March 14, 2017 by M A Clarke Scott

Be Swept Away… A Journey of Love

Life is a Journey

Do you love to travel to foreign locales? I do. I haven’t been everywhere, not even close. But over the years, I’ve been on a journey or three. And the places I haven’t been, I love reading about in novels.

Fiction brings facts alive for me. I always enjoy learning about new places, different cultures or customs, art and architecture and history. This is much better through the lens of a story than from a dry encyclopedia or text book. But that’s me.

So when I set out to write fiction, I couldn’t help but write stories about young women traveling or living abroad, perhaps studying, vacationing or on a personal quest of some kind. I’ve written three books like this.

The Art of Enchantment, though it wasn’t the first written, will be the first to be published on March 20th. I’m so excited to share it with readers at last.

Coming up with a series tagline that represented both the “journey” aspect, and the “personal growth” aspect of these stories was hard. I thought of and discarded two dozen options before finally settling on “Life is a Journey“. It may not be witty, but it captures everything that’s in my mind and in my heart when I write these books.

Travel as Inspiration

Because I love to travel, very often it’s those exotic, stimulating experiences and environments that inspire my story ideas. (That’s as good an excuse as any to plan another trip, if you ask me!) Writing the stories brings back memories, and enriches my original travel experiences. As do these photos from my journey.

A Dissimulation of Doves was inspired by a trip to York, England, back in 2006, and specifically by a charming old inn where we stayed. I still remember lying awake one night, restless with jet lag, imagining the people who owned and worked at the hotel.

What kinds of adventures might they have had, both in the past and present? And what would happen if a young Canadian woman came here to find out?

Another work in progress, currently titled Tempered by Love, was inspired by a summer stay in the south of France in 2009. Not Provence, which is perhaps more familiar to North American travelers. Rather Aquitaine, a very special province full of fascinating geology, pre-history, history and rich culture. In particular, an annual Medieval Festival in the village where we stayed conjured an almost magical atmosphere. Jugglers, acrobats and even giants might appear, and inspire life changing events for an unsuspecting traveller passing through.

Finally, a month long stay in Tuscany in 2012 was the inspiration for The Art of Enchantment. Tuscany is already so rich in art and history. It’s such a beautiful, living landscape, it can’t help but inspire storytelling. Strangely though, the seed for this idea came from an imaginary place – a crumbling Renaissance villa.

As we were driving along a scenic country road, I got to thinking about the fact that the artist Sting apparently owns an old villa somewhere, in Umbria, if I recall correctly. And I got to wondering about the fate of all those old buildings – who owns them now – what are they used for – and how do people, especially old families, afford the costs of upkeep and repairs (it’s the architect in me, I guess.) How would one go about rescuing it? That’s what got me thinking about old money and new money, a clash of worlds, and a way to give an old villa a new life by making it into a passion project for two creative dreamers. Thus Clio and Guillermo were born!

Memories from Tuscany

To celebrate the connection between travel, romance and storytelling, and get you in the mood for reading The Art of Enchantment, I’ve included a few photographs taken on my 2012 trip to Italy. Enjoy!

Tell me about your own travels in the comments section below! What exotic places have you visited that got you dreaming about what might have been, and what could be!

Who knows, maybe you’ll inspire my next book.

And don’t forget to pick up a copy of The Art of Enchantment, available for pre-sale right now. Be swept away on a journey of love…

January 22, 2017 by M A Clarke Scott

Short Listed for the Chatelaine Book Award

Chatelaine Book Awards for Romantic Fiction 2016 Finalist

I’m excited to announce that two (2!) of my manuscripts are finalist for the 2016 Chatelaine Book Award for Romantic Fiction. Check the full list of finalists here. Congratulations to all the finalists, for both the Chatelaine, and the other writing prizes sponsored by Chanticleer Book Reviews.

This is the same prize that my unpublished manuscript, A Dissimulation of Doves won First in Category in 2014. That book, and its Chanticleer review, have not yet been released, as I’m mulling over some important revisions before I let it go out into the world. 🙂

I skipped a year, and then sent in two books last fall. The first is my published novel, Reconcilable Differences, which I later entered in a separate contest, the Somerset Award for Literary/Contemporary, since that’s where the subcategory for Women’ Fiction now lives. Since the book rides the line between Romance and WF, we’ll see how that goes.

