SAVOR THE ENDINGS

Tonight's melodic tune:  Don't Wake Me When It's Over courtesy of Lifehouse

The sun is fading, a soft apricot glow blanketing the sky as the day slowly surrenders. The gate to my courtyard whines against the breeze tickling the bamboo bushes on either side of the entrance. We'll settle in the wicker chairs on each side of the gurgling fountain to indulge in the final rays of the sun and the last delicious droplets of a favorite drink.


I didn't lie. I do have a courtyard with a fountain, and this time of year, it's a tiny piece of Tuscan fantasy that serves as a sanctuary for reading. I save my little white "untruths" for shocking stuff like age, weight, and shoe size...things that may dull the shine on my bluff and dazzle routine. You'll just have to take me at my word that I'm old enough to know better, but have earned a sense of "entitlement," consider myself "sturdy" enough to weather gale force winds, and choose my shoes by how comfortable the box they come in, feels on my feet. But I have great hair, almost naturally blond. I've mellowed with age, placing importance on more deserving priorities like choosing my friends based on type match for organ donation. Promise me your kidney and we're friends for life (what's left of it, anyway).


Life holds different meaning for me now I've past twenty-nine. I savor the good things...the last bite of pumpkin pie late Thanksgiving night, the smell of rain early in the morning, pink clouds at dawn, and especially the kaleidoscope of colors a desert sunset paints. I love to watch the sunrise and stay up late to relish the peaceful uninterrupted silence of night, not wanting another day to pass.


The same holds true with a good book. The beginning - the dawn captures our minds, holding us hostage as we read scene by scene, chapter to chapter, becoming one with the characters and living their story, hating that the story will eventually end.


Have you ever been caught up in a story that's held you captive up to the last eighth of an inch of pages, only to find the ending suddenly rushed? Or the final chapter flat compared to the beginning chapters that sucked you out of reality? Of course you have. Nothing's worse than vesting your heart in a series or saga, only to have the last book feel contrived, the characters flat-lined, and the ending lackluster. On more than one occasion I've felt robbed by an author when the ending failed to meet the expectations the beginning promised. Don't be one of those writers.


In the beginning, we create worlds and characters in great detail. The action is meticulously crafted and the insightful moments virtual powerhouses. Then suddenly, word count is too high, chapter numbers read in century increments, and sometimes, the characters get tired and want to stop acting. We quickly gather the remaining scenes from our plot sheets, notepads, and creative "right brain," packaging them into one or two final chapters and pen "The End." If loose ends still dangle, we create an epilogue as the bow wrapping our bulging baby. But is our ending as good as our beginning? As authors, do we deliver what we promise our readers? When the final page is turned, has the hunger to read our story been satiated?


Savor the endings. Close your story painting with all the same colorful details artistically woven in the first chapters. If your readers come away emotionally satisfied when they close your books, they will rush to buy your next one, knowing the journey they are about to embark on through your words, will deliver the promise offered in the first pages. Let your last words hold the same impact as your first.


Maybe we should pitch our endings instead of our beginnings? Don't rush at life or at writing. We might miss a moment that could serve as a cherished memory, or fail to create one for someone else.

Here's to "happy satisfied endings."  Joelene

RUSHING IN THE BACKDOOR WITH A "PAY IT FORWARD"

Tonight's tune:  "The One That Got Away" courtesy of Katy Perry

(A favorite)  I will be creating a page of playlists of songs I listen to when working in each book. Music is a huge part of my writing...along with chocolate.

 

Life is knocking loudly at the front door, so I'm slipping in from the back porch to share a couple of new book releases and shining the spotlight on some author friends. There's a "code" we authors follow. When a colleague's work is published, we rally to launch their books by posting on our blogs, websites, Facebook pages, and "tweeting" their good fortune. In turn, the "creative forces" in our universe send good karma our way by blessing us with what we need for our own projects. Together, we weave a strong tapestry of imaginative thoughts to share and enlighten.

