AUTHORS WITH HEART

I have to share about a guy who was in here this morning. He wants to publish a picture book written by his late wife when she was in 5th grade. This is why I love working in short-run publishing. I get to help clients who have personal reasons/heart connections that are more important than the publishing industry as a whole. And what makes this project even better is that the story (and the story behind the story) are absolutely charming.

We are still trying to come up with a title for this spin off The Frog Prince. And the author's husband is an artist who is still working on the illustrations for the story. After it's finished, it will be a beautiful product. But perhaps the most powerful part of the book will be the author bio of the woman who died prematurely at the age of 35. When asked in 5th grade what she wanted to be when she grew up, she responded, "Myself." And herself is a woman still honored by those whose lives she touched.

CONSPIRACY THEORY

The latest conspiracy theory from the 9/11 attacks come from Borderline author D.B. Cooper. THE COOPER REPORT gives solid evidence of motive, means, and opportunity that links 9/11 with European extremists. Meet D. B. Cooper at the Cole Hastings on Saturday, May 22 from 1:00-4:00 to hear how he came up with his viewpoint.

Cooper's theory does come with education and experience. He attended military training for the U.S. Air Force at the University of Northern Colorado. He then served for eleven years in over forty countries before pursuing his Master's Degree from the Center of Peace and Conflict Studies at the Univesity of Sydney, Austrailia in 2004. Since then he's committed himself to the study of peace and conflict with emphasis on the current War of Terror.

Find out more about Cooper and his beliefs at www.peacesalad.com.

SUMMER READING

Vacations mean getting away. But with the current economy, not everyone will have that opportunity this summer. Don't let economics limit your adventures. Escape into the pages of a book.

Find Borderline Publishing at the Boise Rec Fest at Ann Morrison Park on June 26-27, and you'll find tons of summer reading options. Besides books, you'll also get to meet local authors, learn more about our publishing process, and enter to win part of a publishing package. Borderline is excited to be involved with the first annual Boise Rec Fest, and we look forward to meeting you there.

Y?

Episodic. That's something you don't want your book to be. It means that scenes are independant of each rather than building off each other. It's the reason I didn't like the movie Four Christmases or Did You Hear About the Morgans? None of the scenes really mattered.

If you are plotting out your book, it all needs to lead to a climax. So what you do is give your characters a lot of Ys in the road. Every situation they find themselves in should be based on a previous decision they made. Like one of those old Choose Your Own Adventure novels.

Sometimes your character will make good decisions and sometimes they won't. But because of each decision they make, they eventually end up at the life-changing Y--the Y where they feel like they really don't have the control and the decision is already made for them or that they are going to lose either way.

This is where they realize that the lie they've believed all along is not true. They embrace the truth and overcome the Y.

Simple? Yes. Easy? No. Realistic? Unfortunately. Y? Because we've all been there ourselves.

VOICE

Many beginning authors are afraid of sharing their idea in case it gets stolen. This is a silly fear. First of all, there are no new ideas under the sun. Even your idea (as brilliant as it may be) has been done before in some way. Second, even if someone takes your idea, they can't take your voice.

Voice is what agents and editors look for. Your voice is what is going to set you apart. Ever buy a book because the storyline sounds fabulous, but when you take it home to read, you have to force yourself to finish it...or it just ends up being a paper weight on your nightstand? The author hadn't found his/her voice yet.

So what is voice? It is personality on a page. It makes your writing style unique. For example, my chritique partner just judged a contest and on one entry she wrote: You have a voice like Angela Meuser. This means there is a certain style to my writing. Just like the Beatles had a certain sound. Just like Jerry Bruckheimer movies have a certain feel. This is voice. But how do you find yours?

Here are the fundamentals that will clarify your voice for you...
1) Precision--state what needs to be said without making it lengthy
2) Don't Overwrite--avoid redundancy, resist the urge to explain
3) Simplicity--simple sentences will creat impact
4) Avoide Weak Words--such as adverbs and adjectives
5) Use Active Voice--avoid using words like was, is, had been
6) Use Specific Nouns--don't just say "car" but say what kind of car
7) Write Positively--don't say what ISN'T happening, say what IS
8) Avoid Cliches--take them apart and write in a fresh way
9) Use All 5 Senses--make the readers experience the story for themselves
10) Put the punch line at the END of a sentence--you want your jokes to sizzle not fizzle

You know how in movies there is a voice over of the character who wrote a letter actually reading it as another character looks at the words on a page? You hear their voice. This is what you want your readers to hear as they read your book. This is what will get your writing noticed and remembered.

BEYOND BOISE BORDERS

For authors outside of Boise, we are going to be offering our entire six-week series as a one day workshop in both Idaho Falls and Twin Falls. The workshops will be free, though participants have the option of purchasing the workbook. Lessons include the not-so-basics, plot and structure, self-editing, and hook/marketing. Visit the events page on our website for more information. I'd love to see you there.

Twin Falls Hastings
Saturday, June 19
10:00-4:00

Idaho Falls Hastings
Saturday, July 17
10:00-4:00

MARKETING DIVA

It's always a great idea to launch your book at a time when demand will be highest. Debbie Bridgewater did this with her book Domestic Diva. She had a great launch party this last weekend, and her husband's church will actually be giving away copies of the book for Mother's Day. I'm thinking I might attend Park Center Assebly just to get one. The recipes she included sound amazing. And I can always use a little help with being a Proverbs 31 woman in the 21st century.