Writers Wednesday at The Latina Book Club!

I took this photograph of my back patio early this morning and I was right - if you don't prepare for a snow storm, it snows! I'd prepared for several winter storm warnings many times this winter and nada. I decided to see if it would happen if I did nothing and it snows. We now have about four inches of snow and it's snowing hard!

I'm so pleased to be the first guest blogger/writer on The Latina Book Club, thank you for your kind invitation, Maria! It's an honor and privilege to write the first blog for Writers Wednesday!  My blog is up this morning, so please go take a look.

http://www.latinabookclub.com

The Latina Book Club's mission is to promote Latina/Latino authors, which we do through book reviews, author interviews, publicity announcements, book of the month selection, etc. A new feature we are adding is 'Writers Wednesdays.' The first Wednesday of each month we will feature a Latina/Latino writer talking about...writing. We welcome published and prepublished writers.

I decided to write about how I came up with the characters of Ana and Serafina in my historical novel, A Decent Woman. My story begins in 1901 in Ponce, Puerto Rico and chronicles the lives of Afro-Cuban midwife Ana Belen and the young socialite Serafina Martinez. The two women who despite the social and racial differences, forge a life-long friendship that will take them to the brink of insanity, the edge of death as Ana wrestles emotionally with her secret.

My link doesn't seem to be working, so please check it out! Could be that the power or my cable is about to go out, so I'd better be brief!

I enjoy keeping up with The Latina Book Club and love that Maria is inviting writers, published and unpublished to write blog posts about the writing life. The writer's life can be quiet and yes, sometimes lonely, so it's wonderful when we can 'meet' new writers and published writers through their blogs.

Stay warm and safe out there! Remember to share body heat when you can :)

Peace and love,
Ellie

Like a Virgin...

Good morning from snowy West Virginia!

I emptied my purse this morning and found the two little pieces of paper I'd saved from Christmas Day - an IOU to me from my son who stuck it inside my gift and the little name tag that my daughter made out of wrapping paper to put on my beautiful gift.  I'm very sentimental. I save things like that.  Actually, who am I kidding?  I've saved everything my children have ever given me.

In the attic sits a huge Rubbermaid container with everything from my children's first scribbles, their drawings, first attempts at letters, hand-made greeting cards to their high school and college essays.  They are my treasures - my children and their writing and drawings.  My daughter is in a Master's program at the same university my sister and I graduated from and I'm saving her papers, as well.  Why stop now, right?!

In that same container, I've saved Mother's Day cards for my mother  that I made when I was young, a racy, poster-size drawing from high school that I copied from an issue of Cosmo magazine I wasn't supposed to have, and dozens of fashion illustrations I drew from Women's Wear Daily magazines from my 20's.  I kept it all!  Everything tells a story and when I look at them, I am transported back in time, to more innocent, beautiful times.

There are a couple of things I know about myself for certain.  One is that I've always been a storyteller.  Whether with words, crayons, pastels or watercolor, we all tell our stories.  My family knows me to return from a trip, a trip to the supermarket or just a Metro ride and come home with a funny or interesting story or two about someone I met or someone or something I'd observed.  In high school and in college, I was the go-to friend that my friends went to about writing a kick ass "Dear John" letter to a soon-to-be ex, and yes, I will confess to helping my friends whose first language wasn't English with essays and papers in college.  I edited them, I didn't write them, so don't get the wrong idea :)

I don't know if it's a Virgo thing or not, but the second thing is that I have a hard time with bad grammar and misspelled words in any form...and, I find them all the time.  Be it on a friend's website, a cereal box (yes, I found one!), a menu or a sign - I'll find it.  The only place I seemed to have missed bad grammar and misspelled words is in my own novel-length manuscript!  I've read and read these pages for years now and thank God for Microsoft Office is all I have to say.  The program catches my misuse of grammar and misspelled words which is great.  What this program doesn't do, however (unless no one has informed me) is help with clarity.

I am a person who speaks clearly and always attempts to make myself understood and crystal clear.  I can actually admit that I also edit my texts and instant messages. I know.  I know!  It's a Virgo thing and only two fellow Virgo girlfriends and I will admit to that!  And, don't even get me started on auto-correct.  The thought of being misunderstood or worse, that my words would unintentionally hurt someone really bothers me.  I want to be understood and I want people to enjoy my novel.  

