paying It Forward or just plain good manners, I propose a ((hug)) a Writer Week. Anyone care to join me? Here's your assignment:

MONDAY--Choose the most recent book you've read and loved and post a positive review on Amazon, B&N or Good Reads. Heck, type it up in Word and copy and paste it in all three places! Why not?

TUESDAY--Select an author you enjoy and 'like' their page on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. While you're there, leave them a note about how much you enjoy their work. Easy.

WEDNESDAY--Buy a new book from an author, either online or at a book store. Pay the extra few dollars for a new version even if you usually buy used. Sure it's green to buy used, but authors don't make royalties on second-time-around purchases.

THURSDAY--Write a note to an author and tell him/her how much you enjoy his/her writings. Then mail it. Yes, snail-mail it. You can find contact information online. If he/she doesn't have a direct mailing address, send it to the publicity department. They'll make sure he/she gets it. Sure this takes a little bit more effort, but what a treasure it will be for the author to pull out and reread whenever he/she is having a rough day.

FRIDAY--Make a date to attend a book signing or other author event. Check your local paper, check online for upcoming events in your town, or check out your favorite authors' websites, Twitter or Facebook accounts. If you live in a small town and authors rarely pass your way, pick an alternate way to help them out such as telling a book-seller or librarian how much you love a particular author.

I'm sure there are other ways to spread the love (and the hugs), so use your imagination. You just might make an author's day. How cool is that?

A Fabulous (and Free) Resource for Writers

By Kim

Ask most people what they imagine an author looks like, and they’ll probably describe a solitary figure hunched over a computer keyboard. There’s some truth to that, of course, but the business end of publishing now requires writers to be more extroverted than many of us are comfortable with. To be successful we’re expected to network, write guest blog posts or blurbs, give interviews, Skype into book clubs, and even do some public speaking.

If local writers’ groups are hard to come by in your area, there are many places on the internet for authors to mingle. Not all of us shell out the subscription fees for paid forums, and it's not absolutely necessary.

I’ve found most of my writer friends on Facebook. I joined several groups on there to begin with, but most boards struck me as a long line of commercials. Read my blog! Buy my book! Follow me! Buy my book! Like me! Buy my book! Actual conversation rarely happened.

This changed in January of 2011, when Therese Walsh and Kathleen Bolton started a Writer Unboxed (Facebook) group in celebration of the fifth anniversary of their blog of the same name. (If you haven’t yet visited Writer Unboxed, it’s well worth checking out. Writer’s Digest has listed it as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers from 2007-2012 and in 2011 it was a winner in the Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest.)

The purpose of the WU Facebook group is to give writers a place to come together and discuss the craft and business of fiction without the pressure of building platform. I was one of the first members and in October of last year Therese Walsh invited me to join the moderator team.

As of today, Writer Unboxed (FB) has over 1,400 members ranging from respected published authors to newbies to top agents like Donald Maass. This is a community where you can ask an obscure research question and have a dozen answers in an hour. (My question, in case you’re curious, was how one might attach a prosthetic leg onto a rooster in the 1930’s. One of the answers from WU is now in The Oak Lovers.)

If you haven’t already done so, I invite you to come on over and check out the WU Facebook group here. Once an administrator has let you into the group, take a look in the menu marked ‘files.’ In there you can read the rules of the group and add your FB profile, twitter handle, blog, or website to the appropriate places. If you want a critique partner, we have a file for that, too. Any questions? Ask me or any other members of the Mod Squad – Vaughn Roycroft, Heather Reid, or Valerie Chandler - and we’ll help you out.

A Review of The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

By Kim

Synopsis:

In pre-war Prague, the dreams of two young lovers are shattered when they are separated by the Nazi invasion. Then, decades later, thousands of miles away in New York, there's an inescapable glance of recognition between two strangers. Providence is giving Lenka and Josef one more chance. From the glamorous ease of life in Prague before the Occupation, to the horrors of Nazi Europe, The Lost Wife explores the power of first love, the resilience of the human spirit--and the strength of memory.

About the author:

Alyson Richman is the author of The Mask Carver's Son, Swedish Tango, The Last Van Gogh, and The Lost Wife. She loves to travel, cook, ride her yellow bicycle, and do ballet. She currently lives in New York with her husband and two children.

