Mom and I are delighted to announce that Holiday Connections, a book of twelve inspiring short 
stories centered on U.S. holidays, is out in time for Christmas. We went a different route with this book so that we could offer it to our own fans at a discounted rate: we are creating a special for selling signed copies during the month of November at a discounted rate. The ebook and book won’t be available for a while on Amazon and Barnes & Nobles, but anyone who wants a copy email us at swopeparente@gmail.com, and I’ll make sure you get the email announcing the special.
Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: best holiday stories, books as gifts, books for Christmas, christmas book, holiday book, holiday books as gifts, Holiday Connections, inspirational books as gifts, inspirational books for Christmas, inspirational books for the holidays, new holiday stories, U.S. holidays
Holiday shoppers who visit craft fairs are a different breed than those who storm the halls of malls; Authors can capitalize on that reality.
Fair shoppers don’t come armed with an idea of exactly what they need to get, and they don’t wear walking shoes because they know they’ll be traversing miles of floor. They’re there to browse and get inspired. Like with retail stores, they may end up spending money on themselves when they intended to attack their gift lists. But their justification for making impulse buys allows them to feel less guilty. I will never again see this item that’s perfect so I HAVE to buy it NOW.
Those of us hawking books can take advantage of the art-and-crafts set of mind. Mom and I try to hand a card that explains the books’ plots out to anyone whose eye we can catch. The reason we do this is that we know many people are hesitant to spend money on a book when they came to look for crafts. If they are readers or they know readers, however, they eventually glance down at the card, take in a few words, move onto other booths, then glance down again and again until they eventually end up reading most of what’s on that card. We’ve noted that many of our buyers are people who return to our specific table on purpose, and the two most common phrases we hear are:
“I just couldn’t imagine anything more perfect for my friend than a gift set of mystery/romance books by the original author.”
And
“I decided to treat myself.”
Like all the vendors there at the fair who have spent countless hours creating their jewelry, photography or sewn goods, what Mom and I offer is the same: our passion. We love to read and we know others do as well, and we’re proud of what we’ve created.
This holiday season, we are aiming to get our fourth book in people’s hands. It’s the first that isn’t part of the Fate Series. Instead, it’s a gift possibility: Holiday Connections. Mom’s creative juices started with a theme: 12 different U.S. holidays. Then, in her usual manner, characters invaded her thoughts and the stories began to flow:
Easter: A little girl believes she will perish on this holy Sunday
Fourth of July: A mail order bride wants to be a U.S. citizen
Thanksgiving: A mom disappears before the turkey can be served only to reappear exactly a year later
Stay tuned to this blog for an update on where and when the book will be out.
In the meantime, if you have children on your shopping list (and who doesn’t!), my little sister Allyn Stotz is offering what is my own personal favorite of her stories, The Color of Love, at a discounted price this month. It’s about a little boy and his mom who go through a series of adventures on a magic carpet trying to find what color best represents love. Write her at allyn_stotz@yahoo.com for details.
Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: afts and crafts fairs, authors at arts and crafts fairs, best holiday books, book marketing during holidays, book shopping, books as art, books as crafts, books as gifts, books as holiday gifts, books at arts and crafts fairs, books on holidays, buying books at arts and crafts fairs, buying children's books, children's books as gifts, Christmas shopping for books, early Christmas gifts, holiday books, Holiday Connections, marketing a holiday book, marketing your holiday books, shopping for books
I never pictured myself as someone who would sit behind a table of goods, trying desperately to get the attention of passersby and “landing” them through a spiel about how wonderful my particular product is. But as I’ve said many times in this blog, being an author is not about writing a book. While you have to start with a completed manuscript, it’s only the beginning of the process.
mom at Ft. Belvoir
If you truly love what you do, you find a way to be behind that table talking people into buying your book, and while that’s a challenge for someone whose tongue gets tied easily, it quickly becomes comfortable once you get beyond that “please-don’t-annoy-me” hesitancy and engage people in conversations about reading and writing.
Last week mom and I had several events: we attended a Fall for the Book Festival signing as part of the Write by the Rails author entourage, and we sold our books at an arts and crafts fair at Fort Belvoir. Traffic at both events was affected by Hurricane Joaquin so we didn’t sell a huge amount of books. But we also look at these commitments of our time in terms of what else participation can provide. Fall for the Book brought exposure to some new friends in the writing world. We especially enjoyed being right next to Victor Rook who was there to tout his newest book Dollar Store Crafts and Recipes. His sense of humor is reflected in the title of another of his books: People Who Need to Die, and I think some of our traffic came from people stopping to open that book.
