B. J. Winters

Perhaps it's a bit late to be posting a new years resolution - but I've had some time to reflect and prioritize this month.  Surprisingly looking back at 2009, I accomplished two book rewrites, and my favorite (Ghost Writer) continues to be fun to rip apart (ending currently on the cutting room floor).

For 2010 - I might look at how to establish this as a more formal writing platform - a more realistic blog.  But, I don't like to talk about myself, so I'll need to look into some topics of interest and maybe do some research so that what I post here is meaningful to read.

As for celebrating success - most of the things that are important to me remain close and valued.   Beyond the words on the page the people around us are what make this worth while.

Cheers for the new year.

The original title for this story was Homecoming.  It was written via email over two years ago with a friend of mine.  And it was important, personally for me to put this together in a more finished format.  For now, I'll let this rest.  I think I'll polish it some more next year.  There is an annual contest I've seen that might be worth submitting to.   For now, I did what I needed to do and have a sense of closure.

I always wanted Cole and Victoria to have their happy ending.   I've updated the internal page here with some resized picture and a playlist (that isn't annoying christmas carols).  I'm still shocked I was able to find one that worked for each chapter.  Pretty Paper (#11) is my favorite of those selected.

I wasn't really into the whole publication thing until it became a challenge.  It's an obsessive game now where I try to balance my personal pride with my compassionate nature.   I need to get back to writing, not marketing - but I'm not sure how to get back on track.   Both actually seem to be high stress these days.

So, I put a personal challenge in place and I shall be posting a revision to Second Sight later this week.  I decided Hale shouldn't get the girl, so the chapters are reordered and Nadiya isn't staying with him anymore.  Second Sight and GW will be one volume/book when I'm done.  It just made sense to include the trial.

Anyway, we started playing with cover art for Ghost Writer.   Here are the ideas.

Concept #1:  The yellow legal pad.  Pros: Very story focused, Cons: Too technical - looks like a non-fiction book in my opinion.

Concept #2:  The glass coffin (inside is a bat and a shovel.  Pros:  Unique.  Cons: Tough to see and understand as a thumbnail.

Concept #3:  Hale's house and writing.  Pros:  I LOVE!!!! this photo in its original form (see the GW page).  Cons:  Titles aren't quite right.  Black is too gothic, and purple seems to contemporary.

So, for now, we're running with this one above.   Perhaps if we get closer to publication I'll be able to articulate what would work -- I'm not expert though.

Thanks to a helpful suggestion from Joanna, I am starting to move the more polished version of Ghost Writer to Authonomy.   This will ultimately include the Second Sight content as "one" book.  I'd love a visit, or comment on the new version by all interested. 

I'll probably pull down all but three chapters of GW on Fiction Press at the end of the month.  I don't receive comments there anymore, and it's not the real version anyway.  I just reread the reviews -- such nice inspirational comments.  Thanks to all.

I'll post other work in progress on FP because it has been a good forum.   We're getting close on Perfect Crime -- need to finish the first pass edit and write the ending.  Then we'll start editing again.  *shoots self*

In fact I'm considering posting another story.  I need something to push me into writing new content again (it's been more than a month since I've seriously posted).   I have become a bit disillusioned, letting the publishing process get to me a bit.  Busy at work.....never seems to be time to work on the current stuff, but rabbits pursue me regularly. 

*leaves out carrots*

For the last month I have spent countless hours trying to distill the content of Ghost Writer in to a brief synopsis - 8 or 9 magic sentences for an agent query letter.  And after 1) doing my research, 2) finding a name and checking it ten times, 3) writing a letter, a 2 page synopsis and polishing the first 10 pages of the novel and 4) spending half the day trying to format the stupid email.....I hit "send" about an hour ago.

I think I'm gonna be sick.  And I'm not talking about the flu.  Seriously, you have no idea the stress of perfection and the nerves of rejection the way it makes your heart race and your hand shake.   GW is on version 5.  I sent it off for copywrite a few months ago.  Drafting, redrafting is so much easier than this process.  I'm still not happy with the final version, but it's time for an outside opinion. 

One bright spot (besides learning that query only has one -e).  I found that halemarcum@yahoo.com was untaken.  I am now the proud owner of a new email that will be filled with all sorts of negative replies...but hey - at least it's unique.   No halemarcum90201 for me.

Wish me luck.

I'm one of those people that likes to plot more than I like to write.  And when I start to write, things I never thought of appear on the page.   It's a bit odd, and sometimes rather interesting.  I can usually only see one chapter ahead -- sometimes as little as one scene.

