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Author: Kelly

The End. No wait… The End. No wait…

Published by Kelly on June 4, 2012

For my money, the hardest part of writing a book is figuring out where to end it. With my first book, The Redheaded Stepchild, it took me nearly two years to figure out an ending. The book was chiefly about the complicated relationship I had with my ex-stepmother, and even when that relationship was over, it wasn’t really over in my mind, so pinning down an ending was difficult. Even though I could pinpoint our last interaction, it still didn’t feel like “the end” in my mind. So I did what any writer does when they don’t know how to end a story: I picked an ending, and I went with it.

I’m working diligently on the last chapter of my current work in progress, Portrait of Woman in Ink: A Tattoo Storybook, but I can’t for the life of me figure out how to end it. Why? Because this last chapter is the chapter about me, and I don’t know this particular story of my life ends. For those of us who write autobiographically, or semi-autobiographically, as my case may be, endings are unbelievably hard to write. What’s keeping from finishing my book is the decision to either wait to see how my story shakes out, or just make something up.

What do you think? Is making up an ending cheating? Or do I pick an ending and go with it?

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Six Sentence Sunday 6/3/2012

Published by Kelly on June 3, 2012

It’s another Six Sentence Sunday, and happy summer to y’all! Today, we meet Jenna, the main character of the first story in Portrait of Woman in Ink: A Tattoo Storybook. Jenna is getting ready to get a tattoo with her father and sister, and is reflecting on her complicated relationship with her mother.

Jenna was a spitting image of her mother, especially in this photo, but the similarities ended there.  Her mom just didn’t get her, and never had.  She didn’t get why she’d want to go to college when she could marry her high school boyfriend and settle down in the picturesque Ozark hills.  Jenna thought those days had passed long ago; maybe it was why her mother was the only one in the photo who actually looked like she fit in the era they were simulating, who didn’t look like she was wearing a costume.  If it weren’t for the fact that she looked so much like her mom, she might’ve second guessed her parentage.  But not her father… he got Jenna, so much that he’d sacrificed his marriage to their mother to keep the kind of closeness they’d always shared.

Thanks for dropping by! Be sure to check out the other talented peeps at Six Sentence Sunday and drop them a line, too.

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Six Sentence Sunday 5/20/2012

Published by Kelly on May 20, 2012

It’s another Six Sentence Sunday! (I’m late on my post – my bad. Better late than never.) Today I’m sharing another snippet from Portrait of Woman in Ink: A Tattoo Storybook. In this chapter we meet Anna, a grad student still grieving the loss of her mother.

On the wall across from her, the family picture they’d taken when she was ten still hung on the wall: her handsome father, her beautiful mother, and one grinning, chubby ten-year-old in the middle.  Catching her breath, she still couldn’t get over how beautiful her mother had been.

Still, she reminded herself, her mother had been beautiful because she was so image conscious and had such a distorted view of her body that she’d purged everything she ate for years.  Staring at the picture, Anna could see the line from her mother’s dark makeup, the makeup she used to hide her sallow skin tone, permanently jaundiced from all the vomiting.  She had eventually died because she wanted so badly to be beautiful.  It was why Anna rarely wore makeup and her father constantly told her she was perfect just the way she was, with a few extra pounds and a low-maintenance hairdo.

Stay tuned for next week!

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The “Soundtrack” to The Redheaded Stepchild

Published by Kelly on May 17, 2012

Authors are constantly finding new ways to use other media to increase the reach of their books, so I am trying a new little experiment, based on some inspiration from Small Demons. I made a list of all the songs referenced in The Redheaded Stepchild and compiled them into a Spotify playlist. I was kind of surprised when I finished, because when I look at the playlist, it really is a pretty great reflection of the story. I noticed a pretty sharp trend in the genres (I was raised in the sticks, after all), and because I am a huge nerd who likes pie, I created an executive-friendly statistical chart.

If you’re not on Spotify, I recommend it, despite the occasional tampon or laundry detergent commercial. If nothing else, to listen to the soundtrack to The Redheaded Stepchild, of course! Enjoy.

Click here to get the soundtrack.

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Guest Posting Over at Ola Mae’s

Published by Kelly on May 10, 2012

Oh, hi! You came to visit me, but I am over at Ola Mae’s today where I’ve written a guest post that has nothing to do with writing, but is still cool nonetheless. Sewing is one of the primary ways I distract myself from nurturing my literary dreams, and my friend Kristen’s blog always gives me new and exciting ways to distract myself, so I figured I’d give back.

Go check it out if you’re so inclined.

http://www.ola-maes.com/2012/05/pearl-snap-sundress.html

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A Parley with Denise DeSio

Published by Kelly on May 7, 2012

Today I have the distinct privilege of hosting my new author friend, Denise DeSio for a little chat. A while back, I got a glowing review for The Redheaded Stepchild on Goodreads – the first one from someone I didn’t know. This kind soul was Denise DeSio, and I figured that if she liked my book, odds are I would like hers, too. It did not disappoint in the least; I can honestly say it’s probably the best book I’ve read this year. We began chatting back and forth about our books, our writing processes, and the ridiculous heat of the Southwest, so today’s just a little continuation of this chat. I was anxious to get an interview going with DeSio, and I welcome her today!

