Pen Dames Pointers! Tips to Jazz Up Your Writing

 

A goal of Pen Dames is to help other writers by sharing some of the tips and insights we have learned along the way. We hope you will find the pointers beneficial. 

Loretta C. Rogers

Write what you love. By writing what you love, you will always write stories that are powerful and that mean something to you. Your energy and love will then become evident to readers.

Kathy Eddinger Smits

Make a firm commitment to yourself that you will complete at least a first draft of whatever project you begin no matter how awful you think it is, because at some point, you WILL think it is horrible and want to quit. Don't quit! Every author doubts every project sometime during the process. Published authors are the ones who don't let that stop them.

Barbara Cairns

Write to inform and to inspire! Help readers to enjoy learning while enjoying a good story.

 

Jennifer Taylor

A great first step to developing your novel is to write in a journal-consistently-whether it's a mere ten minutes a day or an hour. You can write about anything--issues you're experiencing in your life, or any story ideas that pop up at random. You can puzzle out your story issues. The important thing is to let your mind wander. Write it down, no matter how far-fetched or crazy your idea is. I can't tell you how much a journal has helped me write my books. Amazing things pop into your head once you put your pen to paper. Basically, you're talking to yourself, whether you choose to do it on your computer, phone, or on your favorite notebook. And it's a great way to give yourself a pep talk when you need it most. You can do this. 

Flossie Benton Rogers

Be flexible with your writing process. What worked best at one time in your life or with one genre or book may now need a tweak. Do you write your rough draft and then edit? Do you write a day’s worth and start the next day by editing before moving on to new words? Do you write sequentially or skip around? Do you write the end before the middle? Start with what feels natural and try new ways if needed.

What do you think of these suggestions?

Thank you for joining us. Happy writing!

Pen Dames Shamrock Shenanigans!

 

Have you ever seen a Leprechaun? If you wanted to catch one, what would you use as bait? How would you build your trap? Do you like reading about crafty characters?

This month we want to tell you about some of our trickster characters, and we’re offering a fantastic giveaway for a bag of swag and gifts.

 

GIVEAWAY RULES

 

1.      To enter, comment on this St. Patrick’s Day blog post.

2.      You may comment once a day during the Giveaway period, March 13 - 17, 2023.

3.      Comments on social media are appreciated but will not count for the Giveaway.

4.      The entrant with the most blog comments wins.

5.      In the event of a tie, the winner will be selected at random from among those tied.

6.      Winner must supply name and mailing address before April 1^st for Swag to be mailed.

7.      No obscene or offensive comments please.

8.      Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

9.      Prizes consist of promotional author Swag and gifts from Pen Dames.

10  Giveaway is administered, endorsed, and sponsored solely by Pen Dames. No other entity is associated or responsible.

 

                                                                            

St. Patrick’s Day is one of our favorite holidays! Dressing in green to avoid getting pinched, marching in and watching parades, decorating with shamrocks, even drinking emerald tinted beer make the day festive.

Parents can involve children in the celebration by telling them stories about Leprechauns and helping them make a trap for one.

Legend says that if you can snare one, these supernatural entities will give you three wishes to win their freedom. That sounds like a dream come true, but you have to be careful. If you’re greedy and ask for too much, or if you aren’t vigilant, the imp will outsmart you and get away without granting your wish or twist it so what you get is not what you thought.

Instructions for how to do this say to construct a deadfall using a box baited with something the creature would love which will collapse when the little guy goes after the prize and prevent him from escaping. A child could make a cute snare using a graham cracker with a straight pretzel stuck in a marshmallow to hold up the cracker and Lucky Charms cereal as an enticement.

After the children create the snare and go to bed, parents scatter paper clover, tiny moss-colored footprints, and other “evidence” an elf came to visit. The next morning, the trap will be sprung; the treat gone. In return, the escapee leaves something for the child such as coins made of chocolate and covered with gold paper or a small toy. After all, fairy folk love children.

