In the cop shows, whenever the intrepid detective (Watching the Detectives, Elvis Costello) is working on the massive conspiracy that killed her mother/lover/those six girls we never met, but who really give our character a reason to act, the case is always shown as pictures (Pictures of You, The Cure) tacked up and connected by red string. I don’t know what set designer came up with the red string, but they ought to get royalties. It’s so common that if I worked at a craft store and someone bought red string I’d think they were a serial killer, a cop thrown off the force for refusing to quit the case, or a grandmother of toddlers stocking up for Christmas. I bring this up for the reason that it is a fitting visual for the song lyric littered wasteland (Teenage Wasteland, The Who) that is my brain.
Whenever I have a story noodling around in my head, but haven’t moved it to the level of having an outline, my natural writing style is to pick out scenes that I want to write, type them up, and save each scene to it’s own word document. As you can imagine, this creates a number of random word documents that might be hard to keep track of. But I have a system, most often I’ll name the document the song lyric associated with it. As a book grows, frequently these scenes become chapters, and those document names become chapter titles. Which is why the original table of contents for Bulletproof Mascara, the first of my Carrie Mae Mystery novels, read more like a playlist than serious literary subtitles. Sadly, editor made me change most of them – now they simply hint at the songs they reference. Apparently, the only people more uptight that literary rights lawyers or music rights lawyers. But you can still rock out to the Bulletproof Mascara playlist simply by visiting my youtube page (youtube.com/CarrieMaeMysteries) – please enjoy the musical stylings of David Bowie, James Brown, Simon & Garfunkel, Tech9, Morcheeba, and (of course) more.
Originally posted on 7/13/16 at The Stiletto Gang
https://bethanymaines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/c1z5upi.png496800Bethany Maineshttps://bethanymaines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Aug2016-Logo-op3-300x69.pngBethany Maines2016-07-14 08:45:472016-07-13 05:20:51The Red String of My Mind
Wednesday saw the release of my new novella – Wild Waters!! This is my first time doing true romance (sex scenes – eep!) and I’m very excited for everyone to get a chance to read it!
His duty. Her secrets. The mission that brings them together will tear them apart.
In the steamy jungle of 1960’s era Vietnam, when a team of Navy SEALs are brought together with a pair of reporters, no one is prepared for the explosive secrets their encounter will reveal. Lt. Ben Kolley, former WWII frogman, leads one of the first teams of Navy SEALs in 1968 Vietnam. His wild pack of soldiers have earned their reputations as “green ghosts” on the Mekong River and none is more elusive than Catch, the point-man with an uncanny sense of the water. The reporters, a bumbling drunken writer, and Kahele, a female photographer with a sharp mind, dark eyes, and an even darker secret are the first allowed to interview a SEAL team and both are intent on nailing their assignment. But neither Kahele or Catch are prepared to discover an attraction for each other that’s like nothing they’ve ever experienced. Soon, Catch is breaking all the rules to be with her, and Kahele finds herself entangled by a passion she’s never felt before. But for Ben, Kahele dredges up horrifying memories of an old mission – one where not all of his team returned. Can Kahele be trusted or is she the monster Ben fears? The clock is ticking, and soon all their lives may depend on Ben’s decisions. SEALs believe they can survive anything, but can they survive the truth?
I was going to say that I was in an on-going search for mascara that gives my lashes the appearance and silkiness of toddler, or one of those ridiculous boy who have won the genetic jack-pot of eyelashes, but don’t have any use for them. But to be perfectly honest, after the last debacle of a mascara purchase I’m simply looking for mascara that doesn’t leave my face covered in speckles of black.
This month I moved on to Scandal Eyes Show Off by Rimmel. It had a fancy looking brush and exciting packaging design. I base many of my purchasing decisions on packaging design. My theory is that if you’re the kind of company that can hire a decent graphic designer and then ALSO pay to get their design printed, then chances are that you make a decent product. Surprisingly, this works fairly often.
However, in this case I was disappointed. The mascara was clumpy. It was flaky. The weird ball brush tip actually got in the way when applying. Either I needed to use only the ball tip or I need to cut it off so I could use the rest of it. None of it was so hideous that I threw it away and ran out to buy a different tube; it was just mildly annoying. And for these reasons, Scandal Eyes does not receive the Carrie Mae seal of approval. On to the next mascara!
He says that he had never before seen or heard of a skateboard when he put a plank on skate wheels. Of course, his invention went no further than a backyard of summer fun, but he still likes to claim his invention when some youth sails by on a long board.
Well, now I feel his pain. James Patterson, Mr. Prolific himself, is in the process of releasing what he’s calling “Book Shots” — novella length works, penned with co-authors, that cost less than five dollars.
You have no idea how annoyed this makes me.
