A Must Read: "We Were the Lucky Ones" by Georgia Hunter

Georgia Hunter was 15 years old when she found out that her grandfather was a Jewish holocaust survivor. With a fervor that I can only liken to someone who finds out they are adopted and then can't sleep until they know who their biological parents are, Georgia sets off to find out more about the one-fourth Jewish heritage that, until her 15th year, she didn't know she had, and in the process uncovers a tapestry of amazing, incredible stories of her family's past sewn together with boundless strength, optimism and faith.

Georgia's journey took her to France, Poland and Brazil to speak to relatives first-hand who were able to tell her about family members and the incredible situations they survived.

The entire process, from making the decision to write We Are the Lucky Ones to finishing the manuscript and seeing it published, took her 9 years.

I had the pleasure of hearing Georgia speak recently at the Darien Library.

She chose to weave her story into a novel, so that she could bring past family members to life in a very arresting and colorful way.

This amazing book can be found on Amazon.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

Writers: Take Time to Mentor the Next Generation

When I was in sixth grade, there was one specific day that I recall very well. Our class had study hall, and once a week during study hall we went to the school library. It was one room of wall-to-wall books.

On this particular occasion, the teacher, Sister Joan Bailey, called me over to her from the other side of the room. I went. As I approached, she pulled a book off the shelf and handed it to me. It was about creative writing. "I think this book would good for you," she said. And then she walked away.

I stood there for a moment in mild surprise. My first thought was, "Wow, she thinks I have writing potential??" Then, my second thought was, "Wow, she thinks I have writing potential!!!"

I had my first story published in the 8th grade newspaper, then another in a high school book. It all went up from there. Today, I am a professional writer. And it all began with a nun who spoke one sentence.

Yesterday, I received an email from my local library announcing a new writing group for girls between grades 5 and 8. It brought me back to that time when I was a girl between grades 5 and 8 and I was just starting to plant the seeds of my future.

And I felt a sense of both hope and wonder. Hope that this new writing club would help open the creative minds of many girls between grades 5 and 8 and plants the seeds of their future. And wonder about whether any of those girls, either here in my home town, or elsewhere throughout the world, would become the next great writer.

I look forward to seeing who that might be, and even to mentoring some of those future writers myself. If you are a successful writer, think about who you might be able to mentor -- high school students, college students, your next door neighbor's kid. Look around you. Reach out and share your gift with the next generation.

The future awaits! And you have a very big role to play in it.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

I've Just Joined the Self Publishers' Showcase Family!

I'm excited to report that I've just become a member of the Self Publishers' Showcase author family.

Starting tonight, they will be tweeting every other day for me to their database of 196,000. I look forward to the people who will be introduced to my book, In Fashion's Web, and whom I might meet.

Self Publishers' Showcase is a website that highlights indie fiction and nonfiction. They offer author bio pages and conduct author interviews.

The site is published by Dominion Editorial, a publishing, marketing and literary agency which handles ebook formatting, editing, proofreading and book marketing.

My author page (below) showcases my novel, website, blog, and social media links.

If you're interested in hearing more, go to selfpublishersshowcase.com or dominioneditorial.com.

I'm looking forward to the exposure this new venture will give my book!

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

The Notebook: A Great Example of How to Use Flashbacks

Spoiler alert: If you haven't read The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks, or you haven't seen the movie, I'm about to give away the story line, so if that bothers you, you may want to skip this post.

I recently (finally!) read The Notebook. I got tired of all the buzz about it being referred to as the best love story ever, or the quintessential love story. I wanted to know what all the buzz was about.

So I read it. And oh my God. What a book. It's not a very long book – about 240 pages. But it's long enough for the characters to be deep, and real, and raw, and for readers to fall in love with them.

What I like most about The Notebook though, is Sparks' use of a flashback. Next to A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford, The Notebook is the best use of the technique that I think I have ever read.

Page one starts with an old man shuffling around a nursing home. But the book quickly shifts to that same man at age 31. Then, for the bulk of the book, Noah is 31, and is remembering or flashing back to age 16 when he first met Allie, so it's actually a flashback within a flashback, because he goes from elderly to 31 to 16, then back to 31, then back to elderly, which is where the book ends.

The shifts in time and age are well choreographed, and the flashbacks are easy to follow. I highly recommend reading The Notebook first if you are considering putting a flashback in your book.

Or, if you're not writing a book, but you happen to love good romance stories, The Notebook is one of the best. Enjoy!

If you like drama, suspense and love stories, please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web, on Amazon.

Hand Out Business Cards for your Book

One of the first things I did after I self-published my novel, In Fashion's Web, on Amazon, is created business cards just for the book.

