tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764317606288514602024-03-02T08:40:53.031-05:00 Peg Herring, Mystery Author Strong Women,
Great StoriesAuthor Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.comBlogger321125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-1977152171958385452023-12-11T07:13:00.000-05:002023-12-11T07:13:28.052-05:00Answers to All Life's Questions<p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Just kidding, but here are the answers to the newsletter quiz from last week. <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">__7__What holiday song says to
“put on your yarmulke”?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">__1__Which song describes
water “like a stone”?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">_10___Which song do we
associate with Charlie Brown?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">_5___Song to avoid to play
Whamageddon.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">_8___In which song will we get
pumpkin pie later?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">_2___Which song mentions rosy
cheeks?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">_9___Song that mentions the
hautbois (oboe)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">_4___Christmas wishes on
steroids.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">_3___It should be tragic, but
we laugh anyway.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">_6___Most popular Christmas
carol in the U.S.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">1.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“In the Bleak Midwinter”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">2.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Sleigh Ride”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">3.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">4.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Santa Baby”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">5.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Last Christmas”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">6.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Silent Night”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">7.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“The Hannukah Song”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">8.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">9.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Il est né, le divin Enfant”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">10. “Christmas Time Is Here”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Aunt Marge </i>is getting good reviews from the pre-sales set, which makes my Christmas season a little brighter. One of my beta readers told me that her husband asked if she was going to make dinner, and she answered, "Not until I finish this book!"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAUpoKL9SycAfghl4GrtRi1x_5EyPLRGv53B3yoJtzYUzahPdvKVvGKR2eENC7dRz7HsWa2kAIsza_im4wPPukoFlg5qm9c_I5lMdiLn3nuE7lSk16iXuHYM2Hc2KiyQz3Qw3uRQCraZtAe8B7Nay5SBSoiPLdnBV5fUG7k7YADpPUsPN5BLPx1uF-jI/s1650/AM%20newebookcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1650" data-original-width="1275" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAUpoKL9SycAfghl4GrtRi1x_5EyPLRGv53B3yoJtzYUzahPdvKVvGKR2eENC7dRz7HsWa2kAIsza_im4wPPukoFlg5qm9c_I5lMdiLn3nuE7lSk16iXuHYM2Hc2KiyQz3Qw3uRQCraZtAe8B7Nay5SBSoiPLdnBV5fUG7k7YADpPUsPN5BLPx1uF-jI/s320/AM%20newebookcover.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">People ask where ideas and characters come from, and I find (too often) that they come from me. I've become a little Aunt-Marge-ish in my old age. I don't have much patience for people who won't help themselves. I don't like to wait for things, not even long introductions to songs: Just sing, for pete's sake. Of course I'm not like her in some very important ways, so you don't have to run screaming if you should happen to meet me at Wal-Mart.<br /></span><p></p>
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Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-27661925894852313312023-11-30T09:47:00.000-05:002023-11-30T09:47:27.657-05:00Here's Aunt Marge! Well, Almost<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ES-5ec7f6zGPo0CE67-StCXEBUAHvAyZGmHg4OO1WSjBr0Fl8TZqQMxIMM_lfATxC3wsD7rNCXTXYnCyBFCVl-8ACIBbYjagOOGaeP0MUSw5A_KMoj3Z6ogu2nYBzTEJW9_6cMXZtW1xDK_CAT6Hvehh2r9XKx-Jq5Q9IEnD533mZXu_lER9MsQsysU/s1350/FinalfrontAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ES-5ec7f6zGPo0CE67-StCXEBUAHvAyZGmHg4OO1WSjBr0Fl8TZqQMxIMM_lfATxC3wsD7rNCXTXYnCyBFCVl-8ACIBbYjagOOGaeP0MUSw5A_KMoj3Z6ogu2nYBzTEJW9_6cMXZtW1xDK_CAT6Hvehh2r9XKx-Jq5Q9IEnD533mZXu_lER9MsQsysU/s320/FinalfrontAM.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><i> Aunt Marge</i> has been one of my longest thought-to-production books ever. Life kept interrupting, for one thing, a broken leg and a local situation that makes me leave my writer hat off for days while I work to protect the community I love. Add to that a complicated plot. As my editor said, there's a lot going on in this book, and I had to be sure it all made sense and led to a believable ending.<p></p><p>As the story begins, Gwen finds herself in crisis. She's overdosed on
prescription painkillers, partly because she fears her husband Jeff is
cheating. When her aunt offers to take her to Michigan's Upper Peninsula
to recuperate, it seems perfect. She'll get back her strength and kick
the drug habit. And with her gone, Jeff will realize what he's missing. </p>The problem is that Marge's place, called <i>Giiwe</i>,
is full of secrets. Marge shares nothing of herself, and her
ward/farmhand Charlie seems nice until Gwen learns about his violent
past. When she finds out the woods of Giiwe aren't as deserted as
she thought, Gwen isn't sure what she should do--or even what she <i>can</i>
do.<p>This one is women's fiction (meaning there are relationship issues) and suspense (meaning somebody is in danger). Aunt Marge was a fun character to write, though I suspect I'm more like Gwen. I hate controversy, though I greatly admire people who stand up to it without flinching.</p><p>Today I ordered reader copies, meaning that everything is together in one place. The manuscript is prettied up and uniform. The page numbers are in place and correct. The margins fit Amazon's standards. The cover looks good on-screen. The advance copies might show me places where things should be tweaked, but that's what they're for. My wonderful, last-call readers will check for errors, tell me what doesn't look right, and generally help me put the final touches on the book.</p><p>Target publication date for <i>Aunt Marge</i> is January 1. Pre-orders should be available on Amazon soon.<br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-68881165783393333412023-11-01T05:44:00.000-04:002023-11-01T05:44:08.896-04:00Authors Recommending Books<p><img alt="https://res.cloudinary.com/hzpwrwfdi/image/upload/c_fit,l_text:Oxygen_80_center:Peg%20Herring%27s%203%20favorite%20reads%20in%202023,w_1710/c_fit,h_149,w_1060/fl_layer_apply,g_north_west,x_20.0,y_20/l_media:logo_small/c_pad,h_80,w_80/fl_layer_apply,g_north_west,x_1100,y_20/l_media:covers:636c895c3ffe8978c7414bcdd92290a8df97073d-600x912_ieahxh/c_pad,h_419,w_400/fl_layer_apply,g_north_west,x_0,y_189/l_media:covers:lessons-in-chemistry-5_tyysvr/c_pad,h_419,w_400/fl_layer_apply,g_north_west,x_400,y_189/l_media:covers:9781760630485_epgegy/c_pad,h_419,w_400/fl_layer_apply,g_north_west,x_800,y_189/b_white/media/blank.jpg" height="358" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hzpwrwfdi/image/upload/c_fit,l_text:Oxygen_80_center:Peg%20Herring%27s%203%20favorite%20reads%20in%202023,w_1710/c_fit,h_149,w_1060/fl_layer_apply,g_north_west,x_20.0,y_20/l_media:logo_small/c_pad,h_80,w_80/fl_layer_apply,g_north_west,x_1100,y_20/l_media:covers:636c895c3ffe8978c7414bcdd92290a8df97073d-600x912_ieahxh/c_pad,h_419,w_400/fl_layer_apply,g_north_west,x_0,y_189/l_media:covers:lessons-in-chemistry-5_tyysvr/c_pad,h_419,w_400/fl_layer_apply,g_north_west,x_400,y_189/l_media:covers:9781760630485_epgegy/c_pad,h_419,w_400/fl_layer_apply,g_north_west,x_800,y_189/b_white/media/blank.jpg" width="707" /> </p><p>I got interested in Shepherd.com, Ben Shepherd's attempt to help readers connect with authors through recommendations, over a year ago. Authors get their books on the site by telling readers about stories with similar themes. I compared my book, Sister Saint, Sister Sinner, to others with sisters as the main characters and sisterhood as a theme. You can see the complete post <a href="http://HERE.">HERE.</a> <br /></p><p>The cool thing about this site is you search by the kinds of books you
like to read, so you don't need titles or author names to locate books you
might enjoy.</p><p>Today is my day to be featured on a new endeavor as Ben lets authors list their 3 favorite books read in the last year. It was difficult to choose 3 books, since I read a lot, but I tried for a variety. I copied the image above, but you can also see it at Shepherd.com. <a href="https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/peg-herring" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" shape="rect" target="_blank">https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/peg-herring</a></p><p> You can see the overall results at <a href="https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023" rel="noreferrer" shape="rect" target="_blank">Shepherd's Best Books of 2023 page</a> </p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-14211252280927748612023-10-02T03:43:00.001-04:002023-10-02T03:43:52.255-04:00Writing "to Market" Makes Me Shudder<p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFweyYe9U2cJwg3rweyeE3RbEuwWIKvGKQkO3djktQQKXEI66ktX2O897owkcKzBYSLqwdV6YRKZ8jLHzt0AWowxGckMmgktazYGyAnhK0-Da0MAng-RRPjLk_qmZcOKgnbOre68-_v3_LZxDUxypkjtOTQhYKf868wSVe13zx7YFvcx6-0Pn0XWM/s799/DoubleToil_eBookcoversmall.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="500" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFweyYe9U2cJwg3rweyeE3RbEuwWIKvGKQkO3djktQQKXEI66ktX2O897owkcKzBYSLqwdV6YRKZ8jLHzt0AWowxGckMmgktazYGyAnhK0-Da0MAng-RRPjLk_qmZcOKgnbOre68-_v3_LZxDUxypkjtOTQhYKf868wSVe13zx7YFvcx6-0Pn0XWM/w84-h135/DoubleToil_eBookcoversmall.jpg" width="84" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br />At the urging of a fellow author, I joined a site for
writers a month or so back. Though it’s interesting, I don’t feel that it fits my style—not
for writing, not for publishing, and not for promoting.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">The idea is writing books “to market” or “for market,” which
means an author writes what will sell, not what she wants to write. Early on in
my career I had an agent who tried to get me to do that. Her push was that
I should write Amish romances, because they were big at that moment in time.
Later, I had a publisher who wanted me to continue the Loser Mysteries, though I felt they'd reached a logical conclusion. At a conference once, I heard an editor for a big publishing company say that anyone who had anything…<i>anything</i> with vampires in it should send it to
her. The market. The market. The market. Book industry people look for books that will "sell through," meaning they earn more than it cost to make them. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi69yHaF0DGKIwlyc9Ppvebzu47k8GLIn7vJqEF8Wq-_6QsP_bdnE0gEN9tkM7q_D2ZoMC23OR0Bop_9Q1hyjc9j25IX9eMLodu_MzmlWKugQACa6B8RtsMohfIVOFOufQ8C9TXQ0QOzuLmW_2WwXQC7UpSIfwJvN26fqHu_1ijiRFAT-jduFS5eY8/s1350/KScoversmall.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="900" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi69yHaF0DGKIwlyc9Ppvebzu47k8GLIn7vJqEF8Wq-_6QsP_bdnE0gEN9tkM7q_D2ZoMC23OR0Bop_9Q1hyjc9j25IX9eMLodu_MzmlWKugQACa6B8RtsMohfIVOFOufQ8C9TXQ0QOzuLmW_2WwXQC7UpSIfwJvN26fqHu_1ijiRFAT-jduFS5eY8/w131-h197/KScoversmall.jpg" width="131" /></a></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">If you’ve read my work, you know I do pretty much the opposite.
I write what interests me, what I feel passionate about. Sadly—or not—this means that my books are all over the place. I have women’s
fiction titles that are serious stories about women in interesting situations, like <i>Deceiving
Elvera</i> and <i>Sister Saint, Sister Sinner</i>. I have comedy suspense, less
realistic but more fun, e.g. The Kidnap Capers and <i>Cutest Little Killer</i>.
I've written traditional mysteries, cozy mysteries, historical mysteries, and
supernatural mysteries, not because I planned to, but because I fell in love with a story idea and had fun writing it. I can't imagine writing any other way. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">When I realized that the line between my humor and non-humor
material was widening, I invented Maggie Pill to write the funny stuff, which worked out well. Her cozies,
like the Sleuth Sisters Mysteries, really appeal to readers. (I guess everyone loves
their sisters but would sometimes like to bop them one.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Writing “for market” is the idea is that
whatever is hot right now, you write that. You write fast, you slap it up
there, and then go back and write more, giving your audience what they’ll
automatically snap up. You write more of the same for as long as readers will buy it. Think Sue Grafton's ABC books or the Alex Cross stories. As a reader, I almost automatically bought Grafton's Kinsey stories because I liked her and I liked Sue's writing. But how boring did it get to come up with yet another situation for her to cope with?<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Observant readers notice the trends in book offerings: For historicals at
the moment, it's WWII. For suspense, it's stories of women who lived through some great trauma
at a young age and later unravel the lies they didn’t see through back then. They
often have “girl” in the title, another “to market” idea that makes readers
automatically pick up a book. Indie writers apparently sell books by making odd combinations, like
zombies in space or fairy tale characters that live in modern Brooklyn. If you like the
first one, those writers probably have three more they wrote during NaNoWriMo last
year.</span></p>
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Authors can do as they like (well, if you have
an agent and/or a publisher, maybe not), but I will continue to write what I’m
feeling excited about at a given time. For me, it’s about enjoying what I
market, not writing to appeal to the market.</span><p></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-57393129048173958122023-10-02T03:40:00.001-04:002023-10-02T03:40:11.761-04:00October Deals and Answers<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaP5Vca83i-nUW4n1JX6fnto1jOGwBw8vSpZY5R9jN55r_kedMz-ftVFLUZ2_BopNs1pgBFN4BX_nA0C47aIOkME8aCZLU121Jr12vxpt5Tu2ZgHuLEqEsMwMzbyXU4Qa4F7vKxu_mr80euryye5YX_eHi5-IAKqRZ-EYZIcshBmr8D6VqPsVhktIsw0Q9/s1152/DDA_1_eBook_finalsmaller.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="719" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaP5Vca83i-nUW4n1JX6fnto1jOGwBw8vSpZY5R9jN55r_kedMz-ftVFLUZ2_BopNs1pgBFN4BX_nA0C47aIOkME8aCZLU121Jr12vxpt5Tu2ZgHuLEqEsMwMzbyXU4Qa4F7vKxu_mr80euryye5YX_eHi5-IAKqRZ-EYZIcshBmr8D6VqPsVhktIsw0Q9/s320/DDA_1_eBook_finalsmaller.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Here are the answers to the High-brow Proverb quiz in the 10-1-23 newsletter. Did you get your free copy of <i>The Dead Detective Agency</i>? You will love Seamus!<br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">1. Prudence and sagacity are
the worthier condiments of intrepid courage.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Discretion is the better part of valor.</b><span> </span> </span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">2. It is fruitless to become lachrymose
because of wasted lacteal fluid.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Don't cry over spilled milk. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">3. Freedom from guile or
fraud constitutes the most excellent principal of procedure.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Honesty is the best policy </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">4. A rotating lithoid
fragment never accrues lichen.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>A rolling stone gathers no moss.</b> </span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">5. It is not proper for
mendicants to be indicators of preference.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Beggars can't be choosers </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">6. A strong feeling of
affection can cause the universe to rotate on its axis.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Love makes the world go 'round. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">7. Folks deficient in
ordinary judgment scurry into areas in which celestial beings dread to set
foot.</span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. <br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">8. Every article which
coruscates is not fashioned of aureate metal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>All that glitters isn't gold. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">9. Refrain from detonating a
missile until opaque, colorless parts of the visual organs are in evidence.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">10. Pulchritude does not
extend below the surface of the dermis.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Beauty is only skin deep. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">11. A beholden vessel never
exceeds 212 degrees Fahrenheit.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>A watched pot never boils. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">12. A feathered creature
clasped in the manual member is of equal value to a brace in nearby greenery.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">13. The question is whether
there is any credibility to the conclusion that those with pale colored downy
on the uppermost part of mammals do in reality realize more frivolity than
those in opposite conditions.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Is it true blonds have more fun? </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">14. A mobile section of
petrified matter agglomerates no bryophytes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>A rolling stone gathers no moss. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">15. Desist from enumerating
your fowl prior to their emergence from the shell.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Don't count your chickens before they hatch.</b> </span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">16. A plethora of culinary
specialists has a deleterious effect upon the quality of purees, consommés, and
other soluble <i>pabula</i>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Too many cooks spoil the pudding (or broth). </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">17. A chronic disposition to
inquiry deprived the domestic feline carnivorous quadruped of its vital
quality.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Curiosity killed the cat. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">18. It is in the realm of
possibility to entice an equine member of the animal kingdom to a source of
oxidized hydrogen; however, it is not possible to force him to imbibe.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">19. If John persists without
respite in a constant, prolonged exertion of physical or intellectual effort,
he will develop into a youth slow and blunted in perception and sensibility.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">20. Immediately upon the
absence of the domesticated carnivorous feline, the common house rodents
proceed to engage in sportive capers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>When the cat's away, the mice will play. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">21. A round, bulging vessel
made of staves bound with hoops that is destitute of contents is productive of
the most deafening din.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>An empty barrel makes the most noise. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">22. Products of ingenuity are
often the offspring of exigency.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Necessity is the mother of invention. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">23. Every effort and endeavor
is lawful and legitimate in endocrine affection and hostile encounter.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>All's fair in love and war. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">24. A copper disc secreted
away is a merited income of the same.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>A penny saved is a penny earned. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">25. It is suggested that one
survey the situation before making an impetuous flight into space.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Look before you leap</b>. </span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">26. A reparative running bast
executed expediently is economic protection against additional entries.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>A stitch in time saves nine.</b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">27. The printed means of
economic exchange is the sum underlying cause of malevolence.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Money is the root of all evil. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">28. An <i>avis</i> setting
out on a pre-dawn maneuver manages to capture an earth-burrowing crawler.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>The early bird gets the worm. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">29. The theological entity of
evil provides opportunity for inoperative upper manipulators.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>The devil makes work for idle hands. </b></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">30. Species of homo sapiens
who reside in dwellings composed of transparent crystalline rock should not
