Would You Read On? hosted by Diana Flegal

Welcome to this edition of Would You Read On. We welcome your comments and appreciate your visiting with us today.

An Inspirational Women's Fiction title:

Prologue

The moonlight pried its way between the slats of the blinds, slashing the bed covers to ribbons across their bodies. Nora tentatively drew her legs up, curling into herself, her back to the sleeping man beside her. Please don't wake up, oh please, oh please. She held her breath, afraid that even the tiniest exhalation would stir the air between them, reminding him of her presence.

Why was she here, she asked herself for the thousandth time. Why did she keep coming back when she knew it would just mean more pain, more heartache? What was it that kept drawing her back to him, to his arms, to his bed?

Like a druggie to the needle, like a drunk to the bottle, like a moth to the flame, like a fly to the web, like a.... The taunting voice inside her head paused, running out of stupid clichés to which she could compare herself. Why am I here? Oh God, where are you? A hot tear spilled from the corner of her eye, running down her temple and into her ear, where it pooled and tickled. She didn't wipe it away; all she needed now was for him to wake up and discover her crying.

Her low back ached from the pressure in her bladder, and she knew she couldn't hold it much longer. Sliding her feet from between the covers, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She waited, afraid to turn and look at him, to see his eyes half open, watching her, his hands reaching for her.

But he didn't stir. She stood and took a step away from the bed.

The floor creaked and she froze.

 “Mmpph.” He rolled onto his side and flung out his arm. It landed on her pillow, and his hand curled around the soft edges, pulling it toward him. She turned and fled the room.

Standing at the sink a few minutes later, she dropped her chin to her chest, and covered her face with both hands. Her tears began to fall in earnest. What was she going to do? How was she going to get out of this? Where would she go? Where could she go?

Tap-tap-tap! The punctuated rap of knuckles on the door startled her, and she let out a frightened squeak.

Lat weeks contributing author was: Lara Van Hulzen. This title of Lara's is under review by a publisher at this time. We wish Lara success. Please stop by and visit Lara at

Buying Friends in Bulk by Andy Scheer

“The best things in life are free,” says the old song.

“Money can't buy me love,” the Beatles sang.

But according to a recent email, money can buy you friends. Sort of. They're not real friends, they're the kind on Facebook.

At least they don't cost much. According to the promo, I can buy 500 Facebook fans for $49—less than a dime apiece. And if I want double that number, they cost me only $79, less than eights cents each.

Interested? Here's their pitch:

With so many websites, blogs and social pages out there how can you get noticed? Our Facebook marketeers and affiliate networks can deliver Fans and Likes within a matter of days. Using customized ad campaigns, viral and social promotions, crowd sourcing and social networking we can target potential customers interested in your product, service or brand. With promotional plans starting at $49, kick start your digital marketing and get the exposure you need. Further details available on the web link below.

Give me a break. Do you really want the kind of loyalty only money can buy? When publishers ask for platforms, I don't think they mean the kind built of paper-mache.

Then again, maybe your target audience is people who are easily manipulated. See if the company can give you a price break for larger quantities. You'll get your two cents worth.

Mergers! Buyouts! Takeovers! by Linda S. Glaz

Seems like every day there’s talk of another merger, buyout, or takeover of one publishing house by another.

It usually means streamlining or reorganization of both houses in some form, but what does all this mean for the writers?

Let’s look at it this way. Perhaps a smaller or mid-size house is doing a respectable amount with relations to sales. Buyout by a larger house can be good news for the authors of house number two. We have two healthy commodities and the house being purchased or merged will have the benefit of the sales numbers with the bigger house. The author, it seems, will benefit.

Make sense? Or have I added to the confusion?

Any authors out there who have experienced this in their careers? Were the benefits worth the shake up, or did the merger create an atmosphere of uncertainty?

As if the industry isn’t already experiencing shakes and tremors, add to it a huge buyout—or two, and you have more turmoil.

Anyone find it chaotic or beneficial to go through a merger?

We’d all love to know.

Guest post by Terry's client Donn Taylor - profanity in writing

Every writer must decide whether he needs to use words that are euphemistically described as "strong language"—"cusswords" and gutter language. These "four-letter words" so dominate fictional and video conversations today that these words often are the dialogue.

I guess I've heard them all. And I've put a good bit of thought into their place, if any, in my writing. So I've come to reject the most common justifications of using these words in fiction, drama, and film.

The usual justification is a claim of "realism." First, it’s claimed that because people actually talk that way, realistic fiction must accurately report their words. Second, it’s claimed that four-letter words bring us closer to “real life” than other words.

Neither claim can withstand examination.

The first confuses "realism" with literalism. Fiction is not real life: it’s an artifice creating the illusion of real life. So if the writer must report people's words literally, what excuses him from including all other elements of life? Must every fictional day begin with the hero shaving or the heroine applying eye shadow?

Thus, if "realism" does not justify literal inclusion of other elements in fiction, it does not justify literal inclusion of specific words.

Nor can the claim that four-letter words are closer to "reality" withstand questioning. Many uses of those words are, to put it mildly, figurative. Perhaps is once was amusing to attribute bisexual reproductive capability to inanimate objects. But if so, the idea is now so clichéd that it's no longer humorous.

