Scrivener- A writing software program

Scrivener is a tool I learned about just a few months ago. In the past I used a scriptwriting tool that I wished was available for fiction writing. It allowed you to keep character information and I put location information used for my books under location information meant for films. Having to modify the program was a let down but I made it work. Recently I was made aware of a software that did all of this for writers of all kinds. Scrivener has a fiction, none fiction, and screenwriting format. You can even write short stories and poems. Heck I use it for all my word processing needs since I just purchased a new computer and it came with noting useful already installed.   
     This program comes with a free 30 day trial download, but do not panic yet, it is 30 day actual use, not calendar days from download. I love this because I was unable to use the program for about two weeks after I downloaded it because I had to work at my real job. I did not lose two weeks-my 30 day trial was still there for me.
     Scrivener is easy as pie once you get used to it. There is a hands on tutorial but I recommend that you do the video sections first. The hands on tutorial takes about an hour or more, but it is time well spent, but it can be daunting. Watch the videos first and get quick easy help in getting started on the program. Play with it and then tackle the hands on tutorial once you are a little more familiar with the basics. It goes into great detail and explains how to use all of the great features Scrivener has to offer. It can overwhelm you if you just jump right in.
     While downloading the trial version I did not even look at the price. I wanted to compare it to Celtx that I had used for years, but was only for screenwriting. Scrivener had all and more of what I wanted. I got caught up in the bells and whistles and slipped right past the price. When I was sold on the program and hit the buy now button I almost choked. It could not be possible. The program was just $40. Say what? After all I had learned that the program had to offer I expected to pay $150 to $250 and it was only $40. That made me even happier.
     There is a cork board or outline section for notes that turns into a Syllabus! You can keep track of information for each chapter of your book or section of your short story. You can split the pages to view two or more chapters and edit each one at the same time. There is a section that allows you to store your research, even links to online info so you don't have to worry about forgetting where you got that juicy tidbit you plan to use in your book. Then there is the compile tool. This will compile your book into a word document, epub, mobi or pdf with headers, page numbers and title pages. It does the hard work for you, just tell it what you want.
     There is so much more the program does that I have barely scratched the surface. I look forward to learning more about how to make this program work for me. If you are looking for a writing software program I highly recommend this one. I encourage you to get the 30 day free trial and see for yourself:
http://www.literatureandlatte.com/trial.php

The Opposite of Writers Block

I have the opposite problem from Lorne Oliver. What keeps me from writing isn't usually writers block. For me it is Procrastination. The first thing that keeps me from writing is facebook. This social media program is like a drug to me. Before I do anything I want to log on and see what everyone is up to today. Then I jump over to other peoples pages or to my groups and I find four or five hours have passed. So you would think I would be done here. No! Instead I have to rush back to my page to see what everyone is up to since I was there last. Night falls, my day off is over and I have accomplished nothing.
     Twitter has not quite taken over my life yet, but I think that is because I don't send a tweet every time I move or breath. I send a tweet when I have something to share. Yes, defeats the purpose of tweeting, I know. That is what facebook is for. I know. Trust me you don't want me to learn how to tweet and speak tweetspeak because your phone will be blown up with tweets in no time. Lets just leave it at that.
     Then there is netflix. Need I say more? Anyone who knows me knows that I am a movie hound. On my gravestone I want the words "And now for a Feature Presentation. Only old folks will know what that means. It dates back to pre-DVD and Blu-Ray. It was when the movie theater and the video tape showed you previews of movies yet to come out. Then as they lead into the movie you got that message. It makes me happy!
     One has to wonder with such a desire to write and a story in my head why I am not writing? It is not a block. I know exactly what I want to say. Yet I seem to avoid it like the plague. I allow constant distractions to get in my way.
     I even posted that pic of Ironman and his friends on my screen telling me I should be writing. Instead I just stare at them. How cute they all are pointing their fingers at me. Ahh....
     Oh, enough of that. I was writing something. Right.
     See what I mean?
     

A day in my life...

Today I am going to visit with Sharon Cornell Keyes and swap some ghost stories. She is making my favorite lunch (spoiling me)- chicken salad sandwiches. I hope to hear some wonderful tales and have some scary stuff to tell myself. I should share some of this here. Perhaps I will do that this weekend.

