SECRETS WORTH KILLING FOR

I've been absent from my blog for so long because I've been buried in a work in progress.

I'm back to Monument Valley on the Navajo Indian Reservation in this story. This time my heroine Keegan Thomas is searching for people in an old photograph. She's a journalist and thought it would be interesting to find these people and interview them for a magazine article.

Well, it got interesting all right. She discovered secrets that had been buried for over fifty years. Shocking secrets. Dangerous secrets. Secrets worth killing for.

I'm almost finished. I've outlined the last three chapters, I know what's going to happen and who did what and why, but I've taken a few weeks off to let the story settle in. The ending is going to be action packed, so I need to work out the details and let them fall into place in my mind. When the final scenes are bursting out of my head, I'll sit down and put them on paper. It will only be a few more days. I still have some research to do.

I'd like to tell more about the story, but it's so tightly plotted almost anything I say will be a spoiler. But I think you'll like this book as well as you all liked THE CHARMSTONE.

CHARMSTONE'S A WINNER!

Well, so much for my New Year's resolution to keep up my blog! I haven't checked in since January. But THE CHARMSTONE has won some awards so I'd like to brag a little, if that's okay.

2008 Desert Rost RWA Golden Quill - DOUBLE WINNER! Best First Novel and Best Romantic Suspense

2008 Colorado Award of Excellence - FINALIST!

I was so pleased and surprised to be honored with these awards. Thank you, judges.

New in my music collection:

Back to Black by Amy Winehouse

Debussy Nocturnes by the London Symphony Orchestra

Interview at Poe's Deadly Daughters Blog

I was recently interviewed by Sandra Parshall for her 1/09/08 blog at Poe's Deadly Daughters. Sandra is the author of a fabulous book called, "The Heat of the Moon." With permission, I've reproduced the interview below.


Writers use pseudonyms for many reasons. Would you mind telling us why you chose not to use your real name for fiction writing?

I decided to use a pseudonym because I didn’t want my real name all over the Internet, and my reason for that would make a good plot for a suspense novel (which I will write some day.) But it’s nearly impossible to remain anonymous in this day and age, and within a month of my book’s release, a writer friend mentioned me in her blog using my real name as well as my writing name. There were some consequences as a result of that which, so far, and happily, were minor and quickly resolved. But C. C. Harrison is a registered legal trade name and I think it looks great on a book cover.

The down side of using a pseudonym is that friends and family don’t know what to call you. My daughter now introduces me as C. C. Harrison.

Romantic suspense is perennially popular, drawing readers of both mystery and romance. Did commercial prospects play a role in your choice to write in this subgenre, or are you simply writing what you love to read?

Basically, I’m writing what I love to read. When I was young, I loved the early romance novels full of mystery and intrigue by Phyllis Whitney, Victoria Holt, Norah Lofts, Mary Stewart. By the time I began writing my first novel, that style of romance was long, long out of fashion. But I’m greatly influenced by them, and by Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind.” Today, the female leads in those books are seen as weepy, wimpy and naïve, but I saw them as courageous. Courage is being afraid but doing it anyway. In every story, the heroine was thrown into unfamiliar circumstances to face mysterious and unpredictable events that were out of her control, but she always found a way to survive. And isn’t that what romantic suspense is today? Despite Scarlett O’Hara’s flaws and weaknesses in some areas of her life, I thought she was a kick-butt, take-charge survivor.

You teach a workshop titled "Are You a Plotter or a Pantser?" Which are you? How did The Charmstone develop?

Oh, I’m a plotter, compulsively so! I need to know where I’m going. I don’t even leave my house without a map, and if I’m going over 100 miles, I need a Triptik!

Seriously, I’ve always been interested in the process of writing a book, how novelists actually did it. I’d been widely published in nonfiction, but that was easy. I just took information someone gave me, did a little more research, and wrote an article. Fiction was something else. I truly thought there was only ONE way to write a novel, and I needed to find out what that one way was. I’m embarrassed to admit that misperception blocked me for a long time. At the time, I didn’t have any writer friends, didn’t belong to any writers groups, so had no one to ask. Joining an RWA chapter opened up a whole new world when I learned that every author had a different way of putting a book together, and that they pretty much made up their own process.

