A Writer’s Look at Newtown, Aurora, etc.

Tis the season…

The media bombards us with images of the Norman Rockwell perfect holiday–the feast, the gifts, the decor, the music, the sheer joy that we are repeatedly told is the hallmark of the season. The message is clear–THIS is Christmas and you need to get on board and make sure it’s all in place by December 25th. But for so very many people it is not a time of joy.

For so many it is a time of hard realities–lost jobs, winter coming on, aging taking its toll, breaks with family members, deaths of loved ones that will forever be tied to the season, anger and frustration building behind forced smiles, and hopelessness overcoming the last remnants of hope. For those of us blessed enough to share the season with family and friends, to exchange tokens of our love for those near us, to fill our tables (and stomachs) with the foods of the season, it can be easy to feel as if we are doing our part when we drop change in the red bucket or a can of tuna or soup in the food pantry bins as we rush home from one more trip to the grocery store.

But as I think about the horror of Newtown and all the other sites of these senseless mass killings, I find that I want to find other ways. The young man who entered Sandy Hook school did not need my loose change or a can of soup. Every day as I take my walks through whatever community I am residing in at the moment I know that I am passing others who are  suffering the pain of the hopeless–I may pass them on the street or I may walk right by their houses–both may seem perfectly “normal” in the context of things. After all if we had walked past that house in Newtown would any of us have thought the people living inside were suffering?

So what to do? I have been given a gift–to write stories that touch the hearts and minds of those who read them. I will use that gift–not as a soapbox but rather as a means to perhaps inspire someone to take a second look, a more forgiving look and to reach out with a helping hand. Since I arrived in Florida for this season I have been looking for some way that I might spend this first Christmas Day helping or connecting with others. I have made dozens of inquiries for something I might do ON the actual day and been told whatever events are happening are scheduled before the day or — in the case of a food kitchen –they have so many volunteers already that they really can’t take more. But I refuse to give up. I will find a way. And in the New Year I will try to remember that the spirit of the season lives in us year-round….

Unseen Friends…

One of the perks of writing and seeing your work published is the mail you get from readers. Lately my mail has been filled with wonderful messages of support and comfort and concern as readers learn of my husband’s death last spring. I wish there were a way readers might know how very much I look forward to those e-mails and letters. I do answer them all and in some cases I’ve heard from the same reader again. Of course it’s always delightful to know my story has touched someone or made them look at their own life in a new way. But when a reader turns the tables and through their words tries to make me see my current difficult circumstances in a new light–that’s very special indeed.

So if you are reading this and have perhaps thought about contacting a favorite author (or performer of any type) to let them know that their work touched you, do not hesitate. I assure you that no matter how famous the person–the reality of a heartfelt fan letter can make a real difference in the way that writer or artist approaches his or her work. You may not get a response–or you may get something generic like “Thank you for your letter.” BUT words do make a difference whether they are put down as part of a story or written in response to something that has touched you, frustrated you, or even inspired you. Words–when chosen with thought and care–can change the world!!!

Okay, let’s talk book signing etiquette…

There are many reasons that authors agree to do a book signing–clearly they hope to sell their book. But they also see the signing as an avenue for meeting potential new readers–even if that reader doesn’t buy their book that day. It’s all about connections.

So you walk into your favorite bookstore and the store has a table set up with stacks of books by an author you don’t know–maybe never heard of. Said author is sitting or standing behind said table. Hopefully she/he smiles and greets you.  Perhaps in addition to the books piled on the table there’s a bowl of candy treats or bookmarks or pens free for the taking. The table is on a direct path to the section of the store you need.

WHAT DO YOU DO???

Here are a few observations I’ve made:

• A lot of customers caught off-guard like this (meaning they didn’t expect any author to be there) shy away–maybe smile briefly and then hurry off to another part of the store, start talking on their phone, or just simply ignore the author as if he/she were invisible.
• Some react the way they might if they suddenly saw someone like a bell ringer for charity outside the grocery store or shopping center–the customer needs to go in but hesitates because he/she is not interested in making a donation that day. Awkward!
• At one signing I did a customer whose child wanted a pen I was offering as a promo for the book asked if she had to buy the book for her son to have the pen! At another a grown man edged over to the table with his body turned away from me while he reached into the candy dish and took several pieces before heading away without a word.
• Let’s face facts–unless the author is a NYTimes best-selling “name” the whole situation can be enormously uncomfortable for all parties concerned–especially the author!!

