IWSG, In the Spotlight, Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure
Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts: Jacqui Murray, Lisa Buie-Collard, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and Shannon Lawrence!

This month's question is: Other than the obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family traditions/customs in your stories?

Not that I can recall.

Now on to other things. 

I am the featured In the Spotlight author on the IWSG Anthology Blog and I'm sharing here, what I wrote for the blog.

***

When I saw what the theme for this anthology was going to be and that it was for middle graders, I knew immediately the story I needed to tell.

Because my family has lived between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for over hundred years and because I was raised in the VI, most of my stories have a strong Caribbean flavor. For research purposes I have a small collection of books about the islands. One of those books, by Isidor Paiewonsky, is Eyewitness Accounts of Slavery in the Danish West Indies also Graphic Tales of Other Slave Happenings on Ships and Plantations. It was in this book that I read excerpts from the journal of a twelve-year-old boy named Jacques B. Romaigne.

Jacques’ story haunted me for years. He lingered behind a near opaque curtain which he pulled aside from time to time, casting ghostly shadows across my mind, reminding me he was still there and that he wanted his story told. Finally I gave in and wrote, “The Blind Ship.”

I tried peddling it around to various children’s magazines, but no one was interested. I knew my writing wasn’t the problem so my guess is that it was too dark and serious. Whatever the reason, his story has languished in my files for a good 15 years, yet in all that time, Jacques has never left me.

Now, at last, he has come out of from behind the curtains, and his story can be told.

Excerpt:

At last we are on our way, He wrote a few days later. Le Rôdeur is 200 tons and we now have on board 160 Negro slaves.

Jacques reread his words. He had already commented on the fair weather carrying him toward the Caribbean. He tried not to think about what lay in the close dank, dark quarters of the hold. It was enough that he could hear their muffled moans and cries through the decking.

He took up his quill and continued writing.

I know you will miss me while you tarry in France, but Father needs me on the plantation. Besides, I long to see the green hills of Guadeloupe and the blue waters of the bays. Take heart, Mother, soon you will follow and we will be together once again.

At dinner a few days later, M. Gagne and Captain Boucher spoke of shipboard issues. Jacques, as a paying passenger, ate with the men. They talked over his head, as if he wasn’t there.

“The slaves have brought ophthalmia on board with them,” said M. Gagne.

“Ophthalmia?” asked Jacques. “What is that?”

“An eye disease that causes blindness.” said M. Gagne. “At worst the blindness is permanent. Most often, if treated properly, vision will return, though in some cases one’s sight will be permanently impaired.”

“How bad?” asked Captain Boucher.

“It is spreading at a frightful rate. There are already more than I can manage.”

***

The release date for VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost 
is May 5, 2020,
but purchase links are available,
and you can preorder a copy now.

Print 9781939844729 $13.95
EBook 9781939844736 $4.99
Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure / Fantasy & Magic
Dancing Lemur Press/Freedom Fox Press

Amazon - Print https://www.amazon.com/dp/193984472X/ Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Voyagers-Third-Ghost-Yvonne-Ventresca-ebook/dp/B083C4WPR5/

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/voyagers-yvonne-ventresca/1135912991?ean=2940163430857

ITunes - https://books.apple.com/ca/book/voyagers-the-third-ghost/id1493413956

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/voyagers-the-third-ghost

***

You can check out an interview with me on C. Lee McKenzie's blog HERE.

***

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful for the rain we got.

What are you thankful for? Have you ever included family traditions or customs in any of your stories? If you haven't checked out the other anthology authors who have been featured on In the Spotlight, drop what you're doing and go over there RIGHT NOW! 

IWSG, The Agony of Defeat, IWSG Anthology, Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:  Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson!

This month's question is: Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it?

I'm sure I've been inspired at some point in my life, but I've written so many stories, so many partials, so many snippets, that I can't remember anything specific.

