Holly Michael's Writing Straight

~ Connecting and Inspiring Along Life's Crooked Lines by Author Holly Michael

Holly Michael's Writing Straight

Tag Archives: England

Guest Author Sherry Gloag: This “Pantster” Discovers Gems in Side Journeys

21 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Books, Guest Blogger, Photography, Writing

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

Author, Blog, England, For Now and Forever, Guest Author, His Chosen Bride, Holly Michael, Norfolk, romance novels, Scotland, Sherry Gloag, www.writingstraigt.com pantser vs plotter

I’m honored to have multi-published author Sherry Gloag as a guest on my blog today. Sherry is a transplanted Scot now living in the beautiful coastal countryside of Norfolk, England.

She considers the surrounding countryside as extension of her own garden, to which she escapes when she needs “thinking time” and solitude to work out the plots for her next novel. She says while out walking she enjoys talking to her characters, as long as there are no other walkers close by.

Apart from writing, Sherry enjoys gardening, walking, reading and cheerfully admits her books tend to take over most of the shelf and floor space in her workroom-cum-office. She also finds crystal craft work therapeutic.

Sherry is also a pantster (one who “flies by the seat of their pants” when they write versus a plotter who well, plots out every bit of their work.) She’s here to share about her “pantstering” and FAITH. Heeeerrrrreeeee’s Sherry:

or a ‘panster’ writer like myself, creating characters is never straightforward. It almost amounts to ‘plotting’! rofl. So how do I ‘get’ my characters when I start writing? Well, strange as it may seem, they come to me. Usually when I’m at the kitchen sink. I’ve still not worked out how or why it happens that way, but it does. Sometime they give me a name, sometimes I’m given a full scene. Then it’s up to me to work out where in the story that scene’s got to be placed. Many’s the time I’ve assumed I’ve been offered an opening scene only to discover it belongs somewhere else in the book.

nother thing about being a ‘panster’ is the capacity for me to write myself into a corner and then spend ages trying to work out how to get out of it. I can hear so may people asking why I don’t get myself better organized and plot my way through the story instead and thus save myself getting sidetracked. It just doesn’t work for me, and there are many times when those side journey’s unveil an unexpected gem of a twist in the plot. Does that also entail re-writing vast tracks of story? Quite often. Does it bother me, sometimes, but not always.

nstead I concentrate on the bonus of the unexpected, that twist that often lifts the story to another level. In From Now Until Forever, the first of my four books Gasquet Princes series, published by Astraea Press in December, Melanie, the heroine’s use of a dust/garbage truck as an escape vehicle had me chuckling all the while I wrote the scene. When I began I assumed they’d use some fast flashy make of car, but no, up trundled a dust/garbage truck!

he arrival of His Chosen Bride the second book was a great surprise to me when Henri, Liam’s eldest brother of the hero in From Now Until Forever demanded I write his story about a week after the first book was published. As for Monica, the heroine in this book, she turned up before I realized she was destined to be Henri’s Bride. She is also a completely different kind of heroine from Melanie. Where Melanie is an ‘in your face, get things done’ heroine, Monica is quieter, more introvert and yet she has qualities that compliment Henri and makes her his perfect choice.

enri and Liam have two more brothers, twins Sacha and Simeon. Writing their stories is creating several problems because they keep walking in and out of each others’ stories, and this makes keeping my plot lines straight quite a headache. 🙂

For this ‘panster,’ FAITH is a big part of my writing. Faith in my characters, faith that the plotline will evolve in a ways that makes sense and faith in my writing as with each new book comes a new challenge that having faith in the unknown will prevail.

For Now And Forever Blurb: For Prince Liam, families meant bad news, unwanted commitments, and the loss of his personal freedom. Love spawned white picket fences, slippers at the hearth with a wife and kids making demands, so why did those images disappear when he met Melanie Babcot? Melanie Babcot fought hard to escape the horrors of her youth and vowed to remain single and free, so when paid to protect Prince Liam from insurgents why did her personal pledge fly out the window?

Purchase: Amazon.com   AmazonUK  Barnes&Noble.com    AstraeaPress.com


His Chosen Bride: Prince Henri Gasquet is happy to let his father, the king, choose his bride for him until he meets Monica Latimer. Monica Latimer is not prepared to risk letting any man close enough to learn about her Gift. A gift that normally has men running for the hills when they find out about it. Purchase through Astraea Press or Amazon.

To contact Sherry:  SherryGloag.com    Twitter    Facebook   LinkedIn   

The Heart of Romance.blog

Amazon Author Page

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W is for Walsingham and Winners

26 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in A to Z Challenge, Books, Photography, Travel

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

Anglican Rite, Bishop Leo Michael, Blog, Edith Parzefall, England, Francene Stanley, Glenda Mills, HCCAR, Holly Michael, Holy Catholic Church, Rt. Rev. Leo Michael, Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, Walsingham, Wind Over Troubled Waters, www.writingstraight.com

Keeping in mind my “Person, Place, and Blog” theme for the A to Z blog challenge, I’ll begin this W blog post with PLACE:

W is for Walsingham, England. I used this photo I shot for my header photo:

Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham

My husband, Rt. Rev. Leo Michael, (Holy Catholic Church, Anglican Rite), celebrating Mass at Our Lady of Walsingham Shrine.

Our Lady of Walsingham Chapel

And here’s two really fantastic PEOPLE who wrote a Wonderful Winner of a book that begins with W…and the setting of the novel is also in England:

Wind Over Troubled Waters by Francene Stanley & Edith Parzefall has been released on April 24!  Corn World. Britland. After the great flood, only memories, debris and derelict buildings speak of a past civilization. Visions of these disturbing times haunt Cerridwen’s dreams. When her dying mother sends Cerridwen to find a mural in Saint Eyes and lead Britland into a better future, the young healer has little choice but to set out on a life-changing quest. Her ability to perceive auras convinces her to accept nature-attuned Trevly’s offer of protection.