 

I want to share four new "patches" in the tapestry I've discovered. One is by a mentor/teacher, who has been helping me hone my craft. Another is by a newly acquired cyber friend who happens by my blog and sends me comments. In one of my many email threads, she mentioned the release of her new book. I went to Amazon, my new oxygen tank, and read the blurb. I was in love with the story at that point and downloaded it to my Kindle. I'm in the middle of enjoying her story and want to share, so others can discover her talent.

My third and fourth "patches" are dear to my heart. I don't know what I'd do without this particular "earth angel." Her southern drawl and quick wit are only a fraction of the many charms of Loretta Wheeler (also writing under L. Reveaux). We share a "soul connection." I've never met her, only spoke with her on the phone once when I needed someone to talk me off the roof after my first bad review (I now apply "tough skin" lotion daily to dull the sting). She is part of a small sisterhood formed through a writing class we all took, and afterward, the bonds were too strong to break, so we formed our own writing group, aptly named "the Writing Divas." We're "cyber BFF's" and help each other daily through professional and personal ups and downs. 

 

 I was flattered when Loretta approached me about looking at her recently released short "The Rising," (which is also posted here) and then again at "Pan Man," her young adult short story to see what needed changing. I'm happy to say this lady writes well enough that I didn't need to change much in either story, only suggested different colors to add to the characters and scenes. Her trust in me in humbling.

When "Pan Man" released this week for ePublication, I was thrilled to find my name listed as her editor! What an honor! It was fun to see my name on Barnes & Noble's website! Technically, my name is officially "in print." With that said....below are the new patches woven into my never ending tapestry:

        

Pan Man

by Loretta Wheeler

It's Summertime...Beach time...Carnival time

And for Christy

Pan's time…

The carnival arrives at the beach every summer, bringing with it the sounds, the lights, the music, and the mystery only a carnival can impart. But this year, it's brought something more, this year something out of Greek mythology has traveled with it, in search of a long-lost love.

The Rising

by L. Reveaux

They say it's all smoke and mirrors down on Bourbon Street…but what do they know…

Smoke rises…as does heat…and fire…And sometimes all of them are fed by the same unquenchable desires

Take a late night stroll with Rick through the French Quarter, preferably on a night when the moon is rising along with the heat level, and watch as The Lady Ryze steps under a street light...and sets the night ablaze…

Beyond a Highland Whisper

by Maeve Greyson

The last time Latharn MacKay walked among his kinsman was in Scotland of 1410. Sensuous and charismatic, all the women wanted him, but none could capture his heart. Latharn's charm became his curse when a dark sorceress didn’t take rejection well. She snared his soul into a crystal globe until the one woman destined to be his love whispered his release. Now all Latharn has to do is find her and guide her to him without speaking a word.

One of the youngest archaeologists in St. Louis of 2010, Nessa credits one thing for this achievement: the recurring dream of a heart-stopping Highlander since the summer she turned eighteen years old. Little does she know, he's not some fantasy cooked up by her subconscious. He’s a trapped soul determined for Nessa to end his six centuries in hell. Can love prevail over the dark magic of a woman scorned?

She Who Dares, Wins (Blaze series)

Candace Havens:

www.candacehavens.com

He's high risk... and very

Well, it certainly wasn't the assignment detective Katie McClure was expecting. Traveling to London to protect an old scientist who'd been receiving death threats? Too easy.

As it turns out, Dr. Macon Douglas is hot. The kind that makes Katie ponder her own kinds of experiments - namely ones that involve Mac being naked. But the death threats are real…along with the wicked chemistry that seems to sizzle and zap whenever they're together. Can Katie keep her professional thoughts in mind and keep Mac safe - or will she risk everything and dare to be bare?

Thanks for sneaking in the backdoor and sharing a moment. Got to answer the annoying pounding coming from the front door, now. Catch ya next week! Harley Brooks...Joelene's secret "muse"