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Nan Sampson – Author

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Nan Sampson – Author

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A Different Kind of Author Interview

21 Thursday May 2015

Posted by Nancy Bach in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Hey gang! I was one of the guinea pigs in Kelly’s experiment. Here is her post about the genesis of this idea and I’ll reblog the interview once it’s available!

Cinemagraphic Writing

Author Interviews can be done in person or online. If it’s in person, you’d likely sit across from the interviewer and be asked numerous questions, “So, when did you start writing?”, “Tell us about the book you’ve published?”, “Where do you get your ideas?”, “What advice do you have for other writers?”, and so forth. You have no idea what question they’d ask next, and if you’re on camera and are a natural introvert, this is torture for you as you try not to let your nervousness show through while at the same time, you don’t want to come across as overly excited about your books. There’s a balance, but who really knows where it is? However, my main focus of this post isn’t about in-person interviews. I can’t help you there, so you’re on your own! But I want to focus on online interviews.

These interviews are much less…

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I am the Worst. Mom. Ever.

05 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by Nancy Bach in Uncategorized

≈ 12 Comments

It has been one of those weeks.  Lots of pressure at the EDJ (Evil Day Job), my daughter brought home what my pop would have called the galloping crud (horrific cold), and passed it first to her father and then to me.  AND I’m working on a revision of a novel when I’d rather be writing the SHINY new idea I have.

But wait.  It gets better.  Husband is working this afternoon, so child, who is still sick and STILL stumping around on her broken foot, has no way to get home from school other than to walk.  Now, it’s not terribly far – a little over a mile – but she IS sick and her foot still isn’t completely healed.  But I work 35 miles from home and there was no way I could take off early to pick her up.  I felt guilty, she looked miserable when I dropped her off this morning, but there it was.  We were both going to have to deal with it.

Then, at 2:35 (about the time said child would have started walking home), as I’m sitting in my office, I notice this sound overhead.  A sound like demons from a variety of hells are trampling across the roof of my building along with their pet wildebeests.   I stand up, go towards the windows at the front and see that the skies have opened up and rain is falling like a recreation of the biblical flood.  All I can think is that my poor baby is walking home, sick, feverish, with a broken foot… IN THE POURING RAIN!

Clearly I am The Worst Mom Ever.

But I’m caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.  I could not have left work early, nor could I have kept her home from school just because she might have to hoof it.  So for a full hour (until she called to tell me she was home), I sat and stewed about it, lost productivity, and felt huge amounts of working mother guilt.

Kind of like when I finally find an hour free of other people’s obligations and I realize I can sit down to write.  Suddenly, I’m wracked with guilt about not taking the laundry out of the dryer or addressing those Christmas cards (from last year) or weeding the garden or walking his Admiralship.  So I sit in front of my lap top and dither.  And fret.  And wring my hands.  Well, okay, I probably don’t actually wring my hands, but you get the point.  So my hour of writing time dwindles to nothing and not only do I not get much writing done, I don’t get any of those other tasks done either.

The thing I need to learn is that feeling guilty never gets anything done.  You make the best choices you can, and then you just need to commit to whatever it is you’re doing at that moment.  Instead of wringing my hypothetical hands, I could have been doing something that would have made a difference.  Today, that would have been earning my paycheck.  Other times, I could have finished a chapter.  As it was, I got nothing accomplished besides aggravating my ulcer!

As it turned out, the child is smarter than I give her credit for.  She found a friend whose mom offered to drive her home.  She was tucked up in the house before the rain even started.  So I worried and felt guilty for no reason at all.

I’m a mom – so I suppose I’ll always worry.  But next time, I’ll leave the guilt monster out in the rain.

Illegitimi non carborundum!

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Should You “Toy” With an Older Woman?

05 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by Nancy Bach in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

This was too funny not to repost. If you’re a woman of a certain age, you will be laughing out loud! Happy Friday!

