Sometimes you read a book that takes you places you’ve never been. While reading Under the Burr Oak Tree by author Dennis Bates, I followed a girl named Lindsey into her trailer home. It was dirty, hot, and full of strange men. It was a hopeless place. Lindsey’s mom wouldn’t win mother-of-the-year anywhere but in the hearts of her daughters. In some towns these women would be called white trash. In this novel, they are women on redemptions road.   

Soiled, alone, and desperate, Julie attempts to do what any harlot does…her best. Even at her worst, we see a glimmer of the real Julie through Lindsey, Candy, and Charlie. While writing honestly about this lifestyle, the author inspires compassion where judgment might reign in another story.  The author built a character readers can love and cheer for. Lindsey is a believer in dreams and loves ocean deep. When is seems there is no hope, she hopes anyway. When dreams look dead, she administers CPR. When hurt, she hurries to forgive. She’s the daughter we’d all like to have and the women we’d all like to be.  

Under the Burr Oak Tree is full of romance, reconciliation, and redemption. The song Amazing Grace became even dearer to me…I’ve heard it and sang it many times in my life - but the way the author in partnership with the Holy Spirit placed it in this story…well - grab the tissues…you’re gonna need ‘em!

JOY: I’m glad you are here on Getting It Write Dennis – welcome!

DENNIS: Thank you so much for inviting me. I am honored.

JOY: Tell us a little bit about your life.

DENNIS: I live in eastern Iowa with Jane, my wife of 39 years. I have two grown daughters and am a retired government attorney. In a previous career I was also a journalist and wrote for a midsized daily newspaper and for a wire service. My wife and I have lived all over the country, including Berkeley, California, in the late 60’s where I attended a Presbyterian seminary. I have written about seven novels in slightly more than two years and “Under the Burr Oak Tree” is the first one I’ve had published.

JOY: I enjoyed Under the Burr Oak very much. I really liked the dedication…I’m a believer in dreams, prayers, and perseverance. When did you first start dreaming about being an author?

DENNIS: I have always wanted to be an author or a writer of some kind. I wrote little stories when I was in elementary school and was active on my high school newspaper. As I say at my web page www.dennisbates.com , I went to law school because everybody said I argued so much I should be an attorney and I call those years my beige period. I was pretty good at what I did, but it never really excited me like writing does. Still, I know it was part of God’s plan, so I can’t complain about it.

JOY: Where did the idea for the book come from?

DENNIS: I grew up in Iowa, which with few exceptions is a bunch of small towns, some of which have grown together. I hope to have an Iowa flavor in everything I write. “Under the Burr Oak Tree” started out to be a rejoinder to a book Susan Meissner wrote, but like a lot of my stories, it soon took on a life form all of its own and evolved into the present story. It takes bits and pieces from all the nooks and crannies in my imagination. There are several small towns in Iowa that think they know who the characters are and where the story takes place. The truth is, like in any piece of fiction, they are all wrong and all right.

JOY: Your characters are full of life and realism – do you use a character development outline or do you let them show you who they are as you write?

DENNIS: Ha! I am strictly a seat of the pants writer. I have things laid out in my mind most of the time, but I don’t feel compelled to stay with them. I just try to keep my characters consistent and hear them speaking in my head as scenes develop. There are literally days when I sit down at the keyboard and say, “Okay folks, where are we going today?” And then I go along for the ride. There are some nights when I go to bed wondering where my hero/heroine is going tomorrow. I couldn’t write any other way. Not knowing what’s going to happen keeps me excited about the process and hopefully helps keep things fresh.

JOY: You have a partnership with a unique publisher – can you tell us a little bit about that?

DENNIS: I always heard that you have to find an agent/publisher/editor that you can work with. I am now convinced of that. Staci Stallings is Spirit Light Publishing and a great friend who gets where I’m coming from. I have been fortunate enough to watch Spirit Light grow from the ground up, and be part of it. She is committed to allowing authors tell their stories, their way. For now at least Spirit Light Publishing is a hybrid of traditional publishing, Print on Demand and total exploration. I think for a lot of us, small printing houses are the wave of the future. The focus at Spirit Light Publishing is putting great stories out there that wouldn’t get out there any other way. It doesn’t focus solely on the bottom line, although I think it is naïve to think that you can sustain yourself for any length of time without being aware of it. It’s a small operation that I think will grow, but won’t outgrow its capabilities. That works for me. I think it will work for a lot of writers once they learn about it. People that call small publishing efforts like this vanity publishers just don’t get it. Houses like this have a niche and fit with other more traditional efforts very nicely.

