Tag Archives: Book

Conference For Writers

February 25, 2014 NewEngland_Muse 9 Comments

Saturday I went to a free writer’s conference. The authors were required to donate 40% of their profits for each book sold to the organization for children’s literacy. It’s a great cause. This year they were having authors, publishers, and literary agents.

The speakers were motivating, the workshops that I attended were educational. Granted there is only so much they can say in the time allotted. But I was fortunate enough to pick the workshops that gave me good gems of information. But again it was free. My philosophy still stands with if I learn just one nugget of information it’s worth the whole trip. And I did. In fact I learned quite a bit and I will have to decipher my notes into clear English soon.

I know a lot of people who won’t attend a free conference. Since it’s being free, how good can it possibly be? It can be amazingly good. The first one I attended a few years ago, gave me the information and contact to help me push forward and get my book picked up by a publisher. I mean, come on people. Seriously?

Knowing there would be literary agents I started working on my pitch. Something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. Googling and reading way to many articles on the topic I made time to scribble one that I’m happy with. This is what I came up with for volume two of my children’s series, “Jasper, Amazon Parrot: Rainforest Friends and Families.”

Set in the rainforest of South America, Jasper, an Amazon parrot, learns about life and family values. With his younger brother, Willie ,and their friend, Charlie, a spider monkey, the brothers encounter a Green Anaconda, food-throwing monkeys, and other challenges that help them grow along the way. This is volume two of a children’s chapter book aimed at grades 3 – 5.

I know it is not perfect and I’m sure I will be going back and forth over it. But I feel that I’m almost there. This conference helped me get started on another step of the ladder that I’m climbing in my journey as an author. There is so much to learn and everything is for the first time. That is not always fun. But my goal is to move forward, not backward with my work. Conferences. You can learn so much from them if you just have an open mind. It will make you do things you feel you are not able to do.

But if one never tries, the response will always be no.

Author, Literary Grant, Writing

Literary Grant

February 18, 2014 NewEngland_Muse 4 Comments

Last Fall I applied for a literary grant and learned afterwards I’d won. The grant was open to everyone from the county. I was one of the seven who were rewarded with a grant. My thinking was, all they can say is no. Seriously that was the worse they could say to me was my thinking as I filled out the forms needed to apply. I received the check this week, 80% of it that is. Once I finish the project and show the council the receipts they will reimburse me for the remaining 20%.

But now I get to spend other people’s money without having to pay it back. That is amazing as I get to be a writer in a store of supplies where the only limits is one’s imagination.

What I included in my proposal:

-Membership in the SCBWI

-Membership in the NCWN

-Upgrade of my website

The physical aspect involved me getting a smart pen which I am so excited to purchase and receive. For someone who writes all their stories by hand and then retyping it, this is huge. It will save me the time and energy of having to type all over again. With the smart pen I will purchase just about every accessory that one can possible get.

For someone who has tried the Dragon program repeatedly this is gold. The more I tried to train the program the more it hung and paused basically thinking, “What the heck did she just say?” I talk fast and I mean fast. Plus my Northern and now Southern accent does not help. So the next best thing short of having someone sit here and type as I speak, is this pen.

This grant will help me move my career and brand forward with the contacts from the two organizations and being able to bring more of my stories to text. I plan to apply for more grants when time permits.

To the people who told me I was wasting my time and that I did not fit the requirements for it, I’m glad I didn’t listen. I’m glad I stuck to my guns and my mantra of, “All they can say is no.”

Author, Guest Blog, Pam Funke

Guest Blog: Pam Funke

February 11, 2014 NewEngland_Muse Leave a comment

MY JOURNEY by Pam Funke

One day while I was standing in the local Wal-Mart looking at the books on the shelves there, it occurred to me that there just was not enough Christian Fiction books out on the market. I was disappointed with the books that were available for the public to read, especially those on the market for our youth. The books that lined the shelves are not feeding their minds or souls with positive things. Now mind you there are some very good non-Christian novels out there that instill a positive message, but unfortunately there are many out there that are not. There has to be something in a good book that not only feeds the mind with positive values and teaches the reader how to improve their life and give them some hope. If not, then what’s the point? A good book should have a lesson in it that someone can learn something valuable from it and not just an escape away from their problems in the real world ~ because when the story is over the real world is still there and so are their problems. They should be able to come out of that story with something positive that they can use to help them in the real world. From that very moment I decided that I would try to fill that very void and hence The Apocalypse series was born.

Operation Dark Angel: The Rise of Nicolaitanes, which is the first book in the series, began my journey into authorhood. When I first sat down to write this novel, I honestly wasn’t sure what it was going to entail. I sat there for a few moments wondering how to begin the story. I put my pen down and sat there for a moment pondering what to do. As I sat there with my eyes closed it suddenly came to me. I started to see the events of my novel unfold before me in my mind. It was as though I were watching a movie on the television set. It seemed kind of odd to be writing in this manner, but I wrote down everything that I saw and heard in my mind. Although I was able to picture my story, I still had to do some research into various things. For example, I had to find out about different cultures and religions so that I could incorporate them into my story properly. I also had to read extensive news articles from around the world to figure out which ones I could use to enhance the storyline. A year later, I had a completed manuscript and sat down to read it from cover to cover. It turned out to be a really good story worthy of being read by others. I must admit that I was nervous about getting it published, but I figured what harm could it do? The audience would either love it or hate it. Receiving my very first physical copy of the book was a wonderful feeling. To see that others are enjoying the book as well and leaving reviews on Amazon, B&N and Goodreads is great. I love to read what others think about what I wrote.

Well it is now a year later and I am happy to say that my fourth book, Sodom: A Nation On Its Knees, will be published later this month.

As a new author, my advice to all of you out there who have the desire to write or are newly published authors as well; write to your heart’s content. Don’t give up your dream and even if one door or more is closed in your face be patient for there will be one door that will remain open for you. Write for not only your enjoyment, but for the enjoyment of others. Stay encouraged and happy writing.

Through the Eyes of a Child book blurb: God created the heavens and the earth. He created all of the plants, animals and birds of the air. He created man. When God was finished He looked at all that He had created and saw that it was good. Come see the world through the curious eyes of a child.