We Lost Our Dear Sister Janet Fogg

 

COVER REVEAL!

Very excited! Today is the big Cover Reveal for the Pikes Peak Writers' first anthology, Fresh Starts. I'm honored that my essay, After Grandpa Died, joins other creative pieces with that theme. We can all use the hope of a fresh start right now. Release date is April 9th!

And here is the front and back:

Gorgeous right?

Stay tuned!

from the Inkpot

So Many Memories

So many memories.... Sisters of the Quill... Love this photo!

Ask Your Beta Reader

It helps a reader to know what you are concerned about. Here are some question you might want to ask so you can get actionable feedback on your book:

- What's the one word you'd use to describe each character?
- Who was your favorite character?
- Favorite scene?
- On which page do you think you know what the story will be about?
- What do you wish were different in chapter one?
- What's your favorite Chapter?
- Where did you skim?
- Why?
- Where did you cringe?
- Why
- Where did you cry/gasp/laugh?
- Why?
- What was too predictable?
- What do you consider the dark moment?
- Were you satisfied by the end?
- Why?

You'll notice there are many whys... that's because it is much more helpful to know WHY something is good or bad so you can go back and do more or less of that thing.

Remember to thank your Beta Reader!

Good editing!

From the Inkpot

Friends of the CU Libraries, Just Desserts presents Shannon Baker!

There was fun to be done!

“Oh, the places you'll go!
There is fun to be done!

There are points to be scored.
There are games to be won.”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

Oh, the places we went! (The Bookbar on March 29th for a fabulous book launch by Becky Clark, Peg Brantley, and Shannon Baker.)

There was fun to be done!  (With this trio?  Surely you jest!)

Yes, games were won!  (Wine, anyone?  Or would you prefer the excellent hot chocolate?)

Oh, the places you'll go in their new books! 

And links to their websites!

Becky Clark

Peg Brantley

Shannon Baker

Editing Pelicans

I’m a casual bird watcher and in my SF work-in-progress I’ve included descriptions of several off-world birds, including their habits and song.  I was once editing a chapter that included the description of one of “my” birds while also keeping an eye on several American White pelicans cruising around the lake.  When they’re not dipping their heads to fish, I think the pelicans look like barges, sailing majestically and without effort past their smaller kin, the Canada goose.  Flying, the pelicans tuck their necks and spread their wings wide, the black feathers on the edge of their wings accentuating the eight or ten foot wingspan – an exquisite sight.  Yet a pelican’s ungainly beak, awkward stance on land, and humorous waddle made me wonder how I would “edit” a pelican if they were one of my creations, which lead me to the conclusion that I wouldn’t.  They are fabulous. 

I then considered unforgettable characters from several of my favorite books.  Some of those characters are, of course, as handsome and sleek as a kestrel in flight, but most are not, and the characters that capture my heart and wring it inside out have to cope with multiple internal flaws or challenges and often a few external ones.  Just like the pelicans, memorable characters carry on in spite of their awkward beaks or throat sacs, and frequently because of those beaks or sacs they save the day.

The pelicans reminded me that each character I write, whether hero or villain, needs to have his own story and character arc, and that loose skin and long, heavy beaks are interesting and appropriate traits for my un-edited pelican, which may be equally appropriate for a character in one of my books.  “My” birds can’t all be swans and this is good.  Hopefully, just like the pelican, they are unique unto themselves and memorable in their own fashion. 

I do think though, that I might just have to give some future character a throat sac…

~ Folio

My (Not so Secret) Graphic Design for Friends, Part Two

As I mentioned in my October blog, in my past life, when I worked full-time at a day job, I enjoyed graphic design, so I splurged a number of years ago and purchased Photoshop. Since then I've created graphics for my own books and short stories, including business cards, postcards, book trailers, posters, and ebook covers.

I've also enjoyed creating images for a few friends, and today I'm sharing more of that work!

Here's my most recent effort, a bookmark for Shannon Baker featuring the three books in her Nora Abbott mystery series!

