Just Because Book Sale

Just want to announce that for a limited time I've lowered the price on all my Kindle version books, so if you've been meaning to read one (or all), now's a good time to go to Amazon and download them! Here are the links to each book:

Uncharted

Blind Stitches 

Spilled Coffee

 Girl Running

Protégé

Girl Adrift

Portrait of a Girl Adrift Now Available!

Over the past months, I’ve been working hard preparing Portrait of a Girl Adrift for publication, and I’m happy to announce that the paperback version is now available on Amazon.com.* Here is a preview of the full cover layout.

So that you don't have to squint at the cover copy on the back, here's what it says:

Just when Leila thinks she has everything under control, her deepest insecurities resurface when she must confront her unresolved issues surrounding the mother who abandoned her as a baby, and the men who raised her. Not even Clarence Myles can show her the way, and so Leila embarks on a journey of self-discovery that sends her drifting from place to place in search of answers.

In the process of zigzagging her way between North and South, Leila encounters a series of intense psychological twists and turns that send her reeling, grappling with more questions about her identity. Embarking on a final quest for what it means to be ‘whole,’ Leila risks everything she knows about maintaining control; on a calculated whim, she boards a boat with a young woman who is everything Leila is not. While navigating her own heart, nothing could prepare Leila for the biggest truth she’s about to learn.

Also, the Kindle version is still available for preorder, but I've moved the release date up by a couple weeks. It will be ready to download on Tuesday, November 15th.

In addition to uploading the novel files for publication, I updated my website, JBChicoine.com ... now to clean up the mess from my exploding head ...

* It will take a few weeks for it to show up on other online book retailers

Portrait of a Girl Adrift: Cover Progress

I've been working on the cover for Portrait of a Girl Adrift … it's been quite a process. In case any of my readers have suspected, yes, I am the model for the 'girl' on the covers, not because I necessarily resemble Leila—I mean, I am fifty six, after all—but I publish my novels on a scant budget, and what can I say … I'm cheap and available! And it's not difficult to trim off twenty-five pounds and smooth wrinkles with graphics software.

Nevertheless, I had intended a different pose for this cover—Leila sitting cross legged, 'Indian style' as we used to say (but that's probably no longer politically correct—the term, not the position). At any rate, Todd set up the camera, adjusted the flood light and flipped on the fan for billowing the linen shirt. But when I tried to assume the position, well, there was simply no way! I don't know when it happened, when my body decided to be so inflexible, but I was going to have to reconsider the composition for the cover. The image proportions are a bit different from the covers for Girl Running and Protégé, but Adrift still has the same feel.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to post the progression of the painting (and no, I will not share the photo I worked from—don't need that circulating around the internet!).

... And here is the finished cover:

I'm happy with the result, and now I can post it where it needs to be, places like Amazon (it may take a few days for the image to show up) and Goodreads. I also want to remind any of my readers that the Kindle version of Portrait of a Girl Adrift is available for pre-order on Amazon—to be released on December 6th. And if anyone would like an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for a review on Amazon or Goodreads (preferably both), just let me know. Also, if you've read Portrait of a Girl Running or Portraitof a Protégé, consider leaving reviews for those—it helps their discoverability.

Meanwhile, it's back to editing…

Portraits Trilogy Update

Well, I completed the first draft of Portrait of a Girl Adrift nearly a month ago. While the manuscript awaits its final edits, I have been updating the first two books, Portrait of a Girl Running and Portrait of a Protégé, both the kindle and trade paperback versions. I haven’t changed anything major in either book, just added back in some bits here and there that I had deleted from earlier versions—information that fleshes out some of the characters who show up in Book III. The plots remain unchanged.

I also committed myself to a publishing deadline—Portrait of a Girl Adrift is now up for pre-order on Amazon, to be released on December 6. This means I need to get cracking on the cover!

The layout is ready and waiting for a pivotal bit of artwork… I’m a little anxious about that since I haven’t painted in well over a year. I’m hoping it all comes back to me…Ha!

