Saturday, December 10, 2016

The Rhode Island Book Launch at the Davisville Free Library

And now we’ve had the Rhode Island book launch and it was WONDERFUL!

On Saturday, Chris, Mom, and countless other friends and family members helped throw a fabulous party, celebrating the Rhode Island launch of Frozen Voices. It was held at the Davisville Free Library in North Kingstown, the BEST library in the world, as far as I’m concerned. (I’ve been going there for decades, ever since a friend, Cindi Cady, invited me to join their book club. Thanks, Cindi!) We had some great munchies: we bought platters of food (sandwiches, veggies, fruit, cheese, hummus, etc.), Mom made some yummy appetizers, Jim Kennedy from Confections (Fall River, MA) made a beautiful cake and cupcakes, and Jayna White brought iced tea and helped set up everything. And, of course, Sarah Ornstein and the other folks at the library were nice enough to let us take over the place for the afternoon (Thanks Sarah!).

And so many people came to the launch! Friends and family from all over the area, some of whom I haven’t seen in years. Having everyone there made this special event into something that I will never forget. I sincerely thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Once everyone settled into their seats, I did a brief slide presentation on the history in the novel (Thanks, Sarah, for your technical assistance!), read a short excerpt from one of the book’s chapters, and then answered some great questions from various folks. After that, we all ate and talked and enjoyed each other’s company. Oh yeah…And I sold all the copies of Frozen Voices that I had with me! Actually, some folks wrote down their names and addresses so that I could notify them when I have more books available for signing/selling. Pretty cool!

Ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to publish a book. And now I’ve done it! Chris asked me last night, “So, now what?” It only took me about two seconds to reply. Now, I want to promote Frozen Voices so that it reaches as many people as possible. (Read Across Rhode Island?) And then I’d like to find a literary agent and to set up publication of more novels. I have another historical fiction novel and two young adult novels that I’ve written. This whole journey with Frozen Voices has been so fantastic, I can’t wait to do it again!

(I used WAY too many exclamation points in this blog posting…My apologies to my MFA professors!)

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Frozen Voices is launched!

On Wednesday, Chris and I flew to Fargo, North Dakota and then drove to Moorhead, Minnesota, to participate in a reading for New Rivers Press at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Everyone involves was so kind and welcoming. Chris and I had a blast!

Wednesday, we arrived in Fargo mid-afternoon, starving. Because of the timing of the flights from Providence, we’d managed to miss both breakfast and lunch. We found this GREAT pizza place, Blackbird Woodfire Pizza on Broadway, just a few blocks from the hotel and devoured a delicious Mediterranean salad and a wild mushroom pizza. And tasty desserts, too. After dropping our luggage at the hotel, we went out to the Junkyard Brewery in Moorhead, where we drank some awesome craft beers—peanut butter!—and heard a great band, the Cropdusters, playing some original folky music. Chris, who didn’t bring his fiddle with him on the trip, was positively twitching to play with the band. (We even went out to a few pawn shops to see if we could find a violin. No luck, unfortunately.)

Thursday, we had a tasty brunch at Mom’s Kitchen in Fargo before heading over to MSUM for the reading. Copies of Frozen Voices arrived from the post office—delivered by the great Al Davis, NRP’s senior editor—just twenty minutes before showtime. Phew! At the reading, Al took care of the introductions and then Elizabeth Searle did an excellent reading of excerpts from her new NRP novel, We Got Him. She was so expressive and animated that I felt like I was watching not only a reading but also a piece of performance art. I suppose this makes some sense considering Elizabeth is also the author of “Tanya and Nancy, a Rock Opera,” which is currently being performed in a Chicago theater. I really enjoyed Elizabeth’s presentation.

Then came my turn. With Chris’s help, I showed a few slides that explained the genesis of George McVay, one of the narrators from Frozen Voices, and then did a brief reading from one of George’s chapters. Although I was a little nervous when I began my presentation, after a few minutes, I enjoyed myself. Everyone in the room was smiling and nodding and being very encouraging. Afterward, several people offered kind words of encouragement. A few even bought books and asked me to sign them—a new and fun experience for me!

After our readings, some folks did a memorial reading and reminiscences for Thomas McGrath’s 100th birthday. Tom was a poet, teacher, and radical, formerly involved with the school. From what everyone was saying, Tom was quite a character; I wished I’d had the chance to meet him. I’ve already ordered one of his books of poetry, Letter to an Imaginary Friend.

