This Week's Podcast Guest: Michael Loyd Gray

Join us on Friday as award-winning author Michael Loyd Gray discusses his latest novel, Not Famous Anymore. Both a poignant social commentary and an excellent read, this book cements Gray's place among America's best contemporary authors.

Elliott Adrian is in many ways a Hollywood cliché: small town boy who made good; a movie star with a mansion, a collection of sports cars, and an entourage of sycophants to fulfill his every desire; another celebrity behaving badly, without a care for anyone but himself. But beneath the flippant, arrogant façade beats the heart of an empty, desperately unhappy man. After his latest alcohol-fueled stunt lands him in rehab, Elliott decides he’s cashing in his chips and leaving L.A.—and fame—for good.

As he travels along the dusty back roads of small town America, Elliott learns that quitting fame is not as easy as he had thought. But as he struggles to shed his movie star persona and avoid a rabid pack of paparazzi, he encounters friends whose pearls of real world wisdom lead him closer to his truth. For Elliot’s real journey is not about escaping Hollywood, but about
rediscovering himself.

Michael Loyd Gray is an award-winning author, journalist and college professor. Born in Arkansas and raised in Champaign, Illinois, he has also lived and worked in New York, Arizona, Texas, and Michigan. He has a MFA from Western Michigan University and a Journalism degree from the University of Illinois. His novel Well Deserved won the 2008 Sol Books Prose Series Award. His story "Little Man" won the 2005 Alligator Juniper Fiction Prize and the 2005 The Writers Place Award for Fiction. Not Famous Anymore was awarded a grant by the Elizabeth George Foundation. December’s Children, another of his novels, was a finalist for the 2006 Sol Books Prose Series Prize and is forthcoming in 2012 from Sol Books as the young adult novel, King Biscuit. Currently, Gray is a full-time online English professor at South University, where he co-founded Asynchronous, the student literary journal.

Be sure to tune in on Friday to learn more about Michael Loyd Gray and his craft.

Join Us for a "Conversation" with Malinda Dowsett

This week's podcast guest is Malinda Dowsett, the writer and motivational speaker who, along with co-author Lani Barna, transformed her life from tragedy to triumph.

How did these two amazing women do this? They used a tool that we all use everyday: our conversation. Now, in their new book, Change Your Conversation, Change Your Life, they explain how everyone can manifest the life they want by altering the way they speak to each other, and themselves.

This book serves as an easy to follow guide, beginning with shifting one's consciousness from negativity to gratitude. "It is impossible to feel negative," Dowsett said, "when you are feeling grateful for the good in your life."

Click Here to Listen

Like what you heard? Order Change Your Conversation, Change Your Life today at www.changeyourconversation.com

Editor's Corner April 2009!

by Yvonne Perry

This column, which was called Author's Corner, is now called Editor's Corner. It is part of Writers in the Sky Newsletter, which comes out tomorrow. While I am both an author and an editor, most magazines and newsletter have an editor in charge of publication, so I’m catching up with the times and christening this new name. Champagne, please!

As spring is budding so are my four pregnant daughters! The first baby is due by C-section on April 10. Please keep Katie and her baby boy in your thoughts and prayers as she is a high-risk case due to health concerns. I’m making quilts for each grandbaby and you can see photos of my handiwork here:

• Turtle for Katie and Jackson's boy
• Sock Monkey for Liam Owen
• Transportation theme for Jonas Finn

I have two more to go: one for Ryah and Fred's baby due in October, and one for Sarah and Nathan's baby due in September.

WITS has been busy with a lot of great new and returning clients and I have personally been doing interviews. I’m especially thankful for Book Marketing Maven Dana Lynn Smith and the Q&A she posted on her blog. It’s all about authors working with editors, and I think you will find it informative and beneficial—especially if you are trying to decide whether or not your book should be edited before going to print.

On that same thought, I have written an article about the literacy rate being affected by authors who send poorly-written material to be published where it will be read by the public market. I'm not talking about a few typos; everyone makes mistakes. I'm referring to material that is below an acceptable level when it comes to grammar, spelling, punctuation, and overall development. I've seen plenty of those kind. I certainly intend no hard feelings to my POD friends, but in the article, I have given everyone something to think about. Feedback is welcome.

That leads me to introduce my POD friend, Tracy Lucas, who is the editor at
Published by Westview. Tracy believes in publishing quality books at a reasonable price and getting them into mainstream circulation through Ingram. Tracy is also a columnist (Writing Careers) for the Nashville Examiner and she interviewed me about WITS. You may read the article here: http://www.examiner.com/x-4420-Nashville-Writing-Careers-Examiner#fragment-4http://www.examiner.com.