So here are a couple of suggestions (that might also work as well for encountering those stalwart bell ringers) that just might help make YOU more comfortable:

• No one likes being in a position where they appear to be (or actually are) trying to get someone to give $$$ or buy something. So understand that the author may well be as uncomfortable as you are–we tend to be an introverted and shy breed.
• Obviously the hope is that you will buy the book but more than for the author there’s the hope that maybe the exchange of greeting or conversation will make their name stick in your mind so that when you ARE in the market for something new to read and you see their book on the shelf you might give it a try.
• If you are interested in writing (or your kid tells the most amazing stories and you think he or she might one day write a book), the featured author would probably delight in hearing about that and sharing information that might help you or your kid take the next step.
• If you are in a hurry–the author gets that; no one–least of all the author–is going to try and strong-arm or guilt you into stopping to talk or buying the book. But even if you’re in a rush, how long does it take to register the author’s presence with a smile and perhaps a wish for good luck with the book?

 

 

Every once in awhile the magic happens…

Today I was working away on my latest novel–due October 1 with still several tens of thousands words to go before it’s finished. In some ways it’s become true “work” as I focus on hitting a prescribed word count each day. But today it all just flowed and suddenly the story took a turn I had not planned but one that is going to make it truly better. The fact that this is not the first time this kind of thing has happened is one of the reasons why I keep writing. In some ways it’s not that different from reading a good novel–I want to see what happens next.  Keeping this brief because I want/need to get back to my story–and see what happens!!!

Back from LaLa-land or What I Did on My Summer Vacation

I’ve been traveling a lot over the last several weeks–well, “a lot” is probably relative. I’ve been traveling a lot for me is more like it. I spent a week in Madison at a writer’s retreat and taking some time to wrap my head (and heart) around the fact that the man I shared my life with for so many years is no longer here, Then I went to NYC–another writer’s meet–I find that focusing on my work helps–it always has. But I did other things there as well–for one thing I invited my sister to join me for the few days I was there and for the first time in a very long time it was just the two of us–sharing a room as we did when we were kids, talking and talking and talking, seeing a couple of plays, walking (a lot!) and just generally reconnecting.

My most recent trip was to the annual gathering of romance writers held this year in Anaheim–yep, that’s Disneyland, folks, and believe me some of that fairy-tale world does indeed spill over into this conference. This time the bulk of the time was spent focusing on work–meetings with agent and editor, lunches with other writers, workshops, etc.  It’s chaotic and loud with a lot of girlish squeals of delight and a LOT of talk, talk, talk. But I always return energized and ready to get back to work.

The message (or as my former boss used to call it “take-away”) from the conference was that this is a GREAT time to be a writer. But this was Lalaland and as with most fantasies that’s rarely the whole story. With all the new opportunities for e-publishing and print-on-demand and self-publishing and such, it is indeed a time brimming over with opportunity. BUT (and you knew there would be a “but”) technology waits for no man, woman or writer so the rest of the message is clearly: Get on board or get left standing at the station.

So what I learned from my summer vacation (at least this piece of it) is that I have a HUGE learning curve to conquer and whether or not I can manage that and make the train remains the question. To be continued…

Come meet ANNA!!

If you live in the Anaheim area of California, I will be signing copies of my WOMEN OF PINECRAFT series at the book signing for literacy on July 25th at the Convention Center. Please stop by and visit (and buy a book or two from the multiple authors signing that evening!!)–it’s for a very good cause!!

If you live in the Milwaukee area   mark your calendar for November 1 and join me at Boswell Books on Downer Avenue for an evening of informal visiting–possibly a short reading–and some refreshments. The third and final novel in the WOMEN OF PINECRAFT series will be available along with books 1 and 2 if you missed those.

For those of your living on the Gulf Coast of Florida, stay tuned as I am arranging for a similar event there later in November or in early December.

Hope to see YOU soon!!! Anna

Writer’s Retreat

I am in Madison WI this week attending a retreat for writers called WRITE BY THE LAKE–aptly named since the best place to write here is on the terrace of the Memorial Union that sits on Lake Mendota. The class I’m taking has to do with building character in story and starts tomorrow. Supposedly we have the afternoons and evenings mostly free to actually write–that’s the part I’m looking forward to.

I do have a dual purpose in coming here–my husband died five weeks ago (not that I’m counting!) and I am also using this as a kind of sabbatical from all the loving sympathy and care that has surrounded me since his death. With so much support it’s hard for me to wrap my head around the reality that he is gone–as in never coming back–and I am for the first time in decades on my own.

I am blogging about that part of my journey on my other blog–Journey Through Widowhood. Here I’ll write about the writing part of this retreat–stay tuned.