Happy First Birthday, Decadent!

What a difference a year makes. What a difference Decadent has made for me.

Before submitting to Decadent I was a self-published author.

I want to celebrate my relationship with the house by reviewing the bounty they have brought this emerging author…

1) Validation

Perhaps you can imagine the joy I took in telling people, “Decadent publishing house just accepted my manuscript.”

UNTOUCHED PLACES (erotica) was the first book I released through Decadent.

THE SWEATER CURSE (thriller) was my second.

2) Education

What happens after you receive a contract? How do you work with an editor? What’s it like to see your ebook on Amazon? How do you participate in a blog tour? Thanks to Decadent I can answer all of these questions.

3) Companionship

Decadent has grown in leaps and bounds in a year. Now I have 49 fellow authors to cheer on, seek advise from, and to interview for my blog (http://sweatercursed.blogspot.com)

4) Growth

Ever since I was tiny, spinning tales is what I’ve wanted to do. Before Decadent it was hard to justify this pursuit. I felt like I was just wasting time — only dreaming. Now I know that I’m working to perfect my craft.

Much thanks, Decadent, and here’s to many more years.

The Sweater Curse Playlist

In The Sweater Curse, a chance meeting between lead character Gwen Bjarnson and minor character Pathan weaves their lives together. For reasons beyond Gwen’s understanding, she feels compelled to help Pathan establish her career as a vocalist.

In this quote, Gwen describes Pathan’s first stage performance:

‘It was Friday night, The Starving Artist was packed-typical for open mic night. …

I think I was more nervous than she was. Be good, be good, I silently repeated.

The café was filled with polite applause.

“I’d like to dedicate my first song to my friend, Gwen.” She sang, “Stand By Me”, and you could have heard needles click. Each performer was to do two songs each, but the audience wouldn’t let Pathan leave until she offered them three.”

Stand By Me

            Here Gwen describes Pathan’s singing at a funeral:

            ‘Pathan begins to sing “Into The Mystic”. Tears threaten her voice. … She struggles for control and wins. Her song fills the room, wraps around the mourners, comforting them…

            Pathan…begins to sing “I Will Remember You”. She begins quietly, but with each verse, the volume increases. Other voices marry with hers.’

Into the Mystic

I Will Remember You

Writing songs into my story was fun, and I won’t hesitate to do it again. 

Leanne Dyck

Are you an artist or an artisan?

How did you answer that question? Artist? Artisan? Both? Neither?

Artisan: I grew up in rural Manitoba. There, crafters surrounded me. In my grandmother’s home, braided rugs lay at the front door and a crocheted afghan covered the sofa. My aunts sewed their children’s clothing. My mom knit mittens, scarves and sweaters. When I was old enough I joined 4-H and was schooled in handicrafts.

Artist: As a child, I never saw adults painting pictures or modeling with clay. These were activities for children in kindergarten.

In 1999 I moved to an island off Canada’s west coast. Here, visual artists, musicians and wordsmiths fill my life. In the beginning I revered them. Now I’m among the artists’ rank. I eat, breathe and write.

Writing The Sweater Curse allowed me to explore my attitudes and believes regarding art and craft. For main character Gwen Bjarnson, crafts, namely knitting, brings her comfort in a tumultuous world.

Yet, her mother tells her, “Crafts are for the common folk. Art is far more worthy of your time and energies.”

What do you think?

In which camp do you belong?

What is society’s attitude toward what you do?

Does the government support you? How? Can it do more? Why?

Does your family/friends support you? How? Can they do more? Why?

Just the Facts Friday with Leanne Dyck!

Don’t let the ‘y’ throw you, my last name is pronounced—dick.

I hate talking on the phone, but I love reading in front of an audience. Since 2006, I’ve done 18 readings, in a variety of venues.

I’m dyslexic, but I graduated from high school with an award in Language Arts and Accounting.

After an 150 years absence, I was the first person in my immediate family to return to northern Iceland. I was delighted to find many long lost relations.

I’ve changed over 1,000 baby diapers, but I’ve never been a mother and I’m the youngest in my family.

I was born, raised and reside in Canada. In fact, I’ve lived in five out of ten provinces.

The house I was raised in is the same house where my dad was born and raised. My grandfather built it. My niece now owns it.

I rarely hiccup more than once.

I can knit with my eyes closed.