When it comes to adults, Leprechauns are tricksters. Reputed to be descended from fairies and demons, they have both light and dark sides. They are devious.

In fiction, such untrustworthy characters can be the most interesting and memorable whether they are supernatural or humans who mislead or deceive others.

Though all Leprechauns are male (probably the reason they look cranky), scheming and deceitful types in novels may be either gender.

We love incorporating them in our books!

In Loretta C. Rogers’ book, Cloud Woman’s Spirit, after Tessa Cloud Woman Sawyer is murdered, she refuses to cross over to the happy place in the sky until she leads her husband to the men that killed her. Tessa is a jealous spirit. When a young woman flirts with Jim, Tessa causes a wind to kick up, and embers from the campfire catch the hem of the young woman’s dress on fire. Those watching swear that the wisp of smoke looks just like a Comanche woman.

 

Katherine Eddinger Smits’ Water Dreams features Deme. She lies, pulls practical jokes on her brother Bas, and teases him. When she first meets the heroine, Nik, Deme claims she is a long-distance swimmer whose goal is swimming from Florida to Cuba. Deme has her flaws, but she isn’t a bad person. She just doesn’t quite understand the importance of the truth, and she wants to have fun even at someone else’s expense. Since she is a mermaid, open-water swimming is like strolling in the back yard to her. She doesn’t understand the idea horrifies Nik who has a phobia about water!

 

Mind Your Goddess by Flossie Benton Rogers is the story of how the dark guardian Eshigel searches for traces of his missing lover, the goddess Epona. He meets Mad Magda, an elderly elfin gypsy who jumps square on his back, knocking him down, when he intrudes upon the ancient oak that is her home. Once she knows that he cares for Epona, however, she gives him helpful information. She is a Janus, a magical creature who can appear as a cunning, crotchety old woman or a youthful, powerful Time Fae.

We hope you enjoyed reading about our magical and crafty characters!

                                                                               

Here’s what we will gift one winner (Don’t worry, we won’t prank you. We just write about tricksters who might.)

Small Notebooks including a gorgeous peacock-themed decorated notebook

Mirror

Book Bag

Bookmarks

Large Clip

Magnet

Pens, including a sparkly crystal pen

Can Cozy

Zippered Mermaid-themed Bag

Fancy Peacock-themed Egyptian Cotton Scented Soap

 

 

 

Don’t miss out! Comment today! #pendames #pendameswrite

                                                                         

Barbara Cairns Author Interview - Part II

 

Yesterday we met a new Pen Dame, multi-talented author Barbara Cairns, and learned about her background and motivation for her books. Now we continue with Part II of the interview.

What is the setting of the book you're working on? Please describe it.

My current middle grade novel, Jacob Joins the Cow Cavalry, is set in Florida during the Civil War and tells the story of a little-known unit called the Cow Cavalry, which lasted only a year but was instrumental in getting much-needed beef to the Confederate soldiers.

Why did you choose this setting? Is it a real place or did you create it for the story?

It’s set in Homosassa, FL, which in the 1860s was a part of Hernando County where the Cattle Battalion was originated. 

Is your book part of a series or a standalone?

This will be a standalone book.

Which of your main characters is your favorite and why?

Jacob Donner, a 15-year-old farm boy is determined to leave home and to help the Confederacy. (I never thought about it before but perhaps it’s because I was once determined to leave home and to help others far away.) LOL

If you could spend an afternoon with any of your secondary characters, who would it be and why?

It might be interesting to spend an afternoon with Mrs. Matherson to learn about the multitude of feelings she must have had when she learned about her husband switching sides to the Union Army.

What writing projects do you have on the horizon?

I’m concentrating on Jacob Joins the Cow Cavalry now, and hope to get the book published in time for Christmas book signing events. 

What is your best advice for aspiring writers?

Read as many tips from other published authors as you can and then act upon them in your own writing. 

What is your favorite book marketing tip?

Unfortunately, I’m not good at marketing my books online, but I do enjoy talking to readers and selling my books at book signing events. 

What do you like to do when not writing?

