At a loss for words

I want to submit a short story in the annual Nelson Algren Literary Awards competition, but I have not been able to settle on a story line. That’s the hardest thing for me as a writer. Once I have a plot idea, I can usually run with it; however, story ideas elude me.

I’ve read and heard other writers say they have more ideas than time to write all the stories. That has never been my problem.

This particular short story can have up to 8,000 words. I have written more than 4,000 words in one day, but the January 31 deadline is approaching and I will be in trouble if I don’t think of a story idea soon.

I thought I had an idea this morning, but it’s not working. In the words of Scarlett O’Hara, “Tomorrow is another day.”

An excuse to eat mince & tatties

No excuse is too small for me to eat one of my favorite Scottish dishes: mince & tatties with green peas. Yesterday was Diana Gabaldon’s birthday. She, of course, wrote the Outlander series which is set in Scotland and North Carolina. Sounds like a good enough reason to have mince and tatties for supper!

When Marie and I ate mince and tatties with green peas in 1993 for our first pub lunch on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. It was love at first bite. Aside from salmon, it became our favorite Scottish dish. Haggis came in a distant third, and black pudding didn’t even make the list. I can eat haggis as long as I don’t think about the ingredients. Black pudding wasn’t appealing at all — and that was before I found out its ingredients.

Scotland is not known for its cuisine, which is unfortunate. Perhaps that is why the Scots have a quaint way of naming foods — an art we lost over the generations here in America. Mince and tatties, cock-a-leekie soup, baps, and inky pinky are just a few examples. Mince is ground beef. Tatties are potatoes. It is a very basic everyday comfort food, but it is delicious and always takes us back to Scotland when we have it for dinner.

Like mince & tatties, reading a Diana Gabaldon book transports me to Scotland, the land of most of my ancestors. Happy belated birthday, Ms. Gabaldon, and thank you for giving me hours of reading pleasure through your Outlander series of books.

Georgann Eubanks’ Literary Trails books

I had the privilege of hearing Georgann Eubanks speak yesterday at the annual meeting of the Concord Friends of the Library, Inc. Ms. Eubanks is the author of three wonderful guides to literary North Carolina.

Literary Trails of the North Carolina Mountains: A Guidebook, published in 2007 by The University of North Carolina Press, was the first of these guidebooks to be completed. In 2010, Literary Trails of the North Carolina Piedmont: A Guidebook, was published. It was followed in 2013 by Literary Trails of Eastern North Carolina: A Guidebook. The books include maps to make it convenient to enjoy segments of the “trails.”

Ms. Eubanks gave an overview of Literary Trails of the North Carolina Piedmont: A Guidebook, at the public library in downtown Concord yesterday. She is an entertaining speaker, and she sprinkled her remarks with many little-known facts about famous authors and poets who had connections with the piedmont section of North Carolina.

It was a fun library event followed by lunch with my sister at the Cuban Carolina Cafe in Concord. I enjoyed my first Cuban hamburger.

A nice find in Sylva, North Carolina

My sister and I have enjoyed shopping at the used bookstore in Sylva, North Carolina, that is operated by the Friends of the Jackson County Friends of the Library. It is a marvelous store and the volunteers there are always very helpful and welcoming.

I knew there was another bookstore in the small town of Sylva — City Lights. We just never had taken the time to visit it. I’m not sure why. It is a gem and another example of a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains that supports an independent bookstore. I love the Indies!

We visited City Lights Bookstore in Sylva in December. I met Chris, the owner. There was only one copy of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, remaining on the shelf. Chris asked me to autograph it. I was pleased to be asked to sign the book, although autographing my book is the most unsettling thing I do. It doesn’t look like the signature of an author. It lacks flair. It’s legible. It’s not pretty. It seems silly, but I think I need to practice writing my name. I have fairly good penmanship until I put pen in hand to autograph a copy of my book.

City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, North Carolina.
City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, North Carolina.

City Lights sells new books and used books. It shares a building with City Lights Cafe. In futures trips to Sylva, we’ll make time to visit both bookstores and give the cafe a try!

2014 was an exciting writing year for me

Most people take December 31 or January 1 to reflect on the last year. Leave it to me to wait a few days. I can procrastinate with the best of them! Looking back on 2014, I realize what an exciting writing year it was for me.

I celebrated the following firsts: (1) My first book, a vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, was published on August 25 by Arcadia Publishing; (2) My first author event was held at the public library in Harrisburg, North Carolina, on September 11; and (3) My first book launch was held on September 21.

In the last three months of 2014, I had additional author events at public libraries in Cabarrus and Haywood Counties, North Carolina.

Two whirlwind trips to the mountains of North Carolina in December to promote my book, to thank bookstore owners for selling my book, and to introduce my book to other bookstore and gift shop owners were my first forays into commercial book promotion.

In my spare time, I have done a bit of research in preparation for submitting an author proposal to Arcadia Publishing for a Piedmont North Carolina vintage postcard book in 2015, but most of my time has been spent promoting the Blue Ridge Mountains book. That book is my primary focus. I have two author events scheduled in April and May. With the holidays behind me, it is time to turn my attention to lining up additional author events this spring and summer.

Last week I took time to write a 1,899-word piece to enter in the Southern California Genealogical Society’s 2014 GENEii Nonfiction Writing Contest. I’ll talk more about that and my subject matter in another blog post this month. The winner will be announced on May 1, 2015.

