Category: Blog

I was going to write more along the theme of last week’s post, but I’m going to focus on this week’s events. Police officers killed two people, one in Louisiana and one in Minnesota. Last night an armed, former soldier killed five police officers as a rally wrapped up in downtown Dallas.

I lived in the Dallas / Fort Worth area for almost nine years. I saw first hand the patriotism of the residents after September 11, 2001. My Dad and I were in Texas Stadium two weeks later to watch the San Diego Chargers take on the Dallas Cowboys. For the Star Spangled Banner, armed forces personnel unfurled a massive, Texas size flag. It covered the field, and only the end zones remained visible. At that moment in time, we all loved our country.

Years later a tornado struck downtown Fort Worth, knocking out many windows of the skyscrapers. It was a difficult time, but the citizens of North Texas came together, and the vibrant atmosphere of Fort Worth lives on. It is a great town to visit.

I watched ABC News tonight and at the end of their broadcast, they showed several people approaching the memorial outside Dallas Police Headquarters to lay flowers or other mementos. Those who stopped by said it was important to show support for the Dallas Police force. I truly believe the DFW area will emerge stronger.

Tragedy struck Dallas before, and I shouldn’t have to mention the tragedy by name. Life in Dallas, and in Fort Worth, and all the surrounding suburbs, will get better. Just like it did those many years ago.

There are incredible stories coming from last night’s events. As a writer, that’s where you want to be, capturing the emotion of each person involved. I wish that author my best. After all, history doesn’t write itself.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I finished Way of Wonder: Wisdom from G.K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist. My review is on Good Reads. Next week I will be reading Once, There Were Sad Songs by Velda Brotherton. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.

It’s Friday night, time for another blog post.

I’ve attended many writing workshops and local conferences. I’ve listened to numerous authors talk about their books and what they’ve done to get published. I have a growing following Twitter promoters for self-published authors to help them market their work. I understand how important marketing is for any book. You can write an awesome book, but if nobody knows about you’re not going to get the sales you anticipated. Marketing is important, but I’m not a marketer, I’m a writer. History doesn’t write itself.

I know extremely little about marketing a book. Notice all the emphasis I put on that word. I’m not avoiding learning about marketing a book. I’ve registered for and attended a couple of webinars and read blogs on book marketing. But still, my knowledge on how to market a book lacks greatly. I’m a writer, not a marketer.

What I am doing is probably not right. From what I gather, there are thousands of ways to market a book. I’ve taken the first steps. I have a website in my name, an email address in my name, an author Facebook page, a Twitter account. Am I using them properly? I don’t know. I’m not an expert on how to market on Facebook or Twitter. I’m thinking of adding more social media accounts. But which ones? Instagram. Pinterest. Linked In. MySpace. There are probably more. Which are good and which are bad for an aspiring author? Can they be tied together so that a post on one flows to all? I don’t know. I’m a writer, not a marketer.

There are classes and workshops all across America and the world teaching the English language and how to write. There are probably just as many classes and workshops on how to master social media. I see a difference between them. Once you learn how convoluted the English language is with its array of dangling participles and prepositional phrases at the end of sentences, you harness that knowledge and avoid the mistakes. Being a master of social media is, I believe, a continuing process that binds you an outlet(s) for as long as that outlet is relevant. Earlier I mentioned MySpace, a forerunner of Facebook. If you took the time to master MySpace, it is all for naught. I believe it is still operational, but it is not a viable marketing tool. So you go master Twitter. Oh, but wait, Twitter is slowly losing its grand power to reach the masses to market your book. So you go master Facebook. Until something replaces it. I hope you see the pattern. If you choose the wrong social media, you’ll have to learn a new one. And the next one after that. All the while, your sales lag in obscurity. To me, that is a massive amount of work for aspiring authors. We are writers, not marketers.

