A Writer's Week #47: The Kindness of Strangers

Well, it's been yet another busy week here at The Deliverers Publishing Headquarters. So many things have been going on, where to start? I attended another show this week--Ladies Day Out in Danbury, CT. It was a great success for all involved. My wife and children helped me out by gift wrapping copies of The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel. We had a great time and it was fun hanging out with the other vendors. 

The biggest thrill of the day, however, did not result from the sale of any books. I've mentioned before that I am donating 50 cents of each online purchase and $1.00 of each in person purchase of The Deliverers until the end of the year to the Salvation Army. At the show we were gift wrapping books and asking for a donation to the Salvation Army. A woman walked up to our table, and started writing out a check. Then, she dropped it into our tip jar. When we got home and opened the jar, we found she'd written a check for $50 to the Salvation Army. So, than you so much Janice Lelsey Moore for your generous donation! All in all, I've collected $94.50 for the Salvation Army. Please help support the cause by buying The Deliverers for the children in your lives. It's a great book that they will love.

All right, enough with the sales pitch. The Deliverers 2: Order of the Crystal Lion is shaping up. I've spent the last week making some tweaks. It's mostly ready. There are still a couple things I found that I need to fix. I've sent advance copies of the manuscript out to a few children and adults for a test read. I hope they like it. 

I also was able to reach an agreement with Mother Goose Toys in Litchfield, CT to stock copies of The Deliverers. Thank you Susan, Stephanie and I had a great time visiting with you. So, now there are three spots in Connecticut where you can pick up a copy of the book: Mother Goose Toys in Litchfield; The Barn Gallery in New Fairfield; and Byrd's Books in Bethel. I think I'm going to concentrate on increasing the number of stores stocking my books in the coming year. It's an aspect that I've neglected up to now.

Artist Daniel Vogel sent me a mock up of the cover for The Deliverers 2: Order of the Crystal Lion yesterday. It's looking really good. We had to work out the background and the overall color. I think we figured it out, I just have to see how it actually looks before I'm sure. I hope to be able to unveil the cover sometime before Christmas. Exciting stuff!

The audio book version of The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel is nearing completion. My hope is that it will be available in the middle of December. It really sounds terrific. I used my Kindle Fire to play a bunch of videos at the show including the book trailer, my YouTube interviews, and two sample chapters from the audio book. I received a lot of great feedback on the audio chapters. I'll let you know the minute it's available.

I also got a lot of work done on the plot outline for The Deliverers 3. I had hoped to begin writing, but there are still some plot points that I nneed to get settled before I begin. It won't be too much longer, though--either next week or the week after. I'll let you know how things are going next week.

What's Elizabeth Reading? Radiance

Young reader Elizabeth has been reading a series by Alyson Noel. Today, she'll be talking about the first book, Radiance. Let's see what she has to say about it.

Here's what Elizabeth says the book is about.

"In this summary I am going to tell the basic gist of the entire story, but if you read this story you will love it and get it in even more detail! This is the first book in the series by Alyson Noel. She is an amazing writer and I love all of her books.

"In this particular book, a girl named Riley just died, and she went on to an afterlife in a place called the Here and Now. She is brought before the council of angel-like beings and they show her a summary of her life. She realizes she spent the entire time trying to be just like her sister.

"After that, the council decides that she should be a soul catcher because of her deep attachment to the Earth Plane. A soul catcher goes back to Earth to try to convince lost and lonely souls to cross over the bridge into the Here and Now.

"So Riley and her guide/teacher, Bohdi, go back to a castle just outside of London to convince two souls to cross over. One is scaring the living daylights out of people--his name is Radiant Boy. The other stands up in a tower mourning her three lost sons day and night. Many dangers await them, and then they must be judged by the council..."

Here's what Elizabeth liked best about the book.

"I liked how the author made the story flow, and also how the story seems as if it could happen to any one of us."

Was there anything that Elizabeth didn't like?

"I didn't like when Alyson Noel just made it so that her family members basically abandoned her so that they could fulfill their dreams that they couldn't fulfill on the Earth Plane."

So, how does Elizabeth rate Radiance, by Alyson Noel?

Elizabeth gives it five out of five blue dragons.

Did You Know? Charlotte's Web

After yesterday's interview with Charlotte, I thought it would be a good idea to see what interesting facts I could dig up about Charlotte's Web and it's author, E.B. White. Let's see what I found out.

Did You Know...

• Publishers Weekly named Charlotte's Web the best selling children's book of all time?
• Charlotte's full name, Charlotte A. Cavatica, was based on the scientific name for a barn spider, Araneus cavaticus?
• Illustrator Garth Williams originally drew Charlotte with a ladies head, but E.B. White wanted her drawn as a regular spider?
• The book originally started in the barnyard, but White added the what became the opening scenes with Fern and her family?
• White's Maine farmhouse and barn were the inspiration for the book? His will stipulated that it remain off limits to the public to preserve the property.
• The E.B. stands for Elwyn Brooks?
• He wound up marrying the editor that hired him for The New Yorker magazine, Katharine Angell?
• He updated and edited The Elements of Style? Today, it's known as Strunk & White's Elements of Style, the most commonly used grammar and usage guide.
• White won an honorary Pulitzer Prize for his writing, including Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and Trumpet of the Swan?