I’m a very active person and maintain a busy schedule with volunteering (over 20 years)  at the wildlife park, where I provide enrichment for wildlife and also act as docent in the Discovery Center; volunteering for United Way as a tutor for preschoolers (past three years); reading a variety of books for my book club; spending time with two different sets of friends for monthly birthday celebrations; attending monthly meetings for Citrus Writers; belonging to a talented group of bloggers called the Pen Dames; enjoying my birds and squirrels at all my bird feeders, playing Up Words and Kings' Corners card game with a dear friend, and traveling to far-away places. (Alaska in August, and Bermuda/Bahamas in September last year, with plans this year, for British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts & Nevis and San Juan, Puerto Rico in July, and the Canadian Rockies Railroad Trip in September. 

As well as on the Pen Dames blog, find Barbara at the following locations:

Website

Amazon

Facebook

Barbara, it has been so interesting to learn about you, your books, and your many activities. I know readers will enjoy interacting with you online and at your events and book signings.  Thank you for spending time with us!

Readers, do you have questions for Barbara? (no politics, religion, or impropriety please)

Barbara Cairns Author Interview - Part I

 

It is my privilege to introduce author and newest member of the Pen Dames, the fabulous Barbara Cairns! Barbara's zest for life shines through in everything she does, and I appreciate her taking time from her busy schedule to tell us about herself and her writing. This is Part I of the interview, with more to come tomorrow. Welcome to Pen Dames, Barbara!

What can you tell us about YOU that will allow us to get to know you better—where you live, your background, jobs, interests, etc.?

Born in a farmhouse in Pomfret, CT, I later moved with my family to Hampton, CT where I grew up surrounded by dairy farms. This typical New England village of 1500 residents had three churches, a well-attended library, a general store, a firehouse, and a barbershop, but when the barber died, he was never replaced, so folks traveled 12 miles for a haircut. I attended one-room schoolhouses until the 8th grade when the new consolidated school was built in 1950; there were six in my graduating class, including my cousin George.

My younger sister, Violet, and I always had lots of pets, including not only the usual cats, dogs, rabbits, goats, and birds but also three deer, a raccoon, a grey squirrel and three flying squirrels. I followed in my dad’s footsteps and became an avid animal lover.

I taught Sunday School in the little Baptist church in the valley and eventually became the superintendent while still attending high school. The pastor encouraged me to become a teacher, (rather than a veterinarian) and after graduating from Windham H.S. in 1955, I entered Willimantic State Teachers College where I received my B.A. degree. (That college is now Eastern Connecticut State University.)

Always wanting to travel, I spent my first seven years of teaching in Seattle, WA after receiving a scholarship to get my M.A. from Lexington School for the Deaf and Columbia University in NYC. My future in teaching took me overseas with the Department of Defense Schools in Labrador, Canada, Bamberg, Germany (where I met my Englishman husband at a beer fest), and the Canal Zone, Panama, where I became an elementary school principal. 

Following 30 years of living overseas, I returned to the U.S. and retired in Homosassa, FL where I volunteer at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, and for United Way as a Reading Pal for preschoolers, getting them ready for kindergarten.

 

What was your favorite book as a child?

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

How and when did your writing journey begin?

I’ve always enjoyed telling or writing stories. My mother told me I had a vivid imagination.

What genres do you write? What do you like about writing in those genres?

My muse takes me in all directions. I don’t write in any one genre, so my books include picture books, middle grade novels, adult fiction and historical novels. I love it when I get excited about a new story idea, preferably one that involves research so I can educate folks along the way.

What inspires you to write?

I get inspired in a variety of ways. When I heard that art had been taken out of some elementary schools, I wrote a series of picture books about a crazy art gallery cat, Gatsby, that jumps into famous paintings, with resources at the end, so children could learn more about art. When I painted a picture of a Cracker Cow, I wondered, What is a Cracker Cow? And after researching, the end result was a history of Florida based on the cattle industry. When a social worker told me that most of her cases involved drugs or alcohol, I wrote Kate’s Secret, a middle grade novel where three siblings are dealing with an alcoholic father, again with resources at the end. Sometimes, it’s just a desire to write a story set in a special place, like a favorite of mine, Maine. 