My workshop on Plotters or Pantsers is geared to beginning and early career writers who may be struggling with finding a process that works for them. I talk about the many different ways published authors actually put a book together. It’s about process, not technique.

THE CHARMSTONE developed out of my experiences living in Monument Valley on the Navajo Indian Reservation as a VISTA (now called AmeriCorps) volunteer. That was truly a life changing experience for me, and the characters and plot just sort of came together. I knew a week after I arrived on the reservation that I was going to write a book set there and pretty much what the main plot points would be. I didn’t begin the actual writing until some time later, when my assignment was over. After I left the reservation, I worked on an archaeological dig at an ancient Anasazi site (which gave me more plot ideas), bought a house in the Four Corners area and lived there for a few years. During that time I drafted three novels, one of which was THE CHARMSTONE.

You've written many short stories, but was The Charmstone the first novel you attempted? How long did it take you to write it, from idea to finished book? Would you tell us about your road to publication, once you had a completed manuscript?

THE CHARMSTONE was my first novel. (Okay, I’ll admit I do have one in the closet that hasn’t seen the light of day, but I plan to resurrect it at some point.) The road to publication for THE CHARMSTONE was quite circuitous involving multiple lost or misplaced submissions, a change of acquiring editors, you know, the usual. But it all worked out for the best in the end because I used the time when nothing seemed to be happening to tweak it into a better book, and outline or draft two others. Life is what you make of it and things always happen in their own time.

Both The Charmstone and your second book have Navajo characters and provide a look at life on the Navajo Reservation in Monument Valley. How were you received by the residents when you visited the reservation to do research? Has anyone there read your first book and commented on your portrayal of Navajo life? What advice would you offer to other authors who want to write about cultures not their own?

Actually my second book, RUNNING FROM STRANGERS due out in September 2008 from Five Star, doesn’t have Navajo characters, but the story is set in Durango, Colorado which is in the Four Corners area just off The Rez. It’s the story of a child advocate who finds herself on a run for her life with a child in her care.

My work in progress, working title NAVAJO GIRL GONE, takes the reader back to the Navajo Reservation with heroine Keegan Thomas as she searches for people in a fifty year old photograph, one of them a child who she’s told was kidnapped by missionaries and never returned. In the book, she meets a lot of resistance from the Navajos for poking around in the past. They tell her that people who dig up the past end up digging their own grave.

However, in reality, the Navajos are at heart very hospitable people. When I first went to the reservation as a VISTA volunteer, I think they were a bit leery of me, because historically, the intent of some of the white people who came to the reservation was to exploit the Indians despite their promises of help. In the end, I made some wonderful friendships that have survived over time, and I go back to Monument Valley often. And, yes, my book has been very well received there; at least I haven’t heard any complaints so I guess I got it right. My biggest fear was not getting the culture and history correct.

I think it’s very difficult for authors to write about a culture not their own, and the only way they can do it and get it right is to live it. I could never have written about life on the Navajo Reservation if I hadn’t actually lived there and interacted with people on a daily basis. Even so, I have to spend a lot of time on research.

Your second book was inspired by your experiences as a CASA (court-appointed special advocate) in the child welfare system. To an onlooker, this kind of work looks emotionally draining, but it must have rewards for those who do it. What have you learned from working with underprivileged and abused children? Have you seen many positive results of your work?

For me, being a child advocate was extremely emotionally draining. I had to limit the kinds of cases I worked on. I wouldn’t take any case that involved child sexual abuse of any kind. What did I learn by working in the child welfare system? Nothing good. It’s shocking and unbelievable what people do to their children. Looking back, I guess I could say there were a few moments of joy and reward, but only a few. Lack of money, staff, and effective management are huge problems in most child welfare systems.

Has being a published novelist changed your life? Did you know what to expect, or have you had some surprises (good and bad) along the way?

No surprises, not really. It’s pretty much what I expected. The biggest change it’s made in my life is I can’t go to the supermarket in sweats and grubbies anymore. I have to dress halfway decent because people in my community now know who I am and recognize me from signings and seeing my picture in the paper. Basically, I’m living the kind of life I’d always hoped to live - a published author, living alone, secluded, surrounded by my books and papers, writing more novels.