This is big stuff for me because I am a house bound person. I go to work and come home. Hate to talk on the phone because of a previous job that required HUGE amounts of time of the phone. Never go anywhere unless it is in a book I am reading. People tell me I have to get out more, but Sharon could tell you how long it has taken her to coax me out of my haven for an afternoon. Smart of her to think of ghost stories. I am always up for that.

If you have a good ghost story to tell, share it. We would love to hear it!

Thanks and be well.

Oh and anyone in the area - there will be a writers conference in Clanton next month. I will give details as soon as I have them. Hope to see you there!

Focus

I am taking a free 12 week course called Intentional Blogging by Jeff Goins. (You too can join here:  Goinswriter.com.)

This weeks course is on focus. My blog has not had a focus since I started it. I originally started the blog to talk about my book. And I have to admit I should do this since this is my books site, but I think people get tired of hearing me, me, me, more about me, oh did I mention me? So I believe the blog needs to have another focus as well.

For me, my passion is helping others who have the desire to be a writer embrace that and become the writer they always thought they could be. So my focus will be on teaching people how to write better, how to get published the indie way and how to FEEL like the writer they always wanted to be. I can do this by mentoring new writers- Like the amazing Alyssa Hottinger; getting others to guest blog about helping writers; and by giving as much information as I can about how to be that writer TODAY!

Yippie. I am so excited about this course and about my new direction. Thanks Jeff!

What I waited my whole life for...

happened to me the other day at work. I work 3rd shift at a convenience store by the highway. A woman walked in and up to the counter. I figured she wanted gas or cigarettes. Instead she told me that she had purchased my ebook (from info left on the counter at the store on a rack card) that morning.
"Yeah and she read it all day until it was finished," her husband added, kind of grumpy but laughing about it.
She said that she couldn't put it down! That just made my day- heck my life. I have always wanted to write something that someone could not put down. Being a huge James Patterson fan myself I had hoped to have that affect with my writing. Family and friends have said that they couldn't put it down, but when a complete stranger walks up to you so excited and wanted to read your next book. That was awesome stuff.
The readers name was Misty and I will always remember her and the day she walked into my store and made my day. Thanks Misty. I am so glad you liked it and that you felt compelled to share that with me.

Alyssa Hottinger Interviewed by me

Alyssa Hottinger tells all in an interview with me at her blog site...
alyssahottinger6.blogspot.com. Very interesting stuff.

Book Review By Ada-Lee on Goodreads!

Wow. What an incredible review by Ada-Lee on Goodreads. What a fabulouse surprise in my inbox!A huge Thank you to Ada-Lee! Did not plan to do two posts today, but when I saw this I just got so excited.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/355451193#comment_form

Interview with author Veronica Miller

Curse on Tanner's Bluff:

"Addison bought the farm of her dreams only to find out others were still living there. Unable to leave the spirits were bound to the farm for their greed by a curse. It was up to Addie as her friends called her to break the curse freeing the spirits and solving a mystery that haunted her family for generations. Pony express riders, outlaws, bandits and con men all tried to get their hands on gold that was stolen from military payroll. A French woman scorn and a little voodoo let her even the score over a hundred years in the making. What does Addie find? Can she break the curse? Or will she be the next to be bound to the farm forever?"

LLM: Veronica, I understand you had a very specific reason for writing Curse of Tanner’s Bluff. Can you explain?

VM: At one point in time I was under medical order to do nothing. During that time the only things I could do to entertain myself were read and watch television. The reruns got old and all the books I read I figured out the end after just a few chapters. I even kept an index card with my guess on it as a book marker. I couldn’t believe these were best sellers and so predictable. I had to see if I could write a story that the reader couldn’t figure out before it was finished.

LLM: Veronica Miller is not your real name. What made you decide to keep your identity a secret?

VM: I live on a small state. Everybody knows everybody. I wanted the book judged by the story it told rather than the hand holding the pen.

LLM: Do you plan on letting readers know who you really are?

