Welcome, Barbara Ehrentreu and Carolyn Samuels

Barbara, a retired teacher with a Masters degree in Reading and Writing K-12 and seventeen years of teaching experience, lives with her family in Stamford, Connecticut. When she received her Masters degree she began writing seriously. If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor, Barbara’s first YA novel, was inspired by Paula Danziger. Barbara is a NY Literature Examiner forExaminer.com with several articles for them. Her blog, Barbara’s Meanderings, http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com/, is networked on both Facebook and Blog Catalog. She hosts Red River Writers Live Tales from the Pages on Blog Talk Radio every 4th Thursday. In addition, her children's story, “The Trouble with Follow the Leader” and an adult story, “Out on a Ledge” are published online She writes book reviews for Authorlink.com. and several of her reviews have been on Acewriters and Celebrity Café. She is a member of SCBWI. Writing is her life!

Interview with Carolyn Samuels from If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor

Today my guest is a girl who has suddenly been thrust into the media. Recently she gave a talk on Karen’s Chaise Lounge and now she is a featured guest on this blog. How is it affecting this young girl who has graciously agreed to talk about the events of her freshman year in high school.  Since Carolyn was a little nervous about her first big interview she asked the author of her story, If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor, Barbara Ehrentreu, to interview her.

Welcome to both of you. Barbara and Carolyn.

Barbara, please ask your first question.

Carolyn, would you please tell us a little about yourself?

There’s not much to tell. I live in Mill Valley, which is in Westchester, NY and I attend Mill Valley High School. My best friends are Becky and Janie and I love Math. Oh, yeah, I have a Newfoundland dog named Max and my favorite cookie is chocolate chocolate chip homemade by my mom. My mom works for an ad agency in the city. That’s what New Yorkers called New York City. My dad is a criminal lawyer. I’m an only child, but you couldn’t ask for better parents. Except they don’t pay much attention to me.

On the surface it looks like you have a great life. Why, then did you come to me one day crying and telling me you hated Jennifer Taylor and she made your life miserable? Who is Jennifer Taylor and why do you hate her?

Jennifer Taylor has made my life a living nightmare since middle school. I call her Miss Perfect, because she is a size two and her father owns half the town. She’s on the path to be an Olympic gymnast so she’s excellent in gym. Jennifer is the most popular girl in the freshman class. I think she knows everyone in the class. And to top it all off she has this hot boyfriend, Brad, who is a Junior and the quarterback for our football team. He’s so amazing and I don’t think she deserves to be with him. Okay, maybe I have a crush on Brad myself.

What happened last year on the first day of school?

I’m not sure I can talk about this, because it brings back awful memories. Do you want me to go all the way back to the rope line incident? I mean that’s what started all this.

Yes, tell us as much as you can. 

Well, I got up on the first day of school after having this incredible dream where I was popular and a cheerleader and my boyfriend fed me a piece of chocolate cake because I was thin and blonde and didn’t gain weight. Of course the truth is I am a little overweight and my hair is dark brown and hangs like shriveled spaghetti. But still this was a great dream, wouldn’t you agree? I wanted to stay in bed, because when my alarm rang I realized I might run into Jennifer Taylor.  

You see I hate her and I also want to be like her. It’s awful and here’s how it started. When I was in seventh grade we did the ropes course. One part of it , the zip line, required you to climb up to this platform and you were given a harness. When you got up there you had to clasp yourself to the line and then you could slide down. A few people went in front of me and then of course, Jennifer did it perfectly. When my turn came I froze. Then I started breathing funny, because I have this thing. I hyperventilate when I’m nervous and that day I started turning blue. If I can’t start breathing I can faint. I started feeling dizzy and couldn’t clasp myself onto the zip line. Jennifer was on the ground and saw me. The teacher saw me too and raced up the ladder to the platform. She said to me, “Breathe, Carolyn, breathe.” Then Jennifer started saying too and soon all the kids who had been on the line echoed her. As I came down the ladder I wanted a big hole to open up and swallow me. So then Jennifer started bothering me at odd times every day. She’d sneak up and say “Breathe, Carolyn, breathe.” Or she would whisper it in class when I had to go up to the board. We were in Math class together and I started to dread it. So when I was in her Math class again and the teacher put us together as partners I didn’t know how I could stand it. 