Your second book has the same setting as the first, but the two aren't part of a series. Do you think you'll write a series in the future, or do you have more fun with stand-alone novels?

Every book I write I think I want to be part of a series because I fall in love with all my characters and don’t want to let them go. So far, instead of writing a true series, I try to bring a few characters from previous books into my new books. In the book I’m working on now, I brought in at least one character from RUNNING FROM STRANGERS. The next book after that will be set on the Navajo Reservation and I plan to bring in several characters from THE CHARMSTONE.

Do you plan to attend any mystery conferences in 2008 where readers can meet you?

I don’t have as much time for conferences anymore, but I will be at the Desert Rose RWA Desert Dreams Conference in Phoenix on April 4-6, 2008, and also RWA National in July. So please everyone, I’m very approachable. It’s okay to stop me to say hello. Also, check out my website at http://www.ccharrison-author.com/ and read my blog for news and updates.


New to my music collection:

All the Lost Souls - James Blunt

Amazon Reviews

There was a lively discussion on the Five Star Authors email list recently about reviews posted on Amazon.com. How helpful they are, how accurate, how fair, and whether or not Amazon reviews influence readers to buy. I think Amazon reviews influence most reader buying decisions, but they are helpful to me in another way.

Here's how I use Amazon reviews:

I never (hardly ever) buy a book based on good reviews. (Book covers don't persuade me to pick up a book either, but I know I'm in the minority on that.) I buy a book based on the summary of the story. If it sounds like something I'm interested in, I buy the book.

Then I go to Amazon for the reviews, BUT I read the one and two star reviews first. Why? Because I want to see if they are constructive reviews or merely general bashing. I ignore bashing. Then I browse the positive reviews. After that I read the book.

If I find myself losing interest in the book, or not liking it for whatever reason, I go back to the Amazon reviews and read them again. If the reason I am not liking the book is mentioned by at least one other reviewer, I usually don't finish the book. (If it's not, I give the book another chance and read more to see if it eventually engages me.) The reason for that is because I have more books in my bookcase, on my "to be read pile", and on my Amazon Wish List than I have time left on this earth to read them.

This wasn't always the case. I used to read every single word of a book out of respect for the author's hard work and effort. Then I amended that to reading at least the first 50 pages before giving up on it. Now I don't waste time plowing through any book that isn't holding my interest.

Here are some of the really good books I've read lately:

The Heat of the Moon by Sandra Parshall

Half Broken Things by Morag Joss

Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger

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

RUNNING FROM STRANGERS

I’m very happy to announce that my romantic suspense novel RUNNING FROM STRANGERS will be released by Five Star in September 2008. Pleased, too, that I’ll again be working with Tiffany Schofield and the other wonderful Five Star editors and support staff. Really, they treat their authors like rock stars, and diva that I am, I love it!

RUNNING FROM STRANGERS is the story of child advocate Allie Hudson who is forced to go on the run with a child in her care. In her youth, she’d frequently chosen to ignore the consequences of her free-spirited behavior leaving childhood sweetheart Beck Williams to take the blame. Because he loved her, it was an arrangement that suited them both. Until someone died and Allie disappeared. Now twelve years later, Allie, a devoted child advocate, disgraced family court lawyer, and widow of a murdered cop, seeks refuge at Beck’s secluded Southwest Colorado ranch.

The events in this book were inspired by my work as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) in the child welfare system, and highlight some of the problems inherent in child protection services throughout the country. Whether due to lack of funding, lack of qualified child welfare administrators, or lack of proper care facilities, these kids don’t have it easy. In the book, Allie becomes emotionally attached to the children she advocates for, going far out of her way to see that they are well fed, clothed and cared for. There’s a lot of action and suspense in this book, and a surprise twist at the end. I hope you enjoy it.

New in my music collection - Beautiful Door by Billy Bob Thornton

(Yes, that Billy Bob Thornton. How many of you knew Billy Bob sang in a rock band? I didn't.)

