Marcia James is visiting andtalking about Who She Was Before #Poetry #writing public sevice notices #PR?Marketing #romance novels

 

 

1. What were you before you became an author? Did this influence your choices as a writer?

 

I’ve always been a writer, starting in middle school writing poetry. I have a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing from the University of Virginia and a Master’s of Creative Writing from American University. Through the years, I’ve written information and trainings scripts; TV, radio, and print ads; public service announcements; newspaper and nonfiction book articles; PR/marketing materials (such as press releases, newsletters, and brochures); and now romance novels.

 

2. Are you genre specific or general? I don’t mean major genres but subdivisions or romance, mystery or paranormal.

 

I write mainstream romances featuring heroines you can root for, heroes to die for, and funny dogs. I primarily write contemporary romances, but I’ve also written a romantic suspense and a romantic mystery. And I have an idea for a light paranormal series.

 

3. What is your latest release?

 

My last release was Scrooge & the Secret Santa, an enemies-to-lovers romance that is the fourth in my “Klein’s K-9s Service Dogs” small-town romance series.

 

4. What are you working on now?

 

I’m writing the fifth in my Klein’s K-9s series, as well as writing short stories for an anthology I’m planning on publishing next year.

 

5. Does your reading choices influence your choice of a writing career?

 

In the late 1990s, I fell in love with Nora Roberts’ contemporary romances, which led me to Jayne Ann Krentz and other wonderful romance authors. So when I decided to try my hand at fiction writing, I wanted to write romances. I think the world needs all the feel-good books it can take.

 

6. Where can we find you?

 

I love hearing from my readers, who tell me they enjoy my monthly blog interviews and newsletter subscriber contests. (There’s a newsletter subscriber box on most pages on my website.) Here are my links:

 

Website: https://marciajames.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarciaJamesAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Marcia_James

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marciajamesauthor/

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/marciajames/

Amazon Author Central page: www.amazon.com/author/marciajames

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/marcia-james

 

 

Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #BWL Publishing #Poetry #Shopping #Writing

Meander 1 - Poem _ Security Blanket --

You are security, peace and binding
The comforting nest after flights into the sky.
The arms that hold me when ecstacy is lost.
The fingers that gently sooth away
The anxiety born of facing chaos, madness, death.
And though you cannot soar with me
I need you always there waiting
For those fleece-lined moments
When I return to you.

Meander 2 - Shopping - Yesterday I went to look at possibilities for my kitchen. The refrigerator I have right now is working on its second icemaker and that only spews cubs when it wishes. I had no desire to try a third so I've decided to buy a new refrigerator and so I looked at them yesterday. My stove also needs a bit of an upgrade. The stove has been there since we made the kitchen larger about thirty years ago. Now it does work, all but one burner and I have never conquered the self cleaning function. I tried and tried but it never worked properly. There are other things I'd like to do there but they can wait until I have a few more dollars.

Meander 3 - Writing - I am kicking myself. I did something I'm always warning other writers not to do. That is called rushing the end of the book. While typing the final chapter warning bells rang. I did not play the scenes to the end. All the other chapters are great but this one has to be re-done and so I will. Then the next thing iis to do the CAF for a book thats coming in February or March.

MY PLACES

https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

BUY MARK

http://bookswelove.net/authors/walters-janet-lane-romance-fantasy-suspense-medical/

Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #BWLPublishing #poetry #writing

Meander 1 Poem - The Well -

My well of love is fathomless
Come, stop and fill your cup
This gift is given freely.
Now, pause, refresh yourself.
Bend over me and let your rope
Into my endless depths.
Drink deep. Drink full.
Return often to me for
My well of love is fathomless
Come, stop and fill your cup.

Meander 2 - Playing catch up - most days I'm able to keep a schedule. That has been until we've had days of heat and humidity. Then I want to hibernate. Though bears hibernate in the winter, I would rather do this in the summer. So I do things like read when I should be writing or doing chores around the house, Maybe even catch a bit of TV. These things are fun and a waste of time. So I'm playing catch up and hoping summer will end.

