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Meet me at the café with the unique river view

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The managers of Bestseller’s Café in Medford, Massachusetts have invited me to give an author chat on Sunday, October 5th at 2 p.m. I plan to talk about getting published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game and sign books.

Bestsellers Cafe CappuccinoBestseller’s Café is a lovely establishment. The Boston Globe calls this independent bookstore and café stunning, with its bamboo floors, long counter filled with home-baked goods, and menu of soups, sandwiches, paninis, coffees and teas. So if you have time, stop by the afternoon of October 5th.

 

A Retreat Center Offers the Solitude a Writer Needs

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My cat, Savannah, loves my manuscript. She loves to lie on it, bite the corners of the pages, claw the spiral binding. A few mornings ago, she backed up, sprang forward and pounced on it, ripping out a page. I’d had enough.

What Savannah doesn’t understand is that I love my manuscript too, possibly more than she does. I hope to one day see my manuscript published, taking its place on the shelf alongside other novels at your friendly neighborhood bookstore. In order to make that possibly happen, I need to have peace and quiet to work on revisions. So I ran away from home, but only for a weekend. I left Savannah with my husband. I blotted images from my mind of Savannah scaling the window screen like Spiderman as I backed the car out of the parking lot—a feeble attempt on her part to gain my sympathy and change my mind about leaving. I became gleeful as my home became tinier and tinier in my rearview mirror.

Retreat ManuscriptThe retreat center, where complete silence was required, was just what I needed to enter the world of my characters and stay there until I’d read through to the final page. That was one of the best ways to discover inconsistencies in the story, dialogue that didn’t seem to work, repeated phrases.

Retreat BedThe retreat center accommodations included a modest room with a twin bed, desk, and closet. Three hot meals were provided, lush grounds and walking trails for getting in touch with your thoughts. I got more done in two days than I would have in two weeks, going about my normal routine of work, the gym, household distractions, Savannah.

So writers, next time your birthday or a holiday rolls around you’ll know what to ask for, not one of those fancy metallic ball point pens you’ll end up losing in the couch cushion, not one of those blank books you’ll never get around to using, but a stay at a retreat center.

 

I had one of those anxiety dreams last night

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She looks how I feel

She looks how I feel

I hate it when that happens. In this one, I am back at Southern New Hampshire University in the final weeks of my low residency MFA program in creative writing. I realize that I have not done any of the course work needed to graduate in a few weeks. I scramble around, looking for slips of paper with the professors’ assignments on them. My classmates graduate and I am left behind. All of the tuition money I spent is wasted.

I know why I had this dream. I am at a critical stage with my manuscript. I am fine tuning my query letter and plan to begin sending it out next week in search of a literary agent to represent me. I’m taking a leap of faith. Will my manuscript soar or will it sink? The prospect of rejection makes me anxious. I wonder how other authors feel when they get to this stage with their work. I’d love to hear from you.

 

The Ultimate Second Date Tip for Writers

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TownieThe evening is concluding. You’ve wined. You’ve dined. You’re interested in a second date. Maybe. But how do you bring up the topic without feeling awkward. How can you find out more about your date beyond the superficial without sounding like a cop conducting an interrogation? Ask your date to read a book with you. Organize a private book club with a membership of two. Pick a book that could generate lots of discussion.  Memoirs and nonfiction can work well, but fiction can also be an option.

When my husband and I were dating, we both agreed to read the memoir, Townie, by Andre Dubus. Townie served as a springboard for my husband and me to talk about all kinds of topics without feeling like we had to be careful of what we said or on our best behavior to try to keep each other impressed. A book club for two will give you an opportunity to get to know your date without the pressure of a date.

An interesting note: I chatted with Dubus this evening at a book event where he did a reading and signing and he told me that when he and his wife were dating they also read a book together.

Local restaurant serves up real-life inspiration for my manuscript

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Teranga's Stephane Lamour

Teranga’s Stephane Lamour

One of the characters in my yet-to-be-published novel is a restaurant owner from Senegal. He serves sumptuous meals that keep the other characters coming back to patronize him. Not so coincidentally, many of the dishes served are inspired by selections on the menu of real-life Senegalese restaurant Teranga in Boston’s South End.