Monument Valley Revisited

I went back to the Navajo Reservation to do some research for a follow up book to THE CHARMSTONE. I’m pleased to say that book has generated a lot of interest, and quite a few readers have asked me if there will be a sequel. So I went to Monument Valley to get back into The Rez mode, to see if anything has changed, and to meet up with my old friend, Don Mose. It was Don’s cultural preservation efforts at Monument Valley High School that inspired the work of Durango Yazzie in the book.

Only a few things have changed in Monument Valley. The tiny grocery store down the road from Goulding’s has tripled (at least!) in size and is now a modern supermarket with fully stocked shelves. What we called The Mall, a row of makeshift plywood sheds featuring splendid Navajo jewelry, pots, rugs, and baskets, has moved from the road leading to the Tribal Park to the side of Highway 163. It’s now called The Indian Market, but it will always be The Mall to me. Of course, I had to add a couple of pieces to my Southwest jewelry collection.

Had a nice chat with Don Mose. We talked a little about my new book idea. It won’t be a sequel exactly, though I will try to bring in a character or two from THE CHARMSTONE. The new story was not fully formed in my mind, but I knew I wanted to include certain plot elements and Don was able to expand on those for me. For the historical plot elements – the old Indian Boarding Schools – he referred me to Robert Johnson at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock. (Robert, I’ll be calling you soon.)

Don and I sat in the shade at the Tribal Park during their fabulous Drums of Summer celebration. There were Native American exhibits, songs and dances from various tribes, recognition of Elders, Veterans and local officials, and music. A lot of music. Two of Don’s sons, Travis and young Don, are in rock bands now. I hadn’t met them before, so I stayed to hear them play.

Imagine my surprise when I saw they looked exactly like the young Navajo rock musicians in THE CHARMSTONE! It was as if Larry and Albert Rainwater had walked right out of the pages of my book! I mentioned it to Don, and he just smiled and said sagely, “Yes, you really had a vision there, didn’t you?” I guess I did, Don. I think learned it from you.

And one more thing. Cell phone service on the Rez is close to nonexistent, at least it was for my AllTel phone, especially in the remote vicinity of the Park. But as I was walking through the lobby of the Park Tourist Center, my cell phone rang. It was my agent calling to tell me Five Star had made an offer on a second book!

I’ll blog more about that later.

Ready For My Close-up, Mr. DeMille

I booked a print job recently, an ad campaign for Casino del Sol in Tucson, Arizona. It was a cast of about thirty people who had been picked to represent a broad range of age and lifestyles. The idea was to show people from all walks of life enjoying an evening at the casino, not just gambling, but dancing and having fun, or enjoying an intimate or family style dinner.

The photographer/director was Rick Peterson of Peterson Productions in Tucson. Check out his website to see his fabulous work. http://www.rickpeterson.com./ It was a three day shoot, and Rick was the epitome of saintly patience trying to keep track of everyone, giving direction, and calmly shooting still shots for ads and billboards, and a video TV commercial.

I was in about three scenarios. Winning at the poker table, playing the slots, and dancing with one of the other cast members. That's me in the picture gettin' my groove on.

Added to my iPod: Digeridoo Australia by Koomurri Tribal Dance

New in my music collection: Escape by Enrique Iglesias and Insomniac by Enrique Iglesias.

AN AWFUL THING

An awful thing happened last month. I was in a car accident. Thank God and Toyota I wasn't hurt and neither was anyone else, but it rocked my world just the same.

I was on my way home from a Society of Southwest Authors meeting at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Phoenix. Picture this - Saturday afternoon in downtown Phoenix, on torn up Seventh Street right in the middle of the light rail construction. (Who voted for that anyway? I don't know anyone who did.)

The street was blocked and I was detoured off onto a thoroughfare I didn't know to a part of town I'd never been before. I was going slower than the other cars - those drivers undoubtedly more familiar with the area than I - looking for something I recognized. With my turn signal on, and after checking my mirrors, I gradually moved over into the left hand lane when a car barreled into me. He hit me so hard, he pushed me ahead and through an intersection!

Never saw him! I swear he came out of nowhere! In retrospect, I'm pretty sure he came up fast behind me, and impatient with my slowness and not noticing my turn signal, attempted to pass me at the same time I was changing lanes.

