Editors. Everyone knows what editors do – they edit. Most of all, these are the scary people who make decisions on which book their house will buy, or… reject… (add sniffles here) What us authors hope for is that an editor will love our latest book proposal and offer a contact for it. It’s a nerve wracking process on both sides. There are only a very few books chosen compared to what is submitted, but an editor can only buy or contract the number of books that publisher has decided to handle in a given period of time. The first job an editor does is buy/contract a book they think will be popular enough to make money on after expenses are met. Expenses. Yeah. Those. After a sale/contract, editors take an author’s finished book and, well, edit it. They make changes, do corrections, and offer suggestions if a scene can be better. They also tend to notice if there is a plot hole, and they quickly point that out, giving the author work to do, on a short timespan, as everything is on a timetable. Editors even go as far as deciding where all the commas go, and taking out ones they say don’t go there.

At writer’s conferences, many writers are scared of acquisitions editors, for the power they hold. Authors meet editors at conferences, face-to-face, to pitch a book that hopefully, eventually, they will contract to buy, or reject (more sniffles).

But really, editors are just normal people, doing a job. They’re not really scary at all.

Here’s some words from my editor at Mantle Rock Publishing, Kathy Cretsinger.

I’m Kathy Cretsinger, and I live in Western Kentucky in what they call the Lake Area. We are surrounded by lakes and rivers. It’s flat, but I love it. Until nine years ago I was a resident in the hills of Tennessee. We lived between Knoxville and Bristol. Land of mountains and beautiful sunrises. Our children moved West and we decided to follow them. We are the proud parents of two grown children, four grandchildren.

Six years ago, I decided to publish a book I had written. I made the rounds at conferences and finally decided to publish it myself. This gave birth to Mantle Rock Publishing. Since then we have published around 41 books, and we have eighteen lined up for next year. I only wanted to publish my books, but an agent said she’d send me some manuscripts and the publishing began.

We are considered a Small Publisher because we have a small number of staff members. We have three editors, including myself, a cover designer/formatter, and my husband, Jerry, does the finances. We work well together, and we each know what our job is.

Since our beginning I have published two fiction books, one non-fiction, and co-authored another fiction with one of our editors, Pam Harris. I will have another book out in June 2019. I’m very pleased with what I do. I have used a pen name on the fiction books, Katt Anderson. The next book I do will be under my real name.

(here’s a link to Kathy and Pam’s book, Smoky Mountain Brides, written under Katt Anderson)

We always look forward to new authors. It is such a pleasure to see a new author take their wings and fly. We work hand in hand with the authors who have never published a book before.

We are happy to have published one book for Gail and Tim Sattler. The next book will be out in November 2018. We look forward hearing from writers and readers.

Today my guest is Kay DiBianca, and she makes me tired just reading what she does.

Kay DiBianca is a former software developer and IT manager. She has run four marathons, fifteen or so half-marathons, and lots of shorter races. Kay is retired and lives in Tennessee with her husband, Frank.

Visit Kay at kaydibianca.com.

Here’s what goes on in Kay’s mind as a writer:

If I could give you one simple thing to enhance your creativity, would you be interested? Good. I thought so. I’ll get to that in a minute.

But first, let me introduce myself. I’m a runner. I’ve spent decades running on trails, at the track, or in the neighborhood. And as I ran, I enjoyed devising stories in my head, even though I never thought of myself as an author.

One of those stories was so persistent in occupying my running time that I decided to write it down just so it would stop bothering me. That story turned out to be my first novel, The Watch on the Fencepost, to be released later this year by CrossLink Christian Publishing.

As I was busy working on the book, I began to wonder if the very act of running was somehow related to my desire to write a novel. We’ve all heard of the benefits of aerobic exercise to strengthen our bodies and reduce stress, but could it do more?

Recent studies reveal some surprising results. According to a 2016 online article in Quartz by neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki, exercise encourages the growth of cells in the hippocampus area of the brain. And research has shown the hippocampus is important in enhancing long term memory and even possibly – listen to this, writers – creativity. Dr. Suzuki writes that “… this discovery suggests that exercise might be able to improve the imaginative functions of the hippocampus …”

So there it is. Want to be more creative? Run. Or walk. Or do some kind of exercise to get your brain moving along with your body.

Be strong and write well!

It takes a long time to write a book. That means most writers spend a lot of time alone in their house attached to their computers, while in the rest of the house, life goes on.

What happens in my house is that my husband, also a musician, listens to a lot of music. With YouTube, that means virtually any song in the last 30 or 40 years can be found, somewhere, in many versions besides the original. In other words, the selection is almost infinite. So in my house, there is usually music playing.

