How Julie Got Her Groove Back - A Guest Blog by Julie Compton



This month, Fabulous Florida Writers is pleased to welcome guest blogger Julie Compton. Julie is the internationally published author of TELL NO LIES, a legal thriller set in her original hometown of St. Louis; RESCUING OLIVIA, a romantic, contemporary thriller set in Florida; and the just released KEEP NO SECRETS, the sequel to TELL NO LIES. Her novels combine the suspense of thrillers with the drama of human relationships. Julie was our featured author on February 3, 2012.

When I became a published author, I lost my voice.

How can that be? you might ask. I'd written a book and suddenly it was printed and bound and packaged prettily and shipped to bookstores across the world. Imagine how many people would read the words I'd written. Think of all those readers who would curl up in their favorite chair and dive into a story that once existed only in my head. No voice? How can I say that?

Let me clarify. I didn't lose my "writer" voice, the one that likes to create stories and put them on paper for others to read. No, that voice grew louder and stronger.

Instead, I lost my "Julie" voice. The voice that forms a large part of the woman I am. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not—excuse the cliché—a shrinking violet. I didn't go to law school for three years only to keep my opinions to myself.

But that's, in effect, what I did after I signed my first book contract with a traditional publisher. Without even realizing it myself, I began to tamp down my usually assertive personality. I became a mouse, afraid to speak up about anything for fear I might offend someone—my publisher, my editor, my agent, another author, booksellers, librarians, a potential reader, even an existing reader. Heaven forbid someone might not like what I had to say or got angry with me. I couldn't risk pissing off any of these people, I thought. I didn't want to be seen as the "difficult" or "unappreciative" author. The publisher might not want to publish me again; the agent might not want to represent me. The other author might not be willing to blurb my book. The bookseller or librarian won't stock my book, or they might pan it. The reader might not buy any more of them. I subconsciously censored myself at every turn, all in the name of the next book contract or a possible book sale.

 Somewhere along the way I noticed the change in myself. I also noticed that it didn't matter to my book sales, but it did matter to my mental heath. I began to accept what I'd known all along—that publishing is a business, and my books were commodities. Products. What drives book sales isn't how "nice" or "accommodating" the creator of the product is, but rather, involves a combination of factors relevant to the sale of any product. For books, quality of the product (the story) is a primary factor and is dependent on the author, but other factors, such as packaging, pricing, and marketing, are, for the most part, out of an author's control once she signs over the rights to a publisher. After two published novels, I realized that I didn't like giving up that control, because for me, giving up control somehow translated into giving up my voice. And with the explosion of self-publishing options now available to authors, I no longer had to.

In December, after getting the rights back to my first two novels (and after several years of carefully watching other authors who had taken the leap), I tested the waters by re-releasing my debut novel, Tell No Lies, through the Kindle Direct Publishing program. In January, I did the same with my second title, Rescuing Olivia. I had a blast doing it. I learned how to format e-books, and my daughter, an art student at Savannah College of Art & Design, designed new covers that rival any I've seen from the big guys.

I was so thrilled with the results on those backlist titles—titles that until then had all but disappeared from the radar—that I decided to self-publish my newest novel, Keep No Secrets, a sequel to Tell No Lies. This decision was the riskiest—I wouldn't have advance reviews or bookstore distribution or any of the other few remaining perks of traditional publishing—but I loved the idea of keeping control over the process.

Keep No Secrets released on March 12. With my daughter's design assistance, I chose the cover. I picked the format. I decided the pricing and retain the flexibility to adjust it as I see fit. The novel's success or failure rests with me, and that's just the way I like it. But most of all, I've kept my voice.

 For more about Julie Compton, visit her website at www.juliecompton.com





Doug Eadie - A Light in the Darkness

When Doug Eadie met Virginia Jacko, CEO of the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, he felt an instant rapport. Eadie, the president of Doug Eadie & Company, a Florida consulting firm, had years of experience working in the non-profit sector.  Although he had met many executives in the course of his career, he was captivated by this dynamic woman with her sunny smile and “can-do” attitude. Jacko was in a unique position to lead an organization whose primary goal was to help the visually challenged. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa in 1998, Virginia Jacko had gradually lost her sight and become totally blind.  