So, I was without a car for several weeks and must admit I was traumatized. By the third week, my stress was palpable, but along with it came a twinge of guilt that I was so emotionally attached to a material object. The guilt was momentary, though, because it occurred to me that my car was more than a giant hunk of steel, rubber and plastic. In reality, my car was my security. My safety. My escape from whatever unnamed danger might arise – severe storm, terrorist attack, any natural or man-made disaster. It's an SUV, sturdy and safe. Four wheel drive to take me far into the low desert or over the most rugged mountain pass. Big enough to live in if I had to!

You can see how distressed I was.

PUBLISHER'S CHOICE!

Today is release day for my romantic suspense, THE CHARMSTONE.

I'm honored to say it's a Five Star PUBLISHER'S CHOICE! for April. It's so fabulous having that kind of support from my publisher and editor. They've been a dream to work with. John Helfers and Tiffany Schofield are amazing - endlessly courteous, patient, understanding, accessible, available and prompt. They've never failed to answer a question, return a phone call, or reply to an email.

Not all authors are able to say that about their publishers and editors. I'm truly blessed.

Thank you Tiffany. Thank you John. Thank you Scott.

A Romance Review

I'm so pleased about the nice review of my book from an Internet website, www.aromancereview.com.

They said: "The Charmstone is one of those books that will stay with the reader... It has rich history, romance, intrigue, mystery. You do not want to miss this wonderful book. Highly recommended."

And they rated it Five Roses. Thank you.

Invitations for the May 6 launch party and signing are being designed. Mailing lists are ordered.

Watch for news about events here and on my website.

BOOK LAUNCH PARTY AND SIGNING

I'm blogging again. Drum roll, please.

I've been busy. Finished a second book. Nearly finished a third, but had to put it aside (again) before writing the final chapters, because the release date of THE CHARMSTONE is drawing near. Marketing efforts for it are rolling along. Make that steamrolling along. Make that steamrolling OVER me. I hired a publicist to help.

The book is generating a little excitement and some local buzz. I've been invited to hold a book launch party and signing at the very posh JD Challenger Art Gallery in Carefree, Arizona. JD Challenger is America's leading artist of Native Americans. The people in his paintings seem to speak to the viewer through their eyes if not their spirit. You can see a sample of JD's amazing work on his website at http://www.jdchallenger.com/.

Celebrating the debut of THE CHARMSTONE at the gallery seems fitting as the book is set in Monument Valley, the wildest, most remote part of the Navajo Reservation. We're sending 1000 invitations. We'll feature Charmstone wine from Pine Ridge Winery in Napa. I'll blog more about this event as it draws near.

Meanwhile, pre-publication reviews of THE CHARMSTONE are coming in. I close my eyes, almost afraid to read them, then experience a twitch in my heart when I peek and see that the reviewer not only got it, but liked it. And is recommending it! Oh, my!

Here's what Booklist will say in their March 1, 2007 issue: Harrison's top-notch romantic suspense sheds light on the beauty of the land and culture of the Navajo.

Top-notch, they said. I like that. Thank you.

BOOK COVER REVIEW

My book, THE CHARMSTONE, won't be out until April, but my book cover got reviewed.

Kate Allan of Red Wave Communications in the UK has begun a book cover review on her blog. She invited authors to submit their covers and I emailed mine. She reviewed it today and had nice things to say about it. I really love it and think the Five Star art department did a fabulous job of interpreting the backdrop and atmosphere of where my story is set. Kate nailed the sense of it right off.

To see the whole review, go to www.marketingforauthors.wordpress.com.

Visit my website at www.ccharrison-author.com.

THANKSGIVING 2006

Among the many blessings I was grateful for at this year's Thanksgiving table, I was also thankful for the following:

o Chris for mashing the potatoes

o Dylan for bringing the flowers

o Izzy for running with hugs and kisses when I came in the door

o Rachel has a cell phone

o Jill and Michelle have two sexy bald-headed men to have fun with

o Barbara is my daugher.

I hope you all had many things to be thankful for, too.

MARIE ANTOINETTE - the movie

I went to see the movie "Marie Antoinette" the other day. Though the acting was underwhelming, what a delectable confection of a movie it was! The visuals were breathtaking – the palaces, the carriages, the clothes, the food, the pomp and pageantry of society in a French court.