Speaking of partnerships, Irene Watson and I have been in strategic alliance and have networked on several projects for the past three years. Irene’s company Reader Views hosts an annual Literary Awards event for which WITS is a sponsor. The 2008 winner of WITS’ $100 cash prize for best creative writing is James Earle McCracken for his book general fiction book, Rue de la Pompe: A Satiric Urban Fantasy (ISBN 9780595485055).
Three WITS clients: Carl David, author of Bader Field (Nightengale Press); Dawn Menge, author of Queen Vernita's Visitors (Outskirts Press); and Linda Ballou Wai-nani: High Chiefess of Hawai'i (Star Publish), won honorable mention in Reader Views Literary Awards this season.

Another strategic alliance I want to mention is our affiliation with Full Circle Admin. Owner Mindy Schwartz is able to assist clients with administrative needs such as calendar management, data entry, Excel spreadsheets, job search services, letter writing, typing, and transcribing. Other specialties include: coaching and mentoring to set up and maintain a high-traffic and sales-effective blog; stock, event, and product photography; link building; SEO writing; social networking and creating/posting trailers for books and businesses. Mindy and Sarah Moore work together as part of the WITS to give authors excellent customer service and a strong online presence.

Lately, clients have been coming to me asking me to serve as their writing mentor or developmental editor. I am delighted to be working with six writers on an hourly basis. Whenever one gets an article or chapter completed and is ready for me to look over it, I am able to offer a constructive critique either by phone or email about how to improve the piece. I would be glad to help you, too! You can hire me to work as few or as many hours per month as you wish, so why not invest in yourself and improve your writing skills with personalized instruction?

I’m co-writing a book with an author who needs teen or adult children of military parents to take her survey about being raised in a military family. Typical questions include: How many times did you move as a child of military parents? Did you live on a military base as a child? What was the highest rank achieved? Were you/your parent injured in conflict? If your parent was in the armed services, or if you are a parent serving in any branch of the military for any country, please go to http://tr.im/gA79 and answer a few questions. Thank you for helping provide stories for this book.

WITS Web site: http://www.writersinthesky.com/
WITS Blog: http://www.writersintheskyblog.com/
Phone: (615) 884-1224

Join WITS online:
MySpace
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter

Author's Corner March 2009

Welcome to another issue of Writers in the Sky Newsletter. Our subscriber base continues to grow and our community is becoming even closer knit thanks to your participation in our Friday the thirteenth Poetry Chapbook. I’ve received some wonderful comments about the lovely e-book that our graphic designer, Jessica Dockter, put together with all the terrific poems you sent us. You may download the chapbook as a PDF from our Web site at http://writersinthesky.com/WITSChapbook09.html.

Last month, I mentioned that three of our five children are expecting babies, and that both my daughter Sareya, and my step-daughter-in-law Katie (the administrative assistant for WITS) are having boys. We now know that my daughter-in-law Amanda is also having a boy. But, wait! There’s more! My step-daughter Ryah just joined the baby club, which means four of our daughters are expecting babies this year! But, wait! There’s more! Sarah Moore, the author’s assistant for WITS, is due in August, which means she and Katie are helping WITS grow its future team members!

And, speaking of family, did either of your parents serve in the armed forces? Angela Grett and I are looking for people who were raised in military families to take our survey and give us input about your family dynamics. We plan to compile and use the answers to write a book to help unite civilian and military families with a better understanding of this unique culture. All answers will remain confidential.

Author's Corner February 2009

Welcome to the month of lovers—literary lovers that is! Readers and writers will find this month’s issue filled with ideas, places to contribute, and inspiring information.

Instead of thinking of Friday the thirteenth as an ominous day, think of it as a day to do something different—like read poetry! WITS is creating a special poetry issue to publish on Friday, February 13. If you would like to send a poem with your name, short bio, and a link to your blog or Web site, please get it to me before February 6 using WITS contact page.

The conversation I had with editor Carolyn Howard-Johnson was fabulous! We recorded our candid chat about editing books, querying publishers, and some of the common mistakes writers make and how to correct them. We also answered questions our readers sent us. If you missed your chance to eavesdrop on us, you can listen to this conversation with editors now. If reading is more your style than listening, you may read a partial transcript of the highlights of our conversation.