KH: You mentioned to me that you didn’t even know you were writing a book until you threw the characters of Ricky and Eli into the mix. What did you start out thinking you were writing?

DD: I started out doing what I always do with my emotions, putting them to the page. I’m not the type to cry on anyone’s shoulder.

KH: How long did it take, from the first word you wrote to publication, to complete Rose’s Will?

DD: I started writing in September of 2001 and got published in September of 2011.

KH: Why did you choose to go with 48fourteen as your publisher?

DD: 48fourteen’s submission process is respectful of an author’s work. They ask for 3 sample chapters, provide an online form to fill out with room to add unsolicited comments, all of which they read in a timely fashion and deliver a personal response to the submission. They were about to open a new eBook division when I submitted and offered to feature Rose’s Will on the launch. I liked the idea of being a big fish in a small pond, but most of all I really appreciated their sense of commitment to the process. They were also very good about negotiating the contract.

KH: In Rose’s Will, Glory is what you might consider a late-in-life lesbian, after a conventional marriage and children. What kind of message do you think Rose’s Will has for late-in-life lesbians?

DD: Glory is in her mid-twenties when she enters her first lesbian relationship, so yeah, maybe a bit of a late bloomer. I didn’t intend to convey a particular message about that, but if you want a message, here it is: Everyone has the power and the right to fully explore life at any age. We come through this way only once and there is absolutely no reason to be constrained by fear and narrow minded beliefs. So, go for it.

KH: Rose’s Will is a perfect example of how we continue to seek our parents’ love and approval long after childhood, no matter what they do to us. If you could say anything to someone dealing with parentally-inflicted childhood scars, what would it be?

DD: The first and most important thing to say to people who have been wounded is to validate the experience. After that, support whatever way they choose to deal with it. Instead, we often urge adult victims of childhood abuse to let it go or move on, as if that’s all it takes to solve the problem, even when the physical abuse turns to verbal abuse in the adult relationship.

KH: God, the gay gene, writer’s block. Which of these is real?

DD: <Laughing!> I’m going to have to choose writer’s block.

The whole god thing seems no less a myth than Santa, Tooth Fairies and Unicorns. In Rose’s Will, Eli, my Bulgarian Holocaust survivor is an existentialist/humanist. He is one of the most moral characters in the book.

As for the gay gene, I’m not a scientist but I don’t think it’s a gene. I do think that A) sexuality is fluid, B) there might be a physiological component, and C) even if we choose not to play the “born this way” card, no government or religion should regulate love. The world would be much more pleasant if we put our energy into improving the well-being of humanity instead of policing affinities.

KH: What’s your next great project, and when can we expect to see it?

DD: I can’t decide whether I want to edit the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo last November or edit my Tenants Straight From Hell series. The novel is kind of heavy and TSFH is horrifying and hilarious. I guess I’ll see how I feel after the move. We just bought a house today, so for the next two months I’ll be re-nesting. I’m hoping to have something ready to go by the end of the year, but look for the release of the print version of Rose’s Will in the next couple of months. My publisher just finished re-formatting it.

KH: And finally, if you could have any superpower, what would it be?

DD: I probably would have said something entirely different 20 years ago, but right now I’d like to zap politicians with a truth serum. I’m seriously sick of their lies and I am dreading this election year. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to vote, though. DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF BECOMING SO DISGUSTED THAT YOU DON’T VOTE! There truly is such a thing as the lesser of two evils.

A big thanks to Denise DeSio for giving me an interview right in the middle of house shopping. You’ll hear me talk more and more about Rose’s Will, but if you haven’t picked it up yet, do it. Today. Or when you get paid next, whatever. It is a recent winner of the Reader’s Choice award for general lesbian fiction, an award well deserved. I’d tell you more of my opinion of it, but I think you get the point. You can always check out my Goodreads review of it as well.

BUY ROSE’S WILL for KINDLE
BUY ROSE’S WILL for NOOK
BUY ROSE’S WILL TO READ ON YOUR PC OR LAPTOP (use PDF file)
BUY ROSE’S WILL for ALL OTHER DEVICES (PDF, MOBI, EPUB)

LOOK FOR THE PRINT EDITION THIS SUMMER!
Like Denise on Facebook! http://facebook.com/ReadMyBooks
Tweet me up at @Topbee
Follow her blog at www.DeniseDeSio.com

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Six Sentence Sunday 4/29/2012

Published by Kelly on April 29, 2012

It’s the end of April and I’m getting closer and closer to getting Portrait of Woman in Ink: A Tattoo Storybook ready for showtime. Today’s six is from one of the stories from this collection.

