A rose by any other name....

There's a shirt I've heard of. It says something like "Careful, or I'll put you in my novel." That would make naming characters so much easier!

I have a lousy time trying to name characters. Come to think of it, I had a tough time trying to name my dog. And my cat. And my business. And my child. I'm a big fan of "nicknames," so that was important when naming my child. She needed a name that could be formal if necessary, but informal as well. And her first and middle names had to flow.

Think about it. Names are important. I could always tell when I was in trouble. My mother used my first, middle, and last names. Usually in a highly exasperated tone.

My dad once got in deep "doggie-doo-doo" because of the name of his escape artist dog. Jailbait, the dog, managed to break free of our back yard and find some teenage girls to pet him. Imagine my dad's face when he realized he had just screamed "Come here, Jailbait!" into a crowd like that! The dog's name was soon changed to "Trouble."

Character names are the same. Some characters are "passing through" the novel -- the neighbors of the murder victim, or the check out girl at the grocery store. I don't put the time and energy into those names that I do into the name of re-occurring characters. The name of my main character's father, for example, is important because it would have helped shape my main character. That would have been the last name she grew up with. Where was she in the alphabet? How did that effect her? Did it even matter?

So I research. I find what the names mean. Where did the name originate? How common is it? Does the name and all nicknames associated with it fit my character?

Does it always work? No. I'm honestly not sure I like the name I've given to my FBI agent character. But it's his now and he is starting to fit into it.

Blessings!

Nichole (meaning: victorious people)

Persistence--Can't Write Without It

This was a blog post I did yesterday on a different site that had good feedback so I thought I'd post it today here so other people could read it too.

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” -- Calvin Coolidge quote

This week has been unusually hectic for me as a writer, and unusually stressful. Last Thursday, an idea for a short story gripped me. I stopped production on my WIP in order to deal with the surge of new words and wrote 20,000 words in three days to complete the short. Writing isn’t the stressful part—unless, of course, the words don’t come and a brick wall looms.

A few…well let’s call them opportunities have arisen this week in regards to my writing. Not really problems, exactly, so that’s why they’re opportunities. If the worst happens, then it’s a great opportunity to try something else. Hopefully, I’ll know soon. Another stumbling block? Got a rejection letter for a book I submitted. Not even a personal one. Just a form letter. Sorry, you’re not what we’re looking for. Did it hurt? Not so much anymore. I’m like, okay, whatever, moving on. It’s more of an annoyance than anything. But you can’t let grass grow under your feet or else nothing will get done.

“The most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come.” -- James Whitcomb Riley

What’s my point on this Hump Day morning? Persistence. It’s a writer’s best friend. Despite writing like a madwoman this week, receiving a rejection, hitting the mud puddle, temporarily stalling on the WIP, preparing a couple of manuscripts for submission, writing out blogs and interview questions, then resuming work on the WIP, I had keep writing. It’s the common denominator that pulls everything in my life together and keeps me grounded. Oh sure, this week I mopped the kitchen floor, vacuumed, emptied the stupid dishwasher too many times and laundry looms, I still try to fit time in to write.

But at least I got a decent haircut this month. Score one for me!

“I suppose my formula might be: dream, diversify, and never miss an angle.” – Walt Disney

So, it’s time for a deep breath and time to buckle down and Get Stuff Done.

Closing statement? Don’t give up. Ever. No matter what.

Thanks for reading and I dare you to write today!

Why Can't I Use All 24 Hours In the Day?

Seriously, why not? There are 24 hours in the day, why can't I use them? And I'm not talking about this namby-pamby sleep business, I mean actual USE of the hours. More time to create, to work, even to clean. But no. We get bogged down in sleep and rest, and never fully realize our 24 hour potential.

I'll admit, I'm worst than most right now on the sleeping/resting front. I never realized how EXHAUSTED being pregnant made you!! (one of the many 'pregnant lady conspiracies' that no one tells you till you are already knocked up) Needless to say I haven't worked on word one since coming back from our vacation (and yes, sometimes what happens in Vegas, doesn't stay in Vegas).

That's not to say that I haven't thought about writing. I always do. I still cary my notebook with me everywhere in case a stray idea forms out of the ether. It's just that nothing has made it onto the page.

I think I'm one of the few mommy-to-be's that HOPES to get bedrest, so she can get something accomplished.

Author seeking time management hints

I was at my very favorite store yesterday. As I was checking out, I saw a member of my local writers group. We started chatting and he asked how my writing was going. I had to admit I'm not being as diligent about my writing time as I should be.