What about with a novel?  Art and writing are subjective!  I've exhibited art pieces and photography that  visitors didn't "get".  What I intend to show you through my words, descriptions, locales and by the use of our senses might resonate with you OR they just might go right over your head or by the wayside.  Too much description can bore us, too little can confuse us and/or make us go back a page or two.  Too much dialogue might take us away from the scene and too little might seem sterile and dry.  The flow of a story is important!  I love a page-turner and it is a true art.  One that I'm trying and determined to master...and master and master.  

Note: Two page-turners that immediately come to mind are Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.  I read those books in less than two days; couldn't put them down!

I am in awe of a great page-turner that keeps my interest, teaches me new things and shows me new places.  I am a believer in editing to the best of our ability and then, reading our work from start to finish, without editing.  I just put the pencil and the pad of paper down and I read.

I have 25 pages left to edit today.  Later today or tomorrow as I watch the snow fall, I'm curling up on the couch with a pot of tea, my kitten on my lap, and my manuscript, A Decent Woman.  Just me and my beloved story as if I were looking at it with fresh, new eyes for the very first time. 

Like a virgin :)

Peace and love,

Ellie

The Denutting of Pierre

Hi all,

My kitten Pierre will be under the knife in a few hours which I hate, but it's necessary.  My   pet sitter, Junior (75-year old Junior) calls it "denutting".  I laughed out loud when he said that to me, but I'm sure Pierre isn't laughing.  Denutted.  That Junior is a hoot :)

Pierre and I met at the Humane Society on the outskirts of my town and it was love at first sight.  Ozzy (my Pug) and I fell in love at a rescue event at Petsmart in Virginia nearly four years ago.  Do you get the idea that I can't go to rescues or shelters?  You'd be right and that's why I don't go on a regular basis!  I'd come home with puppies and kitties every single time.  It's very difficult for me to leave empty-handed.

Junior says I have the best dog and kitten in the world and I have to agree with him.  They're awesome furry children.  I told Junior that they're great because they were raised right :) They're well-loved, they get along great, and they give me unconditional love every day.  That's worth the price of admission as far as I'm concerned.  

I might have to juggle a purring kitten on my lap as I try to edit my manuscript or find several lines of "zzzzzzzzzzzzz" on the page when I return to the room, and I might have to take several breaks during the day to walk and play with Ozzy, but it's all worth it.  Watching them play and nap around me is very comforting and a lot of fun.  Ozzy welcomed Pierre with open paws and it's heart-warming to see them drinking from the same water bowl.  They don't have to as the kitten has his own food and water bowls, but Pierre loves his big brother and Ozzy is happy to share.

What writer doesn't need a warm lap and several breaks during the day to get away from the laptop?  My pets remind me to stop and smell the roses when I'm headed inside my head with my novel and they remind me to stand up and stretch my tired muscles from sitting at the laptop for hours on end.  Lord knows I need the exercise as I sit on my bum nearly all day long with this novel!

My kids live two hours from me and I can't imagine living in a house without pets. I would be too lonely.  Pierre and Ozzy don't talk much, but they're great company and even better listeners :)

Happy Saturday to you!
Peace and love,

Ellie

How NOT to Write a Novel

Hi Mama!  What?  I'm sorry, were you working here?  I was cold and this thing is so nice and toasty :)

We All Have a Book to Write.

Hi all,

I'm a person who believes that when you put your mind to something, a dream, a goal or a challenge, you can do it.  I also believe that when you decide what you want in your life, the Universe conspires to facilitate the process and the path.  

Yeah, that sounds like New Age lingo, doesn't it?  Well, I believe it because I've experienced it.  Any time I've decided to pursue a dream and reach a goal, I've known full-well that the prize wasn't going to be handed to me on a silver platter.  Dreams and goals require research, thought, soul searching, lots of hard work and at times, sacrifice.  As soon as I've done the necessary legwork, it's amazing...people and complete strangers have come out the wings and shadows to either walk beside me, mentor and assist me.

