Book Review -- The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder by William Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A book of letters? Why would I want to read someone's mail? Hey, it's much more fascinating and revealing that you'd first believe. As a big Laura Ingalls Wilder fan (since childhood), I was enthralled to learn details of her life "behind the fiction" and how her daughter, journalist Rose Wilder Lane, was perhaps the undisclosed ghostwriter of her classic children's literature. Recommended for all Laura fans and others who are interested in seeing the process behind a writer's goal of creating a book series to preserve American history.

View all my reviews

What I've been up to lately...

I apologize for not keeping up with my personal blog postings lately, but I've been busy editing The Bernie Blog, canvassing for the campaign, working on our Y.A. sci-fi series (the  first book, BloodDark -- Olivia's Escape releases in August), and  writing for another web site, Political Storm. Here's a sample of my writing lately which appeared recently at that web site.

 Our Champion

It’s not the style--it’s the substance. It’s the sincerity of his message. It’s that warm, empowering feeling of hope you feel whenever you hear Bernie Sanders speak. You sense his compassion for others whenever you listen to him. It makes no difference if you hear him in person at a “yuge” rally or streaming online from an alternative media source (since mainstream media has ignored him). All that matters is the message is directed at you, an ordinary American voter, and not at some billionaire corporate lobbyist or super PAC contributor. 

Bernie Sanders doesn’t have a super PAC or even want a super PAC. He has been funded since day one of his run for office by us, ordinary Americans. His average campaign donation? Bernie brags at his rallies it’s “twenty-seven bucks!” We all laugh and applaud. The fact that he’s raised so much from so many through small donations demonstrates the affection millions of ordinary people have for Bernie. (We gave him $43 million in March alone.)We like him so much that we call him by his first name, and Bernie is cool with it. 

The Millennials definitely think he’s cool. They design t-shirts with his face and slogans and tattoo their bodies with his icon. This will never cease to amaze me since their generation has been put through the grinder by the Baby Boomers’ selfishness and carelessness. Our kids inherit a polluted, climate-changed planet, and they’re desperate for the hope Bernie’s “A Future to Believe In” platform provides. But it’s not just about the excitement of the rally and the thousands upon thousands cheering on Bernie in large university arenas that provides hope; it’s the man himself.  Young and old alike connect with Bernie because he gives us the truth, straight up and unvarnished, and then he tells us how together we’ll make changes for the better and revive democracy in our great nation. 

“Not Me Us” is one of Bernie’s trending hashtags online, and it sums up his philosophy well. Together we are strong and caring. Together we can save our world. Together we can work to build a brighter future for all Americans and not just the handful who’ve been dipping their hands in the cookie jar and hoarding all the cookies for too long. Together we have hope.

Our champion doesn’t come riding in on a white stallion--or even in a white luxury sedan--but he comes to talk to us in person and humbly asks for our support. We welcome him to our backyard barbecues with smiles and a cold beer. Folks who donate an average of $27 to a candidate can’t afford $353,400 tickets to fancy soirees with champagne and caviar and movie stars. We know we can’t afford to elect candidates who only want fame, power and more money for themselves, either. Fortunately, we have Bernie Sanders, a public servant who has served working Americans well through his long and distinguished career. 

Bernie Sanders: A champion to believe in and a future to believe in. Somewhere up there you know FDR would be proud.

***

For more information about Bernie , please check out his campaign website at www.berniesanders.com or go to the all volunteer-created website bursting with useful information: www.feelthebern.org

Support Your Local “Pornographer” or Why Does Blogger Call My Blogs “Porn”?

 

Here's my upcoming book cover. Are you shocked?

You think you’re an average citizen following the rules of civilized society and then something hits you from out of the blue to convince you of your true criminal intent. Yesterday I opened an email from Blogger (Google) saying that my blog has “adult content” and that it can be taken down (or made “private” against my will) so that no one can see it but me unless "sexually explicit or graphic nude images or video" aren’t taken down by March 23, 2015.

