new fiction for women Archives - Page 11 of 21 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

Writing Fiction Organically

This was the first time, in twenty+ years of writing that I couldn’t find a place to end the book. What was going on? Every new adventure that LaVerne had in the wilds of Alaska suggested another story thread.

It took me three years to write this saga.(87K words) I didn’t know it at the time, but I was letting it ‘rest’ at certain points and I think it’s a better story for it.

I have learned over the years to let it flow organically; when characters come busting through the door, I welcome them in. They always tell me their story and it always fits with what I am writing. The indigenous people in Song of the Yukon joined me early on. Black-eyed Joe was sitting in the back of the village store and LaVerne (heroine) and I were both surprised to find him there. Then I went on to meet Joe’s brother, Elk-tail and his mother Edna.

Without exception, at some point (early, if I’m lucky) my characters take over the story and I become the typist. I interview authors on my blog and so many of them say the same thing, so, with relief, I find I’m not as crazy as I thought I was.

Research: The story about my auntie LaVerne running away to Alaska is a true family tale. So all I had to do was pull from the many stories my mother told me as a child. But, living ‘off the grid’ in Alaska, in the 1920’s? The Internet is a writer’s best tool. Can you believe that we used to have to go to the library and do all this research, pouring through books? With a couple of clicks I was able to weave the Athabaskan (native American) language, their folk lore and their customs throughout the story. I was able to build a dog sled, from scratch using only wood and rawhide lashings. I was able to set a fur trapping line. I was able to build a cabin with only hand tools. (think about it) I was able to train puppies to become a dog sled team. I was able to describe, accurately, a funeral pot-latch.

My advice to other writers is: write every day. If you get stuck, let the story rest; go write something else. And never, never give up!
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Song of the Yukon, A new Novel by Trisha Sugarek

It’s taken me 3 years to write this saga. Since it’s set in the 1920’s there was extensive research to be done about how life was lived ‘off the grid’ in Alaska. It’s jammed packed with interesting characters and adventure.

The old timers would tell you, ‘it’s a good yarn’ and I’m proud of it. Based on the true story of my aunt when she was a mere 17 years old, running away from home and working her way from Seattle to the wilds of Alaska.

Click here to purchase

Alaska was calling! LaVerne’s dream was to follow in Robert Service’s footsteps to the wilds of Alaska. At sixteen she was already writing her own music and she believed that her talent could only flourish on the back trails of the Yukon. Alone and impersonating a boy, she hires aboard a freighter, out of Seattle, and works her way to the north.

From boat rides on the Yukon and encounters with native tribes to filing homestead papers and working the land, LaVerne uses newfound frontier wisdom as a basis for expanding both her music and her perceptions: “No man owns what Mother Spirit does not freely give.” Black-eyed Joe told her. What a charming folk tale, LaVerne thought. I could use the story in one of my songs.”
It was here she learns the realities of frontier life that will shape her life, help her create music, and lead her in directions no woman has explored alone before.

‘Song of the Yukon covers more than music growth, more than homesteading in the wilderness, and even more than testing one’s abilities against a foreign environment. Most of all, it’s about one woman’s determination to achieve her dream against any odds – and it provides readers with not only a solid background in frontier experiences, but a sense of self and accomplishment that heroine LaVerne learns through hard experience. Song of the Yukon is a powerful saga, recommended for a range of readers. Thank you for the opportunity to look at your fine title! ‘~~ Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review ~~

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Interview (conclusion) with Author, Robyn Carr

Robyn Carr was a young mother of two in the mid-1970s when she started writing fiction, an Air Force wife, educated as a nurse, whose husband’s frequent assignment changes made it difficult for her to work in her profession. Little did the aspiring novelist know then, as she wrote with babies on her lap, that she would become one of the world’s most popular authors of romance and women’s fiction, that 11 of her novels would earn the #1 berth on the New York Times bestselling books list. www.robyncarr.com

Q. … and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like for you?

RC. It’s complicated yet simple. There’s an idea. I usually talk to my editor and agent about the idea and it’s barely an embryo. Then I start typing. I let them peek at it at about 100 pages and at this stage it barely has arms and legs. We discuss it to death – and frankly I hate that part. I don’t want to talk about it, I want to write. I have never had a good pitch. I can’t even pitch a book that’s finished! I’d much rather you read it than have me tell you what it’s about.