What happened?

Well the first day of school after being pushed together with her for a Math project I was put in front of her in line for gym. I don’t know what happened, but all of a sudden I didn’t want to be anywhere near Jennifer and I started hyperventilating until I fainted. I guess that’s when I got connected to Jennifer in a much more serious way.

Oh, my goodness, your story has more to it?

Oh yes, I learned way too much about Jennifer and wound up holding her secrets until the end of the year. I mean, I did meet Brad and well, I don’t think I can say anymore. This is all really painful to talk about, you know?

Yes, Carolyn and thank you for telling us a little bit about your story. I guess if you want to learn more about what happened that year you will have to read the book, If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor coming from MuseItUp Publishing in September as a cool e-book. 

Thank you, Rochelle for hosting us today. 

Yes, thank you Amy. This was my first blog interview and thank you Barbara for helping me through it.

My pleasure, Carolyn. I know talking about these things is hard for you, but you did very well. 

Coming Events

Wow, there's a lot going on the next couple of months with MuseItUp Publishing and its authors.
First up is the Back to School Blog Festival. Each day an author will blog about something related to school
Check it out at: . http://museituppublishing.blogspot.com/

Beginning Sept. 12th. Muse presents its Editor Flash It Out Contest. More information at http://museituppublishing.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-events.html

Also in September, Muse author, Brian Knight, is featuring Muse Authors as guest bloggers on blog, The New Author:http://www.the-new-author.blogspot.com/ I'm appearing Sept. 2nd.

Also in September MuseItUp MG/YA Blog-fest.
C.K. Volnek http://www.ckvolnek.com/blog.html and 

Barbara Ehrentreu http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com




On Sept. 9th, my book, Connection of the Minds will be released. I'm really excited about this book. It's a different kind of book for me. Still a romance-what else? LOL 
Did you ever have a feeling that something bad was about to happen? 
You know a premonition, an intuition, omen or whatever you want to call it. You try to pass it off as coincidence, but you know deep down it's not. That's exactly what happened to Rebecca Brennan. She's experiencing someone's life and she's bound and determined to find out whose. Her search leads her to a small town full of interesting people and puts her life in danger.  
Connection of the Minds is available at:  http://bit.ly/ConnectionoftheMinds






October brings a October's Month Long Festival, featuring Muse authors presenting short stories, recipes, and other fun stuff. Bonella will once again crawl out of her crypt and banter with us. She's always fun for a laugh. I'll be posting some recipes on Oct. 13th (thank goodness it's not a Friday). You can join in the fun at  http://museituppublishing.blogspot.com/
And of course, every week MuseItUp Publishing releases several new books. 


Also in October, I'll be hosting all of the Muse authors as they guest or give interviews.
 I hope you'll join in the fun.

Write From the Soul & Visualeyes

Write From the Soul & Visualeyes

Ramblings from Lady Rosalie: THE NEW AUTHOR's Museitup Month... SEPTEMBER...

Ramblings from Lady Rosalie: THE NEW AUTHOR's Museitup Month... SEPTEMBER...: Hi S B KNIGHT , Thanks for being a guest on my blog today. It's great to have you promoting the Museitup authors for a whole month on your b...

