I'm at Theresa Milstein's blog today and a big welcome to Alyson Burdette and Nightfire

Today is the third day of my blog tour. I'm at Theresa Milstein's blog which she calls Theresa's Tales of Teaching Tribulations and Typing Teen Texts. Patrick Dilloway would be proud of such alliteration. I would appreciate a visit over there to say hi if you have the time.

Today I'm turning my blog over to a talented debut author named Alyson Burdette. I just purchased Nightfire two days ago on my Kindle and haven't gotten that far. But the prologue was good (Yes! she had the courage to write a prologue).

Why You Should Be Writing.

Some people think that it takes a certain sort of person to write a book. (Insert mental image of furrowed brows, typewriters and crumpled papers.) I, personally, think anyone can, and should write a book. Sure, it’s a lot of hard work and incredibly time consuming but the payoff is worth it. It’s a great feeling to know that you’ve finished something so few people do.

I also think that every individual has something unique and interesting to say. No one else in the world has your perspective, beliefs or experiences in the world. You can take your life experiences and put them into fictional characters, a memoir, a poem, or any other form you can think of. Writing is a great way to solidify and understand who you are as a person. It can be great therapy, or even a simple distraction to get you through a difficult time. And it’s a great way to share who you are with the world.

Think you don’t have time to write a book? Think about it this way. If you write just 1,000 words a day, in less than two months, you will have a short 50,000 word book put together. In four months at that pace you will have a 120,000 word book done. That’s writing 3-4 double spaced pages a day. If you write just a little at a time, it becomes a much more manageable task.

So if you are writing, Great! Keep doing it and try not to let the frustrations of the writing world overwhelm you. If you aren’t, why not start? There’s no better time than now.

Look, I did it. If I can do it, so can you. Just peek at the blurb below- my 60,000 word paranormal romance, Nightfire, was an idea floating in my head and now it’s an E-book. Real-live people can buy and read it.

Nightfire Blurb:
When a murder shakes the small town of Peninsula, all eyes are on Olivia Townsend. She may look eighteen, but the townspeople can sense there’s something darker hiding behind her pretty eyes. Olivia knows the smart thing to do is to get out of town. Suspicious neighbors can only mean trouble for a vampire. But leaving becomes much more difficult when William, a mysterious man from her past, arrives. Finding out what brought him back is a temptation Olivia just can’t resist. William’s kindness and interest in Olivia only makes leaving harder. As she starts to fall for him, she’s forced to decide if sticking around is really worth the risk of being discovered. Of course, her mystery man has a secret of his own-and he’s not talking.

I know everyone of you is capable of creating something amazing. So do it.

Alyson Burdette currently lives in a small town in Ohio. She graduated from The University of Akron, where she majored in Anthropology. When she’s not writing, she spends her time hiking, dancing, and hunting for ghosts.

You can find her at:

http://alysonburdette.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/AlysonBurdette

http://www.paranormalpursuits.net

or contact her by email:

Alyson_burdette@yahoo.com

Nightfire is available at

Musapublishing

Amazon

and other major E-book retailers.

How do you define success? An answer from author Theresa Milstein

Please give a warm welcome to Theresa Milstein whose short story "Allured" is included in the YA Anthology called Fangtales.  You can find Theresa at her blog located here. I for one am so thankful that I met Theresa through blogging. She is an accomplished, intelligent, and spiritual woman. I would encourage you to get to know her as well through correspondence and through her writing. In reading her guest post on my blog today, I was reminded of his holiness, the Dalai Lama and a very spiritual story.

On October 1st, I attended a program for writers, illustrators, and educators.  It was called Overcoming Challenges.  Authors Jacqueline Davies, Kathryn Lasky, and Lois Lowry were in attendance.  Illustrator Bill Thompson was also on the panel.  All four of them have received awards.  Jacqueline Davies won a Massachusetts Book Award Honor.  Kathryn Lasky won a Newbery Honor.  Lois Lowry won two Newbery Medals.  Bill Thompson won awards and was up for a Caldecott. 

