Do You Love Words?

Regular visitors will know I love words. As a reader and a writer, I'm fascinated by these small
packets of information that allow us to communicate, imagine and to explore our world. Here is a website I came across recently that I think will interest those with similar interests. I've copied the most recent of the weekly newsletters, with, of course, the permission of the site owner, Michael Quinion. Have a read, and if you're intrigued like me, you can easily sign up for the newsletter by going to this link: http://www.worldwidewords.org/

Newsletter 843

Saturday 3 August 2013

Contents

1. Culprit.

2. Pony up.

3. Sic!

4. Useful information.

1. Culprit

This is a common word with a strange genesis, arising out of an old legal abbreviation, compounded by popular etymology.

When England was conquered by the Normans at the Battle of Hastings, French became the language of the law. It remained in use among lawyers even after the language of the courts changed to English in the fourteenth century, latterly in a stylised and degenerate form called law French. Fragments of law French survive even to this day in parliamentary proceedings.Culprit is another survivor.

The records are sparse, but the usual explanation goes like this: if a prisoner in a medieval court pleaded not guilty to the charge, the prosecutor would respond with the words, Culpable: prest d’averrer nostre bille, which may loosely be translated as “We believe him to be guilty and I am ready to prove the charge”. This was recorded in the court rolls as cul prest or cul prist.

The two key words are culpable and prest. The former remains in English in the sense “deserving of blame”, ultimately from Latin culpa, blame or fault.Prest is Anglo-Norman, meaning “ready”, which survived in English until the eighteenth century, but which has become prêt in modern French (as inprêt à manger, ready to eat, or prêt à porter, ready to wear).

The abbreviation cul prest became modified down the years and was somehow misunderstood very late on in the history of law French to be the way that the accused was to be addressed. It turns up first in the record of the trial in 1678 of the Earl of Pembroke for murder; he was asked: “Culprit, how will you be tried?”

Culprit became part of the language in the sense of the accused person. During the following century people came to believe that it meant a guilty person, perhaps in part because of a confusion with culpa.

2. Pony up

Q From David Shapiro: Where does pony up come from?

A This is a classic American expression, but one now widely known in other parts of the English-speaking world. To pony up means to pay what you owe or settle your debt. It usually refers to a smallish sum of money:

The promotion offers Virginians 16 and older the chance to fish without a license for three days in the hopes some of those folks will have so much fun they’ll decide to pony up a few bucks for the privilege of fishing for the next 12 months.

The Roanoke Times (Roanoke, Virginia), 2 Jun. 2013.

It dates from the early nineteenth century. This is the earliest example so far known:

The afternoon, before the evening, the favoured gentlemen are walkingrapidly into the merchant-tailors shops, and very slowly out, unless they ponied up the Spanish.

The Rural Magazine and Farmer’s Monthly Museum, May 1819.

(Spanish here is slang for money, a term known a little earlier in Britain — Francis Grose recorded it in the 1788 edition of his Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. It’s short for Spanish money, from an association of Spain with rich treasure fleets, doubloons and pieces of eight.)

It seems very likely that pony similarly derives from English slang. It appears in several works at about the same time, including the 1796 edition of Grose’s book. It also turns up in another famous work, which will expand even further your knowledge of long-obsolete slang terms for money:

It’s everything now o’days to be able to flash the screens — sport the rhino — show the needful — post the pony — nap the rent — stump the pewter.

Tom and Jerry, by W T Moncrieff, 1821.

The presumption is that it comes from the equine pony because it was a small horse, as relatively small as the sums of money which users were concerned with. Among the moneyed classes a pony at this time meant 25 guineas (later 25 pounds), a very large amount at the time by most people’s standards, but presumably not thought excessive by individuals who paid their bills in guineas. Horses for courses, you might say.

3. Sic!

• “The quote below,” emailed Hal Norvell, “is from a local newspaper here in central Maine. The source is the Associated Press. ‘A court in Cameroon found two men guilty under the country’s law banning gay sex on Tuesday, a lawyer said ....’”

• Nancy Miller found this in the Premier Traveler magazine for June & July, reviewing ANA business class: “The meal was expertly finished off with a decedent Pierre Hermé Paris dessert: vanilla and dulce de leche ice cream with raspberry sauce.”