What goes on in my mind with constant music playing? Lots of writers writer better to music. I do not. I find it distracting because not only do I hum along, I follow and imagine the chord progressions and the listenability of each song. I analyze the hooks and phrasing. Then when the song is over, I wonder why I didn’t get any writing done in the 3.4 minutes the song took. Oh, and I also analyze if the time for the song worked for the band, too.

I almost hate to admit it, but nothing gets done in my head when he puts on something by Imagine Dragons. Fortunately I do not get up to watch the videos, as some of them are too weird. But the music is so well constructed.

Am I getting distracted?

Yup. Part of being a writer.

Today my guest is Carole Brown.  Carole is an active participant of many writing groups and an author of ten books. She loves to weave suspense and tough topics into her books, along with a touch of romance and whimsy, and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio. They enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons?

Carol has LOTS of links.

Personal blog: http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaroleBrown.author

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Carole-Brown/e/B00EZV4RFY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1427898838&sr=8-1

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/browncarole212

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carole-brown

Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/browncarole212/?hl=en

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sunnywrtr/boards/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5237997-carole-brown

Linkedin:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/carole-brown-79b6951a/

Google+:     https://plus.google.com/u/0/113068871986311965415/posts

Stitches in Time: http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/

Here’s what Carol has to say about what goes on in her head when she’s writing.

I don’t always know my characters fully when I begin a novel, but Toby really popped into view as I wrote.

Bring in a ghost? I wasn’t sure if it would turn off readers, but the doubts disappeared when I posted a short survey asking readers what they thought.

A ghost? Seriously? Who, in this modern age and day, believes in ghosts? Rustling noises, light bumps, eerie sounds in the night, and small disturbances all pointed to the fact that a ghost was visiting Undiscovered Treasures, but was Tobias (better known as Toby) Lee Gibson having any of it? Nope! After all, it was kind of fun sneaking down the stairs in the middle of the night with only a flashlight for a weapon…and a light.

I didn’t want to have him too frivolous, but coming up with some serious interests for him broadened his personality. Being the director of the community theater encouraged Toby toward the dramatic—especially in things of the real world. So a ghost inhabiting his business? No big deal…until things begin missing and his best friend’s business is trashed. Had the ghost moved next door to wreck havic on her place too?

And I stressed a bit over making him read a little too casual with the love side of things. And then take his love life. Love ’em and leave ’em had always been his motto. Not that he wanted to hurt anyone, so, of course, he always made sure not to let the friendship get too far along. He just wasn”t ready to settle down—not by a long shot.

Developing an ending to a book is one of the hardest for me. Since I write mostly suspense/mystery with romance, I’m particular with how my books end. I want the reader satisfied, but mostly I have to feel what I read in my heart. I know when I’ve managed to hit the right note with each book. I feel it!

But when that same best friend and business neighbor buckles down to win his affection—and goes about it in ways that has Toby fuming—sparks fly. Whether they are romantic sparks or angry ones, you can be sure no ghost is behind this.

When I began the fourth book in my Appleton, West Virginia Romantic Mystery series, I wanted to create Toby as a fun-loving jokester with a kind heart. He was always serious about his three loves—his shop, the community theater, and his work with the youth at church, but that doen’t keep him from having fun. He grew up teasing his sister and his closest friends, and keeping his imaginary armor high enough to shield his heart from preying women determined to find a hole in that armor. He almost succeeds…

Today my guest is Heidi Dru Kortman, a CWG Apprentice graduate and Word Weaver member who has published devotionals, poetry, a short story, and flash fiction in various newsletters, small magazines, a collected volume of devotionals, and a website. She is applying herself to the task of writing smoothly polished fiction.

You’re invited to visit Heidi at heididrukortman.com.

Heidi has written a poem, which I applaud, as the only kind of poetry I can do is bad limericks, not something that flows and has meaning.

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME

Don’t try this at home.

Don’t see a person in your mind’s eye.

What ever you do, don’t listen to him talk,

You’ll be trapped, compelled

To scribble his tale, trace his adventures in the real world, just to be accurate,

Which everyone knows is better than mere plausibility.

Don’t try this at home.

Especially if there are other people in the house,

They all have their own agendas for you.

Cook this, dust that, “Her birthday is next week, are the presents wrapped?”

Balance the checkbook, make the bed….

While the man in your mind demands to leave the locale of the last scene you wrote.

He’s bored. What right has he to do that?

What he ought to do is pay the rent.

Rent on a mansion, where you could have some peace and quiet.

After all, he has lived in the mazes of your mind long enough.

You should not have tried this at home.

Now he and his friends have full lives, in a sequel, which is still unfinished

Because…You need query letters and social media followers bolstering the proposal to nab an agent, and a sprightly synopsis to snare an editor.