The evening ended with a celebratory dinner at Al and Cathy Davis’s home, a few blocks from the MSUM campus. Good food, good wine, and wonderful company! Chris and I were both sorry to leave.

The entire book launch experience was absolutely fantastic. Everyone was so kind, complimentary, and encouraging. I formally issue a huge THANK YOU to everyone who was involved!

Celebratory dinner at the Davises' home

Friday, November 11, 2016

Happy Veteran’s Day!

This Monday afternoon, I was on my way to one of my classes at the University of Rhode Island (I’ve started working on my PhD in Literature/Creative Writing—but that’s another story!), when I noticed a padded envelope on my front stairs. Thinking it was a book I’d ordered from Amazon.com (OK, so I order lots of books!), I casually ripped open the envelope and pulled out the book, only to see my own face staring back at me from the cover of Frozen Voices! Yes, I was more than a little bit surprised! I took the book to class with me, showed to everyone there, and received hearty congratulations all around. I guess I really AM going to be a published author!

The accompanying note from Nayt at New Rivers Press informed me that this was a galley copy for me to review. He said that they would also be checking it at NRP and that they would be sending out copies to reviewers, as well.  Everything is happening so fast, now!

Today, Chris (my husband) made reservations for us to fly out for the launch of the book at New Rivers Press/University of Minnesota at Moorhead. We are flying in and out of Fargo, North Dakota, which is apparently just over the state line from Moorhead. I feel like that makes us uniquely lucky because how many people can actually say they’ve been to Fargo, right? Nayt e-mailed me yesterday to say that I’d be taking part in one reading at the college and perhaps one more downtown. I suppose I should be nervous, but instead I’m just really excited.

Over the next few days, I’m planning on putting together a PowerPoint presentation of Frozen Voices to possibly use for my readings in Minnesota but definitely use for my readings/signings back here in Rhode Island later in the month. My plan is to compile the presentation before Thanksgiving so that I can try it out on the family after our turkey dinner. (Hopefully, a friendly crowd!) I already called the North Kingstown Library and plan to contact other venues to set up even more readings. I want EVERYONE to read my book!

Of course, the first thing I need to do is to edit the galley for Frozen Voices so that NRP can make the corrections and print the book.  So far, I’m about halfway through it and have only found a few errors. Better get back to it, though!

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Since the end of August, I’ve written twice to Nayt, asking about Frozen Voices’s publication schedule.  Although he assures me that we are on track for a December 1st book launch, I think I would feel more confident about things if he sent me the next round of edits.  I have not received anything from New Rivers Press since June and I am becoming somewhat anxious about hitting that date.

Chris, my husband, and I are scheduled to fly out to Moorhead, Minnesota, (the home of University of Minnesota Moorhead and New Rivers Press) for a December 1st book reading/signing.  I am really looking forward to meeting Nayt and Meghan and all the other folks that have been instrumental in helping prepare FV for publication.  Seeing the school and the NRP offices will be fun, too, to see where “it all happened.”  Unfortunately, we won’t be able to stay too long because Chris and his band have a gig at 6 p.m. the following night, in Wickford, Rhode Island.

And then I am scheduled to have my Rhode Island book launch the following Saturday, December 10 at 2 p.m., at the Davisville Free Library here in North Kingstown.  We’re planning on providing food and drinks and having a friend make a fancy Frozen Voice cake, so if you happen to be in the area, please stop by.

And then, Elizabeth from Fairfield University’s MFA program e-mailed me and asked me to do a reading/signing at the MFA winter residency on December 30th, on Enders Island in Connecticut.  My event coincides with alumni day, so I’ll get to see a bunch of friends, too, as an added bonus.  Should be fun!

I just wish NRP would send me the interiors or something so that I felt more confident that I’ll have a book in hand to sell at these events!  I know I tend to worry about things...

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

So last week, I wrote back to Nayt at New Rivers Press, asking him eighteen questions about the pending publication of Frozen Voices.  Yes, eighteen.  I think it is fair to say that I am getting more and more excited about the prospect of seeing my writing bound in a real, live book.  Just a few more months, now!

In his calm and patient responses, Nayt mentioned that he'd been having a problem getting in touch with the book's designer (a student) over the summer but hoped to reconnect with him, now that their fall semester was about to begin.  If not, Nayt said he'd have someone from the art department assist with FV, who should be able to lay it out in just a few days.  We still have to get through another round of edits and then the galleys before the book is ready for publication.

