All About Time

What I'm reading: Day of the Dragon, by Rebecca York

A brief commercial message: I've uploaded a new free read at Smashwords, "The Other Side of the Page." It's a collection of my 'job interviews' with Randy and Sarah, plus a look at what they say about me when I'm not around. It's just for fun, and I hope you'll download it. And don't forget—the coupon for "A Summer's Eve" will expire on the 16th. Download it now while it's a free read. Coupon Code BL83R. Click on the 'story' tab above for the links.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog post:

One challenge I faced when I wrote my first novel was how to deal with time. The plot required that my hero and heroine be separated, which meant that time moved forward for each of them. Thus, a scene with Sarah might start in the morning and carry her through to lunchtime. Meanwhile, of course, Randy's story didn't stop. When I shifted point of view from Sarah to Randy, it was important to let the readers know when they were.

Sometimes it was possible to start the new scene with a quick "catch up" transition, if , as in the above example, I was going to pick up with Randy at lunchtime. But what if something important was going on with Randy at the same time readers were busy with Sarah? Then it would either be a flash back (yawn—not recommended) or I'd have to jump back in time.

Time became fluid. We'd move forward, then back up, then catch up once again as the POV characters switched. . For the last chapters of the book, where Sarah was missing and Randy was trying to find her, I actually wrote their scenes separately, then dovetailed them so the reader didn't have to go too far forward before backing up and starting time over again. But I was always writing chronologically.

Veteran's Day

Please, take a moment to honor those who have served.

And don't forget the coupon code for a free Smashwords download of A Summer's Eve, a never published epilogue to the Randy and Sarah stories. Check yesterday's post for the details.

NaNo? Not for Everyone

Thanks to J.E. for sharing her thoughts yesterday. Nobody likes rejection, but dealing with it is part of the job.

First things first - an exclusive for my faithful blog readers. I was going to wait until I hit 250 followers, but 249 is close enough. For ONE WEEK (ends Nov. 16th), I have a coupon offer at Smashwords for A Summer's Eve. The story costs 99 cents and the coupon is for 99 cents off, so do the math. For this week, it's a Free Read. And it's short enough so you don't really need a dedicated e-reader. It's available in almost every possible format, so I hope one will work for you. Just enter Coupon Code BL83R at checkout. (And if you want to use your savings to buy either of my other two titles there, I won't complain.)

Yesterday, we signed the contract with the contractor for our basement remodel. He left, certified plans in hand, to begin the process, which starts with getting the necessary permits. He's estimating two weeks before they're approved, and so we have that long to get everything moved out of the workspace. He's promised that once they start, they'll work "straight through" but with the weather and the holidays, I'm sure there will be delays. But it's exciting to know that in a few months, we'll have a 'complete' house.

The month of November for many writers is the annual National Novel Writing Month, where people vow to write 50,000 words in thirty days. Do I participate? Nope. Why?

Quick Update

Quick update - A Summer's Eve is now available at the Kindle Store. Hope you'll check it out.



Randy and Sarah are back in a previously unpublished epilogue to Hidden Fire. Cutbacks in the Pine Hills Police force have increased Randy’s workload, and he’s looking forward to getting some time off to spend with his wife. However, despite all of Randy’s detective skills, Sarah still manages to surprise him, sending their lives down a new path.

This story is connected to Finding Sarah, Hidden Fire, and Coping Mechanisms, but it stands on its own as a slice-of-life vignette.