By the way, I’ve also reduced the kindle price of Girl Running and Protégé, so if you’ve been meaning to read either of them, now would be a good time to download them!

In case you're curious, here is the description from the back cover of Portrait of a Girl Adrift:

Just when Leila thinks she has everything under control, her deepest insecurities resurface when she must confront her unresolved issues surrounding the mother who abandoned her as a baby, and the men who raised her. Not even Clarence Myles can show her the way, and so Leila embarks on a journey of self-discovery that sends her drifting from place to place in search of answers. 

In the process of zigzagging her way between North and South, Leila encounters a series of intense psychological twists and turns that send her reeling, grappling with more questions about her identity. Embarking on a final quest for what it means to be ‘whole,’ Leila risks everything she knows about maintaining control; on a calculated whim, she boards a boat with a young woman who is everything Leila is not. While navigating her own heart, nothing could prepare Leila for the biggest truth she’s about to learn.

To Amityville or Not to Amityville...

Yes, that is the question—as it pertains to my Portraits trilogy. I set the opening book, Portrait of a Girl Running, in fictional Milleville, Long Island, New York. This setting has no bearing on the next two stories, Portrait of a Protégé and the work in progress Portrait of a Girl Adrift, but when I publish Adrift, I plan to release a second edition of Girl Running*. As I work through edits, I’m wondering…since all the other settings in the series are factual places, although used fictitiously, how important is continuity of settings?

The geography of Milleville, where the majority of Girl Running takes place, is based upon my hometown, Amityville. (I wrote about this in an earlier post.) Geography aside, there is only one other detail very loosely based on reality—I had a math teacher, Mr. Miles, who had a reputation for being cantankerous but loved by many students during his long career that spanned generations at Amityville Memorial High School. After his death, shortly after I graduated, the middle school was named after him. As far as I’m aware, he never married, and I don’t know that he has any surviving family.

Aside from the fact that I suck at math and Mr. Edmund W. Miles was very displeased with my performance, there are no other similarities to my character Mr. Clarence Myles—nor are there any similarities between any of my other characters and the teachers or staff in the Amityville school district.

As I talked about earlier, the reason I didn’t use Amityville as the setting has to do with the notorious horror flick and not wanting that stigma attached to my story. But now I’m wondering if that is so much of an issue. How many readers even recall the movies, especially on the worldwide market? Editing-wise, it would be a cinch to change Milleville to Amityville. And no, it’s not a huge issue for the story—just an issue of tidiness and continuity (yes, I obsess over such things!). Before I hit Find>Replace, I’m curious if anyone has any thoughts on the subject.

*I’m adding back in a few deleted scenes—nothing major, but information that rounds out supporting characters that show up in the third book.

When Characters Misbehave

I’m not talking about when characters behave badly. That’s actually a good thing because it creates tension and moves the story along. I’m talking about characters and how they don’t always behave the way the writer expects or wants. This happens a lot in my writing, and it’s part of the fun—like putting two bugs in a jar, shake, and see what happens. I love allowing my characters the freedom to interact and behave in a natural, organic kind of way, but when I’m 95% done with the first draft—this is no time for characters to exert their free will! This is what has happened in Portrait of a Girl Adrift.

No matter how I tried to cajole them, they would not do or say what I expected. One in particular revealed more depth than I gave him credit for, which is kind of cool. And then another character brought up an issue I had failed to address. Which equals more words. Not a huge deal—I do want my characters to act ‘in character,’ but with the added scenes—I’ve already exceeded 100k words in the first draft (much of which is bare bones dialogue and so it’s not as if I can cut a lot of fluff, there simply isn’t any!) —I’m looking at one thick book!

Granted, 100+k words is not a tome, so I’m not panicking, after all, my other novels come in somewhere in the 90+k words. I’m now in the process of justifying the added wordage on account of Adrift being the final volume in the Portraits trilogy. Therefore, it seems to me that readers who have followed the story thus far would like the major loose ends all tied up and won’t mind reading an extra chapter or two that will, in essence, allow my reader to say goodbye to the characters with a less abrupt ending. That’s what I’m thinking anyway. I wonder how my blog readers--those who’ve read a series—how they feel about the last book and the way the author chose to wind things down. Any thoughts?

