JP McLean

Writing Addictive Fiction

The Crazy Train has Left the Station

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The Crazy Train has Left the Station

It’s been a whirlwind around here amidst the launch of my second book, Revelation. I sent out my first newsletter; revealed the book cover; wrote and distributed a press release; prepared the “about” material for the website; uploaded Revelation‘s book details into Goodreads; prepared a media kit; updated my blog; and posted the new book cover to Facebook. Then I took a breath.

The Crazy Train called writing

The tornado of activity reminded me of the concept of balance. It’s a concept I’ve been working on since I hopped on the Crazy Train called writing. A train pushed by a caboose called publishing.

Balance is important, and though I have difficulty with it at times, deep in my heart I know it’s not just a concept. It feeds my sanity, grounds me. It’s why I made time to get into the garden last week and why I made the trip to Vancouver to help a friend celebrate her birthday on the weekend. It’s why I went to lunch with the girls the other day and enjoyed a super-sonic gin and tonic in the shade of the garden umbrella with my husband last night.

If I let it, this writing thing would consume every moment of my life. At times, it does. And because I’m an indie writer, all of the marketing and promo falls on my shoulders, so if I want to get the word out, it’s up to me…and it’s a lot of work.

Work/Life Balance

But the “work” has to be balanced with other things. Things that make me smile. Things that energize me and fire me up: like friends, family, fine food and great wine. And writing.

Writing you say? Isn’t that what got you in trouble in the first place? I know…you think I’m talking in circles. But I’m not.

The writing I refer to­­—the writing that energizes me—is creative writing. Not the sometimes tedious chore of writing promo material or editing manuscripts. Creative writing is what happens when I open the throttle on my imagination and run it on all cylinders. Suddenly new characters are running loose through new settings wreaking all kinds of havoc. Exercising my imagination is as important as physical exercise. It reminds me why I do all the other less-fun stuff. It makes the necessary, but tedious stuff, worthwhile.

It’s a crazy ride, and I need to keep injecting balance, but the circuit is oddly addictive: write, publish, promote, balance, fuel-up, rinse and repeat. Better than work-eat-sleep repeat. No?

Has your Crazy Train left the station?

Train Photo by Denis Chick on Unsplash

Impulse Purchase

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Impulse Purchase

We were at Liquidation World* last week because we heard they had good prices on airless wheelbarrow tires. It seems our current wheelbarrow tire makes a better sprinkler than a tire (something to do with an excess of wild rose thorn holes).

I know you’re thinking well then, don’t you already have an airless tire? Indeed we do, but the variety my husband sought was sponge-like and wouldn’t ever leak again and require his attention.

Anyway, I digress.

While the husband checked out airless tires, I spotted a beautiful blue/green pot I thought would look nice on our front porch. (We don’t need a pot that would look nice on our front porch.) But it sported a neon SALE sticker and the blue/green colour went well with the new siding.

But there was no price on the pot. So with the husband otherwise occupied, I inquired as to the lovely blue/green pot’s, SALE price. While the clerk looked it up, I considered how much I’d pay for a blue/green pot we don’t need even if it does match the new siding.

Then the clerk said it was just $35.00.

Oh dear! Now I had a dilemma. Not only was the lovely blue/green pot (that we didn’t need) reasonably priced—some would say cheap, but the clerk informed me that it wasn’t just a lovely pot. It was a lovely pot that included a water feature; one of those numbers with the bamboo spout and a wee pump the size of your thumb. I imagined a tiny pond; something into which you could drop a lily pad or some other aquatic plant (which I know nothing about).

Water-feature ceramic pot

How could I resist? The husband didn’t even roll his eyes when I handed over the cash. He then trundled our new blue/green fountain pot—that we don’t need—out to the truck.