Okay, my romantic fiction book covers feature mostly clothed individuals and any “skin” you see on my erotic-romance covers is legal at any beach or poolside in North America. My publishers make extra-sure our book covers aren’t breaking the rules of decent society so that Amazon and other online retailers won’t list our books. What’s the deal?

I went to a Blogger forum to ask for clarification. “Why were my particular blogs targeted for this treatment?” I asked, and this is the answer I received:

The policy is designed to remove porn from Blogger.  It's a fuzzy policy.

Several questions from me (and others) later, and there was no one who could tell us what “pornography” our blogs contained or what Google means by “porn that it wants removed”. Frustrated, I stated, “I think there's just blatant censorship happening here.” And the reply to my statement was:

            No, there really is a problem.  You just make sure that your blog does not contribute.

I’m not saying that there are no blogs on Blogger that contain images or text that could be considered in violation of pornography laws of local jurisdictions—because there are millions of blogs out there and I’ve seen only a handful—but I am saying that indiscriminately labeling blogs with “adult content” as “porn” is painting a picture that many bloggers are somehow social deviants and possible criminals who produce “porn” for an unsuspecting audience. Does this mean our readers are “deviants”, too?

I don’t know about you, but I despise being labeled with a word that carries so much hate and negativity such as “pornographer”. I hate not being able to defend myself and my writings against a faceless corporation who gladly takes our advertising revenue but tells us what we can or cannot post. Why am I and other bloggers being labeled “guilty until proven innocent”? Isn’t Google located in the United States of America? I thought it was “innocent until proven guilty” here. My mistake!

I take the statement, “Make sure that your blog does not contribute,” to mean that at least some of my blogs contain “porn” and, essentially, Google is prepared to censor all blogs it feels qualifies as such. So, what is exactly constitutes “porn” for Google, Inc., and how are they measuring these “adult content” blogs for “porn”? Are they using a computer algorithm or program? A human being with half a brain? A political group with an agenda?

And what exactly is “adult content”? Adults read romantic fiction, so all romance novels could be labeled “adult content” in the broadest sense, including my PG rated books, but so could true crime novels with horrifically graphic murder scenes. You wouldn’t want your children reading those sorts of stories, would you? And non-fiction about war and war crimes…ugh! That’s not G rated stuff, is it? 

Why am I hearing the Rev. Lovejoy’s wife from The Simpsons crying, “Think of the children!” over and over in my head? 

Why aren’t parents doing their jobs and keeping the kids off the computer and away from things they shouldn’t be seeing until their old enough to understand them? Why is Google so anxious to play “Net Nanny” for these lazy parents? Will they make money off of the exercise?

The more you think about it, the more abusive and potentially dangerous this new policy of Blogger sounds.

Do you believe Google, that is Blogger, has the right to censor blogs just because they (or whatever or whomever they’ve hired to screen blogs) consider them pornographic? Who gets to decide how narrow or how broad the definition of “porn” is when it comes to freedom of speech?

Please leave your comments below. And please sign up for my e-newsletter on the sidebar so we can keep in touch because you never know… This could be my last public blog post. I’m a “pornographer”, you know?

UPDATE: Blogger announced this week:

This week, we announced a change to Blogger’s porn policy. We’ve had a ton of feedback, in particular about the introduction of a retroactive change (some people have had accounts for 10+ years), but also about the negative impact on individuals who post sexually explicit content to express their identities. So rather than implement this change, we’ve decided to step up enforcement around our existing policy prohibiting commercial porn.  

Blog owners should continue to mark any blogs containing sexually explicit content as “adult” so that they can be placed behind an “adult content” warning page.

Bloggers whose content is consistent with this and other policies do not need to make any changes to their blogs.

So... I guess the majority of my blogs are "safe" from being shut down for the time being. Of course, Blogger probably still sees a blog that features erotic-romantic-fiction as being "sexually explicit" even when an individual blog post isn't necessarily "adult" in nature. This means I've placed the "adults only" warning interstitial page on this blog and my web site. I suppose it's a small price to pay to continue blogging via Blogger. What do you think?

