Kay LaLone's Writing Pet Peeve

Author, Kay LaLone

My writing pet peeve

Hi, I’m Kay LaLone author of Ghostly Clues. My first middle grade novel and I hope not my last. Everyone has a pet peeve, right? My pet peeve is people’s attitude or misconception they have about writers. Most people I know think writing is just a hobby, not a job or a career. Writing is hard work. I have worked years on my craft and have written many stories that might not ever get published. But that is not why I write. I write because I love to write and I have a story to tell whether I ever get another book published or not. (Hopefully I do) To me writing is a career, a job.

I’m a stay-at-home mom which is a job that I love also. I have two grown sons, a daughter-in-law (still waiting on grandchildren) and a teenage son still at home. Writing and mothering are very similar because first I must learn to listen to my characters just like I listen to my children. I need to know them, now what they want and need. Once I know my characters, then I’m able to tell their story. Just like my children, my characters need to grow. How do my characters grow? I put them into situations, conflicts, and problems. There have been many problems my children have gone through that have taught them and as a result they have grown. When my characters have grown and are ready, I send them out into the world. Just like my two older sons.  My teen is still learning and growing.

So it bothers me when people think writing is just a hobby and not a career. People don’t realize that writing is hard work especially when my characters aren’t talking to me. (I’ve been there plenty of times with my kids) Then once I do get a rough draft, there is like what a million revisions to go through before I feel it is ready to send to a publisher. Once I send my masterpiece out (we all write masterpieces, right?), then comes the rejections, and then more revisions before I get the courage to send it back out. Then a magical day happens and there is a publisher who wants to publish my story. (thank you MuseItUp) Happy dance time before back to work on edits. Publication day comes and my book is out there for the world so see. How exciting. My job is done. I can sit back and relax while the money rolls in. Umm … no. Now it is promoting time. Getting the attention of my readers to read my book is hard work. Sometimes I find it hard to work on my next project, but I do.

So people can’t tell me that writing is just a hobby. To me my writing is a career and that is the way I look at it. I work at my writing everyday. And I know someday, my attitude will help my friends and family understand that yes writing is a career. It may take a lifetime to make any money at my career. But one of these days, I hope to make a living off my writing. If I don’t make a lot of money, I’ll continue to write because just like being Mom I love to tell my characters stories. Believe me. My characters have a lot of stories to tell.

Thank you, Victoria, for hosting me on your blog.

Media Kit for Ghostly Clues

Blurb

The sweet scent of lilacs permeates the air around Grandma’s gravesite. Only Sarah Kay can smell Grandma’s favorite flower, and they’re not even in bloom. 

Sarah Kay and her best friend, Mary Jane, believe the lilacs are a sign from Grandma’s ghost. The girls follow one ghostly clue after another, uncovering a secret that Mom never wanted Sarah Kay to know.

Grandma makes sure Sarah Kay gets the message even from the grave. As the evidence piles up, Mom still refuses to accept the possibility Sarah Kay’s father is alive.

Sarah Kay finds Dad’s parents. A set of grandparents she didn’t realize existed. They make it clear her father is alive but days and miles separate the father and daughter reunion because Dad is a truck driver on a long haul. 

Sarah Kay waits. The news reports a fatal car accident involving a semi and Sarah Kay fears the worse. She runs away which leads to Dad and the truth, Mom wanted Dad to remain dead.

Dad had faked his death so why not just stay dead.  The ghostly clues of Grandma wouldn’t allow Dad to remain dead to Sarah Kay.

Excerpt

The house was blanketed in a quiet slumber. I snuggled under the sleeping bag with Allison, trying not to think about ghosts, as I drifted to sleep.

Random pictures floated in my mind like ghostly images.

I tiptoed among tombstones and my heart ached as if I had lost something or someone. He had to be here, somewhere. The gravestones rose like stone walls. No names engraved on them. No dates. No R.I.P. Nothing. Just smooth, flat stones. Ghosts—grayish, smoky forms with black eyes—floated over the tombstones.  I shivered, suddenly cold, freezing. My breath visible like a little ghost. I didn’t want to look at the ghost anymore so I looked down at my feet. A tombstone with Grandma’s name appeared out of nowhere. The earth moved. The dirt around the headstone broke away and gnarled fingers clawed their way into the air, searching, grasping. Shriveled fingers clutched my leg.  

Something grabbed at my leg—the hand, I screamed and frantically wiggled out of my sleeping bag, bumping MJ as I tried to get away from the hand I thought I felt grab at my leg.

Bio

I’m Kay LaLone. Ghostly Clues is my first middle grade novel published by MuseItUp. I live in Michigan with my husband and teenage son (two older sons and a daughter-in-law live near by) and two dogs and a cat. I love to get up every morning and write about ghosts, the paranormal, and anything that goes bump in the night. Or anything that interest my characters. Making my characters come to life for readers is important to a good story. I’m an avid reader of just about any type of book. I do reviews on the books I read and post them on my website and blog.

Links

MuseItUp

http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=527&category_id=144&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

My website   www.kaylalone.weebly.com

My blog  www.kaylalone.blogspot.com

Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/ghostlyclues

Twitter   https://twitter.com/kaylalone

Barnes & Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ghostly-clues-kay-lalone/1114821562?ean=2940044359321

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Ghostly-Clues-ebook/dp/B00AFGJRLM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365020103&sr=8-1&keywords=ghostly+clues

Smashwords

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/292448