BLOCK ISLAND, OLD HARBOR - 1905

Nayt also mentioned having an authors' event at the school in early December.  I'd really like to attend that so that I could meet the people who have been instrumental in bringing this dream to fruition: Nayt and Meghan and the whole team of students who worked so hard to make Frozen Voices the best book it could be.  I asked Nayt to send me the details so that I may purchase my plane ticket and make a hotel reservation.

In case you were wondering...  Yes, I have started working on my next novel.  Its working title is Stained Glass Angels and it is about a mom who's trying to reconnect with her two adult daughters through a shared stained glass class.  The book is still in its early stages, but I am excited about the depth of feeling that the writing seems to be capturing.  I'll keep you posted on its progress.

Monday, July 25, 2016

Nayt wrote back today, saying, “I’m still waiting to get the interior files back from our design student.  So, once that happens, I’ll have that round out to you for more edits and we can get on producing galleys.”

He went on to say that FV will be available on-line November 1st and that I could plan a book launch for later in November.  I’ll have to contact Nayt again soon to set up an exact date for the book launch.  How exciting!

Saturday, July 23, 2016

So, my workshop class was not wild about “The Wisdom of Elephants.”  They said that, although the piece was cleanly written and contained decent characters, descriptions, etc., it was overly-sentimental to the point of being maudlin.  Bummer.  Fortunately, they gave me many useful suggestions of what to do to repair the piece, but I think I have quite a bit of editing to do.

BLOCK ISLAND HYGEIA HOTEL - 1907

Eugenia Kim was an excellent alumni workshop leader.  She gave us assignments to do each evening, ones that taught us about specific elements of craft: character, setting, etc.  I took copious notes so hopefully whatever information I was unable to absorb at the time, I’ll be able to pick up when I reread the notes later.

While at the alumni conference, I MIGHT have made a connection with a literary agent, but I want to wait until I know for sure before I blog anything more.  Fingers crossed!

Yesterday, I wrote to Nayt at New Rivers Press, asking him when I should expect the new round of edits, when the galleys would be ready, and what the expected publishing date was for Frozen Voices.  Just a few months now!

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Tomorrow I leave for a writers’ conference on Enders Island, off the coast of Mystic, Connecticut.  It is an alumni workshop for folks like me who graduated from Fairfield University’s MFA/Creative Writing Program.  This will mark the third year that I’ve attended this conference and I find that I get a lot out of it each time.  For the past two years, the workshop was taught by Michael White, the director of the MFA program.  This year, he stepped down as director and is not teaching the class either.  Eugenia Kim, another professor in FU’s MFA program will be doing the honors and I am looking forward to seeing what she does differently from Michael.

The conference runs Friday afternoon to Tuesday night but we’ll be staying all day Wednesday, too, to give ourselves a little recovery time.  I love these workshops but they are quite exhausting.  For the class, each of us alumni students—there are eight of us, in total—had to submit 15 pages of a piece we are currently working on.  I submitted a short story called “The Wisdom of Elephants.”  I’m trying to learn how to write a good short story so that I may use them to apply for various grants, publications, and contests.  We’ll see how Eugenia Kim and the rest of the alumni class feel about “Elephants.”

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

I was just thinking...

When Kaitlyn returns, I’ll see if she would be interested in designing Frozen Voices bookmarks and “Lynne Heinzmann, Author” business cards.  She started working on both of them before she left for her trip, but I’d really appreciate her assistance to help me get them ready for any book readings/signings I may have this winter.  The book is due to be printed in November so hopefully I’ll be able to schedule some appearances for just before Christmas, a good time to sell books!

BLOCK ISLAND NORTH LIGHT HOUSE - 1907

Monday, May 30, 2016

I just sent my edits and book cover comments back to New Rivers Press.  It feels good to have that done!

Every time I reread Frozen Voices, I find myself wanting to tweak things, here and there.  It makes me realize that novels are never truly “done.”  Like many things, there is always room for improvement.

Meanwhile, I was trying to “improve” my website and I managed to accidentally delete the Larchmont photo from the home page and cannot figure out how to get it back.  Kaitlyn, the website designer, is still on her world tour, not due back for another two weeks, so I guess I’ll have to wait for her return to repair the website.  Sorry for the blank screen. I’ll fix it ASAP!

Thursday, May 26, 2016

BLOCK ISLAND WATCH HILL LIGHTHOUSE - 1905

Dukie is much better today and Laura called from the rehab facility, sounding better than she has in months.  Thank God!