Please sign up for my new & improved e-newsletter

Because I miss creating and sending out my monthly e-newsletter full of  my latest book release news, excerpts, contest events, Q  and A for writers and other fun stuff, I've started a new mailing list with the very cool MailChimp program. SORMAG publisher and all-around promo-diva, LaShaunda Hoffman, informs me this is the way to go nowadays to connect with readers. And if the smart and savvy LaShaunda says it works, I believe her! ;-) So, please sign up below and feel free to tell your friends, too. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

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Off to the cons!

We're off to a couple of sci-fi cons this month--Archon 38 and ConClave 38. What better way to celebrate this wonderful fact than by posting some flash fiction I wrote at the last con we attended, the NASFic DetCon1?

(Okay, there's probably a better way to celebrate, but this is a blog and not an orgy!) 

Now for the wonderful flash fiction, written under duress in five minutes on a Sunday morning at DetCon1...

Writing prompts: Two old friends, a mistake, an airlock

“No, you did not just do that!”

Bob scowled at his dear old friend Bill. Yeah, Bill was getting forgetful, but he hadn’t slipped into Alzheimer’s quite yet.

“I did. He deserved it, Bob. You heard what he said about the Sixth Doctor. That man deserved to die.”

“But Bill—come on! It was just a flippant remark about a centuries’ old sci-fi TV show... It wasn’t worth it.”

“Yes, it was!" Bill stood proudly. “The entire Doctor Who fandom was at stake. It had to be done.”

“Oh, all right.” Bob sighed. “What do we tell the captain then?”

“We just say Rick stepped out for a breath of fresh air.”

“Fresh air?” Bob smacked his forehead. “Through an airlock? On a space station in geosynchronous orbit around Earth?” He thought for a moment. “Well, all right.”

I'll be posting news about a couple of book contracts I recently lined-up very soon!

And before I forget, the very first title in The Time Surfer series is now available fro eXtasy Books--Playing with the Past
 http://www.extasybooks.com/celine-chatillon/Playing-with-the-Past/
 
 Shelby’s mysterious new lover says he’s a time traveler. Even if she doesn’t quite believe Quentin can she still trust him to show her a good time?   

What Makes a Story? Beginning, Middle...End?

I usually post a modified version of the book reviews I do for an established literary site on my blog and Goodreads, but this time I don’t feel comfortable doing so. I’m a different type of book reviewer, you could say. I’d rather say nice things about a writer’s work, or at least make some constructive criticisms of where he or she could improve it, but sometimes I’m at a lost for words. This is one of those times. Amazing, isn’t it?

Back in the day of the dinosaurs, those of us who had the pleasure of taking English composition classes and creative writing courses where taught the basic structure of fiction. Every short story, novella or novel has a beginning, middle, and last, but not least, an end. These are sometimes called by fancier names such as inciting incident, rising action, and resolution, but they pretty much mean the same thing. When a reader sits down to read fiction he or she expects to find character(s) who start a journey of sorts—physical and/or emotional—and after a series of incidents, which illustrate the personality of the character(s), the story comes to a resolution of sorts. A story may have a “happily ever after” ending or a “happy for now” ending or the merely satisfactory  “that’s the way it goes but tomorrow is another day and we’ll keep trying” ending. One thing is certain—the tale comes to a conclusion. 

I guess this isn’t the case anymore. How did I know my English professors back in the dinosaur days were wrong? After recently reading a “short story” collection by a recent graduate of an Ivy League Institution, I’m led to believe that strings of words thrown onto a page can qualify as a story. Okay, it’s not all that bad, but in a way it is. It’s a crime. A young author, with a strong voice and a talent for coming up with interesting characters and situations, has been taught that telling just the beginning and middle somehow equals crafting a complete story. To me, and probably the majority of humanity, it doesn’t. Who would knowingly mislead impressionable students?

Another sad observation—when did using passive “was” verbs and adding he saids all over the place equate to creating dynamic prose? I’ve learned a lot over the years from genre writing workshops, particularly that a good writer shows not tells the story. Readers don’t want to read a listing of dry facts. Readers want to imagine the characters in their minds taking action. In the process of exercising our imaginations, we readers walk away from the story feeling that we’ve learned something about ourselves or life and, better yet, were entertained in the process.