My review:

I want to start by telling you a story. I know this may seem an odd way to open a book review, but there’s reason for it.

My seventh grade language arts teacher was horrified to learn that our school district’s history curriculum would barely touch on the Holocaust. She felt the only way to prevent such atrocities from happening again was to educate the younger generations. We read Elie Wiesel’s Night in class and learned to spell gestapo and crematorium. We watched unflinching documentaries and movies about concentration camps. My amazing teacher also found several Holocaust survivors and spent at least a month’s worth of weekends shuttling groups of her students all over Maine so we could interview them. The woman I met was an Auschwitz survivor named Marta, a towering workhorse of a woman with a kind, homely face. What struck me most was that even as she described beatings, rapes, starvation, and constant fear of execution, she prefaced everything by saying how lucky she was. She was lucky to be ugly. Pretty girls were sent to the front to “service” the S.S. soldiers and were shot if impregnated. (Her sister met this fate.) She was lucky to be big because she was strong and could do heavy labor. (Her frail mother was gassed). The lack of emotion as she spoke left a lasting impression on me.

Since then I’ve seen every WWII movie and read every book on the Holocaust that I can find. I learned about The Lost Wife from my friend, historical novelist Stephanie Cowell, who has never led me wrong in her book recommendations. At the end of the prologue my jaw dropped and I knew there was no way I could put the book down until I learned what had happened to Lenka and Josef. By thirty pages in, I knew it would be on my 2012 Best Reads list. I devoured this novel during every stolen moment alone, which took some creativity with two energetic kids home for Christmas break. The love story made me ache. The atrocities of Terezin and Auschwitz were described in an understated and horrifically beautiful way. I could hear Marta’s voice behind Lenka’s, and it was like I discovered hell right along with them.

If you are drawn to WWII era books, The Lost Wife is a must-read. If you are a sucker for unconventional romances, The Lost Wife is a must-read. If you want a book with characters who will haunt your dreams and make you Google “Terezin” at 3 AM…head to the nearest bookstore or download this book right away.

Have you read The Lost Wife? I’d love to hear your thoughts! You can leave comments here or (since some people have difficulty leaving comments on Blogger) on What Women Write’s Facebook page.

Social WHAT? redux and Google+

By Julie

Several months ago, I posted about social media and how we were doing with it in our What Women Write group. Our improvements have been embarrassingly small, but maybe we've at least made some short strides. But I still like the photo Joan's husband caught of my look over my shoulder as I discussed Twitter.

Today, I'm thinking about Google+. I accepted an invitation and joined the masses wondering what on earth we might find different enough from Facebook to pull us over there.

I'm still scratching my head.

Here are some thoughts and rebuttals.

I went and saw. A lot of ... white space. It was honestly quite boring, but maybe that changes as you add stuff. I like the busy-ness of my Facebook pages--after all, if I'm on Facebook, I'm probably bored or trying to waste time while waiting for my dream agent to call and tell me she's in love and wants to sign me tout de suite!

I keep hearing about how the "circles" are so great--you can target who you want with your posts, photos, etc. Guess what? You can do that on Facebook with the lists you create from your friends.

A relative said she is happier about supporting the Google people than the Facebook people for personal and ethical reasons. I guess I don't really have the same beefs. I don't have faith that Google+ will handle my privacy and personal information any better or differently than Facebook. As my husband says, it's always about the bottom line. "It's the economy, stupid."

It was kind of nifty to find all my Picasa photos I hadn't seen in a while as they pull up automatically. But also a little creepy.

However ... comma ... I'm willing to be open to the marvels of something new, even if I'm a bit weary of jumping on a new social media bandwagon. At this point I think Google+ will have to create some really exciting bells and whistles that can't be duplicated quickly or easily in Facebook to get a lot of people to truly invest in another venue. If they build it, we will come--but we may not stay.

I will get my little page going for the purposes of having it at the ready, but for now, I'm leaving my heart in Facebook. (San Francisco would be a lot more exciting.)

Anyone have any input about this? Good links to share that might get my heart pumping with a little more enthusiasm? Or ... deep thoughts about anything else in the world because you aren't into the hype yet either?