Shannon Baker offers readers a deft mix of both important contemporary issues and the 

timeless spiritual traditions of the Hopi.  For those of us who hunger for the kind of novel 

Tony Hillerman used to write so well, this promising new series may just fill the bill. 

– William Kent Krueger, Bestselling author of the Cork O’Conner Mystery Series

Then there's Paul Flanders and his novel, Aspire.  Here's the full jacket for the paperback version.

On the earth plane Ernie Colstad, a high school English teacher, is grief stricken 

when his favorite student commits suicide. On the spiritual plane, his two guardian 

angels try to help Ernie find the fortitude to deal with the crisis and conflicts with 

the school administration in order to improve his chances to transcend to their tier.

And here's one of Paul's short stories, Learning to Lead.

Oh, how I love books!

~ Janet Fogg

www.janetfogg.com

Heroes make me cry

I've cried many times for the men of the 359th Fighter Group, shedding tears for men who were killed in action 70 years ago. Capt. Wayne N. Bolefahr is one such man.  Capt. Bolefahr flew with the 368th Fighter Squadron from April 1943 through 10 June 1944, when he was KIA.  Last week I posted this text on the 359th's Facebook page:

"On this early 10 June mission, the only claims were an electric loco and several goods wagons strafed by Fogg and his flight. But this was the opening of an eventful day. The only mission actively resented by the pilots as “a suicide job” came up next: escort on the deck of four PRU (Photographic Reconnaissance Unit) P-38s to the Antwerp area. The PRU pilots said they had not been able to get any planes back from the heavily defended Lowlands. The 368th was ordered to take them in. Colonel Tyrrell, briefing, warned of the flak and told the pilots they could do little good attempting to intervene: keep the enemy off the PRU and let them brave the flak.

"But the compulsion of the West Pointer’s code of duty, honor, country led Captain Wayne Norbert Bolefahr, beau ideal of the 368th, to do more than that. As the squadron swept in over the Scheldt with the four P-38s they came under a staggering barrage: there were automatic weapons emplaced everywhere along the winding coasts and the railroads, the heavy guns were in motion at extreme slant ranges. Bolefahr, slim, dark, kindly, courteous, a soldier in whom the sense of duty replaced the killer instinct he totally lacked, felt compelled to intervene. He was there. The Air Force wanted the pictures. So all along that blazing route he flew in the van, firing at every emplacement, drawing the enemy flak while the camera-Lightnings went off to the side, making their low obliques. It was magnificent; it was also death. “Bo” survived until 1410, four miles N of Antwerp, when his aircraft flamed under a hail of hits and augured in from 100 feet. Tom McGeever’s P-51 was badly clobbered, too, but he got back to Manston. All four PRUs came home with, the group hoped, the pictures of whatever it was they wanted. On the way back, four locos were destroyed and another damaged, but it was a saddened group of pilots who sat numbly in the lounge at Wretham Hall that night, and the impact of Bo’s loss fell heavily on every man and officer on the ground side who had known him." ~ Excerpt from the June 1944 359th Fighter Group History report dated 4 July 1944.

"Bo" gave his life for all of us, for freedom for the world. Yet that costliest of lessons seems to have faded as people run faster (from home to coffee shop to work to the gym or school and back), talk or text constantly, and rarely pause to reflect on life, to cherish their myriad opportunities. I could easily rant about the evil that seems to promulgate itself in this world of ours, but instead I'll shed a few more tears and continue to quietly work on my manuscript while also sharing photos and stories about the men of the 359th Fighter Group.

I do hope, though, that the story of Lt. Bolefahr's actions that day made a few of you cry. After you've wiped your face dry, but before you pick up your phone, read another blog, or jog to the coffee shop, please take a moment to step outside and gaze at the high, blue sky. Then send a word of thanks to "Bo," and to all heroes.

~ Janet Fogg
    Fogg in the Cockpit

I Blame my Brothers

I recently flew to Nashville and thought I would download a couple of ebooks onto my phone to read while on my trip.  I perused many options (you can't have too many books!), added a dozen or so to my wish list, and eventually selected a zombie apocalypse novel and a new mystery based on the world of Peter Wimsey created by Dorothy Sayers.  

