My guest this week is Judy Kirscht, Past President of the Skagit Valley Writers League. Her first novel, Nowhere Else To Go, has just debuted.

I recommend this book as a wonderfully engaging coming-of-age story, showing change and growth in her characters, their small town, and American society during the 1960s era of racial unrest. Crossing the bridge from the “poor” side of town to the integrated school on the other side is a powerful metaphor for life, no matter our station in life or skin color.

Synopsis: A quiet Midwestern college town is caught up in the social and political upheavals of the 1960s. Racial tension comes alive in the schools and tears lives apart. An earlier version of this novel, entitled The Delta, won an Avery Hopwood Award from the University of Michigan.

Judy, would you share the story of how this book came about? Where did the idea come from?

During the Sixties and early seventies, when campus protests, riots, and civil rights marches were in full swing, I was raising my family in Ann Arbor. My husband and I had always been involved in politics, and in fact, he was a city councilman during this time, which made us a target. The story itself and its characters are purely fiction but the feeling of being pulled apart—and seeing my children pulled apart– by forces polarizing the nation gave birth to the novel.

Did this novel take a lot of research?

Not really, oddly enough. I knew from my own past the culture of the various communities involved in the book. I’d worked as a caseworker in black inner-city Chicago along with many black colleagues, been a part of academic communities all my life, and lived in a neighborhood like the “Delta.” I chose 1968 as the time setting for the novel because, with the assassination of King and Robert Kennedy, it marks the depths of national turmoil—a time that, for me, didn’t need much research. It was memorable.

Tell us about your background. Were you a college professor? How did this help you in your writing?

Well, let’s start with the fact that I wasn’t a professor. I was a non-tenured lecturer, teaching writing. That made me one of the fringe faculty many professors felt to be unnecessary. If you can’t write you shouldn’t be in college. I was, however, raised in academia and my husband was a professor, though he never felt at home in that culture and was happiest in the basement, working with wood. All of this certainly resulted in a feel for those alienated from their home culture—the sort who ended up in “the delta.” My own experience as a teacher was at the college level, so I don’t know how much that contributed, except that I was well aware of school politics and educational dogmatism. Finally, I was always active in politics. It’s a longstanding love, and so we lived very close to the fire in those days.

What other writing have you had published?

In that long ago time when I was a grad student at the University of Michigan—actually the time when this novel was first conceived—I published one short story. Then, for years I published teacherly non-fiction on academic writing, ending with the publication, with a colleague, of a textbook on writing in the various fields of study. Once I retired from teaching, I turned to fiction in earnest and have published two excerpts from another novel, and two more short stories. I also published the essay that won another Hopwood Award back when I was a U of M student. It’s strange and somehow gratifying that the two works that won awards thirty-five years ago have now seen the light of day.

What project are you working on currently?

Projects, and too many. I’ve just finished the first draft of a novel titled The Camera’s Eye, which sprang from a short story, and while that is cooling I’ve been revising another, earlier novel. I hope to have that finished in a couple of months. In addition, I’m currently marketing a novel I finished soon after retirement and another is waiting on a back burner for revision.

Who/what motivates you to write?

I don’t know, honestly. My mother said I wrote wonderful stories as a child. I don’t remember that. I simply woke up one morning thinking I was going to do something else with my life besides raising children. I was going to write. So I went into the room at the UM where creative writers hung out—the Hopwood Room–and made an appointment to see Robert Haugh, the professor who resided there. Then, as I awaited the day, it occurred to me he surely would want to see some writing! I had none. So I sat down that afternoon and wrote. When I showed him the piece, he said I was a writer. That was it. One of those moments that change your life. He offered to work with me a special student (not enrolled in a program) and I began to write. I wrote two novels under his tutelage, Nowhere Else to Go and another. Fifteen years later, that first piece I’d shown him won the Hopwood essay award.

What authors have inspired you?

My first love was short stories—Flannery O’Conner, Eudora Welty, Dorothy Parker. An Acquaintance recently reminded me of Saki, who I haven’t read in years but loved. As for novelists, Ursula Hegi, Margaret Attwood, Amy Tan, and Nadine Gordimer are favorites, along with some classics like Tolstoy and Steinbeck. Kaled Hossein’s Kite Runner and Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants are recent additions to that list.

What audience are you targeting?