Please, jump in!

Photo credit: bhermans' Flickr photostream by Creative Commons License

Meet the Real Kim

By Kim

In my last post, I shared details about the handwriting analysis Betty Rozakis did on samples from my great-grandparents (the protagonists of The Oak Lovers). As promised, in this post I will show our readers what my writing reveals about me.

Those of you who have followed us for awhile know that I tend to be the quiet one in the What Women Write group, the one who may appear calm and observant in social situations and has no real difficultly with public speaking, yet who’s a mass of insecurity on the inside unless I’m talking with someone one-on-one. For my own analysis, I hoped to learn what my writing reveals about why I’ve always been so ill at ease in group situations.

It turns out that there may be a reason I’ve always related so well to my great-grandfather, Carl Ahrens! Here’s what Betty had to say. My own thoughts are interspersed throughout in italics.

Old Kim

Kim, you're not comfortable in social situations because you're camouflaging who you truly are and your creative forces. Stop thinking about how you communicate with the external world and focus on your individuality. Only then will you be able to evolve, progress and grow. The persona that you've chosen to portray yourself as is conservative, conformist, and non-independent! (That is the opposite of me. I’m actually quite liberal and adventurous.) You're misunderstood because you don't express yourself! People can't read your mind - stop hoarding it! I don't know how you dress…is it conservative or individualized? (You have a point. If I didn’t know me I’d take one look and think ‘frazzled Mommy pushing 40.’ Not flattering.)

You discuss an isolated childhood. Your earlier handwriting reveals sadness and there's strong evidence that you're still struggling with what you feel you should do as opposed with what you want! This is very similar to your great-grandfather Carl...were you not allowed to express yourself at home as a child? Your lack of self-confidence is similar to Carl’s. (No wonder I’ve always instinctively wanted to defend him even when he’s behaving like an a**! Hmmm…only child, isolated location, lack of appreciation for artistic pursuits by acquaintances, trying to appear perfect and blend in, happiest alone in the woods, quick temper…I share an awful lot of circumstances with my great-grandfather, as well as traits. This could be why his voice comes so easily to me while writing, and why I instinctively come up with forgivable motivations for less than stellar actions on his part.)

You feel like an 'awkward stepchild’ even among friends because you're afraid to spontaneously express yourself. You think too much! You analyze and store up sssssooo much knowledge in your head that you tend to lose perspective. (Yes, I do tend to live internally. Don't all writers do this?) You strongly identify with your family / peer group. (Yes. Family is everything to me.) You seek out adventure then become defensive. (Hmmm…) You're stubborn, determined and goal-oriented. (Me, stubborn? Well, okay, just a wee bit.) You give the impression of confidence, but feel socially inadequate. (Yep.) Your true self is more independent, cultured, active and adaptable. More creative, inventive, and productive. The outside world is the focus of your attention, but you inhabit yourself in the world of thought. Analyze less, observe more! (This explains why many people who know me on-line are puzzled when they meet me in person. Several have commented that I’m not at all what they expected. I sense disappointment and that just fuels my insecurity.)

New Kim

Some of what Betty had to say about me was hard to hear, and a few things I didn't agree with at all, but most of what she observed, without ever having met me, was amazingly accurate. For example, my tastes in many things run to the arty and eclectic, yet I wear T-shirts and cargo pants most days. I forget to put on makeup a lot. My hairstyles for the last decade or so have been ho-hum, low-maintenance, and have not displayed my personality in the slightest. My husband remembers when I’d dress sophisticated one day, theatrically the next, and in artfully ripped jeans and a hand painted (by me) Nine Inch Nails shirt on the third day. That was the girl he fell in love with, and so far he’s welcoming her back with open arms. My kids stared at my new hairstyle with horror – according to my ten-year-old I’m not supposed to look young and hip – but I’d rather have them moan a bit now than discover as adults that they never knew their mother.

I’m starting with the outside, since that’s what the world sees. Hopefully that will project the creative, sensitive, and quite approachable woman I know myself to be. I hope, when this book is out in the world, to meet many readers in person. I don't want them to scratch their heads and say to themselves that I'm much more fascinating on Facebook!