Eadie, a self-described “Board Mechanic” who specializes in building non-profit board-CEO partnerships, spent several months working with Jacko and the Miami Lighthouse. During that time, he became close friends with this remarkable woman. “It was a great partnership,” Eadie says. “I loved working with her. It wasn’t always easy because we both have strong personalities, but we developed a deep mutual respect.” When the project concluded in 2006, the two continued to stay in touch.

Eadie, the author of 18 books on non-profit leadership, began to think about channeling his writing in a new direction. In the summer of 2008, he decided to write a book chronicling Jacko’s amazing story. “It was scary to me,” he recalls. “I’m a person who likes structure. I was convinced we had a book; I just wasn’t sure what kind. But I knew it was too good a story to package as a management book.” After discussing the idea with Jacko, Eadie flew to Miami in late December to conduct the first of several interview sessions with her. He then spent the next year organizing the information and putting the ideas together while Jacko, his co-author, reviewed and fact-checked all the material. Working on the book was a surprisingly emotional experience for Eadie, who often had to stop writing because he became so moved by Jacko’s words. Finally, in January, 2010, The Blind Visionary was published.

The Blind Visionary traces Virginia Jacko’s personal journey from her days as a successful executive at Purdue University through the ordeal of her gradual loss of sight. The story  culminates with her new beginning as a vocational rehabilitation student who eventually rose to the top position at Miami Lighthouse. Eadie hopes her example will be an inspiration to readers as they deal with the difficulties in their own lives. “The lesson in Virginia’s experience is that whatever your challenge, you can face it,” Eadie explains. “I hope people will be energized and motivated by Virginia’s story. I also want it to be a tool to help people realize that, whatever their challenges may be, they can bring something meaningful to their lives through their actions.”

Over the past 25 years, Eadie had worked with over 500 nonprofit and public organizations of every shape and size in a wide variety of fields, including association management, public education, economic development, and public transportation. Although he had an established reputation as an author in his field of expertise, writing The Blind Visionary was such a profound experience for him that he intends to continue writing in this more personal view.  Recently he has created a new blog, “Entwined Lives,” (www.entwinedlives.com) which chronicles his and his former students’ experiences during his three years as a Peace Corps teacher in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “My three years  teaching English and ancient history at Tafari Makonnen School, one of the finest public schools in Addis Ababa, not only transformed my life, but also resulted in lifelong friendships that I celebrate in my “Entwined Lives” blog,” he says. “As a writer, I envision these blog posts as a rich reservoir I can draw on in writing my next book.”

For more information on “The Blind Visionary,” go to www.theblindvisionary.com.

Next: Guest post by Julie Compton

Writing What You Know - A Guest Post by Joanna Campbell Slan

This month, Fabulous Florida Writers welcomes guest blogger Joanna Campbell Slan. Joanna is the award-winning author of twenty books, including three mystery series. Her new book, Wave Good-Bye, will be released in March. Joanna  was our featured writer on August 9, 2012.

When my agent asked me if I’d be interested in working on an existing series and writing under the pen name of “Lila Dare,” I hesitated.  I was already busy with two series—the Kiki Lowenstein Mysteries and The Jane Eyre Chronicles. But that said, I’m always up for a challenge. So I gave my agent a firm, “Maybe.”
That “maybe” quickly turned into a “yes” when I heard more about the Southern Beauty Shop mystery series. The books are set in fictional St. Elizabeth, Georgia. The protagonist, Grace Ann Terhune, is a sassy, thirty-something divorcée who works for her mother, Violetta, owner of the eponymous Violetta’s. Grace Ann is the very definition of a GRITS, a Girl Raised In The South.

Grace Ann and Violetta struck a familiar chord in me. My mother grew up in Georgia. When I close my eyes, I can hear Mom talking as I write dialog for the Terhunes. I learned how Southerners think at my mother’s knee. And I live in Florida, which I consider the South, even though some people don’t.

Researching the beauty business wasn’t a problem. My grandmother owned a beauty shop in rural Illinois. I loved visiting it. The whirl of activity in the salon always intrigued me. The atmosphere was uniquely feminine. I tried to evoke that intense feeling of female camaraderie in the book.

