Double Negative

I’m Back! And Just in Time for #IWSG Wednesday

November 1, 2017 By C. Lee McKenzie

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

Remember, the question is optional! [Read more…] about I’m Back! And Just in Time for #IWSG Wednesday

Email Connect Commercial & Double Negative

November 14, 2016 By C. Lee McKenzie

Commercial Announcement-This will not disappear in ten seconds, so don’t fight it.

Email Connect (EC) is not a Newsletter. I have no news.

“So what do you have?”

“Thanks for asking.”

*A Featured Author each month.

*Gifts and Giveaways.

*Short, but hopefully helpful tips for writers and readers and other humans.

Sign up today for your chance to win a digital copy of Gadget Girl by Suzanne Kamata, my Featured Follower in November. I’m reading it now and it’s good!

I’ve been so neglectful of my Young Adult books lately, that I thought I’d give one a bit of press. So here’s . . . the Story Behind Double Negative

READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY. IT’S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTANDING THE REST OF THE POST.

BUT NO PRESSURE.

#anT t# re#d #nd #nj#y # g##d st#ry? Wh#T #f y## c##ldn#t do th#t? W##ld y## b# fr#str#t#d? #ngry? S#cr#t#v#?

You could probably figure out the message, but was it easy? Did it take a while to decipher the words, and when you did, did you forget all about meaning because you were picking through it so slowly you forgot where you were going? And what about the NO PRESSURE part? Did you ignore that?

Here’s what it said: Want to read and enjoy a good story? What if you couldn’t do that? Would you be frustrated? Angry? Secretive? Maybe act out with anger?

In 2010 I stumbled on an article that said in L.A. County 33% of the residents were illiterate or low-literate. That brought me up short. Wasn’t the inability to read an emerging nation issue? An issue in back-country regions of the U.S.? I guess not!

Bryant Doughtery is definitely Hutch.

Hot and naughty. Lots of potential.

That article was the beginning of Double Negative. Hutch, then Fat Nyla and Maggie slowly evolved into the characters, then came Father Kerry, Moss and Meeker. All destined to play a part in a story about a kid who can’t read well enough to get through high school, but has the heart of a winner. All he needs is a pair of glasses and someone to believe in him.

Evernight Teen

“My life was going, going, gone, and I hadn’t been laid yet. I couldn’t go into the slammer before that happened.” —Hutch McQueen.

Quote of the Week: “Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.” Anonymous

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Can’t Read? Not An Option!

June 13, 2016 By C. Lee McKenzie

I remember the first time I held a book that was filled with words and no pictures. I must have been four. I threw it down and cried. I was so angry because I wanted the story in that book, but it was hidden from me.

I’m not sure how my mom handled that moment. Maybe she gave me one of my picture books or sat and read aloud to me. But somehow I must have come up with the idea that I had to learn the code if I wanted to get to the story for myself. If I didn’t, I’d have to wait for someone to unlock the mysteries for me.

Strange that I remember that one moment, but I can’t remember when I finally learned to read on my own. Maybe that part of my education just came so naturally, so gradually because people in my life read and encourage me to read with them.

I guess wanting to know has always been a driving force for me, so there was never a question that I wouldn’t be in love with learning, which I always equated with reading. I could never imagine not being able to research a topic or find an answer I needed because I didn’t know what the words meant. And when the subjects became harder and more complicated, I treasured my reading skills even more. They were the key to my education. They gave me the freedom to understand anything, any time. And that’s what education means to me. Freedom.

When I stumbled on an article about illiteracy in the U.S. and discovered that 33% of people in L.A. county are illiterate or low-literate, it made me want to write about illiteracy. That article was the genesis of Double Negative, a story about a boy who can barely read and who manages to earn Ds in school by eavesdropping and memorizing.

It was a challenge for me to imagine how this boy coped, but I returned to that time when I remembered being so frustrated by that first time when I wasn’t able to decode the story because it didn’t have pictures. I used that frustration to help me create Hutchinson McQueen.

Here’s a prologue that I didn’t use in the final draft of Double Negative, but it does show Hutch’s character and the mess he’s in because he keeps making the wrong choices.

