Go Win The Christmas Village (Um, It's a Book)

Seriously, now. Dash over to Finders & Keepers where I'm hosting the WOW! Blog Tour for Melissa Ann Goodwin and her cozy middle grade novel, The Christmas Village.

Yes, it's middle grade, but it's such a charming story; I think it would make a wonderful family read-aloud during the holidays. And you can win it, just by commenting. But not here. There.

Oh! And if you've ever considered trying the children's magazine market, Melissa gives some great tips on how she got her byline in the magazine door. So, there's great writing stuff, too.

Now, seriously. What are you still doing here? Dash away all!

Literary Traveler Leads to Letters Of Note

As so often happens with me, the writer, I digressed in the middle of writing. It happened this time right in the beginning of this post. Fortunately for you, the reader (and writer), I have made my way back.

I started at Literary Traveler. I fell in love with the concept of this site that I stumbled upon in a market listing and thought that you writers might like it, too. It's basically an e-zine that combines travel stories with the stories of literary greats. And while I was perusing the writer's guidelines here (because just about every place can claim a literary great, right?), I thought, Let me just zip around and read one of these literary articles, to see if I have the right stuff for writing up an article in Literary Traveler.

And so I checked the names of literary greats until my little eye spied Edward Gorey. Now, I am a big fan of Edward Gorey. Long ago, I fell in love with his illustrations at the beginning of what used to be Mystery Theater (on public TV). And so I absolutely had to read all about old Ed and creepy Cape Cod.

And then, I clicked on the Facebook link of Literary Traveler, whereupon I came across a rejection letter of Kurt Vonnegut's at Letters of Note.

Now, I am a big fan of letters. Not so much me writing them. More like me reading other people's letters. So you can see how Letters of Note was perfect for me. It probably comes as no surprise to you that I got totally caught up in reading letters. I mean, how could I possibly pass up STAR TREK/Casting? (I am a really big fan of STAR TREK.)

The only reason I ever made it back to the blog to write about all these finds was that the Beneficent Mr. Hall started to yell something about dinner.

I may never quite make it to my writing, but I always make it to dinner. (I am a HUGE fan of food.)

How to Handle Thanksgiving

A week ago, the economy claimed another magazine market and so came an end to my columnist's days. But I'm ever so grateful for all those years of writing about the funny stuff in life. I learned a ton about humor writing, and writing in general. I met folks whom I would never have met, and I shared lots of family stories that still haunt/embarrass my kids.

Ah, good times, good times. So, I thought I'd share one of my earliest columns here at the Hall of a Fame. Sort of a fond farewell to the art form of writing the funny in 350 words or less. And it just happens to be about Thanksgiving. (P.S. Hope yours is swell!)


How to Handle Thanksgiving


To understand what passes as cooking in the Hall household, one must first be familiar with the Cathy C. Hall 15 Minute Rule of Cooking. Namely, that a quarter hour (fifteen minutes) is all the time that I (Cathy C. Hall) will spend on food preparation (cooking). So you’re probably asking yourself, “Say, how does she handle something really big, something like Thanksgiving?”

Interesting question.

Back in my young newlywed days, no one expected much from me in the kitchen. I could slap together a mean tuna-burger, but somehow that tasty dish didn’t exactly scream, “Happy Thanksgiving!” So, my mom or mother-in-law usually ended up with the holiday detail.

Not that my mother-in-law minded. She was a great cook-from-scratch kind of woman who frequently wondered why her son had not keeled over from starvation living under my roof. For the first few years, she dutifully prepared a Southern Thanksgiving feast fit for a small army. Everyone was happily stuffed. (Except for the bird.)

But one year, someone gave my mother a smoked turkey. It seemed a waste not to fix it. My mom and I discussed the possibility of toting the bird to my mother-in-law’s, but that seemed a little...oh, what’s the word? Oh yeah, rude. So we came up with an alternate plan. I should have Thanksgiving at my house and prepare all the food. My mom thought it was a terrific idea.

We sat at the table that year, my parents, my mother-in-law, my hubby and me. Everything looked delicious. Everything smelled delicious. But something was not quite…right. I believe my mother-in-law said it best: “This turkey is raw.” That put a bit of a damper on the festivities.

After that, it was understood that my cooking services would no longer be required. I had used the Cathy C. Hall Ruination Rule of Cooking Something Really Big. Namely, that I (Cathy C. Hall) will totally screw up (ruin) a turkey (Something Really Big).

So that’s how I handle Thanksgiving. I let someone else do the cooking and everyone is happy. (Well, except for the bird).

Finding Something Friday on Austin Kleon and Stealing Like an Artist

So, I've been busy this month, working on the middle grade novel, catching up on serious reading, and (still) researching agents. But I've also been working on the Picture Book Idea Month and enjoying the daily blog posts going on over there. This week, amongst the posts, I came across a link to artist Austin Kleon (and thank you, Liz Garton Scanlon for pointing me in his direction).


Austin Kleon has a book coming out (March, 2012) called Steal Like an Artist. And if you zip over and read this WHOLE post on "How to Steal Like an Artist (and 9 Other Things Nobody Told Me)", you, the writer, will read something and think, Wow. That's exactly what I needed to read today.


