Seven great things from the USA

Happy 4th of July!

I may live in Canada, but have spent more than half of my life within 50 miles of the great U-S-of-A. In fact, some of my very best memories arise from years spent on the coast of Maine with my family, swimming on the Outer Banks, and--of course--walking through the gates of 'The Happiest Place on Earth'.

So because today is a day to celebrate the United States (or America Day as my kids used to call it) I'd like to share seven wonderful things about America on the Fourth.

1. Two of my favorite (note the lack of a U in favorite. I did it just for you guys) people were born there. I'm not talking about Oprah or Walt or any celebrity. Nope. My wonderful husband hails originally from the US. And while we were on a posting in North Carolina we were blessed with our youngest, a beautiful baby girl.

2. My amazing agents, Jenn and Fran at Literary Counsel. Not enough superlatives to describe these two. So lucky to have found them with the help of another wonderful American, Tina Moss!

My favorite little American on the Coast of Maine

3. The coast of Maine. As I mentioned above, some of the happiest memories of my childhood Machias, ME. Eating lobsters fresh from the wharf, climbing over rocks and seaweed, searching for sea glass on the beach...so many great times spent at my grandfather's cottage. Some of these memories may just be finding their way into my current manuscript.
happened on a beautiful coastline near

4. The Outer Banks. We had the great fortune to spend two years in North Carolina on an exchange posting with the US Coast Guard. Two amazing years, in which we met people we still chat with regularly--both Coast Guard and civilian. Our lovely neighbours had a beach house on the Outer Banks, and we visited the beaches often on day trips. Hush puppies and crab cakes and sand between your toes. What more could a girl ask for?

5. Jolly Fish Press. I love hangin in the fish tank! Can't wait to see DEPENDENT hit the shelves. You JFP folks are awesome.

6. My cousins. The Connecticut Coreys are the best. Hope you are all having a great 4th! Wish I could be there to share it with you!

And lastly...

7. Chocolate Chip Cookies! Call 'em Toll House, or call 'em delicious. Those little bites of yumminess are American through and through, and I think I need to make some now.

Hope y'all have a stupendous day, however you are spending it!

Brenda

Up In The Air! A Canada Day Blog Tour Post

Happy Canada Day! For Canada Day this year, I'm taking a slightly different approach, and am hosting Ann Marie Meyers on her Blog Tour for UP IN THE AIR, her soon to be released middle grade novel. Ann Marie is a Jolly Fish Press publisher-mate of mine, and she lives in Toronto. I had the opportunity to meet her while in Toronto this week!

The interview...

BCD:  Hi Ann Marie and Happy Canada Day! And congrats on your upcoming release of Up in the Air!

AMM: Thanks Brenda. It’s wonderful to chat with you today. Oh, and Happy Canada Day to you as well.

 

BCD: So because it’s Canada Day, and I know you hail from Trinidad, I thought maybe you could tell us a bit of your journey that brought you to Canada. What brought you north?

AMM: My husband, no less. And a bit of synchronicity. We had just moved back to Manhattan after spending several years in California (long story there). After all that time, the city felt strange to us. Manhattan was busier, noisier, so much more intense. I think our absence for so long had softened us, though I have to admit that my daughter, who was three years old at the time, took to the city like a shark in water. J My husband, to my utter shock and horror, wanted to leave for somewhere ‘calmer’. Coincidentally, around that time, he decided to fulfill one of his dreams of riding (on his motorcycle) to Toronto; which he fell in love with instantly. And so after lots of discussion, preparation, formalities etc. etc., we ended up moving here.

BCD: Wow, quite a journey! Were there any Canadian influences in the writing of Up In the Air?

 

AMM:  Not at all. I started writing Up In The Air while I was still in the States. The idea came to me while I was meditating one day, and it resonated with me so strongly that I knew I had to write it.  

BCD: I know one of the questions I had as a new author was: how will being Canadian affect my journey to publication? So I’d like to talk about that with another fellow author on the northern side of the border. Do you have an agent in Canada? How did you meet him/her?



Ann Marie and I in Toronto, with
an Up in the Air ARC!