During the writing of that book, other writing business interferes. The line edit on the previous book. The copy-edits on the previous book. The release of a book. Q&A’s you don’t have time for (she says, blushing). Book tours. Cover art. Cover copy. Blogs. Meetings. Etc. Continue reading “Interview (conclusion) with Author, Robyn Carr”

Interview (part 2) with Author, Robyn Carr

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?

RC. I begin with a vague idea of who they are but I have to write about them, put them in scenes, watch them interact with other characters for at least 100 pages before they become real to me. Sometimes it’s longer. Once I know them I can go back and revise and rewrite. I love revision. When the editor says it looks great and we can move right to the line edit and make changes there, I’m almost disappointed! I love weighing the pros and cons of each suggestion in the revision letter; I love taking that first draft (which is never a real first draft but usually a tenth draft!) and making it better.

Q. What first inspired you to write your stories?

RC. Reading. That feeling of not being able to close my eyes on a good book was so awesome I wondered if it would be even more awesome if I were creating the book. It was. I thought about the story while I was falling asleep and woke up anxious to get back to it.

Q. When your characters are nestled in a small town like Virgin River; what comes first to you? The Characters or the Town?

RC. Always the characters. The town is not only harder to envision, it has to play the best possible supporting role. With Virgin River not only did I visit the actual place – Humboldt County in Northern CA – but I realized very quickly that the best town to support my story would have to be rugged. Not cute, not quaint but rough, rural, remote – a place that would demand something of the characters. When I was there researching a local said to me, “If you last here for three years you’ll never leave.” What does that say about a place? It’s not an easy place and it’s worth the effort.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

RC. Oh yeah, embarrassingly so. Once I forgot a speaking engagement. At least it was local and at least I’d already showered and dressed. I got a phone call asking me if I was coming! I threw on better clothes and shot out the door! I was twenty minutes late, but I made it! I’d been in Virgin River and lost all sense of time and place.

Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment?

RC. You mean I have a muse? Really? Whoever it is, she’s slacking. I have to rely on myself and my discipline combined with my love of storytelling. Some days are harder than others.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

RC. Forty years ago. I was very nearly a kid. I was, in fact, a very young Air Force wife with two babies and no car, the closest thing to a shut-in. I’d never imagined I’d aspire to writing novels and was probably too dumb to know it’s an overwhelming goal. I sold my first book in 1978 and I was only twenty-seven years old. When the agent called me and said we’d had an offer from Little, Brown I said, “Little Who?” I knew nothing. I just knew I wanted to write this story. It was only my third completed manuscript but it was historical romance at a time when historical romance was hot.

Q. How long after that were you published?

RC. I think it was only three years after I began. It took longer to write books then – we didn’t have computers. There was no Google – I had to go to the library, babies in tow, and research. I wrote my first several books on a typewriter and being young and poor, it seemed to cost the earth.

Q. What makes a writer great?

RC. It’s unknown, actually. It’s a kind of magic that happens between the book and the reader. It’s unpredictable and undefinable. In fact there are many great writers who are completely overlooked and many terrible writers who, for whatever reason, rise to bestsellerdom and fame. And you might not know if you’ve achieved that magic that has readers talking (and talking and talking) for quite a while after the books have been published. No matter how hard we work or how much PR and advertising we do, at the end of the day it boils down to word of mouth. It always does. It’s readers telling other readers who tell other readers. You might be able to trick them into buying the book with a lot of press or chatter, but you won’t twice and you won’t for long. Readers, who we don’t really know, have to have that amazing emotional connection and response – and then they won’t shut up.

Q…..and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like for you?