engage in hurling lithoid fragments.</span></p><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. </b></span>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-52256404469150770902023-09-22T06:37:00.003-04:002023-09-22T06:37:36.783-04:00The Latest<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7OGLEVYH4YfEs_9EnBSIDtpUihOvDZpuQENj8UszhrJCUtB-fZnlFtskTtAD_Z2TNaVomA-P5NL0Z8iJcLCjed4a7XZDdQOyhQyYGc8JUnOOf1sxYfHWgjRJgcqbbi2ZqG6qlP1hF7WFGa5lxR9TmcjiOlZ_ATWUO70At1ktOmTo-gxNH1aP9A16AhI/s1650/AM%20covers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1650" data-original-width="1275" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7OGLEVYH4YfEs_9EnBSIDtpUihOvDZpuQENj8UszhrJCUtB-fZnlFtskTtAD_Z2TNaVomA-P5NL0Z8iJcLCjed4a7XZDdQOyhQyYGc8JUnOOf1sxYfHWgjRJgcqbbi2ZqG6qlP1hF7WFGa5lxR9TmcjiOlZ_ATWUO70At1ktOmTo-gxNH1aP9A16AhI/s320/AM%20covers.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>People often ask, "What are you working on?" Currently, I have a book in progress called<i> Aunt Marge</i> (possible cover above). It's women's fiction, focused on Gwen, a Chicago resident who gets herself all messed up due to a series of tragic events. Her aunt, a woman unknown to Gwen until her crises come to a head and she overdoses, offers to take her to her farm in Michigan's U.P. to recover. Gwen is grateful, but she soon figures out that Aunt Marge is no kindly soul, and there's lots going on up there that isn't exactly normal.<p></p><p>I got the first draft back from the editor recently. She liked it but had many suggestions for improvement, and I saw that she was right in almost every instance. So that's my current goal: getting <i>Aunt Marge </i>in shape.</p><p>While the editor was working on that book, I started another one I'm calling<i> Fake. </i>I love the concept, and I managed to get a rough rough draft done before <i>Aunt Marge </i>came home. That one's probably a year out, but I'm looking forward to getting back to it.</p><p>Then there's my conundrum: a book I wrote some time back for YA audiences. It involves a young girl who's drawn into an oil painting, to a world where she learns how easily freedoms disappear when people don't treat each other fairly. The characters in <i>Polly's in the Picture </i>are fun and the world she visits has plenty of adventure, but I never knew how to present it to the world. I'm not known as a YA writer, and the amount of work it takes to break into a different writing genre is formidable. I will publish sometime soon, but I will probably depend on word of mouth for sales. There's only so much push an author can give a book, and promotion is my least favorite part of the process.<br /></p><p>We won't even bring up Maggie Pill's next Cats & Crimes book--(Oops, I guess I did). </p><p>As usual, I have lots of things I want to get done. I have choices to make. I have covers to choose. I have edits to consider. </p><p>To be honest, I love every bit of it.<br /></p><p><br /><br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-31569387142885878782023-07-12T07:01:00.002-04:002023-07-12T07:01:50.883-04:00The Perks of Being a Writer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwnfL8G5Yqp53Pt4VVj6_OMLU1vTe9l8EknHHL2xiUsDGz65T83rGRyFju1Ac4AXybOA37SSUo2LS2NIygQc_DX5mUwg5S_cToZxT4sD0veW1qe1OOz-TUXFAaDqhsDnyK6iPMf3je4qWQ9UvJhsI1HvJza-mBc26deVupGF5THJ6EnMi9sUM1_GDZFs/s4896/AdobeStock_424922614.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4896" data-original-width="3264" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwnfL8G5Yqp53Pt4VVj6_OMLU1vTe9l8EknHHL2xiUsDGz65T83rGRyFju1Ac4AXybOA37SSUo2LS2NIygQc_DX5mUwg5S_cToZxT4sD0veW1qe1OOz-TUXFAaDqhsDnyK6iPMf3je4qWQ9UvJhsI1HvJza-mBc26deVupGF5THJ6EnMi9sUM1_GDZFs/s320/AdobeStock_424922614.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p> I was at an event yesterday where I saw lots of people I hadn't seen for a long time. The question that often comes up is "Are you still writing?" My answer, of course, is "Yes," but I sense that some wonder why. In twenty years, I haven't become a famous writer, and I probably never will. (FYI, I haven't become rich, either.) Why put in the hours and hours (et cetera, et cetera) it takes to write a book, edit a book, and publish a book?</p><p>I write for the same reasons anyone does what they love: crafters, bakers, amateur athletes, bird-watchers, whoever. It isn't for money or recognition; it's something they call self-fulfillment--the enjoyment of putting effort into something to get the best result you can manage.</p><p>There are some side perks to writing for publication, though, and a message I got this morning told me I'm not as crafty as I imagined. A reader who knows me well pointed out that the "bad" characters in one of my books are suspiciously similar to people I know in real life. They don't prosper in the story, so it's a bit of <u>getting my own back. </u>To be fair, another reader told me that a lead character I've been writing reminds her of my mother, so I guess I'm capable of writing tributes as well as take-downs.</p><p>Another side perk is <u>making things end the way I want them to</u>. In real life, good doesn't always prevail. We see a lot of misinformed people (and downright liars) in high positions, offering "alternative facts" that would be laughed into the dirt if their listeners weren't equally misinformed and stubbornly unwilling to do the tiniest bit of fact-checking. In a novel, I can make good things happen at the end, despite my belief that IRL,things are too far out of control for recovery.</p><p><u>Finally, I can escape into my books,</u> my writing, my storytelling. The school where I used to teach is afire with controversy, and while I do what I can to inform myself and support the staff, I find it helpful--maybe critical--to come home and sink into whatever part of the writing process I'm involved in at the moment.</p><p>So am I still writing? Yes. Not famous. Not rich. But it makes me happy. What more can I ask of life?<br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-46219137991336213262023-05-20T11:12:00.001-04:002023-05-20T11:12:58.939-04:00What's So Great About Reading?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOQXT8AWDA8UNbg2Mhx0sg4PvhOEnrbA03F2L0fz4ZkOZBT_Tc7VWyCLHd0KE4-g4ETYMxsAbViJkX1yy0zN2UGTHo4N_rHAqVr8MsphOel0TCZ4PonnRcUkC0mD8pxsvIi9RFfWctjqJ7d0zQ5nBZWDJR3fZWKucMaCP1sR9yPYJbF3EG3KWN1Vd/s3000/3books.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2318" data-original-width="3000" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOQXT8AWDA8UNbg2Mhx0sg4PvhOEnrbA03F2L0fz4ZkOZBT_Tc7VWyCLHd0KE4-g4ETYMxsAbViJkX1yy0zN2UGTHo4N_rHAqVr8MsphOel0TCZ4PonnRcUkC0mD8pxsvIi9RFfWctjqJ7d0zQ5nBZWDJR3fZWKucMaCP1sR9yPYJbF3EG3KWN1Vd/s320/3books.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div> I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that reading has at times saved my sanity (such as it is). I admit that's not true for everyone, but readers know. I thought I'd list some reasons for championing a pastime that isn't always healthy (It's sedentary, and isolating, since we remove ourselves from the real world when we read. Cue my dad's voice: "Get your nose out of that book and do those dishes!")<br /><p>But look what I get that's positive.</p><p>I learn stuff. From the time I was a kid, I found books that taught me things. The library at school had biographies of famous people, and I discovered they were mostly just people. The encyclopedias my mom bought at the grocery store (with stamps or something similar) were filled with articles about animals, exotic places, and historical events. I recall that when my brother was born, my parents apparently thought I was too young to understand why he didn't come home from the hospital and why they spoke about him in whispers. I saw my sister reading an article in the encyclopedia, saw her put a marker in her place. When she was gone, I opened the book and learned about the RH factor, a birth problem that might have killed the little guy, the only son of an only son and therefore the last of our family name. (With blood transfusions from several "dear hearts" in our little town, he made it.)<br /></p><p>I avoid reality. A good book can take you away from whatever is bugging you on a given day. I can remember only a few times when I couldn't sink into someone else's story far enough to forget my own.</p><p>I learn compassion. I used to explain to my students that in fiction, we enter into the heads of people who are unlike us. We experience their trials vicariously, so we are able to imagine what it must be like, or what it must have been like, to be other than what we are. I think the first time I was aware of that was when we were assigned <i>The Good Earth</i> in tenth grade English. Olan was real to me, and I think she awakened some spark of feminism in my soul. How could it be that a woman who worked so hard, did so much, was nothing to her husband or to her society? That brought an additional question: what does our society do to make women feel that their contributions are worthwhile? We're better than some, but read a range of materials and you'll see there's a way to go.</p><p>I question my own prejudices. I grew up in an all-white, rural area, so I had very little exposure to differences, whether religious or racial or ethnic or individual. Reading is sometimes uncomfortable, because I'm exposed to ideas unlike what my upbringing "taught" me. I recall reading Leon Uris' book, <i>Trinity,</i> and seeing the IRA's side of the Irish troubles. He did the same for the Palestinians with<i> The Haj</i>. Those were not people I'd ever heard defended: in my home town they were "terrorists" who deserved no one's time. While that might be true in part, hearing their side of the issue made them more human to me, and I learned that there was right and wrong on both sides.</p><p>I am forced to examine my own society's faults. If you read widely, you see the U.S. through other eyes. The countries or people that see us as imperialists. Those who see us as hoggish devourers of the world's resources. Those who wish we were a little less pushy and arrogant about trying to make everyone just like us. Reading tamps down the sense we're often taught in school and told by politicians that the U.S. is always the good guy. It's not always comfortable to see, but it's something we need to know.</p><p>I relax. Choice of book means a lot when it comes to my level of enjoyment. There are times when I can't bear certain subjects. I have a rough time with stories about kids in abusive families if the plot stays on it for too long. I also avoid stories that dwell on atrocities, like WWII Nazi horrors. I filled up on reading about those horrors long ago, so I don't feel a need to revisit the subject. On the other hand, I can't do<i> too </i>fluffy either. I mean, how many times am I supposed to wonder whether the girl will get the guy she's crazy about by the end of the book? What I tend to read are historical novels, mostly European, and mysteries. The former offer the opportunity to learn about other times, and the latter let me try to guess the killer in a situation where my being wrong doesn't mean a thing.<br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-74668377819216043762023-05-07T07:37:00.003-04:002023-05-07T07:37:56.697-04:00Drat! Another Idea<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2ZLVJt7uZaFesl_JY52dLjPAVXkNn4rPubCC9YY6qryeCPiY2bHWdRnhJbFDkPpLsW7keYpz7gzDGz_CA2rV4C20n3v4ccQlcffqrdqqPnoLwelOhdZQif627rK7GjyAy3o0i5Flc2yBsBjG9WcfYriaqxHneMh2OmMZmheutc67UUyYnvqd4ZCc/s6600/confusedwomandoll.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6600" data-original-width="4300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2ZLVJt7uZaFesl_JY52dLjPAVXkNn4rPubCC9YY6qryeCPiY2bHWdRnhJbFDkPpLsW7keYpz7gzDGz_CA2rV4C20n3v4ccQlcffqrdqqPnoLwelOhdZQif627rK7GjyAy3o0i5Flc2yBsBjG9WcfYriaqxHneMh2OmMZmheutc67UUyYnvqd4ZCc/s320/confusedwomandoll.jpeg" width="208" /></a></div><br /> People often ask authors, "Where do your ideas comefrom?"<p></p><p>Answers will vary.</p><p>Ideas come from the present. The past. The news. Local gossip. Ancient stories. Out of nowhere.</p><p>I hit a kind of hiatus this week. The next Maggie Pill book is done, at least until my eagle-eyed beta readers get their hands on the author copies and make their corrections. The next Peg Herring book, tentatively called <i>Aunt Marge, </i>needs time to rest. I believe that, like a roast just out of the oven, a book requires "sitting time," a period where the author puts it away and thinks about something else. In a month or six weeks or whatever, it will read differently, which will bring about all kinds of tweaks and improvements. At least, that's what I preach and practice.</p><p>Those two things mean, however, that I have nothing to write at present, and nothing to edit either. I had told myself I'd concentrate on reminding readers about my older books as well as helping "Maggie" push the new one.</p><p>And then I happened to look at a folder called "Old Ideas," and there it was, a one-paragraph sketch of an story I'd had, probably while riding home from Florida in the car. Those hours of silence tend to germinate lots of "possibles" that I jot down and promptly forget when I get home, like building an audience on TikTok or taking up Tae-Bo again.<br /></p><p>When I read over that paragraph, details starting falling into my head like raindrops. I knew what the three main characters had to be like. I knew the setting and tone. I even knew what crime they would be presented to solve. I wrote it down as fast as I could, because these things tend to slip away if they aren't nailed down. Some will be rejected later, but right now, everything is possible.</p><p>The problem with this book will be when. When will I have months to dedicate to it? Maggie's cat lady books are popular, so I should be plotting the next one. And <i>Aunt Marge</i> is almost ready for readers to enjoy. I can't work on two books at once--it confuses my tiny mind--but I like this idea. I'm not thrilled with putting it on the back burner again.</p><p>I'll keep you informed. When I know, you'll know. <br /></p><p>When people ask me where my ideas come from, I tell them, "I don't really know, but I do know I will die with unwritten books in my head."<br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-87420729508198612912022-12-19T07:37:00.004-05:002022-12-19T07:37:58.801-05:00The Final Step That Never Ends<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XS-8YwxfSRXEnfU12Fl9-tjogeKAjgQAqji2JjWfCVIQR8W3ExWNuLyUYzVWXWGFTidXuL-N9PTHje0N3OpWaZRpC44vWYe62ZXa_43GaS5ecNhcxt9hsWFGDhBLVRC5w5Yphcn6nVNfEr-j_0rEukhASCRRn3Rv0hZo13H-u3etxq_T9SSnTn_w/s536/smallercoatpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="356" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XS-8YwxfSRXEnfU12Fl9-tjogeKAjgQAqji2JjWfCVIQR8W3ExWNuLyUYzVWXWGFTidXuL-N9PTHje0N3OpWaZRpC44vWYe62ZXa_43GaS5ecNhcxt9hsWFGDhBLVRC5w5Yphcn6nVNfEr-j_0rEukhASCRRn3Rv0hZo13H-u3etxq_T9SSnTn_w/w158-h238/smallercoatpic.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Truth in Advertising: My hair is no longer this color!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Over the last few months, I've written about how I came to self-publish and what I do in that process. Once your cover is great, your MS is perfect (we hope), and your formatting is set for whichever sites you plan to present on, there's just promo left to do...always...forever...eternally. <p></p><p></p><p></p><p>A person trying to make a living by writing has to promote. Those who aren't (like me) do as much as we choose. Writers understand that promoted books, (often books that aren't as good as yours) will sell, while unpromoted books mean that no one even knows you've got a new one out there.</p><p>We begin promo long before a book is available for sale. We talk about
it online. We do cover reveals. We offer samples. We try to get bloggers
interested enough to feature the book. We solicit reviews. Add standing
on our heads and screaming, "IT'S MY NEW BOOK!" and you have some idea. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXX0xx8EchEy-as4PDB-qJmCvWUCQ0g6F9vzBcIrIbRjYz6EABXffuul__zbYmbzdgTNv7Q4aWH34ILZK08wOxAB1MYZyKmtnr8WY9L9NSqvAeLyP3gJSRx0QRIidGmeRKR3cSdOOeBmfiJiJctOuNkWdU9Ykwj3ZQRWkrtG0uMdli-39t4uyCgiG/s123/q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="123" data-original-width="99" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXX0xx8EchEy-as4PDB-qJmCvWUCQ0g6F9vzBcIrIbRjYz6EABXffuul__zbYmbzdgTNv7Q4aWH34ILZK08wOxAB1MYZyKmtnr8WY9L9NSqvAeLyP3gJSRx0QRIidGmeRKR3cSdOOeBmfiJiJctOuNkWdU9Ykwj3ZQRWkrtG0uMdli-39t4uyCgiG/s1600/q.jpg" width="99" /></a></div><p></p><p>The biggest problem is that no one knows what works. Bad books often sell because advertisers convince the public they're must-reads. It's exactly the same for good books. Promotion is mysterious, but we do know that to become interested in a book, the reading public has to know it exists. <br /></p><p>I had a traditional publisher for my first eight or nine books. They got reviewers to tout them. They publicized like mad. I got awards and kudos. The books sold well.</p><p>When I started writing as Maggie Pill, I had nobody helping. The books took off on their own, and they still outsell everything else I've written. Nobody knows why that happens and how to replicate it. Certainly not me. <br /></p><p>My best advice is to experiment a little without spending a ton of
money. Sometimes a site that puts your book up for $15 gets as much
reaction as the ones charging $500. Sometimes it doesn't. (:/)<br /></p><p>Promotion never ends. You have to remind readers of your backlist (books published a while ago) as well as notifying them about your new stuff. Most readers do NOT read a book and go, "I love this author. I'm going to go read everything she ever wrote." (I have met a few readers who do, and authors LOVE them. I myself was once the type of reader who seldom noticed the author's name. That was before Amazon online and B&N stores in the malls, when I haunted the local library looking for books they had that I hadn't yet read.)<br /></p><p>I don't know many authors who enjoy book promotion, but remember the Marketing Rule of 7: people have to hear about something at least seven times before they finally react to it. It's why you see those same ads on TV over and over. So we blog and we advertise and we drop hints on Facebook.</p><p>And we feel like Sisyphus, climbing that hill, pushing that rock, and knowing it will all happen again tomorrow.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVhAga48pRU5HrG4tZh15pjOy6eGeA3M70t4Ic6oUr7qHz0koFnoBnFHJXoTjXAcUrDDxWQs8y38BpS8Z-IUQvvblTQvXWGuCay-IPPg-VGK8N0McKLAo1xV0n4a5dzjiQFS3m5sVUyiBY8MV19PjAu4Q_7yICyo1dGPGeV-V-qk20CcozZ_kPE3c/s170/holly.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="126" data-original-width="170" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVhAga48pRU5HrG4tZh15pjOy6eGeA3M70t4Ic6oUr7qHz0koFnoBnFHJXoTjXAcUrDDxWQs8y38BpS8Z-IUQvvblTQvXWGuCay-IPPg-VGK8N0McKLAo1xV0n4a5dzjiQFS3m5sVUyiBY8MV19PjAu4Q_7yICyo1dGPGeV-V-qk20CcozZ_kPE3c/s1600/holly.png" width="170" /></a></p><p>Oh, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for whatever your celebrations might be!<br /></p><p><br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-44250672117631669582022-12-13T09:21:00.000-05:002022-12-13T09:21:12.271-05:00A Story for My Peeps--And a Sale for My E-books<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>December-r-r E-BOOK SALE </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NMPcQPbOxYFVmHrTQ9wi67mFOvxCPYEvJ8YNnR9kBJSy_trEJ_qmk-pnhuta8KI-OCnAChwMf-ImfC6x1EINGP1xHthMlcb8_c9NwyBir4Lq9aT03sB-jIHKn9GWE-ftb9Yk7x_z6aMOwCsiy3dmeFRC2dXsa0nAqxVkUv4Y66TrtcY23oEKPWPY/s4032/IMG_0346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NMPcQPbOxYFVmHrTQ9wi67mFOvxCPYEvJ8YNnR9kBJSy_trEJ_qmk-pnhuta8KI-OCnAChwMf-ImfC6x1EINGP1xHthMlcb8_c9NwyBir4Lq9aT03sB-jIHKn9GWE-ftb9Yk7x_z6aMOwCsiy3dmeFRC2dXsa0nAqxVkUv4Y66TrtcY23oEKPWPY/s320/IMG_0346.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">You might know about Smashwords. To
be honest, I don’t know much. But one of my publishers, Draft2Digital, recently
acquired Smashwords, so they are one entity. Smashwords invited all D2D authors
to join their December e-book sale, so I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From December 15 to December 30, 2022, (the kickoff to the <i>real</i>
winter season in my home state of Michigan), all of my e-books, both Maggie
Pill and Peg Herring titles, will be half off. Fifty percent. Basically, two
for the price of one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Is that cool (winter reference) or what?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As a rule of thumb, Maggie Pill books are cozy mysteries, (e.g.
the Sleuth Sisters & the Trailer Park Tales series) meaning they’re funny
(I think), small-townish, and as non-violent as one can get when the story
centers on murder. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Peg Herring books are all over the map, because I write the
story that interests me at any given time. Those who’ve been with me through
the years know that I started with historicals (the Simon & Elizabeth
murders, the Dead Detective series), followed by a few stand-alone mysteries
(Somebody Doesn’t Like Sarah Leigh, Her Ex G.I. PI), and several mystery series
of three or four books each (The Kidnap Capers, the Loser Mysteries). </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsR4Z1aCejAwZEyb-wrABimmkQxcCYP-TY2nMRqa1HCKP9XeTLZYuHthM_MuYhIWL33AlpnPr4Cpm0nLa6z2Utay10U1aWNHtq1z-LI_x85GForUgxUvbDnnykMFwclbSSlgJxv3IFdZPo53obJLi-SdghvzzUv3zM61VRA9FgNticUSSePTR3CduO/s4032/IMG_0348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsR4Z1aCejAwZEyb-wrABimmkQxcCYP-TY2nMRqa1HCKP9XeTLZYuHthM_MuYhIWL33AlpnPr4Cpm0nLa6z2Utay10U1aWNHtq1z-LI_x85GForUgxUvbDnnykMFwclbSSlgJxv3IFdZPo53obJLi-SdghvzzUv3zM61VRA9FgNticUSSePTR3CduO/s320/IMG_0348.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lately, Peg’s books have turned toward what’s called women’s
fiction (a term I don’t much like), the key being that they center on
interesting women in intriguing situations. There’s always a mystery, but it
isn’t the traditional whodunit kind where a single crime or criminal is the
focus of the book. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you’re interested, now’s the time, since they’re all
half-price. Your best bet might be to wander through my websites and read up on
the various offerings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Maggie Pill’s site:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://maggiepill.maggiepillmysteries.com/">https://maggiepill.maggiepillmysteries.com/</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Peg Herring’s site: <a href="https://www.pegherring.com/">https://www.pegherring.com/</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">AND FREE (WHICH IS EVEN BETTER THAN
HALF-PRICE)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">It’s my holiday gift to all of you
who buy my books, read my books, and sometimes write me little notes to say you
enjoy my books. I’ve written a short story only for my friends and fans. Spoiler
alert: It’s not exactly warm and fuzzy, but hey--I’m a mystery writer! </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6atKMzUGBh0Pon6Dp70wzBJV1F9ONVvR-EIySvMIjaG0Gr7_79XQ7_eUha8p274kraKJsY5z05p-DAVcLbP3F8J0Cuc-o3TFLOGFskBEyLbsvOeoqL4RELaw26w2aW6NX5N7YzZt6WIL3TRHZj1-pvhz4KgvJDLTXJHy4vP0KbB_Ov-n-yB6aL3A/s2000/2017-06-12%2005.22.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6atKMzUGBh0Pon6Dp70wzBJV1F9ONVvR-EIySvMIjaG0Gr7_79XQ7_eUha8p274kraKJsY5z05p-DAVcLbP3F8J0Cuc-o3TFLOGFskBEyLbsvOeoqL4RELaw26w2aW6NX5N7YzZt6WIL3TRHZj1-pvhz4KgvJDLTXJHy4vP0KbB_Ov-n-yB6aL3A/s320/2017-06-12%2005.22.25.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re Always Welcome at Our House<p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“You’ll have to do the digging,”
Gram said as we stood over the body. “The way Arthur’s got my hands all knotted
up, it’s hard to hold onto the shovel, much less make a hole.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I nodded, aware that at
eighty-three, Gram’s advancing arthritis made things she’d done easily in the
past much more difficult. It wasn’t the least of her problems, but at the
moment, it was a pretty big one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Once you get him in the ground,
drive his car over to Shoepac Lake and get rid of it, like always.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Shoepac Lake is a sinkhole, a pit
almost a hundred feet deep that filled with water, unlike other sinkholes in
the tip of Michigan’s mitten. The drop-off is close to vertical, so you can’t
find the bottom more than a few feet from shore.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew what to do: drive the stranger’s SUV to
a high spot on the lake’s north side, wind down all four windows, put a rock on
the accelerator, and then knock the shift lever into drive with a stick. The
car would shoot forward until its wheels lost traction and then it would drop
straight down, into the pit. It was kind of creepy to watch, but kind of
beautiful too. I wondered how many times Gram and I had stood in the moonlight,
watching as water surrounded a vehicle, flooded its interior, and pulled it
gently to the bottom.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Now I was supposed to do it all by
myself. I voiced my disapproval in the only way I knew, with a complaint. “Two
miles in the rain to get back here, on foot, in the dark.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“You think I don’t know that?”
Gram’s voice held a note of irritation I’d seldom heard when she spoke to me.
With others, she was testy, but she’d always been gentle with her “Sweet Carla.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“You’re fifteen now. Old enough to
handle things when you’re told to.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I regarded the corpse slumped over
our kitchen table. He hadn’t been a particularly nice man, but a nagging voice
told me he hadn’t deserved to die just because he was a problem for Gram and me.