Can you believe he laughed? Seriously!

I'm sure I looked at him with astonishment. What could have been so funny?

He must have read the look correctly, because he quickly added, "So you haven't found a way to keep the phone from ringing, the kids from fighting, and the dog from barking, just because you want to write?" Let me tell you, he surely called that one right!

I think I'm fairly self-disciplined. I've owned and operated my own home-based business for more than 10 years. That takes motivation. I home educated my youngest daughter until she started high school. Not for the faint of heart. I even finished one novel. Not everyone can say that!

So why is it so difficult to carve out the time to write? Write this blog? Or the blog at my web site? Or on the second book of my series? I pondered these questions as I drove home, and I think I have the answer. At least a logical explanation for my life at any rate.

First of all, I can't say no. Well, let me rephrase that in case my kids are reading. I can't say no to OTHER people. Think I'm kidding? I'm involved with three different philanthropic organizations. I'm an elected officer in two of them! I still own that business I mentioned earlier and, despite my whining and complaining, I just took on a major new client. I'm the president of my local writers group and I've been asked to help with another non-profit organization. (OK, I haven't said yes to that one, yet, but I haven't said no either!)

Then there's the housework. Dishes and laundry do not do themselves. Trust me, I've tried to allow that to happen. Dinner doesn't magically appear on the table and if it were up to my husband to feed us nightly, I'd weigh 700-pounds from all the fried foods and take-out. Don't forget the little errands that make up the day: the dry-cleaners, the grocery store, the gas station. Oh, and plants have to be watered and animals fed.

Let's not forget the family obligations or the stuff I have to do to stay healthy -- like go to the gym and get my exercise.

Oh, did I mention my husband is retired and home. All the time. Every day. That doesn't lend itself to writing time, either.

So, all that said, HOW do I carve out any time to write? The short answer is not very well. But I've found I get grouchy if I don't make that effort. Even a measly hundred words a day is enough to keep me from plotting real-life murders. A few moments snatched here and there keep me sane. (Or at least "saner"!) Some days, that's all I can scrape up --- those few precious moments.

I know other aspiring authors are more diligent than I. How do you do it? Is there a secret I don't know? Or do you just give the "evil glare" to anyone who dares disturb you? I can't wait to hear your tips!

Blessings!

Nichole

A bit of Sorcery- Excerpt from Blood Shield (self-edited)

This excerpt is a dream/ memory of Devin McLoch, witch and Highland Laird, cursed to remain alive until his cousin spell plays out. At this point in the novel, we are in present time and Devin is a jewel thief.-
Devin longed for the sight of Castle McLoch and its high stone walls, instead in the endless battlefield that strecthed out before him. MacGavin, the dirty cur, -laird of the land lying north of his clan’s-- along with at least a hundred of his kinsmen launched an attack on McLoch land at daybreak. Caught by surprise, more than half Devin’s numbers fell, cut down to lay strewn about the ground they had sought to protect. The laird, his father, had been among those killed. Bloody, bruised, and heartbroken with so few left of his clansmen, defeat sought to claim him, but he fought like a lion. He sliced through each man who came close to his blade with the ferocity of the desperate and determined. He now stood alone, bloodied and broken, but not beaten, never. He was McLoch and he was forever.
His body declared mutiny as the opposing clansman's sword sliced through his bicep. Devin’s blade fell to ground, slicing a gash across his palm. He felt his fire lurch toward freedom and vengence. Knowing without seeing, his father passing in the makeshift tent in the trees. Laird but a day and he would die on his own land. Mac Gavin stood above him, his own sword held high and sure, ready to take his life.
“You die this day, Laird McLoch.” He said mockingly as he brought the blade ever closer, slow and torturing. “All you have will be mine. Those of my blood will claim your land and holdings, kill your kinsmen, and rape your women. Die Devin Brannon McLoch, knowing it was you who failed to stand in my way.”
At that moment the vision spun in his mind, two women, his cousin Daemon performing powerful magic. Three elements trapped and spinning together, Devin knew he would complete them and was the fourth, the Fire. He felt a force surge through him like nothing had before or again since. Devin couldn’t stop the fire raging in his veins not bothering to try, rode the primal wave of energy and exhilaration that had MacGavin dropping his sword and shouting,
“Demon, changeling! Stay back. The Devil take you!”
"My father was Laird, but my mother is faerie. It is you who dies tonight."
Devin glowed like a thousand candles lit all at once. Fire sprang from within his cupped hands and created a ring of flame around all he sought to save. Yet never burned him and was a cool as a mountain spring. This was his gift, his element. He was Fire. How could he have forgotten this?
“The Devil won’t have me. Ring of fire, strong and sure, I entrust you to endure. From that which seeks harm in deed, shield all charged to me. By my blood, bone and fire I seal this circle. As I will so mote it be.” Every last MacGavin ran from him and the horrifying wall of fire, but not before it licked out to burn them to ashes. None of his men had survived the battle to celebrate the victory.
His magic hadn’t failed him, but when the rush he’d felt withered and died so did the wall of fire. He’d have to remember to thank his cousin when next he saw him. Wearily he picked up his fallen sword, much heavier now with fatigue and grief than when he’d proudly charged into to battle behind his father, and trudged toward home. The fire, which he’d created, burned a blackened circle around his holdings. Try though he did, he couldn’t breach the shield of his own making. Nowhere in his spell had he blocked his own entry, nor the leaving of those who dwelled there, only those who would bring harm. Maybe the spell being cast had triggered an adverse effect with his?
He was as dead to the clan as their fallen Laird. ome Devin woke feeling hollowed out and empty. The emotions of the young man walked around in the much older skin of a man who had seen and done more in a thousand years than could bear remembrance. He remembered his long ago spoken words, blood sealed. He was McLoch and he was forever.

