Me and George Eliot--Pseudonymous

I am a huge fan of George Eliot. Her real name, Mary Anne Evans, is unknown to most people. Sadly those who do know her may only know that too-sappy-for-me tale, Silas Marner. I consider her masterpiece to be Middlemarch which you can download at Gutenberg.org in written form here or in recorded form here. It has made many lists as one of the greatest novels written in English. It's sure on mine.

As writers she and I have little in common. My fiction is of the fluffiest. Hers delves into the very heart of man. But we do have something in common: pen names.

She chose a masculine pen name because she wanted to be taken seriously as a writer. Women writers in the Victorian Era were associated with light fiction. (Which is exactly what I'm trying to do.)

I have had to use pen names twice now. When my darling daughter and great son-in-law owned a bilingual magazine that reached out to a Hispanic population, I wrote for them but they felt I needed to use a Hispanic name. I chose an outrageous one, "Esperanza del Sol", which my son-in-law actually liked. So I've been published under that one.

Another magazine will publish an article and a story of mine next year but they usually do not use the same writer twice in an issue. Lo and behold! I need another pen name. Somehow Esperanza was too over-the-top for this very conservative children's magazine. So I reached into the family archives and pulled out Ann Argyle Fox, my great-great-great grandmother. She's buried here in the valley where I now live. I know almost nothing about her but I thought her name would look great in print.

It's way cool having a pseudonym. It's like having an alias or a secret identity. I highly recommend it. Plus, picking them out is a hoot. 

I wasted a lot of time looking into the whole issue of pen names and discovered quite a few which I thought were folks' real names. Probably the most interesting thing I learned is that nom de plume (literally "name of pen") didn't come from the French at all. The English made it up. The French used nom de guerre (name of war) instead and today use "pseudonyme."

When I published my novel last October, my mom asked me if I was going to use my real name. This worried me a bit. Perhaps she was afraid that I was going to shame myself in public? I went with the real McCoy but still have reasons to use another name from time to time.

I'd love to see a comment if you've had to use one yourself or if you have a favorite writer who uses one!

Books Banned from the Bedroom

Our number one banned book (from Amazon)

 It's been a tough week. Sometimes living in a happier and funnier world through a book is the key to success during such a time.

So I've been thinking about the authors who are banned from our bedroom because one person laughing out loud makes it impossible for the other to sleep.

Here's our list of writers whose wit keeps our partner awake.

1. Terry Pratchett. Michael is definitely not allowed to read Sir Terry when I'm tired. There's no way Michael can control his laughter unto tears. Any book with Nanny Ogg in it is especially banned.

2. P. G. Wodehouse. Although Michael loves his stuff too, I'm the one who gets the giggles every few pages or so. I'll go along for a few pages holding in the laughs successfully and then he hits me with a simile which reduces me to hopelessly giggling jelly.

3. Dave Barry. Neither of us can hold back the laughter here. The man feels our pain and we feel his.

4. Peter Egan. For those not in the know, Mr. Egan writes for Road and Track. His funniest columns are those that make Michael laugh in empathy in memory of painful car repair experiences.

Please, please add your banned authors in your comments. I need all the laughs I can get right now.

Ten Reasons Why Writers Need Vacations

Slowly I turned!

My husband's job has been overwhelming. So when he realized he had a true three-day weekend with no projects, he said, "Let's get out of town."
We took a wonderful trip to New York and saw Watkins Glen, Palmyra, and ...Niagara Falls! Niagara Falls has been top on my "must see" list for some time.
Now I'm back to work and I thought I'd share the top ten reasons (in no order) I needed a vacation. (I think most of them apply to writers in general.)



1. I needed to be humbled and reminded that there are experiences for which there are no words. Standing ten feet away from the bottom of Niagara Falls would count here.
2. I needed to spend time reading without feeling guilty about not writing.
3. I needed to learn more stuff. I learned a lot about hydroelectric power, geology and history. I even learned the origin of that silly Three Stooges skit "Slowly I turned."
4. I needed to reconnect with nature. A writer spends an awful lot of time inside.
5. I needed to meet more people. Even brief encounters add to my knowledge of human nature.
6. I needed adversity. No vacation is without trials. Even minor adversity adds to a writer's bank of emotional experiences.
7. I needed more visual memories.
8. I needed to experience child-like curiosity and wonder and surprise.
9. I needed a break from daily chores. Not worrying about housekeeping duties I neglect when I write was refreshing and revitalizing.
10. I needed to spend more time with my brilliant husband. It was enriching to talk with him and to see how he brought a different outlook to the new experiences we were having.

Michael with a hero, the great Tesla

Behind a waterfall in Watkins Glen

All photographs copyrighted by Michael Denney. Please ask for permission to reproduce any of them.

Watkins Glen

Inspiration and Temptation

First, a bit about inspiration. When I think about what children teach you, the word "patience" usually comes to mind. Either you learn patience from your children or you become a really lousy parent.

But I didn't know just how much a child can inspire you.

The darling in the photo overcame some incredible obstacles to get her MFA in Fiber Arts. I am inspired by her efforts to finish a degree and start a new career. It makes me want to be a harder-working, more persistent, more excellent person. You can find out a lot more about her here. And you can see her artwork there too.

The white-haired guy has been an inspiration to me for many, many years. He too has shown me how important diligence, hard work, and persistence is. Talent is just such a small part of what makes success.

