Roses Walking

There are roses walking across the earth,
Their blood is dripping red.

Petals scatter,
Thorns fall.

Brambles take hold,
Tearing and trembling.

Roots rip the ground,
Seedlings spring up.

Roses rise up in beauty,
and then shrivel.

The dried rose petals are the most exquisite of all.

Writing Adventures: Part 13

So. I've had this draft sitting for a while. I only add to it bit by bit because it's hard right now to have time to really sit with it and let it develop more. However, I think I'm going to let it sit even more because I think I have something else to do first.

The idea first came in to my head some months ago. Now it's more prevalent, and it's one of those things where I feel that if I'm considering it at all, then that means I must see it through.

So my second book may not in fact be my second novel. Instead, it might be what I suppose for now we'll just call more of a non-fiction piece. Probably something quite short, unless it develops into more that I can't see yet.

As I've had some more days here and there to myself and as simultaneous contentment and concern have bubbled within me, I've felt more content to spend a random hour or even just half hour in the evening writing. I'm not just tired wanting to relax; I want to work on this my chosen craft. (Did I chose it, though? Or was it chosen for me? If the latter, then even more reason for me to develop it.)

I have things I want to share and maybe need to share. With how many people I don't know and that doesn't matter; even one person would be enough. So the other manuscript will continue sitting (maybe I'll still work on it at my turtle pace; we'll see) while I try and focus on this new project.

Writing Progress

It's an exciting thing to print out a draft for the first time.

I didn't think I was at that stage yet; I thought I was going to write up more first. Then I just felt like I needed to print it all out to be able to do more. After all, I do have a beginning, some early stages, a tiny bit of the middle, and an ending (maybe not the end end but some of the end). Time to take a step back and see what I have in order to be able to see what I need.

Having printed out said manuscript, I read through it all yesterday. Some of this I wrote months and months ago and have barely looked at since. So it's a strange sensation to suddenly see it physical--and to see that it does work toward a whole. Sometimes I've felt like I've really been letting this latest book drag. But there are pieces of it that I could only have written at certain specific times. When I was writing the beginning, for instance, I only knew the beginning; I knew nothing of the rest. Later, I started to get the pieces that I was missing.

In fact, I was missing so much that I expected, when I read through it all, to find a definite tone shift halfway through. I was expecting to find incongruence that I'd need to fix. Surprisingly, though, I didn't find much of that. Instead I just find gaps that I need to fill in more (which I already knew I'd need given that this is a complete-but-not-complete draft). I did write one scene twice--and it's quite different each time. I mean, I wrote the same scene for Black Tree two or maybe even three times because I thought I hadn't written it yet (and then I ended up not even using it; it might actually work better in this new book, though, strange enough). That scene was mostly the same each time that I wrote it. Not the case for this current one. One version is definitely better as far as theme and character go, but I do love the setting of the other version--so I might have to just keep the setting and figure out what scene is supposed to go with that setting.

And I realize that I'm missing a scene that I remember writing. I write in a couple of different notebooks (one is more for when I'm free writing, but that often turns into content that I can use) and occasionally on loose paper (I type it all up later), but I can't find that scene anywhere. So a little bit of organization is necessary, I suppose.

Anyway. It's been a while since I did a sale for Black Tree. So let's call it an Independence Day sale for 40% off paperback and hardcover copies at this link.

What It Feels Like to Start Writing Again

I've been telling everyone that yes, I have started work on a second book. The reality, though, is that, while I do have a decent start at that second book, and while I do think about it frequently (which is part of the work of working on a book), it had been months since I had added anything visibly significant to such book.

A few days ago, I started up again. And I can feel the change.

I can feel it physically in my wrist. Nothing irks my wrist more than writing with a pencil (a Sharpie, for instance, is okay--I do a lot of writing with Sharpies these days, but I guess they're fine because they're thicker--so maybe I need a thicker pencil). Yet I prefer to do most of the early stages of writing with a pencil. The later stages can be done on a keyboard. But there is something . . . less visible about working with a pencil on paper; it's an effect that frees me to write out words in a sort of free write style, to be unconcerned with what I am putting out. Later on you can remove or change whatever needs removing or changing, but at the moment you just need to write down whatever comes--because the process is what breathes whatever needs to be brought into existence.

