Almost NaNoWriMo time again

by Cate Masters

Well I missed National Writing Day on October 22, probably due to a lack of national advertising on the part of its sponsors. Had I known the Senate would pass S.R. 310, I would have put pen to paper that day come Hell or high water (and lately, it's been Hell, but that's another story).
Hell notwithstanding, I've signed up for NaNoWriMo again. Yep, I enlisted in the ranks of those who'll write fast and furious starting tomorrow, November 1, aiming for that golden 50,000-word bar. I may not make it this year, but I'll at least try. I've had a contemporary gelling in my head for awhile, clamoring to get out.
Last year, I finally wrote the historical novel I had in my head since visiting Key West in 2003. Freya's Bower will release Angels, Sinners and Madmen. I'm currently in first edits, so have no date yet, but likely it will release in early 2010.
NaNoWriMo's great for forcing your focus to one story, something I normally struggle to master. A dozen or so stories have been clamoring for attention, but starting tomorrow, a shiny new one will take priority.
How about you? Are you up for the challenge?

Cate Masters writes fantasy/dark fantasy, historical, contemporary and speculative fiction, described by reviewers as “so compelling I I did not want to put it down,” “such romantic tales that really touch your soul,” “filled with action scenes which made it a riveting story,” and “the author weaves a great tale with a creative way of using words that makes the story refreshing to read.” Visit Cate online at www.catemasters.com, www.catemasters.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Midtown Scholar bookstore celebrates inaugural event with giveaway

The Midtown Scholar Bookstore will celebrate the first national National Bookstore Day with a giveaway basket of books by central Pennsylvania authors known collectively as The Susquehanna Writers.
Central Pennsylvanians named The Midtown Scholar as the region’s top independent bookstore for six years running.
Publishers Weekly encouraged independent bookstores across the country to celebrate their vibrant culture. Midtown Scholar patrons will have the opportunity to win a basket full of great reads such as:
• The Yellow Stone by T.M. Crone
• It Came from Beyond the Sun by Mike Silvestri (mystery)
• Thy Kingdom Come by Don Helin (military thriller)
• One Soul for Sale by Cate Masters (dark fantasy)
• Picture This by Cate Masters (contemporary women’s fiction)
• The Greater Good by Susan Kelley (fantasy), plus a jeweled book thong
• Spark of Magic by Lily Stone (fantasy; in PDF format on CD)
• Night of the Walrus by Dennis Royer (mystery)
The Midtown Scholar Bookstore has hosted author events for several members of The Susquehanna Writers, including Don Helin and Mike Silvestri. Readers can learn more information about The Susquehanna Writers at http://thesusquehannawriters.blogspot.com.
Bookstore representative Catherine Lawrence agreed to host the giveaway to help the listed authors promote their works and to encourage customers to celebrate National Bookstore Day. “Like other independent bookstores, the Midtown Scholar provides a vital service to the community. We hope residents will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to support local authors and learn about all the Midtown has to offer.”
No purchase is required to enter the giveaway. To enter, visit the Midtown Scholar Bookstore at 1302 North Third Street (across from Broad Street Market) in Harrisburg. The drawing will take place on Nov. 21.
Visit the store online at www.midtownscholar.com.
Below is a photo of the basket (pumpkin not included).

Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop to host SW giveaway

The Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop will celebrate the first national National Bookstore Day with a giveaway basket of books by The Susquehanna Writers.

Publishers Weekly encouraged independent bookstores across the country to celebrate their vibrant culture. Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop patrons will have the opportunity to win a basket full of great reads such as:
• Bark of the Tree by Mike Silvestri (mystery)
• Thy Kingdom Come by Don Helin (military thriller)
• One Soul for Sale by Cate Masters (dark fantasy)
• Picture This by Cate Masters (contemporary women’s fiction)
• The Greater Good by Susan Kelley (fantasy), plus a jeweled book thong
• Summer Lovin’ YA anthology
• Diverse Divorce by Lisa Lawmaster Hess (nonfiction)
• Acting Assertively by Lisa Lawmaster Hess (nonfiction)
• Plus a $10 gift certificate to Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop from award-winning author Carmen McKee
The Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop has hosted author events for several members of The Susquehanna Writers, including Don Helin, Dennis Royer and Mike Silvestri.
Book store owner Debbie Beamer agreed to host the giveaway to help the listed authors promote their works and to encourage customers to celebrate National Bookstore Day. “The independent bookstore provides a vital service to the community. Residents should take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to support our local writers.”
No purchase is required to enter the giveaway. Visit the Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Store at 6 Clouser Road, on the corner of Trindle Road in Mechanicsburg, to enter. The drawing will take place on Nov. 22.
Visit the store online at www.mysterybooksonline.com.

