The Truth is

WE KNOW THE TRUTH, DO YOU?

Welcome readers to the continuing blog tour for the latest science fiction/fantasy book release, the anthology called, WE KNOW THE TRUTH, DO YOU? by twenty-five authors of a variety of genres.

I know, Sci-Fi isn’t my usual fare. So how did I end up in this wonderfully creative anthology? Well, I know author, editor, and mom Terri Wilson. Terri and I live across town from each other. When she, along with other author friends decided to put together an anthology to celebrate the upcoming Area 51 raid (which as we know captured the attention of every social media outlet out there. Terri said, why not give them an alternative to going to a raid and give them a cool book suggesting that a bunch of authors might be able to suggest more about Area 51 than people could possibly guess.

So the call went out and wow, the response was incredible. Terri was amazed and the anthology began in earnest.

Even I was excited because I know Terri’s work ethic. She was my PA for a while, has been my editor, my beta and even my formatter. So when she said she was honchoing this book, I openly declared I was IN, despite not having a clue what to write about since I don’t “do” sci-fi.

Ah, but I write about vampires and a mythological phoenix, so what could be more alien than this? Who needed to come from off planet? Not my story. My story suddenly came to me. What if the Air Force didn’t have a secret but there was one at Area 51? What if the lack of secret was the conspiracy? And what if the truth there was magic at Area 51?  Magic that was dying….

From there I tied my story to my current paranormal fiction series, Evening Bower, and used the characters from my series to tell the story of a young Air Force sergent who disappears and the friends from my series who show up to help. Their discovery is shocking and unexpected, sad and yet hopeful. I called it MERMURINGS (no, that’s not misspelled).

Of course I worried my story wouldn’t fit in. I soon discovered I needn’t have fretted. The stories that were submitted included alien immigrants, conspiracy theories, military black ops, mystery, romance, serial killers, prison escapes, humor, unexpected endings (or is it beginnings?), and so much more! And of course, there are actual aliens who come to visit! This book developed into a tome of stories where there was something for everyone. Here are just a few sample covers.

But you know what really sold me on the anthology? ALL royalties are to be DONATED to US VETS. That’s right – ALL. None of the authors will take one dime. As a retired US Air Force officer, I am so proud to be a part of this book because of that!

Then guess what happened? FORBES did an article on the upcoming “Raid of Area 51” and THEY MENTIONED THE BOOK! I almost lost my mind. You can read about that here.

After that we authors began a blog tour and that brings you here, with me. The Area 51 raid? Nah, it was a bust. But you can learn the Truth if you get this anthology, because we have the answers and we’ll share them with YOU. This book will tell you all you need to know. I promise.

Check out the anthology website here. And then take this link to get your copy of this terrific book (that happens to be over 400 pages long!) Would 25 talented and insightful authors lie to you? The truth is waiting….

I’ll see you at the edge of Area 51. Until then,
I remain, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry

Writing with Mortality

My maternal grandparents in 1956

I’m getting older. At 64, I have to step back and examine my life and where I fit in to the legacy of my family. My dad died at 69. My mom at 76. Her mom at 82 and her dad at 66. Mom didn’t see it coming. She was in good health.

I’m in okay health and sometimes I wonder about my ticking clock. I ask myself at night if I accomplished all I needed to in the day to be sure I didn’t waste time or leave important things undone. It is often motivation for my books, to be sure I finish before I die. Mortality. 

Life and Death is an issue in Infinity War as she see our superheroes snapped out of existence. Like Spiderman said moments before he disappeared, “I don’t feel so good, Mr. Stark.” The entire idea of suddenly ceasing to exist is made ever more poignant to us old timers when we hear talk of the Avengers moving on and the old actors passing the torch. Truly, Fury, Capt. America, Iron Man, Thor, are all aging in real life. Mortality seems to be an issue for Hollywood (age diversity and discrimination will be for another day), and younger superheroes are waiting in the wings. Just look at what was done with the X Men. Poor Professor X!

Mortality is an issue with our books too. If we write supernatural or paranormal characters we don’t have to worry about their aging. Or if we have to deal with it, it can be done very slowly (like decades slowly), or even used as a plot device if we need to kill off someone or scare everyone with the loss of a favorite character.

But where are the love stories for the over 40? Honestly, I don’t find many adult books, other than Contemporary Fiction/Romance, where the over 40 or 50 group deals with love or loving again. Yes, we find it in younger characters, but we avoid the “older” or the “elderly.”

