A MOTHER’S HEART

Another book I loved working on was It’s Amazing – She Looks Just Like You: The Story of Sophia and Me, by Dawn Mauro with Carol Ann Mauro.

Dawn always wanted to be a mother, but the husband/partner in the equation never appeared. She tried all the options here in America to become a single parent, but for one reason or another, they did not work out.

By what can only be described as divine intervention, she was led to All God’s Children International (AGCI) in Nepal. She recounts the arduous journey of application, multiple forms, and other requirements—and lots of waiting, expense, and red tape—before she was finally approved for adoption.

So, she and her mother, Carol, set off for Kathmandu, and the adventure of a lifetime. Her determination was tried many times, but she felt God had led her to this place and this orphanage—and this child.

Carol contributes her memories to the book, adding a special dimension. The love of these two women, provided the foundation for the love of this precious child.

In editing the book, I got to know both Carol and Dawn. Their deep love of the orphans of Nepal transcends Sophia’s adoption. Carol; has become a major supporter of the orphanage and is now known as the “godmother” of the children there.

I so loved all the beautiful photos Dawn included in the book that I prepared a video trailer for it. (This is something I rarely do for the books I edit.) 

Their story is a triumph of hope and love. It is inspiring and will leave you with tears of joy. It’s a feel-good read you will truly enjoy.

Sophia just became a teenager, but she continues to inspire. She recently shaved off her long hair in order to make wigs for kids with cancer. You will not regret getting to know this inspiring family.

What We Inherit

I have been interested in genealogy for many years. My grandfather’s Mormon family heritage is pretty well-documented with lots of stories about the Pioneers who helped settle Utah. (My grandfather was one of twenty-three children.)

My dad’s mother was Irish. I traced her side back a couple of generations, but like many Irish-Americans, the early records seem to have been lost.

Larry’s aunt did a great job of documenting his father’s family. She even wrote several articles for a publication in celebration of the centennial of her hometown. His mother’s mother was a Woolworth, but not the rich branch. Their family heritage has been traced back to Charlemagne. Larry laughed at all the European royalty in his tree. But when we had our DNA sequenced, the findings tended to support everything I had found. (He is descended from both leaders of the Battle of Hastings—William the Conqueror and King Harold—and many, many other kings, queens, and other royalty.)

I knew my maternal grandfather’s family was from Methven, Scotland. We visited the town when we were there in 1995. His branch moved to Clyde Bank, a famous shipbuilding city, before they emigrated to Canada and then to the US.

My maternal grandmother claimed that her family was 100% Scottish. I’m sure she didn’t know about her second great-grandmother. I received copies of the family records from her family’s Bible from a cousin on that side some years after my grandmother died. Her great-grandmother was listed as “Grace Smith from County Cork.” I was tickled when I found this, thinking how disturbed Grandma would have been to know this.

I knew her father was a school teacher and a member of the school board. I was proud to know that her family valued education.

I have had a membership in Ancestry.com for many, many years. I’ve uploaded all of the material I received from Larry’s aunt and my Mormon ancestors there, along with the family pictures and stories I have acquired. I have also been able to link to the work of others.

Last week, I got one of the best surprises ever. I discovered that my fifth-great-grandfather on my maternal grandmother’s line was William Blackwood, an editor and publisher. What a fascinating man.

In 1804, he opened a store where he sold old and curious books. From there, he moved into publishing. In 1817, he began to publish Edinburgh Monthly Magazine. It eventually became Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine. His magazine was the first to publish work by an American, an essay by John Neal.

It also published many famous English writers: Joseph Conrad, George Eliot, and E.M. Forster, among others. After William died, various other family members continued the business. It lasted until 1980, when it was amalgamated. (No members of my immediate family were involved.)

For the last twenty years or so, I have not only been an author, but I edited for several independent publishers. Throughout my career, I wrote policies and procedures for every job I ever had. One boss used to plop down in the chair in my office and say, “Make me sound good.” He’d then tell me what he wanted to say in a letter to a vendor. I’d produce a formal business letter to which he attached his signature.

