Tuesday, August 23, 2011

It just Keeps Coming

We are moving in 6 days. Good thing I've got these great pain killers to keep me from freaking out too much. :) I guess something good can come from having your wisdom teeth yanked the week before a cross country move. And, if something in this post doesn't make sense--you now know why.

Saturday night I had this fantastic story idea just hit me out of the blue. I'm not ready to share it yet (mean, I know--sorry!) because I'm still working out the kinks, but I just love it when inspiration strikes like that. It's such a great feeling to have a wealth of ideas to choose from when I sit down to write, although I know it's going to be a little while before I get to actually write it. But it's a twist on a missing person story, actually a couple of twists on your basic missing person plot. The inspiration, I can see now, came from a combination of a movie I watched (and thought it could have been better), a book I read a few weeks back, and my own brain.

What's really cool is when the main character just starts telling her story, right out of the blue. I admit that I hear stories in first person, though I often adapt them to 3rd person. This one I may not, because I like the 1st person "voice." She's capable, yet vulnerable, with a healthy dose of suspicion. And I like the way she describes the people she meets and interacts with. She's a little irreverent. :)

I promise, I will share more when I can. Stay tuned for a first scene, or even a brief synopsis in the coming weeks.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

From Unlikely Sources

It started out as such a nice, pleasant slave auction.

I'm going to use that sentence, or some derivative thereof, in a story someday.

Now you want to know where it came from, right?

My imagination? No. From the mouth of my 12 yr old son.

Actually, he said something similar and I can't remember his exact wording, but I wanted to tweak it anyway. I think it makes an interesting start to a story. I mean, who expects a slave auction to be nice or pleasant? Certainly not the slaves. Certainly not any of us with a shred of compassion for our fellow man. I love how those words contrast slave auction.

What brought this on? We were watching Voyage of the Dawn Treader (yeah, FINALLY), and Lucy had just been sold at auction. The man hung a crude "sold" sign around her neck and brought out her sniveling cousin, and about that time the cloaks came off, the good guys revealed themselves, and the fighting began. Watching the structure of the scene disintegrate, my son made his comment. Gotta love his wry sense of humor.

I was told once that I would receive inspiration from my children. This one came easy. He spoke. My brain lit up. I had to write it down. Yes, this is the same child with the twisted brain that I've talked about before. I've shared some of his writing on my other blog, the one strictly about my family. Here's a LINK if you haven't had a chance to check it out. :)

And here's a fun LINK to a giveaway my friend is doing on her blog. She's helping me in that final push to raise money to help another FRIEND with her cancer expenses.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Surprise!

This is an actual letter I sent to my publisher, with a few changes to protect the innocent. :) What do you think?

Dear (name withheld):

This submission is in response to this publisher’s public request for Mother’s Day book submissions. I offer you a children’s book with a twist that will appeal to mothers and children alike—as a gift, or for themselves. It is called Lizzie Lilac and the Left Socks.
Lizzie Lilac is a little girl with a passion for socks, so she notices when her favorite socks come up missing. Determined to solve the mystery, she finds herself following a troll to a secret world where she discovers an entire troll village. Lizzie learns trolls steal only “left” socks, because they only know how to knit “right” socks. Caring as only a young girl can, Lizzie solves the trolls’ problem, and earns a reward.
When she wakes up in her bed the next morning, Lizzie isn’t sure if her adventure really happened, or if it was just a dream, but she does find that all of her missing socks have been restored, and someone has left a mysterious gift under her pillow.
I wrote this story with the help of my ten year old daughter, Kylie, and hope to include her name on the cover. Kylie and I have friends, Rebecca and her daughter, Lizzie. Rebecca was diagnosed in May with breast cancer, and her strength and courage has been an inspiration. She makes beaded butterfly breast cancer awareness pins. I’ve included one. Please wear it with our compliments. In my mind, the Lizzie in the story has a mother who is recovering from chemotherapy. She can have either a scarf on her bald head or wear a cute hat. The treasured socks Lizzie misses are socks her mother sewed little, beaded butterflies on while she was sick. I believe, through the combination of the words and strong pictures, adult readers will easily see the deeper meaning behind the book as they read the entertaining story to their child(ren).
I currently serve as President of the League of Utah Writers’ Tooele Chapter. My first novel, The Peasant Queen, is now being sold in stores and online. You can also find my name as one of the contributors in Covenant Communications’ inspirational compilation, Tender Mercies, released Spring 2010, and its upcoming sequel. I appreciate your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Cheri Chesley

Cross your fingers! :)