Lafayette Cemetery No.1—Not as Creepy as I Anticipated

Actually, it wasn’t creepy at all. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had opportunity to visit New Orleans over the winter, and one of the places of interest was the Lafayette Cemetery No.1, the oldest of the seven municipal, city-operated cemeteries in New Orleans.

Normally, when visiting a destination, Todd and I don’t do tours. We like to wing it on our own. But this time, I wanted an inside scoop and very specific information, so I arranged for a tour through Save OurCemeteries.

What I did not realize is that generations of families are entombed in many of the crypts. During summer, the insides of the tombs get exceedingly hot—our tour guide told us just how many degrees, but like most numbers, it went in, terrorized my brain, and fled. Suffice it to say, it’s hot enough to essentially cremate a body within a few years, making way for the next deceased.

The best thing about the New Orleans’ cemeteries is that they’re above ground. One of the brochures says, “It is only a myth that above-ground tombs were required because of the high water table in the city. Instead, early New Orleanians chose to bury above ground in response to their French and Spanish cultural history. Above-ground tombs just happen to be the intelligent response to the geographical realities of living in a swamp.”

One of the oddest sites was The Society for the Relief of Destitute Boys. It was decorated with all sorts of trinkets—actually, that was a little creepy, the photo bomber notwithstanding.

 

It’s kind of sad that so many of the tombs are deteriorating despite efforts to restore and maintain the cemetery. Just the same, the relative state of disrepair makes for good story detail, and interesting pictures. I found quite a few tombs that would be perfect for the story.

 

Portrait of a Girl Adrift — Waylaid by Research

I’m happy to say that I am nearly done with the first draft of Portrait of a Girl Adrift, the continuing saga of Leila at large, aka the Portraits series. In this novel, she’s on a quest to find out about her deceased mother who abandoned her when Leila was three years old. Lots of psychological stuff as usual—fun to research. Those parts of the story write up fairly quickly. And then there’s the settings…

Generally, I write about places where I’ve spent considerable time, places like New Hampshire, Maine and Long Island, so it’s all second nature. But the settings in Portrait of a Girl Adrift are a bit beyond my proverbial backyard. Places like New Orleans, the Gulf of Mexico via a 47’ sailboat, Cuba, and Grand Cayman Island. So, the writing has been slow. And just because I’m about 10% away from finishing the first draft—I should say very rough first draft—does not mean I’m anywhere near done. I won’t even try to project when it might be ready for publication.

Speaking of settings, New Orleans being one of them, I did have an opportunity to do some firsthand research over the winter. A couple of scenes take place at the Lafayette Cemetery No.1. Fortunately, not much has changed at the cemetery since the mid 1980s, unlike the rest of the city since Katrina in 2005. More on that later...

Writing about sailing across the Gulf of Mexico in a 47' sailboat has probably taken the most time, and that part of the research is still not complete. And then there's Grand Cayman Island...

The trick is finding information—aside from offshore banking articles—about Grand Cayman in 1984. I also visited Grand Cayman very briefly in January, but the island now is much different than it was thirty years ago. So, the research is taking a little longer than I expected. Nevertheless, I think it would be fun to blog about some of the information I’ve come across over the course of writing Adrift. At any rate, it will help me to blog a little more regularly than twice annually!

Meanwhile, here’s a pretty picture of 7-Mile Beach on Grand Cayman Island

Stay tuned…

A Boat Upon Which to Float My Story!

I’ve been under the weather this week, and so what better way to spend idle time than to learn about sailing in New Orleans and pick out a sailboat! I mentioned in my last post that there will be sailing in this novel, the third in the Portrait series (title still to be determined). I sail a little, that is, I have little sailing experience other than tooling around on a few lakes and, yes, that little bit on Chesapeake Bay (well, Todd did most of the work). Our Bock sailboat is pretty in her own way, but she’s fiberglass and was manufactured by a laundry manufacturer in Ohio—not particularly romantic.

