Writing and Publishing News

Do you subscribe to SPAWNews? It’s free. Subscribe here: http://www.spawn.org and receive a FREE copy of our e-booklet, “Promote Yourself! 25 Ways to Promote Your Work Whether You’re an Artist, Author or Small Publisher.” This e-booklet was compiled by myself, Patricia Fry and the president of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network), Susan Daffron.

What’s in SPAWNews? Typically, it includes the Book Doctor column, written by Bobbie Christmas; Word Usage Column, by Bonnie Myrhum; one or two articles of interest to our audience; what’s being talked about at SPAWNDiscuss, announcements of upcoming events and teleseminars; messages from the editor and the president and a book review column.

I thought you might be interested in knowing about some of the books we’ve reviewed in SPAWNews within the last several months. Here’s a rundown:

All but one of these books were reviewed by me, Patricia Fry

The Gettysburg Approach to Writing and Speaking Like a Professional, by Philip A. Yaffe. (June, 2010)

A Writer’s Vehicle, Henry Ford’s Way, by Billie A. Williams (May, 2010)

The Power of Memoir; How to Write Your Healing Story, by Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D (April 2010)

How to Make Real Money Selling Books, by Brian Jud (March, 2010)

The I Love to Write Book: Ideas and Tips for Young Writers, by Mary Lane Kamberg (February 2010) Reviewed by Dallas Woodburn

Become a Real Self-Publisher, by Michael N. Marcus (January, 2010)

The Well-Fed Writer (revised), by Peter Bowerman (November, 2009)

Write History Right; How to Research, Organize and Document the Past for Your Hometown, Region, Family, Sports Team, School, Events, Organization, Church, by M. H. Collins (October, 2009)

Writing Picture Books, A Hands-on Guide From Story Creation to Publication, by Ann Whitford Paul (September 2009)

If you find any of these titles intriguing, visit the SPAWN website and delve into our SPAWNews archives to read the reviews and discover book ordering information.

If you have a book for authors, freelance writers, artists, photographers or anyone who is interested in publishing their creative work, let me know about it. I may be interested in reviewing it for SPAWNews. Contact me here: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

Have you ever shopped for a website design? Where do you look? How do you go about it?

MatilijaPress.com ( http://www.matilijapress.com) is about ten years old (maybe older—I can’t recall exactly when I became a “webby”). But I do remember that I got my website for FREE.

A friend was taking a web design course and needed a project. I was an author in the emerging technology age and didn’t have a website. So she designed my website as her class project.

My current webmaster and I agree that I need a lighter, more modern look to my site. She has some ideas about making things easier to access. I want an area where I can post and change things. Otherwise, the information on the established pages will pretty much remain the same. I am open to your ideas. My website is for you—to notify you about books that you might need/want and make it easy for you to order them; to inform you and provide updated resources related to writing and publishing; to let you know about my other offerings such as online courses, my availability as a speaker, a rundown of my speaking schedule, a generous serving of my articles for your perusal and, of course, this blog.

What more would you like to see at Matilija Press? Do you have ideas for making my site more user friendly and convenient? And what about a look—any ideas about that? I’d love your input.

Ordering Books For Holiday Giving
I’m starting to order books for holiday gifts. I like to give my clients’ books. Generally, my clients give me a copy of their books once they’re completed. I love when that happens. But one client never got around to it, so I ordered two copies of her book from her publisher this morning. One for me and one as a gift. In case you’re interested, it is The News From the Master by Virji Angelo (Xulon Press). I don’t usually get involved with cover design. It just isn’t my area. But the beautiful cover on this book was developed from my suggestion. Go take a look at it. http:// www.xulonpress.com/book_detail.php?id=6420

The book is interesting, too. It’s the true story of some rather amazing spiritual things that have occurred in Virji’s life.

I also ordered several copies of Renay Daniels’ Ten Little Bulldogs, an adorable children’s book. See it here: http://www.tenlittlebulldogs.com
I told you about Wendy Dager’s ebook, Thrift Me Deadly. Oh my gosh, it is a good book. She describes it as “the (fictional) diary of a serial killer.” But it has twists and humor you would not expect. Read a sample at: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/4474.

Wendy is offering a discount until December 31, 2009. Use coupon code ML66J at checkout.
And, I also love Sandra Cropsey’s, Who’s There? You’ve got to read her description of this book. I would put it in the “Arsenic and Old Lace” category. You won’t be able to read it without laughing and even cringing a time or two. Go here and click on “items.” http://www.sandracropsey.com

There are a couple of novels I’ve been editing for clients, but they aren’t quite ready for publication. I’ll have to wait until next year to give these books as gifts. And there’s a heart-wrenching memoir about childhood abuse that will also be on my holiday gift list sometime in the future. This client has such writing talent that this book, if aptly pitched and if discovered by the right agents/publishers, could reach bestseller status. The story is riveting.

