So, my girl Paige and I have been coming up with some great, and I mean great class ideas, on the chance we win the lotto and get to open our much-dreamed-about writers’ cafe. Or more likely, work our tails off and earn it. Oh, you don’t know about that? Well, we have plans. And SuperGirl‘s our baker. But all that’s for another post.
One of the class topics I threw out was my love for animal symbolism. I mean, all y’all already know my affinity for bees and frogs and zebras, am I right? Hulloh, annoyingteasingnoticing everyone with my Bee pen at Blue Ridge two years ago? Priceless. And the Dazzling Zebra theme on social media? It’s just fun.
So now I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of the New Inklings Press Media Menagerie. Ladies and Gentlemen (and lions and tigers and bears), I give you Bruce Allen.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Meet Bruce Allen
Bruce has been around for a while. As long as Nippers, actually. I’m a bear collector. For realz. I mean, how could I not be? My dad had to kill a bear to survive when I was a baby. It was in all the papers. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t all that dramatic, but I grew up with this story. He really did shoot a bear. And now the rug is in my cedar chest. [Read: The Bear Rug ~ A Heritage Story.] I still have the teddy bear my mom gave me for Christmas when I was nine months old. So, yup. I’ve been collecting bears since I was born. At last count, I have over a hundred, although most are in storage.
Thankfully, Bruce Allen (B.A. for short) stayed in the house. And he’s turned into a growly great reminder:
He reminds me that it’s okay to forage my way through the forest.
He reminds me that even when I’m not exactly sure what’s coming next, I just need to know whatever I need will be there.
He reminds me to slow down when I need to, give the body a rest.
He also reminds me it’s okay to bare my soul, to expose those vulnerable parts of me or my characters, that my audience can connect with.
And he reminds me to not be afraid to make some noise.
I mean, people and bears. Not always a good mix. Am I right? But B.A., he’s adorbs. Who doesn’t want his cute little mug around saying, “Go for it!”
And here’s another thing. Remember the A-Team? I’m talking the original TV series created by Stephen J. Cannell, (although the movie was pretty decent, too) and the character B.A. Baracas. Now there was a bear of a guy, but at heart, really just a teddy. Yeah. That’s another reason my bear is named B.A. [read: Why I Write. Every Day.] When I was a nobody, Stephen took my inquiry and made it something. He reached out, and through example on social media, helped me gain courage to claim the title Writer. He networked with me before I knew what networking was, and I was lucky enough to meet and talk with him a few months before he passed.
Frankly, My Dear . . .: Meeting Stephen J Cannell
That was really a foraging moment for me. I knew what I wanted and needed, and I found a way to get there and make it happen. He was the first famous person to call me “Molly Jo”. #suchatreasure
So here’s a little video advice from Stephen to every aspiring writer:
And here’s a little more advice from Bruce Allen: Take the word “aspiring” out of your vocabulary. As soon as you’ve put pen to paper or finger to keys, you are a writer. What you do with it, well that’s your journey through the forest.
My question to you is, what does your foraging look like?
Just wanted y’all to know, for every book or ebook sold through the end of September, New Inklings Press will donate to Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma relief efforts.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected at this difficult time.
After a broken engagement and the death of her beloved uncle, Penny escapes her nightmares by flying into New Orleans. She finds herself struggling to embrace a new future. Does that mean letting go of her past? What about her new friends ~ the ones accused of murder? In search of something she can’t identify, she discovers things aren’t always as they seem. Somewhere between the French Quarter and the bayous, she finds the answers she’s looking for . . .
And some she’s not.
Now she must uncover the truth between the lies.
New Orleans turns 300 next year. And I may or may not be planning a trip a la book signing.
Josie’s world is almost ready for you. In a few weeks, I’ll have the first draft of NOLA sent off to alpha readers, my editors, and a potential agent or two. Talk about exciting. Of course, I don’t know that the book will be published in time for the NOLA Anniversary, but do you honestly think that will stop me from going? Please, Sugar. That’s like saying tea shouldn’t have, well, sugar.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Laissez les bon temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)
It’s so great, y’all, that my accent is kicking in at the day job. Yup, that’s right. I was drinking sweet tea and calling them “y’all”, and ~ get this! ~ no one flinched. I mean, it’s like they heard me when I told them I was a creative.