VM: I am thinking about doing a reveal. I would love to have it at an event that I am sponsoring

 this fall.  I will have to wait and see if they will allow me to ...crash their party so to speak.

LLM: That sounds interesting.  Will you contact us when you reveal your identity so our readers can know who you are?

VM: I'd be glad to.

LLM: I see that you are not profiting from the sale of this book. Why is that?

VM: I never expected to get the book published and now that it is I'm sure I will never become rich and famous because of it. So I am donating the proceeds from book sales to equine rescue efforts. So far I have lost nothing in writing this book, invested nothing but any time that I was bored with nothing else to do, and I have gained nothing except the satisfaction of knowing that I DID IT. That's enough. For now anyway besides I'm sure the animals need it more than I do.

 LLM: What got you interested in equine rescue?

VM: What got me into it was - a big heart and a life time of being round horses of all kinds and breeds and an intolerance for brutality against animals. Rescue is for horses that are malnourished/dehydrated/abused/neglected/ etc. These animals are either run through auctions headed to the slaughter trucks or just shuffled from sale house to sale house. Through rescue these horses are purchased or are donated to agencies that rehabilitate then to the healthiest state that they can achieve. They are worked with and handled in a gentle caring manner as well as given much needed veterinarian care. Many of these animals are already trained. Some animals are so depleted that they can only be given a half a gallon of water every couple hours so that the clean fresh water will not make them sick, because a simple stomach ache is deadly to a horse.

LLM: I hear you do not use the computer to write your stories. What is your process for writing?

VM: I carry around a note book so that whenever I am sitting still or an idea hits me I write it down. Later when the story is all together I type it from beginning to end on my laptop then reread it and edit it. But initially it’s all written in long hand.

LLM: You must go through a lot of pencils.

VM: Gel pens, and yes I do. About 6 pack’s per book if not more. I like the smooth writes with the finger grip.

Well I have read Veronica Millers Curse on Tanner Bluff and found this historical fiction to be delightful. And she was right, I did not predict the ending of the book and was quite surprised at the end. Pick up a copy at:  http://www.publishamerica.net/product44390.html http://www.publishamerica.net/product44390.html

You may contact the author at veronicamillerbooks@yahoo.com

Upcoming Event!

I am so excited about my first book signing. It will be part of the Jemison Library Fairy Tale night to kick off their summer reading program. The event will occur on May 31st from 6-8pm. Today I received my rack cards, banner and banner stand from Vista Print. Unpacking them now. I hope to make this night as fun as possible for everyone. Hope to see you there! 

You don't have to have an e-reader to read e-books...

It is true, you do not have to own a kindle or a nook or other e-readers to read e-books. Many of you who have Android phones or iPhones and iPads may already know this, since ebooks are available through apps to these devices, but did you know you can also download an app to your personal computer(PC) or laptop?

E-books are available in a variety of file types that allow you to read them on almost any device. Nook and kindle give you the option to download an application to your computer and it stores all your e-books there. There is a site called smashwords.com that offers e-books in the following file types:

.mobi for kindle
Epub for Apple, Nook, Sony, Kobo, Stanza, Aldiko, and Adobe Digital Editions
PDF for personal computers and you can print!
RTF most word processors
LRF for older Sony readers that do not support Epub
Palm Doc
Plain Text for computers and to read online

PDF is a good file to select for your PC, but you can also select RTF (rich text file) or Plain Text.

Goodreads.com is another site that allows you to purchase printed books or e-books online and has a commuinty for readers to interact with each other and their favorite authors.

The point is that you do not need to be left out of the e-book era simply because you cannot afford an e-reader. Bonus: a lot of these places offer some awesome e-books for FREE! So check them out, pick your device and happy reading!

Cover design in Indie publishing- stick to your guns

I am not sure who the people who created my cover design thought they were dealing with, but it has caused me to want to instruct first time indie publishers to stick to their guns. You have a cover design in mind. This is your books brand. It will be the first thing people see about your book. It has to be good. So imagine my shock when after being instructed to find covers in the book store that I liked and explaining my vision: a weathered house on the beach, girl running out front door while being grabbed by multiple ghost hands, ghosts in all the windows of house, I got photo one- a flat photo of a house. Say what?

