Author: Erin Kettle

Pitch Wars Setting Workshop

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Writing novels has its highs and its lows. For anyone that has queiried an agent, they now understand what “tough skin” really means. But it’s all part of the process.

I’m working on my second book, CURTAIN RISING, and was so lucky to be selected into the Pitch Wars Setting Workshop and have my first 500 words reviewed.

I’m so thankful to have some great critique partners; everyone adds value in a different way. For the Pitch Wars Setting Workshop, mentor and fabulous author Kelly Siskind provided some great feedback. Having someone who has gone through the process and has written some great books, is pretty great.

So here is a sneak peek into the amazingly tough, yet wonderful, yet painful, yet amazing process of writing. This is my exerpt of CURTAIN RISING, with Kelly’s feedback.

http://www.brenda-drake.com/2016/06/day-2-june-setting-workshop-pitch-wars-mentor/

For those who don’t know Kelly’s work, check her out!

Kelly is the author of CHASING CRAZY and MY PERFECT MISTAKE, the latter being the first of her Over the Top series, all published through Grand Central’s Forever Yours. A small-town girl at heart, she moved from the city to open a cheese shop with her husband in northern Ontario. When she’s not neck deep in cheese or out hiking, you can find her, notepad in hand, scribbling down one of the many plot bunnies bouncing around in her head. She laughs at her own jokes and has been known to eat her feelings—gummy Bears heal all. She’s also an incurable romantic, devouring romance novels into the wee hours of the morning. http://www.kellysiskind.com

 

books

Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago via http://bookshelfporn.com

Query Kombat Today

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A few years ago I started connecting with other authors on Twitter and it changed my life. I’m so glad that I’ve met so many great people that are in the same shoes, writing, editing, and supporting each other.

My book, AMERICAN HONEY, got selected to compete in Query Kombat today! It is very exciting and yet, I’m so nervous. The winner will go on to compete in the next round, and so on. My competitor has got the goods too!

Thanks for , our team of authors selected to compete these next few weeks.

Please come visit, leave feedback, and cheer us on (we’ll leave the voting for the judges though)! Today, my book is on this site: http://www.michelle4laughs.com/2016/06/qk-round-1-ivy-league-sex-scandal-vs.html#comment-form

Very exciting!

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What does honesty look like?

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There are so many faces of honesty. I’ve always been so interested in this topic, especially researching the life of an unreliable narrator for my new book. And then I happened upon a New York Post article, and that kind of brutal honesty has to make you smile…(story below).

DEFINITION: An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The reader/viewer often does not realize the unreliability until a contrast of the truth is shown by another character or event.

The dishonesty that seems to hurt the most is when you are not honest to yourself.

It’s amazing what we’ll do to protect ourselves sometimes, persevere, and move on. You see it all the time from fights between non-working women to working women, jobs, economy, even things like sleep. We try to convince ourselves that we don’t need it: we’re better off without it.

When people are so honest to the point that it puts them in a bad light, and their actions clearly were incorrect but they still choose to put it out there, whether to help others or just help themselves…I find that so refreshing.

Here is the New York Post article that made me smile. Obviously, I don’t condone his behavior, but it is hilarious.

http://nypost.com/2016/02/16/i-needed-weed-man-who-found-wallet-returns-license-not-cash/

NYPOst

 

Living in the Today

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It feels like every other day there is an awful shooting or act of terrorism. But sadly, I heard a stat that there have been more mass shootings than actual calendar days of the year so far.

I think it makes all of us feel helpless as we sit watching the news, hugging our family, not knowing how to protect them. My daughters are five and three years old, so they haven’t had to hear about all of this. But soon they will, and I worry they will fear for the future, like I sometimes do. And more than anything, it makes me sad that they will lose that sense of innocence.

San Bernardino two days ago, Paris the other day, Beirut, etc. It feels sad to even write “ETC.” but it goes on and on. I can’t help but wonder what the solution is, how do we handle this sadness, scariness, and evil that is everywhere today?

Last night I realized I needed to stop watching and start living.

  • We need to live in the today.
  • We need to stand tall for our beliefs.
  • We need to love our family and friends more.
  • We need to believe and act as though every day counts. 

And when these tragedies happen, we need to urge everyone around us to support each other and find a solution. All of our neighbors, family members, state and national government should be held accountable for keeping each other safe. There’s a grave disconnect with mental illness and the constant threat of terrorism, and we need to figure out how to identify these issues and stop them before they happen. How can we live in such a progressive country, yet be afraid to send our kids to school?

I hope that you will find strength in something in your life, and hold onto that the next time tragedy hits.

In the meantime, live and love deeply.

Free_hugs

Let’s Fly

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I have a quote on my desk that makes me smile. I originally printed it, to give it to my girls, but it hasn’t made it off my desk.

(I do plan to get a better print and frame it for them.)

But the sentiment is so important. It’s just that daily reminder that we need to get out there and give it a shot.

“What if I fall?

Oh, my darling, what if you fly?”

So today, I say…go for it! And don’t forget to remind your friends and family too!

 

 

#777 Challenge Accepted – “American Honey”

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Christi R. Suzanne tagged me for the #777challenge. We met through an eye-opening author class at the Attic Institute with Whitney Otto in Portland. Since then, a few of us have stuck together to become great writing, critiquing, and commiserating friends.

Check out her stuff and her novel MORT ADDENDUM…you’ll never look at Kool-Aid ever the same! Follow her at @christirsuzanne.

The goal of the 777 challenge is to share seven lines from page seven of your manuscript, then tag seven more writers.

This excerpt comes from my finished novel, AMERICAN HONEY (currently looking for representation).