• Speaking of decedents, the New York Times obituary of 26 June for the photographer Bert Stern contained this sentence, Kate Schubart reports: “His death was confirmed by Shannah Laumeister, a longtime friend, who said she and Mr. Stern had been secretly married since 2009. No cause was given.”

• It-could-have-been-better-punctuated department: in a story about acute oak decline, a bacterial disease which is afflicting British trees, the Guardian on 16 July referred to “Brian Muelaner, an ancient oak adviser at the National Trust.”

• Detlef Pelz read a Reuters report dated 1 August on the website of The Agein Australia: “Mr Chong’s lawyers have said that he was arrested at the home of friend during a raid by a drug enforcement task force investigating an ecstasy trafficking ring that included DEA agents, sheriff’s deputies and San Diego police officers.”

4. Useful information

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July, a Month of Change and Progress

Click on the chart to open in a new window at a larger size

It’s been a mixed month. The weather, always an important component of British life, has been largely hot and fine, which is fine with me: I detest wet and cold. But, of course, we get so few hot days that we feel we must make the most of them. So, the garden has been well attended, and we’ve had a couple of trips out. Relatives and friends have been visited. It all takes time out of the writing calendar. Unfortunately, my wife had a fall (at her bowls club, slipping on a wet floor) and broke her wrist in two places. She’s in plaster and still in some pain, which means I’m doing more of the household tasks than normal.

As for the writing, which is the purpose of this post, that has been going relatively well. I sent the first 3,000 words of book 1 of the adult fantasy to a publisher and, within a few days, Fantastic Books Publishing asked to see the whole MS. That involved a little bit of final tweaking, of course (you have to make it as good as you can). And, as a result of their interest, I decided to prepare book 2 for publication, just in case. I’m now awaiting their decision, but, as you know, the wheels of publishing turn slowly. So, watch this space.

In the meantime, I started book 3 in earnest and have, to this date, written 24,131 words. Not as much as I’d hoped, but the emergency with Valerie’s broken wrist and subsequent hospital visits have eaten into my days, of course. I was planning on 3,500 words a day to get the first draft completed before a specific date in September. It’s looking as though that is now unlikely, but so be it.

As for what I’ve achieved this month: I’ve written the first 6 chapters of book 3 and edited the final 10 chapters of book 2, read and reviewed 3 books, posted 11 posts on here, and submitted 1 short story to a contest. I also discovered another way to present the writing contest information I thought I’d have to abandon last month. If you look under the ‘Writing Contests’ tab above, you’ll find it there. I don’t have as much time to update this as I did before, so it’ll probably only be done once a month or so, but I will endeavour to keep the information current for you.

So, not a bad month. How has July gone for you? Let us know through the comments. Oh, and if you’re not yet following the blog, I’d appreciate a follow. And, by all means, connect with me on the other social networking sites: the links are all in the side bar to the right.

The chart, explained:

'Writing' - initial creation of stories, blog posts, reviews and longer works.

'Editing' - polishing of all written work to make it suitable for readers.

'Research' - discovery of info for story content, market research, contests and blog posts.

'Reading' - books and writing magazines.

'Networking' - emails, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and comments.

'Admin' - story submission, blog posting, marketing, organisation, tax, and general admin tasks.

What Rules Do You Hate as a Writer?

Typographic quotation marks (top) versus straight quotation marks, or "dumb quotes" (bottom). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

They’re there, everywhere you look, on blogs, in books, on websites – those unbreakable rules for writers. Some are concerned with language itself; grammar, syntax, spelling. Others are to do with style; repetition, viewpoint, backstory, vocabulary. Then there are the rules surrounding presentation; font, paragraphs, spacing, quotations, dialogue. Of course, the gurus and mentors have their own sets of rules: you must do this or that if you’re to succeed as a writer. These latter rules come in the form of exhortations to build an author platform, participate in forums, network, join groups, create a bog, a website, become a member of any of dozens of professional organisations. And so it goes on.

Do you ever get the feeling you’re being bamboozled, perhaps being patronised, maybe being groomed as a cash cow for some organisation or individual? There are lots of wolves out there, seeking out those ignorant, naïve or inexperienced enough to become the victims of the many scams aimed specifically at writers. And all of them have their rules. Those laws that you must obey if you’re ever to become a writer, ever to make a name for yourself, ever to make your fortune. Assuming that’s what you’re after.