I knew if I said that aloud, Gram would repeat what she’d said before. “Sign
out front says to keep out. Not our fault if they won’t do what they’re told.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram and I had moved to the cabin
twelve years before, shortly after Man first walked on the moon. Watching Neil
Armstrong take that “giant leap for mankind” was my last clear memory of city life,
television, and my mother. Before that day, I’d done normal things, like riding
the bus downtown with Mom and going to the movie theater at the mall on my
birthday. I vaguely remembered our apartment on the fourth floor of a shabby
building with dim hallways and a variety of smells: fried potatoes, shawarma,
frijoles, or curry, depending on the day and the direction I took. I’d had
friends. I’d worn dresses and ribbons in my hair. I’d gone to school.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram lived across the hallway, and
I’d stayed with her in the afternoons until Mom got home from work. Gram hadn’t
been Gram then. She’d been Mindy, our grumpy neighbor, known for being willing
to fight for what was hers. Even the punks in the building left Mindy alone.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">She’d taken a liking to us for some
reason, and when Mom’s boss switched her to afternoons and she needed somewhere
for me to stay, Mindy had offered. Retired after twenty years as a pharmacy
assistant, she wasn’t exactly kindly, but Mindy liked me, so I seldom saw her
angry side. She was as strapped for cash as Mom and I were, counting her Social
Security pennies while we got food stamps to augment Mom’s income as a
waitress.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Then life changed. I was seven
years old, though I remember that when people asked, I was more precise. I was
seven and three quarters. Mindy had a TV, which we didn’t, and that afternoon
she and I watched as a U.S. astronaut stepped onto the moon and into history. “Ain’t
that something?” Mindy said, her voice low with awe. “Who’d ever think I’d see
something like that in my lifetime?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Mom didn’t come home at her usual
time, but we didn’t worry. Mom picked up an extra shift whenever she could, but
her boss frowned on the help using the business phone. If he hung around by the
cash register, she often couldn’t call to let us know.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">At eight-thirty, two policemen came
to Mindy’s door. I remember they smiled, but their smiles weren’t happy ones. I
heard phrases like <i>traffic fatality </i>and <i>next of kin</i> but didn’t
understand them at the time. Gram was shocked and upset, moaning and repeating,
“Oh, no. Oh, no.” When one of the officers mentioned foster care, Mindy jerked like
she’d been poked with a pin.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Kelly can stay here,” she told him.
“She’ll need a friend, and we’re used to each other.” I didn’t understand the
man’s reply, but it made Mindy’s mouth turn down even farther than usual. After
a moment, she said, “I understand, but here’s the situation. I’m supposed to
take little Kelly to an appointment with her allergist in the morning. What if I
keep her here tonight, pack up her things in the morning, and take her to
Social Services once she has the prescription refills she needs for her asthma?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The cops probably shouldn’t have
agreed to that, but they did. As they turned to go, repeating that they were
sorry for our loss, I stood with my mouth open, unable to take in anything I’d
heard. My mother was dead. I was completely alone in the world. I didn’t have
asthma, and I’d never seen an allergist in my life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">As soon as the door closed on the men,
Mindy turned to me. “Baby, your mama’s gone to Heaven. Do you want to stay with
me or go and live with someone you never heard of before?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The first part terrified me. The
question that followed was easy. “With you.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“All right, then. We’re going to
have to leave.” Digging in a bowl of small items on a table by the door, she
got out Mom’s spare key. “Let’s go pack you a bag.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The next few days were a blur. Bits
and pieces stick in my mind. I remember Mindy, on the morning after my mother’s
death, called the social services office and told them I’d run away. In a querulous
voice, she said I’d asked if I could call my dad in Toledo and tell him what
had happened. “Of course, I allowed it,” she told the person at the other end
of the phone line, “I thought to myself, ‘No harm in a phone call.’”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The social services lady was
encouraged to imagine Mindy’s surprise when she found that little Kelly Beebe
had disappeared in the night. “Her father must have come for her,” Mindy said as
I stood right in front of her. “I don’t even know his name. Johnny Something, I
think.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">At least she told the truth there.
I didn’t know anything about my father either.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">When she finished lying to the
authorities, Mindy hauled boxes, bags, and suitcases down to the parking lot.
She wouldn’t let me help, ordering me to stay inside and away from the windows.
When she finished, we crept downstairs to the side entrance on tiptoe, like cat
burglars. Checking to see that the parking lot was uninhabited at the moment,
she hurried me outside. In a spot next to the garbage bin, Mindy’s old green Chevy
sat, as it had since I’d known her, exposed to all kinds of weather. The roof
had been scorched brown by the sun, the sides rusted from winter driving on
Michigan’s salty roads. “Crawl into the back and scrunch down,” Mindy ordered,
and she covered me with a blanket. “When we get out of the city, you can sit up
front with me.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Once I was out of sight, Mindy got
into the driver’s seat, turned the key, pumped the accelerator, and muttered a
few choice words. Her spell worked, and the engine fired. I felt the car back
up, turn, and start forward. We stopped a lot and turned a few times. The
blanket smelled of mothballs, but it wasn’t that bad. If I peeked around the
edge, I could see a little bit of sky out the window and Mindy’s tight, gray
curls up front. She talked the whole way, telling me how sad she was that Mom
was gone but how we’d get through it together. I was sad too, and scared, but I
trusted Mindy. Looking back on it, that wasn’t surprising. I had nobody else.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">After about twenty minutes, Mindy
stopped at a McDonald’s, where we had lunch. (I had no idea how long it would
be until the next time.) Full of burgers and fries, we made our way to a town
called Milford, where Mindy’s nephew lived. “Chester ain’t much good,” Mindy
(who said I should call her “Gram” from now on) told me as she drove, “but
he’ll help us out, long as he gets something out of it.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Chester lived in a tiny house a few
blocks off Milford’s Main Street. The lawn wasn’t mowed, and the porch looked
like he’d just moved in and hadn’t yet found a place for all his stuff inside. Mindy
said that wasn’t the case. “Chet collects stuff, mostly junk, crooked friends,
and debt.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">From the start, Chester gave me a
weird feeling, that sense kids have but can’t put into words. Skinny and small-built,
he had little eyes and a big grin. When he saw me, the grin got bigger and his
eyes got even narrower. “Come in, come in,” he invited, holding the battered
wooden screen open for us. As I passed, he grabbed me and pulled me close. “You
look like a girl that needs a rub,” he murmured in my ear. Holding me tight, he
dragged his scratchy whiskers along the side of my face. It felt like a Brillo
pad, only a lot creepier.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Let her go,” Gram demanded.
Chester did, but he laughed like he’d got away with something. I moved as far
away from him as I could get, and for the rest of our time together, kept Gram
between him and me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">We slept that night in Chester’s
guest room, which was as full of junk as the rest of the place. We moved a
dozen items off the bed, including a stuffed deer, a box that contained a set
of balls for playing pool, and boxes marked, “Millie’s clothes.” They told me
to go to sleep, but I didn’t, at least not until Gram came in. Instead, I
listened while Chester and Gram plotted how to keep me out of the social
services system. “Kelly and me need a place to live where nobody will think to
look for us,” Gram said.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Chester thought about that. “What
about Dad’s old cabin up on Dog Lake?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram’s back was to me, but I saw
her shoulders relax a little. “I forgot all about that place.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“It ain’t a palace, but it’s on a dead-end
road, and you can’t see it from the lake. Nobody’s likely to find you way out
there.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I learned later that Gram and her
brother, Chester’s dad, had grown up in Onaway, a small town in northern Lower
Michigan. Gram had moved to Detroit with her husband and remained there, even
after he died from “too much booze and too many cigarettes.” The brother had
also moved south, going to work in the auto industry. While their childhood home
was sold when the parents died, Chester had held onto the family hunting camp,
situated about halfway between Onaway and another small town called Atlanta.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“You said the cabin isn’t a palace.
What kind of shape is it in?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“There’s a guy who looks after it
for me. Jim’s a pretty good handyman, and he don’t ask questions.” Chester gave
Gram that greasy grin of his. “If my buddy shoots a deer in August, or if I park
a motorcycle in the shed that I don’t exactly have the title to, Jim don’t say nothing
to nobody.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“What about living out there
through the winter?” Gram asked. “I don’t want them finding Kelly and me frozen
in our beds come March.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Chester waved, dismissing her
concerns. “You’ll have to do some winterizing, and it won’t be like living in the
city, but you’ll do fine.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“What if someone recognizes me?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">That brought a laugh. “You been
gone, what—fifty years? Anybody that knew you back then is either dead or got
cataracts. It ain’t like you’re gonna join the Friends of the Library, right?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram considered. “I suppose we
could do our business in Atlanta. No one there knows me.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Now you’re thinking smart,”
Chester said approvingly. While I wasn’t old in years, I realized that to
Gram’s nephew, <i>smart </i>meant “like a criminal.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Next, Mindy—Gram—negotiated with Chester
what he’d get paid for helping us. That was a long discussion, and I heard a
few unkind words, but eventually, they reached an agreement. Gram came to bed
then, and she murmured softly in my ear, “I think we’re gonna be okay, Sweetie
Pie.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">At the bank the next morning, I
waited in the car while Gram and Chester went inside and she added his name to
her account. After that, she drove to the post office and changed her mailing
address to Chester’s house in Milford. The deal was that each month when her
social security check arrived in the mail, he would cash it and send two thirds
of the money to a box Gram would rent at the post office in Atlanta. That
two-thirds had been the hardest part of the negotiations, causing the most
words I wasn’t supposed to hear. She’d offered twenty percent; he’d wanted
half.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“It doesn’t leave us much to live
on,” Gram had complained.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“What will you need?” Chester
countered. “It ain’t like you’ll be going to cocktail parties or movie
premieres.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">One of Chester’s crooked friends,
Bobby-Jack, got us new IDs, a birth certificate for me and a driver’s license
for Gram. With the birth certificate of a girl who’d died at birth, he
explained, I could get everything else I needed when the time came: a driver’s
license, a Social Security number, and even a passport. Gram frowned at the
photo on the license she was given. “Doesn’t look much like me.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“It’ll pass unless some cop gets
suspicious,” he told her. “If you get stopped, be real sweet. You’re old, so
they’ll probably let you off with a warning.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram shrugged. “I guess beggars
can’t be choosers.” Paying for our new selves took every bit of the cash my mom
had kept hidden in a jar at the back of the refrigerator, but when Bobby-Jack
left, we were no longer Miranda Gilbert and Kelly Beebe. Instead, we were Maria
and Carla Butler.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram traded Chester her Chevy for
his Dodge pickup. Her car wasn’t much in the looks department, but the truck
was worse, having scrapes from what appeared to be metal poles on either side.
“I think we’ll be okay, Sweetie Pie,” Gram said as she ground the Dodge’s floor
shifter through the gears. “New names, different vehicle, and a place to stay
that not many know about.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Will Chester come and visit us?”
While I would never criticize Gram’s nephew, I dreaded the prospect of ever
seeing him again.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">She laughed. “Chet’s got zero
interest in nature. Money will be tight, but I told old Chet that if he stiffs
us on our share, I’ll drive down and peel off his useless hide with a dull
knife.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">At the time, I never asked myself why
Gram did all that to keep me with her. Later, I decided it was because my
mother had been good to her. She had always listened to Mindy. She’d treated
her with respect. And every few days, she’d sent me across the hall with homemade
food: a plate of Swiss steak and potatoes, a bowl of soup, or a slice of her
special chocolate cake.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gratitude. It’s a noble emotion, so
it might excuse things that aren’t so noble.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">In the months that followed, when
we had no one to talk to but each other, I learned that Gram had lost her only
child, a five-year-old daughter, to a hit-and-run driver. Shortly afterward, her
husband began the long and horrible battle with lung cancer that finally killed
him. “I was convinced the world was a terrible place,” Gram told me once. “Then
you and your mother moved in across the hall.” She shook her head slowly. “That
woman was nothing but kindness and care.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram had seen Mom and me as a spot
of happiness in her life. When Mom died, it became me alone. That had been what
led to us driving two hundred and fifty miles north, to a life neither of us
was quite ready for.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Chet’s property was at the end of a
two-track road that turned off a gravel road from another gravel road that
exited a two-lane road that didn’t get much traffic. We found it late in the
evening, after several false turns that led to a boat launch or a campground or
nowhere. Bordered on all sides by state land, the camp wasn’t on the way to
anywhere, so the chance of casual visitors was nil.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">About twenty by thirty, the cabin
was built of rough planks covered on the outside with shingles. The roof was
tarpaper, but Gram pointed out, in an overly cheerful tone, that it had no
tears or bad spots.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Inside, the main room was open to
the rafters. “We’ll get us some rolled insulation and staple it up there,” she said,
continuing the optimistic tone. “Lots of time to get it done before winter hits.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">A hand pump sat next to a sink in the
corner that represented the kitchen. Next to it was a two-burner gas cookstove,
and at ninety-degrees to that, a ‘50s-era refrigerator with round shoulders and
a freezer the size of a shoebox. “There’s electricity,” Gram said quickly as I
looked around, horrified. “They had to run the lines right by here to get to
the state park, so Chet’s dad got himself hooked up.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">In the back corner was a bathroom
with a toilet that flushed when you poured a bucket of water into it. The tiny
shower operated by gravity, Gram explained. “We warm water on the stove, fill
the tank, and set it on that overhead shelf.” I would soon learn that it was
wise to wash quickly, lest the tank empty and leave me covered with soapsuds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Centered on the cabin’s interior
wall was a wood stove made by attaching a chimney pipe and metal legs to an old
barrel. It was raised from the floor on a bed of bricks, and the wall behind it
was covered with a special sheet of something meant to prevent it catching
fire. Beside the stove was a wood box, empty in July, and a tin bucket filled
with an assortment of sticks Gram said were for kindling a fire. She would
teach me how.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Last was the bedroom, a dark space
with an open storage rack and two beds made of planks and particle board, each
covered with a ratty-looking mattress. “Beds first,” Gram said, but her tone
hinted that her enthusiasm had lessened. “The rest we’ll worry about tomorrow.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">We dragged the mattresses outside
and left them for the critters. Then we scrubbed the frames with cold water and
rags until we were pretty sure the mouse turds were gone. In the open shelf unit
was a pile of blankets, but one sniff made Gram reject them as well. “Luckily,”
she said, “we have our own linens.” Opening a box she took from the truck, she dug
out the blankets I’d had on my bed back in Detroit. My first night in the cabin
wasn’t much like home, but the smell of my mom’s Breeze detergent and the
ballerina bedspread she’d bought me for my seventh birthday helped.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The next morning we made toast on
the stove, using a contraption Gram found in the cupboard. The triangular metal
frame held two slices of bread, one on each side. “You set it over a burner and
turn the flame down low, so it toasts one side at a time,” Gram said. “Pay
attention, or you’ll get black toast to go with your cocoa.” I didn’t want
that, so I watched the white bread turn golden brown and then turned the slices,
achieving even browning on both sides. While I did that, Gram heated milk in a
pan on the other burner. When it was almost boiling, she poured in a mixture of
Hershey’s cocoa and sugar, making a delicious drink and a dip for the buttered
toast.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Life at the cabin was hard, and for
months, I was a pain in Gram’s neck. The big, empty outdoors scared me, and I
groused that I hated living like Daniel Boone. I missed having friends to play
with, and I didn’t understand why we couldn’t go anywhere. Aside from Jim, the
almost silent handyman, we saw only each other. If we did go into town, I was
ordered to avoid eye contact and answer yes or no, no more.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">When I complained, Gram would remind
me that if our real identities were discovered, I’d be taken away from her. I’d
live with strangers, possibly adopted but more likely in a foster home or even
a series of them. I admitted that the prospect of being under the control of
strangers was worse than life at the cabin. Over time, I got used to the rhythm
of life in the woods. The whisper of wind through the trees replaced the
traffic sounds I’d been used to. The smell of pines was nicer than gas fumes.
And while I wasn’t thrilled with the chores and the bugs and the loneliness, I
was grateful for Gram, who loved and cared for me now that Mom was dead. “We’re
alone in the world except for each other,” she’d say. “Nobody should come
between us, Sweetie Pie. Nobody.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">As the leaves started turning,
first a branch here and there, and gradually, a world of new colors, we prepared
for our first winter up north. Silent Jim installed an electric pump, meaning
the toilet flushed without buckets and water ran from the tap without wearing
me out. “Next year we’ll get a hot water heater,” Gram promised, and that
seemed like heaven.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">We insulated everything that fall,
walls, roof, and pipes. We stocked up on food, firewood, and tools Gram thought
we’d need, like snow shovels and a blowtorch to use if the pipes froze despite the
wrapping we’d done. She arranged for Silent Jim to plow the half mile between
us and the road nearest road cleared by county trucks, so we could get out if
we needed to. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Without realizing it, I had fallen
in love with the Michigan woods. I explored different sections each day, making
the acquaintance of birds, deer, raccoons, and elk. Sometimes Gram walked with
me, but usually I went alone, and I soon knew my way around the forest better
than she did. Winter was cold, but I found an old pair of skis in the shed. Snow
made it easy to track animals, and I learned how each coped with the season,
some making burrows, some building homes in hollow trees, and some bedding down
in the swamps.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I missed going to school, but Gram
was afraid of the questions they’d ask if she enrolled me in classes. “‘Where
are her records?’ will be the first thing,” she said, “and we haven’t got any.
We’ll have to get you educated other ways.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">That meant home-schooling, so Maria
and Carla Butler became well-known in the local library system. The name was
common enough in the area that people hardly paid attention to a couple more
Butlers, assuming we were cousins attached to the family somewhere along the
line. Long winter nights were spent reading and discussing. Why had the Indians
helped the colonists? How does water freeze? What might green eggs and ham
taste like?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The first person who threatened our
new life came along by accident. It was April of 1970, the year after we came
to the cabin. The winter had been long, but a day came when, although dirty
piles of snow still pock-marked the woods and lined the roads, the air warmed
to t-shirt weather. Mother Nature seemed to whisper, “We’re done with winter
now.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I was sitting outside, on an old
Adirondack chair I’d found upside down in the shed. Gram was mopping floors, so
I’d set the radio in the window, facing out, so I could listen to music while I
soaked up the sun’s warmth. Between songs, the DJ announced that the Beatles were
officially disbanding. He played “Here Comes the Sun” as a tribute to them and
to the warm day.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I must have dozed off. When a car
pulled up beside me, I opened my eyes and saw the DNR emblem on its door. Shutting
down the engine, the driver got out of the car. He was tall and very blond, and
a frown seemed a permanent part of his face. I was scared, but there was no way
I could avoid him at that point, so I stood and tried to smile as I waited for
him to speak. His first words came in a growl. “Who’re you?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Carla,” I replied.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“You living here?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“For a while.” In small towns, everyone
is curious about strangers, so Gram and I had sometimes been asked, <i>Where
are you from? What brought you here? </i>The inquiries were meant to be
friendly, but we were always careful how we answered.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">This man wasn’t the friendly kind
of curious. In fact, he brought to mind bullies I’d seen at school, kids who
were looking for somebody to push around. Glancing at the cabin and the yard,
he said, “This isn’t residential property.” While I didn’t understand the term,
it sounded like a challenge.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The door opened with a creak and a
scrape, and Gram came outside, wearing corduroy jeans and a flannel shirt. She
carried a mop, and she set the handle down on the porch, holding it like a flag
of ownership. “Hello, Officer. Can I help with something?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Maybe.” His tone didn’t get any
friendlier. “I’m going to need you to prove you’ve got the right to live here.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Has someone reported us for some
reason??”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“No,” he admitted. “I was checking
the back roads and saw the smoke from your chimney. Not many hunters up here
this time of year, so I thought I’d better take a look.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“You patrol all alone? Isn’t that
dangerous?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">He shrugged. “I can handle myself.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“That’s good.” Though her tone
remained pleasant, Gram watched the man closely. I saw what she called “brain-wheels”
turning in her head, though I didn’t know what they were churning out.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The man strutted up the porch steps
and stopped, looking down at Gram. “Let’s start with your identification. When
I get back to the office, I intend to call the owner of this property and see
if he knows he’s got a couple of squatters. Somebody—either you or him—has some
explaining to do to the state of Michigan.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">My heart sank. Even though my experience
with Gram’s nephew had been brief, I couldn’t imagine Chester supporting our
cause if someone in authority started asking questions. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram took a while to respond, but
then she stepped toward the open doorway. “Please, come inside. I’ve got coffee
on the stove, and you can have a cup while I dig out the information you need.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">He followed Gram inside. I came
after, like a forgotten kitten. He had to duck to get through the doorway, and
he stopped just beyond it, causing me to almost run into his backside. “Nice
place.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The muscles in Gram’s face tightened
at his tone. I’d grown used to the tattered furniture, the rough floorboards,
and the ancient appliances, but the man’s disgust was evident.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Please, sit,” she said. “I’ll just
warm the pot a little.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The officer dragged one of our two
chairs away from the table and examined the seat for dirt before he sat. I
didn’t like that. He might not approve of the condition of our things, but they
were as clean as anyone’s.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram stood at the sink, fiddling with
the cups. “What do you know about this property?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Plat book says it’s owned by
Chester Marshall.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Chester is my nephew.” Gram poured
two cups of coffee and set one before him. “When our home in Alpena burned
down, he said my granddaughter and I could live here until I find something for
us.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Well, that’s real nice of him, but
you can’t live on recreational land for more than 120 days at a time.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Oh.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Taking a drink of coffee, he said, “Yeah.