If anyone is interested in learning more about handwriting analysis, click here to go to Betty’s website.

I Have a Book to Finish

By Kim

The blogosphere has many posts about balancing the writing life with real life. I even wrote one myself at this time last year. Summer vacation loomed and I despaired at the thought of accomplishing nothing on my novel during it. My children were, to be fair, only a fraction of the problem. I had reached a point in the manuscript where my muses weren’t talking, or perhaps I just didn’t like what they had to say. I needed to tune them out for awhile.

Now I can’t ignore them. They jabber away in my head while I run errands, do laundry, and tend to my family’s needs. Even when I have the house to myself, other obligations prevent me from taking dictation for hours on end.

If I didn’t share posting duties at What Women Write with five other women, there’s no way I’d ever finish my manuscript. I’m not the sort of writer who can bang out five hundred words in an hour and throw it up on this blog anymore than I can compose three (or even two) thousand words in a day. I envy authors who can, but I’m too much of a compulsive editor.

A typical post takes me a full day to compose, edit, and put up on Blogger, and that’s after I know what I intend to write about. A book review is far less time consuming to compose, but requires me to read a novel before I can write it. The same goes for an author interview, only in that case I need to tack on at least an hour’s worth of time to come up with questions the author hasn’t already answered on twenty blogs, in the Q and A sections of their books, or on their websites.

Before the tone of this post scares my WWW colleagues or you, I should clarify that I have no intention of bowing out of my blogging duties. I’m simply taking stock of the time commitment involved in the hope that our readers who may toy with the idea of starting a blog of their own will find it helpful.

Painting by Carl Ahrens

Having to write on a deadline, even when ideas and words don’t flow, is a valuable exercise. Someday I hope to have a new novel to write, a finished one to edit, and a published one to promote. I’ll have book club meetings to attend, guest blog posts to write, Facebook and Twitter to update, interviews to give and, I suspect, my sanity to lose. I know I’ll look back with longing on this time when I had no writing obligations other than a novel to complete and a blog post every other week.

That said, I still must prioritize my time. I have roughly 80 pages left to write before The Oak Lovers is complete. My posts may get shorter. I may have a looming blog deadline and not be at a place where I can leave Carl and Madonna’s world longer than it takes to recycle an old post. My prose may be less than perfect once in awhile. I’m not slacking, and I trust that you will forgive me.

I have a book to finish.

Photo of Kim and her children by Deborah Downes

An Interview with Kristina McMorris

By Kim

Over the last month or two, I’ve become acquainted with Kristina McMorris through Facebook and Writer Unboxed, and I am delighted to welcome her to What Women Write today.

As many of you know, my current work in progress deals with the lives of my great-grandparents, so when I heard that Kristina’s debut novel, Letters From Home, was inspired by her family history, I became interested in seeing how she pulled it off.

Don’t be fooled by the sweet, nostalgic cover. While the story has elements that are both sweet and nostalgic, and the audience for the book would mainly comprise of women, Letters From Home is as much a war story as a love story. Readers will see not only the hardships faced on the home front, but they will also witness the horrors of the war from both a man’s perspective (in the trenches of Europe) and a woman’s (in a hospital in the jungles of the Pacific.) This is a rich novel with lovably flawed protagonists and a strong cast of secondary characters.

If you enjoy bittersweet love stories filled with people you’ll miss after the final page has been turned, or you’re simply a fan of the World War II era, Letters From Home will surely fit the bill.

About Letters From Home (from the book jacket):

Chicago, 1944. Liz Stephens has little interest in attending a USO club dance with her friends Betty and Julia. She doesn’t need a flirtation with a lonely serviceman when she’s set to marry her childhood sweetheart. Yet something happens the moment Liz glimpses Morgan McClain. They share only a brief exchange—cut short by the soldier’s obvious interest in Betty—but Liz can’t forget him. Thus, when Betty asks her to ghostwrite a letter to Morgan, stationed overseas, Liz reluctantly agrees.

