Southern Writers THE
AUTHOR’S
www.southernwritersmagazine.com
MAGAZINE
$12.99 January/February 2019
In This Issue Michael Hicks Thompson Dana Chamblee Carpenter Steve McCondichie Zina Hermez p. m. terrell Roger Rapel DiAnn Mills Steve Bradshaw Susan U. Neal T. K. Thorne
KAREN HULENE BARTELL
MERLE TEMPLE
TAMERA ALEXANDER
MARION L. THOMAS
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Maya Angelou THE NEW
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The New Southern Fugitives: Evocative Prose & Visual Art of the New South www.newsouthernfugitives.com Do you have poetry, short prose, or visual art you’d like to place in the world? Consider sending it to The New Southern Fugitives, Southern Fried Karma’s weekly zine that’s free for readers and pays contributors. SFK Press is seeking new voices for our 2019 titles list! Do you have book-length fiction you would love to see published? Visit sfkpress.com/general-submissions for details.
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR January is the month for a new beginning. We’ve wrapped up the old year and we start fresh. There is a special feeling in knowing you have a fresh page to begin your new year. We look with anticipation as to how our new year will play out. What opportunities will we encounter? As I’ve said before even the first day of the year has a special name, it is called “New Year’s Day”. And so, it is for authors who are writing a new book, it opens up new possibilities. Our lives are like an adventure. Full of wonder and awe strewn with unknown paths. We are blessed to have all of you part of our family and we wish you a successful 2019. The year 2018 for us was a tremendous year of growth and changes; meeting more authors; agents and publishers. We are fortunate our adventure takes us into the lives of people every day who love to write and we have the honor of showcasing their talents and skills and introducing them to our readers. Southern Writers Magazine is committed to opening doors for readers to know more about the authors and their stories and to meet new authors. After all, it is in meeting and getting to know the authors you read that their books come to life. We are committed to find more ways to promote and showcase authors and their books. A special thank you goes to all the authors who have graciously availed themselves for interviews; for contributing articles and to our own writers and proofers. With our January/February issue we would like to wish each one of you a safe, prosperous and Happy New Year. Thank you for making us a special magazine. Happy Writing!
Susan Reichert Editor-in-Chief
Doyne Phillips Managing Editor
Annette Mastron Communications Director
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Southern Writers THE
AUTHOR’S
www.southernwritersmagazine.com
Cover author
Tamera Alexander
MAGAZINE
$12.99 January/February 2019
In This Issue Michael Hicks Thompson Dana Chamblee Carpenter Steve McCondichie Zina Hermez p. m. terrell Roger Rapel DiAnn Mills Steve Bradshaw Susan U. Neal T. K. Thorne
KAREN HULENE BARTELL
MERLE TEMPLE
TAMERA ALEXANDER
MARION L. THOMAS
IN EVERY ISSUE
6 Social Media by Edie Melson 8 Must Reads by Southern Writers Magazine 11 Poetry Matters by Sara M. Robinson
FEATURES 5 7 9 12 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 31 32 34
When You’ve Lost Your Publisher by p.m.terrell British Writer Intrigues and Fascinates Readers by Susan Reichert SOS – Settings on Steroids by DiAnn Mills The Bohemian Trilogy by Annette Cole Mastron Thoughts about Plot and Settings by Steve Bradshaw How To Sell One Thousand Books in Three Months by Susan U. Neal A Writer Who Chose Life by Vicki H. Moss Making Magic by T. K. Thorne An Author Goes Back to School by Merle Temple What’s Cooking with Karen Hulene Bartell by Londa Hayden Live, Laugh, Write by Chris Pepple Do I Need a Mentor? by Lindsey P Brackett How to Write Cinematically by Michael Hicks Thompson Tell A Million Tales of Y ’all Means All by Steve McCondichie
Southern Writers January/February 2019 Volume 9 Issue 1 ISSN 2333-3189 (Print) ISSN 2334-5845 (Online)
