Setting of my next Book-Bankhead Forest

One of many water photos I've taken in Bankhead

If you read my blog post where I told you a bit about writing my hometown into the Blood Burden Series you already know I live by the "Write what you know," advice. And holding true to that line of thinking, when I was hit by inspiration to write my upcoming series I just so happen to have been standing beneath a huge rock formation known as the Needle's Eye in Bankhead Forest. So naturally, my outdoor loving character nicknamed Bird starts her dive into a dark world of demons and vampires on a beautiful sunny day's geocaching trip into the Bankhead Forest.

Growing up in Alabama I've always considered myself lucky to have the Bankhead Forest and Sipsey Wilderness in my area.  If you've never hiked it you are missing out especially if you're looking for total separation from the world...as in, you can actually walk deep enough into the woods to not hear traffic AND LOSE CELL PHONE SIGNAL...I can feel your gasp of shock from way over here lol! Yes, there are still places that you can truly escape to and not be disturbed until you decide to return to civilization and sometimes that's exactly what a writer's mind needs.

Well, I was about 3 miles into a hike with my dog when a small thunderstorm rolled in so we took shelter under this big rock with a hole all the way through it known as Needle's Eye.  This wasn't my goal spot for the day, I was seeking a bluff top near a waterfall I visited often, but either way I would be sitting until the shower passed so I pulled out my notebook, leaned back against the rock wall, and just let my mind wander as I rubbed my dog's ears.

There's something magical about a rain shower in the middle of the forest. Everything comes alive; the leaves dance, the ground seems to sing with delight as each drop reaches its pine needle covered surface. The tree tops sway along to the song of the wind and rock walls sparkle with newfound life all along their moss covered edges. But the longer I sat there the more my mind twisted the creaking of a tree or a splash in the stream into something dark. The image of someone being chased through the damp shadows jumped to the front of my mind.



I couldn't pass up capturing this owl-like face.

I grabbed up my notebook and started to scribble down the feelings.  The way the sounds carried so every echo seemed to come from each side of me, the way limbs would suddenly drop to the ground as if the weight of a stalking creature had became too much, and the unnerving silence when the wind stopped like the creeping darkness had paused long enough for the cover sound to rise again.

Before I knew it I had the sounds of Bankhead, both the beautiful and the dark, down on paper and the idea for the Bird's first chase scean fleshed out. The "Write what you know" advice carried me through again. Not only am I a avid hiker who knows the Bankhead Forest but I have also been out in the woods alone and felt very unnerved (not just from rain but that's a story for another time). I can truly put myself into my character's shoes as I write her adventure.

That's a nice feeling as a writer!

How do you connect with your writing world? Do you have a special place you like to go to while writing? Do you visit places that are similar to a location in your book? Share your story in the comments below.

Happy reading,
Wenona

On a Personal Note

Dear Reader,

Some days I struggle with what to write about on my blog. Oh, I can hear your gasp of shock all the way over here at my desk lol. But it's true. Some days I ask myself are you, the reader, coming here just for my books? Maybe you'd like a little insight into who I am when I'm not writing?

Since I don't have every fan's phone number so I can send you out a quick poll I just have to assume that all the other author's blogs I've read are correct in saying that you do in fact want to see if I'm actually human. (Don't ask my son that question though because he believes I'm from another planet where they have eyes in the back of their heads and don't pass gas.  Yelp...Glamorous right?)

So what would you like to know that you can't read in my bio on the right?

Would you like to hear about my struggles and joys as a parent/step-parent? How about what it's like to be a divorced woman who's finally found the man of her dreams? Or maybe you want to know about my adventures as a new chicken mom? Oh yes, I've found the joy of raising chickens and sometimes chicken poop is funny (most times it's not)! Or maybe it's just you have a question about writing in general. I'm game!

Okay, now it's up to you. Leave your questions or topics in the comments section and I'll be happy try to reply or if it's a big one I'll write a post for you.

Happy writing,
Wenona

Reasons start writing...Again.

So here's the great dream: Write a book.

Easily said.  "I'm going to write a book." ....Yelp, that rolled off the tongue nicely, right?

You gather your paper and the coolest pencil you own, you write down your ideas, you may even jot down a few notes that you've pulled together from some reoccurring dreams or life experiences you know will make great fodder for a story. Then you outline your first few chapters or maybe the whole kit-and-caboodle if you're really feeling your story.

You're on your way!!