AMM:  Actually, I signed directly with Jolly Fish Press. I had taken a year off from writing to clear my mind and recover from so many rejections. However, in April of 2012 I got this overriding drive to tackle Up In The Air again. In June, I submitted the manuscript to Jolly Fish Press and they signed me up shortly afterwards.

 

BCD: Wow, that's great! I know that Jolly Fish Press is located in the US, what are some pros and cons of living in one country and publishing in another?

 

AMM:  One big pro is that my book will have an immediate and greater presence in the US. I will also have a wider audience where the books can sell and I can even do readings in the US. The flip side is that it takes longer for books to be shipped to bookstores here in Canada, not to mention the added taxes and duties involved.

 

BCD: Good points. On a slightly different tack, what is your favourite place in Canada you’ve been to so far? And why?

 

AMM:  Montreal! Old Montreal, in particular, reminds me a bit of Manhattan, NYC. There is a vibrancy to it, a life all its own that resonated very strongly with me when I visited with my family. Montreal has a certain character that leaps out at you, and which I fell in love with immediately.

 

BCD: Is there anywhere in Canada you haven’t been to yet that you’d like to go?

 

AMM: Many places. PEI, Vancouver, Victoria. One of my dreams is to rent a RV and travel within Canada for at least a couple of months.

 

BCD: All great places! I loooooove PEI. And Vancouver, and Victoria... So many places, so little time. Thank you so much for stopping by on your very busy month, Ann Marie! Best of luck with your book!

 

AMM: Thanks Brenda!

 

A little bit about UP IN THE AIR... (taken from Goodreads)

Ever since she can remember, ten-year-old Melody has always wanted to fly.


And when she leaps off a swing in the park one day and lands in the mystical realm of Chimeroan, her dream finally comes true. She is given a pair of wings. She can fly! Life cannot be any better.


Yet, dreams do come with a price. Even with wings, Melody realizes she cannot outfly the memories of her past. The car accident that has left her father paralyzed, and her unscarred, still plagues her with guilt—she believes that it was entirely her fault.


In Chimeroan, Melody is forced to come to terms with her part in her father's accident. She must choose between the two things that have become the world to her: keeping her wings or healing her father.

 

Looking to purchase this fabulous story? You can find UP IN THE AIR on Amazon here, on Barnes and Noble here, and on Goodreads here. In Canada, it will be able for order at Amazon here and Chapters/Indigo here. Make sure you ask at your local bookstore first!

You can find Ann Marie Meyers online at these links:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AnnMarieMeyersauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnMarie_Meyers
Website: http://www.annmarie-meyers.com/

Hope you have a great CANADA DAY, wherever you are!

Brenda

Coming Soon!

I'm very excited to announce that Ann Marie Meyers, author of the soon-to-be-released middle grade novel UP IN THE AIR, will be stopping by my blog on CANADA DAY for a quick interview!

Check back on July 1st to meet her and hear a little of her publishing journey.


Brenda

My Wonderful MSP

(Most Supportive Person)

A loooooooong time ago, I met a guy in a flight suit. He had that flight suit swagger--you know the "I fly big fancy planes" walk that Tom Cruise perfected and many others have attempted in various

degrees of success. Well the guy I met was also named Tom and he was rather cute. Although I had sworn up and down I would NEVER end up with a military guy, let alone a PILOT...well, he swaggered his way right into my heart.

Sixteen years ago today, I said 'I do' to this uniformed man in a little church the little town where I grew up. Although times have occasionally been difficult and we've spent many, many months apart, I have never regretted it. He is a wonderful, loving, thoughtful father to our three amazing children, and the most supportive and caring husband. He is my best friend and my partner-in-crime. My sounding board and my life-line. He has read thousands of pages of my drivel and always finds just the right thing to say to make it better. He has worked endless hours on the phone and on the computer finding contacts and bookstore managers and newspaper reporters and connections to help my books find homes. And he never complains. He is always there when I need him, whether a million miles away or in the next room. I am so incredibly blessed to have him by my side.

