If you can't say something nice

You might need to still say something

Riley exemplifying Writer’s Block

If you’re new to the newsletter, welcome! You can of course unsubscribe whenever you want, but I hope you stick around. I always offer lots of chances to win free books. Keep reading for the latest giveaway.

Pictured above is Riley, our 16.7 pound Flame Point Siamese who acts as my Manager of Marketing, whenever he’s in the mood. He generally doesn’t have much to say at all. He’s not a meower or a yowler, unless you step on his tail.

Riley gets his point across with Attitude.

that’s me on the left in the gloves

What I Was Taught Not to Say

My attitude sometimes got me in trouble as a child. I’m a girl raised in the South in the 1950s by people who never talked about money, politics, or religion and apparently cut my hair with a pair of pinking shears.

In those days, children were meant to be seen and not heard. Both my mother and my grandmother occasionally washed my mouth out with soap for using “bad language.” If I couldn’t think of something nice to say, I was supposed to keep my mouth shut.

I didn’t find any of this unusual. My friends’ parents were the same.

These days children are encouraged to express themselves. Conversations about money, politics, and religion are everywhere. Profanity is a robust part of our vernacular. People spout off on social media with little or no regard for civility, especially when their opinions are aimed toward those they don’t agree with.

I don’t long for the repressed days of the 1950’s. I no longer wear white gloves or a Girl Scout uniform either, but there’s something to be said for civil discourse.

And for cat-eyed glasses!

Something I’m Happy to Say

My second novel Those People Behind Us has been named a finalist in the 36^th annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award™ program in General Fiction. The awards are administered by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), with help from over 170 book publishing professionals including librarians, bookstore owners, reviewers, designers, publicity managers, and editors.

Winners in each category will be announced at the IBPA convention dinner in Denver at the end of April. I’m invited to the dinner party. Wish me luck!

Something I’d Rather Not Have to Say

Wish the library of Huntington Beach some luck too. The city council of my hometown has decided to proceed with seeking bids to privatize our library. They’ve also issued guidelines for the 21-member “parent advisory board” that will review all library purchases and decide where new books belong in the library and if they should even be purchased.

All decisions by this board will be final.

There’s no criteria for being qualified for this board, other than being selected by a council member. “Children” are defined as anyone under the age of 18. Any books with any type of “sexual content” will be place in a “secure” area for adults only. Parental approval is required for library cards for anyone under the age of 18.

Over 600 residents (including me) wrote letters to the council opposing these ideas. Over 100 residents spoke in opposition at the meeting this week. Regardless, the measures were approved.

When some members in the audience shouted “Shame,” one member of the city council yelled back that anyone shouting must be removed from the facility. I was shouting worse things on my couch at home, watching the meeting on YouTube.

Free public libraries are in danger everywhere. We all need to speak up.

I Want To Sit Next To These Two!

“If You Can’t Say Something Good About Someone, Sit Right Here by Me.”

This quote is from Alice Roosevelt Longworth. She even had her words embroidered on a pillow.

I’m partial to a little chisme myself, but some things are better left unsaid. For example, if you really don’t like a book, maybe just stop reading it, instead of posting a one star review on Amazon complete with a paragraph titled “Waste of Time” and including words like “mambo jumbo,” “tedious,” and “thumbs down.” A recent reviewer on Amazon posted all of the above about “Those People Behind Us.”

It happens. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, but what the heck is “mambo jumbo?”

one way to avoid speaking mambo jumbo

Something I’m Not Ready to Try

I’m always researching ways to not snore. Has anyone ever tried mouth tape? Mr. Google suggested it but this looks like a hostage situation to me. The company that makes this product is even called “Hostage.”

And after spending the week after cataract surgery taping a plastic shield over my eye every night and then practically ripping my skin off, removing the shield in the morning, I can’t imagine taping my mouth shut anytime soon.

Both eyes are healing nicely by the way but I’m not driving these days as I try to figure out my vision.

Figuring Out What to Say Next

I’m also trying to figure out the “vision” of my next book and have signed up for a couple of online workshops.

From Stanford Continuing Studies, “Crafting Fiction from Personal Experience: Tell the Truth but Tell It Slant.” I love the textbooks—Alice Munro, Dear Life: Stories, and Justin Torres, We the Animals. The instructor is Larissa Pham. Stanford’s courses are pricey but they offer a generous discount to folks over 65, like me.

From Lindsay Merbaum’s Study Coven, “Crones in Space: Writing About the Body.” The focus of this class is (non-horror) writing focused on the body and bodily experience, examined through the lens of feminist horror.

I’ve been part of several of Lindsay’s study covens, resulting in the short story “Perspective” that won a place in the California Writer’s Guild Literary Review. Thanks for the inspiration, Lindsay!

I also highly recommend Ursula Le Guin’s “Steering the Craft, A 21st-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story.” It’s a slim book but it’s packed with practical advice, excellent examples and wonderful exercises that have helped me to better understand point of view. Everyone has one.

Something You Could Win

For a free signed copy of my first novel “The Lockhart Women” (U. S. residents only) respond with your advice about not snoring, tips on things to do in April on a two-day trip to Denver, or books that you’d recommend with more than a one-star review.

I’ll enter your name in a hat and pick a winner.

Congrats to recent winners Lisa, Cinda, and Colleen.