How can readers learn anything from being told the beginning and some of the middle of a character’s arc? We can’t. An incomplete piece of fiction breaks the cardinal rule of all artists, “Whatever you do, don’t be boring.” Maybe in Ivy League literary fiction circles the entertainment factor isn’t considered all that important and, subsequently, has been junked? Perhaps root canals are considered entertaining in those circles? Yikes!

 Throwing up academic credentials as an excuse for being boring reminds me of a conversation at a party a friend and I had with a man introduced as a creative writing professor from a local private university. My friend asked him what sort of creative writing the professor had published recently. This gentleman stated that he didn’t publish his fiction because, “It was too good to be published.” My friend and I continued talking about our recent novel ideas and book deals while the creative writing instructor looked at us as if we’d grown horns or a third eye.

I surmised the professor didn’t enjoy receiving rejection letters from publishers, so he simply didn’t even try to pen publishable fiction anymore. But then that begs the question—Why should parents pay tons of money to a college which employs an instructor with no interest in writing publishable fiction to instruct their children in the craft of creative writing? Shouldn’t the professor teach “creative ways to avoid rejection” classes instead?

After this recent book review, my impression of creative writing classes offered at prestigious and costly private colleges has not improved. I learned one simple axiom in many writer’s workshops: Writers write. And the sole purpose of writing for publication is to connect with readers—not to bore them. I liken offering incomplete works to the reading public to a master chef tossing uncooked ingredients willy-nilly onto a plate and calling it a culinary masterpiece. (I realize some enjoy sushi, but I want my fish cooked.) When you can’t finish the job, you’re not really a success, are you? 

I can’t boast an Ivy League education, but my books have received some great reviews over the years. Not one reviewer has ever said my fiction was boring or incomplete. I listened in English class and took notes at writer’s workshops and became a published author. Thank heaven I received good advice!

Click on the  book link at the top to learn more about my erotic-romance novels and novellas. You can even review one if you wish. ;)

Not Quite an "Iron Author" (Flash Fiction from DetCon1)

We're home from the NASFic, aka DetCon1, and still trying to mentally and physically recoup. My husband AJ Matthews took some great photos and put them up on Facebook for all to see. (Click here to see his photos. And, no, this blog has not been copyedited. I'm tired. So there!)

We had a lot of fun in Detroit, met some nice folk, and got a couple invites to area conventions to talk about writing, publishing, whatever. AJ sold two of his world famous bookends in the art show, so all-in-all, not a bad showing.

I thought I'd share a bit of the flash fiction I wrote in the "Iron Author Detroit" contest I participated in Sunday morning. (Yes, it was early on the last day of the con--not the best timing for a contest.) The winner was the fabulous author Lucy A. Snyder, so I don't feel too bad for losing to her at all. However, I do wonder about the sanity of the audience members who came up with the "prompts" we used to write a short story in five minutes. My example below will show you why I have some reservations on their mental stability, as these three words actually made sense or at least more sense than the last three sets of prompts. Enjoy! ;)

Prompts: a Watermelon, a Triceratops, and a Lost Shoe (the secret ingredient)

"Wherever could it be?"

Lilah looked at the trail behind her. No shoe. It must have fallen off after she had forded the stream, after she had eaten some of the delicious wild watermelon, but she was pretty sure she was still wearing it when she scrambled over the sharp rocks near the waterfalls.

"I knew this was a mistake. I knew I should have never listen to Marc (the panel MC). This is beautiful country, but really... What's so special about it?"

She sighed and plopped down on a boulder. That hiking shoe had cost hundreds. She'd never be able to afford another pair anytime soon.

"Why did I believe, Marc?"

Then she heard the sound far-off... Oh, my God! A triceratops was grazing in the meadow below where she sat.

"The Lost World!" she cried. This is why Marc had told her to come here.