I didn’t know Blaze was going to up and quit on me like that. My safe house turned out not so safe either, so there I was . . . no place to hide out from Dee Dee and in the slammer. Talk about a crappy hand. I got it. And with the principal on one side and that priest on the other, a big pit with alligators was starting to look like an easy way out.

That’s when the priest dragged in the loony teacher to trip me up with a bunch of reading garbage, so the principal and the priest didn’t seem so bad anymore. My life was going, going, gone, and I hadn’t been laid yet. I couldn’t die before that happened.

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Goodreads Book Giveaway

Sudden Secrets

by C. Lee McKenzie

Giveaway ends June 15, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Quote of the Week: If you don’t know your options, you don’t have any.” Diana Korte, women’s heath advocate

Have you made a few wrong choices? Do you know what your options are? What would you do if you couldn’t read?

I’m taking off for a few days, so I visited blogs on Sunday and will return to visit those who don’t post until later in the week when I return. I hope I’ll have an adventure that I can write about when I come back. Enjoy your week!

Hello USA and Xpresso Tour Unleashed

December 1, 2014 By C. Lee McKenzie

I’m back and I’m late with my first post since taking a break. This is going to be short and somewhat jet-lagged, but at least I found the keyboard and was able to turn on the computer.

News of the Day:

Double Negative is on Tour, starting today.

December 1st
-Reading To Distraction >> Review
-FictionZeal.com >> Guest Post
-Loving the Language of Literacy >> Review
-Suzy Turner, YA Author >> Spotlight

Just turned in my first line edits for Sudden Secrets to Evernight Teen. Book due out this month.

Burma is the colonial name for Myanmar, so I’m officially switching to Myanmar since I now know the people prefer it.

I have my A to Z Blogging Challenge theme and just have to write the posts, so hope I can post 2015’s Survivor Badge after April.

Great to be back. Will be around to say hi to everyone ASAP!

Evernight Teen Celebrates Four Years

October 3, 2014 By C. Lee McKenzie

EVERNIGHT TEEN

Join authors, bloggers and reviewers as we take a RED CARPET tour featuring Evernight’s smart and sexy books (Mine is not in the sexy category. Just FYI). Slip on your virtual stilettos and walk the red carpet of award winning titles, spectacular reviews, and paparazzi style interviews.

Prizes Galore

Answer *MY QUESTION in the comment section for a chance to win (be sure to include your email address and format you need for eBook):

* Your choice of an Amazon Kindle Fire HD or Kobo Arc 7
* $100 Amazon GC
* $50 Evernight GC
* My blog prize: 5 eBooks and 2 signed paperbacks-US only, I’m afraid. 🙁

Be sure to visit every stop on the tour where you can enter for a chance to win one of the great prizes.

ET authors are taking time out to give their own books a SHOUT OUT and a little HORN BLOWING. Today we’re getting a bit of the Red Carpet treatment. Now I turn the spotlight on my book.

I’m short of red carpets at the moment, but I did dig up a red sheet. Shhhhh! Don’t tell.

I didn’t expect to write a Young Adult novel about a boy who can barely read, but it happened. And here’s how. I was lost inside a story and enjoying that wonderful feeling of

1) not having written it myself

2) loving the voice and excitement.

That’s when it hit me. Boink!

What if I couldn’t read?

So that was the beginning of Double Negative-a book that turned me into a LITERACY advocate. Some of you joined me my @WeWrite4U_Lit Twitter campaign in September, so you know I’m serious. If I write books, I need readers, lots of readers, and millions of people in the U.S. can’t read what I write. They can’t even read food labels.

Some Reviews:

Double Negative has done well in the review department. Here’s what two reviewers wrote. I chose two I don’t know. That only seems fair.

From AMAZON

Carla Davis, PA: I decided to give Double Negative a try because the sample dragged me in from the first paragraph until I had to read the whole thing! It’s so rare to see well done first person, but this book does it masterfully. Hutch has a real voice that must be rendered in the way the author has chosen. No lazy writing here! The characters are well-rounded and leap off of the page into your imagination. While the book has some deeply emotional moments and deals with themes and issues that could fall into oversentimentality or preachiness, the text never crosses the line. (A real feat as one of the main characters is a priest) There are real failures and victories, and Hutch’s voice carries you on through all of them in vivid prose. I was rooting for our hero and his friends for the entire book. In short, this is an excellent read for teens and adults alike, and it kept me up an hour and a half after my bedtime, so kudos to the author! Highly recommended!