Find Leanne at: The Sweater Cursed Blog
Her Website

Spotlight Sunday with...

Leanne Dyck

How did you start your writing career? I’ve written ever since I was old enough to hold a pen. My dream has always been to write a book.

Life happened as life does and it wasn’t until 2009 that I achieved my dream. In June of that year I self-published a cozy mystery Maynely A Mystery. It was a labour of love celebrating my island home and the unique, courageous, talented, supportive people who reside here.

I decided to self-publish because I thought I knew who my target reader was and how to reach them. Well, I did reach them and their kind words encouraged me to think of writing as a career.

Thanks to a post on the chat group Romance Angels, I found Decadent Publishing. Now there’s no looking back.

Tell us about your current release. The Sweater Curse was written in protest. I was sick and tired of reading cute stories about nice knitters. This is my attempt to crush a stereotype.

Can you tell us what you’re working on now? The working title is Turning. Here is a brief synopsis: Raised by overprotective parents, Lyndi longs for a boyfriend, an adventure, a life. This coming of age story recounts her struggle to break free.

What would we find under your bed? I’m not sure. I’ve never looked. It’s too scary.

Do you play games? What kind? Yup, I do. I’m addicted to Rock Band. My husband is a talented musician. He plays guitar, drums and fiddle. I sing--off key. Rock Band is the great equalizer. Believe it or not I can sing Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit on expert and receive a perfect score. You won’t want to listen, however.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Many things –a vet, a lawyer, a teacher. Oh, yeah, and also an embedded journalist. I loved MASH and had a huge crush on Hawkeye.

Please tell us about your new blog? On The Sweater Curse blog I share knitting related flash fiction, free patterns, interviews and contests.

‘My favourite sweater’ is a contest I’m currently running.

Do you have a favourite sweater? Sure you do. Everyone does.Tell me about it. Where did you get it? Did someone make it for you? Why is it special? Include a photo for extra points. If you do share, you may be handsomely rewarded. You could win a copy of The Sweater Curse.

10Q Tuesday with Leanne Dyck

How did you start your writing career? I received my first pay cheque, as a writer, for a knitting related article. Visiting the Gulf Islands Spinning Mill. Knit Together, the knitting magazine it appeared in, is no longer published, unfortunately.

Tell us about your soon-to-be published thriller The Sweater Curse. The Sweater Curse was written in protest. I was sick of all the stereotypes about knitters. We’re not all shy little mice who sit quietly in the corner rocking while we knit. Gwen Bjarnson definitely isn’t.

Tell us about your favorite character from The Sweater Curse. It’s so hard to pick just one. If forced, however, I would have to choose Jaron Cardew. In developing his character, I created my perfect man. He is supportive, confidant, devoted, loving, and he writes.

Do you believe in ghosts? Yes. My grandma and I were close. In fact, she taught me to knit. When her health began to fail, she was in her early nineties and living in an extended care facility in my hometown in rural Manitoba. I’d moved with my husband to the city, and by this time saw very little of my grandma. One night I was sitting alone in my study reading. Suddenly I was overcome by a feeling of peace. I felt someone looking over my shoulder. I knew, instinctively, that my grandma was with me. The phone rang and my husband answered. “Yes, I’ll tell her.” I heard him say. He walked into the study and wrapped me in his arms. “That was your mom. She phoned,” he paused. “Your grandma,” he paused again. “Passed.”I knew she had, she’d said good-bye.

If you could spend the night anywhere, where would it be? One night, that’s all I’d need in this bed. It’s located in Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, BC. As a pamphlet, I obtained, recounts, the castle ‘was built between 1887-1890 for Robert Dunsmuir’. Besides a residence, it’s been a hospital, a school of music and is now a museum. Each time I visit, I leave thinking; the next time I’m packing a bag—just one night, that’s all I’d need. To learn about the castle, please log on to: www.thecastle.ca

What does your significant other and family think of your writing career? Does your significant other read your stuff? I’m blessed to have a very supportive family. My mom was my first editor. Having dyslexia, I relied on her to find all the spelling and grammatical errors in my school assignments. One of my favourite memories of grandma was reading her one of my writing assignments. The teacher wanted us to write about someone we admired. I choose my recently deceased grandpa. He had a strong character, was gregarious and had a well-developed sense of humour. Grandma listened closely and began to wipe her eyes with a tissue. Her reaction upset me; I didn’t want to make her cry. I stopped reading, until Mom explained, “Oh, honey, those are tears of joy.” My family continues to support me. In fact, my middle brother helped finance the publication of my self-published mystery—Maynely A Mystery. And my husband has taken over Mom’s position as my first editor. It’s not a position he would have applied for, but he has a careful eye and I’m grateful for his help.