I do however come from a short line of boat builders. My grandfather and uncle built a lovely little wooden boat, and my dad builds some beautiful models. I grew up on the Great South Bay and sailed occasionally with my dad in our little Seaford skiff. So, I guess I come by my interest in boats somewhat honestly, but having taken all that for granted growing up, I never paid attention to the particulars of boats or sailing. Yes, I was taught the difference between port and starboard, stern and bow, but other than that, not so much.

My sad lack of technical knowledge didn’t keep me from writing Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright, which I think I pulled off without any glaring errors, thanks to my nautical-savvy beta readers. If only I could have retained half of what I researched! So, now that I’m undertaking another sailing adventure, one with a whole lot more actual sailing, I find myself in deep water.

So, what’s a novelist to do? Happily, I have a writing buddy who sails expertly, but I can’t just throw a sloppy, unresearched mass at her! So, for my initial phases of fact-finding, I have two terrific resources—the WoodenBoat Forum, and Cruisers Forum, both have been extremely helpful. I posted a thread, “Need a Boat for a Work of Fiction,” and received wonderful, and often comprehensive, responses. Consequently, I have picked a boat upon which to float the nautical part of Portraits III! In real life, her name is Infanta and she is a 47’ Bermuda yawl located overseas with the added perk of being designed by Philip Rhodes, one of my favorites.

Some may recall that in Uncharted, old Buck built a replica of Rhode’s Pavana, a 46’ yawl.

Anyway, my yet-unnamed boat will be sailing out of New Orleans to the Cayman Islands, which means my research has only just begun—more on New Orleans later…

If you are curious about Infanta's interior and specs, here's her listing from before her new owners acquired her. And a special thanks to the owners for answering my "left-field" question about the fo'ward head! No detail is too small to research!

[Note to self: Never be afraid to click "Contact" on a website.]

A Title for My Work in Progress!

For the past couple of months, I have been working on the third book in my Portraits series. I was having trouble coming up with a title that worked with Portrait of… But I knew that if I just kept writing, the title would reveal itself. I was considering Portrait of a Girl Sailing since there will be some sailing, and it works metaphorically, but the story is not just about Leila sailing—it’s about a journey, literally and figuratively, therefore, I was thinking maybe Portrait of a Journey. But neither really clicked for me.

So, today, over 40k words into the first, rough draft, as I was writing a scene, a line came to me from the first book, Portrait of a Girl Running. It’s at the end of the first chapter, which means it will make for a nice bookend, so to speak. The line alludes to something Leila’s father used to call her—Leila-at-Large. It had to do with her always being on the move, about how she would need to fall between the cracks, undetected.

I then looked up “at large” in my Mac dictionary and found, serendipitously, that the term also has a sailing application having to do with the wind blowing from a favorable direction (okay, so I hadn’t ever heard of that, but I still have a lot of sailing research ahead of me—sure wish I could remember half of what I researched for Uncharted!)

So, I have at least a portion of the title: Portrait of --- At Large. The question is, do I go with Portrait of a Girl At Large, even though Leila is no longer a girl—she's now twenty-four. Or, I could go with Portrait of Leila-at-Large. Hmmm...I'm just not sure which works better. I'm open to opinions! Aside from finishing the first draft, and deciding on the title, I need to  figure out if the A in ‘at’ should be capitalized.  

Oh, and in case anyone is curious about some elements of the story, I have a pin board on Pinterest where I am gathering bits of information and images.

What the Heck Does It Mean to Be Whole?

We hear that expression a lot. I can’t count how many of those feel-good quotes I’ve seen on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere that have to do with ‘being who you are,’ ‘claiming your identity,’ and the blessed state of ‘being a whole person.’ These ideas usually revolve around one’s readiness to enter and maintain healthy relationships, or embracing the concept of going it alone.