I had to fight to get the cover you see on my book today and that was just stupid in my opinion. I guess it is true you get what you pay for, but if you are unable to deliver the goods, don't take the money.

Even though I have a cover for my book, I will continue to search for the artist that can give me what I want for a cover. My wish for new indie writers is that they too keep their vision in mind and do what they can to get th

e cover they want.

The second photo is the rejected cover. Fans will recognize the actual cover. Not happy with either of them. Perhaps my standards are too high to be an indie publisher.

Social Networks

According to Wikipedia there are almost 200 social network sites to subscribe to. Granted they probably do not all apply to you but I am willing to bet some of you will follow the link and see which network you missed. I am have to wonder how many social networks do we need and how "in touch"are we really staying with each other if we spend all of our time updating the networks we have subscribed to? And with all the networks available, how come I can't find one that does it all (if you have, please let me know!).

What would a network be that does it all? For me that network would have to allow me to access everything from one place. So I need a place that allows me to have my e-mail, facebook, blog and more all accessible from one location. Google+ is almost there. I need to have my blog tabbed across the top and that might make me happy, for now.

If I had all of this in one place could I give up all the other sites? Would others follow suit or would I be hung out there by myself...alone in one site land? Would my facebook friends come check me out or forget about me because they couldn't reach me on their wall with their limited amount of time? Would it be social suicide to have only one location for people to find you? Am I the only one that desires the simplicity of one stop shopping in my social life?

You know you want to look, you just have to...just remember to leave some time in your life for yourself!

What are you doing when you are not reading?

This is a question posed by 2 Read or Not 2 Read. (http://2readornot2read-loves2read.blogspot.com/)

For Me it is working on the next chapter of my latest novel or surfing the net for information and research for the next book. Facebook has taken up way too much time for me. I get in there and tend not to get out.

Today I spent most of my time reading about how to market my book. It is a lot of work, but worthwhile. I spent a lot of time on smashwords.com today because they are running Read and Ebook Week. Several incentives to purchase or win House On Butcher Harbor will be available there this week.

So what do you do when you are not reading?
And don't forget to stop by 2 Read or not to Read and see what she is reading this week.

The spark of an idea

The idea for this novel came from a song by Genesis: HOME BY THE SEA. For those of you who don't know the song, basically it is about someone who breaks into a haunted house. Once inside the ghosts will not let him leave until he has sat down and listen to the story of their lives. House on Butcher Harbor is my idea of what could happen if ghosts insist you listen to them. I hope you enjoy the story. If you haven't heard the song, but like stories about haunted houses, you might want to check out the Genesis song as well.

Beginnings

This is the start of House On Butcher Harbor blog site. Hope that it will grow as people decide to read my book. It is an unpublished work, so the entire book will only be available once published. I may allow people to read the entire book as long as they agree to post comments here to help promote the book.