Grave Art: Its symbols & meanings, and how to use it to spice up a paranormal plot

By Elizabeth Eagan-Cox, author of the Shannon Delaney paranormal mystery novels.

Death’s aftermath leaves intriguing clues to a decedent’s identity and lifestyle. Telltale clues found on gravestones and tombs hidden in the artwork and symbols are keys to the decedent’s interests, activities and associations.

My use of grave art as a subtext in my cozy paranormal mystery series of novels is by design. I use knowledge gained from treading lightly over burial grounds spurred on by genealogical research. I am a member of one of the oldest lineage societies in the U.S., namely the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. Yes… that D.A.R.

In D.A.R. documentation for lineage is stringent, to say the least. Proof requires hard evidential documentation from vital records, military records and official documents, such as census files, court papers, property records and so on. Family say-so and church affiliated files won’t hold up to D.A.R. scrutiny. Just so you know… as a person who hunts down her ancestors, I regard the topic of grave art with profound respect… it has revealed a world hidden from the view of documents.

More to the point of this web site’s focus, grave art can be used in defining a character or plotting a story, so, let’s take a journey into Death’s art.

Graveyard or Cemetery? A graveyard is a burial ground connected to or adjacent to a church. A person must be a member of the church or the denomination to rest in eternal peace in its burial ground. On the other side of Death’s fence is the public cemetery, available to all and often will have sections designated to specific religions and denominations.

The change between graveyard and cemetery began in the mid-1800s when public memorial parks were born. A catalyst to the memorial park was new restrictions forbidding church burials. Many churches were running out of room, thus burials were one on top of the other with scant topsoil to cover up the dead! In this wake came the less expensive community-public cemetery. To summarize; Graveyard equals a religious affiliation. Cemetery is public and may have sections designated for specific religions.

Plot potential is in the query: Why would one member of a family be buried in a common cemetery while all other family members are buried in a graveyard?

Death’s Fashion: Time and space doesn’t allow in-depth discussion of this topic. It’s too complex and would require a book, not a blog! For the sake of you, the paranormal writer, I am giving brief esoteric examples focusing on the 1800s and early 1900s. And, I finish with three authoritative and free Internet sources!

Grave art of the 1800s was Victorian in sentiment and style. Key elements include:

· Life-like angels: often portrayed with expressions of agonizing grief.

· Arches in the shape of a gravestone and/or in decoration. An arch symbolizes victory over death.

· Broken column. Three-dimensional or a decoration, a broken column indicates that the deceased was a family patriarch. This tidbit of info is especially helpfully when a gravestone inscription has weathered beyond recognition.

· Open book/Bible: the deceased was a highly regarded teacher or ordained minister. Ordained is an important clue as there were hundreds of lay ministers in the 1800s.

· Anchor/ships: Seafaring profession, but not necessarily in the military. This was before military emblems became popular. Don’t be fooled, but you can fool your readership, good device for plot confusion!

· Breasts! As portrayed by a pair of gourds or pomegranates. This symbolizes nourishment of the soul. Potential here for all sorts of creative musing and imagery!