Four hundred pages boiled down to one…it is insanity,

And yet, being trapped in this character’s world liberates.

Don’t just try this at home. Do it. His imagined world is all that keeps you sane,

though you steal sleep from interrupted nights, for the sake of a scene.

My guests today are Tammy and Mel Ayers, a mother/daughter team who write together as T.S. Mart. Follow them at their website at http://beliedoutcastlegends.com

Their newest story about the Arizona Thunderbird and his role in a heart-gripping love story about regret and second chances is available at https://wp.me/P9RTBs-9H. It’s called Over the Edge.

Here’s what they say about themselves:

Romance and fantasy writer … cryptid illustrator and creature designer

A book reader … a game player.

Hallmark fan … Ghost Adventures fanatic

Happily ever after … someone must die

Can you guess who is who? Probably not too difficult. T. S. Mart (also known as Tammera Ayers or mom) is your stereo-typical, technologically challenged Gen X’er. While Mel Ayers, new adult, exists more in the modern world where phone apps and social media are a normal part of life.

Together we love watching Survivor, gardening, and taking spontaneous road trips. We’re great procrastinating enablers. But most days you will find us in our office, Mel facing one wall, illustrating on her Wacom pad, listening to YouTube while she watches her boyfriend play Monster Hunter on a separate computer while Tammy faces the opposite wall typing. We often don’t talk until we break for meals—whoever gets hungry first cooks.

But at least once a week, when motivation wanes, we come up with ideas to <cough> help each other cope. Mel will say, “I feel like going to the zoo,” or Tammera will tap Mel’s chair to get her attention. “Want to go the library and browse?”

To be productive, we ask each other questions like: What if Bigfoot lived cohesively with the Native Americans but was pushed out or killed at the same time? What if Gargoyles were created by God to protect men? Or, what if the Jersey Devil wasn’t cursed, but became a scapegoat for the evil in people’s lives? Real mother-daughter bonding conversations.

While we experience all the same mother-daughter conflicts of a mom who talks way too much and offers advice where it isn’t needed to a daughter who isn’t fit to talk to until mid-morning, we are the perfect blend when it comes to keeping each other on track enough to shape our ideas into what we hope is clean entertainment for a wide audience. At least the roof hasn’t blown off yet.

Thank you for reading a little bit about us. Thank you, Gail, for graciously allowing us to visit. We hope you all have a wonderful day.

T. S. Mart and Mel Ayers

What did I just say? Make problems worse?

As writers, that’s what we’re supposed to do when we’re writing a story. After all, if two characters have a problem, then solve it, then the story is over. Worse, if it’s too easy, it’s boring for both the reader and us writers.

But if we make it too awful, then it’s hard to read, and harder to write. Besides, the ultimate goal of any novel I write is that it’s a HEA – otherwise known in writerland as a Happily Ever After. It’s hard to make up bad stuff. But then again, when we make a bad thing good, then that’s good. But hard. There is a saying in writerdom that the easier a book is to read, the harder it was to write. That’s very true. One thing that makes a story great to read is going through a bad time in the character’s life and making it so everything is not only good in the end, but great. That’s a good ending.  So the worse the situation, the better it is when it’s resolved.

This makes me think of baseball. No my mind isn’t wandering. Much. (okay, some.) When our children are young, as I recall, kindergarten or so, sometimes we put them on a community T-ball team. This is where the ball isn’t thrown, but the child hits it when it’s stationary, on a stand. The child can take as long as he or she needs, and can take as many tries as he or she needs, to hit it. Then he or she runs, and everyone makes it to first base.  No outs, and everyone gets a turn every inning. On both sides. There are no wins and no losses, and at the end of the very loooonnnnnggggg season, everyone on every team gets a trophy.

Then compare this to a real MLB ball game. The Red Sox and the Blue Jays are playing. Everyone is on the edge of their seats, bottom of the ninth inning, score is tied.

As a baseball fan, which game would you rather be watching?

Writing is kind of like that.  Raise the stakes, up the action, and there is only one winner.

Play ball!

My guest today is June Foster. June Foster is an award-winning author who began her writing career in an RV roaming around the USA with her husband, Joe. She brags about visiting a location, then it becomes the setting in her next book. Find June at www.junefoster.com.

Here’s the info on June’s latest book – A Harvest of Blessing – When bank president Jared Abrams falls in love with one of his tellers, Jared’s daughter does everything in her power to keep them apart. Will he reap a harvest of blessings or a season of drought?

June has some interesting insights on human nature, and is always looking for more. Here is what June has to say about what goes on in her head as a writer.