Or maybe you'll be like me and find lots of somethings you needed to read. And when you read the last something, "Creativity is subtraction," you will sigh and think, Oh, yes, that's it exactly.

The Poison Diaries: Book Review and Giveaway

Just so you know, I received a copy of Nightshade from the publisher.

Nightshade is the second book in the Poison Diaries trilogy by Maryrose Wood. And you also should know, I’m a HUGE fan of Maryrose Wood (and not just because I kinda want to steal her name). Her style is unique and evocative, whether she’s writing about poisonous plants or incorrigible kids. I am immersed in her worlds from the moment I open her books. I jumped on the opportunity to get my hands on Nightshade.

So, yes, I might be a tad biased. On to the review…

Nightshade begins with Jessamine Luxton, a healer, and her lover, Weed, separated from each other, and suffering both physically and emotionally. Our young innocent is desperate to find Weed, especially considering the distrust she has for her cruel father, an apothecary and keeper of poisons. And so she makes a terrible bargain with Oleander, the Prince of Poisons, and the price he exacts is monstrous. Nightshade is a gothic tale of poison, politics, and passion, asking that question that always makes for a killer story: How far would you go for love?

I think I liked the first book in the trilogy a bit better, perhaps because I was entranced by that first blush of a high concept--and the well-crafted rendering of the story. I’ve longed love gothic, I love gardening and plants, and I completely fell for these unusual characters. Nightshade, of course, is more of the same, but it moves slowly at first; I was aware of the “let’s catch everyone up” feel. Still, once the plot starts moving, it’s an intense and riveting ride. In fact, Jessamine’s dark transformation occurs so swiftly that I found myself wanting to see more of her struggle against the evil forces of Oleander. I have a feeling that our story won’t end until our heroine finds her hidden strengths—and help from her allies, Weed and his plants.

Wood is an excellent storyteller, and though Nightshade is a tale dark and grim, there is a glimmer of hope, and it’s that glimmer that will entice me to pick up the third book in the trilogy. Read the first book while you’re waiting to get Nightshade. (I’ll tell you how to win a copy in just a sec.) The Poison Diaries trilogy is not like anything you’ve read before. Check out the amazing website and you’ll get a peek at exactly what I mean.




To win a SIGNED copy of Nightshade, you must perform the following tasks (I know. It's like one of those epic quests. But it's SIGNED by Maryrose Wood, so yeah, just do it):

Go to Twitter, follow @Poison Diaries and tweet "I want to win Nightshade, saw it on @cathychall's blog."

Go to Facebook, like Poison Diaries, and post on the wall "I want to win Nightshade, saw it on Cathy C.'s Hall of Fame."

And go to the website, find the plant Arum Maculatum, and share it on Twitter, adding my blog name and @poisondiaries.

Okay, I told you it was epic. But here's the thing. There are quite a few blogs out there involved in this promotion. Each blog is sponsoring a giveaway. In order for the promo mistress to keep up with entries, she has to have the blog name. And of course, using social media to promote the book is genius.

Nightshade is genius, too. Now off you go to win a copy. You have seven days, starting now. (And P.S. you can enter through every blog you find!)

Tuesday's Taking Care of Business Tips for the Writer

First, a moment to listen to Bachman Turner Overdrive's Taking Care of Business because I bet your brain went there.

And now to take care of "end of the year business." (Yeah, I know that there's an entire month following November, but I also know that my brain is hijacked by the holidays. Frankly, my brain's kinda been hijacked by Bachman Turner Overdrive right now...)

Anyway, here's a handy checklist of Things To Do (If You're a Writer) for Taking Care of End-of-the-Year Business.

*Check your blog and/or website for dead links to your online work.

*Consider cleaning out some of those old, tired links and adding links to recent work. This simple step will give your blog and/or website a freshness as well as get rid of that static vibe.

*Find your Goals for 2011 (You did write down your goals somewhere, right?) and review. You'll still have time to work on the goals you completely forgot, and you'll end the year feeling wonderful about the goals you accomplished. (If you can't find your Goals for 2011 then I have a suggestion for what your very first goal for 2012 should be.)

*Take a mathematical look at your blog stats. Compare what posts generated excellent traffic to those that did not. Extrapolate and use the results to improve your stats next year. (I was looking at a picture of Albert Einstein right before I wrote this post.)

*Make a list of the writing books and/or business tools you'd like the Beneficent Mr. Hall to stuff under your tree. Of course, he'll probably only stuff those goodies under my tree. But hey, you can ask.

*Clean your desk, work space, cubbyhole, whatever or wherever you work. You'll start the new year with an organized perspective. (And you'll probably be shocked at what you find amongst the mess. Well, I assume you'll be shocked. My desk hasn't looked that clean and organized since I took that picture a couple years ago. But I never said I take care of all my business.)

A Deal for You, A Deal for Them

I came across this AMAZING deal the other day from Writer's Digest. And now you have just a couple more days to act on it, so don't waste another minute. Go HERE and check out these SEVEN writing books that are absolutely FREE.

