I'm still on a semi-blogging hiatus for the month of August. However, I do have a couple things to share today for IWSG and for Nancy LaRonda Johnson's new book coming out, Salted With Fire.
*****
I've been in the throes of rewriting my ms . . .
LIES! NOTHING BUT LIES!
What? Who the hell let you out?
Your mind, remember?
Treasonous bastard. Fine. You're right. I haven't had a whole lot of time to work on my wip. But time (or lack there of) isn't my biggest problem right now--it's change. We know that like a ripple effect, little changes in the beginning of a story can have big concequences by the end. In short, I'm afraid I'm making things worse with my rewrites and turning my ms into an even bigger pile of poo. At least I know what the cover is going to look like. :P However, I feel the changes are necessary, I'm just unsure about the execution. So what can I do? Keep writing I guess.
*****
Salted With Fire Blog Tour
Nancy LaRonda Johnson is a talented writer. I read her first published book, Anticipation of the Penitent, and you can find my review of it HERE. So it's with great pleasure, I share with you her second publication, Salted With Fire. And don't forget to check out her giveaway at the bottom of the post. (:
About the book - Salted With Fire
Black magic, murder,
insanity… humor, honor and devotion. Salted
With Fire is a journey of flash fiction and poetry that shows my writing
transformation from worldly to wanting to please God.
Flash fiction is my
passion; poetry is my release. I love creating a complete story, with a
beginning, middle and end, with twists, drama, compassion and horror, all under
1000 words. Salted With Fire isn’t
just a book of stories and poetry, it is my journey as a writer, from writing
only for the mere joy of it regardless of the message, to writing stories that
highlight God’s will for people, even if the stories are not religious in
nature.
Inside are fifteen
flash fiction pieces and twelve poems with full-color pictures, and short
Biblical discussions after each story.
Flash fiction one-liners from Salted With Fire:
Too Bad!
Too Late!
What would you do if
you found a skeleton in your closet?
Secondary
Illness
There’s a bit of insecurities
– and madness – in all of us.
Sometimes
You Get Shot
If you don’t consider
the consequences of your actions, Sometimes You Get Shot.
Debt
When Sal doesn’t get
paid… there is always Notorious Natalie.
Career
Day
Experience the
breakdown of one classroom on this special day.
You Are
Not Going To Believe This
Perilous things
happen when Mr. Titan Talé is not heard.
You
Wanna Be a Funambulist?
Once you understand
what that means, will you wanna be one?
Taxi!
Marcus would traverse
the country to save his daughter.
Freeway
Finding that special,
peaceful moment can be dangerous.
Quarter
To
When Perry doesn’t
heed the warning, he puts everything at risk.
Braden’s
Pop
Henry will risk
looking like a fool to save his town.
THE
LESSON
Will Sandra learn in
time before she totally loses it?
The X’es
Mark the Spots
Two holes in the
backyard; four places set for dinner….
The
Other Side
Harry Montgomery
drags through his days, until one special boy enters his life.
My Boaz
Some imaginations
will cause even God to come in response.
About the author
Nancy LaRonda Johnson has written short stories, poetry and personal journals most of her life, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a Juris Doctorate. A probation officer by day, she strives during her off-hours to write interesting characters who make it through trying times. Her first book, the literary Christian speculative novel Anticipation of the Penitent, about a serial killer and his mother, reached the finals in the Indie Publishing Contest sponsored by the San Francisco Writer’s Conference 2012. Salted With Fire is her second publication. She is working on several projects, including a sequel to Anticipation of the Penitent.
Connect with Nancy at:
Webpage: www.nancylarondajohnson.com
.99 cent eBook! – Available in print and eBook:
Webpage: www.nancylarondajohnson.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/NancyLaRondaJohnson
.99 cent eBook! – Available in print and eBook:
Hope you find your way through those edits, see you on the other side of them. Yay for Nancy :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats Nancy on the completion of an awesome blog tour and Elise just keep writing and take mini-breaks in between.
ReplyDeleteIt has been awesome and big and long. Thanks Sheena-kay and Suzanne!
DeleteCan't hide things from the brain a well as you can from your consciousness! rewrites are like exercising. You know you need to do it, at first it feels horrible and you think you look clunky, but after sticking to it, you soon start to love the outcome.
ReplyDeleteThank you Elise for a wonderful post for my blog tour. You are a great finish to it!
My pleasure Nancy. I wish you lots of success with your publications! (:
DeleteCongratulations, Nancy!
ReplyDeleteWhat can brown do for you...?
No! I'm sure it's not a pile of poo. Take a break and then re-read it and I bet it will be in better shape than you think.
Thanks mucho!
DeleteYou should probably step away from WIP and try something else for a few weeks...
ReplyDeleteWhy not?
Maybe it's time to pause and regroup?
ReplyDeleteGo Nancy! She's on fire, huh?
ReplyDeleteI sending you good vibes, babe. Your MS will be great. Here's to keeping the faith!
It's been a great time Mina!
DeleteSometimes a pile of poo is needed - as fertilizer for the next idea. Stories grow and evolve as they are written, and these changes may be necessary for the next changes to happen. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteGood luck to Nancy - she seems like an amazing lady!
Tina @ Life is Good
Thank you Tina! You blogger folksare amazing!
DeleteLove seeing Nancy's book out and about in the blog world. What a great person and writer she is.
