Sunday, May 3, 2020

Novel Story Locations

Need a good idea for a story location in your novel? Thanks to fellow author, Clive Gill, for sharing these oddly named U.S. cities:


 1.  Toad Suck, Arkansas
 2.  Climax, Georgia
 3.  Boring, Oregon
 4.  Hooker, Oklahoma
 5.  Assawoman, Maryland
 6.  Belchertown, Massachusetts
 7.  Roachtown, Illinois
 8.  Loveladies, New Jersey
 9.  Squabbletown, California
10. Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky

    The resort beach community of Loveladies on the East coast has a fluctuating population. In summer, it soars to over 200,000, but in winter, only 10,000 locals stay in town. It was a 10-acre area founded in the late 1800s by Thomas Lovelady located next to a U.S. government agency established to save shipwrecked victims. The whole area was called "Lovelady's," then the spelling changed to "Loveladies."

    The Toad Suck Festival is an annual event in Central Arkansas with live music, food, games and much more to see. The festival was moved in the 1990s to Conway, Arkansas because Toad Suck floods out quite often. The beautiful community of Toad Suck is included in the Perry County census because it's too small to count as its own city.

    Hooker, Oklahoma was named after the settler, John "Hooker" Threlkeld in 1873. He was a cattle rancher, extremely talented at "hooking" calves out of a herd for branding purposes. This town has a population of about 2,500 people. The locals are good-natured and make light of its name. You can buy a T-shirt saying, "Once a Hooker, Always a Hooker." Their city motto is, "It's a location, not a vocation."

    What do you think would make a good suggestion for a story location?

    Thursday, April 30, 2020

    Moving Beyond Your Fears


    Mark Leslie Lefebvre
    After seeing several worthy blogs, including a wonderful webinar sponsored by Jane Friedman on Creating Income and Connecting with Readers Using Short Fiction with Mark Leslie Lefebvre, I was inspired to dig out a few old short stories, most of which were written in college. My intention is to post them and see what happens.

    There is a learning curve with Kindle Direct Publishing. Admittedly, I chose them out of laziness. Amazon is a huge firm and a few solid hits will move my name as an author. Also, Kindle is an easy enough program to use, not that all their instructions are well-written, but no major hair pulling needed. I guess I needed a platform for my short stories and this fit me.

    But more important than where this can take my work is my desire to get my work out—to share my stories, be it my personal point of view through my characters or creating an entirely fabricated person I wouldn't ever agree with at any level that matters. Writing is my passion. It is what I love to do. That we do what we love, that we move beyond our comfort zone and out of fear is the most valuable thing we can do for ourselves.

    If only in the first grade a substitute teacher didn't butcher my first story with red ink—dozens of corrections and a huge red F displayed in the corner—I'm sure I would have felt the satisfaction of accomplishment and achieved many worthy goals at a early age, especially in the field of writing .

    Why do we wait for motivation, for inspiration, for the right kick in the pants before we set out to explore, to do, to live, to learn, to achieve? Two of my top five favorite quotes are “What would I do if I knew I could not fail?” and “What other people think about me is none of my business.” Every time I speak these words, I question why I let fear be a constant influence when it comes to things that matter so much to me.

    Now that many of us have the virus to thank for the unexpected gift of time, and even if it didn’t put us in quarantine, don’t let the opportunity pass you by that could otherwise serve as time to do what your heart as always desired to accomplish. If something brings you joy, if it serves you and the greater good, it’s worth doing.

    Don't wait for something outside of you to spark your fire within.
    Make your dreams happen because you're worth the effort!

    Monday, March 16, 2020

    Positive Right Action


    It seems we’re living in a dystopian novel. We are faced with food lines and quarantine for the first time in generations. Our fear grows with each new story about another facility or public event cancelled.

    As a person who has lived in fear most of my life, it is disconcerting to see the panic surrounding the coronavirus epidemic. We have lines in grocery stores and shelves are wiped clean, businesses are losing their livelihoods that depend on direct contact with clients, and even our friends stand back so many feet while speaking to us.

    I understand having to take precautions but running in fear mode doesn’t do anyone any good and puts stress upon ourselves. 

    Ideally, those who have contracted the virus or traveled to foreign countries would self-quarantine, or those who have any other contagious illnesses would cover their noses and mouths with a tissue, or we all washed our hands and used antiseptic lotions or wipes. Basically, if we all used common sense, there would be no need for mass hysteria.
    So we’re not in an ideal world, I get that.

    Yet we can move through fear and panic 
    with positive right action.

    Don’t lose sight of your humanity. Have compassion for others who are struck not just physically, but financially, because of the virus. Having come from an impoverished childhood, I can understand how not everyone can afford to buy bottled water or two large packages of toilet paper at a time or diapers in bulk. Not everyone can afford to take time off from work.

    Whether it’s helping someone with food or basic home necessities, supporting local businesses, or walking a pet for someone who is ill, be a stand for peace and calm in a trying time. This will pass, and it will flow all the easier if we remember to be heart-centered and a part of the solution.

    Share this reminder with anyone who may need it.