I was writing with pen on legal paper since I didn't bring a laptop. I'm not sure the story would have been much longer or better written using a keyboard, but I certainly could have read it with less problems. Deciphering my horrible handwriting a day later is a challenge and a half! 

Feel free to leave a comment below, especially if we met at DetCon1, and feel free to like me on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, etc., at the links on the right side of the page. It was great getting to know you, but now I need to catch up on my sleep. Zzzzz... :)

BLOOD IN BERLIN gets a nice review!

You know how it's helpful to scan through a book at a bookstore and read the first chapter so you can tell if it's a story you'll enjoy reading? It's not always easy to do so with e-books, but now you can read the entire first chapter of Blood in Berlin at the First Chapters blog by clicking on this link: 

http://drb1stchp.com/2014/03/blood-in-berlin-by-celine-chatillon/

Here's what one reader had to say about Blood in Berlin:

"...Your writing that is very well crafted... your writing IS ‘tight’, is descriptive and emotive, and, also, moves the plotline forward in a natural way... your story... did engage me, quickly, in your altered world and the people in it." --reader Khulwaters

Thanks, Khul!

Blood in Berlin--now available at eXtasy Books, Amazon, All Romance eBooks and wherever fine ebooks are sold!

Blood in Berlin

By Celine Chatillon
Book 3 in the Kindred vampire series
http://www.extasybooks.com/blood-in-berlin/

    In 1938 London, the vampire Edwin Carstairs attracts the attention of British Military Intelligence. A Nazi scientist known as Madame V is creating super-vampire-soldiers in Berlin and must be stopped. Edwin accepts the mission, hoping to prevent another devastating world war. But what will he and his team do when Edwin’s lost love Ophelia Jones is discovered taking an eager part in experiments that risk the very survival of human and vampire-kind alike?

You can also read the first chapter from Blood Bond at the First Chapter blog, too!

http://drb1stchp.com/2014/03/blood-bond-by-celine-chatillon/

Blood Bond  
(Book 2 in the Kindred vampire series)

 http://www.extasybooks.com/blood-bond

Edwin travels to Liverpool out of duty only to discover desire in the arms of the wildly sensual Ophelia and her darkly exotic employer known simply as Hamlet. When a vampire hunter threatens to destroy Hamlet, the three lovers’ blood bond is tested. Will Edwin be able to save his Kindred sire and return home in time to see the 1904 World’s Fair?

 

Why I Don't Care for Amazon--Home of Death Threats and Fake Reviews

It seems morality and fair play are dead and gone in the publishing world. Here are some articles and blog postings that have come to my attention lately to show you why I'm feeling blue. I've included my comments as well.

Anne Rice signs petition to protest bullying of authors on Amazon

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/04/anne-rice-protests-bullying-amazon-petition

I'm glad that no one pays attention to my books on Amazon now! Death threats aren't funny, and Amazon has a lot to answer for allowing posters anonymity which only protects the bullies and the fake book reviewers.

I haz a sad... Writers are gaming Amazon 
 

Here's a comment I made after reading The Lover of Books blog posting called "I haz a sad..." (link since taken down/blocked) about how an unnamed but well-known author sends out emails saying that (s)he'll give out free books to readers in exchange for 5 star reviews on Amazon. If you want to give her/his book anything less than 5 stars, please don't post it there but email the review to the author directly instead so (s)he can "discuss it" (and not post it) with you the reader. Here's what I had to say about this blog:

This is why you can't trust Amazon's "5 star" book reviews. A lot of them are fakes. Some authors buy them from so-called "beta readers" with free books/giveaways and others just outright pay cash for the reviews. (There's a web site link I won't post since I don't want other buying 5 star reviews). If you see a book on Amazon with lots of 5 stars alongside poorly written reviews, just assume these are paid reviews and not the real deal. The "reviewer" may not have even read the book. It's cheating and it makes all authors look bad. (At least I can honestly say that I have never paid for reviews--and I currently have zero at Amazon. Go figure!)

