Now Available

The second edition of The Truth Seekers is now available!

Print copies can be ordered from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and CreateSpace.

E-books can be ordered from Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, iTunes, Kobo, Page Foundry (Inktera), 24Symbols, and Scribd.

Since this is a second edition, I won't be doing much in the way of promotions or giveaways, but you never know - the mood might strike!

New Developments

I've been neglecting this blog for quite some time now, but at last I have something new to pass along!

The second edition of my historical romance, The Truth Seekers, will be available on 5 July 2016 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and other channels. The e-book is available for pre-order now, but the paperback is still being sorted. It will be available soon, though!

Also, some may note that I'm blogging and publishing under a different name these days. I've decided to stop writing as Elizabeth M. Lawrence going forward, so all of my future publications, including The Truth Seekers, will now be available only under the author name Mavvy Vasquez.

I'm working on some new projects, as well, and I will keep you posted on their development as they progress. Hopefully not too much longer.

It's good to be back in the saddle again!

Setting: Selection and Significance

By definition, every novel must have at least one setting. Even if a science fiction author were to write about a character floating around in a great abyss of nothingness, that abyss is still the place where things happen (or don’t happen, as the case may be). So how do writers choose the location for their story? How much does that choice matter to the story?

In my first novella, My Apple Tree, the setting was never specified for the reader. It could have been any town, really. The reality was that in my own mind the story was set in Joplin, Missouri, my mother’s hometown. The setting in this case was more important to me than the reader, and it definitely influenced the way I felt about the story and the choices I made concerning the plot and characters. After a devastating tornado leveled a third of the city, I went to visit my family there. What I saw had a profound impact on me, and that overwhelming mix of grief and rebirth was transferred to the story and my characters. So in that instance, the setting was very significant, but not in a way that the audience would necessarily be aware of. Normally, I would post pictures to illustrate my point. Although I do have pictures of the affected area, the devastation and loss these people faced is too personal to broadcast. However, the cover photo was taken at a nearby cemetery where much of my family is buried, and so that, too, has deep personal significance for me.

The significance of setting was flipped around for Wishing Cotton. For this story, the setting I envisioned was entirely fictional. I just needed a summer resort on a beach, with isolated cabins and a nearby funfair to suit the needs of my story. In other words, the setting was determined by the demands of the plot rather than the other way around. Beyond its function to support the story I wanted to tell, the setting has no further significance to me as a writer. Because of this, the only details I provide are ones that are necessary in order to present each scene clearly. Otherwise, the characters could be anywhere else and the plot could remain largely unaffected.

Setting again became important when I wrote my historical romance, The Truth Seekers. For this novel, I used a real-life location as the foundation for the story. Although I employ a great deal of artistic license, my protagonists Geoffrey Hawes and Miranda Claridge meet for the first time in an unnamed fictional community that is based on the very real Chautauqua Institution in New York State. 

Athenaeum Hotel

The grounds of this historic community preserve a great deal of the world that Geoffrey and Miranda would have inhabited, and the focus on philosophy, art, music, and learning lends itself to a novel of this type. It was simple to imagine two Victorian lovers debating the merits of different social and philosophical principles in such a setting. While I did change a number of minor details, such as turning the very real Packard Manor into the governor’s mansion, the architecture, landscape, and pace of the location are kept very true to life.

Geoffrey first encounters Miranda in the Hall of Philosophy, which not only is a real building on the grounds at Chautauqua, but also is the source of the book’s title. 

 

The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle is the longest continuously running book club in the United States, and for many years, each year’s theme was preserved in mosaics running along the floor of the Hall. Visitors to the Hall of Philosophy can easily find The Truth Seekers mosaic.

In many ways, my love of Chautauqua influenced my handling of Geoffrey and Miranda’s story, but at the same time, it would not have been possible to envision their story in the first place without having experienced the setting beforehand. This is a place where it is easy to picture what life must have been like one hundred years ago, and it is also a place where one can feel the passage of time and the natural continuity of life and love and time. A great deal of the grounds have remained largely unchanged and are teeming with artists, authors, poets, dancers, musicians, theologians, and thinkers. It would be near impossible for a creative person to be in such an environment and not be inspired. Because of this, The Truth Seekers became not only a love story between two people, but it is also the story of an author’s love for a place. I hope that by bringing Geoffrey and Miranda’s world to life, I have also captured in some small way the magic of this small, precious community.

Miller Bell Tower on Lake Chautauqua

In these three examples, you see how differently setting can be used to shape and influence a story and its characters. For writers, it is important to consider the role setting plays in a piece so that the handling of locations and environments complements the tale you are trying to tell. For readers, it is often a subtle influence that can color your perception of the world each new character inhabits. Either way, settings are something to enjoy and explore, even if only in one’s imagination.

