OnlineBookClub.org

falloutlunartic wrote:How do you decide what details to keep in a story and what details to take out?

gali wrote:Great answers!

Will there be a sequel at some point?

khudecek wrote:It's hard to pinpoint an exact time with it. Let me tell you why.

I wrote this book in 1996. I did some editing on it and shelved it. I don't really know why. I got married in 2001, moved to Kansas, had a couple of kids...you know, did the "life" thing.

Fast forward to 2015. My son and I are going through some boxes a year and a half after moving into this house and he pulled out a pile of paper bound in a rubber band.

He looked at it and said, "Hey, Mom. What's this?"
I looked at it and my jaw dropped. "It's a manuscript! Wow!"

I have to confess that I don't remember writing it. As I read it, nothing seemed familiar but I knew I'd written it because I'm the only writer in the family. I didn't remember Cody or Suzanne. I didn't remember anything about it.

I knew it had to be put on my computer, like the rest of my novels and short stories so I started retyping it.

As I retyped it, I added some things, took some things away, renamed it, added a little spice to it, changed the ending and was ready to put it back in the closet. It didn't get that far.

I think the time it took to retype it was maybe a month or so. Editing took much longer. Weeks. Editing always takes longer. Writing the first draft is always the easiest part and the most fun. Editing is a grueling but necessary process. I edited it three times before I submitted it to Scott for his edits. Then it was back and forth for awhile.

I signed my contract on May 24 (keep in mind, the story was already written) and the release day was October 26, 2015.

Thank you for your question. I hope I answered it for you.

stoppoppingtheP wrote:[bco=][/bco]

khudecek wrote:It's hard to pinpoint an exact time with it. Let me tell you why.

I wrote this book in 1996. I did some editing on it and shelved it. I don't really know why. I got married in 2001, moved to Kansas, had a couple of kids...you know, did the "life" thing.

Fast forward to 2015. My son and I are going through some boxes a year and a half after moving into this house and he pulled out a pile of paper bound in a rubber band.

He looked at it and said, "Hey, Mom. What's this?"
I looked at it and my jaw dropped. "It's a manuscript! Wow!"

I have to confess that I don't remember writing it. As I read it, nothing seemed familiar but I knew I'd written it because I'm the only writer in the family. I didn't remember Cody or Suzanne. I didn't remember anything about it.

I knew it had to be put on my computer, like the rest of my novels and short stories so I started retyping it.

As I retyped it, I added some things, took some things away, renamed it, added a little spice to it, changed the ending and was ready to put it back in the closet. It didn't get that far.

I think the time it took to retype it was maybe a month or so. Editing took much longer. Weeks. Editing always takes longer. Writing the first draft is always the easiest part and the most fun. Editing is a grueling but necessary process. I edited it three times before I submitted it to Scott for his edits. Then it was back and forth for awhile.

I signed my contract on May 24 (keep in mind, the story was already written) and the release day was October 26, 2015.

Thank you for your question. I hope I answered it for you.

Your answer really gave me hope. I've written a few stories, but I've never been able to complete them. Perhaps one day I will also be able to go back and finish them.

DarkestbeforeDawn wrote:How do you balance so many genres at once? Do you feel like they aren't properly developed or focused on at some points? How do you do it so it doesn't distract from the overall novel

khudecek wrote:

DarkestbeforeDawn wrote:How do you balance so many genres at once? Do you feel like they aren't properly developed or focused on at some points? How do you do it so it doesn't distract from the overall novel

After reading some of the comments on this forum, I'm not so sure I did do a good job of balancing it all out. What I wanted to do was to present a book that was an adventure with an Indian guy and a white woman, a relationship that was frowned upon at that time. It was during a time when Indians being forced onto reservations, often with deadly consequences. That was the Western part of it.

Honestly, I don't know how I could have done it differently. I don't think it would have worked if Suzanne had been a part of that era. Had she been a part of that era, she would have seen Cody as everybody else did and there would have been no story.

I hope this answers your questions. Thank you for asking.

bookowlie wrote:

khudecek wrote:

DarkestbeforeDawn wrote:How do you balance so many genres at once? Do you feel like they aren't properly developed or focused on at some points? How do you do it so it doesn't distract from the overall novel

After reading some of the comments on this forum, I'm not so sure I did do a good job of balancing it all out. What I wanted to do was to present a book that was an adventure with an Indian guy and a white woman, a relationship that was frowned upon at that time. It was during a time when Indians being forced onto reservations, often with deadly consequences. That was the Western part of it.

Honestly, I don't know how I could have done it differently. I don't think it would have worked if Suzanne had been a part of that era. Had she been a part of that era, she would have seen Cody as everybody else did and there would have been no story.

I hope this answers your questions. Thank you for asking.

I thought the different genres were balanced well within the story. The time travel/fantasy was not overwhelming at all - it was just a plot device to highlight the two main characters' way they viewed each other. It was the juxtaposition of characters from different backgrounds. The romance angle was subtly handled through much of the story with a man showing Suzanne respect and positive attention. The historical backdrop also fit well with the character development and the way the two main characters viewed each other. I never felt like the genres made the story too busy. I looked at the genres as supporting Suzanne's character development, which was the highlight of the story.