Tune in for Part 3 of this wonderful Interview July 30th ~~~ Did you miss Part 1? Click here
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! A long awaited interview with Kathleen Grissom (The Kitchen House) Michael Saad, Canadian author, was June’s author. Robyn Carr is July’s author. Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!

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An Interview with Bestselling Author, Robyn Carr

TS: Although Robyn’s earlier novels were historicals, she found the voice that has resonated with readers by writing a blend of contemporary romance and women’s fiction—books that not only entertain but also address sensitive issues, such as domestic violence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, workplace burnout and miscarriage, anything that can compromise a woman’s happiness because she’s female. There have been standalone novels—and wildly popular series.

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space

RC. I work in an extra bedroom that has built-in desktop, drawers and bookshelves to the ceiling. I really outgrew it years ago – I’ve been in this house and office for 17 years. I share the space with my husband who takes care of all our family business and attempts to help me with my business and since he tends to stack things, it’s become small and messy. I have the half with the desk and desktop computer – he has the half with the file drawers, not that he actually files. My desk is cluttered with everything from checkbooks to unanswered mail. Given our computerized and internet lives, most of the unanswered mail remains unanswered. If I can’t do it on the computer, it’s just impossible to get to. This office that houses two people and a million books is only 10X12. But it’s where I’m most at home. The chair is curved to my butt and the screen is exactly the right distance from my eyes. All the letters are worn off the keyboard because I like the keyboard. Continue reading “An Interview with Bestselling Author, Robyn Carr”

‘Wild Violets’, a Historic Romance Set During the Roaring ’20’s

It’s the roaring twenties in San Francisco, a decade famous for hot jazz and icy gin.

Violet has left her small home town in the Pacific Northwest to pursue a basketball career in the City by the Bay. Eventually, with her earnings, she buys a bar and grill, becoming a ‘flapper’ in every sense of the word; working all day and dancing all night. While her teenage daughter raises her seven year old son, Violet is out on the town with her latest man de’jour. Dressed in her signature red dress, she is the toast of the town, and finally, the owner of a speakeasy where she hosts the cream of San Francisco’s society, city politicians, bishops, and Hollywood celebrities.

But there is an underbelly of corruption, grifters, the mob, excess, and neglect in Violet’s life. Her two children are an afterthought and she chooses her men over their well-being time and time again. Their childhood needs are always trumped by her self-indulgent desires. The two children are possessions that she can put down or pick up again on a whim, showing them off to her current beau or friends and then forgotten. And when they get in her way, she gets rid of them.

A Review ~~ D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

‘Readers can expect to both love and hate as they follow Violet’s paths and choices. Violet is determined and gritty, often selfish, and is focused on appearances and achieving success even if it comes at the cost of family and friends. She purposely uses her beauty to manipulate those around her and her passions too often overrun the interests of others, be they beaus, authority figures, or her own children.

Despite this, reader can’t help but be intrigued as Violet charges through her 1920s San Francisco world with the ambitions and determination of an unstoppable Amazon. Perhaps part of the story line’s realistic feel is because it stems from the author’s own family stories. Or maybe it’s because Violet’s world evolves beyond her self-centered pursuits to embrace family and support systems that succeed alongside Violet’s efforts to realize her own dreams.

As the story evolves and Vi’s life moves full circle, readers interested in a blend of romance and historical backgrounds will appreciate her evolutionary process, and will find that the circumstances and determination of her world lend well to an absorbing read suitable for beach reading or a leisure choice.’

Available at www.amazon.com, e-books, and at all fine book stores.
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Motivational Moments for a Writer! #5

One of my most challenging skills, as a writer, was to understand and implement POV. Point-of-view. My editor pointed out a lot of ‘head hopping’ (the expression for telling your reader what everyone is thinking and feeling) when in each chapter the writer should try to stick to one point of view. But, even very successful, best seller authors like Nora Roberts is guilty of this.

Action, thoughts, & dialogue establishes the character’s POV.

I’ll be candid here….the jury is still out for me on strict POV writing. When I’m reading (and I do a lot of reading) and become aware of an author ‘head hopping’, it doesn’t distract or annoy me. When I catch myself doing it, as I write, I don’t see where it detracts from my storytelling.