Bent on adventure and enthralled by the promise of treasure, beautiful Sasha, cunning Aron and uncut Boris join forces to get the most out of life. Their selfish plans collide with Cerridwen’s when they learn about a powerful ring and a mural pointing the way to its location.

I’ll review this book after the A to Z Challenge, but I’ve helped critique this novel and highly recommend it. Francene and Edith are very talented writers. Click to buy it on amazon.com

And for a Winner blog: Glenda Mills. Writing for Hope and Encouragement. A must visit blog. I love her blog. Her photos are fantastic. Her prose is superb. And she and her husband are winners because they’ve been married for 48 years. Happy Wedding Anniversary.

X is next. Hmmm…I’m coming up blank, a big X…We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

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A to Z Challenge: C is for Committment, Crooked Lines, and Who and What is Cool

03 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in A to Z Challenge, Christianity, Crooked Lines, Inspiration, Photography

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

Cool, Crooked Lines, England, Francene Stanley, Holly Michael, Jesus Christ, St. Alban's, St. Alban's Church, www.writingstraight.com

Because of my Commitment to my agent to Cut twenty thousand words from my novel, Crooked Lines, today’s blog post will be short, but not before I post something relevant to my Person, Place, and Blog theme:

Cool Person: Jesus Christ. He’s the coolest, for all He did for us.

Cool Place: St. Alban’s Cathedral, St. Alban’s, England I visited with my dear friend and blogger Francene Stanley and her sweet husband, Brian.

Cool Blogs:

Beautiful post for Holy Week: http://glendamills.com/2012/04/03/stripping-of-the-cross/

Lovely Devotions: http://internetcafedevotions.com/

Fantastic photos today: http://roopaushree.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/through-my-window/

Inspiring read (C is for Cross) : http://lifeofusandsaints.blogspot.com/

What shall I do about D? Come back tomorrow and see.

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Location. Location. Location. Description. Description. Description.

23 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Best Web Sites for Writers, Inspiration

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

Arabian Sea, Connecticut, England, Goa, God, Himalaya, India, Kent, Shilpa Joshi, Tamil Nadu, The Bookshelf Muse, Walsingham, Wind River Canyon, Wyoming, Yercaud

Frothy whitecaps shimmer under a pale disc of a moon as waves crash onto the shoreline and cascade like thunder over my ankles. A continuous oceanic roar swallows my acclamations of awe.

Words can hardly describe the majestic beauty of many places I’ve been blessed to visit, but as a writer, I wrest the best sensory descriptions from my mind onto pages. The scene described above was in Goa, India at midnight on the shore of the Arabian Sea.

Consider another beach scene. Crystal blue water merges into snow-white sands while sheep rest under rocky outcrops. Iona, Scotland, one of the most beautiful places in the world. Below photos by me.

Come away from the sea to ancient ruins in Walsingham, England. Breath musky fragrances along ivy-lined paths and twiggy thickets. (see my photo in my header. That’s from Walsingham. I also took this photo there.

I can’t even find words to describe the vivid colors of nature in Kent, Connecticut in Autumn.  Here’s a photo I snapped.

The Wind River Canyon in Wyoming must have been carved by the breath of God. You can’t just drive through it. You have to stop at the turn-outs, let go of the air in your lungs, and whisper, “wow!”

Thanks to God and to my wonderful husband I’ve been able to visit these and many other incredible places. Sometimes the grandeur of the locale laughs at my words that dare to describe it’s beauty.

Even photographs can’t do justice to what the eye sees. From Tiger Hills, India, watching the sun appear over the Kanchenjunga-one of the highest peaks of the Himalayas-and turn the white snow-capped mountains to gold is well…sorry no words. But I can tell you a place that helps me find words when I’m at a loss. The Bookshelf Muse.

I’ve incorporated a lot of my visits all around India in my novel, Crooked Lines. Look at this picture.

It’s mist falling on a Tamil Nadu hill-station around my husband and our nieces and nephews. Isn’t my niece Shilpa, cute? She’s a sweetheart.

Hazy whiteness and curls of smoky air currents obscure the surroundings. Muted light and color can hide movement. Cool dewy sensation to the skin.

The words above are lifted from The Bookshelf Muse Blog. The website is chock-full of inspiration. I can replace the word “surroundings” with my own words. I can play with the words, using my own creativity.

I’m a stalker at The Bookshelf Muse. I peek at the Settings Thesaurus, check out the Weather Thesaurus, linger at the Symbolism Thesaurus, creep around the Color Texture and Shape Thesaurus, and park myself at the Emotion Thesaurus until I cry in amazement at the words the site inspires me to string together. The Bookshelf Muse provides a plethora of help for any writer.

So, if you travel or even if you don’t, take The Bookshelf Muse wherever your journey takes you. And journey back to www.writingstraight.com too. It’s a great place to visit. One of my favorites.

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Holly Michael

Holly Michael

Done this: Regular freelance ghostwriter and online editor for Guideposts for Teens/Sweet 16 Magazine, creator/editor of a magazine for Wal-Mart Corp., journalist, newspaper features writer, published in a variety of national magazines and local newspapers, script writing/editing for corporations. Doing this now: author of fiction and nonfiction, blogger, and editor of Koinonia Magazine. I’m the wife of Rt. Rev. Leo Michael, an Anglican Bishop in the Holy Catholic Church-Anglican Rite. Mom to three great kids: Nick (#81 Rajin Cajuns), Betsy (Super cute professor) and Jake (T1D & NFL player) Also, enjoy my travels extensively across the United States and internationally.

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