From GOODREADS

Mpetbot: Once again, C Lee McKenzie spins a tale of young adults presented with problems typical of their age — bullies, lack of self-confidence — and not so typical — dyslexia, eating disorders, and absent parents. She guides Hutch, Nyla, Wang, and Meeker to solve their problems, using their challenges as learning opportunities.

Congratulations to C Lee McKenzie for another novel where negative themes give way to positive themes — this time, of giving gratitude and letting go of hate.

******

I won’t please everyone. If I did, the book would be too middle of the road, blah! Some people won’t like the drugs. Some won’t like the poor grammar my kids use. Some won’t like my use of the name, Fat Nyla. Some won’t like mixing the story of an old woman with an incurable disease in a YA. I’m waiting for one of those reviews to come in. In the meantime, I’m glad I wrote this story, and I hope it reaches the kids I want it to reach.

*MY QUESTION: What would you miss most if you couldn’t read?

Pros Part 3, Elizabeth Seckman’s Hop, and I’m A NotSoAccidental Blog Tourist

July 28, 2014 By C. Lee McKenzie

Part 3: The Pros Give Us Some Advice and Happy Launch Day to Me

I’m back to enjoying this series that features writer friends who have some excellent books out. I asked them to send me their latest book, their tagline and a short piece of advice they wanted to pass on to writers, especially those still seeking publication. Last time YVONNE VENTRESCA visited with PANDEMIC. Today we have Michelle Zink, an author I debuted with and one great person to know.

AVAILABLE NOW AT B&N

Tagline:

Voodoo… Secrets… Revenge.

Advice for YA writers:

Read everything in the genre. Everything. Not just the big commercial hits or the ones everyone is talking about. Look for books outside your comfort zone, books that have been shortlisted for awards or won them, books about characters with which you wouldn’t normally identify, books you’ve never heard of but that have good word of mouth from a friend. It’s easy to get in a rut and think the genre is derivative (and that you have to be derivative, too), but reading widely will remind you how much is possible, and inspiration will strike you in the most unexpected of places.

Prophecy of the Sisters Trilogy
A Temptation of Angels
This Wicked Game

Lies I Told (Spring 2015))

by Michelle Zink
www.michellezink.com

******

Availble at Evernight Teen

Double Negative’s visiting some more blogs.

7/27 Beverly Stowe McClure
7/27 Jess and Stephanie-Author Tracker blog
7/28 Alex Cavanaugh
7/28 L. Diane Wolfe-Spunk on a Stick and Circle of Friends
7/30 M. J. Fifield
7/30 Julie Musil
7/30 Crystal Collier

If you haven’t entered to win the giveaway, it’s still open. Jump in.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And Now My Contribution to ELIZABETH SECKMAN’S
Totally Imaginative HOP-The Year Was 1865

I’m excited to join in the celebration of the release of Elizabeth Seckman’s new historical novel, Bella’s Point. While the canons were exploding, and the North and South were asunder, a man out here in California was busy with something literary, so my snippet is a bit tangential. Hope nobody minds.

The Year Was 1865. . .

The ghost didn’t scare Hazel, but it rattled her while she was working because it disrupted her routine. It wafted here and there while she tried to polish the library floor or dust tables, and, while she tried to ignore it, it distracted her from getting her job done. She’d no sooner tidy a row of book spines so they lined up flush with the edge, than a cold finger would hook one book and tug it off the shelf. Then the ghost fluttered away, thumbing the pages, then dropping the book anywhere when it had finished reading.

Rita Baum was already getting ready to fire her. Hazel could tell by how the librarian squinted her direction while re-shelving those errant books. Rita blamed her for the mess the library was in. That ghost had to leave, and Hazel was going to see to it.

The problem was she had no idea about how to banish ghosts. She knew mops and cleansers and not much more. But she wasn’t a woman who gave up once she set her mind to doing something, so on the next Monday night when the library closed early, Hazel planned to deal with her ghostly problem. She arrived just at dusk and waited until the white cloudy form plucked the first book, fluttered its pages, then stuffed it back almost where it belonged.

