Nostalgia night… contemplative…reflective…listening to Kenny Rogers and the First Edition…just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in…yeah, yeah, oh yeah… what condition my condition was in. Tonight, not quite sure, although it doesn’t relate to the 60’s meaning of the song if you get my drift. And then came Ruby.

Memories flowing of this song. In 1969, I was a scrawny kid with long dark hair and dark eyes, sorta shy, wistful as I am now. And there was this song, Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town. I was too young to really understand the implications of the song, but it struck a chord in my heart that has stayed with me forever. Many moons ago, on a neighbors porch, my younger sister and I formed “a band” with the two boys who lived there. Billy Bob and Danny Joe… either of you out there guys?? We were so cool. My sister had her tambourine, and I pretended to play my Mom’s old f~hole guitar…(this is not a derogatory term, just the name of the guitar)… it was built in the 1930’s and very hard to wrap your fingers around.

How does all this relate to Kenny Rogers? Hmmm…My mom had taken us downtown (really big deal) and we’d bought a “45” by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition featuring “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town”. Amidst renditions of Beatles’ songs, we took up our instruments, put Kenny’s record on the record player and proceeded to “play” and sing with all our hearts. Our friends had a maid who just so happened to be named Ruby. We tortured this poor woman by making her come and stand out on the porch and listen to us “play” this song over and over. Such a memory doesn’t fade easily, and such a song doesn’t leave you easily.

As time went by, I began to understand the meaning of the song. Growing up in the days of the Vietnam War was difficult because many terrors enveloped the lives of my friends around me. I remember the bracelets some of my friends wore for their fathers who were MIA. Hope stared starkly from their eyes as they talked of the day when he would return. Riots were rampant throughout the states, and many were torn about which side they belonged. My father was older when I was born, he was a veteran of WWII, a navy man who joined up at 17 when news of Pearl Harbor reached the states. I learned much later that he had spent time as a POW during part of his service. He never much talked about it to me. I was a girl after all, and girls shouldn’t have to know about the travesties of war.

Today, out of the blue, my husband, who is also a  Navy vet, said he’d like to take a trip to Corpus Christi and tour the USS Lexington again. He served on an air force carrier, the USS Hancock, and wanted to revisit his past by walking the decks of this carrier. Maybe that’s what made me pull out my Kenny Rogers CD (no 45’s anymore) and delve back into the past… and I still pray that Ruby changes her mind, turns around, and doesn’t take her love to town.

I’m a hopeless romantic!

WOW!! I am so excited and honored that Ghost of Johanna has been selected as a finalist in the NTBF Book Awards!! This is so AWESOME!! I will find out on April 12th if FINALIST becomes WINNER!! ♥ ♥

Just listened to a radio interview I prerecorded a couple of weeks ago. It’s not terrible (LOL). If you’d like to give it a listen, go to http://www.wnbnetworkwest.com/WnbAuthorsShow.html   It’s available today, March 19th, now until 12 midnight eastern time. I’d love feedback!!

On another note, I’ve begun interviewing some primary sources for the book, and I hope to put some of these up for you soon. Numerous ideas keep swirling around in my brain, and I can’t wait to get back to the brothers and find out where they’re headed. 🙂

There are so many experiences that influence authors when they write. Life experiences, second hand knowledge, or even a desire to understand others’ emotions and conflicts are significant influences on a writer’s works. For me, my interest in the plight of El Salvador during its Civil War was first aroused by the song “El Salvador” written by Noel Paul Stookey. I’ve often been influenced by the lyrics of songs, and this one had a strong impact on me. Later, meeting people who actually lived through the El Salvadorian Civil War rekindled my interest, thus a story line evolved. As with my first novel, Moon Dance, Ghost of Johanna is partly truth and partly fiction, and my goal was to spin a tale that intrigues and captures the imagination of all ages.

Ghost of Johanna depicts “a different world” where daily life is constantly overshadowed by the threat of imminent danger. Through a small glimpse at life through the eyes of a child, I tried to cast a new light on a controversial issue. As a writer, I hope those who read my book will be moved as the lives of the characters unfold upon its pages.

Now to go back to my original thought, there are multiple layers of answers as to what influences a writer. For me, when I start peeling away the layers the first influence I see is my mom, whose musical talents and songwriting skills played a major role in how I perceive the world around me. She inspired me through her music as well as her life. The next layer would be my dad, whose storytelling and love of nature became an integral part of who I am today. More layers peel away as I remember childhood when life moved a little slower, and most of my childhood was spent playing outdoors with my sisters. Back in the day, imagination was key to entertainment. There wasn’t any Wii, there was only we… my sisters and me. We were very inventive children and enjoyed many happy days wandering up and down the dirt road in front of our house, playing in the woods, and just being carefree.