Now you start profiling your characters. You google some snazzy pictures of girls with blond hair and a scar above her left eye, or guys wearing kilts (strictly research of course), and put them into folders so you can really see the person who's in your mind's eye. Then you decide if she's a bitch with a soft spot for squirrels or a blind detective that can drive a 18 wheeler like nobodies business (Ha! Maybe I should write that last one!). You hammer out all the good and bad of your character's personality so you know how he or she will handle anything your twisted writer's mind can throw at him.

Oh yea! Now it's time for the big show!

You write. And write. And write some more. Things are flowing good. You're testing the boundaries of your characters in this world that you created for them. Knocking back the cups of coffee in that niffty "writer" mug you picked up just for the occasion. Then BAM! You hit a wall. It may be that you re-read a chapter then afterwords thought, "This is pure ol' crap!" or maybe that plot twist you threw in there only seems to make sense in your mind not on paper.

You lay down the pen and stare at your work like you don't know it any more. "Who are you you strange beast? You are not who I was looking to create!" You toss the manuscript in a drawer or hide the file away on your computer and run away screaming and feeling a bit like Dr. Frankenstein after his creation turned against him.

Now what? Do you give up?

NO!

"Why not", you ask.

Well, here's my list of 8 reasons to pick that pen up again.

1. IT'S YOUR DREAM! -Do you really need more reason than this?
2. The world needs to hear your voice.  Your creative work is something that can only come from you. Don't deny the world a peak into a place no one will ever see if you give up.
3. Because it's not easy. Okay, I know that this one may seem like a great reason not to write but there are few dreams that are easier to give up on than writing a novel. But if you stick it through, like so few do, you'll reach a goal that you will be proud of for the rest of your life. 
4. You've already put so much thought and time into it.
5. Every messed up plot twist, weak character, or strange tangent you've let the story get on can be fix. That's what the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th drafts are for.
6. Because you've already bragged to your friends that you're writing a book. Come on! You know you don't want to be the butt of your office jerk's joke, "So Bob, how's that novel going?"  *Snicker, Snort*.... (SCREW YOU, JERK!)
7. You wake up every day thinking about writing this story. It's eating at you. It's begging you to fill the rest of its pages with beautiful words and fancy punctuation. All you have to do is pick up that pen.
8. IT'S YOUR DREAM!!-Okay, I know this is a repeat but it's worth it. And YOU'RE WORTH IT!

You've got this! Now get it down on paper and out into to world.

Happy writing,

Wenona

Westworld -Interesting Plot for an Old Storyline

Around my house we never watch anything in real time. We just can't sit still until after the sun goes down so anything that gets watched in full must be recorded for when we have nothing else going on. So a few weeks ago my honey said "I recorded the first episode of Westword. I think we're going to like it." I took him at his word since our taste matches pretty well when it comes to stories. We sent the kids to watch a movie in their room (it's HBO and we all know how much HBO loves to flash boobs and bare bottoms) then we settled down to watch this new show.

....Which turned out to be an old story line.

Robots who think they are humans thrown into a world where they become smarter then they were designed to be.

About 20 minutes in I was half paying attention and half scrolling social media.  My honey asked, "You don't like it?"  And I was like, it's not that I don't like it, it's that I can tell you where everything is going this episode without watching any more of it (#writerproblem).  The characters were interesting, the story was so-so, and the emotional investment I felt was minimal but I didn't give up since I could see how much he was liking it.

So we finished the episode, me half paying attention and him engrossed.  But at the end it did leave things hanging on a nice hook that didn't totally turn me off to the story so a week or so later we had a little down time again and turned on the second episode. That's when things started to shift a bit for me. Maybe it was my writer's mind letting go of the plot details and actually allowing me to enjoy the show or maybe I was just too tired that night to break down every character's motive but either way I actually couldn't wait to watch the 3rd episode. No, really. I caught myself several times the next day wondering about that show. I would get lost in imagining what it would be like to wake up day after day and do the same thing because I was programmed that way. This fictional world was having a real impact that was rare for me to find outside of a book.

This has made me realize that an old story can be retold and be unpredictable and even exciting. I've turned my nose up to a large amount of books over my lifetime just because it was a retelling but I guess I should have giving them a chance. Sometimes echos in a different voice are surprisingly captivating.

How about you? Have you had any surprises when reading or watching something you normally wouldn't pick up for yourself? Tell me about them in the comments below!

Happy reading,
Wenona

Writing about my home town-Just Add MAGIC

Let me start out by saying my Alabama home town has always been magical to me. Though I've not had a Double Springs address for over 20 years now I've never strayed too far from its boundaries. The people that live along those quite streets are nothing short of superheros, always going out of their way to help a neighbor even when they are tired bone deep from their own day's work. A stranger who finds his self stranded on the side of the road will quickly see two or three cars pulling over to offer help and yes, one of those people will likely be called "Bubba" but he'll be better help than any person road-side assistance will send to your rescue. The joy of giving your time to someone who's in need is a magic that a lot of towns have lost yet the little town I call home still manages to keep that spirit alive.