Then I sat back and laughed.  At myself.  Zombies and post WWII England!  Could just as easily have been high fantasy and literary fiction.

I really do blame my brothers.  When I was young, in the summer I regularly took the bus to the library, often with my brothers and sister.  Books, books, books!  I was in Heaven!  We could each check out five books, and after I read mine I would then dip into those my brothers and sister brought home.  I didn't care that the books were typically above my reading level or what genre they selected.  Didn't matter one whit.  I consumed those books!  Pirates, pioneers, prisoners, or pomp (and circumstance).  Fairy tales, adventures, science fiction, or romance.  I relished each and every one.

Many years ago, when asked about my favorite books and the genres I preferred, I had great difficulty settling on just one or two.  I read and enjoy them all.  Sure, there's the occasional horror that's just too specific in its gore or torture scenes and I turn away, but that's a specific book, not the entire genre.  And yes, too much technical lingo in a military thriller will sometimes make my eyes glaze over, but if I care about the characters I read on.  And on, and on, and on.

So I want to thank my brothers and sister.  I hold them responsible for not only improving my reading skills but opening my eyes to so many genres.  And for sharing their books.

~ Folio

How the Sisters of the Quill came to be

Each Sister of the Quill was pursuing her writing dream independently in 1994 when, suddenly, she discovered kindred spirits walking alongside and linked arms. The group’s name only attached itself after Storm Petrel created an imaginary and tightly knit society of seventeenth-century penmen called the Brothers of the Quill for her current novel.

Storm Petrel struck up a conversation with Ink Pot at a Montessori School Christmas play, and discovered they lived in the same neighborhood. The core of an enduring critique group was born.

That spring, Storm Petrel spotted an unusual “Niwot” listing on Folio’s nametag at a Pikes Peak Writers Conference. They too discovered that they lived in the same neighborhood, and the fledgling critique group enfolded another kindred spirit.

We met Nib at a writing conference when she lived in the Nebraska Sandhills. The resulting e-mail correspondence paved the way for our daily (sometimes multiple daily) e-mail progress reports. Over the years Ink Pot, Nib, and Folio in particular became famous for hosting a party at each conference. Agents, editors, and writers shared the joy of their common obsession and became friends.

Because we were each at a different mile marker along the writer’s journey, we were equipped to help one another in unforeseen ways. Storm Petrel had been multi-published and her wisdom and willingness to share lessons learned has proven invaluable to her sisters. Now, Storm Petrel is not only putting the finishing touches on a carefully wrought, 17th century prequel to her Plumtree mystery series (Unsolicited, Unbound, Unprintable, Untitled, Unsigned, and Uncatalogued), an imaginative world of legendary libraries and nobility of spirit, she mentors high school students through the sometimes daunting and always complicated process of successfully applying to the colleges of their dreams.

Ink Pot was a literary writer who had been published in poetry journals. She apprenticed herself to commercial writing with a vigor that intensified over the years until she was writing a novel and a several screenplays in a single year—this in addition to being Mother of the Year in everybody’s book. She won nearly every prize offered in regional writing contests, and over her long apprenticeship has experienced all the agony and ecstasy an aspiring writer could know. As she acquired more and more expertise in the craft, she began to teach, first her sisters and then at conferences. Now she edits and presents courses regularly. Ink Pot is also known for delivering magical soup and sustenance of all kinds when her sisters hit rough spots along the way.

For more than a decade Folio had been getting up at ungodly hours of the morning to write by the time we met. She would rise daily at three-thirty or four to write for a couple of hours before heading off to run one of Colorado’s hottest architectural firms. Folio already had several works in her drawer, having served a long apprenticeship to fiction writing. She possesses a naturally effortless writing style that everyone just wants to keep reading forever. If you’ve read her first novel, Soliloquy, you understand. Folio is, like Ink Pot, an extremely detail-oriented editor and a topnotch brainstormer, and we relished celebrating publication of Fogg in the Cockpit, a collaborative non-fiction effort between Folio and her husband. Folio came up with the titles for all of Storm Petrel’s books after the first, including the unifying title theme.