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Susan Reichert MANAGING EDITOR Doyne Phillips COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Annette Cole Mastron SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Eddie Melson CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Vicki H. Moss WRITER-AT-LARGE Chris Pepple STAFF WRITERS Jonathan Gardner Londa Hayden Barbara Ragsdale COLUMNISTS Steve Bradshaw Sara M. Robinson CONTRIBUTORS Lindsey Brackett Steve McCondichie DiAnn Mills Susan U. Neal Merle Temple p.m.terrell T. K. Thorne Michael Thompson Online edition rates: 8.99 single issue, 29.99 six issues. Print edition rates: 12.99 single issue, 59.99 six issues plus S&H. To get a single issue or subscription or digital go to: www.southernwritersmagazine.com Compilation © 2019 Southern Writers Magazine and its individual contributors, who are solely responsible for their content. Opinions expressed by individual authors do not necessarily reflect those of the magazine. All rights reserved. No article may be copied, posted or used in any way without written permission from the magazine and the author. For reprint permission contact editor@southernwritersmag.com. For Advertising email annabelle@southernwritersmag.com Join the Gallery of Stars for authors. http://authors.southernwritersmagazine.com/ Visit our 'Community of Authors’ at Suite T. http://southernwritersmagazine.blogspot.com/ Visit our Authors Visits. https://authorsvisits.com/ Visit our website. www.southernwritersmagazine.com Mailing Address: Southern Writers Magazine 875 W Poplar Ave., Ste. #23-178 Collierville, TN 38017
by p.m.terrell
T
hrough The Novel Business, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of authors in various stages of their careers and I’ve discovered even New York Times bestselling authors can lose their publisher. Sometimes the publisher has simply decided the title has run its course. Far more often, however, it’s the publisher experiencing problems ranging from personal illness to a lack of capital required to keep the doors open. More than one author has contacted me in a panic; after heavily promoting their books and their author brand, they are left with no product in the marketplace. What do you do when this tragedy strikes? First, understand your rights. The original publishing contract should spell out what happens if the publisher discontinues your titles. Look specifically for whether all rights revert back to you. Written correspondence between you and your publisher should clarify this issue; do not rely on oral communication. Contact an attorney if necessary to ensure that you own the rights to your titles. Second, obtain the latest electronic copies. Particularly if your publisher edited your manuscript, you will want the most polished copy—not the rougher version you might have originally submitted. The refined manuscript will give you the best chance at republishing, receiving decent reviews and selling copies. Third, record your sales or ask the publisher for a detailed report. A track record begins once a title has been published. This means that traditional publishers and literary agents can quickly look up your book’s sales figures if the sales were through traditional outlets. If sales were non-traditional, prepare to disclose how many were sold, when and to whom—individual names are not needed but retailers, organizations and channels are helpful. Fourth, decide whether you want to sign with another traditional publisher, a hybrid publisher or self-publish. If you want another traditional or hybrid contract, include in your query letter that the book was previously published, when and by whom, how many copies were sold and why the publisher is cancelling your contract. I knew an author whose major publisher cancelled their series because sales
had fallen below 150,000 copies in six months, but a mid-sized publisher considered those sales figures as highly profitable. Also include in your query letter how you promoted your titles including links to your website, blog and social media platforms, including the number following or subscribed to you. Fifth, if you decide to self-publish, rethink your books’ titles. Once a book has been traditionally published, the record remains forever. If you publish with the same title, there could be confusion whether the title is still in circulation because the first publisher’s entry will remain in the databases but flagged as unavailable or discontinued. Consider a completely different name or if you’re committed to the original title, add “2nd Edition”, “Anniversary Edition” or another unique designation. Sixth, if you have several titles that have been left out in the cold, consider traditional queries on the most successful ones. If self-publishing, contemplate releasing one title at a time. This provides each title a 3-to-6-month window in which you can promote that particular book as a re-release. If you republish the entire backlist, your promotional efforts will be spread out and less focused. I know several bestselling authors that still maintain relationships with major publishers for some titles, while self-publishing discontinued ones. This has provided them with the best of two worlds: the strong distribution and exposure a large traditional publisher can provide as well as a self-published backlist in which they can earn more money per sale. n p.m.terrell is the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 21 books in various genres. She is also the founder of The Novel Business dedicated to helping authors navigate the publishing industry, including consulting services and a 52-Step Marketing Plan to catapult sales. For more information, visit www.pmterrell.com and www.thenovelbusiness.com.