Now, all I have to do is plan a memorial service for my father and review edits for Frozen Voices by the end of this holiday weekend.  No problem.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Nayt said, “No problem,” to my request for a postponement to May 31st for the return of my edits.  Phew!  I’m very relieved about that.

Meanwhile, the vet couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Dukie.  He’s home with us now after receiving a shot of heavy-duty antibiotics. The vet also gave him prescriptions for more antibiotics and for some pain killers.  I sure hope they work.

Monday, May 23, 2016

…And then life interferes.  In the past two weeks, my personal life has gone haywire to the point that I’ve had little or no time to review the edits from New Rivers Press.

My younger daughter, Laura, who’s had substance abuse issues for years, ended up in an alcohol/drug rehabilitation facility located outside of Portland, Oregon.  I hate having her so far away and am very worried about her health and happiness, short-term and long-term. 

Then my father died.  He’d been suffering from medical complications due to dementia but his sudden death was still an unexpected shock.  We are in the process of planning a memorial service to be held in Florida in a few weeks. 

And today Duke, my twelve year old beagle and best buddy, is sick…really sick.  He has a fever of 104 degrees (101 to 102.5 degrees is normal for a dog), won’t eat, and seems to be in considerable pain.  We have an appointment with the vet in a few hours.

So, I have to ask Nayt at New Rivers Press for an extension on my edit review deadline.  I hope the delay won’t adversely affect their production schedule, but I’m afraid it is unavoidable.

BLOCK ISLAND MAP - 1900

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

After a months-long hiatus, Nayt from New Rivers Press contacted me today, sending me the next round of edits.  This time, Frozen Voices was edited by Joan, a professional editor, as opposed to the student editors who had previously been working on it.  Reading through the edits from Joan, I was struck by how her comments about the novel differed from the students’ notes.  She seemed to focus a bit more on the over-arching themes of the work while the students seemed to look more at the individual scenes.  By combining these two perspectives, I feel like FV will benefit greatly, having been carefully examined on at least two different levels of thought.

Now I need to read through all of Joan’s edits and decide which ones to accept and which to reject.  With just a cursory review of her comments, though, I am fairly sure that I will be accepting most of her suggestions.  They seem quite insightful and appropriate for what I was trying to accomplish with this novel.

Nayt also sent me two different versions of the artwork for the cover of FV.  The designer stayed with his mirror-image version of the Larchmont, showing the ship as a silhouette on the water and then again as an outline in stormy waves underneath the ship.  One of the versions is done in sepia tones and one is done in blue-gray tones.  I prefer the color of the latter one.  It looks more “frozen” to me.

I am a little concerned about the font used for the cover.  The letters are quite thin and actually become illegible from just a short distance away.  I think I’ll suggest bolding the font or switching to a different font.

Nayt requested that I return my comments on the edits and my reaction to the covers by May 25th.  That shouldn’t be a problem.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

PILOT HOUSE OF A STEAMSHIP - 1899

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas season and a happy, healthy 2016!

Since both of our family’s dogs recently had surgery (they are doing fine and recovering quickly), we could not board them and therefore had to remain home for the Christmas Holiday.  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise since we were able to have some wonderful, quiet days, hosting visits from some close friends and family members.  Christmas Day itself was spent at home with just the four of us: my husband, my two daughters, and me.  We opened presents, had breakfast (our younger daughter made us a cinnamon breakfast pastry that was a thing of beauty), and then took the dogs for a walk in a local park.  Mid-afternoon dinner was a relaxed affair, followed by some music-making (my husband is an excellent fiddler), and then watching some James Bond movies with family popcorn and candy.  A very enjoyable day.

Last weekend and this weekend, as we visited with friends and family members, it seemed that at some point during each visit, I ended up talking about how Frozen Voices is going to be published next year.  I guess I’m really excited about it!  This is literally a dream come true.  And everyone I talk to about FV is so encouraging and happy for me, it makes the experience that much more special.  I am so glad to be able to share this amazing journey with everyone and feel truly blessed.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Today, I received an e-mail from Meghan, my liaison from New Rivers Press.  She apologized for not being in touch as much lately.  Apparently she and the rest of the Team at Minnesota State University Moorhead are in the midst of finals and other end-of-the-semester obligations and haven’t had time to do much else.  I certainly remember how that felt and then how glad I was to go home for Christmas vacation.  Most years, I went home from college with a cold or worse, run down from lack of sleep and an overabundance of assignments to complete.  I definitely wish Meghan and Company much success completing their school tasks and then a restful, rejuvenating Christmas break.

