Challeng'd my Bookshelf

Those who hang around The Inkpen Authoress long enough realize that I almost never participate in tags. I do, however, make exceptions for tags that actually interest me and that contain questions I have an interest in answering. Also, if the tags come from a reputable source, I am more inclined to give them credence as more than just another chain letter. ;) My old-faithful, Elisabeth Foley of The Second Sentence, tagged me in this thing she calls "The Bookshelf Challenge". This tag is quite nontraditional, containing absolutely no mentions of coffee or tea or any of those questions one comes to dread in interviews. Therefore, I participate:

Is there a book you really want to read but haven't, because you know that it'll make you cry? I am going to use my Get Out of Jail card and say that The Book Thief by Markus Zusack is one such book. I am halfway through, but making exceptionally slow progress. Death as a narrator is brilliant but heavy, and since I have seen the movie and know to what certain death we are careening, it puts a bit of damper on my headlong fling toward the final pages.
Pick one book that helped introduce you to a new genre: For this, I would have to say Sarah Sundin's With Every Letter. I had never read a Christian historical romance, having a creeping suspicion that they were all fluffery and stupid characters, but when I won Sundin's novel in a giveaway, I was taken in by the gentle, steady way the author weaves her story into the real facts of WWII.
Find a book you want to reread: Easy. Plenilune, by Jennifer Freitag. Cannot wait to have a copy of this baby in my library (October 20th, October 20th, October 20th). Also, the Hawk & Dove books by Penelope Wilcock.
Is there a book series you read but wish that you hadn't? Abram's Daughters by Beverly Lewis. I got got three-quarters of the way through and gave it up as a bad job.
If your house was burning down and all your family and pets were safe, which book would you go back inside to save? My Wodehouses and A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken. Also, Winnie-the-Pooh.
Is there one book on your bookshelf that brings back fond memories? Doesn't every book? But to answer this, I should probably say The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. There are many others, but I will never forget the sensation of not knowing anything at all about it and delighting over the first read.
Find a book that has inspired you the most. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
Do you have any autographed books? Actually, yes. I won the first two books in Sarah Sundin's Wings of the Nightingale series in two separate giveaways and both happened to be autographed copies! Also, I have quite a few from indie authors.
Find the book that you have owned the longest. Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne. I believe Mama gave me this book when I was five and I remember wanting to be able to say with Christopher Robin, "Now we are six!"
Is there a book by an author that you never thought you'd read or enjoy? Hmmm. Well, I had quite a prejudice against The Wind in the Willows for some time. Quite unfounded. And when I finally read it at the age of twenty-one, I realized I had been missing out on charm for years. On the other hand, perhaps I enjoyed it all the more because I was grown up and could understand the watercolored nuances. :)

Since Elisabeth tagged three authors, I will do the same. I tag Jennifer Freitag, Mirriam Neal, and Katelyn Sabelko.

Presenting: Corral Nocturne by Elisabeth G. Foley

While we are all waiting eagerly for Anon, Sir, Anon to enter the public world on the Fifth of November, there are several other books in the wings that I find somewhat abate my sense of "NOVMBER FIFTH MUST COME NOW." I have already mentioned Jennifer Freitag's Plenilune which descends October 20th, and today it is my pleasure to recommend a sweet, fresh novella: Elisabeth G. Foley's Corral Nocturne. Foley has earned my respect and admiration in many ways and her newest novella, due November 1, 2014, further cemented my satisfaction. Please add the book on Goodreads and, as always, if you are given the privilege of reading a book by an indie author, do them a favor and review it when you've finished. We may call ourselves independent, but we really rely on ratings to help spread the word. 

Also, the cover is gorgeous.

Having enjoyed Elisabeth Grace Foley's Mrs. Meade Mysteries Vol. 1, I was quite prepared to enjoy Corral Nocturne, but I wasn't certain how the author would effectively spin a Cinderella story out of prairie grass and homespun. I shouldn't have been worried. The mark of a good writer, for me, is that they have consistency. Foley is nothing if not consistent. From her mysteries to her blog posts to Corral Nocturne, Foley knows her stuff and writes it effortlessly. Most experiences I've had with Westerns has come from watching the old black and white films, by which I mean that I am not terribly "up" on the Western setting. Enter Foley, with her gentle descriptions that show me the beauty of the West and the tenacity of its people and explains, without seeming to explain, the genre.
Elisabeth Foley has a way writing rich settings: stories set in places where you can see the story world reaching farther than the bonds of this book. Corral Nocturne, while being a lovely Cinderella-style story (and yes, she managed it!), also gave me a sense of wanting more. I would love it if Ella and Cole had had more time together, for their relationship to grow. In fact, I would not have minded spending an entire novel with them and getting to know the people mentioned in passing. That being said, if you enjoy a quiet, gentle romance by the rose-purple light of a prairie dusk, read Corral Nocturne. Do

Ahem Ahem: The Second Vlog

Hello Peoples:
    I am considerably annoyed right now because Wednesday night, Windows Movie Maker informed me that my vlog had uploaded to Youtube and I could view it online right now and GUESS WHAT? It exists. Nowhere. I don't understand and yesterday and today I will have no time to mend the situation so you'll just have to wait till tomorrow, I suppose. It's rather vexing. I hate technology sometimes. Oh. It has just informed me that my video was too long and to help that, I need to increase my time limits. M'kay....working on that...