When they were asked, “How do you define success?” I listened. 

Not too long ago, I wondered how I’d define success.  I wrote a post about it called “Making It”. 

Author Theresa Milstein on the left and author Jacqueline Davies on the right.

Jacqueline Davies answered this in three bullet points:

1)     Write what she wanted to write

2)     Have a lot of readers

3)     Earn a living as a writer

She’s recently accomplished her three goals.

Kathryn Lasky said she feels successful because, “Everyday I get up and re-invent the world.”

Lois Lowry said she feels the word is subjective, like trying to obtain perfection.  “Satisfaction is more important.” 

Theresa Milstein and Lois Lowry

Bill Thompson had the most poignant answer.  He thought winning a Caldecott Medal would be his measure of success.  When his book was being considered, he thought he’d reach his goal.

He’s also a teacher.

A student stood up in his classroom.  She collapsed.  Face-forward onto concrete.  He checked her.  She was breathing, so he didn’t start CPR.  He didn’t want to move her in case she’d injured her spine.  He had someone call for help.  Then she stopped breathing.  He performed CPR until the ambulance arrived. 

Bill visited her in the hospital.  She was in a coma.  She had a husband of six months.  He prayed that he didn’t care about the award.  He’d rather have her live. 

Eventually she woke up.

He didn’t receive the award.

He’s learned not to focus on worldly praise.  He loves that he can do what he loves to do.

He’s still a teacher.  If someone called him in the middle of the night and asked him what he is, he’d say, “Illustrator.” 

All of the writers who haven’t been published, what would they say if they received that call in the middle of the night?

I’ve had two short stories published.  I clearly don’t make my living as a writer.  My time is divided between so many different jobs: mother, instructional aide, wannabe teacher, student, and writer.  What would I say?  Would I feel like a fraud to respond, “I’m a writer,” because I don’t make my living from it?

I think about my stories almost all the time.

I will still write when my children grow up.

I’ll still be typing tales when I retire from teaching.

Am I defined by a paycheck or a role or a passion?

When that call comes, I hope I’m brave enough to answer, “Writer.”

FANGTALES:

Available from Barnes and Noble.

Available from Amazon, the World's Largest Bookseller.

Fangtales

For my weekend post I wanted to put up the official press release for the extremely talented writer, Theresa Milstein.  She has a short story in this beautiful book, and I am so proud of her accomplishment. Additionally, I'm honored to be on Theresa's blog tour and will be hosting her on October 12th, 2011. Have a great weekend. :)

Edited by Berni Stevens

Fangtales is the third anthology in the popular ‘tales’ collections published for the YA market by Wyvern Publications. It joins Dragontales, published in 2009, and Mertales, published in 2010.

Fangtales visits the terrifying realms of the most popular creature ever to grace the pages of fantasy fiction. The vampire. The tales are fresh, original and scary enough to send delicious shivers down the spine of every reader. Each tale brings something new to the genre, and will be a welcome addition to any fantasy fan’s bookshelf. Vampires will always be a hugely popular theme – there’s a very good reason why Bram Stoker’s Dracula has never been out of print since  it was first published in 1897.

Lose yourself in the blood-soaked pages of Fangtales, where a best friend mysteriously disappears; wonder why a small child roams the woods alone at midnight, and how a terrified girl can get help when her house is surrounded by hungry vampires.

Fangtales • ISBN 978-0-9560363-6-0 • Published by Wyvern Publications • October 2011 •

Wyvern Publications began in 2009 as a small press dedicated to bringing quality teen fiction into the mainstream. Its first publication, The Faerie Conspiracies by Holly Stacey, received rave reviews on Amazon.  www.wyvernpublications.com

The Fangtales editor, Berni Stevens has worked in publishing for over twenty years as a cover designer. She has several published short stories to her credit.Her debut vampire novel, Fledgling, was published on 23^rd September 2011, by The Wild Rose Press.    http://www.thewildrosepress.com/