Notes from OCW: Tiffany Schofield from Five Star Publishing "We're Searching for Your Voice"

Last weekend I attended the 49th annual Ozark Creative Writers conference in historic Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I attended my first OCW conference about 20 years ago and attended faithfully for more than ten years, but due to family circumstances I've missed several of the annual conferences, but I was thrilled to make the trip this year!

 

If you've never been to OCW or visited Eureka Springs, you're missing a wonderful opportunity to hear from some amazing writers and publishers and see some eye-popping scenery.

 

After attending a writing conference like OCW I'm inspired and want to shout from the rooftops, so for my next series of blog posts I will share some of what I learned over the weekend. 

 

First up is keynote speaker Tiffany Schofield, from Five Star Publishing.

 

Tiffany is shown here wearing the sparkly red cowboy hat presented to her by Lou Turner, President of OCW.

 

In Tiffany's opening talk, she spoke with candor and enthusiasm about her love of writers and her joy in discovering new voices at Five Star Publishing. Her passion for books and writers was evident all weekend. She was approachable and knowledgeable -- and did I mention that she loves to talk to writers?

 

Here are some general comments I jotted down from Tiffany's opening presentation:

 

What you do matters

Literature has a way of finding us; story chooses its writer

Challenge the norms

Look for opportunity, not power
Be that rebel spirit
Put your own voice into the story
Write what you love and what that story is telling you
Writing is a solitary journey that can become part of something bigger
Don’t be afraid of the voice in your story

Listen to your characters

Pair the voice with the characters

Challenge the norms
Readers love to be challenged
Avoid head hopping
Don’t confuse your reader

 

Here are some of Tiffany's more specific remarks about Five Star:

Five Star is a niche market known for sales to libraries

Their books get reviewed in: Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus, and Booklist

Their three genre lists are: Mystery, Western, and Frontier Fiction

Frontier Fiction is genre bending, combining elements of western and mystery, even paranormal and sci-fi. The setting is the American frontier, pre-1920
Frontier thriller is very popular in the library market
Fiction writers writing historical fiction do more research than nonfiction writers
Find an historical character and be sure to get historical details correct

** My favorite quote from Tiffany: “Books are better than chocolate, and I love chocolate.”

 

I'll post information about Five Star's submission process in a future post.    

Thoughts on Creativity: Chocolate Covered Bacon, Anyone?

Yesterday was unseasonably warm for mid-January. With the temperature hoovering around 70 degrees, it was a perfect day to be out and about. Because it also was a holiday, a group of eight of us met for lunch at Lewis and Clark in St. Charles, MO, to celebrate my niece's birthday. Maybe it was the warm weather, but I decided to try something different. I ordered the spicy gumbo soup and house salad. It was the first time I had their gumbo, and it was a spicy surprise. I would order it again.

After lunch, four of us decided to take a walk down Main Street and visit some shops. First on our agenda was Main Street Book Store. Vicky, the owner, welcomed us warmly, and we chatted a bit. The store looks great. I intended to ask if Vicky had any copies of the St. Louis Writers' Guild anthology, but as usual I got side-tracked talking and looking around and forgot to ask. After my sister bought a crossword book for her husband, we were on our way.

The warm weather brought out shoppers. The street was busy, which is a good thing for the merchants, but not so good if you're trying to jay-walk across the street.

After a few more stops I bought some candles, and my sister-in-law found a cute pair of earrings. Next was Riverside Sweets for their peanut brittle, which my brother-in-law claims is the best he's ever eaten, and my husband also likes to munch on. Their chocolate-covered pretzels are yummy.  The store was crowded, with long lines to order ice cream and pay for candy. Some folks, entered, saw the long lines, then left.

After paying, I waited outside for the others in our group. I watched a husband, wife, grandma, and young girl about seven walk in then quickly exit. The girl complained, "But Daddy, I want an ice cream." Her father told her, "Life's a b****. We need to find a bathroom."  Why would a dad talk to his daughter that way, no matter how badly he needed to find a bathroom?

As we wandered to our cars I spotted a sign at another store. The white, letter-size sign was hand-printed in black and read: "CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON."  I did a second take on that one and wished I'd brought my camera.

My first thought was that eating meat covered with chocolate just doesn't seem right. As much as I like chocolate (and bacon is okay), I don't think meat dipped in chocolate would be tasty.  But what do I know? I've eaten ham cooked with brown sugar and pineapple on top. Maybe the chocolate covered bacon is a sweet and salty combination like a chocolate-covered pretzel.