Another company I worked for insisted that a copy of every piece of correspondence—including memos and documentation of phone conversations—be sent to a group called “Presentation.” If there were any errors, the group gave the author feedback. As usual, I created a lot of documentation. One day I had a call from the head of Presentation. “Don’t send me any more of your writing. It’s always right, and I don’t need to take the time to look at it.”

A few years later, I began to ghost write corporate procedures for other company leaders. My phone rang. A laugh was followed by: “I thought I told you not to send me any more of your writing. Even though _____’s name is on this, I recognize your writing.” By this time, we were using word processing. The documents were produced in a separate group from my originals. “I don’t have a choice. They distribute everything.”

Periodically, I’d hear from him whenever I started creating documents from someone new. He just wanted to let me know he still recognized my writing, and we’d laugh.

As an editor, I have been privileged to work on some wonderful books. I’m known as a tough editor because I do both content and line editing. I love doing it, even though I rarely charge enough. The satisfaction of helping someone fulfill their lifelong dream is worth it.

Finding William Blackwood pleased me. I had a sense of connection to him. My love of words, editing, and publishing didn’t come to me from nowhere. Somehow, I had a sense of inheritance—intangible, but nevertheless real.

Do you have any characteristics inherited from your ancestors? What are they, and how do they impact your life today?

Historical Accuracy

I am currently working with a first-time author who is writing a historical novel about a time and subject about which I know very little. This, in fact, is why I was excited to edit her story. I enjoy learning new things.

However, a very short way into the book, some red flags arose. She had her character traveling on a railroad traveling north to south just prior to the Civil War. I looked up the name of the line she had used and discovered it didn’t exist—ever.

\When I questioned her about it, she said, “I just used literary license and made it up.”

Uh no.

Readers of historical fiction—especially those who read about the particular time in which she is writing, would have her head for such an invention. Readers are passionate about accuracy when it comes to their favorite periods and locations, and authors must research everything they write.

I have been known to close a book and throw it away (or remove it from my Kindle library) for blatant inaccuracies. I know devotees to particular eras do the same. Even when writing contemporary fiction, research is still important.

The more reality you include in your fiction, the more believable it becomes. So, where can you use literary license, and where should you strive for absolute accuracy? Larry wrote a blog for me a few years ago where he describes it better than I could. The following is from his blog.

WRITING A REAL LOCATION

In our second mystery, Murder in Paradise, our protagonist, Agapé Jones, retired NYPD detective, was supposed to drive from Honolulu to Hale’iwa. While doing research on Oahu, I drove the same route, noticed the outrigger canoes parked along the Ala Wai Canal, and shopped at the Foodland in Hale’iwa. Then Agapé did the same things in the book. We know our readers will never forgive us if we mess up their town. And if our hero drives the wrong way on a one-way street, we’ll never hear the end of it. [One reader, who had lived on Oahu, said he knew exactly where he was every minute—a testament to the value of the research.]

While I write a story in a real place, I surround myself with photos, clippings, and maps of the area I intend to write about. Anything to keep me grounded in reality.

Sometimes a picture will inspire a scene. In Murder in Paradise, I had the grandmother character tell the story of growing up as a child on the North Shore and visiting the Hale’iwa Hotel, a beautiful Victorian-style inn featuring a two-story lanai and luxurious dining room. Opened in 1898, the building was torn down in 1952. As inspiration, I purchased several early photos of the old hotel from North Shore Photo Hawaii and hung them on the wall over my computer. The pictures themselves never appeared in the book, but my descriptions became more accurate because I could visualize being there. Hopefully, I passed my vision on to the reader.

WRITING A FICTIONAL LOCATION

Lorna and four friends created the fictitious town of Aspen Grove, Colorado, as the location for their romance anthologies, Snowflake Secrets, Seasons of Love, Directions of Love, The Art of Love, An Aspen Grove Christmas, and …And a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe. This allowed the authors to invent shops, restaurants, churches, B&Bs, etc. to fit their novellas. They placed Aspen Grove in the mountains west of Denver on the road leading to the ski resorts. Even though it is fictitious, it needed to have the real look and character of the area. Aspen Grove became a composite of several real towns.