AMERICAN HONEY is women’s fiction weaving together a journey in two timelines about coming-of-age, leaving your past behind, and then recapturing it.

American Honey

So on to the next, I challenge friends from The Writer’s Voice, Pitch to Pub and Query Kombat!

Role model

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In the wake of the recent Josh Duggar news, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad that there was news that his wife, Anna, would likely stay with him. It’s not that we all don’t have our issues, we do. But molestation (of your own family) and participating in an infidelity site, is no small potatoes.

But more so than anything, I feel for her children, her girls.

She should be setting an example that no one should ever put up with that type of disgrace or pain, over and over again. Everyone should have the right to choose, but choose by identifying if those actions and character are something you want to share with your own kids.

I look at my daughters and I will continue to bend over backwards to make sure that they fight for what they want, always keep learning, and be proud of their accomplishments. Never, would I tell them that they’re not worth it; that a relationship, while not good, is good enough; that they should just deal with the pain if their significant other commits a crime/hurts them emotionally/etc. But allowing that type of behavior is similar to condoning it, and what kind of example is that.

Don’t get me wrong, she may decide it’s best to stay with Josh in the end, and that’s her choice. But I want her to show the girls of today that she is strong enough to stand tall, to take a step back away from Josh, his large, persuasive family, and the media to make up her own decision. I want her to call the shots, not cower in the corner. I want her to push him to take responsibility and if she decides to give him a third (whichever number it is) shot, then it has to be on her terms. More than anything, I want her to tell the world that she is fighting for the life she and her kids deserve to live.

I want our girls of today and tomorrow to know they deserve the right to stand up for themselves, because they’re worth it.

What is a super mom anyway?

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If we’re connected on Twitter, you’ll see my description says:

Author of American Honey, PR Strategist…wife, super_mom and always in search of a good book, glass of wine or some sunshine. 

I’ve had friends ask…what is a super mom anyway? Nine times out of ten, they say they are far from anything super.

Here’s the secret, I am too! But we gotta stick together.

I am a mom to two rambunctious and adorable girls, 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 years old, and sometimes, I feel that they are the ones corralling me.

Life gets busy, with work, family, friends and activities, to say the least, but you know what…what makes you a super mom is the fact that you try.

You know what will make you an even better mom?

Showing your daughter what inspires you, excites you and makes you grow. These are all the things we feel bad doing in the moment because they take us away. For example: work, hobbies, exercise, music, etc. But they are watching and they love seeing you accomplish something important too.

I just read something to my older daughter today that said, “I am strong because I’ve been weak. I am fearless because I’ve been foolish…”

Because I want her to know that it’s the mistakes that make us stronger. 

That’s how I feel as a super mom. If you’re making mistakes, you’re learning. And that means you’re trying.

With love,

From one super mom to another!

SuperMom1Dawn_zps890d0a51 copy

 

Irrational Sweet Tooth

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It’s true. I’ve tried having a talk with it, to tell it that we can’t keep doing this. This, making and eating of desserts all the time.

But I have an irrational sweet tooth.

Yesterday, I gave in. I made Dulce de Leche to put into Dulce de Leche Doughnuts and mini bundt cakes. Yes, you heard me right.

Dulce de Leche

I started brewing the Dulce de Leche and the house started to smell like MmmmmmM. My daughter even said so.

I was tempted to just lick it up right there, and believe me, I “tested” it. But I used that ooey goodness to fold into the doughnut mixture I was creating. Hey, but I baked them, that’s healthy right?

Since I didn’t make enough Dulce (more ended up in our bellies), we had to suffice for a chocolate topping. The sprinkles are courtesy of my girls.

And I always say it was worth the trouble, the mess and the calories. Best part, you know every ingredient that you’ve put into it.

Bon Appetit!

Dulce de Leche Doughnuts

Why is it so hard to ask for help?

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It was a particularly rainy afternoon and I was waiting for my 2 1/2 year old to get up from her nap.

It was after 4 PM when I was finally able to drag the two kids with me to the grocery store. I put one in the cart seat and one in the actual cart so that they wouldn’t run through the store, in hopes that we could get this done quickly.

Two bathroom trips (yes, that was TWO) and 90 minutes later, we’re finally trying to get out of the store. And I had already forgotten two things. Too bad.

I’m trying to unload and check out and my youngest starts crying because she can’t reach the food to “help me out” and put things on the check out. My older daughter is counting the chocolate bars by touching each one on the side of the aisle.

The cart is overflowing and I’m trying to get the kids jackets on, pay and get out the door, when my youngest falls sideways and of course, hits her head on the cart.

Now she’s really crying.

“Do you need help out?” the store clerk asks.

“No, no,” I say as I’m trying to push the kids forward and out of the way so the next customer could pay. I lean down, trying to console my youngest.

“Does she need an ice pack?” another clerk asks me.

“No, thank you, she’s okay. We’re just trying to get out of here. It’s been a long trip, so to speak,” I said and honestly, I could not get out of the store fast enough.

“Do you want me to help you out?” this store clerk asks.

“No, thank you. We’re just trying to go,” I say as I’m trying to get the girls to follow me, jackets on, etc.

“Here, let me push the cart. You can get the girls,” she said.

And she pushed the cart out for me, while I put my kids’ hoods up, held their hands as we crossed the street to our car. And then she unloaded the cart into my car.

I couldn’t thank her enough.

The lady that stood behind me at the check out line was parked near me and said, “I’ve been there before. I’m so glad that lady helped you out.”

I smiled at her. I was too.

She continued, “I don’t know why the clerk asked you if you needed help. She should know we ALWAYS say no, but we really mean yes.”