Thousands of miles away, Morgan struggles to adjust to the brutality of war. His letters from “Betty” are a comfort, their soul-baring correspondence a revelation to them both. While Liz is torn by her feelings for a man who doesn’t know her true identity, Betty and Julia each become immersed in their own romantic entanglements. As the war draws to a close, all three will face heart-wrenching choices, painful losses, and the bittersweet joy of new beginnings.

About Kristina McMorris:

A weekly TV host since age nine, Kristina McMorris has garnered more than twenty national literary awards since writing her debut novel, Letters From Home (Kensington Books, Avon/HarperCollins U.K.). This WWII love story, inspired by her grandparents' courtship, has been hailed as "ambitious and compelling...[a] sweeping debut" by Publishers Weekly. Book club rights have been sold to Reader's Digest and Doubleday, and the film rights are represented by the renowned Creative Artists Agency (CAA) of Los Angeles. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons. For more, click here to visit Kristina's website.

Interview:

WWW: Welcome Kristina! I’ve read that the inspiration for Letters From Home is tied to your family history? Can you tell us a little more about that?

KM: I'd love to! Several years ago, I was creating a Christmas present for the family, a self-published cookbook featuring recipes my grandmother had collected and created over decades. While interviewing her for the biographical section, she began to talk about her courtship with my late grandfather. That's when I discovered, much to my amazement, that they had dated only twice before getting married. Apparently, their relationship had developed almost entirely through an exchange of letters during World War II. Grandma Jean then retrieved from her closet a gorgeous stack of those very pages, each one full of romantic and heartfelt messages.

Needless to say, long after leaving her house, thoughts of their letters lingered in my mind. And soon I found myself wondering how different their relationship might have been if their correspondence had been anything less than truthful. This became the core idea of LETTERS FROM HOME.


WWW: While you fictionalized the main complication (other than the war) keeping Liz and Morgan apart, did you give either of them any of your grandparents’ traits?

KM: I did, which is really what makes this story special to me. Bits and pieces of their personalities are sprinkled throughout the book and in several of the characters.


My grandfather, whom I called "Papa" (as Liz does with her own grandpa), served as a navy signalman on a destroyer escort like the character Christian, yet like Morgan, he was also an Iowa farm kid with dry humor and good looks stemming from his dark-Irish roots. His penchant for limericks and card playing I gave to other GIs in the story, and the female tattoo on his forearm, which my grandfather used to make "dance" by wiggling his knuckles, went to the soldier named "Boomer" (my grandfather's nickname).

As for my grandmother, like Liz, she worked in a nursing home as a teenager. Also, the Midwestern adages from the character Viola (e.g. "slipperier than a log in a mill pond") are from my grandma, whose full maiden name, Irma Jean Cordell, is divided among three various characters. And yes, I even borrowed a line or two from my grandmother's collection of love letters.


WWW: Your secondary characters (Julia and Betty) are well-rounded and sympathetic. Where did you get your inspiration for them? Betty’s situation, in particular, must have required a great deal of research.

KM: Poor Betty; she's such a lovable train wreck, isn't she? Even as the author, it's hard for me not to laugh and shake my head whenever I hear her name, thinking back to what trouble she always somehow created for herself. To pen her scenes—serving as a nurse's aid in the jungles of the Pacific as part of the Women's Army Corps—I did do a large amount of research. The most helpful resources were memoirs and the amazing archivist at the U.S. Army Women's Museum.

As for Julia and Liz, I'm so happy you enjoyed them. I think my own traits went into creating Liz more than any other female character, namely because she's an independent, career-driven woman ahead of her time, which makes her very similar to women in today's society. Julia was inadvertently inspired by a combination of my dearest friends who have faced the dilemma of choosing motherhood over career aspirations. As a mom myself, I certainly understand the constant challenge of finding a healthy balance between the two.

WWW: Several of your characters have absent or deceased parents. Is there a reason for this?

KM: Well, perhaps now is a good time to vent my secret and evidently violent grudges against my mother and father…LOL. (Be sure to ask me this question again after you read my second book!)


Aside from creating a plausible way to allow three young, single women to live together without parental supervision during the 1940s, the loss or absence of the characters' parents plays a vital role in many of their struggles with identity, trust, independence, and unresolved issues (and isn't that ALWAYS the source of those issues for us?!).


WWW: Which character remains closest to your heart, and why?