That’s a tough one. Those who like a good read that takes you deep. My critique group says I write literary fiction, but I aim at a mainstream audience. So I guess I’m aiming at something called literary/mainstream or literary/commercial. I believe—or hope—my writing is accessible to anyone who wants a good story.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

 Write. Don’t wait for inspiration. If I hadn’t had to show Robert Haugh a piece of writing that afternoon, I never would have written a word. And I hadn’t a clue what I was going to say when I sat down with that yellow pad on my knees. That sounds strange, and it is, but many if not most authors with confirm that ideas don’t come until your finger are at the keyboard. Then, don’t fall victim to the “I only write for myself” defense. Like all defenses, it is born of fear. Face up and share. That’s what writing’s about—sharing our view of the human condition because in that sharing we deepen our bonds. A critique group is the first and best motivator to love and stay with the craft.

Judy’s book is available from Florida Academic Press (www.floridaacademicpress.com), Amazon, or local independent Washington  bookstores (Snow Goose in Stanwood, Tattered Page in Mount Vernon, Watermark in Anacortes, and the Next Chapter in La Conner, WA).

The Champions Creed

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t;
If you’d like to win but
think you can’t
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with the fellow’s will,
Its all in the state of the mind.
If you think you’re outclassed,
you are;
You’ve got to think to rise.
you’ve got to be sure of
yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger for faster man;
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.

My guest this week is Beth Hodder, author of the WILLA Literary Award Finalist children’s/young adult novel, Stealing the Wild.

Stealing the Wild is an entertaining, informative story of life at a ranger station. Jessie Scott, 12, hopes to enjoy time with new friends at Jessie’s home in the remote Schafer Meadows Ranger Station within the Great Bear Wilderness in Montana. This sequel to the award-winning novel, The Ghost of Schafer Meadows, finds the three friends and Jessie’s dog, Oriole, unwittingly hunting for whoever is poaching wildlife in the wilderness.

Beth, you have worked for the U.S. Forest Service. Tell us what inspired you to write these books?

Part of my job with the Forest Service included surveying the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex in northwest Montana for rare plants. I also was in charge of the native plant program for the Flathead National Forest, and we did rehab work in backcountry campgrounds. My husband, Al, was the wilderness ranger at the Schafer Meadows Ranger Station, deep in the heart of the Great Bear Wilderness, which is part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. I had the opportunity to spend lots of time at Schafer Meadows when I was working. I also traveled there on some weekends to visit Al. I love the area. It’s like going back in time to the 1920s or ‘30s. There is no electricity, telephone or cell service, Internet, or TV. To get there, people must hike 14 or more miles, depending on the trail; fly to a grassy airstrip; or ride on horseback. When I began thinking about writing a novel, Schafer Meadows presented itself as a natural place to start. Writers are told to write about what they know, and this was it for me.

Why did you decide to write for young adults?

I have a friend who asked me to edit a manuscript she had written. The protagonist was a 16-year-old girl. To help me understand what writers need to know when writing for younger audiences, I read a Nancy Drew mystery. I loved them as a kid. I found myself drawn to that age group, thinking it would be easier to write novels for young people than for adults (not so). I remembered what it was like being a kid and believed I had the ability to connect with younger readers.

You have been very successful at self-publishing these two novels. Tell us what made you decide to go that route.

When I wrote my first book, there were two things that really drew me to self-publishing. First, I was anxious to get the book into the hands of readers. I knew finding a publisher could take a long time, and I was impatient. Second, I didn’t know if I had a good enough product to be picked up by a publisher. I didn’t have confidence in myself as a writer. I had never taken any writing classes, and I had only attended one two-hour session with a writing group. I sent the manuscript to as many people as I could to get their opinions. In the end, a friend who had self-published suggested that route to me. She had self-published her own book and watched other writers she knew who sat waiting to find a publisher while her book was out making money. She walked me through everything I needed to know, and I decided that was what I should do for my own book. After I published The Ghost of Schafer Meadows and it became successful, I was already on my way to self-publishing my second book, Stealing the Wild.

What kind of marketing, etc., have you done for your series?

I sell most books to individual people. I have attended many festivals, have done book signings, and attend a local farmer’s and artisan’s market weekly in the summer. I am fortunate to have Glacier National Park nearby, so I have a constant supply of new people who learn of my books, rather than local people. I wrote a marketing plan and have Baker & Taylor as a wholesaler, which allows me to get my books into national chains. My books sell well in local bookstores, gift shops, and ma and pa stores. I also visit schools, libraries, and other places, and have put in for book awards. Marketing is the most difficult part of the writing process for me. It takes time and effort and it’s where I feel I’m weakest.

Do you have a third book underway?