Granted, there are authors who are wonderful marketers. I applaud them. But not everybody can do that. Some people have a different thought process. For us to learn, comprehend and understand the proper ways to market an author’s first book, we would need to obtain a BA in marketing from a university. Most authors do not want a BA in marketing. They want an MFA in creative writing. I ask for publishers to judge us on the manuscripts we submit, and not how grand our social media present is. As a publisher, you hire people to market books. Let them do their job. And let us do our job. We are writers, not marketers. After all, history doesn’t write itself.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I finished The Last Raid of the Daltons by David Stewart Elliott as well as The Branches of Time by Luca Rossi. My reviews of both books are on Good Reads. Next week I will be reading Way of Wonder: Wisdom from G.K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.

I apologize for being a couple of days late with this blog post. Friday night, my parents, sister and her children met my niece and her family at the Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Two of my nieces are in the play, and it was wonderful to see them.

I continue to try and get my story published. It is currently in the hands of a publisher. Their submission process takes eight to ten weeks. I won’t know anything definitive until mid-August. I continue to revise my manuscript and write flash fiction and short stories for the 2016 Ozark Creative Writers’ Conference in October in Eureka Springs.  I’m also looking into attending a WordPress one day conference in July in Fayetteville, Arkansas. My website, www.alanlampeauthor.com, is a WordPress template. I am happy with the look and content of the site. I believe it would be beneficial to learn more about the software that runs it so that I could make changes as needed.

I have ideas for my next story, most of which are written down. I’m working on my schedule to carve out quality writing time. After all, history doesn’t write itself. The previous sentence will become my unique sales proposition or USP. My story takes place between 1939 and 1969. I mention a great amount of historical events during my romp in the swamp. My next book, although taking place on a fictional planet, will be based in the European Renaissance era. A lot of research to do. I enjoy incorporating history into my story. If I can educate one reader to look up a historical fact from my story and learn something, then all of this will be worth it.

In closing, be a historical fiction writer. You’ll learn a lot of what happened in the past. It’s a great feeling to share your knowledge. Just remember, history doesn’t write itself.

What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I finished Oh, for the Love of God last week. My review is on Good Reads. While at the lake yesterday, I read most of The Last Raid of the Daltons by David Stewart Elliott. This short book, 66 pages, recounts the Dalton Gang’s attempted dual bank robbery in Coffeyville, Kansas on October 5, 1892. I visited the town last summer and picked up the book at the Dalton Defenders Museum. I’ll finish the book tomorrow and start The Branches of Time by Luca Rossi. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.

I took last week off to attend my annual family reunion. All who attended had a great time. Also, at the end of May, I submitted my manuscript to a publisher in Austin, Texas. Their website says to give them eight to ten weeks to review each submitted manuscript. At the latest, it’ll be mid-August before I hear something from them. I’ll keep you posted on how things are going with them. I hope you continue this journey with me as I strive to become a published author.

Automobiles can make or break a story. From the General Lee to Esmerelda, cars play an important part of your story, even if your character is just driving off into the sunset in one. What type of car your character is driving, or riding in, tells your reader a lot.

I use many cars in my story. They range from a Ford Model A, to a Plymouth coupe, to a GMC truck, to an Oldsmobile sedan to a Buick Roadmaster to a Greyhound bus, to a Louisiana State Police patrol car. Each of those vehicles says something about the character who drives, or rides, in it. If I were to change the vehicle, it would change the character. Ensure the vehicles fit the character. Would Back to the Future be as entertaining if they used a VW Bug instead of the DeLorean Coupe?

I used Google Images for photos of the above vehicles. I didn’t need to know the details about each vehicle, only the unusual, visual traits. Granted I did find several refurbished and highly detailed GMC trucks, but the image I went with fits my story. It didn’t take long to find, and I went back to writing. It’s a good idea to save the photo you find so that you can reference it when needed. Little things like this are great aides in your writing.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I finished Breaking Wild earlier this week. The ending is very emotional. I started Oh, for the Love of  God by John K. Anthony, a Catholic priest. The book contains his sermons, and they are entertaining.