ReplyDeleteTime is the big hang-up for so many this time around. It occurs to me, however, that we are seeing more and more success with published works and more and more of our blogging friends are busy writing and promoting their books. What a fantastic dilemma for us all to be in!
Aww Julie, you make me blush! Thanks for your lovely comments. :) Writer’s Mark
DeleteDamn,that mind's voice always gives things away
ReplyDeleteI've been doing a lot of IWSG today as I'm stuck on my butt, and I came across another post that was also about editing to the point of extinction. I'd agree with Mark, step away from it for a few weeks.Write a poem, short story, read a book.Something to distract you :)
ReplyDeleteSuzanne @ Suzannes-Tribe
LOL! Sometimes I wish someone could just say, "Here, right here change this like that, and then there, change that part to this." How much easier would it be?
ReplyDeleteKeep plugging away! You're getting there.
LOL, damn our minds for making so much noise. Sending you good vibes for your ms!
ReplyDeleteIt's been great to see Nancy all over the place on her tour. I love her one liners.
It's been great reading all you guys' comments. :)
DeleteI hear you. Hope you find the way to get that book whipped into shape. But I'm sure you will.
ReplyDeleteNancy's done a great job with her launch!
Thanks to all of you!
DeleteHi Elise and hi Nancy,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Elise, thank you for still managing to contribute to the "IWSG" aka "I Was Seeking Gary." I'm awfully flattered and thank you. Second of all, "ms", after my rant on my posting, I have to assume that "ms" might mean "manuscript". Found out what a "WIP" was and even "Flash" fiction. Gosh, all the lingo.
I wish you well with it all and I think you put way too much pressure on yourself. Be a rebel like me. You know you want to! :)
And delighted to note that Nancy's tour has landed on your site. Yay Nancy.
I'm going now.....
Gary :)
Oh, finally I get the "I Was Seeking Gary" comment. I can be a bit slow sometimes. Thanks for coming by Gary.
DeleteUgh, my brain is equally traitorous. But the thing is, sometimes when I think I'm not working I'm actually dreaming up new plots and characters and all kinds of cool stuff. So maybe your brain is working harder than it thinks it is!
ReplyDeleteKeep writing and keep the old drafts backed up.
ReplyDeletemood
Ick, that sounds bad. All I can say is keep trying to figure out how to sort everything out with your edits. Maybe have some critique partners read it and see what good they can do.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Meh, so what - you're human, not a machine. Stop the negative spiral as it will only lead to your writerly doom. I'd say, put it down for a while, start a new project - something small - and when done, go back to your ms, read it with fresh eyes.
ReplyDeleteFailing that, make another one of your cute videos to cheer us all up :)
It'll all work out. I have faith in you. But I understand your worry. Making changes like that can be nerve-wracking. Hang in there. ;)
ReplyDeleteI've seen LaRonda's book. Lovely cover!
Great post, Elise. :)
August co-host and IWSG #110
Thanks Melissa... How did you know to call me LaRonda? I actually go by my middle name in real life, but folks call me Nancy on line. Thanks for your comment. :)
DeleteYep, you keep on writing, but I do hear you on the feeling like it's a big pile of poo.
ReplyDeleteLaRhonda--like some of those one liners. I had to chuckle over the X's mark the spot, lol!
Sia McKye OVER COFFEE
Sometimes Flash Fiction is THE best thing to write just for those unexpected twists.
DeleteCongrats, Nancy. Love your cover! And Elis you had me laughing at poo!! I totally understand!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathrina!
DeleteYay for Nancy! This cover is EVERYWHERE :)
ReplyDeleteMy rewrites always start out like a baby giraffe trying to walk (painfully awkward and so uncoordinated). It'll get better though! Pinkie swear!
Wow, Nancy's works sound fascinating. I love that cover. And I love how it's a collection of shorts & poetry. It's something I can read a little bit of everyday so I don't have to wait until I'm taking a writing break to read it.
ReplyDeleteElise, I'm sure it's better than you think. :) I know I'm my own worst enemy sometimes when it comes to writing. Let me know if I can help.
Have fun with the edits!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to Nancy,
um, girl, your mind just went cray cray on your and you gotta put it in check!! throw some mud at it!
ReplyDeletecongrats to nancy!
Those are fabulous flash fic one-liners!
ReplyDeleteYay to Nancy!
Oh, and keep on keeping on!
DeleteKeep writing, that's the spirit!
(((((HUGS)))))
I do know that feeling, being scared to make that first change because it's going to throw other things out, and there will be that scary ripple effect. But it's necessary, right? Do you have time to leave your MS for a while to let it 'settle'? Or is this the time you MUST revise?
ReplyDeleteI've done major revisions with huge changes, so I know the feeling. Just give it time and hard work and the manuscript will come together.
ReplyDeleteGet to work. ;)
ReplyDeleteM.L. Swift, Writer
Oh my, have I been there! My story went from a 50k word novella to a full on trilogy, EVERYTHING but the mcs and the antagonist changed. It was really hard to get into the change, and its often hard to stick with it. Keep writing, though, sister! You'll find satisfaction in the end :D
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean with that making it worse feeling. I get it every time I revise. That's why I save everything I cut into a "story graveyard" and also keep a copy of the original before the hacking began. That way I can always go back. But you know what, I never do! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats again to Nancy!