It was the story of Marie Antoinette, a fourteen-year-old Austrian princess being swept into a new life as the wife of the gentle future king Louis XVI. And what a life it was!

Every detail was dictated by strict protocol and etiquettes, conducted with exacting ceremony, all of it audienced by a slew of courtly attendants. Even her lavishly formal meals. Even the marriage bed! Even the birth of her babies. But that didn't stop her (and, to be fair, anyone else) from enjoying the gossip, the intrigues, the flirtations, the revelry and carousing that took place nonstop at Versailles and elsewhere at royal residences.

The furnishings and draperies were sumptuous, the clothes were extravagant, and Marie Antoinette was particular about shoes. (Who isn't?) Apparently director Sofia Coppola inserted a pair of purple sneakers into a scene showing Marie Antoinette's extensive wardrobe of Manolo Blahnik-inspired footwear. I didn't see this, though. A movie reviewer mentioned it.

In the end Queen Marie Antoinette is wrongly accused of bankrupting the empire and inciting the French Revolution, but we are spared any scenes of the guillotine.

It was a delicious way to spend an afternoon. On the way home, I stopped at a bookstore and bought a biography of Marie Antoinette.

Added to my list of 100 Things To Do Before I Die - Visit Versailles.

CATCHING UP

Time to catch up on my blog. Lots has happened since the last time, most of it not very interesting to anyone but me.

But I have my book cover for THE CHARMSTONE and must say I am thrilled with it. Those Five Star designers are just the best, aren't they? You can check it out on my new website at www.ccharrison-author.com.

I'm busy, busy on another book, three quarters of the way through. I'll talk more about it soon.

THE WRITING LIFE, or Close Out That FreeCell and Get to Work

I've always been interested in knowing how writers write their books (their process) and how much time they spend doing it (their schedule).

I know some writers who can write for twenty minutes at a time, get up and do something else, then write for another twenty minutes, and so on. My friend Linda Lea Castle (who also writes as Innis Grace) does that, or she used to do it that way because she home schooled her children. I really envied her discipline and powers of concentration.

My friend Linda Lael Miller writes fast, and it seems she can write a book every couple of months (best sellers, no less.) But I don't think she sits at her computer for eight hours every day, because she also travels, attends conferences, goes to church, works with the Humane Society, and spends a lot of time with her very large family. She used to be on the RWA board, and that alone was a huge commitment requiring a great deal of time.

Some writers I know have very strict work hours. They unfailingly begin at a certain hour and end at a certain hour every single day refusing to be interrupted. Other writers have told me they get up at three or four in the morning and write before the rest of the family wakes, or before going to a day job. That seemed impossible to me.

I'm willing to describe my writing schedule, and will admit in advance that it needs improvement. (I'll talk about process in a future blog.)

Okay. So, I get up between five and six every morning, make the coffee, and sit down at the computer usually while I'm still in my nightgown. I read the news—Drudge Report, then MSNBC headlines only clicking in to the big news of the day. Then the emails. This used to be overwhelming, but I've cut way back on my email lists. When the writing is going good, as it is on my current project, I often let my emails go for days.

I begin the actual writing between 7:30 and 8:00. On a good day, when the writing is really flowing, I'll write straight through with only a break for breakfast and lunch (at my desk) until about 2:30 or 3:00. That's when my back starts to stiffen and my creativity flags. At 3:30, I get ready to go to the gym. During the hour or so I'm on the treadmill, I write in my head. That is, I mentally run through my day's work filling in blanks, working out dialogue, scenes, and plot problems.

I almost never write after dinner. That's my reading time. But I do jump up to make a note if something pops into my head.

I used to keep a time sheet. You know, a log of the dates and hours spent working on a project, but that was too depressing. I got the guilts when I would see that there were days— sometimes many days—between work sessions. So, now I wing it and don't worry about it.

And along the way I've learned that I'm very poor at estimating how long it will take me to finish a book, or even a chapter. No matter how much time I think it will take, it always takes twice as long.

About the FreeCell. The only reason I haven't deleted it from my hard drive is because I need it when I'm on hold with customer service. Any customer service. It's the only thing that keeps me sane.