Gives a girl a complex and makes her think she’s passé. Like all the talk about the older actors being past their prime for their superhero roles, they are made new with younger, more viral, more “viable” contract players. Seems a bit unfair especially if you have superpowers to say that after age “x” that you are too old to do your job.

My job is to write. My job is to write good stories. If I write stories about older people, the younger folks don’t want to read about the 50 year old divorce with three grown children and four grandchildren, her arthritis and her aged mother with diabetes or Alzheimer’s. It’s too….real? Too close to home?

Maybe that’s it. We’re aging and it’s real. It’s contemporary but not the way we want to be remembered? I don’t know. Can you imagine a story about Hawkeye and his family in addition to his fighting Thanos? It’s rumored that we will have something like that in Avengers 4. Why doesn’t that mortality bother us?

What about your stories? Do you write about older people other than wizards and witches and sorcerers and vampires? Can you? Would you? Or is mortality too scary to manage because it is too real and close to home? Like a birthday cake with a heart – a real heart – it frightens and grosses us out. But there is a magic in the reality if we try to see it.

I think about it every day. And I’ve discovered that I am adding older characters to my stories. Yes, some of them have supernatural abilities. And some are mere mortals who have managed to live into their more senior years. I don’t write Young Adult stories so maybe I’m trying to match reality with the imaginary in a way that makes my reality more palatable. Or maybe it makes you think more about your reality and manage it better?

Mortality. The scariest story there is to a writer with a million stories to tell. I’m writing as fast as I can but if I get zapped out of existence, I want my readers to have truth amid the fantasy. I want to read that too. Write more real people. Age them along with you. Let me know that my mortality is okay and that I can be a superhero even with gray hair and eczema or contact lenses.

Maybe the best writing is one that says the greatest superheroes are the best of us, just the way we are, even aged.  Just do me a favor? Write faster and leave a legacy that will outlast time (or Thanos).

Mortality. It only matters if you let it take you without a fight. Right Mr. Stark?

Thanks for stopping by.

I remain, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry

(All credit to Marvel and DC. I do not own rights nor use photos for personal gain).

 The Truth is….Writers Lie About Writing

I’m going to do for you what few writers actually do — I’m going to tell you the truth about why writers lie and what are the lies they – we – tell.

That in itself is a miracle statement because as Stephen King once said, “Fiction is a lie. The good fiction is the truth inside the lie.” So buckle up.

FICTION:  Writing is an adventure.

     Truth:  Writing is not an adventure. Writing is hard work. Writing is misery. Writing is painful. Writing is like pulling your socks up through your stomach. Learning to write is also not an adventure. It is time consuming and tedious and never ending. The act of writing is hard work. And you have to really want to do it – no, you have to feel compelled to do it — no, you must be obsessed to do it – in order for you to get through all the trials and tribulations that is the act of writing.

FICTION:  Writing is its own reward

     Truth:  No, chocolate is its own reward. Some writers won’t admit it but they write for money. Other writers won’t admit it but they write because they don’t know any other way. Me? I write because if I don’t all the stuff in my head will make me crazier than I already am. The reward I get from writing comes if I hear just one person say, “Oh I loved it.” That is the truth. Oh sure I write for myself but I’m never going to say I like it. That reward must come from without. Meanwhile, I’m eating chocolate.

FICTION:  Write a little every day and you’ll finish that book in no time.

     Truth:  Bologna! Yes, if you write a little every day you might finish a book. It will be “no time” for sure, meaning that it will take you an incalculable amount of time to finish. You won’t finish in any reasonable time. First because you won’t feel like writing every day and second, because if you only write a little very day, your book will read like a piece of hopscotch. Yes, write every day but when it comes to writing a book, write as much as you can every day, and let it be a great deal. Write until you can’t write anymore that day. Write until your brain is screaming. Write write write!

However, if in doubt that a book is possible, Stephen King will tell you, “Write a page a day. Only 300 words, and in a year you have written a novel.” (That’s a 109,500 words before editing).

FICTION:  The more you write, the better writer you’ll become.

     Truth: This is a tough one. The more you write, the more you will produce. However, getting better at your craft depends on more than just the prolific writing habit. It depends on your studying how to write. It depends on your reading all the books you can get your hands on – not just about your favorite wizard or dystopian planet, but also about dialogue and punctuation and correct word usuage and how to build plot and write deep characters (just to name a simple few things). THEN the more you write, the better your chances are that you will become a better writer than you were.

FICTION:  If you are having a hard time, just stop and walk away for a while. You’ll be better for it.