New Book Release Scheduled for Spring

In the Chatelaine Book Award contest, Reconcilable Differences competes against thirty-four other manuscripts or books, including my own unpublished manuscript, The Art of Enchantment. The Art of Enchantment is scheduled for release in March of this year, just in time for the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Award Banquet. Hopefully I’ll have reason to celebrate, but given my experience in 2015, it’s an amazing, rich conference and I’ll be enjoying myself mingling with hundreds of other fascinating authors.

Friends toasting with champagne glasses

Books on the Bay Book Festival and Author Signing

If you’re attending the conference or live in the Bellingham, WA area, you’ll be one of the first able to pick up a print copy of the book at the Books by the Bay book festival.

It’s also my plan to release Book 2 in the Having it All series, Coming About, released in time for the Chanticleer conference. Very soon I’ll have cover reveals for both new books so stay tuned, or sign up for my email list so you’ll be the first to be notified of this and other news and events, including the contest results.

Conference Workshop

Also at the conference at the end of March, I’ll be presenting a workshop or two. The one I know about for sure is called The Belly of the Whale: Understanding the Heroine’s Journey.

Here’s how the conference is described: “Come and enjoy 3 days of instruction on how to improve your marketing skills and sell more books, located at the beautiful Hotel Bellwether, at Squalicum Harbor on beautiful Bellingham Bay, in Bellingham, Washington conveniently located between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.”

To register for the conference, click here. I look forward to seeing you there!

Leave a comment below to tell me if you’ll be attending the conference so we can connect in Bellingham.

November 13, 2016 by M A Clarke Scott

A Busy Month of Author Appearances, Conferences & Networking

It’s been such a hectic month I haven’t managed to post any news. Here’s an overview of what I’ve been up to.

Vancouver Public Library Indie Author Day

The first annual Indie Author Day at the Vancouver Public Library was also my first public appearance as a published author. I met with several other authors that I knew, including Joel Mark Harris, Christine Dodd and fellow RWA member Cheri Champaigne, with whom I shared a table. I also did a short reading from my book Reconcilable Differences.

Surrey International Writer’s Conference

For the first time in several years, I attended the Surrey Writer’s Conference as a full delegate and indulged in inspiring keynote speakers such as Daniel Jose Older, workshops and panel discussions with new authors and perennial favorites such as Diana Gabaldon, did a blue pencil session on an unpublished manuscript with favorite author Susanna Kearsley and pitched the same to a few agents and editors, garnering several requests for submissions. Fingers crossed and good luck to book two in the Having It All series: Coming About.

Author Signing at Indigo Park Royal in West Vancouver

My first author signing event involved a bit of nerves and fretting, but ended up being a ton of fun as friends and family stopped by to buy books, get them signed and wish me well. And a few strangers too! Far better than the dreaded picture of me sitting alone in the book store at the mall having people walk by while avoiding eye contact and listening to the proverbial crickets.

Vancouver Women’s Conference

Finally yesterday I attended the full day inaugural Vancouver Women’s Conference organized and hosted by TV and radio personality and sex expert Maureen McGrath who brought together a room full of speakers and presenters to focus on issues of interest and concern, including the new POTUS, women in the workplace, balancing life and work, sexual health, assault and healing, empowerment, business modeling, mothering, fertility and menopause, and even fashion.

And that’s all, except for the fact that it’s National Novel Writing Month now, and I’m supposed to be hunkering down to revise and complete Coming About, book two in the Having It All series. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could get it published by later winter or early spring 2017. That’s what I’m aiming for.

In the meantime, one last promotional effort for Reconcilable Differences, which is free on Amazon Kindle today and tomorrow. So if you’re still looking for a digital copy, now’s your chance. Click here to start reading today.

A final request: if you’ve read it or plan to, don’t forget to leave a rating and review on Amazon or Goodreads. That way I can get put away my promoters hat and back to writing more stories. Thanks!