In reply to the latest way to "pay your way to reviews on Amazon":

http://bestsellerlabs.com/how-to-get-more-amazon-reviews/#comment-37877

I can’t say I agree with this method at all. This is coming from the viewpoint of a book reviewer, editor, and author. To give away free books or to pay cash for reviews up front is basically the same thing. How can you be sure you’re receiving an “objective” review when you’re essentially encouraging the reader to give you a good review or none at all? Are they going to say anything “bad” about their “new friend’s book” and especially to your face via Skype, etc. as you write up "their" review for them? I think not. The review is worthless and is essentially a “fake”.

That’s why I tell people to not depend on their friends and family members to give their writing an honest critique. Those who care about you don’t want to hurt your feelings. And just like those poor tone-deaf people who get on American Idol and then get laughed at and ridiculed by millions because they carry a tune in a bucket (and they don’t know they can’t sing), you’ll have millions of “authors” who need to take a decent writing course and join a critique group before trying to publish their books and they won’t do so because their “new reviewer friends” tell them their work is perfect as is. There’s no room to improve on perfection, is there? More “not-ready-for-primetime” stuff to clutter up the ‘net! (And why would Amazon care as long as they’re making money off it?)

If you want to gain some useful writing tips I formulated after working over a decade and a half in the publishing industry, try my funny how-to guide Defeating the Slushpile Monster now at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1452834946

After my public commentary, I expect a load of hate email and bullying on Amazon any day now. Please leave a comment below on how you see this present crisis of confidence playing out at the online book-selling monopoly's web site and share this blog link with others who may be feeling similarly down about Amazon. Perhaps they'll clean up their act one day? We can only hope!

The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth

 

Handsome hubby putting up the new number plaque.

We're slowly settling into our new home, and we have tons of home improvement projects to do. Of course life goes on in the publishing world as well, and things aren't getting any prettier there, either.

As a freelance editor  (click here for my editorial services), I come across a lot of  manuscripts which remind me of pesky home improvement projects. It's possible that a "house" might be able to come about utilizing the material involved, but it's going to take a lot of  "sweat equity" as they say on PBS TV's This Old House. The "home" isn't going to be complete and livable (readable) without some blood, sweat and tears. You might even have to listen very closely to your "architect" (editor), who is trying hard to help you build a sturdy "home" and not a ramshackle shed that blows apart in a strong wind (or critic's harsh review), or else all your hard work might be for naught.

Dropping the extended home improvement analogy, what I'm trying to say is this: The truth of why your manuscript isn't working may hurt. It can hurt a lot. In my opinion,  it's far better for an author to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth upfront. How else can an author make intelligent decisions and receive the guidance he/she needs to craft a strong story without knowing the truth?

This doesn't seem to be the going thing in the electronically published world right now. You can't get an agent or editor to take on your book--it's not your book's problem! You just need to pay Amazon or whoever to self-publish your work and ta da! Instant millionaire! The tragic thing is that many of these self-published works aren't quite ready for prime time, even if the self-published author paid someone (or didn't) to proofread for typos, misspellings, and other grammatical gaffes. The ideas behind these works aren't ready, or they've been done before a billion times. Yes, the truth hurts. Your idea might just suck.

Worse yet, your idea might be highly offensive--or libelous. What good is it if you ignore an editor's advice when he/she warns you of possible litigation if you don't back off grinding your ax into your ex-girlfriend, employer, brother-in-law? You publish a book that offends people and makes you look like a grudge-carrying, mean-spirited bully. What is the purpose in doing something so childish and cruel?

Writing is a private act, but publishing is a public act. Never forget that once your words are in print (electronic or on paper) you can't take them back. Always keep your target audience in mind. Who are your readers? What are their expectations? And, more importantly, do you have more readers in mind that just you and your mom?

In all your writings practice objectivity and balance--and listen to your freelance editor when he/she tells you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. You pay a professional to give you professional advice. Listen to it. Learn from it. Live with it. Grow.

For more information on how to become successfully published, check out my funny how-NOT-to writer's guide (written under my "real" name), available in print from Smiling Assassin Productions. Or drop me an email. I don't bite. Really, I don't. Promise. But I warn you, I'll tell you the truth. Unvarnished. It's how I roll.