Polishing the novel, my favorite part of writing - by Vijaya Schartz

Coming in October: “An unruly Valkyrie on a flying tiger, a stern angel in love with the rules, and evil knocking at the gate… what could go wrong?”
Find my other books at: BWL Publishing
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After lots of research, after sweating the plot, the character motivations and conflicts, the surprises and roadblocks along the way, the setting, the technology, and all the details that come into creating a good story, my favorite part of writing is what some writers hate: the “rewriting.” I prefer to call it “Polishing.” It’s an opportunity to take a story and make it better.

I like to watch the credits at the end of movies to see how many screenwriters were involved. The more writers, the better the script, the better the lines, the better the character development, the better the story. These are my favorite stories. Even in a movie, I like good writing.

Now that I went through several rewrites for each chapter, got feedback from my critique partner, there is still much work to do.

I spent several months with my free-thinking tiger-riding Valkyrie and the strong disciplined angel who oversees her, I know them well. I have discovered things about them I would never have suspected when I started writing the novel. I have found deep emotional connections in their past, and I have come to love and understand them. They are my children and I want them to do well, grow, and find their happiness.

But this can only happen after I make them suffer, sacrifice, and deserve their final reward. Although I do not enjoy the suffering, it is a necessary phase of their evolution.

This stage of writing is the reward for me. No more stress about deadlines, or whether or not the story will come together at the end. I can finally relax into the polishing, adding texture, flavor, color, emotion, and a deeper meaning to each scene, each paragraph, each character. I can go back to the beginning and implement the quirks they developed while I was writing.

I will also add a few scenes, flashbacks, dreams, to bring more layers to the story.

Some early secondary characters have become more important as the story developed, and now deserve a name and a little more time in the spotlight. The villains also deserve a chance to explain themselves. No one is totally good or totally evil. We are all shades of gray… even the red devil from another universe threatening to take over our galaxy.

ANGEL REVENGE, Book 3 of the Blue Phantom series, will be released in October 2024. “An unruly Valkyrie on a flying tiger, a stern angel in love with the rules, and evil knocking at the gate… what could go wrong?”

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In the meantime, catch up with the first two novels in the Blue Phantom series: ANGEL SHIP and ANGEL GUARDIAN: There is a phantom ship that glows like a beacon in black space, appears and vanishes, and never registers on scanners. Rumors say it will save the righteous, the oppressed, and the downtrodden… and slay the unworthy without mercy. The space pirates fear it. Their victims pray for it... but its help comes at a price... 

Happy Reading.

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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Blueprints for Success, The Front Lines of Artist Development - by Musician and Voice Coach Darcy Deutsch

  

Musician and Voice Coach Darcy Deutsch

BLUEPRINTS FOR SUCCESS

Introduction to a series

 

The Front lines of Artist Development

 

The quest for success in the music business is a never-ending journey; a maze ridden path of uncertainty, trial and error. For the developing artist, knowing the steps to take, how to build a presentable image, define a sound, look, style and a presence that represents who and what they are, is a daunting task. Finding people qualified to assist them in reaching their goals can be like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack.

 

Knowing what to do next, with whom and where to attain the correct resources can alleviate much confusion, trial and error.

 

In the issues that follow this introduction, (and I’m not sure how many as the topic is quite profound), I’m going to reflect and deep dive into the concept known as artist development.

When does Artist Development begin?

Artist development begins the moment a person starts taking voice or instrument lessons. This activates a routine of gathering knowledge and applying skills to enhance and make palatable each individual song or performance. The type of instruction received, sets a course.

 

As a voice coach distributing knowledge and methods, I am in a sense, on the front lines of the artist development process. What does or does not happen with an individual while I educate and inspire them vocally, musically and through my experience network, can very well be the catalyst that launches their thirst for stardom or the lead role in the school play. Then again, we possess the ability to likewise steal their dreams. The privilege to share in the personal development of any aspiring talent should never be taken lightly. And those who teach should likewise always be hungry for knowledge.

 

Ultimately, and I believe this to be true; it’s what the client doesn’t know that prevents them from experiencing exponential growth. I have encountered such a scenario innumerable times. A singer comes into my studio struggling with a multitude of issues and in an hour’s time I’ve introduced them to an array of methods and physiology, done a vocal analysis & explained what is or isn’t happening followed by a prescription of simple exercises, enabling the singer to experience as never before that it is possible to achieve - vocal freedom.

 

Voila! The beginning of artist development

Golf and Writing by Joan Havelange

 

Click here for details and purchase information on all Joan's novels

Golf and writing by Joan Havelange        

 

My first whodunit/cozy mystery, ‘Wayward Shot,’ took place in the fictional little town of Glenhaven, Saskatchewan, Canada. The mystery begins on a golf course. I love the game. I’m not a great golfer, but I’m an avid one. And weather permitting, I go out every day.