I, of course, have special rules that I hate. Some of these have been exposed as irrelevant or simply wrong as a result of experience. Some have been pointed out by other writers. Some were clearly not right from the word go.

Let’s have look at some of those I have problems with. Well, there’s one for a start: never finish a sentence with a preposition. Rubbish. We do it all the time. Writers have been breaking this rule ever since they first picked up a chisel to mark the first slab of rock. It’s idiotic. To obey this rule, my initial sentence would have to be reconstructed as, ‘Let’s have a look at some of those with which I have problems.’ Clumsy, at best. No one speaks like this and we shouldn’t be required to write this way. Only the Grammar Police will ever find fault with the use of a preposition at the end of your sentences. So, if it sounds right, use it.

Another: build an author platform. No agent or publisher will look at you these days unless you have a decent following on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn etc, etc. Two points with this one: do you want an agent or a publisher, bearing in mind the way they rip off writers these days? And, far more importantly, this rule is designed to stop you writing and to make you spend all your time making contacts online. I tried it last year, as a way of discovering the validity of this exhortation to build a following. Did it have any measurable effect on my book sales? With the possible exception of Twitter, none whatsoever. I’ve increased my ‘presence’ across the various networks I belong to (there goes that preposition at the end of a sentence again!). But, whilst this has amplified requests for my help for other writers (something I’m happy to do when I’m able), has resulted in numerous requests for the endorsement of work I’ve no experience of (there it goes again; another preposition in danger of ending a sentence!), has brought many requests for me to review books written by other authors (as if my increased visibility has somehow had a similar effect on my time available for reading), it has had no measurable effect on shifting my books off the shelves. This rule, so beloved of agents and publishers, is unlikely to get you what you actually want; i.e. more readers.

One more: use curly quotes, use straight quotes, use double quotes, use single quotes…etc. The only rule with any validity regarding such stylistic matters is the one that guides the publication to which you’re submitting your work (there; I stuck this preposition in place for the purists). Seriously, if a publication you want to publish your work uses single, curly quotes, then have the common sense to follow their house style. Otherwise, the choice is yours. Same with fonts (but do make the size and typeface easy to read, and you can use any colour as long as it’s black. On your website or blog you have the freedom to make your font and background colours the same, violently different, or traditional black on white, but bear in mind that people are going to be trying to read that text).

I must, of course, remind you of George Orwell’s rules for writers. These are, if taken with an intelligent pinch of common sense in interpretation, very sensible. The last one, naturally, is the most important:

1.      Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. (see my piece on clichés)

2.      Never use a long word where a short one will do.  (dip a toe in the hydrotherapeutic fluid and see whether the pool will suffice)

3.      If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. (surgical excision, scalpel at the ready, is essential to the prevention of purple prose)

4.      Never use the passive where you can use the active. (always better to be the one doing the doing than having the doing done to you)

5.      Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. (using obscurum per obscurius is simply employing obfuscation for the sake of it)

6.      Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. (up with this I will never put)

And I’d apply that last rule to all the various rules of writing.

Finally, from me at any rate, remember you’re a writer. Writers write. That’s their purpose, their raison d’être (oops, Orwell’s 5^th rule broken!).

So, that’s my piece said. Are there any writing rules you abhor? Let’s have a comment with your reasons; see if we can help each other here, shall we?

Related articles

• 40+ Tips to Improve your Grammar and Punctuation
• Rules, rules, rules
• Phony Rules of English Grammar
• Week 10: Ending a sentence with a preposition
• Those Grammar Gaffes Will Get You

Uninterested or disinterested?

Okay, so this is an old bugbear of mine. But usage seems to be a growing problem, even for supposed professionals, especially amongst those broadcasting on TV and radio, who should be ashamed of themselves!

It’s really quite straightforward, you know.

If you’re not interested, the term is uninterested, in line with most similar opposites. You’re either dressed or undressed, moved or unmoved, reasonable or unreasonable, so, similarly, you’re either interested or you’re uninterested.

If, however, you’re politically neutral, you are disinterested. If you’re making a judgement without bias, you need to be disinterested. Disinterested means without bias, impartial, neutral.

So:

‘Jennifer was uninterested in football, so didn’t care which side won.’

But:

‘The referee was disinterestedin the outcome of the match and remained neutral throughout.’

Does that help?

We have such a subtle and comprehensive vocabulary in English; it seems a shame not to use the right word, when perfectly good examples are available, don’t you think?