That's right, friends. They're part of a free NaNoWriMo ebooks deal. And don't tell me that you don't have an e-reader, 'cause you can download a FREE Kindle for your PC. Yes, you can. Then you can download any or all of these FREE books. Yes, you can!

Then, after saving ALL that money, you can zip over to the Light Up the Library Auction and bid on something special. There are a ton of categories, and one especially for you, writers.

Now, I love libraries and I love how this auction will benefit the Musana Children's Home Library in Uganda. So check out what Jean Reidy's been up to, and take a look at her book, Light Up the Night, then light up a child's life with your bid.

Wit of the Hour: Andy Rooney

"I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes."
~Andy Rooney (1919-2011)


And so the 60 Minutes humorist has come to the end of the roll. But he had a good run, didn't he? (No pun intended. Although Andy Rooney might laugh at that.)

60 Minutes and I go way back...I mean, way back. Back to the early days of the first born Junior Hall. Because I'd quit my outside-world job, and was home with a baby all week, I suppose I was starved for some kind of intellectual stimulation (no offense to the Beneficent Mr. Hall, of course.) So I watched this program and got...well, I guess "over-stimulated" would be the right word.

The Beneficent Mr. Hall would likely say "crazy." Whatever. The point is, after 6 months or so of screaming like a banshee at the 60 Minutes folks and the provocative, investigative stories they reported, Mr. Hall advised me to step away from the television. At least, during 60 Minutes. So I did, for the sake of my blood pressure. But every once in awhile, when I was feeling a bit nostalgic, I'd watch the last 10 minutes so I could catch Andy Rooney. I mean, Andy was hilarious.

Did you ever wonder why pizza is round? In Italy, pizza is oblong. But I suppose in America, we like things round. And with lots of cheese on top. You could put a mound of mozzarella on a manhole cover and some New Yorker would eat it.

Andy didn't say that. (I don't think. I think I just made that up. But then again, I may be channelling him.) For years, I've done Andy Rooney "Did you ever wonder" bits. See, the great thing about the "Did you ever wonder" bits is that you can wonder about anything.

Did you ever wonder why dogs have four legs? Why don't we say they have two legs and two arms? They only have one butt, though. But four legs come in handy for all that scratching. I wish I had four legs. I itch in some weird places.

Did you ever wonder why those little sticky notes are yellow? Urine is yellow. So's a school bus.

Did you ever wonder how a guy got a job for a zillion years asking questions like "Did you ever wonder?"?

Still, I'll miss the old guy.

Finding Something Friday: 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards

If you want to be a writer, you've got to be a reader.

Yes, I know you know that. But are you reading? Not the newspaper, or the magazines in the checkout aisle, or the cereal box on the breakfast table. I'm sure those all make for mighty interesting reading. But what you've got to read is mighty fine books.

And what I've found today is the Goodreads Choice Awards over at Goodreads.

It doesn't matter if you don't want to be bothered with posting all the books you've read on Goodreads. Or that you don't care about the really cool Goodreads widgets. Or that you might get sucked into playing that books trivia game and have a screaming hissy fit because you miss three questions in a row that, really, you knew but didn't go with your gut first answer. Ahem.

No, writers. What matters is what you'll find at Goodreads that's going to help you become the best writer you can be.

You're going to find lists of books. And with the Goodreads Choice Awards, you're going to find 15 excellent, current books in each of 30 categories. You'll find the best humor books (Want to write humorous essays? Check 'em out). You'll find the best of the year's memoir (Got a life story? Check those out.) You'll find the best non-fiction (Thinking of a proposal? Look into what's out there.). And you'll find the best in fiction, from horror to historical, graphic novels to romance, picture books to paranormal fantasy.

So, off you go, writer. Goodreads is a mighty fine place to start finding, well, good reads. And if you're like me, you've got an awful lot of reading to catch up on!

November Writing Advice: Not Just for NaNo Anymore

So, I know that hordes of writers are out there, busily pounding out their 1,569 words today so they can make their National Novel Writing Month goal of 50,000 words. Kudos to y'all!

And kudos to all y'all who may be a NaNo writer like me. Maybe you'll make 45,000 words. Maybe you'll forget to actually sign up. Maybe you'll manage to pound out only 1500 words. Doesn't make you any less of a writer. (It does, however, leave you with an awful lot of manuscript to finish.) You might be the kind of writer who could use a little extra inspiration and some serious writerly advice. Go here.

Or maybe you're skipping Nano this year in favor of something different. Maybe, like me, you've signed up for Picture Book Idea Month. Because, honestly, who can't come up with an idea a day? Kudos to y'all! But maybe, inexplicably, your ideas sort of sputter out on the third day, along with your kudos. You might be the kind of writer who could use some extra inspiration and some wonderful writerly advice. Go here.

Okay, yes, it's the same writerly advice and inspiration. Because it doesn't matter what you write. It only matters that you write. At least, if you were born to write. And kudos to my writer buddy, Kara Bietz, for sharing that little nugget of writer gold.