Blog - Karen A. Chase

Knight Writers

May 17, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

This week I was very happily visited by Andrew Eddy, a fellow writer from Provence featured in my book, Bonjour 40. While he was here we went to Charlottesville, visiting Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and quite naturally, we hit an overwhelming number of bookstores. In a rare and antiquarian bookshop, I found a lovely copy of Ann Patchett’s book What Now?. Andrew and I went to the desk to pay, and both of us stood silent and mortified. There behind the counter was an owner of the store, with a knife in hand, slicing stone-engraved, hand-colored images of Medieval knights like the one above out of three antique books.

“It doesn’t bother you cutting up old books?” I gently asked. The man just shrugged as he tried to rationalize his craft. “It’s not as if it’s rare, dozens of colleges and bookstores have these… They’re too expensive for people to buy now because no one collects books… If I can sell the images for $95 a piece, I make more than having a book on my shelf I can’t sell… It’s what I need to do.”

I felt sad for the historians and future generations who will never see those books. I felt bad for the illustrations of the knights separated from one another, and from the words that explained them. I have an image of a book collector–ten, fifty or even one hundred years from now–cursing that stupid bookseller for tearing apart such a special book, as they struggle to recollect the images.

And what if it is rare? It reminds me of the story of the last man on Easter Island who cut down the last tree. It’s what I need to do, he probably said. And then their civilization died, and they had no way to make books to explain themselves!

So there were Andrew and I on one side of the counter, knowing we are pouring time and energy into building books we hope will be cherished for generations, while on the other side the books of our predecessors were slaughtered for parts. Bottom line, it wasn’t about the books, it was about bottom line. I think both Andrew and I would rather be on this side of the counter struggling to be brave knights creating, not destroying the words.

And as for that comment on the three books being rare, I’ll let you be the judge. The set he was slicing up was from 1824. A collection on ancient armor. The sets range in price from $3000-$7500 on ABE Books.

BONJOUR 40 Print Wins Three Book Publishing Awards

May 7, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

I am THRILLED to announce that my first print book, Bonjour 40: A Paris Travel Log, has won three (yes, three) independent book publisher awards.

Bonjour 40 won an IPPY Silver Medal for best Travel Essay in the Independent Book Publishers Award, and in the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards it won a Winners Medal for Best Design Non-fiction, and a Finalist Medal for Best Travel/Travel Guide.

What does this mean? It means a trip to New York City at the end of the month to attend the awards ceremonies (both of them if I can swing it, as they are on the same night). More importantly, I think it shows me that self-publishing is changing. In just the IPPY awards, the book went up against over 5000 participants from small- to mid-sized traditional publishers and university presses. Self-published used to mean unpublishable, but that stigma is changing as we are judged and win among the professionals.

Everything about this book (writing, design, photography, editing, production) was self-published, but I didn’t do it alone. So, a great shout out for those who helped me proof the book, and thank you to Kristen Weber and April Michelle Davis who helped me professionally edit the manuscript. Stay tuned for news and pictures from the trip to New York, and if you haven’t yet read it, I hope you’ll skip on over to Amazon and say Bonjour 40!

If you would like to share, publish or read the formal MSWord Press Release about Bonjour 40 wins, please do so.

Dove’s Superficial-Facial Campaign

May 3, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

When I first saw the new “Beauty Sketches” Dove commercial for women I was moved. Here was a national brand putting together a campaign to show women how truly beautiful they are, in an ingenious way. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch the spot; a forensic artist draws women as they describe themselves, and then as others do. The more beautiful drawing is not from their own description.

After seeing another commercial this week, I began to wonder if Dove is helping women to see ourselves more beautifully, or are they chastising us? The ad that made me reconsider my position was for a men’s face lotion, by none other than the same brand, Dove. It’s the “Men+Care” spot.

Instead of showing men crying and grieving over self-critical views of their own appearance, this one shows how Dove can help men as they get out there and engage in everything fun, playful, silly, natural, joyful and even awkward in life. While Dove’s women’s commercial shames them into seeing their own beauty, Dove celebrates men and their experiences, even the bad ones that result in the occasional face-slap. (They also did this man+care spot for the superbowl.)

So I’m sorry Dove, but in your view what makes a woman a woman, is how she sees herself on the outside. While what makes a man a man is all the life experiences he has (so he should protect his skin with a little face lotion). The shame is on you, Dove. It seems to me your branding for women is just a little too skin deep.

A little photo sampler of shots Ted has taken of me. What I don’t see is my skin, what I see is a life–a life of fun, silliness, friendships, family, love, and experiences–with makeup or none. Take that Dove.