Capturing the essence of Grace Ann was easy because I come from a family of three girls, and I’ve always written about strong women. We’re six books into my Kiki Lowenstein Mysteries and two into The Jane Eyre Chronicles; both series feature women of substance. I don’t believe in victimhood, although I do like my characters to have both flaws and a backbone. Grace Ann is much more assertive than Jane Eyre or Kiki Lowenstein, but she also has her doubts about herself.

I think the toughest part of my new identity will be signing books under an assumed name. Or responding if readers call me “Lila.” I hope to get a lot of practice with both at the launch party for Wave Good-Bye. Fittingly, we’re holding the event in a hair salon!

What seemed like a challenge at first has turned out to be a lot of fun. Recently, my accountant gave me another reason to be pleased with my decision to morph into “Lila Dare”--now I can write off all my hair appointments!

 For more about Joanna, visit www.JoannaSlan.com or http://www.tinyurl.com/JCSlan

Next: Doug Eadie - A Light in the Darkness

Joseph Eger - Universal Music

Note: Sadly, Joseph Eger passed away suddenly in December at the age of 93. He was not only a Fabulous Florida Writer but a wonderful humanitarian and exceptional human being.

Joseph Eger’s life was shaped by two overriding passions: his transcendent love of music and his fascination with the science of physics. This may seem like an unusual combination, but it mirrors Eger’s extraordinary life and serves as the inspiration for his fascinating book, Einstein’s Violin.

Eger, a resident of Pompano Beach, grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family in New York City.  Even as a young boy, he had an insatiable curiosity about the world around him and a strong sense of justice and injustice. He studied horn at the renowned Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, living what he called “la vie Boheme” with three other music students in a one-room apartment. It was during his student days that Eger was introduced to the world of progressive politics and became a social activist. This began what Eger described as “a lifetime quest toward finding ways to harness the mysterious power of music and related arts for social change… To my delight, I found that music, physics, and social change are inexorably locked arm-in-arm.”

After graduating from Curtis, Eger took a position as first French horn for the summer season of the National Symphony in Washington, DC. He then played the same position in the New York Philharmonic and later the Los Angeles Philharmonic before embarking on a career as a solo artist. He spent several years touring the world, and was lauded by the New York Times as “the greatest horn player alive.” Then came the event that proved to be a turning point in Eger’s career. He enrolled in a conducting class under the direction of Pierre Monteux, one of the greatest conductors of the twentieth century. After seeing Eger’s performance, Monteux said, “Give me a few years with him, and he will become a great conductor.”

When Eger returned to New York City, he began searching Julliard and other music conservatories for students who might be interested in joining his orchestra. Eger’s Westside Symphony (which later became the New York Orchestral Society) performed its debut concert to rave reviews. From then on, he was hooked. In 1974, the group morphed into one of Eger’s proudest accomplishments– the Symphony for United Nations (SUN).  Dedicated to “harnessing the power of music for constructive global change,” SUN is a non-profit organization that holds concerts, festivals, and concert-seminars which have raised substantial funds for humanitarian causes. The list of participants in SUN events reads like a “Who’s Who” of the entertainment world – Marvin Hamlisch, Bianca Jagger, Peter Gabriel, Bette Midler, Tony Randall, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Moriarity, and Eli Wallach, to name a few.  In 1994, Eger’s contributions to music and social causes earned him the Eleanor Roosevelt “Man of Vision Award” (one of only two worldwide).

Despite his stellar musical talent, Eger’s career path was sometimes rocky. His political activism caused him to be blacklisted during the McCarthy era. During these difficult times, Eger found inspiration in one of his heroes – Albert Einstein. “Einstein’s example of a man who was at once a scientist, musician, and principled citizen gave me encouragement,” he explained. Eger found it ironic that the very thing that threatened his career in the 1950s was something he was later congratulated for.  But it is this same commitment to social change that inspired his most radical idea yet.