Nib was cranking out chapters of an ambitious novel with great determination at the counter of her family’s feed store in Hyannis, Nebraska when we met. She is our action-packed, hot-topic thriller writer and has also served a long and fruitful apprenticeship to the craft. Several eventful years only served to make her more dedicated and prolific, and since publication of Tainted Mountain and Broken Trust she has already submitted the third in that series as well as what we hope will be the first novel in a new, long-lived series. She manages to turn out ideas and pages constantly, a real powerhouse.

Ink Pot, Folio and Nib have volunteered tirelessly at local writers conferences for many years, and are now famous in their own right for the generosity of their service. Storm Petrel’s modesty and gentle tenacity inspires all.

Sisters of the Quill. Sisters of the heart.

My Writing Team (A Poem)

My writing team of three,
'Tis me, myself, and I.
But wait, where's thou or thee?
A greater team have I!

(ahem)

Me writes first, the draft,
Myself whips out the pen,
And I, am I, plain daft?
To edit till "the end?"

I spit and cry and cuss,
At every shirty page,
Yet at "the end" I must,
Share my words again.

My friends, you read those words,
That slip and slide and rend,
Through every story told,
By me, your writing kin.

Thou holds my hand to cry,
Thy strength holds fast my heart,
Thee shares my angst and joy,
Through broken hopes, too oft.

And so my team of three,
When yes, "our" brain is fried,
"We're" grateful, don't you see?
Yes! Me, myself, and I.

~ Folio


Please add your own verse(s)!

Writing as a Business

Thankfully, tax season is behind us, but in early April I followed an interesting exchange of opinions about how the IRS might determine whether you, as a writer, are operating as a business and could (presumably) deduct expenses.  I've seen similar lists before, attended one or two panels on the subject, heard suggestions regarding making a profit at least one year out of five, and so on.  Of course tracking royalties is the fun part of this equation!

However, more than a few of the items on the "IRS" list annoyed me.  (Surprise, surprise.)

"Do you carry on your activities in a business-like manner?  Do you maintain a system to keep track of your expenses/income? (Do you maintain a separate checking account or charge card for business purposes?"

Yes and yes!  I win!  Er, wait.  This was just the first item on the list.  And while I'm not going to go through all of them, I did think it would be fun (ahem) to rant about a few of them.

"Is the time and effort you put into writing indicative of someone attempting to sell a manuscript for profit?"

Let me say it one more time.  I'm a slow writer.  I've always met my contract deadlines, but overall, think of me as a tortoise.  I think it's because I edit so much, plus I work on multiple manuscripts at the same time, so my progress feels sluggish.  But how and why would it be appropriate to compare my time and effort with someone else?  What if my plots are more (or less) complicated; my characters less (or more) developed?  And how in the hell would the IRS be able to judge this?  Can you picture a couple of agents sitting next to you, timing your efforts, then compiling that into a database so it can be compared to the next writer's efforts?  Or filling out a survey?  "It took four days to draft that chapter.  Then I edited it 19 times over the course of three months and changed the character arc of my heroine and added several scenes and then deleted one of them as I scrolled back."  How many hours did that take?  No clue.  But I sit at my computer many hours every day.  And most of us ARE attempting to sell our manuscripts for profit.  Not all.  But most.

"Have you generated a profit from your writing in prior years, and was the profit sufficient?" 

Yes, I've generated a profit.  Was it sufficient?  Hell, no!  Not if you calculate an hourly equivalent.  Do I  care?  Of course.  But that hasn't stopped me nor will it, though it would be nice to make enough to pay the mortgage.  Every month.  (Greedy, eh?  Wanting to pay the mortgage from my royalties.  Every.  Single.  Month.)  In truth, earning that much would provide so much affirmation that I wouldn't be able to stop grinning, which would, of course, trigger unintended consequences.  Children might run away, shrieking in terror.  My dancing in the street could alarm our neighbors, not to mention the cows and horses in the field to the east.  And what about that dark scene I need to write?  I might not be in the appropriate frame of mind to throw enough rocks at my characters, which might keep that manuscript from selling, which means I wouldn't make enough to pay my mortgage, which means I'd stop smiling, which means...  Okay, going in circles now.