Because it was MY idea. This month I’m releasing Wild Waters, a novella length paranormal romance (sex scenes!) story. The genre is outside of my usual brand, but I thought the structure and topic were interesting (reporters, SEALs, Vietnam!). I also thought my readers might enjoy something at a lower price point, but in my style of writing. I examined the options. I had the thoughts. I came up with the plan.
And then James Patterson stole it out of my brain! How dare he use his larger amounts of money, time and fame to launch my idea! It makes me want to march right over to his house and give him a toddler. Let’s see how fast he can type then. Toddlers should be like weights for jockeys. If Vegas gambled on writer’s turning in manuscripts on time, I’m sure that they would have developed some sort of toddler distribution system by now. Fortunately, for Mr. Patterson and for me, there’s plenty of room in this world for novella’s and writers of all kinds, with or without toddlers. Good luck to both of us with our tiny books.
Originally Published at the Stiletto Gang on 06.08.16
https://bethanymaines.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/WildWaters_600x960-opt1.jpg960600Bethany Maineshttps://bethanymaines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Aug2016-Logo-op3-300x69.pngBethany Maines2016-06-09 22:59:052016-06-07 23:03:08My Toddler Works for James Patterson
Late in the month, it seems like almost everyone suddenly wakes up and realizes that the deadlines that seemed so very far away are now, like, almost here, man. Cue panic. Cue sudden uptick in workload for yours truly. The problem is that I’m exactly like everyone else. I’ve been noodling over several pieces of writing and now the deadline is like, almost here, man!
Now is when the marathon of writing becomes a sprint. Just how fast can fingers type? We’re about to find out.
Now is also about the time when back pain and carpal tunnel set in. Time to start juicing writers! No, I mean literal juicing. It’s important to stay hydrated – prevents muscle spasms. Although, I personally prefer copious amounts of tea, liberally applied, at regular intervals.
Now is the time when the tiny proto-human you’ve been carefully nurturing like a hot house bloom looks up from a coloring book and says, “Sorry mom, work. Four more minutes.” Gee, wonder where she got that?
Now is the time that my face looks like this:
So wish me luck as I sprint to the end of the month. And wish my family luck as they get abandoned for fake people that I made up.
Originally published on the Stiletto Gang 05.25.16
https://bethanymaines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/minion-stress.jpg638640Bethany Maineshttps://bethanymaines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Aug2016-Logo-op3-300x69.pngBethany Maines2016-05-26 08:03:342016-05-24 19:07:42Now is the time…
The Red String of My Mind
/in Carrie Mae, General Writing, The Stiletto GangIn the cop shows, whenever the intrepid detective (Watching the Detectives, Elvis Costello) is working on the massive conspiracy that killed her mother/lover/those six girls we never met, but who really give our character a reason to act, the case is always shown as pictures (Pictures of You, The Cure) tacked up and connected by red string. I don’t know what set designer came up with the red string, but they ought to get royalties. It’s so common that if I worked at a craft store and someone bought red string I’d think they were a serial killer, a cop thrown off the force for refusing to quit the case, or a grandmother of toddlers stocking up for Christmas. I bring this up for the reason that it is a fitting visual for the song lyric littered wasteland (Teenage Wasteland, The Who) that is my brain.
Whenever I have a story noodling around in my head, but haven’t moved it to the level of having an outline, my natural writing style is to pick out scenes that I want to write, type them up, and save each scene to it’s own word document. As you can imagine, this creates a number of random word documents that might be hard to keep track of. But I have a system, most often I’ll name the document the song lyric associated with it. As a book grows, frequently these scenes become chapters, and those document names become chapter titles. Which is why the original table of contents for Bulletproof Mascara, the first of my Carrie Mae Mystery novels, read more like a playlist than serious literary subtitles. Sadly, editor made me change most of them – now they simply hint at the songs they reference. Apparently, the only people more uptight that literary rights lawyers or music rights lawyers. But you can still rock out to the Bulletproof Mascara playlist simply by visiting my youtube page (youtube.com/CarrieMaeMysteries) – please enjoy the musical stylings of David Bowie, James Brown, Simon & Garfunkel, Tech9, Morcheeba, and (of course) more.
Originally posted on 7/13/16 at The Stiletto Gang
Wild Waters Release
/in General WritingWednesday saw the release of my new novella – Wild Waters!! This is my first time doing true romance (sex scenes – eep!) and I’m very excited for everyone to get a chance to read it!
Purchase Wild Waters at:
>>Amazon(Kindle) >>Smashwords(all digital versions)
Or enter to win a free copy through 6/26 >>HERE<<
WILD WATERS (with Sienna Lance)
His duty. Her secrets. The mission that brings them together will tear them apart.