Oh.” The sneer in his voice made me shudder.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“I guess we’ll have to look into
that.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Oh, <i>we</i> will.” He took
another drink.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“I have to say, Officer—”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Palmer.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Officer Palmer, I’m surprised by
your attitude. Carla and I aren’t bothering anyone and we’ve given you no
reason to be so…disagreeable.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Maybe I don’t like people that
think they can do whatever they want.” Another drink, and then he added, “This
state’s got laws.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Does it.” Gram’s eyes never left
his face.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Palmer opened his mouth to say
something, but suddenly his face turned an odd color. His whole body spasmed,
and a few seconds later, he lay dead on the plank floor.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I remember feeling like my chest
might explode. “What’s wrong with him, Gram?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“He’s dead, Sweetie.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“What happened to him?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“I guess we’ll never know for sure.
But we can’t let anyone find him at our place, or they’re bound to ask
questions.” She glanced out the window at the dark green pickup. “I’ll move his
truck so it’s out of sight, and then I’ll have to think for a while. You stay
here.” I made a sound of objection, unnerved at being left inside with a dead
man, but she ordered, “Go into the bedroom, close the door, and stay there
until I call for you.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Though I obeyed, I watched what Gram
did, moving back and forth from the room’s single, tiny window to a spot where a
warped board in the bedroom door allowed a slit of view into the main room.
First, she got a shovel from the shed and dug a hole in the yard. That took her
a long time, because she had to stop and rest every few minutes. When the depth
suited her, she rolled the body onto a blanket and hauled it outside, maneuvering
backward out the door and across the sandy ground. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The DNR truck was the first vehicle
we dropped into Shoepac Lake in the middle of the night, but that didn’t happen
right away. It took Gram a while to come up with the idea of using the sinkhole
as a disposal site, and then we had to wait a few more days for the roads to
dry out, so she was sure she could get it there without getting stuck.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">We lived in fear for months. I
wasn’t even sure what I was afraid of, but I sensed that danger dogged our
footsteps. Each time we went into town, Gram bought the local paper and combed
it for information on the missing officer. “Things turned out good for us,” she
told me. “Palmer didn’t tell anyone exactly where he was going that day.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">My reading skills were building
nicely, so I read the newspapers too. Palmer’s intention had been to patrol the
area to see how the deer herd had fared through the winter. When he didn’t
return to work, a search was launched, but his territory as a DNR officer covered
acres and acres of land populated mostly by trees and wild animals.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">When no sign of Palmer or his truck
was found, his soon-to-be-ex-wife offered an explanation that was a life-saver for
Gram and me. He’d left the state, the former Mrs. Palmer claimed, to avoid
paying child support for his three young children. Since Palmer had by all
accounts been a complete jerk, it was a story most people could accept.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The second time Gram did away with
someone came a few years later, in 1974. I was twelve, it was August, and
President Nixon had resigned, being in a bunch of trouble. On an afternoon that
was too hot to do much of anything, we lolled on the porch, sipping iced tea
and sweating. A pickup came down the road, slowed, and then turned in at the
cabin gate. The driver was a logger who told us he had a contract to cut timber
on some of the state land in the area. “As long as I’m gonna have my trucks out
here,” he told Gram, “I’d like to take those big old white pines. I saw them
from the other side of the lake.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">We all turned to look at the trees,
which blocked view of our cabin from the lake and provided a charming backdrop
for it from the road. Gram and I saw old friends, but the logger saw dollar
signs. When Gram said she wasn’t willing to sell the trees, the man, who said
his name was Ed Dargan, was clearly unhappy. “I think I’ll talk directly to the
landowner,” he said. “Clerk’s office says that’s Chester Marshall, down in
Milford.” With a curl of his lip, he added, “Lots of times, a woman don’t know a
good offer when she gets one.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Don’t I.” It wasn’t a question,
and I saw Gram’s brain-wheels turning again.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We wouldn’t be any bother to you ladies. My
crew would be in and out in two days, three at the most.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Your crew knows about our pine
trees?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">He frowned. “Well, not yet. I’m the
boss. I do the scouting.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“So they don’t know you’re out here
looking at these trees right now.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">His laugh revealed contempt for her
lack of understanding. “When it’s time, I tell my guys where to cut, and they do
it.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram thought for a few seconds. “Come
inside. Mr. Dargan. I’ll fix you a glass of iced tea, and you can explain this
financial opportunity you’ve offered so I can understand it.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Pleased that she might reconsider,
Dargan came inside. While Gram set out cookies and poured him a glass of tea, he
bragged about what a great businessman he was. Behind his back, Gram took a
small tin cannister from the cupboard and added a teaspoon of powder to the glass
of tea she then offered him. “So nobody keeps track of where you are all day,
Mr. Dargan? That seems a little dangerous.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">He waved away her concern. “I’ve
been all over the county today,” he said. “I just drive until I see a likely
stand, and then I talk to the people and make a deal.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Mr. Dargan never made a deal that
day.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Being older then and a little
wiser, I guessed Gram had something to do with the man’s death. It was wrong, and
it bothered me. “What happened to him?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">She replied without looking
directly at me. “I suppose he had a bad heart, Sweetie Pie. He’s been tromping
all over the place all day, and it just caught up with him. I have to do what I
did before, so you go into the bedroom and wait until I’m finished.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">How do you accuse the only person
in the world who cares for you of being a criminal? How do you ask her to
please, pretty please, stop being a murderer?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">In the end, I had to help. The guy
was “hefty,” Gram’s term, and she couldn’t get him over the raised threshold.
“Sweetie, you’re going to have to come and help me,” she called.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Rigid with dread, I held the man’s
feet and lifted until Gram got his oversized butt through the doorway. “All
right, you’re done,” she said. I scurried back into the bedroom, where I
watched her bury our second unwanted guest in a hole about twenty feet away
from the first. Again she had to stop frequently and rest, and as horrified as
I was at what she’d done, I also felt like Miss Lazybones for not helping.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">But it was a grave. That was wrong.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Several times, Gram had warned me
to leave the tin canister at the back of the cabinet untouched. “It’s for
getting rid of mice,” she said, but after Mr. Dargan, I suspected the tin
contained more than rodent poison. Gram’s years as a pharmacy assistant explained
how she knew about killing people, though it didn’t help me understand how she
could do it. She claimed the powder tasted sweet, like sugar, and it acted
quickly. Neither the DNR guy nor the timberman had managed to do anything except
tip over. No groan of pain. Not even a “What…?” I didn’t think they knew what
hit them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The third death convinced me that I
shared the cabin with a killer. It was Feb 11, I was thirteen, and Margaret
Thatcher had recently become Prime Minister of England. I was thrilled to think
that two women would run a whole kingdom, Thatcher doing the business part, and
Queen Elizabeth representing the monarchy. Women in power. Cool.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">We had a midwinter thaw that made
the roads slick in some places and mushy in others. Huge puddles that were
tricky to navigate around formed on the edges. Despite the conditions, a woman
named Denise Penske arrived in our yard in a Chevy Bel Air that was almost as long
as our house. About fifty, with dyed-red hair and Petoskey stone rings on six
of her ten fingers, Ms. Penske was all gush and optimism. “This place is <i>charming</i>,”
she said as she got out of the car. “I mean the trees and the…it’s just <i>charming</i>!”
Grabbing Gram’s arm, she said, “We have to talk.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Clearly unwilling but resigned, Gram
ushered Denise inside, where we listened to her spiel. She’d been all over the
area looking at vacation-home possibilities, she told us in her breathy,
childish voice. Her specialty was hand-selecting properties for down-staters
looking to buy an up-north summer cottage or weekend cabin. She’d had a
customer on the hunt last fall, and she was sure she could get us a “very nice”
price for our “charming bit of up-north heaven.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">When Gram said no in a tone I
recognized as final, Denise wasn’t deterred in the least. “They’re from Saginaw,”
she said. “They’ve been renting on Black Lake every year, but now they want to
buy. They want a place that’s kind of secluded, more private that those
shoulder-to-shoulder places on the big lakes.” She gave our home a critical glance.
“They’ll probably level this and build a nice two-bedroom closer to Dog Lake.” With
a never-mind-the-details wave of her hand, Denise continued, “Anyway, they’re
hoping to choose a property during their kids’ Easter break next month. Then
they can start work on it in June, as soon as school is out.” She regarded Gram
speculatively. “That would give you several months to find a place in town. If
you don’t mind me saying so, you’re too old to be living this far from a
hospital, or a main road, for that matter.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Rising, Gram set the kettle on the
stove. “Cup of tea?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Why yes, I’d love one.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Are you a married woman, Ms.
Penske?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Divorced. No kids.” She gave me
her professional smile. “Though if I could have had a daughter as pretty as
this one, I might have considered it.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Carla is a treasure,” Gram said
with her back to us.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I smiled nervously at the Realtor. “You
probably should go, or you’ll be out in the woods past dark.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Lost in her plans, Denise ignored
me completely. “As soon as the Jacksons arrive, I’ll bring them out here. You’ll
see for yourself what great people they are, and then we can sit down together
and talk about a sale.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“If she’d taken no for an answer,
she’d have been okay,” Gram said later as we walked home from Shoepac Lake. Sensing
my unhappiness, she added, “In a few more years, Sweetie Pie, you’ll be a legal
adult. Until then, we can’t let people poke into who we are and why we’re
here.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">They came looking for Denise. When
a sheriff’s deputy knocked at the door, Gram greeted him with a smile. She
explained that we were living there temporarily because our house in Cheboygan
had burned. He listened politely but didn’t seem to care. He was focused on the
missing woman, who was a pillar of the local community and president of the
Chamber of Commerce.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram admitted the Realtor had
visited, though she wasn’t sure when. She turned to me, asking if it had been three
days ago or four. I stayed silent, but Gram didn’t seem to notice. To the
deputy, she said, “She was looking for properties to represent, but we didn’t
know of any. Has she had an accident?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“She’s missing, ma’am.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Missing!” Gram frowned and shook
her head. “Oh, my. The search will be difficult now that winter has come back
with a vengeance. I’ll pray for her, and for you all as you try to figure out
where she might have gone.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">As I got older, Gram decided I
needed to see the world a little. We visited local towns, like Mackinaw City,
Alpena, and Gaylord, so I could soak up the history and culture of the area. We
toured the Besser Museum, Call of the Wild, Fort Michilimackinac, and other
attractions. Once we went all the way to Traverse City, because I was dying to
see a live play. We had dinner in a really nice restaurant called Big Boy, and
then we went to see the show. For two-and-a-half hours, I sat mesmerized by the
music, the costumes, the colors, the whole experience.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The downside of the trip was Gram’s
driving. After years in the woods, the busy roads and city traffic made her
nervous. She kept running off the pavement, because she said it felt like
oncoming cars were over the centerline. And in Traverse City, I had to holler
twice when she almost hit people who were crossing the street in front of us. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">When the play was over, Gram suggested
that I should drive home. “I’ll be even worse now that it’s night,” she told
me. “All the lights look fuzzy and kind of wavery.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I’d taken the pickup out on our
road quite a few times, practicing, so I had the feel of driving. I knew the
rules of the road too, having studied the driver’s license booklet, in case
Gram ever let me take the test and get my license. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I did okay. I was a little scared
until we got out of the city, but after that, I simply followed the road signs
until we were in familiar territory again.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">At the 1976 Summer Olympics in
Montreal, Nadia Comaneci won three gold medals in gymnastics. Gram had been
sick all spring, and even once summer arrived, she coughed a lot and had
trouble getting her breath.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">That summer, two backpackers came
by the cabin. They might have gone on their way without harm, except the woman
recognized Gram. “Aren’t you Miranda?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“No,” Gram said quickly. “My name
is Maria.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“She does look like Miranda,” the husband
said. “And I remember she said she grew up around here.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“We worked together at the
Walgreens on Day Street in Detroit,” the wife said. “And sometimes we played
cards with you and Greg. Don’t you remember?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“You’re mistaken.” Gram’s lips were
tight. “I’ve always lived in northern Michigan.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The man smiled slyly. “You wouldn’t
try to kid us, would you?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“It wasn’t me.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">They fell into a sort of double
pout. Shifting his backpack, the man said to his wife, “The lady’s got a
secret, Blanche. I guess we should drop it.” After a second, he added, “Even
though you’ve got the same chicken pox scar on your forehead that Miranda had.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">At that point, Gram stood up,
coughed once, and invited, “Come inside and have coffee with us.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I had to dig the graves that time,
and I remember being both angry and sad. Gram watched, and all she said was, “A
bigger grave, but at least there’s no car to dispose of.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Gram, you can’t keep killing
people just because you want to,” I said, stabbing the shovel into the sandy ground.
“Those people weren’t mean or anything.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“But you saw their faces,” she
responded. “They knew I was lying. They wouldn’t have given up.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Again there was a search, but the
exact route the couple had taken was unknown. With miles and miles of hiking
trails in the area, the authorities weren’t optimistic about their chances of
being found.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">In November, shortly after my
fifteenth birthday, everything changed. Gram had been sick again, and while she
insisted it wasn’t serious, I suspected it was. As she lay listlessly on her
bed, I listened to reports that nine hundred people had died at the command of
a madman named Jim Jones. Gram hardly reacted when I recounted the tragedy at
the People’s Temple. It hurt her to move around most days, so I did all the
work while she slept in the dark bedroom. Once in a while she’d have a good
day, and she’d get up and sit at the table. I fed her soup and offered aspirin,
our go-to medicine. Since she wouldn’t even discuss seeing a doctor, that was
all I could do for her.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">When the knock came, I jumped in
surprise. I hadn’t heard the car pull in or steps on the porch, which shows how
worried I was about Gram. She’d been a little better that morning, managing to make
her way to an old rocker that sat next to the wood stove.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Opening the door, I found a woman
with her hand raised, about to knock a second time. “Oh,” she said, taking a
step back. “Hello.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Hi.” Glancing past her, I saw the
car she’d arrived in. She was alone. “Can I help you?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“I’m from the school,” the woman
said. “I’m the new guidance counselor, Gina Tibbets.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Oh.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">We each waited for the other to
speak again. Ms. Tibbets probably expected to be invited inside. I expected her
to tell me what had brought her to our home.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“You’re Carla, right? Could I come
in for a few minutes?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I looked to Gram, who raised her
brows in a what-can-you-do? manner. I backed away so our visitor could enter.
“Sure.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Ms. Tibbets glanced around, taking
the measure of our place, but she didn’t seem put off by our mix-and-match
cookware and second-hand, Salvation Army chairs. To Gram, she said, “You must
be Mrs. Butler. I just recently learned that the two of you live out here, and
I thought I might offer you some help.” She turned back to me. “You’re
home-schooled?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Yes.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">She smiled, letting me know she had
nothing against that. “I wondered if you and your grandmother are aware that the
school can provide services to round out your education. You could take music
or art classes during school hours, or you might join extracurricular activities,
like drama club.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Drama. Ever since we’d gone to see <i>The
Sound of Music</i> in Traverse City, I’d dreamed of stepping onto a stage. I’d
wondered what it would be like to have an audience listen to my every word,
watch me dance, hear me sing. How would it feel when they clapped and clapped
in appreciation of my performance?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“She’s not interested.” Gram’s
voice came from behind me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Oh.” Ms. Tibbets looked from me to
Gram. “There are other possibilities. She could join the science club or participate
in sports or weight training.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Carla gets plenty of exercise right
here,” Gram said. “And I’d bet she knows more about literature and history than
most of your students do. While she doesn’t like math much, she’d still outdo
half of them.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Ms. Butler, I’m sure you recognize
that being part of a school group does more than teach a young person a given
subject. Carla could benefit from associating with kids her own age.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“I think that’s up to Carla and me
to decide.” Gram’s face was like a thundercloud.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Of course it is.” Ms. Tibbets
seemed at a loss for a moment, but then she tried again. “Technology is taking
off, and I doubt that any of us can imagine what the world will be like in a
few years. Shouldn’t Carla know about things outside this property and this
lifestyle?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“She doesn’t need to.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I saw the effort it took for the
teacher to keep from arguing with Gram. “Maybe you should ask Carla what she’d
like to do.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Gram considered for a moment and
then asked, “Who sent you out here, Ms. Tibbets?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“No one.” She spoke to me, though
she glanced at Gram from time to time. “I saw the two of you at the library in
town one day, and since I hadn’t seen you at school, I asked the librarian who
you were. She said she thought you lived somewhere near the state park, so I dug
around some more and put bits and pieces together until I had a vague idea of
how to find this place.” She shuffled her feet a little on the wood floor, and
I sensed that this visit—her desire to give me choices about my future—really
mattered to her. “Today I was on my way home from a conference, and I saw the
sign pointing to the state park.” She smiled. “It was an impulse, but I thought,
“Why don’t I find that girl and offer her the chance to expand her horizons a
bit?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“I hope your visit won’t make you
late getting home to your husband.” Gram’s voice was odd, and I turned to look
at her. The brain-wheels were turning.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Oh, I don’t have one,” Ms. Tibbets
said with a shy smile. “Not yet, anyway.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">There was a brief silence before
Gram said, “Can I fix you a cup of tea?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I spoke quickly. “She needs to get
home, Gram.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“It’s just a cup of tea, Carla.”
Gram’s glance was a warning. “How long can it take?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“That would be nice,” Ms. Tibbets
said. She gave me a look that revealed what she was thinking. With more time, she
could convince Gram to go along with her ideas.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Sit down, then,” Gram said, rising
from the chair with painful slowness. “It’ll just be a minute.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I sat opposite our guest, one eye
on her and the other on Gram. As Ms. Tibbets described the production schedule
for the drama club that year, Gram shuffled to the stove and put water on to
boil. She had to lean on the sink as she moved to the cabinet and took out the
tin cannister. Her hands shook as she added a spoonful to one of the cups.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“I’m the drama director,” Ms.