Oh, the writing blues

The writing life is tough. Finding an agent for "Gene Linked," a home for my short stories, and sinking my imagination into my current writing project hasn't been easy. Between preparing lectures for my teaching responsibilities and seeing to my children's needs and emotions, there is little time left at the end of the day. What happened to hobbies? What's to become of the unfinished sweater I'm knitting or the scrapbook of last year's vacation which sits on my workbench undone? Who's been weeding my gardens? Not to mention the many, wonderful books I have yet to read. Life was simple once, before cell phones, organized travel sports, TV clickers, computers ... email. Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was not too much to do--but to write.

Can You Judge a Book by Its Cover?

What do the Bible, Mein Kampf, Harry Potter, Lady Chatterly's Lover, Doctor Zhivago, Grapes of Wrath, and Alice in Wonderland have in common? Well, for starters, they've all become classics. But they also have another common link. At one time or another, someone sought to ban them.

Books are often banned for their contents, but how many have been banned for their covers? Seems that’s the problem author Bonnie J. Doerr is facing.

The cover in question is on Island Sting (Leap Books, January 2010). Doerr, a former Science teacher, planned her fast-paced eco-mystery series for classroom use. Each book in the series features a different endangered animal and is accompanied by lesson plans for use across the curriculum. Doerr, who won a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) grant for her first book to be used in environmental education, did in-depth, on-location research for each book, and many educators have praised the book’s content.

But will her new, edgy cover mean that rather than supplementing the science curriculum, the book will be banned by schools?

If some teachers have their way, it will.


The teachers’ objections? Bullet holes and blood. Some cited school shootings and violence as a reason for not wanting this book in the classroom.

No author wants a reputation for promoting violence. But what if the book in question is about violence? In this case, a poacher is killing the endangered Key deer. The background of the cover is designed to resemble the Caution: Endangered Animal Area signs found in Key West, Florida, the book’s location. The bullet holes suggest the danger as do the swerving tire tracks and fleeing deer tracks.

So the cover seems appropriate for the subject matter. And Leap Books queried teens about the cover and found it particularly attracted the interest of teens who indicated that they rarely read. Here's hoping teachers recant and select the book for its content. They might be pleasantly surprised to find reluctant readers snatching up the book. And isn't that every teacher's goal--to get students to read more?

Short stories online

Hello all,
Just wanted to let everyone know that two of my stories are now published online. One is my vampire tale entitled, "Trailings of the Other Kind," which can be found at http://www.dropsofcrimson.com
Another entitled "Partum" was published in the Innsmouth Free Press this month. You can find it online at http://www.innsmouthfreepress.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10_IFP_Fiction.pdf

On another writing note, a staged reading of my play, "Magnificent Healing," will be presented on October 17 as part of the annual PAIRWN women's health conference. If funding is received, it will be given a full production ready for June at Open Stage of Harrisburg as part of the Flying Solo Festival. Keep your fingers crossed!

Reflections releases today!

Today, Shadowfire Press releases Reflections, my short dark fantasy with a Halloween theme. Halloween's my second favorite holiday of the year.

Reflections was such a fun story to write, too. A well-written detailed description in a novelty catalog actually sparked the idea for it. Among the pages of Halloween costumes, the photo of a crystal ball caught my interest. Set on a three-legged scrolled pedestal which, according to the description, symbolized "beginning" or "birth." The ball represents the universe and what is to follow.

Of course, after reading that, I had to research crystal balls. The practice of scrying, or gazing into crystal balls, dates back to the Druids. The other story components just fell into place from there. Hope you'll check it out!

At Lissa’s Halloween party, all hell breaks loose – literally.