Victor Rook
The highlight of both events, however, occurred at Saturday’s fair, which was put on by the Ft. Belvoir Enlisted Spouses club to raise money for a scholarship fund. At that fair, a young lady who talked to us at a Ft. Belvoir event last fall came running up to the table excited to see us. She had wanted to buy our books last year, but didn’t get a chance before the close of the event so her husband surprised her by buying them online as a Christmas present. She gobbled them up and was thrilled that she’d be able to buy book three directly from the authors. But first, she ran all the way home so that she could get the books she received last Christmas and have us sign them. While that doesn’t exactly make us movie stars, it shows us that we’ve accomplished our goal: given someone pleasure through our words and stories.
We wish we could bottle that kind of enthusiasm then get the bottle out during the slow times, uncork it and take a huge whiff of invigoration.
Ahhh. Now that’s more like it! Genilee Swope Parente
Dreamstime
One of the thrills mom and I get when we talk to groups is the excitement audience members express for what we do. Written on the faces and weaved into their questions is this: “It must be so fulfilling and romantic to be an author.”
At the moment someone says this, it’s true. However, being an author in today’s hugely complicated world of publishing is not just being a writer. Authors today also have to be:
Bosses: I’ve learned to be a mean boss because someone has to get my sorry butt out of bed an hour early in the morning if I’m going to find time each day to write. That same mean boss has to wave the red flag after the hour is over, which is even harder than getting up. Once the writing begins, it’s heart-breaking to stop the flow of creativity so I can get on to my paying clients.
Traffic cops: I sometimes feel like Linda Blair in The Exorcist with my head spinning round and round as the whirl of advice to writers that’s out there goes by. I read, I attend conferences, I talk to other authors, I research my options constantly on the web; what I’ve discovered is there is no one-lane road headed to success. It’s a clover leaf of congestion out there, and the one person that can make the multiple decisions that will give it any sense is me.
Psychologists: The only way to survive the extreme ups and downs that comes with getting published is to band with other people going through this clover leaf. I have to lean heavily on other writers for the mental support that sorting through everything requires. Part of the reason is that I need to lament to someone besides my cat about the frustrations. But the other part if that I need the bond that listening to others creates.
Bean counters: To move forward in any business venture requires a way to measure what’s behind that forward movement. I have excel spreadsheets and multiple file storage locations on my computer so that I can at least stop once in a while to gather and count my beans—what events have worked; which books are selling well. I have to admit, however, that I often look at those beans and wish just one of them was a magic one.
Jugglers. Most authors can’t afford to write full time. We are trying to hold down a job, take care of families, find time for old and new friends, keep up with daily household tasks while adding a fifth ball to the mix: pursuing a passion for storytelling. It’s the same juggling act that anyone who finds a way to go after what they truly want must perfect—finding time for what we love. So I guess instead of hoping for that magic bean, what I should be doing is being grateful that life has allowed me to have that fifth ball in the mix.
—Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: balancing life, being a writer, being an author, complicated world of publishing, creative outlet, finding time to be an author, finding time to write, getting published, juggling act, juggling life, juggling writing, learning how to be an author, life balance, life's juggling act, publishing congestion, writing books
Dreamstime
When someone close to you dies, it triggers thoughts of whether you believe in heaven and what it would be like. I have not believed in pearly gates and streets paved in gold since I was a young child, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think there’s a heaven. I just don’t need precious gems and fancy streets around for all of eternity.
I have this other idea in mind; I want my heavenly reward to be the ability to time travel. I’ll admit I’m a sci-fi fan, but I’m not really thinking in terms of H.G. Wells—I don’t think we can actually physically be there or change what’s already happened. My idea of a good time after death would be the ability to go back and forth through periods in my life to experience again the joys and sorrows. We forget so much of what happens to us, and I suppose if we could travel this way, we’d discover how much we embellish the good times and brick up the bad to protect ourselves. But if you’ve already lived your life and you can’t do anything about it, wouldn’t it be fun to just be an observer and remember the details? My idea wouldn’t stop with our own lives—that wouldn’t take all of eternity. We might also have the ability to go back into previous lives, or if reincarnation does not exist, to previous eras of time to study how they dressed and acted or what really happened during certain historical events.