JOY: What’s are the hardest parts of the writing and publishing processes for you?

DENNIS: Marketing, followed by marketing, followed by marketing. It’s not that I can’t. I love people and can bore the socks off of people talking about writing, my stories, or great stories I have just read, but I want to write, not spend hours trying to get more of my books out to readers. If somebody can organize marketing opportunities for writers like me, they are invaluable. If you are small and basically self directed, which most writers are today, you have to develop a reader base. The economics of major book stores and their fears of unknown writers make them less valuable to writers like me. Still, you have to get your books out there somehow, and that is a major problem.

 JOY: What parts are the most fun?

DENNIS? The writing! I see stories everywhere including in my sleep and I just can’t wait to get them down on paper. As a subset of that, I love to rewrite my first draft. As my publisher says, you get your story laid out and then you take a sledge hammer to it and see how differently you can put the pieces back together. I love that. For me the hardest part is getting the initial story down. Once I do that, the fun begins. How do you turn this story into literature? For me a great story isn’t enough. I want it to be written from a fresh perspective in the best way possible.

JOY: You chose to deal with some tough real-life issues in Under the Burr Oak Tree…but the real focus is grace-filled forgiveness. Is that what drives your own faith?

DENNIS: I believe with everything in me that I was called to write about these issues, candidly, sometimes irreverently, and often more graphically than some are comfortable with. But for me it all comes down to Love. The greatest of these is love, and that’s why most, if not all of my stories involve love. I do not separate romance from love, and I think there is a strong correlation between God’s love for all of us and the kind of love we should see in our male female relationships. Forgiveness is key to being able to show and experience that love. I have been asked a lot of times, why do you write about sex so much, and why do you write about the kind of issues you mention in your question. There is only one answer I can give: those are the stories I have been given to write about. The Holy Spirit has me always writing on the edge and so that’s where I have to be. I will not apologize for going where I’m sent. Somebody has to go there. That’s why I can’t write formula. For me, my only formula is to go where I’m sent.

JOY: I was hooked by the first line in the book. You wrote, “Lindsey had dreamed about this moment for the last 15 years.” Lots of writers anguish over their opening line knowing many readers buy a book based on that alone. Did you struggle to find just the write opening?

DENNIS: Absolutely! As a journalist I was taught that the lead paragraph sets up the story. If you get the right opening line or two, the rest of the story falls into place. That first paragraph or two sets the tone for the story and gives me a reference point to come back to when I need to remind myself what I am writing about. I have had otherwise good stories stall because I didn’t have the right opening. “Under the Burr Oak Tree” is a perfect example of that. That line came after I rearranged the story. The book practically wrote itself after that.

JOY: Amazing Grace has always touched me deeply. It’s so familiar that we sometimes don’t let it get to us anymore. I have to confess as I read that part I was weeping – it was so beautiful! So healing. So right. Where did that part of the story come from?

DENNIS: The Holy Spirit and I don’t mean that to sound self aggrandizing. That scene features Lindsey’s sister, who had come a long way and understood very well what grace is. I wanted to tie things together for all the major characters in that scene, and when I got to Candy, I put my fingers on the keys to the computer and asked the Holy Spirit what she would say in her prayer under the Burr Oak Tree. That’s what came out. There is nothing in my own personal experience to base that scene on other than that. When I finished writing that scene, I didn’t touch it. It was never rewritten. I’m glad it spoke to you.

JOY: What encouragement can you offer writers who are working diligently to see their writing in print?

DENNIS:  Never, never, never give up. My first book was published this year. I am 61 years old, and hope to publish several more, but I have done it now at least once. Also, consider small publishing houses and self publishing. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with those options. It is never too late to follow your dreams, and there’s always a way to see them come true, especially if you turn them over to God and follow His lead.

JOY: Thank you so much for investing your time in this interview Dennis. I appreciate the opportunity and again – I enjoyed Under the Burr Oak Tree and am looking forward to reading more of your books in the future!