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
A New Year and Time to Remember Your Social Media Why by Edie Melson
T
o say there were a lot of changes in social media platforms in 2018 is the grossest of understatements. First Facebook completely shifted the focus away from anything except personal interactions and engagement. Then Twitter cut off the ability to send the same tweet through multiple accounts (goodbye Thunderclap). Finally, there was the huge headache known as GDPR and the need to be insanely transparent with how and why websites collect information. Truthfully though, as much as I abhor change, many of these shifts have ended up being a good thing. The Facebook focus on real conversation has led me into deeper discussions online and stronger connections with my readers. Twitter’s changes have reduced the clutter and fake accounts and again it’s led to more authentic engagement. GDPR makes it easier for me to unsubscribe from unwanted email and cut down on the email I get without signing up for something. But the one thing 2018 has taught us is the need to remember WHY we’re doing this crazy thing called social media. Because when we remember the why, we can hang tough when the how, when and where change. When we forget the why—the foundational reason we’re doing this, we can experience: • Frustration • Burnout • Exhaustion As we get started in this new year, a lot of people I know are peeking around corners and waiting for another giant shift. We’re all weary of these changes and the fight to just stay afloat in the ocean of social media. But take heart, when we build from a strong foundation, the shifting world won’t leave drowning. So, what is the “why” of social media? That answer may be slightly different for all of us, but there are some foundational reasons that are most universal. The Whys of Social Media 1. We want to sell more books. Let’s be honest here. Many of us do social media because it raises our visibility and that eventually translates into more books sold.
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2. We want to have a positive impact on the world. This is a direct result of #1 and it is at once that difficult and that simple. We write to share truth, encourage others, follow God—and all of it to make the world a better place. 3. We want to connect with others. Even those of us who are introverts still have the call to connection. We were designed for relationships. In our world today, part of that means social media. So that leads us to the revelation that the ultimate why is WHO. For social media to work, we must remember that every connection—every number—is a real person. Some of those who interact with us are looking for entertainment, some for hope, some don’t know what they’re looking for, but here they are, crossing our paths. Our whys are found in two relationships: 1. In God. The ultimate WHO. Those of us who follow God feel He’s called us to write as part of that journey. For us, He is always the first Who—the audience of One who will imbue our words with power and reach. 2. In those who read our words. The second who is all the individuals we’ve been entrusted with. It’s an honor and a responsibility that people follow us, and we need to prove loyal to that trust. Some of them are readers because they buy our books. Others will only see our words in a social media post. But we can enrich lives with our words—no matter where they’re written. Social media will continue to change and evolve. The things we become comfortable doing will be replaced with something unfamiliar. But through it all, the people whose lives we touch are our constant. When we keep this focus in mind, we’ll always be ahead of the game. n Edie Melson is the author of the bestseller Connections: Social Media and Networking Techniques for Writers. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy, and the Senior Editor for Novel Rocket. Visit Edie on her blog, Twitter, and Facebook.