Tibbets was saying. “We did <i>Meet Me in St. Louis</i> last weekend, and I’m
already making plans for <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> next spring.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“I loved that movie.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“You’d make a great Dorothy,
although you might want to start with a less difficult role. The person who
plays her has a lot to memorize.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“I wouldn’t mind,” I said. “I
memorize poems all the time, just because I like to.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Here you go,” Gram said, setting a
mug of tea in front of Ms. Tibbets.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Here, Gram,” I said, rising from
our only other dinette chair. “You sit here.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Thanks, Sweetie Pie.” Leaning
heavily on the back, Gram moved into position and dropped rather than sat in
the chair. Her face pinched with effort, and I thought about her growing list
of ailments. Arthritis. Fading vision. A hip that often failed to hold her
upright. Stomach pain that doubled her over sometimes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I looked at Ms. Tibbets, who,
though I didn’t know it then, would become my champion, my foster mom, and my
mentor. She would encourage me to formalize my studies and eventually become a
teacher myself.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">All I saw that day was a woman I
instinctively liked, one who’d done nothing more than try to be kind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Look!” I said, pointing toward the
window. “It’s snowing.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">When they turned away, I switched
Gram’s cup with our guest’s.</p>
<p></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-10147912582989059552022-12-03T08:03:00.007-05:002022-12-19T05:54:00.981-05:00Self-publishing: the MS Setup<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CdwcI9DbirbtPBVLkFwRrXxeQcfjoseg_vZkWnp-080ew3WMepyp2_DJa6dhH0W-rRUie13vmyuvvzBrfxYhorrVIo9O3LT11XuLFQ4HX1kUQwj_fQInvHTSAt2t8GK6sJvp0TKoSNphKQn--uG9yhHdQmkRqG_b78xcAtKdZaUTO4S_Ef2Oxj0A/s98/books.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="95" data-original-width="98" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CdwcI9DbirbtPBVLkFwRrXxeQcfjoseg_vZkWnp-080ew3WMepyp2_DJa6dhH0W-rRUie13vmyuvvzBrfxYhorrVIo9O3LT11XuLFQ4HX1kUQwj_fQInvHTSAt2t8GK6sJvp0TKoSNphKQn--uG9yhHdQmkRqG_b78xcAtKdZaUTO4S_Ef2Oxj0A/s1600/books.jpg" width="98" /></a></div><br />Since self-publishing has become popular, one might wonder why people still pay big bucks for books by known authors from big publishers. The answer, I believe, is quality. With a self-pubbed book, it's hard to know if you're getting junk or a gem. For example, I once bought an e-book that sounded interesting and found the whole thing center spaced. Using a segment from my latest book, I'll show you what that looked like.<p></p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.3in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Can
you tell me what happened tonight?”</span></b></p><b>
</b><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.3in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nettie’s
gaze met hers. “I shot him.”</span></b></p><b>
</b><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.3in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
abruptness of the admission shocked her, but Belizek recovered quickly. “I need
to know <i>why</i> you shot him.”</span></b></p><b>
</b><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.3in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
detective tried to wait out the silence that followed. In training, they were
taught to let the witness, suspect, whoever, tell the story in their own way. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Silence bothers people</i>, the instructor
had claimed. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Because they can’t stop
themselves from filling it, they reveal things they don’t intend to.</i></span></b></p><b>
</b><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.3in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
this case, the silence went on and on, and it felt cruel to play amateur
psychologist. “Who was Caleb Green?” the detective asked gently. “Why was he
here in your house?”</span></b></p><b>
</b><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.3in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
woman drew on her hand-rolled cigarette, and the acrid smell of cheap tobacco
again stung Belizek’s nose. Stowing the lighter in her pocket with an impatient
movement, Nettie Waller said, “He was my son.”</span></b></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">That was a crazy way to try to read a novel, and I gave up only a few pages in. Not sure what the author was thinking. A traditional publisher makes sure that reading conventions are observed, and readers like that. It's a lot like buying brand names versus store brands: some generics are as good as the big-name products, but we tend to like the assurance of quality that comes with a name we know.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">There are attempts in the self-published world to showcase well-done books, like the Brag Medallion, which curates books so readers can be sure they're buying quality work. My first Maggie Pill book got their seal of approval, but they're so jammed with authors wanting to submit to them that they have to close submissions for long periods of time. Overall, a reader's best bet is to read the sample to determine if she likes the setup, the style, and the story.<b> </b></p></div><p style="text-align: left;">Setting up<b> </b>a manuscript for print involves some choices on the doer's part, but awareness of publishing convention is helpful. Not center aligning your text is an easy one, but there are others. Will all your chapters start on a right-hand page? What fonts will you use? Will you allow hyphenation? Widow/orphan control? Indent paragraphs or put space between non-indented ones?</p><p style="text-align: left;">The easiest thing to do is hire someone to format for you. It's not terribly expensive, and I did it that way for a while, but as with other elements of publishing, I watched and learned what they did and how they did it. Finally I felt ready to try my own formatting.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's kind of fun, but it's also kind of a nightmare.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbD0McuARPWbftXhK3VPbx0gWNRzFn-DYdWzhy851yqLkFjCGyfzkJNX0UCcMf7J-1n1d_6yGJvgtoqLNmfWU0FyW8sQRWeGQhLQNsAP1xv5vvs1dQjIzSG4XncElRX0uJBxwo0KKZzXOjUKSOBF0YKUH7w613HuyJm9N9fwgPMpq-VayqqmUxKgW4/s131/hitcomputer.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="110" data-original-width="131" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbD0McuARPWbftXhK3VPbx0gWNRzFn-DYdWzhy851yqLkFjCGyfzkJNX0UCcMf7J-1n1d_6yGJvgtoqLNmfWU0FyW8sQRWeGQhLQNsAP1xv5vvs1dQjIzSG4XncElRX0uJBxwo0KKZzXOjUKSOBF0YKUH7w613HuyJm9N9fwgPMpq-VayqqmUxKgW4/s1600/hitcomputer.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><p>I need separate files for e-books and print. E-books don't have page numbers and headings, but Amazon requires a table of contents. Draft2Digital makes that for me if I've set the MS up correctly, which is nice. Print books have headings and page numbers, so in order for them to turn out right, the chapters have to end with a Section Break as opposed to the Page Break used for e-books. Print books should have justified margins, which can create odd spacing within a line. E-books are fine with left-hand alignment.</p><p>If you're already lost, you should hire someone to format your book for you.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Here's how I do it. Once my book has been edited to a final, polished version, I start two files, one for print and one for e-books. That will become more than two, since I publish on both Amazon and D2D, but I want to wait as long as possible to subdivide, because the more files I have, the more places I have to go to correct mistakes found along the way. Amazon and D2D differ just enough that it's easier to make two e-book files and two print files. Then I fine-tune the MS to fit the requirements of each. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Print requires PDF files, and little glitches like random blank pages tend to appear in that process. It's usually something I've overlooked or done wrong that makes that happen, but it can be frustrating to find where the error is. I've learned to eliminate extra pilcrows (<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", serif; line-height: 107%;">¶</span></span>) and check those chapter endings to make sure there's only one kind of break and it's the right one. (MOffice sometimes "helps" by putting in breaks where it thinks they're required, as does my PDF file maker.) My husband has learned to just nod wisely when I come downstairs
and rant about that, or missing page numbers, or unsightly spaces within a line of
text.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I do a LOT of proofing back and forth for each file, but luckily, both Amazon and D2D provide ways to see online how the book is going to look IRL. The last step for print is to order proof copies. I usually get 5 and pass 4 out to my eagle-eyed proofers. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMcMe9peRcJMOHc4A8Zs3_3Wor0lRQpctlU3OciQaogTImUp3YWrJ8skG6VM7I3dA7ghKoMbp53lYHrzVb1VAIfelE67P4xOkG4PgbzeLk1XdMFVL0GDLLUTseY1HqO_zDJtmqBFSZHI4TLkq_iJVZhvrxNA9exEiEDpcBBg77tgVYFUjG3iWyw8b/s105/reader.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="105" data-original-width="70" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMcMe9peRcJMOHc4A8Zs3_3Wor0lRQpctlU3OciQaogTImUp3YWrJ8skG6VM7I3dA7ghKoMbp53lYHrzVb1VAIfelE67P4xOkG4PgbzeLk1XdMFVL0GDLLUTseY1HqO_zDJtmqBFSZHI4TLkq_iJVZhvrxNA9exEiEDpcBBg77tgVYFUjG3iWyw8b/s1600/reader.jpg" width="70" /></a></div><br />They each find different things to question, but that's good. Even when they're wrong, it makes me look at the line or passage to see what they didn't get about the line or paragraph. As they read, I make one more pass through myself, trying hard not to change things unless it's absolutely necessary at that late date. Once I make the corrections found in that round, I do the final proof using the online proof sections for both Amazon and D2D. Once that's done, I okay the book for publication. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">It's almost a given that there will be one last correction or two that every one of us missed, but I have learned to live with that...sort of. Well, not really. Actually, not at all, but I'm trying.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b> <br /></b></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-34317281878133241532022-11-28T07:30:00.003-05:002022-11-28T07:30:40.577-05:00Take a Step Back<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YodYa-pMWtS8M0g8PEwcSjcrnNDL1YBNQO-3G5cXZn78Rs0Pdzae8kHs4e_oxfJiQxK9B3a_YgSTg1Ec2kBrzyhDvgcjC845nqmtIUBmV-V8pHPR2QVaeZyfJ8w95evrZpisDbzVntszz2yh28DYH9s464LtwmcFkHjYDyOgWDRRISD6GsiL_UzU/s110/writer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="110" data-original-width="75" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YodYa-pMWtS8M0g8PEwcSjcrnNDL1YBNQO-3G5cXZn78Rs0Pdzae8kHs4e_oxfJiQxK9B3a_YgSTg1Ec2kBrzyhDvgcjC845nqmtIUBmV-V8pHPR2QVaeZyfJ8w95evrZpisDbzVntszz2yh28DYH9s464LtwmcFkHjYDyOgWDRRISD6GsiL_UzU/s1600/writer.jpg" width="75" /></a></div> It occurs to me that I should have discussed why people choose traditional or self-publishing, so I'm going to take a step back and do that.<p></p><p>When I finished my first book, there were two options for publication, traditional publishing or vanity publishing. Vanity publishing requires that an author pay for her work to be presented to the world. It's been around for centuries, and some pretty important writers started out that way, but it was definitely a no-no for "serious" writers. Traditional publishing, getting an agent, waiting for her to shop the book to publishing houses, and hoping for an offer was, at that time, the only way to get any kind of credibility.</p><p>I did it that way. It took years, but the result was good. The publisher who signed me up got me reviews from prestigious places like the <i>Historical Novel Society </i>and <i>Kirkus Reviews</i>. I was thrilled that my first review in <i>HNS </i>(For <i>Macbeth's Niece</i>), got a star, meaning the reviewer thought it rose above the ordinary. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKLjD98gLw_vRVFJ3Fo0_0YHNvvPFHP3nH90xr2674-Hu9mLmC-jXvkMqMnBroYPodL-djODhlpaS0DdnHDpYoTQXGD46WkQkM57yFb9iylhQrIwV9jwcCprVHg2gmcZwFTD5HmqJEMXmvQnUJ4TqZZz6-aTIwOzl75FUjy1-b6Giben2kLEgXivU/s2048/splash3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1243" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKLjD98gLw_vRVFJ3Fo0_0YHNvvPFHP3nH90xr2674-Hu9mLmC-jXvkMqMnBroYPodL-djODhlpaS0DdnHDpYoTQXGD46WkQkM57yFb9iylhQrIwV9jwcCprVHg2gmcZwFTD5HmqJEMXmvQnUJ4TqZZz6-aTIwOzl75FUjy1-b6Giben2kLEgXivU/s320/splash3.jpg" width="194" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Another thing a large publisher gets for a writer is exposure to sales outlets. Since my publisher was known for offering quality reading material to library patrons, my book description was sent to libraries all over the country. As notifications of my ensuring books continued, my name became (somewhat) familiar to librarians everywhere. (I think it was P.T. Barnum who estimated that a person has to hear something five times before they act on the information. But I don't remember for sure.) :)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjss0UxEKvMO4zA8ldsGx6H936Fpyc7WZ4bZlT3739GmfSS0hClclk2pdRueM22m9ijtvPGDK7XjuglNvvwL2Qw3memCQpVeBqRicb9kqgs-A4nXGkuFcF-kfIlXAIclGrmSoJWhjlNeMlf1rzDvg1BIDhDo7rc8Qj6aNf7sFK7B0Q3vBgEpCEju2Ln/s98/mystery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="98" data-original-width="85" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjss0UxEKvMO4zA8ldsGx6H936Fpyc7WZ4bZlT3739GmfSS0hClclk2pdRueM22m9ijtvPGDK7XjuglNvvwL2Qw3memCQpVeBqRicb9kqgs-A4nXGkuFcF-kfIlXAIclGrmSoJWhjlNeMlf1rzDvg1BIDhDo7rc8Qj6aNf7sFK7B0Q3vBgEpCEju2Ln/s1600/mystery.jpg" width="85" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>Several years later, my publisher went bankrupt. I was horrified. Besides having noplace to send my newest book, they owed me thousands of dollars that I'd never see. Checking with other authors under contract with them, I found that most of them had expected no money anyway. They hadn't "sold through," meaning they'd never sold enough books to earn back their advance, (money authors are paid before publication of the book).</p><p>That's when I went indie, but those years in traditional publishing taught me a lot. I learned how books were prepared for publication (LOTS of editing; input from experienced readers, cover artists, promoters; paying attention to trends; timing releases for best exposure; and more.) I learned that authors receive way less money than people think they do (unless your name is Rowling). I learned that most books sell very few copies, most less than 100. The vast majority of authors cannot make a living on writing alone.</p><p>Indie publishing has become more acceptable these days, but because most indie writers operate outside the business of publishing, they're at a disadvantage. They don't know the secrets. They don't have the connections. They're unrealistic about what's going to happen. I had a guy ask me to help him write his query letter (a note sent to agents to convince them to look at your book). He said in the letter that he would be a successful author because he came from a large family that would all buy his books. I once overheard another hopeful author tell an agent that he had a "whole drawerful" of really good writing at home, and if she bought his current book, he'd give her access to all the rest.</p><p>I wonder if agents have to hide a chuckle or a tear when they encounter that kind of thinking.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98MY94O_Z7tXgP2SL70EJzjwo7vi3kudVA_2P77flJVLLZebSa9QO7gbPo-8yqJJ7Ob9cJ0vqNr04PTGeN_STuWWlcmX0WFNdqfDyWa3I7Y_iTXm_4FcIweePL1aKP-xUwEJ7zGXvppkNTDB-obfKU6jdWx2uV1PYjSq8H3KaAnfZpoP-DghW1g_9/s121/old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="121" data-original-width="99" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98MY94O_Z7tXgP2SL70EJzjwo7vi3kudVA_2P77flJVLLZebSa9QO7gbPo-8yqJJ7Ob9cJ0vqNr04PTGeN_STuWWlcmX0WFNdqfDyWa3I7Y_iTXm_4FcIweePL1aKP-xUwEJ7zGXvppkNTDB-obfKU6jdWx2uV1PYjSq8H3KaAnfZpoP-DghW1g_9/s1600/old.jpg" width="99" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Today there's a thriving industry that's between traditional and self publishing: small press publishing. They do the work of editing, publishing, and promoting for authors, but of course, they take a chunk of the profits. Authors need to find out if the company is legit: I've had friends who spent tons of money they shouldn't have had to, either required or enticed to by not-so-upright publishers. I worked with a couple of different small presses years ago. While mine were honest and easy to deal with, they didn't have the connections to really push sales. And sometimes they didn't know any more about how to make a book successful than I did.</p><p>I'm almost completely indie now. I hire editors (because EVERYONE should), and sometimes cover artists, though I enjoy playing with that aspect of publishing. I choose everything: the font and setup, the release date, the publicity methods, and the formats. I do not make a lot of money, but for me writing isn't about the income. After years in the business, I make choices that suit my work ethic and my expectations.</p><p>Self-publishing boils down to three things: the <u>work</u> you're willing/able to do to make what you offer the public correct and appealing; the <u>money</u> you're willing to invest; and the <u>outside talent</u> you'll use to fill in your weak spots. (This also requires money and work. You need to find them and you need to pay them.)<br /></p><p>Here's a list of some things you should know before you jump into publishing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiAy2rNaRWlzXlFobYT6ByfHiJiivwD4vRPEBYLRHBJJ7xNrUpAyMF_R0Qm6UjAbjexWxTBnDsPLoVqtpXSAT1Nj5ge1kc0XGK1UREkQcNYiXilPX4VWYyZ0EOU13sbDaN1ZxwVS33PQzq0Jvv1U4V4D6-EdAehxL8HZHjlZ5M2I5mlOs00MX8r2S/s116/poet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="116" data-original-width="116" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiAy2rNaRWlzXlFobYT6ByfHiJiivwD4vRPEBYLRHBJJ7xNrUpAyMF_R0Qm6UjAbjexWxTBnDsPLoVqtpXSAT1Nj5ge1kc0XGK1UREkQcNYiXilPX4VWYyZ0EOU13sbDaN1ZxwVS33PQzq0Jvv1U4V4D6-EdAehxL8HZHjlZ5M2I5mlOs00MX8r2S/s1600/poet.jpg" width="116" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>You will make less money than you expect, even if you get traditionally published. I hear that advances are shrinking and even disappearing. (My first one was $1000. No five-figure advances for most of us.)<br /></p><p>You'll sell fewer books than you think. (See above)</p><p>Nobody is dying to discover your writing talent. Lots of writers are just as talented as you, or more so. <br /></p><p>It's a business. Despite all the statements you hear about, "We felt compelled to share this important work with the world," the publishing business really cares mostly about sales. <br /></p><p>Stop worrying about copyrights and secret files. Nobody will steal your story idea and sell it themselves.</p><p>People will like what you write. People will hate what you write. Some of the worst writers I've ever seen have become bestselling authors. My opinion is worth nothing.<br /></p><p>Traditional publishing is focused on big names, so if you aren't one of those, you'll need a lot of luck to get your foot in the door.</p><p>Mid-range publishing has become gimmicky. If you get the right gimmick, you can do well. (My Sleuth Sisters books, written as Maggie Pill, are an example of an unexpected success: right mix of characters, humor, mystery=complete (but happy) surprise.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3X8AQXaUUYVfuF5HcpD4CmuEisfJjnZhkMRIph2PDYDEdEoOyPM3tougbG1arX1QY4mB0MsgA37HoWu7MrXVkqlCwrj2QVduYr7lyVe5mNQoNDiLWvLgtk1CppDqcjuQ5jO5bEfxO2MRG5RK6ctal2qKLrTJqFCwn6aMm-YCa4vwprK8VXez6TRA/s1650/Posterall7.pub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3X8AQXaUUYVfuF5HcpD4CmuEisfJjnZhkMRIph2PDYDEdEoOyPM3tougbG1arX1QY4mB0MsgA37HoWu7MrXVkqlCwrj2QVduYr7lyVe5mNQoNDiLWvLgtk1CppDqcjuQ5jO5bEfxO2MRG5RK6ctal2qKLrTJqFCwn6aMm-YCa4vwprK8VXez6TRA/s320/Posterall7.pub.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>What many people do is try the agent-publisher-contract route first. If that doesn't work, they go indie. That's fine, as long as you understand that the indie, like the cheese in the children's rhyme, stands alone.<br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Nv76Cp5u4rBWll6vdgSGyFyfRKKa6Aai0sEixcmIplIYPfUIavJCXVVcA2i9mfsLI_vu6s8HDIWHKNYpvOZES7flAnEK6xgLqlpTxCAZz9vkExj77fOOdRiECaYoWKXV4L3ehq5lNwwAf6eAiGdBkG5MXV4IPDvPqT3E9EnBIwO3kLS3nLOiKtr7/s144/5star-shiny-web.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="144" data-original-width="144" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Nv76Cp5u4rBWll6vdgSGyFyfRKKa6Aai0sEixcmIplIYPfUIavJCXVVcA2i9mfsLI_vu6s8HDIWHKNYpvOZES7flAnEK6xgLqlpTxCAZz9vkExj77fOOdRiECaYoWKXV4L3ehq5lNwwAf6eAiGdBkG5MXV4IPDvPqT3E9EnBIwO3kLS3nLOiKtr7/s1600/5star-shiny-web.png" width="144" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Award for <i>Sister Saint, Sister Sinner</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-2088260319434319662022-11-25T10:16:00.006-05:002022-12-19T06:05:19.773-05:00Step Three to Writing a Book: Publishing<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79vOMpqf_39A6rQRLnLhXxF8pM50hNlKUb2-qRe0cEaE5QSb-RP-uWucyZJVn0CXwKxHj5pTm11ZuBVyLMtwMKuKEXzA6vLbiXBzg0FYpSPjcKbaRogAiZy18kk9JOgTZi8UZDfzmdmD6ZnMu-Npgy5BZybZcPt5VRz6x9R-uWY_79ey8rH2hLoz_/s500/Blacklabwcomputersmall.