Will Travel For Words: Down the Rabbit Hole

April 18, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

My April column on Shelf Pleasure,”Will Travel for Words,” is up and live. Come with me as I explore the Center of the Earth, the “Hidden Cities” of the world according to Moses Gates, and we’ll even take a little dive into dreamland… How writing fiction, bravery and exploration will lead us down the rabbit hole.

Bonjour Self-Publishing

April 12, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

Where can you learn about self-publishing? How about the library?

Friends of the Richmond Public Library have invited me to host their May author event to chat about all things self-publishing.

Friday, May 3 ~ 7:00 p.m.
Main Library ~ 101 East Franklin Street
Davenport Special Collections Room

When I first launched Bonjour 40, the blog, I had not intended to write a book based on it. However, once the publishing notion came along, I thought perhaps I would use this book, my first, as an experiment. By navigating self-publishing for both the e-book and print versions, I’ve learned a few things. I wish I had someone over a year ago who knew what I know now.

You can. We’ll chat about:

• Tips for blogging
• Going from blog to book
• E-book versus print
• Amazon, online retailers, and bookstores
• Self versus traditional publishing
• Self-promotion for self-publishers

I hope you’ll join us. Reward? Self-publishing know-how from a been-there, done-that author. Plus, two attendees receive a free signed copy of the book, and one of my Paris photographs.

Editing: A Horse By Any Other Name

March 29, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

I love working with a freelance editor for three reasons. First, a good editor not only points out where things need to improve but where I’ve done things well. I can learn to be a better writer from my own writing. Second, she sees the forest where I’ve seen trees. Reviewing it with her uncluttered eyes, she helps me focus on the central vein of my story that I should follow, and from which I have sometimes strayed. Third, she helps to highlight where my details are not furthering the story, but tripping up the reader, and taking them from that central path.

When nearly 300 pages of my manuscript returned from this latest round of editing, there were many good comments and naturally some areas that need some refinement. One of the issues was about the name of my protagonist’s horse. The name was Llamrei. “A name like this is tough to read,” she had noted. My editor was stumbling over it and it was dragging down the narrative. When she and I spoke on the phone, I admitted that many times I even typed it wrong. The name of the horse, agreeably had to change.

So I looked for historic horse names that were more easily pronounced. I found and chose “Bayard,” which means reddish-brown. Simple enough, but I also looked up the history of the name. The story of this horse goes all the way back to a twelfth century French legend, part of which according to Wikipedia includes:

“Bayard is ceded to Charlemagne who, as punishment for the horse’s exploits, has a large stone tied to Bayard’s neck and the horse pushed into the river; Bayard however smashes the stone with his hooves and escapes to live forever more in the woods.”

Here’s the strange thing… Many times in my writing to this point, the character and his horse are required to cross waterways, and each time I wrote about how the horse became frantic to the point that it needed to be blindfolded. No reason. Just wanted him to be that way. But now, it’s as if the horse’s new name explains why he is always afraid to cross rivers in my story… But I created this horse’s characteristic before I found the name. Before I read about the legend… Odd, right?

Did I know about Bayard somehow? Was he a part of me? Did I know the legend? Past life? This has happened more than once that details woven into my story somehow connect with history before I have fully learned the history.

It makes me wonder, is my historical fiction story not fiction at all? Could it be true…? {Twilight Zone music here.}

Other legends of the horse include that he could expand to the size required for the number of riders, and that he could speak English. Okay, so not ALL of the legends seemed to fit with the writing. (A public domain image.) — Other legends of the horse include that he could expand to the size required for the number of riders, and that he could speak English. Okay, so not ALL of the tales seem to fit with my writing. (A public domain image.)

Guest Post: Kelly Watts

March 15, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

My American Revolution manuscript has returned from my editor and I’ll be giving it some attention in the coming weeks. While my blog posts may be a little less frequent, I hope you’ll find them filled with more compelling information. This week, author Kelly Watts helps me out with a great guest post.

Kelly Watts moved to Australia a little over a year ago and just recently published her first book, “Sailing to Jessica,” the true story of her four-year sailing adventure with her husband that took them nearly around the world…that is until they met their daughter on a remote Pacific Island. Kelly…

A Book Trailer: Worth the Effort?

“Where does that fit in your project plan?” my husband demanded when I announced that I wanted to make a book trailer. Paul is a project manager by profession and I had begged him to help me plan my work because I was overwhelmed. Just as the composition of a book includes many elements, so does a book marketing plan. I needed to create a website; put together my social media, as well as format and upload print- and electronic- versions of my book. Before Christmas. That gave me two months. Make a book trailer too? No wonder Paul thought I was mental! But I had just seen my first book trailer, and it was COOL.

I had to have one.