Which authors/books are on your keeper shelves?

Anything written by Penny Vincenzi or other authors who write multi-generational books . . . The more characters, the better for me, with a good story line.

If you could meet any author, living or dead, who would it be and why?

I’ve visited her home at Cross Creek, but it would have been a wonderful experience to have actually met Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. (I once won a writing contest where I compared my Bambi back home to her fawn in The Yearling.) How fun it would have been to talk about our animal experiences together.

Barbara, this has been a wonderful introduction. I know our readers enjoyed meeting you and learning about your books and passion to write. Thanks so much for taking time to answer our questions. I look forward to hearing more from you and especially learning about what you are working on now.

Readers, stay tuned for Part II of our interview with Barbara tomorrow and the chance to ask questions of your own. In addition to the Pen Dames blog, you can also find her at the following places:

Website 

Amazon 

Facebook 

Happy New Year from the Pen Dames!

We live in central Florida and get together once a month for lunch, laughter, and the love of all things bookish! Here are pictures of us at our December and January get-togethers. 

Our wish for 2023 for all of our readers and friends is that your year will give you many wonderful gifts, a few pleasant surprises, and most of all, health and happiness.

How Does a Book Heroine Celebrate December?

 Greetings Friends,

Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, or a different celebration, Pen Dames thought it would be fun to imagine how the heroines in our stories might celebrate the holiday. These women are from different time periods and occupations. So join us on this imaginary journey.

                                                 

                                                

                          Mind Your Goddess 

                                       by 

                      Flossie Benton Rogers

        Tickle your fantasy with a little Yuletide fun!

The life work of Epona, goddess of fruitfulness, involves seeing her people flourish and helping humans from the nearby earth dimension. The inhabitants of Epona's realm celebrate a midwinter holiday called Yuletide. Festivities surround Winter Solstice and the rebirth of the sun after the longest night of the year. There is feasting, singing, dancing, and gift giving. Special guests are always welcome, and the sun god Apollo has been known to play his lyre after a seven-course Yuletide meal. He says Epona's blackberry wine surpasses that served on Olympus. Epona's most honored guest is her lover Eshigel, the dark guardian of the between. She adores frisking him away from the dim corridors of his domain and cuddling up with him by a crackling midwinter fire in her Rose Cottage. 

             https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Your-Goddess-Wytchfae-Book-ebook/dp/B076XX9TPJ

                                                                          

                                                                                          Echoes of the Moon

                                                                                by Jennifer Taylor

         Jolly Ole England, Christmas Day

                   King's Harbour, 1737

It was a Happy Christmas indeed, thanks to gracious Lena, owner of the Siren Inn. After church, the town fair danced their way to the party, awed by the greenery that graced the walls and tables groaning with the bounty of the town's excellent cooks. Identical twins Bethan and Elunid were breathtakingly beautiful in white gowns embroidered with holly and ivy by the talented and troubled Elunid.

Henry, our town night soil man stood against the bar, eyes only on Bethan. He and son George so looked like the perfect gentlemen that no one would ever know their occupation.

The day was complete when the dashing Reginald and the Wandering wastrels sallied in, singing. we enjoyed hours of revelry: eating, drinking, gambling, and hilarity.

Best of all we witnessed Henry and Bethan passionately kissing under the mistletoe.

https://www.amazon.com/Echoes-Moon-Jennifer- Taylor/dp/1509217606

                                                                       

                                                              Siren Descending

                                                 by Katherine Eddinger Smits

                                                              Bah Humbug!