Reprint: M.C. Rayne Blog Guest Post

Here's another "reissued" guest blog post while I'm tied up with editing. This particular entry was originally posted on August 4, 2013, on M.C. Rayne's blog in support of my newest release, Wishing Cotton. I was very appreciative of the opportunity and am grateful to M.C. Rayne for hosting me. I'm providing the link to the original posting below; I encourage you to check out his blog!

Simple Storytelling

               A short story is often difficult to talk about in-depth simply due to its brevity, and so readers may wonder why an author would choose not to expand a tale into a full-length novel. As writers of flash fiction will tell you, it is possible to create a whole, breathing, vibrant world in very few words, and short stories are often more complex than their lengthier counterparts. My previous short story, My Apple Tree, actually told two separate stories that covered a great deal of time and incorporated several different characters. However, I have elected to keep my new short story, Wishing Cotton, very simple and uncomplicated.

                In my experience, it is the little moments in a story that resonate the strongest with readers rather than the entire plot as a whole. Readers want, of course, to be engaged throughout the full length of the tale, whether it be a novel or a short story. However, a story’s success often hinges on just a paragraph or two – sometimes only one sentence. I’m not pretending to have a powerful, magical moment like that, but it does support the theory that a story does not need to be complicated to be enjoyable.

                Wishing Cotton is by far the simplest story I’ve ever written (as an adult, anyway). On its face, it introduces us to three characters: Olive Alexander, her friend Blair Adams, and Peter Keyes. Olive and Blair are vacationing together in a cabin by the beach, and Peter has likewise rented one of his own. All three characters are at a moment in their lives when they must make some decision about where they will go from here. Olive is adjusting after the end of a long-term relationship, Blair is struggling against her need for financial security, and Peter is living under the shadow of a professional failure. While each of them responds in their unique way to their challenges, none of these scenarios are unusual. We can understand the emotions behind their situations because each is something that almost everyone has experienced in their lives. By not focusing on the particulars of the back story, we are able to see the commonalities that resonate with our own experiences.

                Likewise, it is the simplicity of this story that allows the reader to see the true lessons that can be taken from each small development in the plot. In order to move forward, the characters must be honest with themselves and identify what is most important to each of them. Until they do this, each of them is trapped in a moment of indecision. If the overarching story were more complex, this essential detail would be lost, but without anything to distract from it, the reader is fully aware of the truth behind each character’s ultimate wish.

                I will admit that it is somewhat daunting to present such a basic, straightforward plot. The modern trend favors more dramatic and tempestuous story lines. However, as with any other manuscript I’ve worked on, the central idea and the characters engaged and intrigued me, and I felt that their experiences, however simple, deserved to be brought to life. Authors – like any creative professionals – need to continually stretch and develop their skill, and I have found that writing a simple story is far more challenging than I would have anticipated.

Wishing Cotton is being released on July 23, 2013, by Renaissance Romance Publishing. I hope that readers will enjoy my effort at simple storytelling!

  
M.C. Rayne 8/4/13 Guest Blog

Reprint: Mich's Book Reviews Blog Guest Post

Here's another "reissued" guest blog post while I'm tied up with editing. This particular entry was originally posted on July 29, 2013, on Mich's Book Reviews blog in support of my newest release, Wishing Cotton. I was very appreciative of the opportunity and am grateful to Mich for hosting me. I'm providing the link to the original posting below; I encourage you to check out her blog!

How important is the setting of your story to the journey taken by your main characters?

         In general, setting always has some sort of impact on a story. Characters are bound by the setting, interact with it, and are influenced by it in much the same way that a real life person might be inspired in a cathedral and depressed while sitting in an office cubicle. In Wishing Cotton, the setting is in many ways responsible for the events that influence the characters’ choices and behaviors. 

The three main characters – Olive, Blair, and Peter – are all on vacation, staying in separate beachfront cabins. Given the time to relax and reflect, each character comes to identify what one thing he or she feels is missing. It is while lounging in the sun that Olive first begins to ponder the nature of wishes, following a train of thought she would not have pursued if they were visiting a more active location. The setting provides her with the opportunity to exercise her imagination. Likewise, normally-practical Blair unwinds enough to agree to help with her friend’s fanciful experiment, even though it seems silly to her. Her surroundings have mellowed her so that she can have this experience as well.

The setting can also be said to be responsible for bringing the romantic element to life. It is because of the very peacefulness of their hideaways that all three must seek out more stimulating surroundings. The women and Peter would not encounter each other if the local carnival was not the sole option for activity in that area. For Peter, the carnival is an opportunity to observe human nature and seek inspiration. For Olive and Blair, it offers the prospect of fun and entertainment. Three people looking for such different things would not encounter each other if they were in a different setting that offered more options. 