***

The Agony of Defeat

So, at the end of January I had this fabulous opportunity to submit a novel of mine to Simon and Schuster (without an agent!). It looked to me like it was, on many different levels, the perfect fit for the particular editor who was accepting unsolicited manuscripts. I worked so hard on it - days, weeks, months - to edit/revise and generally make it as clean as possible. But then...right there at the end...as I exported it from the editing program - which I really like - back to my computer, all of the formatting was lost and I was left with a garbled mess of single/double spaced paragraphs with/without indentations with/without page breaks.

There was no way I could possibly reformat 200 plus pages manually to get it sent off in time. I'd already been up since three in the morning and it was 4 PM when it happened and I had to be at work by 5 PM and wouldn't be back home until 7:30 PM - I know just 2 and a half hours - and I was already exhausted.

I sobbed and wept and cussed a blue streak. Poor hubby, he did a good job being supportive and compassionate even as I yelled at him to shut the f**k up I don't want to hear about how you understand what I'm going through.

via GIPHY
Truly, this has been the single worst writing experience of my life, worse than losing stuff on my computer when it went nuclear. Worse that any rejection.

via GIPHY
All I can tell myself is that there must be a reason for the agony of this defeat. Can somebody please tell me what it is? Is there another editor/publisher out there that's even more perfect?

***

Here is the link to IWSG Anthologies where you can meet the contributing authors of Voyages: The Third Ghost. Stop by and a learn a little about who we are. 

***

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful for...

I'm thinking about it...

Today I'm thankful for...

Chocolate.

What are you thankful for? What has been your single worst writing experience? Have you written a story that was inspired by a photo or piece of art?

IWSG, Voyagers and Other News, Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:  T. Powell Coltrin, Victoria Marie Lees, Stephen Tremp, Renee Scattergood, and J.H. Moncrieff!

This month's question is:  What started you on your writing journey? Was it a particular book, movie, story, or series? Was it a teacher/coach/spouse/friend/parent? Did you just "know" suddenly you wanted to write?

Happy New Year!

This is a longer post than I intended...

My writing journey began when I was eight years old. My mother was homeschooling me at the time with the Calvert Course, as it was called then. Now it's Calvert Education with over a 100 years of homeschooling experience. It was quite something. They shipped everything that would be needed for each grade in a big box: books, paper, pencils, teacher's manual, etc. EVERYthing.

Anyway, one assignment was that I write something about my family. I doubt my mother expected much, a page perhaps of misspelled words because I was then (not so bad now, though still not great) a most terrible speller due to dyslexia. But apparently I wrote three pages describing my family in great detail. It was in this treatise that I wrote about my sister and me as two grils. From then on we have often been affectionately referred to as "the grils." Even my husband has been known to use it.

My mother, impressed with my effort, became extremely supportive of my writing. Many years later, as an adult, I was going through a slump and somehow she knew. Out of the blue she sent me THE ARTIST'S WAY by Julia Cameron.

The book worked. It got me writing again. And now I'm going to reveal a little secret. Embedded in each my three self-published books - and in any book I may publish in the future - are those three words from her, "follow the way."

***

Big news for me. My story, "The Blind Ship," will be in the next Insecure Writer's Support Group Anthology!

 Journey into the past…

Will the third ghost be found before fires take more lives? Can everyone be warned before Pompeii is buried again? What happens if a blizzard traps a family in East Germany? Will the Firebird help Soviet sisters outwit evil during WWII? And sneaking off to see the first aeroplane – what could go wrong?

Ten authors explore the past, sending their young protagonists on harrowing adventures. Featuring the talents of Yvonne Ventresca, Katharina Gerlach, Roland Clarke, Sherry Ellis, Rebecca M. Douglass, Bish Denham, Charles Kowalski, Louise M. Barbour, Beth Anderson Schuck, and L.T. Ward.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents, authors, and editors, these ten tales will take readers on a voyage of wonder into history. Get ready for an exciting ride!