In the steamy jungle of 1960’s era Vietnam, when a team of Navy SEALs are brought together with a pair of reporters, no one is prepared for the explosive secrets their encounter will reveal. Lt. Ben Kolley, former WWII frogman, leads one of the first teams of Navy SEALs in 1968 Vietnam. His wild pack of soldiers have earned their reputations as “green ghosts” on the Mekong River and none is more elusive than Catch, the point-man with an uncanny sense of the water. The reporters, a bumbling drunken writer, and Kahele, a female photographer with a sharp mind, dark eyes, and an even darker secret are the first allowed to interview a SEAL team and both are intent on nailing their assignment. But neither Kahele or Catch are prepared to discover an attraction for each other that’s like nothing they’ve ever experienced. Soon, Catch is breaking all the rules to be with her, and Kahele finds herself entangled by a passion she’s never felt before. But for Ben, Kahele dredges up horrifying memories of an old mission – one where not all of his team returned. Can Kahele be trusted or is she the monster Ben fears? The clock is ticking, and soon all their lives may depend on Ben’s decisions. SEALs believe they can survive anything, but can they survive the truth?
Mascara Meh
/in Carrie Mae, Graphic Design, Life, Make-UpI was going to say that I was in an on-going search for mascara that gives my lashes the appearance and silkiness of toddler, or one of those ridiculous boy who have won the genetic jack-pot of eyelashes, but don’t have any use for them. But to be perfectly honest, after the last debacle of a mascara purchase I’m simply looking for mascara that doesn’t leave my face covered in speckles of black.
This month I moved on to Scandal Eyes Show Off by Rimmel. It had a fancy looking brush and exciting packaging design. I base many of my purchasing decisions on packaging design. My theory is that if you’re the kind of company that can hire a decent graphic designer and then ALSO pay to get their design printed, then chances are that you make a decent product. Surprisingly, this works fairly often.
However, in this case I was disappointed. The mascara was clumpy. It was flaky. The weird ball brush tip actually got in the way when applying. Either I needed to use only the ball tip or I need to cut it off so I could use the rest of it. None of it was so hideous that I threw it away and ran out to buy a different tube; it was just mildly annoying. And for these reasons, Scandal Eyes does not receive the Carrie Mae seal of approval. On to the next mascara!
My Toddler Works for James Patterson
/in General Writing, Life, Marketing, The Stiletto Gang, Wild WatersMy dad says he invented the skateboard.
He says that he had never before seen or heard of a skateboard when he put a plank on skate wheels. Of course, his invention went no further than a backyard of summer fun, but he still likes to claim his invention when some youth sails by on a long board.
Well, now I feel his pain. James Patterson, Mr. Prolific himself, is in the process of releasing what he’s calling “Book Shots” — novella length works, penned with co-authors, that cost less than five dollars.
You have no idea how annoyed this makes me.
Because it was MY idea. This month I’m releasing Wild Waters, a novella length paranormal romance (sex scenes!) story. The genre is outside of my usual brand, but I thought the structure and topic were interesting (reporters, SEALs, Vietnam!). I also thought my readers might enjoy something at a lower price point, but in my style of writing. I examined the options. I had the thoughts. I came up with the plan.
And then James Patterson stole it out of my brain! How dare he use his larger amounts of money, time and fame to launch my idea! It makes me want to march right over to his house and give him a toddler. Let’s see how fast he can type then. Toddlers should be like weights for jockeys. If Vegas gambled on writer’s turning in manuscripts on time, I’m sure that they would have developed some sort of toddler distribution system by now. Fortunately, for Mr. Patterson and for me, there’s plenty of room in this world for novella’s and writers of all kinds, with or without toddlers. Good luck to both of us with our tiny books.
Originally Published at the Stiletto Gang on 06.08.16
Now is the time…
/in General Writing, Life, The Stiletto GangLate in the month, it seems like almost everyone suddenly wakes up and realizes that the deadlines that seemed so very far away are now, like, almost here, man. Cue panic. Cue sudden uptick in workload for yours truly. The problem is that I’m exactly like everyone else. I’ve been noodling over several pieces of writing and now the deadline is like, almost here, man!
Now is when the marathon of writing becomes a sprint. Just how fast can fingers type? We’re about to find out.
Now is also about the time when back pain and carpal tunnel set in. Time to start juicing writers! No, I mean literal juicing. It’s important to stay hydrated – prevents muscle spasms. Although, I personally prefer copious amounts of tea, liberally applied, at regular intervals.
Now is the time when the tiny proto-human you’ve been carefully nurturing like a hot house bloom looks up from a coloring book and says, “Sorry mom, work. Four more minutes.” Gee, wonder where she got that?
Now is the time that my face looks like this:
So wish me luck as I sprint to the end of the month. And wish my family luck as they get abandoned for fake people that I made up.
Originally published on the Stiletto Gang 05.25.16