Author Interview with Stephen L. Brayton

I'm a Fifth Degree Black Belt instructor in the American Taekwondo Association. I started martial artstraining in 1991, earned my black belt in 1993, and gained my instructor certification in 1995.

In 1996, I opened up my first taekwondo club in Grinnell, Iowa.

In 2003, I assumed ownership of the club in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

I've written stories for many years, but started seriously while working at a radio station in Kewanee, Illinois. After I moved to Oskaloosa, Iowa, I started attending a writers' group in Des Moines.  So much knowledge about writing and critique came out of that group and the others I've enjoyed.

I attended my first conference in 2007, Love Is Murder, In Chicago. Mike Manno introduced me to 'pitches' and we discussed writing and history and law while sharing the drive.

In 2009, while attending the Killer Nashville conference I was fortunate enough to meet Mary Welk of Echelon Press. Subsequent to the conference I submitted two novels to Echelon and in October, they BOTH were accepted for E-publication in 2011.

I'm a reader; a writer; an instructor; a graphic designer; a lover of books, movies, wine, women, music, fine food, good humor, sunny summer days spent hiking or fishing; and I'm a catnip drug dealer to my fifteen pound cat, Thomas.

Tell us about “Beta” in a few sentences.

Mallory Petersen is a private investigator and martial artist. Her clients usually lean toward the nuttier side, however when she accepts a case to find a kidnapped eight year old, she steps into a dark world of unspeakable crimes. The trail leads her around Iowa’s capital city of Des Moines to the Quad Cities.

Where and when is your novel set and why did you make these specific choices?

I’ve based it out of Des Moines mainly because I’m familiar with the metropolitan area. I’ve never been to New York or Los Angeles and could get lost in Chicago quite easily. I don’t know of any book where Des Moines has been featured. It’s also set in present day, although I don’t say which present day (if that makes any sense). I started this over ten years ago and since then, the Des Moines downtown landscape has changed and technology has changed. I kept making changes in my story to fit the current scene. However, I finally had to stop and go with what I had. So, some of the places I mention in the book don’t exist any longer.

How can people buy your books?

You may purchase this and the previous book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and OmniLit.com.

How do you set about writing a piece?

Normally, an idea will come to me at any given moment. I may write it down or I may contemplate it for awhile. If it won’t leave me alone, I may start jotting notes, interesting scenes, maybe a few characters. If it bugs me enough I’ll work on an outline and write a few research questions I’ll need to check out later. Then I’ll develop a few characters (names, descriptions, etc.). Once I have a starting basis, then I can begin with the prologue or the first chapter.

Beginning writers make many mistakes; what do you think is the most harmful?

They stop writing. They don’t believe in themselves. I read a statistic that 80% of Americans would like to write a novel. Well, why don’t they? Many do not take the idea seriously. Many stop after receiving critiques. Most critiques are given by other struggling writers, those who are also learning the craft. However, beginners think their stuff is crap and do you want to know the truth? It probably is. Everybody writes crap. I’m sure Stephen King, Ernest Hemmingway, and Shakespeare all wrote crap when they first started writing. But they had a dream, they learned, they honed their talent, they persevered and they believed in themselves. Don’t stop writing.

To what extent are grammar and spelling important to a writer?

What good are playing or singing the correct notes to a musician? What good is having good rhythm to a dancer? The right tools for a plumber or a carpenter? If a hockey player can’t skate, then he doesn’t play the sport. Spelling? Come on, every word processing software has a spell checker. Don’t tell me dictionaries suddenly have disappeared.  Grammar? Most of us do not write like we speak. Many Americans are lazy talkers. If you’re a writer, though, you’d better have learned something in those English classes because editors will nail you on the fundamentals.

How much revision of your MS do you do before you send it off?

When I write END, I stop writing the story. Then I celebrate that I’ve completed the task I had set before me. I may take a break, allow a few days to pass, then I will start at page one and read through the entire story, making corrections on dialogue, punctuation, grammar, continuity errors, etc. Then I’ll read through it again. And again. I don’t keep track of the number of times. After I get sick of looking at the manuscript, I’ll put it aside for awhile and work on another project. I may still be reading parts of it to a critique group, but I don’t actively work on it. Then after a period of time passes, I’ll pick it up with fresh, relaxed eyes and reread again. I know, though, no matter how many times I go through it, some editor will pick it apart and find those errors I still missed.