Sixteen years seems like a long time and just a heartbeat. So many moves, so many changes, and so many exciting moments. The ride is just beginning, though.

Tom and I all gussied up.

I hope we have sixty more happy years
together.

Happy Anniversary Thomas Dunne!.

Tropical Tuesday: Tir na N'og

The beach at Tir na N'og

 

I have just come in from 10 minutes weeding in the front garden and I am SO COLD. It's 50 F out there and it's more than half way through JUNE. This is wrong. I have SOCKS on. And a sweater and long pants and I'm drinking a hot coffee (what else?) and I'm still freezing. And my son, God bless him, is off on a school field trip to an outdoor water park! Insanity.


In light of this unseasonably chilly Canadian weather, I feel the need to revisit Tropical Tuesday, so I thought I'd find somewhere warm and balmy that I could day dream about as I go about my daily adventures.

THIS PLACE.

Seriously. Ten acres of Bahamian tropical paradise, separate guest houses, pink sand beaches, tennis courts and a name like Tir na N'og? Yeah. Sign me up. I think this is the place for my next writer's retreat. Or family retreat. Or ladies week away. Or launch party...

The 'Main House'

I can almost feel my toes in the sand now. Wait a minute. That's the cat. Sigh.

Anyway, it's a steal at $6k a week, don't you think? Maybe the owner would cut me a deal. Do you feel warmer already?

Have a great day,

Brenda

Throwback Thursday: What's in a name?

Getting To Know Your Characters...

I was reading through my Overdunne blog this morning and I came across THIS post. Yah, the title is lame, and I'm sounding a teensy bit unstable (life in deployment-land is always unstable), but what I LOVE is re-reading my little blurb about my Flower of Stone manuscript. I shelved that manuscript about six months later and haven't even touched it for at least two years. It sounds fun though (did I write that story?)...maybe I should dig through the piles of virtual files and rework it...

...I digress. So. I'm looking at the blurb and I realize Flower's  main character's name is Ellen. Yup, Ellen. Dependent's protagonist is named Ellen. Two Ellen's, two VERY different manuscripts. Why did I do this?

"Zeus"... named after the god of the Sky

Well, because when I'm writing my first draft I'm just getting to know my characters. I'm a pantser--I don't outline other than very basic, sketchy stuff--and generally when I start a new manuscript I haven't a clue who my characters are. I find out about them as I write. I throw a name down (I guess Ellen is a winner in this case) and keep writing. Sometimes I do little writing-course exercises, like writing a few hundred words on what my character is afraid of or what makes my character feel safe. But generally the story shapes them in my mind as it unfolds.

So my character starts as Ellen, and changes as she meets elves or evil military commanders.

What are some other ideas to define your character and find a name?

* Look at your character from another's point of view. Is she annoying? Helpful? Silly? Smart?
* What are your characters favourite activities?
* Does he or she have any quirks? Any bad habits? Odd or different habits bring a character to life.
* Think about the backstory you haven't written. Maybe a childhood nightmare, a favourite toy, a song or a place she lived a long time ago that influenced her personality.
* Is your character named after a relative? Is she happy about it?

Severus Snape

Names are directly linked to how your reader will perceive your character. (Think Severus Snape or Willy Wonka) so choose wisely! As your character comes to life and develops a personality, her name may become more clear. In my two manuscripts the names stuck, but in others I've changed characters names half way through, even during final edits!

Now...where was that Flower manuscript...?

Brenda

And the Winner is...

And the winner is...

And the winner of a lovely copy of my little self-pub, signed by both myself and Kate (my beautiful daughter who just happens to have Type 1 diabetes) is...

Yelena C!!!

Thank you so much to those who took the time to support this great cause!
Team D4K raised over $2000 to support diabetes research through JDRF. We had a great day walking along the beautiful Rideau Canal in the sunshine, and the Ottawa JDRF chapter raised almost $235,000! Incredible!

Yelena if you could DM your mailing address via twitter/facebook, I'll get your copy (along with some JDRF Walk swag) off to you as soon as possible.

Team D4K at the walk.

Thanks again everyone! Now back to my edits...

Brenda