Another inspiration this week was in the form of a blog post by a writer named Rachel Aaron. Here's the post. I found her thoughts interesting but got a lot more inspiration from some of her other posts on editing and plotting. I found that she had mastered some of the things I've learned by trial and error. So I'll be excited to introduce these ideas into my writing life.

Now for temptation. While Michael was gone for Naomi's graduation, I was tempted to wallow in self-pity. I didn't get to go to my baby's graduation? How could life be so cruel? Of course, I had gotten to go to Naomi's MFA art show while Michael stayed home being diligent, hard working and persistent. It was also tempting to feel sorry for myself on Mother's Day since Michael was there enjoying Mother's Day with three of my four children. (And he'd seen the fourth of our kids that week as well.) And I have to admit that I snapped at a few folks about the situation. But I did a lot of self-talk and decided that my life is pretty good. I have been greatly blessed. And so I got through the bumpy parts of last week.

There was another temptation that came in the mail yesterday. Michael and I avoid working on the Sabbath day if at all possible. (He actually works a ton of Sundays, but not by choice.) But when I was invited to go to an author appreciation event given by the Plymouth Historical Society, I felt that it was something I could attend and that it would still be in keeping with my standards. The event is just a thank you for local authors with a Plymouth connection. All four of my great-grandparents on my Dad's side lived there, so I have deep roots in that little town. And I wouldn't be making any money after all.

Then I got the letter yesterday which said that authors were welcome to bring their books to sell and sign! This put a whole new spin on the event. It didn't take a lot of time for me to realize that I could go to the event, but that selling books would be not be in keeping with my beliefs. So I will be going but won't be selling books. I think it will be appropriate to give out business cards to those interested in buying my book.

So lots of inspiration and two temptations pretty well skirted. Not a bad week!

The Kindle Author Now Owns a Kindle

It's official!  After several months of doing very well as a Kindle author, I took the plunge. It didn't hurt that Staples had a $40 dollar rebate going and that I had $40 dollars' worth of Staples credit. I went with the 3G which turned out to be very wise since the Wi-Fi in our house is unpredictable at best.

Surprisingly, both Michael and I (both bibliophiles) love the thing. It's quite fun to play with and very easy to read. And since we are in the process of doing some big-time downsizing, this little device is making us feel much more comfortable getting rid of old paperbacks we used in college English classes. Thanks to Project Gutenberg, we can download all those nineteenth century novels for free. There are also a ton of P. G. Wodehouse novels in the public domain and they're available at Gutenberg as well. Eventually, I suppose, we will get around to actually buying a book on Kindle.


The world is changing  in book publishing today and this little e-book thing is going to be like a small snowball rolling down a mountain.

As I told those wonderful folks who came to hear me speak at a recent Back Mountain Library luncheon, books are not going away. But e-readers aren't either. This is going to be interesting.

Every Family Needs an Artist

My recent trip to Texas was all about attending my oldest daughter's Master's art show. And I can truly say she knocked my socks off. I've seen lots of her art, but this show was just overwhelming.

As a writer, I think a lot about what it means to be an artist. If you write something, it may or may not be art. And if you build a building, it may or may not be art. But the visual arts are pretty clear-cut. If you draw a picture, it's art.

And what Naomi does is the real thing. She proves every day that just talent is not going to get you anywhere. This child has a work ethic like no other. So when you combine natural abilities with a real drive to produce and excel, you end up with the success she has had.

It's very hard to explain her work and I spend a lot of time taking pictures of her quilts from the side. Her work is 3-D and very sculptural. This work called "X" is so brilliant in its color. Both my son (pictured here with his artist sister) and I loved this one best. Her show consisted of a room of handmade books and another room full of these sculptural quilts. You can see more of her work at her website. She has a link there to purchase something if you want to have a piece of her art in your own home.

I love it that art crops up in the most unexpected places. The more I travel, the more surprised I am how public art is finding its way into airports. This gorgeous tunnel in the Detroit airport is a combination of art glass, lights and music. It's truly an experience to walk through.

Have an artistic experience today. Visit her website. Or go to an airport. Or read a book or listen to Brahms.

As the Pirates of Penzance say,  "For what, we ask, is life
               Without a touch of Poetry in it?"

Where have I been and why am I here?

Where have I been for the past two weeks? Walking in the sunshine and enjoying the glorious flowers in my yard? Spring cleaning? Taking care of all my responsibilities at home and church?
No. I've been sitting in my office doing heavy edits on two books. And I'm whupped.
Going over something you wrote for the second, third or fourth time is a real energy zapper. But I have learned to love the editing process almost as much as I love writing. Once I got it through my skull that editing is just another way to write, it got a lot better.
The progress so far is a really clean copy of my LDS romance called Magnolia in the Snow which went out to beta readers yesterday.  And I'm almost done with a complete rewrite of Snarky and Sweet's sequel which might be called Sassy and Sweet or not.
A whole ton of stuff including taxes has been ignored and I'm hoping today to do a lot of it. I have a big trip to Texas coming up next week.
And I'm going to Texas because my darling Naomi is having her Thesis Art Show to finish up her Master's program in Fiber Arts. If you're not familiar with her work, click on her name and check out her website and blog. She's been doing some amazing work.
In Texas I also get to see all my children and their families. The Utah family of eight is moving to Texas. And, of course, all the others live there already.
So the question remains, if all of my children and their families are in Texas, why am I here in PA?