First Draft

It has been years since I’ve been back to Seal Beach, though I’m there again when someone tells me about their experience reading Kathryn’s story. I can hear the sounds, smell the damp gritty air, and feel the pier under my feet as I walk out to Ruby’s, or at least where Ruby’s was when they tell me about my story and what touched them with humor or sadness. It is like a long-overdue family reunion, I revisit the nuns and the CPS office, especially Karen. The authenticity of the story I created and the ups and downs of the people, the moments of heroism, like when Race stood up and gave a passionate speech to Mother Elizabeth, the speeding on the freeway slipping through the gears in her Mustang, is all there among the words and pages as my dear reader talks to me. It is my hope that aspiring writers can have that same experience one day with their readers. “Chase after life with the drive of an eight-year-old chasing an ice cream truck.”

  Seal Beach is the quiet beach town I used for the setting for Kathryn’s hometown. While it was established in 1860, it had many name changes until it was incorporated as Seal Beach in 1915. Sometimes people on the beach can see the seals playing in the water near the beach. Walking down historic Main Street, the shop owners are at the ready to share stories about the town and its history. I have no reason to doubt the tales, although my memory of them may not be accurate. On this beach in 1923, the “Red Sea” was parted for the movie The Ten Commandments . I recall the beach being 0.8 miles in length; however, AI says that it is 1.5 miles long—I doubt that; I’ve walked it many times. Unlike some beaches, it is flat (no dunes), rock-free, and grass-free. If you look at the videos on this website, you can see this for yourself. On the left side of the pier the houses are closer to the water, and during winter storms they flood if the town didn’t truck in loads of sand and b...

If you know anything about me, you know that I am not an eBook fan. But, wait! eBooks are convenient, eBooks are inexpensive, says the reader. eBooks are a lot of work to create correctly for very little financial return on the investment of time. Let’s start with the fact that eBooks are not really books any more than a scroll or clay tablet is a book. eBooks are actually a digitalized story; not a book. The term is nothing more than propaganda to make readers think they are getting a book for cheap. eBooks are not owned by the reader. The price is only for access. Like a print book, eBook “purchases” do not include rights to the copyrighted material, nor do they come with distribution rights. The reason that I don’t like eBooks is that we have had two books pirated; as of Sept 1, 2025, now three books pirated. Remember the FBI warning on videos? The same warning should be at the start of eBooks. eBooks are intellectual property they are protected by DRM and the US, by COPYRI...

There seems to be an increased proliferation of book marketing companies springing up by the minute. Caveat Emptor. If your Latin is rusty that literally translates as “let the buyer beware.” This cautionary tale is especially aimed at self-published authors. The first time the internet bots crawl across the fact that you’re a writer, get ready for the deluge of unsolicited emails advising of services that you did not know that you needed or even wanted . Writers have a creative talent in the age-old craft of storytelling. These sudden inbox-stuffers want to make money on a writer’s need for readers. Most of these companies have vague terms for the packages/bundles on their websites. Most of them do not list the itemized price of the “services” in the package. Most of them will not allow a la carte purchases. Most of them will include praise for your book in their quest for your money. Most of them do not tailor their product to your product, and therefore are not targeting y...

In reference to writing fiction: What does it take to be a writer? Obviously, all it really takes is a Writer’s Spirit. However, according to experts on the internet, it takes regimented practices like setting daily word count goals, and a specific writing time each day, and having bios for the characters, and an outline for the complete story, and knowledge of AI (because you don’t know what literary devices are), and writing software (gladly pitched at the end of any random writing article, so your story is just like a million other stories). Also, there is the deadly Writer’s Block to avoid at all costs. Some people say to read books in your genre to learn to write. That makes as much sense as eating to learn to cook. Yes, read text books on writing or take classes to learn the craft, but copying someone else’s style doesn’t make you a writer; it makes you a copycat. To get you started, here is a list of 100 Literary Devices with examples: The Ultimate List.   https://blog.r...

Growing up, several kids I knew, including family, said they were going to be a writer when asked what they were going to be when they grew up. Me, always the smart mouth (it’s called satire) always answered that I wanted to be a politician or a comedian—it’s the same difference. Seriously, at the age of sixteen, I became a nurse’s aid and worked 32 hours a week at the local hospital while finishing the last two years of high school. My mom was a nurse and several of my cousins were nurses, so it was in my genes. I would be a nurse. During high school enrollment, I wanted to take chemistry, but the class didn’t fit my schedule. For no apparent reason, the counselor put me in creative writing. I have no idea what possessed her to do that, and it was not a class that appealed to me. Nonetheless, it was an easy class. To this day I’m not a fan of writing haiku poetry. What saved me was learning the mathematical formula for writing haikus. Fast-forward to the next year. I l...

  Some people may have noticed that my blog was in suspended animation. I could sign in, see all of the posts, and not add a new post. Periodically, I’d try to mess with it. Now, I’m going to start a new blog and call that good. Remember Backstreet Boys’ Backstreet’s Back or *NSYNC and Here We Go?   Kathryn and friends are back! In early October 2024, a friend and I were at coffee discussing writing, reading, publishing, and all things books. In a wave of nostalgia, I mentioned, “January [2025] will be the 25th anniversary of the trilogy.” My friend said that I should publish the 25th anniversary editions. While I was still considering the notion, the conversation progressed to putting all three novels under one cover in addition to republishing the individual books. Publishing the trilogy under one cover would be a lot of work. That’s a lot of formatting hours, plus Amazon’s KDP has a 550-page limit, which meant judiciously cutting some scenes. In the follo...