"Have you changed your method of operation in an attempt to be more profitable?"

I have changed my methods over the years, but not to be more profitable.  It was simple evolution.  Writing first drafts on the computer instead of long-hand, doing more up-front plotting instead of my long (and beloved) habits as a pantser.  Social networking.  While it's true that I hope networking might entice a few more people to buy my books, I wasn't really thinking about bottom line profit.  Sorry, IRS, to be absolutely honest, the answer is no.  I haven't changed my habits in order to be more profitable.  I've changed them because it makes sense, sometimes because it's fun, but also to help achieve my writing goals.  MY goals.  Not yours.

Enough of their list.  How about mine?  It would be short and sweet, starting with something along the lines of, "How often do you sit down and write?  Virtually every day?  As you also cope with a day job?  And family?  Then OF COURSE you're a writer."

Does our dear old IRS have those questions and that answer on their list?  Nope.  Just dollars and cents.  I know, I know.  My list is simply wishful thinking on my part.  But remember, I do write fiction!

~  Folio

Are You an Excogitator?

Have you excogitated today? I have.

Be aware, symptoms vary and may not manifest themselves at all. You might stare out the window or at a blank wall. Perhaps you nod in agreement when no one has spoken, or shout and leap up from your chair. Tears could stream down your face. Your heart races and you might grin like a fiend or quietly make a few notes. Yes, the symptoms differ, from writer to writer.

Perhaps we’re not yet excogitating when that first flash of inspiration strikes. At that specific moment, when we delicately roll a new story concept across our palettes and relish the fresh aroma and heady flavor, then, we haven’t yet excogitated, but someday we spit and rinse then roll up our sleeves, and yes…it’s time to excogitate.

Writers wear so many hats: hero, villain, choreographer, world-builder, character assassin, landscaper, musician, politician, agitator, peacemaker, soldier, theologian - I could go on and on. So we’re all excogitators, whether we admit it or not. We think and plot and study. We invent entire worlds, individuals, and societies. We devise and concoct.

I’m an excogitator and proud of it.

I do wonder though, if I ever stop writing, does that mean I’m an ex-excogitator?

~ Folio

Lessons from young writers

Part of my work is mentoring high school students in writing. Without exception the students tell stories that are worthwhile and interesting, even profound. The challenge is to coax their voice and substance past their barriers so we make contact. The other day I had a flash of insight: I should listen more carefully to my own advice.

A few lessons from young writers:

1.     Write as if you’re speaking. Many of us immediately erect a barrier between our readers and ourselves by becoming stilted and formal in prose. When writing, my students often start a sentence with “However,” or “Therefore…” I always ask them when they last said those words in conversation. The fix? Speak your words, and either record them or try to recall how you expressed yourself when you were speaking. I often ask them to read their creations out loud when they’re done. You never forget this lesson once you’ve ever read your own work aloud at a signing or other event. J

2.     You’ll probably know this one, but: cut to the chase/start with Chapter Three. Forget the background until you’ve hooked your reader.

3.     Reduce the number of points you’re trying to make in any one section. For maximum effect narrow your focus, like concentrating a beam of sunlight through a magnifying glass.

4.     Leave out excessive detail; it slows the action.

5.     Ask yourself, when you finish a piece, “So what?” If you think about it, even in fiction, the writing has to be pretty good to distract the reader from that question.

6.     Use quirks. Find something unusual, visually interesting if possible, and latch onto it. One student wrote a great piece about how much she enjoyed wearing pink and other forbidden colors with her red hair. It’s fun and unforgettable, and told the reader a lot.

Now, if I can just listen to my own advice!

~ Stormy

Opportunities Abound!

In 1625 Francis Bacon said, "A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds."

