One of the things that’s been keeping me on the edge of my seat has been that my debut novel has been with an editor, and for quite some time now. Like me at the moment, editing is not her 9-5 job. Rather than obsess, I busy myself with other projects, waiting to hear that she’s done.
Well, she is! I’m so excited to get these edits back and work on implementing them to release this summer. I just wanted to share the news with you all. Carry on…
Hi, my name is Josh Cleveland and I’ve never done this before. Are blogs like essays? Are they conversational, or formal? What’s this one even about? I know they have themes and stuff, and I want to stay on theme. My teachers say sometimes I don’t always stay on theme when it comes to my writing, so I want this to be right. I did take a look at some of the other entries the people in my town have written here, and a lot of them are about themselves, so here goes.
Like I said, my name is Josh Cleveland. I’m 17 years old and I go to Glass High School. My life isn’t particularly special or anything, my parents are divorced, but whose aren’t today? I know! My life has had this really wild change: a kid from my school moved in at my dad’s house. His name is Turner Moore, and I’m not completely convinced the reason he’s there is the actual reason he’s there. I know his parents travel for work a lot, and his friend Jay said he stayed with them, or when he got older, they let Turner stay in the house alone if it was just for a couple days or something.
But this time is weird. They’ve gone somewhere for an undetermined amount of time. That’s super vague if you ask me, but it’s pretty cool to have a brother when I’m over there. Younger twin sisters isn’t always my idea of a good time. Yeah, we’re close, especially since the divorce, but I’ve wished for a brother or a close friend – like what Turner and Jay were – for a long time now. It seems like I’ve gotten it, but under some sad circumstance
Again, Turner’s parents are “out of town” for god knows why. Maybe one day I’ll find out the real reason, but for now, I’m just glad he’s around. The sad part, Jay died. There was some incident or other over by Glass Creek and, well, he lost his life because of it. I suspect Turner was a part of it, but I don’t know how, and no one’s confirming or denying anything. Still, secret meetings with lawyers and cops, the group of men that seem to follow Turner everywhere, and the way Turner himself seems a little more focused and closed off than usual.
I think my family was chosen specifically for whatever it is Turner needs. We go to school together, we’re on the swim team together, and we have all the same classes at GHS, but Turner goes to JHU in the afternoons as part of their dual enrollment program. He’s super smart. I heard he wore out the AP classes at GHS last year, so the program I guess is a way to keep him in school all day so he can keep his schedule close to mine. He takes the shuttle to and from the JHU campus. During the swim season, we have swim practice after school, and I drive us home. My sisters stay and watch practice or they drive themselves home and my dad picks us up. When it’s not swim season, I drive all four of us home right after school. But that’s not exactly weird, it’s efficient. Why drive two or more cars when we’’re all going to the same place for the same amount of time?
Is there anything else you want to know? You could ask the writer of this blog and they can ask me, and report back or whatever. Anyway, thanks for listening.
Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers and father figures! Take a few minutes today to call him, text him, or go visit him if you can. My dad usually escapes to his “happy place” in Northern Michigan, but I make sure to call and text. It makes his day.
No matter what your father’s parenting style may have been during your formative years, most dads still love their children. When you were a child saying “that’s not fair!” or “I hate you for this!” he was bearing through it, possibly with a little sadness for your attitude but also holding out to teach you a lesson. Dads show love in the sneakiest ways, too. You might not even really realize it until you look back on your time with him. Hugs, kisses, and bedtime stories may not have been his thing – or he was hardworking man who worked third shifts for 25 years to support the family. But he showed it in other ways:
– He came to your school to give presentations about his job to your class – and as he walked through the halls to leave, got pulled into a dozen more classrooms to speak to those children as well
– He took you to softball practice and cheered you on at every practice and game
– He was the coach for your floor hockey team
– He came to swim meets, football games, and theater productions
– He never stopped supporting you, no matter what
As you grew older and your life changed, so did his. When you graduated from college, he was there. When you got married and moved out of state to start a new life with your new spouse, he said goodbye – then probably went somewhere to shed a few tears. When you called to tell him you were having a baby, he was thrilled, and went straight to his workshop to make “Baby’s First Putter” in an effort to have the child grow up to play the sport he loved.
Your dad may have done some of this, none of this, or all of this, but he never stopped being your dad. The great ones have never stopped loving you. Dads come in all forms these days: biological fathers, stepfathers, adoptive fathers, even uncles, cousins, or grandfathers who stepped in when no other father figure was around. He may have been an involved dad like the one described above, or a dad who was busy grinding and working hard to support the family. If your dad is no longer with you, he is still there in spirit.
So, if you love and appreciate your father, make sure he knows today.
What are some memories you have with your dad? Happy, sad, or in between. Let’s talk on Facebook!https://www.facebook.com/KeriRozanskyAuthor
Last month, my son graduated high school, this month, my nephew did. The ceremony was last Friday, and it was a good one. It took place at the same venue where my high school graduation was held 26 years ago! That doesn’t particularly matter I don’t think, but it is nice to know the facility is still being used for that by the area school districts.
There were several differences between my son’s graduation and my nephew’s. First, there was a difference of about 286 kids graduating. My son’s small Catholic high school had a graduating class of about 125, and my nephew’s public school graduated over 400 students!
It was a nice, but long ceremony. It ran nearly 30 minutes over its scheduled time, and we were all exhausted and ready to go home. But first – ice cream! We stopped in at a local DQ and between sitting and eating and standing outside to talk after the store closed and kicked us out, we didn’t make our way back home until nearly midnight, and didn’t arrive home until shortly before 1:30 a.m. Although the graduation should have been the highlight of the night, it was agreed by all that ice cream was the actual highlight.
Do you remember graduation? Was the highlight of the day or night the ceremony or the celebration afterward? Let’s talk on Facebook!
Based on a true story. There are dozens if not hundreds of movies made that have been based on a true story. But what does that mean? “Based” means the creators used some or all of the source material to create and present their story. Sadly, sometimes it means they bought the rights to the source material’s name and characters, then do whatever they want, often leaving audiences who loved the source material angry and upset.
But what about basing your characters on real people? If they’re celebrities or other well-know people, you’ll want to make sure you’re not disparaging them – that’s a lawsuit waiting to happen! But you can often get away with basing something on friends, family, or acquaintances a little easier. Me personally, I try to talk to those people to get their okay, but sometimes I just have to roll with it and let them know later. Of course, I let them read their character profile and some sections of the story to get their approval, especially when I’m turning them into something they’re not, like a lawyer I based off of a friend who has never been near a courtroom, or an honest-to-the-bone family member into a blackmailing snitch constantly trying to leverage their information to get what they want.
Sometimes, I even write stories about people specifically for them, for their entertainment. Currently, a short story I’m working on about a friend is turning into something longer. Depending on how long it gets, I’ll have to ask their permission to publish it as a novella or novel. Currently, my information is based on some discussions we’ve had and a basic physical description of him and elements of his personality. My imagination has taken it from there. I’ve been keeping him informed of the progress and some major plot points, and he’s loving it so far.
But keep in mind that if you want to write this way yourself, you should get the permission beforehand. Even if the saying is it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, once something is in print, there’s no going back. Even if it’s available for only a short time, or in a single medium, there’s still enough opportunity for someone to find it and save it.
What is your experience with creating stories and characters? Have you purposefully or accidentally based it on something you know (“write what you know!” after all) that others may not wish to have shared publicly? How did you fix it?
Let’s talk on Facebook!