Do you have support, either from family and friends or a writing group?

I have a couple of really close writer friends. We try to meet weekly although the plan doesn’t work out all of the time. We’re all working on getting published either again or for the first time. Critique groups are invaluable and if you’re not part of one, you are missing out on free but priceless advice. And a whole lot of fun. Family? Wow, my family has supported me and encouraged my writing for years. When I was accepted by Echelon Press for my first two books, I called my Dad before I even replied to Echelon’s email.

Is there any aspect of writing that you really enjoy?

The research. I envy those authors who can create entire cities or worlds or people from nothing more than their thoughts. If I’m writing about a building, or a park, or a cemetery, I have to see it. I want to talk to people, ask questions. It’s fun because I’ve discovered little things I may not have known about if I hadn’t traveled to those places or talk to those people. Often, the little things end up in the story. I turn real people into fictional characters and include minor tidbits about a particular neighborhood. For instance, while looking at spots around Des Moines for a future book, getting lost and confused on directions, a friend and I discovered a Buddhist temple right in the middle of a residential area. Neither of us knew the place existed. It was a beautiful site. You just know that building is going to end up in a story somehow.

 

What are you writing now?

I’ve completed the sequel to Beta and am working on the sequel to my first book, Night Shadows. I’m also writing another private detective story I plan to finish this year as well as a obtaining more research to continue on a thriller.

Do you have a website or a blog that readers can visit?

My website is www.stephenbrayton.com. My blog where I do author interviews and post writing related stuff is www.stephenlbrayton.blogspot.com. My book review blog is www.braytonsbookbuzz.blogspot.com.

Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?

Awesome question. I’d like to give you an exotic place I could be, like Fiji or France or Tibet, but I don’t think I’d end up writing there. I’d want to explore. Ideally, though I’d love to write where I could have no distractions from the Internet, email, phone, or people stopping by for a visit, with an ample supply of food, and a station playing continuous, no commercials classical, jazz, or light pop.

Where do you actually write?

Usually at work (don’t tell the boss, though, okay?). Sometimes in the park, maybe a coffee shop.

Author Interview with Sandra McLeod Humphrey

Sandra McLeod Humphrey is a retired clinical psychologist, a character education consultant, and an award-winning author of seven middle-grade and young adult books. She’s also the recipient of the National Character Education Center’s Award for Exemplary Leadership in Ethics Education (2000) and the 2005 Helen Keating Ott Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children's Literature. In her words: “After working as a clinical psychologist for more than 31 years, I consider my new writing career as the ‘desssert’ of my life!”

Your latest book is Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put-Downs; perhaps you’d you give us some insight into it in a few sentences and let us know how you came to write it?

Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put-Downs was a book I had to write. After doing school visits for two years and hearing the personal stories the students told me about their bullying experiences, I knew I had to share those stories with my readers. The stories are fictionalized to some extent, but they are all based on true bullying experiences, and the book is dedicated to a 12-year-old boy who took his own life as a result of being bullied.

Do you have a favourite character from the book? If so, who and why this particular one?

One of my favorite stories from the book is the one written by a bully himself who is totally clueless as to how others perceive him. He does not see himself as a bully and uses all kinds of rationalizations to excuse his bullying behavior.

Where can people buy your books?

My books are available at all major bookstores, both offline and online, and if people would like an autographed copy of one of my books, they can order one from my website http://www.kidscandoit.com.

What qualities does a writer need to be successful?

For a writer to be successful, one most definitely needs perseverance and a passion to write. It has been said that a writer can not “not write” and I totally agree. Everywhere I go and with everything I see, I think in terms of “story.” What kind of story is told here and by whom? Even when I’m sitting in the waiting room at a doctor’s office, I sometimes entertain myself by making up a story about each of the other people in the waiting room.

What’s your working method?

My working method is actually pretty simple. I’m a morning person, so I write in the mornings and do my busywork in the afternoons or evenings when I’m pretty much “brain-dead.” I usually set a potentially attainable goal each day (on paper), so that at the end of the day, I can cross it off. I’m a “list person” and I love to make lists, just so I can cross everything off at the end of the day!

What’s the single biggest mistake made by beginner writers?