Sometime in the 1990s an agent said to me, "every writer has to go through an apprenticeship, and writing a million words isn’t unusual before achieving your first sale."

Let me reinforce her theory by mentioning that many of my friends didn’t sell their first manuscript. Or their second. Often not even their fifth. I sold my third but it took years and many revisions.  It also took angst, anger, dashed hopes and dreams, and tenacity out the wazoo.

Writing gentles my soul.  I thrive when I'm world-building and conversing with my characters, as opposed to the negative emotions created by fussing and fuming about whether I'm THIS close to landing the next contract.  So I've changed my approach toward the publication side of this crazy business.  I'm far more picky about who I query, and when, because I'm excited to self-publish certain works.  Is my changing approach caused by confidence?  Somewhat.  But it was also created by understanding how the publishing industry works and how fast it is changing.

Opportunities abound in our brave new publishing world.  Let's take advantage of ALL of them!

~ Folio

Lessons from "The Dovekeepers"

I’ve confided in you before about my jello elephant novel. Each day I devote several hours to bringing it to its final form. It’s been completed eight or nine times, so it’s not that it’s not done. It’s just not right yet. This week I read The Dovekeepers, by Alice Hoffman, and learned a few things that might help. I hope they might help you, too.

It’s a novel about the two women and five children who survived Masada, and it’s just amazing. She is truly gifted. One of her characters resembles one of mine, which caused me to compare my book to hers closely, even paragraph by paragraph.

As I did, I realized that there was a recurring difference. Every paragraph or two, she would relate whatever action took place to a deeper meaning. To do this, she would use a symbol and build on it—as Jodi Picoult does in all her novels. As a result, many commonplace events are elevated to a higher level. Birds flying in the sky are a sign from God; dust is her body, reduced to ash. The discussion was taken up a notch throughout. We weren’t worrying about how she was getting from A to B in the desert; we were worrying about how her soul would get to the World-To-Come, as her character called it.

For some, this could become tiring. My husband would have put it down after one paragraph, but I’m sure book groups everywhere have decided it’s one of the best books ever. There are plenty of symbols to discuss, hidden meanings to flesh out, the stuff of book groups. And for us as writers, it demonstrates a useful technique.

I find myself now going through the book and seeing where I could use Alice Hoffman’s technique to make reading my plot-driven book a more beautiful experience.  As I do so I’m reminded of an exercise we were given at a writing retreat where we were asked to visualize a symbol and tell a story relating to it. The results were amazing; it really worked.

Examples from my current book: a plum blossom floating downstream on the River Thames becomes a symbol for a family’s return to their property in that direction. Hidden vaults filled with books in a church undercroft become symbols for the secrets of that place. A bird with notable characteristics becomes a symbol for a person, an oldie but goodie. Animals and birds work well because they’re exotic, and evoke speed, strength, sound, smells, and sometimes danger.

Happy writing!

~ Stormy

I Shall Thole

My friend Shirley gave me a word-of-the-day calendar for Christmas, and I look forward to each day's offering. Thus far, I've known most of the words, though I don't necessarily use them in conversation, and I've delighted in learning the few new words.

One in particular caught my fancy. Thole. To endure. I've tholed a lot in my writing career (as have most writers). Writing is a pleasure, in and of itself, but the occasional pat on the back has punctuated my satisfaction.

At first, those pats arrived from my friends in critique, for a lovely turn of phrase or sneaky plot twist. Then, there were contest wins with positive feedback. Later, when an agent or editor requested a full, I could wallow in anticipation for weeks. A "positive" rejection? Bring it on!

Just last week I submitted a query for a completed screenplay my husband and I co-wrote, and in two day (TWO DAYS!) the producer requested a full. Dick and I then spent two days (TWO DAYS!) running through our draft, fine-tuning this and that, before sending it off, along with the typical Hollywood release form.