Release date – May 5, 2020
Juvenile Fiction: Historical (JUV016000) / Action & Adventure (JUV001000) / Fantasy & Magic (JUV037000)Print 9781939844729 / EBook 9781939844736

A Writer’s Digest Best Site for Writers and The Write Life’s Best Site for Writers.
Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database; articles; monthly blog posting; Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram groups; #IWSGPit, and a monthly newsletter. www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com

***

I'm also thrilled to announce that I have an article in the prestigious travel magazine, Destination, which publishes magazines geared towards specific locations in the Caribbean and around the world. My article, "Yard Culture and the Fellowship of Food" is in Destination: US Virgin Islands/British Virgin Islands. The magazine is published only once a year, so my article will be in the hands of readers for a whole year.

***

Being Thankful

What's not to be thankful for?

2019 was a bit rocky, but ended on a high note.

I have a loving husband and sister.

I have a roof over my head, running water, electricity, food

and,

I have my health.

What are you thankful for? How did you begin your writing journey? Do you feel good about what you accomplished in 2019? Are you looking forward to 2020?

IWSG - End of Year Thoughts

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:  Tonja Drecker, Beverly Stowe McClure, Nicki Elson, Tyrean Martinson!

This month's question is:  Let's play a game. Imagine. Role-play. How would you describe your future writer self, your life and what it looks and feels like if you were living the dream? Or if you are already there, what does it look and feel like? Tell the rest of us. What would you change or improve?

If I were living the dream, the only thing I'd change is having my own special space, a she shed as it were. Other than that, I'm good.

End of Year Thoughts

It's December, already. The year seems to have gone by way too fast. Maybe it's because I'm older? 

Aside from politics, climate change, the destruction of natural habitats and wildlife, the ever increasing problem with plastic, the suffering of millions and millions and millions of people due to war, famine, and disease, I personally have had a pretty good year. 

Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a split-brained society/world, a strange schizophrenic place where one thing means another, where reality is questioned, where on one hand science is denied while on hand it is nonchalantly used every second of every day - the computer/internet, medicine, cell phones, cars, electricity, engineering on all levels... the list of how we use science is so long I'd be typing for who knows how long. And yet, science, or certain branches of it, is denied as somehow not being science or not being scientific or not being factual. 

When you take the temperature of someone who is sick, do you deny the reading of the thermometer? Do you argue that something must be wrong with the thermometer, or the person taking the reading, or the numbers being registered? And while you're arguing and/or denying do you ignore further readings that say the person's fever is getting worse and continue to do nothing to correct the cause of the fever?

Via NASA: “The area covered by older and thicker sea ice
 in the Arctic diminished by almost 50 percent
between 1980 and 2012.”

Asking for a friend. 

No matter what this planet, this tiny spec of dust in a vast unknowable universe, is the only home we have, it's the one that grew us. It's the only place around, for who knows how many light-years, where we can live in relative comfort. We are not built to live in space or on the moon or on Mars. Earth is it folks.

I think I can safely say that if we continue to go in the direction we are going it is not the earth that will be destroyed, it will be OUR habitat and US. The earth has survived for billions of years and in that time has gone through many changes and has evolved many species. We are only the latest incarnation, and a pitifully new one at that. As a new species we have taken this miraculous blue ball and, like an undisciplined puppy, torn it to pieces and we are now wondering what happened to the toy and wondering where the next toy is going to come from and are thinking about going off to find a new one to rip apart.

No matter what, the earth will survive, whether we do is questionable.

As we come to the close of 2019 and move into 2020, think about what your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren are going to have to deal with. Are you going to teach them to love this planet and each other, or are you going to buy them more plastic toys for Christmas?

May the holidays bring us meaning and understanding and love. May we all learn to be grateful and thankful for the small, yet oh so important, things in our lives. Things like, air, water, food, and our very lives.

Merry Christmas

and a

Happy New Year

IWSG, Chocolate, and Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts: Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie!

This month's question is: What's the strangest thing you've ever googled in researching a story?

I don't know that I'd call anything I've researched strange. Interesting yes, but not strange. I haven't researched anything like what kinds to poisons to use, or how long does it take to choke a person to death, or is there a ghost of JFK haunting the White House, but I have done some very interesting and in depth research on, among other things, chocolate. 