Eger had a longstanding interest in physics. Although he never studied it formally, he admits that books on relativity and quantum physics were often included in his bedtime reading. He began to discern connections between these subjects and his feelings about music and society. Old ideas were being challenged by discoveries in quantum physics and string theories. He realized that the outdated Newtonian concept of a fragmented universe was making people lose sight of the connections between them. “Everything in the universe is made of exactly the same stuff, and that stuff, believe it or not, is music," he explained. "The only difference between you, a stone, and the king of Saudi Arabia are variations in the configuration of the wave frequencies of which we are constructed. The universe is one, but we have divided it. Music has the wonderful facility of bringing it back together.” When an editor heard about Eger’s theory, he approached the conductor about writing a book. Eger was pleased with the opportunity to share his ideas about the power of music, and Einstein’s Violin was born.

Part memoir, part scientific journal, and part collection of historical vignettes, this eminently readable book outlines the experiences and ideas that led Eger to his revolutionary insight about music as an agent for social change. He presents the symphony orchestra as a metaphor for both society and the entire universe. According to Eger, “Music is an ‘open sesame’ to people and their souls. In an orchestra, whatever personal differences may arise are set aside in the interest of harmony. Music brings people together. There is something fundamental about music that is essential to being human. My book is a polemic for a better, more caring, just world; hence, a more peaceful world.” In Einstein’s Violin, readers are treated to an intimate portrait of the two men Eger admire most: Einstein and Beethoven. They are also given a fascinating glimpse of some of the celebrated figures that have crossed Eger’s path - people like John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Leonard Bernstein, Keith Emerson, Queen Noor, Yehudi Menuin, Arthur Rubinstein, and Leopold Stokowski. The Pittsburg Post-Gazette praised Einstein’s Violin as a book that “harmonizes music, science and humanity.”

Although Maestro Eger was in his ninth decade of life, his commitment to music and social issues showed no signs of diminishing. He was Music Director/Conductor of the Symphony for United Nations (SUN) in New York and Florida, and Guest Conductor for Life in Beijing, China. In 2010, he was named Director of Music and Cultural Affairs for the International Agency for Economic Development, an organization dedicated to improving the economies and standards of living in developing countries through intelligent charitable, economic and social projects. He also kept busy writing essays and articles that promoted his dream of music as a force for unity. “My hope would be that readers would realize they’re living as part of a huge symphony orchestra,” he said “To make beautiful music for themselves and their families, they have to find ways to get along with their brothers and sisters, since we are all one.”

To read Joseph Eger's obituary, go to http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsobserver/obituary.aspx?pid=162364183

Next: Guest post by Joanna Campbell Slan

Advice for Aspiring Writers - A Guest Post by Karna Small Bodman

This month, Fabulous Florida Writers welcomes guest blogger Karna Small Bodman. Karna is the bestselling author of four novels that have hit “#1 in "Thrillers” on Amazon.  She is currently on tour promoting her new thriller, Castle Bravo. Karna was our featured writer on April 28, 2012.

One question that authors often get is, “Where do you get your ideas?” When I decided I wanted to write novels - political thrillers - (a life-long dream), I knew that I could pick up any morning newspaper and see a veritable petri dish of plot points. But I figured that “being there” was even better.

I started my career as a TV news reporter and anchor in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Then I was asked to serve (6 years) in the Reagan White House – first as Deputy Press Secretary and later as Senior Director of the National Security Council. Talk about story ideas!!! I was scheduled to be in the car with Press Secretary Jim Brady on that fateful day of March 30 but stayed back at the last minute to do other work. Of course, that’s the day that John Hinkley fired those six shots in his assassination attempt! If I had gone to that event at the Hilton Hotel, I would have been standing right next to Jim and President Reagan.  Instead, I spent the day in the Situation Room as members of the cabinet gathered information, kept leaders of Congress and world leaders informed of developments and advised the American people on the operation to save the President’s life (Hinkley’s bullet was lodged ONE INCH from the President’s heart).

There were many other crises, events, disasters and “screw-ups” – as there are in any administration - and I use many of them in my novels, Checkmate, Gambit, Final Finesse, and the new one, Castle Bravo. Each story focuses on a different threat to our national security – at least the way I see them. So, of course, I’m trying to call attention to these subjects, not in a “textbook” sort of style, but by writing a thriller that I hope readers will enjoy while also learning about these issues. After all, it was George Bernard Shaw who said, “The best way to get your point across is to entertain.” I’m trying.