‘The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.’ Dorothy Parker

‘The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.’ Charles Du Bos

‘I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.’ Michael J. Fox

‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’ Trisha Sugarek

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‘Women Outside the Walls’ by Trisha Sugarek

Many years ago I visited a state prison for men in Illinois. My first time ever, in a prison, doing research for one of my plays. I was there to see a confessed murderer, Bill, and was writing his story. (Cook County Justice) I sat in the reception area, very nervous and scared; much like Kitty in the beginning of this story.

I was deeply moved by the nameless women around me who had come to visit their men. One woman told me that she was visiting her son and had been coming once a month and every holiday for thirteen years. During another time in her life she had faithfully visited her husband for fifteen years while he served out his time. Many of the children I saw had spent their growing up years in a visiting room behind bars.

The entry process that I write about [and went through] is accurate in this story. Most notable about the visiting room was the frustration, anger and fear, thick in the air. In the visiting room, the rage and disappointment emanating from inmates was palatable.

There seemed to be two types of prisoners; ones like Bill who kept their heads down, caused no waves, and spoke in a monotone. Or the other type who were aggressive, ‘in your face’ bullies and troublemakers. Always running a hustle. As I sat there interviewing Bill, I was struck on a visceral level about how these women coped year after year. How did they come to be here? Was it a simple matter of choosing the wrong men? Did they grow up with the same dreams most women have about living with a good husband and raising wonderful children? As I sat there, I wondered: where did it all go so terribly wrong?

Praise for Trisha Sugarek

Women Outside the Walls~~ ‘Step inside the sisterhood of the women with men behind bars. These women all come together in the waiting room and then visitor’s room at the prison while waiting to visit their men. They all have one thing in common and that’s the fact that they love their men. This is an honest book, which means that it’s not always a happy book. It will touch your heart in ways that you wouldn’t expect and is a book well worth spending the time to read. You’ll come away with a new respect for women in this situation and a bit more understanding of why they continue supporting the men they love, no matter what.’ ~~ Fresh Fiction

‘Love can see people through the roughest times. This novel, Women Outside the Walls, from Trisha Sugarek takes the reader along as she explores the nature of women outside the prison walls who are trying to get by as their men are serving time. Finding an unusual friendship through their tough time, more plight comes their way and challenges what they have left as independent women as one of their daughters goes missing. Women Outside the Walls carries a positive message, and shouldn’t be overlooked, very much recommended.’ ~ Midwest Book Review

Available at: Amazon.com and all fine book stores

Available in e-books
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Melting away the shame…

One early, wintry Sunday morning I found myself sitting in the waiting area of an Illinois State Prison for Men. I was about to visit a confessed murderer. I was writing his story for a stage play I was developing.

I felt like a fish out of water. Over dressed, out of place, and very conscious of the other women around me. Probably much like how Kitty felt, in my future book. The only males in the room were young, probably sons and nephews of the incarcerated men we were waiting to see. And here was an odd thing, everyone’s shoes were untied. I found out later, and by personal experience, that the other visitors knew the drill. The CO’s (correctional officers) would search our persons which included removing our shoes for inspection.

Trying hard not to stare, I observed the hopeful resignation on these women’s faces. They knew each other and murmured news and gossip to one another. I was definitely an outsider and did not belong. As I sat there an overwhelming urge to know their stories and write them down came to me. It was urgent that I find out what brought them to this place. They didn’t look like bad people. They were women you saw at the store, on the street, in an office, ordinary in every way; wives, mothers, sisters.

Now it was time to go inside. I remember heavy steel doors clanging shut behind us. It was a scary moment; I had just given up my freedom. Even though it was for a short time, my rights and freedom were in other people’s hands. I was assigned a table and sat down to wait for Bill. The suppressed frustration and rage in that room was palatable. Other than a short hug between loved ones, no touching was allowed. I’m certain that contraband was exchanged but I never witnessed it. The women were indefatigably cheerful in front of their men. It might have been a crowded city park, families sitting at picnic tables visiting, playing cards, giving their children snacks; save for the concertina wire at the top of the fence.