Once Upon Your Prime

photo-139Disclaimer:  Occasionally I remember why I call myself “Little Miss Menopause” and do a post related to the topic.
There are board games meant for almost all phases of life – – from Childhood to the Thirty Something Crowd.  But why should a certain gender/age group be left out?  Here are some newly revamped fun nights around the kitchen table for the 40 to 60 year-old female demographic.  And men, don’t stop reading here – – you may need to know the rules of the game(s) as well if you expect to “play.”
MENOPAUSEOPOLY– – The classic game of monopolizing stuff from your opponents as you wearily drag your little pewter token – – a miniature fan, a Naturalizer high heel shoe, haircoloring kit, Prozac pill, a syringe of Botox, an iron and a thimble (see, I told you it would be classic, therefore still Chauvinistic!) around the board…

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All Geeked Up and Nowhere to Go

27 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by Nancy Bach in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

The Geek in her natural habitat: participating in HallCon at GeekKon

The Geek in her natural habitat: participating in HallCon at GeekKon

Sorry for being away for so long.  Between an illness, getting the girl-child ready for 8th grade, the girl-child breaking her foot, and preparing for GeekKon, it’s been a heck of an August.  But what a way to end the summer (GeekKon, that is, not the foot-breaking thing).  The picture is of me, a stranger we met, and my dear friend and fellow author Susan Wachowski, participating in HallCon.  This was on Sunday in the afternoon, and if we look all wrung out, it’s because we are.  The picture was taken just as we found a spot on the floor while waiting for a panel to start, giving our poor aching dogs (and I’m not talking about Nelson) a welcome rest.

And in case you’re not familiar with cons, HallCon is basically just what it sounds like… where you find a spot on the floor along the wall while waiting for panels to start because you’re too damn tired to stand.  You meet the most amazing people that way.  I’ve had conversations with authors, actors, and wonderful, friendly and interesting strangers doing just that.  Then there’s LobbyCon, which is the same only different. 🙂

So I spent three fabulous days totally geeked-up in lovely Madison, WI, surrounded by my Nerd Herd – hundreds (thousands?) of people who are exactly like me, who grok what I grok, who speak every dialect of nerdy fandom.  It was glorious.  Sue and I attended a slew of panels on writing (props to the highly talented author Alex Bledsoe), some costuming panels, wandered the vendor hall and artist alley, belly laughed through the hysterical panel called “Who’s Line Is It Anime?”, and basically reveled in being part of a rarified atmosphere that was steeped in geekiness of every flavor:  Steampunk, Anime, SF, Doctor Who, fantasy, Star Trek, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings… on and on.  Sheldon, Leonard, Raj and Howard should have been there, they’d  have grokked it too!

My Fellow Nerds: Howard, Raj, Leonard and Sheldon

My Fellow Nerds: Howard, Raj, Leonard and Sheldon

 

But now I’m back.  Back at home.  Back at work.  Back to being a *gasp* norm.  It feels stifling.  Kind of like wearing a Victorian-era boiled collar.  I feel oddly disingenuous, as though I’m pretending to be someone I’m not and waiting for the other norms to find out and stone me.  Well, okay, they probably wouldn’t stone me, but they might discontinue my gainful employment.  Then again… one  never knows with norms.

I have this almost unconquerable desire to wear my favorite G-shirt (Geek T-shirt) to work.  You know, the one that says:  Reality is a crutch for people who can’t handle role-playing games.  I want to talk incessantly about the new Doctor Who (the awesome Peter Capaldi) and these totally cool steampunk goggles I’m saving up for and how amazing urban fantasy author Melissa F. Olson was to meet in person (you’ve GOT to read Dead Spots, like, today)!  But if I did, most of the people I work with (with a few exceptions, and you know who you are!) would cock their heads like confused puppies and stare at me funny.

Say what?  (Courtesy of C-Monster at Flkr Creative Commons)

Say what? (Image Courtesy of C-Monster at Flkr Creative Commons)

It’s such a bummer being all geeked-up, back here in the world of norms.  So I’m planning my next trip into Con-Land.  WindyCon is in November.  That’s even local enough that I don’t have to book a hotel – although I might anyway.  Being there, in the middle of it all, being part of my “tribe”, is so rejuvenating that I want to soak up every minute of it.

So who is your tribe?  I’d love to hear about it!  Do you get to spend quality time with them?  If not, I highly suggest you find a way to do so!  That feeling of connectedness, of being completely understood and accepted, is worth more than gold.

Until next time,

Illegitimi non carborundum!

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Here and now

26 Tuesday Aug 2014

Posted by Nancy Bach in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

What routines are trapping you from living your life more authentically? I challenge you to read this, then go out and break free!

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Robin Williams and the 50 Bikes

12 Tuesday Aug 2014

Posted by Nancy Bach in Uncategorized

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True words from my FB pal, and cyclist par excellence, Christopher Cudworth. Thinking of you, Robin.

