cj Sez: Celebrating fall with one of my son’s photos and a Robert
Frost poem:
"Two roads
diverged in a yellow wood..... and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
- Robert Frost
§§
How would you answer these questions?
Do you have a tall, to-be-read pile of books residing somewhere
in your home?
Did you start reading more and more and maybe thinking
about being a writer?
As a child, did you have a parent read to you?
Did you have a home library of books?
I’ll answer first:
I have a small TBR pile and another small list of TBR Kindle
books. I blame that on my eyes, and the fact that most books put me to sleep
after about four chapters. Obviously, I’m a slow reader…unless I get captured by an amazing story and “in the
zone.”
THE BOOK for me is The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fennimore
Cooper. Based on the French and Indian war and touching on interracial love, the
story whetted my appetite for exciting adventure.
I can’t remember that either of my parents ever read to me. My
Sweden-born father didn’t read English all that well, and my mother wasn’t a reader
by nature.
Companion to the above answer: We didn’t have a home
library, although I do remember reading lots of comic books and some Golden Books.
The Golden Books weren't mine, though All of that is to say, don’t compare your writing or reading
life to anyone else’s. Sometimes, all it takes is a single story to bring about
a love of books and spark one’s imagination.
Despite not being introduced to reading books as a child, I grew to love the lyrical syncopation of words and syntax,
and I am a published author, both traditional and self.
How about you? What sparked your love of reading and/or writing? Can you
pinpoint a single story? Or do you think it was the cumulative effect of
childhood experiences?
§§
The following Jane Friedman Blog post is by editor Tiffany Yates Martin, who
writes . . .
“The Truth About First Lines.
First lines are greatly overrated. Yes, there have been some
classics that have been immortalized in the canon, but too many authors get
bogged down trying to create that perfect opening sentence and prevent
themselves from creating an effective story.”
Click on the following link to read the rest of the post.
§§
I’m rooting for you!
§§
§§
That’s all for today’s post. You-all keep on keeping on, and
I’ll try to do the same. Thanks for stopping by.
cj
As of the time of this post, the Kindle edition
is sale priced at $1.99 and available instantly.
DEATH ON THE YAMPA is a contemporary suspense/thriller tale
with a touch of romance. A woman and the man she loves are rafting the Yampa
River through the delicious scenery of Dinosaur National Monument when they
encounter her fugitive brother who's joined a domestic terrorist group.
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