Tuesday Twosome

Today's twosome is going to be a little different. I love inspiring quotes and I often keep them stuck everywhere on yellow sticky notes. Today I'm going to share two of my favorites and I hope you'll share some quotes that inspire you too.

I love writing.  I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.  ~James Michener

Ink on paper is as beautiful to me as flowers on the mountains; God composes, why shouldn't we?  ~Terri Guillemets 

And sometimes I need to leave behind the inspiration and find some encouragement to keep me going on a slow day.

Write your first draft with your heart.  Rewrite with your head.  ~From the movie "Finding Forrester"

The moment a man begins to talk about technique, that's proof he is fresh out of ideas.~Raymond Chandler 

Whenever I hit a rough spot in the road, I know I can find a quote or read something from another writer that will inspire me. That's why blogs are so interesting and useful. There's a whole work of information, encouragement, and inspiration out there every day.

Share your favorite quote with us, please!

THE AWARENESS and other deadly tales

Okay, so after nearly every writer in America has already done so, I have finally taken the plunge. If you have an e-reader or a free e-reader app on your PC, I-pad, phone, or laptop, my latest story collection is available for the grand sum of 99 cents.

The Awareness and other deadly tales by Terrie Farley Moran is available for Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble NOOK.

The collection includes seven mystery stories. Five have been previously published but the publishers rights have expired and I am free to use them as I wish. The other two are new and unpublished, kind of a gift to the Terrie Moran groupies among you who have faithfully bought or borrowed paper anthologies to read a story I've written. (I know you're out there!)

Since I whine incessantly about my lack of interest in anything technical, you are probably wondering how I set up the Kindle and NOOK files. Easy answer. I didn't!! Our Lois Karlin, computer whiz, is the sole proprietor of a fabulous company called Winged Books, which took all the pain out of the process. Lois not only designs gorgeous documents, she guided me every step of the way from cover selection to dropping the doc into Amazon and Barnes and Nobles lineups. If you are interested in working with Lois on an ebook or POD project, her email is lois (at) wingedbooks.com

After you read the stories, I'd love to hear what you think!

Terrie

Writing Contests & Market Resources

If you're interested in submitting to publications, contests, and themed issues, Duotrope provides a convenient resource: a "Theme & Deadline Calendar" features contests that don't charge entry or reading fees.

If you are interested in all things Flash Fiction, consider subscribing to Pam Casto's Flash Fiction Newsletter, which also lists markets and contests.

Another terrific resource is the blog of talented short story writer Sandra Seaman, "My Little Corner."

Writer's Digest hosts competitions for fiction, poetry, short story, screenwriting, and more.

How about you? Do you have a resource that compiles contest information and keeps up to date with market resources?

Come follow me on Twitter @katcop13.

A Creative Kind of Killer by Sandra Scoppettone

Many years ago, I first discovered Sandra Scoppettone as the writer of the Lauren Laurano books, great P.I. stories set in the heart of Manhattan. As I wandered through Scoppottone’s bibliography, I found that she is also the author of books originally published as written by Jack Early, including the Shamus Award winner, A Creative Kind of Killer, featuring P.I. Fortune Fanelli. Wonder of Wonders, A Creative Kind of Killer has been re-released as a Kindle book and on Monday, February 20th will be available free to one and all. Mark the calendar now and make sure this download is the first thing you do on Monday morning. You won't regret it.

Terrie

Donald Westlake Day

You can read reviews of some of Donald Westlake's books at Patti Abbott's place today. Patti has dedicated this Forgotten Book Friday to Westlake, in celebration of Hard Case Crime's publication of his last book, The Comedy is Finished. Westlake, who died in 2008, wrote more than 100 books. Included in Patti's roundup is an expanded version of the review I did here of Trust Me On This.

21st Century Conversation Hearts- Happy Valentine's Day!

Okay, so they've officially made conversation hearts taste different. I've had batches from a few different places, which I'm convinced all come from the same one place, like fortune cookies. Anyway, they used to be bland sugar pastels, and every color tasted the same.  Now, it seems like they're crossed with Sweet Tarts (even the non-officially S.T. kinds), are trying to have a different flavor per color. Instead of being fruity or sweet, they now taste to me like chalky orange baby aspirins or Di-Gel, if you remember that antacid.

But that's not all that's novel--now they come with modern entreaties, without the old curved letters pressed into the surface, but "computer looking" ones sprayed onto the surface to look like old, pixelated inkjet fonts.  Of course, text messaging is made-to-order for the tiny amount of printable space on candy hearts the size of my fingernail, and here's the new version of Valentine's Day sweetness:

 If you can't read them very well, here are the messages, L 2 R,  as the kids say.

U-R GR8, HOT MAIL, CRAZY 4 U, EZ 2 PLZ, HIGH 5,
U-GO GIRL, TWEET ME, PLEZ DO, U-R CUTE, E-MAIL, ME 4U
MAD4 YOU, TEXT ME, JUST 4-U
MEGA KISS, U-R SURE, CHAT ME, GR8 DATE, U-R HOT

Is your sentimental heart pitty-patting faster?
Screw sonnets--Have a GR8 V-DAY!

Ink

I've mentioned before that I write with a fountain pen. This necessitates fountain pen ink which I use in cartridge form. Most of my pens take standard European/International cartridges, though my oft-used Namiki Vanishing Point takes Pilot special cartridges, necessitated by the weird makeup that allows you to have a clickable fountain pen. Yep, push the button the nib comes out, push it again, the nib retracts.

Anyway, the other day, I was writing along with my Namiki and green ink and my hand started to hurt, so I switched to my Waterman, which has a wider barrel and allows my fingers to relax a bit. (The tradeoff is that the Waterman is heavier because of its solid brass barrel--never buy a fountain pen without seeing how it feels in your hand, because everyone will have different taste in what feels right.) When I started with the Waterman, I expected the color to change and I was intensely disappointed that I also had green ink in the Waterman. I know that sometimes I am in the mood for a certain color, but that made me wonder...

With new eReaders like the Nook Color and the Kindle Fire, what would happen if you changed the color of the text as you read? What would you think if an author wrote a book and hard-coded color changes into the text?