Edits and Final Galleys

Some authors think of edits as torture, a necessary evil. Me, I love edits. Oh, don't get me wrong, it hurts when my editors tell me to cut this sentence or even a paragraph. I worked hard over those words. The story is my baby, my life. I spent hours, days, weeks, even years laboring over it.
Sometimes I look at the manuscript and all I see is red. What the heck, it couldn't be that bad, could it? Is the editor picking on me?
One of the most important things to remember when doing edits is to keep an open mind. I like to paraphrase rather than use thoughts. That means I use the word she a lot. The reason I dislike thoughts, well two reasons, actually - 1. editors like to put thoughts into Italics. - I dislike italics - no, I hate italics. Nothing takes me out of a story worse than italics. They distract me and that's not something you want to do with a reader. Most of the books I've read   about writing say- don't use them. (and I've read a lot of books on writing, Donald Maass for one). The other reason I don't like them is thoughts also distract me. So instead of writing, I hated when he does that, I write She hated when he did that. Eliminates the need for italics and I. To me it reads much better. However, my editor doesn't like all the shes. Okay I know I use a lot of them and truthfully, I don't see a problem with it. The sentences make sense. Readers know they're thoughts. They don't need italics to tell them. I try hard to avoid thoughts that need italics, but sometimes you just have to use them.
Okay, back to editing. As the author, you have the final say on your work. But don't be stubborn. Your editor is there to help you make your work the best it can be. I've seldom had to disagree with my editor. Most of the time I look at what she wants to delete or change and I agree. Sometimes, it's back story. Sometimes it's just unneeded information.
Another reason I like edits, it gives me a chance to change things that don't sound right to me or maybe add something that will add to the story - No, I'm not talking about pages or chapters. I'm talking about a sentence or two that might add tension or help clarify what you're talking about.
Once you're done with edits, you send them back to the editor. They might go back and forth several times before you both agree and are satisfied with the final manuscript.  Ha, that's not the final manuscript at all. Now comes line edits. A different editor goes through what you and your content editor just agreed is the best manuscript. The line editor will go through line by line and suggest changes that are sometimes repetitive sentences etc. They also make sure all the commas, periods, and spelling is correct. If a sentence doesn't make sense to them, they'll suggest you change it. Again, it's your work, but keep an open mind. Think of the line editor as one of your readers. If she/he thinks it doesn't sound right, so will your reader. I seldom disagree with my line editor. Unless I have a character that speaks in a certain way,I'll usually take the suggestion.
Now comes the final galley. This is it. This is what your book is going to look like. This is your responsibility to make sure that every i is dotted and every t is crossed - so to speak. Look for spelling, commas, periods and yes, sometimes wrong words here or there. This is the last opportunity to make your book the best it's going to be. Final galleys aren't for changing sentences or paragraphs or adding to the story. Go through the final galley carefully. Even editors, no matter how good they are, miss things. A misspelled word, missing comma, etc. No one is perfect. It's the last polish before your editor sends the book off for publishing.
Think of edits as a way to improve your manuscript, not to destroy it. Editors want to work with you, not against you.

Thursday Blog Hop

This week's question is about an embarrassing secret muse.  I've been thinking and thinking and I honestly can't come up with anything. I suppose if I could, I'm not sure I'd admit.LOL After all no one wants to embarrass themselves. I'm just happy my muse speaks to me at all. Lately she's been kind of quiet. I'm not sure why.
I've been working on one story for several years now. It's the first one I outlined and plotted, and I'll never do it again. Talk about writer's block.
For me sitting down with an idea and knowing how the story begins and ends is enough, what happens in the middle is as much a surprise to me as it is to the reader. That's fine. It works for me. But I listened to a speaker at our local RWA group say if you never plotted to try it. Silly me did. Just because it worked for her and many other authors isn't a reason to encourage other authors to do it. She made us feel like we were writing wrong. I've since learned that whatever works for you is the right.
Unfortunately I took her  advice. What did I have to lose? Maybe it would work for me. It didn't take long to realize it wasn't going to work. My characters didn't appear to like what I had plotted for them. They refused to talk to me. I was blocked. I stayed blocked for a good year. Never wrote another word. I had written myself into a corner. Finally in an email to my writing friend, I discovered a way to pull out of it and the story went along for quite a while. But that darn plot was in the back of my mind and it wasn't long before I hit another block. This has happened several times since then and I've been fortunate to work my way through it. Right now I'm blocked again and have been for several months. Not that I quit writing all together. I work on other works. I have several that I want to rewrite and revise, so I'm not sitting idle, but that story really bothers me. I so want to finish it. I'm sure I will some day. So I guess my secret embarrassing muse is that I listened to someone try to change the way I write.  If you're a plotter, great, don't listen to anyone tell you to try writing by the seat of your pants. If you're a panster, don't try to plot your story. Do what works for you.