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="500" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79vOMpqf_39A6rQRLnLhXxF8pM50hNlKUb2-qRe0cEaE5QSb-RP-uWucyZJVn0CXwKxHj5pTm11ZuBVyLMtwMKuKEXzA6vLbiXBzg0FYpSPjcKbaRogAiZy18kk9JOgTZi8UZDfzmdmD6ZnMu-Npgy5BZybZcPt5VRz6x9R-uWY_79ey8rH2hLoz_/s320/Blacklabwcomputersmall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> If you decide to self-publish, there are good prospects and bad ones. It's a complicated process, though it's much simpler now than it was a few years ago. It's hard to break it down, and the learning curve is brutal at times. While I've tried to develop a schedule that covers all the necessary steps, I find myself doing what I feel like doing on a given day and neglecting things I should be doing. That's bad, but since I don't consider writing a "job," I give myself a break and do what sounds doable at the time.<br /><p></p><p>Here's what I work on in the months and weeks before publication.</p><p>Cover<br /></p><p>Manuscript setup</p><p>Publicity</p><p>Corrections</p><p>Ordering</p><p><br /></p><p>Let's start with the cover. The <u>easiest </u>thing to do is hire a cover artist, and ninety percent of experts will tell you to do that. I admit that I don't have the tools, smarts, or experience that a cover artist does, but here's the thing: they don't know the material like I do.</p><p>I had a really good cover artist for the first Maggie Pill book, THE SLEUTH SISTERS. She worked with me for a few years, and watching her, I learned a lot about how the process goes. Once she made the first book cover, she used that as a theme for the ones that followed. She was fast. She was reasonably priced. She listened to what I wanted.</p><p>Then, she left the business. I did the last few covers myself, using what I'd learned from her.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjToIrguPjYO2k6IWBkj5tSS8OoMJ1VvfVdZZuCcNjvAxy3ICE9v2SBPHaLAMjrYkEOGkYtYk3HYjWxo_CxrB8N07lrDFDtPLTPDXJ0uHnMetUjHmrR7fpsNMPkJP6cHjknNaua41kVJ-UrNR3SMgvP_yLMxv-Dt1C-TLEK7VOTXnn_hXOdoh_bvCAA/s650/Posterall7small.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="650" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjToIrguPjYO2k6IWBkj5tSS8OoMJ1VvfVdZZuCcNjvAxy3ICE9v2SBPHaLAMjrYkEOGkYtYk3HYjWxo_CxrB8N07lrDFDtPLTPDXJ0uHnMetUjHmrR7fpsNMPkJP6cHjknNaua41kVJ-UrNR3SMgvP_yLMxv-Dt1C-TLEK7VOTXnn_hXOdoh_bvCAA/s320/Posterall7small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>Artists work with what they're given and what they're told, and I think that overall, they do a great job. Still, I have several times received covers that made me go "What?" On my very first book cover, they used a picture of a castle that was 400 years out of date. On another, the girl looked like an android. Once, to continue a theme, they colored the woman's face green. She looked like she'd eaten bad sushi the day before.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPb1Aj2XgzhaLI_XMEgXeqMpeS32Df4OtD6QJt-BBN1NhFamhEAIhdHU08iG5ZLR1h2oWEhn15iyggJIl-chMlCq0lng_k2w7OLxU9di-5kN0ikR56c_PKP75FFQxpxVqS74sm90Wtv8oOm71LY-0wbNYK-aE6OlPTHTeTLh0jK4M8K2InWesY6Ym/s640/Kidnap.old%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="400" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPb1Aj2XgzhaLI_XMEgXeqMpeS32Df4OtD6QJt-BBN1NhFamhEAIhdHU08iG5ZLR1h2oWEhn15iyggJIl-chMlCq0lng_k2w7OLxU9di-5kN0ikR56c_PKP75FFQxpxVqS74sm90Wtv8oOm71LY-0wbNYK-aE6OlPTHTeTLh0jK4M8K2InWesY6Ym/w138-h220/Kidnap.old%20cover.jpg" width="138" /></a></div><br /> Above is a cartoonish cover that I thought was cute when the artist sent it. I okayed it, but we found that it made people assume the book was YA. I went back to the artist to build a new cover to replace the "Scooby Doo" look. This is the one I like. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwn9P6yyxP2Lv4umaRKatd1ogQLt4WMZEkp61ORxqrXMwWYtj6nuOO3NK4f_akwZElBBkMt99jLjXWamcRxJx7AwhXe-BVhTRYJBTeZdHXCRfzvn_-zKNStv-3sSTY7sxWEIMytIaxE9K5oPFNvmstGOjVc9lVL9reahMbpCy1cwcnm0Z4liFKNlZq/s2500/Kidnap.eBook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1563" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwn9P6yyxP2Lv4umaRKatd1ogQLt4WMZEkp61ORxqrXMwWYtj6nuOO3NK4f_akwZElBBkMt99jLjXWamcRxJx7AwhXe-BVhTRYJBTeZdHXCRfzvn_-zKNStv-3sSTY7sxWEIMytIaxE9K5oPFNvmstGOjVc9lVL9reahMbpCy1cwcnm0Z4liFKNlZq/w116-h186/Kidnap.eBook.jpg" width="116" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>As for the others, I
hated that robot-girl until I finally got the rights back and
hired a new artist. And I eventually got rid of that gold-brick castle too.</p><p>All of this cost time and money, but I found that I like making my own covers. They're not as fancy as they should be, but I don't care. I learn a bit with each one, and I enjoy the process, so who am I hurting? I will say that if you want to actually make a living on your writing, hiring a cover artist is probably best. It isn't cheap, but like they say, it takes money to make money.</p><p><b>Pictures:</b> If you're going to make your own covers, you will probably need to find a photo-sharing site, like AdobeStock or Photobucket. I type in what I'm thinking of for a cover pic and get hundreds of photos, some of which actually work for me. I download a few pictures (It's free, since they have their brand written across them until you pay) and play with them, to see which ones evoke the mood I'm looking for. Right now, I'm working on a story set in Michigan's UP, so I downloaded some woodsy pics and tried my lettering on them to see what I like. (So far, nothing.) </p><p>I hate that those sites make me pay a monthly fee when I really only need a few pictures a year, but some of them let me put my membership on hold, so I do.</p><p>Cover art establishes the genre and the mood, and hopefully creates the inclination to read a book. You'll find a great deal of variance in my covers, since my books are (though all in the mystery/suspense genre) very different from each other.</p><p>Here's one of my historical mysteries set in Tudor England: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1WJT8oQgIainBU4fWH-r5vW1Pp0h0qQUlTfvhx4vB0iZk2RGDq4mnifshJOpGhbOvBFTpd86MtzvaSJ9hKCpTxS-SnS_Ttlh00oC5ibKTKua9B3eoWxc16GDHKOZSiy0E6lbyBgthFxbH-ZKf9BmRYkNyZAudipPbSi0e9Skf1-9VAOEPzgfaAh3_/s2414/PYGebookcover21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2414" data-original-width="1700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1WJT8oQgIainBU4fWH-r5vW1Pp0h0qQUlTfvhx4vB0iZk2RGDq4mnifshJOpGhbOvBFTpd86MtzvaSJ9hKCpTxS-SnS_Ttlh00oC5ibKTKua9B3eoWxc16GDHKOZSiy0E6lbyBgthFxbH-ZKf9BmRYkNyZAudipPbSi0e9Skf1-9VAOEPzgfaAh3_/s320/PYGebookcover21.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><p>Here's an oldie that I like because it's fun:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9pugdu-xWMlJi-kruA4ug-W5c7U_hQWN0fJfdMIe0nABh9F4hpbk1Fww7XlJQCL_BXepTevr-2mQ-Qgvkd2uCuwwN9kh5rBDeKWgQxL4CyDUYZqhrAIML45pVfRAUIIfzUJtH_sQADmeXJ7R33GAH3C9grHCv9191to1nGlOzIGijnwiQu05wZfCy/s3000/ebookcoverXGI424.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9pugdu-xWMlJi-kruA4ug-W5c7U_hQWN0fJfdMIe0nABh9F4hpbk1Fww7XlJQCL_BXepTevr-2mQ-Qgvkd2uCuwwN9kh5rBDeKWgQxL4CyDUYZqhrAIML45pVfRAUIIfzUJtH_sQADmeXJ7R33GAH3C9grHCv9191to1nGlOzIGijnwiQu05wZfCy/s320/ebookcoverXGI424.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p> <br /></p><p>And here's a contemporary story of three sisters:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_Hk2HGOWu1JHNQ3Gl6xsIp5AMOTkMwrohB0OPKdFXGz_5m9dktMePaJCngMS7RUBdaSaM1JsBik05kKm0gLbPRrKm360bZQksBESrqixRK4I8jV4K_h6WnqeYd8x7VEmpnktT3AncXmz4zaWNtuO-vC8w4-PEk-4KT-e8eUalziLEweLbltIXp7m/s283/ssss1ebookcoversmall.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="200" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_Hk2HGOWu1JHNQ3Gl6xsIp5AMOTkMwrohB0OPKdFXGz_5m9dktMePaJCngMS7RUBdaSaM1JsBik05kKm0gLbPRrKm360bZQksBESrqixRK4I8jV4K_h6WnqeYd8x7VEmpnktT3AncXmz4zaWNtuO-vC8w4-PEk-4KT-e8eUalziLEweLbltIXp7m/s1600/ssss1ebookcoversmall.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><b>Lettering:</b> For lettering that's not the usual Times New Roman or Arial, Google Fonts is a free site where you can download
all sorts of interesting fonts. At first I got carried away there
because it was fun, but my online critics soon let me know it isn't good
to get too weird. (The letters dripping blood had to go.)</p><p><b>Publishing software</b>: Of course, to create a cover, you need publishing software. That can get expensive, and I find a lot of it more complicated than I'm willing to work with. If I wanted something special, I'd hire it done. If I do it myself, I keep it simple and work in Publisher. Over time, I've learned tricks that help me change the look of a photo or blend elements together, eliminating the block-y or busy looks seen in some amateur covers. </p><p><b>Tricks: </b>Some things you need to do at some point that will help prevent problems for you later.</p><p><span> * </span>Blow the cover up really big and go over it inch by inch, inspecting every part of it to make sure edges line up, elements don't overlap, there aren't bits of forgotten text or pictures buried somewhere you can't see them, or other mistakes you've missed. <br /></p><p><span> * </span>Look for errors in punctuation/spelling at least a zillion times. (A cover artist once sent me a book with 'Someboady' on the spine. I didn't notice it for almost a year, because I only looked at the front and back.)</p><p><span> * </span>Shrink the cover to thumbnail size and see if a person browsing a book-seller's site can tell what's on the cover and read the title and your name. </p><p><span> * </span>Check the margins to make sure your text boxes are where they need to be. This is particularly important on the print cover, because it can look right to your eyeball when it isn't really centered on the back. More than once I've ordered advance copies and found they just didn't look right. (Which is one good reason we order advance copies!)<br /></p><p><b>Cover submission:</b> The most frustrating part of designing a cover for me is making a print cover that works for my two publishers, Amazon and Draft2Digital. They have different methods, different sizes, different responses to something that isn't working, and I sometimes spend days trying to figure out what the heck they don't like about what I submitted. Part of the reason is that each book's spine is different, depending on the number of pages. That means I can't just set up dimensions and go on; I have to work to make it fit. It requires a PDF file (which has its own quirks), so it's time-consuming to make the file, try it, and get rejected multiple times. This is where hiring of an artist is most valuable to me, because they know what they're doing and I don't, but I've learned to embrace the headaches and keep trying until the cover is accepted.<b> </b></p><p><b>Versions: </b>When I build a cover, I need at least five versions:
print for Amazon, print for D2D, e-book in a regular file size (for
sharing on FB or other social sites), e-book in a big file size (for
advertisers, etc.), and audio. Each of those should be saved on a hard drive or in the cloud, clearly marked, so you can find it when you need it. Changing anything might mean you have to change all the versions, so it's best to make sure the original is right before you go on to create the others.</p><p><b>Timing:</b> I like to make the e-book cover early on, because I use it to stir interest. The good thing is that it can change if I see a need. I decided with my newest Maggie Pill to add "Author of the Sleuth Sisters Mysteries," since that's kind of what Maggie is known for. With just that first file, I can easily add something or make it better in some way. Other covers come as I need them, with audio usually being last.<br /></p><p><b>Testing: </b>My first tester for covers is my husband. He has no interest in the type of books I write, so he reacts purely on a gut level: Does the cover grab a person's attention? Is its purpose clear? Is there something that distracts because it's odd or out of place?</p><p>Next I test my covers here and on Facebook, my go-to social media site. Readers are great about chiming in to praise or offer suggestions, and I appreciate that, acknowledging that I have very little in the way of raw artistic talent. It can be frustrating when half say they love Cover A and half vote for Cover B, but even that says to me that there isn't enough difference between the two to fuss about. </p><p>Of course, the acid test of a cover is the buying public. Authors would love a way to find out if a cover influences purchase, but as far as I know, Amazon hasn't yet come up with an algorithm for that.<br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-80206447175247347782022-10-22T07:25:00.000-04:002022-10-22T07:25:03.964-04:00Step Two of Writing a Book<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWKyJW0969sFvM7bndC4j2CJM_5k1WwkDIM9aU-VY3MYaBiOa3IhJxtt1oOIWY_9KeXIwH2mHr6c8FHHfM1nOcrjiMB6Hk9RLw2dCjQbjY7ymqpLxUvkJEme8iVZ_ZoxzsVelT8uwBOxCK374fz7YjWzKRZ8y_pTsTpcRjRqwuzzFGW4SxZt9UrAM/s3264/booksigningpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWKyJW0969sFvM7bndC4j2CJM_5k1WwkDIM9aU-VY3MYaBiOa3IhJxtt1oOIWY_9KeXIwH2mHr6c8FHHfM1nOcrjiMB6Hk9RLw2dCjQbjY7ymqpLxUvkJEme8iVZ_ZoxzsVelT8uwBOxCK374fz7YjWzKRZ8y_pTsTpcRjRqwuzzFGW4SxZt9UrAM/w163-h217/booksigningpic.jpg" width="163" /></a></div><br />In the last post, I gave hints on writing your book. Now it's time to make sure your work appears in its best form, whether you plan to self-publish or submit to an agent. However you recorded your story, at this point it has to become a computer file. There are two reasons for that: first, modern publishing requires it, and second, it makes editing a whole lot easier.<p></p><p>You'll need to get to know your <u>computer's editing aids,</u> which can be frustrating but will pay off in the end. Things like FIND/REPLACE can save you hours of searching when you realize you changed the spelling of main character's name halfway through the story. When you get stuck, ask the internet. There's always a tutorial or a site where someone asked the same question you need answered.<br /></p><p>There are different ways of going about the <u>editing process</u>, and individuals arrange them to their liking. I do several <u>self-edits</u> before anyone else sees the book. Sometimes I combine a few of the edits listed below, but here's what I want to know I've done right.</p><p><span> <u> </u></span><u>Timeline: </u>Does the action happen logically over the period of time allotted to the story? Is the reader able to follow, or do I need to add phrases like "On Tuesday" or "The next afternoon"?</p><p><span> <u> </u></span><u>Sensory details:</u> I tend to focus on plot the first time through, so I when I go back, I look for places I can deepen the reader's experience by providing detail. An editor once told me to make sure every page has at least one sensory experience OTHER THAN sight, meaning smell, touch, sound, and taste. Checking page by page for those other senses is a good way to get yourself used to including them automatically.<br /></p><p><span> <u> </u></span><u>Character details:</u> This is a good time to deepen the reader's understanding of the people they "meet" with backstory and additional information. There shouldn't be a lot of telling, so I think of ways to show the character's personality and mood, like with body movements or tone of voice.<br /></p><p><span> <u> </u></span><u>Chapter flow:</u> It might just be me, but I like chapter lengths to be somewhat uniform. If I find a chapter that's 32 pages long, I'll probably cut it in two or ever three, so its readability matches other chapters in the book.</p><p>I also drop the file into editing software at this point to see where the weaknesses in sentence construction, word usage, and punctuation lie. I use SmartEdit, but there are others.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQF1s2nFpqbjRKH-q_R7YFauMo6BXqJEv8qHq48hU_N0G0UrzUYx6dUqJqDp6hHs6aOWaFyJIGpks4DA-NA3XeRBLr5xzEjxFt9CklmAHA17fEExa8oHZOiFtCk-DtxeB07JLu-iPWy1uIshqngQVFVoQGQ-b2gNzvI0Z79cZ7ANr0AKoLZfXP97S/s98/mystery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="98" data-original-width="85" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQF1s2nFpqbjRKH-q_R7YFauMo6BXqJEv8qHq48hU_N0G0UrzUYx6dUqJqDp6hHs6aOWaFyJIGpks4DA-NA3XeRBLr5xzEjxFt9CklmAHA17fEExa8oHZOiFtCk-DtxeB07JLu-iPWy1uIshqngQVFVoQGQ-b2gNzvI0Z79cZ7ANr0AKoLZfXP97S/s1600/mystery.jpg" width="85" /></a></div><p></p><p>Once I've done these edits, I send the book to my <u>first reader,</u> who reads the MS through and tells me what she notices overall. Does the story make sense? Are loose ends tied up? Is there something that isn't explained as well as it could be? Her reading begins the time away from the manuscript that I recommended in the last post. While she has the book, I do nothing with it. Once she's done, I note<br /> her suggestions and return to the story with fresh eyes.</p><p>The next edit looks at the book overall, so here I have the computer <u>read it aloud</u>. That experience is good for noticing overuse of words and phrases, especially in the same paragraph or section. I hear awkward constructions and backward sentences (both usually fixable with a subordinate clause). By hearing the words, I notice unrealistic dialog. (Teen boys hardly ever use the word <i>ubiquitous</i>!)😄</p><p>When that's done, I submit the book to a "<u>real" editor</u>, meaning someone I don't know who gets paid to tell me how to improve the work. (I found some good ones on Upwork.com.) This edit is called a content or developmental or line edit (The lines between the tasks are blurry). This editor looks at the writing and suggests improvements in construction and storytelling. </p><p>The danger with contracted editors is that they might be afraid to criticize too much for fear you won't hire them again. That said, I think most editors understand that it's their job to pick the piece apart. I've only had one who didn't, and I should have paid more attention to the<u> sample edit </u>he did before we signed a contract. While it's deflating to get a MS back with page after page of suggestions, I can tell you that it's MUCH worse to pay out a bunch of bucks and get back a single line: "It's good." THAT'S the editor I would never hire again, because he gave me absolutely no help bettering my story. </p><p>Again, I leave the MS alone while the editor is at work on it. (This is where I work on publishing stuff, which I'll explain in the next installment.) With some writers, this edit involves multiple "passes" as editor and author hash out problem areas. Because I was for years an English teacher, editors have told me I'm a fairly "easy" edit, but I'm as prone as anyone else to leaving out details, making egregious mistakes (and reading right over them), and repeating myself. <i>Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.</i> EVERYONE needs editing, and it should NOT be done by your cousin with an associate's degree in communications.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6mbSCeOY5sYG2VLl_yLdZJVWh8gFjmAV7po3OmsIQ6VNHKm78M5lvDjNcy3E5lRR2goUCfG9n0PW1yVRfxEI8vUaYPA_rJKtzE4i_DffXncykG4PHp8EnscTpdgtBgwYQJkRHy5Z938_6vv12vQsji0JY6PBuizVMSuGxJLvnsSpkrqHXfVUdu3b/s98/books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="95" data-original-width="98" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6mbSCeOY5sYG2VLl_yLdZJVWh8gFjmAV7po3OmsIQ6VNHKm78M5lvDjNcy3E5lRR2goUCfG9n0PW1yVRfxEI8vUaYPA_rJKtzE4i_DffXncykG4PHp8EnscTpdgtBgwYQJkRHy5Z938_6vv12vQsji0JY6PBuizVMSuGxJLvnsSpkrqHXfVUdu3b/s1600/books.jpg" width="98" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>When the content editor finishes, I do a <u>hammer-and-tongs edit,</u> looking at everything and acting on the editor's suggestions when I feel they're merited. (I ignore them if they feel like the editor's personal opinions. It is, after all, my name on the front cover.) That leaves me with an almost-final manuscript, hopefully with a clear and compelling story told in a clear and compelling manner.</p><p>Then comes the <u>copy editor.</u> This person excels at the minutiae of writing: capitalization, spelling, hyphens, punctuation, and so on. She combs the MS for mistakes. She looks up writing standards as they exist today. (Mine, I confess, tend to come from the 1960s.) She gently informs me that I've misspelled <i>pant leg</i>...again.</p><p>When that edit is done, I enter the manuscript in my publication slots (Again, more on this next week.) I order author copies (Amazon will send you 5 for about $5 each. They have a band that says they are not the final version) and hand four of them to sharp-eyed readers in my local area. While they do their first reading, I do my last one with the fifth copy. When we're all done, I make any last corrections needed and finish the publication process.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCor_PedKTIoPQ8TmpyGuwGP6pn0vBXVHHU8o2RYUKi5SBBOqDLJDQEZBtNi919gGmlnzoZ6kWYsIAjAOVJyEs7yR4gpJ1VeXa70pWt7qJN9Sy069gyaO6tdpxtcBX1FykG2pe2rxRm-3N52CMhQxSUWNoFdYV88QJ4EK1ygjAwomA8eKKxjRGvnP/s640/IMG_0264(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCor_PedKTIoPQ8TmpyGuwGP6pn0vBXVHHU8o2RYUKi5SBBOqDLJDQEZBtNi919gGmlnzoZ6kWYsIAjAOVJyEs7yR4gpJ1VeXa70pWt7qJN9Sy069gyaO6tdpxtcBX1FykG2pe2rxRm-3N52CMhQxSUWNoFdYV88QJ4EK1ygjAwomA8eKKxjRGvnP/s320/IMG_0264(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>As you can guess by now, all this takes months. It should not be hurried, because any overzealous speed tends to end in mistakes and embarrassment when your book releases. <br /></p><p>See? Editing is simple...😕<br /></p><p><br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-59244889971953321562022-10-18T07:23:00.001-04:002022-12-19T05:59:07.748-05:00When You Want to Write a Book<p> If I had a nickel for every time someone said to me, "I'd like to write"...I'd have a lot of nickels.</p><p>To help those people out a little, I thought I'd do a series of posts on the topic, similar to a presentation I used to do in live settings called WRITE, EDIT, PUBLISH. </p><p></p><p>WRITING</p><p>If you want to write a book, you have to find the time, energy, and perseverance to keep at it until the story is done. When you type "The End" (We actually don't do that, but the image is nice), it won't be perfect, but--at least in the world of fiction--a story needs to be finished before you can consider the next steps. Mostly, this means the BITCH principle is in effect: <b>Butt In The Chair, Honey</b>. Your method doesn't matter. I know authors who hand-write their first drafts, some who keyboard, some who dictate, and even one who uses some antique half-computer half-typewriting device she claims works best for her thought process. Whatever, just get your story on paper or file or whatever.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyOpBacyX6SSz3zKjWggp1GWqGsx_rY2omgt-RgzWWnsjJOzKO02e2J6fQq_lU0de9BI2dwFr2YPW33vjs8wk9_Uq8b1dLqL6I3DWSjwtcfdejz0GwhRsajg1lZBrSkAF-PvN38acb-4u-2GJAAq9me7JfaitCl9_LhxMfnb1xsxWGDTDLVYSJ_7s/s6000/tiger.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyOpBacyX6SSz3zKjWggp1GWqGsx_rY2omgt-RgzWWnsjJOzKO02e2J6fQq_lU0de9BI2dwFr2YPW33vjs8wk9_Uq8b1dLqL6I3DWSjwtcfdejz0GwhRsajg1lZBrSkAF-PvN38acb-4u-2GJAAq9me7JfaitCl9_LhxMfnb1xsxWGDTDLVYSJ_7s/s320/tiger.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Some writers like to zip through the rough draft, ignoring any problems