Sometimes I don’t think I get much accomplished. It’s gratifying to take a few minutes on December 31, January 1, or even January 4 to remember what I did in the last year. Will I be as productive in 2015? Stay tuned!

On my recent trip to Franklin, North Carolina, I visited the Smoky Mountain Host’s Smoky Mountain Visitors Center just south of that town because I knew the Arcadia Publishing sales rep got my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, placed there in August.

Smoky Mountain Host's Smoky Mountain Visitor Center, Franklin, NC.
Smoky Mountain Host’s Smoky Mountain Visitor Center, Franklin, NC.

Smoky Mountain Visitor Center is on US-23/US-441, which is called Georgia Road because it is between Franklin and the Georgia state line. It is a beautiful facility. My book was displayed in the Arcadia spinner that visitors see immediately when they come in the door. In fact, my book was at eye level. Fantastic placement!

My book on the Arcadia Publishing spinner at Smoky Mountain Visitor Center, Franklin, NC.
My book on the Arcadia Publishing spinner at Smoky Mountain Visitor Center, Franklin, NC.

A different kind of gem in Franklin, NC

Franklin, North Carolina is known for the wide array of precious gems that are mined in the area. I found another kind of gem in Franklin on a recent visit. Books Unlimited is a wonderful independent bookstore in downtown Franklin.

Books Unlimited, 50 E. Main Street, Franklin, NC.
Books Unlimited, 50 E. Main Street, Franklin, NC.

I was thrilled to find five or six copies of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, on the shelf! I was asked to autograph the copies. Nice folks!

Janet, autographing her book at Books Unlimited in Franklin, NC.
Janet, autographing her book at Books Unlimited in Franklin, NC.

Support your local independent bookstore, if you are fortunate enough to have one. And when you’re traveling, seek them out and buy a book — either mine or one by another struggling writer!

Janet's book on display at Books Unlimited in Franklin, NC.
Janet’s book on display at Books Unlimited in Franklin, NC.

O’Neill’s Shop on the Corner

While visiting Bryson City, North Carolina a couple of weeks ago to introduce my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, to store owners, I happened upon a lovely bookstore just feet from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad station. O’Neill’s Shop on the Corner was a pleasant surprise.

My sister and I had planned to eat lunch at The Filling Station because it had rave reviews online. After being told it would be a 45-minute wait, we walked up Main Street until Jimmy Mac’s Pizza caught our eye. Lo and behold, we spotted O’Neill’s Shop on the Corner across the street and went there after lunch.

O'Neill's Shop on the Corner in Bryson City, NC.
O’Neill’s Shop on the Corner in Bryson City, NC.

I met the new owners, Tom and Cynthia O’Neill. They are new to the bookstore business. I introduced my book to them and, thereby, introduced them to Arcadia Publishing. I told them how to contact Arcadia’s sales department to order my book and other books by Arcadia.

It was a beautiful, mild winter day in this mountain town. It was the first time I’d been to Bryson City. I want to go back and spend more time there. I want to go back and ride the steam train!

Some “cold calls” go better than others

Most of my recent posts have been positive, but today I’ll share the other side of the coin. I made a few more “cold calls” in Bryson City, North Carolina, on December 13. Some of them went better than others. Although a Saturday in December was probably not the best day for me to be out and about promoting my book to store owners, it was my only opportunity to visit Bryson City this winter. Overall, I had a successful day. I called on three stores there in the afternoon that probably won’t result in book sales, but that’s okay. Bryson City isn’t a large enough town to support my book in every store. I’m confident that it will soon be available in two stores in town and that will be perfect.

Trips like the two I made to the mountains in December have given me confidence and some interesting memories. All the memories fall into the “good” category except for one, which definitely falls into the “interesting” category. I visited one store, which will remain nameless in this blog, in which the owner was less than receptive. After reprimanding me for having called on him on a Saturday, he turned his head and spit. (You can’t make this stuff up!) Needless to say, I do not expect my book to ever appear on the shelves in that store. I can’t help but think that particular establishment stays in business in spite of the owner. The other 25 to 30 store owners I met in December were welcoming and gracious. There are a lot of good people out there operating small businesses. I hope as the economy continues to improve, people will remember to support small local businesses.

As a new author, I must get myself and my book title out there any way I can without breaking my contract with Arcadia Publishing. Together, we are trying to blanket the mountains with my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. It is proving to be a slow process, but I believe I made some excellent contacts during the month of December.

My next blog will be about another pleasant surprise I had in Bryson City.

Charleston Station in Bryson City NC

Bryson City is a nice little town just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. One of its draws is Smoky Mountain Railroad and the steam trains one can take to and from the town. We were there recently on a Saturday. The historic downtown district was filled with families and children dressed in their pajamas — ready to board The Polar Express that evening.

We were in town to try to get my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, placed in a store or two. Sometimes we go into a store hoping to place it there only to be sent to another location. That is what happened in Bryson City. I thought perhaps the old N.C. Clampitt Hardware Company or the Ace Hardware would be interested in selling my book. I was told in each of those establishments that I needed to go up the street to Charleston Station and ask for Diana Clampitt. Charleston Station is an antiques and gift shop located in an old house.

Charleston Station in Bryson City, NC.
Charleston Station in Bryson City, NC.

Ms. Clampitt is one of the owners of all three stores. She loved my book! She said she will order it in the spring for Charleston Station. She tries not to duplicate merchandise in the three stores. Charleston Station will close after the holidays for the winter and will reopen on March 18, 2015. Hopefully, my book will be available there when it opens for business then for the tourist season.