A year and a half later when I was in the final rewrite of my novel Women Outside the Walls I was working on the acknowledgments. One woman, in particular, had shared so much with me, about her life outside the walls. I wished to thank her but still maintain her anonymity. I asked her if I could use her first name and only the initial of her surname. Would that protect her, I asked, and keep her clients from knowing about her personal life? Her reply to this question was this:
“It doesn’t matter if your readers figure it out and discover that it’s me…your book has taken away all my shame…”

Shirley K. had stood by her man while he served ten years. Raising their children, supporting an unwed daughter and grandchild and working two jobs. Half way through her husband’s term, Shirley’s son was sentenced to life for murder. Now she was visiting two of her men in prison. She’s a hero in my book. She did nothing to deserve this kind of life. Never even had a traffic ticket. And that’s the common thread among these women. Married, raising their children; mid-stream America, right? Then their husbands or sons or brothers make a stupid decision and end up in prison.

I asked Shirley how she and the other women kept up a brave face when visiting their husbands. She told me stories about how after the visit was over the women, friends for years, had a designated rest area (down the highway a couple of exits from the prison) that they would meet at after visitation. That’s where they shared their tears, grief, anger, and commonality of spirit. But they never let their husbands see what they were going through. They were serving time in their own personal prison; doing their own time.

Little did I know that my novel about wives waiting outside the walls, while their men served out their sentences, would have this kind of impact. What I did know was, as I wrote the book, I met many women from all walks of life that had someone currently in prison or had that experience in the past. Most of my book is based on true stories told to me. As a writer it is not uncommon for me to have people, strangers, appear in my life to share and contribute something to my writing. It’s welcomed but uncanny.

Epilogue: Shirley’s son, convicted of murder and sentenced to life, had his conviction and sentence reduced to manslaughter and fifteen years. He was released in 2014.
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Rustler’s Moon by Jodi Thomas ~~A Review

Rating: 5 out 5 quills A Review Rustler’s Moon by Jodi Thomas

It was great to return to Crossroads, Texas once again. Thomas introduced a couple of quirky new characters to spice things up and blend with returning characters that we’ve all come to enjoy and even…yes I’ll say it…love.

The book has a great beginning when Angela receives a cryptic message: Run. Disappear. Vanish. And she does. Grabbing just a few things, she flees Florida and ends up in Crossroads. But is it far enough to hide in plain sight? I found myself wanting more story from Vern and Carter. They enchanted me with their eccentric outlook and actions. The love story within the tale is tender and sweet. This reviewer always appreciates an author’s restraint leaving much to the reader’s imagination, instead of laying it all out….as it were.

Rustler’s Moon was an excellent sequel to Ransom Canyon and I can’t wait to read book three, Winter’s Camp.

Did you miss my Interview with Jodi Thomas? Click here

Excerpt from Rustler’s Moon

Crossroads, Texas
October
Angela

Dried weeds scratched against Angela Harold’s bare legs as she walked the neglected grounds behind the Ransom Canyon Museum near Crossroads, Texas. Rumbling gray clouds spotted the sky above. Wind raged as though trying to push her back to the East Coast. She decided any rain might blow all the way to Oklahoma before it could land on Texas soil. But the weather didn’t matter. She had made it here. She’d done exactly what her father told her. She’d vanished.

Angela had meant to stop long enough to clean up before she took her first look at the museum, but she could not wait. So, in sandals, shorts and a tank top, she explored the land behind the boarded-up building on the edge of Ransom Canyon.When she’d talked to the board president, Staten Kirkland, five days ago, he’d sounded excited. They’d had to close the museum when the last curator left and in six months she’d been the only one to call about the job opening. Before the phone call ended Kirkland offered her a three-month trial if she could answer one question.Angela thought it would be about her experience or her education, but it was pure Texas folk history. Continue reading “Rustler’s Moon by Jodi Thomas ~~A Review”

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