Yet now, with a few books under my belt, the dream of having a screenplay optioned or receiving another book contract has made enduring the wait for a response different. Yes, I still daydream about a positive outcome for each and every query, but the fact that an experienced producer found our story concept intriguing enough to spend his time reading 100+ pages is, in and of itself, a pat on the back of enough magnitude to keep me smiling. If he declines? Yes, I'll be sad, but not for long. I shall thole!

~ Folio

Zane Grey ignored this advice!

“You have no business being a writer and should give up.” Zane Grey ignored this advice. There are believed to be over 250 million copies of his books in print.

“The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the ‘curiosity’ level.” With an additional 15 rejections, The Diary of Anne Frank was eventually acquired by Doubleday, who brought the translation to the world. 25 million copies have been sold.

“We feel that we don’t know the central character well enough.” Following this comment in a rejection, J.D. Salinger re-wrote The Catcher in the Rye, which has seen sales in excess of 65 million copies.

“Too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling.” An excerpt from a rejection letter sent to Dr. Seuss, who became the 9th best-selling fiction author of all time.

“I recommend that it be buried under a stone for a thousand years." Shunned by major publishers, Vladimir Nabokov landed a deal with Olympia Press for his novel, Lolita. The first 5,000 copies sold quickly and the book has now seen estimated sales of 50 million.

My plan? Keep on writing. Edit, edit, edit.

Continue to pursue traditional publishing while I also self-publish. 

Oh, and never give up!

How about you?

~Folio

Folio's Writing Detours

I began writing novels decades ago, and having just prepared my daily post for the 359th Fighter Group's Facebook page, I paused to consider how far I've traveled on my writing journey. And the directions I've turned.

My first novel was high fantasy, and when I won 3rd place in a contest, I just knew I was on my way, that editors would line up to meet me! Talk about high fantasy!  But I was smart enough to attend a Life Long Learning class on how to get published, and that detoured me into my first critique group and dear, dear friends of Uff Da Cum Laude.  Our writing has grown together as has our love and respect.

The path widened into a two-lane road as I attended conferences and learned even more about this [insert verb of your choice] business.  Years passed.  More close friends discovered.  I drafted my second novel, then a third, and I joined my second beloved critique group, the Sisters of the Quill.

And then, a highway exit loomed!  My first agent!  Down shift and accelerate!  Oops.  Hit the brakes. A complete re-write of my third novel, but no sale.  Alas, my agent had personal problems, so I made the difficult decision to let her go. A dead end?  No. Because the re-written book was better than the original.

Another conference, another agent, a fledgling this time.  She liked my voice and suggested I write contemporary romance.  I tried, but my heart wasn't in it.  We parted ways and she's now a successful agent representing only romance writers.  An opportunity lost when I didn't signal and turn right into romance?  Perhaps.  But I followed my heart. The highway was before me, and I sold that third novel to a small press.

Manuscript number four earned first place in mainstream in two contests, but the story remained firmly under 60,000 words.  So I never queried an agent, instead sending it to the long-term parking lot. I rolled on.

A detour loomed, one I never anticipated, and after transcribing the World War II diary of my late father-in-law, my husband and I drafted a book around it.  Non-fiction?  Me?  World War II?  Yep.

After learning how to drive in the non-fiction world, we contracted with a military history publisher, were nominated by the Air Force Historical Foundation for the best WWII book reviewed in Aviation History, and became firmly entrenched with the 359th Fighter Group Association and good friends with its Historian.

For several years now I've prepared a daily post for the 359th's Facebook page.  I've facilitated the return of an ID bracelet to the son of a fighter pilot, communicated with men from the Netherlands as they sought information about crash sites, and had the honor of becoming friends with 90-year old veterans.  Now, in my mind, I regularly fly Mustangs and Thunderbolts in addition to negotiating county roads, and it's fulfilling beyond belief.

This detour is special.  Preserving history.  Honoring the men that fought for freedom, who gave so much.

Yes, I'm a fiction writer and I adore it. In fact, I have three manuscripts in progress, with that long-shelved mainstream to be self-published in the spring. But I feel particularly blessed to travel in the wake of the 359th Fighter Group.  A journey I never anticipated.  A detour well worth taking.

~ Folio