Albums added to my iPod:

- Freedom Fitness, Christian electronic rock workout music (really!) by Various Artists

Podcasts added to my iPod:

- The Street by Joe Frank
- Suicide Bridge by Joe Frank
- Telephone Prayer by Joe Frank (this one's absolutely hysterical)
- Controlling Your Moods by Joel Osteen

Sage Cane's House of Grace and Favor

After taking several weeks off to catch up on my reading and regroup, I'm back to work on a partially completed Old West historical romance called, "Sage Cane's House of Grace and Favor," (formerly "Bad Girl of Fairplay Creek," formerly "Wild Mountain Honey.") I'd put the half finished manuscript aside on the advice of my agent when, according to her and everyone else in the industry, Old West romances went out of fashion.

The revamped title came about because Ann LaFarge, formerly of Kensington and now a freelance editor, commented that "Wild Mountain Honey" sounded a bit retro. Well, actually it was. It's from a song by the Marshall Tucker Band popular in the seventies.

So I had to come up with something else. I'm not very good with titles, and by this time, editors were looking for catchier ones. After much thought, I decided on "Bad Girl of Fairplay Creek," but shortly afterward put the book aside.

A couple of weeks ago, I brought the manuscript out again, and was dismayed to discover that while it was on hiatus, Jo-Ann Mapson had published a book called "Bad Girl Creek." So, again I racked my brain for a title.

Hence, "Sage Cane's House of Grace and Favor."

As you may surmise from the title, the book revolves around a parlor house. It's located in a fledging mining town in the Rocky Mountains, Fairplay Creek, Colorado, to be exact. And, as many of my stories seem to be, it's about a young woman who finds herself far from home struggling to make her way in a strange place. How she manages to do that in a rowdy, raunchy mining town where anything goes, and still manage to keep her moral values intact is what the story is about. The fact that it was indeed a town where anything goes is what actually encouraged and allowed her to take a risk. In the process, she turned the tables on the men in town while at the same time turning the town upside down.

The theme of the book is – A town will only rise to the standards of its women.

So, let's hear it for the return of the Old West historical romance. If, indeed, it was ever gone.

Album added to my iPod - Country Falls by Husky Rescue

L. L. BEAN AND ME: Story Characters

I never, never, never EVER use people I know or any other real people as characters in my stories.

So where do I find my story characters? In the L. L. Bean catalogue. Or Land's End, or J. Jill, or Macy's, or Nordstrom's or any other catalogue I favor. I flip through the pages and look for smiles or eyes or a hair style or color, or any face that jumps out at me and says, "Use me. Use me." If the look fits with the plot elements I have in mind, I'll choose it.

Then I'll give that character a name. Or if I already have a name, a sort of psychic sense draws my eye to a face that naturally goes with it and with the plot. Then I tear out the page, or clip the image and tack it on the bulletin board over my computer. Once I have the look, I'll give the character flesh and bones and a personality.

Now even though I never use real people, there are times I might be inspired by something I know about a real person and use that to portray someone in a story, like maybe a character trait or some other element of a real person.

My book, "The Charmstone" due for release next April, takes place on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Monument Valley, Utah. I lived there for a time as a VISTA volunteer, and found that I used isolated impressions of the real people I met there to define some of the characters in that book.

In the story, Amanda Bell notices that Durango Yazzie wears a watch with a chunky silver and turquoise watchband. She finds it and the man wearing it very attractive. That watch is worn by my Navajo friend Don Mose, but Don is not Durango.

Amanda herself represents the essence of my VISTA mates, three strong, adventurous, courageous and bright young women. But she doesn’t look like any of them, nor does she have any facet of their personalities.

My secondary characters come alive to me just as my central characters do. But they are all created in my mind—Jack Rice, Judy and Jeremiah Moon, Elliott Sheffield, Sallie Rainwater and her two hunky sons Larry and Albert, Cammie Drew, Noah Tucker, Buck Powell. The others, the various Navajo Elders and Medicine Men and wannabes, all typify those I met or saw on the reservation, but no one in particular. In the story, they are all true to themselves.

Albums added to my iPOD:
Graceland by Paul Simon

Podcasts added to my iPOD:
Joe Frank
Joel Osteen