It’s pretty fabulous.
This week I hit a milestone. I reached 79,000 words on the manuscript. Can you imagine? Seventy-nine-thousand. By the time you read this, I may even be over eighty. Them’s a whole lotta words, let me tell you. I can see the finish line. I’m dreaming up marketing. (You’ll help me spread the word, won’tcha?) And I’m feelin’ a little bittersweet. Because once NOLA is written, this relationship I’ve had with these characters for the better part of five years is going to change.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : NOLA research
So I thought I’d take today to look back and embrace the changes.
NOLA was originally going to be a short story about a young woman named Nola who had certain supernatural abilities. The more I toyed with the idea, the more I realized my subconscious had already turned the Crescent City into a character, and it couldn’t possibly be a short story. NOLA, the novel, was born.
The main character was renamed Penny Jo Embers. My original plot had her destitute and using all her savings to run away to New Orleans and buy a haunted typewriter. She was going to rent a room in an old house and tell her story. In my mind, it was a very black and white story. She also used a camera to document everything. But it soon became tedious for her to use both a typewriter and a camera. And, like I said, it was very black and white. I had the suspense, except I didn’t know what the suspense story was. So the camera, the haunting, the old house, they all went bye-bye. And Josie went through about eight dynamic changes before I found her story that stuck.
About this time, my friend Lisa told me about a woman in New Orleans who was selling cookbooks she had curated from family recipes. Since I had done the same, I reached out to this woman to see about ordering one of hers. That was the start of a very wonderful friendship with Ms. New Orleans 2014, Lindsay Reine.
Frankly, My Dear . . . Lindsay Reine’s Cookbook
In the last three years, Lindsay has become my technical advisor, and at times, spiritual. She has always been available by email, phone call, Facebook, or text to let me know if something works or doesn’t work. And in true New Orleans fashion, she’s often answered my questions before I ask them. You’ll definitely find Lindsay’s influence throughout NOLA. We’re pretty much the real-life equivalents of Josie and Toni.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Toni (#NOLA)
Y’all have seen the bits and pieces I’ve thrown out. And y’all aren’t stupid. I mean, it’s New Orleans, and I’m writing a mystery. There’s Voodoo, dysfunction, Rougarous, drinking, crime . . .
Frankly, My Dear . . . Truth is Relative (#NOLA)
But there’s also friendship and . . . Well I can’t tell you what else because I don’t want to ruin it. Just know that as far as my NOLA research goes, Lindsay has been invaluable.
Now, the characters. Whew. Where to start? Well, I wanted the story to be Josie’s, and it is. But it’s also the story of her new friends Toni, Rain, and Rain’s older brother, Lou. There’s a cousin who’s also a cop. And a few other secondary peeps in the show. And by secondary, I don’t mean less important.
If you’ve followed me on Instagram, Twitter, or joined my NOLA Swarm on Facebook, you’ve no doubt seen some of the memes I’ve created. That’s a thrill, a joy, I get when I’m able to share parts of the book with you.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : The Mississippi River calls (#NOLA)
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Momma Tristan (#NOLA)
Music is also super important. Rain plays melancholy Jazz on the piano when he’s trying to figure things out. Josie still listens to the Strumbellas and Sideshow. Of course, everyone loves Sinatra. And, since the story takes place in October, there’s the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival.
Visit New Orleans will also get a huge shout out of thanks in the acknowledgements but they deserve it here, too. From the very beginning, they have kept the conversation going with helpful links, plenty of information, and just all around support. NOLA wouldn’t be NOLA without NOLA. Bonus: they follow me on Twitter. How stupidcrazyawesomehumbling is that?!
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Visit New Orleans
Have I forgotten anything? I think so! Can we take a minute and talk about the food? Hulloh, this is New Orleans! At every corner Josie’s discovering debris and muffaletta and maque choux and chicory and coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde (no surprise there, folks!) and bananas foster and po’boys at Johnny’s and Hurricanes and so much more. [Note to self: Finish curating recipes for the NOLA Companion Cookbook.]
