Kate Warren

It's been a wild week here in Kate Warren Land.  Sick husband, sick kids, storms knocking out power (for three and half hours yesterday!).  But today is Sunday and that means we all get to read wonderful snippets from authors around the internet.  Six Sentence Sundays are a wonderful thing.

Switching gears this week, I am backing up to a scene in Chapter 3.  Doug has taken all the kids to dinner at a fancy restaurant to introduce them to his girlfriend Chloe.  None of the kids [Stephanie, 23; DJ (Doug Jr.) 21; Matt and Melanie, 15 year old twins] are happy about the situation but Melanie is the only member of the family reckless enough to actually demonstrate her anger. Poor Melanie is not dealing well with the divorce, at this point she doesn't
even admit that it will happen. We join the scene as Melanie fires her first salvo against Chole:

     “You used to work at a gallery?” Melanie asked.  “What do you do now? I mean, besides my dad.”
     Speechless, Chloe looked at Doug, who debated how to handle the
situation. He could take Melanie aside for a private word, but she’d already scored her little victory.


That's my six for the week.  Be sure to visit all the wonderful authors who participate in Six Sentence Sunday.   Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nap.  :)

In these troubled times we readers can suffer.  As income declines and prices go up we are forced to rethink our spending habits and forego some luxuries.  Of course, being a reader, I don't consider books to be a luxury so much as one of life's necessary small pleasures.  So while I wouldn't put books ahead of food or shelter, I would put them above a lot of other things.  I don't go to the movies very often.  I don't buy a lot of clothing, shoes, or jewelry.  I don't play the lottery.  But I always have a few spare dollars for books.

Now I know a lot of us are facing financial crunches for various reasons.  I have four young children and a disabled husband.  I know all about worrying whether or not there is enough to last til the end of the month, putting off purchases until next month (and next month usually turns into next year).  I don't get to buy nearly as many books as I'd like.  I've been stretching my book dollars for years and I will likely need to continue doing just that for a while yet. 

My mother always asks me how I manage to get such great books without spending a lot of money.  I'm going to share with you my top tips.

1)  Buy used.  That's the main thing for me.  As a writer it pains me to deprive other writers of a share of the sale price for used books, but I try to make up for it by telling others about the books that I loved so that I am at least giving the authors free publicity.  This isn't to say I don't buy new books as well, I just buy more used than new.  If you don't have a bookstore in your town, try Goodwill.  If you don't have a Goodwill either, see tip 2.

2)  Check with your library.  They often sell books that aren't being checked out anymore or are duplicate copies.  The prices are generally low and the money goes right back into the library, so while you are increasing your private book stash you will also be helping the community.

3)  Garage sales.  I have yet to buy an actual garage at one of these, but I've gotten some great books.

4)  Let it be known to all both far and near that you will take any books people don't want anymore.  I've gotten books from friends, neighbors, the occasional relative, even the local Freecycle group (Freecycle is a nationwide movement to reduce waste by giving unwanted or no-longer-needed items to others in your area rather than just throwing them away.  Go to Freecycle.org for more information.)

5)  If you are so fortunate as to own a working eReader of any kind, pay attention to which books are coming out that you know you will want to read, those by favorite authors for example.  Often there will be a special price for a limited period of time after the release.  Follow your favorite authors online so that you can enter giveaways for their books. 

6)  Watch for sales.  When I go to Goodwill they always have a reduced price for items with one sticker color or another.  Since everything there is used anyway, I give preference to the books with the sale color stickers.  EBooks sometimes go on sale as well.

7)  Prioritize.  Budget for your books.  Give yourself a set amount each month that you can spend indulging your habit for the written word.  If you know you've only got $10 left for books this month, you will weigh your choices more carefully and be far less likely to purchase something that will just be taking up space in your home or on your eReader.  The best part about this is that if you don't spend the full amount of your "book budget" this month, you are allowed to carry the extra funds over and add them to next month's amount.

8)  Treat yourself.  By being carefully frugal with your usual book buying you can afford to indulge sometimes in a brand new, full-price book.  Make sure it's by an author you love so that you won't regret spending the money now rather than continuing to save up for a first edition leather-bound copy of Moby Dick.

That's all for this week.  I apologize for not posting yesterday.  It was a busy day.  I'll see you all on Sunday.

Kate

A big thank you to my readers and commenters!  This week in Six Sentence Sunday we are back in Chapter 8 of Bridging The Gaps.

Henry has told Ellen she always had a great smile.  Rita is making plans.  By the way...did I mention that Henry is a doctor?  Rita certainly has plenty to say about that little detail...


     “He and a partner practice over in Springdale, but business has been so good they’ve decided to open another clinic here in town.”  Their food arrived.  “He’s moving back, you know.”
     “Oh?” Ellen tried to look unconcerned, but Henry had made a definite impression.  The kind of impression she wasn’t used to noticing anymore.


Storms are expected throughout the day so it may take me a while to get to the fabulous entries in Six Sentence Sunday,  but don't let that stop you.  Head on over and meet your new favorite authors

For those of you who are shocked: get your mind out of the gutter and learn to spell!  