that arise. They put a few asterisks in to remind them to check facts or
spelling, or to expand a description or a subplot. Other writers like
to stop and find things out along the way, so they wander away from the
manuscript to find out what Google has to say about POW camps in
Michigan's Upper Peninsula during World War II (Raises hand.😏 ) I'm a
bit of both. I like the rough draft to be the "bones" of the story, so I
try to get that done early on, but often those side studies contribute
to the plot, so I have to stop to make sure I understand how they'll
fit. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzoyik3gUGrVWkAmEWAu-q8vGpFchw6Hw80mWqHSl3pGh45n4tGGYpSTdWY7gH34o4tsDO92KpqptWsmcp57-atyTTCuPvuHmq8UwI5OrR6Ng1trQqe3xHGCfAen1gwyu3FPfv_Bv4KKcyTopeDtnByOaE0Znj1rNTgRWtfFlx4kA4Aq2eaXGiYNV/s4869/bunny.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3246" data-original-width="4869" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzoyik3gUGrVWkAmEWAu-q8vGpFchw6Hw80mWqHSl3pGh45n4tGGYpSTdWY7gH34o4tsDO92KpqptWsmcp57-atyTTCuPvuHmq8UwI5OrR6Ng1trQqe3xHGCfAen1gwyu3FPfv_Bv4KKcyTopeDtnByOaE0Znj1rNTgRWtfFlx4kA4Aq2eaXGiYNV/w186-h124/bunny.jpeg" width="186" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2uMdZGpM2hYL8XloZu8mSU_KcGOA088PLI1Zx-oxEjNZEWdmOBuNn82JQX3K40I_REtKePKWrFjf-5mUq2a3A5s74C1sbArGeoy_SdR1aAtYr5b4Eu9NsJbNjoCG4GH7tQFi-aJdTnKLc8Jlj3VAMRgbLv4PlYa-Z7alRFKdwJRBhGMoLeXG1n_O3/s3888/tortoise.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="3888" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2uMdZGpM2hYL8XloZu8mSU_KcGOA088PLI1Zx-oxEjNZEWdmOBuNn82JQX3K40I_REtKePKWrFjf-5mUq2a3A5s74C1sbArGeoy_SdR1aAtYr5b4Eu9NsJbNjoCG4GH7tQFi-aJdTnKLc8Jlj3VAMRgbLv4PlYa-Z7alRFKdwJRBhGMoLeXG1n_O3/w237-h158/tortoise.jpeg" width="237" /></a></div><p></p><p>"How long does it take to write a book?" I'm often asked, and there's no single answer. If you've got a day job or kids or lots of other responsibilities, it can take years. I was still teaching high school English when I wrote my first book, so my writing time was early morning, maybe an hour and a half before I had to get ready for my "real" job. When a story hits, I feel compelled to get it written, so my first drafts get done in a few months, whatever else is going on. (That doesn't mean they're all great. I have a file of "almost" stories that I'll probably never show to anyone.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ldNkK9dRKWLWt8ifW13HElpOxGXEYVhn5qHwZh-8Met8ItXcvh7G2lBZZ-Im6IV5mySVjoFlzK-pXKHjXY3DHaqoxAjg1iiyFL_3H6WCsUwtVExkw1FMpwKhY8R-NAcQGjt8y7bC2pLV1sRzTFeffkdObLBL7Cu2JffCKJyubkyS3pJHPXCBnuSv/s4656/skunk.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2808" data-original-width="4656" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ldNkK9dRKWLWt8ifW13HElpOxGXEYVhn5qHwZh-8Met8ItXcvh7G2lBZZ-Im6IV5mySVjoFlzK-pXKHjXY3DHaqoxAjg1iiyFL_3H6WCsUwtVExkw1FMpwKhY8R-NAcQGjt8y7bC2pLV1sRzTFeffkdObLBL7Cu2JffCKJyubkyS3pJHPXCBnuSv/s320/skunk.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Here's <u>my greatest piece of advice,</u> and it's one of the hardest things for a writer to do. When you finish a story, PUT IT ASIDE for a while. Three weeks at minimum. Six weeks is better. I guarantee that when you go back to it, you'll ask yourself, "What was I thinking when I wrote this?"</p><p>That doesn't mean it's horrible (though it might be). What it means is that by standing back for a while, you're able to see the weaknesses. And seeing them is the first step toward fixing them.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvkoOBuwU4ifkhKOZkZXWWPk8FG8aZAr87M96Trfq8y4rpKOWodZeEdlYo9vqlyw50LhnYf2mZMyPnrHlnaQgxLPfwq-GwiNxYgrjqZDuYA6nux9pRICNF6CStZr8O9sSJmP7tPgfS3QDIoTLh2AefNxQr6P1VEj-5ZpYSMRKVtSQaPUxKYCoyFmm/s150/chimpsm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="115" data-original-width="150" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvkoOBuwU4ifkhKOZkZXWWPk8FG8aZAr87M96Trfq8y4rpKOWodZeEdlYo9vqlyw50LhnYf2mZMyPnrHlnaQgxLPfwq-GwiNxYgrjqZDuYA6nux9pRICNF6CStZr8O9sSJmP7tPgfS3QDIoTLh2AefNxQr6P1VEj-5ZpYSMRKVtSQaPUxKYCoyFmm/s1600/chimpsm.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>I've done tons of workshops and talked to hundreds of writers. Among them are always a few who rushed to publication and now wished they'd done differently. Yes, when you finish that rough draft, or even that second draft, you're excited for the world to see what you've accomplished. But here are some things to remember:<p></p><p>*Sixth (or eighth or tenth) drafts are <u>always</u> better than first or second.</p><p>*Other writers are putting out excellent writing at a rate the world has never seen before.</p><p>*Agents, publishers, critics, and readers have their pick of hundreds of new stories each week. Yours needs to be WAY better than the others to stand a chance.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gzFnqS44l_MOyS3PHE2983pyyFlRxf-OIZKnNWDPtXHLxmikOFHhNeZUQi5EkD8QvyCqkS1L--gx12qNc3LC_DUnIPyBYagMq0wdmxf1mpjMXszZ7opFitP_6xb-BpdhcYFYlqDwQsigGdaVLObFIkv756u6RoAEGxvwiWoIapDsvVS7U70On3Wc/s500/Blacklabwcomputersmall.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="500" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gzFnqS44l_MOyS3PHE2983pyyFlRxf-OIZKnNWDPtXHLxmikOFHhNeZUQi5EkD8QvyCqkS1L--gx12qNc3LC_DUnIPyBYagMq0wdmxf1mpjMXszZ7opFitP_6xb-BpdhcYFYlqDwQsigGdaVLObFIkv756u6RoAEGxvwiWoIapDsvVS7U70On3Wc/s320/Blacklabwcomputersmall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>So go ahead and write that book. Even if no one ever sees it but you and a few close friends, it will make you happy.<br /><br /><p></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-78265190966196091202022-10-03T05:56:00.000-04:002022-10-03T05:56:24.263-04:00New Reader Site Hits the Target<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFkEtwVP5tHyS9ofyJaUzGmLO_Sq_IUnIfbigbbH63fM_um_742GilI1VCOE0U6qXf4Ez5vq9g1e-tmDjHidCqjkjSzajiYM3UlMKnx7vHyg08X7Ur-2ZBmnpFXH8J-utWsH2W7eUVEWv2vwtruiw_fZn80e83vaH13Km61_HcdZvxMZm1ZeiWn8l/s3113/girlwslingshotsquare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2729" data-original-width="3113" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFkEtwVP5tHyS9ofyJaUzGmLO_Sq_IUnIfbigbbH63fM_um_742GilI1VCOE0U6qXf4Ez5vq9g1e-tmDjHidCqjkjSzajiYM3UlMKnx7vHyg08X7Ur-2ZBmnpFXH8J-utWsH2W7eUVEWv2vwtruiw_fZn80e83vaH13Km61_HcdZvxMZm1ZeiWn8l/s320/girlwslingshotsquare.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Though I'm not sure how, I recently heard about <b><a href="https://shepherd.com/">Shepherd.com</a></b> The people there are trying to change the way we find new books to read online, and I'm all for that.<p></p><p>When you type in "mystery" or "crime fiction" in most book-finding sites (like Amazon), you get a list of the 8 or 10 biggest-selling writers, like James Patterson, Michael Connelly, and Janet Evanovitch. The problem with that is that telling me Michael Connelly has a new book is useless. I've already bought it, read it, and passed it on to a friend. Also, some of those big names don't interest me, for a variety of reasons. I'd like new suggestions, new authors to try, but it's hard to choose, and the list goes on forever, with no hints as to which ones I'll really like.<br /></p><p>Enter Shepherd.com. Right now, things are in the beginning stages, but the site categorizes books with a clever teaser: "The Best Books about..." You can search by title or author and along with the book/author you like, you'll get a list of related books. Or
you can search by theme. (They have 975 WWII entries!) Authors and other book people recommend books they like on each theme, and there's a blurb about each recommendation and links to
where you can buy it.</p><p>There's no cost for this. I don't see a downside
to Shepherd.com for readers, though I'm afraid the founders will go crazy
trying to keep up with so much good stuff.</p><p> As a writer, I was allowed to submit ONE of my books and connect it to others I've read on the same theme. I chose my newest one, SISTER SAINT, SISTER SINNER. To go with the feature on that book, I was asked to list 5 other sister-themed books I've read and enjoyed. They could be old or new, so I chose WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE for one. For a newer option on the theme of sisters, I suggested WHEN WE BELIEVED IN MERMAIDS. My entry goes live October 3rd, and here's a link to it <a href="https://shepherd.com/best-books/why-sisters-inspire-love-and-aggravation" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" shape="rect" target="_blank">https://shepherd.com/best-books/why-sisters-inspire-love-and-aggravation</a>. I think readers will enjoy exploring the site, and it sounds like they plan to do much more to help us find books through themes we like to read about, like "gentlemen detectives" or "medieval adventure novels."<br /></p><p>The only warning I have for you, the reader, is that you might get lost for hours, wandering through Shepherd.com and the great ideas for what to read next.<br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-62950936795360952942022-10-01T07:10:00.000-04:002022-10-01T07:10:24.441-04:00A Messy Writing Career<p> I'm usually pretty neat. I like my house in order. I keep a regular schedule. I pick up items dropped on the floor at Kohl's and rehang them so they won't get stepped on.</p><p>Neat is good.</p><p>But if you look at my writing career, you might think, "This woman has no sense of order at all!"</p><p>I started writing historical novels, using my own name.(I used <i>Peg </i>instead of <i>Peggy </i>because there's another author with that name.) </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaBPwyqoT_ZItpSPDud0J02Pkcigfg8lY5-L_KbJPXU33PQfvh4bGIzDptRjKIAvJ9-ZN7LNE34jmMDU6ikhd1WC52jwy2z3vR3nTNkEUABdQJtFTfrRtONktuhNW5LE-RnM9F-wNyM4Zmc9W2J8t165LX1ZgTDgdwY5RUcCr9Nlsgqk77cFiMBykb/s355/HHFMebook21small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="250" height="63" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaBPwyqoT_ZItpSPDud0J02Pkcigfg8lY5-L_KbJPXU33PQfvh4bGIzDptRjKIAvJ9-ZN7LNE34jmMDU6ikhd1WC52jwy2z3vR3nTNkEUABdQJtFTfrRtONktuhNW5LE-RnM9F-wNyM4Zmc9W2J8t165LX1ZgTDgdwY5RUcCr9Nlsgqk77cFiMBykb/w44-h63/HHFMebook21small.jpg" width="44" /></a></div><br />I got an agent, she found a publisher, and I was on my way...sort of. I had an idea for a paranormal mystery, and I met a publisher at a conference who liked it, so suddenly Peg Herring writes about Elizabeth I but ALSO about a detective who solves crimes from the afterlife.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-JqXaCqkv1sTv7Hfkj04Qby8tvQje_Y0YEK8fgrnknmXQbX96HiUi4Ke4RVl8O1etJkeKrtAbaCZJRJ4dCwpU8jLnzh6QC9dJcQwIndx0eao_W3mwfQz2HaCZjwWfAM649-aD13RaiJ0slJVTfmAmEe23u0XO_EYs6g1l_k0KikF7ae-2gMR-dCW/s1090/deaddetectiveagencyebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="681" height="69" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-JqXaCqkv1sTv7Hfkj04Qby8tvQje_Y0YEK8fgrnknmXQbX96HiUi4Ke4RVl8O1etJkeKrtAbaCZJRJ4dCwpU8jLnzh6QC9dJcQwIndx0eao_W3mwfQz2HaCZjwWfAM649-aD13RaiJ0slJVTfmAmEe23u0XO_EYs6g1l_k0KikF7ae-2gMR-dCW/w43-h69/deaddetectiveagencyebook.jpg" width="43" /></a><br /><br /><p></p><p>In the meantime, I wrote a mystery about a homeless woman. My second publishers loved that one, </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZz_6UIYqPIpDCesz1QwzA4bbzkLMNQ4M6D4Wocz6ZWX190p5ATTb-mNSRP5W2aHkBLV9Hp3xF981825EgQd6IjabYAmjKHJTNG49s3e6zOBaleST75JG-nkwQ8HGDPTJIYz8ZsqGOZQxuPR8w7b9O4CNkjoWBf2sOtPWtaQMehtxY1bGfwyywCKK/s1350/KScoversmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="900" height="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZz_6UIYqPIpDCesz1QwzA4bbzkLMNQ4M6D4Wocz6ZWX190p5ATTb-mNSRP5W2aHkBLV9Hp3xF981825EgQd6IjabYAmjKHJTNG49s3e6zOBaleST75JG-nkwQ8HGDPTJIYz8ZsqGOZQxuPR8w7b9O4CNkjoWBf2sOtPWtaQMehtxY1bGfwyywCKK/w55-h82/KScoversmall.jpg" width="55" /></a></div><br />so now I had THREE series going. I also wrote a stand-alone mystery that I called "vintage," meaning it took place in the past but not that far back (the Vietnam era, which is considered historical now, but it wasn't then😕). Found a third publisher for that one.<img class="book-cover" src="https://www.draft2digital.com/book/427265/cover_image/tiny" style="height: 77px;" /><p></p><p>Around that time, I started going to a lot of mystery cons, where I met authors who wrote cozy mysteries. They were having fun and getting recognition as well. I thought I'd like to try a cozy, but I was afraid my publishers wouldn't like me branching off into yet another sub-genre. I decided to try it on my own, though back then the idea of self-publishing made many in the writing community turn up their noses. I invented Maggie Pill, hired an editor and a cover artist, and released a cozy. I found I liked many things about publishing independently, which was good, because one of my publishers went bankrupt while the other two struggled to get recognition (and $$) for their authors.<img height="101" id="book-cover-image" src="https://www.draft2digital.com/book/233750/cover_image/original" width="67" /></p><p>I hadn't intended to continue my work as Maggie until her book was suddenly in demand. I wrote a second Sleuth Sisters mystery and then another and another. It became clear that Maggie wasn't going anywhere. Someone asked when it would be out in print. Then someone else asked about audio. Suddenly I was learning all sorts of things about publishing (and it never stops!)<br /></p><p>Eventually my Peg Herring books joined Maggie Pill's in the independent publishing world, but Peg has an odd conglomeration of mystery sub-genres. The books are sometimes funny, </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQUP8UWdj-7BSPVD4Duufi2sqpR9Kf23NpWLAYSTWTTjqX7X8CdiRz66tGYGhJhmTP8dPkkYsvE7_pEvsmVaiGAyYCMGLhbxARiR78H2kHje-cW42KMve52m87JJ1JyyLM_AE94qgyGenNTGwnyTngNSVIju9ZHIyN05AvcPtwbeFzmAVtZ_CQ1ED/s2500/Kidnap_eBook_new_090517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1563" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQUP8UWdj-7BSPVD4Duufi2sqpR9Kf23NpWLAYSTWTTjqX7X8CdiRz66tGYGhJhmTP8dPkkYsvE7_pEvsmVaiGAyYCMGLhbxARiR78H2kHje-cW42KMve52m87JJ1JyyLM_AE94qgyGenNTGwnyTngNSVIju9ZHIyN05AvcPtwbeFzmAVtZ_CQ1ED/w73-h117/Kidnap_eBook_new_090517.jpg" width="73" /></a></div><br />sometimes serious. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRN_aE-Z7zd-O8mtDPHOBsSih41yBCY4F6G8WRPJ50qr9R5jWk0NzEUKwQ608eIjjgMIlBCQ9wC1qleUyr9oyECazH56y7VeSCcUY9cqYCbxJRpEAs8L1yv9mXYv8-h6XfLtRY-Rtmq9LM8pSNu70aoNdBsi98xxU0GD9yzebrXFXWQi5JVoa_w2E/s800/SomebodyDoesntLikeSarahLeigh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRN_aE-Z7zd-O8mtDPHOBsSih41yBCY4F6G8WRPJ50qr9R5jWk0NzEUKwQ608eIjjgMIlBCQ9wC1qleUyr9oyECazH56y7VeSCcUY9cqYCbxJRpEAs8L1yv9mXYv8-h6XfLtRY-Rtmq9LM8pSNu70aoNdBsi98xxU0GD9yzebrXFXWQi5JVoa_w2E/w67-h101/SomebodyDoesntLikeSarahLeigh.jpg" width="67" /></a></div><br />Lately, they've crossed genres into suspense and "women's fiction," stories about women and their struggles, written mostly for women. Though the WF genre ranges from comedy to drama, Peg's WF books land on the serious end: friendships in the midst of crisis. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy97dsiifiKxt7ZvuHy8D_emoWFhIs3XjXQlbEhhFnJY_cK0b4A2f05Tp2J0sUDMsmZzNqbH6lpVK_ef5_kRCtKFybEqow34rniihok6itddy8UGGrixh3mWAYAAlcsWwGGKFLv41rdeGqwWIR2wkNrekgwK5WO3upA-gC7aDHL3JPwu0JcTE5pWDB/s1477/coverElvera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1477" data-original-width="1040" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy97dsiifiKxt7ZvuHy8D_emoWFhIs3XjXQlbEhhFnJY_cK0b4A2f05Tp2J0sUDMsmZzNqbH6lpVK_ef5_kRCtKFybEqow34rniihok6itddy8UGGrixh3mWAYAAlcsWwGGKFLv41rdeGqwWIR2wkNrekgwK5WO3upA-gC7aDHL3JPwu0JcTE5pWDB/w67-h95/coverElvera.jpg" width="67" /></a></div><br />Sisters with gravely different views on life.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsAg6FBlRDIQ64ZBbbd8ifz1jH5DpTHTV_t2HCq-1bHBizs6Ah2DnyQ1Ljb5Eun1LqWFheuHijaDxUhY42U5D7SHe0Xow7wE0q4lDR5I9gIe0Hphh3HxsNUnCdbslImxzuESXOaW2lmgsTqqM9Z15_e77PX84i3jjWDmvkMAxG5V1cdDTeq6wyAxX/s851/ssss1ebookcover600x800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="600" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsAg6FBlRDIQ64ZBbbd8ifz1jH5DpTHTV_t2HCq-1bHBizs6Ah2DnyQ1Ljb5Eun1LqWFheuHijaDxUhY42U5D7SHe0Xow7wE0q4lDR5I9gIe0Hphh3HxsNUnCdbslImxzuESXOaW2lmgsTqqM9Z15_e77PX84i3jjWDmvkMAxG5V1cdDTeq6wyAxX/w70-h99/ssss1ebookcover600x800.jpg" width="70" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>These days, I've sorted out my two writing personalities and reached a neater division. Readers of Maggie Pill's books know they'll get books that are funny and light, though I strongly believe that even a cozy mystery has to make sense and engage the reader in the puzzle. Peg's books have a wider range, so readers need to read the blurbs to see if the theme appeals to them.</p><p>See? I'm getting my writing life in order. I just hope I'm not hit with an idea for a horror romance! <br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-78299592676208755472022-09-04T08:17:00.002-04:002022-09-06T06:16:31.826-04:00What a Month!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QS8rg2FTL3FyBlHDQ7iQxnm0Zhly7-gg-2tGcpk1txwXFSoCyTPurqmKiWMSR1-SU4fG2xcYNdg8C4MrenNJdMMruB2JazK3hhRKzp5-PCtI4selqRcTIo_yuhkqMwnV76FtvMyqBPOTo4j1g0Misr2PwI6Vg8bnE9QuHfJyXVgVd00tLLC20c45/s640/mybooksonshelf.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QS8rg2FTL3FyBlHDQ7iQxnm0Zhly7-gg-2tGcpk1txwXFSoCyTPurqmKiWMSR1-SU4fG2xcYNdg8C4MrenNJdMMruB2JazK3hhRKzp5-PCtI4selqRcTIo_yuhkqMwnV76FtvMyqBPOTo4j1g0Misr2PwI6Vg8bnE9QuHfJyXVgVd00tLLC20c45/s320/mybooksonshelf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I was thrilled with the response to my giveaway in August, so thanks to all who requested a print book. I'm sorry if you didn't get one, but they went fast! I've been receiving emails from readers, some letting me know the book had arrived in the mail, and others letting me know the reader had finished and would be posting a review. One clever girl even put a pic of the book on Facebook, so I got some free advertising. To one and all, thank you!<p></p><p>The process was hectic for a while, since I wanted to get the books in
the mail ASAP. The people at my little post office were patient and
helpful. I combed local dollar stores to get enough bubble mailers of the correct size. There was time spent, and money. Why would I do that?<br /></p><p>Writers often spend hundreds of dollars on advertising that goes out into a world of people who don't care much about their books. I chose to spend that money to send books to people who'd already noticed me, either here on the blog or by signing up for my newsletters. In requesting a free book, maybe they tried a series they hadn't read before. Maybe they filled in a book they'd missed in the progression. Or maybe they tried a stand-alone to see what it was like.</p><p>I don't see any of that as a bad thing for me. I probably won't get the chance to do it again, but I'm always giving away e-books on one promo site or another, so ... stay tuned!<br /></p><p><br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-11624857004956833492022-08-02T06:07:00.009-04:002022-08-22T06:27:23.586-04:00How About a FREE Print Book?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b>Readers love book deals, right?</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglI2naA822cfkXGGJijpTwn9C9G8IXlGPecaAi0yj9j771Q8ogqaFPzsnSJTXNd9rcFTBrUtdlG3grWkblpyKxFdlvbkpAV-pBjNPjGaPxwojecN2j_ezXf19GMxZWae0BilosiNNh3fDAOEpUjcD0xLchuMsGAOuq5Ldq1krNdiijdgjpRPfJqB65/s2500/DD4_final_eBook.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1563" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglI2naA822cfkXGGJijpTwn9C9G8IXlGPecaAi0yj9j771Q8ogqaFPzsnSJTXNd9rcFTBrUtdlG3grWkblpyKxFdlvbkpAV-pBjNPjGaPxwojecN2j_ezXf19GMxZWae0BilosiNNh3fDAOEpUjcD0xLchuMsGAOuq5Ldq1krNdiijdgjpRPfJqB65/w131-h209/DD4_final_eBook.jpg" width="131" /></a></b></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><br />Here’s the situation: I have books I didn’t sell, largely
due to COVID. I’m not interested in doing live book events anymore. (Too much
travel, too many lonely hours in a bookstore.)<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore, I’m offering a deal, ONLY to loyal readers of my
newsletters and blog.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Below is a list of what I have in my home inventory. Some
are later books in a series, but they don't depend on an earlier book to
understand either the characters or the mystery.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>For the month of August, you can simply ask for a signed paperback
copy of any book listed, and I’ll mail it to you FREE, for as long as the
supply holds out.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To take advantage of the deal:</p>1. Look over the list and choose a
book. (Numbers are very limited, so don’t wait).</div><div style="border: 1pt none black; mso-border-alt: none black 0in; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in;">2. Send the <u>title you’d like </u>(Sorry,
only one to a customer) and <u>your mailing address</u> to <a href="mailto:news@pegherring.com">news@pegherring.com</a><span class="MsoHyperlink">.</span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"></span></p><br />Each series is featured on its own page here on the blog, so you can
check to see whether you’ve read a book/series yet and whether it’s something
that would interest you. <u>I’ll keep the list below updated, so
you can check to see what’s still available.</u><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While I don’t have print copies of all my books, they are
always available on Amazon, B&N, and most other distributors. Any bookstore
can order them, but this is probably the only chance you’ll ever get to receive
a book by mail for free. It’s a great deal for you, or a nice Christmas gift
for the person on your list who prefers “real” books.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As always, I appreciate reviews in any spot you like to post
them, and I don’t mind if you pass the book along when you’ve finished it.