 DENNIS: Thank you so much for having me here. I appreciate what you are doing. Readers…You can visit author, Dennis Bates, website at:  www.dennisbates.com You’ll be glad you did

JOY: Welcome to the Getting It Write Blog Interview Alice – I’m so glad you’re here! 

JOY: I had so much fun reading The Case of the Bouncing Grandma! I enjoyed the pace and you dropped clues at just the right times. Was it hard finding this rhythm as you wrote? 

JOY: How long have you been writing? 

ALICE:  I started my first stories when I was twelve – that’s when I finally stopped telling stories I’d made up and began to write them down.  That was, well, a lot more than a couple years ago.   

JOY: I want to thank you for the respect and tenderness you wrote with when dealing with Jane’s infertility. That’s my part of my personal journey. I found a lot of tenderness interwoven into the story – among Glory’s humor and faith. Did you base this character on someone you know, is she a combination of women you know, or did she just show up on the doorstep of your imagination one day demanding your attention? 

JOY: Sometimes it’s difficult for younger people to picture anyone older than they are being romantically inclined. I enjoyed the way you tucked this into the story. As I was reading I thought, “This bridges the gap between younger and older romantics.” Was that part of the plan or did this evolve with the story? 

 The funny thing is, I didn’t think about Glory having a relationship – that part was supposed to be all about Jane’s romance with Glory’s orthopedist.  JOY: I especially liked the relationships you showed between women of all ages. Is this something you are enjoying in your own life?  

JOY: As I go around and speak to women I find many have let go of their dreams. They no longer have the energy to make them their reality so they let them go. How did you keep the dream of being published a vibrant possibility?  

JOY: What encouragement do you have for other writers out there with a work in progress (or several) and a file full of rejections?  ALICE:  The pat answer is to say never give up.  But that’s not so easy when you’re sitting out there looking through your stack of rejections and wondering why you ever thought you could do this in the first place.  Writing is hard work.  Trying to market what you’ve written even harder.  Developing a tough skin would be handy, but not easy.  It’s still going to hurt.  But if you’ve talked with God, if you’ve listened, really listened to what He’s trying to tell you, and you still feel this is what you are meant to do . . . then I say stand firm.  Learn all you can about the craft, read all you can both in

JOY: I want to thank you for sharing your thoughts with the Getting It Write readers. I know you’re busy getting ready for the official release of the book and appreciate the time you’ve taken in this interview. Please do me a favor okay…and get the next Glory story written!  

The Case of the Bouncing Grandma is one of the best cozy mysteries I’ve read in a long time. I suppose being in a wheelchair myself last year helped me feel some of Glory’s pain, but it was more than that. She’s full of life, curiosity, faith, humor, worries, and possibly open to a new romance. She’s a lot like the women in their fifties I know.

Author A.K. Arenz let’s Glory run the story. With a character like this one, there really isn’t any choice. The handsome detective is a man in her present with connections to her past. A kid in a souped up Mustang reminded me of a someone I used to know. The twins across the street tug at your heart strings, and so does her sister’s sweet connection to them. As a childless woman myself with a failed adoption in my past…this part of the story hit me straight in the heart. Most of it hit my funny bone.  

The author timed the complications just right to keep the reader intrigued and just when  I thought Glory was going to get a break, she upped Glory’s stress.  

A.K. Arenz writes a fun-paced mystery! I can hardly wait for book two. To learn more about the book and author I invite you to read the following interview. Then…go to the authors website and blog at:  http://www.akawriter.com   www.bouncinggrandmamysteries.blogspot.com Once you’ve read and enjoyed the book why not take a trip out to amazon.com and leave a positive review yourself? Reviewing helps readers like you find new and inspiring books to read.

JOY: Welcome to Getting It Write Toni!

TONI:  Thanks for the warm welcome, Joy. I’m delighted to be here.

JOY: I want to jump right in to this Toni because I want to give you lots of space to tell us about your novel, Expectations. Before we go there, I want to tell you and our readers: I love this book! I am a full-fledged Toni V. Lee fan!Okay…tell us just a little bit about you…

TONI:  I so glad you enjoyed Expectations. Thanks for the resounding endorsement. I have a BSBA degree from the University of Central Florida and live in Central Florida with my family. I’m a member of the  American Christian Fiction Writers Association, and I’m a member of the leadership team of the CIC (Complete in Christ) Singles’  Ministry of my church. 