This small town also allowed me few distractions as a child and plenty of land to explore. A person who has grown up in a large city may label this kind of living as boring but it gave me the freedom to spend days visiting a dragon that I imagined lived under the bluff behind my home or the fairies I was convinced lived in the enormous oak tree in my front yard. I remember clamoring to my smiling mom to tell her that I caught a glimpse of a tiny, winged lady peaking down at me while I was stretched across a tree limb reading a book.  So when it came time for me to place Nicole into her fictional town it was very easy for me to see magical places fitting into my little two red-light town.

Why did I write about my home town instead of creating a new one? "Write what you know" is the first bit of advice that stuck with me as I started the Blood Burden Series and, though this may not be how all writers interpreted those words of wisdom, that's what I did. I used a version of my home town where I mixed its modern day layout with the layout of how it was when I was a child, added a few locations that were needed for my story's flow, left out any business names (for legal issues) or called them by nick names so that some of the locals might be able to say "Hey, I know exactly where that's at!", and before I knew it I had created a town in which to grow my story around.  This way of world building has stayed with me with all the stories I've created since my first.

Now Nichole didn't stick around in that little town the whole story but by writing what I knew I had a great jumping point for when I needed to write about a location in Ireland or a airport hundreds of miles away. Being this was my first stab a writing a novel I was able to learn what details needed to be included for people to really feel, smell, and taste what it was like in Nichole's town and this allowed me to do better research when it came to locations I'd never been to.  I learned from building the first location what small and big details were important to make the world believable and magical at the same time so the new locations flowed out a lot easier.

What am I hoping you get out of this post? Well, I guess that all depends on why you clicked onto my blog in the first place.  Are you a fellow Winston County resident who was curious if that place in the book was supposed to look like that old store in Double Springs? Then I hope I've satisfied your curiosity and that you are proud of how the town looked with a little magic thrown in. Are you a writer who was looking for a bit of help with world building? If so please do let the "Write what you know" advice guide you.  You will not struggle near as much with the flow if the place, subject, or focal matter of your story is something you know the ins-and-outs about. Or are you a reader of my works hoping for a little behind-the-scenes info about the series? Well, I think I helped you the loyal reader out too. But if you have more questions be sure to leave them in the comments section and I'll do my best to fill you in.

Happy reading!

America, Please Vote Today!

Just a friendly reminder that today is the big day! By now most of you have done your research on all the candidates and issues that will be presented to you on today's ballot but if you happen to still be on the fence there is still time. Google your local ballot. There are sites that give you a short breakdown on each amendment you'll face and there's tons of round-ups that tell you where each candidate stands on the issues. Here's the one I've been useing https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential_candidates,_2016.  Make your voice heard!

Happy voting!
Wenona

"Just Write" they say!

I've read this quote many time since the day I dreamed of being a writer. There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. -Earnest Hemingway.   It's very telling, yes, you sit down and pour your soul out in the form of words---I get that part. No, it's not easy, but hey, anything that isn't easy is worth the work.  But I'm pretty sure Hemingway wasn't juggling a full time job, kids, personal drama, along with the crazy amount of undue pressure we put on ourselves nowadays to do and experience EVERYTHING. Hiking to that one little known waterfall, running in that big marathon, making homemade soap, raising farm animals, learning to play the harmonica.(okay that last one was a bit of an exaggeration...I have no delusion of having musical talent). We, as modern day humans, are feeling the pressure to do and learn as much as we can before we meet our maker and it's equally stressful and exhilarating.

Ok, in all honesty I could be completely wrong about Hemingway. He may have had a super busy life and still managed to write, I'm not a history buff alright and since I'm not planning on writing a book about the old guy I'm not going to do the proper research to find out. (Who has time for that??) My point is sometimes our dreams get pushed off so we can do the things that are screaming for our attention in the current moment. Like my dog who is wagging his toy in my face demanding I play with him. See, "current moment".

Hopefully though, like me, we all find our way back around to our calling and manage to form some kind of plan to get on track again.  So that's what I'm doing and what I'm rambling on and on about for three paragraphs just to get to this point: I'm BACK!

My plan:

1. Write
2. Live life
3. Write 

Pretty simple Huh?  Yelp, there's no fighting life but for a writer there's also no resisting the call to weave worlds so the two must go hand in hand.  Wish me luck!