Owner, Marie-Claude Mendy, has been a great help to me in learning more about the Senegalese culture, taking the time to gather her friends for lively conversations with me. Teranga serves as the inspiration for the restaurant in my manuscript. I’ve done my best to accurately depict what it’s like to go to a Senegalese restaurant and how appealing the food is.

Pictured above is Teranga’s Stephane Lamour, who studied at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts,  preparing a delicious coconut appetizer from the m

 

Announcing the winner of the literary trivia quiz!

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A few weeks ago I posted a literary trivia quiz about famous writers. The prize was an autographed copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game. The contestant with the most questions answered correctly is Reshma Kodandaram. Reshma is a university student majoring in journalism and business. She hopes one day to become a foreign correspondent for a major news organization. Being able to answer all of the questions correctly in this trivia quiz will give her a great start!

Here are the trivia questions with the correct answers.

  1. Which 19thcentury writer continuously got his wife pregnant and then got mad at her when she was too tired to travel with him overseas on his lecture tour? (Charles Dickens)
  2. Which writer, who in later years became famous during the Harlem Renaissance, strung along a high school romantic interest through letters for years with no intent of having a relationship with her? (Langston Hughes)
  3. Which married 20th Century writer invited other women into his bed while his wife was in it, knowing that the wife would lie there in humiliation and pretend to be asleep? (Ernest Hemingway)
  4. Which contemporary author spent much of his youth getting into bar brawls and street fights, partially because of his anger at his father, also an author? (Andre Dubus)
  5. Which contemporary author spent much of his youth being raised by the regulars who frequented his neighborhood’s bar? (J.R. Moehringer)
  6. During the 1800s this author helped a financially struggling African-American law student pay his tuition at one of the most prestigious universities in the country. The law student in later years mentored Thurgood Marshall, who later because U.S. Supreme Court Justice.(Mark Twain)
  7. This writer was tossed into jail repeatedly for what was called “The love that dare not speak its name” (Oscar Wilde)
  8. This writer was a college dropout who moved in with reclusive writer J.D. Salinger. The relationship ended when he announced to her that he didn’t want anymore children. (Joyce Maynard)
  9. This prolific writer’s relationship with prison inmates inspired the two novels that launched her career. (Danielle Steel)
  10. Oprah sought advice from this author and poet. (Maya Angelou)

Will you join me on my writing blog tour?

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I have been invited by writer Barbara Beckwith to participate in a writing process blog tour. I have enjoyed getting to know Barbara through her work with the National Writers Union. During the years that I was the president of the Women’s National Book Association Boston chapter, she and I conferred on joint activities. Barbara is an accomplished essayist. You can read more about her on her blog. This tour has included Leslie Brunetta, Ken Wachsberger, and Adina Schecter.

Lisa Braxton’s Writing Blog Tour

What am I working on?

I’m working on a novel. I’m completing final revisions and plan to begin sending the manuscript out to literary agents before the end of July. The manuscript is set in the 1970s in a struggling New England urban community. The two sets of main characters are from different sections of the same town and are profoundly affected by an urban redevelopment project taking place. The novel explores issues of race, class, culture, and social responsibility.

In addition, I had a story published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game and have written three additional stories that I’ve submitted to the editors of the Chicken Soup Series that I hope will be accepted. I have also written an article for Guideposts magazine that I hope will be accepted.

Why do I write?

I enjoy expressing myself creatively through the written word. I write short stories, magazine articles drawing from my journalism background, and essays. When readers tell me that my writing inspired them, gave them hope, made them cry, made them reflect on their own situations, then I feel that I’ve done my job well.

How does my work differ from others in the genre?

My professors at the MFA program at Southern New Hampshire University told me that no two people can tell a story the same way. I hope that I bring something unique to the reading experience.

How does my writing process work?