Walk down the main street of Idaho Springs and you expect to see Daisy’s Diner and the Book Nook. Wander along the lakefront in Georgetown to find Drew’s log cabin, and on through town a stone building houses the Presbyterian Church. Several readers have remarked they would love to visit Aspen Grove. So would we. [But we have come close in these two small Colorado towns. Idaho Springs is shown below.]

WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION

Not only do the locations need to be correct, but also the specific time period. The events, language, customs, clothing, and props must all fit the era.

In historical fiction, it is even more important to do accurate research. Our historical novel, The Memory Keeper, concerns life at the San Juan Capistrano Mission between 1820 and 1890 as seen through the eyes of a Juaneño Indian.

For inspiration, an original etching by Rob Shaw, published in 1890 by H L Everett, showing the mission grounds, hangs over my computer and did so during the writing of the book.

Our bibliography ran eleven pages. We also enlisted the aid of the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society, mission docents, the local San Juan historian, and a Juaneño native storyteller as beta readers for historical information. We weren’t satisfied until they were satisfied with the accuracy of our details.

That said, I have to remind myself. Never let the facts get in the way of the story. Too many details can turn a good story into a boring history lesson. In the end, the research should support and enhance, but not overwhelm. We must choose which facts to include, leave out, and make up. If we’ve done our job, our readers will become so involved with the plot and compelling characters, the facts will blend in. They’ll never know how much research went into it. But we will.

Editing Guidelines

Recently my friend and fellow author, Marilyn Meredith, posted a blog on self-editing. These are some of the guidelines I give my clients, based on the style sheets of several publishers I've worked for:

Proper English

Use proper English most of the time. This does not mean formal language, just correct word usage. The one place where diversion from proper English is allowed is in dialogue. A speaker may have a regional accent or may sound illiterate. Indicate these characteristics to emphasize characteristics of the character. However, with dialect, choose only one or two words and use them consistently.

Choose a Writing POV

Decide whether to write in first or third person. Don't use omniscient POV. Most people do not execute it well. When writing in third person POV, write in deep POV. Commit to the character's emotions or actions.

Point of View

Use only one point of view per chapter or scene. Identify your POV character. This person cannot know what anyone else sees, hears, thinks, or feels. Describe the scene only from this person's viewpoint.

Limit the POV to the main characters in the story. Do not write in the POV of peripheral characters.

Do not change POV by breaking the scene every few paragraphs with a hiatus (***). If the events happen in the same place at the same time, it's the same scene, and a hiatus does not work.

You may use a single transition during the scene from one POV to another. It works best mid-scene or at a crucial point where it makes sense for the POV to switch to another character. If the POV switch happens three-to-five paragraphs in, the beginning of the scene may not be necessary. Delete it.

Do not head-hop. Do not switch back and forth between characters in the same scene. This is annoying for readers, and as an editor, I don't allow it.

Show, Don't Tell

Don't say: "She was frightened." Instead, say: "Her heart pounded, she felt sweat pool beneath her arms, and her whole body shook."

Avoid Passive Voice

Use active verbs rather than passive ones. In passive, the character is the recipient of the action. Passive voice is usually awkward and unclear, while active voice flows better and is more direct.

Examples of Passive Voice:

The door was locked by Emma.

Todd's foot was stepped on by another student.

Fixed:

Emma locked the door.

Another student stepped on Todd's foot.

Use Direct Writing

Avoid “was -ing” and “began to” verb structures. They dilute the action. If a character does something, have them do it. As Yoda said, "Do or do not, there is no try." There is also no 'begin to.'

Examples:

She began to leave the room.

He was making breakfast, while she was showering.

He was starting to suspect she was trying to confuse him.

Fixed:

She turned to leave the room.

He made breakfast while she showered.

He suspected she intended to confuse him.

When can a character “begin to” do something, or “'start to”' do something? When the action is interrupted.

Examples:

Sally began to wash the dishes, but then the phone rang.

Damien started to leave the driveway when Dennis pulled in behind him.