The card includes:
-a jpeg of the cover
-The name of the book
-The name of the author
-A link to the print version on Amazon
-A link to the Kindle version on Amazon
-A note that says you can also search Amazon by name
-And a note to 'like' the book on Facebook

There is no personal information of mine, such as my email or phone number. I left those off so that I could promote the book with people I meet on the street. Here's what it looks like:

I print these on my home printer, but you could easily have them made up at a place like Vistaprint online or a local retail printer in your home town.

When I meet a woman and I've had a few minutes to speak with her, I ask her, "Do you like to read?" and if she says yes, then I give her my card.

For example, yesterday morning, I was at my mechanic's get the oil changed in my car. There was another woman there also waiting for her car. We struck up a conversation and I asked my usual question. She said yes and I gave her a card.

I've given out cards in supermarkets, parking lots, Dunkin' Donuts, doctors' offices, to women in the hallway of the building I work in, etc. And some have bought the book as a result.

Whether you have a traditional publishing contract or not, you are still responsible for marketing your own work. This is one way to help, especially if you're traveling out of state or even out of the country.

Give out cards in the airport, on the beach, on vacation, on business trips. The farther you can distribute your cards, the better.

Now, I have to go print some cards!

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

What Word Would You Kill if You Could Kill a Word?

Country singer Eric Church recently released a song called Kill a Word. The first time I heard it, I was fascinated by it. In the song, Eric talks about destroying negative words. Here's the first verse:

If I could kill a word and watch it die, 

I'd poison never, shoot goodbye, 

Beat regret when I felt I had the nerve

Yeah, I'd pound fear into a pile

When I listen to this song, it gets me wondering, what word would I kill if I could kill a word?

Well, for starters, I'd blow the hell out of war. Then I'd shrink fat. I'd stuff hunger with so much food it would beg to stop, and I'd reverse old age back to when all its grey hair was brown. Finally, I'd disintegrate landfills, vacuum up smog and sew up the hole in the ozone layer with a double row of stitches so it would never come apart.

It's a fun concept. It could even pass for a game. You give out clues and then everyone goes around the table and tries to guess which negative word you are killing.

So now I'm going to ask you, what word would you kill if you could kill a word?


Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

Have you Considered Starting your Own Blog?

Most people are good at something. Some are even expert at something. Have you ever thought about sharing your passion with others? And wouldn't that be a great way to start 2017?

Perhaps you knit, or you're an avid gardener or skier, or you refurbish dolls, collect vinyl records, teach piano or refurbish houses. There are thousands of people out there just like you who might be interested in what you have to say. Why not start a blog to share your knowledge and experience? You could give it a cute name like The Daily Knitting or Today's Downhill Run.

So how would you get started? There are dozens of solutions to choose from, but I personally like Blogger.com, which is a Google solution. I think it's easy to use, and it gives me lots of free stats. Also, my posts are picked up through organic search, which is important. Not every blog offers those services for free.

I built my website in Wix (lynnrussowhylly.com) and that module offered a blogging tool as well, but I found that the stats weren't as robust as Blogger at the entry level. To get the best stats, you have to pay for them.

I launched my first blog, LYNNSIGHTS, on Blogger.com about 8 years ago. So when I decided to start Always Write a few months ago, not only was I familiar with it, but I liked the experience I've had. So back to Blogger I went. I did consider WordPress, since it is the most popular tool, but in the end, I decided to stay with what I was familiar with.

To make your decision about where to host your blog, you could do a Google search for "blogging tools." I just did that and right at the top of the list I found this great article, Top Blog Builders for 2017.

Once you've decided to start a blog and you've chosen the service you want to build it on, creating the layout is easy. The service you choose will have many available templates to choose from. When choosing a template for your blog, consider how well the colors, fonts and layout align with the subject matter you are writing about. For example, for Always Write, I chose a template with a wall of books as the background.

Altogether, your decision process should flow like this:

Decision 1: Decide to write a blog
Decision 2: Choose a site to host your blog
Decision 3: Choose a name
Decision 4: Choose a template
Decision 5: Write!

Once you are up and running, you should consider whether you would like to earn money from having advertising (Google AdSense) on your site. I do it, but I don't write enough to make significant money. To really make money, you've got to write every day, and your posts have to go viral. But if you're committed to your blog as I am, It's worth considering. Here's where you can find information about Google AdSense.

Finally, my last piece of advice to you is don't overthink the writing. You do want your writing to be succinct, free of typos, and well written. But you only need a couple hundred words per post and they should be in your own conversational tone. Remember that this is your voice, so be yourself.

Happy writing!

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.