What goes on in a writer’s head? POV, characters’ quirks like stuttering or smacking gum, far-flung places around the world where my characters will live, elegant ways to say stuff, chocolate and breaks, critique partners, membership dues—oh wait! The odd facts and ideas that dwell within a writer’s mind are endless. If I keep on, I’d need to monopolize Gail’s blog for the rest of 2018, and I don’t think she’d be too thrilled.

So, I think I better stick to one bit of information I learned early-on after I began to create fiction—writing from a male POV. I must confess. I never realized that men and women’s basic thought patterns greatly differ. Can you see my red face? Yes, it’s true.

One day I wrote a scene in my hero’s POV describing his reaction to the heroine who was dressed in office attire. He noticed her frilly blouse peeking out of her suit coat and her cute earrings. Oops. Wrong. One of my critique partners set me straight. The guy wasn’t looking at her blouse but how short her skirt was and how tight it fit. Yikes. Do guys really think like this?

I also learned that men don’t notice lavender but describe the color as purple, if they see color at all. Too, men rarely cry, at least not in front of a woman, and when you talk about your problems, they want to fix them instead listening.

I have a long list of male attributes at home that amaze me. I can’t believe I was so gullible all those years but at least now I understand my husband better.

So, what’s in a writer’s head? I could tell you about how I get my characters in more trouble than they can handle—wait! Gail said to keep this short.

(Gail speaking here. I will get June back for that! Just wait for it!)

I know a lot of people have pets, and a lot of those people are also writers. Well, like me. I recently got a puppy, and you’d be correct if you thought that a puppy is very distracting when an author is trying to work on a project. But you know, it’s worth it. Puppies nap. So, just like when a mother has a baby to care for, there’s some stuff that just has to be done during nap time.

As my husband and I look around the house, there are more toys scattered around the floor than when our children were little. We wouldn’t allow the kids to have too many toys out, or to leave them in the middle of the living room floor. It seems things are different when the kids are gone and it’s the dogs spreading the toys. Maybe that’s because the dogs don’t put their toys in the basket when they’re told, so therefore since we have to do it, the toys often just get left in the zone in front of the love seat, a mat that has become the dogs’.

When my pup is ready for a nap, she comes looking for me, and usually finds me at the computer. There, she will lay down against my right foot, and settle down for a nap.

When (hopefully) you read my next book, you will know that a lot of it was done with a dog on my foot.

Today my guest is Bonnie Engstrom, and I find it interesting what invades her brain when it’s time to get some writing done.

Bonnie and her psychologist husband, Dave, moved from California to Arizona when their first grandchild was born – T., the teenage girl who texts. She has two sisters, one who is an artist and another who is a twin to a boy. Their two boy cousins live in Costa Rica on the beach where they surf and fish for their dinners. When they visit in Arizona those boys have to wear shoes! Family is all, even though it interrupts schedules and takes a drain on debit cards to buy Starbucks. All worth it to be only seven minutes away from grandkids, even the texting one. Bonnie is a long-time member of many writers groups, including a Pro member of Romance Writers of America. Melanie’s Ghosts is the seventh in the Candy Cane Series and her fourteenth published book.

Bonnie loves to connect with readers, even non-readers. Email her at bengstrom@hotmail.com and put BOOK in the subject line so you don’t fly off to cyberspace.

Here’s what Bonnie has to say about what goes on in her head when it’s time to write.

Beep! Ding! Chime! These unwelcome sounds invade my writer’s brain. I remember how quiet it was twenty years ago when I first started writing seriously. My techie son introduced me to email and told me nothing I could do on my new computer would harm it. But, no one warned me about cell phones.

No one warned me about teen grandchildren texting me asking me to please bring after school snacks, especially Starbucks. No one warned me about Starbucks. Or fast food French fries with ranch dressing. My little corner of the world has changed dramatically.

Quiet time for writing no longer surrounds me. I am old school, educated in classrooms with closed doors. My children were educated in a school with open classrooms, with sliding partitions that, when a teacher chose, could separate areas. I worried then, but my very grown children now work with chaos around them. They are productive, all holding responsible positions. My daughter who is the director of a preschool often eats lunch while dealing with a three-year-old student; sometimes her own children after school hang out there to do homework and imbibe on those snacks this grammy brings.

No more solitude, no more silence for writing. I’ve had to retrain my brain. Especially for editing. Writing extemporaneously – not a problem. Rereading and editing – hard. Taking breaks from my computer for a teen grand girl who needs to write an assignment – hard, but doable. Re-editing Melanie’s Ghosts over thirty times – doable, but difficult. See what you think. Did I do it all right? https://amzn.to/2N65P05

By the way, Gail asked for humor. Not my biggest strength, but I tried. I hope you enjoy my post and my book. Leave a comment to win a free book, E-book or print. Your choice.