Before I get into the inspiration for ‘Wayward Shot,’ I’ll share a small anecdote. My town has a personal care home for the elderly who can’t look after themselves. Once a month, each church group in town takes a turn to provide a treat and entertainment. Our group provides angel food cake, strawberries and ice cream. And for entertainment, we hire a country western band.

Anyway, it was May, and our church group had served the cake and ice cream, and as my friend Lorna and I stood watching the old people enjoy their treats and the music. We decided we didn’t want to end our days in the home. (It might have been me, or it might have been Lorna.) But one of us said, “I would rather be hit by a golf ball on the golf course and die than end up here.”

The next day, Lorna and I were out on the golf course. We’d teed off of the number 5 tee box and were walking down the fairway. We looked back, and a young man was standing at the tee-off, waiting for us to get far enough away for him to hit his golf ball. (Number 5 is a dogleg left.) So, we stood back beside a bush on the right side of the fairway and waved him to hit. And he did. But he sliced. And his golf ball whizzed by just inches from me. I looked up at the sky and said, “We were just joking, God.” I guess the moral might be to watch what you wish for.

I don’t think there are a lot of murder mysteries set on a golf course, but ‘Wayward Shot’ is. It is always fun to try different golf courses. On a golf course in a neighbouring town, the inspiration for ‘Wayward Shot’ came to me. At the end of a long fairway was the town cemetery.

My thought was, what if a golf ball hit a mourner? This, my friends, is the teaser for ‘Wayward Shot.’ You will have to read my mystery ‘Wayward Shot’ to find out who the victim is and how and why they died.

Happy reading, and have a great summer.

 

Wayward Shot

When Mabel slices her golf ball into the town cemetery. She and her best friend Violet think the worst that could happen would be a lost ball. That is until they discover a dead body, and it isn’t six feet under. Mabel’s golf ball lays in the middle of his forehead. It’s murder. The ladies take it upon themselves to solve the mystery of the dead body in the graveyard. Using the information gleaned from Coffee Row, a collection of eccentric townspeople. This leads them to investigate golfers and relatives of the deceased. Their investigation frustrates a newly appointed RCMP officer, who does his best to put a stop to their interference. But nothing stops the intrepid detectives. Not the RCMP, a stampede of cattle or even shots fired at them in the dark. They have an uncanny ability to find trouble and dead bodies. Almost getting themselves killed before solving the murders

Canadian Authors--New Brunswick by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

  

https://books2read.com/Romancing-the-Klondike

 

https://books2read.com/Rushing-the-Klondike

https://books2read.com/Sleuthing-the-Klondike

https://bwlpublishing.ca/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

     I am a proud Canadian author of over twenty fiction and non-fiction books in my long writing career. But I am just one of thousands of published writers from this huge country. Canada has had a long and illustrious history of producing world renown authors and books going all the way back to the 18^th century.

     Frances Moore was born in England in 1724. She was a well-known poet and playwright in England before she and her husband, Reverend John Brooke moved to Quebec City in 1763, for John to take up the post of army chaplain. During her time there Frances wrote The History of Emily Montague, a love story set in the newly formed Quebec province.

     The story is told through the voices of her characters by way of personal letters between the two. This is known as epistolary (of letters) type of writing and it was popular during the1700s in Europe. The Brookes’ returned to England in 1768 and the novel was published in 1769 the London bookseller, James Dodsley. The History of Emily Montague was the first novel written in what is now Canada and the first with a Canadian setting. Frances died in 1789.

 

New Brunswick

Julia Catherine Beckwith was born on March 10, 1796 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Her mother, Julie-Louise Le Brun, was from a wealthy French family that had immigrated to Canada in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Her father, Nehemiah Beckwith, moved from New England in 1780 and owned a successful ship building business. Julie-Louise had given up her Roman Catholic faith when she married, but Julia spent a lot of her early life visiting her French cousins in Nova Scotia and Quebec. One of her cousins became a nun of the Hotel-Dieu in Montreal.

Her mother’s previous religious background was the source of the idea for her first novel St. Ursula’s convent, or the nun of Canada. She wrote it in Fredericton when she was seventeen and it had complicated plots, romance, suspense, and heroic adventures. It was not to be published for almost ten years.

     In 1820, in order to lessen the burden on her mother after her father’s death by drowning, Julia moved in with her aunt in Kingston, Upper Canada (now Ontario). She married George Henry Hart on January 3, 1822. George was a bookbinder and Julia operated a boarding house for girls. Her novel was published in 1824 by Hugh C. Thomson as St. Ursula’s Convent or, The Nun of Canada; Containing Scenes from Real Life. According to Beckwith’s wishes, the author was listed as anonymous. It was the first work of fiction written by any man or woman who had been born in Canada and the first to be published in what is now Canada. Julia Beckwith is considered Canada’s first novelist.