As the ghost moved down the row, Hazel retrieved the book and read the title. Short Story Crafting. She put it in its correct spot and followed the ghost’s route, reading each title it selected. The Modern Short Story. How to Write Good Short Story. Grammar and Style.

When she reached the end of that row, she peered into the next, but it was empty. Usually, when the ghost was near she could feel it. The chill. The wisp of vapor. But now she felt nothing. Maybe trailing after it had frightened it away. She returned the last book to its proper shelf and brushed her hands together, satisfied and very pleased that it had taken such a short time to free herself from that pesky intruder.

She finished the floors in the non-fiction section and made her way to fiction. For a change, her job was nearly done tonight on time. And as she ran the mop along row PQR, she imagined that hot bath and TV show waiting for her at home. Then that familiar chill sprang along her arms. When she walked into the next row, STU, the ghost stood not a few feet away. The worst part of its return was that it was tearing pages from a book. That would mean her job for sure. Before she thought better of it, she lunged for the book and yanked it away.

The ghost stood as still as a vapor can, and stared at her. “That was rude.” While the voice was all about mist and particles, it was a man’s voice.

“Not as rude as you. You can’t tear pages out of a library book!” She held out he hand. “Give me those.”

He shook his head. “These are mine.”

“Not likely. They belong to Angels Camp Public Library.”

“See here, young lady, I wrote this.” The ghost waved the loose pages in the air.

Hazel glanced at the book in her hand. The Collected Works of Mark Twain. She shifted her eyes back to the ghost. “Who are you anyways?”

He pointed at the book she held. “That is me. Or who I used to be before this terrible and permanent affliction.” He waved a hand over his ghostly form.

She opened the book to where several pages were missing. “So what is it you’re here to do?” Hazel liked things simple and tidy, and a book with missing pages annoyed her terribly.

“It has come to my attention that my prose is out of date. I have a Pass to visit for a sufficient time to make modern at least one story.”

“That seems kind of weird,” Hazel said. “Sort of like changing history.”

“Perhaps, but I intend re-writing this one about the jumping frog.”

“I can’t see the reason—”

“Listen to this.” The ghost cleared his throat, then began to read from the papers he clutched. “‘In compliance with the request of a friend of mine, who wrote me from the East, I called on good-natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler, and inquired after my friend’s friend, Leonidas W. Smiley, as requested to do, and I hereunto append the result.’” He looked up at her. “Well?”

“Hmm. Kind of high and mighty sounding,” Hazel said.

The ghost agreed with a grunt. “No one’s likely to read it written the way it is. Not in this century. The year was 1865 when I wrote that. Things have changed a bit in storytelling. I’m here to set this right, but I don’t have much time left on my Pass.”

Hazel considered the problem. Rita Baum would toss her and her mops right out the door if she found this book shredded. But that writer ghost wasn’t about to budge. He was one stubborn haunt. She could tell by the way he held tight to those pages. “Look here. How about I get you some paper and a pencil, so as you can do your re-writing, but you give me those pages. I’ll lose my job if you don’t.”

Mr. Twain hesitated, then handed the pages to Hazel. “I can’t be causing a loss of a job, but I’d appreciate it mightily if you’d give me that paper and pencil.”

He wrote for over an hour, then he gave Hazel what he’d written. She tucked the new version into the book with the restored pages she’d carefully taped back into place, then re-shelved the book in exactly the right spot.

“I thank you kindly, “ the ghost said and vanished.

A few nights later, when she’d finished mopping row STU, she opened The Collected Works of Mark Twain and took out the loose pages. Curious, she sat and read the straight up and down strokes of the handwritten lines. “‘A friend of mine wrote me from the East and ask me to visit old Simon Wheeler. My friend wanted to know what ever happened to a guy named, Leonidas W. Smiley. When I found Wheeler, he had quite a tale to tell.’”

She turned her face to the ceiling, thinking that Mr. Twain might hear her clearer that way. “Not so highfalutin now. Much better.”

******

Thanks to Dianne Salerni for asking me to be on The Not So Accidental Blog Tourist Hop. (Eat your heart out Gary!)
Dianne’s credits are impressive. She’s the author of The Eighth Day MG fantasy series (HarperCollins) and YA historical novels, The Caged Graves (Clarion/HMH) and We Hear the Dead (Sourcebooks). Dianne was a public school teacher for 25 years before leaving the profession to spend more time hanging around creepy cemeteries and climbing 2000 year-old pyramids in the name of book research.