I’m currently revising my first draft manuscript. It’s taken me longer than anticipated, but I do believe it is creating a better story. During the revision phase, my goal is to clarify scenes/dialogue that wasn’t up to par in the first draft and add the details my critique group mentioned. I do have to change some scenes completely. As a writer, you have to be open to changing your manuscripts to present the best possible story. Don’t be so entrenched with your work that you feel no change is necessary. Every story can be revised and edited, especially when your characters do something you didn’t plan for them to do and you have to get your story back on track.

First, write your story all the way through to the end. Get a finished first draft so that you have something to work from when you revise. If you write and revise, write and revise, you’ll never finish the story. Write your story, no matter how long (or short) it is, how long it takes you, how many computers you blow up. It is an awesome feeling to be able to write “The End” and mean it. It took me just under two years to write my manuscript in my spare time. I still have to work for a living.

Second, use a critique group. They will provide invaluable information about your story, your characters, and your style. The more diverse the group, the better your story will be because of them. Critique groups are also online. Find one you are comfortable with and listen to them. They represent a portion of your future audience.

Third, when you manuscript is complete, then go back and edit it. Stay in the creative mode for as long as possible, but once you type “The End” become an editor and look for ways to make your manuscript better. There will be times during the editing process where you do have to create (as I mentioned in the first paragraph). When that occurs, focus on that one scene, finish it and get back to editing.

Fourth, don’t count on Microsoft Word as your editor. Spend a little money and have your manuscript professionally edited. The publishers will thank you for it. At least I assume they will. The more time and effort you put into your manuscript, the more positive feedback you will get.

It is a job trying to become a writer. I hope this blog of my journey will help you in yours.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I finished The Heart that Gives earlier this week. It can be read multiple times as a refresher on how to be a good Catholic steward. I started Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets yesterday. It’s a tale of a female hunter in northwest Colorado who gets lost and the female ranger who goes looking for her.

At long last, welcome to the launching of my logo! I hope you find the wait was worth the delay. This idea floated around inside my head for a couple of months. Here’s the story behind this extremely fun logo.

I attended a craft fair in my hometown and a deck of cards caught my eye. Another passion of mine is collecting playing cards and I have over 1,700 decks. The vendor offered two decks for sale, “American Frontier” and “American Frontier Predator Edition”. The United States Playing Card Company produced both decks. In each deck, the traditional court cards were replaced with images of various animals. Deer, elk, moose, turkey, quail, ducks, rabbits, raccoons and squirrels came to life as Kings, Queens, and Jacks. The images are highly detailed and beautifully done. I purchased two of each deck, one to open and admire the artwork, and one to remain sealed as long as it is in my collection. The vendor was not the artist, but they would get me in contact with him.

Via email, I met Will Pitney, the artist of the “American Frontier” playing cards. I explained to him what I was looking for in a logo. He said he could draw the logo and have it to me in two or three weeks. He sketched out eight different images and asked my opinion of them. I narrowed it down to two. He added details to those two images and I chose the one that I want to represent me as an author. Will did a fabulous job.

As you can see, the alligator is enjoying the book he’s reading. A smile is on his face and he’s swinging his tail in the air. I hope you relish my stories as much as the alligator is. My story takes place in a bordello, but it is not a serious story. It is a very fun romp with over the top characters. His right leg is resting on two mores books to read. I have more books inside of me waiting to come alive on the page. I anticipate you wanting to read these stories as they are published.

The frog in the middle is holding up the book using his back. The expression on his face conveys many meanings. The biggest one I see is that he’s praying he doesn’t get eaten by the alligator when he’s done reading. He also says to me, “What have I gotten myself into?” My story presents to you a bordello, alligators, voodoo, a migrant worker that drinks hard liquor like water, a news reported focused on a single story for twenty years and much more. How do I bring all this together into a cohesive story? I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until I find a publisher. I pray that will be soon.

The frog on the right is holding up the book using his legs. I have more books to write, more characters to bring to the page. This frog is in homage to my first book which takes places in a bordello. The position this frog is in can be interpreted sexually.