Another influence in my life, that greatly surprised me when I realized the huge impact this woman had in my life, was my music teacher. Through influences that shadowed her life during the Vietnam War, she inadvertently introduced me to many loves of my life…folk music and the songs of the sixties, which mirrored the chaotic nature of the times. I even met Bob Dylan in music class, metaphorically speaking, and his reflective, deeply intricate lyrics have had an enormous influence on me as writer. My “growing up years” were heavily influenced by the Vietnam War and all its complexities and conflicts. And so, this latest book we’re writing together comes with bits and pieces from many, various influences.

Inspiration encircles us all, and we never know how or why, but the impact is far reaching. I know there are many more layers I could peel away of many others whom have influenced who I am as a writer, but for the sake of time, I’ll stop here and just say, “Good Night and God Bless”.

Posts and pages… I’m trying to decide how to connect them all. Should everything be a “post” or should I leave it as I started? What do you think? Are the “pages” easy to access or do you find it easier to have everything in a running blog?

Here’s the link to my last “pages” entry for our emerging novel… Any ideas on where you think it should go from here?

Tonight, I would like to share a few quick thoughts with you on word choice and revisions. One thing I’ve discovered as I’m pouring over pages I’ve previously written is that I am never quite satisfied. There is always a sentence, a word, or thought that I think I can revise to make it spectacular, although spectacular doesn’t always come. You only stumble upon it once in a blue moon. Revision is a necessary evil in that it makes me crazy, yet it offers a chance to redeem myself if I feel what I’ve written isn’t quite up to par.

Word choice can often mean the difference between a story that “just lays there” or one that “jumps up” and captures the total attention of a reader. I often struggle over word choice, as you can plainly see in the first draft of this so far unnamed tale I’m writing with you.

I do love words, so I guess that’s why I love writing and word choice. There are millions of ways to write the same scene, and millions of ways a reader can respond to the author’s selected word choice. Words can have strong meaning when they stand alone or when they are in a crowd. Simple little words strung together can turn into mysteries, romances, or anything else your fabulous imagination envisions.

Words are also very powerful, and a writer has to take this into account because he or she wields that power over their readers. Words evoke positive and negative emotions, and they are sharper than any sword. Unfortunately, I’ve observed this many times as a parent, a teacher, and a civilized human being.

And yet now, it’s late and my mind has begun to wander, so I will close with a few words that I have taken to heart. These words were written by one of my inspirations, Emily Dickinson. This quote may seem ironic since my post is about revision and word choice, but this is the very essence of what I want to capture when I write… not only the reading and writing of words, but the emotions words awaken. I hope you can feel the words, and you can understand why this quote inspires me.

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” ~ Emily Dickinson

Another day… another page, hmmm. Any ideas for revisions… any thoughts on characters or plot? I’m open to suggestions because everything written so far in its infancy. The characters are just developing, and they still don’t know exactly who they are yet. Let me know your thoughts after you’ve read Prologue part 1 and part 2.

I have discovered that to write and to write well, it’s necessary to have experienced many adventures along life’s way. I’ve often been asked which parts of my novel Moon Dance are fact, and which parts fiction. I usually just smile and offer, “It’s partly truth and partly fiction, and I’m not tellin’ which is which.” I like to keep a few secrets to myself.

Many of my readers have told me the characters in Moon Dance are so realistic, and they truly feel as if they know them personally. Many readers have commented on the depth of emotions the book’s characters portray, and one reader even asked how I could create such an intense feeling of romance and passion without including the “graphic” scenes found in so many romance novels. Moon Dance is a romance. It’s full of all the strong emotions that one goes through when they fall in love. It is also a story of struggle, faith, family, and of working together for the benefit of all. It is a Christian historical romance that reaches out and touches the depths of our souls. At least, I hope to create this experience in all my readers.

The historical setting and certain public incidents did actually take place, although I did use creative license as I wrote. I wanted the story line to flow smoothly and the characters to become real to the reader.  In writing historical fiction, I need to make sure I’ve used both primary and secondary resources to create a realistic presence within a work of fiction. This takes a lot of time, and I often get lost in the research itself because I find it so intriguing.  It took between two and a half to three years to research and write  Moon Dance. Now, I look forward to many wonderful discoveries as we begin this journey together, and a new book is “born”. I am so fortunate to have readers who want to be a part of the actual story. And I am grateful to those of you who have already contacted me about contributing your memories to this “work in progress”.

It is not often we have the opportunity to share our own inner being with complete strangers. Although when you open the door to “memories”, a kind of magic happens. No longer are you strangers; you have become friends.