Roger Rapel
British Writer Intrigues and Fascinates Readers by Susan Reichert What is the background of your books so far? Most of my books have been related to my previous life, which means I have the facts in my head. In my previous life I served in the UK police for 30 years retiring as a detective sergeant. During my service I dealt with and investigated many serious crimes including murders, rapes, child abuse and numerous others. I draw from those experiences and write them on a fictional basis. I adopted my main character, Detective Sergeant, by drawing his persona from a couple of colleagues. Ask if I’m in there I will plead the Fifth Amendment. What is your central character like? He is not the knight in shining armor. I wanted to make him a real-life character of that era. He is hard working, hard drinking, and a bit of a womanizer as well. Any fun facts or memories that popped up writing your books? I must admit I did have a chuckle at times when recalling some of the incidents and the comradery back then. Also, the banter that went on. It was not a time of being politically correct. The banter and the innuendos were common place and to be factual a lot of the women in the dept. were worse
than the men at times. But many of the women said they felt safe by the protectiveness when in the field. The wind-ups were daily, the laughter and banter were a release from what we dealt with every day. What is something your readers don’t know about you? I was born very young ha-ha! Seriously, I was brought up with all the poverty that existed in the UK just after the end of the Second World War with rationing and the deprivation of that time. The severe cold of the winters huddled around a coal fire making toast on a fork. Then waking up in the morning with ice on the inside of the windows. I suppose it is the early years of one’s life which adds and molds the persona. Those years of nothing makes one respect the frugality of life even today when there is the instant way of living with internet making news now, rather than being received days old in my early years. I still turn the lights off in a room when leaving it and remember telling my kids off for leaving all the lights on with all the tuts and head shaking from them. Tell us about your new book that was published this year, The Wallet. Most of my books have a factual overtone to them, although my latest The Wallet was after the most vivid dream I had. Dare I say I had a dream? I don’t normally dream or if I do as I wake up it disappears into the morning mist and try as I may it goes beyond reach. But not this one. I had to write it. I sat down and on an A4 pad wrote, in pencil, the whole dream. I eventually finished it having sat for nearly 9 hours; but finish I did. Then I had to decipher my hieroglyphics. I’m often told I should have been a doctor as I have atrocious handwriting which is made even worse when rushed and in pencil. After I finished and after the editing and polishing, I sent it to my publisher, Ravenswood. They agreed to publish it. In the meantime, I worked with Patricia Shannon of Books to Movies who wrote a script we finally agreed on which is being sent to film director’s. This is my first horror come thriller only because of the dream. n
For more information visit: https://www.rogerrapel.com/
Southern Writers 7
Rebecca’s Legacy
by Betty Thomason Owens
Skydiving to Love by Linda Yezak
JoJo Merritt. a country veterinarian has never jumped out of a plane but thanks to her friends’ dare, now she must. Mitch O’Hara, her seat mate, keeps her distracted during the flight to San Antonio. Certain of two things: she doesn’t want to fall from a plane, and she doesn’t want to fall for Mitch. Will she? Can Mitch convince her to take a leap?
Robert Emerson received a threat against his family. To guarantee his willful daughter’s safety, he sends her to work on a produce farm run by her Aunt Rebecca. Maybe her quiet strength and unconditional love can work on Amy. Humiliated and angry, Amy contemplates a path that will lead her even farther from home and away from Dad’s protection.
The Saffron Conspiracy by Marilym Baron
Sparks fly when Austrian saffron farmer Andreas Bauer sets eyes on heiress Savannah Sutherland. Their growing attraction is threatened by her uncle—and by whoever orders a deadly attack on Andreas. Dark family secrets, a dangerous, centuries-old conspiracy regarding a king’s ransom, cast deathly shadows over the love they share.
Emergency Case
by Richard L. Mabry, M. D. KILLER OR TARGET? Dr. Kelly Irving backing out of her garage thought her car hit a bump. But it was the body of a man her husband recently represented, shot by her husband’s gun who was the police’s primary suspect. Putting their marital differences aside they concentrated on keeping Jack alive while looking for who was behind this.
The Estate Sale by June Chapko
Estate sales hold promises of finding treasures. Mary Ludwig, her time short, desired to leave a legacy. She planned an intriguing estate sale and asked friend and caregiver, Emily Tucker, to hold it after her death. Eight people attending the sale come to discover God’s hand and Mary’s legacy woven into items they purchased. Lives changed forever.