Yes. I have the draft completed for a third book in the series. Unofficially titled Out of the Ashes, Jessie and her mother and Oriole go camping in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and get caught in an arson-caused fire. I decided to write the book away from Schafer Meadows this time because I wanted to have airplanes and helicopters in the story and didn’t want to have to have them at Schafer Meadows. The airstrip there is one of a handful in the entire U.S. that’s within a designated wilderness area. Aircraft are monitored closely for use. I didn’t want to intrude on that use. The aircraft in my story can take off and land at the Spotted Bear airstrip, outside of wilderness.

This story also pits Jessie against her mother and makes her mother a strong character in the book. Mom is a writer and spent a lot of time in the first two books as a secondary character, much of the time in the background. I wanted to develop her more in this book.

When did you first start writing?

I tried writing years ago, when I was in my 20s and 30s, but I wasn’t very successful. I guess I actually “became” a writer in 2004, when I started to write The Ghost of Schafer Meadows. That’s when I knuckled down and kept at it.

What motivates you to write?

Friends, readers, and my husband and other family members help keep me on track. I’m not a dedicated writer—one who writes every day or on a set schedule—so I find inspiration in knowing that others like my books.

Are there authors who inspire you?

Ivan Doig, who lives in the Seattle area but who was born and raised in Montana, is one of the writers whom I admire most. I love his style of writing, which creates a strong sense of place with lyrical language. His book, This House of Sky, which was a 1979 National Book Award Finalist, is my favorite of his. I also loved Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men, and being a writer of mysteries, I’m drawn to mystery writers. Recently I’ve been reading the Charlie Moon mysteries by James D. Doss. We lived in New Mexico for 5-1/2 years, and Doss is from Los Alamos and Taos. His books are likened to Tony Hillerman’s stories, although Charlie Moon and characters are Utes, not Navajos. Doss infuses a lot of humor in his books, which I like.

Doig is also one of my inspirational authors.

Where can people go to learn more about your work, or purchase your books?

Please visit my website, Grizzly Ridge Publishing,  to find out how to order my books directly through me. I’ll be glad to personally sign any that are ordered that way if you wish. They’re also available at Amazon.com, both in paperback and on Kindle, through Smashwords.com, and at some retail stores.

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Beth.

Their number one word nominated was “Amazing.” I can see that. Everyone being interviewed on TV seems to be limited to that word. Another word that relates to that is “Awesome.” That’s probably been nominated in the past.

Another was “Shared Sacrifice.” “Usually used by a politician who wants other people to share in the sacrifice so he/she doesn’t have to.” Scott Urbanowski, Kentwood, Michigan. I agree.

“Man Cave.” My husband hates that one. Yes, men need their private space (this goes back to John Grey’s Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus), but enough already!

“Ginormous.” I kind of like that one, but I agree, it’s become overused.

One word that has made its way into the dictionary, but will always remain a banned word in my mind is “snuck.” That word reeks of illiteracy to me and is like fingernails on a blackboard.

What are your overused word pet peeves?

Celebrating the birth of Jesus. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish Friends and Happy Holidays to all!

Elizabeth’s Christmas Eve Gift is a vintage Christmas story by Chesna L. Smith.

As if they were playing a game of verbal tag, the members of the Miller family always tried to be the first to shout “Christmas Eve Gift!”

Spend Christmas Eve with young cowgirl, Elizabeth on the  Miller ranch in the 1920s to discover how in the midst of everyday chores, good ol’ cowboy humor and the ranch animals remind her of the true meaning of Christmas.

From the wide-eyed wonder of the little believer to the wiry grandmother with a sparkle in her eyes as she muses, “My dad told me that when I was little too,” the heartwarming story has generated responses from young and old alike.

Author Chesna Smith says:
The inspiration came from a story that my husband’s grandmother (Elizabeth Miller Smith) was told when she was a little girl.  Another family tradition was woven in when, after marrying my husband, I discovered that both our families grew up playing a peculiar game on Christmas Eve Morning!  Every member of the family would try to be the first to shout “Christmas Eve Gift.”  In theory if you “got” someone by saying it first, they were supposed to give you a present early.  However, no one ever got around to “paying up.”  The victory was in the thrill of knowing that they would have to wait a whole year before they had a chance to get you back. Neither family really knows where the tradition came from.

Chesna, who grew up in Oklahoma, says, “For as long as I can remember I wanted to grow up and be a cowgirl,  I don’t know if I will ever get there, but it sure has been fun trying.

Illustrators are Shawna Wright,  Clayton, NM, and Ben Miller, nephew of the late Elizabeth Miller Smith, who lives on the Miller Ranch where this story took place.

Come along with Elizabeth and see how in the midst of everyday life she discovers the greatest gift of all.

• Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.
• Don’t expect mules and cooks to share your sense of humor.
• Your buckle don’t shine in the dirt. Get up.
• Don’t let your yearnings get ahead of your earnings.
• Don’t wake a sleepin’ rattler.
• Ride it like you stole it.
• Size does matter. The bigger your buckle the better.
• Cattle know why they stampede, but they ain’t a-talkin’.
• The fastest way to move cattle is slowly.
• If you’re gonna drive cattle thru town, do it on Sunday. There’s little traffic and people are less disposed to cuss at ya.
• A hat brim breaks a spider web before your face does.
• When somebody outdraws you, smile and walk away. There’s plenty of time to look tough when you’re out of sight.
• Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction.
• You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Liz Adair has a new book out, Cold River, a fast-paced romantic suspense novel that grabs you from the first page, and keeps you on the edge of your seat as you ride the current of this mystery. Who is trying to run her out of town and which man will win her heart?

 Liz has had six novels published, including the award-winning Counting the Cost, based on family history. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, where her latest book takes place.

Liz, you’ve set your story in the fictional town of Limestone, Washington. Tell us why you chose this locale. People like to read about exotic places and cultures that that are different from where they live. Face it, I’m never going to visit the Riviera or Paris or Budapest. But here’s a place right in my back yard that has great potential to be, if not exotic, at least different.  I based the town of Limestone on my memory of the town of Concrete as it was when I taught school there in the 1970s. That was before the proliferation of cable TV, so reception came through antennas. I think there wasn’t much of a signal that far upriver, and the leveling influence of television hadn’t yet eroded the local culture.

Your main character, Mandy, feels out of her element in this small-town atmosphere. But she finds satisfaction in teaching a woman with dyslexia how to read. How prevalent is this among adults? Have you had experience in this field?

I was a reading specialist my last few years of teaching, but that was with school-age students. I have only taught one adult to read, and I can’t say how prevalent dyslexia is among adults. I do know that the fellow I taught to read was adept at hiding his handicap and found ways to compensate. I didn’t know about the Ron Davis book The Gift of Dyslexia when I taught him. I was introduced to it by someone who uses the Davis method in teaching dyslexic students.

You talk about the “Tarheels” who live in this area. Can you explain what that refers to?  Spanning several decades during the early 1900s, many families from North Carolina migrated to the foothills of the Cascades along the Skagit River: Sedro Woolley, Concrete, Marblemount. They brought with them their music, dances, seeds and speech patterns. Traces still remain in the area, but thirty years ago, particularly upriver, the Tarheel culture was stronger, and you could still sometimes hear a slight twang in the spoken word.

You’ve used some rich colloquialisms from these natives, such as “I love you like a mule a-kickin’.” And you’ve also used words from the Lummi Indian Nation. Tell us how local slang and idiosyncrasies can enhance our writing. I think local slang and idiosyncrasies can enhance our writing if two things are operative. First, the use has to be unforced. It has to flow naturally and not be shoehorned in for window dressing. Secondly, I think it has to be presented with respect, not as a way to get a cheap laugh.

I have to tell about something that happened one time while I was teaching in Concrete.  I had been appalled to discover that few, if any, of my students knew what Camelot was, so I organized a full-court press to try to expose them to as much ‘culture’ as I could.  One day in the spring, I asked if anyone knew where to find morel mushrooms. Almost every hand went up, and a young man who, until that time, had been reticent told me in great detail where to look for morels. I realized then that these kids weren’t deprived. They were simply enriched in different areas than I was.  I was comfortable in books; they were comfortable in the woods.

Music also plays a large role in this story, both jazz and bluegrass, and music is used as an innovative way to teach mathematics. Can you elaborate on these subjects in your book?  I didn’t mean for this to happen, but in the book, music becomes a symbol of the difference in cultures between Mandy and the people of Limestone. It’s also a bellwether of Mandy’s attitude change. She plays jazz, you see, and regards it as an intelligent form of music that allows, through improvisation, for musicians to express their individuality, and she looks down on bluegrass as hillbilly music.

As far as the teaching of mathematics through music, I did a little experimentation with that when I was in the classroom. Knowing that it’s easier to memorize when things are set to music, I tried it with the times tables. I don’t know how successful it was, but that’s the wonderful thing about fiction: you can have your hero succeed where you may have failed. I felt that the brilliant thing about the program they had going in the book was that it would address auditory and kinesthetic learners’ styles of learning.

Other than the exceptional historical novel Counting the Cost, you seem to specialize in mysteries. Is that your favorite genre? It must be. With Cold River, I set out to write a romance, but I just can’t get away from a puzzle, I guess.