Check out the other blog hoppers - http://tjbook-list.blogspot.com/2011/08/aug-25-embarrassing-secret-muse-anyone.html

Welcome, Penny Ehrenkranz

Thank you so much for being here, Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz,

1: What genre do you write?

I actually enjoy writing in lots of different genres. I write picture books and paranormal mysteries for kids. I write fantasy, soft science fiction and romance for adults. I also write non-fiction articles on writing, parenting, and teen self-help.



2: How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing since I was a child, although I wasn’t published until 1993. Since then, my work has appeared in about two hundred magazines and on-line and I’ve published two eBooks, an illustrated chapbook, a middle grade novel, and my stories have appeared in several anthologies.



3: What do you like the most and least about writing?

I enjoy the actually crafting of the story the best. It’s fun to come up with an idea, create the characters, and make trouble for them. What I like least is the marketing and promotion once the book has been published.



4: What do you for fun and relaxation when not writing?

I enjoy gardening, both flowers and vegetables; spending time with my family and grandchildren; reading; and doing craft projects, especially crochet.



5: Which authors do you like to read?

My current favorites are Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, and Devon Monk.



6: What’s the one thing you’d most like people to know about you?

That’s an interesting question and I’m not sure what to answer. I guess foremost, I’m a mom, a grandmother, and a wife. My family is very important to me and they always come first.



7: Tell me about your current novel, where I can find it?

My current release, Love Delivery, is from MuseItUp Publishing.


The direct buy link is:
https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=115&category_id=8&manufacturer_id=57&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

Love Delivery is a story about two very normal people struggling to find happiness despite the hard-knocks life has thrown their way. Just as they feel they’ve found something special in each other, an evil ex-wife, an adorable child, and custody battles intrude on the path toward love.


Here’s a short excerpt:
Ann pushed open the door, and the bell jingled like an added alarm to wake her up. Sometimes she wondered how she could function this early in the morning, but a job was a job. At least waitressing in a donut shop was honest. Maybe someday she’d go back to finish college and do something rewarding with her life. Then again, maybe the man of her dreams would walk through the door this morning and sweep her off her feet. The closest thing to a dream man in her life was Tom, the delivery guy, looking like God’s gift to women. She sighed. It didn’t seem fair. He would never find her appealing with the figure she inherited from her mother. The only attractive thing she could find when she looked in a mirror was her startling green eyes.



8: Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?

I always tell them not to give up. Everyone, even the greats, are rejected at some point or another. Perseverance and professionalism will get an aspiring author an eventual publishing contract. Taking classes, whether online or at a community college, is always a good idea.



9: Do you base your characters on real-life people?

My characters tend to be a composite of people I know, people I’ve watched but don’t know, and those I imagine would fit the part I’ve created. Inevitably, a bit of myself or another family member might creep into the character as well.



10: How did you come up with the idea for this book?

I wanted to write a romance with characters who were blue-collar, middle-class, normal working people. I wanted people who have struggled and had obstacles to overcome before they even met. I wanted them to have to work for the relationship. The main character works in a donut shop as a manager and I took this from my first job as a teenager. The cats the male lead speaks of are my own cats and their funny little habits are true.



11: What are you currently working on?

I have a couple of ideas for stories and I’ve written down pieces for all of them. One is the next in the series of my middle-grade paranormal mysteries. Another is a YA novel about a young witch. I also have a couple of adult fantasies, both novelettes, which I’m finalizing.



12. Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you?

In addition to my writing, I am also an editor at MuseItUP Publishing, Damnation books, and an acquisitions editor for 4RV Publishing. I teach a writing class at my local grade school and love working with the kids. Several of them have asked if they can be characters in my next MG novel.



13. Where can we find you? Website? Blog?

My website is: http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.yolasite.com/

My blog is:
http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com/

My Facebook page is:
http://www.facebook.com/penny.ehrenkranz

My Twitter is:
http://twitter.com/pennyehrenkranz

My author page at MuseItUp Publishing is:

https://museituppublishing.com/musepub/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=130&Itemid=82