IT'S WORKING. ALLELULIA.

Okay. My lords and my ladies, The Inkpen Authoress Vlog, Episode 2:

There you have it! I hope you enjoy the answers to your questions and I promise that it doesn't feeeeeeeel like eighteen minutes. Thank you for asking me everything you asked! I do love to talk. :)

That Cabby Inside Me

You know what I like?

I like feeling small.

I like to read something that makes me realize I have not arrived in my writing and that I still have a long way to go. A very long way. I like to pick up a book and feel a delicious sensation of, "Oh, that's how it's done." Do you ever read books this way? I think I sometimes feel a certain healthy detachment from my work. I mean, I'm certainly proud of my skills as they are today, but I also possess (through having cultivated, learned, or just discovered it, I can't say) a rather Sir Percy Blakeney opinion of my talents. I don't mind mentally chucking aside the soon-to-be uploaded file of Anon, Sir, Anon when I pick up Dorothy Sayers' Have His Carcase. Of course I could pretend I think I'm as fine a writer as Sayers and that might sell a few more books, but I am quite happy with a conversation that goes something like this:
Reader: "You mean to say you don't think your writing is the top?"
Me: "Well of course it's the top of some things. For instance, it's the top of what it was three years ago and it is the top of certain books I've come across. But as for being the toppy-top, why this is the real ginger." (waving Carcase about)

Is it telling that I see that inner voice in my head as a 1940's journalist with his heels on the desk and a slightly flattened cabby-cap on his short buzz-cut? My inner voice presents itself many ways. This time it's a writer who looks like a cabby and smokes cigarettes in a sociable fashion. I like this fellow. You see, if one doesn't take oneself too terribly seriously, it's easier to take criticism, to view one's place in the world aright, and to improve. After having started the aforementioned novel at my brother's fiancee's house, I drove home through a monsoon of sorts and reflected on how generous my readers have been in giving Anon, Sir, Anon a fighting chance with four and even five-star ratings. Of course I don't pretend to emulate Dorothy Sayer's style, nor do I think Anon, Sir, Anon is on-par with her much-advanced skill. I can't wait for that reviewer who says, "I don't see what all the buzz is about. It's not at all as good as Agatha Christie." I am prepared to pump his hand, stuff my fists in my pockets and say with a foolish smile, "I know, right? Wasn't she amazing?"

I like feeling small.

I like knowing there is something to reach toward because how dull it would be to have arrived. "Oh look, Mount Amazingness has been reached. Recomputing purpose in career." I don't have a problem admitting that my skill-set is far from complete and it excites me to notice how far I've come since Fly Away Home, and by next book, how far I'll have come since Anon, Sir, Anon. Not that I've actually researched this phenomena, but I could almost guarantee that most famous authors see their early books as stepping-stones to even better things. I will always love each of my books and there is no reason to be ashamed of something you wrote being...younger. We can be glad we no longer behave as we did at fourteen, but does that mean there was something wrong with behaving fourteen...as a fourteen year-old? In the same way, I don't think that, down the road, I'll want to apologize for the lack of sage wisdom and effortless skill in Fly Away Home. It was a freshman novel and a very good introduction at that. We'll stop badgering the poor darling for not being Anna Karenina.

I am off to enjoy me (now cold) cup of tea and forge my way through the deliciousness that is Have His Carcase. On this visit, I learned that my sister-in-law's parents have a plethora of Agatha Christies and Dorothy Sayers and P.G. Wodehouse--pretty nearly any title I could want. They put my library to shame. I told you that I would have the vlog up. Well, I have it done...it is trying to publish and because it is *gulp* eighteen minutes long (you guys asked a lot of questions!) and my family's internet connection moves at glacial pace (you know how it thrills me), it is on it's second try and only 11% rendered. Snap. So you will probably get the vlog tomorrow morning. For now, go enjoy this rainy officially-fall day by letting yourself read a book for pleasure's sake.

Laters!