When I wrote a tribute to my Puerto Rican grandmother for her 90th birthday, I sent it to my female relatives.  The tribute was well-received which pleased me and my grandmother loved it.  I was one of those kids who sat Meme's feet, listening intently to her stories of growing up poor in the Playa de Ponce in Puerto Rico, marrying well and the struggles and challenges of being a woman/mother in the early 1900's.  My mother, Mercedes, knew all the stories and when we'd return from our summers on the island, she'd regale my sister Elaine and I with those stories we loved.

I showed my then-husband the tribute to my grandmother and he encouraged me to write an outline to see if I had "a book in there".  In fifteen minutes, I had an outline.  He said to me, "You've got a book to write."  He was right.  Right then and there, I sat at the computer and in six months, I'd written a 326 page novel.  With two kids at home and a husband/household to manage :) I finished it.  I'd always journaled, but a novel?  The idea never crossed my mind before.  I've always joked that the spirits helped me write this novel...and I'm not so sure that isn't true.

Through my research for my debut novel, I've met two professors of women's studies from various US universies in Washington, DC; I traveled to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic interviewing women; and I traveled to Cacao in the mountains of Puerto Rico where my grandparents owned a farm with my cousin, Josefina. A stroll down Memory Lane for us.  I met two female Puerto Rican authors who I'm still friends with.

Synchronicity after synchronicity has occurred during my writing path and I am just amazed.  I am passionate about the arts and I love my story.  Fast forward six years and I'm still blogging, Tweeting, still meeting and communicating with latinas/latinos and hispanics from around the world.  I'm new to social media and I'm learning so much.  At times, I feel as if I've opened Pandora's Box with this novel and the marketing involved before, during and after publication!  To me, the Internet is mind-boggling and mind-blowing place that I'm learning to navigate and I'm not too proud to say I don't know and I'm always open for advice, suggestions, and comments!

Let me tell you, it takes a village to write a book!  We all have a book in us.  If you've felt the need to write and have dreamed of writing, do it!  Don't wait, my friend.  Jump in there and just start writing.  Sit your butt down and write.  I'm rooting for ya :)

Peace and love,
Ellie

Making Myself Comfortable on Blogger!

Hello!

I'm not a new blogger, not by a long shot!  I blogged as Ellie2008 on Thoughts.com since October 2007 (until yesterday) and had a brief foray as PracticalSpirituality365 for six months on the same site.  Thoughts.com is going through some major changes, so I moved on and I'm happy in my new home!

My Ellie2008 blog was primarily about the adventures and misadventures I experienced as a divorced woman in her 50's who is thrown into the dating scene after 27 years as a wife and at-home Mom.  My real life stories will make you laugh your ass off, might break your heart and cause you to make your husband breakfast in bed so that you won't be a single woman in your 50's!  Just kidding, of course!  I love being single :)

I also wrote some blogs in Spanish because I'm Puerto Rican born.  A proud Boricua from Ponce, Puerto Rico!  I was educated in the US, Puerto Rico and Europe.  I've lived in six European countries and am happy to be back on the US with my two gorgeous children, Heather and Matthew.

The Practicalspirituality365 blog was about lessons and things I'd learned along my path which is my life.  I started this blog as a way to give back for all the blessings in my life and it gave me much peace to write these blogs.

These two blogs are in my past, but believe me, the dating stories WILL be put to good use in my next novel.  Of course, a comedy!  You can't make that shit up :)

So, why am I here today, introducing myself to you?

I finished my first novel, "A Decent Woman" and I can't 'wait for you to read it!  My novel is an historical novel set in 1900 Playa de Ponce, Puerto Rico about the life-long friendship of Dona Ana, the Afro-Cuban born midwife and Leila, the young society wife whose family was poor before she married well; and the difficulties that society puts on these two women who strive and fight to remain friends.

My fabulous and generous editor Deborah has sent her editorial letter and edits to me this week and I'm very encouraged!  I want to begin this blog the night before I open those Track Changes!

I'm excited to share my writing life with you.  I'll be happy to share my lessons, experiences, mistakes and joys along the way to seeing "A Decent Woman" published.  And, I WILL be published :)  I've visualized it, dreamed it and tasted it...

I'm the new girl on the block and I'm happy to meet you!

Peace and love,

Ellie