Reviews and word of mouth are an author’s best friends.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Series</u><span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span><u>Titles
left <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>( ) indicates series
sequence</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt;"><i></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt; text-indent: 0in;">The Dead
Detective Mysteries<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>Dead for the Money (#2)</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt; text-indent: 0in;"><i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Dead for the Show (#3)</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt; text-indent: 0in;"><i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Dead to Get<span> </span>Ready-and Go (#4)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt; text-indent: 0in;">Simon &
Elizabeth (Tudor) Mysteries<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>The Lady
Flirts with Death (#3)</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt; text-indent: 0in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdyR4MLTLiIWX0MGo6IIbLkK4NRzQIXzZIY0dBifv1a3LkYaNbJ2Zskpfw-yNPWQBma7D8wicD8Ouxrsp50Gw3FkbSnNPTwF-VxvGOvGX1wc5wJw7xZhZyNXVRwNrUf7whBTl8k-Vz0P2pCyNwJtD8Pbsohyc20QZlH-8VOx82wjrxFZZeMppYpI2W/s4256/LFwDecover21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4256" data-original-width="3000" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdyR4MLTLiIWX0MGo6IIbLkK4NRzQIXzZIY0dBifv1a3LkYaNbJ2Zskpfw-yNPWQBma7D8wicD8Ouxrsp50Gw3FkbSnNPTwF-VxvGOvGX1wc5wJw7xZhZyNXVRwNrUf7whBTl8k-Vz0P2pCyNwJtD8Pbsohyc20QZlH-8VOx82wjrxFZZeMppYpI2W/w98-h139/LFwDecover21.jpg" width="98" /></a><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt; text-indent: 0in;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt; text-indent: 0in;"><i></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt; text-indent: 0in;">Kidnap Capers (Humorous Suspense)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>Pharma Con (#2</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt; text-indent: 0in;"><i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Trouble with Dad (#3)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt; text-indent: 0in;"><i></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 1pt; margin-left: 40px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAlLiG0Bb02WuohpHZXlZVIPUUuNGqWJ-wDaRmSoTLZjZX0PVlTigoY5Matr41BRfUl641625o2xxWzUXPMJ5l9JXfmb94KLDOg5HyXF8l106lTMmGec_z3Mj4GssqZXJYxk_05LXz7SWMi2DtEGQRLXumX0jC91Izi5GN-KlhrVdQ8EONpD8f1Dg/s1425/K2covernew.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1425" data-original-width="930" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAlLiG0Bb02WuohpHZXlZVIPUUuNGqWJ-wDaRmSoTLZjZX0PVlTigoY5Matr41BRfUl641625o2xxWzUXPMJ5l9JXfmb94KLDOg5HyXF8l106lTMmGec_z3Mj4GssqZXJYxk_05LXz7SWMi2DtEGQRLXumX0jC91Izi5GN-KlhrVdQ8EONpD8f1Dg/w98-h149/K2covernew.jpg" width="98" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>Stand-alones</u></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">’60s Paranormal
Mystery <span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><i>Not Dead
Yet…</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2pt; text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwVpS6QhofDr1_YVKONEnxiqG8DxmFGnH1abgI_PWqxdwlvO0MPQO3kwhDsba445RXpsmRDp-80Ctgk2PQgCrbBDDqTL3Bn_fpEONRq_KVTeZRAHe3jVhUOFNC6BvW7f_lyw4bR6z2itFsNYYb7-oNZQtzGzX1p-RuqaoSZ7Edlxla8Gvy8IG8jYK/s1950/leoebookcoverfinal.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1950" data-original-width="1350" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwVpS6QhofDr1_YVKONEnxiqG8DxmFGnH1abgI_PWqxdwlvO0MPQO3kwhDsba445RXpsmRDp-80Ctgk2PQgCrbBDDqTL3Bn_fpEONRq_KVTeZRAHe3jVhUOFNC6BvW7f_lyw4bR6z2itFsNYYb7-oNZQtzGzX1p-RuqaoSZ7Edlxla8Gvy8IG8jYK/w121-h174/leoebookcoverfinal.jpg" width="121" /></a></div><i> </i></div><div style="border: 1pt none black; mso-border-alt: none black 0in; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in;"><i> <br /><br /></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><br /></div><br /></div>
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<![endif]-->Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-38003061363247380552022-06-06T07:55:00.003-04:002022-06-06T07:55:56.094-04:00How Doth She Bigotry? Let Me Count the Ways
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><img alt="UK election 2019: what the 'wisdom of crowds' forecasts" class="rg_i Q4LuWd" data-ils="4" height="169" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTErmE51Gi9fsnql6XOvfVPnGg76j6i_HOV7g&usqp=CAU" width="598" /> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I left a conversation yesterday wondering how many ways one
person can offend another in three minutes. I was outside sweeping my sidewalk
when a woman I know slightly grabbed me by the arm. (Offense #1: Assuming she had to hold onto me to get me to listen.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I met that new woman,” she said. “She came over and offered
me a bottle of wine.” (Offense #2: Referring to our neighbor as “that new
woman.” She has a name. And she brought you wine.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I said I’d met her too, and she seemed nice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You have to watch them, you know.” (Offense #3: Lumping
people into a shapeless “them” category.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’m slow with bigots sometimes, because I can never believe they’re for
real, but </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was starting to get it. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Who is <i>them</i>?” I asked.<br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Them! You know, the Asians or the Mexicans or whatever she
is.” (Offense #4: I’m not explaining this one. If you don’t get it, you’re part
of the problem.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At that point, the best I could do was,
“What?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Bob says they’re always looking for
something. (Offense #5: Letting her husband tell her what to think. Obviously,
we feather-headed females can’t figure things out for ourselves.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The women find some man who’ll marry them so
they can come here," s</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">he went on, "</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and then after a few years they dump him.” (Offense #6: Deploring someone else's "crime" even though they gleefully report how they manipulate the tax
system to their advantage. I quote the husband: “Hey, it’s probably legal.”)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Irritated, I give her a chance to soften her bigotry. “Are you sure they all do that?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Well, yeah. We knew a woman once who married an American
and came here and then she divorced him once she got citizenship. (Offenses #7
& 8: Assuming you know why a married couple splits and generalizing it to every instance.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That's when I took my arm back and walked away. Some people might have tried to reason with her, but seven decades on this earth has taught me that
I’ll never win with someone that dumb, that mean, and that pleased with her own
hypocrisy.</span></p>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
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<![endif]--><p><br /></p><p> <br /></p><p><br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-89313469660618950352022-05-04T08:15:00.000-04:002022-05-04T08:15:33.320-04:00Everybody Lies<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhJqsRYHv6eNvTq4QdLx3koSBb7TYAbFfiLlVx8DMYAQ_IMYXdxXb6o3Jcl9oO8predWf6yGBrqOc5T1UYd59xFi_SdJk44-W-ekbFql5FWuFpFwGSJumL6BhpPGBXuYO0uegttCk7wixHgINuZ9oRvH02fzamYm6_YQK_CP7Zzp_db2qVmly1JMw/s1650/lies%20picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1650" data-original-width="1275" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhJqsRYHv6eNvTq4QdLx3koSBb7TYAbFfiLlVx8DMYAQ_IMYXdxXb6o3Jcl9oO8predWf6yGBrqOc5T1UYd59xFi_SdJk44-W-ekbFql5FWuFpFwGSJumL6BhpPGBXuYO0uegttCk7wixHgINuZ9oRvH02fzamYm6_YQK_CP7Zzp_db2qVmly1JMw/s320/lies%20picture.jpg" width="247" /></a></p><p> First, let me say I'm aware that I make things up for a living, so writing about lying is a little hypocritical. But I don't pretend that what I say is real, and that's the difference. Everyone in our society is bombarded with lies all day, every day. We're used to it. Sometimes we even enjoy it.</p><p>When analysts dig into why people believe lies, they find all sorts of explanations. <u>Confirmation bias </u>means we like things that reinforce what we already believe, so we accept lies that help with that. Many like<u> leaders or organizations</u> that tell them what to think, so they don't have to reason things out for themselves. If that leader lies, at least he's tough. If the organization runs to propaganda, at least it's working for "our" benefit. Another big reason we believe lies is <u>fear</u>. If we don't think we can cope with X, we like it when someone promises that X won't happen, even if we know in our hearts that it isn't true. Conversely, if the leader/organization says X will happen if he/it isn't in control, or if we're told the problem doesn't really exist, we want to believe that too. Life is less scary that way.<br /></p><p>There are other theories about why we believe lies, but you get the idea. All sorts of psychological factors figure in. But here's an idea I haven't seen discussed before. What if we believe lies because we expect them? From the first day we can understand language, we're lied to. It's called advertising, and it's a billion-dollar industry. Advertising is expected and even respected as a necessary tool of business. Soft lies and hard lies, ads are built on convincing us something is true that probably isn't.</p><p><u>You're a consumer. It's your job to figure out what they're trying to do to your head.</u><br /></p><p><u>Recognize the (sometimes subtle) messaging</u>. "Is it true blonds have more fun?" a slogan from the olden days, played on women's desire to be attractive. Ads hint that you'll have more friends or be more admired if you buy this car or drink this vodka. The reverse is also true. They hint that NOT using a product will devastate your social life: bad breath, stinky pits, frizzy hair...the list of social "sins" is endless, and we rush out to buy products to "protect" us from ostracism. <br /></p><p><u>Look past the hype.</u> How likely is it that Pillow X is the best in the world? How much do you really care about which beer you drink? Do you really need that phone plan with bells and whistles you'll probably never use?<br /></p><p><u>Note the background imaging.</u> It's no mistake that while the drug company spokesperson is reading you that looooooong list of possible side effects, there are people on the screen doing fun things with family and friends in peaceful, scenic settings. It's called distraction.<br /></p><p><u>Reject endorsements</u>. Advertisers can always find someone who'll endorse a product if the money's right. I get very angry when celebrities push products, and my husband gets tired of me shouting "Whore!" at the TV. How much would you bet that Actor X doesn't know jack about reverse mortgages? And if his old car broke down, wouldn't Rapper Y simply get a new, flashier one?</p><p></p><p><u>Note the wordin</u>g. "Nine out of ten doctors surveyed would recommend this product." How many doctors actually answered their survey? Were they given some incentive to respond positively? How was the question worded? As Mark Twain said, "Gather your statistics, and then distort them as much as you please."<br /></p><p><u>If it sounds too good to be true, it is.</u> Recently, a friend slapped her midsection and told me, "I gotta get rid of this, so I ordered some pills I saw on TV. You take one every night, and they dissolve your belly fat." Sometimes we want to believe so badly, it takes almost no effort to persuade us. But take a moment before you order the exercise machine the people on the screen seem to be enjoying so darned much. Picture yourself using it for even half an hour every day, for months. Is that ever going to happen? (Hint: For the vast majority of us, the answer is no.)<br /></p><p><u>What does all this have to do with lies we're told outside the world of advertising?</u> All our lives, we've been bombarded with advertising that lies to us, so we expect lies in other spheres. I hear people dismiss political discourse with, "They're all liars." It's become an excuse to turn our backs and not listen, not analyze, not vote. But in the face of politicians' lies (sometimes attributable to hyperbole or exaggeration or even wishful thinking), our job is to dissect what's said and separate what's true from what's false, what's possible from what's improbable. </p><p>We've all fallen prey to advertisers' lies and bought products that didn't deliver. If we became wiser about how we spend our money, that's a good result. It follows then, that if everybody in our political system lies, our job is to look past the hype and find who has real value and who is all smoke and mirrors.</p><p><u>You're a citizen. It's your job to figure out what they're trying to do to your head.</u></p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-87858365750725823372022-03-31T06:50:00.000-04:002022-03-31T06:50:06.854-04:00A First-World Issue, Funny...Maybe<p> I have really short little fingers. I mean, I know that "little finger" should alert one to the fact that it won't be much, but mine are way shorter than the others, barely passing the middle joint of Finger #4.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6F-5ITClLtlQrjdnJYy-j2oPiNHYpnPrPAk2HX3dg6PhjJvNMJVXx1OXAy0_8dbWrrgxFhrzfS9xeP12eRlMCeM_5_ZxEPse1BFzVy1w23WuxPfzidUsvhUX-Mm4hKGH7QnVOmkOKDzjusZzIPA5WFLBxj-EnmCPIm0yIYl-Jfo0XYssocSJlHt3/s2793/fingers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="2793" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6F-5ITClLtlQrjdnJYy-j2oPiNHYpnPrPAk2HX3dg6PhjJvNMJVXx1OXAy0_8dbWrrgxFhrzfS9xeP12eRlMCeM_5_ZxEPse1BFzVy1w23WuxPfzidUsvhUX-Mm4hKGH7QnVOmkOKDzjusZzIPA5WFLBxj-EnmCPIm0yIYl-Jfo0XYssocSJlHt3/s320/fingers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Why is this a problem? Because my new keyboard, which is ergonomic and supposedly hand-healthy, requires a strong push to work the keys on the top row. I learned typing in a real class, where every day we set our hands on the Home Row and learned to keep them there. That means that my right-hand little finger should operate the "Back" key without much change in hand position. Sadly, it isn't up to the task, and it really slows my typing when it takes two or even three tries to erase a mistake.<p></p><p>Will this bring about the end of Western Civilization? No. Could I buy a more compact keyboard? Probably. I just thought it was kind of funny that as the world rages and ruins around me, something so small can be so irritating .<br /></p><p><br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-25964488251535356262022-03-23T13:39:00.004-04:002022-03-23T13:39:56.430-04:00Have You Missed a Book in a Series?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBV0m5L2oBCoTx1__Rt1E3nQ5Q_OnX17nIyUPjWS041okAS-Eu2JJTrgaD869tv-Q3-zbRHpPFk7AeCSylnHH_Bp9W47W2_c2wO4xQkxWrBEqtJQXWvqlSdV2i4VA0EuoaVSB7SPD8Bpoe6rf0RZcEB3L0xccP29nOXelHIPhcPbeDLa7rbIbgGTF/s640/IMG_0264(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBV0m5L2oBCoTx1__Rt1E3nQ5Q_OnX17nIyUPjWS041okAS-Eu2JJTrgaD869tv-Q3-zbRHpPFk7AeCSylnHH_Bp9W47W2_c2wO4xQkxWrBEqtJQXWvqlSdV2i4VA0EuoaVSB7SPD8Bpoe6rf0RZcEB3L0xccP29nOXelHIPhcPbeDLa7rbIbgGTF/s320/IMG_0264(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />A word I hear sometimes when people talk about me is "prolific." Yes, I do have a lot of books out, and that can get confusing. Did you miss a book? Maybe a whole series?<br /><p></p><p>To help readers decide if they're up to date, I've devised a list a la Seinfeld, using "The one where..."</p><p><b>THE LOSER MYSTERIES</b><b> </b></p><p><i><b> </b>Killing Silence- </i>The one where we meet Loser, a woman who lives on the streets of Richmond, ignoring just about everyone until she feels compelled to help a little girl and her dad.<br /></p><p><i>Killing Memories- </i>The one where Loser goes home to West Virginia, intending to live alone, but finds connections to people who need her, especially her crime-solving expertise.<br /></p><p><i>Killing Despair- </i>The one where Loser goes back to Richmond to face her past and learn what exactly happened the night her husband died.<br /></p><p></p><p><b>THE KIDNAP CAPERS</b></p><p><i>KIDNAP(.)org-</i>The one where Robin becomes a criminal by helping her neighbor right a wrong--and decides she likes putting cheaters in their place.<br /></p><p><i>Pharma Con -</i>The one where Robin and the gang take on a Big Pharma scoundrel on his oh-so-secure estate.<br /></p><p><i>The Trouble with Dad-</i>The one where Robin has to deal with her con man dad while he's pursued by some very nasty people he conned.<br /></p><p><b>MACBETH'S NIECES </b><br /></p><p><i>Macbeth's Niece-</i>The one where Tessa is captured by an English spy and taken from her uncle's castle against her will.<br /></p><p><i>Double Toil & Trouble </i>-The one where Tessa's twin sisters have their own adventures, one in the Highlands and one in France with William the Conqueror as her host.<br /></p><p><b>THE SIMON AND ELIZABETH MYSTERIES</b></p><p><i>Her Highness' First Murder-</i>The one where Simon meets Princess Elizabeth, and they try to discover who is killing and beheading beautiful young women.<br /></p><p><i>Poison, Your Grace-</i>The one where Elizabeth asks Simon to help her protect her brother Edward and prove she isn't trying to poison him.<br /></p><p><i>The Lady Flirts with Death-</i>The one where Elizabeth is locked in the Tower of London and Simon does his best to keep her alive, as he also does for his old friend Peto the Pope.<br /></p><p><i>Her Majesty's Mischief -</i>The one where Elizabeth sends Simon to Scotland to give her an objective opinion of Mary, Queen of Scots.<br /></p><p></p><p><b>THE MERCEDES MAXWELL MYSTERIES</b></p><p><i>Shakespeare's Blood</i>-The one where Mercedes is chased all over the UK by a madman looking for Spanish treasure.<br /></p><p><i>Charlie Dickens' Documents -</i>The one where Colm goes missing, and Mercedes and her oddball helpers go looking for him in Scotland.<br /></p><p><b>THE DEAD DETECTIVE MYSTERIES</b></p><p><i>The Dead Detective Agency-</i>The one where Tori finds herself on The Ship, learns that she was murdered, and insists that Seamus, her dead detective, must take her with him as he investigates.<br /></p><p><i>Dead for the Money-</i>The one where Seamus investigates the murder of a wealthy man and finds a lonely young girl who believes she's got nobody now that he's dead.<br /></p><p><i>Dead for the Show-</i>The one where Seamus goes to a Toronto theater, hoping to prove to a stubborn young woman that she really is dead, and finds that her sister is in great danger.<br /></p><p><i>Dead to Get Ready--and Go-</i>The one where Seamus finally investigates his own murder, facing the fact that his killer might have been the person he loved most in the world.<br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376431760628851460.post-89108641215695943512022-02-16T07:58:00.005-05:002022-03-11T05:47:52.157-05:00Are You Kidding, or Are You Being Mean?<div class="separator"><p style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">👿<br /></p></div><p> I taught tenth grade for decades, and one of the things I tried to make my students aware of is the difference between joking, kidding, being funny, (whatever we call it) and being cruel. One of the lamest excuses we offer for cruel behavior is "I was kidding." I asked them to consider the following things, but people on social media might take the same lessons to heart.</p><p><u>Is it necessary to point out differences? </u>The other day I was sitting with several people when a woman we all know came along wearing, for the first time since I've known her, a wide-brimmed sunhat. The day was hot. She has lots of skin damage from years in the sun, and I happen to know she sees a dermatologist regularly. As she approached, the comments started. "Are you going out to pick cotton?" "Where in the world did you find that hat?" "You look like a dork."</p><p>She took it well, but come on. Was it necessary? Might they have figured out why she'd chosen a hat that provided more shade? Are baseball caps the only allowable headgear these days? <br /></p><p><u>Can the person change the thing you're "joking" about?</u> Mitch McConnell's neck draws far more comments on social media than his behavior as a political leader. Why not focus on his decisions, his comments, his actions? Are we in kindergarten, making fun of a person's looks? Not cool.<br /></p><p><u>Would I like it if someone said something similar to/about me? </u> As a kid I was thin, but "skinny" was the predominant descriptor. I started asking people who said, "You're so skinny!" if they'd be okay with me saying, "You're so fat!" Often, they didn't realize that I took the word as criticism, and some claimed they considered it a compliment. No, it's not. Especially among adolescents, words like <i>skinny</i> and <i>fat</i> are never useful.<br /></p><p>Now come the comments about political correctness and cancel culture. "We can't say anything!" some complain. They might add, "We're expected to actually think about what we say before we say it!" Gee, what a concept! </p><p>I agree that those things can be taken too far, and terms that started out as "okay" get branded as wrong, wrong, wrong. Take <i>retarded</i> as an example. It simply means "slow," so originally, when it referred to those whose learning is delayed, it was descriptive. But people began using it as an insult. (This is not uncommon. It happens in language all the time, and is called <i>lowering</i>. For example, <i>stink</i> was once any smell, but over time it lowered in meaning and now is used only for bad smells.) </p><p>When a word is used as a pejorative, it's time to find other, less offensive, words to replace it. That can be difficult. With words like <i>retarded</i> or <i>crippled, </i>replacement terms can be cumbersome, like "differently abled," and many go the same route as the originals because people use them to "joke" (meaning point out in a mean way) about differences between people.</p><p>We can all be less hurtful if we considering the three points made above. Even if we're "joking" or "kidding," we're adults. It's time to leave the playground taunts behind. <br /></p>Author Peg Herringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06714962328212252012noreply@blogger.com0