Cocoa beans come from this fruit. The seeds are
surrounded by a sweet meat.The trees are native
to Central America and only grow within a small
 latitudinal range.

Did you know that cocoa beans were literally used as money? A 100 beans could get you a jackrabbit or a turkey hen. A tom was worth 200. A turnkey egg, an avocado, or a fish wrapped in corn husks was worth three beans. Among the Maya and Aztec only the wealthy and royals drank hot chocolate - which was laced with chili - because doing so meant they were literally drinking their wealth. It is because of these two facts that we get the term about money not growing on trees, which at one time it really did. 

Supposedly chocolate in candy form didn't make an appearance until the 19th century. However, there's strong indications that soon after the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs and Mayas nuns added sugar to chocolate and were the first to make candies.  In 1544 it was a delegation of Maya nobles to the court of Prince Phillip who first brought chocolate to the Old World, not Cortes as some would have us believe. The Spanish crown became so enthralled with drinking chocolate they wanted to keep it secret and only a few monks, hidden away in Spanish 
monasteries, knew the recipe for preparing the beans. But eventually the secret was leaked and it became the new rage in Europe.

Pedro de Toledo

By the way, it's because of drinking hot chocolate that we have saucers. Sometime between 1639 and 1648 the Viceroy of Peru, one Pedro de Toledo the Marques de Mancerea, became concerned when a lady spilled chocolate on her gown. He had the problem corrected by having a silversmith make a plate with a raised ring in the center of it. A small cup could then be set on the plate without fear of it slipping off. The "mancerina," or saucer, was born. This lead to potters making matching cups and saucers.

Here endth the lesson.

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful for, what else, chocolate!

What are you thankful for? Do you have a favorite kind of chocolate? A favorite candy bar? And what's the strangest thing you've ever researched?

IWSG, Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:  Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard, Madeline Mora-Summonte, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor!

This month's question is:  It's been said that the benefits of becoming a writer who does not read is that all your ideas are new and original. Everything you do is an extension of yourself, instead of a mixture of you and another author. On the other hand, how can you expect other people to want your writing, if you don't enjoy reading? What are your thoughts?

I seem to have something to say on this question...

To me, writing without reading is like running without first learning to walk. Reading and writing go together like soil and plants. Inotherwords, I think it's pretty impossible not to have one without the other, they are intertwined. We learn our letters and we learn how to write them. In learning to write our letters, we learn how to read them. In learning to write our letters, we learn how to put them together into words that form sentences which teaches us how to read. In learning to read words, we learn the best way to put those words together. The more we read the better we get at putting words together. Music works much the same way. All musicians are influenced by what has gone before. All writers are influenced by what has gone before.

If we want to be good writers I think it stands to reason that we must seek out good writers to read. It's true that not all of us will like every good writer. As an example, I'm not a fan of Hemmingway, but I love Steinbeck. And yes, for a while, I wanted very much to write like Steinbeck and made vain attempts to copy his "style." But if we read enough and we write enough eventually we find our own voices, our own styles. 

To not read for fear that your ideas won't be original is, in my mind, a kind of lie. All stories have at their root a few basic themes. Shakespeare did a very good job at showing us how to manipulate those basic themes - comedy, tragedy, revenge, love, fear, longing etc. - and write different stories around those themes. The stories we make up using those themes as our foundation are just as unlimited as the arrangement of 26 letters into words.

The first page of Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales.

Out of 8 notes, we get everything from Classical music to jazz to rock to country and everything in between. Out of 26 letters we get everything from Shakespeare to comic books and everything in between. 

If one never listens to music how will one learn about all the different ways those 8 notes can be put together? How will one know that repeating the same arrangement of notes over and over and over will be dull and boring to ears with a broader exposure? If one never reads how will one know that writing the same arrangement of words over and over and over will be boring to eyes with a broader exposure? 

Read. Write. Expose yourself to all the possibilities. Those possibilities will open the door to new possibilities and your own original ideas will emerge. Having an idea, you will arrange 26 letters in your own original way and tell a story around one of the ancient themes that is unique to you.

