Austin Artworks Festival---2016

I'll be presenting at the Austin Artworks Festival on August 28, 2016 at 2:30. I'll be one-third of a panel discussion about the writing process along with John Haymond and Harriet Ulland. Keith Cich will moderate and then will open it up to questions.

the last posting from The Devil's Kettle.

Cassie marked another day on her homemade wall calendar. She judged her days by Karonen’s arrival with breakfast, usually muffins with fruit, and coffee. Adding her marks, she came up with 395 days. He never asked her to read or speak with Methodist, which made her wonder. When would Karonen tire of feeding and taking care of her?  During the last month of her ‘visit’ as Karonen called it, he had seemed happier, even though he didn’t speak with her often or stay for more than the time it took him to deposit her breakfast tray and pick it up later. 

While depression had affected her for the past year in captivity, it was alleviated when Karonen ran a TV cable to her cell, allowing her to at least keep up with news. That is how she learned of Seth Tryton’s disappearance during the past month. She asked Karonen about it, but he ignored the question, causing her suspicions to rise. If Karonen had abducted another person and replaced her, she had to know. Somehow, she knew she had to find out for sure and make contact. The only question was how she could do it.  

Karonen never left her cell unlocked anymore. He hadn’t since her escape and recapture more than a year earlier, but he did allow her to roam untethered within her cell. The video camera still worked, tracking her every move. She knew, if Tryton were here in another cell, it wasn’t close. She had called and rapped the cell bars with the table chair. There had never been an answer. If she was to find out for sure, she had to escape from her cell somehow, and search the caverns. There had to be connecting tunnels and caverns; he was possibly imprisoned in one of those. 

She felt her best chance was somehow attacking and overcoming Karonen, but he always insisted she stay at the far end of the cell when he arrived with her breakfast and when he left later to retrieve it. Getting close to him was problematic. She identified three other possibilities of escape: Karonen slipped up and left the cell unlocked, she picked the lock, or she dug her way out. 

Cassie had observed and plotted for a long time, but none of the options ever seemed doable until she finally worked a leg of the chair loose and used it as a chipping tool. If he knew about her success, Karonen never let on that he knew what she had done, or was doing. For the past week, while Karonen appeared to ignore her, she discovered she was able to direct the video camera away from the area she had chosen to dig into the wall, allowing her to chip and scrape at the rock and dirt for long periods of time. She made slow progress, but knew if she continued working at it she would be able to carve a hole large enough for her to wriggle through. 

Whenever she finished digging, she slid the small bookcase in front of the dug out area in the wall and scattered the loosened rock and dirt around her prison. It was a time consuming procedure to empty and replace the books from the shelves. Fortunately, Karonen was a creature of habit and visited only at select times, allowing her to avoid discovery.

Bismarck

Continuing my writing in North Dakota and South Dakota this weekend. Will visit Teddy Roosevelt National Park tomorrow morning and down to the Black Hills after that.
Outline for the ending of The Devil's Kettle is nearly complete.

Sweet Reads

Sweet Reads is a new shop selling books and candy in downtown Austin. I was approached by the owner, who asked if she could sell my books in her store. Of course I said yes and supplied her with three of each of my books. Within a few days, she sold out of the copies of The Book Club Murders and Brothers, Tale of the River Rats. She ordered six more copies of those two, which I will provide her next week, and hopefully, she'll sell out again.

Her location is great, right across the street from the newly opened Spam Museum. When I dropped off the first batch of books I sampled her dark chocolate truffles. Oh my God. It was like dying and going to heaven, as the old saying goes. I will be buying more of that stuff!!

The store is artfully decorated and stocked with books of all kinds. If you're in Austin, stop in, drink it in, have a dark chocolate truffle and buy one of my books. You'll be glad you did.

An update on The Devil's Kettle. I am close to finishing, just putting the finishing touches on the ending.  After that I'll begin the process of rewriting and editing, then turn it over to a couple of readers to get their feedback. I am happy with the product so far, but always looking to improve. I will submit another portion to the writers group I belong to and look forward to their feedback.

Vacation in Mexico

Enjoying a weeks long vacation in Cabo San Lucas at this moment. Beautiful sights, weather and people. Planning a vacation with the adult children for next year.
I will do a little writing tonight-getting near the climax of my current book.

Allen Eskens workshop at the Arts Center

I just returned from a morning/lunch workshop with Allen Eskers, author of, The Life We Bury. It was a very enjoyable experience.

Mr. Eskens is a humble guy who has put a lot of work into improving his craft, whether it has been through workshops, writing classes, college classes, or his own research into what makes a good story.

His three main points of writing were as follows:

Mystery

1. What is the exterior plot?—-Overall mystery! Premise statement!!
2. Sub-plots (personal story/plot) to go along with the mystery. Allen makes separate outlines for the personal sub-plots. Write the sub-plot like a 3 act play. Work out where is the most natural places for the subplots to be introduced into the exterior plot.
3. Make your readers feel an emotional attachment.

He discussed all three points in detail, using a soft spoken manner and easy sincerity.

A motivating factor for me came when he stated he had approximately 150 rejections before having his first novel accepted by an agent...by accident, as he described it. That was an interesting tidbit of information that gave rise to my own hopes of pushing my novels to an agent or publisher.  I have only contacted one publisher, who did give me some positive feedback and three agents, who never responded, so I have a ways to go before exhausting my contacts...I just have to do it, instead of saying poor me based upon only four Query letters and one response received. 

I decided that I have to be more positive and push, push, push. Someone out there will be able to see the possibilities in publishing my books. 

I guess, the value of workshops where you meet published authors is good for a writer, giving you hope and strengthening your perseverance in the face of daunting odds.

workshop

The writing group I belong to will take part in a a morning workshop with Allen Eskens on April 28, 2016. It'll be a morning session with lunch, giving us a chance to pick his brain about his writing process and visit about his books. He is an author from Mankato  who has written at least two books that have received wide acclaim, The Life We Bury and The Guise of Another. I've read The Life We Bury and really enjoyed it.

The same day I hope to take part in a panel discussion about writing and that evening will attend his presentation at the Austin Public Library.