Athenia is a Sea Witch apprenticed to Thorne, a swamp mage from the bayous and backwaters in Florida. Before, she didn't celebrate holidays. Now, with Thorne, she endures human ways. Though he forgave her for stealing his powers and abandoning him to die, he hasn't forgotten. And the other mages treat her with contempt. As Christmas approaches, Thorne drags her into the human world. Their customs mystify her. Why do they worship a fat man in a red suit? Although the mages aren't obsessed with old guy, they're incomprehensible too. They have immense power to conjure lavish meals and beautiful clothes, but they eat simply and wear shorts and t-shirts. Makeup? The women strive to be plain-ass boring. They look down on her for her fondness of luxe, and hate her for what she did to Thorne, but she can't stand them either. This Christmas complication is a bitch.

https://www.amazon.com/Siren-Descending-Sirens-Book-2-ebook/dp/B082CMLGTF

The Bone Yard by Loretta C. Rogers

A Christmas Dinner Flub-a-Roo!  

Dr. Tullah Holliday is a veterinarian, and amateur sleuth. She uses her empathic abilities to help solve

crimes. While she is a great doctor, she didn't inherit her grandmother's cooking gene. This year was Tullah's turn to host Christmas dinner. While whipping the potatoes with her new electric hand mixer, the power kicked off. Her father rushed to the basement to flip the switch in the breaker box. When he returned upstairs, Tulllah was propped against the kitchen counter holding the mixer like a pistol and shooting mashed potato bullets all over the kitchen with globs decorating her grandmother's face and hair. Tullah was relieved when the guests didn't complain about the dry turkey and gloppy gravy.

https://www.amazon.com/Boneyard-Doc-Holliday-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B09QXQNLYW

                                

 

Now that you've seen how our book heroines might celebrate the holidays, we'd love to hear how you and your family celebrate or perhaps share some of the flub-a-Roos you've experienced during this joyous season by posting in the comments section below.

From Pen Dames to you, we wish you Happy Reading, Happy Holiday, Merry Christmas, and a New year filled with Blessings!

Childhood Books Last Forever

 Remember the books you loved at an early age? The ones read aloud to you and the ones you checked out from the library? The ones the teacher handed out at the beginning of the new school year? The ones wrapped in sparkling paper on Christmas morning? The ones on the little shelf in your bedroom? These treasures left a lasting impression on your young mind, as they did on ours. Pen Dames could post each and every day about books we loved back then. That’s how much they mean. Here are a scant few we’d like to share with you. We would also love to hear about YOUR favorite childhood books.

KATHERINE EDDINGER SMITS:

I read Tom's Midnight Garden by Phillipa Pearce after encountering the book in the local library when I was quite young. Although I loved the book and fondly remembered it all my life, I forgot the title and author. I wanted to find a copy for myself, but thought it would be impossible because I had no way to identify it. When I read a reference to the book in a blog, I thought it might be the one I was seeking, and when I looked it up on Amazon, I was thrilled to find it was! I now have my own print copy of Tom's Midnight Garden to keep forever!

LORETTA C. ROGERS:

Horses have always been an important part of my life.  When I was four years old, my daddy would get me up early and sit me on the mule. Daddy was a farmer and plowed with a horse and a mule. When the horse kicked daddy and laid him up for many weeks, daddy sold the horse. The problem was that the mule refused to plow without the horse. So, daddy would sit me on that stubborn animal to get him to move. At night, daddy would read "Black Beauty" to us. I think that's when my love of horses and reading grew. Later, when the rolling library came to my school, I fell in love with "Misty of Chincoteague," by Marguerite Henry, then of course, there was Walter Farley and all of his Black Stallion books.

FLOSSIE BENTON ROGERS:

When I was three, my grandparents gave me a set of ten classic books called Young Folks Library. My grandmother read me stories, and later I read the books on my own. I learned of sisters who outfoxed a devious dwarf, a secret underground world filled with music and dancing, a blustery north wind who puffed out his powerful cheeks to start winter, an old wise woman who wrote secret messages on a fish, and many more tales. These books sparked in me a lifelong love of the mystical and magical. 

What books made a big impression on YOU at an early age? Thank you for traveling with the Pen Dames on our adventurous journey to books from our childhood.