Being Thankful

Today I am thankful for Robyn Campbell, who died suddenly and unexpectedly this past week-end.

Robyn was among that first group of people to follow my blog. 

She read all three of my books and gave me feed-back.

She encouraged and supported my efforts.

I know she will be missed by many. Most particularly her family.

I posted this picture on her Facebook page for her birthday,

 which was just a few days before she died.

She never got to see it.

What are you thankful for? Did you know Robyn? Do you think reading is important for the improvement of your writing?

The Blind Shot, by J.L. Campbell

Helping out our friend, Joy Campbell, on the release of her latest book. Congratulations, Joy!

THE BLIND SHOT BY J.L. CAMPBELL

Stand-Alone: yes
Series: Par for the Course, Book 3
Publisher: The Writers’ Suite
Publication Date: September 20, 2019
Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction, Multicultural
Heat Level: Sensual

Book Blitz: September 20, 2019

Contact: info@honmagpr.com

THE BLIND SHOT BY J.L. CAMPBELL

When all else fails, love will find a way.

Kofi Danquah has travelled halfway around the globe for fifteen years, satisfying his need for advancement and adventure. In that time, he has never met another woman as intriguing as Regina Chu. She's a chameleon—a wild child with issues she hides behind a playful persona.

In Gina's eyes, Kofi is a mystery—exotic, intense and secretive. His sober nature balances her bubbly personality and unconventional approach to life. Plus, he's appealing enough to make her forget they're from separate worlds.

Time spent together changes Kofi and Gina's platonic relationship into an attraction that burns hot despite their cultural differences and the disapproval of their families. But fairy tales don't always last and true love needs fertile soil in which to bloom.

Excerpt

Kofi left my side and took a spin around the room. He stopped beside a window that gave a view of the yard. Even in a white tee-shirt and knee-length shorts, he was distracting—despite the state I was in. After several minutes, he faced me. "Come here." 

I dragged myself to where he stood and looked up at him. 

He took me by both hands and as he drew me in, his breath wafted across my forehead. Cherished and protected, that's how I felt in his arms. 

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Do I need a reason to hug you?" 

I shook my head and tried to lighten the moment. "You're getting to be as weird as I am." 

He kissed my forehead and then chuckled. "Nope. Since I knew you needed a hug. I supplied it." 

Stepping backward, I met his eyes. "Do you believe what I just told you?"

"Why wouldn't I? Everything you've told me supports what I thought before you said a word about what happened to you." 

"And you still want to be with me?" 

"I ask you again. Why wouldn't I?" He pulled me close, squeezing me to his chest. "Come here, you crazy woman." 

While he hugged me, I mumbled in his shirt. "I just thought that maybe you'd think less of me." 

"Why would I? It wasn't your fault." Kofi tipped my chin up, but I wouldn't look above his lips. "It only makes me love you more." 

My heart stopped for at least a couple of seconds. I was sure of it. Since I wasn't convinced Kofi's words weren't a mistake or him trying to comfort me, I let the moment pass. 

"You know the worst part?" I asked, sniffling.

"I can't know, so I'm asking you to share that with me." 

I ran one finger over the bulging muscles in his arm. "The biggest problem my mother has with you is the color of your skin … as if we aren't black, too." 

Kofi's grin was filled with mischief. "I figured that out the minute she laid eyes on me." 

AVAILABLE ON

AMAZON

 

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a $10 Amazon gift card

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ABOUT J.L. CAMPBELL

J.L. Campbell writes contemporary, paranormal, and sweet romance, romantic suspense, women's fiction, as well as new and young adult novels. Campbell, who features Jamaican culture in her stories, has penned over thirty books. She is a certified editor, who also writes non-fiction. When she’s not writing, Campbell adds to her extensive collection of photos detailing Jamaica’s flora and fauna. Visit her on the web at www.joylcampbell.com

 

CONNECT WITH J.L. CAMPBELL

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