I think the concept got a foothold in the sixties and seventies with self-help books like I’m Okay, You’re Okay*, and How to Be Your Own Best Friend**. There were others, of course, but those are two that I distinctly recall as a youngster—my mother even provided us with a copy of the latter during adolescence. I wish I had actually understood and applied what I'd read. Nevertheless, as a culture, we’ve been talking about ‘Being Whole’ for decades. 

The reason I’m now contemplating the issue is that when I boiled down the theme of the story I’m working on, the third in my Portraits series, this question—What does it mean to be whole?—keeps coming up.

For anyone who has read Portrait of a Girl Running and Portrait of a Protégé, you know I’ve put my protagonist, Leila, through the mill. Although she has had independence foisted upon her, she is living what appears to be a fulfilling life in a safe and nurturing environment with people who care about her, and with opportunities for personal and artistic growth. Of course, I can’t leave well enough alone. No, I don’t think I’m going to kill anyone off (at least not unless I have to, ha!), but let’s face it—Leila has a lot of unresolved issues about her upbringing, and especially about her mother. She’s been on an emotionally intense roller-coaster ride, but, just because her life seems to have finally leveled out, that does not mean she can side skirt those issues which have left her broken and with pieces missing. Yes, she’s having to confront the question: What the heck does it even mean to be whole?

I Googled the question, and aside from coming up with a lot of religious answers—valid as some may be, I’m not focusing on that route—there are so many opinions, a psychological and spiritual free-for-all! I have my own opinion, but I’m still shaping it. And I am very curious how other thoughtful people define it. Please feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail (bridget at jbchicoine dot com) if you’d like to share!

*by Thomas Anthony Harris  **by Bernard Berkowitz, Jean Owen, and Mildred Newman

What I Did On My Year-Long Vacation

Well, it’s been…let’s see…over eight months since I last posted! And yeah, I will admit that the break felt good—really good. Not only did I take a break from blogging and nearly all social networking, but I also took an even longer break from writing. I might have been suffering from a bit of burnout, but I think that mostly I wanted to revisit my life the way it was before I took up the crazy notion of publishing my work! Yeah, I actually had a life and it was still intact just waiting for me to slow down, to clear my mind, and to refocus. What do I have to show for it? Well, at least a few pictures… 

Beginning with last autumn...

...we visited New Hampshire...

...did you know they have drug-free cows?...

...we started roasting our own coffee beans—yeah, that's a modified popcorn popper!...

...I mooshed my kitties a lot...

...I watched as Todd split a lot of wood...

...we made lots of pear wine (not as good as our last batches)...

...I painted a bit...

...I sewed a bunch of dolly outfits for my granddaughter's American Girl Doll...don't make me rant about how ridiculous those dolls are...

...I tried on goofy hats at the flea market...

...made and ate far too much bread, and didn't spare the brie!...

...visited my beautiful sister and her husband in Virginia...

...enjoyed an 'ice storm' while with friends in the beautiful Virginia countryside...

...came home and survived the rest of our winter in Michigan, and waited until May... 

 ...when we went to the Chesapeake Bay to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary...

...we watched sunsets...

...and sailed...

...ate raw oysters! Yum!!...

...saw scary sea creatures...

...and gooey ones...

...and ugly ones...

...and more sunsets...

...and hung out on the beach and did nothing at all...

...and sat around some more...

...and played with crab pots...

...and sailed some more...

...watched our last sunset...

 

...and then, a month or so later, we headed to New England and camped with my lovely daughter and her family in Maine...

...and saw more cool jellyfishes...

 ...and visited the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse...

...and took pictures that made me want to write...

 ...and made me want to paint...

...then we backtracked to New Hampshire and kayaked while visiting my brother and his amazing family...

...and ate clams on the halfshell...

...and later on, played on the river with grandbabies...

...and now we are home and I'm writing again. I've had an idea for a third book in my Portraits series, and it has turned into a plot. I'm in the very early stages and can't make any promises, and I won't set any deadlines, but I am making progress and enjoying it.

So, there you have it! I may even post again before the year is out!