Black Friday eBook Extravaganza and How to Write Dialogue

Check my tabs for the iPad2 Giveaway and Blogfest. 

 

    I want to write about dialogue and how it's turned hilarious for me and my husband, but first, I need to tell you three things . . .

It's Black Friday, and

"The Golden Sky" is now an eBook!

Click HERE to include on your to-read list. 

    Its normal eBook price is 10.99, but for today (Black Friday) only, it will be $4.99 and 20% of the proceeds will go to help families who are suffering with infant loss.

To purchase it as an eBook or download a free sample, please go here:

    To purchase a physical copy of the book, please click this button:

     For a review about "The Golden Sky," a very helpful one was posted yesterday.

The Golden Sky Review

    Also, like I wrote in my previous post, two of my short stories were published in a Christmas anthology called "Christmas Lites."

    I hope you'll enjoy this sneak peek of the first story I wrote.

    The mint air swirled around me. I hate the stupid waiting room. I never know what The Receptionist will say. She has mile-high blonde hair, blue eyeshadow, bubblegum, and fake nails. The aquarium in the middle of the room is filled with miniature sea monsters from the cretaceous period. It’s not what it seems, though.
    I stared at everyone in the cluttered room and noticed the men next to me--they reeked of death.
    Wasn't it enough that I, Grace E. Garner, had died, perishing on Christmas day at the age of twenty-six? Now I was stuck in the same room with a bunch of physcos, a dead female televangelist (the Receptionist), and some monstrous fish. I wondered why the Receptionist worked there and not for Lucifer on the first floor.

    Dive into a world of variety—a world of spirit with this Creative Reviews anthology. What better way to celebrate the holiday season than with some short stories that entertain and encompass the true meaning of Christmas? All proceeds of this book will be donated to the NCADV. Debut authors and published authors have come together in this one-of-a-kind compilation—please help support a great cause and plunge deep into our imaginations.

"Christmas Lites" can be purchased through

Amazon

and

Smashwords.

    The last order of business, before I begin this post about dialogue, is that "The Golden Sky" blogfest has been going on for one week.  I've still been reading a few posts each day, and they are life changing!  Although, the Ipad2 Giveaway is still continuing, and the winner won't be announced until December 17th, I wanted to award the smaller prizes today.

Bodacious Boomer

and

A Mourning Mom
Have each won a physical copy of my book.


A Year On... Our New Beginning {hopefully}

After Jillian

and

Kristy K. James

Have each won an eBook version of my book.

Regected Riter

Time Out Momma

 and

McGuffys Reader 

Have each one a copy of my music CD.

In addition to those prizes, Tarah Scott has been generous

and contributed two of her books as prizes!

Vive le nerd

and

The Blog Starts Here 

Have won those books.

    Thank you, everyone, for participating in the blogfest.  I'm still going to continue reading your posts.  They have brightened my holidays with hope.  Although life can be hard, your strength and perseverance are inspiring.

    And now, onto the post of the day.

    I've been polishing the prequel to "The Golden Sky," and I let Cade read it.
    Apparently, I have a hard time writing male dialogue.  Cade says that in one section his dialogue is all wrong because he sounds like a woman!  There's nothing quite like having a real live character complaining about how they talk in a book.  Note to self--ditch non-fiction. 

    Half of me is tempted to make it even worse, though.  I could have Cade talking about how much he loves romantic movies (since there is one he loved).  I'd like to see his reaction then--ha ha. 

    Welcome to . . . Male Dialogue.

    The other day Cade talked to me on the phone.  

    "I finished 'Bible Girl,' but you have my dialogue all wrong in one chapter.  I didn't say the word lovely.  I'm sure I said the mountains were nice.  I didn't say they were lovely."

    "I swear you'd say something like that."  I stifled a giggle.

    "I've never used the word lovely.  "

    "But you just said it, right now."  

    "I bet I said the mountains were nice."

    "Even though they were breathtaking . . . gorgeous?"

    He stayed quiet, a man of few words.

    "Seriously, would you ever use the word 'lovely' in a sentence?" I asked.

    "No."

    "Well, what if you thought something was lovely, what would you say then?"

    "Huh?"

    "Like a lovely wedding dress, flower or something."

    He paused.  "I'd say it was nice . . . not lovely."

    "So that's your only beef with the male dialogue in that chapter?"

    "Yeah, I guess . . . Just don't use the word lovely when I'm talking."

    "'Cause tough guys don't use the word lovely?"

    "Exactly.  Tough guys use the word nice.  If it'll help, I can go through my dialogue and rephrase things to how I'd really say them."

    "Ummm . . . sure.  Thanks for your help."

    I'd had him go through the book to see if he could remember any more details from the past, I didn't think he'd notice something like that.  It's a good thing he did though.

    It suddenly felt strange.  Fiction writers never deal with this.  Yet I talked with a real life character from my books, and he was upset about misrepresentation!  

   How would you deal with this?  Of course I'll fix it and welcome any help I can get, but what would you do if one of your characters came up to you and complained about their dialogue?

    I guess writing non-fiction can be a good thing.  I learn more about my characters a.k.a. family and friends everyday. 

    As we ate Thanksgiving dinner, I hung onto every word Cade said.

    "What are you doing?" he asked.

    "Just listening to the way you talk . . . but my, it is lovely."

    "Right."  He laughed and took another bite of his mashed potatoes and gravy.  "So, lovely."

    I knew he'd use the word someday--I just knew it!