     Julia and her husband moved to Rochester, NY, in 1824 where her second novel, Tonnewonte; or, the adopted son of America, was published and portrayed as having been written by an American. It, too, had suspense and depth of feeling, but as some critics said it had the same stilted expression and moral overtones as her first novel. Besides entertainment value, Julia wrote to express attitudes toward society.

     By 1831 Julia and George had six children and they moved back to Fredericton. There she contributed to the weekly paper, the New Brunswick Reporter. She also wrote her third book Edith (or The Doom), which was never published.

     Julia Catherine Beckwith died in Fredericton, New Brunswick on November 28, 1867, the age of 71.

 

Raymond Fraser was born on May 8, 1941 in Chatham (now Miramichi), New Brunswick, the youngest of three children. His older sisters left home and his mother died when he as a teenager. He spent a lot of his alone time reading. He attended St. Thomas University in Fredericton. There he played sports in his freshman year and was co-editor of the student literary magazine Tom-Tom in his junior year.

     He worked as a teacher for a year then moved to Montreal in 1965 where he and poet Leroy Johnson created the literary magazine Intercourse: Contemporary Canadian Writing (1966-1971). He was also one of the founders of the Montreal Story Tellers Fiction Performance Group, which put on readings in local high schools. To earn money while writing he worked as an editor, chief staff writer, and a freelance writer for the tabloid newspapers. Fraser’s first book of short stories, The Black Horse Tavern, was published in 1973.

     Raymond Fraser and his wife, Sharon, travelled through Europe during the 1970s. The Struggle Outside came out in 1975 and The Bonnonbridge Musicians in 1978. The Bonnonbridge Musicians was a finalist for the 1978 Governor General Literary Award for Fiction. He finally settled in Fredericton and began writing full time. He also was the Writer-In-Residence at the Fredericton High School.

     Raymond Fraser wrote a total of eight books of poetry and fourteen novels and short story collections, five of which were listed in Atlantic Canada’s 100 Greatest Books (2009). He also received the first Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for High Achievement in the Arts that year. He became a member of the Order of New Brunswick in 2012 and received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from St. Thomas University in 2016.

     Fraser died in Fredericton on October 22, 2018, at the age of 77 from cancer.

Serendipitous Serenity by Victoria Chatham

 

AVAILABLE HERE

 

Serendipitous: Lucky in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries.

Serenity:          State of calmness, quietness, stillness, peace.

I don’t know about you, but I have always found cemeteries interesting. From ancient moss-covered and mostly unreadable headstones in old English churchyards to the Gothic splendour of Highgate Cemetery in London, the resting place amongst other notables of singer George Michael and Karl Marx, author of The Communist Manifesto, cemeteries can be places of calmness, quietness, stillness, and peace. I make no apologies for the use of a bit of alliteration in the title, as the two brief definitions perfectly describe my recent visit to cemeteries in Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Ross Bay Cemetery

I have visited Victoria several times, and this trip finally made it to Christ Church Cathedral, which deserves its own post. Beside the Cathedral is the Old Burying Ground, and my friend and I picked up a cemetery map showing the various memorials. We toured through the cemetery, stopping at the Historical Marker installed in 1958 to commemorate the centennial of the Fraser River Gold Rush, which has the history of the Old Burying Ground carved onto it.  

As fascinating as each tomb and obelisk was, we were both impressed with the Tombstone Group. The City of Victoria cleared the Old Burying Ground in 1908, leaving some stones in place. One tomb still standing is for Hannah Estes, a black woman born into slavery in Missouri who died in Victoria in 1868. My friend and I were intrigued by Hannah’s story.

Hannah's headstone

A quick internet search found that Hannah was married to Howard Estes, also an enslaved person. At that time, it was common practice for enslaved people to take their owner’s name, in this instance, Scotsman Tom Estes. Hannah and their three children lived apart from Howard, who managed to buy his freedom from Tom Estes for $1,000, but it cost him the enormous sum of $4,000 for his family. They made their way to Canada and eventually settled on Salt Spring Island.

Smooth sailing

We were on a mission to find Howard’s resting place, so we took the ferry to Salt Spring Island. The day was perfect as we drove from Fulford Harbour through the town of Ganges to the cemetery. We weren’t sure what we would find, but we didn’t expect so much history. Yes, we did find Howard’s grave. Although his name is misspelled, it does not detract from the fact that this man did so much to keep his family intact.

Howard's headstone

 There was so much more in this calm, quiet, peaceful place. It was well worth the trip. If you want to know more about Hannah and Howard, I have included the links below. Serendipitous serenity indeed.  

Victoria Chatham

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 Images from the author's collection.

Links for more information on Hannah and Howard Estes.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/salt-spring-island-estes-stark-1.7115501

https://www.saltspringarchives.com/Estes_Stark_Family/