I’m about hopped out, but here’s my contribution to this HOP.

1.What am I currently working on?

I’m just wrapping up two projects. One is another young adult and I’m back to my female protagonist with this one, and my usual older character with issues. The second project is the sequel to Alligators Overhead, my middle grade fantasy/adventure. I’ve sent it to a to publisher, so I’m in the waiting room.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

You won’t find a lot of romance in my books, so don’t buy them if that’s what you want to read. My characters do love and they do have romantic moments—a few—but as you’ll see from my covers, my characters are the ones mostly on the outside, looking in or dealing with some hard life issues. There’s not a ball gown in sight. Maybe one of these days I’ll write something so I can have a beautiful girl and a beautiful dress on the front of my book.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

One reason I write “gritty” stories for young adults is that I want them to connect with my characters-the loners, the abused, the neglected, the seekers who have only a dim light to guide them. I want them to see they aren’t alone and that others, maybe the author, have experienced and understand what they’re going through.

4. How does your writing/creating process work?

I wish I knew. If someone could see inside my brain and explain what’s going on, I’d pay a lot of money to them. Each book comes to me in a different way. Sometimes I write the end first. Sometimes I write all kinds of scenes, in no particular order. Sometimes I doodle for hours, walk, pout and give up being a writer because I’m sure I’m not one of those.

Now be sure to check out these two fine writers next Monday, August 4 and see what their answers to these questions are.

CARRIE’S BLOG

CARRIE BUTLER

Carrie daydreamed her way through college—until they thrust a marketing degree into her hands, slapped a summa cum laude seal on the corner, and booted her out into a less-than-stellar job market. Instead of panicking at the prospect of unemployment, she used her Midwestern logic to steer into the skid and point her life in the direction she really wanted to go: writing out those daydreams.Her passion for New Adult fiction led her to co-found NA Alley—one of the first websites dedicated to the category. A year later, she started a design business specializing in graphics for the publishing industry, called Forward Authority. Her Mark of Nexus series has appeared on Amazon bestselling, top-rated, and hot new release lists in various genres.

STEPHEN TREMP

Stephen Tremp lives with his wife and two daughters in Mission Viejo, CA. He has a B.A. in information systems and an MBA degree in global management. Stephen has a background in information systems, management, and finance and draws from this varied and complex experiential knowledge to write one-of-a-kind thrillers.

His novels are enhanced by current events at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and other scientific research facilities around the world. These potential advances have the ability to change the way we perceive our universe and our place in it! You can email Stephen at [email protected] and visit him at his WEBSITE for more synopses, reviews, and links to purchase or download his books from Amazon.

Celebrating Small Things: My Book Launch and Broken Branch Falls by Tara Tyler

July 25, 2014 By C. Lee McKenzie

Thanks VIKLIT

Co-Hosts:

DIANA WILDER

LG KELTNER @writing off the edge

KATIE @TheCyborg Mom

CAFFEEMAGGIEATO @mscoffeehouse

******

AVAILABLE TO BUY NOW AT EVERNIGHT TEEN

I’m celebrating something that’s small in the scheme of things, but exciting for me.

My Young Adult novel, DOUBLE NEGATIVE, officially goes on sale today.

Sixteen-year-old Hutch McQueen is shackled by near illiteracy and trapped in a dysfunctional family. When he tries to escape, he chooses the wrong way and lands in juvenile hall. He might have a another chance if he listens to the priest and the teacher.

You can enter to win a free copy or some Amazon money for a shopping spree.

I waved my magic wand, and am now in four places at once today. Come visit me at MEDEIA SHARIF’S today. We’re talking. Then DARBY KARCHUT and TBM are featuring me at their special spots in the universe. And YVONNE VENTRESCA is letting me go a bit about writing stuff. How lucky can an author be? I launch and I’m hosted by four really super people.

On Sunday, July 27 the magical two, JESS and STEPHANIE are hosting me at their Author Tracker blog.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*****

So much for celebrating the Small Things, now let’s celebrate the Big Things, like books for kids!