No one ever accused me of being a conventional thinker, and that’s just fine with me.
I do think my idea of heaven is based partly on the fact I consider myself an observer. I have spent all of my life watching things happen, then recording them. It’s worked well in my pursuit of a career because it’s what journalists, authors and photographers do, three of the jobs I’ve spent the most time loving. I’ve always known I was not the individual that was going to organize the best event or campaign ever, make a million bucks, make a huge impact on society or give myself completely to a particular cause. I’m just here to see what happens and put it down on paper.
Come to think of it, I may have received this trait from my dad, the newspaper editor. So if my theory holds true about heaven, that means daddy is zipping around history right now, having a wonderful time.
Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: authors, going to heaven, H.G. Wells, Heaven, heavenly ideas, heavenly perspective, ideas on heaven, journalists, past lives, pearly gates, photographers, reincarnation, speculating about heaven, stairway to heaven, time travel, visiting past lives, what is heaven
A session on the bare bones of mystery
As happy and fulfilled as I am finally discovering a channel that has me pursuing my lifelong dream—writing fiction—this dream gave me an additional benefit I never could have foreseen: it’s allowed me quality time with my mom and given us both a sense of community.
Neither Mom nor I could have imagined even five years ago that we’d be pursuing the same dream, and we don’t actually do the writing at the same time, though we talk out plot points. Mom is legally blind and cannot read her own words so she creates the first draft and I take it from there. But what we are doing together is being authors, and believe me, that’s a lot harder work than the actual writing. Still, we feel blessed to go through this journey together. This weekend, that journey took us several hours south for the Suffolk Mystery Writer’s Conference at the beautiful Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. Here’s what we discovered:
Authors share their successes
Writers are like snowflakes—no two reach the ground looking the same. Even though you feel like you’ve somehow joined this prestigious society when you succeed in getting a book published, no author gets from point A—finally sitting down at the computer to put down thoughts, to point B—holding the printed baby in her or his hands, the same way. This is especially true today as publishing is facing a blizzard and there are no longer any lines that are visible to help those lost in the middle of it.
Once a writer gets to Point B in this blizzard, they’ve only begun the journey. It doesn’t matter whether you publish through a traditional publisher, land a book agent or self publish: getting the book into the hands of readers is increasingly the job of the author. That’s not because publishers or agents have slacked off: it’s because there are so many books out there. One of the most astounding facts we learned came from a speaker who had researched Amazon to help with her session: she reported that the site now lists 12,000 cozy mysteries—up from 5,000 just a few years ago. And that’s only one type of what are dozens of mystery genres and hundreds of fiction genres.
Some of the snowflakes
Writers are like snowflakes—no two have the same career. In the same session, we had a speaker who had a 50-60-hour workweek at another job then used lunch hours, sleep hours and weekend hours to write, to a speaker who was retired and using that retirement to travel and write, to a woman who began writing fiction during her children’s nap time.
Mom and I had a good time learning just how diverse this author business can be, and on the way home, we discussed whether we should be discouraged by this blizzard. But we also came to the conclusion there was one thing we saw in the eyes of every snowflake that we also possess: a passion for what we’re all doing.—Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: attending writer's conferences, being an author, conferences for mystery writers, getting books published, good writing conferences for mystery writers, Suffolk Mystery Authors Conference, Suffolk VA, the challenges of being an author, the challenges of writing mysteries, writing books, writing mysteries
© Alkan2011 | Dreamstime.com – Red Star Photo
Writers love their metaphors, and I’m smack dab in the middle of one that often applies to how they live: stuck in the sand.
Mostly, it’s quicksand that has hold of me right now, and I’m flailing my arms trying to get someone’s attention. The sand in this case was dumped by clients in my paying gig: managing editor, and it was created by deadlines not being met by others. I have developed the delicate art of becoming the human gnat, buzzing in the ear of those who pay me to be a good editor and manager. But the reality of my daily job is that I have to depend on other people’s schedules and sometimes getting their association or corporate publication out is not as important as the thousands of other tasks on their plates. I’m used to being here in this spot; I’m a patient person and someone usually sees my flailing arms and rescues me.
When it comes to my writing career, however, I’m stuck out in the desert with no one listening. The Fate Series’ publishing situation is about to change and I have to decide if I have the desire or knowledge to self publish or whether I must go through the often-lengthy process of finding a new publisher. Neither scenario appeals in the least; I’ve loved the editors and artists I’ve had up to now. I can’t stand the thought of not having their support. But I happened across this spot accidentally, and I’m sinking in my own indecision about how to solve this problem. Meanwhile, I’m trying to finish book four, working out details with mom in book five and trying to decide what to do about the book of short stories mom and I put together last year that doesn’t appear to be “out there” enough to appeal to today’s short story publishers.