In this story, we meet Kasey, a young woman in denial about the aggressive nature of her mother’s cancer, a denial that takes the form of trying to give her another grandchild, thinking it will restore her will to live.

Kasey’s birth mother had only been thirteen when she became pregnant, and her birth mother’s aunt (whom Kasey had lovingly referred to as Murr for years) had stepped up to take care of her, become her mother in the loosest definition of the word.  Murr was a lot easier to say than “Great Aunt,” and lot less awkward than calling her by “Grace,” her first name.  Kasey watched her through the glass, seeing tears of what Kasey hoped was joy (but could have easily also been from one of her increasingly frequent coughing fits) collect in the wrinkles on her face, creasing starkly as she laughed watching her grandson dance in front of the fire.  Hopefully he wouldn’t take after his father and think the fire was a toy.

“Is Gracie really going to get a tattoo with you tomorrow?” Shannon asked, her bottom lip shivering in the cold air.

“She says she is, so she better,” Kasey shrugged.

That’s all for now! Be sure to check out all the other talented peeps at Six Sentence Sunday. We all toil away in obscurity; this is just one way we get our names out there.

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Why I Turned Down My First Book Deal

Published by Kelly on April 16, 2012

Loyal fanbase, you are, I’m sure, already aware of the fact that it took me seven years from the time I wrote my first word of The Redheaded Stepchild until I published it.  What was I doing in that time besides getting divorced and attending wine and cheese parties for one?  I was querying publishers and agents, building up an impressive collection of rejection letters, which I often used to line the litter box back when I could stand cats.  I had my copy of The Writer’s Market and I was going to go through every entry in the book until I found that rare Prince Charming gem all writers hope for: the right publisher for my book, and one who was willing to take a chance on me.

Five years from the time I wrote the first word, I finally got an email from an acquisitions editor at a publishing house, while playing pool and drinking beer in a dive bar on a visit to my hometown.  My book was in the batch they were going to accept during their next publication period.  I probably played my best lifetime game of pool that night, because I was over the moon, thinking I’d finally gotten the big break I deserved.  I won’t say who it was – because as you can tell from the title of this post, I turned them down anyway…

The happiness ended the minute I started digging deeper into the company and I got the contract.  For the most part, it was pretty standard for what I read in the reference book, except for the following teensy line items:

  • They weren’t going to let me have any input on the cover.  They were going to throw my book over a wall to their creative team and give the nod to whatever came back.  Still, the covers I saw looked pretty good, so I was willing to go with it.
  • They weren’t going to give me any marketing support.  Sorry, but my minor in advertising in promotion did not prepare me for how to successfully market my book.  When I asked about this, they gave me a stock response about how the author is the best person to do the marketing because they are closest to the project.  Okay, true, but don’t you guys do this like, professionally? I’m just a wordmonkey.
  • And here’s the kicker… they wanted me to pay them a “non-refundable deposit” as remuneration for taking a risk on my book.

Um, yeah… that was the red flag for this redhead.  When I told them I was uncomfortable with this, they sent me a list of their author references as a way of reassuring me that I would be happy, successful, and quickly earn back my “refundable deposit” if I took the deal.  I read all the references, but then I went and found the authors’ websites.  Most of them had long since given up on their books from this publisher or hadn’t published any more books, but there were a few still kicking around, so I contacted them.  They all told me the same thing… it was not the greatest decision they’d ever made in their lives.

But still, this was a book deal, a real one, the thing I had been waiting for for five years of my life.  Who was I to say it wasn’t good enough?  I’m a nobody, and they want to take a chance on me.  I did what any girl would do – I called someone smarter than me.  Specifically, my most-likely-to-succeed counterpart from high school (or would have been, if I’d been popular enough to even make that section of the yearbook’s radar), a lawyer pal with a lot of contracts experience.  No, he’d never seen a book deal contract, but a contract’s a contract, right?  And yeah, he said it sucked.  He wasn’t going to tell me what to do, but he didn’t mince words about the drawbacks of the contract.  He was even kind enough to draw up a list of suggested revisions, reminding me than any contract is just a starting off point for negotiations, and that if I really wanted a book deal, I should fight for one that worked for both me and the publisher.

Well, negotiation must’ve been Swahili to them.  I emailed my carefully crafted list of negotiable revisions to their people.  And waited a week.  And emailed them back, asking if they’d had a chance to view my revisions, to which they assured me their legal team was giving it “careful consideration.”  Then I waited another week.  And emailed again.  Finally, they came back and said they weren’t willing to make any concessions with their standard contract (gee thanks… you coulda just told me that 2 weeks ago).  I wanted a book deal.  I really did.  But this one smelled an awful lot like the rejection letters after the litter box got a hold of em, so I politely declined, determined that I had not yet found my Prince Charming of publishing. And had another wine and cheese party for one.

But… that’s not the end of the story… tune in next week, when I tell the story of “Why I Self-Published.”

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