The setting affects the overall tone of the story, as well. It supports the light-hearted feel of the characters’ interactions. What would be difficult to imagine in a more day-to-day setting becomes believable in the context of summer vacation. It evokes memories of childhood games and having the freedom to choose any future you want. Even when dealing with the unpleasantness of reality, the characters are given the chance to process their feelings through a filter. They can contemplate the unpleasantness in their lives without feeling it too much, because for their immediate future, they are in an environment in which there are few potential problems they must confront. Their lives are on hold, so they can stop and live in the moment. This is a phenomenon that would not occur had they selected a different setting for their getaway time.

The importance of setting to the story may be subtle in Wishing Cotton, but it is nonetheless a major influence on the characters. A visit to New York City or a ski trip would not have provided the circumstances necessary for the characters to think, react, and interrelate as they do at their beachside hideaway. I tried to bring that setting and the atmosphere it creates to life for the reader, as well, and I hope that I was successful. Wishing Cotton is being released July 23, 2013, by Renaissance Romance Publishing, and I hope readers will enjoy visiting the setting I’ve created for my characters.

 

Mich's Book Reviews 7/29/2013 Guest Blog

Reprint: From the desk of... R.E. Hargrave Blog Guest Post

Here's another "reissued" guest blog post while I'm tied up with editing. This particular entry was originally posted on July 30, 2013, on the From the Desk of... R.E. Hargrave blog in support of my newest release, Wishing Cotton. I was very appreciative of the opportunity and am grateful to R.E. Hargrave for hosting me. I'm providing the link to the original posting below; I encourage you to check out her blog!

Discuss three things that readers would be surprised to know about you.

I’m not sure that there is anything genuinely surprising about me, but I’ll give it a shot. To be honest, I have a tendency to over-share that makes keeping things hidden rather difficult. One must also consider what sorts of things would be surprising: my writing life or my “real” life. Let’s see what I come up with.

Back when I knew nothing about the publishing world or the reality of a writer’s life, I used to envision published authors as boldly striding towers of self-confidence. To be fair, it’s difficult to picture Shakespeare or Tolstoy or Byron or whomever having fits of insecurity. But they must have done. Every writer I have spoken to has said the same thing. Seeing your words in print is exciting, of course, but it also feels like you have left the house in your unmentionables and not much else. It exposes you in a way that is unique to the creative world. Many people have been surprised that I experience this as well. Since I serve as lead editor for Renaissance Romance Publishing, there is an expectation of self-confidence that goes along with the job. Sure, I am confident when I’m slicing into someone else’s baby. My own stories, on the other hand… Even a cover reveal or an announcement of an upcoming release fills my soul with dread. There are moments when I want to take it back and tell the publisher I was just kidding. It’s pitiful. Still, I do manage to control those insecure impulses and carry on with my work.

Another thing about me that might surprise people is that I am not an especially emotional person. Romance novels, by definition, deal with deep and often turbulent emotions, and the characters need to reveal their feelings through their words and actions. In real life, I am much more buttoned down. Both sides of my family shy away from emotional displays, so I suppose I just grew up in a less demonstrative environment. It seems strange to some people who know me in real life that a person like me would find romance an appealing genre, but it’s a mistake to equate lack of public expression with lack of comprehension. I do feel things very deeply, and I understand human emotion. All the same, it can be difficult to reconcile the real-life persona with the written word, and I think people who know me through my writing are surprised when they actually speak to me and find out I’m a much different person than the characters in my books.

I don’t know if this counts as “surprising,” but I have background knowledge in a very hodgepodge collection of subjects. Over the years, I have received at least rudimentary training in ballet, violin, piano, voice, drawing, Egyptian funereal art, theater, British literature, art history, business management, various areas of law, gothic architecture, Catholicism, Judaism, Methodism, Norse mythology, middle English verse, pottery, literary theory, American and British history, archeoastronomy, etymology, and Native American spirituality. All of this means that at any given moment, I may spit out a completely random fact on an obscure subject. My husband treats me like a walking Encyclopedia Britannica. To balance this out, I am completely useless at the most basic tasks like cooking, cleaning, and shopping. Friends have commented from time to time that I know more than they do, but I still envy all of them their ability to boil an egg without setting their homes on fire.

So that’s it – the three most surprising things about me I can think of! Thank you for reading, and I hope you’ll also read and enjoy my story “Wishing Cotton,” which is being released July 23, 2013, as part of the Heat Wave anthology from Renaissance Romance Publishing.

  
R.E. Hargrave Guest Post 7/30/2013