September 23, 2016 by M A Clarke Scott

Visit Me at the Vancouver Public Library October 8th

The Vancouver Public Library is hosting the first Indie Author Day on October 8. I’ll be one of the authors. My first public outing as a published author!

VPL Indie Author Day Participant banner

The planned event gives member of the public an opportunity to meet and connect with the writing community. I’ll be there along with fellow Mountain Maven author Donna Barker, author of the quirky breakout women’s fiction novel Mother Teresa’s Advice for Jilted Lovers and creator of Write Woman, Write! I’ll be sitting at our table, participating in readings, and spending time in a ‘talk to an author’ corner, among other things.

I’ll also be bringing trade paperback copies of Reconcilable Differences, so you can buy one AND get it signed!

If you live in the Lower Mainland of Vancouver, share this post to spread the word. Support your public library, and local indie authors. Thanks!

August 21, 2016 by M A Clarke Scott

RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES AVAILABLE NOW

Published!

I can’t believe it but it’s finally true. You can finally buy my first novel, Reconcilable Differences as an ebook on Amazon HERE. The beautiful trade paperback edition will be released within the next couple of weeks as the interior layout details are finalized.

Despite all my frantic worry about how it would happen, it just happened in its own sweet chaotic way and of course all out of order and in defiance of any plans I might have made.

The Business of Selling Books

So. Phew. You’d think the pressure would be off. But you’d be wrong. Now I’ve got most of the technical publishing stuff out of the way, I’ve got my author-preneur hat shoved tightly onto my head, and that’s a whole other arena of activity and worries. I’m finally in the position to make sense of, choose and implement a raft of book marketing strategies that I’ve been studying for quite some time.

There are too many to mention, not all of them appropriate for me. And no one could do them all. Giveaway and contests, special promotions, discounts and bonus incentives, book reviews and bloggers. All to build an email list, create brand recognition, improve rankings and of course, I hope, sell books.

Sometimes I wonder if the big business opportunity of the day is educating, coaching and selling products and services TO the gazillion new independent authors in the world. And of course any fiction author will tell you that this business stuff isn’t the reason we all buried our heads in the figurative sands of our imagination. Well it is, but in an inverse sort of way. How ironic that the publishing industry asks this of us more than ever before.

By the way you can find Reconcilable Differences online HERE.

via GIPHY

The Philosophy of Vulnerability

Aside from the stresses of publishing and marketing, I’ve been losing sleep and contending with rats in my brain this last few days for an entirely different reason. The moment I hit “publish” I’ve been riddled with anxiety, torn between the urge to run for the hills, delete the book, unplug from all social media, and spend the rest of my days contentedly growing organic heirloom tomatoes. And alternatively, giddily tell everyone I know about my first very kind five star review on Amazon and ask them to tell their friends to buy my book and give me more hugs. Or stars. Or Olympic medals, whatever. I’m easy to please.

My fear, of course, is that someone will find fault. That someone will loath my book and point out it’s flaws for all the world to see. Or tell me that it’s well-enough written but it’s a stupid or boring book in the first place. Isn’t this what I’ve been avoiding all these years? But this is a foolish fear. Of course this is guaranteed to happen. Someone will hate it. Suddenly I’m deeply sympathetic with everyone who throughout history has published their words, shared their art or music, or for that matter, represented their country in a big race for an Olympic gold medal. But hopefully someone will love it too. Many someones.

It Takes A Thick Skin to Share Your Gifts

via GIPHY

That’s part of the territory. It’s time to thicken up my skin and step forward. Feel the fear and do it anyway. If you’re a creative person, the day will come where you have to share what you’ve done with the world. This is where I have to remind myself of the benefits of following my dream, pushing outside of my comfort zone, taking risks and living in the moment. All of which I’ve been trying to do these days. I don’t want, on my deathbed, to regret that I’d been given gifts and failed to use or share them.

Next Steps

Now, I think, is a good time to revert to my best practices. Taking care of myself, spending time with mindfulness, which for me means hiking in the rainforest, and getting centered. Tapping into the part of me that connects with the source of story ideas and the urge to write and share them in the first place. A reminder of why I do this, and hopefully the motivation and drive to carry on. Maybe one of my characters will speak to me, and help me decide whether to work on Book Two of the Having It All series or continue with revisions on Book One of the Growing Into My Skin series.

