Plumb Crazy May: A Writer's Journey

So much of writing is the hard work of creative play. This month I am offering a series that shares some of the inside story of my book PLUMB CRAZY (Swoon Romance, June 2014). Consider following the link and giving it "a like" on Goodreads. 

I am in NYC for BEA celebrating  the upcoming release of Plumb Crazy. I am nearing the place when my work gets a life of it's own and off it goes. I need to recharge. I plan to stroll through the American Folk Art Museum and the MoMA this Saturday and let the art speak. I am excited. I want to soak in all the creative genius.  Art is a huge part of who I am. I especially love outsider artist.  Don't neglect art in your life. Let it light up dormant parts of you brain.  

Open up your creative self and see how that stirs the waters of you work. Let whatever winds have come your way shape You into what You are supposed to be.  I will back next month with release your dream month. Every novel is a fictive dream. I hope you dream with me.  

No doodle this week. Doodles will be back next week. Check out my Facebook for cool pics of my travels. 

A quote for you pocket. 

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. Thomas Merton

Plumb Crazy May: BEA, NY, and How to Have Fun!

Hi folks,  Hi, folks! Welcome to the blog! I about to make happy trails. I'm heading to BOOKEXPO America (BEA) to "be a part of it" in New York! I'll be at the Swoon Booth (PDZ638) at noon on Friday May 30, 2014. Please drop by if you are around! This month I am offering a series that shares some of the inside story of my book PLUMB CRAZY (Swoon Romance, June 2014). Consider following the link and giving it "a like" on Goodreads. 

Whew, I have a ton of stuff to do, hence the blog will be short this week  I don't even have time to read and I love to READ. Anyway, what do I have in my bag tricks that is really useful? 

Here's a thought. I have been going to Trade Shows since I was a child. My mom would take me to nursery trade shows. Nothing to do with kids. These were all about plants. Did you know there is a type of person that loves plants as much as books? I would carry a bag and gather pencils, seed packets,  roundtuits, plastic cups and water sprinkler heads. BEA is like that but instead of plant swag they handout glorious bookish swag-- books, book marks, bags and such. This is all about book love. 

So with no further ado. 

How to have fun at trade show? A top ten list!

1. Take a lesson from the mighty house cat, stalk the floor but don't engage yet. Just check it all out. 
2.  Remember everyone is there to work, so it's not like high school.
3. Put on your smiley face!
4. Wear comfortable shoes! I cannot stress this enough.   
5. Make new friends. Yes, I'm talking to you, book worm. 
6. Know where the chocolate is. 
7. Literary genius is afoot; remember to breathe. 
8. Drink water. 8 glasses.  Pop, tea, coffee, juice, and drinks with little umbrellas do not count. 
9. Pace yourself. Take breaks. Too much stress can ruin your health, relationships, and mental state. 
10. Enjoy yourself! Did you know fun shuts down left-brain activity and makes your right-brain light up like a roman candle?  

Glad you dropped by! Have a good week. With last in the "Plumb Crazy May" series. Hope you drop by.

Here is a doodle for you: "Faces"

Here is a quote for your pocket. 
It's kind of fun to do the impossible. Walt Disney

Plumb Crazy May: My Best Marketing Advice

Hi, folks! Welcome to the blog! This month I am offering a series that shares some of the inside story of my book PLUMB CRAZY (Swoon Romance, June 2014). Consider following the link and giving it "a like" on Goodreads.

Here is a fact: I fell off the couch laughing while writing PLUMB CRAZY. Now, I am living in the tension of "I hope my readers will too." I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas day. You know, will I really get the bean bag chair? This is a bigger story than you think. This is about the power of belief and my best marketing advice.

I remember the excitement of that Christmas morn, and the big let down when I ran to the Christmas tree. Santa Claus dropped unwrapped stuff under the tree. There was no Christmas bean bag chair, and I had been a good girl!  Oh, dear God, my sister was right--there was no Santa Claus. I wailed into a couch cushion. Then my mom tapped my shoulder. She said we should check the attic because bean bag chairs were really big and  didn't fit down cardboard chimneys. Dad pulled down the fold-down ladder, and I scampered up. I found my bean bag chair. I screamed, shoving my face into its buttery softness. Santa was real! All was right with world!

So here I sit, waiting for PLUMB CRAZY to make its way into the world. I am jittery and excited. All I have is belief right now. Will any of my readers fall of the couch like I did?  Will they laugh so hard that their heads ache? Will they feel the "big hug" of knowing Elva Presley?  Writing a book is a very exposing thing, a private and intimate process. The process of publishing a book is the exact opposite, revealed and public.The shift is nevre-wracking for writers.

And now, for the big moment, my best marketing advice. The best marketing thing you can do for your book is write your best possible book. Pour out your soul. Uncover your secrets. Say what only you can say. Write sticky thoughts that readers won't forget. Write something that connects with readers worldwide. Believe and believe. Send it out to readers and let them decide. Then start the next book.

