JANUARY 2008 SIGNINGS AND EVENTS

JANUARY 2008 SCHEDULE

1/18/08 - BOOKMASTER, 2929 N. Scottsdale Rd, 10 am - 2 pm

This is a mulit-author signing, KOOL-FM will be broadcasting a remote from the location during the event.

1/23/08 - WORKSHOP - North Valley Library, Anthem - 7 pm

I'll be doing a mini-workshop called, "Are You a Plotter or a Pantser?" Do you plot your book or write it by the seat-of-your-pants? Do you outline your story or just sit down and start typing? What's the best way to write a novel? I'll talk about the advantages and pitfalls of either technique, and give some hints on how to make each method work for you, including 3 Basic Outline Formats, 7 Things Pantsers Must Do, 8 Things Plotters Must do, and What Other Authors Do.

Churning

So what have I been doing these past months?

Churning.

No, not butter. A new book.

When I’m starting a new book, I find I have to let the story elements work their way around in my head for a while, and when the story is fully conceptualized in my mind, I begin the actual writing. While those plot points are swirling, I work on my characterizations, and make notes of possible story events and turning points. When the book is literally bursting out of my brain, I can finally type “Chapter One.”

While all that is going on, it’s hard for me to do anything else, including blog. Now that I’m a hundred pages into the manuscript, I’m getting a head start on my New Year’s Resolution to keep up this post. I promise.

My new as yet untitled work in progress is a follow up to my first book, THE CHARMSTONE, which was released last April. This new one is also set on the Navajo Reservation in Monument Valley, and involves a young woman who leaves the comfort zone of her ordinary life to find people and seek answers to questions from the past. By doing so, she becomes immersed in a culture entirely new to her. There’s an old photograph. A missing child. People with secrets, lots of them. Some worth killing for.

I think you’ll like it as much as you all liked THE CHARMSTONE. And, by the way, thanks for that.

UPCOMING SIGNINGS AND APPEARANCES: (More details later)

January 18, 2008 - Bookmaster in Phoenix

January 23, 2008 - North Valley Library in Anthem, AZ , Workshop - "Are You a Plotter or a Pantser", 7:00 pm

February 9, 2008 - Bookmaster in Anthem, AZ

New in my music collection:

HOBO by Billy Bob Thornton
E2 by Eros Ramazzotti