A word to aspiring writers – you don’t have to have The White House on your resume. In fact, my first two novels are “under the bed” – never got a contract. Agents and editors didn’t care about my resume.  They just wanted a good story they could sell.  After I wrote Checkmate, I did meet an editor at a writers’ conference in New Jersey. I signed up for a “pitch session” where you have a chance to sit down for a few minutes and pitch your story. Think of it as something like “speed dating.” She liked the concept and I eventually got an agent (at her suggestion) and a contract.

But here’s an idea for writers who also want to find an agent (rather than self-publish – though that is an option for everyone now).  Another thriller writer told me he had no luck for years in nailing down an agent, but then he had an idea.  He made a list of about 20 bestselling authors who wrote thrillers somewhat similar to his. Then he went to the library to find their FIRST books because on the “Acknowledgements” page, an author will traditionally thank his agent and editor. He made a list of all those agents and then double checked their websites and submission guidelines. He wrote a personal letter to each one saying, “You took a chance on __________, perhaps you will take a chance on me.” One day he got a call from one of those agents who agreed to mention his book to a publisher, and he finally got a two-book deal.  An idea you might try.

Bottom line: go to writers’ conferences and workshops. There is one coming up in my area on Saturday, February 23 organized by the Southwest Florida Romance Writers group. You don’t have to write romance novels – many authors who write in different genres attend. I’ll be there. You’ll have a chance to meet editors and agents and learn about the craft. Check it out at: www.swfrw.org . Remember, you never fail until you quit. Best of luck – and keep writing.

Next: Joseph Eger - Universal Music

John Mackie - He'll Take Manhattan

Sergeant John Mackie was a cop’s cop.  A seventeen-year veteran of the NYPD, he was a rising star in the department. He’d earned dozens of medals and commendations, including the prized NYPD Medal of Valor for actions taken by him in an incident in which two other officers were shot. Even though he was assigned to the tough Street Crime Unit, he loved the job and the people he worked with. One day, when Mackie was responding to meet a department undercover officer, an elderly lady missed a stop sign and plowed into his car.  The injuries he suffered as a result of the accident forced Mackie into early retirement.

“I left the NYPD kicking and screaming,” Mackie says. “Afterward, I needed a change, so I moved to Asheville, North Carolina.” He served a short stint there as the county undersheriff, then “decided to do what every good New Yorker must eventually do – I moved to Florida.” Since he was an avid Dodgers fan, he settled in Vero Beach.  A long and futile job search sent Mackie into a dark bout of depression. Still in his forties, he decided to do something he’d always wanted to do – write a book. “That terrible period wound up being the dawning of a new day,” Mackie says. “I spent the next ten years writing every day before finally getting published. I reinvented myself. I was no longer John the Cop, or John the Depressed Mope. Now I was John the Author.”

A high school drop-out who failed English, Mackie faced some formidable challenges. But challenges were nothing new to this tough ex-cop.  He joined writers groups and took adult education writing classes. He tried his hand at many different writing formats and wrote, rewrote, and polished his work. “Before self-publishing became what it is today, you needed three things to get published by a legitimate house - talent, perseverance, and luck,” he says. ”The most important is perseverance, and I knew I had that. I believed I had the talent, and eventually the luck caught up.” In July, 2002, Mackie’s first novel, Manhattan South, (NAL/Penguin) hit bookstore shelves. The story of a triple murder in a chic Midtown bistro, the book introduced Sergeant Thorn Savage, a dedicated boss in the Manhattan South homicide squad.

Thorn Savage and his crew returned in three subsequent mystery novels: Manhattan North, East Side, and West Side.  Praised by Publishers Weekly as “High intensity,” Mackie’s stories are based on real-life experiences and imbued with a grittiness and edge that makes them ring true. “Authenticity is really important to me,” Mackie explains. “Good novels require well-drawn characters and a plot that is larger than life. The challenge for the writer is to keep the larger-than-life characters and plot plausible and believable. I know my characters well. They’re based mostly on men and women I worked with… some are amalgamations. I try to show them in their true light, for better or worse. They aren’t superheroes. They’re just real folks who must deal with the un-real that often is police work in the big city.  The reader has to like the characters, identify with them, and believe in them… and dislike the bad guys.”