Meander 3 - Writing - Is moving along slowly and I just found a chapter that might have to be re-written but I will finish the book before I undertake this. That way I'll know what needs to be added and where,.

 MY PLACES

https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

BUY MARK

http://bookswelove.net/authors/walters-janet-lane-romance-fantasy-suspense-medical/

Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #Poetry #Writing

Meander 1 - Poem - Haiku - Autumn

Spread across the land
Blazing trees in autumn found
With their glory crowns.

Meander 2 - Book Talk - Went to a library with three of my friends to give a talk on The Road To Publication. Though the turnout was small. There were just three spectators, they did listen and ask questions. I'm sorry there were so few attending but perhaps the next one will be better attended. One of the attendees talked a bit about her story. Sounded like a great idea and I do hope she decides to come to our meeting.

Meander 3 Writing - Am halfway through the last of the writing drafts and made a change. I turned one of the three strong villains into a week, cowardly one. I think it will make the story stronger in the end. I'm slowly getting to the point where I am sick of the book. Let's hope the next week allows me to progress faster.

Meandering On Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #Poetry #writing

Meander i _ Poem

You see your friends through blind eyes
With little slits of light let through.
That's good but it opens you to pain
And hurt, to cry at night.
You see just what you want to see.
Someday you'll find the way
To look at all through eyes of live
And see virtues, faults and know.

Meander 2 - Slowing down.  I've been wroking at high pitch for more than a month with six new releases. Books checked here, sent to editor and returned with more corrections. Fortunately my publisher is going on vacation and I can slow down. Life has become much for settling down. Having to play nurse every morning takes a lot from my day. Evenings, too but I manage lately on five hours of sleep a night. So I've decided to slow down for a time.

Meander 3 - Writing - I've begun the rough draft of Sweet Tea and am slowly putting words on paper. There is more dialogue both internal and external than other prose but that's the way I write. I will finish this draft and begin making sense of the story.

Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #Poetry #Punctuation

Meander 1 - Poem - Conflicts

I feel I am torn
Between the land and the sun
And don't know where to turn.
The son is bright
And fills me full of grace
And peace and gleaming dreams.
The land is rich and growing full
With security and safety.
Which way do I turn?
Where do I go?
The son calls me to the way
but the land has it's way, too.
Can they be reconciled?
I don't know.

Meander 2 - ? Marks - I've been getting edits back in rapid succession. I've found I don't use question marks when they should end a sentence. Is this carelessness? I'm not sure. I wonder if there are other authors who have the same failing. If I could put the question marks where they belong, the edits would be few and I would hardly ever have to face those lines on one side and comments on the other. Sometimes getting the things to erase is nearly impossible.

Meander 3 - Writing. I have begun the sixth Katherine Miller mystery, Murder and Sweet Tea. So far it's moving along. Of course this is the rough draft where sometimes what's written doesn't make sense. Being back to writing new material is wonderful. Of course there are still three mss to correct before sending them to the editor and four to edit when they each come back.

Tuesday's Inspiration - Creativity - Forms

Rollo May talks about form in The Courage To Create. Years ago when I was a poet I studied and experimented with form. Sometimes the idea I was trying to express fit into a particular form and sometimes it didn't. That didn't mean the form was wrong. Not all words flow into a sonet or a couplet or any other specific form. Sometimes the words gushed out and later the form was found. Then I turned to fiction and discovered there were forms there.

There's the beginning, the middle and the end. Most literary works fall into this pattern. What makes it creative is how the writer uses this general form. Lots of times writers experiment, and not all these experiments work. The discovery is what makes creating fun.

There is joy when the right form to express the words, meaning, feelings we want to show the world. While I had fun with poetry, and dabbled in creating music, played with short stories. Writing novels was the form I really gravitated to. So now I have fun finding the form to put my thoughts and meanings into.

What about you? Have you found that form aids your creativity?