Here's the trailer from the animated version of Charlotte's Web. I love Templeton. Paul Lynde was great:

Monday Interview Series: Charlotte

Hi, I hope everyone's Thanksgiving break was very nice and you all got a chance to eat some good food and catch up with family and friends. This week, I was trying to think of someone extra special to interview. Then I saw someone just hanging around, and I knew I'd found the perfect person. I'm talking about everyone's favorite arachnid, Charlotte. Let's see what she had to say.

Greg:  Welcome, Charlotte. Thanks for taking some time out to talk with us.

Charlotte:  Not at all. Salutations to you and all your readers. It is such good fun to be here having a dialog with you.

Greg:  Oh yes, you like large words. You speak beautifully. What is your full name, if I may ask?

Charlotte:  Indeed you may. My full name is Charlotte A. Cavatica. It is a splendid name, don't you think?

Greg:  Yes, yes it is. I was wondering, why did you save Wilbur?

Charlotte:  Why? Because he is my friend. We became friends on his first night in thee barnyard. He was sad because his friend Fern had sold him to farmer Zuckerman. He was so lonely. I was lonely as well. He is such a dear. He befriended me, no questions asked.

Greg:  I see. How did you come up with the idea of messages in your web as a means of salvation?

Charlotte:  I knew that I had to make Wilbur famous, so famous that Zuckerman would not be able to slaughter Wilbur. People will not kill the goose that lays the golden egg is they have any sense at all. Now Zuckerman might not have a lot, but he does have common sense in abundance, so I thought it reasonable to assume that Wilbur's life would be spared if Zuckerman stood to benefit.

Greg:  A reasonable assumption, and one that turned out to be correct. But how did you learn to weave words into your web? Most spiders that I know can't even spell.

Charlotte:  Really? How odd. All spiders as a rule are exceptionally intelligent. I am dumbfounded that you have met any illiterate spiders. They weren't black widows were they? Black widows are intelligent, but they pretend not to be. It's their nature to be contrary, it comes with the name I believe.

Now, to answer your question. Spelling is one thing--most humans can do it--but spinning words into a web is quite another. Wilbur tried it once, but he did not get far. He lacked know how and spinnerets. I was lucky because I come from a long line of spellers, who are by nature most acrobatic. 

Greg:  It was fortunate that you were there for Wilbur.

Charlotte:  Yes, I suppose. It was also fortunate for me, because Wilbur gave me a very special gift.

Greg:  And what was that?

Charlotte:  Friendship. It is a gift that no one had given me until Wilbur, and it made all the difference in my life. So, naturally, I tried to make a difference in his life, too. When it comes down to it, that is the most that any one of us can hope to accomplish, to help make the lives of others a little better.

Greg:  Well, thank you for that though Charlotte. Please come back and visit us soon.

Charlotte:  Thank you. I enjoyed my time here. Now, I've got to be moving along. Templeton promised to find me some more words, just in case I need them in the future. He can be a real rat sometimes, but underneath it all, he's got the heart of an arachnid! 

A Writer's Week #46: On To Phase 3

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving filled with food, football, and even shopping if that floats your boat! I had a great holiday with the family, including a fun hike and pic-nic today.

This holiday week was also a very productive writer's week for me. I set up my table at the Run For the Turkeys this past Sunday, and had a really great time. I sold some books, got to meet a bunch of great people, and in the process raised a few dollars for the Salvation Army. So far, my donation total stands at $20. Remember, for every copy of The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel that I sell between now and the end of the year, I'll donate 50 cents to the Salvation Army.

This Sunday, November 25th, I'll be at Ladies Day Out in Danbury, CT from 11 to 4 at the PAL Building. If you're in the area and want to get some holiday shopping done, there's going to be a wide array of vendors, many of whom will be selling locally handcrafted items. Come on down and say hello.

On the writing front, I have concluded all the major rewriting, otherwise known as editing Phase 2. This means that all that remains is to send The Deliverers 2: Order of the Crystal Lion out to an editor to have her review. Hopefully, I haven't missed anything, or overlooked some critical plot point. If I have, though, my editor will catch it.

The audio book version of The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel is moving along. Narrator Jimm Singer has completed 24 chapters, and only three remain. I'm hoping he'll be finished shortly, but the holiday week has slowed things down a bit. I'm trying to be patient, but now that we're so close to the end I'm really starting to get excited. It sounds really great, and I think you're all going to love it. I'll let you know when it's out.

I am currently roughing out the idea that I've been working on for The Deliverers 3. I am hoping that I'll be able to start writing next week. The idea is a good one, I think, but I still have a lot of things to work out. A lot of the details usually iron themselves out as I write and the characters put their two cents in, but I still have some of the major ideas/themes to hammer out before I start writing. If I can do that this weekend, then I should have a green light to write. I'll let you know how it went next week!