Mackie has now finished To Kill a Queen, the fifth novel in the Thorn Savage series. In this tale, Savage is traveling aboard the Queen Mary 2, enjoying a well-deserved vacation from the NYPD.  Mackie describes this book as “the all-too plausible tale of a two-pronged terrorist attack conducted against the world-famous Cunard liner.”  The takeover of QM2 by embedded terror team 1, and the coordinated high-seas intercept by terror team 2—who carries with them a one-kiloton nuclear device—occurs on the Atlantic Ocean just south of Ireland during one of the Queen’s regular New York-to-Southampton crossings. The story focuses on several passengers from different walks of life, who, like the heroic passengers aboard Flight #93, find themselves in a horrendous and seemingly hopeless situation. They must band together under Savage’s leadership in order to outwit and defeat a highly organized group of fanatic Jihadists bent on the destruction of QM2 on the high seas—with loss of life greater than that of 9/11.

Since parting company with NAL/Penguingroup, Mackie has had all rights to his books reverted from the publisher to himself.  All five of his novels are now available exclusively on Amazon Kindle.

Although he enjoys travelling and spending time with his wife, Bonnie, Mackie sets aside time every morning for writing. “I look at writing as the efforts of one for the delight and amusement of many,” he says.  “I always hope my readers will be entertained and amused and feel that their time with me has been well spent.”

For more information, visit the author's website at www.mackiej.com.

Randy Rawls - Small Town Sleuth

Randy Rawls is a small-town southern boy at heart. Born and raised in Williamston(pop. 3000), a small farming community in North Carolina, Rawls admits that his life was shaped by the values instilled in him as a boy - values like  personal responsibility, patriotism and fair play.  Add to this an intense love of the written word that was nurtured by the town librarian, and you can understand how this Delray Beach writer came to create Arthur Conan (“Ace”)  Edwards , Private Investigator - a character Rawls describes as “a nice guy, not tortured or brilliant, but a man who puts his nose to a problem and doesn’t give up until he finds a solution.”

Rawls spent his career in the army where he retired as a major in 1982 and went to work for the Department of Defense.  He credits the military with giving him the opportunity to travel, learn, teach, and “hone the values I inherited from my parents.” A voracious reader who carries a book everywhere – even to bed – Rawls’ love of reading helped him believe he could write. “I learned to write through osmosis,” he explains. “I figured the best way to learn was to read the genre I wanted to write.” He spent a full year immersing himself in first-person PI novels. Then he sat down and started typing. He admits that his first efforts were less than stellar, but he persevered. He joined a critique group and continued to compose and learn.  In 2004, his efforts were rewarded with the publication of Jake’s Burn, the first in what would become the six-book  Ace Edwards series.

Jake’s Burn tells the story of arson and murder in the small town of Cisco, Texas. Rawls set the book in Texas because he feels a special connection to the state where he lived for two years.  He became so fascinated by Cisco’s history that he decided to make it part of the plot. Weaving small-town history into the stories became a trademark of the Ace Edwards novels.  “I love history so much that I sometimes get preachy,” Rawls admits. “I work hard to make it an integral part of the story without boring the reader.” Judging from the success of the series, it would seem that Rawls has risen to the challenge.

As much as Rawls enjoyed writing his Ace Edwards books, he decided to try something different for his latest novel.  Thorns on Roses is a stand-alone thriller set in south Florida. The story of Tom Jeffries, a Broward County PI who sets out to avenge the gang  rape and murder of his best friend’s daughter, is an intense page-turner that examines the thin line between vengeance and justice.  

For his newest  book, Rawls stretches his literary wings even further “I wanted to see if I could write from a female point of view,” Rawls says.  Hot Rocks  features  Beth Bowman, a south Florida PI who finds herself framed for the murder of a client’s husband.  Rawls describes Beth as “tough as nails, but all woman,” and driven by the same small town values as his other protagonists.

Rawls hopes readers will enjoy his stories as much as he enjoys writing them. “I want my readers to be entertained, maybe find a smile or chuckle along the way and finish the book with a good feeling,” he says.  “For me, writing is my vocation and avocation.  And it’s just plain fun.”

For more information, visit the author’s website at www.randyrawls.com.

Next: John Mackie - He'll Take Manhattan