(Also, I have this weird urge to try to draw my sisters and myself as Disney-inspired caricatures. O.o)

Inquisitive Souls: Questions for my vlog

Hello, goosies!
    So I've been thinking that I would do another vlog sometime soon but I wanted to open the blog up for questions. Ask me things, and I'll answer them in the video! It can be a question about writing in general, my books, Anon, Sir, Anon, publishing, my personal life, what the circumference of the world may be (don't expect a correct answer for that one) or anything at all! Ask your questions in a comment below and they will be answered by Wednesday in a brand new vlog. Also,  if you like things related to Alice in Wonderland, perhaps you ought to check out author Cerella Sechrist's Unbirthday Giveaway! I promise that mentioning it gains me no points...it just has a seriously good prize and this is one giveaway I hope to win. Only caveat: you must be eighteen or older to win.

So: give me your questions in a comment and enter to win some lovely Mad Hatter-y prizes. And don't forget: if I don't see you in the future, I'll see you in the pasture. ;)

This Sentence Has Five Words

It is always embarrassing when you realize that those pages on your blog ("The Bookery", "What's Brewing", etc.) are terribly outdated. Happily for my readers, I managed the pages today, so everything on them ought to be correct including where you can buy my books, what projects I currently have in the works, and more. You ought to check it out, if for no other reason than that it no longer looks antiquated. Don't you love the strength of that motivation?

Since releasing the cover for Anon, Sir, Anon, I have this amazingly strong urge to release it early. I will not. I promise I will not. But I cannot wait to order my proof copy and get it in my hands. November 5th might seem a long way off, but till then, why don't you order a copy of Fly Away Home? It is only $12.50 at Amazon and will be a fairly cheap trip back to 1950's NYC. Though I know my writing has grown since publishing Fly Away Home, it is still a book of which I am proud and there is nothing to blush at.

People have commented that ASA is written in a different style than Fly Away Home and even The Windy Side of Care. I am glad they see it because it was done with a conscious effort for cadence and rhythm. You see, in real life (and on this blog), I tend to be breathless, breezy, and verbose. You can hear me rush a dozen words out where three would do. I laughed over a text to a friend recently. He asked a simple, one-line question. I answered with a text three or four or five sentences long, answering his question as I would in real-time conversation. But when you're always jabbering on and on and on, much is lost in the noise. People stop listening. The ear is so assaulted that the brain takes a vacation and runs off elsewhere while you continue with words words WORDS. This happens not only in conversation, but in writing. If one is always chattering, too much slips through the cracks.

In writing Anon, Sir, Anon, I was purposefully aware of varying sentence length, patterns, and reading the sentences out loud to see how they sounded in the mouth. It's a different way of writing, but it pays off. I am surprised and pleased with the...gentility of my prose when I am more economical. But rather than run my mouth over how I did such and such, I found a pin on Pinterest that perfectly represents the case:

Isn't that fascinating? I learned, somewhere between Fly Away Home and Anon, Sir, Anon about cadence and rhythm and I'll keep learning. It's pleasant to be able to see that my writing has improved from one book to the next. What is a "lesson" you've recently learned?

The Cover is Revealed! {Anon, Sir, Anon}

Yes, the day is finally here! Anon, Sir, Anon has a cover, and what a lovely cover it is! I am pleased to team up with a group of fabulous bloggers who are also revealing its face this morning, so a big thank goes to them. A support system is so important when you're an indie author, and I'm part of the best. Thank yous to: Elizabeth, Rebekah, Betsy, St. Rachel, Schuyler, Amber, Ness, Stephanie, Rachelle, Clara, Esther, The Anne-Girl, Elisabeth G. Foley, Rissi, and Abigail Hartman for your participation.

Once again, "St. Rachel" Rossano has caught my vision and created a cover for me that will lend itself wonderfully well to a series because, yes, I intend to follow Vivi and Farnham down the path of crime-solving till they've given us a few good stories yet. Here is her art:

The 12:55 out of Darlington brought more than Orville Farnham's niece; murder was passenger.In coming to Whistlecreig, Genevieve Langley expected to find an ailing uncle in need of gentle care. In reality, her charge is a cantankerous Shakespearean actor with a penchant for fencing and an affinity for placing impossible bets.When a body shows up in a field near Whistlecreig Manor and Vivi is the only one to recognize the victim, she is unceremoniously baptized into the art of crime-solving: a field in which first impressions are seldom lasting and personal interest knocks at the front door.Set against the russet backdrop of a Northamptonshire fog, Anon, Sir, Anon cuts a cozy path to a chilling crime.

Remember to add the book on Goodreads and watch out (cross fingers) for pre-ordering on Amazon before too too long. And, as always, "Remember, remember the Fifth of November." (Golly, that was a fun ditty with which to have coincided.)