Frankly, My Dear . . . : No Blackened Salmon (#NOLA)
But I’m at a place now where I have to keep my mouth shut and write the ending. Which means ain’t nobody getting any new memes for a while. Well, at least not too many.
NOLA, like New Orleans, is rich with character, setting, ambiance, failures, successes, fear, love, hate, denial, acceptance, monsters. But there’s plenty of good times, too. And so much more.
Truth be told, the main character of NOLA is New Orleans itself.
Sometimes you pass by a building of significance, shut off to the public, and wonder what it would be like to step past those doors.
Doors Open is an opportunity that lets you do precisely that.
Frankly, My Dear . . . Photoblogger William Kendall, Ottawa Doors Open
In the province of Ontario, from late April to early October each year, Doors Open Ontario presents events in cities and towns across the province, opening buildings to the public on a given date- buildings of historic and architectural interest. Some are churches, synagogues, mosques, or temples. Others are infrastructure related. Some are museums and galleries that might give the visitor a look at the archives or vaults. Others are working buildings usually closed to the public at large, such as government buildings with a particular drawing power, or diplomatic missions.
The idea has been around for years; while the provincial program is well established, there are Doors Open events in other Canadian provinces, and similar programs in the United States, such as Open House Chicago or Open House New York. And in Europe, a similar program across the continent dedicates itself to museums at night.
In Ontario, the program has caught on over time. Toronto and Ottawa are big sites for the event on their respective weekends, each featuring more than 100 sites open to public visits. Small towns have caught on as well, some featuring twenty odd places in their boundaries and opening them up for a day or two. Some counties or districts will shuffle locations each year- one township in that district might host it one year, another the next.
Ottawa’s Doors Open always takes place in early June. This year there were more than 160 sites open over the two days- completely impossible to catch every last one. The city runs a free shuttle bus that can connect up to around fifty of them, but realistically speaking, you’re only going to be able to catch so many, especially in a city of our geographic size- Ottawa might just have a population of 800 000 odd souls, but it ranges over urban and rural environments, and Doors Open Ottawa sites are all over that ground.
There are a multitude of places of worship, embassies, restaurants, government centers, sporting clubs, and other buildings to be visited. Some I get to each year. Others are new discoveries for me. This past year, getting into the Sir John A. Macdonald Building, a government conference building across from Parliament Hill, was a delight, and my first time inside. The former bank is only open to the public at large on a weekend like this, and it is a beauty inside. So is Earnscliffe- the present home of Britain’s top diplomat here, and the final home of Sir John himself- our first prime minister died there in his last residence.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Photoblogger William Kendall at Earnscliffe
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Photoblogger William Kendall at Earnscliffe
Frankly, My Dear . . . Photoblogger William Kendall, Doors Open Ontario
Doors Open is the only time you can go in and have a look, and the place is popular each year.
Some places participate every year, or every other year. Others, a bit more sporadically, but each year, the offerings are good, coming to see historical buildings of personal significance. If you’ve got an interest in architecture and history, Doors Open is the ideal kind of weekend for you.
We often struggle with purpose. What are we supposed to do in life, and does it even matter to anyone else if we don’t do it?
In a nutshell, yes.
Now, it may not come to us in a lightning flash, overnight, or even over a year. It may take a while for us to develop or realize what we have to offer. But here’s the point:
We do have something to offer. Every single one of us.
And someone else is waiting to receive it.
God put young Esther in the care of her uncle, Mordecai, before the King took her into his palace. And it was while she was in this place she didn’t want to be, away from her family, that God used her the most. Not in the comfort of her own house, under the protection of family. But in a strange new home with a man she did not love. When her family was threatened, she did the unspeakable: She spoke up.
“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place,
but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
~Esther 4:14 NLT
If you don’t want to be used, God will find someone else for the job. But just think how perfect for the position you are if you’re His choice. And just think how perfect His timing is that He would chose you now.
Don’t be afraid to speak up. You could be someone’s Esther today.
