I WAS A GUEST BLOGGER ON MORGEN BAILEY'S WRITING BLOG JUNE 18

Today I am the Guest Blogger on Morgen Bailey's Writing Blog in the UK. The topic is "Location, Location, Location."
    When writing, locations are important whether the book or story is light and funny or technically detailed. Get it wrong and you have a problem.
    There is an interesting irony in this. When I wrote "Confessions of a Cougar" the locations were all from my memories of several trips to England including ones after the experiences in the book. To be sure I double checked everything that I referred to by searching the internet.
 The book got a sort of snarky one-star review on Amazon, while the others were 5 star. One of the things the reviewer said was, " I'm wondering if the writer did any actual research on England, because it sure sounds like she didn't ever visit."
   This really gave me a chuckle and made me think that perhaps that reviewer had never been there or was British and didn't like my descriptions for some reason. I've made about 8 trips to England and visited many parts of the country plus double checking everything in my memory to make sure I hadn't garbled details. Oh well, like the saying goes, "You can't please all of the people all of the time," but I sure gave it the old college try. That's what I mean. 
   Even if they're wrong, some people must find things to complain about, so read the article and be very diligent in getting location descriptions and ambiance right.

   VISIT THE BLOG AND READ THE ARTICLE http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/guest-post-location-location-location-by-morgan-st-james/    
   FIND 39 Chapters about Writers Tricks of the Trade in my book, Writers Tricks of the Trade: 39 Things You Need to Know About the ABCs of Writing Fiction

Guest blogging

I've been doing a lot of guest blogging lately. It is a great way to reach out to new audiences and familiarize them with what you do. I've been fortunate to meet some great bloggers who have invited me to share information with their readers.

Today I'm visiting Bob Sanchez and talking about writing creative non-fiction. That almost seems like an oxymoron, but it isn't. It is the art of embellishing true stories or incidents with bits of exaggeration or info that---well,  isn't quite the truth but generally based in truth.

Anyway, it is a very interesting genre to work with. My upcoming novel, Confessions of a Cougar, is a good example as are a few of the stories in my new collection of short stories, The MAFIA FUNERAL and Other Short Stories, now available in Kindle and paperback. The title story in Mafia Funeral is about 95% true--I know because the character Sue was actually me. See the yellow car on the cover? It was like a daisy in a black sea. Our yellow Pontiac convertible and 40 black limousines for the mobsters who flew in for this funeral in an off-duty police escorted procession to the cemetery. You can bet people driving the freeway that day rubbernecked.

Likewise, for another story in the collection, the award-winning story, The Second Time Around is the story of when my former mother-in-law remarried her first husband 36 years after they were divorced and she had to figure out how to tell my husband his "dead" father was alive and kicking. The wedding scene could not have been funnier if written by a comedy screenwriter for a movie. I've been told it would make a great movie or TV comedy.

Creative non-fiction can really be fun as well as a walk down Memory Lane. Since you are the director of this tale, you can yell "cut" whenever you want to or slide in a rewrite of what actually happened, tweaking it to be the way you would have liked it to be.

Looking through my photos for this post, I came across this one. Now this could be the basis for a fun story--the time Phyllice and I got to go inside an Oscar Meyer Weenie Wagon. We both were given "weenie whistles" as a memento of our visit.

Have fun and visit Bob Sanchez/ blog to read what I have to say about creative non-fiction. Comments welcome. http://bobsanchez1.blogspot.com/

Author Wendy Mazaros wows 40 Plus-Just Us Girls in Las Vegas

At the end of the year I joined a great MeetUp group in Las Vegas - 40+ Just Us Girls in Las Vegas. They do all kinds of neat things and the women are all ages groups and professions.

I'd offered to set up a talk and book signing by my friend, "Vegas Rag Doll," Wendy Mazaros. Well, Wendy talked about her life as a 15 year old runaway who got involved with the Binion family and ultimately the Mob, how she finally broke the cycle and so much more. It in her book "Vegas Rag Doll." We had great attendance and everyone was blown away by Wendy -- she was engaging, open to talking about some very hard things and emphatic that she wants to reach out to runaways so they don't experience what she did.

Everyone brought food, drinks and so forth and I provided my home for the talk. By clearing the table out of the breakfast nook, and putting it on the patio for the evening, I was able to set up enough seating for 30 people to easily see and listen to Wendy. But, oh the food. We had enough to feed and army and have some left over.

We started the evening by just socializing and you know how women talk...and talk...and talk. Everyone made sure to visit the dining room table with the amazing variety of food. Some knew each other and others met for the first time.

Wendy circulated among everyone and many of the women had already read her book and were armed with questions, which she answered until her voice gave out.

Then people chose their chairs, and several of the "lucky" ones were able to snag seats on one of the two sofas while they anticipated hearing all about Wendy's life.

I was so happy I was able to set it up and mega thanks to Wendy for a wonderful insight to what it was like to walk in her shoes and be able to rebuild a life she can be proud of.