Chapter Two

Tires crunched along the road as Deputy Raymond Dogg drove his police cruiser into the cul-de-sac at the end of the Penninsula Road. This was the only place the deputy could find peace during the busy summer months at Butcher Harbor. Summer season was in full bloom and the natives were restless due to the summer storm, which had trapped the visitors inside their rental cottages, town restaurants, and bars for several days. There would be a lot of calls tonight: bar fights, domestic violence as cooped up husbands picked fights with their wives, while the locals argued over parking spaces with the tourists they needed to help them survive the dead winter months.
The deputy glanced across the peninsula at the lights that dotted the beach and surrounding port. It was a sight he never tired of, even while the rain pelted his windows and the wind buffeted his cruiser. On the opposite side of him was the ocean, black and rolling. Fierce waves threw sea water up onto the peninsula; heavy spray hit the cruiser even though he was parked twenty feet from the rocky edge.
The deputy turned his windshield wipers off, allowing the rain and sea water to wash across the windshield freely. He placed the cruiser in park and reached for his canvas cooler on the back seat floorboard. A thermos was on the seat next to him. He poured himself a cap full of his mother’s famous coffee; Lila’s coffee, roasted with just a bit of her secret ingredient. Of course everyone knew it was just cinnamon, but no one that frequented her restaurant ever let on that they knew. Coffee breaks like this one were the highlight of the deputy’s night. The taste and the smell brought back wonderful childhood memories of his dad sneaking him sips of coffee when his mom wasn’t looking.
Enjoying the aroma of the spiced coffee, the deputy scanned the peninsula to his right. The only thing on the peninsula was the Templeton House, a quarter of a mile away. To add to the oddness of the dark, stormy night, the widow Templeton appeared to have every light in the house turned on. Perhaps she was using the light to ward off the loneliness of the storm.
Mrs. Templeton, he knew from previous coffee breaks on the peninsula, rarely kept more than one light on at a time at night. He assumed it was because she was on a very tight budget. That could be the only reason anyone would be foolish enough to burn only one light in that particular house at night. Rumor had it that the house was haunted. Mrs. Templeton was said to be loony from all the ghosts she allegedly kept company with within those walls. Indeed, her very own daughter had left shortly after Mr. Templeton passed on. It seemed she couldn’t get out of that house fast enough.
Stories passed on from generation to generation told of a time when pirates inhabited Butcher Harbor. The pirates, supposedly the first to settle here, built the house upon the craggy shore from parts of shipwrecked boats. Bosts the themselves had scuttled. They then used the house to lure unsuspecting sailors to their doom. Then the pirates looted the shipwrecked boats, hauling the booty inland to the real pirate hideout away from the shore, protected from the sea by the peninsula. The harbor was named for the blood bath the pirates created at sea and on land.
It was said that a mob gathered and finally drove the pirates off, extinguishing the lights of the house, thereby saving countless seaman a brutal death. Tales of strange sights and sounds followed the house to this day. The list of the missing and the dead grew with each telling, yet for some unexplained reason, the house was always occupied.
Elizabeth Templeton's father had electricity ran out to the house. Modern technology and an end to pirateering prevented further incidents with ships. She could run the lights in her house as she saw fit. Elizabeth used very little light at night.
Tonight the brightly lit house helped to add an eeriness to the dark, stormy night. Templeton House captivated Raymond as he stared at the two story beach house in the distance. He wondered what it must have been like to grow up in that house. Remembering the teasing Elizabeth’s daughter Claire had taken in school. Raymond decided maybe he didn’t really want to know. He had put up with his own hazing with a name like Dogg. And now that he was a deputy, his friends, and not so good friends, loved to give him lip service about his name on a daily basis. And when it came to names, the town's name- Butcher Harbor- was a thorn in the town's back side and they made sure anyone living in Templeton house knew it.
Raymond ate half his sandwich, saving the other half for a later coffee break. He drank the last sip of his coffee. After he placed the cap back on the thermos and the canvas cooler on the floor behind his passenger seat, the deputy turned the windshield wipers back on. A huge gush of salt and rain water whooshed away. When the windshield was clear, he pulled the cruiser back onto the road.
“You have a good evening Mrs. Templeton," he said to himself as he passed the house on the way back to town. He gave a little salute to the brightly lit house as he passed by. Before him awaited the chaos of the night. The deputy smiled. He looked forward to the summer nights in this beach town.
As he drove toward town the deputy took one last glance at the Templeton house in his rear view mirror.
“What the hell!”
The wheels of the cruiser locked up nearly sending it off the road. Dogg fought to bring the cruiser back under control.
“Harbor two to base,” he called in to the station.
“This is Base. What’s up Dogg?” the soothing woman's voice of the third-shift dispatcher teased.
“I’m not sure. The lights of the Templeton house are flickering on and off.”
“Maybe the ghosts are having a hurricane party like the rest of the Harbor tonight.” Dogg thought he could hear a giggle in her voice. Chances were more likely that some drunken tourist were playing a prank on old Mrs. Templeton.
“I’m going to check it out,” he said, throwing the cruiser into reverse. Of course there was always the possibility that the house, and not the summer folk, was the cause of the trouble at the Templeton house tonight. Dogg didn't believe in ghosts, but the rich history or the house, the endless disappearances and deaths made him leary. Just in case, he called back to base.
“If you don’t hear from me in ten minutes, send backup.”