Are you working on a new project? Yes. I’m working on another romantic suspense, this time set in the high desert of Nevada. It’s got opal mines, off-road racing and flying cars in it.

Liz’s books are available at Village Books in Bellingham and Amazon.com

Also, visit her blog at www.sezlizadair.blogspot.com and read a review of Cold River at Mary Trimble’s blog http://trimble.web.officelive.com/blog.aspx

For our readers in the Skagit Valley area, Liz will host a launch party on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Sedro Woolley Library. Door prizes will include books and homemade apple pies, and she will have copies of Cold River for sale.

I’m thankful for:

• God in my life
• Great parents and a positive childhood
• Wonderful family that I’m close to
• My dear, supportive husband and best friend for 37+ years
• My kitty purring in my lap
• The books I’ve had published and won awards for
• All the books in my “To Be Read” pile
• Sunbreaks after a hard wind and rain
• Green lawns all winter long
• Sunsets and walks by the water
• A comfortable home and plenty to eat
• Dear Friends and their prayers in tough time

What are you thankful for?

Writers’ Conferences Are More
Than Giant Writing Classes

 By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

A partial excerpt from the new edition of The Frugal Book Promoter

 Make the most of a conference by planning in advance. You want to treat a conference like a garden and bring home all the ripe stuff that suits your palate. That means you have to organize. This section will help you do that. Without it you won’t be able to glean the most from whatever conference you choose.

Your notebook—either the old-fashioned paper kind or the one you set up on your laptop— is key to getting the most from a conference:

• Bring a seven-subject notebook. Divide the notebook into sections that match your goals. These might include: Agents, Publishers, Promotion, Writing, and Other Contacts. Leave one section open for a category that crops up after you arrive.
• On each separator page tape a number ten envelope in which you slip business cards, bookmarks, mini notes to yourself, and small brochures. When you arrive home, part of your filing and sorting will be done.
• Take blank mailing labels to make index tabs that stick out from the edge of your notebook.
•  On the first night of the conference, clip and paste separate parts of the conference handouts into corresponding segments of your notebook.
• At the back of your conference notebook make a directory section. Use the label index markers to delineate each one.

o   The first page is a name and address list for publishers. They should be listed in conference handouts but you may glean more from seminars. Star the ones you spoke to. Make notes. What have they published that is similar to your book? Jot down anything that will help them remember you when you write to them and mention your encounter. Query letters work best when you indicate you are familiar with the person or company being queried.

 Big Hint: When you talk to publishers always ask them what they do to promote their authors’ books. Pin them down to specifics.

 o   The second directory page is for fellow authors. Jot notes on them, too. It’s no fun to arrive home with a useless business card.

o   Ditto for agents and for conference planners. You may be surprised at how often you’ll refer to this page.

o   A page for “Other Resources” includes information on anything from other conferences to books you’d like to read.

o   Designate a few pages for writing ideas.

o   The final pages are for new promotion ideas.

Hint: Bring a small pouch of tools—I use one I received with an Estée Lauder gift-with-purchase. Toss into it color-coded pens, snub-nosed scissors (sharp ones may not get you through airport security), a small roll of cellophane tape, your index labels, paperclips, strong see-through packing tape, hammer, tacks, razor, ChapStick, hole puncher, breath mints, elastic bands, Band-Aids, and your personal medication. Don’t unpack this when you get home. You’ll need it in the future for other conferences, book signings, book fairs, and other promotional events.

You can use a conference to promote, too.

• Some conferences offer tables where participants can leave promotional handouts for their books or services. Before you leave home, ask your conference coordinator how you might utilize this opportunity.

• Ask the conference coordinator if they publish a newsletter or journal. If so, send the editor media releases as your career moves along.
• Take your business cards to the conference.
• If you have a published book, take your bookmarks to give to others. And even a few books. Authors tend not to forget to give their books to people who are in a position to recommend it.
• If you have an area of expertise that would interest a conference director, introduce yourself. She may be busy, so keep your pitch very short and follow up later.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of book for writers. Learn more about them at www.howtodoitfrugally.com. She also blogs writers’ resources at Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites pick www.SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com. Follow her tweets at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo. And that new edition of The Frugal Book Promoter? It just won a USA Book News award in its own right (for best business/writing book).

Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Instructor for nearly a decade at the renowned UCLA Extension Writers’ Program

Author of the multi award-winning series of HowToDoItFrugally books including the second edition honored by USA BOOK NEWS

The Frugal Book Promoter ( http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo ) :
E-mail: HoJoNews@aol.com
Facebook: http://Facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnson
Web site: http://www.HowToDoItFrugally.com