VANISHING ACT IN VEGAS

SIN CITY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!   Former vaudeville magicians, 80-year-old Flossie and Sterling Silver, try to unravel the mystery surrounding their grandson's new girlfriend Mara the Magnificent, a magician who performs at the Glitz Palace with a white peacock act. Silver Sister twins Goldie and Godvia try to convince their mother and uncle to just enjoy Las Vegas and let them be the sleuths. But Flossie and Sterling enjoy putting on disguises and working "undercover." It almost earns them a couple pieces of real estate six feet under instead.

The Kindle edition of VANISHING ACT IN VEGAS was just released on Amazon and the paperback will follow soon. BarnesandNoble.com has a great presale price on the paperback and they will release it August 28.

I AVOIDED CARMAGEDDON BY STAYING IN LAS VEGAS

Well, the worst has just about passed, and early Monday morning the Carmageddon panic will have subsided. Just to be safe, I scheduled my time in Las Vegas to avoid it, but how would it have affected me if I stayed?

Since I didn't have commitments in the Valley for work or entertainment, at the worst I would have been confined to my side of the hill. Not so bad. Marina Del Rey isn't such an awful place to be with its beaches, cafes, entertainment venues and more. It might have been rough to venture downtown, but then I really didn't have a compelling reason to go there. Many events were rescheduled in view of the impending closure which lightened the traffic load for those who had to traverse the Santa Susana mountains.

Okay, call me chicken for fleeing town, but actually being in Las Vegas was a bonus. I was able to drop by the Public Safety Writers Association conference yesterday and join them for lunch.

It was fun seeing many of the people I met last year, and even though I couldn't stay because of other commitments, I was glad I went. In the process, I donated a copy of my new upcoming book, Writers' Tricks of the Trade: 39 Things You Need to Know About the ABCs of Writing Fiction as one of their drawing prizes. I'll mail an autographed copy to the winner when it is released.

Back to Carmageddon. As with similar concerns when the Olympics were held in L.A., the traffic many thought would be a nightmare was much lighter than normal. According to the news---yes, it made the Las Vegas news--- as Los Angeles entered the second day in the shutdown of the 10-mile (16-kilometer) stretch of Interstate 405 — one of the country's busiest highways, work was so far ahead of schedule this morning that officials were planning to reopen the freeway later in the day.

They were elated that the public appeared to get the message to avoid "Carmageddon" by staying off the roads, though some were concerned the lack of gridlock would make drivers complacent and spur them to return to the road before Monday's scheduled reopening.

Isn't it amazing what efficiency is possible with some cooperation and a threat of a $72,000 penalty for every hour the repair work lagged behind schedule?

Special note to Congress - Hey guys---This is what working together means! Quit jockeying for political position and work out the current debt ceiling crisis instead. This isn't about how it will play in 2012 or which party will prevail. It is about addressing the impending Government shutdown as the intelligent lawmakers we hoped we elected.

Working on the "Writers' Tricks of the Trade" book

After I read through the plotting notes for the new Diamonds in the Dumpster Silver Sisters caper, I realized we needed to add a scene to Chapter 1. Phyllice has a slightly different idea, so I'm waiting for her to wrap her head around it so we can begin writing the book. It is so great that we decided how we would treat different approaches or ideas when we first began writing together. It is truly a delight to write with my sister.

Writers Tricks of the Trade

39 Things You Need to Know About the ABCs of Writing Fiction

This is the rough of the cover by the very talented illustrator Scott Garrett. Can't wait to see the final

The manuscript is back from the editor with a few corrections. She offered a couple of very valid suggestions that I agree with, so I've begun to read through it again and make some minor adjustments.

The book is moving along on schedule and I really feel confident it will be out before the end of the year. I've said this over and over and even devote some space in the book to the necessity to allow a manuscript to get cold. It is so important to reread it before commiting it to the final draft.

As I read through Tricks of the Trade, I spot those places where it could be one bit better, maybe something that was repititious and should be cut or adjusted or changing an example because I've found a better one. Maybe just a little tightening. Yes, there has to be a point where you stop, and I'm rapidly approaching it, but just this one more time...

Another thing. When I put the manuscript through spellcheck before sending it to the editor, I was really amazed at how many valid things were caught. Like double words, missing letters and transpositions. It is so weird how the eye doesn't always catch these. I've said it before and I'll say it again. The eye often sees what the mind thinks it should see. While some spellcheck suggestions are way off base, it's invaluable to have it catch the little faux pas you dont really see.

Okay, that said, I've got to get out of the house today! Since I got back from Oregon, I've been at the computer working on a myriad of things nonstop. I planned to do things on Tuesday and Wednesday, but all of a sudden it was evening and I was still at the keys.

Right now my mouth is watering for a Jewish delight - a nice lox and creamcheese sandwich on a good bagel. I'm heading to Noah's because theirs is wonderful and half the price of a deli. Then, back to working on Tricks of the Trade when I return.