KM: You had to go and ask which child I love the most, didn't ya?


Honestly, there isn't a major character I really favor over the others, but when it comes to the rest of the cast, I'd have to say that Cora, Christian and Ian's mother, has a special place in my heart. Imagining what it would be like to send my own two sons off into the service really struck a chord. I found so much admiration in the strength she displays while her heart is quietly being broken by the reality that, due to the horrors of war, her family will never be the same.


WWW: Your prose is gorgeous – it’s hard to believe you did not enjoy reading or writing when you were younger. What changed your mind?

KM: Wow, thanks so much for the wonderful compliment! Blissful ignorance—thinking I actually knew what I was doing when I dove headfirst into this novel—was definitely my greatest ally. Once I realized what I'd gotten myself into, it was too late to turn back. So, I started reading like crazy; I had a lot of catching up to do.

I will add, though, that I was a longtime movie buff, which is why I see my books play out like a film in my head. In that way, I suppose there was always a storyteller inside of me waiting to break free.


WWW: The cover of Letters From Home may lead readers to believe the novel will be simply a sweet romance. Boy, are they in for a shock when you bring us into the trenches with Morgan. Are there any special vets who gave you a palette with which to paint such a vivid picture?

KM: Much of my research for the battle scenes came from memoirs and journals by GIs who served in the European Theater, since their descriptions and language were still somewhat fresh from the period when they put their memories on paper.


That said, one of the most rewarding experiences of this journey has been spending time with WWII vets whom I would otherwise never had the chance—or taken the time—to get to know. The first who springs to mind is Lynn "Buck" Compton, one of the famed "Band of Brothers" vets and a humble hero in every aspect of his life. Recently, I received an email from a book club comprised of nieces and daughters of the actual "Band of Brothers," who were reading my novel based on his recommendation, and I can't tell you how much their compliments meant to me!


WWW: Are you working on a new novel now?

KM: I'm happy to report that I've finished my second novel, BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES, which is scheduled for release March 2012. The story features a female Caucasian violinist who secretly elopes with her Japanese-American boyfriend—against societal molds and families' wishes—the night before Pearl Harbor is bombed.


I'm extremely eager to share this one with readers, since it features some shocking aspects of history that most people have never heard about, as well as heroes who are too often passed over. Also, being half Japanese, I was able to infuse a unique perspective of living between worlds.


WWW: Many of our readers are aspiring authors themselves. Do you have any advice for them?

KM: Take it from an author who wrote an entire novel, having no clue that WWII women's fiction wasn't considered "hot" in the marketplace at the time: write from the heart, not to follow a trend. Above all, YOU have to believe in your work and, in particular, your voice. Don't let anyone edit out what is uniquely yours. When it comes to your literary career, be fearless! Strive for hearing "yes," rather than worrying about the "no's." And on days when doubts manage to creep in, drink a glass of vino, eat a few chocolates, then sit back at the computer and write the next chapter. 

Thank you for stopping by today, Kristina! Letters From Home is available in bookstores everywhere. If you would like to see a video of Kristina talking about the story behind the novel, click here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received an advanced copy of the book mentioned above gratis in the hope that I would mention it on this blog. Regardless, I only recommend books I've read and believe will appeal to our readers. In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” I am making this statement.

Social WHAT?

By Julie

Recently, at our What Women Write presentation to the Writer’s Guild of Texas, I spoke on the topic of social media, first in general, then specifically as it relates to how our group functions. I thought I’d share some of the highlights with you here.

You may say, “What is this new thing, Social Media, of which you speak? I’m a writer! I like to be alone. Sounds scary.”

Well, if you think social media is a new thing, you’ve got another think coming. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on my grandpa’s lap while he contacted people all around the world on his HAM radio. I can still hear him clearly in my mind reciting his call letters and hoping for a ping from someone else. Years later, my dad travelled frequently in desolate stretches of Wyoming and Colorado for his job. My stepmother felt more comfortable knowing if he got in trouble, he could contact another driver on his CB radio. As a minister, he developed a persona with his handle, “Reverend Blue Jeans.”

But think back even earlier. Smoke signals, anyone?