Keep Up the Pace

Sometimes these words interrupt the flow of the scene. Be firm. Be clear. If you are, you won't need these words. This list is incomplete, but you should get the idea:

Immediately

Began to

Eventually

Just then

All of a sudden

Might

Often

Proceeded to

Suddenly

Then

Started to

Suddenly

Limit “-ly” Adverbs

Stephen King said "The road to hell is paved with adjectives." The same might be said about adverbs. Adverbs are often redundant, and the action they describe can be inferred from the rest of the sentence.

Example:

He set the priceless vase on the table carefully.

“Let's get out of here," she said as she quickly turned to leave.

Betty rocked the baby and gently laid her back in her crib.

Fixed:

He set the priceless vase on the table.

"Let's get out of here.” She turned to leave.

Betty rocked the baby and laid her back in her crib.

The rest of the sentence implies the way they would complete the action. However, if the action is in contradiction to what the reader would expect, further description is warranted, but try to avoid “-ly” adverbs.

Example:

Bill slammed the priceless vase onto the granite countertop and glared at Janice.

Avoid the Word 'that'

Most of the time, the use of the word 'that' is unnecessary, and it is often overused. When you find the word 'that' in a sentence, read the sentence excluding the word. If it makes sense, without it, remove it.

Em-Dashes Interrupt and Ellipses Pause

Authors sometimes use one or the other all the time.

They may always use dashes (em-dashes, not hyphens), even with an abrupt halt or stutter isn't meant, or they may use ellipses (three dots used together as a single character) when they intend for the speaker to be cut off, not just trail off.

Use an Ellipse when the speaker doesn't finish their thought, perhaps because they're distracted, or they intend to leave something unsaid. Use Em-Dashes the speaker is halted or interrupted, for instance, in an argument.

No CAPS for Emphasis

Save CAPS for acronyms like FBI, CIA, IRS, etc. If you need to emphasize dialogue or narrative, use italics.

No Double Punctuation

Never use “?!” ever. This is not to say you can't use either character, but never use them together as a unit.

Eliminate Exclamation Points

Avoid exclamation points. My rule is no more than one per manuscript. Use your words to indicate the level of emphasis.

Italics

Use for internal thoughts, memories, dreams, etc. or for emphasis. Also, use them for book titles, brand names, television program names, etc. Be careful of copyright issues. Note: song titles are shown in quotes.

Avoid Semi-colons

Do not use these. Most writers misuse them. Try to rework the sentence before resorting to a semi-colon. Replace with a period and start another sentence.

Purple Prose

Avoid extravagant, erudite, or flowery language. It sounds stilted and may send your readers running to the dictionary. Once they are gone, they may not return.

Alright is Never All Right

All right is two words, despite how often it appears as one.

Replace Dialog Tags

Nothing is more annoying than repeated “he said” and “she said.” If your dialogue is between two people with identifiable positions and language styles, or a male and a female, no tags are necessary. Even when they are, replace the tags with action.

Reader Feeder

Avoid long, descriptive, and unnecessary paragraphs. They slow or stop the action. Some description is necessary to establish a sense of place, but too much bogs down the story. Especially avoid pages and pages of backstory. Include this information as the story unfolds. Always ask:

1. Is it necessary?

2. Does it move the story along?

3.  Are there any extra words?

Recently my friend and fellow author, Marilyn Meredith, posted a blog on self-editing. These are some of the guidelines I give my clients, based on the style sheets of several publishers I've worked for:

What are your pet peeves in writing?

Republishing

We were blessed to be published by two small independent publishers. The owners of both became dear friends as well as our publishers.

The first company was sold when the owner could no longer run the business due to Parkinson’s disease. This situation was sad and distressing since we cared about the people involved.

We stayed with the new publisher since they had seven of our titles. So far, they seem okay, if indifferent, but we haven’t seen any royalties for months. However, getting our rights back would cost us more than we could make in several years. So, the books will stay where they are—for now.

The second publisher had a stroke about two years ago. Again, we felt terrible because she is a dear friend. In addition, she created a new imprint for my book. Besides being published by her imprint, I did a great deal of editing for her.

We have prayed for her recovery and continue to hope she will be able to resume her work, but after nearly two years without royalties, I felt I had no choice but to take back my book.

