I have been working very hard on my second book. This one is harder than my first one because it has to be better. Maybe I am overthinking it too much. I tend to do that. I may end up writing 2 different endings to see which one works best. All of the ideas are floating around in my head, but it is difficult to get it all organized onto the computer. I have been summarizing some of the last chapters to try and organize my thoughts. That helps a bit. I never thought of myself as the type of writer that works with an outline, but that may not be a bad idea in this case. It certainly can't hurt. I may get one of the books mentioned in Writing a Breakout Novel to try to help me think it out. Sometimes if I read something with a similar theme, a light bulb with burn bright inside my head. Oh yeah, I get it now. The Sparrow sounds interesting to me even though it is not a romance.

When I have trouble with my "creative flow" music always seems to help. My favorites are Evanescence and Loreena McKennitt. For some reason, when I put these cds on, my mind opens up and my fingers fly over the keyboard. It must be magic! I have finished my character charts and am ready to start working on my second book again. The character charts are very helpful. I highly recommend creating character charts at least for the major characters. It is amazing how much it opened up my mind to the character's feelings and motivations. Truly amazing!

Character Chart

I started a more detailed character chart for my next book and it is proving to be very helpful. It has opened my mind up to creating 3 dimensional characters, which should improve the writing of my sequel. I am very pleased with my first book, but I want to improve with each book I write. This website had a character chart that I used as a guideline to create my own character charts.

Happy writing!

Press Release tips

Here is another area that is brand new to me-writing a press release. I found some helpful tips on www.press-release-writing.com. If you don't want to write your own press release, then there are press release services on the internet that will help write and distribute your press release. I opted to write my own and here is the sample of what I wrote. Any helpful comments are most welcome.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Kelley Heckart, Author, Of Water and Dragons
www.kelleyheckart.com
3269 Maricopa Ave., Ste. 114-Box 149
Lake Havasu City, AZ 86406
Phone: 928-486-8697
kelleyheckart@kelleyheckart.com

Local Romance/Fantasy Author, Kelley Heckart, Will Attend Book Signing Event Hosted by New Age Concepts

Lake Havasu City, AZ—October 1, 2005—Kelley Heckart will be signing copies of her Romance/Fantasy novel Of Water and Dragons on Saturday, October 15, at New Age Concepts in Yucca Valley, CA. Join the party and enter the drawing to receive a free gift bag filled with special items related to the novel.

Of Water and Dragons weaves together the Roman history and Celtic lore of ancient Britain to create an unforgettable story of love and sacrifice.

“an appealing amalgam of magic, erotica, military history, and romance that will leave readers breathless in its wake…compelling verbiage and tightly-wrought plot grab from page one with a tenacious intensity evocative of the early classics of fantasy fiction.”
Ellen Tanner Marsh, a NYT best-selling author

“Real Celtic lore and Roman history combined adds synergy to the exciting, soul-stirring story about separation, conflict, love and sacrifice.”
Recommended and Reviewed in The Mindquest Review by Lightword Publishing.

“The characters and the story have heavy Arthurian overtones, but the plot does not play out like the legends, or even the Badon Hill version of historical Arthur. This does make for a surprising ending, which is good, and lays the groundwork for future novels following on from this one."
PaganNew.com

About the Author: Kelley Heckart is a stay-at-home wife, author, artist, musician, and mom to two dogs. Though she resides on the earthly realm, she always has one foot firmly planted in the otherworldly realm of mystical creatures and magic.

New Age Concepts is located at 55836 29 Palms Hwy., Yucca Valley CA 92284 Phone: 760-365-9284

For information: http://www.kelleyheckart.com or
Contact: kelleyheckart@kelleyheckart.com
Phone: 928-486-8697
###

Book signing tips

Book signings can be a wonderful experience if some planning is involved. I have my very first book signing in October and I have no clue what I am supposed to do. There are some book signing tips on the internet and I wanted to share one that I found to be quite helpful. I probably won't use all of these tips, but there are some things on here that I didn't even think of. I guess the most important piece of advice is to keep a smile on your face and don't complain if no one shows up. I will do my best to prepare and hopefully I will be graced with a nice turnout. If anything, this will be a learning experience for my next book signing.

I went out and bought Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. So far it has been very helpful to me. What he says makes sense and I am giving more thought to my writing. At the very least, I will have written a better novel because of it. I want to thank Angelle for suggesting this book to me. Thank you! So I have put my ms aside as I reconsider the direction of my novel. I just hope I don't over analyze it too much or I will never finish it. Aaah! Everything will work out okay. It always does.

Gotta run. Happy writing!

Check out my eBay store

I sell many different items in my eBay store including my books, handmade crosses and even toys. I am pleased to announce that my book, Of Water and Dragons is now available at New Age Concepts at 55836 29 Palms Hwy., Yucca Valley, CA 92284 along with my handmade crosses. Bonnie is the owner of New Age Concepts and she is a super nice person. Her store is filled with faery items, crystals, jewelry and other neat mystical items. I will be doing a book signing there probably the 3rd Saturday in October. Once I have a date set I will announce it on my website. I am very excited because this will be my first book signing and I think it will be a good experience for me.

I have been busy researching the Roman army in Scotland, which is not an easy task considering there isn't much evidence to look at. It is like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. I think I have finally narrowed it down and can at least use the information I have found that fits close to the time period of my story. Since this is fiction, I am free to use creative license and fill in the blanks with what I think may have happened. The hardest part for me is trying to organize all of my notes. I tend to use whatever notebook is nearby and my notes are out of sync. I found these handy post its that are cut in strips to mark my pages and I have finally put some notes in 3-ring binders organized by subject. This has made it easier to keep everything organized. Yeah!

Gotta run! I have an e-book to read and review.

Lake Havasu Today's News-Herald

Sometimes I like to use the weather in my stories to create an atmosphere. Thunderstorms are good for creating a dark mood and for giving the story some tension. But nothing compares to the summer Monsoon storms here in the southwest. Monsoon, which means "seasonal wind" is my worst fear living here in the desert. I lived most my life on the coast of southern California and we rarely had any thunderstorms so I am not used to this kind of weather. Lake Havasu, AZ is a place of breathtaking mountain and lake views with gorgeous weather most of the year. I guess with any paradise there is a dark side and the summer storms are very dark and frightening. The winds can reach up to 60 miles per hour and flash floods are common. My worst fear is of the lightning that flickers non-stop within the clouds and shoots out in all directions. Lightning can strike a house. Maybe I am paranoid, but is anyone else afraid of thunderstorms?

You know you live in a small town when the main headline in Today's News-Herald reads, "Jolie, Pitt visit talk of town." I just thought that was funny. The destructive monsoon we had rated second to this.

I haven't had a chance to do much writing lately due to personal matters that needed my attention. Things are getting back to normal now and I am getting back into the writing flow. I have been doing extensive research on the Roman Army in Scotland. I found an excellent book called Garrison Life At Vindolanda, A Band of Brothers, by Anthony Birley. It is based on the writing tablets found at the Vindolanda fortress site at Hadrian's Wall. Mr. Birley has taken the information collected on these tablets and organized it so that it is easy to understand. This book has been very helpful to me as to what the soldiers were like and how they talked to one another. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Roman army on the northern frontier.

I am also working on my characters to make them three dimensional. By taking each character and making a profile list on them, I have been able to bring them to life. I feel that the characters are very important to the success of a book.

Well, I am off to work on this.