It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way by Lysa TerKeurst
What do you do when God’s timing seems questionable? His lack of intervention hurtful? His promises doubtful? Some events in our lives catch us off guard for a moment, while others shatter us completely. Lysa TerKeurst unveils her heart amid shattering circumstances. Shows readers how to live assured when life doesn’t turn out like they expect.
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Nailed It
by N. A. Banda and Vicki H. Moss The Nail Salon Chronicles. On a slow morning in California, Natalie, a nail salon tech, begins praying for clients to arrive. Little does she know what God has in store when two grandmothers—one who’s recently flown from Tennessee with two grandies to visit their paternal grandparents walk through her door with granddaughters in tow.
Manny the Lamb
by Rick Lancaster and Delores Kight Manny the Lamb is a delightful story about a lovable lamb that wanders away from the flock, and Jessie, the faithful shepherd who rescues him. Through the tender words and the captivating artwork of this engaging story, children will learn of the Good Shepherd’s deep love for his flock. Children will want the story read to them again and again.
The Commandment by Anna Kittrell
Weeks from becoming a legal adult, Briar remains non-responsive to a mandatory SAP injection to erase God from the mind. An order of the Commandment says adulthood means institutionalization for those resistant to SAP. With a decade of solitude behind her and a lifetime of confinement before her—what does she have to lose? Except maybe her soul.
Looking, Seeing by Chris Pepple
Chris Pepple invites you into her conversations on healing, change, faith, courage, determination, love, and self-discovery. Sharing glimpses of her journey through grief, death of a relative, pain as she struggled to free herself from domestic abuse and brings you into the joy of raising two courageous daughters who found their own voice.
Settings on S O S Steroids
by DiAnn Mills
A
h, setting, the frail stepchild of fiction. How often we neglect this vital member of story, insisting character, plot, dialogue, and emotion are so much more important. We dress her in rags, have her clean the chimney, then criticize her for lack of purpose. Setting is the environment where story takes place. A strong setting challenges character, plot, dialogue, and narrative by adding a twist in the character’s journey to reach a goal. True setting makes the character’s goal harder to obtain. Consider the setting of your novel as an antagonist. Assign traits that defy the protagonist’s goals and raise the stakes. Stop the character from moving forward by establishing a barrier that ensures temporarily defeat. The adversity of setting can be obvious or hidden but include it in ways that forces your character to acquire new skills, make tough decisions, and accept responsibility for those actions. This is a process that builds momentum and challenges the protagonist to think and work harder to survive.
Without conflict and tension, the reader is cheated and finds it difficult to stay engaged in the story. An example of an antagonistic setting is a protagonist who has a manicured garden enclosed by a ten-foot stone fence. The area is her source of tranquility, and she spends hours there. A villain follows her into the garden and traps her inside. Her peaceful domain now becomes her torture chamber. To reveal setting, look to characterization, plot, dialogue, narrative, symbolism, and emotion. It’s fresh, alive, and full of spirit. Establish the time, date, season of the year, and the culture of the characters in the story. Use sensory perception to root the protagonist into the surroundings. Show just enough points for the reader to envision how the setting looks, smells, sounds, and tastes, and feels. If the writer tells too much, the reader will skip the description and move on to the action, and the reader might miss a detail. When the character experiences the setting and the adventure contained there, the reader will experience it too. If the protagonist’s journey is easy, the reader will lose value for the story and the writer. A character who lives in the setting will not make the same observations as a visitor. Note the emotions that differentiate a seasoned character from a novice in a specific environment. The seven universal emotions, according to Tonya Reiman in The Power of Body Language, are surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, happiness, and contempt. Move your characters around in the setting and initiate those universal emotions. Use active verbs and muscle-laden nouns to show more about your character. The setting in your genre gives the plot power.
Romance Consider a romance set on a Caribbean island. What looks idyllic with sun-kissed days on white-sand beaches and nights filled with the perfume of exotic plants can turn into a nightmare when a tropical storm threatens the safety of young lovers.
Suspense A suspense novel builds momentum when the protagonist chases a villain into a dark building. Or the protagonist discovers his boss is a villain.
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