Do you have critique partners or beta readers? I have both a critique group and beta readers. While I work on the manuscript, I meet monthly with a critique group. This commitment helps me to stay focused. Once the manuscript is complete, I select at least two beta readers to submit it to. I request that they read with pen in hand.

What makes you happy? With regards to writing, I’m happiest when the words are flowing.

With respect to your writing career, what are your plans for 2011? I’m hoping the year will begin with the publication of The Sweater Curse. My WIP, Turning, is a YA adventure. Currently, it’s 50% complete. Estimated completion date is late spring, early summer. Currently, on my blog (http://sweatercursed.blogspot.com) I’m running the My Favourite Sweater short story contest. One lucky contributor will win a free copy of The Sweater Curse.

Soon, on my blog, I will be offering podcast episodes of The Sweater Curse. June 3-5, I will be attending Bloody Words. Bloody Words is Canada’s largest gathering of crime writers. To learn more, please visit: http://www.bloodywords2011.com

Thank you for reading this. Wishing you a happy and healthy new year,

Leanne

Finding a critique group

by Leanne Dyck

On Friday, December tenth I was fortunate to have a guest blogger at http://sweatercursed.blogspot.com Terrill Welch, a member of my critique group, gave a sneak reviewer’s peek at my soon-to-be published thriller and initiated a discussion on creative communities.

On Monday, December thirteenth the post on the Sweater Cursed blog was titled ‘Forming a creative community, tips for you’.

Today, I would like to continue this discussion, here.

Many publishing houses advise aspiring/emerging authors to join critique groups, and as one who has greatly benefited from such groups, I too would encourage involvement.

Question: How do (did/will) you find a critique group?

Answer: Writer societies offer their members writing resources. Often, one of these resources is a critique group.

Question: How do you find a writers’ society?

Answer: I found the contact information for the Victoria Writers’ Society while flipping through the pages of their literary journal—Island Writer.

As a way to showcase members and publicize the group, many writers’ societies publish literary journals.

Literary journals are available from local libraries or bookstores.

Another way to find writers’ societies is to use a search engine.

Question: Where do critique groups meet?

Answer: Many critique groups meet in public venues such as community centres or libraries.

Question: What if it isn’t easy for you to attend meetings? What if you are a professional whose career dominates their life? What if you are a stay-at-home parent whose world is full of diapers and bottles? What if you live in a remote location? What do you do? How to you gain the benefit of a critique group?

Answer: Meeting online may be one solution.

Question: How do you find a critique egroup?

Answer: One of the resources writers’ societies provide their members is a newsletter. By flipping (or scrolling) through, you may find an announcement regarding critique groups.

Question: What do you do if your writers’ society doesn’t offer a critique egroup?

Answer: You start your own. I did.

Question: How do you attract members?

Answer: Thanks to my affiliation with the Victoria Writers’ Society finding members was relatively easy. Each month the society placed an announcement regarding the egroup in the newsletter.

Question: What are my responsibilities as a critique egroup facilitator?

Answer: Before forming the group, the facilitator should have a clear vision of the type of group that is to be formed.

To gain a clear vision, ask yourself these questions…

1) What type of writing would you like to share: non-fiction, fiction, flash fiction, short stories, poetry, or longer pieces? If you’re interested in sharing longer work, what is the maximum word count you’re interested in critiquing? Remember, the longer the piece the more time and work will be required in critiquing it.

2) How often will you exchange work?

3) How large would you like the group to become?

Once the group is formed, a facilitator should ensure that all members feel welcome, heard and receive the support they seek.

As well, if a dispute arises between members, it is the responsibility of the facilitator to settle the conflict.

Facilitating an egroup is demanding. However, it has been my experience that it’s well worth the effort.

Please visit my creative community at: http://sweatercursed.blogspot.com

If you have additional questions or would like to share your experiences, please leave a comment. Thank you.

Leanne Dyck