Available Now Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Let me just get this over with and tell everybody how jealous I am of Tara’s cover. There. I feel so much better.

So today I’m having a very different kind of guest. Everybody seated? Ready? Good. Now let me pass the GGs around.

“Huh?” Crowd response.

Oh, What are GGs? Lee nudges her guest who is somewhat green (get over it) and small (get over that, too).

Gabe, you tell them what GGs are and that will get our conversation off to an, ahem, interesting start.

Gabe: I thought everybody knew GGs were Goblin Goodies.

Lee: Well, not everybody. But now that you point it out. . . In fact, now that you’ve answered my first question, I’m thinking you’re not really as nurdie as you say you are. I think we need a Nerd Test. Are you up for that?

Gabe: Uh, sure. I hope I will prove I’m not a nerd.

Lee: I’ll just fire off a few questions and you answer them as best you can. At the end, I’ll tally all your “correct” answers-answers only a true nerd would know-and we’ll see what the results are.

What day is National Nerd Pride Day? A real Nerd would know this one.

Gabe: I didn’t know there was such a thing. How about May 4th. (It’s Star Wars Day - get it? May the 4th be with you…

Lee: Oye! I’m afraid you’re more nerdy than not. So here’s question two. If a Nerd wears glasses, would he

a) let them slide down his nose and leave them there

b) tape them if they broke

c) buy the latest fashion

Gabe: I’d have to say “b” - I had to help my friend Darvis tape his after an unfortunate flugelhorn incident.

Lee: Oh yes. The *cough, cough* flugelhorn incident. Onward.

What did the nuclear physicist have for lunch?

a)cesium salad

b)fission chips

c)atomic barbecue

Gabe: Those all sound…interesting. I’m going to have to go with “b” again - I don’t like salad and atomic barbecue sounds like Troll fodder - no one wants that nuclear reaction!

Lee: I agree with that observation. Now for the last nerd determining question.

Rainbow suspenders are

a) neato

b) uninteresting

c) expensive

Gabe: Rainbows are cool, so I bet rainbow suspenders are “a” - neat!

Lee: It seems you are truly a Nerd. Congratulations. But how is a Goblin Nerd different from say your average teenaged human one? Or are there any differences?

Gabe: Well, I’ve never met a human, only read about them. The books say human teens are lazy and like to put each other down to make themselves feel better. Here is the definition of a nerd - a person who behaves awkwardly around other people and usually has unstylish clothes, hair, etc. ; a person who is very interested in technical subjects. That about sums me up, so if a human teenage nerd is that way, then, we’re pretty similar…

Lee: Hmm. Very interesting. Would you like to leave us with some special Broken Branch Falls wisdom a la Gabe the Nerd?

Gabe: I would like to point out that we shouldn’t be judged by appearances, but by how we behave and treat each other. What’s on the inside is what matters. Just because I’m smart, thin, and awkward doesn’t mean I should be pushed around! Nerds unite!

And there you have it. But not yet. Be sure to buy Gabe’s book. Hope you do. BTW are you a nerd? How many questions did you get right? Be sure to join my giveaway.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

One last thing. Here’s my kind of quirky Eli Wallach, quote for the day: “Having the critics praise you is like having the hangman say you’ve got a pretty neck.” Hmmm. I have to think about that one.

Double Negative Has a Cover.

July 21, 2014 By C. Lee McKenzie

AVAILABLE TO BUY 7/25

I’m in the middle of Advice From the Pros Series, but I have to interrupt that for a moment because my new young adult novel, Double Negative, makes it’s first appearance as a book, and I’m in a bit of a fritz.

I’ve recycled my SADOTY Award for this occasion. The cat spoke to me, Gary.

Sixteen-year-old Hutchinson McQueen is a big time loser. Trapped in a dysfunctional family, his one thought is escape, but everything he does to get away lands him in trouble. Shackled by poor reading skills, he squeaks through classes with his talent for eavesdropping and memorizing what he hears. When he shoplifts and lands in juvenile detention, the court sentences him to a county youth program. There he meets the priest and Maggie, a retired teacher. They’re determined to set Hutch on a path leading away from trouble. Hutch is determined not to cooperate, and he blunders his way from one mess into another. It isn’t until he’s facing serious charges that he confronts the truth-his own bad choices are trapping him. The priest and Maggie have offered him the freedom he craves. All he has to do is take it.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope you’ll enter my giveaway to win either a copy of my book or some shopping money. Then please stop by some of the bloggers who’ve jumped in to help me out.