Nope, social media is nothing new. The only difference now is it happens so much faster. Technology simply advances more quickly all the time, which can make it scary when we become used to something and someone wants us to change.

I swore I’d never Facebook. I was a dyed-in-the-wool blogger. Then I had teenagers. And I needed to “check up” on them. :) And I discovered how much fun Facebook was. Soon, I abandoned my personal blog (and joined forces with the women here!). I moved on.

Though my teenagers might be snickering behind my back because they’re already onto the latest, greatest thing their parents haven’t discovered yet, three social media avenues seem to be the most popular right now. Here’s how I like to define them:

Twitter
Whispering in the midst of a noisy crowd and wondering if anyone will hear you … or even notice that your mouth moved.

Blogs
Delivering a speech in the middle of the forest and wondering if anyone will hear you—the most important question, of course, being, “If nobody leaves a comment, did you really blog?”

Facebook
Shouting to 400 of your closest friends and wondering if anyone will hear you. Then hoping they will answer, or at the very least, “like” what you said. When you’re really lucky, a friend may scribble an unrelated message on your wall. That means they actually came looking for you.

It can be a little intimidating to choose not only what social media to use as a writer, but how. It might be helpful to think about the following when decided what will work best for you. (Please note the cute way I use words that start with P to give you a mnemonic device. I like mnemonic devices!)

First, be passionate and purposeful, not passive or plodding. In other words, don’t keep using a social media avenue that doesn’t interest you. It will likely die a slow, stinky death. Have a plan, make goals, and enjoy it! If you don’t enjoy it, what’s the point?

Second, be persistent, but not pushy. Be regular, be interesting, but don’t hog the road. (Cough, cough … fingers pointing back at me. Always working on that brevity thing that eludes me.)

Finally, be personal, not just a plugger. Do you know any social media dive bombers? I do. Please don’t simply plug yourself (your latest blog post, your latest book, your latest speaking engagement) then run away—you have to interact to gain loyalty. On the other hand there is such a thing as TMI … or, as we say in writing lessons, no “walking the dog!” We don’t mind knowing that your dog did the most amazing trick ever, and if you have photos, that’s even better. But we don’t need to know every time you leash her and head out the door.

Bringing it back to What Women Write …

I evaluated our use of social media over the last few years in preparation for our presentation. I wanted to keep it real. What I concluded is this:

The six of us are pretty passionate about the What Women Write blog. We write consistently and try to mix it up. We actually keep a schedule, though you might not notice so much on the surface as we subsitute or pinch hit for one another as needed. We attempt to include personal essays as well as musings on craft, industry news as well as interviews with authors or industry personnel. We don’t succeed one hundred percent of the time on consistency or variety, but it’s not for lack of trying. BUT ... we are not very good about interacting with our readers. Sometimes we wander over to a reader’s blog and leave a comment, but not very often. We are not intentional about it, and we know that blog traffic is usually driven best by … networking! We've decided to make a concerted effort to be more diligent about this.

We also use Facebook. We are a little guilty about plugging on Facebook—dive bombing just to let our followers know a new blog post is up. So over the last few weeks, we’ve been attempting to be a little more interesting—sending the folks who have “liked” our page to other interesting articles about writing, congratulating our writer friends on new releases, and so on. We hope you notice the difference and that it doesn’t seem so much like it’s “all about us” in the future.

And Twitter? As my teenagers would say:

Epic fail.

That photo of me to the right? (Apparently the only presentable solo shot of me captured by Rick Mora that night because I'm such a fidgeter!) I was probably talking about Twitter. Our blog posts automatically feed from Facebook to Twitter. There is nothing intentional or human about it. If it weren’t so easy, our Twitter page would be dying that sad, slow, stinky death. (Maybe it is. Has anyone checked lately?!) And the sad news? We probably won’t change there. None of us are faithful Twitterers, so we have decided for the time being to leave it on auto pilot. We’ve made a decision to not excel at Twitter.

One last thought about social media. We’ve learned by experience there’s a huge difference between using social media as a published author or industry expert and using it as a group of unpublished writers. (Or … “I used to think blogging would make me famous.” Ha.)