     Truth:  NO. DON’T DO IT. Bad advice. The only stopping should come when you are between projects. Never stop in the middle of one. Coming back to it is hard. Remembering what you intended is nearly impossible. Recapturing that feeling you began with is not going to happen. If you let go of the magic while you are in it, you will lose the initial momentum of a good thing. It won’t feel better when you come back. In fact, you will be more tempted to quit.

Stephen King, “Stopping a piece of work just because it’s hard either emotionally or imaginatively is a bad idea. Sometimes you have to go on when you don’t feel like it & sometimes you are doing good work when it feels like all you’re managing to do is shovel shit from a sitting position.”

FICTION:  Once you finish that first book, the second will be easier.

     Truth:  I equate this to something I heard in a movie once, “The first murder is the hardest. After that, they get easier.” Only a sociopath might think this!  I can tell you for a fact that once you finish the fist book, you should dance and celebrate. Finishing is awesome. You are ready to keep going, right?
     Time for the second book? I’m here to tell you that it is JUST AS HARD AS THE FIRST OR THE LAST.  There is no “easy” book. There is no “fast” book. Every book wrenches something out of you and the pulling and and taking is more like cutting yourself open and bleeding for a while. Nothing easy about it. (unless you’re a sociopath!). 

Writing any book is hard. Each book is just as hard in its own way. Every book is a unique challenge. Does it get easier to plan or plot or do you feel smarter about your craft? Probably. Possibly. I hope so. But the work itself is never easier. Don’t let anyone fool you.

FICTION:  You are too old to start now. There’s no point.

     Truth: Bologna. Here’s Stephen King again, “You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.”  Writing has no age. It simply is. It calls and you answer. Writring is a need, a calling, a desire, an obsession. If you want to write, then write. If you feel strongly about it, nothing on this world will stop you. Will you be published? Will you be a best-seller? Those things are issues for another day. For today, just write. Write because you believe there is nothing else you can do.

FICTION: Writers need inspiration in order to write.

     Truth: Bologna. Writers WANT inspiration. Writers crave it and sometimes do need it. But if writers waited to be inspired to write a book or a story or a poem, very little would get done. Writers who want to succeed and/or publish have a motto. Butt in chair. All that means is if you want to get the job done, you have to simply do the work. (see first truth). Stephen King will tell you, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”

Work. Writing is work. Oh once in a while you hit a magical nirvana when the writing flows and you feel as if you won’t ever stop the train of prolific thought. And then you do. Yes, there will be moments when you think you are in the groove and it will always be this marvelous feeling of achievement.
      And then reality sets in. Writing is unglamorous. Writing is sometimes tedious. Writing is sometimes writing the same page over a dozen times. Writing is sometimes frustrating. Sometimes impossible.

And sometimes writing is  the most incredible, wonderful, surreal work you will ever accomplish. But if you are waiting to be inspired, you are just looking for a way to talk yourself out of doing the work.

THE BOTTOM LINE:  Writers lie. We finish our books mostly in solitary confinement. We work hard. We scream at the page, we edit until we hate our work. We write because we must. We breath ink and vellum and when we are holding the final product, we lie.

We tell you and others what a wonderful journey it was to get the book done. And why do we do this?  Well, I’ve never had a human child but my mom told me that the horrible pain fades and only the joy of the child remains.  So when the book is finished, it is our baby, our joy.  Given this truth, we tend to diminish the work with an honest lie.

Writers lie but we don’t really mean to (Is that truth or a lie?). We writers only want one thing — for you to find your moment, the joy of birthing your own book, project, play, whatever. We are happy and proud in the end and we want that same joy for you, the would-be writer, and the reader.

Think of this the next time someone asks you, “I want to write, but…..”

Let me leave you with more words of Stephen King, “A person is never too old for stories. Man and boy, girl and woman, we live for them.”

and remember my opening quote — “Fiction is the truth inside the lie.”

Given that truth, go and tell some lies. But now you know the truth why you are doing it.

Thanks for stopping by!
Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry

(the philosophy above is my opinion based on my experience and in discussion with other writers)

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****The following items will always appear to keep you posted on activities.*****

WIP (Works in Progress): – NEW BOOK OF POETRY! – expected release July 2016
– first novel in the Evening Bower series, about vampires and other supernatural creatures
– fictional memoir – November 2016!
– four-part fairy story (part one complete)

On the Desk: (next reading): A Potion to Die For – Heather Blake

Off the Desk (book just finished): Rock-a-bye Bones – Carolyn Haines

Coming Soon:  Are you writing every day? Why you should and how I can help!
                          Guest Interview coming in June!