Yes, it's true.  I have joined the legions of people who own eReaders.  I recently purchased a used Nook.  A first generation one, to be exact.  This does not mean that I have abandoned the printed word.  In fact I have yet to put any books on the Nook but I have turned it on and changed the wallpaper.  

I've had the honor to win an eBook copy of Lord Midnight by Donna Cummings and that will be the first eBook I will read on my Nook.  I'm very much looking forward to reading it, as I've been following Donna's blog and she's both talented and funny.

Last night I attempted to upload the cover for Bridging The Gaps onto the Nook.  Today I can't find it.  Did I put it in the wrong folder?  Does it have to be attached to an eBook for me to see it?  So much for me to learn.  Technology and I are not the best of friends.  Anybody have any tips for me?

Happy Mother's Day to all and a big thank you to my readers and commenters.  I was going to continue with another bit from Chapter 8 but then I thought I should post something more in keeping with the holiday.  

From Chapter 1: Ellen has returned home from lunch with friends, following her earlier anti-Doug rampage, and finds that her eldest daughter is completely on her side and has done a little rampaging of her own in a show of solidarity.  


     It looked like a tornado had hit a men’s haberdashery and deposited its findings all over the backyard: a jacket snagged on a rosebush; a pair of pants hung from a tree branch, undershirts lounged on the hydrangeas. 
“Stephanie!  You did this?”
     “Uh huh.”  
     They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.  Ellen pulled her daughter close.  “You are wonderful!”


Shared anger can be such a wonderful bonding experience.  Be sure to visit all the other Six Sentence Sunday authors. 

If you know me well, you know that I am devoted to a thing called National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo for short.

I realized last night at o'dark-thirty that I had not written my weekly blog post.  Frantically searching for a topic I remembered that NaNoWriMo is having two Camps this summer and the first one is mere weeks away.  

Camp NaNoWriMo is a semi-unofficial NaNo done during the summer with it's own unique culture and rewards.  I am not privy to this culture or the rewards as I have not participated in Camp NaNoWriMo, but I bet there's a really cool secret handshake.  This year June and August have been selected for the Camps.  Summer doesn't work for me, but don't let that stop you!

"What the heck is this anyway?" you ask.  
I answer: "a no-holds-barred noveling adventure where you write 50,000 words in one month!"  
"Impossible!" you say.  
"Not so," say I.

The main event is in November and I've done it three times.  In fact, NaNoWriMo is the one time in the year when I am ridiculously productive as a writer.  I write more in that one month than I do the other eleven.  Why?  Because NaNo is insanely motivating!

I love going on the website and looking at my progress, comparing it to that of my NaNo Buddies, and wasting time...er...doing research on the forums.  It's a social experience as well as a literary one.

But it must be terribly complicated, you think.  Not at all, I think back (because apparently there is a strong telepathic connection between us).  Just go to the website, sign up, introduce yourself--WriMos are famous for being friendly, we're right up there with the Irish (Irish WriMos are double friendly)--and wait for the starting bell.

For more information, follow one of the links I have generously sprinkled throughout this post, or click on this one:  National Novel Writing Month.

Now for your viewing pleasure, an entertaining video made in honor of the 2009 NaNoWriMo event.

Here we are at Sunday again.  I'm beginning to see a pattern in this.  Thanks to all who read and commented last week, and the weeks before.

We are still in Chapter 8 of Bridging The Gaps and Henry, who was just leaving anyway, is taking a phone call at the host's desk.  But not before saying goodbye to Ellen.


   "Ellen, nice to see you again.”
   She smiled, and said “Good to see you too.”
   “You always did have a great smile.”  He turned and followed the man with the phone message.
    Rita studied Ellen as she stared after Henry.  This situation was rife with possibilities, but she’d have to tread carefully. 

   
Did I mention that Rita has plans for these two?  Tune in again next week for more information from Rita, and more of Ellen's thoughts about Henry.  And while you're online, check out the fabulous excerpts from the other Six Sentence Sunday participants.  It will take me a while to make the rounds due to the dratted storms we're supposed to get all day long.

Sometimes we just get down.  Often there is a reason, illness, sleep-deprivation, a day when things just are not going the right way.  What's the best way to feel better?

If you're at all like the heroine of my latest novel, you'll get a bottle of wine and a sledgehammer and do some "remodeling."  Please note that I don't recommend that approach.  Sometimes my characters get away from me.

I usually prefer a less destructive course of action.  Music, chocolate, sunshine, a nice long walk, a good book or funny movie.

I'm having one of those days where things are off, or more accurately, I'm off.  Too tired to be irritable.  Little things have been nagging at me, and I have a pile of things to do.  Of my usual modes to lift the blues, the ones that are open to me aren't working.  
So I'm asking...what do you recommend?  What's your sure-fire cure for the blues?  I'm open to anything that's legal and doesn't involve travel or alcohol. Or cutting my hair (I'm trying to grow it out right now).  Got any suggestions for me?