Please Comment!

If you can relate to this, either to doing, the risking or the fearing, now is the time to share. I know I’ll feel a lot better knowing I’m not alone in these feelings. And I’ll bet you will too. So leave a comment below, telling me what you’ve done, or still dream of doing, that makes you feel vulnerable. Or share what you do to cope with this. Everyone who comments will be entered into a draw for a free copy of my ebook, Reconcilable Differences.

August 16, 2016 by M A Clarke Scott

COVER REVEAL: RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES

The final new book cover

RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: BEARING SCARS

Finally Reconcilable Differences is ready for publication. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, this is a book that was originally written over ten years ago. For all the revisions, it will always carry the scars of having been my first, and because of that, the vehicle for my learning curve as a writer.

In some ways, this seems appropriate for a book that’s about exactly that. A woman, Kate O’Day, who carries the emotional and psychic scars of a long-ago sexual assault, and the emotional trauma of dealing with and healing from that over many years. Kate, like her story, has been in a long iterative process of revision, learning and rebirth.

I’m so happy to be able to share Kate’s story with you at last. It’s an important story, and as one reviewer said, “we get to ride along on this harrowing journey without getting too beat up along the way.” Reconcilable Differences explores how sexual assault can lead to repressed memories, PTSD, and compromised self-esteem that has deep and lasting impact on a woman and her ability to form lasting and intimate relationships.

I felt it was important to explore these subtler psychological dimensions, since they are rarely discussed, in the context of growing awareness of rape culture, and how it supports, prolongs and institutionalizes the oppression of women for the duration of their lives.

A HOPEFUL STORY OF HEALING & SELF LOVE

But this is not meant to be a dark or a radical book. My goal had always been to tell a love story. A sensitive and intimate exploration of one woman’s journey toward self-knowledge, self-acceptance and love. Although Reconcilable Differences isn’t a classic romance, it is a love story, as Kate navigates the reawakening of a love she lost long ago, along with her own sense of self.

It’s ultimately an optimistic story that hopefully resonates with readers, allowing insight into the inner life of a woman searching for identity, fulfillment, balance and love. In that regard, it speaks to us all.

HAVING IT ALL

Regardless of your personal experience, everywoman’s life shares certain common threads. Despite changes over generations, and from place to place, women have always had to struggle to find their place in society. No matter what choices you are given, or what decisions you make, there are always options, always consequences, always disappointments. I don’t think this feeling is particular to my generation, but I do feel that my own life is a reflection of this truth, and so I write with insight and authority on subjects that have touched me personally.

The Having It All series of novels is my way of exploring modern women’s lives as they try to integrate the particular circumstances of their families of origin and personal experiences with perpetually conflicting goals. How do we balance freedom with security, self-expression, identity and autonomy with love, family and belonging? As we variously lean in and try to participate fully in the world, we also need to keep a finger on the pulse of our inner lives to ensure that we don’t sell ourselves short. True empowerment means living fully in our own essence, and having the freedom to make and live with our choices without regret.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?

This is a good moment to reflect on why I wrote this story, and why I believe you should read it. Women’s Fiction encompasses the woman’s journey no matter where or when or how she lives, and by donning the mantle, and walking in the shoes, of characters that are like, but different from ourselves, we learn. We become sensitized to the particular challenges women face, and we can apply those lessons to our own lives, hopefully for the better. We learn about the world, we learn about ourselves, and we learn about each other.
We are all on a journey, and honest compelling storytelling has always been an important way for us to broaden, deepen and strengthen ourselves for the road. I hope you join me on this journey and both read and enjoy Reconcilable Differences. There are more stories where this one came from!

FOLLOW ME, SUBSCRIBE, SIGN UP, SHARE, BUY THE BOOK & WRITE A REVIEW

These are all the ways you can help me with the business side of being an author. The more help I get with this stuff, the more time I can spend writing new stories to share with you.

M. A. CLARKE SCOTT, Author

Romantic Women's Fiction ~ Healing, Wholeness, Hope ~ Stories for Life

women’s fiction