We Run and Ride

By Christopher Cudworth

631859670_origWhen Lance Armstrong was at the peak of his success winning the Tour de France seven times, he reportedly hung out with all sorts of A-List types including Robin Williams. An avid cyclist, Williams owned 50 or more bikes including some sweet Treks funneled through the tier-one connections he held with Lance Armstrong.

Like Jay Leno with his car collection or any other star able to afford symbols of their passion, Robin Williams’ penchant for bikes was nothing but a fantasy for the rest of us. It’s easy to envy such largesse because it’s easy to flip through a Bicycling magazine bike review edition and pine for the new bikes. My personal wish is for a bamboo frame Calfee someday. They just seem so fascinating. What would it be like to ride?

Because that’s the weird part about cycling. It’s not just about the bike, as Lance once wrote. Ultimately…

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I’m Ready for My Close-Up, Mr. DeMille

17 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by Nancy Bach in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Never been interviewed before in my life, but there is a first time for everything and yesterday I did an interview with fellow writer and my fountain pen addiction supplier, Nathaniel Cerf, for his blog on The Pen Market . Check it out, if you’re so inclined. It was a blast to do although I didn’t much like having my picture taken! I always blink, so in order to keep my eyes open, I end up with a goofy expression!

And if you love fountain pens, definitely check out his site. He offers some really sweet vintage pieces, many that are even affordable for us working writers!

I’m off now to the grocery store. I should probably wear my Wayfarers and a hat so I don’t get mobbed by the paparazzi! 🙂

Me, incognito?

Me, incognito?

Illegitimi non carborundum!

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Now We Do the Dance of Joy!

11 Friday Jul 2014

Posted by Nancy Bach in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

My first book is now live on Amazon and will soon be available on Nook.
You can see it here: http://www.amazon.com/Restless-Natives-Gooden-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00LOUPR4Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405091962&sr=8-1&keywords=nan+sampson

To celebrate, here is a Flashback Friday moment. I am doing this in my office right now. 🙂

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Well, the way it started… And then… But meanwhile… So finally…

29 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by Nancy Bach in Uncategorized

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

conjunctions, editing, fiction writing, nansampson, nansampsonauthor, novel writing, revising, revision, Writing

Image

I’m finally getting through the last of my beta comments on my soon to be published mystery novel.  It has been so wonderful at the same time it’s been unbelievably hard.  Yet, the final set of comments were quite the most instructive.  The first few sets, while really incredibly valuable, mostly addressed spelling, grammar and those ‘well, duh’ spots, where I lost the plot, or made little (or not so little) mistakes.  All important stuff that I could not have lived without.  The final beta reader, however, honed in on my ‘bad writer habits’.  Trust me, when you’re confronted with those nasty things, there is a moment where you think, ‘oh dear heavens, I totally suck’.

After that initial reaction, though, you become eternally grateful to that beta reader for teaching you an invaluable lesson.

What, you may ask, are my nasty little bad writer habits? The biggest one is beginning sentences (sometimes five and six a page) with a conjunction.  Page after page after page.  You know those words.  And.  But.  Well.  So.  I even caught myself doing it in this post and had to go back through it and change them all (See, SW? I’m making progress!). 

Then there are the deadly “ings” – the overuse of “ing” words.  Dozens of those to plow through.  Or more.  I’m too scared to count them right now.

The prospect of going through every page in my WIP to find them and, in most cases, fix them, is daunting indeed.  Makes me want to buy a ginormous (jeez, that word made it through spell check… when did that become a real word?) bag of cheesy popcorn and eat the whole thing in one sitting. GAH!!!!!!!

I gave myself today off.  Tomorrow, however, is another day.  I will be using my trusty word processor’s “find” function to its maximum capacity – burning through the literary equivalent of dilithium crystals.  I hope the word engines can take it.  I may even have to call Scotty in Engineering for ‘more power’!  (Sorry, yes, I know, I had to reach for that one.)

What are your bad writer habits?  Is there a word or set of words you have to excise from your writing during revision?  Or are you the sort who can catch them as you write?  I’d love to hear about your bad writer habits – I’m sure I can learn from them.  Plus, it serves the purpose of making me feel not quite so incompetent!

Illegitimi non carborundum!

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What if I fall?

26 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by Nancy Bach in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Not matter what dream you’re chasing, here’s some inspiration from a fellow author, Cristian Mihai.

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