As you can see, a lot of thought went into this logo. I’m proud of it. Thank you, Will Pitney, for drawing it. Being able to tie two of my passions into this one logo is the best of both worlds. I hope you enjoy it and look forward to seeing it on my business card and any other printed paraphernalia that I produce.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I finished Don Quixote last night. I posted my review on Good Reads. Today I started The Heart that Gives – Seven Traits of Joyful Stewardship by Fr. Thomas J. Connery. I encourage you to read a variety of topics. This section of my blog will show you I follow this advice. The next book I read will be a fiction book.

Continuing on my theme of researching, it is important to have a wide variety of people in your critique group. Part of my story takes place in a nursing home as my main character is 105. It is where he lives. He has dementia and believes it is the 1980s. In my first draft, I had the nursing staff act a certain way toward him that makes it easier for them to take care of him. A member of my critique group, a registered nurse, told me if the nursing staff acted this way, they would be fired. She also said my character would probably be in a mental facility, not a nursing home. She did provide me a beautiful alternative, which is home care. The rules are different for home nursing care as opposed to institutional care. In my revised draft, I made the change where my main character can receive home care with the nursing staff acting in a certain way.

In another scene, I have my main character, in a flashback, drinking whiskey straight from the bottle. In order to set the mood, I wrote sunlight pierced the bottle and the dark brown liquid swirled as he picked up the bottle. When that scene was reviewed, I learned dark brown whiskey is actually rancid whiskey and undrinkable. This bit of research included purchasing a 1950s style, brown glass whiskey bottle from Etsy and borrowing a co-worker’s current whiskey bottle. I poured his whiskey into my old bottle and set it in the sunlight. Brown whiskey in a brown glass bottle is clear when the sunlight pierces it.

My third scene to research took a while, even though it involves only one question. Part of my story takes place in Amsterdam in the 1940s after World War II. I used Google Maps to zoom in on the city to see where things were. The Mata Hari restaurant popped up very close to a street intersection I use in my story. Earlier in my story, I used Mata Hari as a Halloween costume and believe the restaurant would be a perfect tie-in. I just had to know was it there in the 1940s. To obtain this answer, I went to Facebook and the Mata Hari restaurant page where I posted my question. About four months later I received my response. The restaurant is a recent addition to the Amsterdam. I had to take it out of my story.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I’m still reading Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. According to my Kindle, I’ve made it through 85% of this tome and it is entertaining.

All writers are familiar with the phrase “write what you know”. If you don’t those who do know will let you know that your written words are wrong. Writers don’t know everything and we must do research from time to time. Before I started my manuscript in earnest, research needed to be done. So I visited a bordello.

There are many great things about setting your story in a bordello. One, everybody knows what happens in a house of ill repute, no matter what time frame you choose. Two, you don’t have to spend chapters describing your characters actions so that the reader understands what is going on. Herman Melville’s unabridged Moby Dick is a good example. Don’t get me wrong, it is very helpful to have this information as you read the story. I doubt I’ll ever fully understand the workings of a whaling ship in the nineteenth century, but it did slow down the pace of the story. At least from my perspective. I do encourage you to read Moby Dick. Getting back to my story, it’s downright fun to write about a cat house.

I visited Miss Laura’s Social Club, also known as the Fort Smith (Arkansas) Visitor’s Center, in May 2015. After surviving a flood, a nearby fire and a tornado, Miss Laura’s is the city’s only remaining row house. It is furnished with period furniture and the docents were very helpful in answering my questions. As luck would have it, Carolyn A. Joyce, the Tour and Travel Sales Manager for the city of Fort Smith, plays Miss Laura for special events. She took time out of her busy schedule to talk with me. The impromptu meeting was invaluable.

After gleaning all I could from Miss Laura’s, I made my way to the Fort Smith Historical Site and Judge Isaac Parker’s courtroom. In the gift shop, I noticed book by Michael Rutter titled Upstairs Girls – Prostitution in the American West. Truly, the research gods smiled on me that day. I purchased the book, read it, and obtained his other book, Boudoirs to Brothels. Just by luck, I stumbled onto two great books for researching prostitution.

It is advised to write what you know. But when you have to do research, enjoy it and you may be surprised at how easy the information you are seeking comes to you.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I’m currently reading Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. I’m two-thirds of the way through this tome and it is entertaining.