I guess in the case of my writing career, this sand is more like a trap. I’m swinging my clubs trying to understand exactly what’s involved in the very broad and diverse field of publishing today. I’m trying to find time in all of this mess to hit the newest books forward.
But the nice part of the sand trap is that there are those that can give you lessons on how to rescue yourself. Such was the case last weekend when I attended a Virginia Writer’s Club symposium on “Navigating Your Writer’s Life.” The group put together an excellent program balancing the “craft” of writing with the “business” of being an author. I chose mostly business sessions because I need the practicality right now. I came away with so much information my head is spinning. More importantly, I came away having met a roomful of people who have faced or are facing the same issues I am, which means: I’m no longer alone out here in my pile of sand. Many of these people won’t be able to rescue me—they are too busy trying to hit the golf ball themselves. But the place to begin getting answers is to listen to those who have been here, stuck in the sand, and found a way not to let it ruin their scores.
–Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: finding a publisher, finding writing friends, human gnat, momentum for writing, pestering about deadlines, stuck in writing, the business of writing, the writer's life, trapped in deadlines, Virginia Writer's Club, writer's symposiums, writers block, writing craft, writing inspiration, writing quicksand, writing sand trap
This week someone gave me what I consider to be one of the nicest compliments I’ve received in a long time. I was telling her how in the last two years, I’ve received several surprise visits from friends from my long-ago past who showed up for very special, important occasions. She said simply: that’s the kind of friends you make.
The first visit was during my 60th birthday when two high school friends who had long since moved far away from the east coast showed up at the party my husband craftily planned. He’d invited them thinking I might get a thrill. He was right. One of them I’d stayed very close to over the years and considered family. But the physical distance was so great, we saw each other 
maybe every two years. The other friend was someone who was a huge part of my past—part of a gang of high school friends who did everything together and remained close after graduation. Even though I kept up with what life was throwing his way, I had not seen him in at least 10 years.
The second surprise visit was more recently at my father’s memorial service. I was overjoyed at some of the good friends that came to visit. But though the service was in my home town, there were people walking into the door whose faces I recognized but could not place. I was delighted to see them after so many years, but kept having to ask: what family are you from? When it dawned on me who one couple was, however, my jaw dropped to the floor. My brother and I had grown close to this couple during the early days of my career here in D.C. and kept in touch for a while when they moved back to Ohio. They had always been in my heart, but I had not seen their lovely faces for more than 20 years.
What both of those occasions did for me was affirm that I’m good at picking out friends. I hadn’t done such a good job in keeping touch in recent years, but obviously they cared enough about me to go to great lengths to be with me during an important time.
What greater compliment could there be?
It may be something that happens when you get older: you recognize how important people from your past have been to you and you reach out. It certainly happened in my own family as both my mother and father grew closer to their siblings in recent years despite the fact our families all live very far apart.
But I don’t care why it happens; the lesson is clear. Look around at who has been or is important to you and let them know. Life is way too short to waste it spending time with those you don’t care about—seek out those you do.
Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: best friends, friends from the past, friendship, good friends, keeping friends, long-time friends, making friends, old friends
Mom and I are purposely filling up our summer and fall schedules with author events and arts and crafts shows. We’ll soon be busier than we’ve been in years. Unfortunately, that’s because both of us were confined by taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s. We spent many hours making sure Dad was safe, and we did so willingly and with love. We even dragged him to a few of our book events, where we occasionally were rewarded with glimpses of my dad’s great, gentle smile. Alzheimer’s took much away from him, but it did not take his friendliness even when he had no idea whose hand he was shaking.
But we are now enjoying the freedom to attend what we want. With three books under our belts (and two more in the works), we are in another phase of being authors: getting out there and letting as many people know about our books as possible. We’re returning to some of the communities where we started our marketing efforts. We are also pursuing a new venue that began last holiday season and really took off: arts and crafts fairs.
In both cases, we are there to get people to buy our books and it feels great when they do. Selling anything piece by piece is a hard way to market a product, but it can be rewarding: we’re doing something we love and hoping to make some money at it.
