Truths and Lies

It is always the best policy to tell the truth, unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar. - Jerome K. Jerome

I don’t usually post twice a week, but my friend and fellow writer, Sandy Lender of Today the Dragon Wins blog, nominated me for the Bald-face or Creative Blogger award. Sandy writes fantastic fiction books; her latest release is Choices Meant for Kings. I feel bad that it’s taken me so long to acknowledge and say thanks for thinking of me, so I decided to do this extra post just for you Sandy.

The idea is to tell with six lies and one truth or six truths and one lie about myself. I’m a terrible liar. I know, I know, that seems like a crazy line coming from a fiction writer, but it’s a fact. For that reason I have decided to tell six truths and one lie. I hope you’ll leave a comment to let me know which one you think is the untruth.

1. Even though women were not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, I once drove disguising myself by wearing a typical man’s ghutra (headdress).

2. I’m the middle of eight children, all girls.

3. I congratulated my Taiwanese landlord when he informed me his mother had just died.

4. I was in Washington D.C. during the period of the Beltway sniper attacks.

5. I love dipping my French fries into mustard rather than ketchup.

6. I once ate whole shrimp complete with eyes, legs and tails.

7. My first international travel involved a move to Hawaii before it became a state.

Though I am supposed to pass this on, I know many of the bloggers I visit have already posted quite clever lies and truths, which I have mostly been unsuccessful at guessing correctly. If there’s anyone left out there who would like to try their hand at lying and ‘truthing,’ please feel free to say I passed the honor on to you.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you again on Monday.

Tags: Jerome, Sandy Lender,

Arc Angels Appearance

“Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavour.” –William Cowper

For those who don’t know, the Women’s EXPO of Southwest Florida will be taking place on February 20, in North Port. Because I’m concentrating all my energy these days on my recovery, I will not be able to attend. However, signed copies of The Ride will be available at the Arc Angels booth along with a variety of wonderful books by amazing authors, Sandy Lender, Tina Murray and Sara Williams.

For details, I am printing a copy of the press release:

The Arc Angels Authors salute Women's Expo with Great Reads for Every Taste

ArcheBooks Publishing is pleased to announce that four of its Southwest Florida women authors will appear under the Arc Angels Authors banner Saturday, Feb. 20 at the Women’s Expo of Southwest Florida in North Port. These authors offer exceptional novels in a variety of genres that appeal to women:

Fantasy: Sandy Lender, Choices Meant for Kings. Commanding heroine Amanda Chariss personifies the qualities of hope, integrity, leadership and positive self-esteem as she battles forces both godly and human in the faraway kingdom of Onweald.

Glitz: Tina Murray, A Chance to Say Yes. Poppy Talbot is overwhelmed by her suppressed love of her high school flame, now a Hollywood heart throb returned to flaunt his wealth—and hide his empty life--in the their upscale hometown, Naples, Florida.

Women's Contemporary: Jane Sutton, The Ride. As Barbie Anderson escapes her mid-life meltdown and her abusive spouse, Route 66 becomes her treacherous road to self discovery.

Mystery/Suspense: SaraWilliams, One Big Itch. When a brilliant but philandering economist is murdered on the doorstep of his Honolulu mansion, his current and ex wives set aside a bitter rivalry to rescue his teenage son, charged with his father’s murder.

Women’s EXPO of SWFL runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at George Mullen Activity Center & Grounds, 4956 City Center Blvd, hosting more than 150 exhibitors, live music on stage, educational seminars, and a food court. Admission at the door is $4. Find the Arc Angels Authors at space 207 in the Exhibition Hall. Find these and other fine works of fiction at: http://www.archebooks.com/

A reminder for those who have purchased The Ride and would like to have it personalized, simply send me an email (jane@janesutton.com) and I will gladly send you a personalized bookplate.

I hope you’ll have an opportunity to stop by the Arc-Angel booth to meet Sandy, Tina and Sara.

Tags: William Cowper, Women’s Expo, Arc Angels, Sandy Lender, Tina Murray, Sara Williams, press release, ArcheBooks,

Network with a Twitter Party

“Turn the lights down, the party just got wilder.” – Dan Rather

At the risk of sounding socially inept, I‘m confessing that I didn’t know how to party 21st-century style. Tired of being left out of the fun, I turned to my friend, Sandy Lender, for help. Kindly she agreed to be my guest blogger to explain the process.