Bear these things in mind:

As an unpublished writer, it’s all about building an audience (very, very slowly) versus reaching out to a built-in audience. When you’re published, the audience frequently comes looking for you. When you’re unpublished, you’re looking for an audience. Our highest traffic days are usually when we feature published authors, agents, or publishers. The day we had former child actor and newly published author Quinn Cummings as our guest, our stats skyrocketed. We likely won’t be able to replicate that until one of us hits the big time (aka, gets an announced deal on Publisher’s Lunch at the very least!).

Published authors use social media to let their readers get to know them better so they keep buying their books. An unpublished writer hopes her readers will know her well enough to remember her name and buy the book when it’s finally published.

And now, how about you? As an author, an aspiring writer, a reader, or in whatever capacity you come to our blog: What scares the pants off you about social media? What gives you the warm fuzzies?

In other words, how has social media helped or hindered you? Please discuss!

(And … as a bonus, we promise if you leave a comment on here or on our Facebook page, we’re gonna come looking for you! Don’t get too excited. For now, we’re just six women who write, but we sure hope when the time comes, you remember our names.)

One Writer's Facebook Primer

By Pamela

About a year and a half ago I opened my Facebook (FB) account. My initial motivation for having a presence was to keep tabs on my two teenage boys. They both had accounts and I felt the best way to monitor their activities was to be their FB friend. To date, I’ve only had to suggest one son de-friend a kid—a potty-mouthed teammate. My son’s reaction? “Oh, he’s a jerk anyway.”

Through my personal FB account, like many people, I’ve reconnected with old friends and connected with others who share my interests.

A couple months ago, we added a fan page on FB for What Women Write. In that short time, well over 300 people have been able to keep up with our posts and some, who might never have discovered our blog, are linking to it and leaving comments.

Here are a few ways I’ve found FB to be helpful to me as a writer.

Author Contacts

I’ve found favorite authors on FB and have asked a few to contribute here on What Women Write. Although most authors have websites, I find the intimacy on FB to be particularly conducive to reaching out and asking for interviews.

If you’re not a writer but love to read, I’d encourage you to look up your favorite authors on FB. You can learn about their day-to-day happenings, find out about their current books, obtain book tour info and more. (Some have Fan Pages maintained by others, so you might not be getting posts by the author, but you’ll still get updates on releases and such.)

Networking

I’ve joined writers' groups via FB and now receive writing prompts, news about workshops and conferences in addition to meeting people in my area who write. I’ve become a fan of local bookstores that regularly announce book signings plus offer occasional discounts.

I’ve also found it helpful when needing an expert to interview for my writing—whether I need to verify a fact in my manuscript or get a quote for an article I’m writing. A simple: Hey, anyone know a family attorney in the Dallas area? can elicit enough responses to point me in the right direction.

Idea Generator

In addition to finding experts, I’ve also been able to pick the brains of my FB friends when trying to come up with a line in my work-in-process. For instance, after attending a writing conference, I decided I wasn’t in love with my first chapter. I saw my main character wrestling with the disparity between the girl her mother raised and who she ultimately became. So, I opened up FB and asked my friends: What was the best advice your mother ever gave you? I generated enough unique responses to help me rewrite my opening.

Opinion Source

Also on FB, I’ve witnessed other writers utilize the opinions of their followers to weigh in on choosing book jackets, handling negative reviews, naming characters, selecting book titles and more. For example, one author was writing the final book in her trilogy and asked something along the lines of: My first book is Love’s First Kiss, second is Love’s Second Chance, and for the third I’m thinking either Love’s Last Hope or Love’s Final Promise. Within minutes she had a dozen comments from her followers, with some offering suggestions for completely different title ideas.

Lesson Learned

For me FB has also been a source of entertainment. I’ve found it fun to witness the interactions between authors and their readers, and some have provided valuable lessons in ‘what not to do.’ One author uses her FB presence to write insipient comments that must be hurting her reputation and causing her to lose readers. Maybe some find it attests to her authenticity, but I think political and religious opinions and even relationship interactions are best revealed in a more intimate environment—not where your 5,000 fans can read about them.

I’m well aware that Facebook has received its share of negative press recently, but security issues aside (and mine, in case you’re wondering, are as tight as I can set them), do you Facebook and why?