I think one of the mistakes beginning writers may make is to not read enough. To be a writer, one must READ, READ, READ, particularly in their genre. Another common mistake is insufficient market research before they send their manuscripts off to the publishers. There are some great marketing resources available, and the editors will know if you’ve done your homework.

To what extent are grammar and spelling important in writing?

I may be in the minority, but personally, I think grammar and spelling are extremely important. They show that “you care enough to send the very best!”

How much do you revise your MS before sending it off?

I revise and revise and then I revise some more. I also give my manuscripts a “cooling off” period of a few days (or weeks), so that I can look at them with fresh eyes the way a potential reader would be looking at them.

As a writer, to what extent do you think genre is useful in the publishing world?

Actually, I think genre is quite important—particularly when it comes to differentiating M-G novels from YA novels and from differentiating the various types of fantasy and sci-fi novels.

Many authors see marketing as a bind. What's your opinion on this, and how do you deal with it?

I’m not sure what you mean by “bind,” but I see marketing simply as one of those things I have to do as a writer. This means checking out potential prepublication endorsers, potential reviewers, appropriate book awards, etc. There are always marketing “surprises” one never anticipates such as the Boston middle school which ordered 900 copies of one of my books to use in their pen pal program with their community leaders. Who could ever have predicted that one?

What sort of displacement activities keep you from writing?

I actually do a lot of work with our youth as a Sunday school teacher, Vacation Bible School teacher, confirmation mentor, school visits, young writers’ workshops, etc., but there’s most definitely an upside to all my youth activities because the time I spend with our youth gives me great material for my books.

What support, if any, do you receive from family and friends, writing group, or dedicated professionals?

Everywhere I go, I get support! My social networking friends on the internet, my friends in the real world, and especially my husband (who never complains about the endless hours I spend on the computer) all give me very much appreciated support!

Is presentation of the MS as important as agents and publishers suggest?

I think presentation is extremely important! That first line, that first paragraph, that first page all make an impression! Your format, your grammar, your spelling, your typos, your “voice,” your writing style, your storyline, your characterization etc. will all be revealed by the end of the first chapter.

How long does it take you to write a book?

I’m usually working on two books simultaneously, and it generally takes me about two years to complete both books.

Who or what inspires your writing?

People and social issues inspire my writing. The problem of school bullying inspired my bullying book, the questions my confirmation students asked inspired my Keepin’ It Real: A Young Teen Talks with God, my Sunday school classes inspired my Me, Myself, and I: Youth Meditations for Grades Five through Eight, my thirty-one years as a clinical psychologist inspired my What Would You Do? series and my new book The No-Name Club’s Not-So-Official Guide to Solving Your Problems(Royal Fireworks 11/11), and my ongoing passion to encourage our youth to believe in themselves inspired my Dare to Dream!: 25 Extraordinary Lives and my new book They Stood Alone!: 25 Men and Women Who Made a Difference(Prometheus Books 11/11).

If there’s a single aspect of writing you find frustrating, what is it?

The only area of writing I find frustrating is that I have so many ideas for so many books I want to write, and I know that I won’t be around long enough to write them all!

Is there a particular feature of writing that you really enjoy?

My passion is to inspire our youth to develop strong character, to believe in themselves, and to dream dreams (their own dreams), and every time I receive letters or e-mails from my readers who tell me how much one of my books has helped them, that is most definitely a “peak experience” for me.

Do you believe creative writing is a natural gift or an acquired skill?

I think creative writing is a combination of both native ability and acquired skill. To be a successful writer, I think you need both.

What are you writing now?

I’m currently working on Failure Isn’t Final!: 25 Men and Women Who Never Gave Up, and as with all my other books, I’m writing it to inspire our youth to persevere, to believe in themselves and their dreams, and to never give up!

Do you have a website or blog where readers can visit?

You can learn more about my books by visiting my Web site at www.kidscandoit.com. and my blog at http://www.kidscandoit.com/blog/

Given unlimited resources, where would you do your writing?

If I had unlimited resources, I think I’d have a beach hideaway on some Hawaiian island with my four dogs (350 pounds of “dog”) and enough electricity for my computer and my printer. (My husband can come, too).

Where do you actually write?

I write at my computer in my study. Actually, it’s my husband’s study because his study has better light than mine, and every time he comes in or goes out, I have to stop typing and move my chair because my chair blocks the doorway. I’m thinking that Hawaiian island is looking better all the time!