I’m hoping that Roy Raynor’s romance novel, Chameleon Man will be ready for holiday giving this year. As soon as I know for sure, I’ll let you know. This is a really, really good read.

In the meantime, if you need help or guidance with your current writing or publishing project, consider contacting me. PLFry620@yahoo.com.

I can’t always work with every author, but I can certainly try to point you in the right direction. Just within the last few weeks, I advised a woman with a young children’s book to seek out editors within that realm. I gave her a couple of leads. Writing for young children is a specialty. There are rules that I’m not familiar with. But I know people who are.

I received a manuscript to evaluate—it had already been edited—but gosh it needed work. It was a science fiction, but totally narrative for the first chapter or so. I asked the author to please study well-known books in this genre to get an idea of how to write a lead that grabs the reader and how to tell the story through your characters instead of narrating all of the interesting facts about the land, the people, the story…

There’s sooooo much to writing a book manuscript that most authors don’t even consider. One of the first things I do when I’m going to write a book of a different kind is to study books like the one I have in mind. Study lots of them. Study the openings. Study the way the story is told—how it flows. Take a look at the format of several similar books to get an idea of what would work for yours. To learn more, visit my site: http://www.matilijapress.com

I decided to present an excerpt from my latest book, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats. This book is getting attention all over the net. Some people, upon hearing the title, think it is a book of fiction. Guess what? The stories in Catscapades are true. It’s nonfiction all the way—real life stories, except possibly for one. Before I tell the Kitty Catapult story, I state that I have no proof of the validity of this story. Actually, it’s been told over and over again. It’s a great story. It could be true. But I don’t know that it is, so I can’t and don’t present it as such.

Here is one of my favorite short stories reflecting an incident I witnessed with my own kitties nearly 40 years ago. Enjoy.

Gus: The Babysitting Cat

Gus was an ordinary gray and white male cat with an extraordinary heart. In the early years of my adult infatuation with cats and, while I was raising small children, I was not quick to get my cats spayed and neutered. Thus, I experienced the joy of a few litters of kittens. We raised Gus and his sister, Molly from PomPom’s second (and last) litter. Before long, Molly had kittens of her own.

Molly was an incredible mother. In fact, I didn’t see her leave the birthing box for days after the kittens were born and I wasn’t able to coax her out. So I carried food and water to her. “Maybe she’s slipping out at night to use the sandbox and stretch her legs when we’re asleep,” I thought.

On the third morning, as I sat next to the box stroking Molly and her babies, I crooned, “You’re such a devoted mommy. You’re taking such good care of your kittens. But you need to take care of yourself, too. Get out and move around a little. Your babies will be okay.” Molly just purred and licked one of her kittens so hard that he rolled over on his back. He reminded me of a tortoise for a few seconds as he clumsily tried to right himself. I reached down and nudged the chubby body until he was in nursing position again. I was still chuckling as I walked over to make the bed.

Suddenly, Gus walked into the room. His pace was deliberate—as if he was on a mission. Of course, I’d heard about male cats harming kittens and I became concerned. But Gus and Molly were so close—surely he wouldn’t hurt the babies. In fact, I kept both of these kittens because of their obvious devotion to one another. They were inseparable. When one was sleeping, they were both sleeping curled up in a gray and white circle of fur—always together. When one was outside, the other was always nearby. This was the longest period I’d ever seen them apart. And now here he came. I wanted to stop him. Don’t get any closer, I thought. Danger! Danger! Frightening thoughts filled my head.

I looked over at Molly. She seemed unconcerned. And then something happened—something I would never imagine—something I’ve never witnessed before or since.

Molly stepped out of the birthing box and Gus stepped in. I watched in astonishment as Molly walked calmly out of the room. I looked back over at Gus. To my amazement, there he sat arrow straight and upright staring into space—ears slanted slightly out, eyes only partially open, a look of disgust and disdain on his whiskered face. He sat like a statue seemingly ignoring the motion at his feet as four newborn kittens squirmed and rolled around him.

A good ten minutes later, Molly reappeared in the doorway. Gus spotted her and leapt out of the box. He walked swiftly past her without so much as a “howdy do.” In fact, his demeanor was more as if to say, “You owe me one, kid—you owe me BIG.” And as far as I know, that was the first and last time that Gus ever agreed to be the babysitter.

Order your copy of Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats today. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.html