I can feel it in my mood, too. Jubilation mingles with sitting on the edge. I felt free when the other night after being unable to sleep I got out of bed for a free write and then returned to bed feeling a sense of weightlessness. But I feel . . . caught up when I think of the issues this book will be bringing up: I have to feel emotions and themes in order to write them. So here I am, perfectly happy (well, you know, on average), trying to stir up feelings practically of a mid-life crisis. I can be sitting inside of my skin and then suddenly jump into my mind into this other skin, this skin I'm making up, and feel so caught up in that other skin that I in fact do start mingling that life with my own (which is dangerous territory to fall into, I realize).

What else do I feel? Pleased. I've been letting these "early stages" of this next book drag out rather long. It feels right to know that I'm finally starting up at it again and that when I tell people that more will be coming, it is true. Maybe it would have been better to get a second book out close on the heels of the first, but I think that the more time elapses between the two, the more I will realize how I can make improvements. I'm realizing certain things that I didn't do with the first book that I can do with this one, certain things that I held back on before that I don't need to hold back on this time.

I am free and I am taken because my veins have started to bleed words again.

September Book Sale & Signed Books

September is my time to celebrate, so all this month I'm offering paperback and hardcover copies of my novel, Black Tree, for 40% off at this link (you can still buy it from the other major booksellers, as well, but the sale is only from here).

And if you live in the state, I'd also like to point out where you can go to buy signed copies. About an hour and a half north of the Phoenix area and forty minutes south of Sedona, there is a wonderful antique store by the name of Sweet Pea Antiques. It's right on 260 in Camp Verde, just a couple minutes off of the 17--and right in the exact center of the state. So if you're traveling north or south, to state parks or museums or camping spots or anywhere else, the shop is likely not far out of the way. I have both hardcover and paperbacks there, and they're all signed; you can even pick up a free bookmark to go along with your book. I'm also selling handmade greeting cards: birthday cards, thank you cards, congratulations cards (and maybe some Halloween cards coming up).

Need some extra persuasion? Click here to read the first chapter and get a sample of my writing style.

Have a great Labor Day weekend.

Independence Day Sale

Fourth of July is almost here, and you know what that means: it's time for another book sale. Get yourself or a friend a little summer reading.

Paperback and hardcover copies of Black Tree are 30% off at this link only. Enjoy.

The sale will continue through Tuesday. And though the sale is only at the above link, remember that you can always buy Black Tree from the other major retailers if you prefer.

A Pictorial Look at Black Tree - VII.III

Black Tree's third narrator, Julia, lives in Prescott, and chapter seven finds her at Courthouse Square. The Square is like its own park: there is grass and the large trees keep it shaded even in summer (though Prescott generally stays reasonably cool--or at least not unreasonably hot). There are benches and tables. Plenty of people bring their dogs out for a walk here; others just stroll around to enjoy the day. Surrounding the Square are various shops, a few restaurants and bars, and of course the antique stores.

These first picture are from April 2012. The trees are starting to grow back their leaves after the winter.

A look toward the northern edge. You can see a few of the stores there, including Bashford Courts (the tall white building), where I buy raw shea butter. 

This is the northeast corner, looking diagonally across to some of the historic buildings (the surrounding builds are part of what make the Square so nice to visit). If you continue up the street, you come into Antique Row, where in the book Julia has her antique store. I based the layout of her store on a couple of different ones combined.

There are a couple of different memorial statues around the Square.

Another view of the Courthouse, which sits right in the middle.

And here is the Prescott "P" up on its hill. This picture implies that Prescott is much more rural and flat than it really is. In reality, though, Prescott is not at all flat, given that it's in a somewhat piney region. And while it is not a big city, I wouldn't call it a small town, either. 

As a bonus, here are a couple of pictures from December 2012 showing some of the Square's Christmas lights. I don't think that any of it shows in these images, but there was still some snow on the ground in places from a recent snowfall. Prescott gets cold winters, with plenty of wind and ice and definitely some snow. 

You can get an idea from all of these lights that Prescott is big about decorating. Mt. Vernon St. (the place of historic Victorian homes, where Julia lives) is just a couple of streets away from the Square. Everyone there decorates on a grand scale for such holidays as Halloween and Christmas. Hence Julia's feeling of obligation (later in the book) to put up her Christmas lights even when she was not in the mood to celebrate.