Yes, I know you wanted it to be how to get your book on NPR or something, but I am a truthteller and "soul on page" is what you need. Please come back as I share more of the inside story of PLUMB CRAZY. I hope that you pour your belief into your books this week because I love to read a good book. Love! See you next week!

Here is a doodle: Sun!

Quote for your pocket from Mr. Neil Gaiman. Here is a link to the longer quote because it is a fun read.

I can believe things that are true and things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not.  Neil Gaiman

Plumb Crazy May: Writing Real Stuff

Hi, folks! Welcome to the blog! This month I am offering a series that shares some of the inside story of my book PLUMB CRAZY (Swoon Romance, June 2014). Consider following the link and giving it "a like" on Goodreads. Oh, it such a good feeling to launch a story into the world.

This week I'm going to focus on writing real stuff. Plumb Crazy is about everyday life -- real stuff. It uncovers my inward celebration "of joy comes in the morning" and my inward cry "O ME! O life!". Here's a little discussion that I hope you find helpful.

Have you ever seen a painting by Rembrandt. He has a way of making the soul of a person appear on the canvas. He uncovers a hidden part of life that is not easily reproduced. It's like he looked into the face of man, found a treasure, and revealed it for all to see. Now let's pop to the other side of the planet. I'm a southern storyteller with deep roots in Mississippi as well as Texas. This need to uncover "who we are and what we want" is part of me, like my near-sighted vision and my springy flexibility. There are secrets in this field of everyday life, treasures even. Who doesn't want to unearth buried treasure in their backyard?

I write the "real" for the comfort, too. Writing "real" is like rolling up in a favorite blanket on a rainy day with a good book and a cup of hot tea. I feel close to my people when I tell a story about everyday life. I hear my mama on the back patio, retelling Don Quixote, I hear Uncle George at the kitchen table, rolling out World War II, I hear Mema and Granddad's wild days as teens in Mississippi. It pains me that their voices are no longer here in in the Earth. I must respond, so here I am adding my verse to existence and identity. I'm glad I have this chance.

I hope that you spend this week adding your verse. Come back next week as I share more of the inside story of PLUMB CRAZY.

Here is a doodle: "Noah's ark.






Here is a verse that I keep tucked in my pocket. I hope that you keep it tucked in yours.

O ME! O life!... of the questions of these recurring;
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me; 

Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.

That you are here—that life exists, and identity; 

That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass #166

Plumb Crazy May: Writing with Memories

Hi, folks! Welcome to the blog! This month I will be offering a series that shares some of the inside story of my book PLUMB CRAZY (Swoon Romance, June 2014).  Oh, it such a good feeling to launch a story into the world. This week I'm going to focus on writing with memories. Plumb Crazy was inspired by the events of my life, so why did I do that? Here's a little discussion that I hope you find helpful. 

Few people live interesting enough lives to support memoir, but your memories are extremely important. They are the best starting point for your fiction work. Caution: don't be too in love with your actual life or you won't write a very interesting story. Sort through your memories and pull out the stuff that hurt like the dickens, numbed you like a zombie, or set you on fire like a supernova. This is your gold. 


Writing with memories is a way to forge an emotional connection with readers. You will invent the exterior of the story, but not about the interior. That stuff comes from your soul. Your memories are the core to your storytelling, and  I think you should build a bank of them. Write at least 100 emotional memories from childhood. Also write your secrets, your shame, and your impossible dreams. Whatever has made you feel stuff is important. You need to get good at writing what you don't want to ever tell anyone. If you can't be honest with your own life, your characters won't be honest.

Once you have those memories written, crank them through your big imagination. This is how it works for me. I worked as a plumber's helper in high school. This is absolutely true. 100%. My character Elva Presley is also a plumber's helper in high school. Note, her name is much cooler than mine. She has her own journey. Gosh, she snags a lovely boyfriend, helps her grandmother's depression, saves goats, makes enough money for a car, posts her fanfic... I think I'm jealous of her. Yet in the core of her life, she learns the same thing I've learned. Everyone has value. She also has some issues with her family. I've had those too. We both come to the same conclusion: forgive and love. That is our truth. 

A good lie has gold nuggets of truth in it. That's why folks buy into the story. When you decide to write from memories, don't cling to the details, instead think about the emotion:  your joyous moments, your ultimate highs, your greatest fears, and, above all, the dark nights of your soul. Hide memories on every page of whatever you write. Your work will thank me. 

I will be back next week with more Plumb Crazy May. Please come back for more of this series. 

Here is a doodle to enjoy.  I love swooping wind. 

Here is a quote for your pocket. 

With each book I write, I become more and more convinced that the books have a life of their own, quite apart from me. Madeleine L'Engle