Here's the story excerpt:
When Lissa removed the pan of popcorn shrimp from the oven, the tiny forms reminded her of mangled body parts, twisted and mutilated. She scraped the image from her mind as she transferred the shrimp onto a serving platter. Such thoughts had plagued her since Selena had set her grandmother’s old crystal ball on the dining room credenza and hung the matching mirror above it.
“Did you remember the cocktail sauce?” Lissa called to her roommate, who was still fussing with her costume in the bathroom.
“It’s in the bag on the counter.” Selena’s voice carried across the living room like a disembodied spirit.
A chill passed over Lissa. She had to stop this, it was ridiculous. She shook off the chill as she carried the platter to the table, but halted in fear. Out of the corner of her eye, dark shapes moved inside the mirror, escaped its confines, then soared to the ceiling. When she gasped and whirled to face it, the mirror was flat, static. The only image in it was hers.
That scared her more than anything.
She wasn’t even ready, and people would be showing up soon.




Cate Masters’ novels, novellas, short stories and flash fiction appear at epublishers The Wild Rose Press, Eternal Press, Wild Child Publishing/ Freya’s Bower and Shadowfire Press. Her flash and short stories appear at such web zines as Cezanne’s Carrot, The Battered Suitcase, A Long Story Short, Dark Sky Magazine, and The Harrow. Visit her online at www.catemasters.com, www.catemasters.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

The Inbox

Even the most hopeful writers fret and fidget when a response to one of our queries shows up. The reaction gets worse when we're lucky enough to send those first 50 pages - and wait and wait and wait. Then the lightning strikes, and we get to submit a manuscript. Our mood swerves between hope and misery until that response finally arrives after what seems like an epoch. So, imagine how I felt when I saw the email in my Inbox after endless months of querying, revisions, self-doubt, recriminations, fear, loathing, hoping, praying, and wishing to God the characters on my pages would leave me alone.

I clicked on the email. The first line said, "...delighted to inform..."

Isn't it funny how just the right words will affect a reader?

(For the record, the novel is called, The Gospel of Matthias Kent, and it will be published next summer/fall by Draumr Publishing of Columbia, Maryland.)

Series Fatigue

I write fantasy and as most fantasy readers and writers know, it's all about the series. Some famous series includes Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Mr. Jordan passed away and left his fans hanging until his widow found another author, Brandon Sanderson, to finish the sprawling complicated tale. Terry Goodkind, one of my favorite, finished his eleven book Sword of Truth series. I love fantasy series but when do they get too long? When a reader gets to book ten and it's been over a year since reading book nine and perhaps ten years since reading book one, has the intensity and interest wilted? Does the reader get to the point where they think, 'just save the world already and be done with it?' What is the ideal length for a series?
Some series aren't always a continuing tale. Many mystery and suspense novels feature the same protagonists and a host of recurring characters but each novel has a new crisis or new villain. Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels are a good example or any of Robert Parker's detective series books. But even these novels are more enjoyable if you've read them all in order.
Romance novels often call it a series if a group of novels take place in the same location or perhaps the same fantastical or futuristic world. Each book may have a guest appearance by the protagonists of a previous novel and often the secondary characters in one novel have their own tale somewhere down the publishing road.
As a reader there have been a few series I gave up on. After all, if the good guys can't win in 10,000 pages, I'm not sure I can pull for them anymore. Or in the case of a series romance, how many hot guys and heroic women can live in one town? How many serial killers can one cop run into in a lifetime? When does the reader start to say enough? Why can't some writers end the series and let us believe they all live happily ever after or not? They either save the world or go quietly into the night?
My own fantasy series, The Futhark Chronicles, is four books long. Book One will be released in January. My romance series, The Chronicles of Solonia, is four books long. The Tigers of Salubria will be three books long when complete.
As a writer, do you decide how long a series will be before you start to write it? As a reader, do you know series that have gone on too long? Do you have some you want to never end?

Realistic Tips for Time-Strapped Writers

One of my tasks this weekend was going through my email inbox, which has become quite cluttered since I've gone back to work. I'm happy to report that tucked in between the advertisements were a number of things worth reading. Among them was an article by Sheila Wipperman, cited in my Children's Writer's enewsletter. Entitled "Boost Your Writing Time Budget," this brief (takes less than five minutes to read) article has seven concrete suggestions for making the most of the time you have. Best of all, it doesn't begin with "Write every day," a suggestion that makes those of us who work full-time and have families feel inferior from step one!


Sheila's article is one of many offering "Rx for Writers" at the Institute of Children's Literature web site, a great resource for authors of all genre. Their articles are helpful, focused and brief, which I especially appreciate these days!