In addition to writing, I analyze, design, implement, and maintain computer applications systems.  Besides being an avid reader, I also enjoy watching romantic-comedy movies and Bollywood/Hindu films. I’m a fan of Tyler Perry’s works, and listening to Urban/Black Gospel and Christian alternative music is a big part of my daily routine.

I absolutely love recreational travel.

Just prior to my work on Expectations, I published my first play, The Crown Mystery.I’m committed to communicating the message of Christ through my novels and plays; hence my motto:  Spreading Truth Through Fiction. 

JOY:  Expectations is full of well-timed humor that felt like it flowed with ease…and I found myself wondering if the author herself was as funny as her characters. Does writing humor come naturally to you?

TONI:  Naturally? Hmm. I’d say writing humor is definitely a whole lot easier for me than writing drama. The most difficult parts of Expectations for me to write were the dramatic scenes. I experienced the same emotions that the characters did throughout the story. When they experienced highly charged emotional drama, so did I. Some of the scenes really put me through the wringer. LOL!My favorite parts to write were the comedy scenes. I especially enjoyed writing the funny scenes that included the Aunties. My greatest challenge is finding and maintaining a balance between comedy and reality in my stories. I try to mirror real life as closely as possible. If you think about it, life is dramatic, but it is also riddled with comedy. 

JOY: I read in the dedication Aunt Lenore in Expectations was inspired by your mother. What is a sweet lesson your mother gave you growing up?

TONI: My mom had a big heart and a dry wit that could soothe or bite depending on how she chose to wielded it. She shot from the hip, and when she felt the occasion warranted it, she gave her own version of Clifford an airing. LOL!She taught me at an early age that lying has swift and painful consequences. LOL!

JOY: I appreciate the way this novel is full of believers and never apologized for Christ. In other words, He wasn’t an add-on to the story. Tell us a little bit (or a lot!) about your faith.

TONI:  Acts 17:28 says it best: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”My faith is everything to me. It’s not just a way of life. It is my life. Because it is so integral to who I am, it will always be an important factor in anything that I do. That includes writing novels.

JOY: It seems the number one question from readers to writers is, “Where do you get your ideas?” Where did the idea for Expectations come from?

TONI: Many Christians are harboring unforgiveness.  We are careful to stay away from what we consider the big sins—lying, stealing,  murder, etc. Ah, but unforgiveness is another matter. We hold on to it tightly, nurturing and stoking it with remembered hurts. We allow it to poison our souls and relationship with Christ.

Some believers are depressed and angry with God, because they’ve been praying for a long time, and haven’t received any answers. Or haven’t received the answers they expect. 

There are folk out there just like the hero in my novel, Michael Greer. They are in a backslidden state and are miserable, because they feel God drawing them back to Him, yet they are resisting.Christians know that pre-marital sex is not permitted. But it’s not an easy thing to love someone and not enter into that arena.

I wanted to address all of these issues. Not just address them, but offer solutions to the struggles using recognizable characters, situations, and comedic views of dramatic events.I wanted to spread truth through fiction with a liberal coating of laughter.

JOY: Many of my writing friends will want to know: where do you find the time to write?

TONI:  I don’t have a writing schedule. Full-time employment, familial duties, and church ministry take up a lot of my time. My most productive writing usually takes place at night or on the weekends.

JOY: Is the publication of Expectations a dream come true for you?

TONI: Absolutely! When I held Expectations in my hands for the first time, I felt like a proud momma. It was awesome to hold a published copy of “my baby” in my hands. The labor was well worth it. 

JOY: Thank you so much for this interview Toni! You are a beautiful woman inside and out. Oh! I do have one last question…when  will the sequel be released?  I’m not sure you’re planning one but I sure hope God leads you to write it. I’d enjoy a little bit more time with these characters.

TONI:  I am happy to say that I have completed the sequel–Even Then (working title). The aunties are as outrageous as ever. I don’t have a release date for it yet.

JOY: I can hardly wait! Thanks again Toni. Readers, you are invited to visit Toni’s website at: www.tonivlee.com When you’re finished reading Expectations, take a few minutes and write a brief review at www.amazon.com. 