Chapter One

The summer storm battered Templeton House, set on Butcher Harbor Peninsula. It was the only house that stood on the peninsula of this tiny North Eastern town. Rain pelted the old glass windows and the weather worn roof as a gale shook the very foundation of the old beach house. Inside, sixty year old Elizabeth Templeton stood in the living room in a crazed state, a carving knife in her trembling hand. Her striped house dress hung loosely on her tiny frame. She had a haunted look in her eyes. She waved the carving knife around as if to hold off some attacker. There was no one in the room with her, at least no one living that is.
“I asked you to stop this ruckas for just a while- STOP! Is that too much to ask?” Distress wrinkled her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks unchecked.
Voices of the unseen filled the room. Some were fearful for the old woman, others egged her on. They wanted her to kill herself. Then she would join them in their tortured world, being trapped in this house of the damned. Each one of the hundreds of souls trapped in the house needed her in one way or another to help dispell the torment and anguish of their lives. Dead or alive she listened to them. She heard the stories of their lives, and by this they were somehow able to stay alive, stay in the world of the living.
“Do it,” a haggard old woman’s voice coaxed.
“No, wait!” cried the soft pitch of a young boy. “Don’t listen to her," he pleaded. The boy needed the old woman. She took up for him and protected him against the angry mob of ghosts that occupied Templeton House. Elizabeth listened. She was like a mother to him. He couldn't stand to loose her too.
“Haven’t I been here for you? All of you?” Elizabeth pleaded, her eyes wild with fear and pain. On any other day Elizabeth would have delighted in listening to the ghosts desperate stories. They had become her friends, her family. They were all she had left in her world with her husband passed on and her daughter who had moved away, fled the house of ghosts. But tonight, with the storm raging and she needed a break. She was getting too old for the constant demand of her attention. They required too much from her these days. She just needed a little rest, a break to recharge her frail old body and mind.
The storm wasn't helping either. Each time the old house was slammed by the insistant wind she was afraid it would crumble. While she knew she need not worry about the house, it was strong as ever, it was old like her, she was afraid that it too could not take the pounding of the storm. She was afraid that it too might be weary on this trecherous night.
“Yes, join us,” cried many voices from all around the room, indeed from every room in the house, the voices even coming from the very walls of the house itself.
“Can’t you be still for just one night and give me a little peace?” Elizabeth cried out moving the carving knife from side to side as if it could keep the voices at bay.
“No,” the room shuddered with the cry of many voices in many languages as yet another blast of the gale outside battered the house.
“Nein.”
“Nada.
Tears streamed down her face. She was tired. Her mind was weary and she needed rest. They were not about to give it to her. They were so needy- all of them. They were sucking the life out of her. Exhausted, Elizabeth held the carving knife to her throat in one last attempt to quiet the voices for just one night.
“I’ll do it. I swear I will,” she threatened.
“Yes,” hissed the haggard old woman’s voice again, “Do it you weak old bag of bones.”
“No please,” the little boy pleaded, “I’ll be quiet. I promise.”
“Do it!” the old woman hissed yet again. “Do it you filthy whore. Useless bitch.”
Elizabeth took a deep breath. The voices grew louder, fighting to be heard over one another.
“I can’t take this anymore.” She fell to her knees between the sofa and the coffee table. She sobbed into her trembling hands, still clutching the carving knife. The voices wouldn’t stop. She knew they couldn’t.
“Join us,” they whispered.
A shrill cry pierced the room as Elizabeth Templeton lost what little was left of her mind.
“STOP!” she screamed. Then she slit first her left wrist, and then her right. Tears mixed with the blood as it fell into her lap, discoloring her striped house dress. Cheers of joy and cries of anguish echoed around the room simultaneously. The house had won and lost its battle with the living.
Outside the endless waves beat upon the shore, while rain pelted the rugged exterior of the house, drowning out the voices inside. Only the flickering of the lights betrayed the secret the beach house held within its walls.

Welcome

This blog has been designed to promote my new novel HOUSE ON BUTCHER HARBOR. Check out sample Chapters and more here!