I write with my feet up in the bed. I write on the couch. I write in the library, during my lunch break at work, at the crack of dawn at the kitchen table, while I’m under the hair dryer at the hair dresser, while on airplanes. Whenever I can fit in a few moments of writing, I write.

So now it’s your turn. What do you think of the writing blog tour? Care to join me? How about some fellow alums of the Southern New Hampshire University MFA program. Let me know.

My commencement speech at Messiah is available for viewing

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I’ve decided to post my speech from June 28 at the Messiah Baptist Church Scholarship luncheon in Bridgeport on my blog. I know that some people were unable to attend my MESSIAH SPEECH , so I thought I’d make my remarks public.

The return of the lady with the sharpened pencils in her quiver

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Wile E CoyoteRaod RunnerI know it’s a cliché, but I’ll use it anyway. I’m shaking in my boots. About 10 months ago I sat down with the lady with the sharpened pencils in her quiver, S.W., the retired editor of a major academic publishing house, to hear her critique of my manuscript that I hope to one day soon turn into a novel.

Afterwards, I felt like Wile E. Coyote in one of those old Warner Brothers Looney Tunes with The Roadrunner, in which Wile E. is flattened by his own steamroller. Once I peeled myself off the floor and hosed down my manuscript I went to work revising it. I’ve been in “the bunker” for the past 10 months, rising before dawn, taking cat naps in the evening. My eyeballs have the texture of sandpaper on a good day. I recently returned the new version to S.W., confident she’d read it without finding any “speed bumps.” I put a star in magic marker on my calendar to mark the date I plan to start soliciting literary agents.

In my cockiness, I asked S.W. if we could meet at the tail end of an upcoming meeting of our monthly book club gathering. What was I thinking? In her private school headmistress voice, she responded, “My dear, you must think I only have a few corrections.”

My stomach began to roil. Now we’ve now come up with a date which will give us plenty of time for discussion. Since then, I’ve gotten another email from her. She said, “About your manuscript, Lisa, ‘Then’ is not a conjunction. Do you have a copy of Strunk and White? If not, you may borrow mine.”

Strunk and White? Didn’t I read that freshman year of college? Gulp!

I’m steeling myself for this next critique and dusting off the fire extinguisher in case I can’t stamp out the flames on my manuscript the old-fashioned way. Afterwards, it may be back to the bunker for me.

Why public speaking is so important to an author

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public-speakingLast week my husband and I gave a presentation at a lunch ‘n learn  event at the university where he works. Lunch ‘n learn is a training or educational event held during the lunch hour. Our 60-minute presentation was on a topic he has been researching for years and one I find intriguing. I had several goals: to support my husband’s efforts, present information that would capture the attention of the audience and make them want to hear more, and practice my presentation skills. They will come in handy after I’ve landed that contract with a publisher, gotten my manuscript published, and embarked on an author tour.

I understand some authors are loath to speak in public, but public speaking can be critical to promoting your book. A great way to get practice is to volunteer to speak before audiences big and small on a topic you have expertise in. It doesn’t have to be about your yet-to-be published book. And while you’re at it, pass out those business cards or post cards you had made up with your blog address on them. You’ll begin to build an audience and drive traffic to your blog, helping to make yourself attractive prospective agents.

 

Encouraging words from a bestselling author

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Bechloss and Lisa

I had an opportunity to chat with Michael Beschloss, historian and commentator on PBS News Hour and NBC News. Beschloss made a speech at a work convention I’m attending in Las Vegas. After his talk, I purchased a copy of his book, Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, and got him to autograph it.

I told him about the novel I’m writing. He seemed intrigued by the topic and was encouraging. Every so often it’s good for an aspiring author to have a conversation with someone like Beschloss. It gives us hope while we’re toiling away at our manuscripts, wondering if they’ll ever get published.

Fun trip to the local Barnes and Noble

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Heather Chicken Soup BookVisiting Chino Hills, California this week for my goddaughter, Heather’s high school graduation, we decided to stop in Barnes and Noble in one of the malls. I’m happy to report that Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game was on the shelf. Heather took a peek inside at my story, “Short Distance Romance.” She was tickled to see godmommy’s name in print.