I ordered Expectations with a few expectations of my own. I was on the brink of a few quieter days with reading time planned. I decided I’d let Expectations fill up the hours. I had this assumption in my head it would be a little like going into the Godiva Chocolate store at the Mall of America. I only make it there a couple of times a year and this particular store only once.

I take in all the aromas – who knew candy had so many scents? Perhaps someone besides a Hershey’s consumer. When in the store I take my time because with the price of Godiva, I pick only one piece to purchase…it’s an important choice. I let my eyes take in all the rich beauty the chocolate makers plan and the store displays. I sniff to my heart’s content…well, not really – I’d be there all day…but I take deep breaths that allow me to almost taste what I’m smelling. Then, with my choice made, I take tiny bites and let the flavors burst all over my taste buds. I lick my fingers too…I’m not willing to miss a smidgen!

I was going to read Expectations the way I eat Godiva chocolate.

I couldn’t. The characters, plot, humor, and message of renewal held me in place and I found myself taking in big chunks before putting the book down to do something I needed to…like fixing my very hungry husband lunch! Even then, I carried the book to the kitchen just in case I found a second to take in a few more words.

I laughed out loud. I cried – not just the tears in your eyes kind either. I even murmured a “praise the Lord” or two glad no one but God understood the depth of my involvement in the life of Daria, Michael, Peaches, Amelia, and the aunties. I got a big laugh out of Clifford – the author takes an inanimate object and like the writers of Cast Away, this one becomes a character in its own right. We’re not talking a friendly big red dog here…no this Clifford has the potential to make a bit more impact.

Author, Toni V Lee takes on the topic of purity with honesty. She’s unafraid to deal with the push-me/pull-you struggle and the not-so-easy consequences our choices can hold. I appreciate the way Toni balances the hard and the reward without clichés. Balloons and monsters become a life lesson for anyone facing any kind of temptation. I didn’t mind when the aunties or Mama Amelia got to preachin’ because that was a very real part of their personalities. It wasn’t forced or artificial like the author herself was trying to get a message slipped in via her characters. She was letting her characters do their work…showing Christ on the pages of a novel.

I connected most deeply with the aunties…being one myself. I liked Michael – even his former attraction to hoochie mamas!

I highly recommend Expectations! The author dares to go deeper all the while entertaining the reader with well-timed humor.

It was my pleasure to interview author, Toni V Lee for this blog. I hope you’ll take time to get to know her better and take the time to visit her website at: www.tonivlee.com You can also order Expectations at www.amazon.com.

To many day dreaming is a waste of time. To me, it counts as writing!

According to Webster’s online dictionary, to dream can mean: to consider the possibilities.

This is an exercise in wisdom we often neglect as adults. We stay tuned in to our realities and become so bogged down in them, we can’t see past them. This results in us living in circumstances beyond our control. However, if we take time to consider the possibilities, we discover potential hidden in the folds of the problems.

For me, day dreaming is not some mysterious visualization technique that will bring about miraculous success and untold wealth. It is the thinking time I use to define goals (Without paper and pen!) and plan book covers, formats, and develop characters. Sometimes I let myself “see” my books on the shelves of book stores and in the hands of readers – goals all authors share and work hard to make their reality.

At the end of a day dreaming session, my pen races to capture my thoughts before they evaporate. It’s an exhilarating exercise in writing. Especially when things I didn’t think about suddenly find their way to the pages – problems get solved and options are made clear. 

If day dreaming is not your style…consider this: if the boards of Fortune 500 companies take the time to consider all their possibilities, why not form your own board? Find two or three trusted friends who write. (This is not a critique group) Set a specific time to meet. Now…share the things you long to accomplish with your writing and give them time to do the same. Then…brainstorm about your dreams and let them build in your mind and on paper…let them go from the dreaming stage to the planning stage and work to make them your reality.

Who said day dreaming is a waste of time?

I say…hey friends…DREAM ON!

I’m thinking about some of the sayings I’ve heard through the years…and wondering where they started…why…and what they really mean.

For example:

When something goes wrong I’ve heard this said, “Oh for crying in the soup!”   There are two more crying ones: “For crying out loud”…and “Don’t cry over split milk.”

Then there’s “Holy moly cats and jammers.”

What in the world is holy moly?