It’s now situated on the porch. It’s been washed, filled with water and, I’m happy to report, sounds just like a tiny babbling brook. I closed my eyes and smiled, picturing a forest creek with river rocks and overhanging boughs dripping moss…

And then it hits me…

Don’t we already have running water from October through April? Of course we do – we live in a rain forest. It rains a lot. In fact, isn’t that babbling brook of a pump reminiscent of the water that dribbles through our gutters and into our downspouts for most of the year?

What was I thinking? As I write this post, I can hear the water in the pretty blue/green pot babbling away. It sounds like someone is peeing on the porch. Forget the lily pad – I’m going to buy some soil and pot up something quiet and dry. A cactus appeals to me for some reason.

Do you have an impulse purchase you want to fess up to?

 

All of my books are available for purchase on the Bookstore Tab.

 

*Liquidation World has since closed 🙁

How Did You Get Your Start?

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Dreary winter day

When I’m asked how I got my start as a writer, I think back to the winter I began writing. All west coast winters are long and wet, but that winter was the first I’d experienced after being away for four warm sunny winters in Tucson and the Baja. Cooped up inside on endless dark dreary days left me restless.

I filled my evenings reading. A lot. It was an escape. My favourite escapes were book series binge reads. Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books.

I became curious.

What was it I liked about those particular books? The answer for me was that those books engaged me so thoroughly that I lost track of my surroundings and all sense of time. It also occurred to me the books I enjoyed most were written from just one person’s point of view.

Curious to know more, I read about the writers whose work I enjoyed and the writing process itself. One author’s process caught my attention. Stephenie Meyer, author of the successful Twilight books, explained that the series sprung from a single scene that she dreamed about.

It got me thinking.

Could a dream, a kernel of an idea, an edge of a thought, be the seed of a captivating story?

I immediately thought of a recurring dream I’ve had since my childhood.  It’s not an unusual or unique dream. (Many of the people who’ve read my first book tell me they’ve had similar dreams.) But was it enough for an interesting story?

All that winter I plunked away on my laptop. I fleshed out my tiny idea using the first person perspective. Writing from just one character’s point of view seemed the safest route for a novice writer. I dusted off my university Handbook for Writers, a five-pound Oxford dictionary, and bookmarked a good on-line thesaurus.

As chapter after chapter came together, I convinced myself that not only could I do it, but that it was a captivating story. I studied Strunk and White’s, The Elements of Style, Stephen Wilbers’ Keys to Great Writing, and Donald Maass’ Writing the Breakout Novel. But don’t let that fool you into thinking I’ve managed to incorporate all that collective wisdom. It is, however, a lofty goal.

Awakening Book CoverRevelation Book CoverRedemption Book Cover

I’m three books in now and still loving the process. There’s always something new to discover and no end of great books to read and learn from.  I feel very lucky to have found something so uplifting and interesting to do on dreary winter days.

Of course, nowadays, every day I’m not writing is a dreary day.

Book Signing Success

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This is Abraxas Books in beautiful downtown Denman Island.  Yesterday, Saturday, October 20, 2012, Juan Barker hosted my first book signing for Awakening. Luckily, it was a crisp, dry day and the sun cooperated, peeking out between clouds for the duration.

My gratitude and thanks go out to the incredibly supportive community here on Denman Island and the best friends an author could possibly have.

Comox Valley Record

Thanks to Juan’s advertising efforts, the Comox Valley Record that picked up the book signing’s press release, and the sunshine – the turnout exceeded expectations … by a landslide.  The book signing was a huge success.

Sold Out

Within fifteen minutes, Abraxas’ stock of the book was seriously compromised.  I dashed to my car and grabbed the small supply I had put there in a rather optimistic “just in case” moment the previous night.  But within the hour, we had run out AGAIN and I had to call home for reinforcements.

W O W!

Sold out – twice in one day.  I like the way that sounds!  Thanks again to everyone who dropped by to say hello and show your support.  It warms my heart.

(If you prefer ebooks, you can pick up a copy from your favourite retailer here.)