· Bugle(s): As tempting as it would be to think military, you’d be wrong (a red herring?). In Victorian times, a bugle symbolized heralding the soul into Heaven.

· Corn: Not a symbol of farming. Another red herring, perhaps? An ear of corn, a stalk or a field indicated the decedent lived to a very elderly age… (Perhaps immortal in some form or another?).

· Portals, usually an archway, door, path, or road indicate the route of an eternal journey. Take note, there is no mention as to where the journey leads to. Heaven or Hell… or another place?

· Snake with its tail in its mouth. Popular in the least decade, and greatly misunderstood, this symbol is rooted in the ancient Celtic beliefs of founding ancestors in America and elsewhere. Right out of Ireland and the U.K., the Celtic Snake represents everlasting life in Heaven. I found the Celtic Snake on graves dating back to the 1700s in Anglican/Episcopal church graveyards of Virginia’s historic tidewater region.

Death Goes Deco in the 1900s: Victorian sentimental art gave way to Art Deco in the early 1900s. Art Deco style remained popular up to World War II. Key elements include:

· Geometric, angular and stepped patterns such as Greco-Roman lines, Greek key and Egyptian pyramid. Think mythological!

· Birds stylized in Deco motifs to represent: flying = resurrection and/or perched = at peace.

· Butterfly, a short-lived life, most often cause of death was an illness. During the great flu epidemic of 1918, from which thousands of people died in a brief time frame, more butterflies were requested for grave art than any other symbol!

· Sun rising and setting paired on opposing sides of a gravestone represent birth (rising) and death (setting) with a long successful life in-between. This motif was popular in the Southwest and lent itself to Deco Southwest Indian style.

· Tree trunk chopped down indicates a life cut short, often by a willful act of murder or suicide.

· Urn with a lit flame depicts a person of charitable heart and goodwill, a dedicated servant to the community. (Hmm…or was the person just a ruse?)

· Winged face, be it the head of a cherub (child) angel (female) or skull (male) indicates a soul in flight… to where?

The Final List: Many motifs have remained fashionable through all centuries including:

· Lambs, cherubs, sprouting flowers or buds depict children.

· Flowers, especially rose, lily or poppies represent women.

· Botanicals such as ivy, oak or acorn depict men.

· Thistle for Scottish.

· Shamrock for Irish

· Fleur-de-lis (white lily in profile) for French. In the U.S.: particularly in Louisiana.

Additionally, numerous cultural, ethnic, lineage and fraternal societies have art and symbols uniquely attached to them. I advise researching these symbols through a particular society’s Web site and I advise not using an all-purpose one-stop source for information. (That so-called encyclopedia that’s Online). Conduct an Internet search for the society of interest and look for an official source.

Just the Facts, Please: Are you ready to dig deeper into the art of Death? Here’s some excellent free Internet sources:

· Find a Grave. Still looking for Elvis? Or maybe a great-grandparent? Or maybe you want to window shop for a creative idea, as all good writers do from time to time. Use the name search feature to locate a decedent’s grave or peruse cities of the dead using the cemetery location search. Good research tool to learn more about grave art because photos are often in the results. www.findagrave.com.

· Military Funeral Customs. No better source than U.S. Arlington National Cemetery. www.arlingtoncemetery.net

· Understanding Funeral Customs is an insider site devoted to educating the professional journalism community with factual information regarding various funeral customs around the world. www.religionlink.com Use the ‘tips on topics’ menu on the right or type in ‘funeral’ in the search box at the top. Fascinating!

Dead End. Visit me Online: www.ElizabethEaganCox.net

In June and July I am the guest on numerous paranormal talk radio shows and will discuss a variety of topics near and dear to my heart: Blood Memory, Quiet Wakefulness, Belief in Ghosts, and more on Grave Art. Stop by and say hello… and may we all R.I.P.!

Welcome, Elizabeth Eagan Cox!

Elizabeth Eagan Cox has penned dozens of corporate histories for some of America’s most prestigious companies, including: Ayres Hotel Group, Billabong USA, Cabo Yachts Inc., Forever 21, Matsushita Avionics and TXI Cement Mfg. Co. Elizabeth was a columnist for Old California Gazette and she is a former school librarian. She enjoys digging up intriguing stories about history and incorporating these facts in her writing. In A GHOST OF A CHANCE she used many elements of history to bring the story to life, including the study of late-nineteenth century sleight-of-hand magic, Victorian architecture, and details regarding California’s founding Hispanic culture.

Elizabeth is a member of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the worldwide Irish Clann Mac Aodhagain.