Also, selling this way allows you another great benefit: you get to meet your audience. Whether you make earrings, quilts or books, creating something but just sticking it on a shelf never allows you the greatest reward of all: exposure to those who love your art. We are now at the point that we occasionally run into people who have read our books and want to talk about them. We also just love to meet the people that might be potential readers. If they stop at our booth, listen to our story and flip through our books to check our writing style, they have shown an interest in reading and/or writing. They are fascinated by what we’ve done and they validate the hours we spent doing it.
Don’t believe the naysayers that say reading books is a dead entertainment. We’ve been there first-hand and seen the passion in people’s eyes. Unless you’re a reader, it’s hard to understand. But reading is an activity that allows your brain to create the story from within. Even children, who have pictures to help them along, are using their brains to fill in the blanks. They don’t have a giant screen and loud music and noises telling their brains exactly what to think.
So gather up your pennies and come see us at a fair or event. You can spend those cents at another booth, and we’ll be perfectly happy. We are all artists and crafters and we want you to see what we do.
Genilee Swope Parente
Tags: Alzheimer's, arts and crafts shows, author fair, author marketing, book fair, love of reading, marketing books, meeting readers, meeting your audience, reading books, reading fiction, reading mysteries, rewards of reading, rewards of writing, selling your art, selling your books, selling your crafts, Twist of Fate, Violet Fate, wretched fate, writing books
I always get very excited when I realize I’m done with draft one of a new Fate Series book. I remain excited right up until I face the reality that there’s usually a draft two, three, four and five to go! But as writers that have been producing books longer than my few years no doubt have discovered, the process of research and the ability to see forward and backward in your plot gets easier with experience. Draft one, then, becomes more significant because a lot of the smoothing out and polishing has already occurred.
In celebration of this momentous occasion, it’s time to share our plot and how it came about: As mom has explained at various events, she starts the process with characters. They pop into her head to haunt her night time and grow and expand as her imagination begins to take over. The plot then just happens almost like an internal movie, she says. Although that sounds easy, it’s only the beginning. There are many weeks and months and lunches at Applebee’s and car trips of discussing characters and working out details both before and after I get the book to begin my work.
Dreamstime
With book four, however, readers should realize how much they played a part in the first step. Mom and I used the first few chapters of what became book four: Treasured Fate in exercises at seniors’ communities, church groups and book clubs. The book hadn’t even been written beyond those chapters, but we wrote down and considered many suggestions as far as our characters. We hope some of our readers that attended those sessions will recognize their ideas.
Mom began with Elmer Martin, then came up with Maud Novak as his love interest. It was pretty astounding at those classes how many people had the same idea of who those two people were as Mom did.
Elmer has been farming all his life. He loves what he does, but realizes it’s time to find a wife. Maud has been a caregiver, first for an ailing mother, then for her stepfather. The lives of Elmer and Maud become intertwined when Maud’s stepfather dies and a mysterious birth daughter shows up to kick Maud out of the home she’s lived in most of her life. She answers a classified ad Elmer placed for a wife.
The scenario becomes complicated when someone tries to kill Maud. Sam investigates and realizes that it may have something to do with a mysterious treasure the stepfather has stashed away. Are the treasure and the attempt on her life related? Why did Maud’s beloved stepfather leave everything to a birth daughter who was never a part of his life? Do Elmer and Maud take the unusual leap into instant matrimony despite the fact they’re strangers?
Well, dear readers, you’ll just have to find that out!
I’ll be looking for beta readers for this book if you want to contribute to the plot. My plan is to finish draft two and let a few people get a peek with a hope you can lend some additional guidance. Email me if you’re interested. All I can offer is acknowledgement for your efforts. And a great read of course!
Genilee Swope Parente: swopeparente@gmail.com.
Tags: beta readers, coming up with characters, cozy mystery, creating characters, creating plots, creative writing, instant matrimony, murder mystery, new Fate Series book, new plots, plots of books, romantic mystery, Swope Parente, The Fate Series, Treasure, Treasured Fate, Twist of Fate, Violet Fate, wretched fate
stories centered on U.S. holidays, is out in time for Christmas. We went a different route with this book so that we could offer it to our own fans at a discounted rate: we are creating a special for selling signed copies during the month of November at a discounted rate. The ebook and book won’t be available for a while on Amazon and Barnes & Nobles, but anyone who wants a copy email us at swopeparente@gmail.com, and I’ll make sure you get the email announcing the special.
swopeparente 