As I got in the van and drove home I decided that judging without trying limits my experiences and narrows my thinking. While I doubt that I'll ever try the chocolate-covered bacon, my lesson yesterday was to enjoy the surprises in life--like 70 degree weather in January and spicy gumbo soup--and be open to new ideas and experiences. Isn't that what creativity is all about?

What about you? Have you tried something you didn't think you'd like but were pleasantly surprised?

Recipe for Five-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Today in St. Peters, MO: Mostly sunny, high 30 degrees. Sunshine, lovely, wonderful sunshine!

It may be cold outside, but there's nothing like hot chocolate to keep warm. And how about Hot Chocolate Cake? Here's a recipe (complete with photos) e-mailed to me by a friend. I don't know where the recipe originated and haven't tried it yet, but it sounds yummy. It's been called "the most dangerous cake recipe in the world." Read on to find out why.

Five-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

1 quick splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to the mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil, mix well again. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Place mug in the microwave and cook for three minutes at 1000 watts.

The cake will rise over the top of the mug.

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate.

EAT! (this can serve two if you want to share).

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?

Because now we are only five minutes away from home-made chocolate cake.

Bad Days, Sleepless Nights, and Free Chocolate

Today's forecast for St. Peters, MO: Partly cloudy, high 85 degrees.

There's nothing like chocolate to help elevate my mood. And, boy, after the day (and night) I had yesterday, I sure could use some chocolate today!

Yesterday morning started off wonderfully. My grandson Michael's class play and poetry recitation were outstanding! The fourth graders did a fantastic job. As I prepared to leave school, Michael complained he had an upset stomach, which is a ploy he has used several times before when I visited school so he can leave with me. Our van must have miraculous powers, because on several occasions after I would let him leave with me, he would be miraculously healed, even asking for Chicken McNuggets on the way home.

Yesterday, I wasn't falling for it. I told him he probably would feel better after lunch and recess, which generally is true. Plus I had lunch plans of my own with my sister and some friends--something I hadn't done in quite some time.

My lunchtime fun stopped after my cell phone rang. It was my husband Walt.

Unless it's something urgent, I don't like to talk on the cell phone, especially on those rare occasions I'm able to go out with friends. Walt knows how I feel, so when I noticed a missed call followed immediately by a voicemail message while I was at lunch, I knew it had to be important.

I excused myself from the table and listened to Walt's message. "Call me when you get this."

I called back right away. "What's wrong?" I asked, hoping Michael wasn't really sick.

He cleared his throat and said, "The washer caught on fire."

Okay. This was not what I expected to hear. True, the washer had been making funny noises for a couple of days and Walt took the back panel off the night before to check it out, declaring the engine was about shot. We planned to get a new washer over the weekend, hoping there would be a sale. It was a holiday weekend, right? Everybody has some sort of sales on holiday weekends.

By the end of the conversation I found out that fortunately Walt was at home when the washer motor caught on fire. No damage, but a lot of inconvenience and mess.

Well, at least I had a conversation piece for the remainder of lunch, plus it would be a good story to tell the kids on the drive home from school later in the day.

Granddaughter Cari and the rest of the carpool were fascinated when I told them about the washer catching on fire. Michael was mostly quiet. As soon as we got home, he went straight to bed, not bothering to change his school uniform, and complaining he felt like he had to throw up. He didn't even want his usual after-school snack. And when some neighborhood friends rang the bell to see if he wanted to play, he wouldn't budge.

A little bit later, the "fun" began. I won't describe all the details; I'll just say it was a not-so-sweet mess, which required scrubbing the carpet, changing all the bedding, and washing down the walls. And that wasn't nearly as bad as the guilt from thinking Michael was faking being sick to leave school early.

Then the even worse reality sunk in. With the washer broken, I could not wash the clothes, towels, and piles of bedding. So, I rinsed them all out and soaked everything in the hallway bathroom tub.

Sleep didn't come easy last night for Michael, or me. After even more episodes and more dirty towels and linens, I resorted to piling everything in our master bathroom tub.

Thank goodness the washer will be delivered today--between noon and 4 p.m.--they promise.

Okay, this is long and whiney post, so how about some good news for a change?

How about free chocolate? Yep. You heard me. Don't you think we all deserve it?

Here's the deal: Every Friday through September, Mars (the candy people, not the solar planet) will give away free chocolate to 250,000 people. To participate, you need to sign up at their special Real Chocolate Relief Act website, where "sweet relief is on the way."

I could use some "sweet relief" right about now. How about you?