Is a “cat” someone who went to listen to jazz and a jammer one of the jazz band?

Or are cats & jammers just cartoon characters and I somehow heard this phrase from them?

And while we’re on the subject of holy…what is the history behind “Holy cow?”

And does anyone know why some people say, “In a pig’s eye?”

Or…once in a blue moon?

And can we really hear the corn grow?

Get back to me if you have the answers…I don’t although I’ve looked.

When I was little a “do” was directly related to hair. The only thing one didn’t “do” was windows.

Today we “do” or “don’t do” a list things based on personal preferences.

I used to think only people of wealth and influence said things like, “Let’s do lunch.”

I’ve tried these words on and they don’t fit. In fact, when I did let them slip off my tongue, they felt like I was trying on shoes that were the wrong size and style. This made them an unwise investment of language.

When we’re involved in writing fiction, we need to be aware of our character’s words. Most of the time, our characters will “tell” us when we’re off base with their vocabulary. They will begin to sound like us or their dialogue will be missing the depth it had in the previous chapters.

When I get stuck with a character’s voice or personality choices, I have to decide if this part of the job is going to be like walking in knee deep mud or like making an important discovery. I prefer discovery. When I feel my characters are bogged down, I open up a discussion with them…I interview them and record what I sense are their answers.

To some this talking to imaginary characters sounds strange and may raise a few eyebrows. That’s okay. Non-writers don’t have to understand the process but the truth is this: they enjoy reading fiction where the writer stays true to the characters no matter what it takes.

One of my characters might invite a friend to “do” lunch while another might ask a friend to meet her for lunch. An older character might get a new hair-do and another might not do windows or some other activity. This is one way dialogue shows instead of telling something about a character.

Sometimes when I go out for a writing coffee or lunch, I’ll overhear a snippet of conversation at another table and my character’s voice will be revealed more clearly. (Yes…I am guilty of eavesdropping – it appears to be another part of my job description as a writer. I don’t set out to listen in on private conversations but my writing ear picks things up anyway!)

Sometimes a character will use a certain phrase often in dialogue. While it’s best not to over-do this, it works when done well. The phrase becomes part of his or her essence in the story and we no longer need to add a dialogue tag.

Growing up in the 70s I could say the words “cool” and “neat” and sound okay. The words “groovy, “far out” and “dig” sounded worse than weird when they came out of my mouth. When I tried swearing, I sounded so unlike me, my friends waited for me to return to my right mind. Other kids could use all these words and it sounded like their natural language. What did that show about me? Was I religious? No.  I didn’t come to Christ until I was 15 and the kids in my life had been using this language for awhile already. (If I remember this change took place the summer between the 6^th and 7^th grades.)

Was I more uptight? Maybe. More protected? Absolutely – yet I accepted my friends without judgment. I remember feeling a little bit stuck in “good girl mode.” When I tried to be a little bit edgy I sounded like a bad girl wanna-be and the words fell flat. The words were out of character for me.

As I get back to work on my current novel, my main character is not a Jesus follower. Her dialogue is squeaky clean. At first I was concerned it was me holding her back. I still don’t swear although a crude word has been known to slip out of my mouth without permission and it still surprises everyone around me – including me. I guess the look on my face is usually good for a laugh or two. Anyway, I’m now discovering why she doesn’t curse or swear…she and I are discussing her vocabulary options as the story unfolds. What I’m learning is interesting and other parts of the story make a lot more sense to me now.

Interviewing and talking to fictional characters sounds like a funky exercise – one we might not want everyone in our lives to know we participate in. It might even make us uncomfortable. It’s really not as out there as it sounds…I believe the characters and story are in our minds…this “talking” is really excavating the “site” for what’s already there. We only get what we’re willing to pull out. When we pull, the story becomes better – although too much pulling can ruin it. (A bit like old-fashioned taffy!)

To do or not to do – is today’s question. I hope the answers delight and surprise you.

Welcome to Getting It Write…the place we talk about, plan for, and follow through on writing what matters most.

This website has been part of my dreams and in process for a long time.

I’ve built it…and I’m hoping you’ll visit now and then and maybe even become a regular!

For now…pour yourself a cup of coffee and browse. Please feel free to respond to this blog and let me know you’re out there and interested.

Let the sharing begin!