I contacted the cover artist to find out who owned the cover art. Some artists license their covers to the publishers and retain their ownership. Others create the books for the publisher. The publisher pays for the cover and has ownership. This was the case with my cover. Thank goodness because it is my favorite cover.

The first sample I received in no way reflected the story. It featured two half-naked people against an orange sunset. I loathe the color orange, and the cover looked like it should have been for erotica. Not at all like my book.

Larry mocked up an idea, and the cover artist took it to a whole new level. It completely reflects the story.

I contacted the publisher and requested my rights back. In addition, I asked for the cover rights in exchange for any money I am owed. Bless her. She gave me full rights in writing as well as the cover art and the PDF of the book as submitted for publication.

Then came the hard work. Fortunately, I have a program with an OCR (Optical character Reader). I was able to convert the PDF to a text file, so I could create a new Word file. The downside is in the conversion, all the formatting is lost. Occasionally, words are lost or wrong. Therefore, a complete edit is necessary, along with new formatting. But at least I had about 95% of the text intact.

I contacted the cover artist again. I offered her a small amount to remove the publisher’s information, and she agreed to do it as well as size the cover for the new book.

I tried to format the book to closely resemble the original so the transition would appear nearly seamless. This took lots of time and effort, but the result was worth it.

Once I had the complete manuscript and cover, I was able to self-publish it as a second edition. For this one, I added a new section in the back: Book Club Questions.

The book is now available again on Amazon as a second edition, and I am happy to have complete ownership of it. From here on, I will have complete control of the book without depending on anyone else.

Since I did this one, I have also converted two books for a friend. They had been published by the same publisher.

I anticipate we may have to do the same for the other seven books. Someday, we will probably have all of our books self-published.

Assembling Anthologies

I love anthologies. Every year I was excited when the Regency, holiday, romance anthologies appeared on the bookshelves in the stores. I like the length since the novellas or stories are shorter reads than full-length novels. I read before going to sleep, and it’s possible to get through one in an evening or two.

I initiated the idea of writing romance anthologies with several of my friends. Little did we realize we’d end up with six in the Aspen Grove series.

  

        

I’ve edited a few more over the years, including a recent collection of mysteries set in Hawaii: Paradise, Passion, Murder (currently available for pre-order).

Assembling an anthology requires some attention to how the stories are arranged. When I was putting them together, I considered some features of the individual works.

LENGTH

I tried to vary the lengths of the stories, alternating shorter ones with longer ones for variety.

QUALITY

Not all novellas/stories are created equal. Even good writers don’t always create works of the same quality. When I assembled anthologies, I tried to put a strong story at the beginning and another strong one at the end. Those of lesser quality, I sandwiched between. I know if readers enjoys the first book, they will continue reading. I also wanted to make sure the final story left a good memory for the reader.

CHRONOLOGY

In some books, the stories can be arranged in order by date. For our romance anthology, Directions of Love, my novella, “Finding Love in Paradise,” contains the backstory of the four friends. Therefore, it is the first in the book. Luanna Rugh’s novella, “Love Under the Northern Lights,” ended right before the Epilogue and left a suspenseful situation to be resolved in the Epilogue. So, it went after the other two. The four novellas were bookended by the Prologue, which set up the overall story, and the Epilogue.

STORYTELLING

Most of our Aspen Grove books have an overall story arc, supported and moved along by the individual novellas in the book. I tried to arrange them in the order which would move the overall story forward. This was always a consideration of how to tell the whole story best.

MOOD

When I edited Larry’s short story collection, Lakeview Park, I tried to pace the stories by mood. Some were sweet, some sad, others bittersweet. I tried to vary the mood of the stories for variety. One character appeared in several stories, so I tried to intersperse his appearances throughout the book.

THEMING

In Seasons of Love, each novella had a different seasonal theme, so it seemed logical to start the book with spring and end with winter. …And a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe followed the old rhyme, which starts, “Something Ole, Something New…” The order of the novellas is the same as the lines in the poem.

In some anthologies, the novellas are ordered by the status of the authors. Others seem quite arbitrary on the whim of the editor. Some appear to have little or no reason for their order.

Next time you read one, see if you can tell why the particular order was made.