And on representing reality, let's consider the so-called "f-word." The early English (probably Anglo-Saxon) from which it descends was a savage language appropriate to those savage times. Then, perhaps, the word may have accurately described physical relationships between men and women. But many cultural changes have altered that reality.

One change was the twelfth-century invention of romantic (courtly) love, popularized by Eleanor of Aquitaine and Chrétien de Troyes. And in the 1590s, Edmund Spenser synthesized various love traditions into an ideal combining the romance of courtly love with the intellectuality of Platonic love and a dash of physicality from Ovid—all justified by marriage, one of the seven sacraments of the church. Spenser's synthesis held general acceptance until about 1900, when it was eroded by naturalistic philosophy and Freudian psychology.

The point for "realistic" fiction is this: if the "f-word" today accurately describes the physical relationship between a man and woman, it does so only because the couple is immune to the cultural experience the past millennium.

So if customary justifications cannot withstand examination, the real reasons for using "strong language" must lie elsewhere. Conflict is basic to all good fiction. “Strong language” helps lazy writers gain the appearance of conflict without the hard work of creating genuine conflict, which is always generated by a story’s narrative structure. In other words, "strong language" substitutes for genuine creativity.

Profligate use of such language will always be chic, of course. But as screenwriter Morrie Ryskind put it, "The chic are always wrong."



© 2000, 2008, 2012, Donn Taylor

Donn Taylor led an Infantry rifle platoon in the Korean War, served with Army aviation in Vietnam, and worked with air reconnaissance in Europe and Asia. Afterwards, he completed a PhD degree at The University of Texas and taught English literature (especially Renaissance) at two liberal arts colleges. His novels The Lazarus File andRhapsody in Red have received excellent reviews, and he has also authored Dust and Diamond: Poems of Earth and Beyond. He is a frequent speaker at writers’ conferences such as Glorieta and Blue Ridge. He and his wife live near Houston, Texas, where he continues to write fiction, poetry, and articles on current topics.

Would You Read On? hosted by Diana Flegal

We are glad you stopped by to review and comment on today's First Page.

Today's submission is a YA Fantasy.

Prologue

            Ophidian paced, his black form shadowing the golden gates. He could see portions of the Garden, a place he knew so well and still desired to enter, but this time he wanted to rule. His wings pressed tightly against his back and hid under his cloak. He glared at the two beings dressed in white, their wings stretched out to full form. They did so to intimidate him. It worked, but he was determined. Their wings glowed, outlining them in a golden hue. Their mouths opened and praises floated from their lips.

He’d sung those same words once, but now they only made him cringe and his insides churn. The Creator was near.

"What is it you want, Ophidian?" The voice came from just beyond the gates. A sudden brightness forced his eyes to the ground.

"I want your creation."

"It is not yours to have."

"You believe so strongly in what you've made and yet they deny you. They worship other gods. They mock you and curse your name. When will you learn and give up on them?"

"Never."

"Then I want Paragon." He tried to make his voice sound bold. He could never be The Creator's equal and envy burned like fire inside of him. One he could never extinguish.

"Your arrogance has always been your downfall. I know My creation. And I don’t need them to defend Paragon."

Would YOU you read on? Let us know.

We are open to submissions of your first page. Be bold, be courageous and send Diana what you have. diana@hartlineliterary.com. Please place First Page Submission in the subject line.

Grammar Fraud by Andy Scheer

Somehow this email, with the subject line "service@visa.usa," got through my spam filter.

Evidently in determining which incoming emails contain links for phishing schemes, the spam filter failed to check for errors in spelling, spacing, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.

Hello Guest visa card

Your credit card is suspended, because we've noticed a problem on your card . 

We determine that someone may be using your card without your permission . For your protection, we've suspended your credit card . To lift this suspention,

http://visa.mastercard.verification.fakecompanyname.com 

Note: If not completed sep 22, 2012, we will be forced to suspend your card indfiniment because it can be used for fraudulent 

We appreciate your cooperation in this matter . 

Thank you , 

Customer Support Service.

Here's hoping that spammers and other purveyors of email fraud never realize the need to hire accomplished writers and editors.

For those who stayed alert in English class, take encouragement: Even if your skills never earn you big money in sales, at least they can keep you from being defrauded.

Laptop or Tablet by Linda S. Glaz

I might have stood before the young man but could have collapsed in tears. I didn’t. I merely told him I needed to learn to use the tablet before I left for the conference.

The girl who had originally sold it to me wasn’t at work that day. She’d been able to zip through the functions one after the other, but this fellow didn’t have a clue.

Soon, we were introduced to the company rep; neither did he have an idea how to work it. If he couldn’t, I certainly wouldn’t be able to master it.

Three days and counting.

The next day, I returned the marvelous gadget—or I’m told it’s marvelous—for a mini-lap that I would certainly be able to navigate.

Well…I used it, but it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. Anytime I have a new piece of technology, I have to struggle and stumble for quite some time to be able to learn how to use it.

I suppose you can teach an old dog new tricks, but it takes some doing. And I’m older than most old dogs. All of you geezers like me, how do you address this issue of learning the new technology? Whether it’s a new tablet, phone, Facebook, Twitter, blogging, or any other form of social media, how do you old coots keep up?

Any hints for this dinosaur without a clue?