What material could I use for my book trailer? While I had taken tons of photos on our sailing trip, I only had a handful of videos. Friends suggested holding up placards in front of the video camera, or having someone interview Paul and I. Ultimately I used variations on both ideas. I studied the movie trailer templates in Apple’s iMovie as a guide. I purchased a single-purpose license for the music online. I whittled down my 289-page book into 50 compelling words and created my trailer. I tried not to spoil the story while setting the reader’s expectations–a tough balance for a book that includes two very different reading genres, sailing and adoption.

Was it worth the effort? You decide. On December 16th, I posted my Sailing to Jessica YouTube trailer on my personal Facebook profile to my 200 friends and so did Paul. It was subsequently mentioned on two other blogs. As of February 14th, the video has had 835 views and brought 1137 visits–935 unique visitors–to my website. I am new to this marketing game, but that seems pretty worthwhile to me…

. . . . . . . .

Today is also the last day of Kelly’s Goodreads Book Giveaway. Enter to win a free copy of Sailing to Jessica and drift away with an inspiring story.

Prior to writing her book, Kelly has produced and/or written articles for magazines such as Blue Water Sailing and Better Homes and Gardens. She also had a weekly food column in a couple of Midwest newspapers for several years. This is the first book trailer she has made. “After writing and editing words on a computer screen for so many years, it was fun to combine photos, videos and music to create a visual story,” she said. Her trailer will be a key component in her upcoming marketing efforts.

Sharing Writing on Facebook

March 1, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

487761_454400684592300_746774314_n — On Facebook, it’s important to turn away from writing, and speak to those who are following along.

Social media promotion is a big part of what authors are required to handle on our own, and growing a fan base takes more than just time. More importantly, it takes a willingness to chat with readers in the right way, especially on Facebook.

Insights in writing
There has been the belief that introverted writers sit with a drink in hand at 10 a.m. being tortured by plot twists. Sharing honest behind-the-scenes details about my sober process, has helped readers see how I really write. A fellow writer, Steena Holmes, recently asked Facebook fans to help define traits of a new character. Her readers felt like writers for a while, connecting them to her story. Brilliant.

“Reach” is better than “like”
The world sees how many “like” my author Facebook page, but Facebook shows me how many people are talking about my posts with others. That number is my “reach.” So while I only show about 170 “likes,” my reach during the height of a recent promotion was closer to 550.

Inspiration and perspiration
There is a balance between waxing on about the research and the work, and providing an escape and inspiration. Posts with quotes or comments on the writing and book world get just as much interaction as longer opinion posts.

Tag and share
Give credit. If I mention another writer, a post, or a quote, it’s important to tag the photo or properly share the post to give credit of its origin. Writers supporting writers will get us all more readers.

What Facebook tips for writers do you have?

Digging up Research on Sailing

February 22, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

Those who have followed my Facebook posts lately, know I’ve been up to my shins (sans rickets) researching sailing during the American Revolution. I have planned a sea-faring battle scene for my new book about the Declaration of Independence, and I frankly know less about sailing than stowaway rats.

So, I hit Wikipedia and I freaked out at complicated diagrams of boat parts. I read books and ordered one by Alexander Kent (which Ted stole it for himself). A friend even suggested looking at video games like “East India” where you engage in battles.

I also unearthed a New York Times story from 2011, which described the unusual surprise of finding an 18th century sailing vessel below Ground Zero in Manhattan as they dug it out to begin construction. The article provided much needed details from the real deal. I gleaned the ship’s size, what it carried, and David W. Dunlap who wrote the article was kind enough to use ship terminology simplified for the average Times reader.

Research also helped me name one of my fictional ships. My British ship will be loosely based on the Swedish replica of the Götheborg, and this existing replica allowed me to find details that are more realistic. However, my ship needed to be British, and I had trouble finding a direct translation of “Götheborg.” Finally, I did a little Google map search and settled on calling it HMS Montagu. The Swedish embassy in London is on Montagu Street.

Wikimedia Commons, which contains Public Domain images, also was a great resource. I found this painting by Francis Swaine featuring an 18th century sloop. I made the desktop image on my laptop to help inspire my writing. — Wikimedia Commons, which contains Public Domain images, was also a great resource. I found this painting by Francis Swaine called “An English Sloop Becalmed near the Shore,” featuring an 18th century sloop. I made the painting the desktop image on my laptop to help inspire my writing.

The Other Stephen King Interview

February 20, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

While I often have guest writers on my blog, this week I was lucky enough to land my own guest spot with the “Other Stephen King.” Stephen is a local Richmond writer, and James River Writer member who chats with other authors about their work, their writing, and even their favorite dessert:

Come visit with me on the Other Stephen King on Writing.