The WITS mentoring program is going strong. So far, we have learned how to write a media release, write a strong resource box, explored article marketing, and some handy dandy Microsoft Word features and keyboard shortcuts such as this one:

Pressing Ctrl+F together will open a box that allows you to type in the word or exact phrase you are looking for. Click OK and Word will start from the point in your document where your cursor is located and find the next word or phrase that is exactly as you typed in the search. To replace that word or word phrase, click the “replace” tab at the top of the search box and type in the word or phrase you want to substitute. Word will replace one at a time so you may review each change or you may opt to have Word replace all of the occurrences at the same time.

If you missed the deadline to sign up for our newbie class, you may want to speak with me about one-on-one mentoring sessions. You get the same lessons and assignments as the Tuesday group, but more individualized focus on a day other. Learn more at http://writersinthesky.com/mentoring.html.

As you know, we have three grandbabies on the way. So far, we have learned that Katie and Sareya are having boys. Amanda is scheduled to have her sonogram this month. We’ll soon know if the boy to girl ratio is 2:1 or 3:0. Thankfully, things are progressing well for all three of our daughters and the wee-ones in the wombs.

Author's Corner January 2009

Happy New Year, everyone! We have some exciting things in store for you in 2009.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson and I will be facilitating a one-time pre-recorded audio class to air on Tuesday, January 13, 2009. It will be called "Conversation with Editors" and we will cover some of the common mistakes writers make and how to correct them. We will also give some helpful tips for impressing a publisher with your query letter. Ask your editing and querying questions in the comments feature at this WITS blog post now to be sure your question is answered during the class. You may contact me to get the link to the recorded class. Carolyn is an editor and author of The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward To Avoid Humiliation And Ensure Success (How to Do It Frugally).

I have three grandbabies on the way! Baby blessings to my three girls: step-daughter-in-law, Katie; my daughter, Sareya; and my daughter-in-law, Amanda, who are all expecting in 2009! Katie’s boy (her third child) is due in April, Sareya and Scott’s baby (their first child) is due in June, and Amanda and Zeb’s baby (their second child) is due in July.

WITS is considering making our newsletter a full-blown online e-zine. I realize this would take even more time and money to produce, so to offset the cost, we may offer ad space. Please take our survey to let us know if you would/would not be willing to pay for ad space if we were to create an online magazine. We would still have our regular features: The Writing Life, informative articles, Network with Us, Book with a View, and Poetry Corner, but we might expand it to include more feature columns. Let us know what your favorite features are by taking a survey to help us improve what we are doing.

Recently, I proofread a series of e-books called Just the FAQs authored by technical expert, MaAnna Stephenson. I cannot say enough of good things about them! Just the FAQs gives authors, writers, or anyone who has little experience with online technology, the essentials for setting up a blog, adding RSS Feed, creating a Web site, and book promotion through article marketing. See how valuable and easy these non-geeky e-books are when you visit http://www.justthefaqs.net/ . Oh, and there are free online marketing resources and downloads on the JTF blog http://justthefaqsblog.blogspot.com/ . Check that out, too.

My 92-year-old grandmother (we call her Nanny) is still unable to walk after falling and breaking her hip and arm in November, but we have a contraption, which reminds me of an engine hoist or an amusement park ride, to get her in and out of bed. She does several hours of “chair time” each day. Her arm is healing well, but the osteoporosis in her hip is too advanced for the bone to mend well enough to regain weight bearing condition. My mom is a saint and should win the galactic lottery if good works and patience had anything to do with. She cares for Nanny around the clock in her home.

There are only a few seats left in my mentoring program for freelance writers that begins January 14. I look forward to facilitating a weekly 1-hour tele-seminar on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 Central Time. In these writing classes, students will build a real-world portfolio while learning the craft and business of freelance writing. Weekly assignments will be given to the group and graded individually. This is a great way to get encouragement and help in specific areas of need. Learn more about WITS mentoring program at http://writersinthesky.com/mentoring.html. These classes are filling up fast, so contact us to be placed on the January 2009 newbie class roster. An entry essay will be required before admission is confirmed.

Be sure to see the WITS resources page for some great recommendations on books to improve writing, technical expertise, newsletters and web sites, internet radio shows and podcasts, book publishers and literary agents, book marketing sites, book printers, and online promotion books and e-books.

Here’s to your writing success and the best WITS year ever!

What is Your Favorite WITS Newsletter Feature?

Author's Corner
The Writing Life
Network with Us
Book with a View
Poetry Corner

Let us know what your favorite features are by taking a survey to help us improve: http://www.socialtoo.com/survey/view/620