7/21 PATRICIA LYNNE

7/21 JEMI FRASER

7/21 SHAH WARTON
7/21 LITERARY RAMBLES
7/22 JENN HUBBARD & HERE
7/23 ELIZABETH ARROYO
7/23 SHER HART
7/23 ANGELA BROWN
7/23 JULIE KEMP

My quote for you today is from Helen Mirren: “The word ‘freedom’ is batted around rather too freely. I like self-discipline.”

Celebrating Small Things Like Owls and Book Launches

July 11, 2014 By C. Lee McKenzie

Thanks VIKLIT

DIANA WILDER

LG KELTNER @writing off the edge

KATIE @TheCyborg Mom

CAFFEEMAGGIEATO @mscoffeehouse

One of my favorite spots to read or write is in my garden and during the summer, I like to go down early to sit by the pond, sip my coffee and get my head ready for whatever the day might bring.

I’ll never stop being grateful for my writing spot.

Yesterday I found a surprise. A small brown owl had caught his wing in the edging around the pond. Poor guy. He’d been trapped there for a while by the look of him, and I was afraid he’d broken a wing. I scooped him out of the water and set him on the edge of the pond. He blinked at me with huge yellow eyes, and for a minute I thought I’d have more rescuing steps-call the vet, find a cage, drive damaged owl to have wing fixed. I imagined that my day was going to be filled with owl care.

But he rallied and in a few minute, stretched and flexed both wings, then flew into the trees. I didn’t get a picture of him, but here’s one of his brothers.

I have something really small to celebrate this Friday.

*******

Double Negative Launch

For all of you who offered to help me with my launch, I haven’t forgotten. 🙂 I’ve just been waiting for Evernight Teen to send my cover and my pub date. I’ve just gotten my pub date and my cover is on the way, so wanted you to know I will be getting that information to you next week! If I’ve missed someone, yell at me, please. And if anyone still wants to jump in and lend a hand, obviously, there’s still time.

DOUBLE NEGATIVE
WHAT WILL ITS COVER LOOK LIKE?

Again thanks for your support.

Hilary Melton-Butcher

M.J. Fifiled

Sher A. Hart

S.K. Anthony

Mere Joyce

Celebrating Small Things & Recounting Some Writing Experience, Especially Loglines and Taglines

June 13, 2014 By C. Lee McKenzie

VIKLIT
Co-Hosts

Diana Wilder

LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge

Katie @ TheCyborg Mom

CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

This week my small celebrations are:

finishing line edits ahead of schedule on Double Negative.

writing one short story for Heroes of Phenomena Book Launch.
composing a fairly decent logline and tagline for Double Negative. (See below.)

staying cool during our 102 degree day. Yuck!
Oh, and not succumbing to my triskaidekaphobia today.

Oh no! Not Friday the Thirteenth.

*****

I’m visiting another UNCOMMONYA author this week, MELISSA WRAY. It would be great if you’d stop by. You can read me in my verbose, writer mode. It happens sometimes.

MELISSA WRAY, AUTHOR OF DESTINY ROAD

*****

Are you good at writing LOGLINES or TAGLINES? It takes some practice, I can tell. You. And are you clear on how these two are different? If not, here’s what I know about them.

LOGLINES tell you in a single sentence what the story is about.

TAGLINES are intended to catch your interest.

SOURCE

An example: Jaws

Logline: A sheriff must find and kill a man-eating and frighteningly intelligent shark before it murders again and scares away all the tourists who support his beach-front community.

Tag Line: Don’t go into the water.

Tell me what you think about mine. I could use some help if you see where these could be better, please tell me.

Double Negative

Logline: Shackled by near illiteracy, a teenage boy decides escape from his alcoholic mother and absentee father will give him a better life, but his bad choices trap him in even a worse place.

Tagline: Going to juvie wasn’t part of his escape plan. (I’m still fiddling with this one. I may be back with another version next week.)

Are you celebrating anything this week? Are you good at loglines and taglines? Triskaidekaphobia much?