I also received an e-mail from Nayt Rundquist, the Managing Editor at NRP.  Nayt said he’d received the edits from the Team.  He said he’d be editing Frozen Voices once again and would send me his notes by mid-February for me to comment on and return by the end of that month.  Then the designer would have until the end of March to lay out the whole book, which Nayt and I would review and return to the designer by mid-April.  The designer would make his final changes by the end of May, with the final round of editing done by the second or third week of June.  Publication is set for sometime in November.  It sure takes a lot of work to produce one book!

Nayt also mentioned the book cover, saying he’s waiting to see cover images from that designer.  He said that the designer has been working with two design professors and Al Davis, too, and that he’d let me know when he has more to share about the book cover.

I noticed that no one at NRP commented on Kaitlyn’s book cover, which I sent to them over a week ago.  I think I’ll resend it and ask for opinions.  I’d really like to know what they think about Kaitlyn’s cover and whether or not they feel it would be good for FV.

Chris and I were looking at book covers in a store today, mostly best-selling hardcover fiction.  The covers seemed to run the gamut from being very representational of the novel’s story to being more symbolic of the type of novel.  A historical fiction cover contained sepia-toned photographs of the main characters whereas a modern day spy novel cover had a silhouette of a man wearing a trench coat, carrying a pistol.

What makes a good book cover?  I actually Googled that very question and received quite a wide variety of responses.  I’d be interested to hear what the folks at NRP think about the subject.  As usual, I’m finding this whole publishing journey to be a fun, learning experience.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Kaitlyn published the website last night and then today, I sent out Facebook messages inviting people to check it out and let me know what they thought.  I posted one notice on the Fairfield MFA Facebook page and another on my own Homepage.

Within an hour, I’d received over a dozen messages from friends and family, saying that they liked the website a lot.  One MFAer, who I don’t think I’ve had the chance to meet yet, offered me some excellent advice about a few changes she thought I should make.  I like her suggestions, agree with them, and think I’ll try to implement them soon.

I also sent an e-mail to Meghan and Company, telling them about the website/blog.  I hope they enjoy reading the blogs about all of the hard work they’ve done and how much I appreciate it.  What a great Team to work with!  I e-mailed Kaitlyn’s latest cover design to them, too.  Kaitlyn updated it yesterday, shifting the ship up the cover a bit.  I really like it.  I’m curious to see what the Team thinks about it and sincerely hope they like it, too.

OUT FOR A PICNIC - 1910?

Sunday, December 1, 2015

I inserted a bunch of photos/images into the blogs and I think they really enhance the text and give the flavor of the book.  Unfortunately, while putting in the photos, though, I somehow screwed up the order of the blogs and was unable to reorder them correctly.  I sent an e-mail to Kaitlyn, asking for help, but it made me worry.  What if I mess up the website/blog while she’s in Asia?  I guess I’m going to have to learn this software better or, as my daughter Julia says, get better at looking up the solutions to software problems on the Internet.

I’m hoping to publish the website in the next few days.  I’m anxious to get it “live” and see what folks think about it.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

This was a fun and productive weekend, as far as Frozen Voices is concerned.  Yesterday, Mom, Chris, and I went to an old bookstore and an antique store, looking for images from the turn of the last Century.  We bought dozens of old photos and postcards showing people and local places from around 1907, the time setting of the novel.  I plan to scan them and then put a photo or postcard image in with every few blog posts to make them a little more interesting.   We really enjoyed looking for the images…  Almost like a scavenger hunt.

PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG WOMAN - 1902

Then today, I uploaded dozens of new blogs to the website, trying to follow Kaitlyn’s instructions.  It took me a little while to figure out how to work Squarespace, but I did eventually manage it.  Now, I just need to scan/inset the photos and postcards.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!

As part of their celebration, Chris’s family conducts a little show-and-tell after Thanksgiving dinner, where family members gather and talk about what they’ve been doing during the course of the past year.  This year, I got up in front of 25 to 30 family members and told everyone about Frozen Voices: where the story’s idea came from and how I’d won the book prize.  Then I showed them the various ideas for the book’s cover.  The two favorites were the mirrored-image ship from NRP and the latest draft from Kaitlyn.  Those are my favorites, too.

I enjoyed doing the brief presentation to the family.  I liked talking about my book and I felt like it was good practice for giving book readings/talks after the book is published next year.  I just hope every crowd is as friendly and encouraging as the family was!