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In Honor of St. Patrick’s Day — My Trip to Ancient Ireland

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 17, 2016

Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, I thought it would be fun to revisit a story collection I wrote about ten years ago with my wonderful and talented friends, Pamela Griffin, Vickie McDonough, and Linda Windsor. Brides o’ the Emerald Isle was a lot of fun to write, and an enjoyable change for me since my story, A Legend of Light, takes place in 500 AD.

Inexplicably, the volume of stories is available for a penny, here.

And again for $35.47 here.

The more expensive book has a story not written by Tamela Hancock Murray, but by Tamela Hanc. Obviously Tamela Hanc is by far the better writer.

To celebrate writing my story, I bought Celtic Barbie. While not a pure representation of my heroine, Sorcha, Celtic Barbie reminds me how much I enjoyed writing books. Oh, and how did I choose Sorcha as a name? Well, I had to choose something today’s reader could easily identify, and one I could type with some sort of accuracy – not an easy challenge when consulting a name book including the time period of 500 AD. How about Hyge, or Aelfflaed or Eormenthryth? Sexburg is listed as a female name, a feather in my cap in case I ever decide to write a steamy story taking place in ancient Ireland – NOT.

By the way, the book I used, Names Through the Ages by Teresa Norman, is still available and a great reference. And it’s an engrossing read for anyone interested in history, or just names.

So now you have two books to read, and they are both so old I doubt any of the authors will make even an, ahem, penny from your purchase. But have fun anyway.

I leave you with this Irish blessing:

May you always have…
Walls for the winds
A roof for the rain
Tea beside the fire
Laughter to cheer you
Those you love near you
And all your heart might desire.

Your turn:

Have you ever written a story set in Ireland?

What is your favorite book set in Ireland?

What is your favorite time of history to read about?

What time in history would be the most challenging for you to write?

Share Your Irish Blessings!

By Karen Ballon March 16, 2016

I think there’s a touch o’ the Irish—or at least a touch o’ the Blarney Stone—in every writer. So what more appropriate way to celebrate tomorrow’s St. Patrick’s Day than to write your own, original Irish Blessing? Irish blessings can be: Long or Short May the Lord be between us and harm and protect us from the harm of the world. Heartwarming May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be …

Category: Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Creativity

2020, Planning a Publishing Odyssey

By Dan Balowon March 15, 2016

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Books are the slowest and least “current” form of communication. News or short-turnaround events are best covered in articles carried in media that can reach an audience quickly. Sure, a book about the Super Bowl can be slammed together with pictures in a few weeks, but it won’t win any awards for literary quality. Indie publishing has given the impression to many authors that the seemingly …

Category: Book Business, The Publishing Life, TrendsTag: The Publishing Life, Trends

The Bookstore is Outnumbered

By Steve Laubeon March 14, 2016

We had a client ask why their book could not be found in the bookstores. It is a common question. One that I tried to answer last year in a post about logistics. Today I’ll approach it from a different direction. The sheer number of books that are being published. Let me start with two sets of statistics. Barnes & Noble (B&N) is the largest retail bookstore in the U.S. Their stores …

Category: Book Business, TrendsTag: Bookstores, Trends

Fun Fridays – March 11, 2016

By Steve Laubeon March 11, 2016

This is the perfect illustration on the importance of “voice” in a book. The first version is the way it should be. The second version is how so many books sound to an editor’s ear. Beyond that, the video is simply a brilliant expression of what creativity sounds like! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLhJIFC8xkY HT: Trissina Kear

Category: Fun Fridays

Turn Envy Upside Down

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 10, 2016

Envy is one of the seven deadly sins and not easy to conquer. Who hasn’t felt jealous over someone else’s success, especially when it doesn’t seem deserved? Seeing an outright enemy succeed is even worse. It doesn’t have to be this way. Instead, take your feelings of envy and put them to good use. That is, make those feelings work for you so you can succeed. Here’s how: When someone in your sphere …

Category: Career, Communication, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Envy, The Writing Life

What An Editor Does –Phase 1

By Karen Ballon March 9, 2016

As we saw from the comments last week, editors have many tasks. As do copyeditors and proofreaders, but for the next few blogs we’re focusing on editors. I’ve been an editor for over 35 years, both in-house and freelance. And I’ve worked with all categories of books except Children’s books and academic titles. So here, from that perspective, is my take on what editors do. First, let’s look at what …

Category: Craft, Creativity, Editing, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Editor, Writing Craft

What Does an Editor Do?

By Karen Ballon March 2, 2016

When I tell people I’m an editor, I get some interesting comments… “Wow, you must really know how to spell great!” “So, what, you fix commas and stuff?” “An editor, huh? Don’t you get tired of rewriting other people’s stuff?” “Don’t you get tired of reading?” “Wow, so you get to tell authors what to do, huh?” What’s especially interesting to me is that some of these comments aren’t, as you might …

Category: Editing, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Writing Craft