Fantasy enthusiasts will recognize Sandy Lender as the author of the breakout novel Choices Meant for Gods and a leader of workshops on world-building and characterization. Her four-year degree in English and seventeen-year career in magazine publishing augment her book publishing experience for a variety of presentations. So without further ado I turn you over to Sandy, the party girl.


Online social media demand we flex our networking muscles, and Twitter constantly provides innovation in this gymnasium. If you’re new to the Twitter community, please check out the definitions at the end of this article for some of the terminology we’ll use. For those of you well-versed in tweeting, let’s take a look at a phenomenon that even veteran twitterers wrinkle their brows over—Twitter parties.

Some social networkers refer to a Twitter party loosely, defining it as an event IRL where twitterers from a local area get together to network. In public. That takes organizational skills.

A Twitter party in its true form takes place online, on a Twitter platform. Twitter users participate in a common discussion about a specific topic. They find each other’s tweets and replies by use of a common hashtag. To make this easier, users can employ applications such as Tweetdeck (my personal favorite Twitter tool and which you really must download (for free) through Adobe AIR), Tweetchat, the regular Twitter page, Tweetgrid, Twhirl, etc.

It’s as simple as that.

A Twitter party that visitors to this blog would have an interest in is #editorchat, which meets on Wednesday evenings. I’m usually in on an all-day party called #musicmonday and another called #winewednesday. Of course I don’t participate all day long, nor is that kind of participation required.

To participate in a Twitter party using the above-mentioned Tweetdeck, click on the third icon across the row of gray icons available at the top of the Tweetdeck screen. This is the “mentions” icon. It will provide you a “mentions” column, which brings up tweets that include your username by default. At the bottom of the column, click on the third gray icon, which is the “filter” icon, and a small text box will open. Type in your party’s hashtag, press the “enter” button on your keyboard, and let Tweetdeck find all the tweets in your group for you.

To participate in a Twitter party using the above-mentioned Tweetchat, click on the blue link in the top right of the Tweetchat home screen where it tells you to log in. Log in using your Twitter account information. When it presents you with a text box, type in your party’s hashtag. When it gives you the option, click the “enter room” button. By using Tweetchat, you won’t have to type the hashtag each time you type a 140-character post. It automatically tacks on the hashtag for you.

To participate in a Twitter party using the regular Twitter page, use the search function to enter your party’s hashtag. Use the “refresh” button to update frequently. This is the least efficient of all the options out there, in my opinion, but can get the newcomer started in a new, yet important, networking arena.

I welcome folks to join my Twitter followers crowd.
“Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”

Some definitions:
Tweet: the 140-character or less post made on Twitter
RT: retweet (a very polite thing to do if you read a tweet that you like)
Hashtag: a word, tag, phrase, shortcut following the “#” symbol that is used to let readers/followers know that your tweet belongs to a specific discussion
Twitterer: a person with a Twitter account who posts tweets
Follower: a person who follows your account and reads your tweets
IRL: in real life

Thank you, Sandy. Your post has me in the party spirit and anxious to try out what I’ve learned. Be sure to check out Sandy’s website. Choices Meant for Gods is available now and the intense sequel Choices Meant for Kings will be released soon. What Choices We Make is also available now.

When leaving a comment or question for Sandy or me, feel free to include your Twitter link. Maybe we can all party together one day soon.

Thanks for stopping by.


Tags: Sandy Lender, Twitter Party, network, on line social media, hashtag, tweeting, followers,

The Tedious Task of Editing

“Anything you really want, you can attain if you really go after it.” –Wayne Dyer

Going after it, is what innovative marketing is all about. I’ve written several blogs on unique marketing techniques, such as Tao Lin selling shares of his unfinished second novel, or R.N. Morris Tweeting his first novel.

The latest marketing technique involves the tedious task of editing and was sent to me by Sandy Lender, author of Choices Meant for Gods and, the soon to be released, Choices Meant for Kings.