I don't use an outline.  I actually hope that I'll write myself into a corner for the sheer pleasure of figuring out how all the pieces fit together - as though I'd planned it all along.

On my fiction press profile I mentioned that I like to "chase rabbits".  That's a turn of phrase that I believe someone else once shared with me - but it suits quite well.   I tend to be filled with ideas, most of them new, which is why I can't seem to just sit and finish one story.   All of these stories (at current count 6 works in progress) churn in various stages of development, small scraps of paper and random mental images.

Trivia -- When I was younger I actually had two rabbits (buttons and bow).  We used to let them play in the grass on the front lawn of the apartment and your own imagination can probably fill in the rest.   Art imitates life.

One of my favorite things to do is to drive to my parents house (they live 3 hours away) and just think as I go.  I tend to keep a piece of paper and a pen next to me, writing down scant phrases at 70 miles an hour.  Eyes on the road at all times of course.  I've crafted entire chapters on that drive on more than one occasion.

I'm a low tech person by nature.  It's not that I dislike the internet and computers, but overall items that run on electricity or batteries dislike me.   I touch - they break.  Case in point, I tried making some modification to this site and have spent the last two days trying to figure out what key I touched that caused everything to stop working properly.

In the end, I let the computer win.   It's now happily huming and chewing on an old file.

On a slightly related note, I've started placing paper and pencil near my bed again.  Something rather odd was written on a yellow post-it this morning.  Chances are good that the Second Sight chapter I've kept on ice for awhile will be dusted off and posted (no pun intended) soon.

Have you ever seen a black witch moth?

A predictive omen of death in some latin cultures.  They are not the largest moth, but typically are 6 inches or larger and intimidating enough to be mistaken for bats.

In Spanish:::
Las polillas se alojan en ciertas partes de nuestras casas ya que, al ser de hábitos nocturnos, durante el día buscan refugio para resguardarse de la luz. Simplemente están descansando, de paso hacia su recorrido de cada noche. En algunas ocasiones, a pesar de lo que cabría esperar, llegan en entrar a las habitaciones porque son atraídas por la luz artificial; pero esto les causa una grave desorietación y confusión que seguramente asusta más a las mismas polillas que a las personas.

El mito más común y conocido es aquel que señala que encontrar una mariposa negra descansando en el umbral de una puerta, en una ventana o bajo los tejados y aleros es señal de mala suerte o de muerte. Este mito es de fácil explicación, pues los colores oscuros de las polillas, en la cultura occidental, han sido asociados con la muerte y la pena.

Translation:
Black moths rest on certain areas of our houses-- as they are nocturnal creatures-- and during the day they seek refuge to protect themselves from the light. They're simply resting before their nocturnal journey. Sometimes -- despite what one might expect-- they enter lit rooms because they're attracted to the artificial light; however this causes them great confusion and disorientation, scaring the moth more that human themselves.

The myth is common: to find a black moth resting on a door frame, window, or beneath the roof and sills is a sign of misfortune or death. This is easy to understand for in these cultures the moth's dark colors are associated with death and sorrow.

I've left my story Isle unfinished for a number of months now.  I'm not sure that I'll write the final chapter at this point.  While I don't like to leave this incomplete, I'm not inspired to write the closing piece.  Or, more to the point, to edit the story overall.

If anyone wants to know exactly what is going on with Miles - I'll post the myth here and let you make your own conclusions about whether he will be able to pilot an airplane off the island....

One belief unique to the religion of Vodun (or Voodoo) is that a dead person can be revived after having been buried.  When one dies, according to belief, the soul remains near the corpse for a week.  During this period the ti bon ange is vulnerable and can be captured and made into a "spiritual zombie" by a sorcerer.  After resurrection zombies have no will of their own.  Alternatively, a zombie is a living person who has never died but is under the influence of powerful drugs.  

Vodun rituals:

The purpose of rituals is to make contact with a spirit, to gain their favor by offering them animal sacrifices and gifts, to obtain help in the form of more abundant food, higher standard of living, and improved health.

Vodun priests can be male (houngan or hungan), or female (mambo). A Vodun temple is called a hounfour (or humfort). At its center is a poteau-mitan a pole where the God and spirits communicate with the people. An altar will be elaborately decorated with candles, pictures of Christian saints, symbolic items related to the person in question. 

The ceremony typically consist of the following components:

• a feast
• creation of a veve (pattern of flour or corn meal)
• shaking a rattle and beating drums
• chanting
• dancing
• animal sacrifice