I don’t usually post videos because I know many people are too busy to take the time to watch them. However, I’m making an exception because The Editing Letter by Lara Zielin is funny and I can so relate to the issues addressed. If you are not an author, this is the perfect opportunity to look into the mind of one.



Unfortunately this is another promotional method I can’t take advantage of because my singing voice is… well… in all honesty, I’m severely ‘carrying a tune’ challenged.

If you’ve heard, tried, or seen innovative marketing techniques, I’d love to hear from you.

Also, I should mention that Sandy has an excellent trailer for Choices Meant for Kings. Don’t miss it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tags: Wayne Dyer, Tao Lin, R. N. Morris, Sandy Lender, Choices Meant for Gods, Choices Meant for Kings, The Editing Letter, Lara Zielin,

Erratic Blogging

“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” – Thomas La Mance


You may have noticed my blogging has been a bit erratic lately. The reason is that I am in Little Rock once again tending to aging parents with numerous health problems.

My friend, Sandy Lender, (author of Choices Meant for Gods and the soon to be released Choices Meant for Kings) encouraged me to write while I’m here by reminding me that Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre while watching over her father after his eye surgery. She didn’t even have a computer.

I can’t see myself concentrating long enough to write a novel like Bronte did, but I should at least be able to manage a blog or two.

The latest news from ArcheBooks is that Tina Murray’s novel, A Chance to Say Yes is due to be released any day now. I’m excited not only because is it the book before mine, but also it’s a good read and a blurb I wrote is going to be on the back cover.

ArcheBooks is currently working on the dustcover for The Ride. I hope that means the book will be released soon.

My 88 year old mother has been excited about my book since I completed the first draft several years ago. She’s never understood why ArcheBooks didn’t drop everything to publish my book immediately. Oh, if only they’d listened to Mom!

Currently my mother is under hospice care. She seems content, comfortable, and at peace with the situation. I on the other hand, am not. I am further saddened knowing she may not be around for my book’s debut.

However, like I’m Not Dead Yet Fred from Spamalot, Mom has been written off by her doctors several times before and has bounced back much to their amazement and ours. I’m hoping for another of these miracles and that I’ll be able to hand deliver the very first copy of The Ride to her.

Thanks for stopping by. See you next week.

Jane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride (to be released by ArcheBooks Publishing)
janekennedysutton@gmail.com
http://janekennedysutton.googlepages.com/
http://www.authorsden.com/janesutton



Tags: The Ride, Archebooks, Sandy Lender, Choices Meant for Gods, Choices Meant for Kings, Tina Murray, A Chance to Say Yes, Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, Spamalot

Going Red

It’s finally happened—I’ve gone ‘red.’ That means The Ride has officially entered the production process.

My reaction, when I saw my information in red on Tuesday, was not the one I expected. I thought I’d be ecstatic—like when I signed the publishing contract with ArcheBooks http://archebooks.com/. And, although I am excited, my initial and strongest reaction as I stared at the red print was fear.

This fear was best expressed by Sandy Lender, author Choices Meant for Gods, during my interview with her when she said, …“Seriously, once I saw that the book was in editing and things were moving along, I waited for some bizarre phone call saying, ‘Oh, Sandy, you need to rewrite it all and, by the way, you suck.’” (For the complete interview go to my July 20th blog http://janekennedysutton.blogspot.com/2007/07/interview-with-sandy-lender.html)

The logical side of me realizes it’s a silly concern because I know I would never have received a contract if that were the case. But, like the idea of a monster under the bed to a child, it’s not that easy to shake off.

Of course, I am hoping the manuscript won’t require major rewrites but I am not naïve enough to believe it’ll sail across an editor’s desk with no changes at all. The best I can hope for is that it falls somewhere in between the two.

So for the following week or two or three or more, you can find me pacing and trying not to develop the nail biting habit as I wait to hear from my editor, Vickie.

If you have any editing horror or happy stories to share, I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by. See you next week.

Jane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride (to be released by ArcheBooks Publishing)
janekennedysutton@gmail.com
http://janekennedysutton.googlepages.com/


Tags: The Ride, Archebooks, Sandy Lender, Choices Meant for Gods, editing